bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Energy Scheduling of Smart Appliances at Home under the Effect of Dynamic Pricing Schemes and Small Renewable Energy Source
Authors: Kakran Sandeep , Chanana Saurabh 
Published: February 2018

AbstractWith the advancement of smart grid technology, the consumers get the opportunity to participate in various demand response (DR) programs. They can reduce their electricity bill by participating in DR programs. Along with the consumers, the power utility companies also get benefits due to the reduction in high energy peaks on the demand curve. In this paper, we propose an energy scheduling model for the scheduling of smart appliances at home. For the scheduling of appliances, two different dynamic pricing schemes are selected, i) time of use scheme, ii) real time pricing scheme. Along with this, a small renewable energy source in form of rooftop photovoltaic panels is also included to analyse its effect on energy scheduling solution. Finally, the scheduling problem is solved by mixed integer linear programming (MILP) technique. The CPLEX solver of GAMS software is used to apply MILP technique. A case study by considering different cases is done to analyse the effectiveness of formulated model and selected solution approach for the scheduling of the appliances. The simulation results by considering both the pricing schemes have been achieved and compared to get the better idea of the pricing schemes on the energy scheduling results.
Mentoring as a Knowledge Translation Intervention for Implementing Nursing Practice Guidelines: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Abdullah Ghadah , Higuchi Kathryn A. S. , Ploeg Jenny , Stacey Dawn 
Published: February 2018

AbstractAn interpretive descriptive qualitative study was conducted to explore the characteristics and outcomes of mentoring used for implementing nursing practice guidelines. We interviewed six mentees, eight mentors, and four program leaders who were involved in the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario fellowship program in Ontario, Canada. Inductive content analysis was used and study rigor was verified using triangulation of findings and member checking. Mentors were described as accessible, dedicated, and having expertise; mentees were described as enthusiastic, self-directed, and having mixed levels of expertise. The mentoring process included building relationships, developing learning plans, and using teaching and learning activities guided by learning plans to support development of mentees. Mentoring was described as positively impacting mentoring relationships, mentees, mentors, and organizations. A central feature of this fellowship program was the learning plan used to identify mentees’ needs, guide mentoring activities, and monitor measureable outcomes.
Circulation and localization of a transnational founding story in a social movement
Authors: Garrido Maria Rosa 
Published: February 2018

AbstractThis article investigates the circulation and appropriation of the “origins” story in a social movement called Emmaus. In particular, it analyzes storytelling in two localities, Barcelona and London, at critical moments when collective identity is foregrounded for different socio-political purposes. Emmaus is a transnational social movement that (re)inserts marginalized people who live and work with more privileged members in local groups called “communities” dedicated to recycling and social projects. Ethnography is essential to situate and understand narratives in broader interactional and socio-political contexts. My multi-sited ethnography (2011–2012) affords an outlook on the storytelling practices that produce and negotiate acultural chronoscope, “depictions of place-time-and-personhood” to which participants orient when they interact with each other (including telling their life stories) within Emmaus. Situated storytelling constructs a collective identity across linguistic and national borders at a particular sociohistorical juncture. The Emmaus story constructs a certain worldview and person types within animagined communitymade up of (narrated) others all over the globe. The Emmaus chronoscope is based on the encounter between two individuals from different backgrounds, which will transform their reasons to live thanks to the shared value of solidarity with others.
Diet enriched with fresh coconut decreases blood glucose levels and body weight in normal adults
Authors: Vijayakumar Venugopal , Shankar Nagashree R. , Mavathur Ramesh , Mooventhan A. , Anju Sood , Manjunath NK 
Published: February 2018

Abstract

Background
There exist controversies about the health effects of coconut. Fresh coconut consumption on human health has not been studied substantially. Fresh coconut consumption is a regular part of the diet for many people in tropical countries like India, and thus there is an increasing need to understand the effects of fresh coconut on various aspects of health.

Aim
To compare the effects of increased saturated fatty acid (SFA) and fiber intake, provided by fresh coconut, versus monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and fiber intake, provided by a combination of groundnut oil and groundnuts, on anthropometry, serum insulin, glucose levels and blood pressure in healthy adults.

Materials
Eighty healthy volunteers, randomized into two groups, were provided with a standardized diet along with either 100 g fresh coconut or an equivalent amount of groundnuts and groundnut oil for a period of 90 days. Assessments such as anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, blood sugar and insulin levels were performed before and after the supplementation period.

Results
Results of this study showed a significant reduction in fasting blood sugar (FBS) in both the groups. However, a significant reduction in body weight was observed in the coconut group, while a significant increase in diastolic pressure was observed in the groundnut group.

Conclusions
Results of this study suggest that fresh coconut-added diet helps reduce blood glucose levels and body weight in normal healthy individuals.
Antidiabetic and protective effects of the aqueous extract of
Arbutus unedo
L. in streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced diabetic mice
Authors: Mrabti Hanae Naceiri , Sayah Karima , Jaradat Nidal , Kichou Faouzi , Ed-Dra Abdelaziz , Belarj Badiaa , Cherrah Yahia , Faouzi My El Abbes 
Published: February 2018

Abstract

Background
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is currently a major health problem and the most common chronic disease worldwide. Traditional medicinal plants remedies remain a potential adjunct therapy to maintain better glycemic control while also imparting few side-effects. Arbutus unedo L. has been traditionally used to manage several diseases including diabetes. This study was undertaken to contribute the validation of the traditional use of Arbutus unedoL. (Ericaceae) in the treatment of diabetes.

Methods

In-vitro antidiabetic effect of the A. unedo roots aqueous extract was conducted using α-glucosidase and α-amylase assays. While in-vivo antidiabetic activity was conducted using streptozotocin-nicotinamide (STZ-NA) induced diabetic mice. Diabetic animals were orally administered the aqueous extract in 500 mg/kg of body weight to assess the antidiabetic effect. The blood glucose level and body weight of the experimental animals were monitored for 4 weeks. In addition, the histopathological examination of the treated mice pancreas was also conducted to observe the changes of β-cells during the treatment process.

Results
The extract produced a significant decrease in blood glucose level in diabetic mice. This decrease was equivalent to that which observed in mice treated with a standard after 2–4 weeks. In addition, the plant extract exhibited a potent inhibitory effect on α-amylase and α-glucosidase activity with IC50 values of 730.15±0.25 μg/mL and 94.81±5.99 μg/mL, respectively. Moreover, the histopathologic examination of the pancreas showed a restoration of normal pancreatic islet cell architecture which observed in the diabetic mice treated with plant extract.

Conclusions
The aqueous A. unedo roots extract has a significant in vitro and in vivo antidiabetic effects and improves metabolic alterations. The revealed results justify its traditional medicinal use.
General Properties for an Agrawal Thermal Engine
Authors: Paéz-Hernández Ricardo T. , Chimal-Eguía Juan Carlos , Sánchez-Salas Norma , Ladino-Luna Delfino 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
This paper presents a general property of endoreversible thermal engines known as the Semisum property previously studied in a finite-time thermodynamics context for a Curzon–Ahlborn (CA) engine but now extended to a simplified version of the CA engine studied by Agrawal in 2009 (A simplified version of the Curzon–Ahlborn engine, European Journal of Physics
30 (2009), 1173). By building the Ecological function, proposed by Angulo-Brown (An ecological optimization criterion for finite-time heat engines, Journal of Applied Physics
69 (1991), 7465–7469) in 1991, and considering two heat transfer laws an analytical expression is obtained for efficiency and power output which depends only on the heat reservoirs’ temperature. When comparing the existing efficiency values of real power plants and the theoretical efficiencies obtained in this work, it is observed that the Semisum property is satisfied. Moreover, for the Newton and the Dulong–Petit heat transfer laws the existence of the g function is demonstrated and we confirm that in a Carnot-type thermal engine there is a general property independent of the heat transfer law used between the thermal reservoirs and the working substance.
Evaluation of basal sex hormone levels for activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis
Authors: Ding Yu , Li Juan , Yu Yongguo , Yang Peirong , Li Huaiyuan , Shen Yongnian , Huang Xiaodong , Liu Shijian 
Published: February 2018

AbstractBackground:This study aimed to identify the predictive value of basal sex hormone levels for activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis in girls.Methods:Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation tests were performed and evaluated in a total of 1750 girls with development of secondary sex characteristics. Correlation analyses were conducted between basal sex hormones and peak luteinizing hormone (LH) levels ≥5 IU/L during the GnRH stimulation test. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for basal levels of LH, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), LH/FSH, and estradiol (E2) before the GnRH stimulation test were plotted. The area under the curve (AUC) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were measured for each curve.Results:The maximum AUC value was observed for basal LH levels (0.77, 95% CI: 0.74–0.79), followed by basal FSH levels (0.73, 95% CI: 0.70–0.75), the basal LH/FSH ratio (0.68, 95% CI: 0.65–0.71), and basal E2 levels (0.61, 95% CI: 0.59–0.64). The appropriate cutoff value of basal LH levels associated with a positive response of the GnRH stimulation test was 0.35 IU/L, with a sensitivity of 63.96% and specificity of 76.3% from the ROC curves when Youden’s index showed the maximum value. When 100% of patients had peak LH levels ≥5 IU/L, basal LH values were >2.72 IU/L, but the specificity was only 5.45%.Conclusions:Increased basal LH levels are a significant predictor of a positive response during the GnRH stimulation test for assessing activation of the HPG axis in most girls with early pubertal signs.
A novel paraneoplastic syndrome with acquired lipodystrophy and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in an adolescent male with craniopharyngioma
Authors: Lockemer Hillary Elizabeth , Sumpter Kathryn Maria , Cope-Yokoyama Sandy , Garg Abhimanyu 
Published: February 2018

Abstract

Background:
Acquired lipodystrophy, craniopharyngioma and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) are individually rare disorders, and have never before been reported in a single patient.

Case presentation:
A 15-year-7 month old Caucasian male presented with lower extremity weakness, frequent falls and abnormal fat distribution occurring over the previous 1 year. He was diagnosed with CIDP, craniopharyngioma and acquired lipodystrophy. The patient underwent tumor debulking and cranial irradiation for the craniopharyngioma, and received monthly intravenous immunoglobulin for the CIDP. The patient initially had some resolution of the lipodystrophy phenotype, but subsequently the abnormal fat distribution recurred and the patient developed additional systemic abnormalities, including mild pancytopenia and hepatic fibrosis.

Conclusions:
Our patient represents a novel association of acquired lipodystrophy, craniopharyngioma, and CIDP, possibly due to an as yet unidentified paraneoplastic autoantibody.
Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome: clinical and biochemical correlates
Authors: Donoghue Sarah E. , Pitt James J. , Boneh Avihu , White Susan M. 
Published: February 2018

Abstract

Background:
Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the DHCR7 gene that result in reduced cholesterol biosynthesis. The aim of the study was to examine the biochemical and clinical features of SLOS in the context of the emerging evidence of the importance of cholesterol in morphogenesis and steroidogenesis.

Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed the records of 18 patients (including four fetuses) with confirmed SLOS and documented their clinical and biochemical features.

Results:
Seven patients had branchial arch abnormalities, including micrognathia, immune dysfunction and hypocalcemia. Thymic abnormalities were found in three fetuses. All four patients with a cholesterol level of ≤0.35 mmol/L died. They all had electrolyte abnormalities (hyperkalemia, hyponatremia, hypocalcemia), necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis-like episodes and midline defects including the branchial and cardiac defects. Patients with cholesterol levels ≥1.7 mmol/L had milder features and were diagnosed at 9 months to 25 years of age. All 10 patients had intellectual disability. One patient was found to have a novel mutation, c.1220A>G (p.Asn407Ser).

Conclusions:
We suggest that screening for adrenal insufficiency and for hypoparathyroidism, hypothyroidism and immunodeficiency, should be done routinely in infants diagnosed early with SLOS. Early diagnosis and intervention to correct these biochemical consequences may decrease mortality and improve long-term outcome in these patients.
Neonatal resuscitation experience curves: simulation based mastery learning booster sessions and skill decay patterns among pediatric residents
Authors: Matterson Heideh H. , Szyld Demian , Green Brad R. , Howell Heather B. , Pusic Martin V. , Mally Pradeep V. , Bailey Sean M. 
Published: February 2018

Abstract

Background
Following neonatal resuscitation program (NRP) training, decay in clinical skills can occur. Simulation-based deliberate practice (SBDP) has been shown to maintain NRP skills to a variable extent. Our study objectives were (a) to determine whether a single 30 min simulation-based intervention that incorporates SBDP and mastery learning (ML) can effectively restore skills and prevent skill decay and (b) to compare different timing options.

Methods
Following NRP certification, pediatric residents were randomly assigned to receive a video-recorded baseline assessment plus SBDP-ML refresher education at between 6 and 9 months (early) or between 9 and 12 months (late). One year following initial certification, participants had repeat skill retention videotaped evaluations. Participants were scored by blinded NRP instructors using validated criteria scoring tools and assigned a global performance rating score (GRS).

Results
Twenty-seven participants were included. Residents in both early and late groups showed significant skill decay 7 and 10 months after initial NRP. SBDP-ML booster sessions significantly improved participants’ immediate NRP performance scores (p<0.001), which persisted for 2 months, but were again lower 4 months later.

Conclusions
NRP skills may be boosted to mastery levels after a short SBDP-ML intervention and do not appear to significantly decline after 2 months. Brief booster training could potentially serve as a useful supplement to traditional NRP training for pediatric residents.
Making Up Peoples? Conferralism about Nationality
Authors: Behrensen Maren 
Published: February 2018

AbstractI will apply Ásta’s conferralist account of sex and gender to nationality, and distinguish two different ways in which nationality is conferred – by institutions (legal nationality), and in social interactions (social nationality). I will then turn to the moral and political conflicts that arise where different understandings of nationality and different ways of conferring it overlap and collide. My main thesis is that these conflicts are never simply factual disputes about who and what belongs to a nation, they are always normative conflicts about who ought to belong. This, in turn, means that we cannot think about the ontology of nationality without thinking about what nationality ought to be, a conclusion that is well in line with the basic tenets of conferralism.
New Perspectives on the Date of the Great Festival of Ptolemy II
Authors: Kuzmin Yuri 
Published: February 2018

Summary:
The dating of the Great Festival at Alexandria described by Callixeinus (in Athenaeus) is controversial: the most widely accepted dates are the winters of 279/78, 275/74 or 271/70 BC. To the arguments for a date in the mid-270s BC should be added Athenaeus' mention (5.196 f) of a pavilion decorated with „silver“ and „golden“ thyreoi, i. e. oblong shields apparently of Celtic origin. This type of shield was not known in the Hellenistic East before the invasion of Celts into Asia Minor in 278 BC. Their appearance in the decoration of the pavilion may be connected to the destruction of the rebellious Celtic mercenaries of Ptolemy II Philadelphus on an island in the Nile Delta ca. 275 BC. This event was topical in royal propaganda of Philadelphus (in poetry, coinage, etc.). If the depiction of thyreoi alludes to this event 275/74 BC appears to be the most likely date for the Great Festival.
Bäuerliche Zeitvermessung bei Palladius
Authors: Brodersen Kai 
Published: February 2018

Zusammenfassung:
Der spätantike Autor Palladius bietet in seinem Opus Agriculturae Angaben zu den Schattenlängen am Ende jeder Stunde in jedem Monat und ermöglicht dem Landwirt so, zum rechten Zeitpunkt zu agieren. In der Forschung wurde bisher vergeblich versucht, das System von Palladius' Zeitmessung nachzuvollziehen, die Herkunft der Angaben zu erweisen oder sie gar als Beleg für die Heimat des Autors zu deuten. Der Aufsatz schlägt eine neue Interpretation für die Berechnung der Schattenlängen bei Palladius und für ihre Nutzung vor: die Anwendung von Prinzipien der Land- für die Zeitvermessung.
Light requirements of water lobelia (Lobelia dortmanna L.)
Authors: Borowiak Dariusz , Bociąg Katarzyna , Nowiński Kamil , Borowiak Magdalena 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
Maximum depth of colonization (zC) and total area covered by a population of Lobelia dortmanna, as well as underwater light regime were studied in 25 soft water lobelia lakes in north-western Poland. Variations in underwater light conditions among the lakes were described by Secchi disc depths (zSD), and by attenuation coefficients of irradiance within photosynthetically active radiation range (Kd,PAR), and euphotic zone depths (zEU) derived from photometric measurements conducted twice a year (in midspring and midsummer) during the period 2014–2015. Maximum depth of colonization of water lobelia ranged from 0.1 to 2.2 m (median zC = 0.8 m; mean zC = 1.0 m). Nine lakes showed the relative coverage of the littoral zone (RCLZ) by L. dortmanna to be greater than the mean value, which was 4.8%. Studies showed that light requirements of water lobelia increase when the maximum depth of colonization also increases. This pattern could be partially related to the greater energy needs of deeper growing individuals due to enlarged seed production and their incubation, and for the creation of much heavier inflorescences. Assessment of the light requirements of L. dortmanna along the depth gradient indicates that relative irradiance (percentage of subsurface irradiance of PAR) should be at the level of: (i) 47–50% (annual total of quantum irradiance 3083–3280 mol m−2 yr−2) for plants growing within a depth range of 2.0–2.5 m; (ii) 44–47% (2886–3083 mol m−2yr−1) for plants growing within a depth range of 1.5–2.0 m; (iii) 41–44% (2690–2886 mol m−2yr−2) for plants growing within a depth range of 1.0–1.5 m; and (iv) 34–41% (2230–2690 mol m−1 yr−1) for those growing in the littoral zone at a depth of between 0.5 and 1.0 m. In average conditions in the Pomeranian lakes, the maximum depth of colonization by L. dortmanna accounts for approximately a third of the Secchi disc depth and a fifth of the depth of the euphotic zone with irradiance of PAR at zC equal to about 43% of subsurface irradiance. It has also been demonstrated that the light factor is a crucial one that limits the absolute maximum depth of lobelia population occurrence in Pomeranian lakes. The cleanest and most transparent lakes of this region have light attenuation coefficients (Kd,PAR) within the range of 0.35–0.42 m−1, which corresponds to the maximum colonization depths of 1.8–2.2 m.
Surfactants: a real threat to the aquatic geoecosystems of lobelia lakes
Authors: Markowski Maciej , Golus Włodzimierz , Polkowska Żaneta , Kwidzińska Monika 
Published: February 2018

Abstract
Lobelia lakes are valuable elements of the natural environment. They are characterised by low trophy, mainly in-forest location and a high transparency of water. However, similarly to other surface waters, they are subjected to increasing anthropogenic pressures, a good indicator of which is the level of surfactants, also called surface-active agents (SAAs). The aim of the study was to evaluate the intensity of anthropogenic pressures in 13 selected lobelia lakes and 14 streams in the catchments of these lakes in Northern Poland, based on SAA concentrations in the waters of these water bodies. We collected one water sample from each of these water bodies and determined the concentrations of cationic, anionic and non-ionic SAAs. We then compared the results with data concerning the ways in which these catchments and water bodies are used. While ionic (cationic and anionic) SAAs were found to be present in all the 27 samples (with concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 0.51 mg dm−3), non-ionic SAAs were identified in 17 of 27 samples (from 0.00 to 2.43 mg dm−3) with three samples largely exceeding the maximum concentration values reported by other authors. We concluded that SAAs are a real threat to the aquatic geoecosystems of lobelia lakes and that the pressures of tourism and leisure have the greatest impact.