bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Determinant of the Laplacian on Tori of Constant Positive Curvature with one Conical Point
Authors: Kalvin Victor , Kokotov Alexey 
Published: August 2018

AbstractWe find an explicit expression for the zeta-regularized determinant of (the Friedrichs extensions of) the Laplacians on a compact Riemann surface of genus one with conformal metric of curvature
$1$
having a single conical singularity of angle
$4\unicode[STIX]{x1D70B}$
.
Natural hazard events affecting transportation networks in Switzerland from 2012 to 2016
Authors: Voumard Jérémie , Derron Marc-Henri , Jaboyedoff Michel 
Published: August 2018

Abstract. Switzerland is threatened by many natural hazards. Many events occur in
built-up environments, affecting infrastructure, buildings, and transportation
networks, occasionally producing expensive damages. This expense is why
large landslides are generally well studied and monitored in Switzerland to
reduce the financial and human risks. However, there is a lack of data on
small events, which have recently affected roads and railways. Therefore, in
this study, all of the reported natural hazard events that have affected Swiss
transportation networks since 2012 were collected in a database. More than
800 events affecting roads and railways were recorded within in a 5-year
period from 2012 to 2016. These events are classified into six classes:
earth flow, debris flow, rockfall, flood, snow avalanche, and others. Data from Swiss online press articles were sorted by Google Alerts. The
search was based on more than 30 keywords in three languages (Italian,
French, and German). After verification that the article was related to an
actual event that affected a road or a railway track, it was studied in
detail. We collected information on more than 170 attributes of events, such
as the event date, event type, event localization, meteorological
conditions, impacts and damages on the track, and human damages. From this
database, a variety of trends over the 5-year period can be observed in
the event attributes, particularly the spatial and temporal distributions of
the events, and their consequences on traffic (closure duration, deviation,
costs of direct damage). The database is imperfect due to the short period of data collection, but it
highlights the non-negligible impact of small natural hazard events on roads
and railways in Switzerland at a national level. This database contributes
to understanding and quantification of these types of events and better
integration in risk assessment.
Development of fragility curves for road bridges exposed to volcanic lahars
Authors: Dagá Joaquín , Chamorro Alondra , de Solminihac Hernán , Echaveguren Tomás 
Published: August 2018

Abstract. One of the main volcanic processes affecting road bridges
are lahars, which are flows of water and volcanic material running down the
slopes of a volcano and river valleys. Several studies have evidenced the
effects of other volcanic processes on road infrastructure; however,
limited information is available about the effects of lahars on bridges.
In this paper, bridge failure models due to lahars are proposed and, based
on these, fragility curves are developed. Failure models consider the limit
state of pier and abutment overturning, and deck sliding caused by lahars.
Existing physical models are used to stochastically characterize lahar loads
and overturning momentum on bridges. Monte Carlo simulations are applied to
quantify the probability of bridge failure given by different lahar depths.
Fragility curves of bridges are finally parameterized by maximum likelihood
estimation, assuming a cumulative log-normal distribution. Bridge failure
models are empirically evaluated using data on 15 bridges that were affected
by lahars in the last 50 years. Developed models suggest that decks fail
mainly due to pier and/or abutment overturning, rather than deck-sliding
forces. Moreover, it is concluded that bridges with piers are more
vulnerable to lahars than bridges without piers. Further research is being
conducted to develop an application tool to simulate the effects of expected
lahars on exposed bridges of a road network.
Nutritional Status and Basic Hygiene Practices of Rural School Age Children of Savar Region, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Authors: Hossain Sahadat , Ahmed Fahad , Hossain Shakhaoat , Sikder Tajuddin 
Published: August 2018

Introduction: School children in the developing countries are susceptible to nutrition related health problems due to demographic and socio-economic factors, as well as limited access to food. Since BMI is a common proxy measure used to evaluate nutritional status, the aim of this study was to investigate the BMI categories in school-aged children in Dhaka, Bangladesh.Methods: A cross sectional study of 155 children, aged 6-12 years was conducted at Jahangirnagar University School in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The data collection was performed by in-person interviews and semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, χ2 test, Fisher’s exact test, and One-Way ANOVA test were performed to compare the variables based on BMI percentiles. Data were analyzed using the Microsoft Excel program (version 2010).Results: Mean BMI of the students was 17.27 (SD=3.16). The prevalence of underweight and overweight/obesity was 11.0% and 25.8%, respectively. Categories of BMI percentiles were associated with birth order (p=0.026), personal hygiene practices (washing hands after coming home from outside (p<0.001) and before meal (p=0.045)), brushing teeth (p<0.001), the number of food items consumed daily (p<0.001), and mothers’ occupation (p=0.006). In context of basic hygiene practice, 61.3 % of respondents washed hands after coming home from outside, and 93.5 % reported washing hands before the meals.Conclusions: This study revealed that more than one third of the students had abnormal BMI. BMI screening in rural schools needs to be recommended in early grades for all children.
Remoção de cor ADMI de efluente têxtil após o tratamento biológico utilizando carvão ativado em pó
Authors: Arcanjo Gemima Santos , Oda Tatiana Yuri Ramos , Lopes Alice Do Carmo Precci , Mounteer Ann Honor , Silva Nirlane Cristiane , Malta Janaína Fagundes 
Published: August 2018

Efluentes de fábrica têxtil têm composição complexa e, mesmo após o tratamento biológico, ainda apresentamelevada concentração de corantes e pigmentos. A adsorção em carvão ativado tem sido extensivamenteinvestigada para a remoção de corantes, porém a maioria dos trabalhos utilizam efluentes sintéticos ao invés de efluente têxtil real. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a eficiência de remoção de cor e DQO de um efluente têxtil real com a adsorção em carvão ativado em pó (PAC). Para a caracterização do PAC, foi medido o número de iodo. A cor do efluente foi medida pelo método de cor ADMI. A máxima eficiência de remoção alcançada foi de 60% para DQO e 93% para cor, com 20 g.L-1 de PAC. Ainda, com uma concentração de adsorvente de 4 g.L-1, pode-se alcançar o limite de cor estabelecido pela legislação de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Os resultados mostraram a viabilidade do uso de PAC para remoção de cor e DQO de efluente têxteis.
Optimisation of fermentation conditions in the production of ethanol from Palmer mango
Authors: Côrtes Simone De Lima , Borsato Dionisio , Kimura Marissa , Moreira Ivanira , Galão Olívio Fernandes , Costa Silvia Borba 
Published: August 2018

O objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o potencial de produção e otimização do extrato aquoso da polpa da manga Palmer para a produção de etanol. Foi determinada a concentração de açúcares totais, na polpa pelo método do fenol sulfúrico e por cromatografia, sendo o valor obtido de açúcares totais de 83;33 gL-1 e 80,51 gL-1, respectivamente. Por meio de ensaios preliminares a 30°C, estabeleceu-se que o tempo de 10 horas apresentou o maior rendimento em etanol. Em seguida foi feita a fermentação, com 13 ensaios e duas repetições no ponto central, após, as amostras foram centrifugadas e o teor de álcool foi determinado. A otimização indicou uma formulação contendo 3,0 gL-1 de extrato de levedura, 8,0 gL-1 de levedura e 0,35 gL-1 de NH4H2PO4, para um teor de álcool de 34,4 gL-1 e rendimento de 88,27%. O caldo da cana-deaçúcar,diluído nas mesmas condições, também foi fermentado e passou pelos mesmos procedimentos, mas o resultado do teor de álcool foi de 35,68 gL-1 com rendimento de 70,74% valor inferior ao apresentado quando se utilizou o extrato aquoso da manga Palmer.
2018/12 Disabilities and reasonable accommodation – Court of Appeal clarifies how far employers must go (IR)
Authors: O’Neill Lucy 
Published: August 2018

2018/12 Disabilities and reasonable accommodation – Court of Appeal clarifies how far employers must go (IR)
The Irish Court of Appeal recently clarified the obligations of employers towards employees with a disability.The judgment suggests that an employer is not required to alter the duties of a position held by an employee with a disability in order to accommodate that employee’s return to work if the duties, which the employee is no longer capable of performing, are considered essential to the employee’s position.
2018/14 Dismissal for reorganisation during pregnancy gives right to protection indemnity if not based on objective factors (BE)
Authors: Busschaert Gautier 
Published: August 2018

2018/14 Dismissal for reorganisation during pregnancy gives right to protection indemnity if not based on objective factors (BE)
The Labour Court of Brussels ordered an employer to pay a protection indemnity to an employee following termination on the basis of reorganisation during her pregnancy because (i) the employee benefited from a specific protection against dismissal and (ii) the employer failed to prove that the dismissal of the employee was based on reasons unrelated to the pregnancy.
2018/17 Social dumping considerations are not relevant to whether the competent authority should issue A1-certificates (PL)
Authors: Wujczyk Marcin 
Published: August 2018

2018/17 Social dumping considerations are not relevant to whether the competent authority should issue A1-certificates (PL)
The Polish national social insurance authority has no power to police ‘social dumping’. Neither is there any legal basis or justification for excluding workers performing work in other EU Member States from the national social insurance system based on an unverifiable assumption that social dumping is taking place.
2018/21 Limitation on pre-transfer liabilities for transferee under CBA-led transfer deemed valid (SP)
Authors: Aguilar Luis 
Published: August 2018

2018/21 Limitation on pre-transfer liabilities for transferee under CBA-led transfer deemed valid (SP)
The Spanish Supreme Court has again ruled on the highly controversial question of whether limitations to the liability of a transferee established in a collective bargaining agreement (‘CBA’) in the context of a CBA-led transfer are valid, or whether they contravene the Spanish implementation of the Acquired Rights Directive.
A Highly Verified Assay for KRAS Mutation Detection in Tissue and Plasma of Lung, Colorectal, and Pancreatic Cancer
Authors: Li Jing , Gan Stephanie , Blair Alan , Min Kyungji , Rehage Taraneh , Hoeppner Corey , Halait Harkanwal , Brophy Victoria H. 
Published: August 2018

Context.—
KRAS Mutation Test v2 is used for the qualitative detection and identification of 28 mutations in exons 2, 3, and 4 of the human KRAS gene.

Objective.—
To verify the performance of KRAS Mutation Test v2 and to evaluate its accuracy by correlation with a next-generation sequencing method on Illumina MiSeq.

Design.—
In this study, we used formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue and plasma specimens from non–small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer patients. Results of specificity, precision, analytical sensitivity, and accuracy as compared with a MiSeq method are reported.

Results.—
The KRAS Mutation Test v2 demonstrated exquisite sensitivity and specificity and broad coverage of KRAS mutations. Precision was 100% (108 of 108) across all samples, operators, and instruments for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue and 99.8% (615 of 616) for plasma. Analytical sensitivity was high with detection of 1% mutant sequence in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples and as low as 25 mutant sequence copies/mL for plasma samples. The test also showed high overall concordance for formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissue as well as for plasma specimens when compared with MiSeq sequencing results.

Conclusions.—
The KRAS Mutation Test v2 is a highly robust, reproducible, and sensitive test for the qualitative detection of 28 mutations in exons 2, 3, and 4 of the KRAS gene in both solid (tissue) and liquid (plasma) biopsies from colorectal cancer, non–small cell lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer, and is a convenient option for KRAS mutation testing.
Development and refinement of three animal-based broiler chicken welfare indicators
Authors: Souza APO , Soriano VS , Schnaider MA , Rucinque DS , Molento CFM 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis study aimed to refine bird-soiling as a broiler chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) welfare indicator, and to develop and test two additional indicators, namely contact dermatitis on the breast and abdominal areas and carcase scratches. We constructed a questionnaire with pictures of birds presenting different indicator levels for classification as absent, low, moderate or severe. The questionnaire was sent to 146 invited experts for the first round and 88 for the second, in a Delphi process. Visual scales were built for the target indicators, which were tested by three assessors in ten flocks on-farm (n = 1,303 birds) and at the slaughterhouse (n = 1,631 birds). High concordance was observed among groups of Delphi respondents and among assessors. A total of 90.7% of the birds were either moderately or severely soiled, 99.9% were poorly feathered, 73.4 and 90.0% presented erythaema and carcase scratches, respectively. The correlations between litter quality and all outcomes assessed on-farm, and between bird-soiling and contact dermatitis on the breast and abdominal areas, were moderate. Results suggest that adoption of the proposed scales may improve our ability to assess broiler chicken welfare, since relevant problems were prevalent and measurement consistency acceptable. Substantial concordance observed among assessors encourages application of these animal-based indicators to assess broiler chicken welfare in a wide range of poultry houses, in a variety of different countries, thereby allowing the scales to be tested in a host of animal welfare conditions.
Assessing the welfare level of intensive fattening pig farms in Germany with the Welfare Quality® protocol: does farm size matter?
Authors: Meyer-Hamme SEK , Lambertz C , Gauly M 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe housing condition of pig (Sus scrofa) fattening farms are increasingly receiving criticism, because they are associated with impaired animal welfare. Consumers view the increase in farm sizes critically, even though scientifically based knowledge on the relationship between farm size and welfare is still limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the welfare level of conventional fattening pig farms in Germany and to evaluate the relationship between farm size and animal welfare level. In total, the Welfare Quality® protocol (WQ) for pigs was applied on 60 farms. Farms were classified according to their size into small (< 1,500 pigs per farm), medium (1,500-3,000 pigs per farm) and large (> 3,000 pigs per farm). Independent of the farm size, the overall WQ classifications ‘excellent’ and ‘not classified’ were not recorded in any of the farms, while ‘enhanced’ and ‘acceptable’ was achieved by 80 and 20% of the farms, respectively. Farm sizes had no effect on any of the four principles ‘good feeding’, ‘good housing’, ‘good health’ or ‘appropriate behaviour’. Overall, moderate bursitis (35%) was found to be the most prevalent indicator of welfare-related problems. However, it did not differ between farm sizes. Another highly prevalent indicator, moderately soiled body, increased from 11.1% in small-to 20.8% in large-sized farms. In conclusion, our findings show that none of the farm sizes were superior in terms of animal welfare. Overall, acceptable or enhanced scores were achieved for many of the criteria, however the need for improvement in other criteria such as ‘expression of other behaviour’ and ‘positive emotional state’, was clear.
The larva and female ofPerigomphus basicornisAmaya-Vallejo, Novelo-Gutiérrez & Realpe, 2017, and the first record ofPerigomphus pallidistylus(Belle, 1972) for Colombia (Insecta: Odonata: Gomphidae)
Authors: Amaya-Vallejo Vanessa , Novelo-Gutiérrez Rodolfo , Realpe Emilio 
Published: August 2018

The larva and female ofPerigomphus basicornisare described and illustrated, and compared with the larva and female ofP. pallidistylus.The larva ofP. basicornisdiffers from that ofP. pallidistylusin having sternum 8 divided in five sclerites, abdominal segments 8 and 9 with small, low protuberances on the tergites and male’s epiproct as long as its basal width, mainly. The female ofP. basicornisdiffers from that ofP. pallidistylusin having the apical lobes of vulvar lamina wider, with divergent tips.P. pallidistylusis recorded for Colombia for the first time.
AANATtransgenic sheep generated via OPS vitrified-microinjected pronuclear embryos and reproduction efficiency of the transgenic offspring
Authors: Tian Xiuzhi , Lv Dongying , Ma Teng , Deng Shoulong , Yang Minghui , Song Yukun , Zhang Xiaosheng , Zhang Jinglong , Fu Juncai , Lian Zhengxing , Zhu Shien , Wu Yingjie , Xing Yiming , Liu Guoshi 
Published: August 2018

BackgroundThe open pulled straw (OPS) vitrification method has been successfully applied in mouse, pig, and goat embryos as well as in buffalo oocytes, but it has not yet been applied to the microinjected embryos. This study examined the effects of OPS vitrification on embryo development and the reproductive capacity of the transgenic offspring in order to establish a method for preservation of microinjected embryos.MethodsOvine pronuclear embryos were microinjected with the exogenous aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase gene (AANAT), frozen by the OPS method, and subsequently thawed for embryo transplantation. Pregnancy rate, lambing rate, survival rate, average birth weight and transgenic positive rate as well as reproduction efficiency and hormone level of the transgenic offspring were investigated to analyze the effect of OPS vitrification on microinjectd pronuclear embryos.ResultsNo significant differences were observed in the birth rate, lamb survival rate and transgenic positive rate between the frozen and non-frozenAANAT-microinjected pronuclear embryos. The average birth weight of the frozen embryos offspring was greater than that of the non-frozen embryos. Importantly, the transgenic offspring that overexpressed theAANATgene showed improved ovulation efficiency and lambing rate by regulating their hormone levels.ConclusionsThe OPS vitrification approach may be a valuable method in microinjected- embryo transfer technology, which could reserve embryos and result in fewer unnecessary animal sacrifices. In addition, theAANAT+ transgenic offspring exhibited improved reproductive capacity on account of regulation effect of melatonin on reproductive hormone. These data may provide available references for human-assisted reproduction.
Air Purifiers and Acute Respiratory Infections in Residential Aged Care
Authors: Thottiyil Sultanmuhammed Abdul Khadar Bismi , Sim Jenny , McDonald Vanessa M. , McDonagh Julee , Clapham Matthew , Mitchell Brett G. 
Published: November 2024

ImportanceThe effectiveness of in-room air purification for the reduction of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in residential aged-care facilities (RACFs) is unknown.ObjectiveTo investigate the effectiveness of in-room air purifiers with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA)–14 filters in reducing the incidence of ARIs among residents of RACFs.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis randomized clinical trial used a multicenter, double-blind, 2-period, 2-treatment crossover design for 6 months from April 7 to October 26, 2023, in 3 RACFs with a bed capacity of 50 to 100 in New South Wales, Australia. The purposive sampling approach included permanent residents in private rooms in the enrolled RACFs. Data collection was performed every 2 weeks and required no additional follow-up beyond the final data collection on October 31, 2023.InterventionAn air purifier containing a HEPA-14 filter was placed in rooms of participants in the intervention group, and an air purifier without a HEPA-14 filter was placed in rooms of the control participants. The groups crossed over after 3 months.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe primary outcome was the incidence of ARIs, assessed with logistic mixed-model regression.ResultsAmong 135 participants randomized (70 to the intervention-first group and 65 to the control-first group), 78 (57.8%) were female; mean (SD) age was 85.2 (8.6) years. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the use of air purifiers with HEPA-14 filters did not reduce ARIs compared with the control (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.32-1.04; P = .07). Among the 104 participants who completed the entire study, the intervention reduced ARI incidence from 35.6% (37 participants) in the control group to 24.0% (25 participants) in the intervention group (OR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.28-1.00; P = .048).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this clinical trial investigating use of air purifiers with HEPA-14 filters for reducing ARIs, no significant between-group difference was found in the intention-to-treat analysis. However, a significant reduction in ARIs was identified among participants who completed the entire study. These findings may help inform future large-scale studies of respiratory infectious diseases.Trial RegistrationANZCTR identification: ACTRN12623000347662