bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
MOOCs as Disruptive Innovation in Higher Education
Authors: Hussin Kamarudin 
Published: November 2018

The advancement of technology in higher education is always perceived as a valuable innovation that create better impact to the society. The advent of the Internet for instance, has magnificently created important features in learning environment globally. Higher education community optimizes the Internet as an essential resource, communication platforms and dynamic tools in their core teaching-learning, research, consultation activities, entertainment and many others. Moreover, innovations such as mobile technology has successfully broadened access to the Internet and related online services and facilities. Higher education institutions as the hub for technology development and innovation have invested in virtual learning environment to support current needs of global population. Related to this fact, e- learning modules and contents are offered across universities, and interested learners in
public communities are benefited by this opportunity. Educators and experts in higher education institutions are delivering their knowledge, discoveries and expertise via e-learning platforms and other supported technology. Equally important, e-learning has successfully expanded opportunities for lifelong and flexible learning, and offered a solution for practical issues and increasing student numbers. As a matter of fact, e-learning has been proposed as a promising way out for many complex issues such asfunding constraints, increasing demand and access to higher education while improving quality and high impact educational provisions in many countries. While addressing these issues, higher education administrators, educators, researchers and policy makers have developed responses in various frameworks. Initiatives such as Competency-Based Online Programs, development of open source materials, flipped classroom and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have contributed towards reducing cost of higher education as well as increasing access to higher education. MOOCs technology has proven its capability to reach massive audienceof about 30,000 students at a time. Across the globe, MOOCs offer free access to online course lectures, self- paced lessons, readings, problem sets, blogs, discussion boards, peer assessment and even online discussion group platforms for global students (Leon and Price, 2016). In 2017, MOOCs offered more than 9,400 courses with more than 500 MOOC based credentials according to data gathered by Class Central. Excitingly, MOOC platforms have recorded more than 81 million learners to date (Class Central, 2017).
Incidence Trends of Atopic Dermatitis in Infancy and Early Childhood in a Nationwide Prescription Registry Study in Norway
Authors: Mohn Cathrine H. , Blix Hege Salvesen , Halvorsen Jon Anders , Nafstad Per , Valberg Morten , Lagerløv Per 
Published: November 2018

ImportanceWith increasing prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD) and its manifestation in most countries, together with the supporting evidence of the progression to other atopic phenotypes, AD has developed into a worldwide public health concern. The presence of the disease of has increased since the 1950s, but some recent studies suggest a stationary or decreasing trend.ObjectiveTo analyze a nationwide health register based on prescription data to determine the incidence rate (IR) of AD in an entire pediatric population.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsAll children resident in Norway younger than 6 years from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2015, were included in this cohort study. Medical diagnoses and disease-specific medications were used as a proxy for identifying children with AD in this population-based prescription registry study. The prescription study was terminated in 2016. The total number of 295 286 disease-specific prescriptions was analyzed from August 2016 through December 2017. The hypothesis was formulated before, during, and after the data collection.Main Outcomes and MeasuresAll children with a medical diagnosis of AD or eczema based on at least 2 prescriptions of topical corticosteroids or at least 1 prescription of topical calcineurin inhibitors. Incidence rates per person-year (PY) and IR ratios were calculated.ResultsA total of 295 286 disease-specific prescriptions were dispensed to 122 470 children, of whom 63 460 had AD and 56 009 (88.3%) had reimbursed prescriptions and associated AD diagnoses. The annual Norwegian study population (aged &amp;lt;6 years) increased from 357 451 children in 2009 to 373 954 in 2015. The overall IR increased from 0.028 per PY (95% CI, 0.028-0.029 per PY) in 2009 to 0.034 per PY (95% CI, 0.033-0.035 per PY) in 2014. For children younger than 1 year, the IR increased from 0.052 per PY (95% CI, 0.050-0.053 PY) in 2009 to 0.073 per PY (95% CI, 0.071-0.075 per PY) in 2014. In this age group, the IR was 53% higher in boys compared with girls (IR ratio, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.49-1.57; P &amp;lt; .001). The incidence proportion before the age of 6 years was 17.4% (95% CI, 17.2%-17.7%). The primary seasons for the onset of AD were winter and spring.Conclusions and RelevanceThis nationwide study suggests an increase in the IR of pediatric AD, especially among children younger than 1 year. This study’s findings suggest that increase occurred with a higher IR during winter and spring seasons. Atopic dermatitis had an earlier onset in boys than in girls. During the study period, more than 1 in 6 children younger than 6 years had, at some point, been affected by AD.
Integrating Properties Modification in the Synthesis of Metal Halide Perovskites
Authors: Huang Ke , Liu Jinxin , Chang Xuejiao , Fu Lei 
Published: November 2018

AbstractMetal halide perovskites have attracted enormous attention and show huge potential as promising building blocks of next‐generation optoelectronic devices owing to their unique optical and electrical properties. For further promoting their practical applications in various fields, the synthesis of metal halide perovskites with desired characteristics is essential to satisfy the requirements of their applications. The properties of perovskites are highly related to their crystal structures and chemical compositions. The optoelectronic properties of perovskites can be altered via decreasing their dimensionality owing to the quantum confinement effect, while enlarging the crystal size of perovskite can promote the construction of device arrays with homogenous performance. In addition, modifying the chemical composition of perovskites via alloying, doping, or controlling vacancies also greatly changes their optical and electrical properties. Thus, integrating the properties modification in the synthesis process of metal halide perovskites can not only improve the productivity of the desired perovskites but also provide a great opportunity to prepare designed crystals with predictable features. The exciting progress in the synthesis of metal halide perovskites with controllably tailored properties is summarized herein. It is hoped that these technologies can promote the development of perovskites.
Ultranarrow Graphene Nanoribbons toward Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Reactions
Authors: Zhang Jian , Sun Yuanmiao , Zhu Jiawei , Gao Zhonghui , Li Shuzhou , Mu Shichun , Huang Yunhui 
Published: November 2018

AbstractIdentification of catalytic sites for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR/OER) is critical to rationally develop highly efficient bifunctional carbon‐based metal‐free electrocatalyst. Here, a unique defect‐rich N‐doped ultranarrow graphene nanoribbon with a high aspect ratio that exhibits excellent ORR/OER bifunctional activities and impressive long‐term cycling stability in Zn–air batteries is successfully fabricated. Density functional theory calculations indicates that the topological defects (e.g., pentagons and heptagons) cooperated with pyridinic‐N dopants on the edges are more favorable to electrocatalytic activity toward ORR and OER. This work provides a new design principle for carbon‐based electrocatalytic nanomaterials.
Carbonylative C−C Bond Activation of Electron‐Poor Cyclopropanes: Rhodium‐Catalyzed (3+1+2) Cycloadditions of Cyclopropylamides
Authors: Dalling Andrew G. , Yamauchi Takayuki , McCreanor Niall G. , Cox Lydia , Bower John F. 
Published: November 2018

AbstractRh‐catalyzed carbonylative C−C bond activation of cyclopropylamides generates configurationally stable rhodacyclopentanones that engage tethered alkenes in (3+1+2) cycloadditions. These studies provide the first examples of multicomponent cycloadditions that proceed through C−C bond activation of “simple” electron poor cyclopropanes.
On‐fiber display of a functional peptide at sites distant from the cell surface using a long bacterionanofiber of a trimeric autotransporter adhesin
Authors: Nakatani Hajime , Kanie Junichi , Hori Katsutoshi 
Published: November 2018

AbstractIn the cell surface display system, the distance of a surface‐displayed molecule from the cell surface should influence its functionality due to the interference by other surface structures. For the purpose of developing this distance‐variable surface display system, we utilized a long fibrous adhesin, Acinetobacter trimeric autotransporter adhesin (AtaA) of the strain Tol 5. We constructed His‐tagged full‐length and shorter AtaA fibers designed by N‐terminal deletion and expressed them in the
ΔataA mutant. Immunoelectron microscopy clearly showed that they formed fibers on the cell surface and the His‐tag was displayed on the fiber tip located at fixed distances from the cell surface. N‐terminal deletion of AtaA shortened the distance between the His‐tag and the cell surface, as designed. Time‐course analyses of the cell‐to‐Ni‐Sepharose beads binding revealed that cells producing the longer fibers bound more rapidly to the beads. The His‐tagged AtaA derivatives were also displayed on
Escherichia coli cells, and a similar tendency was shown; the His‐tag on the longer fiber was more functional than that on the shorter one. Thus, we developed an on‐fiber display system of a functional peptide using a long trimeric autotransporter adhesin (TAA) fiber, which can vary the distance between the displayed molecule and the cell surface.
The role that small and medium‐sized enterprises play in sustainable development and the green economy in the waste sector, South Africa
Authors: Higgs Carla Jane , Hill Trevor 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThe South African government is actively promoting small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in the waste sector, where it is envisaged that the waste sector will contribute to the green economy through SMEs participation in waste management activities. Collectively, SMEs have the potential to exert significant pressure on the environment through the use of finite resources and generation of pollution and waste. Case studies, where interviews and documentations were used as data collection methods, on waste management supply chains are provided. Many SMEs are responding to supply chain pressure in terms of the Broad‐Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and participating in social responsibility activities. However, the majority of SMEs are not environmentally responsible and larger corporations should consider managing environmental responsibility in the supply chain as part of an effective risk management strategy. Findings support the government's vision of the creation of employment, the promotion of small business within the waste sector, and the role that SMEs play in environmental responsibility. The later through extended producer responsibility in waste management and recycling of larger business and thus, sustainable development in South Africa.
Insulin pump exposed to radioactive iodine
Authors: Magdaleno Angela L. , Koshy Sharmila C. , Colucci Karen M. , Perilli Gretchen A. 
Published: November 2018

Key Clinical MessageInsulin pumps are not typically assessed for malfunction after exposure to significant radiation. We assessed an insulin pump kept for 48 hours on a patient on hemodialysis who required radioactive iodine ablation treatment for thyroid cancer. On download inspection, the pump showed normal function.
A case of fulminant perimyocarditis leading to extensive ECMO treatment and spinal injury resulting in paraplegia
Authors: Magnusson Peter , Levin Charlotte , Mattsson Gustav , Vest Amanda R. 
Published: November 2018

Key Clinical MessagePerimyocarditis has varying disease manifestations and prognosis. It may rapidly deteriorate into a life‐threatening state requiring advanced intensive care including veno‐arterial extra‐corporeal membrane oxygenation, which may be lifesaving. Close follow‐up is warranted to detect both short‐term and long‐term complications.
An unusual association of left‐sided gastroschisis and persistent right umbilical vein
Authors: Schierz Ingrid Anne Mandy , Pinello Giuseppa , Giuffrè Mario , Corsello Giovanni 
Published: November 2018

Key Clinical MessageGastroschisis is a full‐thickness congenital abdominal wall defect usually occurring to the right of the umbilicus. About twenty cases of left‐sided gastroschisis have been reported, without reference to the laterality of the umbilical vein. This first case highlights the importance of considering and reporting this association by the perinatal team.
Cognitive decline due to ectopic primary hyperparathyroidism
Authors: Nishimura Yoshito , Yamamoto Akira , Takahara Masahiro , Otsuka Fumio 
Published: November 2018

Key Clinical MessageWhen you see a patient with cognitive dysfunction, hypercalcemia due to hyperparathyroidism is an important differential diagnosis. It is important to consider including chest computed tomography and 131I‐MIBI SPECT examinations in patients with possible hyperparathyroidism and normal thyroid ultrasound.
Gastric diverticulum of the antrum: An unusual endoscopic finding
Authors: Laskaratos Faidon‐Marios , El‐Mileik Hanan 
Published: November 2018

Key Clinical MessageGastric diverticula are rare and may sometimes cause diagnostic confusion. Most cases are asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally. However, sometimes they can cause a variety of clinical manifestations and may be complicated by bleeding, perforation, or malignancy. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of this unusual finding and the available management options.
Gas Chromatographic Enantioseparation of Fluorinated Anesthetics: Single‐Column Performance and Scale‐up Estimation
Authors: Mutavdžin Ivana , Munkelt Thomas , Enke Dirk , Seidel-Morgenstern Andreas 
Published: November 2018

AbstractResults of a study devoted to provide the pure enantiomers of isoflurane and desflurane from racemic mixtures using gas chromatography are presented. For that purpose, a cyclodextrin‐based selector described in earlier work was immobilized on porous glass beads. The adsorption isotherms were determined and applied to predict operating parameters which provide the highest possible productivity of the separation. The analysis included evaluation of the performance of larger columns applying simplifying scale‐up considerations. Using repetitive batches, the method can provide per day with a laboratory scale column approximately 1 g pure enantiomer. Selected model predictions were validated experimentally.
Diversity of Biogas Plant Realizations
Authors: Kutsay Andrey , Kratky Lukas , Jirout Tomas 
Published: November 2018

AbstractA techno‐economic analysis for four different types of biogas plant realizations was performed, including one biogas biorefinery concept. For each concept detail, a process flow diagram was created. Mass and energy balances were estimated. The net present value and payback were calculated for each concept for a better feasibility understanding. The results showed that with the used expensive substrate, namely, wheat straw, the obtained paybacks appeared to be more than 100 years. Sensitivity analysis was done for the price range of a substrate. Critical factors were defined to improve feasibility.
Solvent‐Limited Ion‐Coupled Electron Transfer and Monolayer Thiol Stability in Au144 Cluster Films
Authors: Bodappa Nataraju , Ren He , Dong Jin‐Chao , Wu De‐Yin , Tian Zhong‐Qun , Li Jian‐Feng 
Published: November 2018

AbstractVoltammetric investigations were carried out for Au144 cluster films protected by 1‐hexanethiol (C6S) and 2‐phenylethanethiol (PET) in acetonitrile (0.1 M TBAPF6) and in water (0.1 M KPF6). The C6S‐protected Au144 cluster films show single electron charging behavior both in acetonitrile and water electrolyte systems. Whereas, the PET‐protected Au144 cluster films show charging behavior only in acetonitrile and not in water, although both electrolyte systems contain a common hydrophobic anion (PF6−). This discrepancy is attributed to solvent‐limited ion‐coupled electron‐transfer phenomena. Furthermore, spectroelectrochemistry was employed to study the thermal and electrochemical stability of PET on curved/3D (Au144 cluster films) and flat/2D (self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) of PET on a polycrystalline planar Au electrode) Au surfaces. At 4 mW laser power, the SAMs of the curved system remained stable; however, in the flat system, they irreversibly desorb from the surface. This was ascribed to the relative stability differences of the PET monolayer originating from the existence of different Au−S structures on the two types of Au surfaces.
Tuning Confined Nanospace for Preparation of N‐doped Hollow Carbon Spheres for High Performance Supercapacitors
Authors: Du Juan , Liu Lei , Yu Yifeng , Hu Zepeng , Zhang Yue , Liu Beibei , Chen Aibing 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThe structural parameters and surface functionalities of hollow carbon spheres are critical for their electrochemical performance. Herein, preparation of N‐doped‐hollow carbon spheres (N‐HCS) with tunable structural parameters and surface properties is reported by using a confined pyrolysis strategy. Polystyrene/polyaniline (PSPAN) was pyrolyzed in a silica shell, which provided a confined nanospace. PSPAN functioned as both the core and a source of carbon and nitrogen. The surface properties and structural parameters of the obtained N‐HCS could be optimized by regulating the pore size of the silica shell. The silica shell coating also prevented agglomeration of the N‐HCS, leading to a regular and well‐distributed spherical morphology. The N‐HCS synthesized in relatively porous conditions had thinner shell, larger mesopore size, higher surface area, and higher nitrogen content and showed excellent electrochemical performance as a supercapacitor with a specific capacitance of 436.5 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1.
Development of product recommendation system with AHP according to alternatives’ evaluation with normalization allocation and Hough conversion
Authors: Yumoto Masaki 
Published: November 2018

AbstractAnalytic hierarchy process (AHP) is an effective method for product recommendation, because each evaluation criteria are evaluated for target objective, and each alternative are evaluated for each evaluation criteria. This method recommends alternatives to the user according to the total degrees of weight, which is calculated from these 2 kinds of evaluation values. The determination of weight is hard work, because of many evaluations. This paper proposes a product recommendation system with AHP according to Normalization allocation and Hough conversion in order to evaluate alternatives. Normalization allocation can calculate automatically the evaluation value of the alternatives for every criterion. Hough conversion can extract the number of straight line elements from the target image. Through the experiment, it is confirm that the proposal system can recommend alternatives as well as the conventional system.
Taguchi's T‐method using median‐median line for small sample with outliers
Authors: Nishino Keisuke , Suzuki Arata 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThis paper proposes an improvement to Taguchi's T‐method. In product development, it is difficult to gather sufficient samples at the beginning of the development process. Taguchi's T‐method was proposed as a method for constructing an estimation model in such a situation. However, if an outlier exists in the training data, Taguchi's T‐method cannot obtain a correct estimation model. This is because Taguchi's T‐method uses the least squares. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an improved version of Taguchi's T‐method that does not degrade the accuracy of estimation by using a median‐median line even for small training samples with outliers. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed through experiments. We confirmed that the accuracy of the proposed method is superior to that of similar methods.
Enhancing the Power Output of Direct Carbon Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Using Ba‐Loaded Activated Carbon Fuel
Authors: Tang Huiqin , Yu Fangyong , Wang Yishang , Xie Yujiao , Meng Xiuxia , Sun Haibin , Yang Naitao , Tan Xiaoyao 
Published: November 2018

The performance of direct carbon solid oxide fuel cells (DC‐SOFCs) is limited by the slow carbon gasification kinetics at operating temperatures. To address this limitation, a carbon fuel loaded with Ba catalyst is developed for DC‐SOFCs to improve the electrochemical performance in this study. Ba is loaded on activated carbon in the form of BaCO3 by the wet agglomeration technique. The effect of the Ba catalyst with various contents on the electrochemical performance in single cells and fuel utilization of DC‐SOFCs are examined. Experimental results show that the optimized Ba content is 5 wt% and the DC‐SOFC with this Ba‐loaded activated carbon fuel gives the best output with a maximum power density of 328.4 mW cm−2 at 850 °C. Furthermore, the DC‐SOFC fueled by 5 wt% Ba‐loaded activated carbon operates steadily for 28.76 h with the fuel utilization of 16.0%, which is also superior to many other cells. The enhancement of cell performance suggests that Ba is an effective catalyst to the Boudouard reaction, and the catalytic mechanism is also discussed in detail.
Highly Selective, Iron‐Driven CO2 Methanation
Authors: Williamson David L. , Jones Matthew D. , Mattia Davide 
Published: November 2018

AbstractCO2 methanation has gained traction for its potential in renewable energy storage, though the high cost of renewable hydrogen production and costly metals used in methanation catalyst synthesis remain a significant barrier to implementation. Herein we present a Ru−Fe@NCNT catalyst, consisting of ruthenium and iron nanoparticles on nitrogen‐doped carbon nanotubes, as a highly selective, hydrogen efficient, iron‐driven alternative to typical nickel and ruthenium catalysts used for CO and CO2 methanation. Ru−Fe@NCNT offer competitive CO2 conversion and methane selectivity, and a reduction of up to 80 % in ruthenium loading versus similar literature and commercial catalysts. It is proposed that this desirable CO2 methanation performance, using an atypical optimal feed gas composition where PH2/PCO2=3, is the result of effective cooperation between the iron‐catalysed reverse water gas shift and methane‐selective Fischer‐Tropsch, and ruthenium‐catalysed CO methanation reactions.