bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of a pilot service to help young people with life-limiting conditions transition from children's palliative care services
Authors: Hutcheson Sinead , Maguire Hilary , White Clare 
Published: July 2018

Background: When young people with life-limiting diagnoses become too old for children's hospice services, they often experience challenges transitioning into adult services. A two-year pilot project was developed to try to aid transitioning, which involved a day service with occasional overnight trips. Aim: To evaluate the pilot project. Method: Three focus groups made up of key stakeholders (young people, their parents and staff) were set up and analysed using an adopted thematic analysis framework. Results: The participants consisted of three young people, seven parents and six staff members. Participants described the transition period as a difficult time for both young people and their families, with a perceived lack of adult services available. All groups agreed that the pilot had a positive impact on young people and their families and all were keen for the project to continue. Conclusion: This pilot models a service that could be adopted by other organisations in order to aid the transition between child and adult hospice services, with further potential for application in mental health and special needs services.
Blockchain Potential in Tilapia Supply Chain in Ghana
Authors: Rejeb Abderahman 
Published: July 2018

In a country like Ghana where Tilapia is the most preferred and cheapest source of animal protein, closer attention must be paid to the supply chain of such a product. This paper examines the major issues and problems in Tilapia supply chain and logistics in Ghana, and it suggests the intervention of the new and disruptive technology of blockchain. Blockchain technology can have the potential to revolutionize the supply chain of Tilapia in Ghana and bring many advantages to the flow of Tilapia from farmers till the end consumers. Besides, it highlights the role of blockchain in ensuring food safety and in rebuilding a trustful network of Tilapia distribution between producers and customers. A model of Tilapia supply chain based on blockchain technology will be exhibited and explained to provide relative solutions to supply chain management processes of Tilapia.
Inhibition studies on α-amylase using isothermal titration calorimetry
Authors: Gyémánt Gyöngyi , Lehoczki Gábor , Szabó Kármen , Kandra Lili 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThe control of postprandial blood glucose level via the inhibition of α‐amylase is a relevant strategy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Several antidiabetic plants are known but there is no information about their α-amylase inhibitory activity. This in vitro study tries to reveal the answer. Hot water extracts of 58 medicinal plants and spices were examined. Activity measurements of human salivary α-amylase (HSαA) on 0.14 m/v % starch substrate was carried out by isothermal titration calorimetry in the presence or absence of plant extracts. Water soluble antioxidant capacity of each extract was measured with photo-chemiluminescence method. Results have confirmed the inhibitory activity of several plant extracts against HsαA. The green tea, cinnamon and allspice, furthermore leaves of blackberry, raspberry and strawberry deserve particular mention (IC50≤ 1.2 mg/mL). A few extracts had significant water-soluble antioxidant capacity compared to ascorbic acid and a weak correlation was recognised between the obtained IC50and antioxidant capacity values. Inhibition of amylases located in digestive system can be reached via daily intake of most active extracts. These plants could be inserted effectively into a diabetic diet as food supplements.
Bioactive glass combined with zein as composite material for the application in bone tissue engineering
Authors: Hum Jasmin , Naseri Shiva , Boccaccini Aldo R. 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
The present study has focused on the development of new composite scaffolds based on the combination of zein with bioactive glass for the application in bone tissue engineering. Porous polymeric matrices were produced by the salt leaching technique. By incorporating 45S5 bioactive glass particles the lack of bioactivity can be remedied. However, the addition of bioactive glass is influencing the plasticization behavior of the zein matrix during the salt leaching which negatively affects the compression strength as well as the degradation behavior. This paper describes the process during leaching and explains the different behavior of zein with and without the presence of bioactive glass
Biomonitoring of total mercury in urine: method validation and sample stability
Authors: De Craemer Sam , Baeyens Willy , Leermakers Martine 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Biomonitoring of mercury (Hg) in urine can provide valuable information on environmental exposure to inorganic and elemental Hg. However, this requires a method with a sufficiently low detection limit, and in addition, sample stability during storage needs to be addressed. We adapted a method described in the literature to obtain lower detection limits by decreasing dilution and optimizing the amount of reagents used, while also investigating matrix effects, within- and between measurement variability, and accuracy. We tested Hg stability in urine under different storage conditions and using different stabilizers suggested in the literature. A five-fold dilution of the urine sample with addition of optimized amounts of BrCl gave the best results regarding detection limits, which could be further improved by using a gold amalgamation preconcentration step (Autrap). Application of the method in a biomonitoring study allowed detection of Hg in 95% of the samples without Au trap, and resulted in mercury levels that were comparable to similar populations and influenced by expected variables (age, dental amalgam). Regardless of the sample storage conditions of urine samples in polypropylene bottles, Hg decreased during the first days of storage, then slowly regained or exceeded the originally measured concentration. From these experiments, it appears that storage of the samples frozen at -20°C for several weeks prior to analysis, without the addition of additives is the preferred method.
Why do we click? Investigating reasons for user selection on a news aggregator website
Authors: Kessler Sabrina Heike , Engelmann Ines 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
The aim of this study is to analyze the reasons behind users’ selection of news results on the news aggregator website, Google News, and the role that news factors play in this selection. We assume that user’s cognitive elaboration of users influences their news selection. In this study, a multi-method approach is used to obtain a complete picture of the users’ news selection reasoning: an open survey, a closed survey, and a content analysis of screen recording data. The results were determined from online news selection of 90 news results from 47 users on Google News. Different news values could be identified as relevant for selection: time-referenced news factors and news factors of social significance were shown to be more important than the news factors of deviance. News cues (presence of a picture, position of a news result, source) were identified as selection reasons regardless of the level of cognitive elaboration during the online browsing process.
The impact of sharing brand messages: How message, sender and receiver characteristics influence brand attitudes and information diffusion on Social Networking Sites
Authors: Araujo Theo 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Social Networking Sites (SNSs) not only enable users to read or create content about brands, but also to easily pass along this content using information diffusion mechanisms such as retweeting or sharing. While these capabilities can be optimal for viral marketing, little is known, however, about how reading brand messages passed along by SNS contacts influences online brand communication outcomes. Results of a survey with active SNS users indicate that (1) message evaluation, (2) the relationship with the sender, and (3) the receiver’s opinion leadership and opinion-seeking levels influence not only the receiver’s intention to pass along the message further, but also his or her attitude towards the brand. The implications of these findings are discussed, including how these capabilities brought on by SNSs change the brand-consumer relationship online.
Media frames and public perceptions of global poverty in the UK: Is there a link?
Authors: Vossen Mirjam , Schulpen Lau 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between media frames and public perceptions of global poverty. Building on a frame analysis, the paper reconstructs prevailing poverty narratives in British news articles and non-governmental organizations’ (NGO’s) advertisements between 2011 and 2013. Following this, these narratives are compared with the narratives that emerge from public opinion studies. The findings suggest that there is a strong connection between media frames and public knowledge and perceptions of global poverty. Both the media and the public define poverty in developing countries’ terms of destitute victims, lack of development and bad governance. Both suggest that the causes of poverty are internal to developing countries and imply that there has been little progress in reducing global poverty.
The design of manual domain usability evaluation techniques
Authors: Bačíková Michaela , Galko Lukáš 
Published: July 2018

AbstractIn this paper we design novel techniques for manual domain usability evaluation. Domain usability is the aspect of a particular user interface that relates to its terminology, hierarchy of terms, feature descriptions and icons, used language and consistency. However, domain usability is often neglected not only by software developers, but also by many researchers. The design of formal means to evaluate existing user interfaces would aid the development of better, domain-usable user interfaces. We designed six qualitative evaluation techniques and one formal evaluation technique based on System Usability Scale (SUS). To show the viability of the designed techniques, we demonstrate each of them in the domain of gospel music. Two of the techniques were used to experimentally verify the impact of specific domain usability aspects on usability and user experience. In this paper we also focus on the equality of the domain usability aspects with the goal of designing domain usability metrics. The preliminary design of the metrics is also presented in this paper and areas of future research are suggested.
Clustering-based forecasting method for individual consumers electricity load using time series representations
Authors: Laurinec Peter , Lucká Mária 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
This paper presents a new method for forecasting a load of individual electricity consumers using smart grid data and clustering. The data from all consumers are used for clustering to create more suitable training sets to forecasting methods. Before clustering, time series are efficiently preprocessed by normalisation and the computation of various model-based time series representation methods. Final centroid-based forecasts are scaled by saved normalisation parameters to create the forecast for every consumer. Our method is compared with the approach that creates forecasts for every consumer separately. Evaluation and experiments were conducted on three smart meter datasets from residences of Ireland and Australia, and factories of Slovakia. The achieved results proved that our clustering-based method improves forecasting accuracy mainly for residential consumers.We can also proclaim that it can be found such time series representation and clustering setting that will our forecasting method perform more accurately than fully disaggregated approach. Our method is also more scalable since it is necessary to train the model only on clusters and not for every consumer separately
Lignin fractionation as an efficient route for enhancing Polylactide thermal stability and flame retardancy
Authors: Costes Lucie , Aguedo Mario , Brison Loic , Brohez Sylvain , Richel Aurore , Laoutid Fouad 
Published: July 2018

Abstract Due to its variable botanical origin, functionality, reactivity, and heterogeneity, using lignin in industrial application is not an easy task. In the present study, we investigate the effect of lignin fractionation as a simple way for reducing the variability in its properties. Kraft lignin was separated by ultrafiltration membranes in two fractions with a specific molecular weight and the properties of each fraction were characterized through FTIR, XPS, TGA and cone calorimeter test. Lignin fractions display different thermal and combustion behaviors. Thus, the two fractions have been evaluated as flame retardant additives for polylactide (PLA). PLA composites, containing well dispersed lignin (20 wt%), were produced by melt blending in an internal mixer. The thermo-degradant effect of each fraction on PLA during melt processing was investigated by rheological analysis and size exclusion chromatography while the composites thermal stability and fire properties were evaluated using TGA and cone calorimeter test. Results showed that using appropriate lignin fraction enables for obtaining PLA composites presenting enhanced properties
Transcriptional regulation of human defense peptides: a new direction in infection control
Authors: Mandal Santi M. , Manna Sounik , Mondal Sneha , Ghosh Ananta K. , Chakraborty Ranadhir 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
While antibiotics remain as a major therapy against life threatening pathogenic infections, they often lead to side effects like rashes, gastrointestinal and central nervous system reactions to serious allergies or organ damage. These adverse effects alongside the emergence of multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria and the decline in the development of new antibiotics, have posed a serious impediment for effective antibiotic therapy. A paradigm shift in attitudes has led us to think about the possibility of controlling infections with the indigenous antimicrobial peptides synthesized by human beings. It has been observed that few transcription factors can stimulate more than three dozen defense peptides in the human system. Hence, during the infection stage, if we can induce these common factors, most of the infections could be healed from inside without the administration of any antibiotics. The efficiency of such peptides is being proven in clinical tests leading to the development of drugs.
The frequency and type of placental histologic lesions in term pregnancies with normal outcome
Authors: Romero Roberto , Kim Yeon Mee , Pacora Percy , Kim Chong Jai , Benshalom-Tirosh Neta , Jaiman Sunil , Bhatti Gaurav , Kim Jung-Sun , Qureshi Faisal , Jacques Suzanne M. , Jung Eun Jung , Yeo Lami , Panaitescu Bogdan , Maymon Eli , Hassan Sonia S. , Hsu Chaur-Dong , Erez Offer 
Published: July 2018

AbstractObjectiveTo determine the frequency and type of histopathologic lesions in placentas delivered by women with a normal pregnancy outcome.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included placental samples from 944 women with a singleton gestation who delivered at term without obstetrical complications. Placental lesions were classified into the following four categories as defined by the Society for Pediatric Pathology and by our unit: (1) acute placental inflammation, (2) chronic placental inflammation, (3) maternal vascular malperfusion and (4) fetal vascular malperfusion.Results(1) Seventy-eight percent of the placentas had lesions consistent with inflammatory or vascular lesions; (2) acute inflammatory lesions were the most prevalent, observed in 42.3% of the placentas, but only 1.0% of the lesions were severe; (3) acute inflammatory lesions were more common in the placentas of women with labor than in those without labor; (4) chronic inflammatory lesions of the placenta were present in 29.9%; and (5) maternal and fetal vascular lesions of malperfusion were detected in 35.7% and 19.7%, respectively. Two or more lesions with maternal or fetal vascular features consistent with malperfusion (high-burden lesions) were present in 7.4% and 0.7%, respectively.ConclusionMost placentas had lesions consistent with inflammatory or vascular lesions, but severe and/or high-burden lesions were infrequent. Mild placental lesions may be interpreted either as acute changes associated with parturition or as representative of a subclinical pathological process (intra-amniotic infection or sterile intra-amniotic inflammation) that did not affect the clinical course of pregnancy.
Optical interferometry and photoacoustics as in-situ techniques to characterize the porous silicon formation: a review
Authors: Ramirez-Gutierrez Cristian F. , Castaño-Yepes Jorge D. , Rodriguez-Garcia Mario E. 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Porous Silicon (PSi) is a groundbreaking material because its physicochemical properties can be customized through its porosity. This means that monitoring and control of the growing parameters allows the fabrication of PSi-based systems with controlled properties. Interferometry and photoacoustics are non -invasive, non - contact, real-time (in-situ) techniques used to characterize the phenomena that takes place during the formation of PSi. This work presents the mathematical and experimental aspects related to the implementation of the techniques mentioned above, which are meant to characterize the PSi growth in fluoride-based electrolyte media. These methods can determine macroscopic parameters of PSi such as thickness, porosity profile trough effective medium approximation (EMA), refractive index, etching rate, and RMS roughness under 100 nm. The monitoring ability of these techniques is strongly dependent on the wavelength of radiation used. However, it is possible to monitor thickness from λ0/4 to ∼ 1/ α0, where α0 is the optical absorption coefficient at λ0. Also, these techniques can be implemented as feedback control on the etching processes for fabrication of PSi.
Modern supercritical fluid technologies for the processing of plant biocomposites: theory and practice
Authors: Bogolitsyn Konstantin 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
The biochemical processes of synthesis and self-organization of the components of the lignin-carbohydrate matrix lead to the formation of a complex multi-component system considered as a nanobiocomposite, which is a thermodynamically limited ordered system of biopolymers in quasi-equilibrium. The concept of the thermodynamic state of the lignin–carbohydrate matrix and the possibility of regulating the areas of thermodynamic compatibility of components due to chemical and/or physical impact allow to consider the supercritical fluid technologies (SCFTs) as a tool for directing changes in the biocomposite’s structure and properties at the molecular level and also as a way of creating essentially new technologies for the complex processing of plant raw materials.
How does the robot feel? Perception of valence and arousal in emotional body language
Authors: Marmpena Mina , Lim Angelica , Dahl Torbjørn S. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractHuman-robot interaction in social robotics applications could be greatly enhanced by robotic behaviors that incorporate emotional body language. Using as our starting point a set of pre-designed, emotion conveying animations that have been created by professional animators for the Pepper robot, we seek to explore how humans perceive their affect content, and to increase their usability by annotating them with reliable labels of valence and arousal, in a continuous interval space. We conducted an experiment with 20 participants who were presented with the animations and rated them in the two-dimensional affect space. An inter-rater reliability analysis was applied to support the aggregation of the ratings for deriving the final labels. The set of emotional body language animations with the labels of valence and arousal is available and can potentially be useful to other researchers as a ground truth for behavioral experiments on robotic expression of emotion, or for the automatic selection of robotic emotional behaviors with respect to valence and arousal. To further utilize the data we collected, we analyzed it with an exploratory approach and we present some interesting trends with regard to the human perception of Pepper’s emotional body language, that might be worth further investigation.
The Use of the DMT for the Evaluation of Changes in Stress State in Overconsolidated Clay in Geotechnical Applications
Authors: Peiffer Herman , Malengier Benny , Haegeman Wim , Shen Hao 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
This article concerns the experimental evaluation of changes in the stress state in overconsolidated clay for two geotechnical applications: pile installation and slope stability. The first topic focuses on the experimental evaluation of change in the stress state that is due to pile installation, especially on the measurements before and after pile installation. The procedure was carried out for the evaluation of the effect of the installation of auger cast in place piles in overconsolidated clay. The results show the problem of predicting the shaft capacity in a new light. They contradict simplified prediction models for evaluating the influenced zone and the magnitude of the soil stress changes. For the second topic, it is described how the dilatometer test (DMT) can be used to evaluate the stability of slopes, to determine the risk of instability, and how the cause of the failure can be directly related to the DMT measurement. The description involves discussing the results of tests before the period of instability, during the period of instability, and after stabilization, using the Kd value (Kd = horizontal stress index) as a representative value to assess the risk of instability.
Significados del cuerpo en personas con Diabetes Mellitus en la ciudad de Cali
Authors: Charry Higueras Maritza 
Published: July 2018

La presente investigación surgió como parte de las experiencias de intervención familiar en salud. Se realizó con cuatro personas diagnosticadas con diabetes mellitus con el fin de conocer los significados del cuerpo a partir de la enfermedad y de las relaciones con personas relevantes, incluyendo el médico. Su metodología fue cualitativa y se desarrolló a través de entrevistas a profundidad. Entre los principales resultados se destaca el cuerpo significado como algo constitutivo, temporal y físico que permite el acceso al mundo; cómo un dispositivo de acción simbólica, de comunicación y de lenguaje humano se construye en la relación con el otro, con quien se consolida nuestra identidad e imagen corporal regulada estéticamente. Se concluye que cuando el cuerpo enferma, la experimentación corporal y la resultante noción del cuerpo cambian no slo por las sensaciones corporales y subjetivas del ser humano, sino por las construcciones sociales que se hacen del cuerpo y de la enfermedad.