bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fully automatic gain control beamformer for smart antenna array system
Authors: khattak muhammad yasin , akhtar pervez - 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
The aim of this investigation is to make the Bessel beamformer fully automatic when it is combined with Root MUSIC (MUltiple SIgnal Classification) and is based on the array processing in the application of beamforming and Direction of Arrival (DOA) algorithm for source position. The concept is analyzed for modified Bessel beamformer with Root MUSIC to form a non-blind array processing technique which is then used to focus a beam towards a desired user and place nulls towards interferers for capacity improvement.

Design/methodology/approach
The idea is manipulated for modified Bessel beamformer with Root MUSIC relies on MATLAB software with the goal to obtain high efficiency in terms of signal recovery, directive gain by minimizing MSE and place nulls towards interferers.

Findings
The finding of the analysis is presented in adaptive environment and provided in the tables. The paper shows that the presented method leads to superior results and can be used as a better alternative in many practical applications to avoid operator involvement.

Research limitations/implications
The adaptive processes described in the paper are still limited to simulation due to non availability of real system for testing.

Practical implications
The paper can be extended to a next level by implementing the proposed algorithms in the real time environment using FPGA technology.

Originality/value
This is our original work that can offer scientific contribution to signal processing community and may provide better results as an automatic beamformer.
Optimal power flow with storage in DC electrified railways
Authors: Bossi Olivier , pouget julien , Retiere Nicolas , Gerbaud Laurent 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
Due to the increase of the traffic, issues are appearing on DC electrified railway feeding systems. One candidate solution to solve these issues and to improve their performances is to add storage systems in the railway DC electrical network. The paper presents a method based on an Optimal Power Flow (OPF) for the analysis and design of DC railway feeding systems with storage.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper describes a new methodology based on optimization to study DC electrified railways, including storage systems. A load flow model of a DC 1500V railway electrification system is presented, including the mobility of the train sets. Then, an Optimal Power Flow model of the DC network, including energy storage systems and feeding substation rectifiers has been developed. Finally, the OPF model has been tested on a real application case showing its benefits while searching solutions in order to improve the network performances.

Findings
An OPF model suitable for analysis of DC networks with storage is presented. It shows its ability to solve large scale problems.

Research limitations/implications
The paper focuses on the physical model of the network. The optimization model will have to be extended with application constraints.

Originality/value
The hypothesis presented in this paper allows to remove the discontinuities of the system in order to use a continuous optimization approach.
Students’ perceptions of the use of technology in cross-cultural communication
Authors: Bauman Antonina 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore students’ perceptions of the use of technology in cross-cultural communication and to compare findings with current trends in business.

Design/methodology/approach
– Structured interviews with seven open-ended questions were used to explore students’ perceptions of the use of technology in cross-cultural communication.

Findings
– Students learn how to use new technology in cross-cultural communication faster than businesses implement those technologies. Students tend to emphasize the use of video conferencing tools rather than e-mail.

Research limitations/implications
– Although data saturation has been reached, the sample size was relatively small. Students studying business participated in the study.

Practical implications
– The findings of this study suggest considering changes to the curriculum and embedding work-based learning into academic programs.

Originality/value
– This paper compares students’ perceptions with business expectations, revealing the areas in the content of the business communication classes that need to be changed.
An empirical illustration of the transformation process of purchasing
Authors: Koubaa Yamen 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to highlight the strategic role of purchasing and model its transformation process based on a case study of a military firm.

Design/methodology/approach
– The paper reviews the existing literature to highlight the strategic role of purchasing and put forward the transformations the function is undertaking. The model system dynamic approach is then detailed and applied to model the transformation of the purchasing function of a military firm. The modeling software Analytica is then used to run the model and get to results.

Findings
– The shift of purchasing toward a more strategic function is complex and multidimensional. Implementing these transformations requires flexible designing approaches such as the system dynamic modeling that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative variables to model the function’s changes. The paper details the methodology of applying the system dynamic approach. It recommends a new structure of the purchasing function as well as new and upgraded indicators of purchasing performance and suppliers’ management.

Research limitations/implications
– A single-case study research. Even though, the objective is not to generalize the findings but to enrich the existing literature as regard the system dynamic modeling in a specific domain, the one-case research setting can be seen as a limitation against generalizeable findings.

Practical implications
– A clear step-by-step action plan of conducting the transformation of the purchasing function using the system dynamic modeling approach. The paper gives ways to upgrade existing measures of purchasing and policies of suppliers’ management.

Originality/value
– The application of the system dynamic modeling approach to the specific domain of military purchasing.
Discourse, knowledge and power: the continuing debate over the DBA
Authors: Stoten David William 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is related to how students and academics in a business school perceive the doctor of business administration (DBA) in terms of its purpose and value compared to that of the conventional PhD.

Design/methodology/approach
– The research methodology involved a two-stage approach in which a pilot questionnaire and short interviews with 37 students was followed by a second questionnaire to 21 academics employed at a business school at a post-1992 English university.

Findings
– The findings suggest that although the DBA is valued as means to develop professional knowledge and expertise, the PhD remains the premier choice for those who wish to embark on an academic career. The DBA does, however, also represents a development of work-based learning in higher education.

Research limitations/implications
– The research was undertaken at one post-1992 university business school, further research should look to expand the sample size and include a variety of business schools from both pre- and post-1992 universities in England.

Originality/value
– The paper does offer a justification for the continued development of the DBA and professional doctorates in general in terms of the development of work-based learning in higher education.
A variant allele of the Mediterranean‐fever gene increases the severity of gout
Authors: Balkarli Ayse , Tepeli Emre , Balkarli Huseyin , Kaya Arif , Cobankara Veli 
Published: April 2016

AbstractBackgroundGout is a clinical syndrome that occurs as an inflammatory response to increased concentration of uric acid and monosodium urate crystals. Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary autoinflammatory disease with autosomal recessive inheritance. The Mediterranean fever (MEFV) gene is responsible for FMF and encodes pyrin that suppresses the inflammatory response. Most of the FMF‐related mutations have been identified in exon 2 (e.g., E148Q and R202Q) and exon 10 (M680I, M694V, M694I and V726A) of the MEFV gene, and each missense mutation is known to increase production of interleukin‐1, a proinflammatory cytokine. Our aim was to investigate effects of MEFV variant alleles on the manifestations of gout.MethodsSeventy‐one patients diagnosed with gout (age: 61.73 ± 11.73 years, F/M: 14/57) and 50 healthy subjects (age: 61.48 ± 11.97, F/M: 10/40) as controls were included in this study.ResultsMEFV variant alleles were found in 24 (33.8%) of the gout patients and in 13 (26%) of the control subjects; the difference was not statistically significant. In the gout patients with a MEFV variant allele, the interval between the first two attacks was shorter (P = 0.014), and the platelet count was higher (P = 0.026), compared to the patients without a variant allele. In addition, the patients with a MEFV variant allele showed the higher incidence of tophus (8.5% vs. 1.4%) (P = 0.005) and the higher number of attacks per year (P = 0.001).ConclusionWe propose that a variant allele of the MEFV gene may be responsible for the severity of gout.
Genome‐wide association study for carcass traits, fatty acid composition, chemical composition, sugar, and the effects of related candidate genes in Japanese Black cattle
Authors: Sasago Nanae , Abe Tsuyoshi , Sakuma Hironori , Kojima Takatoshi , Uemoto Yoshinobu 
Published: April 2016

AbstractWe performed a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) and candidate gene analysis to: (i) evaluate the effectiveness of the GWAS in our small population by performing GWAS for carcass weight (CW) and fatty acid composition; (ii) detect novel candidate regions affecting non‐CW carcass traits, chemical composition and sugar; and (iii) evaluate the association of the candidate genes previously detected in CW and fatty acid composition with other economically important traits. A total of 574 Japanese Black cattle and 40 657 Single nucleotide polymorphisms were used. In addition, candidate gene analyses were performed to evaluate the association of three CW‐related genes and two fatty acid‐related genes with carcass traits, fatty acid composition, chemical composition and sugar. The significant regions with the candidate genes were detected for CW and fatty acid composition, and these results showed that a significant region would be detectable despite the small sample size. The novel candidate regions were detected on BTA23 for crude protein and on BTA19 for fructose. CW‐related genes associated with the rib‐eye area and fatty acid composition were identified, and fatty acid‐related genes had no relationship with other traits. Moreover, the favorable allele of CW‐related genes had an unfavorable effect on fatty acid composition.
Quality Improvement in Cystectomy Care with Enhanced Recovery (QUICCER) study
Authors: Baack Kukreja Janet E. , Kiernan Maureen , Schempp Bethany , Siebert Aisha , Hontar Adriana , Nelson Benjamin , Dolan James , Noyes Katia , Dozier Ann , Ghazi Ahmed , Rashid Hani H. , Wu Guan , Messing Edward M. 
Published: April 2016

ObjectivesTo determine if patients managed with a cystectomy enhanced recovery pathway (CERP) have improved quality of care after radical cystectomy (RC), as defined by a decrease in length of hospital stay (LOS) without an increase in complications or readmissions compared with those not managed with CERP.Subjects and MethodsThe Quality Improvement in Cystectomy Care with Enhanced Recovery (QUICCER) study was a non‐randomized quasi‐experimental study. Data were collected between June 2011 and April 2015. The CERP was implemented in July 2013. The primary endpoint was LOS. Secondary endpoints were quality scores, complications and readmissions. Multivariable regression was performed. Propensity score matching was carried out to further simulate randomized clinical trial conditions. A CERP quality composite score was created and evaluated with regard to adherence to CERP elements.ResultsThe study included 79 patients managed with CERP and 121 who were not managed with CERP. After matching, there were 75 patients in the non‐CERP group. The LOS was significantly different between the groups: the median LOS was 5 and 8 days for the CERP and non‐CERP group, respectively (P < 0.001). Multivariable linear regression showed that any complication was the most significant predictor of total LOS at 90 days after RC. The higher the quality composite score the shorter the LOS (P < 0.001). There was no association between CERP and a greater number of complications or readmissions.ConclusionsAudited quality measures in the CERP are associated with a reduction in LOS with no increase in readmissions or complications. The CERP is important for the future improvement of peri‐operative care for RC and provides an opportunity to improve the quality of care provided.
Comparison of parental estimate of developmental age with measured IQ in children with neurodevelopmental disorders
Authors: Chandler S. , Howlin P. , Simonoff E. , Kennedy J. , Baird G. 
Published: April 2016

SummaryBackgroundFormal IQ tests are an important part of the diagnostic and needs‐based assessment process for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. However, resources for such assessments are not always available. It has been suggested that parental estimates of their child's developmental age could serve as a proxy IQ when formal measures are unavailable.MethodParental estimates of their child's developmental age were converted to a developmental quotient (DQ) in 197 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) aged 4–9 years, and 108 children with ADHD and intellectual disability (ADHD + ID) aged 7–15 years. Formal IQ assessments were then conducted. Parents completed the Social Communication Questionnaire ((SCQ), a measure of autism symptomatology) and a demographic questionnaire.ResultsIn the ASD sample, 58% of parent estimates were within 15 points (i.e. one standard deviation) of the child's measured IQ score. Lower measured IQ and lower SCQ total score predicted higher parental accuracy. In the ADHD + ID sample, 74% of parental estimates were within 15 points of measured IQ. In this group, higher child IQ predicted greater parental accuracy. Parents in the ADHD + ID group were more likely to overestimate children's ability level than parents in the ASD group.ConclusionsIn this study, the majority of parents of children with ADHD and ID were able to estimate their child's intellectual ability level with some accuracy. Parents of children with ASD were less accurate, but this may be because these parents were focussing more on children's level of adaptive functioning, which is known to be typically lower than cognitive ability in ASD.
Citizen science networks in natural history and the collective validation of biodiversity data
Authors: Turnhout Esther , Lawrence Anna , Turnhout Sander 
Published: April 2016

AbstractBiodiversity data are in increasing demand to inform policy and management. A substantial portion of these data is generated in citizen science networks. To ensure the quality of biodiversity data, standards and criteria for validation have been put in place. We used interviews and document analysis from the United Kingdom and The Netherlands to examine how data validation serves as a point of connection between the diverse people and practices in natural history citizen science networks. We found that rather than a unidirectional imposition of standards, validation was performed collectively. Specifically, it was enacted in ongoing circulations of biodiversity records between recorders and validators as they jointly negotiated the biodiversity that was observed and the validity of the records. These collective validation practices contributed to the citizen science character or natural history networks and tied these networks together. However, when biodiversity records were included in biodiversity‐information initiatives on different policy levels and scales, the circulation of records diminished. These initiatives took on a more extractive mode of data use. Validation ceased to be collective with important consequences for the natural history networks involved and citizen science more generally.
A framework for evaluating and designing citizen science programs for natural resources monitoring
Authors: Chase Sarah K. , Levine Arielle 
Published: April 2016

AbstractWe present a framework of resource characteristics critical to the design and assessment of citizen science programs that monitor natural resources. To develop the framework we reviewed 52 citizen science programs that monitored a wide range of resources and provided insights into what resource characteristics are most conducive to developing citizen science programs and how resource characteristics may constrain the use or growth of these programs. We focused on 4 types of resource characteristics: biophysical and geographical, management and monitoring, public awareness and knowledge, and social and cultural characteristics. We applied the framework to 2 programs, the Tucson (U.S.A.) Bird Count and the Maui (U.S.A.) Great Whale Count. We found that resource characteristics such as accessibility, diverse institutional involvement in resource management, and social or cultural importance of the resource affected program endurance and success. However, the relative influence of each characteristic was in turn affected by goals of the citizen science programs. Although the goals of public engagement and education sometimes complimented the goal of collecting reliable data, in many cases trade‐offs must be made between these 2 goals. Program goals and priorities ultimately dictate the design of citizen science programs, but for a program to endure and successfully meet its goals, program managers must consider the diverse ways that the nature of the resource being monitored influences public participation in monitoring.
The role of automated feedback in training and retaining biological recorders for citizen science
Authors: van der Wal René , Sharma Nirwan , Mellish Chris , Robinson Annie , Siddharthan Advaith 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThe rapid rise of citizen science, with lay people forming often extensive biodiversity sensor networks, is seen as a solution to the mismatch between data demand and supply while simultaneously engaging citizens with environmental topics. However, citizen science recording schemes require careful consideration of how to motivate, train, and retain volunteers. We evaluated a novel computing science framework that allowed for the automated generation of feedback to citizen scientists using natural language generation (NLG) technology. We worked with a photo‐based citizen science program in which users also volunteer species identification aided by an online key. Feedback is provided after photo (and identification) submission and is aimed to improve volunteer species identification skills and to enhance volunteer experience and retention. To assess the utility of NLG feedback, we conducted two experiments with novices to assess short‐term (single session) and longer‐term (5 sessions in 2 months) learning, respectively. Participants identified a specimen in a series of photos. One group received only the correct answer after each identification, and the other group received the correct answer and NLG feedback explaining reasons for misidentification and highlighting key features that facilitate correct identification. We then developed an identification training tool with NLG feedback as part of the citizen science program BeeWatch and analyzed learning by users. Finally, we implemented NLG feedback in the live program and evaluated this by randomly allocating all BeeWatch users to treatment groups that received different types of feedback upon identification submission. After 6 months separate surveys were sent out to assess whether views on the citizen science program and its feedback differed among the groups. Identification accuracy and retention of novices were higher for those who received automated feedback than for those who received only confirmation of the correct identification without explanation. The value of NLG feedback in the live program, captured through questionnaires and evaluation of the online photo‐based training tool, likewise showed that the automated generation of informative feedback fostered learning and volunteer engagement and thus paves the way for productive and long‐lived citizen science projects.
Effect of laser photobiomodulation on the periodontal repair process of replanted teeth
Authors: Matos Felipe de Souza , Godolphim Fernanda de Jesus , Correia Ayla Macyelle de Oliveira , de Albuquerque Júnior Ricardo Luiz Cavalcanti , Paranhos Luiz Renato , Rode Sigmar de Mello , Ribeiro Maria Amália Gonzaga 
Published: April 2016

AbstractBackground/AimTooth replantation is the optimal treatment in cases of avulsion. However, its success is limited due to the occurrence of external root resorption. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of laser photobiomodulation (LPBM) at λ808 nm and λ660 nm and of storage media on the periodontal repair process of replanted teeth in rats.Material and methodsSixty maxillary right incisors were extracted from sixty Wistar rats and randomly assigned to six groups (n = 10). Groups consisted of 10 teeth stored in paper napkins (PN), whole milk (WM), and soy milk (SM), for 45 min; and PNL, WML and SML, in which teeth were stored in the same storage media, but the root surface and the alveolus were treated with LPBM at λ808 nm before replantation, and the buccal and palatal mucosa of the alveolus were treated with LPBM at λ660 nm after replantation. Five rats from each group were euthanized after 15 or 30 days. The right hemimaxilla including the replanted incisor was removed and processed for histomorphometric analysis to assess root resorption areas, replacement root resorption, perimeter with ankylosis and periodontal repair, and areas of type I and III collagen deposition, using the ImageJ 1.50b software. Data were analyzed statistically by anova followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test (α = 5%).ResultsWM and SM showed smaller root resorption areas and higher collagen deposition in both experimental periods, and SM showed the largest perimeter of periodontal repair. LPBM reduced the occurrence of root resorption only in the PNL group, both at 15 and 30 days, and increased the perimeter of periodontal repair in all groups at 30 days. There was higher collagen deposition in the irradiated groups regardless of the experimental period.ConclusionsThe LPBM protocol at λ808 nm and λ660 nm as well as whole milk and soy milk favored the periodontal repair process of replanted teeth in rats.