bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Data Management Techniques for Blade Vibration Analysis
Authors: Przysowa Radosław , Tuzik Aleksander 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Well-designed procedures are required to handle large amounts of data, generated by complex measurement systems used in engine tests. The paper presents selected methodologies and software tools for characterisation and monitoring of blade vibration. Common file formats and data structures as well as methods to process and visualise tip-timing data are discussed. Report Generation Framework (RGF) developed in Python is demonstrated as a flexible tool for processing and publishing blade vibration results.
Verifying Sarcoidosis Activity: Chitotriosidase Versus ACE in Sarcoidosis – A Case-Control Study
Authors: Popević Spasoje , Šumarac Zorica , Jovanović Dragana , Babić Dragan , Stjepanović Mihailo , Jovičić Snežana , Šobić-Šaranović Dragana , Filipović Snežana , Gvozdenović Branko , Omčikus Maja , Milovanović Anđela , Videnović-Ivanov Jelica , Radović Ana , Žugić Vladimir , Mihailović-Vučinić Violeta 
Published: August 2016

SummaryBackground:Until now, a proper biomarker(s) to evaluate sarcoidosis activity has not been recognized. The aims of this study were to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the two biomarkers of sarcoidosis activity already in use (serum angiotensin converting enzyme – ACE and serum chitotriosidase) in a population of 430 sarcoidosis patients. The activities of these markers were also analyzed in a group of 264 healthy controls.Methods:Four hundred and thirty biopsy positive sarcoidosis patients were divided into groups with active and inactive disease, and groups with acute or chronic disease. In a subgroup of 55 sarcoidosis patients, activity was also assessed by F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG-PET) scanning. Both serum chitotriosidase and ACE levels showed non-normal distribution, so nonparametric tests were used in statistical analysis.Results:Serum chitotriosidase activities were almost 6 times higher in patients with active sarcoidosis than in healthy controls and inactive disease. A serum chitotriosidase value of 100 nmol/mL/h had the sensitivity of 82.5% and specificity of 70.0%. A serum ACE activity cutoff value of 32.0 U/L had the sensitivity of 66.0% and the specificity of 54%. A statistically significant correlation was obtained between the focal granulomatous activity detected on18F-FDG PET/CT and serum chitotriosidase levels, but no such correlation was found with ACE. The levels of serum chitotriosidase activity significantly correlated with the disease duration (P<0.0001). Also, serum chitotriosidase significantly correlated with clinical outcome status (COS) categories (ρ=0.272,P=0.001).Conclusions:Serum chitotriosidase proved to be a reliable biomarker of sarcoidosis activity and disease chronicity.
Hyperemesis gravidarum is associated with increased maternal serum ischemia-modified albumin
Authors: Sari Nagihan , Ede Hüseyin , Engin-Ustun Yaprak , Göçmen Ayşe Yeşim , Çağlayan Emel Kıyak 
Published: August 2016

Abstract

Aim:
Our objective was to measure the circulating levels of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) among pregnant with hyperemesis gravidarum (HEG) and to compare their levels with age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched control pregnant women.

Method:
The pregnant subjects were classified into the HEG group diagnosed with HEG (n=45) and age- and BMI-matched control group without a diagnosis of HEG (n=45) during their pregnancies. Serum IMA, hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cells, platelet, fasting blood glucose, creatinine, lipid profile, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) urea, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), sodium, potassium and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels of the groups were measured.

Result:
Serum hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cells, platelet, fasting blood glucose, creatinine, lipid profile, AST, urea, ALT, sodium, potassium and TSH levels of the groups were statistically similar. Serum IMA values were significantly higher in subjects with HEG compared to the subjects without HEG.

Conclusions:
We found that HEG was related to increased maternal serum IMA levels. HEG might be due to an ischemic intrauterine environment leading to elevated serum IMA concentrations.
An assessment of crop water deficits of the plants growing on the Małopolska Upland (Poland)
Authors: Kowalczyk Agnieszka , Łabędzki Leszek , Kuźniar Antoni , Kostuch Marek 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The problem of water scarcity is unfavourable for the economy, with the most significant water deficits felt by agriculture. In Poland water deficits in agriculture are occurring more frequently, causing losses in yield, not only in the Lowland areas but also in the Uplands. This paper presents an assessment of the water deficits at various excedance probability levels for four varieties of field crop and for soil types with various water retention capacity, which occur in the Małopolska Upland. Calculations were performed by balancing the amount of available soil water in the root zone. The study was based on the meteorological data from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management for the years 1971–2010. Daily precipitation data from six rainfall stations: Borusowa, Igołomia, Książ Wielki, Miechów, Olewin and Sielec was utilised as well as average decadal air temperature, water vapour pressure, wind speed and sunshine hours from the meteorological station at Kraków–Balice. The water deficits at an excedance probability level of 20% fluctuated during the growing season from 5 mm (Phaeozems) to 190 mm (Leptosols). In the Małopolska Upland in soils with a medium capacity to retain water (110–160 mm), water deficits have occurred even in years of average rainfall (with probability 50%). This study confirms the considerable impact of the high variability of the soil and pluvial conditions in the region on the water deficits of the field crops.
Cleanup and valuation of waters of the aquifer of M’zab Valley (Algeria)
Authors: Ouled Belkhir Cheikh , Remini Boualem 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The M’zab valley is a hyper arid region of average rainfall not exceeding 100 mm per year. However, the rare floods that occur in M’zab River drain large volumes of surface water. Thanks to the genius of the local population, traditional dams were made for artificial recharge of groundwater. Grace of traditional wells drilled in the valley, farmers irrigate their palm groves and gardens. However, since more than half a century, the contribution of deep drilling for the exploitation of the aquifer of the Continental Intercalary posed environmental problems. On the basis of investigations and surveys of the local population during the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, it appears that these modern techniques in water catchment caused harmful consequences to the region like the rising of water consumption, pollution of groundwater and soil salinity. Solutions and recommendations are outlined in this article.
Quality of shallow groundwater and manure effluents in a livestock farm
Authors: Smoroń Sylwester 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The aim of the study was to assess the quality of shallow groundwater on the site pens and runoff from livestock manure heaps, in three selected farms involved in animal production and vegetable crops in the area of Plateau Proszowice. The analysis mainly included water from farm wells and effluents from manure. Additionally, water from drainage ditch running nearby farms was collected, before inflow of effluent (i.e. ditch water without manure effluent) and below inflow of effluent from heap of manure (i.e. ditch water containing manure effluent). Samples of the research material were collected from April 2012 to March 2014 at monthly intervals and analysed for the content of NO3-N, NH4-N, PO4-P, K, Na and Cl. Based on the obtained results it was found that water from the farm wells near the livestock buildings and from manure storage sites, was heavily polluted by the majority of these contaminants. The highest concentration of these pollutants, except for the NO3-N, was found in manure effluent – it exceeded a few dozen to a few hundred to any standards for water quality. There was also a significant deterioration in the quality of drainage ditch water because of the penetration of contaminants into ditch water from heaps of improperly stored manure. The water of the farm wells was characterized by excessive concentrations of NO3-N which disqualified it for drinking purposes.
Land use impact on overland flow: micro-scale field experimental analysis
Authors: Minea Gabriel , Ioana-Toroimac Gabriela 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The objective of this paper was to experimentally investigate the hydrological effect of land use on overland flow at micro-scale.
The research was based on field experiments made with stationary and expeditionary measurements on runoff plots. Plots are located in the Curvature Subcarpathians, form part of the Aldeni Experimental Basin (Romania) and cover an area of 80 m2. The land is covered with perennial grass and bare soil. The experiments in this field were performed under natural and simulated rainfalls. The plots data (rainfall and discharges) obtained during the experiments conducted in the warm semester (IV–IX) and one artificial rainfall (1 mm·min−1) were used. Significant variations in hydrological responses to rainfall rates were identified for the two land uses. On average, overland flow parameters on runoff plots covered with grasses were reduced to maximum 28% for discharges and to 50% for volumes while in the case of simulated rainfalls, the runoff rates were significantly increased on the bare soil plot. Grasses have a very important function as they cover and protect the soil and slow down the overland flow.
Forecasting suspended sediment load using regularized neural network: Case study of the Isser River (Algeria)
Authors: Tachi Salah E. , Ouerdachi Lahbassi , Remaoun Mohamed , Derdous Oussama , Boutaghane Hamouda 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
In the management of water resources in different hydro-systems it is important to evaluate and predict the sediment load in rivers. It is difficult to obtain an effective and fast estimation of sediment load by artificial neural network without avoiding over-fitting of the training data. The present paper comprises the comparison of a multi-layer perception network once with non-regularized network and the other with regularized network using the Early Stopping technique to estimate and forecast suspended sediment load in the Isser River, upstream of Beni Amran reservoir, northern Algeria. The study was carried out on daily sediment discharge and water discharge data of 30 years (1971–2001). The results of the Back Propagation based models were evaluated in terms of the coefficient of determination (R2) and the root mean square error (RMSE). Results of the comparison indicate that the regularizing ANN using the Early Stopping technique to avoid over-fitting performs better than non-regularized networks, and show that the overtraining in the back propagation occurs because of the complexity of the data introduced to the network.
Developing Students’ Competences for the Future – Key Priority in the Economics of Universities
Authors: Ilie Livia , Bondrea Ioan 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
In an interdependent world, marked by deep transformations, higher education institutions must act responsibly: to foresee, anticipate changes in all sectors of society, be ready and able to adjust in accordance with them. The education system in general, higher education in particular, needs to prepare younger generations for these rapid changes and continue challenges. Higher education plays a key role in opening up new horizons through important contributions to a sustained and equitable development and in creating a culture of peace. Higher education institutions must act critically and objectively on the basis of competence and merit, actively promoting intellectual and moral solidarity, serving the intellectual needs. In this complex context, the education system must have a proactive attitude preparing young people to perform in a global context and to adapt continuously through lifelong learning. The higher education system must develop, on one hand, basic skills enabling lifelong learning and on the other hand transferable skills that enable mobility. This paper aims to identify current challenges for the higher education system and to provide an overview on what competencies universities should develop in order to respond to these challenges. An important focus will be on the “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu (LBUS) best practice in this respect.
The Governance of Collaborative Cluster Models
Authors: Mănescu Gabriel 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
In the past decade, studies on the concepts of governance and cluster have emphasized the interest of the international scientific community for possible changes that can be brought to collaborative models of economic/innovative development, by implementing the most appropriate models of governance. This article summarizes elements of the two main concepts, governance and clusters, and their practical materialization within a conceptual model.
Invariant Control of the Technological Plants to Compensate an Impact of Main Disturbances Preemptively
Authors: Sniders A. , Laizans A. , Komass T. 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The paper considers a survey of the research procedures and results due to invariant control method application perspective for operation quality advancement in several technological plants (wastewater biological treatment tanks and water steam production boilers), which operate under influence of organised and random disturbances. A specified subject of research is the simulation model of the multi-link invariant control system for steam pressure stabilisation in a steam boiler by preemptive compensation of steam load and feed water flow impact on output parameter (steam pressure), developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK. Simulation block-diagram of the steam boiler invariant control system, containing closed loop PID control circuit and open loop DPC circuit, has been composed on the basis of the designed mathematical model of the system components, disturbance compensation algorithms, and operational equation of the invariant control system. Comparative response of the steam boiler, operating under influence of fluctuating disturbances, with conventional PID control and using PID-DPC control with disturbance compensation controller DPC, has been investigated. Simulation results of invariant PID – DPC control system show that output parameter of the steam boiler - pressure remains practically constant under fluctuating disturbances due to a high-speed response of DPC controller.
Production of ZnO and CdO-ZnO thin Films by Extraction–Pyrolytic Method
Authors: Cvetkovs A. , Kiselova O. , Rogulis U. , Serga V. , Ignatans R. 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The extraction-pyrolytic method has been applied to produce the ZnO and CdO-ZnO thin films on glass and quartz glass substrates. According to X-ray diffraction measurements, the ZnO and CdO phases have been produced with an average size of crystallites about 8–42 nm in the films. The thickness of the layers measured by a profilometer has been up to 150 nm. The surface morphology measurements show that the surface of the films may be rough and non-continuous. The SEM results confirm the dependence between the preparation procedure and the quality of the thin film.
Privatization in an Adverse Institutional Context: The Case of Kosovo
Authors: Dobra Bardhyl , de Vries Michiel S 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Regarding the effectiveness of privatization, two schools of thought are distinguished: a school in favor of privatization in general and a school that judges the success of privatization to be dependent on the institutional context. This article discusses the arguments of both schools and presents a case study on the privatization processes that did take place in Kosovo. The Kosovo case is a critical case as Kosovo was a post-conflict country with a deplorable institutional setting at the time it initiated the privatization processes. If privatization was successful anyway, this would make for a strong argument in favor of privatization in general.
The outcomes of the case study show, however, many unintended and negative effects of privatization in the Kosovo context. The conclusion, therefore, disputes the claim that privatization is beneficial in general, irrespective of the institutional setting. Instead, the article makes a plea for creating a favorable institutional setting before starting far-reaching transformations through large-scale privatization.
The issues arising from this article are important for policy-makers and international missions considering implementing similar programs to other post-conflict countries.
The Evaluation of the Role of the Office for Protection of Competition of the Czech Republic in Regulating Public Procurement
Authors: Plaček Michal , Ochrana František , Schmidt Martin , Půček Milan 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Our study offers additional insight into the Office for Protection of Competition. It examines the Office for Protection of Competition in terms of an input-process-output model, defines the inputs needed for its activities and examines the outputs of its control activities. It also identifies external factors (in the environment) that affect the performance and behavior of the Office for Protection of Competition and have an impact on inspection activities. The theoretical background as well as assumptions are then subjected to empirical scrutiny. Theoretical conclusions and recommendations for more effective control of public contracts are drawn from the conclusions which are established.
Do We Translate the Original Author’s
Intended Meaning?
Authors: Frank David B. 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Translation of the Bible or any other text unavoidably involves a determination about its
meaning. There have been different views of meaning from ancient times up to the present, and a
particularly Enlightenment and Modernist view is that the meaning of a text amounts to whatever the
original author of the text intended it to be. This article analyzes the authorial-intent view of meaning in
comparison with other models of literary and legal interpretation. Texts are anchors to interpretation but
are subject to individualized interpretations. It is texts that are translated, not intentions. The challenge
to the translator is to negotiate the meaning of a text and try to choose the most salient and appropriate
interpretation as a basis for bringing the text to a new audience through translation.
Tumor necrosis factor-α alters integrins and metalloprotease ADAM12 levels and signaling in differentiating myoblasts
Authors: Grzelkowska-Kowalczyk K. , Tokarska J. , Grabiec K. , Gajewska M. , Milewska M. , Błaszczyk M. 
Published: August 2016

AbstractThe extracellular matrix (ECM) is important in the regulation of myogenesis. We hypothesized that tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) modifies ECM during differentiation of mouse C2C12 myoblasts. Exogenous TNF-α (1 ng/ml) stimulated myoblast fusion on the 3rdday (by 160% vs control) but not on the 5thday of myogenesis. The level of integrin α5 was significantly augmented by TNF-α during 5 day-differentiation; however, integrin β1 was higher than control only on the 3rdday of cytokine treatment. Both the abundance of integrin α5 bound to actin and the level of integrin β1 complexed with integrin α5 increased in the presence of TNF-α, especially on the 3rdday of differentiation. Similarly, the stimulatory effects of TNF-α on integrin α3, metalloprotease ADAM12 and kinases related to integrins, FAK and ILK, were limited to the 3rdday of differentiation. We concluded that TNF-α-induced changes in ECM components in differentiating myogenic cells, i.e. i) increased expression of integrin α5, β1, α3, and metalloprotease ADAM12, ii) enhanced formation of α5β1 integrin receptors and interaction of integrin α5-cytoskeleton, and iii) increased expression of kinases associated with integrin signaling, FAK and ILK, were temporarily associated with the onset of myocyte fusion.
The relationship between basal and luminal cytokeratins with histopathologic characteristics of canine mammary gland cancer
Authors: Eivani D. , Mortazavi P. 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
Neoplasia occurs mostly in mammary glands in female dogs and mammary gland cancer is one of the causes of death in these animals cytokeratins are one of the most important of tumor markers for identification of tumor prognosis.
In this study, 120 canine malignant tumor samples of mammary glands were studied. From each sample, a section was taken for hematoxylin-eosin staining and two sections for immunohistochemical staining of markers CK5/6 and CK7. Histopathology slides was evaluated by light microscope.
The results show that the presence of markers CK7 and CK5/6 had no significant relationship with tumor grade and type (p<0.05).
However, it seems that unlike humans, CK5/6 and CK7 is not an independent prognostic factor in canine mammary gland tumors.
Modeling the effect of temperature on survival rate of Listeria monocytogenes in yogurt
Authors: Szczawiński J. , Szczawińska M.E. , Łobacz A. , Jackowska-Tracz A. 
Published: August 2016

Abstract
The aim of the study was to (i) evaluate the behavior of Listeria monocytogenes in a commercially produced yogurt, (ii) determine the survival/inactivation rates of L. monocytogenes during cold storage of yogurt and (iii) to generate primary and secondary mathematical models to predict the behavior of these bacteria during storage at different temperatures.
The samples of yogurt were inoculated with the mixture of three L. monocytogenes strains and stored at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15°C for 16 days. The number of listeriae was determined after 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14 and 16 days of storage. From each sample a series of decimal dilutions were prepared and plated onto ALOA agar (agar for Listeria according to Ottaviani and Agosti).
It was found that applied temperature and storage time significantly influenced the survival rate of listeriae (p<0.01). The number of L. monocytogenes in all the samples decreased linearly with storage time. The slowest decrease in the number of the bacteria was found in the samples stored at 6°C (D-10 value = 243.9 h), whereas the highest reduction in the number of the bacteria was observed in the samples stored at 15°C (D-10 value = 87.0 h). The number of L. monocytogenes was correlated with the pH value of the samples (p<0.01). The natural logarithm of the mean survival/inactivation rates of L. monocytogenes calculated from the primary model was fitted to two secondary models, namely linear and polynomial. Mathematical equations obtained from both secondary models can be applied as a tool for the prediction of the survival/inactivation rate of L. monocytogenes in yogurt stored under temperature range from 3 to 15°C, however, the polynomial model gave a better fit to the experimental data.