Blockmodeling of co-authorship networks in library and information science in Argentina: a case study

The paper introduces the use of blockmodeling in the micro-level study of the internal structure of co-authorship networks over time. Variations in scientific productivity and researcher or research group visibility were determined by observing authors?? role in the core-periphery structure and crossing this information with bibliometric data. Three techniques were applied to represent the structure of collaborative science: (1) the blockmodeling; (2) the Kamada-Kawai algorithm based on the similarities in co-authorships present in the documents analysed; (3) bibliometrics to determine output volume, impact and degree of collaboration from the bibliographic data drawn from publications. The goal was to determine the extent to which the use of these two complementary approaches, in conjunction with bibliometric data, provides greater insight into the structure and characteristics of a given field of scientific endeavour. The paper describes certain features of Pajek software and how it can be used to study research group composition, structure and dynamics. The approach combines bibliometric and social network analysis to explore scientific collaboration networks and monitor individual and group careers from new perspectives. Its application on a small-scale case study is intended as an example and can be used in other disciplines. It may be very useful for the appraisal of scientific developments.     

Short-circuit Analysis in Large-scale Distribution Systems With High Penetration of Distributed Generators

In this paper a short-circuit computation (SCC) procedure for large-scale distribution systems with high penetration of distributed generators based on contemporary technologies is proposed. The procedure is suitable for real-time calculations. Modeling of modern distributed generators differs from the modeling of traditional synchronous and induction generators. Hence, SCC procedures found on the presumption of distribution systems with only traditional generators are not suitable in nowadays systems. In the work presented in this paper, for computation of the state of the system with short-circuit, the improved backward/forward sweep (IBFS) procedure is used. Computation results show that the IBFS procedure is much more robust than previous SCC procedures, as it takes into account all distribution system elements, including modern distributed generators.      

北京奥林匹克森林公园儿童乐园规划设计

奥林匹克森林公园设计方案命名为“通往自然的轴线”。孩童是人类的延续,从诞生开始接触自然,在对自然的种种感受、感应和领悟中开始自我体验与成长。奥林匹克森林公园儿童乐园规划设计基于儿童的特点和需求,依据“人与自然”不可分的原理,把时间、空间、场地相融合,突破功能和表面形式的层面,利用林中高低起伏的空间理念与儿童成长的时间理念融合交织,进行空间、环境、景观各个层面的设计,突出“自然乐园”这一主题     

CRKL,AIFM3, AIF,BCL2, and UBASH3A during Human Kidney Development

We aimed to investigate the spatio-temporal expression of possible CAKUT candidate genes CRKL, AIFM3, and UBASH3A, as well as AIF and BCL2 during human kidney development. Human fetal kidney tissue was stained with antibodies and analyzed by fluorescence microscopy and RT-PCR. Quantification of positive cells was assessed by calculation of area percentage and counting cells in nephron structures. Results showed statistically significant differences in the temporal expression patterns of the examined markers, depending on the investigated developmental stage. Limited but strong expression of CRKL was seen in developing kidneys, with increasing expression up to the period where the majority of nephrons are formed. Results also lead us to conclude that AIFM3 and AIF are important for promoting cell survival, but only AIFM3 is considered a CAKUT candidate gene due to the lack of AIF in nephron developmental structures. Our findings imply great importance of AIFM3 in energy production in nephrogenesis and tubular maturation. UBASH3A raw scores showed greater immunoreactivity in developing structures than mature ones which would point to a meaningful role in nephrogenesis. The fact that mRNA and proteins of CRKL, UBASH3A, and AIFM3 were detected in all phases of kidney development implies their role as renal development control genes.     

Physiological profiles relevant for novel alcoholic beverage design among Dekkera bruxellensis strains from different provenances

A selection of D. bruxellensis strains from different geographical and beverage sources were tested for their potential to develop novel alcoholic beverages. Selected strains were initially clustered based on genetic similarities determined by PCR fingerprinting. Physiological profiles were subsequently determined during the fermentation experiments that were carried out in a defined synthetic medium supplemented with glucose and 4‐vinylphenol for 22 days, as static cultures under microaerobic conditions. There were significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in ethanol, glycerol and acetic acid yields and in the growth rates between the strains. During prolonged fermentation, a reduction in ethanol and acetic acid was observed, ranging from 43 to 54% for ethanol and from 4 to 45% for acetic acid, which was strain or genetic group specific. Consumption of ethanol and acetic acid occurred during the stationary phase, suggesting that ethanol and acetic acid were utilized for processes other than growth and must have had an impact on the formation of the aromatic profile. The conversion of 4‐vinylphenol to 4‐ethylphenol was much more efficient and was completed within 4 days of fermentation. Although further investigation is needed, the results indicate a potential of this previously undesired microorganism to be useful for a wide range of applications. Copyright © 2016 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

New Insights into the Setting Processes of Glass Ionomer Cements from Analysis of Dielectric Properties

The setting processes in the commercial glass ionomer cement (Fuji IX Fast) and resin modified glass ionomer cement (Fuji II LC) were investigated by the dielectric spectroscopy. The changes in the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric permittivity [ε*(ω)] as well as dielectric loss (tan δ) with time for Fuji IX Fast show several distinct regions which are related to the different stages of the acid–base reaction. Interestingly, the first stage that lasts for approximately 12 min terminates with a sharp decrease in dielectric parameters which is most probably related to the instantaneous (micro)fracturing of the sample due to a rapid build–up of the shrinkage stress. On the other hand, evolution of the dielectric properties during the setting of Fuji II LC indicates fast reaction in the initial stage (within few minutes) followed by the slow gradual change as a result of the competing nature of the acid–base reaction and light‐activated polymerization.     

Developers’ perceptions of object-oriented frameworks - An investigation into the impact of technological and individual characteristics

Framework-based development is currently regarded as one of the most promising software development approaches, boasting increases in lead time, productivity and quality. However, many frameworks and framework-related projects still fail, which indicates that frameworks still have unsolved problems. In this article, we will identify and investigate the major framework characteristics and individual differences that impact the most important users’ perceptions about frameworks. To test the causal relationships between these factors, we performed an online survey and analyzed the results using structural equation modeling. The results support the technology acceptance model (TAM), which was used as an underlying theory. In addition, we found that framework characteristics and individual differences have a significant impact on users’ perceptions, especially in the case of voluntary framework use. Beside TAM constructs, the results also suggest an additional determinant for the acceptance of frameworks: “confidence”. Despite the limits of our research, we foresee future research activities as well as theoretical and practical implications. Our results might be used to develop acceptable frameworks and for the evaluation of existing frameworks, their constituent parts and framework-related guidelines.     

OntoPlus: Text-driven ontology extension using ontology content,structure and co-occurrence information

This paper addresses the process of semi-automatic text-driven ontology extension using ontology content, structure and co-occurrence information. A novel OntoPlus methodology is proposed for semi-automatic ontology extension based on text mining methods. It allows for the effective extension of the large ontologies, providing a ranked list of potentially relevant concepts and relationships given a new concept (e.g., glossary term) to be inserted in the ontology. A number of experiments are conducted, evaluating measures for ranking correspondence between existing ontology concepts and new domain concepts suggested for the ontology extension. Measures for ranking are based on incorporating ontology content, structure and co-occurrence information. The experiments are performed using a well known Cyc ontology and textual material from two domains – finances and, fisheries & aquaculture. Our experiments show that the best results are achieved by combining content, structure and co-occurrence information. Furthermore, ontology content and structure seem to be more important than co-occurrence for our data in the financial domain. At the same time, ontology content and co-occurrence seem to have higher importance for our fisheries & aquaculture domain.     

Shear resistance of longitudinally stiffened panels — Part 2: Numerical parametric study

This paper presents the FE analysis of the influence of different parameters on the shear resistance of panels with different arrangements of longitudinal stiffeners. The studied parameters were the stiffener bending stiffness, the panel aspect ratio, the stiffener position, the web slenderness and the flange rigidity. Longitudinal stiffeners of trapezoidal shape were compared to open T-stiffeners. The former proved to be more efficient, since a larger panel resistance is achieved, for which in addition a smaller stiffness of trapezoidal stiffeners is needed. Different features of the new Eurocode rules were verified against the FEA results as well. Three different procedures for the determination of panel slenderness were tested and the reduction of stiffener bending stiffness, prescribed due to a better correlation with tests on open stiffeners, was verified for both closed and open stiffeners. The influence of bending moment was also considered and the verification of shear and bending interaction was discussed. Finally, the flange contribution to shear resistance was critically analysed.     

Computerized segmentation of whole-body bone scintigrams and its use in automated diagnostics

Bone scintigraphy or whole-body bone scan is one of the most common diagnostic procedures in nuclear medicine used in the last 25 years. Pathological conditions, technically poor image resolution and artefacts necessitate that algorithms use sufficient background knowledge of anatomy and spatial relations of bones in order to work satisfactorily. A robust knowledge based methodology for detecting reference points of the main skeletal regions that is simultaneously applied on anterior and posterior whole-body bone scintigrams is presented. Expert knowledge is represented as a set of parameterized rules which are used to support standard image-processing algorithms. Our study includes 467 consecutive, non-selected scintigrams, which is, to our knowledge the largest number of images ever used in such studies. Automatic analysis of whole-body bone scans using our segmentation algorithm gives more accurate and reliable results than previous studies. Obtained reference points are used for automatic segmentation of the skeleton, which is applied to automatic (machine learning) or manual (expert physicians) diagnostics. Preliminary experiments show that an expert system based on machine learning closely mimics the results of expert physicians.