bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Glocal Religion and Feeling at Home: Ethnography of Artistry in Finnish Orthodox Liturgy
Authors: Tiaynen-Qadir Tatiana
Published: February 2017

This paper adapts a glocalization framework in a transnational, anthropological exploration of liturgy in the Orthodox Church of Finland (OCF). It draws on long-term ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with participants of liturgy from Finnish, Russian, and Greek cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The main argument of the paper is that generic processes of nationalization and transnationalization are not mutually exclusive in practitioners’ experiences of liturgy in OCF, but rather generate a glocal space that incorporates Finnish, Russian, Karelian, and Byzantine elements. Individuals artistically engage with glocal liturgy on sensorial, cognitive, social, and semantic levels. What is important for the participants is a therapeutic sense that comes from a feeling of ‘being at home’, metaphorically, spiritually, and literally. People’s ongoing, creative work constitutes Orthodoxy as their national and transnational home.
The International NERSH Data Pool—A Methodological Description of a Data Pool of Religious and Spiritual Values of Health Professionals from Six Continents
Authors: Kørup Alex , Christensen René , Nielsen Connie , Søndergaard Jens , Alyousefi Nada , Lucchetti Giancarlo , Baumann Klaus , Lee Eunmi , Karimah Azimatul , Ramakrishnan Parameshwaran , Frick Eckhard , Büssing Arndt , Schouten Esther , Hvidt Niels
Published: February 2017

Collaboration within the recently established Network for Research on Spirituality and Health (NERSH) has made it possible to pool data from 14 different surveys from six continents. All surveys are largely based on the questionnaire by Curlin “Religion and Spirituality in Medicine, Perspectives of Physicians” (RSMPP). This article is a methodological description of the process of building the International NERSH Data Pool. The larger contours of the data are described using frequency statistics. Five subscales in the data pool (including the already established DUREL scale) were tested using Cronbach’s alpha and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). 5724 individuals were included, of which 57% were female and the mean age was 41.5 years with a 95% confidence interval (CI) ranging from 41.2 to 41.8. Most respondents were physicians (n = 3883), nurses (n = 1189), and midwives (n = 286); but also psychologists (n = 50), therapists (n = 44), chaplains (n = 5), and students (n = 10) were included. The DUREL scale was assessed with Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.92) and PCA confirmed its reliability and unidimensionality. The new scales covering the dimensions of “Religiosity of Health Professionals (HPs)” (α = 0.89), “Willingness of Physicians to Interact with Patients Regarding R/S Issues” (α = 0.79), “Religious Objections to Controversial Issues in Medicine” (α = 0.78), and “R/S as a Calling” (α = 0.82), also proved unidimensional in the PCAs. We argue that the proposed scales are relevant and reliable measures of religious dimensions within the data pool. Finally, we outline future studies already planned based on the data pool, and invite interested researchers to join the NERSH collaboration.
Mapping Seasonal Inundation Frequency (1985–2016) along the St-John River, New Brunswick, Canada using the Landsat Archive
Authors: Olthof Ian
Published: February 2017

Extreme flood events in recent years in Canada have highlighted the need for historical information to better manage future flood risk. In this paper, a methodology to generate flood maps from Landsat to determine historical inundation frequency is presented for a region along the St-John River, New Brunswick, Canada that experiences annual springtime flooding from snowmelt and river ice. 1985–2016 Landsat data from the USGS archive were classified by combining See5 decision trees to map spectrally variable water due to spring ice and sediment, and image thresholding to map inundated floodplains. Multiple scenes representing each year were overlaid to produce seasonal time-series of spring (March–May) and summer (June–August) maximum annual water extents. Comparisons of annual surface water maps were conducted separately for each season against historical hydrometric water depth as a measure of relative springtime flood severity, and 1 m water masks from digital orthophotos were used to perform a formal accuracy assessment of summer water. Due to Landsat’s 16-day revisit time, peak flood depth was poorly related to flood extent; however, spring depth measured during Landsat acquisitions was significantly related to extent (tau = 0.6, p-value < 0.001). Further, summer maps validated against 30 m water fractions scaled from 1 m water masks were over 97% accurate. Limitations with respect to the assessment of flood extent from depth, timing differences between peak flood depth and extent due to Landsat revisit time and cloud cover, and suggestions to overcome limitations through multi-sensor integration including radar are discussed.
An Improved Shape Contexts Based Ship Classification in SAR Images
Authors: Zhu Ji-Wei , Qiu Xiao-Lan , Pan Zong-Xu , Zhang Yue-Ting , Lei Bin
Published: February 2017

In synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, relating to maritime surveillance studies, the ship has always been the main focus of study. In this letter, a method of ship classification in SAR images is proposed to enhance classification accuracy. In the proposed method, to fully exploit the distinguishing characters of the ship targets, both topology and intensity of the scattering points of the ship are considered. The results of testing the proposed method on a data set of three types of ships, collected via a space-borne SAR sensor designed by the Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IECAS), establish that the proposed method is superior to several existing methods, including the original shape contexts method, traditional invariant moments and the recent approach.
Change Vector Analysis to Monitor the Changes in Fuzzy Shorelines
Authors: Dewi Ratna , Bijker Wietske , Stein Alfred
Published: February 2017

Mapping of shorelines and monitoring of their changes is challenging due to the large variation in shoreline position related to seasonal and tidal patterns. This study focused on a flood-prone area in the north of Java. We show the possibility of using fuzzy-crisp objects to derive shoreline positions as the transition zone between the classes water and non-water. Fuzzy c-means classification (FCM) was used to estimate the membership of pixels to these classes. A transition zone between the classes represents the shoreline, and its spatial extent was estimated using fuzzy-crisp objects. In change vector analysis (CVA) applied to water membership of successive shorelines, a change category was defined if the change magnitude between two years, T1 and T2, differed from zero, while zero magnitude corresponded to no-change category. Over several years, overall change magnitude and change directions of the shoreline allowed us to identify the trend of the fluctuating shoreline and the uncertainty distribution. The fuzzy error matrix (FERM) showed overall accuracies between 0.84 and 0.91. Multi-year patterns of water membership changes could indicate coastal processes such as: (a) high change direction and high change magnitude with a consistent positive direction probably corresponding to land subsidence and coastal inundation, while a consistent negative direction probably indicates a success in a shoreline protection scheme; (b) low change direction and high change magnitude indicating an abrupt change which may result from spring tides, extreme waves and winds; (c) high change direction and low change magnitude which could be due to cyclical tides and coastal processes; and (d) low change direction and low change magnitude probably indicating an undisturbed environment, such as changes in water turbidity or changes in soil moisture. The proposed method provided a way to analyze changes of shorelines as fuzzy objects and could be well-suited to apply to coastal areas around the globe.
Adaptive Mean Shift-Based Identiﬁcation of Individual Trees Using Airborne LiDAR Data
Authors: Hu Xingbo , Chen Wei , Xu Weiyang
Published: February 2017

Identifying individual trees and delineating their canopy structures from the forest point clouddataacquiredbyanairborneLiDAR(LightDetectionAndRanging)hassigniﬁcantimplications in forestry inventory. Once accurately identiﬁed, tree structural attributes such as tree height, crown diameter, canopy based height and diameter at breast height can be derived. This paper focuses on a novel computationally efﬁcient method to adaptively calibrate the kernel bandwidth of a computational scheme based on mean shift—a non-parametric probability density-based clustering technique—to segment the 3D (three-dimensional) forest point clouds and identify individual tree crowns. The basic concept of this method is to partition the 3D space over each test plot into small vertical units (irregular columns containing 3D spatial features from one or more trees) ﬁrst, by using a ﬁxed bandwidth mean shift procedure and a small square grouping technique, and then rough estimation of crown sizes for distinct trees within a unit, based on an original 2D (two-dimensional) incremental grid projection technique, is applied to provide a basis for dynamical calibration of the kernel bandwidth for an adaptive mean shift procedure performed in each partition. The adaptive mean shift-based scheme, which incorporates our proposed bandwidth calibration method, is validated on 10 test plots of a dense, multi-layered evergreen broad-leaved forest located in South China. Experimental results reveal that this approach can work effectively and when compared to the conventional point-based approaches (e.g., region growing, k-means clustering, ﬁxed bandwidth or multi-scale mean shift), its accuracies are relatively high: it detects 86 percent of the trees (“recall”) and 92 percent of the identiﬁed trees are correct (“precision”), showing good potential for use in the area of forest inventory.
Seasonal Change in Wetland Coherence as an Aid to Wetland Monitoring
Authors: Brisco Brian , Ahern Frank , Murnaghan Kevin , White Lori , Canisus Francis , Lancaster Philip
Published: February 2017

Water is an essential natural resource, and information about surface water conditions can support a wide variety of applications, including urban planning, agronomy, hydrology, electrical power generation, disaster relief, ecology and preservation of natural areas. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is recognized as an important source of data for monitoring surface water, especially under inclement weather conditions, and is used operationally for flood mapping applications. The canopy penetration capability of the microwaves also allows for mapping of flooded vegetation as a result of enhanced backscatter from what is generally believed to be a double-bounce scattering mechanism between the water and emergent vegetation. Recent investigations have shown that, under certain conditions, the SAR response signal from flooded vegetation may remain coherent during repeat satellite over-passes, which can be exploited for interferometric SAR (InSAR) measurements to estimate changes in water levels and water topography. InSAR results also suggest that coherence change detection (CCD) might be applied to wetland monitoring applications. This study examines wetland vegetation characteristics that lead to coherence in RADARSAT-2 InSAR data of an area in eastern Canada with many small wetlands, and determines the annual variation in the coherence of these wetlands using multi-temporal radar data. The results for a three-year period demonstrate that most swamps and marshes maintain coherence throughout the ice-/snow-free time period for the 24-day repeat cycle of RADARSAT-2. However, open water areas without emergent aquatic vegetation generally do not have suitable coherence for CCD or InSAR water level estimation. We have found that wetlands with tree cover exhibit the highest coherence and the least variance; wetlands with herbaceous cover exhibit high coherence, but also high variability of coherence; and wetlands with shrub cover exhibit high coherence, but variability intermediate between treed and herbaceous wetlands. From this knowledge, we have developed a novel image product that combines information about the magnitude of coherence and its variability with radar brightness (backscatter intensity). This product clearly displays the multitude of small wetlands over a wide area. With an interpretation key we have also developed, it is possible to distinguish different wetland types and assess year-to-year changes. In the next few years, satellite SAR systems, such as the European Sentinel and the Canadian RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM), will provide rapid revisit capabilities and standard data collection modes, enhancing the operational application of SAR data for assessing wetland conditions and monitoring water levels using InSAR techniques.
Assessing Orographic Variability in Glacial Thickness Changes at the Tibetan Plateau Using ICESat Laser Altimetry
Authors: Phan Vu , Lindenbergh Roderik , Menenti Massimo
Published: February 2017

Monitoring glacier changes is essential for estimating the water mass balance of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we exploit ICESat laser altimetry data in combination with the SRTM DEM and the GLIMS glacier mask to estimate trends in change in glacial thickness between 2003 and 2009 on the whole Tibetan Plateau. Considering acquisition conditions of ICESat measurements and terrain surface characteristics, annual glacier elevation trends were estimated for 15 different settings with respect to terrain slope and roughness. In the end, we only included ICESat elevations acquired over terrain with a slope below 20° and a roughness at the footprint scale below 15 m. With this setting, 90 glaciated areas could be distinguished. The results show that most of observed glaciated areas on the Tibetan Plateau are thinning, except for some glaciers in the northwest. In general, glacier elevations on the whole Tibetan Plateau decreased at an average rate of -0.17± 0.47 m per year (m a-1) between 2003 and 2009, taking together glaciers of any size, distribution, and location of the observed glaciated area. Both rate and rate error estimates are obtained by accumulating results from individual regions using least squares techniques. Our results notably show that trends in glacier thickness change indeed strongly depend on the relative position in a mountain range.
Monocular-Based 6-Degree of Freedom Pose Estimation Technology for Robotic Intelligent Grasping Systems
Authors: Liu Tao , Guo Yin , Yang Shourui , Yin Shibin , Zhu Jigui
Published: February 2017

Industrial robots are expected to undertake ever more advanced tasks in the modern manufacturing industry, such as intelligent grasping, in which robots should be capable of recognizing the position and orientation of a part before grasping it. In this paper, a monocular-based 6-degree of freedom (DOF) pose estimation technology to enable robots to grasp large-size parts at informal poses is proposed. A camera was mounted on the robot end-flange and oriented to measure several featured points on the part before the robot moved to grasp it. In order to estimate the part pose, a nonlinear optimization model based on the camera object space collinearity error in different poses is established, and the initial iteration value is estimated with the differential transformation. Measuring poses of the camera are optimized based on uncertainty analysis. Also, the principle of the robotic intelligent grasping system was developed, with which the robot could adjust its pose to grasp the part. In experimental tests, the part poses estimated with the method described in this paper were compared with those produced by a laser tracker, and results show the RMS angle and position error are about 0.0228° and 0.4603 mm. Robotic intelligent grasping tests were also successfully performed in the experiments.
The Potential Scientist’s Dilemma: How the Masculine Framing of Science Shapes Friendships and Science Job Aspirations
Authors: Gauthier G. , Hill Patricia , McQuillan Julia , Spiegel Amy , Diamond Judy
Published: February 2017

In the United States, girls and boys have similar science achievement, yet fewer girls aspire to science careers than boys. This paradox emerges in middle school, when peers begin to play a stronger role in shaping adolescent identities. We use complete network data from a single middle school and theories of gender, identity, and social distance to explore how friendship patterns might influence this gender and science paradox. Three patterns highlight the social dimensions of gendered science persistence: (1) boys and girls do not differ in self-perceived science potential and science career aspirations; (2) consistent with gender-based norms, both middle school boys and girls report that the majority of their female friends are not science kinds of people; and (3) youth with gender-inconsistent science aspirations are more likely to be friends with each other than youth with gender normative science aspirations. Together, this evidence suggests that friendship dynamics contribute to gendered patterns in science career aspirations.
Between-Session Reliability of Common Strength- and Power-Related Measures in Adolescent Athletes
Authors: Thomas Christopher , Dos’Santos Thomas , Comfort Paul , Jones Paul
Published: February 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the between-session reliability of common strength- and power-related measures in adolescent athletes. Seventeen adolescent athletes (males: n = 8: age 17.1 ± 2.2 years; height 175.6 ± 3.5 cm; mass 80.2 ± 3.6 kg; females: n = 9; age 16.9 ± 2.6 years; height 178.5 ± 4.3 cm; mass 71.5 ± 4.5 kg) participated in this study. Isokinetic dynamometry, isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP), countermovement jump (CMJ), and horizontal jumps (standing broad jump (SBJ) and single-leg hop (SLH)) were each performed twice on separate days, seven days apart. Reliability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), coefficient of variation (%CV), standard error of measurement (SEM), and smallest detectable difference (SDD). Intraclass correlation coefficients and CV demonstrated acceptable between-session reliability for all measures (ICC > 0.63; CV < 11%), except rate of force development and impulse measures during bilateral and unilateral stance IMTP. Smallest detectable differences demonstrated that changes in performance of >7% CMJ height, >8% SLH distance, >10% in peak isometric force, and >5% in isokinetic peak torques should be considered meaningful, when assessing adolescent athletes.
Dimensions of Community and Local Institutions’ Support: Towards an Eco-Village Kelurahan in Indonesia
Authors: Yuliastuti Nany , Wahyono Hadi , Syafrudin S. , Sariffuddin S.
Published: February 2017

The goal of the Global Eco-village Network (GEN) is to create and promote sustainable human settlements that allow people to live more comfortably. However, an eco-village cannot exist without the support of the local government and the community. A village (kelurahan) is expected to recognize and implement a settlement’s environmental management by maintaining environmentally friendly behavior in daily activities. Gayamsari is a kelurahan in Semarang City that has been implementing the eco-village concept. This study aims to explain, through quantitative descriptive analysis, the extent at which the eco-village aspects are achieved by local and institutional participation in Gayamsari. The idea of an eco-village is to bring harmony to the three pillars of sustainable development—the social, economic, and ecological components—to create a sustainable living environment. However, the results show that Gayamsari needs improvement, especially in terms of ensuring a safe and comfortable environment, which can be achieved through strengthening the participation of both the community and local institutions.
Equilibrium Strategy Based Recycling Facility Site Selection towards Mitigating Coal Gangue Contamination
Authors: Xu Jiuping , Fan Lurong , Lv Chengwei
Published: February 2017

Environmental pollution caused by coal gangue has been a signiﬁcant challenge for sustainable development; thus, many coal gangue reduction approaches have been proposed in recent years. In particular, coal gangue facility (CGF) construction has been considered as an efﬁcient method for the control and recycling of coal gangue. Meanwhile, the identiﬁcation and selection of suitable CGF sites is a fundamental task for the government. Therefore, based on the equilibrium strategy, a site selection approach under a fuzzy environment is developed to mitigate coal gangue contamination, which integrates a geographical information system (GIS) technique and a bi-level model to identify candidate CGF sites and to select the most suitable one. In this situation, the GIS technique used to identify potential feasible sites is able to integrate a great deal of geographical data toﬁtwithpracticalcircumstances;thebi-levelmodelusedtoscreentheappropriatesitecanreasonably dealwiththeconﬂictsbetweenthelocalauthorityandthecolliery. Moreover,aKarush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) condition-based approach is used to ﬁnd an optimal solution, and a case study is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results across different scenarios show that appropriate site selection can achieve coal gangue reduction targets and that a suitable excess stack level can realize an environmental-economic equilibrium. Finally, some propositions and management recommendations are given.
Dynamic Carpooling in Urban Areas: Design and Experimentation with a Multi-Objective Route Matching Algorith
Authors: Mallus Matteo , Colistra Giuseppe , Atzori Luigi , Murroni Maurizio , Pilloni Virginia
Published: February 2017

This paper focuses on dynamic carpooling services in urban areas to address the needs of mobility in real-time by proposing a two-fold contribution: a solution with novel features with respect to the current state-of-the-art, which is named CLACSOON and is available on the market; the analysis of the carpooling services performance in the urban area of the city of Cagliari through emulations. Two new features characterize the proposed solution: partial ridesharing, according to which the riders can walk to reach the driver along his/her route when driving to the destination; the possibility to share the ride when the driver has already started the ride by modelling the mobility to reach the driver destination. To analyse which features of the population bring better performance to changing the characteristics of the users, we also conducted emulations. When compared with current solutions, CLACSOON allows for achieving a decrease in the waiting time of around 55% and an increase in the driver and passenger success rates of around 4% and 10%,respectively. Additionally, the proposed features allowed for having an increase in the reduction of the CO2 emission by more than 10% with respect to the traditional carpooling service.
Evaluating Resiliency of Supply Chain Network: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach
Authors: Pourhejazy Pourya , Kwon Oh , Chang Young-Tae , Park Hyosoo
Published: February 2017

Supply chains can be vulnerable to sudden disruptions, especially when it emphasizes efficient operation. In this regard, supply chain resilience (SCR) has received attention recently to cope with disruptions and improve competitiveness. This paper presents a novel methodology to measure resilience between different configurations of a supply chain network (SCN), based on a number of influential factors. For this reason, data envelopment analysis (DEA) is employed to identify the best-practice and less-performing SCN configurations among a group of alternatives. On this basis, the extent to which a current configuration can improve its resiliency is also measured. The methodology is applied to the case of E1, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) company in Korea. Topological and operational measures were used as variables to assess resilience. The results suggest that the LPG supply chain in the case study requires an addition in the number and capacity of supply nodes in its network.
The Influence of Natura 2000 Sites on Land-Taking Processes at the Regional Level: An Empirical Analysis Concerning Sardinia (Italy)
Authors: Lai Sabrina , Zoppi Corrado
Published: February 2017

This article focuses on the role that the provisions of the Natura 2000 Network play in affecting land-taking processes by looking at the Italian region of Sardinia, where strict rules on land development have been enforced since 1993 through regional landscape plans and where an extensive Natura 2000 Network, covering nearly 19% of the regional land mass, was established in compliance with Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora and Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds. The results and inferences of our study could be easily generalized to other European Union regions, provided that similar geographic datasets are available. By shedding some light on the relation between land take on the one hand, and nature conservation and landscape protection on the other, it is possible to enhance regional planning policies to prevent or hinder land-taking processes, and, by doing so, to help implementing the European Commission recommendation on no net land take by 2050 into the EU regional policies.
Effect of Corn Residue Biochar on the Hydraulic Properties of Sandy Loam Soil
Authors: Igalavithana Avanthi , Ok Yong , Niazi Nabeel , Rizwan Muhammad , Al-Wabel Mohammad , Usman Adel , Moon Deok , Lee Sang
Published: February 2017

Biochar has an ability to alter the biological, chemical, and physical properties of soil due to its physicochemical properties such as surface area, porosity, nutrient retention ability, available nutrient contents, aromaticity, etc. The present study was designed to evaluate the impact of physical properties and application rate of biochar on the hydraulic properties of a sandy loam soil in the short term. Biochar was produced at 500 °C from dried corn residue (BC500). The BC500 was incorporated at the rates of 0, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5%, and 10% (w·w−1) into the sandy loam soil and filled up to a height of 4 cm, in cores having 5 cm diameter and height. Each treatment was performed in triplicate and equilibrated for 30 days. Then saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), water holding capacity (WHC), and bulk density were determined in each sample after four days of saturation at room temperature in a water bath. The BC500 particle size distribution, pores, and surface functional groups were assessed. The Ksat exhibited a highly significant exponential reduction from 0% to 7.5% of BC500 application and approached an asymptote at 10% BC500. Bulk density showed a significant negative correlation to biochar application rate. The WHC and BC500 application rate illustrated a strong positive relationship. Biochar surface was free from hydrophobic functional groups. The addition of BC500 has a positive influence on soil hydraulic properties, primarily due to the increased soil porosity. The BC500 is composed of a microporous structure and hydrophilic surface that retain water in sandy textured soils. The application of BC500 would be a wise investment to maximize the water use efficiency in soils for agricultural production.
Political Agroecology in Mexico: A Path toward Sustainability
Authors: Toledo Víctor , Barrera-Bassols Narciso
Published: February 2017

The biocultural richness of Mexico is among the highest worldwide. A history of over 7000 years of agriculture, and a persistent tradition of peasant social resistance movements that climaxed during the agrarian revolution in the early 20th century, continued in the indigenous resistance in Chiapas leading to the Zapatista uprising in 1992, and continues to be expressed in present local and regional confrontations for the defense of territory. Scholars agree that agroecology conceptually includes ecological and agricultural scientific research activity, empirical practices applied for agriculture, and the nuclear goal of numerous rural social movements. What has not been sufficiently established is how these three spheres of agroecology interact with each other and what emergent synergies they generate. Taking as an example the production in Mexico of three key agricultural goods—maize, coffee, and honey—our paper briefly reviews the existing relations between knowledge generation, agroecological practices, and rural social processes. We conclude by reflecting on the role of agroecological research in the context of an agrarian sustainability committed to helping reduce social inequity, marginality, and exploitation, as much as reverting the severe deterioration of the natural environment: both common issues in contemporary Mexico.
Towards Urban Resilience: A Multi-Criteria Analysis of Seismic Vulnerability in Iasi City (Romania)
Authors: Banica Alexandru , Rosu Lucian , Muntele Ionel , Grozavu Adrian
Published: February 2017

When relating to hazards such as earthquakes, a primary task of a resilience approach is to evaluate vulnerability in an integrative manner by taking into account the most relevant indicators. Focused on Iasi, one of the major Romanian cities which are exposed to the earthquakes originating in Vrancea area, this study aims to assess seismic vulnerability using a multi-criteria analysis of buildings infrastructure and social vulnerability. Several indicators are taken into account, such as physical (related to the characteristics of buildings and terrain) and social indicators (related to population and economic income), as well as the accessibility from/to emergency services/hospitals. The indicators were processed by standardization (Z score), processed and correlated using the principal components analysis (PCA) and integrated within an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). By summing the weighted values of the standardized indicators, a (integrated) seismic vulnerability index was obtained. It is a pre-assessment of the seismic vulnerability in Iasi City and also a prerequisite for the identification of the necessary prevention measures to be taken in compliance with the identified spatial patterns of vulnerability as a part of a resilient approach.
Oil Price and Economic Resilience. Romania’s Case
Authors: Dudian Monica , Mosora Mihaela , Mosora Cosmin , Birova Stefanija
Published: February 2017

The emerging economies that do not face fiscal, monetary and foreign debt pressures can use the savings generated by lower oil prices for investments in order to generate economic growth. Hence, there is no doubt that the oil price affects the economy’s resilience to shocks. The importance of this impact derives from the magnitude of the price change and its diffusion within the economy. Moreover, the sustainability of any company and of the economy as a whole is subject to the availability and the price of the energy resources. The cost of these resources is an important variable used in the majority of the models regarding the assessment of sustainable development. Therefore, this article examines the impact of the oil price changes on industrial production in Romania. We found that, similar to other countries, in Romania, the growth rate of industrial production responds more strongly to a rise in oil prices. Thus, the oil Brent price has an asymmetric effect on the production evolution. This finding suggests that macroeconomic stabilization is more difficult to achieve when the oil price rises.
Decomposition Analysis of Carbon Emission Factors from Energy Consumption in Guangdong Province from 1990 to 2014
Authors: Wang Fei , Wang Changjian , Su Yongxian , Jin Lixia , Wang Yang , Zhang Xinlin
Published: February 2017

Carbon emissions research based on regional perspective is necessary and helpful for China to achieve its reduction targets. This research aims at analyzing the energy-related carbon emissions and finding out the most important driving forces for the carbon emissions increments in Guangdong province. LMDI (Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index) method based on the extended Kaya identity has been used to explore the main driving factors for energy-related carbon emissions in Guangdong province annually between 1990 and 2014. Research results show that the impacts and influences of various factors on carbon emissions are different in the different development stages. Economic growth effect and population size effect are the two most important driving factors for the increased carbon emissions. Energy intensity effect played the dominant role in curbing carbon emissions. Energy structure effect and technical progress effect had different but relatively minor effects on carbon emissions during the five different development stages.
Simple Technique for Tracking Chloride Penetration in Concrete Based on the Crack Shape and Width under Steady-State Conditions
Authors: Yang Keun-Hyeok , Singh Jitendra , Lee Bang-Yeon , Kwon Seung-Jun
Published: February 2017

Chloride attack is considered one of the most threatening deterioration mechanisms in concrete. Any cracks or other imperfections on the surface open up additional routes for chloride intrusion. This paper develops existing anisotropic (1-D) and isotropic (2-D) models for chloride diffusion in concrete with cracks by considering the crack shape and roughness. In order to verify the proposed model, concrete samples with crack widths from 0.0 to 0.4 mm were prepared and the chloride diffusion coefficients under steady-state conditions evaluated. The proposed model for a wedge-shaped model with roughness reduced chloride diffusion and provided more reasonable results than previous models based on rectangular shaped cracks with no roughness, which have tended to overestimate the effect. Our results revealed that including roughness in the model produced a 10%–20% reduction in chloride diffusion.
Deformable Object Matching Algorithm Using Fast Agglomerative Binary Search Tree Clustering
Authors: Jeong Jaehyup , Won Insu , Yang Hunjun , Lee Bowon , Jeong Dongseok
Published: February 2017

Deformable objects have changeable shapes and they require a different method of matching algorithm compared to rigid objects. This paper proposes a fast and robust deformable object matching algorithm. First, robust feature points are selected using a statistical characteristic to obtain the feature points with the extraction method. Next, matching pairs are composed by the feature point matching of two images using the matching method. Rapid clustering is performed using the BST (Binary Search Tree) method by obtaining the geometric similarity between the matching pairs. Finally, the matching of the two images is determined after verifying the suitability of the composed cluster. An experiment with five different image sets with deformable objects confirmed the superior robustness and independence of the proposed algorithm while demonstrating up to 60 times faster matching speed compared to the conventional deformable object matching algorithms.
Analysis of Integrating a Production Design Generator with a Business Decision Support System for System-Level Decision Making
Authors: Seletos Troy , Salmon John
Published: February 2017

Decision support systems (DSSs) are used to enhance decision making speed and effectiveness. However, without a view of the entire system, any decision may have unanticipated effects, such as sub-optimal outcomes. This paper explores the benefits of applying a DSS over the analysis of unprocessed data and the effectiveness of integrating a product design generator (PDG) with a business DSS where system-level effects can be analyzed. Using survey questions and recording decision makers’ actions, it was found that decision makers are significantly faster and came to better conclusions when using the DSS over unprocessed data. However, it was also seen that the difference between the two variants of the system DSS that were used for testing was insignificant. Overall, this research shows that having a system-level tool is better than the unprocessed data and that large differences in a DSS are required for improvement between them.
Variable Cyanobacterial Toxin and Metabolite Profiles across Six Eutrophic Lakes of Differing Physiochemical Characteristics
Authors: Beversdorf Lucas , Weirich Chelsea , Bartlett Sarah , Miller Todd.
Published: February 2017

Future sustainability of freshwater resources is seriously threatened due to the presence of harmful cyanobacterial blooms, and yet, the number, extent, and distribution of most cyanobacterial toxins—including “emerging” toxins and other bioactive compounds—are poorly understood. We measured 15 cyanobacterial compounds—including four microcystins (MC), saxitoxin (SXT), cylindrospermopsin (CYL), anatoxin-a (ATX) and homo-anatoxin-a (hATX), two anabaenopeptins (Apt), three cyanopeptolins (Cpt), microginin (Mgn), and nodularin (NOD)—in six freshwater lakes that regularly experience noxious cHABs. MC, a human liver toxin, was present in all six lakes and was detected in 80% of all samples. Similarly, Apt, Cpt, and Mgn were detected in all lakes in roughly 86%, 50%, and 35% of all samples, respectively. Despite being a notable brackish water toxin, NOD was detected in the two shallowest lakes—Wingra (4.3 m) and Koshkonong (2.1 m). All compounds were highly variable temporally, and spatially. Metabolite profiles were significantly different between lakes suggesting lake characteristics influenced the cyanobacterial community and/or metabolite production. Understanding how cyanobacterial toxins are distributed across eutrophic lakes may shed light onto the ecological function of these metabolites, provide valuable information for their remediation and removal, and aid in the protection of public health.
Microbial Detoxification of Deoxynivalenol (DON), Assessed via a Lemna minor L. Bioassay, through Biotransformation to 3-epi-DON and 3-epi-DOM-1
Authors: Vanhoutte Ilse , De Mets Laura , De Boevre Marthe , Uka Valdet , Di Mavungu José , De Saeger Sarah , De Gelder Leen , Audenaert Kris
Published: February 2017

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by fungi. To mitigate mycotoxins in food or feed, biotransformation is an emerging technology in which microorganisms degrade toxins into non-toxic metabolites. To monitor deoxynivalenol (DON) biotransformation, analytical tools such as ELISA and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) are typically used. However, these techniques do not give a decisive answer about the remaining toxicity of possible biotransformation products. Hence, a bioassay using Lemna minor L. was developed. A dose–response analysis revealed significant inhibition in the growth of L. minor exposed to DON concentrations of 0.25 mg/L and higher. Concentrations above 1 mg/L were lethal for the plant. This bioassay is far more sensitive than previously described systems. The bioassay was implemented to screen microbial enrichment cultures, originating from rumen fluid, soil, digestate and activated sludge, on their biotransformation and detoxification capability of DON. The enrichment cultures originating from soil and activated sludge were capable of detoxifying and degrading 5 and 50 mg/L DON. In addition, the metabolites 3-epi-DON and the epimer of de-epoxy-DON (3-epi-DOM-1) were found as biotransformation products of both consortia. Our work provides a new valuable tool to screen microbial cultures for their detoxification capacity.
Comments on “Screening and Identification of Novel Ochratoxin A-Producing Fungi from Grapes. Toxins 2016, 8, 333”—In Reporting Ochratoxin A Production from Strains of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces
Authors: Perrone Giancarlo , Logrieco Antonio , Frisvad Jens
Published: February 2017

Recently a species in the genus Talaromyces, a uniseriate species of Aspergillus section Nigri and an isolate each of two widespread species, Penicillium rubens and P. commune, were reported to produce ochratoxin A. This claim was based on insufficient biological and chemical data. We propose a list of criteria that need to be met before an unexpected mycotoxin producer is reported. There have only been convincing data on ochratoxin A production for Penicillium verrucosum, P. nordicum, P. thymicola, all from Penicillium series Verrucosa, and from species in three sections of Aspergillus: section Circumdati, section Nigri and section Flavi.
Reply to Comment on “Screening and Identification of Novel Ochratoxin A-Producing Fungi from Grapes”. Toxins 2016, 8, 333”–in Reporting Ochratoxin A Production from Strains of Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces
Authors: Zhang Xiaoyun , Li Yulin , Wang Haiying , Gu Xiangyu , Zheng Xiangfeng , Wang Yun , Diao Junwei , Peng Yaping , Zhang Hongyin
Published: February 2017

We sincerely thank you and Dr. Giancarlo Perrone, Antonio F. Logrieco and Jens C. Frisvda for the suggestions and concerns raised with regard to our paper entitled “Screening and Identification of Novel ochratoxin A-Producing Fungi from Grapes” which was published in Toxins.[...]
Exact Solutions of the Field Equations for Empty Space in the Nash Gravitational Theory
Authors: Aadne Matthew , Grøn Øyvind
Published: February 2017

John Nash has proposed a new theory of gravity. We define a Nash-tensor equal to the curvature tensor appearing in the Nash field equations for empty space, and calculate its components for two cases: 1. A static, spherically symmetric space; and 2. The expanding, homogeneous and isotropic space of the Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) universe models. We find the general, exact solution of Nash’s field equations for empty space in the static case. The line element turns out to represent the Schwarzschild-de Sitter spacetime. Also we find the simplest non-trivial solution of the field equations in the cosmological case, which gives the scale factor corresponding to the de Sitter spacetime. Hence empty space in the Nash theory corresponds to a space with Lorentz Invariant Vacuum Energy (LIVE) in the Einstein theory. This suggests that dark energy may be superfluous according to the Nash theory. We also consider a radiation filled universe model in an effort to find out how energy and matter may be incorporated into the Nash theory. A tentative interpretation of the Nash theory as a unified theory of gravity and electromagnetism leads to a very simple form of the field equations in the presence of matter. It should be noted, however, that the Nash theory is still unfinished. A satisfying way of including energy momentum into the theory has yet to be found.
Potential of Rhodobacter capsulatus Grown in Anaerobic-Light or Aerobic-Dark Conditions as Bioremediation Agent for Biological Wastewater Treatments
Authors: Costa Stefania , Ganzerli Saverio , Rugiero Irene , Pellizzari Simone , Pedrini Paola , Tamburini Elena
Published: February 2017

The use of microorganisms to clean up wastewater provides a cheaper alternative to the conventional treatment plant. The efficiency of this method can be improved by the choice of microorganism with the potential of removing contaminants. One such group is photosynthetic bacteria. Rhodobacter capsulatus is a purple non-sulfur bacterium (PNSB) found to be capable of different metabolic activities depending on the environmental conditions. Cell growth in different media and conditions was tested, obtaining a concentration of about 108 CFU/mL under aerobic-dark and 109 CFU/mL under anaerobic-light conditions. The biomass was then used as a bioremediation agent for denitrification and nitrification of municipal wastewater to evaluate the potential to be employed as an additive in biological wastewater treatment. Inoculating a sample of mixed liquor withdrawn from the municipal wastewater treatment plant with R. capsulatus grown in aerobic-dark and anaerobic-light conditions caused a significant decrease of N-NO3 (>95%), N-NH3 (70%) and SCOD (soluble chemical oxygen demand) (>69%), independent of the growth conditions. A preliminary evaluation of costs indicated that R. capsulatus grown in aerobic-dark conditions could be more convenient for industrial application.
Contemporary and Future Characteristics of Precipitation Indices in the Kentucky River Basin
Authors: Chattopadhyay Somsubhra , Edwards Dwayne , Yu Yao
Published: February 2017

Climatic variability can lead to large‐scale alterations in the hydrologic cycle, some of which can be characterized in terms of indices involving precipitation depth, duration and frequency. This study evaluated the spatiotemporal behavior of precipitation indices over the Kentucky River watershed for both the baseline period of 1986–2015 and late‐century time frame of 2070–2099. Historical precipitation data were collected from 16 weather stations in the watershed, while future rainfall time‐series were obtained from an ensemble of 10 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global circulation models under two future emission pathways: Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5. Annual trends in seven precipitation indices were analyzed: total precipitation on wet days (PRCPTOT), maximum length (in days) of dry and wet periods (CDD and CWD, respectively), number of days with precipitation depth ≥20 mm (R20mm), maximum five‐day precipitation depth (RX5day), simple daily precipitation index (SDII) and standardized precipitation index (SPI, a measure of drought severity). Non‐parametric Mann–Kendall test results indicated significant trends for only ≈11% of the stationindex combinations, corresponding to generally increasing trends in PRCPTOT, CWD, R20mm and RX5day and negative trends for the others. Projected magnitudes for PRCPTOT, CDD, CWD, RX5day and SPI, indices associated with the macroweather regime, demonstrated general consistency with trends previously identified and indicated modest increases in PRCPTOT and CWD, slight decrease in CDD, mixed results for RX5day, and increased non‐drought years in the late century relative to the baseline period. Late‐century projections for the remaining indices (SDII, R20mm) demonstrated behavior counter to trends in the trends identified in the baseline period data, suggesting that these indices—which are more closely linked with the weather regime and daily GCM outputs—were relatively less robust.