bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
400 °C Sensor Based on Ni/4H-SiC Schottky Diode for Reliable Temperature Monitoring in Industrial Environments
Authors: Draghici Florin , Brezeanu Gheorghe , Pristavu Gheorghe , Pascu Razvan , Badila Marian , Pribeanu Adriana , Ceuca Emilian
Published: May 2019

This paper presents a high-temperature probe suitable for operating in harsh industrial applications as a reliable alternative to low-lifespan conventional solutions, such as thermocouples. The temperature sensing element is a Schottky diode fabricated on 4H-SiC wafers, with Ni as the Schottky metal, which allows operation at temperatures up to 400 °C, with sensitivities over 2 mV/°C and excellent linearity (R2 > 99.99%). The temperature probe also includes dedicated circuitry for signal acquisition and conversion to the 4 mA–20 mA industrial standard output signal. This read-out circuit can be calibrated for linear response over a tunable temperature detection range. The entire system is designed for full electrical and mechanical compatibility with existing conventional probe casings, allowing for seamless implementation in a factory’s sensor network. Such sensors are tested alongside standard thermocouples, with matching temperature monitoring results, over several months, in real working conditions (a cement factory), up to 400 °C.
Adaptive Segmentation of Remote Sensing Images Based on Global Spatial Information
Authors: Li Muqing , Xu Luping , Gao Shan , Xu Na , Yan Bo
Published: May 2019

The problem of image segmentation can be reduced to the clustering of pixels in the intensity space. The traditional fuzzy c-means algorithm only uses pixel membership information and does not make full use of spatial information around the pixel, so it is not ideal for noise reduction. Therefore, this paper proposes a clustering algorithm based on spatial information to improve the anti-noise and accuracy of image segmentation. Firstly, the image is roughly clustered using the improved Lévy grey wolf optimization algorithm (LGWO) to obtain the initial clustering center. Secondly, the neighborhood and non-neighborhood information around the pixel is added into the target function as spatial information, the weight between the pixel information and non-neighborhood spatial information is adjusted by information entropy, and the traditional Euclidean distance is replaced by the improved distance measure. Finally, the objective function is optimized by the gradient descent method to segment the image correctly.
The Spatiotemporal Distribution of Flash Floods and Analysis of Partition Driving Forces in Yunnan Province
Authors: Xiong Junnan , Ye Chongchong , Cheng Weiming , Guo Liang , Zhou Chenghu , Zhang Xiaolei
Published: May 2019

Flash floods are one of the most serious natural disasters, and have a significant impact on economic development. In this study, we employed the spatiotemporal analysis method to measure the spatial–temporal distribution of flash floods and examined the relationship between flash floods and driving factors in different subregions of landcover. Furthermore, we analyzed the response of flash floods on the economic development by sensitivity analysis. The results indicated that the number of flash floods occurring annually increased gradually from 1949 to 2015, and regions with a high quantity of flash floods were concentrated in Zhaotong, Qujing, Kunming, Yuxi, Chuxiong, Dali, and Baoshan. Specifically, precipitation and elevation had a more significant effect on flash floods in the settlement than in other subregions, with a high r (Pearson’s correlation coefficient) value of 0.675, 0.674, 0.593, 0.519, and 0.395 for the 10 min precipitation in 20-year return period, elevation, 60 min precipitation in 20-year return period, 24 h precipitation in 20-year return period, and 6 h precipitation in 20-year return period, respectively. The sensitivity analysis showed that the Kunming had the highest sensitivity (S = 21.86) during 2000–2005. Based on the research results, we should focus on heavy precipitation events for flash flood prevention and forecasting in the short term; but human activities and ecosystem vulnerability should be controlled over the long term.
Satellite Image-Based Methods of Spatiotemporal Analysis on Sustainable Urban Land Use Change and the Driving Factors: A Case Study in Caofeidian and the Suburbs, China
Authors: Yang Guang , Chao Sara , Tsou Jin Yeu , Zhang Yuanzhi
Published: May 2019

As a typical rapid-development seaport area in coastal cities, such as Caofeidian, the study on the spatiotemporal changes of urban land use and its surrounding rural areas is valuable and significant in reference to the future urban planning and land policies in similar coastal areas of China or other countries. Based on satellite images, this research processes images in different years for summarizing the changes of vegetation, urban areas, and water areas in Caofeidian and the suburbs. This research aims to summarize the experience of the coastal city in the process of sustainable development by analyzing the dynamic trends and driving factors of land use spatial and temporal changes in the target area so that it provides a reference for the long-term development of the city. Meanwhile, it also hopes to give support for refining and improving the spatiotemporal analysis method for sustainable urban land use through the experiment. Due to the appearance of the results of the abnormal data, in the experiment process, this article adopts a comparative experiment to avoid the error of the analysis result and to find out the reason. The results show that the urban area for construction increased rapidly in the past twenty years, which is mainly affected by factors, such as economic development, policy guidance, environmental awareness, and environmental protection measures, especially guided by policies. Thus, coastal cities should stretch the planning of sustainable development from the three aspects combining with local characteristics. Besides, phenological phenomena and crops harvest time tremendously affect the images and calculation. The selection of remotely-sensed images should fully consider the characteristics of urban and rural locations, especially the impact of local phenological phenomena. The results of the analysis provide reference value and support for sustainable urban land management and development in the study area and other coastal cities.
Sustainable Urban Mobility Policies as a Path to Healthy Cities—The Case Study of LMA, Portugal
Authors: Louro Ana , Marques da Costa Nuno , Marques da Costa Eduarda
Published: May 2019

Sustainable development has become the basis of several worldwide policies over the last few decades, and its role will continue to shape policies for decades to come, especially those that are focused on urban mobility. At the same time, urban mobility is included in the framework of the Healthy Cities movement. In this context, using the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), Portugal, as the study area, this article intends to answer the following research question: are sustainable urban mobility policies contributing to healthy cities? Urban mobility planning and public health instruments were compared with the discourses and practices of those responsible for the implementation of urban mobility policies and Healthy Cities projects. The results reveal that a large number of responses proposed in the mobility planning instruments are, to some extent, related to the principles of healthy cities. Also, while municipal agents tend not to consider the inclusion of those principles, they instead incorporate the concepts of sustainable development. Nevertheless, we found that both approaches overlap the policy directions of healthy cities. On the other hand, public health policies and Healthy Cities projects presented a scarce number of references to its interventions in the urban mobility domain and mainly focused on the promotion of soft modes. It is concluded that, in the case of the observed municipalities of the LMA, the healthy cities framework is greatly benefited by the inclusion of sustainable development principles in all policies, especially those for urban mobility.
Indicators for Monitoring Urban Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation
Authors: Feldmeyer Daniel , Wilden Daniela , Kind Christian , Kaiser Theresa , Goldschmidt Rüdiger , Diller Christian , Birkmann Jörn
Published: May 2019

In the face of accelerating climate change, urbanization and the need to adapt to these changes, the concept of resilience as an interdisciplinary and positive approach has gained increasing attention over the last decade. However, measuring resilience and monitoring adaptation efforts have received only limited attention from science and practice so far. Thus, this paper aims to provide an indicator set to measure urban climate resilience and monitor adaptation activities. In order to develop this indicator set, a four-step mixed method approach was implemented: (1) based on a literature review, relevant resilience indicators were selected, (2) researchers, consultants and city representatives were then invited to evaluate those indicators in an online survey before the remaining indicator candidates were validated in a workshop (3) and finally reviewed by sector experts (4). This thorough process resulted in 24 indicators distributed over 24 action fields based on secondary data. The participatory approach allowed the research team to take into account the complexity and interdisciplinarity nature of the topic, as well as place- and context-specific parameters. However, it also showed that in order to conduct a holistic assessment of urban climate resilience, a purely quantitative, indicator-based approach is not sufficient, and additional qualitative information is needed.
Identifying Shared Strategies and Solutions to the Human–Giant Tortoise Interactions in Santa Cruz, Galapagos: A Nominal Group Technique Application
Authors: Benitez-Capistros Francisco , Couenberg Paulina , Nieto Ainoa , Cabrera Freddy , Blake Stephen
Published: May 2019

Conservation conflicts in protected areas are varied and context-specific, but the resulting effects are often similar, leading to important losses for both humans and wildlife. Several methods and approaches have been used to mitigate conservation conflicts, with an increasing emphasis on understanding the human–human dimension of the conflict. In this article, we present a revision of several conservation conflict cases in the management of protected areas, transdisciplinary and participatory approaches to address conservation conflicts, and finalize by illustrating the application of the nominal group technique (NGT) with the case of the human–giant tortoise interactions in Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos. In this article, we demonstrate the use of novel and systematic participatory and deliberative methodology that is able to engage stakeholders in a constructive dialogue to jointly identify and explore options for shared strategies and solutions to conservation conflicts. The results are comparable with other conservation conflicts cases around the world and illustrate the importance of generating legitimatized information that will further help policy and decision-making actions to address conservation conflicts in the management of protected areas.
Asphalt Pavement Acoustic Performance Model
Authors: Kleizienė Rita , Šernas Ovidijus , Vaitkus Audrius , Simanavičienė Rūta
Published: May 2019

Low-noise pavements are used as an effective method of traffic noise mitigation. Low-noise pavements reduce the noise that arises due to interactions between tires and road surfaces (tire/road) via the implementation of three main components: low pavement roughness, negative pavement texture, and a high pavement air-void content. The tire/road noise reduction capabilities of the wearing layer vary depending on the aggregate type, gradation, bitumen and air-void content, and density. Consequently, the demand for an accurate tire/road noise prediction model has arisen from the design of asphalt mixtures. This paper deals with how asphalt mixture components of the wearing layer influence tire/pavement noise reduction and presents a model for tire/road noise level prediction based on the asphalt mixture composition. The paper demonstrates that the noise reduction level of low-noise asphalt pavements is dependent on the composition of the asphalt mixture. Asphalt wearing layer mixture composition parameters were tested in the laboratory from cores taken from 18 road sections, where acoustic properties were measured using a close-proximity (CPX) method. The proposed linear model is based on the bitumen amount, the air-void content of the mixture and aggregate shape and involves materials that comply with the general requirements for high-quality asphalt mixtures. The model allows for the prediction of the tire/road noise level at the asphalt mixture design stage using asphalt mixture components and volumetric properties. The proposed model is the first stage in the building of a complex model with a much wider range of low-noise asphalts components, pavement profile depth and CPX-value relationships.
The Interdependence of Debt and Innovation Sustainability: Evidence from the Onset of Credit Default Swaps
Authors: Chen Yixin , Zhang Junrui
Published: May 2019

Innovation sustainability requires sustainable financing. Extensive research suggests that debt is a disfavored source of innovation financing. In this study, we show that a recent financial development, credit default swaps (CDSs), may change the institutional logics of debt, making debt useful to the financing innovation. To be specific, we find that with CDS protection, creditors become less concerned with a borrowing firm’s credit risk and risk taking, making debt tolerant of early failures and reducing the negative impact of debt on the process of Innovation. In addition, we find that the availability of CDSs is more likely to change the nature of long-term debt than that of short-term debt, making long-term debt a useful instrument for the financing of innovation. Finally, the mitigation effect of CDS on the relation between debt and innovation is more pronounced for CDS firms with higher pay sensitivity to stock price volatility (Vega) and less financial constraints, revealing that a CEO’s incentive, rather than the relaxed financing constraints, is the underlying channel for the reduced negative impact of debt on innovation after CDS trading.
Which Corporate Social Responsibility Performance Affects the Cost of Equity? Evidence from Korea
Authors: Ok Youngkyung , Kim Jungmu
Published: May 2019

This study analyzes the effect of corporate social responsibility activities on the cost of equity in Korea. We find that firms with better corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance generally exhibit cheaper equity financing. Considering three dimensions of CSR separately, we find that a higher “socially responsible management” significantly reduces the cost of equity by 1.13%-1.37% per annum and “Corporate governance” activity also marginally affects the cost of equity, while “environmental management” has no impact. Our result is robust in controlling for systematic risk, size, leverage ratio, and the number of analysts. These results imply that enhancing socially responsible management and corporate governance can increase firm value in Korea, but environmental management is not relevant for firm values. Putting differently, investors tolerate a lower return from firms with more CSR activities, because they expect them to provide sustainable incomes. Future researches can extend our approach to examining the effect on the cost of debt and cost of capital.
Community-Supported Agriculture Marketing Performance: Results from Pilot Market Channel Assessments in Colorado
Authors: Jablonski Becca B. R. , Sullins Martha , Thilmany McFadden Dawn
Published: May 2019

Due in large part to rising consumer interest, the number of farmers and ranchers selling through local food markets is growing. Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a unique local food channel adopted by producers that was initially established as a strategy for producers to directly benefit from the season-long investments of buyers who align with their community-focused mission. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture has long collected data to improve farm performance, information on specific marketing channels is missing, and in response, this research provides some of the first evidence of the heterogeneity of performance among CSAs. In a pilot approach to understanding the economics of CSAs relative to other direct marketing channels, we conducted an assessment process, incorporating 42 farms in Colorado between June 2016 and October 2017. Results showed that farms that incorporated CSA sales in their direct market portfolios tended to be smaller in scale and utilize more diverse markets. Although these CSA farms have lower average weekly sales, they have the highest average marketing profit margins compared to other direct market channels.
Integrating Green Practices into Operational Performance: Evidence from Brazilian Manufacturers
Authors: Santos Hannah , Lannelongue Gustavo , Gonzalez-Benito Javier
Published: May 2019

The pressures exerted by the market, society, regulators and/or clients on organisational environmental responsibility have required companies to adopt environmental management practices. Within this process, integration with suppliers and customers is important to enable companies to meet these demands, and at the same time achieve their organisational goals. Using empirical results from 117 respondents on Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices among Brazilian manufacturers, we examined the impact of the adoption of green practices on operational performance. To do so, we developed a questionnaire to collect the variables on environmental practices and operational performance in manufacturing firms in Brazil, an emerging economy in which this sector accounts for 25% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The results show that the adoption of GSCM between suppliers and/or customers has a positive effect on operational performance. This means companies can benefit from a green supply chain by cooperating with upstream suppliers of environmentally responsible production technology and by exchanging environmental information with them, as well as considering the views of customers and green consumers in their production processes. This study provides empirical support for managers promoting environmental practices that may lead to operational performance and sustainable growth.
Analysis and Design of Typical Automated Container Terminals Layout Considering Carbon Emissions
Authors: Wang Nanxi , Chang Daofang , Shi Xiaowei , Yuan Jun , Gao Yinping
Published: May 2019

With the rapid development of world economy and trade and the continuous construction of green port, automated container terminal (ACT) has increasingly become the direction of future development. Layout design is the premise of ACT construction, which has an at least 50-year influence on the terminal. Therefore, this paper hopes to analyze and design the typical ACT layout to achieve sustainable development of the port. Firstly, a conceptual model is presented considering the interaction between different areas within the ACT when the width and length of the terminal are fixed. To select the optimal layout to achieve the goal of the green terminal, a novel mathematical model is established based on the energy consumption during cycle operation of various devices which can estimate the total carbon emission of an ACT over a period and is suitable for designing period. Then, with the developed model, an ACT in East China was taken as a case study. Finally, according to various analysis of the data results, the layout suggestion considering the sustainable development of the port is given.
Coworking and Sustainable Business Model Innovation in Young Firms
Authors: Cheah Sarah , Ho Yuen-Ping
Published: May 2019

In larger cities, we see a rising trend of more people working outside their traditional offices, and engaging in a practice called co-working by sharing office space. The public policy makers of innovation-driven economies, on the other hand, have been availing co-working spaces and related support to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. Despite the growing significance of this area, there has been limited research on the link between coworking and innovation among young firms. This research examines the relationship between coworking space and innovation, particularly business model innovation (BMI) for sustainable performance. Based on an empirical study of 258 young tenant firms operating in 13 coworking spaces in Singapore, we establish that the space creativity of coworking spaces is positively related to the BMI outcome of tenant firms. Tenant firms’ opportunity recognition and exploitation (ORE) process positively mediates the relationship between the space creativity of coworking spaces and the BMI outcome of tenant firms. While the social climate of the coworking space is found to have no direct effect on the BMI outcome of tenant firms, tenant firms’ ORE process positively mediates the relationship between the social climate of coworking spaces and the sustainable BMI outcome of tenant firms.
Experimental Study on Static Mechanical Properties and Moisture Contents of Concrete Under Water Environment
Authors: Zhang Guohui , Li Xiaohang , Li Zongli
Published: May 2019

This paper presents an experiment to investigate the influence of moisture on the static mechanical properties of concrete, and prediction equations for strength and fracture toughness of concrete at different strength grades, relative to water saturation, were established respectively. The research results show that all of the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and fracture toughness of concrete exhibit an approximately linearly decreasing trend with the increase in water saturation. For saturated concrete specimens with w/c 0.65, 0.55, 0.42 compared with dry ones, compressive strength decreases by 40.08%, 36.08%, and 33.73%, respectively, splitting tensile strength decreases by 45.39%, 42.61%, and 35.18%, respectively, and fracture toughness decreases by 57.31%, 49.92%, and 46.76%, respectively. The higher the water saturation of concrete, the larger the slope of the ascending part of the uniaxial compressive stress-strain curve, and the smaller the peak strain corresponding to the peak compressive stress, then in this case, both crack mouth opening displacement and loading point deflection corresponding to the critical load on three-point bending beam, decrease. Ingress of water causes the deformation capacity to decrease, and the toughness to weaken, which are unfavorable to the mechanical properties of concrete.
Responsible Research and Innovation: Using the Requirements Tool for Stakeholder Engagement in Developing a Universal Design for Learning Guidelines for Practice
Authors: Wilford Sara H.
Published: May 2019

Responsible research and innovation (RRI) is growing in importance, and alongside this growth is an acknowledgement that for research and innovation projects to be successful, stakeholders must be involved from the outset. When developing guidelines for practice, stakeholders will often be presented with a document to ratify rather than one to develop or revise. This gap in stakeholder engagement has been recognised and addressed by the development of the requirements tool. This tool was originally created to provide a systematic approach to the development of guidelines for the governance of RRI, but it was quickly recognised that the tool can bridge the gap and involve stakeholders from the outset, thereby increasing the likelihood of buy-in. This paper presents the second validated use of the tool that was used to inform the revision of guidelines for the introduction of a universal design for learning (UDL) at a UK University. The resulting revised guidelines for practice and their adoption by those tasked with producing them provide further evidence of the value and flexibility of the tool and its potential for its continued use in the future development or revision of guidelines.
The Role of Large Dams in Promoting Economic Development under the Pressure of Population Growth
Authors: Shi Haiyun , Chen Ji , Liu Suning , Sivakumar Bellie
Published: May 2019

The close relationship between large dams and social development (i.e., water, food, and energy consumption) has been revealed in previous studies, and the vital role of large dams in sustaining societies has been recognized. With population projections indicating continued growth during this century, it is expected that further economic development of society, e.g., Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, will be greatly affected by possible challenges, such as water, food, and energy shortages in the future, especially if proper planning, development, and management strategies are not adopted. In our previous study, we have argued that construction of additional large dams will be considered as one of the best available options to meet future increases in water, food, and energy demands, which are all crucial to sustain economic development. In the present study, firstly, we will emphasize the vital role of dams in promoting economic growth through analyzing the relationship between large dam development and GDP growth at both global and national scales. Secondly, based on the projection results of future large dam development, we will preliminarily predict the future economic development represented by GDP. The results show that the impacts of large dams upon GDP are more significant in countries with higher levels of socioeconomic development, which generally supports large dams as the vital factor to promote economic development.
Terroir in Transition: Environmental Change in the Wisconsin Artisanal Cheese and New England Oyster Sectors
Authors: Teigen De Master Kathryn , LaChance James , Bowen Sarah , MacNell Lillian
Published: May 2019

Even as the concept of terroir becomes more salient in diverse cultural and national contexts, climate-driven environmental change threatens to alter the ecologies that contribute to the distinctive terroir of place-based products. Yet few studies examine how producers of terroir products perceive and experience environmental change. Our comparative case study addresses this gap, as we examine ways that changing ecological conditions will influence the emergent terroir of Wisconsin artisanal cheese and New England oysters. Drawing on in-depth interviews and a survey, we describe the environmental and sociocultural elements that Wisconsin artisanal cheesemakers and New England oyster farmers identify as characteristic of the terroir and merroir (terroir’s maritime adaptation) of their products. We then compare cheesemakers’ and oyster farmers’ perceptions and experiences of climate change. We find that both groups perceive climate-related threats to the terroir and merroir of their products, though each group experienced these threats differently. We argue that the ongoing constitution of terroir—which has always reflected a tension between nature and culture—will be further complicated by changing ecologies. We suggest that a generative understanding of terroir that emphasizes terroir’s sociocultural dimensions may help artisanal cheesemakers and oyster farmers mitigate some climate-related threats to their products.
Does Sustainability Score Impact Mutual Fund Performance?
Authors: Durán-Santomil Pablo , Otero-González Luis , Correia-Domingues Renato Heitor , Reboredo Juan Carlos
Published: May 2019

Given that sustainable investing constitutes a major force across global financial markets, in 2016 Morningstar began reporting Morningstar Sustainability scores. We used the 2016, 2017 and 2018 scores to study the effects of socially responsible investments (SRI) on European equity fund performance. Sustainability scores impacted positively on performance, which was consistent with the idea that the mutual funds invested in companies with better scores generate better risk-adjusted and not-risk adjusted performance. We also tested the relation on mutual fund flows and risk. The sustainability score in the previous year is significant on the flows, so higher-rated funds receive a larger volume of funds. In terms of risk, the level of sustainability is negatively related to the value at risk (VaR) of the fund, supporting that higher scored mutual funds offer better protection against extreme losses.
Research on the Choice Behavior of Taxis and Express Services Based on the SEM-Logit Model
Authors: Si Yang , Guan Hongzhi , Cui Yuchao
Published: May 2019

With the development of Internet technology, online car-hailing is booming in China, which has profoundly affected people’s travel structures. In order to seek the sustainable development of taxi and online car-hailing services from the perspective of passenger mode choice behavior, the mechanism of passengers’ decision-making procedures and their travel mode choice behaviors were analyzed. To study the influence of latent variable factors on passenger choice behavior, this paper firstly designed a questionnaire, and a structural equation model (SEM) was established for the preliminary study of the relationship between the latent variables and the behavioral intentions using the online survey data. Then, the latent variables were introduced into the Logit model, setting up the SEM-Logit model to explore the mode choice patterns between taxis and online car services. The results showed that the SEM-Logit model with the latent variables is better than a general Logit model in terms of the model precision and hit ratio. Meanwhile, after introducing the latent variables, it was found that convenience, comfort, and economy factors have a significant influence on the model, and the explanatory power of the model increases accordingly.
A Novel Sketch-Based Three-Dimensional Shape Retrieval Method Using Multi-View Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: Mao Dianhui , Hao Zhihao
Published: May 2019

Retrieving 3D models by adopting hand-drawn sketches to be the input has turned out to be a popular study topic. Most current methods are based on manually selected features and the best view produced for 3D model calculations. However, there are many problems with these methods such as distortion. For the purpose of dealing with such issues, this paper proposes a novel feature representation method to select the projection view and adapt the maxout network to the extended Siamese network architecture. In addition, the strategy is able to handle the over-fitting issue of convolutional neural networks (CNN) and mitigate the discrepancies between the 3D shape domain and the sketch. A pre-trained AlexNet was used to sketch the extract features. For 3D shapes, multiple 2D views were compiled into compact feature vectors using pre-trained multi-view CNNs. Then the Siamese convolutional neural networks were learnt for transforming the two domains’ original characteristics into nonlinear feature space, which mitigated the domain discrepancy and kept the discriminations. Two large data sets were used for experiments, and the experimental results show that the method is superior to the prior art methods in accuracy.
Introduction to Non-Standard Neutrosophic Topology
Authors: Al Shumrani Mohammed A. , Smarandache Florentin
Published: May 2019

For the first time we introduce non-standard neutrosophic topology on the extended non-standard analysis space, called non-standard real monad space, which is closed under neutrosophic non-standard infimum and supremum. Many classical topological concepts are extended to the non-standard neutrosophic topology, several theorems and properties about them are proven, and many examples are presented.
Applying Event-Related Potentials to Measure Perceptual Experience toward the Navigation Interface of a Mobile Game for Improving the Design
Authors: Guo Fu , Jiang Jun-Yi , Tian Xiao-Hui , Chen Jia-Hao
Published: May 2019

High-level user experience has become the key factor that one game can be successful in the game market. The home page of mobile games, especially the design of the navigation interface, has a significant impact on users’ initial experience, which is an important determent to users’ preferences and purchase decision. Hence, measuring users’ perceptual experiences of the navigation interface can help designers understand real demands from users. Previous studies primarily used self-report scales or interviews to measure gamers’ perceptual experiences. However, it may not reflect gamers’ real perceptions that they are feeling as most of time the feeling is short-lived and implicit. To fill this gap, the current study attempted to combine subjective evaluation with event-related potentials (ERP) to objectively measure gamers’ perceptual experience evoked by the navigation interface of the mobile game. The navigation interfaces of mobile games with low, medium, and high perceptual experience were developed and the ERP experiment was conducted to detect the differences in users’ electroencephalograph (EEG) components when subjects were exposed to the different design levels of navigation interface. The results showed that N1 reaction showed asymmetry in brain regions, and P2 and N2 showed symmetry, and relative to the navigation interface with low and medium perceptual experiences, the high level of navigation interface induced a larger amplitude of N2 in the anterior scalp and P2 in the frontal scalp. These EEG components can, therefore, be regarded as significant indicators reflecting gamers’ perceptions of the navigation interface. The findings benefit game companies of navigation interface designs.
Pilot-Based Adaptive Channel Estimation for Underwater Spatial Modulation Technologies
Authors: Junejo Naveed Ur Rehman , Esmaiel Hamada , Sun Haixin , Qasem Zeyad A. H. , Wang Junfeng
Published: May 2019

Spatial Modulation Technologies (SMTs) are schemes that reduce inter-carrier interference (ICI), inter-channel interference, inter-antenna synchronization (IAS), and system complexity for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems. Moreover, high spectral and energy efficiency have rendered SMTs attractive to underwater acoustic (UWA) MIMO communication systems. Consequently, this paper focuses on SMTs such as spatial modulation (SM), generalized spatial modulation (GSM), and fully generalized spatial modulation (FGSM) in which one constant number and one multiple number of antennas are active to transmit data symbols in any time interval for underwater acoustic communication (UWAC). In SMTs, the receiver requires perfect channel state information (P-CSI) for accurate data detection. However, it is impractical that the perfect channel knowledge is available at the receiver. Therefore, channel estimation is of critical importance to obtain the CSI. This paper proposes the pilot-based recursive least-square (RLS) adaptive channel estimation method over the underwater time-varying MIMO channel. Furthermore, maximum likelihood (ML) decoder is used to detect the transmitted data and antennas indices from the received signal and the estimated UWA-MIMO channel. The numerical computation of mean square error (MSE) and bit error rate (BER) performance are computed for different SMTs like SM, GSM and FSGM using Monte Carlo iterations. Simulation results demonstrate that the RLS channel estimation method achieves the nearly same BER performance as P-CSI.
Evidence for Snake Venom Plasticity in a Long-Term Study with Individual Captive Bothrops atrox
Authors: Amazonas Diana R. , Freitas-de-Sousa Luciana A. , Orefice Daniele P. , Sousa Leijiane F. de , Martinez Melissa G. , Mourão Rosa H. V. , Chalkidis Hipócrates M. , Camargo Plínio B. , Moura-da-Silva Ana M.
Published: May 2019

Variability in snake venom composition has been frequently reported and correlated to the adaptability of snakes to environmental conditions. Previous studies report plasticity for the venom phenotype. However, these observations are not conclusive, as the results were based on pooled venoms, which present high individual variability. Here we tested the hypothesis of plasticity by influence of confinement and single diet type in the venom composition of 13 adult specimens of Bothrops atrox snakes, maintained under captivity for more than three years. Individual variability in venom composition was observed in samples extracted just after the capture of the snakes. However, composition was conserved in venoms periodically extracted from nine specimens, which presented low variability restricted to the less abundant components. In a second group, composed of four snakes, drastic changes were observed in the venom samples extracted at different periods, mostly related to snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs), the core function toxins of B. atrox venom, which occurred approximately between 400 and 500 days in captivity. These data show plasticity in the venom phenotype during the lifetime of adult snakes maintained under captive conditions. Causes or functional consequences involved in the phenotype modification require further investigations.
Isolation, Molecular Identification and Mycotoxin Profile of Fusarium Species Isolated from Maize Kernels in Iran
Authors: Fallahi Maryam , Saremi Hossein , Javan-Nikkhah Mohammad , Somma Stefania , Haidukowski Miriam , Logrieco Antonio Francesco , Moretti Antonio
Published: May 2019

Fusarium species are among the most important fungal pathogens of maize, where they cause severe reduction of yield and accumulation of a wide range of harmful mycotoxins in the kernels. In order to identify the Fusarium species and their mycotoxin profiles associated to maize ear rot and kernel contamination in Iran, a wide sampling was carried out from field in ten major maize-producing provinces in Iran, during 2015 and 2016. From 182 samples of maize kernels, 551 strains were isolated and identified as belonging to Fusarium genus. Among the 234 representative strains identified at species level by translation elongation factor (EF-1α) sequences, the main Fusarium species were F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum, together representing 90% of the Iranian Fusarium population, and, to a lesser extent, F. incarnatum equiseti species complex (FIESC), F. thapsinum and F. redolens. Fumonisin (FBs) production by F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum representative strains was analysed, showing that all strains produced FB1. None of F. verticillioides strains produced FB2 nor FB3, while both FB2 and FB3 were produced only by F. proliferatum. Total mean of FBs production by F. verticillioides was higher than F. proliferatum. The occurrence of different Fusarium species on Iranian maize is reason of great concern because of the toxigenic risk associated to these species. Moreover, the diversity of the species identified increases the toxigenic risk associated to Fusarium contaminated maize kernels, because of the high possibility that a multi-toxin contamination can occur with harmful consequences on human and animal health.
Detection of a Novel Phlebovirus (Drin Virus) from Sand Flies in Albania
Authors: Bino Silvia , Velo Enkelejda , Kadriaj Përparim , Kota Majlinda , Moureau Gregory , Lamballerie Xavier de , Bagramian Ani , Charrel Remi N. , Ayhan Nazli
Published: May 2019

Phlebotomine sand flies are generalist vectors with significant implications for public health. They are able to transmit phleboviruses that cause sand fly fever, headaches, or meningitis in humans. Albania is a country in Southeast Europe with a typical Mediterranean climate which provides convenient conditions for the presence of sand flies. Hence, the circulation of phleboviruses, such as the Toscana and Balkan viruses, has been recently described in the country. We followed a virus discovery approach on sand fly samples collected in 2015 and 2016 in seven regions of Albania, with the aim to investigate and characterize potentially circulating phleboviruses in phlebotomine sand flies. A presumed novel phlebovirus was detected in a pool consisting of 24 Phlebotomus neglectus males. The virus was provisionally named the Drin virus after a river near the locality of Kukës, where the infected sand flies were trapped. Genetic and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Drin virus is closely related to the Corfou (CFUV) virus, isolated in the 1980s from Phlebotomus major sand flies on the eponymous island of Greece, and may also be involved in human infections because of its similarity to the sand fly fever Sicilian virus. The latter justifies further studies to specifically address this concern. Together with recent findings, this study confirms that Albania and the Balkan peninsula are hot spots for phleboviruses.
Exploiting the Legacy of the Arbovirus Hunters
Authors: Vasilakis Nikos , Tesh Robert B. , Popov Vsevolod L. , Widen Steve G. , Wood Thomas G. , Forrester Naomi L. , Gonzalez Jean Paul , Saluzzo Jean Francois , Alkhovsky Sergey , Lam Sai Kit , Mackenzie John S. , Walker Peter J.
Published: May 2019

In recent years, it has become evident that a generational gap has developed in the community of arbovirus research. This apparent gap is due to the dis-investment of training for the next generation of arbovirologists, which threatens to derail the rich history of virus discovery, field epidemiology, and understanding of the richness of diversity that surrounds us. On the other hand, new technologies have resulted in an explosion of virus discovery that is constantly redefining the virosphere and the evolutionary relationships between viruses. This paradox presents new challenges that may have immediate and disastrous consequences for public health when yet to be discovered arboviruses emerge. In this review we endeavor to bridge this gap by providing a historical context for the work being conducted today and provide continuity between the generations. To this end, we will provide a narrative of the thrill of scientific discovery and excitement and the challenges lying ahead.
Wheat streak mosaic virus P1 Binds to dsRNAs without Size and Sequence Specificity and a GW Motif Is Crucial for Suppression of RNA Silencing
Authors: Gupta Adarsh K. , Tatineni Satyanarayana
Published: May 2019

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV; genus Tritimovirus; family Potyviridae) is an economically important virus infecting wheat in the Great Plains region of the USA. Previously, we reported that the P1 protein of WSMV acts as a viral suppressor of RNA silencing. In this study, we delineated the minimal region of WSMV P1 and examined its mechanisms in suppression of RNA silencing. We found that the 25 N-terminal amino acids are dispensable, while deletion of a single amino acid at the C-terminal region completely abolished the RNA silencing suppression activity of P1. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays with in vitro expressed P1 revealed that the P1 protein formed complexes with green fluorescent protein-derived 180-nt dsRNA and 21 and 24-nt ds-siRNAs, and WSMV coat protein-specific 600-nt dsRNA. These data suggest that the P1 protein of WSMV binds to dsRNAs in a size- and sequence-independent manner. Additionally, in vitro dicing assay with human Dicer revealed that the P1 protein efficiently protects dsRNAs from processing by Dicer into siRNAs, by forming complexes with dsRNA. Sequence comparison of P1-like proteins from select potyvirid species revealed that WSMV P1 harbors a glycine-tryptophan (GW) motif at the C-terminal region. Disruption of GW motif in WSMV P1 through W303A mutation resulted in loss of silencing suppression function and pathogenicity enhancement, and abolished WSMV viability. These data suggest that the mechanisms of suppression of RNA silencing of P1 proteins of potyvirid species appear to be broadly conserved in the family Potyviridae.
What Can Eye Movements Tell Us about Subtle Cognitive Processing Differences in Autism?
Authors: Howard Philippa L , Zhang Li , Benson Valerie
Published: May 2019

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is neurodevelopmental condition principally characterised by impairments in social interaction and communication, and repetitive behaviours and interests. This article reviews the eye movement studies designed to investigate the underlying sampling or processing differences that might account for the principal characteristics of autism. Following a brief summary of a previous review chapter by one of the authors of the current paper, a detailed review of eye movement studies investigating various aspects of processing in autism over the last decade will be presented. The literature will be organised into sections covering different cognitive components, including language and social communication and interaction studies. The aim of the review will be to show how eye movement studies provide a very useful on-line processing measure, allowing us to account for observed differences in behavioural data (accuracy and reaction times). The subtle processing differences that eye movement data reveal in both language and social processing have the potential to impact in the everyday communication domain in autism.
A Revised Method of Surface Water Quality Evaluation Based on Background Values and Its Application to Samples Collected in Heilongjiang Province, China
Authors: Duan Maoqing , Du Xia , Peng Wenqi , Zhang Shijie , Yan Linqing
Published: May 2019

In China, the use of certain standards to evaluate surface water quality in areas with high background values due to natural factors rather than to human activities results in water quality underestimation and thus affects regional water quality management and decision-making. Herein, we examined river source water function zones of the Heilongjang province characterised by high background values and analysed the corresponding water quality data acquired in 2011–2016. The examined samples featured elevated chemical oxygen demand (COD), permanganate index (CODMn), and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) levels, which indicated that water quality was affected by the natural environment. The concentrations of background pollutants almost exceeded the limits stipulated by regional surface water quality standards and exhibited strong spatiotemporal variability. A three-step discrimination method including single index recognition, limiting factors, and a synthetic index was proposed to distinguish the background area among these zones for determining background values, and 10 complete background areas were identified. The background values of COD, CODMn, and NH3-N for the entire area were determined based on the data acquired during background area monitoring. Finally, considering the present procedure of water quality evaluation in China (single factor exponential method), a revised method based on background values was suggested. Thus, the evaluation results objectively and accurately reflect the regional water quality situation and therefore provide a scientific basis for the development of a better water quality assessment and management system in China.