bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seeking alternatives of water-saving irrigation: sprinkler irrigation for smallholder sugarcane farmers in East Java, Indonesia
Authors: Rasyid Ridla Ranomahera Muhammad , Ritzema Henk
Published: February 2020

Sugarcane farmers in Lumajang in East Java Province have a strong preference of using furrow irrigation instead of sprinkler irrigation. To evaluate the possibility of smallholder sprinkler irrigation as an alternative water-saving irrigation method, the aim of this research is to examine the socio-technical dimension of current irrigation practices of smallholder sugarcane farmers, emphasizing the extent of farmer perspectives and knowledge. As comparison to furrows, a smallholder sprinkler system was designed and evaluated. The sprinkler was expected to fit smallholders’ acreage, has low investment costs, is easy to build by locals, and is easy in its operation. The responses, perspectives and expectations of farmers to this smallholder sprinkler system are also discussed. The results indicated that smallholder sugarcane farmers perceive furrow irrigation as the best and low-cost irrigation method. They have already spent money on furrow irrigation investment; however, that investment was seen as a burden for their budgets because smallholders perceived sprinkler irrigation as an expensive irrigation method. In addition, the sprinkler could not satisfy their main expectation because it delivered less water than furrows, meaning the soil was not saturated. This mind-set underlines the slow acceptance process of a relatively new irrigation technology implementation for smallholders in Indonesia.
Estimation of groundwater potential using the electrical resistivity method - Wenner Array
Authors: Wahyuni Sri , Halik Gusfan , Ainur Rohmah Maisaroh , Sisinggih Dian
Published: February 2020

Groundwater as a water resource has now become a complex national issue. Therefore, due to excessive groundwater abstraction, it is necessary to minimize the negative impact. This research aims to estimate groundwater level distribution and its possible use at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Jember. A total path length of 392 meters was investigated. Field data was collected using a resistivity meter with the Wenner configuration method. In addition, the data obtained from the measurements were processed using RES2DINV software. The results showed that the distribution of groundwater lies at depths between 25.3-39.7 meters. Meanwhile, the potential use for aquifers is classified as moderate. This is based on the classification of groundwater potential, which indicated that the layers of soil at the site contain alluvium plains and coarse-grained to medium gravel and sand, with the addition of clay.
Evaluation of pipe network distribution system using EPANET 2.0 (a case study of the city of Jember)
Authors: Yunarni Widiarti Wiwik , Wahyuni Sri , Utami Agung Wiyono Retno , Hidayah Entin , Halik Gusfan , Sisinggih Dian
Published: February 2020

Fulfilment of drinking water needs is one of the government programs to support the achievement of the target of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of the important parameters in the fulfilment of drinking water needs is a good distribution system. The aims of this research are to create a design to analyse the hydraulic model of drinking water distribution. The utilized model involved the EPANET 2.0 software. The utilized data included land elevation, pipe distribution base map, population, and discharge. The results indicated that the existing design has not fulfilled the standards of availability, hydraulics analysis, and calibration. Therefore, there needs to be a redesign that fulfils all parameters. The results of the new design requires a two-stage development process for the new water distribution system, with the first stage to be executed in 2015-2020 and the second stage to be executed in 2020-2025. Hydraulic analysis shows that additional discharge is needed to increase pressure and velocity. Model calibration was performed by comparing simulated data with field data; the result of pressure calibration is 0.928 and the result of discharge calibration is 0.894. These two results indicated that the results of the simulation are highly correlated with the field conditions.
Model of rainfall erosion index for predicting the potential erosion rate by using a rainfall simulator
Authors: Yulianti Erni , Montarcih Limantara Lily , Suhartanto Ery , Dermawan Very
Published: February 2020

The intent of this research is to investigate the rainfall erosion index that has the highest correlation to the surface runoff volume and the amount of soil erosion. In addition, the aim of this research is to determine the effective rainfall erosion index to predict soil erosion based on observations. This research was conducted in a hydrology laboratory by using a rainfall simulator. The three methods that were used for analysing rainfall erosion were the formulas of EI30 by Bols, Utomo, and Lenvain. The result is expected to become a consideration in selecting the model of rainfall erosion index due to the rainfall factor as the input of soil erosion prediction. This research provides a temporary hypothesis for obtaining the value of the rain erosivity index with a different value from previous studies with EI30, which leads to the latest model for estimating and predicting from the Bols equation. Based on this research, the rain erosivity index was obtained with a predicting value and final equation of EI30 = 5.128 x (Rain)1.26 x (Days)0.47 x (Maxp)0.53 x (High)0.61 with the explained value from research analysis being EI30 = 5.128 x (50.002)1.35 x (23)0.47 x (622)0.53 x (12)0.61. Analysis was then performed with trial and error, and the conclusion of this research is a high rain erosivity index.
Assessment of critical land using geographic information systems - a case study of Limboto watershed, Gorontalo
Authors: Ramdhan Olii Muhammad , Ichsan Ilyas
Published: February 2020

Limboto is one of the watersheds in Indonesia that have suffered considerable damage. The degradation of Limboto Watershed was caused by extended land allocation for dry land agriculture that does not regard conservation practices, especially for corn as the main commodity from Gorontalo. Watershed degradation is directly proportional to an increase in critical land affected by various factors, which are land use, slope, and soil erosion. The aim of this research is to assess and to represent the spatial distribution of critical land in the Limboto Watershed based on the Directorate-General of Watershed Management and Forest Protection Regulation Number P.3/PDASHL/SET/KUM.1/7/2018 on the Technical Guidelines for the Drafting Spatial Data on Critical Land. The factors of critical land were collected and processed through a geographic information system (GIS)-based approach. The results of this study indicated that the Limboto Watershed is dominated by land of rather critical class. This provides useful information for decision makers and the local government to take appropriate land management measures in Limboto Watershed.
The continuous snake-line method as a potential indicator of warning levels for landslides and lahar disasters
Authors: Pamudji Rahardjo Adam , Saiful Syafiq Zakaria , Legono Djoko
Published: February 2020

A combination of long-term rainfall index (LRI) and short-term rainfall index (SRI) is commonly used as an indicator for estimating whether a series of rainfalls is likely or unlikely to cause landslides or lahar flows. The LRI represents the condition of soil structure instability. The SRI represents the condition of soil surface instability. A critical line can be drawn separating zones of occurring and non-occurring landslides or lahar floods. An occurrence of series of rainfalls can be monitored by drawing a snake line representing the progression of LRI-SRI values. By selecting an appropriate definition of LRI and SRI indices, a continuous snake-line can be developed for monitoring warning conditions of progressing rainfall events. Several existing definitions of LRI vs. SRI such as cumulative rainfall vs. hourly rainfall, working rainfall vs. hourly rainfall, and working rainfall with long half-life vs. working rainfall with short half-life were reviewed in terms of their effectiveness in delivering warning and practicability in drawing and reading the snake-line. A procedure for accommodating snake-line drawings of several definitions was established. The procedure was tested by several serial rainfall events and has shown good capability in facilitating monitoring activities for landslides or flood warnings.
Determination of nucleation assay for anti-urolithiasis activity from bagasse Musa acuminate x balbisiana Colla cv. Pisang Awak Legor methanolic extracts using uv-spectrometer and size measurement.
Authors: Zarin M A , Tan J S , Ahmad R , Jin N Z , Aziz N F H A
Published: February 2020

Determination of inhibition of calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystallisation in vitro by nucleation assay is based on the rates of nucleation by comparing the slope of the turbidity of a control system with that of one exposed to the extract, which was found to be inaccurate when the CaOx crystals were formed and precipitated. A need exists for improved methods to determine the inhibition activity in nucleation assay for the study of anti-urolithiasis activity. In this study, the size reduction of CaOx crystals after treated with methanolic extract of Musa acuminate x balbisiana Colla cv. Pisang Awak Legor bagasse was measured under light microscopy and correlated to the turbidity and percentage of inhibition. Different concentrations of bagasse extract (2, 10, 30, 50 and 100 mg/ml) were investigated and the result shows that high concentration of extract would promote reduction in CaOx’s stone size, but it increased the amount of sediment crystals, resulting high turbidity. The stone size was reduced up to 93.76±0.19% in the presence of 100 mg/mL extract while the inhibition percentage was negative (-102.17±0.04%) as the optical density (OD) of the extract was higher than control in the turbidity calculation. The results of this study are expected to provide an understanding on the way of calculating the activity in nucleation assay.
Thermal Conductivity and Sound Absorption Properties of Carbon Nanotube / Foam Aluminum Composites
Authors: Liu Zhe , Chen Mingying , Han Junjiao , Lang Zhaoyang , Yan Xiaoqin , Gu Yousong , Ji Zhe , Jia Chengchang
Published: February 2020

This article uses powder metallurgy technology to prepare foamed aluminum and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) / foamed aluminum composites. The laser thermal diffusion analyzer, thermal analyzer, and transfer function sound absorption coefficient test system were used to study the thermal conductivity and sound absorption properties of aluminum foam and its composites, respectively. The results show that the thermal conductivity of aluminum foam with 79% porosity is only 5W · m−1·K−1, which is much smaller than the thermal conductivity of aluminum. So it can be used as an ideal thermal insulation material; The thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) / foamed aluminum-based composites increases first and then decreases with the increase in the mass fraction of CNTs. As the test temperature increases, the thermal conductivity of the material gradually increases. When the mass fraction of CNTs is 0.75%, the thermal conductivity of foamed aluminum-based composites reaches the maximum. As the test frequency increases, the sound absorption performance of foamed aluminum first increases, then decreases, and then gradually increases, reaching a maximum value around 1000 Hz. The sound absorption performance of CNTs / foam aluminum matrix composites decreases at lower test frequencies as the mass fraction of CNTs increases. At higher frequencies, as the mass fraction of CNTs increases, the sound absorption coefficient of foamed aluminum decreases first and then increases.
Analysis of T23 Steel Weld-Joint on the Stress Relaxation Crack at Medium Temperature
Authors: Sun Zhiqiang , Wang Yuwei , Chen Zhongbing , Zhang Yu , Ding Yongsan , Zhu Hongbin , Yin Shaohua
Published: February 2020

This paper issues a new type of reheat-crack of T23 steel weld which is deferent to the cracks occurred at higher temperature above 550 degree as literatures reported. The specimen to be studied taken from a unit with long service time is analyzed by means of metallographic, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. When further in-depth analysis is carried out on the test results, we find that Ti (Al) -N compounds are precipitated at grain boundaries, promote the formation of cavities, and finally become crack. Although the temperature of the crack is only about 380 degree which is much lower than the reheat-crack sensitivite temperature limit of T23 steel, but we also regard this crack as a type of stress relaxation crack which is another form of reheat-crack in coarse grained region of T23 steel weld-joint under specific service environment.
First-Principles Investigation of β-Titanium Doping with Trace Transition Metal Elements
Authors: Song Jia , Wang Luyu , Wu Kaiqi , Wu Wenheng , Zhang Liang
Published: February 2020

The lattice parameters, formation enthalpy, and electronic structures of β-Ti doping with trace transition metal element X (X=Cr, In, Mo, Nb, Pd, Rh, Ru, Sc, Tc, and Y) were systematically calculated by first-principles simulations to explore the effect of these metal elements on the stability of β-Ti at 0 K. Based on our calculations, a satisfactory linear function is found between atomic radius of dopant X and corresponding volume difference. The formation enthalpy results show that the addition of trace transition metal X plays a positive role in the thermodynamical stability of β-Ti at 0 K. This intriguing behavior is well explained by the density of state (DOS).
Construction and Application of Height Control Model of Urban Building based on GIS: Taking Guanyun County as an Example
Authors: Zhang Lei , Yao Lin , Chen Xiaohua
Published: February 2020

It has become an urgent demand of urban residents to shape the appropriate urban space style and strengthen the sharing of landscape resources through the height control of urban buildings. Starting from the visual corridor of urban landscape, taking Guanyun County, Jiangsu Province as an example, a scientific and efficient height control model and planning technical framework for urban buildings were constructed based on GIS. Based on the demonstration of the surrounding area of Dayi Mountain in Guanyun County, scientific viewpoint selection and multi-dimensional line-of-sight control analysis were carried out to construct the three-level urban building height control model: reference model of urban height control, modified model of urban height control, status quo correction model of urban height control. Finally, the height control zones of urban buildings were divided and planning guidelines were proposed. It can provide reference for the research on height control of urban buildings and related planning and construction.
Numerical Model Progress of Liquid Fuel Micro-droplets Evaporation
Authors: Yu Yang , Zhang Xiao
Published: February 2020

The evaporation of spray injected in material and mechanical engineering has significant effect on mixture formation, emissions and power output. In fact, for only micro-droplets in regular arrangement, fluid motion, supercritical and various shapes changed with time and so on, these common phenomena are quite complex and difficult to be understood and simulated. Especially, the studies of latest decade can show the development level of the relevant models, which will be reviewed in this paper. Some typical traditional quasi- and multi-dimensional models predicting various evaporation characteristics are reviewed for the newest developments to understand much more complex species, momentum and heat transport phenomena through the gas-liquid interface in industrial sprays with real operating conditions. Some experiments used to compare with these models developed are analyzed to reveal some aspect to be improved both for experiment and model. As can be seen from the comparison of the multidimensional results with the quasi-dimensional ones, the more comprehensive models are apparently in favor of understanding the micro-droplet evaporation better. Furthermore, the micro-droplet group shows more complex evaporation process than that of isolate micro-droplet.
Biomass Derived Fuels for Gas Turbine Application
Authors: Zhang Taiyan , Yao Yongling , Lu Chengbin , Xu Bin , He Dongyang
Published: February 2020

The use of biomass-derived fuels as an alternative energy has become a key solution to solve fossil fuels shortage and reduce greenhouse gas emission. With the development on biomass energy conversion, biofuels show great improvement in product yield, fuel quality and combustion characteristics, making it possible for gas turbine applications. The stable combustion flame of the gas turbine makes it adaptable to various biofuels. The main research of utilizing biomass-derived fuels in gas turbine in recent years was summarized. Characteristics and combustion feasibility of typical biofuels were discussed including both liquid phase biofuels and gas phase biofuels. The combustion performance, pollutant emission and combustion optimization of biofuels combustion in gas turbines was analysed. The main problems and effective solutions for biofuel applications were summarized, providing guidance for clean and efficient use of biofuels in gas turbines.
Hydrochemical Types of Karst Groundwater in Tailai Basin
Authors: Feng Jianguo , Ji Deshuai , Gao Zongjun , Lu Tongmin , He Minghao
Published: February 2020

Karst water resources is about 24% of the total amount of groundwater resources that can be exploited in China. Among the 15 groundwater sources in Tailai Basin, there are 12 karst water sources, accounting for 80%. With the survey and evaluation data of groundwater sources in Shandong Province, hydrochemical types analysis of karst water is carried out by Schukalev classification and The trilinear chart by Piper, and it is of great significance to development and utilization of karst water. The hydrochemical types of karst water is dominated by HCO3·SO4-Ca water. However, if the naming of hydrochemical types involve nitrate, excess 39% of the karst water hydrochemical types changes. In addition, historical data shows that the concentration of nitrate in karst water has gradually increased, so it is recommended to increase nitrate indicators in the classification of hydrochemical types.
Distance Prediction of Slope-Foot Landslide in Southwest of China Based on GA-BP Neural Network
Authors: Zhou Hao , Chen Yong , Tian Ruoying
Published: February 2020

Landslide is a typical geological hazard in southwest China. In order to reasonably assess the disaster-causing range of earthquake-induced landslides in southwest China, the prediction of landslide movement distance is very important. By making principal component analysis of the factors affecting the distance of landslide movement and combining with the mechanism of landslide movement, the three principal components are named as kinetic energy factor, slope factor and resistance factor, which are used as input neurons of BP neural network. The initial weights and thresholds of BP neural network are optimized by using the global search ability of genetic algorithm, and the prediction models of maximum vertical motion distance (H) and maximum horizontal motion distance (L) of landslide are constructed based on the optimized network. At the same time, on the basis of principal component analysis, a multivariate regression prediction model is constructed, and the results of network model prediction are compared with those of multivariate regression prediction. The optimization effect of genetic algorithm for BP neural network is obvious. The BP neural network model after optimization is accurate and stable in predicting the motion distance of slope foot landslide. The prediction errors of maximum horizontal and vertical motion distances below 10% accounted for 86.67% and 93.33% respectively, which is superior to the original BP neural network and multiple regression prediction model.
Complex Environmental Characteristics of Coastal Salt Spray Area and Effect of Carbon Dioxide Content on Corrosion of Steel Bars
Authors: Liu Jun , Hu Lu , Song Yingqiu
Published: February 2020

In the coastal atmospheric environment, corrosive media exists due to natural and man-made pollution, which has a great impact on the durability of concrete structures. Taking the environment of Shenzhen coastal salt spray area as an example, the environmental parameters were observed on site, and the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was measured. The influence of steel corrosion on steel was analyzed. The study found that the annual temperature change range of the coastal salt spray area is 15 °C to 37.9 °C, and the change is first rising and then decreasing. The temperature rises in the first half of the year, and the temperature gradually decreases in the second half of the year. The highest humidity in the measurement area is 74.7%. The minimum is 56%, and the overall level is maintained at a high level, which is between 55% and 75%. The carbon dioxide content of the five measuring points is consistent throughout the year, and the carbon dioxide content is high in spring and winter.
Which Provinces Should Pay More Attention to CO2 Emissions in China’s Construction Industry?
Authors: Li Fen , Chen Jianbao
Published: February 2020

Construction industry has existed the problems of high investment and pollution. As a big country in the construction industry, China has a vast territory and the CO2 emissions of the construction industry vary greatly among different regions. So which provinces should pay more attention to the CO2 emissions of the construction industry is a question worthy of consideration. Based on the provincial panel data of China from 1997 to 2015, this paper extends the STIRPAT model and empirically analyses the impact of influencing factors in different quantiles by using quantile regression panel model. Research results show that: (1) The effect of population size, economic growth, energy structure and industrial scale on CO2 of construction industry in different quantiles are positive, while the effect of energy efficiency is negative. (2) The effect of population size on CO2 emissions in the 50th-75th quantile provinces is greater than those in the other quantile provinces; the impact of economic growth in the 10th-25th quantile provinces is higher than those in the other percentile provinces; the influence of energy structure in the 25th-50th and 50th-75th quantile provinces are stronger than those in the other quantile provinces; the influence intensity of industry scale in the upper 90th quantile provinces is the highest in all the quantile provinces; the effect of energy efficiency in the upper 90th quantile provinces is lower than those in the other percentile provinces. According to these results, we put forward some corresponding policy suggestions.
Study on Water Quality Characteristics and Production Coefficients of Urban Domestic Sewage in Shanghai
Authors: Song Mina , Diao Chunyan , Jia Lei , Yang Lei , Cui Bojun
Published: February 2020

The existing coefficient of urban domestic sewage production cannot reflect the differences among regions. It is difficult to meet the needs of environmental protection work in Shanghai. This study divided Shanghai into three tiers. According to the 2017 on-line monitoring data of urban sewage treatment plants in main urban areas, Xincheng district and Xinshi town, the concentration of pollutants of each tier was calculated. And the production coefficients of urban domestic source pollutants at all tiers in Shanghai was obtained by combining with the urban per capita comprehensive domestic water consumption. The results showed that the CODcr concentration changes in Xincheng district were relatively large, and that changes in the main urban area and Xinshi town were relatively small. The pollutant production coefficients of the main urban area, Xincheng district and Xinshi town were CODcr: 75.6 g/d.cap, 66.95 g/d.cap, 28.02 g/d.cap, NH3-N: 7.76 g/d.cap, 5.32 g/d.cap, 2.04 g/d.cap.
Drought Crisis: A Path-analysis in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region
Authors: Qiao Wenhui , Pu Yanru , Wei Zhuo , Wang Peng
Published: February 2020

Urban drought has seriously hindered the sustainable development. Reducing urban drought vulnerability (UDV) entails more effective and systematic strategies. We discussed the ways to reduce UDV for government in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region from building vulnerability assessment model suitable for urban system, correlation analysis and path analysis. Results indicated that (1) the drought vulnerability of 13 cities in the BTH region fluctuated continuously from 1987 to 2016; (2) the factors affecting UDV are systemic and have the regional characteristic; and (3) the path analysis provide the specific directions for government. This study provides a theoretical basis for the government to manage drought risk.
Overview of Deep Convolutional Neural Network Approaches for Satellite Remote Sensing Ship Monitoring Technology
Authors: Li Xiunan , Chen Peng , Fan Kaiguo
Published: February 2020

Remote sensing (RS) monitoring of ships has important significance in both military and civilian fields. The RS ship detection aims to locate the position of the ship in the remote sensing image and extract its characteristics. Traditional ship target detection algorithms cannot meet the demands for speed and precision of SAR remote sensing and optical remote sensing data. With the development of artificial intelligence technology, the target detection technology such as deep learning algorithms has made significant progress in RS ship detection. Deep learning has become a heated topic in research. This paper has analyzed and summarized previous researches on the application of deep learning algorithms in ship detection technologies based on SAR and optical remote sensing images in recent years and has provided suggestions for future studies. In the future, deep learning-based technologies for RS ship detection will use more data, such as data from multiple sensors in multiple channels. Deep neural networks will also include more rules and specialized knowledge. Its structure will become more complicated and eventually develop into a neural network like the human brain.
Modulating the ZnO NR shape to enhance the luminescence efficiency for optoelectronic applications
Authors: Bano N , Hussain I , EL-Naggar A M , Albassam A A
Published: February 2020

It is essential to control the size of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods (NRs) for the improvement of tunable optoelectronic applications. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic and extensive study that explored the effect of growth parameters on the morphology and optoelectronic properties of ZnO NRs. We found that the length and width of ZnO NRs can be efficiently tuned by carefully controlling the growth parameters and by modulating the ZnO seed with reduced graphene (rGO). These results could give us a better understanding of the growth behavior of ZnO NRs and could contribute to the control of the morphology of these NRs for nano-device applications. Moreover, the effect of growth parameters on the optoelectronic properties of ZnO NRs was thoroughly investigated by fabricating light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with different morphologies of the ZnO NRs and the correlation between the morphology and the luminescence efficiency of ZnO was established. These investigations illustrate a viable and highly promising approach to enhance the luminescence intensity of ZnO NR-based LEDs by 500 times. The present work will guide researchers in the production of low-temperature, size-controlled, and aligned ZnO NRs for tunable highly luminescent optoelectronic applications.
SPsimSeq: semi-parametric simulation of bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing data
Authors: Assefa Alemu Takele , Vandesompele Jo , Thas Olivier
Published: February 2020

SPsimSeq is a semi-parametric simulation method to generate bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing data. It is designed to simulate gene expression data with maximal retention of the characteristics of real data. It is reasonably flexible to accommodate a wide range of experimental scenarios, including different sample sizes, biological signals (differential expression) and confounding batch effects.

Availability and implementation

The R package and associated documentation is available from https://github.com/CenterForStatistics-UGent/SPsimSeq.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Classification with imperfect training labels
Authors: Cannings Timothy I , Fan Yingying , Samworth Richard J
Published: February 2020

We study the effect of imperfect training data labels on the performance of classification methods. In a general setting, where the probability that an observation in the training dataset is mislabelled may depend on both the feature vector and the true label, we bound the excess risk of an arbitrary classifier trained with imperfect labels in terms of its excess risk for predicting a noisy label. This reveals conditions under which a classifier trained with imperfect labels remains consistent for classifying uncorrupted test data points. Furthermore, under stronger conditions, we derive detailed asymptotic properties for the popular $k$-nearest neighbour, support vector machine and linear discriminant analysis classifiers. One consequence of these results is that the $k$-nearest neighbour and support vector machine classifiers are robust to imperfect training labels, in the sense that the rate of convergence of the excess risk of these classifiers remains unchanged; in fact, our theoretical and empirical results even show that in some cases, imperfect labels may improve the performance of these methods. The linear discriminant analysis classifier is shown to be typically inconsistent in the presence of label noise unless the prior probabilities of the classes are equal. Our theoretical results are supported by a simulation study.
International Expansion Selection Model by Machine Learning—A Proprietary Model
Authors: Hsieh Ping-Chi , Horng Der-Juinn , Chang Hong-Yi
Published: February 2020

This study aims to explain a simple but crucial complex problem often faced by multinational enterprises: why multinational companies choose to enter the markets of certain countries. Accordingly, this study developed an international expansion selection model by using the machine learning method. The priority targets for enterprises’ international expansion and the strategic country groups for classification can be identified on the basis of ideas expressed in three primary business concepts, namely ‘market attractiveness’, ‘enterprise’ resources and capabilities’ and ‘customer-oriented approach’; the identified priority targets and strategic country groups are useful for multinational enterprises when designing different configurations for limited resources and can ultimately assist the business managers with making international business decisions. Models can elucidate the complexity behind enterprise decisions. By contrast, strategic grouping based on simple rules can aid the managers to make instantaneous decisions and respond according to the changing market. This study constructed an exclusive strategic model based on the international expansion strategy selection modes adopted by a leading Taiwan enterprise in electronics industry and the unique characteristics possessed by this enterprise.
Going back into the wild: the behavioural effects of raising sea urchins in captivity
Authors: Brundu G , Farina S , Domenici P
Published: February 2020

Sea urchin harvesting has rapidly expanded in the last decades. Since many sea urchin species play important ecological role, large-scale commercial sea urchin fisheries can have complex effects on benthic communities. In many temperate regions, overharvesting has compromised marine ecosystems to such an extent that reintroduction of sea urchins raised in captivity may be a valid solution for the enhancement of depleted marine wild populations. In some regions of the Mediterranean Sea, improving the growth efficiency of captive sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus to be reintroduced has become a widespread practice. However, no study has yet considered the potential behavioural effects of raising sea urchins in captivity when they are introduced in the natural environment. This study provides information about the behavioural effects of captivity on P. lividus in terms of locomotion performance, a trait that can be fundamental for responding to predators and for relocation after environmental disturbances such as currents and waves. Movements of captive-born and wild sea urchins were video-recorded and compared in (i) total exposure to external cues, (ii) partial exposure to external cues and (iii) absence of external cues. Latency of locomotion, average speed and average velocity of sea urchins showed significant differences with respect to the level of exposure and their origin (i.e. wild vs. captive-born). Our results demonstrate that captive-born sea urchins in the wild showed long latency and slower locomotor performance when compared to wild sea urchins. Conversely, the straightness-of-path and locomotion direction of captive-born and wild sea urchins were similar in natural settings. Our results therefore suggest that captive-born sea urchins suffer the negative effects of captivity when introduced in a natural environment. Understanding the factors that decrease the performance of sea urchin will be important for developing procedures aimed at minimizing the negative effect of captivity before release into the wild.
Evaluating the use of the heart age tool in community pharmacies: a 4-week cluster-randomized controlled trial
Authors: Svendsen Karianne , Jacobs David R , Mørch-Reiersen Lisa T , Garstad Kjersti W , Henriksen Hege Berg , Telle-Hansen Vibeke H , Retterstøl Kjetil
Published: February 2020

Background

Joint British Societies have developed a tool that utilizes information on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors to estimate an individual’s ‘heart age’. We studied if using heart age as an add-on to conventional risk communication could enhance the motivation for adapting to a healthier lifestyle resulting in improved whole-blood cholesterol and omega-3 status after 4 weeks.

Methods

A total of 48 community pharmacies were cluster-randomized to use heart age+conventional risk communication (intervention) or only conventional risk communication (control) in 378 subjects after CVD risk-factor assessment. Dried blood spots were obtained with a 4-week interval to assay whole-blood cholesterol and omega-3 fatty acids. We also explored pharmacy-staff’s (n=27) perceived utility of the heart age tool.

Results

Subjects in the intervention pharmacies (n=137) had mean heart age 64 years and chorological age 60 years. In these, cholesterol decreased by median (interquartile range) −0.10 (−0.40, 0.35) mmol/l. Cholesterol decreased by −0.20 (−0.70, 0.30) mmol/l (P difference =0.24) in subjects in the control pharmacies (n=120) with mean chronological age 60 years. We observed increased concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids after 4 weeks, non-differentially between groups. Pharmacy-staff (n=27) agreed that heart age was a good way to communicate CVD risk, and most (n=25) agreed that it appeared to motivate individuals to reduce elevated CVD risk factors.

Conclusions

The heart age tool was considered a convenient and motivating communication tool by pharmacy-staff. Nevertheless, communicating CVD risk as heart age was not more effective than conventional risk communication alone in reducing whole-blood cholesterol levels and improving omega-3 status.
Higher Dementia Incidence in Older Adults with Poor Visual Acuity
Authors: Lee Allen T C , Richards Marcus , Chan Wai C , Chiu Helen F K , Lee Ruby S Y , Lam Linda C W
Published: February 2020

Background

Longitudinal evidence of poor visual acuity associating with higher risk of incident dementia is mixed. This study aimed to examine if poor visual acuity was associated with higher dementia incidence in a large community cohort of older adults, independent of the possible biases relating to misclassification error, reverse causality, and confounding effects due to health problems and behaviors.

Methods

A total of 15,576 community-living older adults without dementia at baseline were followed for 6 years to the outcome of incident dementia, which was diagnosed according to the ICD-10 or a Clinical Dementia Rating of 1 to 3. Visual acuity was assessed using the Snellen’s chart at baseline and follow-up. Important variables including demographics (age, sex, education, and socioeconomic status), physical and psychiatric comorbidities (cardiovascular risks, ophthalmological conditions, hearing impairment, poor mobility, and depression), and lifestyle behaviors (smoking, diet, physical, intellectual, and social activities) were also assessed.

Results

Over 68,904 person-years of follow-up, 1,349 participants developed dementia. Poorer visual acuity at baseline was associated with higher dementia incidence in 6 years, even after adjusting for demographics, health problems, and lifestyle behaviors, and excluding those who developed dementia within 3 years after baseline. Compared with normal vision, the hazard ratio of dementia was 1.19 (p = .31), 2.09 (p < .001), and 8.66 (p < .001) for mild, moderate, and severe visual impairment, respectively.

Conclusions

Moderate-to-severe visual impairment could be a potential predictor and possibly a risk factor for dementia. From a clinical perspective, older adults with poor visual acuity might warrant further risk assessment for dementia.
Monitoring fisheries resources at offshore wind farms: BACI vs. BAG designs
Authors: Methratta Elizabeth T
Published: February 2020

Offshore wind farms often co-occur with biodiverse marine ecosystems with high ecological, economic, and cultural value. Yet there are many uncertainties about how wind farms affect marine organisms and their environment. The before–after–control–impact (BACI) design, an approach that compares an impact location with an unaffected control both before and after the intervention, is the most common method used to study how offshore wind farms affect finfish. Unfortunately, this design has several methodological limitations that undermine its ability to detect effects in these studies. An alternative approach, the before–after-gradient (BAG) design, would sample along a gradient with increasing distance from the turbines both before and after the intervention, and could overcome many of the limitations of BACI. The BAG design would eliminate the difficult task of finding a suitable control, allow for the assessment of the spatial scale and extent of wind farm effects, and improve statistical power by incorporating distance as an independent variable in analytical models rather than relegating it to the error term. This article explores the strengths and weaknesses of the BACI and BAG designs in the context of offshore wind development and suggests an approach to incorporating the BAG design into existing fisheries surveys and a regional monitoring framework.
The Legal Abyss of Discretion in the Resettlement of Refugees
Authors: de Boer Tom , Zieck Marjoleine
Published: February 2020

The world is experiencing its largest refugee crisis since the Second World War, and more than ever before, the lack of an equitable burden-sharing mechanism is making itself felt: the world’s poorest States are hosting most of the refugees. The durable solution of resettlement of refugees is, in theory, the principal means of securing responsibility sharing within the framework of international refugee law. In practice, this cannot be realized since fewer than 1 per cent of the world’s refugees can be resettled annually due to the small number of available resettlement places. However, initiatives are being developed to increase the number of States that offer resettlement places to refugees and hence the number of available resettlement places.

Europe, too, traditionally lagging well behind in terms of the number of resettlement places it offers, is endeavouring to contribute more places. It must nonetheless be noted that Europe’s increasing support for resettlement is paired with a policy of extraterritorialization of asylum claims and minimization of ‘spontaneous’ refugee arrivals. If Europe indeed aims to replace the regular asylum system with controlled refugee resettlement, this will raise issues of access to asylum. While the current Common European Asylum System contains a plethora of procedural and substantive rights for asylum seekers, resettlement – due to its essentially discretionary nature – appears to take place in a legal void, that is, it appears to suffer from arbitrariness in the selection of refugees and a lack of procedural rights and legal remedies for the refugees involved in the resettlement process.

The question is whether this is also the case with the European Union (EU) resettlement proposals and, if so, whether this can be sustained from a legal point of view. This article reviews these proposals, along with the current practice of refugee selection by EU Member States, and analyses them from a refugee rights perspective. It examines whether EU initiatives affect the discretionary nature of resettlement, and specifically analyses whether the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union apply to the resettlement procedures of EU Member States and, if so, what rights could be invoked by the refugees involved under those instruments.
Association between vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium colonization and subsequent infection: a retrospective WGS study
Authors: Rubin Ingrid Maria Cecilia , Pedersen Martin Schou , Mollerup Sarah , Kaya Hülya , Petersen Andreas Munk , Westh Henrik , Pinholt Mette
Published: February 2020

Background

Since 2012, the incidence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) has increased dramatically in Copenhagen and vanA E. faecium has become endemic and polyclonal.

Objectives

To examine whether a patient with a positive VRE clinical sample had the same VREfm in a preceding screening sample (within 60 days).

Methods

We performed a 30 month retrospective study. From our laboratory information system (LIS), we identified all patients with an invasive VREfm isolate and a VREfm rectal screening isolate within 60 days before infection. VREfm pairs (screening isolate and invasive isolate) were whole-genome sequenced. All isolates were analysed using SeqSphere and core-genome MLST (cgMLST) types were determined. We examined all isolates for the presence of the three most dominant vanA plasmids in the Capital Region of Denmark. Two novel vanA plasmids were closed by Nanopore/Illumina sequencing.

Results

We found a total of 19 VREfm pairs. Of these, 13 patients had pairs with matching cgMLST types and vanA plasmids and a median number of 6 days from identification of carriage to clinical infection. One patient had a pair with non-matching cgMLST types but matching vanA plasmids and 24 days between identification of carriage to clinical infection. Five patients had pairs with non-matching cgMLST types and non-matching vanA plasmids and a median number of 18 days from identification of carriage to clinical infection.

Conclusions

Of our 19 pairs, 13 were a match regarding cgMLST types (68%) and 1 more (5%) had matching vanA plasmids. Infection was thus preceded by colonization with the same isolates in 13 out of 19 patients. The five mismatches (26%) could be explained by the longer interval between colonization and infection.
Climate change, sustainability, and competition law
Authors: Holmes Simon
Published: February 2020

Climate Change is an existential threat. Competition law must be part of the solution and not part of the problem. This article draws on the constitutional provisions of the EU treaties and remarks by leaders such as Commissioner Vestager to show how competition law need not stand in the way of urgent action and co-operation by the private sector to fight climate change. It also shows how sustainability is relevant to both the analysis of mergers and dominance cases. It is a call to update our thinking, our guidelines and, if necessary, our law. Based on EU law it contains ideas that could inspire changes in other jurisdictions.
Relationship of (Known) Control Values to (Unknown) Test Values in Proficiency Studies of Pesticide Residues
Authors: Horwitz William , Wood Roger
Published: February 2020

Proficiency studies have been suggested as an alternative source of information for evaluating method performance characteristics when results from interlaboratory method performance studies conforming to internationally recognized protocols are not available. To explore this possibility, results were examined from ongoing proficiency studies of pesticide residue analyses in celery, carrot, and grape purees, and in wine. Statistical performance parameters were calculated from 18 data sets analyzed as unknowns by about 60 analysts for 12 analytes in the 25–1000 μg/kg range, and from presumably parallel control (spike) analyses conducted by about half of the participants. A surprising finding was that recovery of known, independent control additions by the participant did not correlate with the recoveries determined as unknowns in the exercise. The data suggest that censoring or truncating of control data has occurred. The question of substitution of proficiency data for method performance data cannot be answered until the problem of unbiased reporting of control data is resolved.
Determination of Histamine in Tomatoes by Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Bolygo Elek , Cooper Paul A , Jessop K Michael , Moffatt Frank
Published: February 2020

The histamine level in tomato fruits and pastes was determined by 2 orthogonal techniques as a means of comparing accuracy. Close statistical agreement was found between assays for free histamine by capillary electrophoresis (with UV absorbance detection), and for the dansyl derivative by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC). Both techniques have adequate sensitivity for the analysis of endogenous histamine in tomatoes, but LC/electrospray tandem mass spectrometry was more sensitive by at least an order of magnitude, down to a level of 0.05 mg/kg.
Determination of Polydextrose as Dietary Fiber in Foods
Authors: Craig Stuart A S , Holden James F , Khaled Maha Y
Published: February 2020

Polydextrose (Litesse®) provides physiological effects consistent with dietary fiber. However, AOAC methods for measuring total dietary fiber (TDF) in foods include an ethanol precipitation step in which polydextrose and similar carbohydrates are discarded and therefore not quantitated. This study describes a method developed to quantitate polydextrose in foods. The new method includes water extraction, centrifugal ultrafiltration, multienzyme hydrolysis, and anion exchange chromatography with electrochemical detection. Six foods were prepared with 4 levels of polydextrose to test the ruggedness of the method. Internal validation demonstrated the ruggedness of the method with recoveries ranging from 83 to 104% with an average of 95% (n = 24) and relative standard deviation of recoveries ranging from 0.7 to 13% with an average of 3.3% (n = 24). The value is added to that obtained for dietary fiber content of foods using the AOAC methods, to determine the TDF content of the food.