bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Efficient Diagnosis System for Detection of Liver Disease Using a Novel Integrated Method Based on Principal Component Analysis and K-Nearest Neighbor (PCA-KNN)
Authors: Singh Aman , Pandey Babita
Published: September 2016

Talking about organ failure and people immediately recall kidney diseases. On the contrary, there is no such alertness about liver diseases and its failure despite the fact that this disease is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Therefore, an effective diagnosis and in time treatment of patients is paramount. This study accordingly aims to construct an intelligent diagnosis system which integrates principle component analysis (PCA) and k-nearest neighbor (KNN) methods to examine the liver patient dataset. The model works with the combination of feature extraction and classification performed by PCA and KNN respectively. Prediction results of the proposed system are compared using statistical parameters that include accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value. In addition to higher accuracy rates, the model also attained remarkable sensitivity and specificity, which were a challenging task given an uneven variance among attribute values in the dataset.
Strategic Use of Facebook to Build Brand Awareness
Authors: Pegoraro Ann , Scott Olan , Burch Lauren M.
Published: September 2016

Social media provides a strategic means for non-profit organizations to build and maintain strong relationships with consumers. The purpose of this study was to apply branding theory and frameworks to the use of Facebook by National Olympic Committees in two countries, Australia and Canada over specific time periods related to three Olympics Games. These Facebook pages were examined to determine the types of brand-related post content and communication style utilized as well as the consumer response to these posts. The two organizations generally used Facebook to broadcast product related brand attributes such as information about athletes and teams. There was also a significant difference in Facebook post use and focus by two organizations indicating some international differences in using Facebook for branding a sport organization. The results also provide practical implications for non-profit sport organizations using Facebook to build positive brand images, promote fan engagement and ultimately create brand ambassadors.
From Patent Hold-Up to Patent Hold-Out?
Authors: Barani Marie
Published: September 2016

Standardization is a process through which potential rivals cooperate to have the best technological solution adopted as the next standard. They pool together financial, human and material resources. Intellectual property rights, especially patents, are a powerful tool for them to recover investments made in the process and keep participating in it. However, to avoid abusive use of patents incorporated in de iure standards, companies contributing to the standard development have to comply with specific duties, amongst which making the technology essential to the standard available on Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory terms and conditions, i.e. the so-called (F)RAND commitment1. This commitment has been created to prevent patent hold-up from patent holders, which could force implementers to enter into disadvantageous license agreements. With the changes in the cellphone market in the last ten years, the content of this (F)RAND commitment has been challenged in courts and in front of antitrust and competition authorities. The question is whether this duty, set up to avoid hold-up, is not used by some implementers to engage in “hold-out” or “reverse patent hold-up” strategies.
Is the ISO/IEC OOXML Standard an International Standard under the TBT Agreement?
Authors: Villarreal Andrea Barrios
Published: September 2016

The Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement requires that national regulations and standards are based on international standards; however, it fails to define the terms international standard and international standardizing body (ISB). As of today, the panels and the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have put more emphasis on the requirement that a standard is adopted by an ISB than the process through which it is adopted to be considered as ‘international' for the TBT Agreement. This article shows, using the standardization process of the OOXML in the ISO/IEC JTC1 as an example, that an ISB may adopt standards that are not necessarily international for the Agreement purposes. Hence, the importance that in future disputes the panels and the Appellate Body follow the path opened in the US-Tuna II case in which the Appellate Body stated that there may be additional procedural conditions that must be met for a standard to be considered international for the TBT Agreement.
Exploring the Relationship between Sport Fan Identification and Addiction to Digital Sports Media
Authors: Clark John S. , Maher Jill K.
Published: September 2016

Social media has proved to be a constant source of information and entertainment for sport fans. These social media sites allow sport organizations to provide news about the organizations and the athletes that play for them, as well as serving as a means of communication between the organization and fans, or between the fans themselves. Smartphones have enabled this communication to be nearly constant, allowing sport fans to access information around the clock. Anecdotal evidence suggests this on-demand access to information about a fan's favorite team will increase the avidity by which the fan consumes the sport product. In a parallel development, researchers have investigated the detrimental effects devoting too much time to social media has on consumers. This research bridges these lines of inquiry and examines the relationship between social media addiction and highly identified and committed sport fans. Data were collected from college students, and a multiple regression analysis was performed which resulted in no statistically significant relationship between addiction to social media and high levels of sport identification and commitment. The results suggest that for sport organizations, social media is not a one-size-fits-all approach to reaching a segmented (based on identification and commitment) market.
Equity market volatility behavior in Sri Lankan context
Authors: Morawakage P. S. , Nimal P. D.
Published: September 2016

Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) in Sri Lanka is at its first level of emerging markets. Volatility of emerging markets are considered to be high and characterized by complex features. Therefore, this study focusses on examining the volatility behavior of Colombo Stock Exchange with advanced econometric models. Here GARCH, EGARCH and TGARCH models are used to capture the complex volatility features. It is observed that volatility clustering and leverage effect exists in Colombo Stock Exchange. Further, negative shocks creates more volatility compared to a positive shocks generated in the market. TGARCH model assuming student-t probability distribution function is more suitable to explain the volatility in Colombo Stock Exchange among the models described above according to the Akaike and Schwarz information criteria.
Factors affecting purchase decision for Indian two wheelers in Sri Lankan market
Authors: Weerasiri R. A. S. , Mendis A. S. M. G.
Published: September 2016

Within the past decade two wheeler usage indicates a rapid growth in Sri Lankan market. Among the two wheeler population, Indian two wheeler brads representing a huge portion. In this research study researcher put effort to find out what are the factors effect on decisions of consumers on Indian two wheelers as a novel research. Main purpose of this study was to identify why Indian two wheeler brands becoming more popular and which factors effect on the purchasing decision and open up the gateway to study on this area among this study. Researcher’s previous working experience at Automotive Industry was lead to conduct the study. Data were collected from four districts representing the Sri Lankan population using questionnaire. According to the literature review researcher employed six variables namely Price, Technology and Design, Product Awareness, Spare Parts Availability, After Sales Services and Economic Conditions. Data was gathered from two wheeler users and non-users who are having ether two wheeler or willing to have a two wheeler. The findings also revealed several implications for marketers to better segmentation and targeting in the automobile industry especially on two wheeler sales. Further contribution of the demographic factors such as age, gender, income level, education level how far impacted on the purchasing decisions of the two wheelers and those are helpful to marketing managers to develop their strategies. Ultimately the study provides important insides how the variables are impact on purchasing decisions towards the Indian two wheelers at the Sri Lankan market.
Model-based analysis of student satisfaction in open distance learning
Authors: Perera M. J. R. , Abeysekera N.
Published: September 2016

Student satisfaction in Open Distance Learning (ODL) is a widely researched and admired feature in modern world. There are enormous number of research studies done on this ground with different variables affecting the student satisfaction. Since the Learners are coming from different societies, cultures, family backgrounds, educational backgrounds with different information technology skills it is very difficult to fulfill their requirements for satisfaction. But it must be explicable that the competitiveness of higher education rivalry being in the higher education field. The purpose of this study was to find out the significant factors affecting student satisfaction in Open distance learning at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL). Based on literature, the famous modified service quality (SQ) model of SERVQUAL was applied in this study. The independent variables were Assurance, Empathy, Responsiveness, Reliability, and Website Content and the dependent variable was Student Satisfaction. Data were collected by using a self-administered questionnaire from 244 undergraduate students of OUSL. The analysis was based on descriptive and inferential statistics. The results have revealed Assurance, Reliability, and Website content in ODL were statistically significant with student satisfaction in ODL and results would contribute to administration of OUSL to improve the quality of service process.
Higher late summer methane emission from central than northern European lakes
Authors: Rinta Päivi , Bastviken David , Schilder Jos , Van Hardenbroek Maarten , Stötter Tabea , Heiri Oliver
Published: September 2016

Quantifying methane (CH4) emissions from lakes is important for regional and global greenhouse gas emission inventories. However, regional and global estimates suffer from methodologically inconsistent data sets and from the situation that systematic flux measurements are presently available only for some regions in the world. In particular, many temperate regions dominated by agricultural land use, like central Europe, lack regional multi-lake studies of lacustrine CH4 emissions. We compare estimates of diffusive and ebullitive flux from 30 small central European and 17 small boreal lakes based on standardized measurements during a single visit per lake in late summer. Furthermore, we assess the amount of CH4 accumulated in the hypoxic deep-water layers in late summer. This provides an estimate of the potential release of CH4 from these lakes during autumn mixing (storage flux). The results show that emissions per unit area of lake surface from central European lakes are significantly higher than those from boreal lakes, with average estimates of diffusive and ebullitive flux being as much as six and 27 times higher, respectively. CH4 concentration in the surface water was significantly related with lake area and maximum depth in the boreal lakes. However, no significant relationships between diffusive and ebullitive fluxes and lake basin morphometry were found in central European or boreal lakes, as proposed in earlier studies, although the short measurement period (6 h) may not have been adequate for reliably quantifying ebullition in our study. As expected, storage flux was related to relative depth and relative volume of the hypoxic water layer in both regions. We discuss the relevance of the higher observed diffusive and ebullitive fluxes for regional estimates in central Europe based on an example of previous emission estimates from small lakes in Switzerland. Our results suggest that diffusive and ebullitive CH4 emissions from these lakes might be considerably higher than estimated based on widely applied relationships for predicting lacustrine CH4 emissions developed in northern European and North American regions. The results also confirm that modifications are necessary when applying these relationships to central European lakes. Our study highlights the inter-regional variability in lacustrine CH4 emissions and the need for regionally developed calibration data for validating and developing predictive models for estimating CH4 emissions from lakes at the landscape scale.
Earth observation for monitoring and mapping of cyanobacteria blooms. Case studies on five Italian lakes
Authors: Bresciani Mariano , Giardino Claudia , Lauceri Rosaria , Matta Erica , Cazzaniga Ilaria , Pinardi Monica , Lami Andrea , Austoni Martina , Viaggiu Emanuela , Congestri Roberta , Morabito Giuseppe
Published: September 2016

Cyanobacterial blooms occur in many parts of the world as a result of entirely natural causes or human activity. Due to their negative effects on water resources, efforts are made to monitor cyanobacteria dynamics. This study discusses the contribution of remote sensing methods for mapping cyanobacterial blooms in lakes in northern Italy. Semi-empirical approaches were used to flag scum and cyanobacteria and spectral inversion of bio-optical models was adopted to retrieve chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations. Landsat-8 OLI data provided us both the spatial distribution of Chl-a concentrations in a small eutrophic lake and the patchy distribution of scum in Lake Como. ENVISAT MERIS time series collected from 2003 to 2011 enabled the identification of dates when cyanobacterial blooms affected water quality in three small meso-eutrophic lakes in the same region. On average, algal blooms occurred in the three lakes for about 5 days a year, typically in late summer and early autumn. A suite of hyperspectral sensors on air- and space-borne platforms was used to map Chl-a concentrations in the productive waters of the Mantua lakes, finding values in the range of 20 to 100 mgm-3. The present findings were obtained by applying state of the art of methods applied to remote sensing data. Further research will focus on improving the accuracy of cyanobacteria mapping and adapting the algorithms to the new-generation of satellite sensors.
When will sub-Saharan Africa adopt HIV treatment for all?
Authors: Gupta Somya , Granich Reuben
Published: September 2016

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) HIV treatment guidelines have been used by various countries to revise their national guidelines. Our study discusses the national policy response to the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa and quantifies delays in adopting the WHO guidelines published in 2009, 2013 and 2015.Methods: From the Internet, health authorities and experts, and community members, we collected 59 published HIV guidelines from 33 countries in the sub-Saharan African region, and abstracted dates of publication and antiretroviral therapy (ART) eligibility criteria. For these 33 countries, representing 97% regional HIV burden in 2015, the number of months taken to adopt the WHO 2009, 2013 and/or 2015 guidelines were calculated to determine the average delay in months needed to publish revised national guidelines.Findings: Of the 33 countries, 3 (6% regional burden) are recommending ART according to the WHO 2015 guidelines (irrespective of CD4 count); 19 (65% regional burden) are recommending ART according to the WHO 2013 guidelines (CD4 count ≤ 500 cells/mm3); and 11 (26% regional burden) according to the WHO 2009 guidelines (CD4 count ≤ 350 cells/mm3). The average time lag to WHO 2009 guidelines adoption in 33 countries was 24 (range 3–56) months. The 22 that have adopted the WHO 2013 guidelines took an average of 10 (range 0–36) months, whilst the three countries that adopted the WHO 2015 guidelines took an average of 8 (range 7–9) months.Conclusion: There is an urgent need to shorten the time lag in adopting and implementing the new WHO guidelines recommending ‘treatment for all’ to achieve the 90-90-90 targets.
Tuberculous Bronchoesophageal Fistula Managed Conservatively with a Percutaneous Gastrostomy for Feeding and Administration of Medication
Authors: Piracha S , Gnanapragasam J , Tariq SM
Published: September 2016

Bronchoesophageal fistulae are a rare complication of tuberculosis. Traditionally they are managed by either thoracotomy with resection and closure of the fistulous tract or by taking a more conservative approach of giving standard treatment for tuberculosis while ensuring nutritional support through a nasogastric tube. We report a young student with disseminated tuberculosis complicated by a bronchoesophageal fistula. He was managed conservatively with anti-tuberculous chemotherapy and nutrition administered through a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube. This approach was associated with a relatively good quality of life and he was able to pursue his studies uninterrupted at the local university.
Observation of atmospheric peroxides during Wangdu Campaign 2014 at a rural
site in the North China Plain
Authors: Wang Yin , Chen Zhongming , Wu Qinqin , Liang Hao , Huang Liubin , Li Huan , Lu Keding , Wu Yusheng , Dong Huabin , Zeng Limin , Zhang Yuanhang
Published: September 2016

Abstract. Measurements of atmospheric peroxides were made during Wangdu Campaign 2014 at Wangdu, a rural site in the North China Plain (NCP) in summer 2014. The predominant peroxides were detected to be hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), methyl hydroperoxide (MHP) and peroxyacetic acid (PAA). The observed H2O2 reached up to 11.3 ppbv, which was the highest value compared with previous observations in China at summer time. A box model simulation based on the Master Chemical Mechanism and constrained by the simultaneous observations of physical parameters and chemical species was performed to explore the chemical budget of atmospheric peroxides. Photochemical oxidation of alkenes was found to be the major secondary formation pathway of atmospheric peroxides, while contributions from alkanes and aromatics were of minor importance. The comparison of modeled and measured peroxide concentrations revealed an underestimation during biomass burning events and an overestimation on haze days, which were ascribed to the direct production of peroxides from biomass burning and the heterogeneous uptake of peroxides by aerosols, respectively. The strengths of the primary emissions from biomass burning were on the same order of the known secondary production rates of atmospheric peroxides during the biomass burning events. The heterogeneous process on aerosol particles was suggested to be the predominant sink for atmospheric peroxides. The atmospheric lifetime of peroxides on haze days in summer in the NCP was about 2–3 h, which is in good agreement with the laboratory studies. Further comprehensive investigations are necessary to better understand the impact of biomass burning and heterogeneous uptake on the concentration of peroxides in the atmosphere.
Chemical characterization of organosulfates in secondary organic aerosol
derived from the photooxidation of alkanes
Authors: Riva Matthieu , Da Silva Barbosa Thais , Lin Ying-Hsuan , Stone Elizabeth A. , Gold Avram , Surratt Jason D.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. We report the formation of aliphatic organosulfates (OSs) in secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from the photooxidation of C10–C12 alkanes. The results complement those from our laboratories reporting the formation of OSs and sulfonates from gas-phase oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Both studies strongly support the formation of OSs from the gas-phase oxidation of anthropogenic precursors, as hypothesized on the basis of recent field studies in which aromatic and aliphatic OSs were detected in fine aerosol collected from several major urban locations. In this study, dodecane, cyclodecane and decalin, considered to be important SOA precursors in urban areas, were photochemically oxidized in an outdoor smog chamber in the presence of either non-acidified or acidified ammonium sulfate seed aerosol. Effects of acidity and relative humidity on OS formation were examined. Aerosols collected from all experiments were characterized by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-HR-QTOFMS). Most of the OSs identified could be explained by formation of gaseous epoxide precursors with subsequent acid-catalyzed reactive uptake onto sulfate aerosol and/or heterogeneous reactions of hydroperoxides. The OSs identified here were also observed and quantified in fine urban aerosol samples collected in Lahore, Pakistan, and Pasadena, CA, USA. Several OSs identified from the photooxidation of decalin and cyclodecane are isobars of known monoterpene organosulfates, and thus care must be taken in the analysis of alkane-derived organosulfates in urban aerosol.
Source, transport and fate of soil organic matter inferred from microbial biomarker lipids on the East Siberian Arctic Shelf
Authors: Bischoff Juliane , Sparkes Robert B. , Doğrul Selver Ayça , Spencer Robert G. M. , Gustafsson Örjan , Semiletov Igor P. , Dudarev Oleg V. , Wagner Dirk , Rivkina Elizaveta , van Dongen Bart E. , Talbot Helen M.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. The Siberian Arctic contains a globally significant pool of organic carbon (OC) vulnerable to enhanced warming and subsequent release by both fluvial and coastal erosion processes. However, the rate of release, its behaviour in the Arctic Ocean and vulnerability to remineralisation is poorly understood. Here we combine new measurements of microbial biohopanoids including adenosylhopane, a lipid associated with soil microbial communities, with published glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) and bulk δ13C measurements to improve knowledge of the fate of OC transported to the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS). The microbial hopanoid-based soil OC proxy R′soil ranges from 0.0 to 0.8 across the ESAS, with highest values nearshore and decreases offshore. Across the shelf R′soil displays a negative linear correlation with bulk δ13C measurements (r2 = −0.73, p =  < 0.001). When compared to the GDGT-based OC proxy, the branched and isoprenoid tetraether (BIT) index, a decoupled (non-linear) behaviour on the shelf was observed, particularly in the Buor-Khaya Bay, where the R′soil shows limited variation, whereas the BIT index shows a rapid decline moving away from the Lena River outflow channels. This reflects a balance between delivery and removal of OC from different sources. The good correlation between the hopanoid and bulk terrestrial signal suggests a broad range of hopanoid sources, both fluvial and via coastal erosion, whilst GDGTs appear to be primarily sourced via fluvial transport. Analysis of ice complex deposits (ICDs) revealed an average R′soil of 0.5 for the Lena Delta, equivalent to that of the Buor-Khaya Bay sediments, whilst ICDs from further east showed higher values (0.6–0.85). Although R′soil correlates more closely with bulk OC than the BIT, our understanding of the endmembers of this system is clearly still incomplete, with variations between the different East Siberian Arctic regions potentially reflecting differences in environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, pH), but other physiological controls on microbial bacteriohopanepolyol (BHP) production under psychrophilic conditions are as yet unknown.
Frontiers in Geomorphometry and Earth Surface Dynamics: possibilities,
limitations and perspectives
Authors: Sofia Giulia , Hillier John K. , Conway Susan J.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. Geomorphometry, the science of quantitative land-surface analysis, has become a flourishing interdisciplinary subject, with applications in numerous fields. The interdisciplinarity of geomorphometry is its greatest strength and also one of its major challenges. Gaps are still present between the process focussed fields (e.g. soil science, glaciology, volcanology) and the technical domain (such as computer science, statistics …) where approaches and theories are developed. Thus, interesting geomorphometric applications struggle to jump between process-specific disciplines, but also struggle to take advantage of advances in computer science and technology. This special issue is therefore focused on facilitating cross-fertilization between disciplines, and highlighting novel technical developments and innovative applications of geomorphometry to various Earth-surface processes. The issue collects a variety of contributions which fall into two main categories: Perspectives and Research, further divided into “Research and innovative techniques” and “Research and innovative applications”. It showcases potentially exciting developments and tools which are the building blocks for the next step-change in the field.
Community Intercomparison Suite (CIS) v1.4.0: a tool for intercomparing models and observations
Authors: Watson-Parris Duncan , Schutgens Nick , Cook Nicholas , Kipling Zak , Kershaw Philip , Gryspeerdt Edward , Lawrence Bryan , Stier Philip
Published: September 2016

Abstract. The Community Intercomparison Suite (CIS) is an easy-to-use command-line tool which has been developed to allow the straightforward intercomparison of remote sensing, in situ and model data. While there are a number of tools available for working with climate model data, the large diversity of sources (and formats) of remote sensing and in situ measurements necessitated a novel software solution. Developed by a professional software company, CIS supports a large number of gridded and ungridded data sources "out-of-the-box", including climate model output in NetCDF or the UK Met Office pp file format, CloudSat, CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization), MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), Cloud and Aerosol CCI (Climate Change Initiative) level 2 satellite data and a number of in situ aircraft and ground station data sets. The open-source architecture also supports user-defined plugins to allow many other sources to be easily added. Many of the key operations required when comparing heterogenous data sets are provided by CIS, including subsetting, aggregating, collocating and plotting the data. Output data are written to CF-compliant NetCDF files to ensure interoperability with other tools and systems. The latest documentation, including a user manual and installation instructions, can be found on our website (http://cistools.net). Here, we describe the need which this tool fulfils, followed by descriptions of its main functionality (as at version 1.4.0) and plugin architecture which make it unique in the field.
SERVICE AREAS OF LOCAL URBAN GREEN SPACES: AN EXPLORATIVE APPROACH IN ARROIOS, LISBON
Authors: Figueiredo R. , Gonçalves A. B. , Ramos I. L.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. The identification of service areas of urban green spaces and areas with lack of these is increasingly necessary within city planning and management, as it translates into important indicators for the assessment of quality of life. In this setting, it is important to evaluate the attractiveness and accessibility dynamics through a set of attributes, taking into account the local reality of the territory under study. This work presents an operational methodology associated with these dynamics in local urban green spaces, assisting in the planning and management of this type of facilities. The methodology is supported firstly on questionnaire surveys and then on network analysis, processing spatial data in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment. In the case study, two local green spaces in Lisbon were selected, on a local perspective explorative approach. Through field data, it was possible to identify service areas for both spaces, and compare the results with references in the literature. It was also possible to recognise areas with lack of these spaces. The difficulty to evaluate the dynamics of real individuals in their choices of urban green spaces and the respective route is a major challenge to the application of the methodology. In this sense it becomes imperative to develop different instruments and adapt them to other types of urban green spaces.
SOCIAL METRICS APPLIED TO SMART TOURISM
Authors: Cervantes O. , Gutiérrez E. , Gutiérrez F. , Sánchez J. A.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. We present a strategy to make productive use of semantically-related social data, from a user-centered semantic network, in order to help users (tourists and citizens in general) to discover cultural heritage, points of interest and available services in a smart city. This data can be used to personalize recommendations in a smart tourism application. Our approach is based on flow centrality metrics typically used in social network analysis: flow betweenness, flow closeness and eccentricity. These metrics are useful to discover relevant nodes within the network yielding nodes that can be interpreted as suggestions (venues or services) to users. We describe the semantic network built on graph model, as well as social metrics algorithms used to produce recommendations. We also present challenges and results from a prototypical implementation applied to the case study of the City of Puebla, Mexico.
SPATIALIZING OPEN DATA FOR THE ASSESSMENT AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF
TERRITORIAL AND SOCIAL COHESION
Authors: Scorza F. , Las Casas G. B. , Murgante B.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. An integrated place-based approach for the improvement of territorial and social cohesion is the new instance for planning disciplines, coming from EU New Cohesion Policies. This paper considers the territorial impact assessment of regional development policies as a precondition in order to develop balanced and effective operative programs at national and regional levels. The contribution of ‘open data’ appears to be mature in order to support this application and in this paper we present a spatial analysis technique for the evaluation of EU funds effects at territorial level, starting from open data by Open Cohesion. The application is focused on internal areas of Basilicata Region: Agri river Valley. A complex contest, where environmental and agricultural traditional vocations conflict with a recent development of oil extraction industries. Conclusions concern further applications and perspectives to improve and support regional development planning considering the exploitation of open data sources and spatial analysis.
SEMANTIC METADATA FOR HETEROGENEOUS SPATIAL PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Authors: Iwaniak A. , Kaczmarek I. , Łukowicz J. , Strzelecki M. , Coetzee S. , Paluszyński W.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. Spatial planning documents contain information about the principles and rights of land use in different zones of a local authority. They are the basis for administrative decision making in support of sustainable development. In Poland these documents are published on the Web according to a prescribed non-extendable XML schema, designed for optimum presentation to humans in HTML web pages. There is no document standard, and limited functionality exists for adding references to external resources. The text in these documents is discoverable and searchable by general-purpose web search engines, but the semantics of the content cannot be discovered or queried. The spatial information in these documents is geographically referenced but not machine-readable. Major manual efforts are required to integrate such heterogeneous spatial planning documents from various local authorities for analysis, scenario planning and decision support. This article presents results of an implementation using machine-readable semantic metadata to identify relationships among regulations in the text, spatial objects in the drawings and links to external resources. A spatial planning ontology was used to annotate different sections of spatial planning documents with semantic metadata in the Resource Description Framework in Attributes (RDFa). The semantic interpretation of the content, links between document elements and links to external resources were embedded in XHTML pages. An example and use case from the spatial planning domain in Poland is presented to evaluate its efficiency and applicability. The solution enables the automated integration of spatial planning documents from multiple local authorities to assist decision makers with understanding and interpreting spatial planning information. The approach is equally applicable to legal documents from other countries and domains, such as cultural heritage and environmental management.
GENERATION OF MULTI-LOD 3D CITY MODELS IN CITYGML WITH THE PROCEDURAL MODELLING ENGINE RANDOM3DCITY
Authors: Biljecki F. , Ledoux H. , Stoter J.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. The production and dissemination of semantic 3D city models is rapidly increasing benefiting a growing number of use cases. However, their availability in multiple LODs and in the CityGML format is still problematic in practice. This hinders applications and experiments where multi-LOD datasets are required as input, for instance, to determine the performance of different LODs in a spatial analysis. An alternative approach to obtain 3D city models is to generate them with procedural modelling, which is – as we discuss in this paper – well suited as a method to source multi-LOD datasets useful for a number of applications. However, procedural modelling has not yet been employed for this purpose. Therefore, we have developed RANDOM3DCITY, an experimental procedural modelling engine for generating synthetic datasets of buildings and other urban features. The engine is designed to produce models in CityGML and does so in multiple LODs. Besides the generation of multiple geometric LODs, we implement the realisation of multiple levels of spatiosemantic coherence, geometric reference variants, and indoor representations. As a result of their permutations, each building can be generated in 392 different CityGML representations, an unprecedented number of modelling variants of the same feature. The datasets produced by RANDOM3DCITY are suited for several applications, as we show in this paper with documented uses. The developed engine is available under an open-source licence at Github at http://github.com/tudelft3d/Random3Dcity.
URBAN ENERGY SIMULATION BASED ON 3D CITY MODELS: A SERVICE-ORIENTED APPROACH
Authors: Wate P. , Rodrigues P. , Duminil E. , Coors V.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. Recent advancements in technology has led to the development of sophisticated software tools revitalizing growth in different domains. Taking advantage of this trend, urban energy domain have developed several compute intensive physical and data driven models. These models are used in various distinct simulation softwares to simulate the whole life-cycle of energy flow in cities from supply, distribution, conversion, storage and consumption. Since some simulation software target a specific energy system, it is necessary to integrate them to predict present and future urban energy needs. However, a key drawback is that, these tools are not compatible with each other as they use custom or propriety formats. Furthermore, they are designed as desktop applications and cannot be easily integrated with third-party tools (open source or commercial). Thereby, missing out on potential model functionalities which are required for sustainable urban energy management. In this paper, we propose a solution based on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). Our approach relies on open interfaces to offer flexible integration of modelling and computational functionality as loosely coupled distributed services.
A model for the spatial distribution of snow water equivalent parameterized
from the spatial variability of precipitation
Authors: Skaugen Thomas , Weltzien Ingunn H.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. Snow is an important and complicated element in hydrological modelling. The traditional catchment hydrological model with its many free calibration parameters, also in snow sub-models, is not a well-suited tool for predicting conditions for which it has not been calibrated. Such conditions include prediction in ungauged basins and assessing hydrological effects of climate change. In this study, a new model for the spatial distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE), parameterized solely from observed spatial variability of precipitation, is compared with the current snow distribution model used in the operational flood forecasting models in Norway. The former model uses a dynamic gamma distribution and is called Snow Distribution_Gamma, (SD_G), whereas the latter model has a fixed, calibrated coefficient of variation, which parameterizes a log-normal model for snow distribution and is called Snow Distribution_Log-Normal (SD_LN). The two models are implemented in the parameter parsimonious rainfall–runoff model Distance Distribution Dynamics (DDD), and their capability for predicting runoff, SWE and snow-covered area (SCA) is tested and compared for 71 Norwegian catchments. The calibration period is 1985–2000 and validation period is 2000–2014. Results show that SD_G better simulates SCA when compared with MODIS satellite-derived snow cover. In addition, SWE is simulated more realistically in that seasonal snow is melted out and the building up of "snow towers" and giving spurious positive trends in SWE, typical for SD_LN, is prevented. The precision of runoff simulations using SD_G is slightly inferior, with a reduction in Nash–Sutcliffe and Kling–Gupta efficiency criterion of 0.01, but it is shown that the high precision in runoff prediction using SD_LN is accompanied with erroneous simulations of SWE.
Chromosomal Evolution in Psittaciformes. Revisited
Authors: Villa Rus A. , Cigudosa J. C. , Carrasco Juan J. L. , Otero Gomez A. , Acosta Almeida T. , Joshua S. , Garcia Miranda J. L.
Published: September 2016

With colourful plumage, charismatic character and vocal learning abilities, parrots are one of the most striking and recognizable bird groups. Their attractiveness has drawn human attention for centuries, and members of the Psittaciformes order were, also, among the first avian species to be subject to cytogenetic studies which have contributed to understand their taxonomic and evolutionary relationships.

We present here the karyological results collected by the study of thirteen parrot species new to karyology. These results are additionally supported by G banded preparations obtained in five species.

The order Psittaciformes is an interesting example of a, typically, non migratory avian lineage with Gondwanaland origin, whose evolutionary radiation has been shaped by the Cenozoic geographic and climatic events that affected the land masses derived from the Gondwanaland continental split.

We discuss the results of our studies, in conjunction with the previously compiled Psittaciformes cytogenetic data to delineate a picture of the chromosomal evolution of the order, concurrently with the biogeographic history of the lands in the southern Hemisphere.

Considering the available data on parrot cytogenetics, a "standard parrot karyotype pattern" is proposed for evolutionary comparisons.

Several biogeographic, and phylogenetically related "karyogram patterns" are also identified, and mechanisms of chromosome rearrangement that associate this patterns among them, and with the standard parrot karyotype pattern are proposed. These schemes on parrot chromosomal variation are discussed in relation to the general avian chromosome evolutionary theses proposed by cytogenetic and molecular genomic researchers.
Ion Exchange Resin Membrane Sensitivity Analysis of Selected Parameters for Soil Nutrient Extraction
Authors: Kroth Plinio L. , Gianello Clesio , Bortolon Leandro , Schlindwein Jairo A. , Bortolon Elisandra S.O.
Published: September 2016

The ion exchange resin method has received considerable attention as an alternative soil test method to evaluate plant available nutrients. This study sought to investigate the effect of changes to the resin standard method in the capacity of the resin to extract soil P, K, Ca, and Mg in soils with different texture. We tested the following modifications: soil grinding levels (< 2 mm; < 0.3 mm), shaking time (8 h; 16 h; 24 h), reciprocation level (12.5 rpm; 25 rpm; 50 rpm), solution and elution saturation concentration (0.25/0.25 mol L-1; 0.5/0.5 mol L-1; 1.0/1.0 mol L-1), soil:solution ratio (1:5 v:v; 1:10 v:v; 1:16 v:v; 1:25 v:v), room temperature (10 oC, 15 oC, 25 oC, 40 oC), and resin amount (1 n; 2 n). When one factor was changed all the others were kept the same as the standard procedure. We selected the five most representative soil orders used for crop production in Southern Brazil which have a wide range of clay, organic matter, Mehlich-1 extractable P and K, and KCl exchangeable Ca, and Mg contents. Results showed that modifications on the standard extraction procedure affected the amounts of soil P, K, Ca, and Mg extracted. Temperature was the main factor affecting the amount of P extracted from the soil with ion exchange membrane resin. Our results can be useful to other regions that might be interested in adopting the resin soil test method, allowing others to identify the impacts of similar method modifications on soil nutrient availability according to soil type, soil management, and temperature conditions.
Identification and Determination of 492 Contaminants of Different Classes in Food and Feed by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Using the Standard Addition Method
Authors: Amelin Vasiliy , Korotkov Anton , Andoralov Alexander
Published: September 2016

The methodology for the identification and determination of 492 different toxicants from a single sample in food and feed by high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight MS in combination with HPLC has been presented. The sample preparation is easy. The analytes are pesticides of different classes, including mycotoxins, veterinary drugs, and synthetic dyes. A scheme for the identification and determination of toxicants using the standard addition method has been given. The RSDs of the analytical results presented are ≤0.15, with a 40–60 min sample screening time and a 2–3 h for the determination of the detected toxicants.
Aspectos do perfil discente do Curso Técnico em Paisagismo da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Authors: Boscardin Jardel , Paim Aline Ferreira , Rorato Daniele Guarienti , Cera Jossana Ceolin , Maziero Sandra Maria , Pereira Ascísio Dos Reis
Published: September 2016

Por meio deste estudo objetivou-se conhecer alguns aspectos do perfil dos estudantes do Curso Técnico em Paisagismo da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, RS. Para tanto foi aplicado um questionário fechado para 16 e 24 alunos, respectivamente, do segundo e quarto semestres do curso. Verificou-se que a faixa etária é ampla, variando de 17 a 60 anos, com predomínio do sexo feminino. Quanto aos alunos, a maioria tem a escolarização do ensino médio, com desejo de continuar os estudos e atuarem na área de Paisagismo, possivelmente, por considerar o curso de grande importância para a sua qualidade de vida e da sociedade. A motivação principal de escolha do curso deve-se a questões pessoais e pela tradição e qualidade de ensino da instituição, refletindo a satisfação dos alunos em relação ao Curso Técnico em Paisagismo.Palavras-chave: educação profissional, ensino profissionalizante, qualidade de vida, perfil socioeconômico.
BMI, Body Image, Emotional Well-Being and Weight-Control Behaviors in Urban African American Adolescents
Authors: Allen Delenya , Belcher Harolyn M.E. , Young Allen , Gibson Lillian Williams , Colantuoni Elizabeth , Trent Maria
Published: September 2016

Importance: While urban African American adolescents face significant health disparities associated with overweight and obesity that follow them into adulthood; there is limited data on body image, emotional well-being, and weight control behaviors in this population to design effective public health interventions.
Objective: This study was designed to understand the association of weight status to adolescent weight control, body image, and emotional well-being responses, in African American high school students.
Design/Setting/Participants: The study cohort consisted of 776 students, mean age 15.8 years (±1.2). Data from Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services (GAPS) student surveys and anthropometric studies were collected at School-Based Health Centers.
Main Outcome Measures: Associations between adolescent responses on the GAPS and body mass index (BMI) status (healthy weight: 5th to less than 85th percentile, overweight: 85th to less than 95th percentile, obese: 95th percentile or greater) were estimated using logistic regression and dose- response plots.
Results: There were statistically significant associations between BMI category and weight control (ranging from a mean 5.18 to 7.68 odds of obesity) and body image (3.40 to 13.26 odds of obesity) responses. Responses to weight control and body image questions exhibited a dose- response for odds of overweight and obesity. Feelings of depressed mood were associated with obesity (1.47 times the odds of obesity compared to students who did not endorse depressed mood; 95% CI, 1.01 to 2.13) but not overweight status.
Conclusion and Relevance: Overweight and obese urban African American adolescents are more likely to screen positively on weight control risk behaviors and negative body image questions than their normal weight peers. The weight control and body image measures on the GAPS may provide information to identify youth in need of services and those motivated for brief school-based weight control interventions.
A limitation of the Cognitive Reflection Test: familiarity
Authors: Stieger Stefan , Reips Ulf-Dietrich
Published: September 2016

The Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT; Frederick, 2005) is a frequently used measure of cognitive vs. intuitive reflection. It is also a frequently found entertaining ‘test’ on the Internet. In a large age-stratified community-based sample (N= 2,272), we analyzed the impact of having already performed the CRT or any similar task in the past. Indeed, we found that 44% of participants had experiences with these tasks, which was reflected in higher CRT scores (Cohen’sd= 0.41). Furthermore, experienced participants were different from naïve participants in regard to their socio-demographics (younger, higher educated, fewer siblings, more likely single or in a relationship than married, having no children). The best predictors of a high CRT score were the highest educational qualification (4.62% explained variance) followed by the experience with the task (3.06%). Therefore, we suggest using more recent multi-item CRTs with newer items and a more elaborated test construction.