bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Crossing Sociological, Ecological, and Nutritional Perspectives on Agrifood Systems Transitions: Towards a Transdisciplinary Territorial Approach
Authors: Lamine Claire , Magda Danièle , Amiot Marie-Josèphe
Published: March 2019

The need to reconnect agriculture, environment, food, and health when addressing agrifood system transitions is widely acknowledged. However, most analytical frameworks, especially in the expanding literature about “system approaches”, rely on impact-based approaches and, thus, tend to overlook ecological processes as well as social ones. This article aims at demonstrating that a territorial approach to agrifood system transitions is more appropriate to tackle the reconnection between agriculture, food, environment, and health than the larger scales (global or national food systems) or the smaller ones (such as those of alternative food systems) usually addressed in the literature. Co-elaborated by a sociologist, an ecologist, and a nutritionist, this article is based on a focused analysis of the literature that has addressed agrifood system transitions in the food and health sciences and in the social sciences and on the reflexive analysis of two past projects dealing with such transitions. It shows that a territorial approach allows including in the analysis the diverse agrifood systems’ components as well the ecological and social processes that may create functionalities for improving agrifood systems’ sustainability. This territorial approach is based on systemic and processual thinking and on a transdisciplinary perspective combining an objectification stance and a pragmatist constructivist one. It should allow actors and researchers to build a shared understanding of the transition processes within their shared territorial agrifood system, despite possibly different and diverging views.
An Exponentially Distributed Stochastic Model for Sustainability Measurement of a Healthcare System
Authors: Khosravi Faramarz , Izbirak Gokhan , Adewale Adesina Kehinde
Published: March 2019

As the global environment is getting more competitive, sustainability is increasingly becoming an important assessment tool. An exponential distribution stochastic model is developed for the purpose of assessing and measuring the sustainability of healthcare system. The aim of this study is to provide a sustainability measuring model that is driven by the actual distribution status of the sustainability indicators. In this paper, the notions of the “Triple Bottom Line” (TBL) are followed in deriving the sustainability challenge and capacity indicators for the environmental, social, and economic indicators. Since basic challenges and capacities depend on the modes of the organization, the study proposes an exponentially distributed stochastic model for measuring sustainability. A numerical illustration of Iranian healthcare is presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed model. In the results obtained, sustainability index for environmental, economic, and social are 54.40%, 48.80%, and 66.80% respectively. It indicates the healthcare achieved some sustainability through the social aspect; therefore, improving the environmental and economic aspect of the TBL is necessary. The proposed model can be used as a panoramic tool for effective measurement of the sustainability level of any healthcare system.
Pay for Being Responsible: The Effect of Target Firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility on Cross-Border Acquisition Premiums
Authors: Qiao Lu , Wu Jianfeng
Published: March 2019

This study examines the effect of a target firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) on its cross-border acquisition premium. Building upon the resource-based view and the institutional theory, we argue that the target firm’s CSR positively affect the cross-border acquisition premium, while institutional distance, cultural distance, and the number of fellow acquisitions moderate the above relationship. Hypotheses are tested in a sample of 252 cross-border acquisitions between 1991 and 2016. Empirical findings show that an acquirer is more likely to pay a higher acquisition premium when acquiring a socially responsible target firm; furthermore, such an effect weakens as institutional distance, cultural distance, and the number of fellow acquisitions increase. This study extends existing research on the importance of CSR as a strategic asset and sheds new light on the role of CSR played in the setting of cross-border acquisitions.
Measuring Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Coffee Certification Labels in Taiwan
Authors: Liu Chun-Chu , Chen Chu-Wei , Chen Han-Shen
Published: March 2019

Sustainability certification labels have become an important tool for aiding consumers in evaluating food safety, health concerns, and environmental friendliness. Few studies have explored the attributes of consumers’ environmental consciousnesses from the perspective of environmental concerns; hence, we focus on that lack. Our study contributes to the need to better understand consumer attention to sustainability information when making coffee certification attribute choices. We aimed to explore the importance that consumers attach to coffee certification attributes paid to these attributes while choosing and to willingness to pay (WTP). There were 650 questionnaires completed by those who had purchased coffee beans habitually in Taiwan; after factoring out the invalid questionnaires (i.e., those with omitted answers, incomplete answers, or those in which answers to all the questions received the same scale points were all deemed as invalid and removed), 568 valid ones were collected with a recovery rate of 87.4%. The results indicate that the respondents’ WTP attributes ranked from highest to lowest are traceability, organic, graded, environmentally friendly, and fair-trade certifications. This study provides insights into how consumers’ preferences relate to selection of coffee certification attributes.
Sociological Importance and Validation of a Questionnaire for the Sustainability of Personal Learning Environments (PLE) in 8th Grade Students of the Biobío Region in Chile
Authors: Carrasco-Sáez José Luis , Careaga Butter Marcelo , Badilla-Quintana María Graciela , Jiménez Pérez Laura , Molina Farfán Juan
Published: March 2019

Contemporary society is going through a cultural transition that leads to new conceptions about the ways in which human beings organize socially and communicate. This process of deep social and cultural transformations is characterized by a technological disruption, in which virtuality forms a new dimension that behaves as an extension of human intelligence. This new form of human interaction impacts on the social imagination, demanding one to rethink social and educational paradigms for the two-dimensional citizen. In this context, this research article describes the sociological importance and the process of social adaptation of users to a personal learning environment (PLE). It includes the validation process of an instrument for the study of the PLE of 8th grade students belonging to 15 schools in the Biobío Region of Chile. A PLE is a frame of reference that can help to understand how two-dimensional citizens socially adapt and influence the sustainability of local and global systems. The validation method for this instrument considered four stages: i) Expert judgment: considering the opinions of six educators and experts in information and communication technologies (ICT); ii) a pilot test: that included a non-probabilistic sample of 472 subjects; iii) a principal components analysis (PCA); and iv) a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The Questionnaire on Work Habits and Learning for Professional Futures and the Context Questionnaire SIMCE TIC were used as a reference. When performing a psychometric analysis, a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.89 was obtained. This confirms that the adaptation of the instrument is good. The results of the dimensional analysis help us define a structure for the new instrument considering three components that explain 55% of the total variance. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed adjustment indexes that support the theoretical model proposed for the PLE study. In conclusion, the instrument was composed of three latent variables: Open self-regulated learning (OSRL) with eight questions, information management (IM) with four questions, and creation and transfer of knowledge (CTK) with four questions.
Design of a Connected Security Lighting System for Pedestrian Safety in Smart Cities
Authors: Cho Younjoo , Jeong Hwajin , Choi Anseop , Sung Minki
Published: March 2019

Historical and ongoing pedestrian anxiety about night crimes in alleyways is an important issue in our society. Therefore, recommended illuminance levels in pedestrian alleys have been established and security lighting meeting such illuminance levels has been installed to ensure proper brightness. However, pedestrians may still feel that such areas are too dark and want to ensure their safety through sufficient brightness, especially late at night. In this study, a smart security lighting system, which was namely the Connected Security Lighting System (CSLS), has been designed to reduce the pedestrians’ fear of crime in smart cities. The CSLS increases the brightness of security lighting by turning on additional lights to relax pedestrians’ psychological fear of crime because of the increased sense of surveillance. Such a change may also deter potential offenders. The CSLS employs various sensors and information communication technologies that are widely used in interior and outdoor smart lighting applications. It also uses a beacon device and smartphone application to effectively detect pedestrians while infrared sensors in the CSLS are activated to detect any pedestrians approaching from the opposite direction after the beacon device is initiated. The method for controlling the CSLS is described and a prototype system is presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this security lighting system in smart cities.
Distribution Network Power Loss Analysis Considering Uncertainties in Distributed Generations
Authors: Li Hongmei , Cui Hantao , Li Chunjie
Published: March 2019

Distribution network loss analysis is crucial for the economic operation in residential distribution networks. The increasing level of distributed generation (DG) has considerably improved the overall sustainability but raised the uncertainty in system losses and exacerbated voltage profiles. This paper presents a nodal distribution loss analysis approach in which the losses induced by loads and DGs are calculated recursively. In order to characterize the uncertainty, the Latin hypercube sampling (LHS)-based approach is presented for obtaining DG output samples. Further, the LHS-based sampling and loss analysis methods are combined into a proposed stochastic framework for loss analysis, which takes into account the DG output uncertainty. Case studies on a 36-bus radial distribution network verified the stochastic loss analysis method. Compared with the simple random sampling method, the proposed LHS-based stochastic loss analysis method can reach the same accuracy level for nodal voltages and losses more efficiently.
Sustainable Development of Food Processing Enterprises in China
Authors: Cao Shuai , Tian Dong , Zhang Xiaoshuan , Hou Yunxian
Published: March 2019

Sustainable development is an eternal topic in the development of human society. The paper seeks to contribute to the adoption of sustainable development practices in the food processing enterprises of China by fostering the capacities of the enterprises. Moreover, the paper aims to contribute to the promotion of sustainable consumption by helping and encouraging consumers in making informed choices of sustainable and eco-efficient produced foodstuffs. We combined with 1015 survey data in 28 areas of China by using AHP model analysis of the sustainable development of food processing enterprises. The results show that, the overall level of sustainable development ability of food processing enterprises in China is not high; paying attention to economic is significantly more important than paying attention to social and environmental aspects. Chinese food processing entities have an acceptable basis for the implementation of sustainable development. But there are still some problems. Finally, some suggestions are put forward to promote the sustainable development of Chinese food processing enterprises.
Moderating Role of Connoisseur Consumers on Sustainable Consumption and Dynamics Capabilities of Indonesian Single Origin Coffee Shops
Authors: Purnomo Mangku , Daulay Pardamean , Utomo Medea , Riyanto Sugeng
Published: March 2019

Between agro-food products, coffee is the first commodity to quarrel in ethical attributes and sustainability issues such as fair trade, premium prices, as well as justified value chain issues. Taking into account the growing coffee consumption in Indonesia, this article tries to prove connoisseur consumers (CCs) are moderating the sustainable consumption and dynamics capabilities (DCs) of single origin coffee shops (SOCSs). An in-depth interview to 30 SOCS managers and 60 baristas and a survey to 450 consumers found that there are significant correlations between connoisseurs attributes such as the depth of a barista’s knowledge of coffee, the barista’s skills, the shop image, the coffee variation, the barista’s communication skills, and the serving techniques and that they have a relationship with an increase in the number of consumers. The existence of CCs has encouraged the practice of consumption sustainability of SOCSs and moderates SOCSs to improve sensing, seizing, and transforming shop management to stand against the competition. Based on the above findings, more in-depth research on the standard character and number of CCs is needed as well as their contribution to the revenue structure of SOCSs. Meanwhile, connoisseur customers’ support is capable of helping the SOCSs in improving their DCs to improve the sustainable consumption of Indonesian single origin coffee in the future.
Vegetation Change and Driving Factors: Contribution Analysis in the Loess Plateau of China during 2000–2015
Authors: Hu Yunfeng , Dao Rina , Hu Yang
Published: March 2019

Judging vegetation change and analyzing the impacts of driving factors on vegetation change are important bases on which to evaluate the effects of ecological engineering constructions on the Loess Plateau and to support ecological construction planning decisions. The authors applied time-section difference analysis and trend analysis methods to analyze the temporal–spatial characteristics of vegetation change on the Loess Plateau from 2000 to 2015. Then, complex linear regression analysis and residual analysis methods were applied to estimate the contribution rates of driving factors to regional vegetation changes. The results showed the following: (1) From 2000 to 2015, most areas of the Loess Plateau became “greener”. These areas were mainly distributed in the southern part of Shanxi Province, the northern and central parts of Shaanxi Province, and the eastern part of Gansu Province. (2) In 2015, the overall contribution rate of meteorological factors (temperature and precipitation) to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in the Loess Plateau was as high as 87.7%. The average contribution rate of non-meteorological factors (mainly referring to human activities) to vegetation NDVI was 6.4%.
Design for Sustainability: The Effect of Lettering Case on Environmental Concern from a Green Advertising Perspective
Authors: Song Yao , Luximon Yan
Published: March 2019

Recent green advertising research has focused on the effectiveness of different advertising claims and people’s interactions with the environment or environmental concerns, indicating the significant role of visual appeals in influencing people’s environmental attitudes. However, surprisingly, only a limited amount of research has addressed the effect of lettering case in green advertising on people’s perceptions and their consequent environmental concerns. This study tries to fill in this research gap by showing that uppercase (vs. lowercase) advertising taglines on environmental threats could improve people’s fear arousal, advertising congruence, environmental concern and the mediating role of fear arousal and congruence in this process. The managerial implications and limitations are also discussed in this study.
Temporal and Spatial Characteristics and Early Warning Analysis of Economic Polarization Evolution: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province in China
Authors: Zou Chen , Ou Xiangjun , Tan Juntao
Published: March 2019

Economic polarization is a special manifestation of economic disparity which intensifies the gap between the rich and the poor in a region and brings about a series of social problems. Though more and more scholars are studying the phenomenon of economic polarization, there are few studies on polarization level division and early warning analysis in the existing literature. The main purpose of this paper is to propose a standard for rationally dividing the level of economic polarization. This paper firstly analyzes the current situation of economic polarization by using the economic data of 54 counties and cities in Jiangsu Province from 2000 to 2016 and secondly predicts the economic polarization level of Jiangsu Province from 2017 to 2015 through the grey model. We find that, according to the classification criteria of polarization levels, the phenomenon of economic polarization in Jiangsu Province is both not as serious as expected and at a moderate level of alertness. The results of this study can provide important reference value for the coordinated development of Jiangsu Province.
Train Regulation Combined with Passenger Control Model Based on Approximate Dynamic Programming
Authors: Hao Sijia , Song Rui , He Shiwei , Lan Zekang
Published: March 2019

Rescheduling is often needed when trains stay in segments or stations longer than specified in the timetable due to disturbances. Under crowded situations, it is more challenging to return to normal with heavy passenger flow. Considering making a trade-off between passenger loss and operating costs, we present a train regulation combined with a passenger control model by analyzing the interactive relationship between passenger behaviors and train operation. In this paper, we convert the problem into a Markov decision process and then propose the management strategy of regulating the running time and controlling the number of boarding passengers. Owing to the high dimensions of the large-scale problem, we applied the Approximate Dynamic Programming (ADP) approach, which approximates the value function with state features to improve computational efficiency. Finally, we designed three experimental scenarios to verify the effectiveness of our proposed model and approach. The results show that both the proposed model and the approach have a good performance in the cases with different passenger flows and different disturbances.
Fractional Order Forced Convection Carbon Nanotube Nanofluid Flow Passing Over a Thin Needle
Authors: Gul Taza , Khan Muhammad Altaf , Noman Waqas , Khan Ilyas , Abdullah Alkanhal Tawfeeq , Tlili Iskander
Published: March 2019

In the fields of fluid dynamics and mechanical engineering, most nanofluids are generally not linear in character, and the fractional order model is the most suitable model for representing such phenomena rather than other traditional approaches. The forced convection fractional order boundary layer flow comprising single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multiple-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with variable wall temperatures passing over a needle was examined. The numerical solutions for the similarity equations were obtained for the integer and fractional values by applying the Adams-type predictor corrector method. A comparison of the SWCNTs and MWCNTs for the classical and fractional schemes was investigated. The classical and fractional order impact of the physical parameters such as skin fraction and Nusselt number are presented physically and numerically. It was observed that the impact of the physical parameters over the momentum and thermal boundary layers in the classical model were limited; however, while utilizing the fractional model, the impact of the parameters varied at different intervals.
Quality-Oriented Study on Mapping Island Model Genetic Algorithm onto CUDA GPU
Authors: Sun Xue , Chou Ping , Wu Chao-Chin , Chen Liang-Rui
Published: March 2019

Genetic algorithm (GA), a global search method, has widespread applications in various fields. One very promising variant model of GA is the island model GA (IMGA) that introduces the key idea of migration to explore a wider search space. Migration will exchange chromosomes between islands, resulting in better-quality solutions. However, IMGA takes a long time to solve the large-scale NP-hard problems. In order to shorten the computation time, modern graphic process unit (GPU), as highly-parallel architecture, has been widely adopted in order to accelerate the execution of NP-hard algorithms. However, most previous studies on GPUs are focused on performance only, because the found solution qualities of the CPU and the GPU implementation of the same method are exactly the same. Therefore, it is usually previous work that did not report on quality. In this paper, we investigate how to find a better solution within a reasonable time when parallelizing IMGA on GPU, and we take the UA-FLP as a study example. Firstly, we propose an efficient approach of parallel tournament selection operator on GPU to achieve a better solution quality in a shorter amount of time. Secondly, we focus on how to tune three important parameters of IMGA to obtain a better solution efficiently, including the number of islands, the number of generations, and the number of chromosomes. In particular, different parameters have a different impact on solution quality improvement and execution time increment. We address the challenge of how to trade off between solution quality and execution time for these parameters. Finally, experiments and statistics are conducted to help researchers set parameters more efficiently to obtain better solutions when GPUs are used to accelerate IMGA. It has been observed that the order of influence on solution quality is: The number of chromosomes, the number of generations, and the number of islands, which can guide users to obtain better solutions efficiently with moderate increment of execution time. Furthermore, if we give higher priority on reducing execution time on GPU, the quality of the best solution can be improved by about 3%, with an acceleration that is 29 times faster than the CPU counterpart, after applying our suggested parameter settings. However, if we give solution quality a higher priority, i.e., the GPU execution time is close to the CPU’s, the solution quality can be improved up to 8%.
Environmental Contaminants Exposure and Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review
Authors: Porpora Maria Grazia , Piacenti Ilaria , Scaramuzzino Sara , Masciullo Luisa , Rech Francesco , Benedetti Panici Pierluigi
Published: March 2019

Preterm birth is an obstetric condition associated with a high risk of infant mortality and morbidities in both the neonatal period and later in life, which has also a significant public health impact because it carries an important societal economic burden. As in many cases the etiology is unknown, it is important to identify environmental factors that may be involved in the occurrence of this condition. In this review, we report all the studies published in PubMed and Scopus databases from January 1992 to January 2019, accessible as full-text articles, written in English, including clinical studies, original studies, and reviews. We excluded articles not written in English, duplicates, considering inappropriate populations and/or exposures or irrelevant outcomes and patients with known risk factors for preterm birth (PTB). The aim of this article is to identify and summarize the studies that examine environmental toxicants exposure associated with preterm birth. This knowledge will strengthen the possibility to develop strategies to reduce the exposure to these toxicants and apply clinical measures for preterm birth prevention.
The First Outbreak of Dengue Fever in Greater Darfur, Western Sudan
Authors: Ahmed Ayman , Elduma Adel , Magboul Babiker , Higazi Tarig , Ali Yousif
Published: March 2019

Dengue virus (DENV) is an arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus) transmitted by the Aedes mosquitoes, mainly Aedes aegypti. Dengue fever is a rapidly growing disease with expanding geographical distribution worldwide. We investigated a high number of non-malaria febrile cases reported to health clinics in refugee camps in the five states of Darfur between August 2015 and March 2016. The clinical presentation of cases and case definition criteria suggested involvement of one or more arboviral hemorrhagic fevers. Out of 560 suspected cases, we collected and analyzed 204 blood samples and serologically positive samples were confirmed by PCR. We identified 32 (15.7%) dengue viral infections, six West Nile virus infections, and three Crimean–Congo viral infections. Dengue infections were found in four out of the five Darfur states. We reported the first dengue fever outbreak in the Darfur region. Our results highlight the need for public health education and further molecular, phylogenetic, and entomological investigations for a better understanding of the disease transmission and the associated risk factors in the region.
Matter Growth in Imperfect Fluid Cosmology
Authors: Zimdahl Winfried , Velten Hermano E.S. , Algoner William C.
Published: March 2019

Extensions of Einstein’s General Relativity (GR) can formally be given a GR structure in which additional geometric degrees of freedom are mapped on an effective energy-momentum tensor. The corresponding effective cosmic medium can then be modeled as an imperfect fluid within GR. The imperfect fluid structure allows us to include, on a phenomenological basis, anisotropic stresses and energy fluxes which are considered as potential signatures for deviations from the cosmological standard Λ -cold-dark-matter ( Λ CDM) model. As an example, we consider the dynamics of a scalar-tensor extension of the standard model, the e Φ Λ CDM model. We constrain the magnitudes of anisotropic pressure and energy flux with the help of redshift-space distortion (RSD) data for the matter growth function f σ 8 .
Street Network Models and Measures for Every U.S. City, County, Urbanized Area, Census Tract, and Zillow-Defined Neighborhood
Authors: Boeing Geoff
Published: March 2019

OpenStreetMap provides a valuable crowd-sourced database of raw geospatial data for constructing models of urban street networks for scientific analysis. This paper reports results from a research project that collected raw street network data from OpenStreetMap using the Python-based OSMnx software for every U.S. city and town, county, urbanized area, census tract, and Zillow-defined neighborhood. It constructed nonplanar directed multigraphs for each and analyzed their structural and morphological characteristics. The resulting data repository contains over 110,000 processed, cleaned street network graphs (which in turn comprise over 55 million nodes and over 137 million edges) at various scales—comprehensively covering the entire U.S.—archived as reusable open-source GraphML files, node/edge lists, and GIS shapefiles that can be immediately loaded and analyzed in standard tools such as ArcGIS, QGIS, NetworkX, graph-tool, igraph, or Gephi. The repository also contains measures of each network’s metric and topological characteristics common in urban design, transportation planning, civil engineering, and network science. No other such dataset exists. These data offer researchers and practitioners a new ability to quickly and easily conduct graph-theoretic circulation network analysis anywhere in the U.S. using standard, free, open-source tools.
A Diacylglycerol Kinase Inhibitor, R-59-022, Blocks Filovirus Internalization in Host Cells
Authors: Stewart Corina M. , Dorion Stephanie S. , Ottenbrite Marie A. F. , LeBlond Nicholas D. , Smith Tyler K. T. , Qiu Shirley , Fullerton Morgan D. , Kobasa Darwyn , Côté Marceline
Published: March 2019

Filoviruses, such as Ebola virus (EBOV) and Marburg virus, are causative agents of unpredictable outbreaks of severe hemorrhagic fevers in humans and non-human primates. For infection, filoviral particles need to be internalized and delivered to intracellular vesicles containing cathepsin proteases and the viral receptor Niemann-Pick C1. Previous studies have shown that EBOV triggers macropinocytosis of the viral particles in a glycoprotein (GP)-dependent manner, but the molecular events required for filovirus internalization remain mostly unknown. Here we report that the diacylglycerol kinase inhibitor, R-59-022, blocks EBOV GP-mediated entry into Vero cells and bone marrow-derived macrophages. Investigation of the mode of action of the inhibitor revealed that it blocked an early step in entry, more specifically, the internalization of the viral particles via macropinocytosis. Finally, R-59-022 blocked viral entry mediated by a panel of pathogenic filovirus GPs and inhibited growth of replicative Ebola virus. Taken together, our studies suggest that R-59-022 could be used as a tool to investigate macropinocytic uptake of filoviruses and could be a starting point for the development of pan-filoviral therapeutics.
Low Temperature and Low UV Indexes Correlated with Peaks of Influenza Virus Activity in Northern Europe during 2010–2018
Authors: Ianevski Aleksandr , Zusinaite Eva , Shtaida Nastassia , Kallio-Kokko Hannimari , Valkonen Miia , Kantele Anu , Telling Kaidi , Lutsar Irja , Letjuka Pille , Metelitsa Natalja , Oksenych Valentyn , Dumpis Uga , Vitkauskiene Astra , Stašaitis Kestutis , Öhrmalm Christina , Bondeson Kåre , Bergqvist Anders , Cox Rebecca J. , Tenson Tanel , Merits Andres , Kainov Denis E.
Published: March 2019

With the increasing pace of global warming, it is important to understand the role of meteorological factors in influenza virus (IV) epidemics. In this study, we investigated the impact of temperature, UV index, humidity, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation on IV activity in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania during 2010–2018. Both correlation and machine learning analyses revealed that low temperature and UV indexes were the most predictive meteorological factors for IV epidemics in Northern Europe. Our in vitro experiments confirmed that low temperature and UV radiation preserved IV infectivity. Associations between these meteorological factors and IV activity could improve surveillance and promote development of accurate predictive models for future influenza outbreaks in the region.
Assessment of Agricultural Water Resources Sustainability in Arid Regions Using Virtual Water Concept: Case of South Khorasan Province, Iran
Authors: Qasemipour Ehsan , Abbasi Ali
Published: March 2019

Cropping pattern plays an important role in providing food and agricultural water resources sustainability, especially in arid regions in which the concomitant socioeconomic dangers of water shortage would be inevitable. In this research, six indices are applied to classify 37 cultivated crops according to Central Product Classification (CPC). The respective 10-year data (2005–2014) were obtained from Agricultural Organization of South Khorasan (AOSKh) province. The water footprint concept along with some economic indicators are used to assess the water use efficiency. Results show that blue virtual water contributes to almost 99 percent of Total Virtual Water (TVW). In this occasion that an increasing pressure is exerted on groundwater resources, improper pattern of planting crops has to be beyond reproach. The improper cropping pattern in the study area led to the overuse of 346 × 106 m3 of water annually. More specifically, cereals cultivation was neither environmentally nor economically sustainable and since they accounted for the largest share of water usage at the province level, importing them should be considered as an urgent priority. Vegetable cultivation could be further increased—instead of other water-intensive crops such as fruits—at the province level, not only due to their low TVW, but also to their higher financial output.
Cyclopropene derivatives of aminosugars for metabolic glycoengineering
Authors: Hassenrück Jessica , Wittmann Valentin
Published: March 2019

Cyclopropenes have been proven valuable chemical reporter groups for metabolic glycoengineering (MGE). They readily react with tetrazines in an inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder (DAinv) reaction, a prime example of a bioorthogonal ligation reaction, allowing their visualization in biological systems. Here, we present a comparative study of six cyclopropene-modified hexosamine derivatives and their suitability for MGE. Three mannosamine derivatives in which the cyclopropene moiety is attached to the sugar by either an amide or a carbamate linkage and that differ by the presence or absence of a stabilizing methyl group at the double bond have been examined. We determined their DAinv reaction kinetics and their labeling intensities after metabolic incorporation. To determine the efficiencies by which the derivatives are metabolized to sialic acids, we synthesized and investigated the corresponding cyclopropane derivatives because cyclopropenes are not stable under the analysis conditions. From these experiments, it became obvious that N-(cycloprop-2-en-1-ylcarbonyl)-modified (Cp-modified) mannosamine has the highest metabolic acceptance. However, carbamate-linked N-(2-methylcycloprop-2-en-1-ylmethyloxycarbonyl)-modified (Cyoc-modified) mannosamine despite its lower metabolic acceptance results in the same cell-surface labeling intensity due to its superior reactivity in the DAinv reaction. Based on the high incorporation efficiency of the Cp derivative we synthesized and investigated two new Cp-modified glucosamine and galactosamine derivatives. Both compounds lead to comparable, distinct cell-surface staining after MGE. We further found that the amide-linked Cp-modified glucosamine derivative but not the Cyoc-modified glucosamine is metabolically converted to the corresponding sialic acid.
In vitro neuroprotective activities of two distinct probiotic consortia
Authors: Michael D.R. , Davies T.S. , Loxley K.E. , Allen M.D. , Good M.A. , Hughes T.R. , Plummer S.F.
Published: March 2019

Neurodegeneration has been linked to changes in the gut microbiota and this study compares the neuroprotective capability of two bacterial consortia, known as Lab4 and Lab4b, using the established SH-SY5Y neuronal cell model. Firstly, varying total antioxidant capacities (TAC) were identified in the intact cells from each consortia and their secreted metabolites, referred to as conditioned media (CM). 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and Crystal Violet (CV) assays of cell viability revealed that Lab4 CM and Lab4b CM could induce similar levels of proliferation in SH-SY5Y cells and, despite divergent TAC, possessed a comparable ability to protect undifferentiated and retinoic acid-differentiated cells from the cytotoxic actions of rotenone and undifferentiated cells from the cytotoxic actions of 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium iodide (MPP+). Lab4 CM and Lab4b CM also had the ability to attenuate rotenone-induced apoptosis and necrosis with Lab4b inducing the greater effect. Both consortia showed an analogous ability to attenuate intracellular reactive oxygen species accumulation in SH-SY5Y cells although the differential upregulation of genes encoding glutathione reductase and superoxide dismutase by Lab4 CM and Lab4b CM, respectively, implicates the involvement of consortia-specific antioxidative mechanisms of action. This study implicates Lab4 and Lab4b as potential neuroprotective agents and justifies their inclusion in further in vivo studies.
Meta-effect of insect resistant maize on fumonisin B1 in grain estimated by variance-weighted and replication-weighted analyses
Authors: Cappelle K.M. , Munkvold G.P. , Wolt J.D.
Published: March 2019

Fumonisins are a class of mycotoxins occurring in foods and feeds at concentrations that may be of concern to human and animal health. Meta-analysis was used to predict the probability of fumonisin B1 (FB1) exposure reduction that may be achieved in the maize grain supply regionally over time through use of insect resistant (Bt) varieties and how analytical outcomes may be influenced by data richness. All analyses showed the positive effect of Bt maize to reduce FB1 concentrations in grain relative to comparable non-Bt maize, but the effect size was smaller for variance-weighted data than for the less statistically robust data sets. Variance weighted data indicated a 14 to 18% decrease in FB1 concentrations in Bt maize relative to a comparable non-genetically engineered variety, whereas a replication weighted approach indicated a 67% decrease. Understanding the effects of data selection criteria on outcomes of meta-analyses are useful in policy considerations related to the benefits of wide-area adoption of fumonisin mitigation practices, such as for economic analysis of the benefit of widespread Bt adoption, prediction of both short and long-term exposures to FB1 in feed rations and understanding variation of FB1 presence in maize sourced for food products.
Assistive Electro Discharge Machining of AIN Ceramics
Authors: Sarsen Aydarkhan , Bilal Azat , Sankar M. Ravi , Talamona Didier , Perveen Asma
Published: March 2019

Electro discharge machining process experiences limitation due to the non-conductive nature of the workpiece material. However, researchers proposed assistive EDM technique to machine nonconductive materials in the past. These assistive techniques require a minimal thickness of 100 µm conductive coating on the workpiece surface which usually takes longer time to coat the surface using PVD (physical vapor deposition) method. In this paper, a new modified assistive EDM method has been proposed to machine nonconductive Aluminum Nitride ceramics successfully. A three layers coating was used that included silver coating, carbon tape and silver nano-powder on a non-conductive aluminium nitride. This coating aids in conducting EDM operation due to the availability of conductive particles. Apart from the decomposition of dielectric that facilitates carbon particles on top of conductive carbon layer, coating itself also contributes in conductive silver particles. Therefore, carbon as well as silver debris that remains on the ceramics surface aids in continuous spark generation which in turn creates alternative thermal load and thus removes materials.
Application of Minimum Quantity Lubrication for Drum High Clutch in Turning Process
Authors: Khumjeen Nutrada , Tangjitsitcharoen Somkiat
Published: March 2019

The turning Process is the main processes used in automotive parts from more productivity, it requires the cutting velocity and feed rate high. And from those cutting, it causes high temperatures on cutting and a tool life of cutting tools decreased. Therefore using of cutting fluid (Coolant) is one of the commonly used methods to reduce temperatures that occur while cutting, reducing the wear of cutting tool and helps extend the tool life of the cutting tool. However, cutting fluid it's not always a good way, from the high cost and environmental problems issues. Using the MQL technique is one of the alternatives that using more nowadays to solve the above mentioned problems. This research proposed a MQL technique substitution of cutting fluid that using in the current process by applying in order to obtain the proper cutting condition for carbon steel material grade SAPH370 with the carbide cutting tool. The cutting conditions will acceptable from the minimum quantity of lubricant and the maximum of tool life of cutting tool under surface roughness (Ra) is less than 1.2 μm. The proper cutting condition determined at a feed rate of 0.10 mm/rev, a cutting speed of 300 m/min and a flow rate of 5ml/hr.
Confined Effect of Spiral Steel on the Bond Strength of Tension Lap Splice in SCC Beam
Authors: Wu Chung Hao , Lin Yu Feng , Chen How Ji , Chen Ming Yuan
Published: March 2019

This study investigates the bond strength of tension lap splice of self-compacted concrete (SCC) beam with various confining reinforcement. Four beam specimens were cast with SCC for test, in which three kinds of confined conditions were selected. Results indicate that the spiral steel at the tension lap splice presents similar confined effect as that of the transverse stirrups with same pitch. The beam reinforced with moderate stirrups in addition to the spiral steel may increase the confining effect. SCC beam should arrange proper amount of stirrups at the region of tension lap splice to preserve the flexural ductility of the beam.
Characterization and Efficiency Test of Nifedipine (NIF) Microencapsulation Using Polyblend of Poly(Lactic Acid) and Poly(Ɛ-Caprolactone)
Authors: Wati Galuh Putri Erika , Hayatunnufus Rahmi , Budianto Emil
Published: March 2019

Hypertension, which often dubbed as “silent killer”, is a global health problem due to high prevalence worldwide and led to several diseases such as coronary heart attack and stroke. To treat this disease, nifedipine (NIF) is usually being consumed to reduce the high blood pressure into normal. However, the repetitive dosage of this drug may cause a side effect that can lower the effectiveness of this treatment. Thus, the controlled drug delivery system is utilized to increase the effectivity of NIF with the optimal daily dose. In this research, the polyblend of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and poly (Ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) was synthesized to encapsulate NIF using oil-in-water (o/w) solvent evaporation method, while the emulsion stirring speed, Tween 80 concentration, dispersion time, and emulsion time were varied to find the optimum conditions for composing the microcapsule. Throughout this research, the optimum conditions of microcapsule production have occurred in a stirring speed of 700 rpm, dispersion time of 1 hour, Tween 80 concentration of 0.5%, and emulsion time of 1 hour. Furthermore, the drug efficiency value was determined at 97.40%. Finally, the microcapsule size was observed at 20-23 μM, with the 23.19 μM was determined as the optimum size of the respective microcapsule.
Developing a Physically Cross-Linked Hydroxyethyl Cellulose Hydrogel for Wound Dressing Applications
Authors: Jamlang Jamico , Marañon Mica Therese , Rigor Girro Jonn , Tumolva Terence
Published: March 2019

Physically cross-linked hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) hydrogels of different concentrations are synthesized at room temperature, and the hydrogel films are evaluated for its antimicrobial and exudate absorption properties. Results showed that all the hydrogels inherently possess antimicrobial property for all the HEC concentrations tested. The maximum water uptake is determined to be 173.8% for the 13.75% HEC hydrogel. At the same HEC concentration, the hydrogel absorbed the largest amount of exudate. The rate of diffusion in the longitudinal direction is observed to be higher, but the exudate was observed to travel generally farther in the radial direction. The diffusion coefficient model reported by Kipcak, et al. in 2014 was observed to be valid and applicable for the HEC hydrogels. Lastly, scanning electron microscopy showed the microstructure of the fibers and pores of the hydrogels.
Synthesis and Characterization of Tin Oxide-MultiWalled Carbon Nanotube Composite Material as Carbon Monoxide Gas Sensor
Authors: Yuliarto Brian , Zulhendry Daryl Widia , Septiani Ni Luh Wulan , Irzaman  , Ferdiansjah  , Fahmi Mochammad Zakki , Nugraha
Published: March 2019

Gas sensor based on nanostructured tin oxide (SnO2) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite material has successfully been synthesized. Reflux method was used to produce SnO2-MWCNT powder with various ratio 1:0, 4:1, 2:1, 1:1 and 0:1. The XRD result shows that the synthesized material comprises of the combination of carbon elements (MWCNT) and SnO2 of the crystalite cassiterite phase. BET analysis shows that MWCNT particles increase the specific surface area of SnO2 particles. SEM images show the morphology of the SnO2 nanoparticle composite attached to the MWCNT wall with a diameter of 40-60 nm and dispersed around it. Gas sensor testing was carried out at room temperature, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, and 350°C. All sensor samples were exposed to 30 ppm CO gas for 15 minutes. . It was found that sample with 1:0 ratio gives the best response with 98.91% at 350°C. CO gas tests have also been carried out at various concentration 10, 30, 50 and 70 ppm to 4:1 SnO2-MWCNT sample at 150°C. The higher the CO gas concentration, the greater the response. SnO2-MWCNT with 4:1 ratio at 50°C has the fastest response time of 10 s and the fastest recovery time of 3 s.
Effect of CS2 Flow Rate on the Formation of Aligned Carbon Microcoils
Authors: Kim Hyun Ji , Kim Sung Hoon
Published: March 2019

The formation of aligned carbon microcoils could be achieved using C2H2 as a source gas and CS2 as an incorporated additive gas under thermal chemical vapor deposition system. To elucidate the ratio of C2H2/CS2 for the formation of the aligned carbon microcoils, the CS2 flow rate was first manipulated under the identical C2H2 flow rate (500sccm) condition. The formation and the alignment of carbon microcoils could be only achieved under the ratio of C2H2/CS2 = 33.3 condition, namely the flow rates of CS2 = 15sccm and C2H2= 500sccm. The total flow rate of the used gases was varied under the identical C2H2/CS2 flow rate ratio (33.3) condition. The C2H2 flow rate was manipulated under the identical CS2 flow rate (15sccm) condition. It was found that the formation and the alignment of carbon microcoils could be only achieved under the condition of 15sccm of CS2 flow rate in the range of 200 ~ 500sccm of C2H2 flow rate, regardless of the flow rate ratio of C2H2/CS2 and the total flow rate. The crystal structure of the well-aligned CMCs reveals the increase in the (002) peak in XRD spectrum for the aligned carbon microcoils, indicating the existence of the more regular structure in the aligned carbon microcoils. Based on these results, the cause for the formation of the aligned carbon microcoils only in the case of the CS2 flow rate = 15sccm with the imaginary pictures for the flow rate ratio of C2H2/CS2 just above the substrate were proposed.
Electrospun Ag/WO3 Composite Nanofiber Photoanodes Prepared by DС Electrophoretic Deposition for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting
Authors: Thammabut Thawach , Yuangkaew Tienthong , Chumpanya Chanchanok , Tamsenanupap Thitipong , Jaroenapibal Papot , Triroj Napat
Published: March 2019

In this work, tungsten oxide (WO3) nanofibers were synthesized using electrospinning technique. Direct current electrophoretic deposition (DC-EPD) was conducted to deposit the nanofibers onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrodes. The photoelectrochemical performance of WO3 nanostructured electrodes was investigated and compared between the samples containing pristine WO3 and Ag/WO3 composite nanofibers. An up-to-6-fold enhancement in photoconversion efficiency (PCE) was obtained from Ag/WO3 composite nanofiber photoanode.