bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study on Demulsification-Flocculation Mechanism of Oil-Water Emulsion in Produced Water from Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer Flooding
Authors: Huang Bin , Li Xiaohui , Zhang Wei , Fu Cheng , Wang Ying , Fu Siqiang
Published: March 2019

The issue of pipeline scaling and oil-water separation caused by treating produced water in Alkali/Surfactant/Polymer (ASP) flooding greatly limits the wide use of ASP flooding technology. Therefore, this study of the demulsification-flocculation mechanism of oil-water emulsion in ASP flooding produced water is of great importance for ASP produced water treatment and its application. In this paper, the demulsification-flocculation mechanism of produced water is studied by simulating the changes in oil-water interfacial tension, Zeta potential and the size of oil droplets of produced water with an added demulsifier or flocculent by laboratory experiments. The results show that the demulsifier molecules can be adsorbed onto the oil droplets and replace the surfactant absorbed on the surface of oil droplets, reducing interfacial tension and weakening interfacial film strength, resulting in decreased stability of the oil droplets. The demulsifier can also neutralize the negative charge on the surface of oil droplets and reduce the electrostatic repulsion between them which will be beneficial for the accumulation of oil droplets. The flocculent after demulsification of oil droplets by charge neutralization, adsorption bridging, and sweeping all functions together. Thus, the oil droplets form aggregates and the synthetic action by the demulsifier and the flocculent causes the oil drop film to break up and oil droplet coalescence occurs to separate oil water.
Synthesis and Properties of Plasma-Polymerized Methyl Methacrylate via the Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Polymerization Technique
Authors: Park Choon-Sang , Jung Eun Young , Jang Hyo Jun , Bae Gyu Tae , Shin Bhum Jae , Tae Heung-Sik
Published: March 2019

Pinhole free layers are needed in order to prevent oxygen and water from damaging flexible electrical and bio-devices. Although polymerized methyl methacrylate (polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA) for the pinhole free layer has been studied extensively in the past, little work has been done on synthesizing films of this material using atmospheric pressure plasma-assisted electro-polymerization. Herein, we report the synthesis and properties of plasma-PMMA (pPMMA) synthesized using the atmospheric pressure plasma-assisted electro-polymerization technique at room temperature. According to the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and time of flight-secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) results, the characteristic peaks from the pPMMA polymer chain were shown to have been detected. The results indicate that the percentage of hydrophobic groups (C–C and C–H) is greater than that of hydrophilic groups (C–O and O–C=O). The field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and thickness measurement results show that the surface morphology is quite homogenous and amorphous in nature, and the newly proposed pPMMA film at a thickness of 1.5 µm has high transmittance (about 93%) characteristics. In addition, the results of water contact angle tests show that pPMMA thin films can improve the hydrophobicity.
Water–Organic Solvent Extraction of Phenolic Antioxidants from Brewers’ Spent Grain
Authors: Zuorro Antonio , Iannone Annalaura , Lavecchia Roberto
Published: March 2019

Brewers’ spent grain (BSG) is the most abundant by-product of the brewing process. BSG is currently disposed of or used as a supplement for animal feed, although it contains significant amounts of bioactive compounds of great interest to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food sectors. In this study we investigate the feasibility of using a simple solvent extraction procedure to recover phenolic antioxidants from BSG. Acetone–water and ethanol–water mixtures were used as extraction solvents. Phenolic extracts obtained by treatment of BSG with the two solvent systems were characterized in terms of total phenolics and antioxidant activity. For both systems, the extraction yield was maximum at 60% (v/v) organic solvent concentration. At all solvent compositions, mixtures containing acetone provided higher extraction yields. As suggested by the strong correlation between the antioxidant activity of BSG extracts and their phenolic content, the antioxidant capacity of the extracts can be mainly attributed to polyphenols. Overall, the obtained results strongly support the exploitation of BSG as a source of phenolic antioxidants and the possibility of recovering them by a mild and green extraction process.
Determination of KOSGEB Support Models for Small- and Medium-Scale Enterprises by Means of Data Envelopment Analysis and Multi-Criteria Decision Making Methods
Authors: Sevinç Ali , Eren Tamer
Published: March 2019

Small- and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) act as catalysts in the general economy with regard to their added value. Support programs have been designed by the government through the Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Support Administration KOSGEB) and other institutions in order to further the general economic contributions of such enterprises. However, there is no method for using support models according to a productivity and effectiveness principle. This causes serious wastes of both resources and time. In this study, the problem of applying support models to improve the most critical problems of SMEs was discussed. As a place of application, 82 firms registered to the Konya Chamber of Industry were selected for the automotive supplier industry. Firstly, a productivity evaluation of companies was performed by a data envelopment analysis (DEA). Firms were grouped into A, B1, B2, C1, and C2 according to their activity scores. Using an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), the order of KOSGEB support was found using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method (TOPSIS). Thus, firms will be able to focus on their most pressing problems, as well as enabling the efficient use of resources A: Small- and Medium-Scale Enterprises Improvement and Support Program (KOBIGEL) support model, B1: Logistic support model, B2: KOBIGEL support model, C1: Test analysis and calibration support model, and C2: Test analysis and calibration support model. This means that these support models are required in the first place for group companies.A KOBIGEL support model is the provincial rank for A group companies.
Simulating Stochastic Populations. Direct Averaging Methods
Authors: Tran Vu , Ramkrishna Doraiswami
Published: March 2019

A method of directly computing the average behavior of stochastic populations is established, which obviates the time-consuming process of generating detailed sample paths. The method relies on suitably discretized time intervals in which nonlinearities are quasi-linearized to produce random variables with known expectations and variances. The pair of equations is directly solved to obtain the average behavior of the system at the end of a time interval based on its knowledge at the beginning of the interval. The sample path requirement for this process is considerably lower than that for the process over the entire simulation period. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated on the transfer of antibiotics resistance between two bacterial species which is a problem of mounting concern in fighting disease.
Remote Sensing Image Scene Classification Using CNN-CapsNet
Authors: Zhang Wei , Tang Ping , Zhao Lijun
Published: March 2019

Remote sensing image scene classification is one of the most challenging problems in understanding high-resolution remote sensing images. Deep learning techniques, especially the convolutional neural network (CNN), have improved the performance of remote sensing image scene classification due to the powerful perspective of feature learning and reasoning. However, several fully connected layers are always added to the end of CNN models, which is not efficient in capturing the hierarchical structure of the entities in the images and does not fully consider the spatial information that is important to classification. Fortunately, capsule network (CapsNet), which is a novel network architecture that uses a group of neurons as a capsule or vector to replace the neuron in the traditional neural network and can encode the properties and spatial information of features in an image to achieve equivariance, has become an active area in the classification field in the past two years. Motivated by this idea, this paper proposes an effective remote sensing image scene classification architecture named CNN-CapsNet to make full use of the merits of these two models: CNN and CapsNet. First, a CNN without fully connected layers is used as an initial feature maps extractor. In detail, a pretrained deep CNN model that was fully trained on the ImageNet dataset is selected as a feature extractor in this paper. Then, the initial feature maps are fed into a newly designed CapsNet to obtain the final classification result. The proposed architecture is extensively evaluated on three public challenging benchmark remote sensing image datasets: the UC Merced Land-Use dataset with 21 scene categories, AID dataset with 30 scene categories, and the NWPU-RESISC45 dataset with 45 challenging scene categories. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can lead to a competitive classification performance compared with the state-of-the-art methods.
Flood Hazard Assessment of the Urban Area of Tabuk City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by Integrating Spatial-Based Hydrologic and Hydrodynamic Modeling
Authors: Abdelkarim Ashraf , Gaber Ahmed F. D. , Youssef Ahmed M. , Pradhan Biswajeet
Published: March 2019

This study deals with the use of remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems (GISs), hydrologic modeling (water modeling system, WMS), and hydraulic modeling (Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System, HEC-RAS) to evaluate the impact of flash flood hazards on the sustainable urban development of Tabuk City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Determining the impact of flood hazards on the urban area and developing alternatives for protection and prevention measures were the main aims of this work. Tabuk City is exposed to frequent flash flooding due to its location along the outlets of five major wadis. These wadis frequently carry flash floods, seriously impacting the urban areas of the city. WMS and HEC-HMS models and RS data were used to determine the paths and morphological characteristics of the wadis, the hydrographic flow of different drainage basins, flow rates and volumes, and the expansion of agricultural and urban areas from 1998 to 2018. Finally, hydraulic modeling of the HEC-RAS program was applied to delineate the urban areas that could be inundated with floodwater. Ultimately, the most suitable remedial measures are proposed to protect the future sustainable urban development of Tabuk City from flood hazards. This approach is rarely used in the KSA. We propose a novel method that could help decision-makers and planners in determining inundated flood zones before planning future urban and agricultural development in the KSA.
ICE-MoCha: Intelligent Crowd Engineering using Mobility Characterization and Analytics
Authors: Jabbari Abdoh , Almalki Khalid J. , Choi Baek-Young , Song Sejun
Published: March 2019

Human injuries and casualties at entertaining, religious, or political crowd events often occur due to the lack of proper crowd safety management. For instance, for a large scale moving crowd, a minor accident can create a panic for the people to start stampede. Although many smart video surveillance tools, inspired by the recent advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology and machine learning (ML) algorithms, enable object detection and identification, it is still challenging to predict the crowd mobility in real-time for preventing potential disasters. In this paper, we propose an intelligent crowd engineering platform using mobility characterization and analytics named ICE-MoCha. ICE-MoCha is to assist safety management for mobile crowd events by predicting and thus helping to prevent potential disasters through real-time radio frequency (RF) data characterization and analysis. The existing video surveillance based approaches lack scalability thus have limitations in its capability for wide open areas of crowd events. Via effectively integrating RF signal analysis, our approach can enhance safety management for mobile crowd. We particularly tackle the problems of identification, speed, and direction detection for the mobile group, among various crowd mobility characteristics. We then apply those group semantics to track the crowd status and predict any potential accidents and disasters. Taking the advantages of power-efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and ubiquitous availability, we specifically use and analyze a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) signal. We have conducted experiments of ICE-MoCha in a real crowd event as well as controlled indoor and outdoor lab environments. The results show the feasibility of ICE-MoCha detecting the mobile crowd characteristics in real-time, indicating it can effectively help the crowd management tasks to avoid potential crowd movement related incidents.
Estimating Snow Depth and Leaf Area Index Based on UAV Digital Photogrammetry
Authors: Lendzioch Theodora , Langhammer Jakub , Jenicek Michal
Published: March 2019

This study presents a novel approach in the application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imaging for the conjoint assessment of the snow depth and winter leaf area index (LAI), a structural property of vegetation, affecting the snow accumulation and snowmelt. The snow depth estimation, based on a multi-temporal set of high-resolution digital surface models (DSMs) of snow-free and of snow-covered conditions, taken in a partially healthy to insect-induced Norway spruce forest and meadow coverage area within the Šumava National Park (Šumava NP) in the Czech Republic, was assessed over a winter season. The UAV-derived DSMs featured a resolution of 0.73–1.98 cm/pix. By subtracting the DSMs, the snow depth was determined and compared with manual snow probes taken at ground control point (GCP) positions, the root mean square error (RMSE) ranged between 0.08 m and 0.15 m. A comparative analysis of UAV-based snow depth with a denser network of arranged manual snow depth measurements yielded an RMSE between 0.16 m and 0.32 m. LAI assessment, crucial for correct interpretation of the snow depth distribution in forested areas, was based on downward-looking UAV images taken in the forest regime. To identify the canopy characteristics from downward-looking UAV images, the snow background was used instead of the sky fraction. Two conventional methods for the effective winter LAI retrieval, the LAI-2200 plant canopy analyzer, and digital hemispherical photography (DHP) were used as a reference. Apparent was the effect of canopy density and ground properties on the accuracy of DSMs assessment based on UAV imaging when compared to the field survey. The results of UAV-based LAI values provided estimates were comparable to values derived from the LAI-2200 plant canopy analyzer and DHP. Comparison with the conventional survey indicated that spring snow depth was overestimated, and spring LAI was underestimated by using UAV photogrammetry method. Since the snow depth and the LAI parameters are essential for snowpack studies, this combined method here will be of great value in the future to simplify snow depth and LAI assessment of snow dynamics.
DeepHMap++: Combined Projection Grouping and Correspondence Learning for Full DoF Pose Estimation
Authors: Fu Mingliang , Zhou Weijia
Published: March 2019

In recent years, estimating the 6D pose of object instances with convolutional neural network (CNN) has received considerable attention. Depending on whether intermediate cues are used, the relevant literature can be roughly divided into two broad categories: direct methods and two-stage pipelines. For the latter, intermediate cues, such as 3D object coordinates, semantic keypoints, or virtual control points instead of pose parameters are regressed by CNN in the first stage. Object pose can then be solved by correspondence constraints constructed with these intermediate cues. In this paper, we focus on the postprocessing of a two-stage pipeline and propose to combine two learning concepts for estimating object pose under challenging scenes: projection grouping on one side, and correspondence learning on the other. We firstly employ a local-patch based method to predict projection heatmaps which denote the confidence distribution of projection of 3D bounding box’s corners. A projection grouping module is then proposed to remove redundant local maxima from each layer of heatmaps. Instead of directly feeding 2D–3D correspondences to the perspective-n-point (PnP) algorithm, multiple correspondence hypotheses are sampled from local maxima and its corresponding neighborhood and ranked by a correspondence–evaluation network. Finally, correspondences with higher confidence are selected to determine object pose. Extensive experiments on three public datasets demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms several state of the art methods.
A Comprehensive Technological Survey on the Dependable Self-Management CPS: From Self-Adaptive Architecture to Self-Management Strategies
Authors: Zhou Peng , Zuo Decheng , Hou Kun Mean , Zhang Zhan , Dong Jian , Li Jianjin , Zhou Haiying
Published: March 2019

Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) has been a popular research area in the last decade. The dependability of CPS is still a critical issue, and few surveys have been published in this domain. CPS is a dynamic complex system, which involves various multidisciplinary technologies. To avoid human errors and to simplify management, self-management CPS (SCPS) is a wise choice. To achieve dependable self-management, systematic solutions are necessary to verify the design and to guarantee the safety of self-adaptation decisions, as well as to maintain the health of SCPS. This survey first recalls the concepts of dependability, and proposes a generic environment-in-loop processing flow of self-management CPS, and then analyzes the error sources and challenges of self-management through the formal feedback flow. Focusing on reducing the complexity, we first survey the self-adaptive architecture approaches and applied dependability means, then we introduce a hybrid multi-role self-adaptive architecture, and discuss the supporting technologies for dependable self-management at the architecture level. Focus on dependable environment-centered adaptation, we investigate the verification and validation (V&V) methods for making safe self-adaptation decision and the solutions for processing decision dependably. For system-centered adaptation, the comprehensive self-healing methods are summarized. Finally, we analyze the missing pieces of the technology puzzle and the future directions. In this survey, the technical trends for dependable CPS design and maintenance are discussed, an all-in-one solution is proposed to integrate these technologies and build a dependable organic SCPS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive survey on dependable SCPS building and evaluation.
Electrochemical Screening and Evaluation of Lamiaceae Plant Species from South Africa with Potential Tyrosinase Activity
Authors: Etsassala Ninon G.E.R. , Waryo Tesfaye , Popoola Olugbenga K. , Adeloye Adewale O. , Iwuoha Emmanuel I. , Hussein Ahmed A.
Published: March 2019

South Africa is a country with a wide variety of plants that may contain excellent anti-tyrosinase inhibitors. With wide applications in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food products, tyrosinase inhibitors have received very special attention in the recent past as a way of preventing the overproduction of melanin in epidermal layers which often over time brings detrimental effects on human skin. In this present study, a fast screening method using a cyclic voltammetry technique was applied in the evaluation of methanolic extracts of twenty-five species of plants from the Lamiaceae family for anti-tyrosinase activity. Among these plants, those that showed a fast current inhibition rate at a minimum concentration when compared to a kojic acid standard were classified as having the greatest anti-tyrosinase activity. These include Salvia chamelaeagnea, S. dolomitica, Plectranthus ecklonii, P. namaensis, and P. zuluensis. The results presented herein focused in particular on providng firsthand information for further extensive research and exploration of natural product materials with anti-tyrosinase activity from South African flora for use in cosmetics, skin care and medicinal treatments.
A Cluster Based Localization Scheme with Partition Handling for Mobile Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks
Authors: Islam Tariq , Lee Yong Kyu
Published: March 2019

Many applications of underwater sensor networks (UWSNs), such as target tracking, reconnaissance and surveillance, and marine life monitoring require information about the geographic locations of the sensed data. This makes the localization of sensor nodes a crucial part of such underwater sensing missions. In the case of mobile UWSNs, the problem becomes challenging, not only due to a need for the periodic tracking of nodes, but also due to network partitioning as a result of the pseudo-random mobility of nodes. In this work, we propose an energy efficient solution for localizing nodes in partitioned networks. Energy consumption is minimized by clustering unlocalized partitioned nodes and allowing only clusterheads to carry out a major part of the localization procedure on behalf of the whole cluster. Moreover, we introduce a retransmission control scheme that reduces energy consumption by controlling unnecessary transmission. The major design goal of our work is to maximize localization coverage while keeping communication overheads at a minimum, thus achieving better energy efficiency. The major contributions of this paper include a clustering technique for localizing partitioned nodes and a retransmission control strategy that reduces unnecessary transmissions.
Working Through Uncertainty: The Perils and Potential of Community-Engaged Research on Refugee Resettlement
Authors: Van Auken Paul , Hauser Orlee , Wolover D. J. , Lerch Bethany , Jackson Kenneth , Son Juyeon , Reed Sarah , Crowley Colin
Published: March 2019

What can be learned from the process of community-engaged research (CER) on refugee resettlement? In the following, we share experiences, reflections, and lessons from implementing such a project. We begin with background on refugee resettlement and recent resettlement dynamics in the United States and Wisconsin, as well as literature on the study of refugees and this type of research more generally. Results and discussion are presented though our understanding of, and involvement with, the process via a framework of CER desired process outcomes, which we both propose and utilize to encourage effective efforts with marginalized populations going forward. CER is challenging and must be undertaken thoughtfully. One of the paper’s primary contributions is to share successes and failures in a transparent and unvarnished fashion. In particular, researchers need to share power and listen deeply, actions that will reverberate throughout such a process. Doing so comes with certain risks, and may be tangled, but also has strong potential to produce useful data, deep learning for researchers and participants, as well as empowerment of marginalized populations and relationship building that can yield future collaboration towards resilience.
Correction: Patel et al. Resilience: Examining the Impacts of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on the Gulf Coast Vietnamese American Community. Soc. Sci. 2018, 7(10), 203
Authors: Patel Megha , Saltzman Leia , Ferreira Regardt , Lesen Amy
Published: March 2019

The authors wish to make the following change to their paper (Patel et al. 2018). [...]
Survey Study on Attitudes to Multi-Dimensional Sustainable Development with U.K. MSc Students
Authors: Melles Gavin
Published: March 2019

As reflected in the sustainable development goals (SDGs), sustainable development is a multi-dimensional concept integrating political, ethical, economic, and other factors. Reports from the United Nations (UN) Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) suggest that universities are more engaged with sustainable development in higher education. Despite promising signals about student awareness of sustainable development, survey studies suggest student engagement and knowledge is limited. Previous studies have tended to focus on undergraduates and examine basic attitudes to triple bottom line issues. This study examined knowledge and attitudes of postgraduate U.K. students enrolled in one-year taught sustainability degrees on the multi-dimensional issues of sustainable development. This study piloted a 39-question 7-point Likert scale survey with a cohort of U.K.-taught postgraduate (MSc, MPhil) students (n = 121, Cronbach’s Alpha 0.796, n = 39 questions). The study found this cohort able to recognize and respond to the multiple challenges of strong and weak sustainable development issues rather than exhibiting knowledge gaps previously reported. Results and qualitative comments from the survey suggest, however, that students resist the idea of strong interventions in social, political, and economic life.
Indashyikirwa Women’s Safe Spaces: Informal Response for Survivors of IPV within a Rwandan Prevention Programme
Authors: Stern Erin , Carlson Katie
Published: March 2019

Within intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention programmes that raise awareness of women’s rights and the forms and consequences of IPV, there is a need to ensure response mechanisms for IPV survivors. Indashyikirwa is a Rwandan IPV prevention programme, which established 14 women’s safe spaces, whereby men and women could access support for IPV, be referred or accompanied to other services. This paper draws on qualitative interviews with safe space facilitators, attendees, staff and observations of activities at various points across the programme. Thematic analysis was conducted to assess the process and impact of the spaces. Attendees generally preferred the women’s safe spaces over formal services for IPV disclosure and support, and the spaces also enhanced the quality of and linkage to formal IPV response services. The safe spaces further supported well-being and economic empowerment of attendees. Lessons learned from implementing this model are offered, including how to ensure safe, inclusive and integrated sources of support within broader IPV prevention efforts.
Knowledge Transfer in the Cultural and Creative Sector: Institutional Aspects and Perspectives from Actors in Selected Atlantic Regions
Authors: Cruz Ana Rita , Almeida Rodrigo Nicolau , Costa Pedro , Gato Maria Assunção , Perestrelo Margarida
Published: March 2019

The 21st century has witnessed a growth in the importance given to the third mission of Higher Education Institutions (HEI). This third mission refers to the socioeconomic engagement with the surrounding social and business fabric, namely in the form of knowledge transfer (KT) schemes and policies. Despite its widely-recognized importance, the Cultural and Creative Sector (CCS) has remained only marginally engaged with HEI, in part due to the lack of explicit policy by public actors to bring the two types of actors together. This article seeks to explore the institutional frameworks that have been developed for knowledge transfer from HEI to the CCS in selected regions of the Atlantic Area. Towards this goal, it first analyses some of the sectoral specificities of the CCS, identifying three feature which distinguish the sector: the entrepreneurial structure and organization of CCS; the type of knowledge, innovation and motivations of firms; and their absence of connections to HEI. The article seeks then to analyze to what extent existing policy on CCS and KT policies in the regions has tackled these specificities, through a qualitative analysis of reports, policy documents, and academic analysis of the regional economies, before proposing a model for understanding KT policy in the CCS sector, which serves as a preliminary line of inquiry into the knowledge relations in the CCS. Finally, these policy concerns are related to the perceptions of CCS practitioners, attempting to understand the primary concerns of these actors according to their regional context. The article highlights the existing disconnect between public policy, the current state of understanding of the CCS and the industry actors, urging for greater research and policy-development to promote innovation and socioeconomic growth.
Decomposition-Based Dynamic Adaptive Combination Forecasting for Monthly Electricity Demand
Authors: Hu Zhineng , Ma Jing , Yang Liangwei , Li Xiaoping , Pang Meng
Published: March 2019

(1) Background: Electricity consumption data are often made up of complex, unstable series that have different fluctuation characteristics in different industries. However, electricity demand forecasting is a prerequisite for the control and scheduling of power systems. (2) Methods: As most previous research has focused on prediction accuracy rather than stability, this paper developed a decomposition-based combination forecasting model using dynamic adaptive entropy-based weighting for total electricity demand forecasting at the engineering level. (3) Results: To further illustrate the prediction accuracy and stationarity of the proposed method, a comparison analysis using an analysis of variance and an orthogonal approach to solve the least squares equations was conducted using classical individual models, a combination forecasting model, and a decomposition-based combination forecasting model. The proposed method had a very satisfactory overall performance with good verification and validation compared to autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and artificial neural-networks (ANN). (4) Conclusion: As the proposed method dynamically combines various forecast models and can decompose and adapt to various characteristic data sets, it was found to have an accurate, stable forecast performance. Therefore, it could be broadly applied to forecasting electricity demand and developing electricity generation plans and related energy policies.
Mobile Apps for Green Food Practices and the Role for Consumers: A Case Study on Dining Out Practices with Chinese and Dutch Young Consumers
Authors: Mu Wenjuan , Spaargaren Gert , Oude Lansink Alfons
Published: March 2019

Mobile applications (apps) have become popular among consumers to facilitate their existing food practices like cooking, shopping, and dining out. However, the feasibility of using mobile apps to facilitate sustainability transitions in food consumption is not well researched. In this study, we, therefore, propose a conceptual framework to illustrate how mobile apps can be developed in linking everyday food practices with sustainability transitions. Through the case study of dining out and with the help of focus group discussions, we seek to illustrate that practice theory might serve as a useful starting point for understanding the dynamics of food practices, their relevant sustainability dimensions, and the ways in which mobile apps can be used for changing current food practices into more sustainable ones. Among our main results are the findings that consumers prefer the sustainability food app to be integrated with dominant or mainstream apps, which are already used by consumers in the context of dining out. Besides being simple, functional, flexible, and rewarding, the information provided by the app should be reliable and trustworthy. Moreover, both science-based and practice-based information is necessary to provide sufficient guidance to consumers on how changes in food practice can be operationalized and implemented.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) Produced in Western Washington: The Role of Logistics and Wood Species Mix
Authors: Chen Cindy X. , Pierobon Francesca , Ganguly Indroneil
Published: March 2019

The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT), as an environmentally sustainable building material, has generated significant interest among the wood products industry, architects and policy makers in Washington State. However, the environmental impacts of CLT panels can vary significantly depending on material logistics and wood species mix. This study developed a regionally specific cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of CLT produced in western Washington. Specifically, this study focused on transportation logistics, mill location, and relevant wood species mixes to provide a comparative analysis for CLT produced in the region. For this study, five sawmills (potential lamstock suppliers) in western Washington were selected along with two hypothetical CLT mills. The results show that the location of lumber suppliers, in reference to the CLT manufacturing facilities, and the wood species mix are important factors in determining the total environmental impacts of the CLT production. Additionally, changing wood species used for lumber from a heavier species such as Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) to a lighter species such as Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) could generate significant reduction in the global warming potential (GWP) of CLT. Given the size and location of the CLT manufacturing facilities, the mills can achieve up to 14% reduction in the overall GWP of the CLT panels by sourcing the lumber locally and using lighter wood species.
Characteristics of Heterotrophic Nitrifying and Aerobic Denitrifying Arthrobacter nicotianae D51 Strain in the Presence of Copper
Authors: Cai Xi , Li Kaili , He Tengxia , Wang Yaxin , Zhang Xue , Xie Enyu , Ding Ningning , Li Zhenlun
Published: March 2019

A heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification bacterium, strain D51, was identified as Arthrobacter nicotianae based on morphological, phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs), and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses. Further tests demonstrated that strain D51 had the capability to use nitrite, nitrate, or ammonium as the sole nitrogen source in the presence of Cu2+. The maximum removal efficiencies of nitrite, nitrate and ammonium were 68.97%, 78.32%, and 98.70%, respectively. Additionally, the maximum growth rate and denitrification capacity of this strain occurred in the presence of 0.05 mg·L−1 of Cu2+.However, the growth and aerobic denitrification capacity were intensively inhibited by Cu2+ at ≥0.1 mg·L−1. Moreover, gas chromatography indicated that a portion of the nitrogen was transformed into N2O when the nitrite, nitrate, and ammonium were separately used as the sole nitrogen source. This is the first study of the nitrification and denitrification ability of Arthrobacter nicotianae under aerobic conditions, and the first experiment to investigate the impact of Cu2+ concentration on the growth and denitrification ability of this bacteria. The results presented herein extend the known varieties of heterotrophic nitrifying–aerobic denitrifying bacteria and provide useful information regarding the specific bacteria for nitrogen bioremediation of industrial wastewater containing Cu2+.
The River’s Light: Water Needs for Thermoelectric Power Generation in the Ebro River Basin, 1969–2015
Authors: Sesma-Martín Diego
Published: March 2019

Water is essential for almost all energy processes. This paper analyses the evolution of the cooling water needs of thermal power plants in the Ebro River basin, the largest contributor to the Spanish electricity grid, over the period 1969–2015. It makes several contributions. First, the cooling water needs for the plants are estimated. Second, these water requirements are compared to other water-using activities in the region. Third, a long-term water-use efficiency analysis is carried out. Finally, water-saving measures are proposed to counter possible future water scarcities. The results show that thermoelectric water consumption per capita is around 7 m3/year. Estimated future thermal power generation water withdrawals (around 500 m3 per capita/year) might compromise flows for other water uses in periods of drought.
Coexisting spin and Rabi oscillations at intermediate time regimes in electron transport through a photon cavity
Authors: Gudmundsson Vidar , Gestsson Hallmann , Abdullah Nzar Rauf , Tang Chi-Shung , Manolescu Andrei , Moldoveanu Valeriu
Published: March 2019

In this work, we theoretically model the time-dependent transport through an asymmetric double quantum dot etched in a two-dimensional wire embedded in a far-infrared (FIR) photon cavity. For the transient and the intermediate time regimes, the current and the average photon number are calculated by solving a Markovian master equation in the dressed-states picture, with the Coulomb interaction also taken into account. We predict that in the presence of a transverse magnetic field the interdot Rabi oscillations appearing in the intermediate and transient regime coexist with slower non-equilibrium fluctuations in the occupation of states for opposite spin orientation. The interdot Rabi oscillation induces charge oscillations across the system and a phase difference between the transient source and drain currents. We point out a difference between the steady-state correlation functions in the Coulomb blocking and the photon-assisted transport regimes.
PECULIARITIES OF STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF MASONRY FROM HOLLOW BLOCK UNITS AND THEIR ESTIMATION/MŪRO IŠ TUŠTYMĖTŲ BLOKELIŲ KONSTRUKCINIŲ SAVYBIŲ YPATUMAI IR JŲ ĮVERTINIMAS
Authors: Jonaitis Bronius , Maršiukaitis Gediminas , Papinigis Vytautas , Valivonis Juozas
Published: March 2019

Performed analyses of investigations have shown that properties of masonry from hollow blocks depend on many factors, and on material type and shape of the blocks including. But there is no unified method for determining the main structural properties-the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity. Theoretical investigations into masonry from hollow blocks and analysis of character of failure have shown that horizontal stress due to vertical loads has great influence on the strength of such masonry. The failure is initiated by vertical cracks crossing transverse webs. Values of strengths of concentrically compressed masonry calculated according to codes [2, 3] lead to different deviations from experimental results. Lower deviations for masonry of blocks are obtained according to [2] than according to [3]. Strength of masonry of calcium silicate blocks calculated by [3] is greater than that determined by experiments. Modulus of elasticity of such type masonry is lower than that of the same strength masonry from concrete blocks. Different calculation methods give different values of deformation modulus. The best agreement with experimental values of modulus of elasticity is given by the calculation method [2]. For selection types of hollow blocks for masonry and determination of design characteristics it is recommended to take average values determined by operating codes [2, 3] and to evaluate influence of shape and size of hollows on transverse tensile strength of blocks.
STANDARD SYSTEM OF DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE OF ROAD STRUCTURES/KELIŲ STATINIŲ PROJEKTAVIMO IR PRIEŽIŪROS NORMATYVINIŲ DOKUMENTŲ SISTEMA
Authors: Kamaitis Zenonas
Published: March 2019

Bridges are designed, constructed and maintained. All these activities are closely interrelated and the codes and standards must therefore concern all these activities. Guidance on all these activities exists in various countries in the form of standards, guides, and recommendations. European standards are currently being developed. In some countries as well as in Lithuania European Standards have to be adopted to suit local traditions and conditions. National application documents will give details of compatible supporting standards to be used.

Lithuanian normative document system includes Regulations (STR), Code of Practices (ST), Standards (LST), and Recommendations (SR). All these documents are intended for guidance in planning, designing, execution, maintenance, inspections, repair or reconstruction of road and railway bridges.

Codes and Standards have to ensure that road structures designed and constructed maintain their required performance for a sufficiently long period of time, which is expected to be 100 years, assuming that an appropriate level of workmanship and maintenance is achieved. The Structural Euro-codes comprise a group of standards for the structural and geotechnical design of buildings and civil engineering works. Eurocodes and supporting European standards published by CEN will replace existing national codes and standards. Although two aspects have to be taken in consideration:

European codes do not cover all design situations and they are under development.

Each country may introduce modifications according to local conditions and traditions.

Proposals for development of national code system for design and maintenance of road structures are presented (see Fig). Including especially durability and assessment of existing bridges into structural life cycle design and into standards and practical guides is of vital importance. To achieve this the additional prenormative research is required. The well-prepared standard system should improve the quality and reliability of new and existing road structures in Lithuania.
MULTICRITERIA-BASED ESTIMATION OF SELECTION OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY CONSTRUCTION SITE/KOMERCINIŲ OBJEKTŲ STATYBOS VIETOS PARINKIMO VERTINIMAS ĮVAIRIAIS ASPEKTAIS
Authors: Ustinovičius Leonas , Stasiulionis Andrius
Published: March 2019

When investing into real estate, especially into commercial buildings, it is very important to choose a right location. Location should be chosen in order to meet highest and best usage of the future commercial building. Usefulness and efficiency of location are determined by qualities which may be divided into the following groups: 1) common qualities; 2) special qualities characteristic to a particular activity. Great attention should be paid to city land use model. Development of Vilnius City has been based on several models and due to a great variety and instability of location criteria, selection of land site for commercial property becomes complicated.

Real estate investments require creation of cardinal criteria system, which could facilitate the selection of location. Exhaustive information about location is of vital importance for investments into real estate. Therefore research of information systems related to geographical location, GIS, must be conducted. Using cardinal criteria system we would be able to match multicriteria decision-making methods suitable for solving discrete alternative problems. After having determined cardinal criteria, most suitable multicriteria decisionmaking methods are as follows: 1) linear reckoning/ascription method; 2) simple add weighting method (SAW); 3) hierarchical add weighting method; 4) ELECTRE method; 5) method of distance from ideal point (TOPSIS). From the practical point of view it is difficult to define ideal location as possibility to compensate by other criteria or attach to one the particular criterion, as every location is unique in its one way. ELECTRE method based on binary comparison of options in order to determine whether the criteria of option meet criteria's predomination or contradict it was chosen as one of the most suitable innovative selective methods for choosing the commercial property's location.
First record of Australatya obscura Han & Klotz, 2015 (Decapoda, Atyidae) from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan
Authors: Inui Naoto , Maruyama Tomoaki , Okamoto Ken
Published: March 2019

The freshwater shrimp, Australatyaobscura Han & Klotz, has been known only from Taiwan and Panay Island, Philippines.

An adult A.obscura was collected from a river on Ishigaki Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. This is the first record of the species in Japan and the northernmost specimen-supported record to date. The species is suggested as having been transported northwards by the Kuroshio Current.
The Use of Transthoracic Echocardiogram to Quantify Pulmonary Vascular Resistance in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis
Authors: Billet Sophie , Pugnet Grégory , Chollet Thomas , Charbonnier Gaétan , Fournier Pauline , Prévot Grégoire , Tetu Laurent , Cournot Maxime , Derumeaux Hélène , Carrié Didier , Galinier Michel , Lairez Olivier
Published: March 2019

Objective.

To explore the accuracy of tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TRV) to right ventricular outflow tract time-velocity integral (TVIRVOT) ratio by Doppler to determine pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods.

Thirty-five consecutive adult patients with SSc, fulfilling the 2013 European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology classification criteria, with sinus rhythm referred for right heart catheterization (RHC), were retrospectively included. All patients underwent a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) performed within 24 h of RHC. Patients with SSc were recruited regardless of disease activity, cardiac symptoms, and treatment regimen. Doppler measurements were compared to RHC measurements. A linear regression equation was generated to predict PVR by echocardiogram based on the TRV/TVIRVOT ratio. The accuracy of Doppler measurements for predicting PVR > 3 Wood units was assessed by computing the areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves.

Results.

There were 20 (57%) females in the study. The mean age was 65 ± 12 years. Mean and systolic pulmonary arterial pressures were 31 ± 8 and 53 ± 15 mmHg, respectively. There was a good correlation between TRV/TVIRVOT ratio assessed by Doppler and PVR measured by RHC (R = 0.743, p < 0.001). The equation generated by this analysis was the following: PVR by Doppler = 11.3 × (TRV/TVIRVOT) + 1.7. A cutoff value of 0.21 for TRV/TVIRVOT ratio provided the best sensitivity (86%) and specificity (86%) to determine PVR > 3 Wood units.

Conclusion.

Our study suggests that TTE using Doppler could be a useful and noninvasive tool for estimating PVR in patients with SSc.
Clinical Effect of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency in Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody–associated Vasculitis: Results from a French Retrospective Monocentric Cohort
Authors: Deshayes Samuel , Martin Silva Nicolas , Grandhomme Frédérique , Khoy Kathy , Mariotte Delphine , Boutemy Jonathan , Maigné Gwénola , Brière-Bellier Claire , Delmas Claire , Bienvenu Boris , Lobbedez Thierry , de Boysson Hubert , Aouba Achille
Published: March 2019

Objective.

Deficiency in alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) is a possible pathogenic cofactor in antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV). However, the clinical effect of AAT deficiency remains poorly established in this setting. This study aimed to describe the clinical phenotypes and outcomes of AAV according to AAT phenotypes.

Methods.

This study was conducted retrospectively at Caen University Hospital and included all consecutive granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) patients with positive proteinase 3-ANCA or myeloperoxidase-ANCA, from January 2000 or September 2011, respectively, to June 2016. AAT dosage (nephelometry) and phenotyping (isoelectric focusing in agarose gel) were performed.

Results.

Among the 142 patients with AAV, including 88 GPA and 54 MPA, 102 (72%) had the MM phenotype, 5 (4%) had a nonpolymerogenic M-variant phenotype, 18 (13%) had the deficient allele MZ, 12 (8%) had MS, 2 (1%) had ZZ, 2 (1%) had SZ, and 1 (1%) had SS. M, Z, and S allele frequencies were 84%, 8%, and 6%, respectively. No association was observed between AAT deficiency and ANCA subtype or AAV phenotype, except for intraalveolar hemorrhage (IAH), which was more frequent in patients harboring at least 1 of the deficient Z or S alleles than in those without any deficient alleles (p < 0.01). Global, renal, or relapse-free survival rates were similar for all subgroups.

Conclusion.

This study shows that AAT deficiency confers, independently of ANCA subtype, a higher risk of IAH. Prospective studies are required to refine these data and to assess the need for replacement therapy in AAT-deficient patients with AAV.