bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Using Different Levels of Information in Planning Green Infrastructure in Luanda, Angola
Authors: Amado Miguel , Rodrigues Evelina , Poggi Francesca , Pinheiro Manuel Duarte , Amado António Ribeiro , José Helder
Published: April 2020

Integrating natural processes to build areas through the creation of green infrastructure (GI) in Africa with its rapid urbanisation is a challenge because of the information base. The aim of this paper is planning a GI linking biophysical, social, and legal contents in a specific Africa country with an approach that combines different scales and different levels of data and information. The paper proposes a framework beginning at the macro scale to integrate and operationalise the definition of GI in an African context, namely for the Luanda metropolitan area. The approach to nature and ecological structure (GI) has four phases: analysis, integration, diagnosis and proposal. All steps are developed in a GIS environment and consider variations in the biophysical, social, cultural, and legal dimensions. The research discusses the problems in collecting existing information and leads with missing data within the context of urbanisation growth and climate change adaptation. The proposed green infrastructure includes protected areas (existing and proposed), natural values, risk areas, rivers, and agricultural areas, to increase resilience and flexibility in an adaptation context. The results allow to include in the GI the mangrove areas, native flora, vegetated slopes, and riverbanks, providing a buffering function for natural hazards, crucial for these regions, with the aim to achieve the needs of creating a strategic GI to be implemented into the Luanda General Master Plan.
Socioeconomic Indicators to Monitor Norway’s Bioeconomy in Transition
Authors: Capasso Marco , Klitkou Antje
Published: April 2020

Bioeconomy is a concept increasingly used to circumscribe that part of the economy which depends on the utilisation of biomass. Recent empirical analyses of the European Union bioeconomies have adopted a definition of bioeconomy which also encompasses activities in “hybrid” sectors; inputs for these sectors include not only biomass, but also a relevant share of other materials. We use the same definition to assess the features and evolution of the bioeconomy in Norway. The Norwegian bioeconomy is complex, both in terms of sectoral composition and of technological development. Our analysis builds upon national statistics on value added and employment as well as on expert interviews, aimed at detecting Norway’s peculiarities in terms of biomass utilisation. We find that the Norwegian bioeconomy has strongly increased its productivity in recent years. An astonishingly high peak in productivity is registered for fishing and aquaculture, whose value added has evolved massively; at the same time, pharmaceuticals are experiencing a dramatic shift toward bio-based production. General trends in the country’s bioeconomy have thus emerged from different transformation pathways across sectors. Our empirical analysis leads to formulating a general reflection about the definition of bioeconomy and its implications for socioeconomic quantitative studies.
Sustainable Career Development of Newly Hired Executives—A Dynamic Process Perspective
Authors: Li Yuan , Li Xiyuan , Chen Qingmin , Xue Ying
Published: April 2020

While prior literature indicated the positive outcomes of successful executive successions for both individuals and organizations, we still know little about the influencing factors and mechanisms of successful executive successions from the individual perspectives of newly hired executives. As prior research of executive succession suggested to consider the contextual change on the entire duration of executive employment, we adopted a qualitative research design to explore important experiences in the process of career development after an executive, who was newly hired from outside the company, joined a new organization with a dynamic perspective. Our goal was to help newly hired executives realize their career development process with key tasks and core competencies in distinct stages, in order to achieve sustainable career development in a new enterprise. There are also implications for enhancing process-oriented career development research and advancing career-development managerial practices.
The Impact of High-Speed Rail Opening on City Economics along the Silk Road Economic Belt
Authors: Li Feng , Su Yang , Xie Jiaping , Zhu Weijun , Wang Yahua
Published: April 2020

Achieving transport connectivity is a priority in China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”. In order to further understand the impact of railway infrastructure on city-level economic expansion, we set cities with high-speed rail as the treatment group and those without high-speed rail as the control group, and a difference-in-differences (DID) technique was used to estimate the growth impact and heterogeneity of high-speed rail opening on the economic growth of cities along the New Silk Road Economic Belt. The main results are as follows: First, economic growth in cities with operational high-speed rail lines was significantly higher than those without high-speed rail. Second, the impact of high-speed rail on economic growth exhibited distinct heterogeneity. Large cities tend to have a stronger siphoning effect, resulting in more pronounced impact of high-speed rail opening on urban economic growth. Third, cities with higher marketization levels and higher government efficiency were shown to have stronger economic growth effect.
Constructing the Public in Roadmapping the Transition to a Bioeconomy: A Case Study from the Netherlands
Authors: Lynch Durwin H.J. , Klaassen Pim , van Wassenaer Lan , Broerse Jacqueline E.W.
Published: April 2020

In recent years there has been increasing attention to the transition toward a bioeconomy. From comparable transitions toward sustainability, we know that transitions require integral, inclusive approaches toward developing a long-term strategy, focusing not only on technological innovation, but also on involving the public. This is not easy. Public engagement encompasses diverse forms of public and civil society participation, and it is crucial to understand the specificities of these interactions and their effects on potential transition pathways. We present a conceptual-analytical paper where the focus lies on understanding sense-making practices in the construction of publics in the bioeconomy. Using a case-study approach, this article describes five partialities of the constructed public in the bioeconomy and analyzes the orchestration, productive dimensions and effects of these constructions. Our analysis offers a new perspective on, and appreciation of, the partiality of different forms of public participation, and varying degrees in which possibilities of system change in the bioeconomy transition are inclusive or exclusive toward differentially constructed publics. This offers an alternative, constructive way of exploring actor dynamics and politics in system change. We aim to contribute to a more nuanced and integral interpretation of public engagement in sustainability transitions, which is relevant to actors from academia, policy, industry and other spheres relevant to the bioeconomy transition.
Relationships among Country Image, Tour Motivations, Tour Quality, Tour Satisfaction, and Attitudinal Loyalty: The Case of Chinese Travelers to Korea
Authors: Hwang Jinsoo , Asif Muhammad , Lee Kwang-Woo
Published: April 2020

This study examined the antecedents and the consequences of tour motivations. More specifically, this study proposed how two sub-dimensions of a country’s image, such as the cognitive and the affective destination images, affect tour motivations. In addition, it was proposed that tour motivation helps to enhance tour quality and tour satisfaction. Lastly, this study examined the effect of tour quality the tour satisfaction on word-of-mouth. A total of 623 samples were employed in order to test the seven hypotheses. This study employed the AMOS program to conduct confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results of the data analysis showed that the cognitive and the affective destination images play an important role in the formation of the tour motivation. This study also found that tour motivation has a positive influence on tour quality. Additionally, the current study confirmed the effect of tour quality on tour satisfaction. Lastly, the influences of tour quality on tour satisfaction and word-of-mouth were identified.
Factors for Measuring Photovoltaic Adoption from the Perspective of Operators
Authors: do Nascimento Felipe Moraes , Mairesse Siluk Julio Cezar , de Souza Savian Fernando , Bisognin Garlet Taís , Renes Pinheiro José , Ramos Carlos
Published: April 2020

The diffusion of photovoltaic distributed generation is relevant for addressing the political, economic, and environmental issues in the electricity sector. However, the proliferation of distributed generation brings new administrative and operational challenges for the sustainability of electric power utilities. Electricity distributors operate in economies of scale, and the high photovoltaic penetration means that these companies have economic and financial impacts, in addition to influencing the migration of other consumers. Thus, this paper aims to systematically identify and evaluate critical factors and indicators that may influence electricity distributors in predicting their consumers’ adoption of photovoltaic technology, which were subjected to the analysis of 20 industry experts. Results show that the cost of electricity, generation capacity, and cost of the photovoltaic systems are the most relevant indicators, and it is possible to measure a considerable part of them using the internal data of the electricity distributors. The study contributes to the understanding of the critical factors for the forecast of the adoption of consumers to distributed photovoltaic generation, to assist the distribution network operators in the decision making, and the distribution sustainability. Also, it establishes the theoretical, political, and practical implications for the Brazilian scenario and developing countries.
Spatial Distribution of Surface Temperature and Land Cover: A Study Concerning Sardinia, Italy
Authors: Lai Sabrina , Leone Federica , Zoppi Corrado
Published: April 2020

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key climate variable that has been studied mainly at the urban scale and in the context of urban heat islands. By analyzing the connection between LST and land cover, this study shows the potential of LST to analyze the relation between urbanization and heating phenomena at the regional level. Land cover data, drawn from Copernicus, and LST, retrieved from Landsat 8 satellite images, are analyzed through a methodology that couples GIS and regression analysis. By looking at the Italian island of Sardinia as a case study, this research shows that urbanization and the spatial dynamics of heating phenomena are closely connected, and that intensively farmed areas behave quite similarly to urban areas, whereas forests are the most effective land covers in mitigating LST, followed by areas covered with Mediterranean shrubs. This leads to key policy recommendations that decision-makers could implement to mitigate LST at the regional scale and that can, in principle, be exported to regions with similar climate and land covers. The significance of this study can be summed up in its novel approach to analyzing the relationship between LST and land covers that uses freely available spatial data and, therefore, can easily be replicated in other regional contexts to derive appropriate policy recommendations.
Using Network Theory to Explore BIM Application Barriers for BIM Sustainable Development in China
Authors: Deng Yongliang , Li Jinyun , Wu Qiuting , Pei Shuangshuang , Xu Na , Ni Guodong
Published: April 2020

Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology has promoted the development of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, but has encountered many barriers to its application in China. Therefore, identifying the barriers to BIM application and capturing their interactions are essential in order to control and eliminate the determined barriers. From this standpoint, 23 BIM application barriers were identified through a literature review and expert interviews. Furthermore, the interactions among them were determined based on the Delphi method, which was the foundation for establishing the BIM application barrier network (BABN). Then, the software Pajek was employed to construct the network model and reveal its topological characteristics based on complex network theory, including degree, betweenness, eigenvector, clustering coefficient, network diameter, and average path length. As indicated by the results, BABN possesses scale-free network property because its cumulative degree distribution obeys power–law distribution. BABN is also a small-world network, due to its relatively high clustering coefficient as well as small average path length, implying that barrier propagation in BABN is fast. In addition, the results are discussed and recommendations are proposed. This research will help BIM stakeholders to develop coping strategies to control and eliminate BIM application barriers for the sake of driving BIM sustainable development.
Clustering the Adsorbents of Horizontal Series Filtration in Greywater Treatment
Authors: Bahrami Mehdi , Amiri Mohammad Javad , Mahmoudi Mohammad Reza
Published: April 2020

One of the important alternative water resources for non-potable purposes is greywater (GW), which must be cleaned of contaminants. In this regard, the clustering analysis of materials consisting of sand (S), zeolite (Z), peat (P) and granular activated carbon (GAC) within a horizontal series filter (HSF) was used for removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total dissolved solids (TDS), and turbidity in GW taken from the Fasa University Student Hostel, Iran. The hierarchical clustering technique was applied to classify the adsorbents. The findings indicated that there were significant differences (more than 95%) between these materials. According to the similarity of level 95%, for COD, BOD, TDS, and turbidity removal, these adsorbents could be separately clustered in three, three, two, and three clusters, respectively. In addition, by considering the simultaneous changes of COD, BOD, TDS, and turbidity together, these adsorbents could be clustered in three different clusters. This paper proposed an efficient method to select the best combination of adsorbents for eliminating of COD, BOD, TDS, and turbidity from GW. Generally, based on the quality of treated greywater and literature, reusing greywater can be implemented for agriculture, artificial recharge of aquifers, desertification, and preventing the dust creation in arid areas such as southern Iran.
Manager’s Age, Sustainable Entrepreneurial Orientation and Sustainable Performance: A Conceptual Outlook
Authors: Ameer Farah , Khan Naveed R.
Published: April 2020

Scholars have investigated the direct linkage between manager’s age and sustainable corporate performance, however, the mixed results and conflicting findings on the nature of the relationship demand further explanation through the missing constructs. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of sustainable entrepreneurial orientation in the manager’s age and sustainable performance. This study develops a conceptual link by using a dynamic capabilities approach and upper echelon perspective, indicating that younger managers can adopt a more holistic approach towards sustainable practices which can enhance the environmental, social and economic performance of firms. This implies that the relationship between manager’s age and sustainable performance can be explained through sustainable entrepreneurial orientation (SEO) which can play a key role in setting organizational direction towards sustainable development and achieving sustainable business performance. This study contributes to the literature by examining the role of SEO in the relationship between the manager’s age and sustainable performance. This research will help practitioners recognize the importance of minimizing environmental and social problems generating due to organizational production activities. This will lead to profit generation as well as value creation for nature and the local community.
Agglomeration Effect of Skill-Based Local Labor Pooling: Evidence of South Korea
Authors: Choi Taelim
Published: April 2020

Since workplace skills present diverse dimensions of a worker’s ability, it has recently received renewed interest by researchers examining the growth of cities. The purpose of the paper explores the advantage of regional concentrations of workers specialized in different types of skills. Specifically, the analysis estimates the agglomeration effects of skill-based labor pooling on wage levels and wage growth in South Korea. To this end, it constructs skill-based labor pool indices for cognitive, social, technical, and physical skills at a provincial level. The indices show an uneven geographical distribution in varying degrees across four types of skills. The regression results indicate that the urban wage premium of skill-based local labor pooling varies according to types of skills. The greatest magnitude of benefit is incurred by workers in cognitive-skill-oriented occupations and moderate benefits are found in technical- and physical-skill-oriented occupations. An urban wage premium is non-existent in social-skill-oriented occupations. In addition, the wage growth model with job mobility shows that the urban wage premium immediately affects workers who change jobs and relocate to denser areas. As high-wage occupations earn higher wage premiums when workers in these occupations are concentrated, it supports patterns of the polarization of both skills and their effects.
SCFH: A Student Analysis Model to Identify Students’ Programming Levels in Online Judge Systems
Authors: Xu Bin , Yan Sheng , Jiang Xin , Feng Shaoge
Published: April 2020

Computer basic teaching is an essential basic learning content in higher education teaching. In order to encourage students and enable them to practice and improve their programming ability, the online judge system has been introduced into the programming course for compiling, executing and evaluating the algorithm source code submitted by students. The asymmetry of students’ programming level is an important issue when teachers guide the programming of online judge system. We used the exploratory factor analysis method to identify the potential variable structure from the log data submitted by the students of the online judge system, and evaluate the programming level of the students to predict the “at risk” learners. We proposed a student participation model, SCFH, based on this variable structure. Using the log data of the students in the C language course and their final exam results, we trained a deep neural network based on SCFH to divide the students into three different grades, namely “risky”, “intermediate” and “advanced”. To verify the validity of the model, we used the prediction model to classify students in another C++ language programming course. The results show that the submission log data model SCFH can be used to predict the programming ability of students, and the validity of these results can be tested by examination results.
A New Version of the Hermite–Hadamard Inequality for Riemann–Liouville Fractional Integrals
Authors: Mohammed Pshtiwan Othman , Brevik Iver
Published: April 2020

Integral inequalities play a critical role in both theoretical and applied mathematics fields. It is clear that inequalities aim to develop different mathematical methods. Thus, the present days need to seek accurate inequalities for proving the existence and uniqueness of the mathematical methods. The concept of convexity plays a strong role in the field of inequalities due to the behavior of its definition. There is a strong relationship between convexity and symmetry. Whichever one we work on, we can apply it to the other one due the strong correlation produced between them, especially in the past few years. In this article, we firstly point out the known Hermite–Hadamard (HH) type inequalities which are related to our main findings. In view of these, we obtain a new inequality of Hermite–Hadamard type for Riemann–Liouville fractional integrals. In addition, we establish a few inequalities of Hermite–Hadamard type for the Riemann integrals and Riemann–Liouville fractional integrals. Finally, three examples are presented to demonstrate the application of our obtained inequalities on modified Bessel functions and q-digamma function.
Chirality of Dirac Spinors Revisited
Authors: Petitjean Michel
Published: April 2020

We emphasize the differences between the chirality concept applied to relativistic fermions and the ususal chirality concept in Euclidean spaces. We introduce the gamma groups and we use them to classify as direct or indirect the symmetry operators encountered in the context of Dirac algebra. Then we show how a recent general mathematical definition of chirality unifies the chirality concepts and resolve conflicting conclusions about symmetry operators, and particularly about the so-called chirality operator. The proofs are based on group theory rather than on Clifford algebras. The results are independent on the representations of Dirac gamma matrices, and stand for higher dimensional ones.
Investigating the Exits’ Symmetry Impact on the Evacuation Process of Classrooms and Lecture Halls: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach
Authors: Delcea Camelia , Cotfas Liviu-Adrian , Bradea Ioana-Alexandra , Boloș Marcel-Ioan , Ferruzzi Gabriella
Published: April 2020

As the evacuation problem has attracted and continues to attract a series of researchers due to its high importance both for saving human lives and for reducing the material losses in such situations, the present paper analyses whether the evacuation doors configuration in the case of classrooms and lecture halls matters in reducing the evacuation time. For this aim, eighteen possible doors configurations have been considered along with five possible placements of desks and chairs. The doors configurations have been divided into symmetrical and asymmetrical clusters based on the two doors positions within the room. An agent-based model has been created in NetLogo which allows a fast configuration of the classrooms and lecture halls in terms of size, number of desks and chairs, desks and chair configuration, exits’ size, the presence of fallen objects, type of evacuees and their speed. The model has been used for performing and analyzing various scenarios. Based on these results, it has been observed that, in most cases, the symmetrical doors configurations provide good/optimal results, while only some of the asymmetrical doors configurations provide comparable/better results. The model is configurable and can be used in various scenarios.
Gut-Derived Metabolites and Their Role in Immune Dysfunction in Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Glorieux Griet , Gryp Tessa , Perna Alessandra
Published: April 2020

Several of the uremic toxins, which are difficult to remove by dialysis, originate from the gut bacterial metabolism. This opens opportunities for novel targets trying to decrease circulating levels of these toxins and their pathophysiological effects. The current review focuses on immunomodulatory effects of these toxins both at their side of origin and in the circulation. In the gut end products of the bacterial metabolism such as p-cresol, trimethylamine and H2S affect the intestinal barrier structure and function while in the circulation the related uremic toxins stimulate cells of the immune system. Both conditions contribute to the pro-inflammatory status of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Generation and/or absorption of these toxin precursors could be targeted to decrease plasma levels of their respective uremic toxins and to reduce micro-inflammation in CKD.
Comparative Effectiveness of Botulinum Toxin Injection for Chronic Shoulder Pain: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Authors: Hsu Po-Cheng , Wu Wei-Ting , Han Der-Sheng , Chang Ke-Vin
Published: April 2020

Botulinum toxin (BoNT) injection is regarded as a promising treatment for musculoskeletal pain. However, its efficacy for treating chronic shoulder pain remains unclear. We investigated the effectiveness of BoNT injections for chronic shoulder pain by conducting a systematic search of electronic databases up to March 2020 for randomized control trials (RCTs) that used BoNT injections for chronic shoulder pain treatment. The primary outcome was the between-group comparison of pain reduction, quantified by the standardized mean difference (SMD). Nine RCTs comprising 666 patients were included and divided into two groups: one group with shoulder joint pain (n = 182) and the other group with shoulder myofascial pain (n = 484). Regarding shoulder joint pain, the efficacy of BoNT injections was similar to that of the reference treatment (SMD: −0.605, 95% confidence level [CI]: −1.242 to 0.032 versus saline; SMD: −0.180, 95% CI: −0.514 to 0.153 versus corticosteroids) at one month post-intervention, and was superior (SMD: −0.648, 95% CI: −0.1071 to −0.225 versus corticosteroids) between one and three months. Likewise, in terms of shoulder myofascial pain, the effectiveness of BoNT injections did not differ from the reference treatment (SMD: −0.212, 95% CI: −0.551 to 0.127 versus saline; SMD: 0.665, 95% CI: −0.260 to 1.590 versus dry needling and SMD: 1.093; 95% CI: 0.128 to 2.058 versus lidocaine) at one month post- intervention, and appeared superior (SMD: −0.314, 95% CI: −0.516 to −0.111 versus saline) between one and three months. Our meta-analysis revealed that BoNT injections could be a safe and effective alternative for patients with chronic shoulder pain.
Upregulation of miR-101 during Influenza A Virus Infection Abrogates Viral Life Cycle by Targeting mTOR Pathway
Authors: Sharma Shipra , Chatterjee Anirvan , Kumar Purnima , Lal Sunil , Kondabagil Kiran
Published: April 2020

Micro RNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding single-stranded RNA, which play an important role in modulating host-Influenza A virus (IAV) crosstalk. The interplay between influenza and miRNA interaction is defined by a plethora of complex mechanisms, which are not fully understood yet. Here, we demonstrate that in IAV infected A549 cells, a synchronous increase was observed in the expression of mTOR up to 24 hpi and significant downregulation at 48 hpi. Additionally, NP of IAV interacts with mTOR and modulates the levels of mTOR mRNA and protein, thus regulating the translation of host cell. RNA sequencing and qPCR analysis of IAV-infected A549 cells and NP transfected cells revealed that miR-101 downregulates mTOR transcripts at later stages of infection. Ectopic expression of miR-101 mimic led to a decrease in expression of NP, a reduction in IAV titer and replication. Moreover, treatment of the cells with Everolimus, a potent inhibitor of mTOR, resulted in an increase of miR-101 transcript levels, which further suppressed the viral protein synthesis. Collectively, the data suggest a novel mechanism that IAV stimulates mTOR pathway at early stages of infection; however, at a later time-point, positive regulation of miR-101 restrains the mTOR expression, and hence, the viral propagation.
Estimation of Yield Response Factor for Each Growth Stage under Local Conditions Using AquaCrop-OS
Authors: Kuschel-Otárola Mathias , Schütze Niels , Holzapfel Eduardo , Godoy-Faúndez Alex , Mialyk Oleksandr , Rivera Diego
Published: April 2020

We propose a methodology to estimate the yield response factor (i.e., the slope of the water-yield function) under local conditions for a given crop, weather, sowing date, and management at each growth stage using AquaCrop-OS. The methodology was applied to three crops (maize, sugar beet, and wheat) and four soil types (clay loam, loam, silty clay loam, and silty loam), considering three levels of bulk density: low, medium, and high. Yields are estimated for different weather and management scenarios using a problem-specific algorithm for optimal irrigation scheduling with limited water supply (GET-OPTIS). Our results show a good agreement between benchmarking (mathematical approach) and benchmark (estimated by AquaCrop-OS) using the Normalised Root Mean Square Error (NRMSE), allowing us to estimate reliable yield response factors ( K y ) under local conditions and to dispose of the typical simple mathematical approach, which estimates the yield reduction as a result of water scarcity at each growth stage.
Factors Influencing the Concentration of Fecal Coliforms in Oysters in the River Blackwater Estuary, UK
Authors: Florini Styliani , Shahsavari Esmaeil , Ngo Tien , Aburto-Medina Arturo , Smith David J. , Ball Andrew S
Published: April 2020

Contamination of water systems can not only entail high risks to human health but can also result in economic losses due to closure of beaches and shellfish harvesting areas. Understanding the origin of fecal pollution at locations where shellfish are grown is essential in assessing associated health risks—as well as the determining actions necessary to remedy the problem. The aim of this work is to identify the species-specific source(s) of fecal contamination impacting waters overlying the shellfisheries in the Blackwater Estuary, East Anglia, UK. Over a twelve-month period, water samples were taken from above the oysters and from a variety of upstream points considered to be likely sources of fecal microorganism, together with oyster samples, and the number of fecal streptococci and E. coli were determined. Transition from low to high tide significantly decreased the concentration of fecal streptococci in waters overlying the oyster beds, indicative of a freshwater input of fecal pollution in oyster bed waters. In 12 months, the number of E. coli remained constant throughout, while fecal streptococci numbers were generally higher in the winter months. Analyses of upstream samples identified a sewage outfall to be the main source of E. coli to the oyster beds, with additional fecal streptococci from agricultural sources. The findings may assist in developing approaches for assessing the risks to shellfishery industries of various fecal inputs into an estuary, which could then help local governmental authorities address the problem.
Lag Times as Indicators of Hydrological Mechanisms Responsible for NO3-N Flushing in a Forested Headwater Catchment
Authors: Sapač Klaudija , Vidmar Andrej , Bezak Nejc , Rusjan Simon
Published: April 2020

Understanding the temporal variability of the nutrient transport from catchments is essential for planning nutrient loss reduction measures related to land use and climate change. Moreover, observations and analysis of nutrient dynamics in streams draining undisturbed catchments are known to represent a reference point by which human-influenced catchments can be compared. In this paper, temporal dynamics of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) flux are investigated on an event basis by analysing observed lag times between data series. More specifically, we studied lag times between the centres of mass of six hydrological and biogeochemical variables, namely discharge, soil moisture at three depths, NO3-N flux, and the precipitation hyetograph centre of mass. Data obtained by high-frequency measurements (20 min time step) from 29 events were analysed. Linear regression and multiple linear regression (MLR) were used to identify relationships between lag times of the above-mentioned processes. We found that discharge lag time (LAGQ) and NO3-N flux lag time (LAGN) are highly correlated indicating similar temporal response to rainfall. Moreover, relatively high correlation between LAGN and soil moisture lag times was also detected. The MLR model showed that the most descriptive variable for both LAGN and LAGQ is amount of precipitation. For LAGN, the change of the soil moisture in the upper two layers was also significant, suggesting that the lag times indicate the primarily role of the forest soils as the main source of the NO3-N flux, whereas the precipitation amount and the runoff formation through the forest soils are the main controlling mechanisms.
Information Entropy for Evaluation of Wastewater Composition
Authors: Praus Petr
Published: April 2020

The composition of wastewaters collected during one year was evaluated based on the Shannon information entropy. Eleven physico-chemical parameters, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved salts (TDS), pH, ammonium, phosphate, cyanide and phenol, were determined for their characterization. Entropy of the parameters calculated by means of their histograms decreased in the order: phosphate > ammonium > TDS > TN > pH > BOD > COD > TSS > TP > phenol > cyanide. Entropy weights of the parameters were calculated for the evaluation of wastewater composition by means of the entropy weighted index (EWI) defined according to the simple additive weighting (SAW) model. The EWI values were statistically processed by us to observe temporal wastewater composition changes and were verified by means of the principal component weighted index (PCWI). The EWI values were statistically analyzed by univariate statistics. The outlaying samples were also confirmed by multivariate analysis. The entropy-based approach allowed us to simply evaluate wastewater composition by means of one index instead of several parameters. The main advantage of EWI is the simple histogram-based calculation of entropy with no need of the normal distribution of the used parameters.
The Downscaling Study for Typhoon-Induced Coastal Inundation
Authors: Jang Dongmin , Joo Wonkyun , Jeong Chang-Hoo , Kim Wonsu , Park Sung , Song Yoojin
Published: April 2020

Typhoons can often cause inundation in lower coastal cities by inducing strong surges and waves. Being affected by typhoon annually, the coastal cities in South Korea are very vulnerable to typhoons. In 2016, a typhoon ‘CHABA’, with a maximum 10 min sustained wind speed of about 50 m/s and a minimum central pressure of 905 hPa, hit South Korea, suffering tremendous damage. In particular, ‘CHABA’-induced coastal inundation resulted in serious damage to the coastal area of Busan where a lot of high-rise buildings and residential areas are concentrated, and was caused by the combined effect of tide, surge, and wave. The typhoon-induced surge raised sea levels during high tide, and the strong wave with a long period of more than 10 s eventually led to the coastal inundation at the same time. The present research focuses a numerical downscaling considering the effects of tide, surge and wave for coastal inundation induced by Typhoon ‘CHABA’. This downscaling approach applied several numerical models, which are the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) for typhoon simulation, the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) for tide and surge simulation, and the Simulating WAve Nearshore (SWAN) for wave simulation. In a domain covering the Korean Peninsula, typhoon-induced surges and waves were simulated applying the results simulated by WRF as meteorological conditions. In the downscaled domain ranged near the coastal area of Busan, the coastal inundation was simulated blending a storm tide height and an irregular wave height obtained from the domain, in which each height has 1 s interval. The irregular wave height was calculated using the significant wave height and peak period. Through this downscaling study, the impact of storm tide and wave on coastal inundation was estimated.
Intertwining Observations and Predictions in Vadose Zone Hydrology: A Review of Selected Studies
Authors: Romano Nunzio
Published: April 2020

Observing state variables, fluxes, and key properties in terrestrial ecosystems should not be seen as disjointed, but rather as fruitfully complementary to ecosystem dynamics modeling. This intertwined view should also take the organization of the monitoring equipment into due account. This review paper explores the value of the interplay between observations and predictions by presenting and discussing some selected studies dealing with vadose zone hydrology. I argue for an advanced vision in carrying out these two tasks to tackle the issues of ecosystem services and general environmental challenges more effectively. There is a recognized need to set up networks of critical zone observatories in which strategies are developed and tested that combine different measurement techniques with the use of models of different complexity.
Soil Hydrology for a Sustainable Land Management: Theory and Practice
Authors: Di Prima Simone , Castellini Mirko , Rodrigo-Comino Jesús , Cerdà Artemi
Published: April 2020

Soil hydrology determines the water–soil–plant interactions in the Earth’s system, because porous medium acts as an interface within the atmosphere and lithosphere, regulates main processes such as runoff discharge, aquifer recharge, movement of water and solutes into the soil and, ultimately, the amount of water retained and available for plants growth. Soil hydrology can be strongly affected by land management. Therefore, investigations aimed at assessing the impact of land management changes on soil hydrology are necessary, especially with a view to optimize water resources. This Special Issue collects 12 original contributions addressing the state of the art of soil hydrology for sustainable land management. These contributions cover a wide range of topics including (i) effects of land-use change, (ii) water use efficiency, (iii) erosion risk, (iv) solute transport, and (v) new methods and devices for improved characterization of soil physical and hydraulic properties. They involve both field and laboratory experiments, as well as modelling studies. Also, different spatial scales, i.e., from the field- to regional-scales, as well as a wide range of geographic regions are also covered. The collection of these manuscripts presented in this Special Issue provides a relevant knowledge contribution for effective saving water resources and sustainable land management.
Removal of Aquatic Cadmium Ions Using Thiourea Modified Poplar Biochar
Authors: Zhu Yanfeng , Liang Huageng , Yu Ruilian , Hu Gongren , Chen Fu
Published: April 2020

Removal of aquatic cadmium ions using biochar is a low-cost method, but the results are usually not satisfactory. Modified biochar, which can be a low-cost and efficient material, is urgently required for Cd-polluted water and soil remediation. Herein, poplar bark (SB) and poplar sawdust (MB) were used as raw materials to prepare modified biochar, which is rich in N- and S- containing groups, i.e., TSBC-600 and TMBC-600, using a co-pyrolysis method with thiourea. The adsorption characteristics of Cd2+ in simulated wastewater were explored. The results indicated that the modification optimized the surface structure of biochar, Cd2+ adsorption process by both TSBC-600 and TMBC-600 was mainly influenced by the initial pH, biochar dosage, and contact time, sthe TSBC-600 showed a higher adsorption capacity compared to TMBC-600 under different conditions. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model were more consistent with the adsorption behavior of TSBC-600 and TMBC-600 to Cd2+, the maximum adsorption capacity of TSBC-600 and TMBC-600 calculated by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model was 19.998 mg/g and 9.631 mg/g, respectively. The modification method for introducing N and S into biochar by the co-pyrolysis of biomass and thiourea enhanced the removal rate of aquatic cadmium ions by biochar.
Instrumentos económicos y de política pública para la asignación de agua subterránea para uso agrícola en México
Authors: Rivero Cob Edgar , García Romero Helena
Published: April 2020

Uno de cada tres de los acuíferos más importantes de México se encuentra sobreexplotado. Esto significa que cada año se extrae más agua de la que la naturaleza recarga vía precipitación e infiltración. El principal usuario de agua subterránea es el sector agrícola, con 77% del agua concesionada. Sin embargo, su uso no es sustentable, solo 46% de los usuarios tienen alguna tecnología de riego ahorradora de agua. Hay dos causas que explican este uso no sustentable del agua en las actividades agrícolas: el subsidio a las tarifas eléctricas para el bombeo de agua y los fallos institucionales en la asignación, inspección, monitoreo y sanción de las concesiones por usar el agua. Los dos fallos de política pública afectan directamente los incentivos generados por los mecanismos vigentes de asignación de agua subterránea, a saber, los precios directos con medición volumétrica, los precios indirectos acoplados al consumo de energía y los mercados de transmisiones de derechos de agua. El objetivo de este trabajo es: a) analizar conceptualmente los incentivos que se generan a partir de la forma de asignación de agua subterránea vigente, mediante un mecanismo vía cantidades (concesiones), b) identificar las ganancias en sustentabilidad de los acuíferos, de una reforma institucional que transite hacia un mecanismo de asignación vía precios (tarifas) y c) quiénes serían los ganadores y perdedores de esta reforma potencial.
Evolución de la industria del vestido en Yucatán en el marco de las cadenas globales de valor
Authors: Alonzo Solís Felipe
Published: April 2020

El presente artículo utiliza el marco conceptual de las Cadenas Globales de Valor para analizar la evolución de la industria del vestido en Yucatán en los últimos 15 años. Nuestro objetivo es mostrar las implicaciones que ha tenido la inserción del territorio yucateco en la cadena global de suministro de prendas de vestir hacia Estados Unidos en la evolución de la industria de vestido local y los retos que esta rama industrial enfrenta ante los cambios estructurales de la industria del vestido mundial.
Impacto económico de las heladas y del financiamiento de la resiembra en Sinaloa
Authors: Ayala Gaytán Edgardo , Chapa Cantú Joana
Published: April 2020

Se calculan los efectos de corto plazo de las heladas de febrero de 2011 sobre la economía de Sinaloa. Estimamos el impacto inicial en el sector agrícola mediante técnicas econométricas, y después, lo introducimos dentro de un modelo de equilibrio general de corto plazo para la economía de Sinaloa. Tal que obtenemos los efectos sobre la actividad económica de los sectores productivos, y el ingreso y consumo de los hogares. Finalmente, se evalúan los efectos económicos de dos políticas públicas para contrarrestar el shock climático: resiembra de maíz financiada con recursos federales y resiembra de maíz financiada con recursos estatales.
Infraestructura social: medición y efectos en el crecimiento
Authors: Quezada Garza Pablo Francisco , Marcos Zetter José Antonio
Published: April 2020

Con base en el artículo de Hall y Jones (1999) el presente estudio comprueba el análisis realizado por estos autores para medir el impacto de la infraestructura social en el producto por trabajador, a través de un índice de infraestructura social distinto y variables instrumentales diferentes. Las principales aportaciones de est
Choques de Política Monetaria en México: Aplicación de un Modelo SVAR con restricciones de corto plazo (1995-2012)
Authors: García Andrés Adelaido
Published: April 2020

En los últimos años el Banco de México ha seguido una política monetaria de objetivos de inflación. Con la metodología de Bernanke y Mihov (1998) se construye un modelo de SVAR con datos mensuales para identificar choches específicos de política monetaria consistentes con los procedimientos operativos seguidos por la autoridad monetaria. Los efectos de la política monetaria sobre la inflación y otros agregados macroeconómicos se miden a través de cambios en la tasa de interés a corto plazo. Los resultados muestran que el régimen de tasa de fondeo bancario proporciona una buena aproximación al proceso por el cual la autoridad monetaria compensa las perturbaciones monetarias, disminuye la demanda de dinero y mantiene la estabilidad del nivel de precios.
Competitividad Mundial de la Producción de Chile Verde de México
Authors: Caro Encalada Manuel , Leyva Morales Carlos , Ríos Santana José
Published: April 2020

Se analiza el comportamiento del mercado internacional de los chiles verdes y su influencia sobre las exportaciones y la competitividad de México durante el periodo 1999-2009, con base en los indicadores de competitividad propuestos por el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura de Colombia (2005). Se encontró que la producción mundial de chiles verdes fue favorable para México al crecer, en promedio, 3.93% en el periodo analizado. La producción de México, por su parte, se caracterizó por un comportamiento ascendente (en promedio 2.13%), en cuanto al comercio exterior, sus exportaciones en el periodo fueron también crecientes (6.7% en promedio). Se concluye que la tendencia favorable observada en la oferta y comercio mundial del chile verde de 1999 a 2009 se ha reflejado de manera importante en México, lo cual, a su vez, se evidencia en la alta competitividad de los pimientos nacionales, expresado en sus índices de transabilidad, de balanza comercial relativa y de especialización internacional, que le confieren una competitividad macroeconómica alta.
Modelo insumo producto regional dinámico
Authors: Fuentes Noé Arón Arón , Brugués Alejandro , González König Gabriel
Published: April 2020

En tiempos recientes la ciencia económica ha mostrado un creciente interés por conocer la dimensión temporal de prácticamente todos los fenómenos. Esto no es una excepción para los analistas del modelo de insumo producto. El objetivo es desarrollar conceptualmente un modelo de insumo producto dinámico regional con coeficientes técnicos fijos y realizar una aplicación empírica del mismo en un sistema de simulación dinámica (Stella/ IThink). El análisis del modelo regional multisectorial e inter-temporal permite utilizar de forma complementaria el enfoque analítico y sistémico, al integrar tanto el detalle algebraico como la reproducción de su comportamiento.

Para examinar y describir los fundamentos conceptuales del modelo propuesto se realiza una aplicación empírica al caso de Baja California.
ENCADENAMIENTOS PRODUCTIVOS EN EL SUBSECTOR TURISMO: EL CASO DE CHICHÉN ITZÁ, YUCATÁN, MÉXICO
Authors: Caro Encalada Manuel Jesús , Leyva Morales Carlos Enrique , Morales Carrillo Henry Josué
Published: April 2020

Se analiza la conformación de encadenamientos productivos en el ramo turístico de la zona arqueológica de Chichén Itzá y su región de impacto. Se aplicó una encuesta a 30 empresas y 140 turistas en la zona mediante un muestreo probabilístico aleatorio simple. La discusión de resultados se sustentó en las teorías propuestas por Gollub, Hosier y Woo (2003) sobre el “Clúster y la integración de la cadena turística”; en Turismo y desarrollo regional de Torres (1994) y los conceptos de “intersectorialidad” y de “análisis de situación del mercado” de Calderón (2005). Se encontró que: a) existen encadenamientos productivos horizontales entre las empresas de la zona arqueológica de Chichén Itzá, b) no existe entre estas empresas un alto grado de integración (principalmente vínculos productivos tipo vertical), c) la conformación y creación de encadenamientos productivos en esta zona arqueológica ha sido insuficiente para cubrir con el perfil de la demanda de los turistas nacionales y extranjeros, d) los mecanismos de vinculación empresarial, el marketing comercial y virtual y la difusión de elementos de identidad corporativa e imagen de Chichén Itzá presentan un espacio potencial significativo para el desarrollo de clusters.