bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Denoising Algorithm for CFA Image Sensors Considering Inter-Channel Correlation
Authors: Lee Min , Park Sang , Kang Moon
Published: May 2017

In this paper, a spatio-spectral-temporal filter considering an inter-channel correlation is proposed for the denoising of a color filter array (CFA) sequence acquired by CCD/CMOS image sensors. Owing to the alternating under-sampled grid of the CFA pattern, the inter-channel correlation must be considered in the direct denoising process. The proposed filter is applied in the spatial, spectral, and temporal domain, considering the spatio-tempo-spectral correlation. First, nonlocal means (NLM) spatial filtering with patch-based difference (PBD) refinement is performed by considering both the intra-channel correlation and inter-channel correlation to overcome the spatial resolution degradation occurring with the alternating under-sampled pattern. Second, a motion-compensated temporal filter that employs inter-channel correlated motion estimation and compensation is proposed to remove the noise in the temporal domain. Then, a motion adaptive detection value controls the ratio of the spatial filter and the temporal filter. The denoised CFA sequence can thus be obtained without motion artifacts. Experimental results for both simulated and real CFA sequences are presented with visual and numerical comparisons to several state-of-the-art denoising methods combined with a demosaicing method. Experimental results confirmed that the proposed frameworks outperformed the other techniques in terms of the objective criteria and subjective visual perception in CFA sequences.
Using Color, Texture and Object-Based Image Analysis of Multi-Temporal Camera Data to Monitor Soil Aggregate Breakdown
Authors: Ymeti Irena , Van der Werff Harald , Shrestha Dhruba , Jetten Victor , Lievens Caroline , Van der Meer Freek
Published: May 2017

Remote sensing has shown its potential to assess soil properties and is a fast and non-destructive method for monitoring soil surface changes. In this paper, we monitor soil aggregate breakdown under natural conditions. From November 2014 to February 2015, images and weather data were collected on a daily basis from five soils susceptible to detachment (Silty Loam with various organic matter content, Loam and Sandy Loam). Three techniques that vary in image processing complexity and user interaction were tested for the ability of monitoring aggregate breakdown. Considering that the soil surface roughness causes shadow cast, the blue/red band ratio is utilized to observe the soil aggregate changes. Dealing with images with high spatial resolution, image texture entropy, which reflects the process of soil aggregate breakdown, is used. In addition, the Huang thresholding technique, which allows estimation of the image area occupied by soil aggregate, is performed. Our results show that all three techniques indicate soil aggregate breakdown over time. The shadow ratio shows a gradual change over time with no details related to weather conditions. Both the entropy and the Huang thresholding technique show variations of soil aggregate breakdown responding to weather conditions. Using data obtained with a regular camera, we found that freezing–thawing cycles are the cause of soil aggregate breakdown.
The Lateral Tracking Control for the Intelligent Vehicle Based on Adaptive PID Neural Network
Authors: Han Gaining , Fu Weiping , Wang Wen , Wu Zongsheng
Published: May 2017

The intelligent vehicle is a complicated nonlinear system, and the design of a path tracking controller is one of the key technologies in intelligent vehicle research. This paper mainly designs a lateral control dynamic model of the intelligent vehicle, which is used for lateral tracking control. Firstly, the vehicle dynamics model (i.e., transfer function) is established according to the vehicle parameters. Secondly, according to the vehicle steering control system and the CARMA (Controlled Auto-Regression and Moving-Average) model, a second-order control system model is built. Using forgetting factor recursive least square estimation (FFRLS), the system parameters are identified. Finally, a neural network PID (Proportion Integral Derivative) controller is established for lateral path tracking control based on the vehicle model and the steering system model. Experimental simulation results show that the proposed model and algorithm have the high real-time and robustness in path tracing control. This provides a certain theoretical basis for intelligent vehicle autonomous navigation tracking control, and lays the foundation for the vertical and lateral coupling control.
Smartphone-Based pH Sensor for Home Monitoring of Pulmonary Exacerbations in Cystic Fibrosis
Authors: Sun Alexander , Phelps Tom , Yao Chengyang , Venkatesh A. , Conrad Douglas , Hall Drew
Published: May 2017

Currently, Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients lack the ability to track their lung health at home, relying instead on doctor checkups leading to delayed treatment and lung damage. By leveraging the ubiquity of the smartphone to lower costs and increase portability, a smartphone-based peripheral pH measurement device was designed to attach directly to the headphone port to harvest power and communicate with a smartphone application. This platform was tested using prepared pH buffers and sputum samples from CF patients. The system matches within ~0.03 pH of a benchtop pH meter while fully powering itself and communicating with a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone paired with either a glass or Iridium Oxide (IrOx) electrode. The IrOx electrodes were found to have 25% higher sensitivity than the glass probes at the expense of larger drift and matrix sensitivity that can be addressed with proper calibration. The smartphone-based platform has been demonstrated as a portable replacement for laboratory pH meters, and supports both highly robust glass probes and the sensitive and miniature IrOx electrodes with calibration. This tool can enable more frequent pH sputum tracking for CF patients to help detect the onset of pulmonary exacerbation to provide timely and appropriate treatment before serious damage occurs.
Frequency Domain Analysis of Sensor Data for Event Classification in Real-Time Robot Assisted Deburring
Authors: Pappachan Bobby , Caesarendra Wahyu , Tjahjowidodo Tegoeh , Wijaya Tomi
Published: May 2017

Process monitoring using indirect methods relies on the usage of sensors. Using sensors to acquire vital process related information also presents itself with the problem of big data management and analysis. Due to uncertainty in the frequency of events occurring, a higher sampling rate is often used in real-time monitoring applications to increase the chances of capturing and understanding all possible events related to the process. Advanced signal processing methods are used to further decipher meaningful information from the acquired data. In this research work, power spectrum density (PSD) of sensor data acquired at sampling rates between 40–51.2 kHz was calculated and the corelation between PSD and completed number of cycles/passes is presented. Here, the progress in number of cycles/passes is the event this research work intends to classify and the algorithm used to compute PSD is Welch’s estimate method. A comparison between Welch’s estimate method and statistical methods is also discussed. A clear co-relation was observed using Welch’s estimate to classify the number of cycles/passes. The paper also succeeds in classifying vibration signal generated by the spindle from the vibration signal acquired during finishing process.
Optimum Subsidy to Promote Electric Boiler Investment to Accommodate Wind Power
Authors: Liu Da , Wang Shou-Kai , Liu Jin-Chen , Huang Han , Zhang Xing-Ping , Feng Yi , Wang Wei-Jun
Published: May 2017

The increasing development of combined heat and power (CHP) plants is exacerbating the wind power curtailment problem in regional power grids during the winter heating season. Electric boilers (EBs) were proposed to be employed within CHP plants to relieve this problem. However, CHP plants usually have no incentive for investing in EBs. Therefore, CHP plants must be incentivized to make such investments through appropriate compensation from beneficiaries, i.e., government and wind farms, although this has not previously been discussed. We propose a game theory model to simulate the impact of government subsidies on EB investment. We analyzed the utilization of the involved parties with the marginal cost and average cost and applied game theory to simulate the investment decisions. Then, an approximate enumeration technique was developed to identify the optimum government subsidy. An actual case of a regional power grid in northern China was investigated to validate the proposed method. A minimum government subsidy to maximize total social benefit was calculated; this subsidy can incentivize wind farms and CHP plants to invest in and use EBs.
Microclimate Improvement of Inner-City Urban Areas in a Mediterranean Coastal City
Authors: Makropoulou Maria
Published: May 2017

This paper investigates urban bioclimatic interventions in the central area of a coastal medium-sized city in Greece. Two urban blocks typical of the urban fabric of the city center and a neighborhood of 38 urban blocks were selected. Different proposed Bioclimatic Renewal Scenarios were investigated through microclimatic simulations using the micro-scale numerical model, ENVI-met. The simulations aimed at assessing various scenarios and examining the effect of the different bioclimatic interventions on the local outdoor environment, such as the application of cool materials, greenery of public open space, and other. Thus a parametric analysis was carried out. A final bioclimatic renewal scenario, based primarily on the parameters, proved to have a positive effect on the local microclimate, was proposed and assessed. The simulation results showed that the final scenario resulted in the most effective heat mitigation strategy for the case studies’ microclimate. The vegetation-based scenario also contributed to a significant microclimate improvement in the case studies. The benefits of the various bioclimatic interventions were magnified when these were applied on a spatial scale larger than that of the single urban block, hence on the urban neighborhood scale.
Municipal Solid Waste Management in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: Systems Analysis
Authors: Byamba Bolorchimeg , Ishikawa Mamoru
Published: May 2017

Research was conducted in Ulaanbaatar (UB), Mongolia with a view of finding ways of making its municipal solid waste management (MSWM) more efficient by minimizing the negative impact of waste on the environment and public health whilst increasing its resource efficiency in a manner that is economically and financially viable. In this study, “Wasteaware” benchmark indicators were applied to assess the current system for MSWM in UB according to its physical and governance features. Data were obtained from site visits, interviews with the key stakeholders, and consulting of official documents and reports. The results of benchmark indicators showed that, in terms of Public Health, Environmental Control and Institutional Aspects, UB had surpassed the levels of low- and lower-middle-income countries and sufficed the prerequisites for modernizing its waste management system. However, there are still some major steps ahead to fully transition to a modern system. Our study brought significant contributions by filling the existing literature gaps for UB and identified its key strengths and areas for improvement. We conclude that an improvement in data collection and reporting, and widespread consultation with all stakeholders would impact positively on the improvement of the efficiency of the MSWM in UB and other developing countries.
Analyzing Risk Factors for Fatality in Urban Traffic Crashes: A Case Study of Wuhan, China
Authors: Wang Zhensheng , Yue Yang , Li Qingquan , Nie Ke , Tu Wei , Liang Shi
Published: May 2017

How to maintain public transit safety and sustainability has become a major concern for the department of Road Traffic Administration. This study aims to analyze the risk factors that contribute to fatality in road traffic crashes using a 5-year police-reported dataset from the Wuhan Traffic Management Bureau. Four types of variables, including driving experience, environmental factor, roadway factor and crash characteristic, were examined in this research by a case-control study. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of crash fatality, this study explored a detailed set of injury-severity risk factors such as impact direction, light and weather conditions, crash characteristic, driving experience and high-risk driving behavior. Based on the results of statistical analyses, fatality risk of crash-involved individuals was significantly associated with driving experience, season, light condition, road type, crash type, impact direction, and high-risk driving behavior. This study succeeded in identifying the risk factors for fatality of crash-involved individuals using a police-reported dataset, which could provide reliable information for implementing remedial measures and improving sustainability in urban road network. A more detailed list of explanatory variables could enhance the accountability of the analysis.
Analysis and Prediction of Changes in Coastline Morphology in the Bohai Sea, China, Using Remote Sensing
Authors: Fu Ying , Guo Qiaozhen , Wu Xiaoxu , Fang Hui , Pan Yingyang
Published: May 2017

Coastline change reflects the dynamics of natural processes and human activity, and influences the ecology and environment of the coastal strip. This study researched the change in coastline and sea area of the Bohai Sea, China, over a 30-year period using Landsat TM and OLI remote sensing data. The total change in coastline length, sea area, and the centroid of the sea surface were quantified. Variations in the coastline morphology were measured using four shape indexes: fractal dimension, compact ratio, circularity, and square degree. Equations describing fit of the shape index, coastline length, and marine area were built. Then the marine area 10 years later was predicted using the model that had the highest prediction accuracy. The results showed that the highest prediction accuracy for the coastline length was obtained using a compound function. When a cubic function was used to predict the compact ratio, then the highest prediction accuracy was obtained using this compact ratio and a quadratic function to predict sea area. This study can provide theoretical support for the coastal development planning and ecological environment protection around the Bohai Sea.
Residents’ Attitude toward Aboriginal Cultural Tourism Development: An Integration of Two Theories
Authors: Hsieh Chi-Ming , Tsai Bi-Kun , Chen Han-Shen
Published: May 2017

Understanding residents’ attitudes is critical for successfully developing cultural tourism in aboriginal protected areas. This study developed an integration model combining two theories to identify the key determinants of indigenous residents’ attitudes toward cultural tourism development. Social exchange theory stresses the impact of the benefits derived from tourism on indigenous residents’ attitudes toward tourism development. Social capital theory embeds clear rationales for strengthening the internalization process of the formation of residents’ shared values and understanding, enabling them to trust each other and thus support tourism development. The present study was conducted within two indigenous communities in Eastern Taiwan. The results revealed that cultural tourism benefits and structural and relational capital effectively predict indigenous residents’ attitudes toward tourism development; structural capital plays a critical mediating role in the relationship between tourism benefits and residents’ attitudes. The managerial implications provide recommendations for aboriginal community developers or practical sectors to avoid problems or costs caused by tourism development when promoting cultural tourism activities within indigenous communities.
PV, Wind and Storage Integration on Small Islands for the Fulfilment of the 50-50 Renewable Electricity Generation Target
Authors: Mendoza-Vizcaino Javier , Sumper Andreas , Galceran-Arellano Samuel
Published: May 2017

Decarbonisation in the generation of electricity is necessary to reduce fossil fuel consumption, the pollution emitted and to meet the Energy Technology Perspectives 2 ° C Scenario (2DS) targets. Small islands are not exempt from this target, so this study’s emphasis is placed on a 50-50 target: to reduce the fossil fuel consumption through electricity generation from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to cover 50% of all electric demand by 2050 on small islands. Using Cozumel Island, Mexico, as a case study, this analysis will be based on three factors: economical, technical, and land-use possibilities of integrating Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) into the existing electrical grid. This analysis is made through long-term statistical models. A deterministic methodology is used to perform time-series simulations. The selection of the best system was made on the basis of a Dimensional Statistical Variable (DSV) through primary and secondary category rankings. The presented methodology determines the best systems for capturing the initial capital cost and competitiveness of this new proposal compared with the current system of electricity generation on the Island, and can be applied to small islands as well. According to the results, all systems proposed are able to completely satisfy the renewable electricity needed by 2050 in all scenarios. From the 12 system proposals that were compared, two systems, System 2 and System 7, were chosen as eligible systems to be installed. The Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) result for System 2 was 0.2518 US$/kWh and for System 7 was 0.2265 US$/kWh by 2018 in the Base Scenario. Meanwhile, the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) value fluctuated from 17.2% for System 2 to 31% for System 7.
An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Agricultural Product Price Fluctuations on China’s Grain Yield
Authors: Xie Hualin , Wang Bohao
Published: May 2017

In recent years, food security, especially supply, has been an important issue in China’s agricultural production. The stability of grain prices is related to the stability and development of the grain market. Based on agricultural production data from 1970 to 2015, this paper explores the influence of agricultural product price fluctuation on grain production by using the cobweb theory and vector error correction (VEC) model. The results show that changes in grain production in China are affected by fluctuations in agricultural product prices, that the production change lags behind the price change, and that there is a long-term equilibrium relationship between grain yield and agricultural product price. A Granger causality test shows that the change in agricultural product price is the Granger cause of grain yield change.
Achieving Revenue Benchmarks Conditional on Growth Properties
Authors: Son Dong Hyun , Lim Dongkuk
Published: May 2017

This study examines whether certain firm characteristics, specifically growth properties, are associated with the likelihood of achieving market expectations for revenues, as well as which mechanism (revenue manipulation or expectation management) growth firms utilize in order to avoid missing these expectations. The results show that growth firms are more likely to meet or exceed analyst revenue forecasts than non-growth firms. We also find that growth firms are more inclined to manipulate their reported revenues upwards, and less inclined to guide market expectations for revenues downward, in order to meet or beat expected revenues relative to non-growth firms. These findings suggest that window-dressing activities by growth firms may not be sustainable in the long-run and can misguide users of financial statements in their decision-making.
The Most Economical Mode of Power Supply for Remote and Less Developed Areas in China: Power Grid Extension or Micro-Grid?
Authors: Guo Sen , Zhao Huiru , Zhao Haoran
Published: May 2017

There are still residents without access to electricity in some remote and less developed areas of China, which lead to low living standards and hinder sustainable development for these residents. In order to achieve the strategic targets of solving China’s energy poverty, realizing basic energy service equalization, and comprehensively building up a moderately prosperous society, several policies have been successively promulgated in recent years, which aim to solve the electricity access issue for residents living in remote and less developed areas. It is of great importance to determine the most economical mode of power supply in remote and less developed areas, which directly affects the economic efficiency of public investment projects. Therefore, this paper focuses on how to select the most economical power supply mode for rural electrification in China. Firstly, the primary modes to supply electricity for residents living in the remote and less developed areas are discussed, which include power grid extension mode and micro-grid mode. Secondly, based on the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) technique, the life cycle economic cost accounting model for different power supply modes are built. Finally, taking a minority nationality village in Yunnan province as an example, the empirical analysis is performed, and the LCOEs of various possible modes for rural electrification are accounted. The results show that the photovoltaic (PV)-based independent micro-grid system is the most economical due to the minimum LCOE, namely 0.658 RMB/kWh. However, other power supply modes have much higher LCOEs. The LCOEs of power grid extension model, wind-based independent micro-grid system and biomass-based independent micro-grid system are 1.078 RMB/kWh, 0.704 RMB/kWh and 0.885 RMB/kWh, respectively. The proposed approach is effective and practical, which can provide reference for rural electrification in China.
A Smart MCDM Framework to Evaluate the Impact of Air Pollution on City Sustainability: A Case Study from China
Authors: Wang Qingyong , Dai Hong-Ning , Wang Hao
Published: May 2017

Air pollution has become one of the key environmental concerns in the urban sustainable development. It is important to evaluate the impact of air pollution on socioeconomic development since it is the prerequisite to enforce an effective prevention policy of air pollution. In this paper, we model the impact of air pollution on the urban economic development as a Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problem. In particular, we propose a novel Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) analysis framework to evaluate multiple factors of air pollutants and economic development. Our method can overcome the drawbacks of conventional TOPSIS methods by using Bayesian regularization and the Back-Propagation (BP) neural network to optimize the weight training process. We have conducted a case study to evaluate our proposed framework.
Sustainability in the Higher Education System: An Opportunity to Improve Quality and Image
Authors: Salvioni Daniela M. , Franzoni Simona , Cassano Raffaella
Published: May 2017

In view of the increasing importance attributed to social responsibility and stakeholder relationship management, more universities have expanded their research topics and their educational programs through the years. High attention is dedicated to the dominant principles and values of internal and external relations, to the innovation processes designed to ensure an approach to sustainable development. However, less attention is dedicated to the sustainability governance orientation and to the development of a strong institutional culture of sustainability, which is a key success factor to improve the quality and the image. This article observes the sustainability governance orientation, through the analysis of the information on the websites of three fair groups of universities in the international Top 500-ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities) 2015 ranking. The aim is to verify if there is a link between the degree of sustainability culture in the management and the positioning of the universities in the international ranking. In addition, the analysis is compared with self-assessment data carried out by the same universities in terms of performance sustainability through the STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) online platform. As principal consideration, we have noted that the best universities in the ranking have a management approach based on a shared vision of sustainability development of their university leaders, who play an essential role affirming and disseminating a sustainability culture. All this opens broader future implications intended to highlight the importance of management sustainability as a quality improvement factor of universities.
Path Embeddings with Prescribed Edge in the Balanced Hypercube Network
Authors: Chen Dan , Lu Zhongzhou , Shen Zebang , Zhang Gaofeng , Chen Chong , Zhou Qingguo
Published: May 2017

The balanced hypercube network, which is a novel interconnection network for parallel computation and data processing, is a newly-invented variant of the hypercube. The particular feature of the balanced hypercube is that each processor has its own backup processor and they are connected to the same neighbors. A Hamiltonian bipartite graph with bipartition

V
0

∪

V
1

x
∈

V
0

y
∈

V
1

. It is known that each edge is on a Hamiltonian cycle of the balanced hypercube. In this paper, we prove that, for an arbitrary edge
e
in the balanced hypercube, there exists a Hamiltonian path between any two vertices
x
and
y
in different partite sets passing through
e
with
e
≠
x
y
. This result improves some known results.
Multiple Attribute Decision-Making Method Using Correlation Coefficients of Normal Neutrosophic Sets
Authors: Ye Jun
Published: May 2017

The normal distribution is a usual one of various distributions in the real world. A normal neutrosophic set (NNS) is composed of both a normal fuzzy number and a neutrosophic number, which a significant tool for describing the incompleteness, indeterminacy, and inconsistency of the decision-making information. In this paper, we propose two correlation coefficients between NNSs based on the score functions of normal neutrosophic numbers (NNNs) (basic elements in NNSs) and investigate their properties. Then, we develop a multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) method with NNSs under normal neutrosophic environments, where, by correlation coefficient values between each alternative (each evaluated NNS) and the ideal alternative (the ideal NNS), the ranking order of alternatives and the best one are given in the normal neutrosophic decision-making process. Finally, an illustrative example about the selection problem of investment alternatives is provided to demonstrate the application and feasibility of the developed decision-making method. Compared to the existing MADM approaches based on aggregation operators of NNNs, the proposed MADM method based on the correlation coefficients of NNSs shows the advantage of its simple decision-making process.
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy in Studies of the Protective Effects of 24-Epibrasinoide and Selenium against Zearalenone-Stimulation of the Oxidative Stress in Germinating Grains of Wheat
Authors: Filek Maria , Łabanowska Maria , Kurdziel Magdalena , Sieprawska Apolonia
Published: May 2017

These studies concentrate on the possibility of using selenium ions and/or 24-epibrassinolide at non-toxic levels as protectors of wheat plants against zearalenone, which is a common and widespread mycotoxin. Analysis using the UHPLC-MS technique allowed for identification of grains having the stress-tolerant and stress-sensitive wheat genotype. When germinating in the presence of 30 µM of zearalenone, this mycotoxin can accumulate in both grains and hypocotyls germinating from these grains. Selenium ions (10 µM) and 24-epibrassinolide (0.1 µM) introduced together with zearalenone decreased the uptake of zearalenone from about 295 to 200 ng/g and from about 350 to 300 ng/g in the grains of tolerant and sensitive genotypes, respectively. As a consequence, this also resulted in a reduction in the uptake of zearalenone from about 100 to 80 ng/g and from about 155 to 128 ng/g in the hypocotyls from the germinated grains of tolerant and sensitive wheat, respectively. In the mechanism of protection against the zearalenone-induced oxidative stress, the antioxidative enzymes—mainly superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)—were engaged, especially in the sensitive genotype. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies allowed for a description of the chemical character of the long-lived organic radicals formed in biomolecular structures which are able to stabilize electrons released from reactive oxygen species as well as the changes in the status of transition paramagnetic metal ions. The presence of zearalenone drastically decreased the amount of paramagnetic metal ions—mainly Mn(II) and Fe(III)—bonded in the organic matrix. This effect was particularly found in the sensitive genotype, in which these species were found at a smaller level. The protective effect of selenium ions and 24-epibrassinolide originated from their ability to inhibit the destruction of biomolecules by reactive oxygen species. An increased ability to defend biomolecules against zearalenone action was observed for 24-epibrassinolide.
Small and Smaller—sRNAs and MicroRNAs in the Regulation of Toxin Gene Expression in Prokaryotic Cells: A Mini-Review
Authors: Bloch Sylwia , Węgrzyn Alicja , Węgrzyn Grzegorz , Nejman-Faleńczyk Bożena
Published: May 2017

Non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) have been identified in the wide range of bacteria (also pathogenic species) and found to play an important role in the regulation of many processes, including toxin gene expression. The best characterized prokaryotic sRNAs regulate gene expression by base pairing with mRNA targets and fall into two broad classes: cis-encoded sRNAs (also called antisense RNA) and trans-acting sRNAs. Molecules from the second class are frequently considered as the most related to eukaryotic microRNAs. Interestingly, typical microRNA-size RNA molecules have also been reported in prokaryotic cells, although they have received little attention up to now. In this work we have collected information about all three types of small prokaryotic RNAs in the context of the regulation of toxin gene expression.
Effect of Sewage and Industrial Effluents on Bacterial and Archaeal Communities of Creek Sediments in the Taihu Basin
Authors: Li Da , Jiang Xia , Wang Jinzhi , Wang Kun , Zheng Binghui
Published: May 2017

Different characteristics of wastewater have different effects on the diversity and abundance of bacteria and archaea in rivers. There are many creeks around Taihu Lake, and they receive a large volume of industrial wastewater and domestic sewage, which is discharged into these creeks, and finally into Taihu Lake. The present study determined Illumina reads (16S rRNA gene amplicons) to analyze the effects of industrial wastewater and domestic sewage on the bacterial and archaeal communities at the different sampling sites along two creeks. The bacterial and archaeal diversity of the creek receiving sewage was higher than that of the creek receiving industrial waste. Proteobacteria dominated the microbial communities of all samples in both creeks. Betaproteobacteria dominated in the sewage creek, and its abundance declined along the creek. Certain pollutant-resistant classes were more abundant at the site near to the pollution source of the industry creek (e.g., Epsilonproteobacteria and Flavobacteria). Halobacteria belonging to the phylum Euryarchaeota was the dominant archaea at all sites in both creeks, while Methanobacteria was more abundant in the industry creek. The bacterial community was more affected by the distance between the sampling site and the pollutant source than the archaeal community, indicating that bacterial diversity and abundance could be a good index to distinguish domestic and industrial pollution, especially when the main pollution sources are difficult to identify.
Verification of Calculation Method Using Monte Carlo Method for Water Supply Demands of Office Building
Authors: Wu Guang-Zheng , Sakaue Kyosuke , Murakawa Saburo
Published: May 2017

In Japan, there are four methods of calculating water supply demands for office buildings based on SHASE-S 206 and two methods based on the design standard of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). However, these methods were found to produce overestimated values when applied to recent sanitary fixtures with advanced water saving features. To cope with this problem, Murakawa’s Simulation for Water Consumption (MSWC), which utilizes the Monte Carlo method to calculate water usage dynamically has been developed. In this study, we evaluated the validity of MSWC on water consumption of an office building. Actual water consumption data were collected from a six story office building. Water consumption estimates calculated by the six conventional methods and MSWC were compared with the actual measurement values. Though the calculations based on the conventional methods significantly deviated from the actual measurement values, those made by MSWC closely resembled them.
Effects of Dredging and Lanthanum-Modified Clay on Water Quality Variables in an Enclosure Study in a Hypertrophic Pond
Authors: Waajen Miquel , Engels Bart , Oosterhout Frank
Published: May 2017

An enclosure experiment was conducted between July and September 2009 to compare the effectiveness of a phosphate fixative, the lanthanum-modified bentonite clay Phoslock® (LMB), dredging, and their combination in controlling eutrophication in a hypertrophic urban pond in Heesch, The Netherlands. In total, 25 water quality variables were monitored. Multivariate analysis revealed that the combination LMB-treated and dredged enclosures deviated most from the pond (reference) and the controls, and showed the strongest eutrophication reduction. Overall, dredging significantly increased transparency, lowered turbidity, and improved the oxygen conditions in the enclosures compared to non-dredged ones. Nonetheless, one dredged enclosure deviated dramatically from the others, which might reflect methodological issues with dredging. The LMB treatment appeared to be less effective at mitigating eutrophication than dredging, and phosphate concentrations even increased during the experiment in the LMB-treated enclosures. Chemical equilibrium modeling suggested that humic substances could have formed complexes with lanthanum (La) from the LMB, rendering it unavailable for intercepting P over the course of the enclosure experiment. Residual lanthanum concentrations in combination dredging and LMB treatments exceeded the Dutch standard 10-fold. Total zooplankton abundance, and particularly Cladocera, increased in all enclosures over the course of the experiment. The limited effect of LMB in the enclosure experiment and the violation of the Dutch La standard when combined with dredging disqualify LMB as an intervention agent in the restoration of the pond.
An Analysis of Terrestrial and Aquatic Environmental Controls of Riverine Dissolved Organic Carbon in the Conterminous United States
Authors: Yang Qichun , Zhang Xuesong , Xu Xingya , Asrar Ghassem R.
Published: May 2017

Analyses of environmental controls on riverine carbon fluxes are critical for improved understanding of the mechanisms regulating carbon cycling along the terrestrial-aquatic continuum. Here, we compile and analyze riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration data from 1402 United States Geological Survey (USGS) gauge stations to examine the spatial variability and environmental controls of DOC concentrations in the United States (U.S.) surface waters. DOC concentrations exhibit high spatial variability in the U.S., with an average of 6.42 ± 6.47 mg C/L (Mean ± Standard Deviation). High DOC concentrations occur in the Upper Mississippi River basin and the southeastern U.S., while low concentrations are mainly distributed in the western U.S. Soil properties such as soil organic matter, soil water content, and soil sand content mainly show positive correlations with DOC concentrations; forest and shrub land have positive correlations with DOC concentrations, but urban area and cropland demonstrate negative impacts; and total instream phosphorus and dam density correlate positively with DOC concentrations. Notably, the relative importance of these environmental controls varies substantially across major U.S. water resource regions. In addition, DOC concentrations and environmental controls also show significant variability from small streams to large rivers. In sum, our results reveal that general multi-linear regression of twenty environmental factors can partially explain (56%) the DOC concentration variability. This study also highlights the complexity of the interactions among these environmental factors in determining DOC concentrations, thus calls for processes-based, non-linear methodologies to constrain uncertainties in riverine DOC cycling.
An Analytical Model for the Evolution of the Protoplanetary Disks
Authors: Khajenabi Fazeleh , Kazrani Kimia , Shadmehri Mohsen
Published: May 2017

We obtain a new set of analytical solutions for the evolution of a self-gravitating accretion disk by holding the Toomre parameter close to its threshold and obtaining the stress parameter from the cooling rate. In agreement with the previous numerical solutions, furthermore, the accretion rate is assumed to be independent of the disk radius. Extreme situations where the entire disk is either optically thick or optically thin are studied independently, and the obtained solutions can be used for exploring the early or the final phases of a protoplanetary disk evolution. Our solutions exhibit decay of the accretion rate as a power-law function of the age of the system, with exponents −0.75 and −1.04 for optically thick and thin cases, respectively. Our calculations permit us to explore the evolution of the snow line analytically. The location of the snow line in the optically thick regime evolves as a power-law function of time with the exponent −0.16; however, when the disk is optically thin, the location of the snow line as a function of time with the exponent −0.7 has a stronger dependence on time. This means that in an optically thin disk inward migration of the snow line is faster than an optically thick disk.
Coevality in Young Eclipsing Binaries
Authors: Simon M. , Toraskar Jayashree
Published: May 2017

The ages of the components in very short period pre-main-sequence (PMS) binaries are essential to an understanding of their formation. We considered a sample of seven PMS eclipsing binaries (EBs) with ages 1–6.3 MY and component masses 0.2–1.4

. The very high precision with which their masses and radii have been measured and the capability provided by the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics to calculate their evolutionary tracks at exactly the measured masses allows the determination of age differences of the components independent of their luminosities and effective temperatures. We found that the components of five EBs, ASAS J052821+0338.5, Parenago 1802, JW 380, CoRoT 223992193, and UScoCTIO 5, formed within 0.3 MY of each other. The parameters for the components of V1174 Ori imply an implausible large age difference of 2.7 MY and should be reconsidered. The seventh EB in our sample, RX J0529.4+0041 fell outside the applicability of our analysis.
Systematic Survey for [O ii], [O iii], and Hα Blobs at z = 0.1–1.5: The Implication for Evolution of Galactic-scale Outflow
Authors: Yuma Suraphong , Ouchi Masami , Drake Alyssa B. , Fujimoto Seiji , Kojima Takashi , Sugahara Yuma
Published: May 2017

We conduct a systematic search for galaxies at

with [O ii]

, [O iii]

, or Hα

emission lines extended over at least 30 kpc by using deep narrowband and broadband imaging in the Subaru-XMM Deep Survey field. These extended emission-line galaxies are dubbed [O ii], [O iii], or Hα blobs. Based on a new selection method that securely selects extended emission-line galaxies, we find 77 blobs at

with the isophotal area of emission lines down to

erg s−1 cm−2 kpc−2. Four of them are spectroscopically confirmed to be [O iii] blobs at z = 0.83. We identify AGN activities in eight blobs with X-ray and radio data, and find that the fraction of AGN contribution increases with increasing isophotal area of the extended emission. With the Kolmogorov–Smirnov (KS) and Anderson–Darling tests, we confirm that the stellar-mass distributions of Hα and [O ii] blobs are not drawn from those of the emitters at the

% confidence level in that Hα and [O ii] blobs are located at the massive end of the distributions, but cannot reject a null hypothesis of being the same distributions in terms of the specific star formation rates. It is suggested that galactic-scale outflows tend to be more prominent in more massive star-forming galaxies. Exploiting our sample homogeneously selected over the large area, we derive the number densities of blobs at each epoch. The number densities of blobs decrease drastically with redshifts at a rate that is larger than that of the decrease of cosmic star formation densities.
Effective Radii of Young, Massive Star Clusters in Two LEGUS Galaxies∗
Authors: Ryon J. E. , Gallagher J. S. , Smith L. J. , Adamo A. , Calzetti D. , Bright S. N. , Cignoni M. , Cook D. O. , Dale D. A. , Elmegreen B. E. , Fumagalli M. , Gouliermis D. A. , Grasha K. , Grebel E. K. , Kim H. , Messa M. , Thilker D. , Ubeda L.
Published: May 2017

We present a study of the effective (half-light) radii and other structural properties of a systematically selected sample of young, massive star clusters (≥5 × 103

and ≤200 Myr) in two nearby spiral galaxies, NGC 628 and NGC 1313. We use Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3/UVIS and archival ACS/WFC data obtained by the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey (LEGUS), an HST Treasury Program. We measure effective radii with GALFIT, a two-dimensional image-fitting package, and with a new technique to estimate effective radii from the concentration index of observed clusters. The distribution of effective radii from both techniques spans ∼0.5–10 pc and peaks at 2–3 pc for both galaxies. We find slight positive correlations between effective radius and cluster age in both galaxies, but no significant relationship between effective radius and galactocentric distance. Clusters in NGC 1313 display a mild increase in effective radius with cluster mass, but the trend disappears when the sample is divided into age bins. We show that the vast majority of the clusters in both galaxies are much older than their dynamical times, suggesting they are gravitationally bound objects. We find that about half of the clusters in NGC 628 are underfilling their Roche lobes, based on their Jacobi radii. Our results suggest that the young, massive clusters in NGC 628 and NGC 1313 are expanding, due to stellar mass loss or two-body relaxation, and are not significantly influenced by the tidal fields of their host galaxies.
Repatriation Data: More than two million species occurrence records added to the Brazilian Biodiversity Information Facility Repository (SiBBr)
Authors: Dias David , Baringo Fonseca Clara , Correa Luiza , Soto Nayara , Portela Andrea , Juarez Keila , Tumolo Neto Roque João , Ferro Murilo , Gonçalves João , Junior Jurandir
Published: May 2017

Primary biodiversity data records, available on-line, are essential for conservation planning. Of the mega diversity countries, Brazil have reached a high level of scientific research in describing their biodiversity. However, there still remain significant limitations in recovering, collating and organizing available information on Brazil's biological diversity and its distribution. Since the colonial period, biological material were often collected and transferred to other countries, which were characterized, stored and maintained. As a result, natural history museums worldwide possess large amounts of primary biodiversity data originally from Brazil which are then published on-line in the international Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) infrastructure. Aiming to recover these data, the Brazilian Biodiversity Information System (SiBBr) developed an automatic repatriation tool capable of retrieving all records registered in Brazil but published outside Brazilian territory in an automated manner.

Thus, 2,459,366 records were added to SiBBr’s Repository in one day. Europe and the United States hold about 80% of all records. The data set covers all life kingdoms. Animalia is the most represented group with 3 main phylum's: Chordata, Arthropoda and Mollusca, within more than 40% of all records. Plantae also comprises a large portion of the records with angiosperms having the major number of entries.
Chapitre 1. L’enfant malade et le secret médical en Afrique : de l’influence de la tradition au respect des normes juridiques
Authors: Mbaye Philip Thierno
Published: May 2017

Avec l’évolution des nouvelles technologies, la protection des droits du malade devient de plus en plus difficile. Les nouvelles méthodes de diagnostic et de traitement de la maladie quoique performantes, ont fini de pénétrer le patient au plus profond de son intimité, nécessitant un réel encadrement juridique afin de préserver le secret médical. L’appréhension qui est faite de celui-ci dépend des réalités sociales et culturelles du cadre géographique dans lequel on peut se situer. S’il est vrai que dans les sociétés occidentales, la consécration juridique et l’application du secret médical a fait l’objet de nombreuses jurisprudences, tel n’est pas le cas dans les sociétés africaines où la notion de secret est perçue autrement. Deux réalités s’affrontent : le droit au secret médical et l’influence de la tradition africaine par rapport à l’application de ce droit. Cette situation devient encore plus complexe lorsqu’il s’agit d’un enfant, un mineur incapable, qui doit être représenté dans ses décisions, et qui est particulièrement vulnérabilisé par la maladie. Son statut particulier dans la tradition africaine soulève donc nécessairement des interrogations relatives à l’application effective de son droit au secret médical. Les rapports entre ce dernier et les règles traditionnelles doivent alors être précisées, voire revisitées par les normes juridiques actuelles puisque l’enfant malade, personne particulièrement vulnérable, a droit à la protection de sa vie privée à travers le respect des informations confidentielles qui sont connues soit par le médecin, soit par le tradipraticien, dans l’exercice ou en dehors de l’exercice de leur profession.
Chapitre 2. Transfusions sanguines et responsabilités éthiques : expériences ivoirienne et québécoise
Authors: Kouassi N’dri Marcel
Published: May 2017

L’amélioration des chaînes transfusionnelles exige un accompagnement moral des politiques de sang et une formation en éthique des différents acteurs. Pour optimiser cet accompagnement et cette formation en éthique, il importe d’examiner et de renforcer l’éthicité des mandats des structures qui interviennent dans les chaînes transfusionnelles. Pour contribuer audit renforcement, cette recherche se propose d’étudier l’usage des versants anticipateur, unificateur et prospectif du principe de responsabilité éthique au sein des politiques de sang au Québec et en Côte d’Ivoire. En élucidant les conditionnalités d’un usage efficient du principe de responsabilité au sein de ces chaînes transfusionnelles, cet article approfondit les fondements de l’agir rationnel, raisonnable, prudentiel et donc responsable au sein des systèmes de sang, et renforce, par la même occasion, les idées de la biovigilance et de médecine préventive.