bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Global FY-3C/VIRR Sea Surface Temperature
Authors: Li Ninghui , Wang Sujuan , Guan Lei , Liu Mingkun
Published: August 2021

Fengyun-3C (FY-3C) is a second-generation meteorological satellite of China that was launched on 23 September 2013. The on board Visible and Infrared Radiometer (VIRR) can be used to observe global sea surface temperature (SST). In this paper, the VIRR SST products are compared with MODIS SST products and buoy measurements from 2015 to 2019. The collocations of VIRR, MODIS, and buoy SST are generated separately during the day and night with the spatial window of 0.05° × 0.05°. The comparison results show that the biases of VIRR SST minus buoy SST during the day and night are −0.21 and −0.13 °C with a corresponding robust standard deviation (RSD) of 0.58 and 0.59 °C, respectively. The mean differences between VIRR and MODIS are −0.10 and 0.08 °C with RSDs of 0.53 and 0.58 °C for the daytime and nighttime, respectively. The consistency of VIRR SST accuracy from 2015 to 2019 and the dependence of VIRR SST error on SST and latitude are also investigated.
In-Orbit Measurements and Analysis of Radio Interference in the UHF Amateur Radio Band from the LUME-1 Satellite
Authors: Quintana-Diaz Gara , Ekman Torbjörn , Lago Agra José Miguel , Hurtado de Mendoza Diego , González Muíño Alberto , Aguado Agelet Fernando
Published: August 2021

Radio interference in the uplink makes communication to satellites in the UHF amateur radio band (430–440 MHz) challenging for any satellite application. Interference measurements and characterisation can improve the robustness and reliability of the communication system design. Most published results focus on average power spectrum measurements and heatmaps. We apply a low complexity estimator on an SDR (Software-Defined Radio) to study the interference’s dispersion and temporal variation on-board a small satellite as an alternative. Measuring the Local Mean Envelope (LME) variability with different averaging window lengths enables the estimation of time variability of the interference. The coefficient of variation for the LME indicates how much the signals vary in time and the spread in magnitudes. In this article, theoretical analysis, simulations, and laboratory results were used to validate this measurement method. In-orbit measurements were performed on-board the LUME-1 satellite. Band-limited interference with pulsed temporal behaviour and a high coefficient of variation was detected over North America, Europe, and the Arctic, where space-tracking radars are located. Wide-band pulsed interference with high time variability was also detected over Europe. These measurements show why operators that use a communication system designed for Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) at power levels obtained from heatmaps struggle to command their satellites.
Morphometry and Debris-Flow Susceptibility Map in Mountain Drainage Basins of the Vallo di Diano, Southern Italy
Authors: Giano Salvatore Ivo , Pescatore Eva , Siervo Vincenzo
Published: August 2021

In watershed mountain basins, affected in the last decades by strong rainfall events, the role of debris-flow and debris flood processes was investigated. Morphometric parameters have proven to be useful first-approximation indicators in discriminating those processes, especially in large areas of investigation. Computation of morphometric parameters in 19 watershed mountain basins of the western side valley of the Vallo di Diano intermontane basin (southern Italy) was carried out. This procedure was integrated by a semi-automatic elaboration of the potential susceptibility to debris flows, using Flow-R modelling. This software, providing an empirical model of the preliminary susceptibility assessment at a regional scale, was applied in many countries of the world. The implementation of Flow-R modelling requires a GIS application and some thematic base maps extracted using DEMs analysis. A 5-meter-resolution DEM has been used in order to produce the susceptibility maps of the whole study area, and the results are compared and discussed with the real debris flow/flood events that occurred in 1993, 2005, 2010, and 2017 in the studied area. The results have provided a good reliability of Flow-R modelling within small catchment mountain basins.
Analysis of Floral Fragrance Compounds of Chimonanthus praecox with Different Floral Colors in Yunnan, China
Authors: Meng Liubei , Shi Rui , Wang Qiong , Wang Shu
Published: August 2021

In order to better understand the floral fragrance compounds of Chimonanthus praecox belonging to genus Chimonanthus of Chimonanaceae in Yunnan, headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze these compounds from four C. praecox plants with different floral colors. Thirty-one types of floral fragrance compounds were identified, among which terpenes, alcohols, esters, phenols, and heterocyclic compounds were the main compounds. Interestingly, the floral fragrance compounds identified in the flowers of C. praecox var. concolor included benzyl acetate, α-ocimene, eugenol, indole, and benzyl alcohol. By contrast, the floral fragrance compounds β-ocimene, α-ocimene, and trans-β-ocimene were detected in C. praecox var. patens. Cluster analysis showed that C. praecox var. concolor H1, H2, and C. praecox var. patens H4 were clustered in one group, but C. praecox var. patens H3 was individually clustered in the other group. Additionally, principal component analysis showed that α-ocimene, benzyl alcohol, benzyl acetate, cinnamyl acetate, eugenol, and indole were the main floral fragrance compounds that could distinguish the four C. praecox with different floral colors in Yunnan. This study provides a theoretical basis for further elucidating the mechanism and pathway of the floral fragrance release of C. praecox.
The Nexus between Tourism Activities and Environmental Degradation: Romanian Tourists’ Opinions
Authors: Ștefănică Mirela , Sandu Christiana Brigitte , Butnaru Gina Ionela , Haller Alina-Petronela
Published: August 2021

This paper aims to analyse the nexus between tourism activities, including tourists’ circulation, accommodation or entertainment, and environmental degradation. Consequently, the conceptual framework captures the complexity of the nexus between tourism and the environment, given that tourism activities can be performed by tourists or for tourists and that tourism depends on the environmental quality, and, consequently, we highlight the impact of tourism activities on biodiversity loss through the pollution effects that they generate, i.e., air pollution, water pollution, or noise pollution, as well as their contribution to waste increase or to the depletion of natural resources. To achieve this goal, we apply structural equation modelling based on partial least squares analysis (PLS). The results based on tourists’ opinions highlight the existence of a direct and significant nexus between tourists’ activities and environmental degradation, with many implications and consequences.
The Organizational Climate for Sustainable Commuting: An Italian Validation Study in the Academic Sector
Authors: Martinolli Guido , de Angelis Marco , Tordera Núria , Pietrantoni Luca
Published: August 2021

Promoting sustainable commuting represents a valuable contribution to tackle the climate crisis, and organizations could act as frontrunners in this regard. Accordingly, conceptualizing and measuring how organizational environments contribute to sustainable commuting has become relevant. This study aims to conceptualize and operationalize the construct of Organizational Climate for Sustainable Commuting (OCSC) and validate the OCSC scale in the Italian language. Data were gathered in an Italian university from 8542 participants. The validation was based on EFA and CFA, reliability, and aggregation indices analyses. To validate the scale, convergent, discriminant, internal construct, and criterion validities were assessed. Results confirmed a unidimensional structure of the tool, satisfactory reliability, justified aggregation, and provided evidence for validity. The proposed concept and scale offer a new perspective and measurement tool to be used when promoting sustainable commuting in the workplace is the objective.
Resistance of ETICS with Fire Barriers to Cyclic Hygrothermal Impact
Authors: Norvaišienė Rosita , Krause Paweł , Buhagiar Vincent , Burlingis Arūnas
Published: August 2021

The article presents the results of a set of hygrothermal experiments of an external wall insulated with an ETICS. As an add-on to previous studies, thermal insulation in the form of polystyrene with an additional horizontal strip of mineral wool was used. Laboratory tests were carried out in accordance with ETAG 004. The ETICS test rig was composed of combustible expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) and horizontal strips of noncombustible mineral wool (MW) fire barriers over windows. The physical and mechanical properties of four types of finishing renders (without an additional reinforcement mesh in base coat of the fire barriers) were analyzed across full hygrothermal cycles in a climate chamber. Temperature sensors were mounted onto different ETICS layers to collect thermal data during the weathering. The testing of ETICS regarding their hygrothermal performance revealed that there were no visible defects on any renderings and over the junctions depending on the type of used insulation materials. Results also showed that the joints of EPS and MW have approximately half of their bond strength from polystyrene strength.
Telework, Hybrid Work and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals: Towards Policy Coherence
Authors: Moglia Magnus , Hopkins John , Bardoel Anne
Published: August 2021

With increased participation in telework expected to continue, in the aftermath of COVID, it will be important to consider what long-term impact this practice could have on sustainability outcomes. This paper describes a scoping review and identifies connections between telework and sustainability outcomes from previous academic studies. These connections were categorised, and are discussed, based on their contributions to different United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Most research was found to focus on countries classified as having a very high human development index status. The SWOT matrix technique was used to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses identified in the existing literature, and the threats and opportunities for future work. This aims to ensure policy coherence so that strategies to promote one outcome, such as economic productivity improvements, do not undermine another, such as improved health. Practical implications and research opportunities were identified across a range of SDG impact areas, including good health and well-being, gender equality, reduced inequality, climate mitigation, sustainable cities, and resilient communities. Overall, our impression is that increased rates of telework present an important opportunity to improve sustainability outcomes. However, it will be important that integrated and holistic policy is developed that mitigates key risks.
Health Resources and Well-Being in Optimal Aging: The Mediating Role of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation Strategies
Authors: Wang Cheng-Hua , Tsai Fu-Fei
Published: August 2021

Aging and health issues continue to receive attention, especially under the global health challenge of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is important to understand how people adapt their lifespan development to face the gains and losses of resources. The purpose of this study was to test the relationships between health resources, selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) strategies and well-being with aging; to examine the impact of SOC strategies on health resources and well-being, and the link between health resources and well-being. Using structural equation modeling to analyze our hypotheses, a sample survey of 372 adults was conducted. The results showed that health resources were positively and significantly related to SOC and well-being. SOC strategies were positively and significantly related to well-being and SOC strategies partially mediated the link between health resources and well-being. The findings contribute to the literature by establishing a model and providing practical implications for individual behavior, as well as better understanding of the theoretical and practical implications of aging and health. A friendly community and organization may help people’s well-being in terms of physiology, psychology, society, and environment.
Multidisciplinary Performance Assessment of an Eco-Sustainable RC-Framed Skin for the Integrated Upgrading of Existing Buildings
Authors: Pozza Luca , Degli Esposti Anna , Bonoli Alessandra , Talledo Diego , Barbaresi Luca , Semprini Giovanni , Savoia Marco
Published: August 2021

Recent earthquakes have highlighted a general inadequacy of the existing building stock in Italy and the need to address this critical issue by increasing its structural resilience. At the same time, the problem of energy consumption in existing residential and commercial buildings is increasingly significant and incompatible with the environmental targets set by governments. Considering all the aforementioned aspects, the seismic upgrading of existing buildings, based on the use of an eco-friendly and sustainable technology, has become more and more relevant and different intervention approaches have been developed. This paper aims to provide a multidisciplinary approach for the performance assessment of an eco-friendly and sustainable RC-framed skin for integrated refurbishment of existing buildings. A preliminary description of such skin technology is provided with particular attention to the simultaneous improvement of structural (e.g., seismic) and non-structural (e.g., energy, acoustic) performances and to issues concerning the limitation of invasiveness and interruption of use of the building. Technological details and in situ installation phases are described with special regard to connection and interaction with the existing building. Procedures for the assessment of upgraded building performances, in terms of seismic capacity and thermo-hygrometric and acoustic performances, are defined and applied to a selected basic cell structure. The feasibility and sustainability of the proposed upgrading intervention is finally investigated by means of a holistic Life Cycle Assessment for environmental impact and Life Cycle Cost for an economic evaluation. Finally, results from a multidisciplinary performance assessment are critically discussed by relating the performance aspects to the technological and installation issues.
Willingness to Pay for Crowdfunding Local Agricultural Climate Solutions
Authors: Stoknes Per Espen , Soldal Olav B. , Hansen Sissel , Kvande Ingvar , Skjelderup Sylvia Weddegjerde
Published: August 2021

The recent rise in climate concern among citizens worldwide is coinciding with a rising interest in agricultural climate solutions. The future scaling-up of these solutions, however, requires more knowledge about the mitigation potential, costs and financing options, including crowdfunding (CF). Our objective is to explore the driving factors behind the public’s willingness to pay for crowdfunded climate mitigation projects at the farm level. In this study, four mitigation options from the perspective of farmers were identified: solar panels on the barn roof, biogas from animal manure, drag hoses for improved manure dispersal, and the addition of biochar to soils. The study investigates the optimal characteristics of crowdfunding campaigns to finance such mitigation measures. The most influential factors on the respondents’ WTP is neither climate concern nor proximity, but instead the knowledge regarding CF, combined with how comprehensible and salient the suggested measure is. The main implications are that future projects that aim to achieve broad participation in CF campaigns need to communicate well, to improve both public knowledge of the funding mechanism (CF) itself and the comprehensibility and salience of the agricultural measure.
Vulnerability of Human Populations to Contamination from Petroleum Exploitation in the Napo River Basin: An Approach for Spatially Explicit Risk Assessment
Authors: Espinosa Carlos Iván , Reyes-Bueno Fabián , Ramírez María Isabel , Arévalo Ana Paulina , Bailon-Moscoso Natalia , Duncan David H.
Published: August 2021

Background: contamination of aquatic ecosystems by oil spills associated with petroleum exploitation represents a serious problem of environmental contamination that can affect human health. We developed a spatial model of contamination risk in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and evaluated the model using independent datasets on environmental contamination and clinical indicators of human health risk factors. Methods: the spatial risk of contamination for the Napo River basin was based on the calculation of a friction surface and the accessibility of possible oil contamination. Human health was evaluated using peripheral blood samples from 256 individuals. We used monitoring data on contamination to validate the spatial model of contamination risk and analyzed whether the estimated risk explained the incidence of human health risk factors. Results: our risk model showed a significant association with actual contamination detected in the study area. According to our risk model, around 30% of the territory has some level of contamination. Risk of contamination was associated with an increasing mean incidence in risk factors for human health in resident populations, but elevated contamination risk was not a significant predictor of the incidence of selected health indicators; only the incidence of inflammation was significantly increased. Conclusions: a large proportion of the populations in the Napo River basin has high vulnerability to contamination from petroleum exploitation, and this contamination risk may be traced in some indicators of health risk. Closer examination of health risk factors is warranted, and our spatial model of contamination risk can inform the design and analysis of such studies, as well as risk mitigation and management. Our approach to building the model of contamination risk could be applied in other catchments where petroleum exploitation is contemplated.
The Development of Digital Transformation and Relevant Competencies for Employees in the Context of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Latvia
Authors: Bikse Veronika , Lusena-Ezera Inese , Rivza Peteris , Rivza Baiba
Published: August 2021

The current period describes the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis on businesses and the lives of citizens. It has accelerated digital transformation in all areas. The work and learning of many individuals have moved to the digital environment. In order to use digital technologies, employees need to acquire new knowledge and skills. The aim of this research study is to perform an analysis of the development of digital transformation and relevant competencies for employees and to identify the opportunities and challenges in Latvia. The research methodology applied for this research study is based on examining relevant theoretical concepts and publications of the EU regarding digital transformation. A survey method was used to find out the opinions of Latvian employers regarding the importance of digital transformation and relevant competencies for employees. The analysis of the research indicated that the majority of the respondents surveyed rated the level of implementation of digital transformation as high or medium-high, which shows that this is a good trend, and the digitalization process continues to progress. However, about a third of enterprises are only at the early stage of digitalization, while some have not yet begun it. The problem is the development of human capital competencies and digital skills. This is a specific research study that expands and provides insights into the situation in Latvia on the possibilities of implementation of digital transformation, which is closely linked with the development of human capital competencies and digital skills. This requires maintaining a holistic approach to targeted digital transformation management.
COVID-19 Pandemic Is a Wake-Up Call for Sustainable Local Food Supply Chains: Evidence from Green Restaurants in the USA
Authors: Alsetoohy Omar , Ayoun Baker , Abou-Kamar Mahmoud
Published: August 2021

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced customers to shift their food habits to more locally grown products. Therefore, restaurants have begun to provide local food, which is reflected in “farm to fork” or “locally-sourced” or “farm to table” restaurants. Thus, purchasing sustainable food, specifically local food products, has become one of the most salient sustainability practices in restaurants. Therefore, this study seeks to further explore the influences of the Sustainable Local Food Supply Chain (SLFSC) of green fine-dining restaurants on tourist food experiences and destination branding in the USA. Data were analyzed using the partial least square (PLS) technique of a sample of 232 respondents. The findings of this study showed positive impacts of all sustainability dimensions on most consumption values of tourists (i.e., emotional, epistemic, health, taste/quality, etc.). The findings indicated that each sustainability dimension and overall sustainability of the local food supply chain had strong positive effects on destination branding. Finally, tourist food experiences in totality mediated the relationship between the overall Sustainable Local Food Supply Chain and destination branding. This study contributes to the existing literature by developing and validating a scale to measure the sustainability practices of local food supply chains in restaurants to fill this gap in the literature. Additionally, the findings have intimate important theoretical and practical implications.
Tobacco and Deforestation Revisited. How to Move towards a Global Land-Use Transition?
Authors: Geist Helmut J.
Published: August 2021

Articles 17 and 18 of the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control address the environmental sustainability of tobacco as a contested agricultural crop. They require regulatory land-use policies to be introduced and designed to enhance a sustainability transition to diversified farming practices and/or alternative livelihoods. Related activities of the UN Study/Working Group on Economically Sustainable Alternatives to Tobacco Growing are reviewed to assess and monitor the crop’s impact on natural resources with a focus on methods to identify tobacco-attributable deforestation (remote sensing, proxy values, secondary statistics, natural valuation, ecological/social surveys). It is posited that since 2007 no advances have been achieved in framing woody biomass destruction/degradation due to land extension and curing (i.e., drying green leaf using wood). Building on support by digital technologies and land surface monitoring systems, a novel post-2020 strategy is proposed to mainstream an extended set of indicators integratively, i.e., addressing biodiversity losses, soil carbon reservoirs and land degradation neutrality of tobacco as an agricultural crop. Thus, the point is emphasized that land stewardship requires political priority setting that makes the framing of land-use sustainability metrics more than a purely technical matter.
Energy Consumption and Spatial Assessment of Renewable Energy Penetration and Building Energy Efficiency in Malaysia: A Review
Authors: Aldhshan Shaban R. S. , Abdul Maulud Khairul Nizam , Wan Mohd Jaafar Wan Shafrina , Karim Othman A. , Pradhan Biswajeet
Published: August 2021

The development of sustainable energy systems is very important to addressing the economic, environmental, and social pressures of the energy sector. Globally, buildings consume up to 40% of the world’s total energy. By 2030, it is expected to increase to 50%. Therefore, the world is facing a great challenge to overcome these problems related to global energy production. Malaysia is one of the top consumers of primary energy in Asia. In 2018, primary energy consumption for Malaysia was 3.79 quadrillion btu at an average annual rate of 4.58%. In this paper, we have carried out a detailed literature review on several previous studies of energy consumption in the world, especially in Malaysia, and how geographical information system (GIS) methods have been used for the spatial assessment of energy efficiency. Indeed, strategies of energy efficiency are essential in energy policy that could be created using various approaches used for energy savings in buildings. The findings of this review reveal that, for estimating energy consumption, exploring renewable energy sources, and investigating solar radiation, several geographic information system techniques such as multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL) are mainly utilized. The result indicates that the fuzzy DS method can more reliably determine the optimal PV farm locations. The 3D models are also regarded as an effective tool for estimating solar radiation, since this method generates a 3D model exportable to software tools. In addition, GIS and 3D can contribute to several purposes, such as sunlight access to buildings in urban areas, city growth prediction models and analysis of the habitability of public places.
Unilateral versus Bilateral Landing after Spike Jumps in Male and Female Volleyball: A Systematic Review
Authors: Afonso José , Ramirez-Campillo Rodrigo , Lima Ricardo Franco , Laporta Lorenzo , Paulo Ana , Castro Henrique de Oliveira , Costa Gustavo De Conti Teixeira , García-de-Alcaraz Antonio , Araújo Rui , Silva Ana Filipa , Ardigò Luca Paolo , Clemente Filipe Manuel
Published: August 2021

Background: The spike is a key action in volleyball, and the landing technique and its asymmetries are commonly associated with an increased risk of injury. Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to assess how male and female volleyball players land (i.e., unilaterally, or bilaterally) after spike jumps in matches and analytical settings (field or laboratory). Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines were followed, with eligibility criteria defined according to participants, interventions, comparators, study design (PICOS): (p) healthy indoor volleyball players of any sex, age group, or competitive level; (i) exposure to landing after spike actions during official matches AND/OR simulated 6 vs. 6 games AND/OR analytical training conditions AND/OR laboratorial experiments; (c) not mandatory; (o) data on landing mechanics after spike actions, including reporting of whether the landing was unilateral or bilateral; (s) no restrictions imposed on study design. Searches were performed in seven electronic databases (Cochrane Library, EBSCO, PubMed, Scielo, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) on 23 April 2021. Results: Automated searches provided 420 results. Removal of 119 duplicates resulted in 301 records being screened for titles and abstracts. A total of 25 studies were eligible for full-text analysis. Of these, eight studies were deemed eligible for inclusion in the review. Studies showed that (i) attackers landed asymmetrically 68% of the times (61% left leg, 7% right leg); (ii) bilateral asymmetries were observed for the hip, knee, and ankle joints; (iii) bilateral asymmetries were observed even when players were instructed to land evenly on two feet; (iv) landing contact of the leg opposite to the hitting arm preceded the contact of the homolateral leg. One match analysis study showed that men landed more often on the left (31.5%) or right foot (8.5%) than women (23.7% and 1.6%). Conclusions: Studies analyzing spike landing showed a prevalence of unilateral landings (mostly the left leg first, for right-handed players) in men and women but more prevalently in men. Registration INPLASY202140104, DOI: 10.37766/inplasy2021.4.0104.
Deep Neural Network (DNN) for Efficient User Clustering and Power Allocation in Downlink Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) 5G Networks
Authors: Kumaresan S. Prabha , Tan Chee Keong , Ng Yin Hoe
Published: August 2021

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) emerges as a promising candidate for 5G, which radically alters the way users share the spectrum. In the NOMA system, user clustering (UC) becomes another research issue as grouping the users on different subcarriers with different power levels has a significant impact on spectral utilization. In previous literature, plenty of works have been devoted to solving the UC problem. Recently, the artificial neural network (ANN) has gained considerable attention due to the availability of UC datasets, obtained from the Brute-Force search (BF-S) method. In this paper, deep neural network-based UC (DNN-UC) is employed to effectively characterize the nonlinearity between the cluster formation with channel diversity and transmission powers. Compared to the ANN-UC, the DNN-UC is more competent as UC is a non-convex NP-complete problem, which cannot be entirely captured by the ANN model. In this work, the DNN-UC is first trained with the training samples and then validated with the testing samples to examine its mean square error (MSE) and throughput performance in an asymmetrical fading NOMA channel. Unlike the ANN-UC, the DNN-UC model offers greater room for hyper-parameter optimizations to maximize its learning capability. With the optimized hyper-parameters, the DNN-UC can achieve near-optimal throughput performance, approximately 97% of the throughput of the BF-S method.
On Single-Valued Neutrosophic Closure Spaces
Authors: Alsharari Fahad
Published: August 2021

This paper aims to mark out new terms of single-valued neutrosophic notions in a Šostak sense called single-valued neutrosophic semi-closure spaces. To achieve this, notions such as β£-closure operators and β£-interior operators are first defined. More precisely, these proposed contributions involve different terms of single-valued neutrosophic continuous mappings called single-valued neutrosophic (almost β£, faintly β£, weakly β£) and β£-continuous. Finally, for the purpose of symmetry, we define the single-valued neutrosophic upper, single-valued neutrosophic lower and single-valued neutrosophic boundary sets of a rough single-valued neutrosophic set αn in a single-valued neutrosophic approximation space (F˜,δ). Based on αn and δ, we also introduce the single-valued neutrosophic approximation interior operator intαnδ and the single-valued neutrosophic approximation closure operator Clαnδ.
Individual Laterality in Ghost Crabs (Ocypode saratan) Influences Burrowing Behavior
Authors: Yosef Reuven , Daraby Michal , Semionovikh Alexei , Kosicki Jakub Z.
Published: August 2021

Behavioral handedness is known to enhance an individual’s handling capabilities. However, the ecological advantages in brachyuran crustaceans remain unclear, despite the Ocypode species having been studied extensively. Thus, in this study, we analyzed the laterality of the endemic Red Sea ghost crab on one beach in Eilat, Israel. We successfully documented the laterality of the large cheliped in 125 crabs; in 60 (48.0%), the right cheliped was larger, and in 64 (51.2%), the left. We also observed temporal segregation between the right- and left-clawed crabs. The right-handed crabs start activity just after sunrise, while left-handed crabs appear ca. 40 min after it. Similarly, temporal segregations were also observed in the evening. The right-clawed crab activity peaked ca. 20 min before sunset, while the left-clawed crabs were active uniformly. Additionally, burrow entrances corresponded to the larger cheliped of the resident individual and is probably a self-defense-related behavior. We conclude that cheliped laterality in O. saratan populations should be considered as a bimodal trait, where left- and right-handedness is not under natural selection pressure.
Magnetic Structure of CoO
Authors: Krüger Ekkehard
Published: August 2021

The paper reports evidence that the multi-spin-axis magnetic structure proposed in 1964 by van Laar is realized in antiferromagnetic CoO. This tetragonal spin arrangement produces both the strong tetragonal and the weaker monoclinic distortion experimentally observed in this material. The monoclinic distortion is proposed to be a “monoclinic-like” distortion of the array of the oxygen atoms, comparable with the rhombohedral-like distortion of the oxygen atoms recently proposed to be present in NiO and MnO. The monoclinic-like distortion has no influence on the tetragonal magnetic structure, which is generated by a special nonadiabatic atomic-like motion of the electrons near the Fermi level. It is argued that it is this atomic-like motion that qualifies CoO to be a Mott insulator.
Using MBSE for the Enhancement of Consistency and Continuity in Modular Product-Service-System Architectures
Authors: Dambietz Florian M. , Rennpferdt Christoph , Hanna Michael , Krause Dieter
Published: August 2021

Within emerging markets, ensuring the competitiveness of manufacturing companies is crucial to their success. The integration of new business possibilities, such as Product-Service-Systems (PSS) can provide one suitable solution. Especially within the architecture development process, large amounts of interconnected data and data types need to be processed and versioned. This leads to a significant lack of data consistency and continuity along the development process of modular PSS architectures. This lack of consistency and continuity leads to a process being prone to errors, representing a significant negative impact onto the company’s value-added stream. We provide one possible solution to these issues by presenting a PSS architecture modularization approach based upon the modularization methods of the Integrated PKT-Approach. Using concepts of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) for modelling these architectures, automated and dynamic analyses of the architecture for the iteration and harmonization of the PSS architecture under development are enabled. The at first generically described approach is further detailed in the second part of this contribution by applying it to an industry case study for mobile laser welding systems. As a result, a clear support for the visualization of architecture iteration aspects as well as for the enhancement of data consistency and continuity is given.
Big Data in Biodiversity Science: A Framework for Engagement
Authors: Musvuugwa Tendai , Dlomu Muxe Gladmond , Adebowale Adekunle
Published: August 2021

Despite best efforts, the loss of biodiversity has continued at a pace that constitutes a major threat to the efficient functioning of ecosystems. Curbing the loss of biodiversity and assessing its local and global trends requires a vast amount of datasets from a variety of sources. Although the means for generating, aggregating and analyzing big datasets to inform policies are now within the reach of the scientific community, the data-driven nature of a complex multidisciplinary field such as biodiversity science necessitates an overarching framework for engagement. In this review, we propose such a schematic based on the life cycle of data to interrogate the science. The framework considers data generation and collection, storage and curation, access and analysis and, finally, communication as distinct yet interdependent themes for engaging biodiversity science for the purpose of making evidenced-based decisions. We summarize historical developments in each theme, including the challenges and prospects, and offer some recommendations based on best practices.
In Memory of Sir Peter J. Lachmann, 1931–2020—Bees, Tickover, Factor I and Complement
Authors: Meri Seppo
Published: August 2021

We were all very sorry to hear that our highly esteemed colleague and one of the true pioneers of complement research, Professor, Sir Peter J [...]
Changing Attitudes toward the COVID-19 Vaccine among North Carolina Participants in the COVID-19 Community Research Partnership
Authors: Enwezor Chukwunyelu H. , Peacock James E. , Seals Austin L. , Edelstein Sharon L. , Hinkelman Amy N. , Wierzba Thomas F. , Munawar Iqra , Maguire Patrick D. , Lagarde William H. , Runyon Michael S. , Gibbs Michael A. , Gallaher Thomas R. , Sanders John W. , Herrington David M.
Published: August 2021

Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccine acceptance is variable. We surveyed participants in the COVID-19 Community Research Partnership from 17 December 2020 to 13 January 2021 to assess vaccine receptiveness. Vaccine uptake was then monitored until 15 May 2021; 20,232 participants responded to the receptiveness survey with vaccination status accessed in 18,874 participants via daily follow-up surveys (participants not completing daily surveys ≥30 days to 15 May 2021, were excluded). In the initial survey, 4802 (23.8%) were vaccine hesitant. Hesitancy was most apparent in women (Adjusted RR 0.93, p < 0.001), Black Americans (Adjusted RR 1.39, 1.41, 1.31 to non-Hispanic Whites, Other, and Hispanic or Latino, respectively p < 0.001), healthcare workers (Adjusted RR 0.93, p < 0.001), suburbanites (ref. Urban Adjusted RR 0.85, 0.90 to urban and rural dwellers, respectively, p < 0.01), and those previously diagnosed with COVID-19 (RR 1.20, p < 0.01). Those <50 years were also less accepting of vaccination. Subsequent vaccine uptake was 99% in non-hesitant participants. For those who were unsure, preferred not to answer, or answered “no”, vaccination rates were 80% (Adjusted RR 0.86, p < 0.0001), 78% (Adjusted RR 0.83, p < 0.0001), and 52.7% (Adjusted RR 0.65, p < 0.0001), respectively. These findings suggest that initial intent did not correlate with vaccine uptake in our cohort.
Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance Genes in the Saigon River Impacted by Anthropogenic Activities
Authors: Truong Thong , Hoang Thai Loc , Tran Linh Thuoc , Pham Thi Phuong Thuy , Le Thai-Hoang
Published: August 2021

Despite of a high abundance of antibiotics, heavy metals, and organic matters detected in the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City, the level and spread of antibiotic resistance genes in this river are poorly understood. In this study, total 10 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), including genes conferring resistance to aminoglycosides (aac(6)-Ib-cr), β-lactam antibiotics (blaCTX-M, blaSHV, blaTEM), quinolones (qnrA, qnrB), sulfonamides (sul1, sul2), trimethoprim (dfrA), efflux pump (oqxB), and three genes of genetic elements, including integron classes 1, 2, and 3 (intI1, intI2, intI3), are quantified by qPCR. Water samples were collected from the industrial, agricultural, residential, and less impacted areas for the wet and dry seasons. The results present high occurrence rates for 10 ARGs that were observed in all the sampling sites with the following order: sul1, sul2, dfrA > aac(6)-Ib-cr > blaCTX-M, blaSHV, blaTEM > qnrA, qnrB. Although the levels of ARGs and integrons in the dry season were found about to be about one order of magnitude higher than those in the wet season, the exact mechanisms for this are not fully clear. The correlation analysis presented here suggests that the contamination of organic matter and nutrients from agricultural, industrial, and residential activities likely contributes to the prevalence of ARGs, integrons, total bacterial load, and the potential development and spread of antibiotic resistance in the aquatic environments considered here.
Multi-Step Calibration Approach for SWAT Model Using Soil Moisture and Crop Yields in a Small Agricultural Catchment
Authors: Musyoka Francis Kilundu , Strauss Peter , Zhao Guangju , Srinivasan Raghavan , Klik Andreas
Published: August 2021

The quantitative prediction of hydrological components through hydrological models could serve as a basis for developing better land and water management policies. This study provides a comprehensive step by step modelling approach for a small agricultural watershed using the SWAT model. The watershed is situated in Petzenkirchen in the western part of Lower Austria and has total area of 66 hectares. At present, 87% of the catchment area is arable land, 5% is used as pasture, 6% is forested and 2% is paved. The calibration approach involves a sequential calibration of the model starting from surface runoff, and groundwater flow, followed by crop yields and then soil moisture, and finally total streamflow and sediment yields. Calibration and validation are carried out using the r-package SWATplusR. The impact of each calibration step on sediment yields and total streamflow is evaluated. The results of this approach are compared with those of the conventional model calibration approach, where all the parameters governing various hydrological processes are calibrated simultaneously. Results showed that the model was capable of successfully predicting surface runoff, groundwater flow, soil profile water content, total streamflow and sediment yields with Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of greater than 0.75. Crop yields were also well simulated with a percent bias (PBIAS) ranging from −17% to 14%. Surface runoff calibration had the highest impact on streamflow output, improving NSE from 0.39 to 0.77. The step-wise calibration approach performed better for streamflow prediction than the simultaneous calibration approach. The results of this study show that the step-wise calibration approach is more accurate, and provides a better representation of different hydrological components and processes than the simultaneous calibration approach.
Dairy Wastewater Treatment with Organic Coagulants: A Comparison of Factorial Designs
Authors: Muniz Gustavo Lopes , Pereira Magno dos Santos , Borges Alisson Carraro
Published: August 2021

Optimization of coagulant dosage and pH to reduce the turbidity and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of synthetic dairy wastewater (SDW) was investigated using a full factorial design (FFD) and full factorial design with center point (FFDCP). Two organic coagulants, polyacrylamide (PAM) and Tanfloc were used. The optimal values of coagulant dosage and pH were determined using a multiple response optimization tool and desirability function. The results obtained revealed that the optimum condition for removing turbidity and COD were at pH 5.0 using 50 mg L−1 of coagulant. The same optimum point was obtained in both experimental designs, indicating a good agreement between them. In optimum conditions, the expected removal of turbidity was above 98% with PAM and above 95% with Tanfloc. The estimated COD removal was above 72% with PAM and above 65% with Tanfloc. The addition of center points with replicates in the factorial design allowed to obtain the estimate of the experimental error with a smaller number of runs, allowing to save time and cost of the experimental tests. Moreover, the addition of center points did not affect the estimates of the factorial effects and it was possible to verify the effect of curvature, allowing obtaining information about the factors at intermediate levels.
Legionella spp. Colonization in Water Systems of Hotels Linked with Travel-Associated Legionnaires’ Disease
Authors: Papadakis Antonios , Keramarou Maria , Chochlakis Dimosthenis , Sandalakis Vassilios , Mouchtouri Varvara A. , Psaroulaki Anna
Published: August 2021

Hotel water systems colonized with Legionella spp. have been the source of travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease, and cases, clusters and outbreaks continue to be reported worldwide each year. A total of 132 hotels linked with travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease, as reported through the European Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance Network, were inspected and tested for Legionella spp. during 2000–2019 by the public health authorities of the island of Crete (Greece). A total of 3311 samples were collected: 1885 (56.93%) from cold water supply systems, 1387 (41.89%) from hot water supply systems, 37 (1.12%) were swab samples and two (0.06%) were soil. Of those, 685 (20.69%), were collected from 83 (62.89%) hotels, testing positive (≥50 CFU/L) for Legionella pneumophila) serogroups 1–10, 12–14 and non-pneumophila species (L. anisa, L. erythra, L. tusconensis, L. taurinensis, L. birminghamensis, L. rubrilucens, L. londiniesis, L. oakridgensis, L. santicrusis, L. brunensis, L. maceacherii). The most frequently isolated L. pneumophila serogroups were 1 (27.92%) and 3 (17.08%). Significantly higher isolation rates were obtained from hot water supply systems (25.96%) versus cold water systems (16.98%) and swab samples (13.51%). A Relative Risk (R.R.) > 1 (p < 0.0001) was calculated for hot water temperature <55 °C (R.R.: 4.43), chlorine concentrations <0.2 mg/L (R.R.: 2.69), star ratings <4 (R.R.: 1.73) and absence of Water Safety Plan implementation (R.R.: 1.57).
Submerged Wall Instead of a Penstock Shutoff Valve—Alternative Protection as Part of a Refurbishment
Authors: Gabl Roman , Wippersberger Markus , Seibl Jakob , Kröner Christian , Gems Bernhard
Published: August 2021

Hydropower is an important source of renewable energy. Due to ageing infrastructure, more and more existing hydropower plants have to be refurbished and modernised. This includes a complete review of the design parameters as well as the change of specific parts. Investments should be targeted to improve the overall performance of hydropower plants and ensure a long lasting life extension. This paper presents the concept of the submerged wall as a local high point in the headrace tunnel, which can—in combination with the intake gates—replace existing penstock shutoff valves. Such a replacement was conducted for the hydropower plant Schneiderau in Austria, which also allowed us to prove the concept based on measurements including a simulated break of the penstock. The presented solution can help to reduce investment costs and also minimise maintenance efforts and therefore is an attractive option for classic penstock shutoff valves for comparable projects.
An integrated approach to assessing the consumer properties of culinary products
Authors: Yurikova E.V. , Golozubova N.N.
Published: August 2021

The approaches to establishing consumer properties and risks in the production of culinary products with functional properties are considered. It has been shown that products containing functional additives have high consumer properties.
Analysis of milling characteristics of wheat during long-term storage
Authors: Guryeva K.B. , Khaba N.A. , Beletskiy S.L.
Published: August 2021

This article presents an analysis of the results of studying batches of wheat grain during storage in terms of milling properties. The results showed that single-grade flour with a yield of 70% was consistently produced from wheat at the stages. Wheat of the 3rd class after 6 years of storage can be used for milling purposes.