bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Brand Heritage on Intentions to Buy of Airline Services: The Mediating Roles of Brand Trust and Brand Loyalty
Authors: Zeren Deniz , Kara Ali
Published: December 2020

Brands are facing significant pressures in globalized markets so as to communicate a consistent corporate identity to their customers. Accordingly, the established past of a brand should be considered a key resource by giving the organization a competitive advantage in the marketplace. This paper examines the relationship between brand heritage and consumers’ purchase intentions of airline services and investigates the mediating roles of trust and loyalty. We conceptualize that brand heritage will have a positive effect on consumers’ purchase intentions of airline services. Moreover, using the Commitment-Trust Theory (Morgan and Hunt, 1994), we hypothesize that brand trust and brand loyalty will mediate the relationship between brand heritage and purchase intentions. Data for the study (n = 567) is collected through personal interviews of airline passengers traveling from 10 different major airports in Turkey. Results reveal that brand heritage has a significant positive direct effect on purchase intensions; however, when the brand trust and brand loyalty constructs are introduced into the model, the direct effect becomes statistically insignificant, demonstrating full mediation roles of brand trust and brand loyalty on purchase intentions. Research and practical implications are discussed.
How Will Digitalization Change Road Freight Transport? Scenarios Tested in Sweden
Authors: Pernestål Anna , Engholm Albin , Bemler Marie , Gidofalvi Gyözö
Published: December 2020

Road freight transport is a key function of modern societies. At the same time, road freight transport accounts for significant emissions. Digitalization, including automation, digitized information, and artificial intelligence, provide opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase service levels in road freight transport. Digitalization may also radically change the business ecosystem in the sector. In this paper, the question, “How will digitalization change the road freight transport landscape?” is addressed by developing four exploratory future scenarios, using Sweden as a case study. The results are based on input from 52 experts. For each of the four scenarios, the impacts on the road freight transport sector are investigated, and opportunities and barriers to achieving a sustainable transportation system in each of the scenarios are discussed. In all scenarios, an increase in vehicle kilometers traveled is predicted, and in three of the four scenarios, significant increases in recycling and urban freight flows are predicted. The scenario development process highlighted how there are important uncertainties in the development of the society that will be highly important for the development of the digitized freight transport landscape. One example is the sustainability paradigm, which was identified as a strategic uncertainty.
Assessing Riparian Areas of Greece—An Overview
Authors: Zaimes George N. , Iakovoglou Valasia
Published: December 2020

Riparian areas, especially in the Mediterranean, offer many ecosystem services for the welfare of society benefits from their sustainable management. This study presents different tools used to assess riparian areas of Greece and their results. Riparian areas with different land-uses/vegetation covers along streams or torrents were assessed. The assessment tools were visual protocols, bioindicators, geographic information systems (GIS), vegetation indices, and a model. These tools differ in scale, accuracy, and difficulty of implementation. The riparian areas had Low and Moderate quality in Greece because of agricultural activities and hydrologic alterations. Vegetation appeared more important for the integrity of riparian areas than stream flow (perennial or intermittent). In addition, territorial variables (distance from dam and sea) were more influential compared to climatic variables. Visual protocols and GIS were effective for preliminary assessments. GIS can be applied at a greater scale but was less accurate than the protocols. Bioindicators can provide more cost-effective monitoring than physicochemical water variables. Finally, vegetation indices and models can be used for larger spatial and temporal scales, but require specialized personnel. Overall, riparian areas of Greece seem to be degraded, and monitoring would contribute to the development of a database on riparian areas that should form the basis for sustainable management plans in Greece.
Big Data Analysis of Korean Travelers’ Behavior in the Post-COVID-19 Era
Authors: Sung Yun-A , Kim Kyung-Won , Kwon Hee-Ju
Published: December 2020

Due to the spread of COVID-19 worldwide in 2020, the tourism industry is facing a calamitous crisis as migration and travel between the countries has been restricted. The purpose of this study is to explore changes in Korean tourism behavior after COVID-19. Korean social media data was collected from the World Health Organization’s declaration of a public health emergency of international concern, in January 2020, to August 2020, the summer vacation season. Keywords were extracted via text mining, and the current perspectives of Koreans concerning tourism that manifest content analysis were investigated. In addition, UCINET 6 was used to visualize related words by conducting centrality analysis, CONCOR (CONvergent CORrelation) analysis, and semantic system network analysis. The analysis showed that Korean tourists have increased their preference for domestic travel, and showed interest in government subsidies. Korean tourists also showed greater interest in eco-trips and gourmet trips. Although this study is limited to Korea, it can be used as a regional strategy.
The Calibration of Evaporation Models against the Penman–Monteith Equation on Lake Most
Authors: Dubovský Viktor , Dlouhá Dagmar , Pospíšil Lukáš
Published: December 2020

Evaporation is one of the main components of the water cycle in nature. Our interest in free water surface evaporation is due to the needs of ongoing hydric recultivation of the former Ležáky–Most quarry, i.e., Lake Most, and also other planned hydric recultivations in the region. One of the key components of hydric reclamation planning is the securitization of long-term sustainability, which is based on the capability to keep the final water level at a stable level. In our work, we are interested in the evaporation estimation in the area of Lake Most (Czech Republic, Europe). This lake has been artificially created only a few years ago, and nowadays we are looking for a simple evaporation model, based on which we will be able to decide which measurement devices have to be installed at the location to provide more localized data to the model. In this paper, we calibrate state-of-the-art simplified evaporation models against the Penman–Monteith equation based on the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency maximization. We discuss the suitability of this approach using real-world climate data from the weather station located one km from the area of interest.
Interactive Effect of Weeding Regimes, Rice Cultivars, and Seeding Rates Influence the Rice-Weed Competition under Dry Direct-Seeded Condition
Authors: Ahmed Sharif , Alam M. Jahangir , Hossain Akbar , Islam A. K. M. Mominul , Awan Tahir H. , Soufan Walid , Qahtan Ahmed Ali , Okla Mohmmad K. , El Sabagh Ayman
Published: December 2020

Dry direct-seeded rice (Oryza sativa L.), a climate-smart and resource-efficient (labor and water) rice production technology is gaining popularity in many parts of Asian countries; however, weeds are the major constraints for its early establishment and optimum productivity. Chemical weed management is effective, rapid, and also decreases weed management costs in dry direct-seeded rice (DSR) system; however, chemical use for weed management have a negative effect on the environment and also have human health hazards. Therefore, integrated weed management (IWM) is the best option for the sustainability of rice production under the DSR system. Improving competitiveness against weeds, weed-competitive rice cultivars, and high seeding rates were found to be the most promising IWM strategies in DSR. In this context, a field study was conducted to evaluate the weed competitiveness of rice cultivars and seeding rates on the performance of aus rice in dry direct-seeded systems in Bangladesh. Three inbred rice cultivars (CV), namely “BRRI dhan26”, “BRRI dhan48”, and “BRRI dhan55”, and one hybrid cultivar, “Arize” were tested in a seeding rate (SR) of 20, 40, and 80 kg ha−1 under two weeding regimes (WR) of weed-free and partially-weedy. Rice grain yield was strongly affected (p < 0.01) by the interactions of WR, CV, and SR. In weed-free conditions, the yield of all three inbred cultivars was increased up to SR of 40 kg ha−1 and for the hybrid cultivar, up to SR of 20 kg ha−1, and with further increment of SR, there was no yield advantage. Conversely, under partially weedy conditions, the yield of three inbred cultivars increased up to SR of 80 kg ha−1; however, for the hybrid cultivar, this increment was up to SR of 40 kg ha−1 and thereafter, no yield gain. In weedy conditions, the higher SR compensates for the yield losses by increasing the competitiveness of rice with weeds. Across SR, the hybrid cultivar had a significantly (p < 0.01) higher weed competitive index (WCI) than all the inbred cultivars and the highest SR always had a higher WCI.
Blockchain-Based Implementation of Building Information Modeling Information Using Hyperledger Composer
Authors: Suliyanti Widya Nita , Sari Riri Fitri
Published: December 2020

With the advancement of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology, BIM gains more importance and becomes a prerequisite in building projects. BIM is useful throughout a building lifecycle; from building bid, design, construction, completion, operation, and maintenance to building demolition. However, current information exchange surrounding BIM is still limited and bound to a single participant or organization and is also limited to a particular phase in the building lifecycle. This paper aims to explore BIM information exchange among many parties involved in a secure manner using a blockchain platform throughout the whole building lifecycle. In this research, many parties involved in the building project will be able to recognize one another through deployment of a permissioned blockchain. This information exchange uses Hyperledger Composer, a permissioned blockchain running on a blockchain platform called Hyperledger Fabric. Our experiment shows that BIM information exchange could be further improved. In this study, BIM information exchange can be implemented not only in one building phase but throughout the whole building lifecycle. It also facilitates BIM information exchange among multiple participants in a secure manner via a permissioned blockchain.
An Integrated Approach to Transportation and Land-Use Planning for the Analysis of Former Railway Nodes in Sustainable Transport Development: The Case of the Vasco-Navarro Railway
Authors: Eizaguirre-Iribar Arritokieta , Grijalba Olatz , Hernández-Minguillón Rufino Javier
Published: December 2020

The disappearance of kilometers of railways that once structured their surrounding territory has become an alarming issue in the last decades. These days, several disused railway infrastructures have been converted into non-motorized transport infrastructures. Meanwhile, most of the railway nodes have been abandoned or reused without consideration of the linear infrastructure. This paper argues that former railway nodes can have potential in their surrounding environment and as part of a non-motorized transport axis, i.e., to again be nodes of the former linear infrastructure. Accordingly, the objective of the paper is to analyze the potential of disused railway nodes, focusing on the possibilities they could offer in the area, and defining future approaches for more sustainable development. For that purpose, relations between former railway nodes and their surrounding environment are studied considering transport and land use in the non-motorized influence areas. Existing node/place models were adapted and a multiaxial model was created to measure the balance between transport and land use and typify the defined area. The proposed methodology was applied in a case study, classifying node areas in different development typologies that will be related to different future approaches.
Identification of Priority Conservation Areas for Protected Rivers Based on Ecosystem Integrity and Authenticity: A Case Study of the Qingzhu River, Southwest China
Authors: Li Peng , Zhang Yuxiao , Lu Weikun , Zhao Min , Zhu Meng
Published: December 2020

The establishment of protected areas for a river (PARs) is an efficient approach for the conservation of its ecosystem and biodiversity. This study selected the free-flowing Qingzhu River, located in the mountains of southwest China and one of 34 global biodiversity hotspots, as a case study. This study applied the ecosystem approach to develop a model for identifying priority conservation areas for a river (PCARs) based on integrity and authenticity. Three model elements were selected, namely streams, forest and human activity, characterized by three indicators: irreplaceability, tree cover and human activity, respectively. The spatial distributions of these indicators were overlaid according to different weights to generate a map (SCPV) of comprehensive protected value (CPV), which was used to indicate ecosystem integrity and authenticity in the study catchment. Lastly, PCARs were identified by comparing existing protected areas with the calculated SCPV. The application of the model to the Qingzhu River indicated the area of PCARs to be ~71.88 km2, accounting for 15.13% of the total PAR area. Priority reaches for protection were then identified, with many falling within the mainstem of the river in the middle and lower reaches. The total length of priority protected reaches was ~75.97 km, accounting for 49.33% of the total length of the river mainstem within Qingchuan County. This study validated the model at both the theoretical and practical level, confirming that the model is useful for facilitating the precise protection and smart management of rivers.
Social Finance and Banking Research as a Driver for Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Analysis
Authors: Secinaro Silvana , Calandra Davide , Petricean Denisa , Chmet Federico
Published: December 2020

Social finance and banking with an embedded social purpose have been on the rise in recent decades. Social entrepreneurs have repeatedly stressed the critical need for financial support from social banks. This study aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of the status of the field in social finance and banking, recognising main topics from existing research and establishing future re-search challenges. Our study used science mapping workflow and multiple research questions to investigate the broad literature about social banking and finance. With in-depth bibliometric analysis, authors examined qualitative and quantitative variables as primary research infor-mation, relevant sources, subject areas, authors data, social, thematic and intellectual structure. The data was retrieved from Web of Science (WOS) and then analysed using Bibliometrix R-package. The analysis was based on a sample of 270 articles and demonstrates a multidisciplinary vision of the research flow investigated. Our results show several insights regarding journals, authors and geographical interest of this research stream. Specifically, the literature, although dwelling on social finance and banking, includes five theoretical and practical clusters as (1) people’s well-being, combined with technological innovation, (2) governance, (3) ethical investment and sustainable development, (4) corporate social responsibility (CSR), and (5) transparency. The authors also note a line of research that observes technological solutions for the response to social and environmental problems. These results may be useful for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to foster social finance and financial system tools.
Evaluating Perception of Sustainability Initiatives Invested in the Coastal Area of Versilia, Italy
Authors: Marchi Valentina , Raschi Antonio , Martelli Francesca
Published: December 2020

Nowadays, following the increased interest and need for the issue of sustainability, tourist destinations are called upon to promote sustainable tourism development through the implementation of investments and initiatives. Despite the investments by the destinations, how are these perceived by tourists and residents? Based on this, this paper aims to assess the perception of sustainable investments in a coastal area located in Tuscany, through the administration of a questionnaire among 750 people, including both tourists and house owners. The study adopted statistical logit and probit models to detect the perception of sustainable initiatives in relation to beach satisfaction. Moreover, this research developed a model for understanding if there are substantial differences in perception between Italian and foreign beach users and at the same time between residents/house owners and tourists. The findings reveal that those who perceive investments in sustainability are more than satisfied with beach and facilities. The model shows that foreigners and residents/house owners perceive sustainable investments implemented in the destination more than tourists and Italian respondents. This research can provide support to local operators and policymakers in defining the destination image in relation to sustainability.
Corporate Social Responsibility in the Opinion of Polish and Foreign Students in Management Program of Lublin University of Technology
Authors: Mazur Barbara , Walczyna Anna
Published: December 2020

The emergence of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) concept resulted in the introduction of the subject to the curricula of management faculties at many universities worldwide. Business schools and management departments educate future decision-makers of the national and global economy. Therefore, in order to be able to anticipate future development trends in the area of CSR, surveys of students’ opinions on the responsibilities of business toward society are conducted. This study aimed to answer the question about the way in which students prioritize particular dimensions of CSR. In particular, it focuses on whether the respondents consider the economic dimension to be fundamental, given their different socio-cultural contexts. An additional aim of the research is to verify A. Carroll’s original CSR model, as expressed in terms of the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic dimensions. The research included two groups of students at the Faculty of Management of the Lublin University of Technology—Polish and foreign. The results obtained in both study groups differ from A. Carroll’s original CSR model system. They also differ from each other. In the group of Polish students, the bottom and top dimensions of the pyramid are economic and legal, and in the group of foreign students, they are philanthropic and legal, accordingly. The shapes of the two pyramids are also different, which may be caused by different socio-cultural contexts and specific social needs. The adopted model turned out to be useful for studying the CSR structure expressed in the form of a four-element pyramid. It also allowed the weighting of the perceived importance by the respondents of each individual dimension of CSR. This study helps to predict future corporate social responsibility activities and trends in business.
Evaluation of the Emission Impact of Cold-Ironing Power Systems, Using a Bi-Directional Power Flow Control Strategy
Authors: Reusser Carlos A. , Pérez Joel R.
Published: December 2020

Even though cold ironing is not a new technology applied to reduce the impact of emissions from ships at berth, commonly used arrangements for shore-side power substations only allow a unidirectional power flow, from port to ship side. Although these applications have a positive contribution to port community health and global reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG), especially when the energy is supplied from renewable sources, emissions during loading/unloading operations are directly related to the operating profiles of auxiliary engines of a ship. The present work evaluates a ship’s emission impact when applying cold-ironing technology using a bi-directional power flow control strategy while at berth, thus optimizing the auxiliary engine operating profile and enabling regeneration into the port installations. The methodology applied considers the establishment of the operational profile of the ship, the adaptation and use of carbon intensity indicators (CII) used by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to evaluate the impact of shipping, and the strategy considering the capacities of the ship to obtain and provide electric power from and to the port when at berth. Results show that the strategy can be applied to any ship with a high demand for electric power while at berth, and that the adaptation and use of different CIIs allows operational profiles of electric power generation on board to be optimized and to reduce emission generation, which affects port community health.
Associations of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Assessed by Accelerometer with Body Composition among Children and Adolescents: A Scoping Review
Authors: Gualdi-Russo Emanuela , Rinaldo Natascia , Toselli Stefania , Zaccagni Luciana
Published: December 2020

The possible adverse health effects of reduced physical activity (PA) on children and adolescents have been extensively documented as a result of the global obesity epidemic. However, the research has sometimes led to controversial results, due to the different methods used for the assessment of PA. The main aim of this review was to evaluate the association between PA and body composition parameters based on quantitative PA studies using the same equipment (Actigraph accelerometer) and cutoffs (Evenson’s). A literature review was undertaken using PUBMED and Scopus databases. Subjects aged 6–15 were considered separately by sex. Weighted multiple regression analyses were conducted. From the analysis of fourteen selected articles, it emerged that 35.7% did not evaluate the association of sedentary time (ST) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) with body composition, while the remaining 64.3% found a negative association of MVPA with BMI and fat mass with different trends according to sex. Furthermore, only 7.1% of these studies identified a positive association between ST and fat percentage. Based on the regression analyses conducted on the literature data, ST and MVPA were found to be significant predictors of body composition parameters, in addition to age and sex. Further studies using standardized methodologies to assess PA and body composition are needed. The inclusion of sex-disaggregated data may also be crucial to understand this phenomenon and to provide stronger evidence of the determinants of body composition in order to prevent the risk of obesity.
Assessing the Molecular Specificity and Orientation Sensitivity of Infrared, Raman, and Vibrational Sum-Frequency Spectra
Authors: Chen Fei , Gozdzialski Lea , Hung Kuo-Kai , Stege Ulrike , Hore Dennis K.
Published: December 2020

Linear programming was used to assess the ability of polarized infrared absorption, Raman scattering, and visible–infrared sum-frequency generation to correctly identify the composition of a mixture of molecules adsorbed onto a surface in four scenarios. The first two scenarios consisted of a distribution of species where the polarity of the orientation distribution is known, both with and without consideration of an arbitrary scaling factor between candidate spectra and the observed spectra of the mixture. The final two scenarios have repeated the tests, but assuming that the polarity of the orientation is unknown, so the symmetry-breaking attributes of the second-order nonlinear technique are required. The results indicate that polarized Raman spectra are more sensitive to orientation and molecular identity than the other techniques. However, further analysis reveals that this sensitivity is not due to the high-order angle dependence of Raman, but is instead attributed to the number of unique projections that can be measured in a polarized Raman experiment.
The Generalized OTOC from Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics—Study of Random Fluctuations from Eigenstate Representation of Correlation Functions
Authors: Bhagat Kaushik Y. , Bose Baibhab , Choudhury Sayantan , Chowdhury Satyaki , Das Rathindra N. , Dastider Saptarshhi G. , Gupta Nitin , Maji Archana , Pasquino Gabriel D. , Paul Swaraj
Published: December 2020

The concept of the out-of-time-ordered correlation (OTOC) function is treated as a very strong theoretical probe of quantum randomness, using which one can study both chaotic and non-chaotic phenomena in the context of quantum statistical mechanics. In this paper, we define a general class of OTOC, which can perfectly capture quantum randomness phenomena in a better way. Further, we demonstrate an equivalent formalism of computation using a general time-independent Hamiltonian having well-defined eigenstate representation for integrable Supersymmetric quantum systems. We found that one needs to consider two new correlators apart from the usual one to have a complete quantum description. To visualize the impact of the given formalism, we consider the two well-known models, viz. Harmonic Oscillator and one-dimensional potential well within the framework of Supersymmetry. For the Harmonic Oscillator case, we obtain similar periodic time dependence but dissimilar parameter dependences compared to the results obtained from both microcanonical and canonical ensembles in quantum mechanics without Supersymmetry. On the other hand, for the One-Dimensional PotentialWell problem, we found significantly different time scales and the other parameter dependence compared to the results obtained from non-Supersymmetric quantum mechanics. Finally, to establish the consistency of the prescribed formalism in the classical limit, we demonstrate the phase space averaged version of the classical version of OTOCs from a model-independent Hamiltonian, along with the previously mentioned well-cited models.
Pareto Optimal Decisions in Multi-Criteria Decision Making Explained with Construction Cost Cases
Authors: Anysz Hubert , Nicał Aleksander , Stević Željko , Grzegorzewski Michał , Sikora Karol
Published: December 2020

In multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problems the decision-maker is often forced to accept a not ideal solution. If the ideal choice exists, it would be certainly chosen. The acceptance of a non- ideal solution leads to some inadequate properties in the chosen solution. MCDM methods help the decision-maker to structure his needs considering different units, in which the properties of the solutions are expressed. Secondly, with MCDM tools the assessment of the available solutions can be calculated with consideration of the decision-maker’s needs. The incorporation of the cost criterion into the decision maker’s preferences calculation, and the solution assessment calculation, deprives the decision-maker of the ability to calculate the financial result of the decision he must make. A new multi-criteria decision making with cost criterion analysed at the final stage (MCDM-CCAF) method is developed based on principle of Pareto optimal decisions. It is proposed to exclude the cost criterion from the MCDM analysis and consider it at the final phase of the decision-making process. It is illustrated by example solutions with consideration of cost criterion and without it. It is proposed to apply the invented post-processing method to all MCDM analyses where the cost criterion of analysed variants is considered.
Connecting (Anti)Symmetric Trigonometric Transforms to Dual-Root Lattice Fourier–Weyl Transforms
Authors: Brus Adam , Hrivnák Jiří , Motlochová Lenka
Published: December 2020

Explicit links of the multivariate discrete (anti)symmetric cosine and sine transforms with the generalized dual-root lattice Fourier–Weyl transforms are constructed. Exact identities between the (anti)symmetric trigonometric functions and Weyl orbit functions of the crystallographic root systems A1 and Cn are utilized to connect the kernels of the discrete transforms. The point and label sets of the 32 discrete (anti)symmetric trigonometric transforms are expressed as fragments of the rescaled dual root and weight lattices inside the closures of Weyl alcoves. A case-by-case analysis of the inherent extended Coxeter–Dynkin diagrams specifically relates the weight and normalization functions of the discrete transforms. The resulting unique coupling of the transforms is achieved by detailing a common form of the associated unitary transform matrices. The direct evaluation of the corresponding unitary transform matrices is exemplified for several cases of the bivariate transforms.
Mechanical Medical Device for Generating Vibration and Stimulation of the Neuron Pathways
Authors: Svoboda Antonín , Chalupa Milan , Šrámková Taťána
Published: December 2020

This article describes a medical device uses precisely generated vibrations to obtain genetic material (sperm) in injured men, tetraplegics, and paraplegics. A significant advantage is the absence of general anesthesia of the patient. The DC motor of a medical device works with a safe voltage powered by rechargeable or AA cells. The principle of generation of vibration is a crank mechanism. Rotation of the flywheel is converted to rectilinear reciprocating motion. The amplitude is set in the range between 1–4 mm and the frequency is controlled by the RPM of the DC motor. If the stimulation will be followed preciously with the methodology, the process will be completed within 12 min from the beginning of stimulation. The success rate of the device is in the range between 65–85% depending on the patient’s condition and the extent of the spinal cord lesion. The measurement of sinusoidal oscillations was performed by using a stand in which the device was mounted. The amplitude was measured with an accelerometer and then mathematically converted by software Matlab and MS-Excel to the magnitude of the deviation in mm. Measurements have shown that the proposed design meets the requirements for amplitude and frequency.
A Modified jSO Algorithm for Solving Constrained Engineering Problems
Authors: Shen Yong , Liang Ziyuan , Kang Hongwei , Sun Xingping , Chen Qingyi
Published: December 2020

Proposing new strategies to improve the optimization performance of differential evolution (DE) is an important research study. The jSO algorithm was the announced winner of the Congress on Evolutionary Computation (CEC) 2017 competition on numerical optimization, and is the state-of-the-art algorithm in the SHADE (Success-History based Adaptive Differential Evolution) algorithm series. However, the jSO algorithm converges prematurely in the search space with different dimensions and is prone to falling into local optimum during evolution, as well as the problem of decreasing population diversity. In this paper, a modified jSO algorithm (MjSO) is proposed which is based on cosine similarity with parameter adaptation and a novel opposition-based learning restart mechanism incorporated with symmetry to address the above problems, respectively. Moreover, it is well known that parameter setting has a significant impact on the performance of the algorithm and the search process can be divided into two symmetrical parts. Hence, a parameter control strategy based on a symmetric search process is introduced in the MjSO. The effectiveness of these designs is supported by presenting a population clustering analysis, along with a population diversity measure to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, three state-of-the-art DE variant algorithms (EBLSHADE, ELSHADE-SPACMA, and SALSHADE-cnEPSin) and two original algorithms (jSO and LSHADE) are compared with it, for solving 30 CEC’17 benchmark functions and three classical engineering design problems. The experimental results and analysis reveal that the proposed algorithm can outperform other competitions in terms of the convergence speed and the quality of solutions. Promisingly, the proposed method can be treated as an effective and efficient auxiliary tool for more complex optimization models and scenarios.
Effects of Second-Order Velocity Slip and the Different Spherical Nanoparticles on Nanofluid Flow
Authors: Zhu Jing , Liu Ye , Cao Jiahui
Published: December 2020

The paper theoretically investigates the heat transfer of nanofluids with different nanoparticles inside a parallel-plate channel. Second-order slip condition is adopted due to the microscopic roughness in the microchannels. After proper transformation, nonlinear partial differential systems are converted to ordinary differential equations with unknown constants, and then solved by homotopy analysis method. The residual plot is drawn to verify the convergence of the solution. The semi-analytical expressions between NuB and NBT are acquired. The results show that both first-order slip parameter and second-order slip parameter have positive effects on NuB of the MHD flow. The effect of second-order velocity slip on NuB is obvious, and NuB in the alumina–water nanofluid is higher than that in the titania–water nanofluid. The positive correlation between slip parameters and Ndp is significant for the titania–water nanofluid.
Tissue-Biased and Species-Specific Regulation of Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx) Genes in Scallops Exposed to Toxic Dinoflagellates
Authors: Hlaing Sein Moh Moh , Lou Jiarun , Cheng Jie , Xun Xiaogang , Li Moli , Lu Wei , Hu Xiaoli , Bao Zhenmin
Published: December 2020

Marine bivalves could accumulate paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) produced by toxic microalgae, which might induce oxidative stress. Glutathione peroxidases (GPxs) are key enzymes functioning in the antioxidant defense, whereas our understanding of their roles in PST challenge in bivalves is limited. Herein, through genome-wide screening, we identified nine (CfGPx) and eight (PyGPx) GPx genes in Zhikong scallop (Chlamys farreri) and Yesso scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis), respectively, and revealed the expansion of GPx3 sub-family in both species. RNA-Seq analysis revealed high expression of scallop GPx3s after D stage larva during early development, and in adult hepatopancreas. However, in scallops exposed to PST-producing dinoflagellates, no GPx was significantly induced in the hepatopancreas. In scallop kidneys where PSTs were transformed to higher toxic analogs, most CfGPxs were up-regulated, with CfGPx3s being acutely and chronically induced by Alexandrium minutum and A. catenella exposure, respectively, but only one PyGPx from GPx3 subfamily was up-regulated by A. catenella exposure. Our results suggest the function of scallop GPxs in protecting kidneys against the oxidative stresses by PST accumulation or transformation. The tissue-, species-, and toxin-dependent expression pattern of scallop GPxs also implied their functional diversity in response to toxin exposure.
The Extreme Ends of the Treatment Response Spectrum to Botulinum Toxin in Cervical Dystonia
Authors: Samadzadeh Sara , Brauns Raphaela , Hefter Harald
Published: December 2020

Background: The response to BoNT is not uniform; a broad spectrum of responses and side-effects usually occurs. This study aimed to show special cervical dystonia cases with therapy response very different to normal treatment course which indicate the extreme ends of therapy spectrum. Patients: Clinical data and course of treatment of five long-term treated patients with cervical dystonia out of therapy response norms are presented: a patient who was supersensitive to standard dose and has required dose adjustment to lower dose of BoNT; one patient who worsened under a standard dose, but responded excellently to twice the standard dose; one insensitive patient who responded poorly for years to a dose well above the standard dose, but responded when dose was further increased; and two patients with a totally different response pattern to BoNT/A preparation 1, but the development of a neutralizing antibody induced secondary treatment failure in both cases and a totally different response after switch to BoNT/A preparation 2. Conclusions: These five patients indicate that the response of a patient to a BoNT preparation may be unexpected. Therefore, cautious onset of BoNT therapy is recommended as well as consequent dose adjustment later on and even switch to another BoNT/A preparation when a patient has already developed NABs against BoNT/A.
Zeta Functions and the Cosmos—A Basic Brief Review
Authors: Elizalde Emilio
Published: December 2020

This is a very basic and pedagogical review of the concepts of zeta function and of the associated zeta regularization method, starting from the notions of harmonic series and of divergent sums in general. By way of very simple examples, it is shown how these powerful methods are used for the regularization of physical quantities, such as quantum vacuum fluctuations in various contexts. In special, in Casimir effect setups, with a note on the dynamical Casimir effect, and mainly concerning its application in quantum theories in curved spaces, subsequently used in gravity theories and cosmology. The second part of this work starts with an essential introduction to large scale cosmology, in search of the observational foundations of the Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) model, and the cosmological constant issue, with the very hard problems associated with it. In short, a concise summary of all these interrelated subjects and applications, involving zeta functions and the cosmos, and an updated list of the pioneering and more influential works (according to Google Scholar citation counts) published on all these matters to date, are provided.
Here, There, and Everywhere: The Wide Host Range and Geographic Distribution of Zoonotic Orthopoxviruses
Authors: Silva Natalia Ingrid Oliveira , de Oliveira Jaqueline Silva , Kroon Erna Geessien , Trindade Giliane de Souza , Drumond Betânia Paiva
Published: December 2020

The global emergence of zoonotic viruses, including poxviruses, poses one of the greatest threats to human and animal health. Forty years after the eradication of smallpox, emerging zoonotic orthopoxviruses, such as monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia viruses continue to infect humans as well as wild and domestic animals. Currently, the geographical distribution of poxviruses in a broad range of hosts worldwide raises concerns regarding the possibility of outbreaks or viral dissemination to new geographical regions. Here, we review the global host ranges and current epidemiological understanding of zoonotic orthopoxviruses while focusing on orthopoxviruses with epidemic potential, including monkeypox, cowpox, and vaccinia viruses.
PSGL-1 Inhibits the Incorporation of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoproteins into Pseudovirions and Impairs Pseudovirus Attachment and Infectivity
Authors: He Sijia , Waheed Abdul A. , Hetrick Brian , Dabbagh Deemah , Akhrymuk Ivan V. , Kehn-Hall Kylene , Freed Eric O. , Wu Yuntao
Published: December 2020

P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) is a cell surface glycoprotein that binds to P-, E-, and L-selectins to mediate the tethering and rolling of immune cells on the surface of the endothelium for cell migration into inflamed tissues. PSGL-1 has been identified as an interferon-γ (INF-γ)-regulated factor that restricts HIV-1 infectivity, and has recently been found to possess broad-spectrum antiviral activities. Here we report that the expression of PSGL-1 in virus-producing cells impairs the incorporation of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) glycoproteins into pseudovirions and blocks pseudovirus attachment and infection of target cells. These findings suggest that PSGL-1 may potentially inhibit coronavirus replication in PSGL-1+ cells
SARS-CoV-2 Nucleocapsid Protein Interacts with RIG-I and Represses RIG-Mediated IFN-β Production
Authors: Chen Keli , Xiao Feng , Hu Dingwen , Ge Weiwei , Tian Mingfu , Wang Wenbiao , Pan Pan , Wu Kailang , Wu Jianguo
Published: December 2020

SARS-CoV-2 is highly pathogenic in humans and poses a great threat to public health worldwide. Clinical data shows a disturbed type I interferon (IFN) response during the virus infection. In this study, we discovered that the nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV-2 plays an important role in the inhibition of interferon beta (IFN-β) production. N protein repressed IFN-β production induced by poly(I:C) or upon Sendai virus (SeV) infection. We noted that N protein also suppressed IFN-β production, induced by several signaling molecules downstream of the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) pathway, which is the crucial pattern recognition receptor (PRR) responsible for identifying RNA viruses. Moreover, our data demonstrated that N protein interacted with the RIG-I protein through the DExD/H domain, which has ATPase activity and plays an important role in the binding of immunostimulatory RNAs. These results suggested that SARS-CoV-2 N protein suppresses the IFN-β response through targeting the initial step, potentially the cellular PRR–RNA-recognition step in the innate immune pathway. Therefore, we propose that the SARS-CoV-2 N protein represses IFN-β production by interfering with RIG-I.
Bacteriophage Treatment: Critical Evaluation of Its Application on World Health Organization Priority Pathogens
Authors: AL-Ishaq Raghad Khalid , Skariah Sini , Büsselberg Dietrich
Published: December 2020

Bacteriophages represent an effective, natural, and safe strategy against bacterial infections. Multiple studies have assessed phage therapy’s efficacy and safety as an alternative approach to combat the emergence of multi drug-resistant pathogens. This systematic review critically evaluates and summarizes published articles on phages as a treatment option for Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus faecalis infection models. It also illustrates appropriate phage selection criteria, as well as recommendations for successful therapy. Published studies included in this review were identified through EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of Science databases and were published in the years between 2010 to 2020. Among 1082 identified articles, 29 studies were selected using specific inclusion and exclusion criteria and evaluated. Most studies (93.1%) showed high efficacy and safety for the tested phages, and a few studies also examined the effect of phage therapy combined with antibiotics (17.2%) and resistance development (27.6%). Further clinical studies, phage host identification, and regulatory processes are required to evaluate phage therapy’s safety and efficacy and advance their clinical use.
A Novel Ebola Virus VP40 Matrix Protein-Based Screening for Identification of Novel Candidate Medical Countermeasures
Authors: Bennett Ryan P. , Finch Courtney L. , Postnikova Elena N. , Stewart Ryan A. , Cai Yingyun , Yu Shuiqing , Liang Janie , Dyall Julie , Salter Jason D. , Smith Harold C. , Kuhn Jens H.
Published: December 2020

Filoviruses, such as Ebola virus and Marburg virus, are of significant human health concern. From 2013 to 2016, Ebola virus caused 11,323 fatalities in Western Africa. Since 2018, two Ebola virus disease outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo resulted in 2354 fatalities. Although there is progress in medical countermeasure (MCM) development (in particular, vaccines and antibody-based therapeutics), the need for efficacious small-molecule therapeutics remains unmet. Here we describe a novel high-throughput screening assay to identify inhibitors of Ebola virus VP40 matrix protein association with viral particle assembly sites on the interior of the host cell plasma membrane. Using this assay, we screened nearly 3000 small molecules and identified several molecules with the desired inhibitory properties. In secondary assays, one identified compound, sangivamycin, inhibited not only Ebola viral infectivity but also that of other viruses. This finding indicates that it is possible for this new VP40-based screening method to identify highly potent MCMs against Ebola virus and its relatives.
Design of a Hybrid Electric Vehicle Powertrain for Performance Optimization Considering Various Powertrain Components and Configurations
Authors: Tran Manh-Kien , Akinsanya Mobaderin , Panchal Satyam , Fraser Roydon , Fowler Michael
Published: December 2020

Emissions from the transportation sector due to the consumption of fossil fuels by conventional vehicles have been a major cause of climate change. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are a cleaner solution to reduce the emissions caused by transportation, and well-designed HEVs can also outperform conventional vehicles. This study examines various powertrain configurations and components to design a hybrid powertrain that can satisfy the performance criteria given by the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge competition. These criteria include acceleration, braking, driving range, fuel economy, and emissions. A total of five different designs were investigated using MATLAB/Simulink simulations to obtain the necessary performance metrics. Only one powertrain design was found to satisfy all the performance targets. This design is a P4 hybrid powertrain consisting of a 2.5 L engine from General Motors, a 150 kW electric motor with an electronic drive unit (EDU) from American Axle Manufacturing, and a 133 kW battery pack from Hybrid Design Services.
Small Ruminant Production in Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia: A Systematic Review of Constraints and Potential Solutions
Authors: Armson Bryony , Ekiri Abel B. , Alafiatayo Ruth , Cook Alasdair J.
Published: December 2020

Sheep and goats are an important commodity for smallholder farmers across East Africa, but severe limitations remain in small ruminant production. This review aimed to identify specific constraints to small ruminant production and identify practical and sustainable solutions. From 54 eligible articles, most were focused in Ethiopia (n = 44) with only 6 studies performed in Tanzania and 4 in Uganda. The most frequently identified constraint in Ethiopia and Tanzania was disease (n = 28 and n = 3, respectively), and in Uganda, it was the lack of access to veterinary services (n = 4). Additionally, access to good breeding stock, lack of animal records, and an established marketing chain were also mentioned in all the three countries. Ectoparasites, gastrointestinal parasites, orf, and sheep/goat pox were the most frequently mentioned disease challenges causing productivity losses. Many articles provided potential solutions as suggested by farmers, including improved access to veterinary services and medicines, improved record keeping, and access to good breeding stock. Farmers highlighted the value of community-based participatory development plans to increase education on disease control, land management, and husbandry. This review also highlighted knowledge gaps, the need for further research, particularly in Tanzania and Uganda, and the importance of addressing multiple challenges holistically due to the links between constraints.