bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Corporate Social Responsibility of Companies Producing PFOA Containing Waxes for Cross-Country Skiing
Authors: Svermova Pavla , Cernik Miroslav
Published: June 2020

The chemical industry is a particularly sensitive sector that very often works with toxic, harmful and dangerous substances. This paper offers insight into the corporate socially responsible (CSR) behaviour of a specific segment of the chemical industry—the production of fluorinated ski waxes. Perfluorinated compounds, which excel in water and fat stability and repellency, are nowadays considered as harmful to human health and nature. During 2020, the basic compound, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), will be banned, and finding its replacement will be a difficult task. So far, there are no alternatives in terms of environmentally friendly compounds that can maintain the desired properties of extreme ski glide. Based on a questionnaire distributed to twenty wax producers worldwide, we have concluded that, although the attitudes of companies towards CSR certification was rather negative (87.5%), and companies had not developed or documented any CSR policy/strategy with specific goals, they found CSR activities/instruments beneficial and important. The survey highlighted the fact that companies were aware that their products are dangerous for the environment, and that environmental issues are important for all of the responders, despite them being mostly without certified systems. The size of a company had no significant effect on their attitude. Micro and small producers were involved in raising awareness of environmental policies and responsibilities to the same extent (maybe even more) as medium or large companies. We also found varying behaviours between companies involved in environmental programs and those who were not. The companies involved felt a strong attitude towards all three pillars of CSR, which are the environment, as well as social and economic aspects. Those companies not involved had a strong attitude towards their customers, but not towards their employees, suppliers or the wider community. They also had stronger feelings about the quality of their products and economic profit, but without a strong approach to the related environmental issues. The Norwegian approach and the commitment of the company Swix to CSR are two positive examples leading to a fluorine-free future.
Collaboration in the Making—Towards a Practice-Based Approach to University Innovation Intermediary Organisations
Authors: Blix Germundsson Lisa , Augustinsson Sören , Lidén Alina
Published: June 2020

The study aims to understand and explore situations of collaboration between various actors in connection with a university-driven innovation intermediary organisation, and how the intermediary organisation facilitates collaboration in the making. To this end, we employ a case of a university-driven long-lasting intermediary organisation within the agricultural and forestry sectors. We examine three collaborative situations, using practice-based research and process theories as theoretical perspectives. A narrative approach is adopted as the method of investigation. The findings are presented in a conceptual model where the structures of the intermediary organisation are translated into practices, against which individuals can develop their collaboration processes. It is concluded that collaboration in the making is formed in the interplay between structures, practices and processes in relations between people. This implies that the organising of collaboration should focus its attention not only on structures but also on the practices and processes formed between people. The study contributes to the understanding of the organising of university innovation intermediary organisations by untangling the relations between structures, practices and processes in situations of collaboration between people.
Application of Bipartite Networks to the Study of Water Quality
Authors: Pineda-Pineda Jair J. , Martínez-Martínez C. T. , Méndez-Bermúdez J. A. , Muñoz-Rojas Jesús , Sigarreta José M.
Published: June 2020

Water is a basic natural resource for life and the sustainable development of society. Methods to assess water quality in freshwater ecosystems based on environmental quality bioindicators have proven to be low cost, reliable, and can be adapted to ecosystems with well-defined structures. The objective of this paper is to propose an interdisciplinary approach for the assessment of water quality in freshwater ecosystems through bioindicators. From the presence/absence of bioindicator organisms and their sensitivity/tolerance to environmental stress, we constructed a bipartite network, G. In this direction, we propose a new method that combines two research approaches, Graph Theory and Random Matrix Theory (RMT). Through the topological properties of the graph G, we introduce a topological index, called J P ( G ) , to evaluate the water quality, and we study its properties and relationships with known indices, such as Biological Monitoring Working Party ( B M W P ) and Shannon diversity ( H ′ ). Furthermore, we perform a scaling analysis of random bipartite networks with already specialized parameters for our case study. We validate our proposal for its application in the reservoir of Guájaro, Colombia. The results obtained allow us to infer that the proposed techniques are useful for the study of water quality, since they detect significant changes in the ecosystem.
Evaluating Environmental Impact in Foundations and Structures through Disaggregated Models: Towards the Decarbonisation of the Construction Sector
Authors: Mercader-Moyano Pilar , Roldán-Porras Jesús
Published: June 2020

Having a tool in Spanish regulations to evaluate the sustainability of the construction process in a simple and efficient way (Annex 13 of the Structural Concrete Instruction EHE-08) means an advance with respect to regulations in other countries. However, the complexity of homogenising the conditions that affect the execution of each structure, which are of a very heterogeneous and variable nature, in order to be able to evaluate their contribution to sustainability within the same reference framework, is the greatest obstacle and can have a great influence on the representativeness of the obtained results. However, there are variables that, given their specificity and nature, are not contemplated in this methodology (dust, noise and vibration emission, transportation). This paper proposes a complementary disaggregated model to evaluate the sustainability of variables that are not considered, namely the transportation of materials to the worksite, the commute of workers, the construction process, the emissions of dust, noise and vibrations, as well as the necessary load tests. The results of the application of this model to the real case of the foundations of two singular buildings, show the importance that these previously unexamined variables can have when choosing the most sustainable technical solution in terms of CO2 emissions.
Nested Shallow Geothermal Systems
Authors: García-Gil Alejandro , Mejías Moreno Miguel , Garrido Schneider Eduardo , Marazuela Miguel Ángel , Abesser Corinna , Mateo Lázaro Jesús , Sánchez Navarro José Ángel
Published: June 2020

The long-term sustainability of shallow geothermal systems in dense urbanized areas can be potentially compromised by the existence of thermal interfaces. Thermal interferences between systems have to be avoided to prevent the loss of system performance. Nevertheless, in this work we provide evidence of a positive feedback from thermal interferences in certain controlled situations. Two real groundwater heat pump systems were investigated using real exploitation data sets to estimate the thermal energy demand bias and, by extrapolation, to assess the nature of thermal interferences between the systems. To do that, thermal interferences were modelled by means of a calibrated and validated 3D city-scale numerical model reproducing groundwater flow and heat transport. Results obtained showed a 39% (522 MWh·yr−1) energy imbalance towards cooling for one of the systems, which generated a hot thermal plume towards the downgradient and second system investigated. The nested system in the hot thermal plume only used groundwater for heating, thus establishing a positive symbiotic relationship between them. Considering the energy balance of both systems together, a reduced 9% imbalance was found, hence ensuring the long-term sustainability and renewability of the shallow geothermal resource exploited. The nested geothermal systems described illustrate the possibilities of a new management strategy in shallow geothermal energy governance.
Study of Urban Greenery Models to Prevent Overheating of Parked Vehicles in P + R Facilities in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Authors: Fikfak Alenka , Lavtižar Kristijan , Grom Janez Peter , Kosanović Saja , Zbašnik-Senegačnik Martina
Published: June 2020

Parking in park-and-ride (P + R) facilities on the outskirts of a city reduces the traffic inside the cities and follows the principles of sustainable mobility. However, large paved (asphalt) surfaces create urban heat islands (UHI). This causes the temperature to rise in vehicles during full-day parking, which has a negative effect on comfort level and driving performance. This study was conceptualized as two-stage research. The first (preliminary) stage dealt with the measurement and analysis of temperature data at two nearby open parking lots in the city of Ljubljana, one of which was the main research spatial area, P + R Barje (L1), and Trnovo parking (L2), which was used for comparison in the first-stage research. In the preliminary research, we underlined the problem of long-term parking in parking areas exposed to heatwaves (HW). The second stage involved the studying of greening schemes in P + R facilities, which would allow for optimal shading during parking. Advanced 3D and 4D models using ENVI-met and LEONARDO software were developed, which assessed the parking surfaces and the areas of optimum outdoor comfort. Shading by greenery was adopted in this paper, as the strategy aimed at improving the conditions by modelling different variants of greening the parking lot L1.
Towards a Typology of Sustainability Practices: A Study of the Potentials and Challenges of Sustainable Practices at the Firm Level
Authors: Jacobsen Simone Søgaard , Korsgaard Steffen , Günzel-Jensen Franziska
Published: June 2020

International awareness and demands for sustainable development have pushed the sustainability narrative into the forefront of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a result, the call for sustainable business practices has never been greater. While businesses are both needed and eager to contribute to sustainable development, current literature lacks insights into how businesses can practice sustainability. This paper aims to fill this gap and develop an understanding of the different categories of sustainability practices that firms adopt, and the potentials and challenges associated with them. Based on a qualitative multiple case study, we identify four categories of sustainability practices including inspiring and informing, productizing, co-creating and system building. We integrate these findings into a sustainability maturity typology, proposing that these four practices are associated with an increasing intensity of sustainability intention, so that firms realize increasing levels of sustainability in the focal business practices as they move from inspiring and informing through to system building. The article concludes by arguing that there is no generic “one size fits all” approach to support sustainability practices as approaches need to fit a firm’s sustainability maturity.
Mapping and Assessing Soil Sealing in Padua Municipality through Biotope Area Factor Index
Authors: Pristeri Guglielmo , Peroni Francesca , Pappalardo Salvatore Eugenio , Codato Daniele , Castaldo Anna Giulia , Masi Antonio , De Marchi Massimo
Published: June 2020

Soil sealing is a worldwide phenomenon of covering of natural or seminatural soil with impervious surfaces, such as built-up or paved surfaces. It is widely recognized as a major environmental issue which drives landscape fragmentation and ecosystem services degradation and loss. Italy is one of European countries with the highest extent of soil sealing. The most affected area is northern Italy, especially the Po Valley with more than 12% of sealed surfaces. According to official data, Veneto Region and the city of Padua are seriously affected by this phenomenon. The Biotope Area Factor is a consolidated ecological urban index for mapping soil sealing, adopted in different European cities to support urban planning; it expresses the ratio of the ecologically effective surface area in relation to the total land area according to land cover classes. The general aim of this study is to map and to assess soil sealing in the whole municipal territory of Padua using the Biotope Area Factor (BAF) index. We tested and adopted a digital land cover map together with aerial images to perform a BAF analysis on the whole municipal territory of Padua. By using sample areas previously analyzed, we validated our source data by a double spatial validation process; therefore, soil sealing analysis was scaled-up to the municipality territory. Results show that in the city of Padua, the average BAF index value is 0.6; totally permeable surfaces (BAF = 1) cover 59.5%, whereas totally “sealed” surfaces (BAF = 0) are 40.3% of the municipal territory (93 km2). Most of the sealed soil is located in the east sector and in the historical core of the city, with BAF values ranging from 0 to 0.2. A particularly critical area is identified within the new industrial area of the city, which is strongly affected by soil sealing. BAF maps are useful tools to identify critical areas by geovisualizing surface permeability at a very detailed scale and by enabling further analyses for hydrogeological risk assessment and urban climate regulation. Moreover, the use of BAF maps at urban scale today represent an important tool for urban management, especially for policy makers who are planning mitigation and compensation measures to control soil sealing.
Tendencies of Residents in Sanjiangyuan National Park to the Optimization of Livelihoods and Conservation of the Natural Reserves
Authors: Ma Ting , Xu Kun , Xing Yiming , Shu Hang , Sang Weiguo
Published: June 2020

Current research on residents’ ecological protection behaviors commonly adopts the socio-economic approach at the individual level. Yet, such an approach might ignore the impacts of potential psychological factors on resident behaviors, such as on farmers’ willingness and perception to conservation (collectively defined as residents’ tendencies in this study). This research analyzed the factors influencing residents’ preferences for conservation and livelihood trade-off at the community level in Sanjiangyuan National Park, China. We conclude: First, the factors associated with government funding lead to residents’ inclination to trust local government. Subsequently, abundant wealth contributes to the open-mindedness of residents to accept that “changes” are worthy. Second, despite the limited level of education, the fact that residents do not consider terms and conditions of regulations does not hinder recent social and ecological transformation. Third, residents’ comparative support for policies and regulations are commonly related to their interests in livelihood and ecological protection, but the support levels differ among different counties due to geographical and social heterogeneities. Collectively, policymakers should realize the importance of residents’ tendencies as well as their confidence in local government when planning to optimize social ecological transformation policies with a balance between the compensations given and benefits received.
Sustainable Management of Popular Culture Tourism Destinations: A Critical Evaluation of the Twilight Saga Servicescapes
Authors: Lundberg Christine , Lindström Kristina N.
Published: June 2020

Popular culture tourism destinations are made up of constructed realities transforming local communities into fictional servicescapes. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how the unpacking of a key concept (servicescape), applied to destination management, can support the transition to sustainable destination development in the face of popular culture tourism. The aim is to unpack the servicescape concept by exploring how it is constructed focusing on Twilight Saga representations and production processes at four destinations. The data consists of photographs and video clips of the servicescapes and interviews with key stakeholders. The findings support previous servicescape research dimensions and elements but also identify critical areas of power, control, and conflict when introducing a process approach to the servicescape concept. The study provides insights into the complex exchanges that take place in the development of servicescapes at popular culture tourism destinations. The study thereby contributes to an elaborated and holistic servicescape model, stressing the importance of strategic design and local stakeholders’ early involvement in the preproduction of popular culture tourism phenomena.
Trapezium-Type Inequalities for Raina’s Fractional Integrals Operator Using Generalized Convex Functions
Authors: Vivas-Cortez Miguel , Kashuri Artion , Hernández Jorge E. Hernández
Published: June 2020

The authors have reviewed a wide production of scientific articles dealing with the evolution of the concept of convexity and its various applications, and based on this they have detected the relationship that can be established between trapezoidal inequalities, generalized convex functions, and special functions, in particular with the so-called Raina function, which generalizes other better known ones such as the hypergeometric function and the Mittag–Leffler function. The authors approach this situation by studying the Hermite–Hadamard inequality, establishing a useful identity using Raina’s fractional integral operator in the setting of ϕ -convex functions, obtaining some integral inequalities connected with the right-hand side of Hermite–Hadamard-type inequalities for Raina’s fractional integrals. Various special cases have been identified.
An Improved MV Method for Stock Allocation Based on the State-Space Measure of Cognitive Bias with a Hybrid Algorithm
Authors: Wang Liwen , Wu Hecheng , Li Gang , Lu Weixue
Published: June 2020

In classical finance theory, cognitive bias does not play any role in predicting returns. With the development of the economy, the classical theory gradually finds it difficult to offset the irrational demand through arbitrage. Due to the rise of behavioral economics, how to allocate stock portfolios in the highly subjective environment is an unavoidable problem. Considering the decision heterogeneity between the rational market and the irrational one, the mean-variance (MV) method was improved in the construction of a market bias index for stock portfolio allocation, which we called EMACB (exponential moving average of cognitive bias)-variance method. Besides, due to the lack of related research, we introduced a measure of aggregate investor cognitive bias by adopting the state-space model. Finally, the proposed method was applied in an investment allocation example to prove its feasibility, and its advantages were emphasized by a comparison with another relevant approach.
Persistence Analysis and Prediction of Low-Visibility Events at Valladolid Airport, Spain
Authors: Cornejo-Bueno Sara , Casillas-Pérez David , Cornejo-Bueno Laura , Chidean Mihaela I. , Caamaño Antonio J. , Sanz-Justo Julia , Casanova-Mateo Carlos , Salcedo-Sanz Sancho
Published: June 2020

This work presents an analysis of low-visibility event persistence and prediction at Villanubla Airport (Valladolid, Spain), considering Runway Visual Range (RVR) time series in winter. The analysis covers long- and short-term persistence and prediction of the series, with different approaches. In the case of long-term analysis, a Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) approach is applied in order to estimate large-scale RVR time series similarities. The short-term persistence analysis of low-visibility events is evaluated by means of a Markov chain analysis of the binary time series associated with low-visibility events. We finally discuss an hourly short-term prediction of low-visibility events, using different approaches, some of them coming from the persistence analysis through Markov chain models, and others based on Machine Learning (ML) techniques. We show that a Mixture of Experts approach involving persistence-based methods and Machine Learning techniques provides the best results in this prediction problem.
A Feature Selection Model for Network Intrusion Detection System Based on PSO, GWO, FFA and GA Algorithms
Authors: Almomani Omar
Published: June 2020

The network intrusion detection system (NIDS) aims to identify virulent action in a network. It aims to do that through investigating the traffic network behavior. The approaches of data mining and machine learning (ML) are extensively used in the NIDS to discover anomalies. Regarding feature selection, it plays a significant role in improving the performance of NIDSs. That is because anomaly detection employs a great number of features that require much time. Therefore, the feature selection approach affects the time needed to investigate the traffic behavior and improve the accuracy level. The researcher of the present study aimed to propose a feature selection model for NIDSs. This model is based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO), grey wolf optimizer (GWO), firefly optimization (FFA) and genetic algorithm (GA). The proposed model aims at improving the performance of NIDSs. The proposed model deploys wrapper-based methods with the GA, PSO, GWO and FFA algorithms for selecting features using Anaconda Python Open Source, and deploys filtering-based methods for the mutual information (MI) of the GA, PSO, GWO and FFA algorithms that produced 13 sets of rules. The features derived from the proposed model are evaluated based on the support vector machine (SVM) and J48 ML classifiers and the UNSW-NB15 dataset. Based on the experiment, Rule 13 (R13) reduces the features into 30 features. Rule 12 (R12) reduces the features into 13 features. Rule 13 and Rule 12 offer the best results in terms of F-measure, accuracy and sensitivity. The genetic algorithm (GA) shows good results in terms of True Positive Rate (TPR) and False Negative Rate (FNR). As for Rules 11, 9 and 8, they show good results in terms of False Positive Rate (FPR), while PSO shows good results in terms of precision and True Negative Rate (TNR). It was found that the intrusion detection system with fewer features will increase accuracy. The proposed feature selection model for NIDS is rule-based pattern recognition to discover computer network attack which is in the scope of Symmetry journal.
AACS: Attribute-Based Access Control Mechanism for Smart Locks
Authors: Xin Zhenghao , Liu Liang , Hancke Gerhard
Published: June 2020

This article researched the security and application of smart locks in Internet of Things environments in the domain of computer and engineer science and symmetry. Smart locks bring much convenience for users. However, most smart lock systems are cloud-based and it is problematic managing and enforcing the permissions of an authorized device if the device is offline. Moreover, most smart lock systems lack fine-grained access control and cascading removal of permissions. In this paper, we leverage attribute-based access control mechanisms to manage the access of visitors with different identities. We use identity-based encryption to verify the identity of the visitor. In our proposed system, the administrator uses the policy set in the smart lock to implement access control on the device side, which reduces the dependence of access control on the server. We set attributes such as role, time, date, and location to have fine-grained control over access to different permissions and roles that might appear in the house. And the scheme provides the cascading delete function while providing the group access function. Our solution considers multiple roles in the home as well as hierarchical management issues, and improves the applicability of the smart lock system in complex residential and commercial situations. In the experimental section, we show that our system can be applied to premises with many different inhabitant identities.
Asymmetries in Football: The Pass—Goal Paradox
Authors: Antequera Daniel R. , Garrido David , Echegoyen Ignacio , López del Campo Roberto , Resta Serra Ricardo , Buldú Javier M.
Published: June 2020

We investigate the relation between the number of passes made by a football team and the number of goals. We analyze the 380 matches of a complete season of the Spanish national league “LaLiga" (2018/2019). We observe how the number of scored goals is positively correlated with the number of passes made by a team. In this way, teams on the top (bottom) of the ranking at the end of the season make more (less) passes than the rest of the teams. However, we observe a strong asymmetry when the analysis is made depending on the part of the match. Interestingly, fewer passes are made in the second half of a match, while, at the same time, more goals are scored. This paradox appears in the majority of teams, and it is independent of the number of passes made. These results confirm that goals in the first half of matches are more “costly” in terms of passes than those scored in second halves.
How do Uremic Toxins Affect the Endothelium?
Authors: Cunha Regiane Stafim da , Santos Andressa Flores , Barreto Fellype Carvalho , Stinghen Andréa Emilia Marques
Published: June 2020

Uremic toxins can induce endothelial dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Indeed, the structure of the endothelial monolayer is damaged in CKD, and studies have shown that the uremic toxins contribute to the loss of cell–cell junctions, increasing permeability. Membrane proteins, such as transporters and receptors, can mediate the interaction between uremic toxins and endothelial cells. In these cells, uremic toxins induce oxidative stress and activation of signaling pathways, including the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways. The activation of these pathways leads to overexpression of proinflammatory (e.g., monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, E-selectin) and prothrombotic (e.g., tissue factor) proteins. Uremic toxins also induce the formation of endothelial microparticles (EMPs), which can lead to the activation and dysfunction of other cells, and modulate the expression of microRNAs that have an important role in the regulation of cellular processes. The resulting endothelial dysfunction contributes to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and thrombotic events. Therefore, uremic toxins as well as the pathways they modulated may be potential targets for therapies in order to improve treatment for patients with CKD.
Mobilizing Toxins for Cancer Treatment: Historical Perspectives and Current Strategies
Authors: Kopenhaver Jessica , Carlson Robert D. , Snook Adam E.
Published: June 2020

The level of complexity in a disease like cancer presents a number of challenges for effective treatment development, which require significant innovation to overcome [...]
Analysis of Cry1Ah Toxin-Binding Reliability to Midgut Membrane Proteins of the Asian Corn Borer
Authors: Prabu Sivaprasath , Shabbir Muhammad Zeeshan , Wang Zhenying , He Kanglai
Published: June 2020

Evolution of insect resistance to Bt toxins challenges the use of Cry toxins to control agricultural pests. In lepidopterans, Cry toxin affinity towards multiple midgut epithelial receptors has become a matter of dispute. Cry1Ah toxin-binding proteins were identified in the larval midgut of susceptible (ACB-BtS) and resistant (ACB-AhR) strains of the Asian corn borer (ACB). A pull-down assay was performed using biotinylated Cry1Ah toxin, and the binding proteins were identified by employing liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This study aimed to find the binding consistency of the midgut epithelial protein to the Cry1Ah toxin. The binding proteins from different fractions of SDS-PAGE showed a different pattern. We observed an isoform of prophenoloxidase PPO1b (UniProt Acc No. A0A1Q1MKI0), which was found only in the ACB-AhR fractions. Prophenoloxidase (proPO) is an extraordinary defense molecule activated in insect species during pathogen invasion and the wound healing process. Importantly, this prophenoloxidase might have direct/indirect interaction with the Cry1Ah toxin. Our data also suggest that factors like techniques, enrichment of binding proteins in the sample and the reversible and irreversible nature of the brush border membrane vesicles (BBMVs) to Cry toxins could cause the inconsistency in the protein–protein interactions. Moreover, inside the larva midgut, the influence of the Cry toxins under physiological conditions might be different from the laboratory procedures.
Prevalence and Genetic Diversity of Atypical Porcine Pestivirus (APPV) Detected in South Korean Wild Boars
Authors: Choe SeEun , Park Gyu-Nam , Cha Ra Mi , Hyun Bang-Hun , Park Bong-Kyun , An Dong-Jun
Published: June 2020

Atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV), currently classified as pestivirus K, causes congenital tremor (CT) type A-II in piglets. Eighteen APPV strains were identified from 2297 South Korean wild boars captured in 2019. Phylogenetic analysis of the structural protein E2 and nonstructural proteins NS3 and Npro classified the APPV viruses, including reference strains, into Clades I, II and III. Clade I was divided into four subclades; however, the strains belonging to the four subclades differed slightly, depending on the tree analysis, the NS3, E2, and Npro genes. The maximum-likelihood method was assigned to South Korean wild boar APPV strains to various subclades within the three trees: subclades I.1 and I.2 in the E2 tree, subclade I.1 in the Npro tree, and subclades I.1 and I.4 in the NS3 ML tree. In conclusion, APPV among South Korean wild boars belonging to Clade I may be circulating at a higher level than among the South Korean domestic pig populations.
Role of the Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor GBF1 in the Replication of RNA Viruses
Authors: Martínez José L. , Arias Carlos F.
Published: June 2020

The guanine nucleotide exchange factor GBF1 is a well-known factor that can activate different ADP-ribosylation factor (Arf) proteins during the regulation of different cellular vesicular transport processes. In the last decade, it has become increasingly evident that GBF1 can also regulate different steps of the replication cycle of RNA viruses belonging to different virus families. GBF1 has been shown not only to facilitate the intracellular traffic of different viral and cellular elements during infection, but also to modulate the replication of viral RNA, the formation and maturation of viral replication complexes, and the processing of viral proteins through mechanisms that do not depend on its canonical role in intracellular transport. Here, we review the various roles that GBF1 plays during the replication of different RNA viruses.
Experimental Characterization of the Hydraulic Jump Profile and Velocity Distribution in a Stilling Basin Physical Model
Authors: Macián-Pérez Juan , Vallés-Morán Francisco , Sánchez-Gómez Santiago , De-Rossi-Estrada Marco , García-Bartual Rafael
Published: June 2020

The study of the hydraulic jump developed in stilling basins is complex to a high degree due to the intense velocity and pressure fluctuations and the significant air entrainment. It is this complexity, bound to the practical interest in stilling basins for energy dissipation purposes, which brings the importance of physical modeling into the spotlight. However, despite the importance of stilling basins in engineering, bibliographic studies have traditionally focused on the classical hydraulic jump. Therefore, the objective of this research was to study the characteristics of the hydraulic jump in a typified USBR II stilling basin, through a physical model. The free surface profile and the velocity distribution of the hydraulic jump developed within this structure were analyzed in the model. To this end, an experimental campaign was carried out, assessing the performance of both, innovative techniques such as the time-of-flight camera and traditional instrumentation like the Pitot tube. The results showed a satisfactory representation of the free surface profile and the velocity distribution, despite some discussed limitations. Furthermore, the instrumentation employed revealed the important influence of the energy dissipation devices on the flow properties. In particular, relevant differences were found for the hydraulic jump shape and the maximum velocity positions within the measured vertical profiles, when compared to classical hydraulic jumps.
Application of Geologically Constrained Machine Learning Method in Characterizing Paleokarst Reservoirs of Tarim Basin, China
Authors: Xin Wei , Tian Fei , Shan Xiaocai , Zhou Yongjian , Rong Huazhong , Yang Changchun
Published: June 2020

As deep carbonate fracture-cavity paleokarst reservoirs are deeply buried and highly heterogeneous, and the responded seismic signals have weak amplitudes and low signal-to-noise ratios. Machine learning in seismic exploration provides a new perspective to solve the above problems, which is rapidly developing with compelling results. Applying machine learning algorithms directly on deep seismic signals or seismic attributes of deep carbonate fracture-cavity reservoirs without any prior knowledge constraints will result in wasted computation and reduce the accuracy. We propose a method of combining geological constraints and machine learning to describe deep carbonate fracture-cavity paleokarst reservoirs. By empirical mode decomposition, the time–frequency features of the seismic data are obtained and then a sensitive frequency is selected using geological prior constraints, which is input to fuzzy C-means cluster for characterizing the reservoir distribution. Application on Tahe oilfield data shows the potential of highlighting subtle geologic structures that might otherwise escape unnoticed by applying machine learning directly.
Measurement of Wastewater Discharge in Sewer Pipes Using Image Analysis
Authors: Ji Hyon , Yoo Sung , Lee Bong-Jae , Koo Dan , Kang Jeong-Hee
Published: June 2020

Generally, the amount of wastewater in sewerage pipes is measured using sensor-based devices such as submerged area velocity flow meters or non-contact flow meters. However, these flow meters do not provide accurate measurements because of impurities, corrosion, and measurement instability due to high turbidity. However, cameras have advantages such as their low cost, easy service, and convenient operation compared to the sensors. Therefore, in this study, we examined the following three methods for measuring the flow rate by capturing images inside of a sewer pipe using a camera and analyzing the images to calculate the water level: direct visual inspection and recording, image processing, and deep learning. The MATLAB image processing toolbox was used for analysis. The image processing found the boundary line by adjusting the contrast of the image or removing noise; a network to find the boundary line between wastewater and sewer pipe was created after training the image segmentation results and placing them into three categories using deep learning. From the recognized water levels, geometrical features were used to identify the boundary lines, and flow velocities and flow rates were calculated from Manning’s equation. Using direct inspection and image-processing techniques, boundary lines in images were detected at rates of 12% and 53%, respectively. Although the deep-learning model required training, it demonstrated 100% water-level detection, thereby proving to be the most advantageous method. Moreover, there is enough potential to increase the accuracy of deep learning, and it can be a possible replacement for existing flow measurement sensors.
Experimental Characterization of Air Entrainment in Rectangular Free Falling Jets
Authors: Carrillo José M. , Ortega Patricio R. , Castillo Luis G. , García Juan T.
Published: June 2020

This experimental study presents an analysis of the air–water flow in rectangular free-falling jets. The measurements were obtained downstream of a 1.05 m wide sharp-crested weir. The properties of the air–water flow were registered in several cross-sections of the nappe. A conductivity phase detection probe was employed, sampling at 20 kHz. Three different specific flows were considered, with energy head over the crest of 0.080, 0.109 and 0.131 m to avoid scale effects. To analyze the flow properties, air–water parameters during the fall, such as the phase change spatial distribution, air–water phase change of frequency, Sauter mean diameter, bubble chord length, turbulent intensities and spectral analyses, were studied. The jet thickness behaviors (inner jet core and free surface) were also analyzed in the falling jet. The jet thickness related to a void fraction of 90% seems to be similar to the theoretical proposal obtained by Castillo et al. (2015), while the jet thickness related to a void fraction of 10% seems to be similar to the jet thickness due to gravitational effects. The results show relative differences in the behavior of the upper and lower sides of the nappe. The experimental data allow us to improve on and complement previous research.
Riparian Ground Beetles (Coleoptera) on the Banks of Running and Standing Waters
Authors: Kirichenko-Babko Marina , Danko Yaroslav , Franus Małgorzata , Stępniewski Witold , Babko Roman
Published: June 2020

Rivers and their floodplains offer a wide variety of habitats for invertebrates. River ecosystems are subject to high anthropic influence: as a result the channel morphology is changed, swamps are drained, floodplains are built up, and rivers are polluted. All this has radically changed the environment for the inhabitants of the floodplains, including riparian stenotopic species. Although riparian arthropods are oriented primarily to the production of hydro-ecosystems, the type of water body—lentic or lotic—has a determining effect in the structure of communities. Most riparian arthropods have evolutionarily adapted to riverbanks with significant areas of open alluvial banks. This paper considered the structure of assemblages of ground beetles associated with the riverbanks and the shores of floodplain lakes and their differences. The banks of rivers and the shores of floodplain lakes were considered separately due to the differences in the habitats associated with them. Our results showed that riverbanks, which experience significant pollution, were actively colonized by vegetation and were unsuitable for most riparian ground beetles. The shores of floodplain lakes, being an optional habitat for riparian arthropods, cannot serve as refugia. Thus, the transformation of floodplain landscapes and river pollution creates a problem for the biological diversity of floodplain ecosystems, since riparian stenotopic species of the riverbanks become rare and disappear.
Discharge Estimation Using Tsallis and Shannon Entropy Theory in Natural Channels
Authors: Vyas Jitendra Kumar , Perumal Muthiah , Moramarco Tommaso
Published: June 2020

Streamflow measurements during high floods is a challenge for which the World Meteorological Organization fosters the development of innovative technologies for achieving an accurate estimation of the discharge. The use of non-contact sensors for monitoring surface flow velocities is of interest to turn these observed values into a cross-sectional mean flow velocity, and subsequently, into discharge if bathymetry is given. In this context, several techniques are available for the estimation of mean flow velocity, starting from observed surface velocities. Among them, the entropy-based methodology for river discharge assessment is often applied by leveraging the theoretical entropic principles of Shannon and Tsallis, both of which link the maximum flow velocity measured at a vertical of the flow area, named the y-axis, and the cross-sectional mean flow velocity at a river site. This study investigates the performance of the two different entropic approaches in estimating the mean flow velocity, starting from the maximum surface flow velocity sampled at the y-axis. A velocity dataset consisting of 70 events of measurements collected at two gauged stations with different geometric and hydraulic characteristics on the Po and Tiber Rivers in Italy was used for the analysis. The comparative evaluation of the velocity distribution observed at the y-axis of all 70 events of measurement was closely reproduced using both the Shannon and Tsallis entropy approaches. Accurate values in terms of the cross-sectional mean flow velocity and discharge were obtained with average errors not exceeding 10%, demonstrating that the Shannon and Tsallis entropy concepts were equally efficient for discharge estimation in any flow conditions.
Towards Integrated Flood Risk and Resilience Management
Authors: Fu Guangtao , Meng Fanlin , Rivas Casado Mónica , Kalawsky Roy S.
Published: June 2020

Flood resilience is an emerging concept for tackling extreme weathers and minimizing the associated adverse impacts. There is a significant knowledge gap in the study of resilience concepts, assessment frameworks and measures, and management strategies. This editorial introduces the latest advances in flood risk and resilience management, which are published in 11 papers in the Special Issue. A synthesis of these papers is provided in the following themes: hazard and risk analysis, flood behaviour analysis, assessment frameworks and metrics, and intervention strategies. The contributions are discussed in the broader context of the field of flood risk and resilience management and future research directions are identified for sustainable flood management.
Uncertainty Quantification in Water Resource Systems Modeling: Case Studies from India
Authors: Rehana Shaik , Rajulapati Chandra Rupa , Ghosh Subimal , Karmakar Subhankar , Mujumdar Pradeep
Published: June 2020

Regional water resource modelling is important for evaluating system performance by analyzing the reliability, resilience and vulnerability criteria of the system. In water resource systems modelling, several uncertainties abound, including data inadequacy and errors, modeling inaccuracy, lack of knowledge, imprecision, inexactness, randomness of natural phenomena, and operational variability, in addition to challenges such as growing population, increasing water demands, diminishing water sources and climate change. Recent advances in modelling techniques along with high computational capabilities have facilitated rapid progress in this area. In India, several studies have been carried out to understand and quantify uncertainties in various basins, enumerate large temporal and regional mismatches between water availability and demands, and project likely changes due to warming. A comprehensive review of uncertainties in water resource modelling from an Indian perspective is yet to be done. In this work, we aim to appraise the quantification of uncertainties in systems modelling in India and discuss various water resource management and operation models. Basic formulation of models for probabilistic, fuzzy and grey/inexact simulation, optimization, and multi-objective analyses to water resource design, planning and operations are presented. We further discuss challenges in modelling uncertainties, missing links in integrated systems approach, along with directions for future.
“Continuous” Backstepping of Holocene Coastal Barrier Systems into Incised Valleys: Insights from the Ofanto and Carapelle-Cervaro Valleys
Authors: De Santis Vincenzo , Caldara Massimo , Pennetta Luigi
Published: June 2020

Two recently recognised incised valleys in the Manfredonia Gulf are described. The first (CCV) is correlated with the current Carapelle and Cervaro streams. The second (OSFV) is correlated mostly with the current Ofanto River. Six seismic facies and seven unconformity-bounded seismic units have been identified, which infilled CCV and OSFV. In CCV, during the sea-level ranges from −29 to −18 and from −18 to −4.7 m b.s.l., two barrier/spit-backbarrier systems formed in the most landward sector of the valley. The lower system was attributed to a time interval between 9.2 ka BP and ca. 8.3 ka BP, chronologically constrained by the ZS2 borehole. In OSFV, during the sea level ranges from −39 to −29, and from −29 and to −18 m b.s.l., two beach/spit-backbarrier systems, arranged in a “continuous” landward backstepping pattern, formed. The phase that contributed most to the beach/spit-backbarrier systems formation is that which is coeval with the formation of the sapropel S1 in the Mediterranean. The conservation of barrier/spit-backbarrier systems arranged in a “continuous” landward backstepping pattern, is due to a strong and continued sediment supply that occurred during the sapropel S1 formation, coupled with low-gradient settings and a regime of slow sea-level rise.
Evaluation of Groundwater and Grey Water Contamination with Heavy Metals and Their Adsorptive Remediation Using Renewable Carbon from a Mixed-Waste Source
Authors: Alomar Taghrid S. , Habila Mohamed A. , Alothman Zeid A. , AlMasoud Najla , Alqahtany Saad Saeed
Published: June 2020

The contamination of water sources with heavy metals is a serious challenge that humanity is facing worldwide. The aim of this work was to evaluate and remediate the metal pollution in groundwater and greywater resources from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition, we investigated the application of ultrasonic power before adsorption to assess the dispersion of renewable carbon from mixed-waste sources (RC-MWS) as an adsorbent and enhance the water purification process. The renewable carbon adsorbent showed high ability to adsorb Pb(II), Zn(II), Cu(II), and Fe(II) from samples of the actual water under study. The conditions for the remediation of water polluted with heavy metals by adsorptive-separation were investigated, including the pH of the adsorption solution, the concentration of the heavy metal(s) under study, and the competition at the adsorption sites. The enhanced adsorption process exhibited the best performance at a pH of 6 and room temperature, and with a contact time of 60 min. Kinetic studies showed that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model was fitted with the adsorption of Pb(II), Zn(II), Cu(II), and Fe(II) onto the RC-MWS. The adsorption data were well fitted by Langmuir isotherms. The Freundlich isotherm was slightly fitted in the cases of Cu(II), Zn(II), and Fe(II), but not in the cases of Pb(II). The developed adsorption process was successfully applied to actual water samples, including water samples from Deria and Mozahemia and samples from clothes and car washing centers in Riyadh city.