bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Efficient Scalable Scheduling MAC Protocol for Underwater Sensor Networks
Authors: Alfouzan Faisal , Shahrabi Alireza , Ghoreyshi Seyed Mohammad , Boutaleb Tuleen
Published: August 2018

Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSNs) utilise acoustic waves with comparatively lower loss and longer range than those of electromagnetic waves. However, energy remains a challenging issue in addition to long latency, high bit error rate, and limited bandwidth. Thus, collision and retransmission should be efficiently handled at Medium Access Control (MAC) layer in order to reduce the energy cost and also to improve the throughput and fairness across the network. In this paper, we propose a new reservation-based distributed MAC protocol called ED-MAC, which employs a duty cycle mechanism to address the spatial-temporal uncertainty and the hidden node problem to effectively avoid collisions and retransmissions. ED-MAC is a conflict-free protocol, where each sensor schedules itself independently using local information. Hence, ED-MAC can guarantee conflict-free transmissions and receptions of data packets. Compared with other conflict-free MAC protocols, ED-MAC is distributed and more reliable, i.e., it schedules according to the priority of sensor nodes which based on their depth in the network. We then evaluate design choices and protocol performance through extensive simulation to study the load effects and network scalability in each protocol. The results show that ED-MAC outperforms the contention-based MAC protocols and achieves a significant improvement in terms of successful delivery ratio, throughput, energy consumption, and fairness under varying offered traffic and number of nodes.
Theoretical Analysis for Bending of Single-Stranded DNA Adsorption on Microcantilever Sensors
Authors: Tan Zou-Qing , Chen Yang-Chun , Zhang Neng-Hui
Published: August 2018

An energy-based model is presented to establish the bending deformation of microcantilever beams induced by single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) adsorption. The total free energy of the DNA-microcantilever sensor was obtained by considering the excluded-volume energy and the polymer stretching energy of DNA chains from mean-field theory, and the mechanical energy of three non-biological layers. The radius of curvature and deflection of the cantilever were determined through the minimum principle of energy. The efficiency of the present model was confirmed through comparison with experimental data. The effects of length, grafting density, salt concentration, thickness, and elastic modulus of substrate on tip deflections are also discussed in this paper. These factors can significantly affect the deflections of the biosensor. This work demonstrates that it is useful to develop a theoretical model for the label-free nanomechanical detection technique.
New DoS Defense Method Based on Strong Designated Verifier Signatures
Authors: De Almeida Marcone Pereira , De Sousa Júnior Rafael Timóteo , García Villalba Luis Javier , Kim Tai-Hoon
Published: August 2018

We present a novel technique for source authentication of a packet stream in a network, which intends to give guarantees that a specific network flow really comes from a claimed origin. This mechanism, named packet level authentication (PLA), can be an essential tool for addressing Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. Based on designated verifier signature schemes, our proposal is an appropriate and unprecedented solution applying digital signatures for DoS prevention. Our scheme does not rely on an expensive public-key infrastructure and makes use of light cryptography machinery that is suitable in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT). We analyze our proposed scheme as a defense measure considering known DoS attacks and present a formal proof of its resilience face to eventual adversaries. Furthermore, we compare our solution to already existent strategies, highlighting its advantages and drawbacks.
An Efficient ISAR Imaging of Targets with Complex Motions Based on a Quasi-Time-Frequency Analysis Bilinear Coherent Algorithm
Authors: Zeng Cao , Qin Mengyi , Li Dong , Liu Hongqing , Chai Yi
Published: August 2018

The inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging for targets with complex motions has always been a challenging task due to the time-varying Doppler parameter, especially at the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) condition. In this paper, an efficient ISAR imaging algorithm for maneuvering targets based on a noise-resistance bilinear coherent integration is developed without the parameter estimation. First, the received signals of the ISAR in a range bin are modelled as a multicomponent quadratic frequency-modulated (QFM) signal after the translational motion compensation. Second, a novel quasi-time-frequency representation noise-resistance bilinear Radon-cubic phase function (CPF)-Fourier transform (RCFT) is proposed, which is based on the coherent integration of the energy of auto-terms along the slope line trajectory. In doing so, the RCFT also effectively suppresses the cross-terms and spurious peaks interference at no expense of the time-frequency resolution loss. Third, the cross-range positions of target’s scatters in ISAR image are obtained via a simple maximization projection from the RCFT result to the Doppler centroid axis, and the final high-resolution ISAR image is thus produced by regrouping all the range-Doppler frequency centroids. Compared with the existing time-frequency analysis-based and parameter estimation-based ISAR imaging algorithms, the proposed method presents the following features: (1) Better cross-term interference suppression at no time-frequency resolution loss; (2) computationally efficient without estimating the parameters of each scatters; (3) higher signal processing gain because of 2-D coherent integration realization and its bilinear function feature. The simulation results are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.
Advanced 3D Photogrammetric Surface Reconstruction of Extensive Objects by UAV Camera Image Acquisition
Authors: Calì Michele , Ambu Rita
Published: August 2018

This paper proposes a replicable methodology to enhance the accuracy of the photogrammetric reconstruction of large-scale objects based on the optimization of the procedures for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) camera image acquisition. The relationships between the acquisition grid shapes, the acquisition grid geometric parameters (pitches, image rates, camera framing, flight heights), and the 3D photogrammetric surface reconstruction accuracy were studied. Ground Sampling Distance (GSD), the necessary number of photos to assure the desired overlapping, and the surface reconstruction accuracy were related to grid shapes, image rate, and camera framing at different flight heights. The established relationships allow to choose the best combination of grid shapes and acquisition grid geometric parameters to obtain the desired accuracy for the required GSD. This outcome was assessed by means of a case study related to the ancient arched brick Bridge of the Saracens in Adrano (Sicily, Italy). The reconstruction of the three-dimensional surfaces of this structure, obtained by the efficient Structure-From-Motion (SfM) algorithms of the commercial software Pix4Mapper, supported the study by validating it with experimental data. A comparison between the surface reconstruction with different acquisition grids at different flight heights and the measurements obtained with a 3D terrestrial laser and total station-theodolites allowed to evaluate the accuracy in terms of Euclidean distances.
Accurate Device-Free Tracking Using Inexpensive RFIDs
Authors: Li Liyao , Guo Chongzheng , Liu Yang , Zhang Lichao , Qi Xiaofei , Ren Yuhui , Liu Baoying , Chen Feng
Published: August 2018

Without requiring targets to carry any device, device-free-based tracking is playing an important role in many emerging applications such as smart homes, fitness tracking, intruder detection, etc. While promising, current device-free tracking systems based on inexpensive commercial devices perform well in the training environment, but poorly in other environments because of different multipath reflections. This paper introduces RDTrack, a system that leverages changes in Doppler shifts, which are not sensitive to multipath, to accurately track the target. Moreover, RDTrack identifies particular patterns for fine-grained motions such as turning, walking straightly, etc., which can achieve accurate tracking. For the purpose of achieving a fine-grained device-free tracking system, this paper builds a trajectory estimating model using HMM (Hidden Markov Model) to improve the matching accuracy and reduce the time complexity. We address several challenges including estimating the tag influenced time period, identifying moving path and reducing false positives due to multipath. We implement RDTrack with inexpensive commercial off-the-shelf RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) hardware and extensively evaluate RDTrack in a lobby, staircase and library. Our results show that RDTrack is effective in tracking the moving target, with a low tracking error of 32 cm. This accuracy is robust for different environments, highlighting RDTrack’s ability to enable future essential device-free moving-based interaction with RFID devices.
Internet of Bikes: A DTN Protocol with Data Aggregation for Urban Data Collection
Authors: Zguira Yosra , Rivano Hervé , Meddeb Aref
Published: August 2018

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) are an essential part of the global world. They play a substantial role for facing many issues such as traffic jams, high accident rates, unhealthy lifestyles, air pollution, etc. Public bike sharing system is one part of ITS and can be used to collect data from mobiles devices. In this paper, we propose an efficient, “Internet of Bikes”, IoB-DTN routing protocol based on data aggregation which applies the Delay Tolerant Network (DTN) paradigm to Internet of Things (IoT) applications running data collection on urban bike sharing system based sensor network. We propose and evaluate three variants of IoB-DTN: IoB based on spatial aggregation (IoB-SA), IoB based on temporal aggregation (IoB-TA) and IoB based on spatiotemporal aggregation (IoB-STA). The simulation results show that the three variants offer the best performances regarding several metrics, comparing to IoB-DTN without aggregation and the low-power long-range technology, LoRa type. In an urban application, the choice of the type of which variant of IoB should be used depends on the sensed values.
Geometric Features-Based Parking Slot Detection
Authors: Li Qian , Lin Chunyu , Zhao Yao
Published: August 2018

In this paper, we propose a parking slot markings detection method based on the geometric features of parking slots. The proposed system mainly consists of two steps, namely, separating line detection and parking slot entrance detection. First, in the separating line detection stage, we propose a line-clustering method based on the line segment detection (LSD) algorithm. Our detecting and line-clustering algorithm can detect the separating lines that contain a pair of parallel lines with a fixed distance in a bird’s eye view (BEV) image under diverse lighting and ground conditions. Consequently, parking slot candidates are generated by pairing the separating lines according to the width of the parking slots. In the parking slot entrance detection process, we propose a multiview fusion-based learning approach that can increase the number of training samples by performing a perspective transformation on the acquired BEV images. The proposed method was evaluated using 353 BEV images covering diverse parking slot markings. Experiments show that the proposed method can recognize typical perpendicular and parallel rectangular parking slots, and a precision of 97.4% and recall of 96.6% are achieved.
The Applications of Promoter-gene-Engineered Biosensors
Authors: Feng Yingzhu , Xie Zhangzhang , Jiang Xuanlong , Li Zhen , Shen Yuping , Wang Bochu , Liu Jianzhong
Published: August 2018

A promoter is a small region of a DNA sequence that responds to various transcription factors, which initiates a particular gene expression. The promoter-engineered biosensor can activate or repress gene expression through a transcription factor recognizing specific molecules, such as polyamine, sugars, lactams, amino acids, organic acids, or a redox molecule; however, there are few reported applications of promoter-enhanced biosensors. This review paper highlights the strategies of construction of promoter gene-engineered biosensors with human and bacteria genetic promoter arrays with regard to high-throughput screening (HTS) molecular drugs, the study of the membrane protein’s localization and nucleocytoplasmic shuttling mechanism of regulating factors, enzyme activity, detection of the toxicity of intermediate chemicals, and probing bacteria density to improve value-added product titer. These biosensors’ sensitivity and specificity can be further improved by the proposed approaches of Mn2+ and Mg2+ added random error-prone PCR that is a technique used to generate randomized genomic libraries and site-directed mutagenesis approach, which is applied for the construction of bacteria’s “mutant library”. This is expected to establish a flexible HTS platform (biosensor array) to large-scale screen transcription factor-acting drugs, reduce the toxicity of intermediate compounds, and construct a gene-dynamic regulatory system in “push and pull” mode, in order to effectively regulate the valuable medicinal product production. These proposed novel promoter-engineered biosensors aiding in synthetic genetic circuit construction will maximize the efficiency of the bio-synthesis of medicinal compounds, which will greatly promote the development of microbial metabolic engineering and biomedical science.
Automatic Emotion Perception Using Eye Movement Information for E-Healthcare Systems
Authors: Wang Yang , Lv Zhao , Zheng Yongjun
Published: August 2018

Facing the adolescents and detecting their emotional state is vital for promoting rehabilitation therapy within an E-Healthcare system. Focusing on a novel approach for a sensor-based E-Healthcare system, we propose an eye movement information-based emotion perception algorithm by collecting and analyzing electrooculography (EOG) signals and eye movement video synchronously. Specifically, we extract the time-frequency eye movement features by firstly applying the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) to raw multi-channel EOG signals. Subsequently, in order to integrate time domain eye movement features (i.e., saccade duration, fixation duration, and pupil diameter), we investigate two feature fusion strategies: feature level fusion (FLF) and decision level fusion (DLF). Recognition experiments have been also performed according to three emotional states: positive, neutral, and negative. The average accuracies are 88.64% (the FLF method) and 88.35% (the DLF with maximal rule method), respectively. Experimental results reveal that eye movement information can effectively reflect the emotional state of the adolescences, which provides a promising tool to improve the performance of the E-Healthcare system.
Structured-Light-Based System for Shape Measurement of the Human Body in Motion
Authors: Liberadzki Paweł , Adamczyk Marcin , Witkowski Marcin , Sitnik Robert
Published: August 2018

The existing methods for measuring the shape of the human body in motion are limited in their practical application owing to immaturity, complexity, and/or high price. Therefore, we propose a method based on structured light supported by multispectral separation to achieve multidirectional and parallel acquisition. Single-frame fringe projection is employed in this method for detailed geometry reconstruction. An extended phase unwrapping method adapted for measurement of the human body is also proposed. This method utilizes local fringe parameter information to identify the optimal unwrapping path for reconstruction. Subsequently, we present a prototype 4DBODY system with a working volume of 2.0 × 1.5 × 1.5 m3, a measurement uncertainty less than 0.5 mm and an average spatial resolution of 1.0 mm for three-dimensional (3D) points. The system consists of eight directional 3D scanners functioning synchronously with an acquisition frequency of 120 Hz. The efficacy of the proposed system is demonstrated by presenting the measurement results obtained for known geometrical objects moving at various speeds as well actual human movements.
Commissioning of the Controlled and Automatized Testing Facility for Human Behavior and Control (CASITA)
Authors: Rodríguez-Rodríguez Ignacio , González Vidal Aurora , Ramallo González Alfonso , Zamora Miguel
Published: August 2018

Human behavior is one of the most challenging aspects in the understanding of building physics. The need to evaluate it requires controlled environments and facilities in which researchers can test their methods. In this paper, we present the commissioning of the Controlled and Automatized Testing Facility for Human Behavior (CASITA). This is a controlled space emulation of an office or flat, with more than 20 environmental sensors, 5 electrical meters, and 10 actuators. Our contribution shown in this paper is the development of an infrastructure-Artificial Intelligence (AI) model pair that is perfectly integrated for the study of a variety of human energy use aspects. This facility will help to perform studies about human behavior in a controlled space. To verify this, we have tested this emulation for 60 days, in which equipment was turned on and off, the settings of the conditioning system were modified remotely, and lighting operation was similar to that in real behaviors. This period of commissioning generated 74.4 GB of raw data including high-frequency measurements. This work has shown that CASITA performs beyond expectations and that sensors and actuators could enable research on a variety of disciplines related to building physics and human behavior. Also, we have tested the PROPHET software, which was previously used in other disciplines and found that it could be an excellent complement to CASITA for experiments that require the prediction of several pertinent variables in a given study. Our contribution has also been to proof that this package is an ideal “soft” addition to the infrastructure. A case study forecasting energy consumption has been performed, concluding that the facility and the software PROPHET have a great potential for research and an outstanding accuracy.
Real-Time Task Assignment Approach Leveraging Reinforcement Learning with Evolution Strategies for Long-Term Latency Minimization in Fog Computing
Authors: Mai Long , Dao Nhu-Ngoc , Park Minho
Published: August 2018

The emerging fog computing technology is characterized by an ultralow latency response, which benefits a massive number of time-sensitive services and applications in the Internet of things (IoT) era. To this end, the fog computing infrastructure must minimize latencies for both service delivery and execution phases. While the transmission latency significantly depends on external factors (e.g., channel bandwidth, communication resources, and interferences), the computation latency can be considered as an internal issue that the fog computing infrastructure could actively self-handle. From this view point, we propose a reinforcement learning approach that utilizes the evolution strategies for real-time task assignment among fog servers to minimize the total computation latency during a long-term period. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach reduces the latency by approximately 16.1% compared to the existing methods. Additionally, the proposed learning algorithm has low computational complexity and an effectively parallel operation; therefore, it is especially appropriate to be implemented in modern heterogeneous computing platforms.
A Walking-in-Place Method for Virtual Reality Using Position and Orientation Tracking
Authors: Lee Juyoung , Ahn Sang Chul , Hwang Jae-In
Published: August 2018

People are interested in traveling in an infinite virtual environment, but no standard navigation method exists yet in Virtual Reality (VR). The Walking-In-Place (WIP) technique is a navigation method that simulates movement to enable immersive travel with less simulator sickness in VR. However, attaching the sensor to the body is troublesome. A previously introduced method that performed WIP using an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) helped address this problem. That method does not require placement of additional sensors on the body. That study proved, through evaluation, the acceptable performance of WIP. However, this method has limitations, including a high step-recognition rate when the user does various body motions within the tracking area. Previous works also did not evaluate WIP step recognition accuracy. In this paper, we propose a novel WIP method using position and orientation tracking, which are provided in the most PC-based VR HMDs. Our method also does not require additional sensors on the body and is more stable than the IMU-based method for non-WIP motions. We evaluated our method with nine subjects and found that the WIP step accuracy was 99.32% regardless of head tilt, and the error rate was 0% for squat motion, which is a motion prone to error. We distinguish jog-in-place as “intentional motion” and others as “unintentional motion”. This shows that our method correctly recognizes only jog-in-place. We also apply the saw-tooth function virtual velocity to our method in a mathematical way. Natural navigation is possible when the virtual velocity approach is applied to the WIP method. Our method is useful for various applications which requires jogging.
Issues Concerning Declared Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of FAME Biofuels
Authors: Ližbetin Ján , Hlatká Martina , Bartuška Ladislav
Published: August 2018

The paper deals with the issue of greenhouse gas emissions that are produced by the road freight transport sector. These emissions affect the structure of the ozone layer and contribute to the greenhouse effect that causes global warming-issues that are closely associated with changing weather patterns and extreme weather events. Attention is drawn to the contradictions linked to FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Esters) biofuels, namely the fact that although their use generates almost zero greenhouse gas emissions, their production requires high levels of energy consumption. The first part of the paper deals with the theoretical basis of the negative impacts of transport on the environment and the subsequent measurement of the extent of the harmful emissions generated by the road freight transport sector. In the methodical part of the paper, the calculation procedures and declared energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions generated by transport services are analyzed according to the EN 16258 standard. The experimental part of the paper focuses on the application of the methodology to a specific shipment on a specified transport route, where the total energy consumption and production of greenhouse gas emissions is determined. These calculations are based on comprehensive studies carried out for a particular transport company that assigned the authors the task of determining to what extent the declared energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions change when the type of fuel used is changed.
Integration of Demand Response and Photovoltaic Resources in Residential Segments
Authors: García-Garre Ana , Gabaldón Antonio , Álvarez-Bel Carlos , Ruiz-Abellón María del Carmen , Guillamón Antonio
Published: August 2018

The development of renewable sources in residential segments is basic to achieve a sustainable energy scenario in the horizon 2030–2050 because these segments explain around 25% of the final energy consumption. Demand Response and its effective coordination with renewable are additional concerns for residential segments. This paper deals with two problems: the demonstration of cost-effectiveness of renewables in three different scenarios, and the application of the flexibility of demand, performing as energy storage systems, to efficiently manage the generation of renewable sources while improving benefits and avoiding penalties for the customer. A residential customer in Spain has been used as example. The work combines the use of a commercial simulator to obtain photovoltaic generation, the monitoring of customer to obtain demand patterns, and the development of a Physically-Based Model to evaluate the capability of demand to follow self-generation. As a main result, the integration of models (load/generation), neglected in practice in other approaches in the literature, allows customers to improve revenue up to 20% and reach a basic but important knowledge on how they can modify the demand, development of new skills and, in this way, learn how to deal with the characteristics and limitations of both Demand and Generation when a customer becomes a prosumer. This synergy amongst demand and generation physically-based models boosts the possibilities of customers in electricity markets.
The Impact of Coercive Pressures on Sustainability Practices of Small Businesses in South Africa
Authors: Masocha Reginald , Fatoki Olawale
Published: August 2018

The study sought to examine the role that coercive isomorphic pressures play in the sustainable development practices by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The survey research approach was utilised in the research through 222 self-administered questionnaires distributed to SME owners and managers. The structural equation modelling (SEM) method was utilised to analyse the data through the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method in Amos Version 24 software. Major findings in this study are that coercive isomorphic pressures have a significant impact on all the three dimensions of sustainable development which are economic, environmental and social. The implications are that government, environmental pressure groups and other stakeholders need to take into consideration the coercive pressures such as laws and regulations in pressuring small businesses to enhance sustainability practices. The research contributes by unearthing the extent to which coercive pressures impact the behaviour and practices of SMEs in sustainability practices. The study indicates that eventually small firms are expected to behave the same when it comes to adopting sustainability practices due to coercive isomorphism. The findings of this study further contribute toward understanding the concept of sustainable development in practice and theory.
An Empirical Study on Spatial–Temporal Dynamics and Influencing Factors of Tea Production in China
Authors: Liu Hanchu , Fan Jie , Zhou Kan
Published: August 2018

Revealing the characteristics of spatial–temporal dynamics and influencing factors is important for optimizing the spatial distribution of tea production. Taking prefecture-level cities as the basic spatial unit, this study uses the Herfindahl index and exploratory spatial data analysis to reveal the spatial–temporal dynamics of China’s tea production from 2000 to 2015. A theoretical analysis framework is established and a spatial econometric model is used to explore its influencing factors. The results show a U-shaped trend in the degree of tea spatial agglomeration, which gradually declined during 2000–2010, and rapidly increased during 2011–2015. The proportion of tea production shifted from the eastern region to the central and western regions, and spatial distribution coverage expanded to the north. Tea production had significant spatial correlation, and spatial agglomeration characteristics were exhibited for similar values (high or low). Tea production had a significant spatial spillover effect. Natural resources, labor cost, specialized production, and policies all affected the spatial–temporal dynamics of tea production somewhat, but the effects of traffic conditions and technological level were insignificant. Finally, this study proposed optimizing four aspects of the tea spatial layout: regional cooperation, comprehensive suitability evaluation of tea cultivation, spatial agglomeration, and distinctive local brands.
A Study on Airbnb’s Trust Mechanism and the Effects of Cultural Values—Based on a Survey of Chinese Consumers
Authors: Wu Xiaojun , Shen Jiabin
Published: August 2018

A sharing economy is developing rapidly worldwide, especially in China. Trust has been considered as a crucial factor in facilitating the practice of the short-term rental business, where hosts and renters are strangers. However, not only has the inherent trust-building mechanism of this newly emerged business model not been fully explored, but how cultural values affect the trust-building path also remains unknown. This study proposes a model of the trust-building mechanism in the sharing economy platforms, with three central modes—institutional trust, product trust, and interpersonal trust—and introduces national cultural values dimensions at the individual level as moderators to explore the impact on the inherent mechanism of trust-building on Airbnb. The data collected from 210 Chinese Airbnb consumers by survey provides support for the proposed structural equation model. The results show that institutional trust has a positive influence on product trust and interpersonal trust, and that product trust has a positive influence on interpersonal trust as well. For the moderating effect of cultural values, the relationship between the institutional trust and product trust is regulated by power distance (PDI), individualism (IDV), uncertainty avoidance (UAI), and long-term orientation (LTO), while the relationship between product trust and interpersonal trust is regulated by PDI, IDV, and UAI. This paper indicates that in order to foster trust in the sharing economy, practitioners should enhance institutional trust, product trust, and interpersonal trust synchronously, as these three modes of trust are positively inter-related; they must also be sensitive to local cultural value dispositions when conduct sharing business internationally.
Study on the Selection Strategy of Supply Chain Financing Modes Based on the Retailer’s Trade Grade
Authors: Yu Jianjun , Zhu Dan
Published: August 2018

In the supply chain financing (SCF) system composed of a capital-constrained retailer, a supplier and a commercial bank, we design two different limited financing modes (internal financing and external financing) based on the retailer’s collateral assets. A newsvendor-like retailer has a single opportunity to order goods from a supplier to satisfy future uncertain demand. In the presence of bankruptcy risk for the retailer, we model their strategic interaction as a Stackelberg game with the supplier as the leader and analyze the optimal decisions for each participant. Regardless of which financing mode is chosen, the capital-constrained retailer orders fewer goods if the financing cost is relatively high. In addition, when the market demand obeys the uniform distribution, if the retailer possesses more collateral assets, he will enjoy a lower loan interest rate and increase order quantity gradually. Moreover, compared with the internal financing mode, each participant obtains the larger expected profits under the external financing mode.
Evaluating Supplier Management Maturity in Prefabricated Construction Project-Survey Analysis in China
Authors: Liu Kangning , Su Yikun , Zhang Shoujian
Published: August 2018

Prefabrication is considered as a modern method of construction, transferring part of on-site work into factories and generating a new decoupling point in supply chain. Management of prefabricated component (PC) suppliers plays a key role in the performance of prefabricated construction project (PCP). Evaluating and improving supplier management maturity (SMM) become critical issues for large contractors. Previous research on PCP supply chain mainly focused on technology, process and performance aspects, while paying little attention to supplier relationship management. This study proposes an assessment criteria system of supplier management from five dimensions, including procurement process, operation efficiency, relationship coordination and strategy alignment and corporate social responsibility. A maturity grid with five levels is designed to present continuous improvement of supplier management. 34 large PCP construction firms listed in contractor directory were investigated in China through semi-structured interview and questionnaire survey. Independent two-samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance were adopted to explore SMM of different groups according to business scope, procurement method and construction experience. The results indicate that the overall maturity level of supplier management is relatively low, implying that supply activity cannot achieve inter-organization integration. Management on relationship coordination and strategy alignment lag behind procurement management and operation efficiency. Single business contractors have higher SMM than diversified ones. Contractors integrated in engineering, procurement and construction are superior to design-bid-build contractors in supplier management, especially in relationship coordination and strategic alignment. Construction experience is conductive to supplier operation efficiency. Noticeably, there are no statistically significant differences in the performance of corporate social responsibility among different groups. These results will contribute to developing a benchmark framework for contractors to evaluate SMM and achieve continuous improvements in PCP.
Brazier Effect of Thin Angle-Section Beams under Bending
Authors: Zhou Zhiguang , Xu Liuyun , Sun Chaoxin , Xue Songtao
Published: August 2018

Thin-walled section beams have Brazier effect to exhibit a nonlinear response to bending moments, which is a geometric nonlinearity problem and different from eigenvalue problem. This paper is aimed at investigating the Brazier effect in thin-walled angle-section beams subjected to pure bending about its weak axis. The derivation using energy method is presented to predict the maximum bending moment and section deformation. Both numerical analyses and experimental results were used to show the validity of the proposed formula. Numerical results show that the boundary condition can influence the results due to the end effect, and that the influence tends to be negligible when the length of angle beam goes up to 30 times as the length of beam side. When the collapse in experiments is governed by Brazier flattening, the moment vs. curvature curve deviates significantly from the linear beam theory, but coincides well with the proposed formula in consideration of the restraint due to limited span of experimental setup. It can be concluded that the proposed formula shows good agreement with numerical results and experimental results.
Investigation on the Effect of Type of Cooling on the Properties of Aluminum Alloy during Warm/Hot Hydromechanical Deep Drawing
Authors: Cai Gaoshen , Wu Chuanyu , Zhang Dongxing
Published: August 2018

The warm sheet cylindrical deep drawing experiment of aluminum alloy was carried out and macro-mechanical properties and microstructure evolution of hydro-formed cups with different cooling medium were analyzed, which aimed to investigate the effects of different types of cooling on mechanical properties and microstructure of cylindrical cups hydro-formed by warm Hydro-mechanical Deep Drawing (HDD). Results show that, under the condition of warm hydroforming, the mechanical properties such as yield stress and ultimate strength were influenced very little by air or water cooling. Grain coarsening of these hydro-formed cups can be inhibited to a certain extent with subsequent rapid water cooling. Moreover, it shows that the processing with warm sheet hydroforming and subsequent rapid cooling of 7075-O aluminum alloy has a positive significance in maintaining the stability of macro mechanical properties and inhibiting the degradation of the microstructure of materials.
A Linguistic Neutrosophic Multi-Criteria Group Decision-Making Method to University Human Resource Management
Authors: Liang Ru-xia , Jiang Zi-bin , Wang Jian-qiang
Published: August 2018

Competition among different universities depends largely on the competition for talent. Talent evaluation and selection is one of the main activities in human resource management (HRM) which is critical for university development. Firstly, linguistic neutrosophic sets (LNSs) are introduced to better express multiple uncertain information during the evaluation procedure. We further merge the power averaging operator with LNSs for information aggregation and propose a LN-power weighted averaging (LNPWA) operator and a LN-power weighted geometric (LNPWG) operator. Then, an extended technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method is developed to solve a case of university HRM evaluation problem. The main contribution and novelty of the proposed method rely on that it allows the information provided by different decision makers (DMs) to support and reinforce each other which is more consistent with the actual situation of university HRM evaluation. In addition, its effectiveness and advantages over existing methods are verified through sensitivity and comparative analysis. The results show that the proposal is capable in the domain of university HRM evaluation and may contribute to the talent introduction in universities.
The (A)symmetry between the Exterior and Interior of a Schwarzschild Black Hole
Authors: Gusin Pawel , Augousti Andy , Formalik Filip , Radosz Andrzej
Published: August 2018

A black hole in a Schwarzschild spacetime is considered. A transformation is proposed that describes the relationship between the coordinate systems exterior and interior to an event horizon. The application of this transformation permits considerations of the (a)symmetry of a range of phenomena taking place on both sides of the event horizon. The paper investigates two distinct problems of a uniformly accelerated particle. In one of these, although the equations of motion are the same in the regions on both sides, the solutions turn out to be very different. This manifests the differences of the properties of these two ranges.
Principles for Integrating the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Cities
Authors: Weymouth Robert , Hartz-Karp Janette
Published: August 2018

The implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in the urban centres of the world is one of the most consequential and ambitious projects that the nations of the world have undertaken. Guidance for achieving the goals in an integrated way that creates true sustainability is currently lacking because of the wicked nature of the problem. However, its wickedness highlights the critical importance of governance and decision-making processes for such integration, including the relationship between governments and their citizens. In particular, there is strong evidence to suggest that managing wicked problems like the SDGs is best done through forms of democracy that are deliberative, representative and influential. Called “deliberative democracy”, we draw on an existing body of research and case studies of deliberative democracy in action to apply its principles to a step-by-step process for the implementation and integration of the Goals in Cities. The paper concludes with the beginnings of a framework based on deliberative democratic principles, and an outline of methods for the scaling and expansion of the implementation process to cope with the global nature of the problem.
Genes for Membrane Transport Proteins: Not So Rare in Viruses
Authors: Greiner Timo , Moroni Anna , Van Etten James L , Thiel Gerhard
Published: August 2018

Some viruses have genes encoding proteins with membrane transport functions. It is unknown if these types of proteins are rare or are common in viruses. In particular, the evolutionary origin of some of the viral genes is obscure, where other viral proteins have homologs in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. We searched virus genomes in databases looking for transmembrane proteins with possible transport function. This effort led to the detection of 18 different types of putative membrane transport proteins indicating that they are not a rarity in viral genomes. The most abundant proteins are K+ channels. Their predicted structures vary between different viruses. With a few exceptions, the viral proteins differed significantly from homologs in their current hosts. In some cases the data provide evidence for a recent gene transfer between host and virus, but in other cases the evidence indicates a more complex evolutionary history.
Antiviral Effect of Resveratrol in Piglets Infected with Virulent Pseudorabies Virus
Authors: Zhao Xinghong , Tong Wenzhi , Song Xu , Jia Renyong , Li Lixia , Zou Yuanfeng , He Changliang , Liang Xiaoxia , Lv Cheng , Jing Bo , Lin Juchun , Yin Lizi , Ye Gang , Yue Guizhou , Wang Yin , Yin Zhongqiong
Published: August 2018

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is one of the most important pathogens of swine, resulting in devastating disease and economic losses worldwide. Nevertheless, there are currently no antiviral drugs available for PRV infection. Resveratrol (Res) was identified to exert its antiviral activity by inhibiting the PRV replication in preliminary investigations. In our previous study, we found that Res has anti-PRV activity in vitro. Here, we show that Res can effectively reduce the mortality and increase the growth performance of PRV-infected piglets. After Res treatment, the viral loads significantly (p < 0.001) decreased. Pathological symptoms, particularly inflammation in the brain caused by PRV infection, were significantly (p < 0.001) relieved by the effects of Res. In Res-treated groups, higher levels of cytokines in serum, including interferon gama, interleukin 12, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon alpha were observed at 7 days post infection. These results indicated that Res possesses potent inhibitory activity against PRV-infection through inhibiting viral reproduction, alleviating PRV-induced inflammation and enhancing animal immunity, suggesting that Res is expected to be a new alternative control measure for PRV infection.
Analysis of the Variability in the Non-Coding Regions of Influenza A Viruses
Authors: Benkaroun Jessica , Robertson Gregory J. , Whitney Hugh , Lang Andrew S.
Published: August 2018

The genomes of influenza A viruses (IAVs) comprise eight negative-sense single-stranded RNA segments. In addition to the protein-coding region, each segment possesses 5′ and 3′ non-coding regions (NCR) that are important for transcription, replication and packaging. The NCRs contain both conserved and segment-specific sequences, and the impacts of variability in the NCRs are not completely understood. Full NCRs have been determined from some viruses, but a detailed analysis of potential variability in these regions among viruses from different host groups and locations has not been performed. To evaluate the degree of conservation in NCRs among different viruses, we sequenced the NCRs of IAVs isolated from different wild bird host groups (ducks, gulls and seabirds). We then extended our study to include NCRs available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Influenza Virus Database, which allowed us to analyze a wider variety of host species and more HA and NA subtypes. We found that the amount of variability within the NCRs varies among segments, with the greatest variation found in the HA and NA and the least in the M and NS segments. Overall, variability in NCR sequences was correlated with the coding region phylogeny, suggesting vertical coevolution of the (coding sequence) CDS and NCR regions.
Hydrological Modeling of Climate Change Impacts in a Tropical River Basin: A Case Study of the Cauto River, Cuba
Authors: Montecelos-Zamora Yalina , Cavazos Tereza , Kretzschmar Thomas , Vivoni Enrique R. , Corzo Gerald , Molina-Navarro Eugenio
Published: August 2018

The soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model was applied for the first time in Cuba to assess the potential impacts of climate change on water availability in the Cauto River basin. The model was calibrated (and validated) for the 2001–2006 (2007–2010) period at a monthly timescale in two subbasins La Fuente and Las Coloradas, representative of middle and upper sections of the Cauto basin; the calibrated models showed good performance. The output available for the regional climate Model RegCM4.3 was used to force the calibrated SWAT models to simulate a baseline (1970–2000) period and near-future (2015–2039) hydrologic regimes under the representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 emission scenario. The future projections suggest regional increases of 1.5 °C in mean annual temperature and a 38% decrease in mean annual precipitation in the subbasins. These changes translate to possible reductions in the annual streamflow of up to 61% with respect to the baseline period, whereas the aquifer recharge in the basin is expected to decrease up to 58%, with a consequent reduction of groundwater flow, especially during the boreal summer wet season. These projection scenarios should be of interest to water resources managers in tropical regions.
Utilization Characteristics and Sustainability Evaluation of Water Resources in China
Authors: Sun Jingxin , Yu Xiang , Xiao Qishan , Song Jianfeng , Sun Shikun
Published: August 2018

Water is an important factor of production contributing to all sectors and regions in the world. With the rapid development of the economy and the increase of population, the water crisis is becoming more and more serious, and will become an important obstacle to the sustainable development of society. It is particularly important to evaluate the sustainability of water resources utilization. Based on the analysis of the regional water resources utilization characteristics, this paper takes 31 provinces in mainland China as the research object and comprehensively evaluates the regional water resources’ sustainability from the aspects of hydrology, environment, economy and technology. The results show: From the regional perspective, the regionalization of China’s various indexes is obvious, the hydrological and environmental indexes in western regions are significantly higher than that in eastern regions; while the economic index in eastern regions is higher than that in western regions. From the time perspective, from 2010 to 2015, the sustainable development of water resources in seven provinces showed an increasing trend. Zhejiang changed from “Good” to “Excellent” and Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou and Xinjiang all had slight growth. There are six provinces which show varying degrees of decline, of which Liaoning changes from “Excellent” to “Medium”, Beijing, Hebei, Jilin, Guangdong, Hainan also had a slight decline; the rest of the provinces did not change, Qinghai and Chongqing have been maintained as “Excellent”. Taken together, the western regions of China have significant advantages in terms of quantity and quality of water resources, but its water use efficiency is low. However, the economic development in the eastern regions is rapid with high efficiency of water use, but there are some serious problems such as water resources insufficiency and river pollution.