bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Systematic Comparison of Age and Gender Prediction on IMU Sensor-Based Gait Traces
Authors: Van hamme Tim , Garofalo Giuseppe , Argones Rúa Enrique , Preuveneers Davy , Joosen Wouter
Published: July 2019

Sensors provide the foundation of many smart applications and cyber–physical systems by measuring and processing information upon which applications can make intelligent decisions or inform their users. Inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors—and accelerometers and gyroscopes in particular—are readily available on contemporary smartphones and wearable devices. They have been widely adopted in the area of activity recognition, with fall detection and step counting applications being prominent examples in this field. However, these sensors may also incidentally reveal sensitive information in a way that is not easily envisioned upfront by developers. Far worse, the leakage of sensitive information to third parties, such as recommender systems or targeted advertising applications, may cause privacy concerns for unsuspecting end-users. In this paper, we explore the elicitation of age and gender information from gait traces obtained from IMU sensors, and systematically compare different feature engineering and machine learning algorithms, including both traditional and deep learning methods. We describe in detail the prediction methods that our team used in the OU-ISIR Wearable Sensor-based Gait Challenge: Age and Gender (GAG 2019) at the 12th IAPR International Conference on Biometrics. In these two competitions, our team obtained the best solutions amongst all international participants, and this for both the age and gender predictions. Our research shows that it is feasible to predict age and gender with a reasonable accuracy on gait traces of just a few seconds. Furthermore, it illustrates the need to put in place adequate measures in order to mitigate unintended information leakage by abusing sensors as an unanticipated side channel for sensitive information or private traits.
The Use of Chlorophyll Meters to Assess Crop N Status and Derivation of Sufficiency Values for Sweet Pepper
Authors: de Souza Romina , Peña-Fleitas M. Teresa , Thompson Rodney B. , Gallardo Marisa , Grasso Rafael , Padilla Francisco M.
Published: July 2019

Chlorophyll meters are promising tools for improving the nitrogen (N) management of vegetable crops. To facilitate on-farm use of these meters, sufficiency values that identify deficient and sufficient crop N status are required. This work evaluated the ability of three chlorophyll meters (SPAD-502, atLEAF+, and MC-100) to assess crop N status in sweet pepper. It also determined sufficiency values for optimal N nutrition for each meter for pepper. The experimental work was conducted in a greenhouse, in Almería, Spain, very similar to those used for commercial production, in three different crops grown with fertigation. In each crop, there were five treatments of different N concentration in the nutrient solution, applied in each irrigation, ranging from a very deficient to very excessive N supply. In general, chlorophyll meter measurements were strongly related to crop N status in all phenological stages of the three crops, indicating that these measurements are good indicators of the crop N status of pepper. Sufficiency values determined for each meter for the four major phenological stages were consistent between the three crops. This demonstrated the potential for using these meters with sufficiency values to improve the N management of commercial sweet pepper crops.
Spectroscopy Transmittance by LED Calibration
Authors: Carreres-Prieto Daniel , García Juan T. , Cerdán-Cartagena Fernando , Suardiaz-Muro Juan
Published: July 2019

Local administrations demand real-time and continuous pollution monitoring in sewer networks. Spectroscopy is a non-destructive technique that can be used to continuously monitor quality in sewers. Covering a wide range of wavelengths can be useful for improving pollution characterization in wastewater. Cost-effective and in-sewer spectrophotometers would contribute to accomplishing discharge requirements. Nevertheless, most available spectrometers are based on incandescent lamps, which makes it unfeasible to place them in a sewerage network for real-time monitoring. This research work shows an innovative calibration procedure that allows (Light-Emitting Diode) LED technology to be used as a replacement for traditional incandescent lamps in the development of spectrophotometry equipment. This involves firstly obtaining transmittance values similar to those provided by incandescent lamps, without using any optical components. Secondly, this calibration process enables an increase in the range of wavelengths available (working range) through a better use of the LED’s spectral width, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of LEDs required. Thirdly, this method allows important reductions in costs, dimensions and consumptions to be achieved, making its implementation in a wide variety of environments possible.
A Visual Dashboard to Track Learning Analytics for Educational Cloud Computing
Authors: Naranjo Diana M. , Prieto José R. , Moltó Germán , Calatrava Amanda
Published: July 2019

Cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) stand out as useful platforms to teach distributed computing concepts as well as the development of Cloud-native scalable application architectures on real-world infrastructures. Instructors can benefit from high-level tools to track the progress of students during their learning paths on the Cloud, and this information can be disclosed via educational dashboards for students to understand their progress through the practical activities. To this aim, this paper introduces CloudTrail-Tracker, an open-source platform to obtain enhanced usage analytics from a shared AWS account. The tool provides the instructor with a visual dashboard that depicts the aggregated usage of resources by all the students during a certain time frame and the specific use of AWS for a specific student. To facilitate self-regulation of students, the dashboard also depicts the percentage of progress for each lab session and the pending actions by the student. The dashboard has been integrated in four Cloud subjects that use different learning methodologies (from face-to-face to online learning) and the students positively highlight the usefulness of the tool for Cloud instruction in AWS. This automated procurement of evidences of student activity on the Cloud results in close to real-time learning analytics useful both for semi-automated assessment and student self-awareness of their own training progress.
Computer Vision Classification of Barley Flour Based on Spatial Pyramid Partition Ensemble
Authors: Lopes Jessica Fernandes , Ludwig Leniza , Barbin Douglas Fernandes , Grossmann Maria Victória Eiras , Barbon Sylvio
Published: July 2019

Imaging sensors are largely employed in the food processing industry for quality control. Flour from malting barley varieties is a valuable ingredient in the food industry, but its use is restricted due to quality aspects such as color variations and the presence of husk fragments. On the other hand, naked varieties present superior quality with better visual appearance and nutritional composition for human consumption. Computer Vision Systems (CVS) can provide an automatic and precise classification of samples, but identification of grain and flour characteristics require more specialized methods. In this paper, we propose CVS combined with the Spatial Pyramid Partition ensemble (SPPe) technique to distinguish between naked and malting types of twenty-two flour varieties using image features and machine learning. SPPe leverages the analysis of patterns from different spatial regions, providing more reliable classification. Support Vector Machine (SVM), k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN), J48 decision tree, and Random Forest (RF) were compared for samples’ classification. Machine learning algorithms embedded in the CVS were induced based on 55 image features. The results ranged from 75.00% (k-NN) to 100.00% (J48) accuracy, showing that sample assessment by CVS with SPPe was highly accurate, representing a potential technique for automatic barley flour classification.
A Micro-Level Compensation-Based Cost Model for Resource Allocation in a Fog Environment
Authors: Battula Sudheer Kumar , Garg Saurabh , Naha Ranesh Kumar , Thulasiraman Parimala , Thulasiram Ruppa
Published: July 2019

Fog computing aims to support applications requiring low latency and high scalability by using resources at the edge level. In general, fog computing comprises several autonomous mobile or static devices that share their idle resources to run different services. The providers of these devices also need to be compensated based on their device usage. In any fog-based resource-allocation problem, both cost and performance need to be considered for generating an efficient resource-allocation plan. Estimating the cost of using fog devices prior to the resource allocation helps to minimize the cost and maximize the performance of the system. In the fog computing domain, recent research works have proposed various resource-allocation algorithms without considering the compensation to resource providers and the cost estimation of the fog resources. Moreover, the existing cost models in similar paradigms such as in the cloud are not suitable for fog environments as the scaling of different autonomous resources with heterogeneity and variety of offerings is much more complicated. To fill this gap, this study first proposes a micro-level compensation cost model and then proposes a new resource-allocation method based on the cost model, which benefits both providers and users. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm ensures better resource-allocation performance and lowers application processing costs when compared to the existing best-fit algorithm.
Higher Order Feature Extraction and Selection for Robust Human Gesture Recognition using CSI of COTS Wi-Fi Devices
Authors: Farhana Thariq Ahmed Hasmath , Ahmad Hafisoh , Phang Swee King , Vaithilingam Chockalingam Aravind , Harkat Houda , Narasingamurthi Kulasekharan
Published: July 2019

Device-free human gesture recognition (HGR) using commercial off the shelf (COTS) Wi-Fi devices has gained attention with recent advances in wireless technology. HGR recognizes the human activity performed, by capturing the reflections of Wi-Fi signals from moving humans and storing them as raw channel state information (CSI) traces. Existing work on HGR applies noise reduction and transformation to pre-process the raw CSI traces. However, these methods fail to capture the non-Gaussian information in the raw CSI data due to its limitation to deal with linear signal representation alone. The proposed higher order statistics-based recognition (HOS-Re) model extracts higher order statistical (HOS) features from raw CSI traces and selects a robust feature subset for the recognition task. HOS-Re addresses the limitations in the existing methods, by extracting third order cumulant features that maximizes the recognition accuracy. Subsequently, feature selection methods derived from information theory construct a robust and highly informative feature subset, fed as input to the multilevel support vector machine (SVM) classifier in order to measure the performance. The proposed methodology is validated using a public database SignFi, consisting of 276 gestures with 8280 gesture instances, out of which 5520 are from the laboratory and 2760 from the home environment using a 10 × 5 cross-validation. HOS-Re achieved an average recognition accuracy of 97.84%, 98.26% and 96.34% for the lab, home and lab + home environment respectively. The average recognition accuracy for 150 sign gestures with 7500 instances, collected from five different users was 96.23% in the laboratory environment.
Optical Parameters Optimization for All-Time Star Sensor
Authors: Wang Wenjie , Wei Xinguo , Li Jian , Du Jingyuan , Zhang Guangjun
Published: July 2019

As an important development direction of star sensor technology, the All-Time star sensor technology can expand the application of star sensors to flight platforms inside the atmosphere. Due to intense atmospheric background radiation during the daytime, the commonly used star sensors operating in the visible wavelength range are significantly limited in their ability to detect stars, and hence the All-Time star sensor technology which is based on the shortwave infrared (SWIR) imaging system has become an effective research direction. All-Time star sensor detection capability is significantly affected by observation conditions and, therefore, an optimized selection of optical parameters, which mainly includes the field of view (FOV) and the detection wavelength band, can effectively improve the detection performance of All-Time star sensors under harsh observation conditions. This paper uses the model simulation method to analyze and optimize the optical parameters under various observation conditions in a high-altitude environment. A main parameter among those discussed is the analysis of detection band optimization based on the SWIR band. Due to the huge cost constraints of high-altitude experiments, we conducted experiments near the ground to verify the effectiveness of the detection band selection and the correctness of the SWIR star sensor detection model, which thereby proved that the optimization of the optical parameters for high altitudes was effective and could be used as a reference.
Copper-to-Zinc Ratio Correlates with an Inflammatory Marker in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease (Version 1)
Authors: Emokpae Mathias Abiodun , Fatimehin Emmanuel Babatunde
Published: July 2019

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited disorder of major health challenge in Nigeria. Micronutrients deficiencies often associated with the disorder may cause inflammation and abnormal metabolisms in the body. The copper-to-zinc ratio is a more important assessment than the concentrations of either of the metals in clinical practice. This study seeks to evaluate serum levels of c-reactive protein (CRP), copper, zinc and copper-to-zinc ratio and to correlate copper-to-zinc ratio with CRP in adult subjects with SCD. Serum copper, zinc, CRP and plasma fibrinogen were assayed in 100 confirmed SCD patients in steady clinical state and 100 age and sex matched subjects with normal haemoglobin. Serum copper and zinc were assayed by colorimetric method using reagents supplied by Centronic, Germany while CRP and fibrinogen were assayed using reagents supplied by Sigma (St. Louis, MO, USA) and Anogen (Ontario, Canada), respectively. The copper to zinc ratio was calculated from serum levels of copper and zinc. The measured parameters were compared between the groups using Students t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to relate CRP with the other parameters. Serum copper, CRP, fibrinogen and copper-to-zinc ratio were significantly higher (p < 0.001) while zinc level was lower in SCD patients than controls. Serum CRP concentration correlated with copper (r = 0.10; p < 0.02), zinc (r = −0.199; p < 0.05) and Copper-to-zinc ratio (r = 0.312; p < 0.002) but the correlation between CRP and fibrinogen was not significant. Inflammatory condition may modulate copper and zinc homeostasis and copper-to-zinc ratio may be used as marker of nutritional deficiency and inflammation in SCD patients.
Is Perceived Exertion a Useful Indicator of the Metabolic and Cardiovascular Responses to a Metabolic Conditioning Session of Functional Fitness?
Authors: Alsamir Tibana Ramires , Manuel Frade de Sousa Nuno , Prestes Jonato , da Cunha Nascimento Dahan , Ernesto Carlos , Falk Neto Joao , Kennedy Michael , Azevedo Voltarelli Fabrício
Published: July 2019

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the self-regulation of training intensity based on rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is a reliable method to control the intensity during metabolic conditioning sessions of functional fitness. In addition, the relationship between RPE and the changes in heart rate, number of repetitions, and lactate responses was also analyzed. Eight male participants (age 28.1 ± 5.4 years; body mass 77.2 ± 4.4 kg; VO2 max: 52.6 ± 4.6 mL·(kg·min)−1 completed two sessions (five to seven days apart), in a randomized order, under different conditions, as follows: (1) all-out (ALL), or (2) self-regulation of intensity based on an RPE of six (hard) on the Borg CR-10 scale (RPE6). The rating of perceived exertion, lactate (LAC), and heart rate (HR) response were measured before, during, and immediately after the sessions. The RPE and LAC during the all-out sessions were higher (p < 0.0005) than the RPE6 session for all of the analyzed time points during the session. There was no difference in the HR area under the curve for the all-out and RPE6 sessions. The average number of repetitions performed was lower (p ≤ 0.009) for the RPE6 session (190.5 ± 12.5 repetitions) when compared to the all-out session (214.4 ± 18.6 repetitions). There was a significant correlation between the RPE and LAC (p = 0.005; r = 0.66; large) and number of repetitions during the session (p = 0.026; r = 0.55; large). No correlation was observed between the RPE and HR (p = 0.147; r = 0.380). These results indicate that the self-regulation of intensity of effort based on the RPE may be a useful tool to control the exercise intensity during a metabolic conditioning session of functional fitness.
Classification of Soccer and Basketball Players’ Jumping Performance Characteristics: A Logistic Regression Approach
Authors: Chalitsios Christos , Nikodelis Thomas , Panoutsakopoulos Vassilios , Chassanidis Christos , Kollias Iraklis
Published: July 2019

This study aimed to examine countermovement jump (CMJ) kinetic data using logistic regression, in order to distinguish sports-related mechanical profiles. Eighty-one professional basketball and soccer athletes participated, each performing three CMJs on a force platform. Inferential parametric and nonparametric statistics were performed to explore group differences. Binary logistic regression was used to model the response variable (soccer or not soccer). Statistical significance (p < 0.05) was reached for differences between groups in maximum braking rate of force development (RFDDmax, U79 = 1035), mean braking rate of force development (RFDDavg, U79 = 1038), propulsive impulse (IMPU, t79 = 2.375), minimum value of vertical displacement for center of mass (SBCMmin, t79 = 3.135), and time difference (% of impulse time; ΔΤ) between the peak value of maximum force value (FUmax) and SBCMmin (U79 = 1188). Logistic regression showed that RFDDavg, impulse during the downward phase (IMPD), IMPU, and ΔΤ were all significant predictors. The model showed that soccer group membership could be strongly related to IMPU, with the odds ratio being 6.48 times higher from the basketball group, whereas RFDDavg, IMPD, and ΔΤ were related to basketball group. The results imply that soccer players execute CMJ differently compared to basketball players, exhibiting increased countermovement depth and impulse generation during the propulsive phase.
The Economics and Politics of Carbon Taxes and Regulations: Evidence from Voting on Washington State’s Initiative 732
Authors: Reed Michael , O’Reilly Patrick , Hall Joshua
Published: July 2019

In November 2016, Washington State voters were presented with a ballot initiative (Initiative 732) advancing the first carbon tax on production and use of fossil fuels in the United States. Initiative 732 promised to reduce fossil fuel consumption by taxing carbon emissions, while remaining revenue-neutral by lowering taxes on businesses, consumers, and working families. In promising revenue-neutrality, Initiative 732 sought support beyond environmentalists and similarly sympathetic voters. It failed to pass, achieving 41.2 percent of votes cast. To investigate this initiative’s failure at the ballot, we analyzed zip code-level voting patterns and demographic data. Relying on a two-step LASSO (Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator) + OLS (Ordinary Least Squares) procedure, our results suggest that the framing of revenue-neutrality did not sufficiently satisfy moderate right-leaning voters regarding perceived costs of the carbon tax. We also found evidence suggesting not only that some voting segments may have opposed revenue-neutrality, but that those facing higher climate change risk did not appear to see the initiative’s value net of expected costs.
The Need to Amend IMO’s EEDI to Include a Threshold for Performance in Waves (Realistic Sea Conditions) to Achieve the Desired GHG Reductions
Authors: Lindstad Elizabeth , Borgen Henning , Eskeland Gunnar S. , Paalson Christopher , Psaraftis Harilaos , Turan Osman
Published: July 2019

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has established the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) as the most important policy measure to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipping. A vessel’s EEDI is based on sea trials at delivery, and vessels cannot exceed a threshold for emitted CO2 per ton-mile, depending on vessel type and size. From other industries such as cars we have learnt that testing methods must reflect realistic operating conditions to deliver the desired emission reductions. Present sea-trial procedures for EEDI adjust to ‘calm water conditions’ only, as a comparative basis, despite calm sea being the exception at sea. We find that this adjustment procedure excessively rewards full bodied ‘bulky’ hulls which perform well in calm water conditions. In contrast, hull forms optimized with respect to performance in realistic sea-conditions are not rewarded with the current EEDI procedures. Our results indicate that without adjusting the testing cycle requirements to also include a threshold for performance in waves (real sea), the desired reductions will be short on targets and GHG emissions could potentially increase.
Koszulity and Point Modules of Finitely Semi-Graded Rings and Algebras
Authors: Lezama Oswaldo , Gomez Jaime
Published: July 2019

In this paper, we investigate the Koszul behavior of finitely semi-graded algebras by the distributivity of some associated lattice of ideals. The Hilbert series, the Poincaré series, and the Yoneda algebra are defined for this class of algebras. Moreover, the point modules and the point functor are introduced for finitely semi-graded rings. Finitely semi-graded algebras and rings include many important examples of non- N -graded algebras coming from mathematical physics that play a very important role in mirror symmetry problems, and for these concrete examples, the Koszulity will be established, as well as the explicit computation of its Hilbert and Poincaré series.
Regulation of the Staphylococcal Superantigen-Like Protein 1 Gene of Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Murine Abscesses
Authors: Bretl Daniel J. , Elfessi Abdulaziz , Watkins Hannah , Schwan William R.
Published: July 2019

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) causes substantial skin and soft tissue infections annually in the United States and expresses numerous virulence factors, including a family of toxins known as the staphylococcal superantigen-like (SSL) proteins. Many of the SSL protein structures have been determined and implicated in immune system avoidance, but the full scope that these proteins play in different infection contexts remains unknown and continues to warrant investigation. Analysis of ssl gene regulation may provide valuable information related to the function of these proteins. To determine the transcriptional regulation of the ssl1 gene of CA-MRSA strain MW2, an ssl1 promoter::lux fusion was constructed and transformed into S. aureus strains RN6390 and Newman. Resulting strains were grown in a defined minimal medium (DSM) broth and nutrient-rich brain-heart infusion (BHI) broth and expression was determined by luminescence. Transcription of ssl1 was up-regulated and occurred earlier during growth in DSM broth compared to BHI broth suggesting expression is regulated by nutrient availability. RN6390 and Newman strains containing the ssl1::lux fusion were also used to analyze regulation in vivo using a mouse abscess model of infection. A marked increase in ssl1 transcription occurred early during infection, suggesting SSL1 is important during early stages of infection, perhaps to avoid the immune system.
Conserved Residue Asn-145 in the C-Terminal Heptad Repeat Region of HIV-1 gp41 is Critical for Viral Fusion and Regulates the Antiviral Activity of Fusion Inhibitors
Authors: Geng Xiuzhu , Liu Zixuan , Yu Danwei , Qin Bo , Zhu Yuanmei , Cui Sheng , Chong Huihui , He Yuxian
Published: July 2019

Entry of HIV-1 into target cells is mediated by its envelope (Env) glycoprotein composed of the receptor binding subunit gp120 and the fusion protein gp41. Refolding of the gp41 N- and C-terminal heptad repeats (NHR and CHR) into a six-helix bundle (6-HB) conformation drives the viral and cellular membranes in close apposition and generates huge amounts of energy to overcome the kinetic barrier leading to membrane fusion. In this study, we focused on characterizing the structural and functional properties of a single Asn-145 residue, which locates at the middle CHR site of gp41 and is extremely conserved among all the HIV-1, HIV-2, and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) isolates. By mutational analysis, we found that Asn-145 plays critical roles for Env-mediated cell-cell fusion and HIV-1 entry. As determined by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), the substitution of Asn-145 with alanine (N145A) severely impaired the interactions between the NHR and CHR helices. Asn-145 was also verified to be important for the antiviral activity of CHR-derived peptide fusion inhibitors and served as a turn-point for the inhibitory potency. Intriguingly, Asn-145 could regulate the functionality of the M-T hook structure at the N-terminus of the inhibitors and displayed comparable activities with the C-terminal IDL anchor. Crystallographic studies further demonstrated the importance of Asn-145-mediated interhelical and intrahelical interactions in the 6-HB structure. Combined, the present results have provided valuable information for the structure-function relationship of HIV-1 gp41 and the structure-activity relationship of gp41-dependent fusion inhibitors.
Expanding the Diversity of Myoviridae Phages Infecting Lactobacillus plantarum—A Novel Lineage of Lactobacillus Phages Comprising Five New Members
Authors: Kyrkou Ifigeneia , Byth Carstens Alexander , Ellegaard-Jensen Lea , Kot Witold , Zervas Athanasios , Djurhuus Amaru Miranda , Neve Horst , Hansen Martin , Hestbjerg Hansen Lars
Published: July 2019

Lactobacillus plantarum is a bacterium with probiotic properties and promising applications in the food industry and agriculture. So far, bacteriophages of this bacterium have been moderately addressed. We examined the diversity of five new L. plantarum phages via whole genome shotgun sequencing and in silico protein predictions. Moreover, we looked into their phylogeny and their potential genomic similarities to other complete phage genome records through extensive nucleotide and protein comparisons. These analyses revealed a high degree of similarity among the five phages, which extended to the vast majority of predicted virion-associated proteins. Based on these, we selected one of the phages as a representative and performed transmission electron microscopy and structural protein sequencing tests. Overall, the results suggested that the five phages belong to the family Myoviridae, they have a long genome of 137,973–141,344 bp, a G/C content of 36.3–36.6% that is quite distinct from their host’s, and surprisingly, 7 to 15 tRNAs. Only an average 41/174 of their predicted genes were assigned a function. The comparative analyses unraveled considerable genetic diversity for the five L. plantarum phages in this study. Hence, the new genus “Semelevirus” was proposed, comprising exclusively of the five phages. This novel lineage of Lactobacillus phages provides further insight into the genetic heterogeneity of phages infecting Lactobacillus sp. The five new Lactobacillus phages have potential value for the development of more robust starters through, for example, the selection of mutants insensitive to phage infections. The five phages could also form part of phage cocktails, which producers would apply in different stages of L. plantarum fermentations in order to create a range of organoleptic outputs.
Assessment of Climate Change and Associated Vegetation Cover Change on Watershed-Scale Runoff and Sediment Yield
Authors: Zhang Shanghong , Li Zehao , Lin Xiaonan , Zhang Cheng
Published: July 2019

Climate change has an important impact on water balance and material circulation in watersheds. Quantifying the influence of climate and climate-driven vegetation cover changes on watershed-scale runoff and sediment yield will help to deepen our understanding of the environmental effects of climate change. Taking the Zhenjiangguan Watershed in Sichuan Province, China as a case study, three downscaled general circulation models with two emission scenarios were used to generate possible climatic conditions for three future periods of P1 (2020–2039), P2 (2050–2069) and P3 (2080–2099). Differences in scenarios were compared with the base period 1980–1999. Then, a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index climate factor regression model was established to analyze changes to vegetation cover under the climate change scenarios. Finally, a Soil and Water Assessment Tool model was built to simulate the response of runoff and sediment yield in the three future periods under two different scenarios: only changes in climate and synergistic changes in climate and vegetation cover. The temperature and precipitation projections showed a significant increasing trend compared to the baseline condition for both emission scenarios. Climate change is expected to increase the average annual runoff by 15%–38% compared with the base period, and the average annual sediment yield will increase by 4%–32%. The response of runoff and sediment yield varies in different periods, scenarios, and sub-watersheds. Climate-driven vegetation cover changes have an impact on runoff and sediment yield in the watershed, resulting in a difference of 5.8%–12.9% to the total changes. To some extent, the changes in vegetation cover will inhibit the hydrological impact of climate changes. The study helps to clarify the effects of climate and vegetation cover factors on hydrological variations in watersheds and provides further support for understanding future hydrological scenarios and implementing effective protection and use of water and soil resources.
Water Quality and Macroinvertebrate Community in Dryland Streams: The Case of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve (México) Facing Climate Change
Authors: López-López Eugenia , Sedeño-Díaz Jacinto Elías , Mendoza-Martínez Erick , Gómez-Ruiz Andrea , Martínez Ramírez Emilio
Published: July 2019

The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Biosphere Reserve (TCBR), the southernmost semi-arid zone of North America, includes two dryland streams, the Río Salado (RS) and Río Grande (RG); it is surrounded by high vegetation diversity, a cacti diversification center, and the densest columnar cacti forest worldwide. However, no scientific knowledge is currently available on these dryland streams. We evaluated water quality, its relationship with the local geological characteristics, land uses, and the composition of aquatic macroinvertebrates (AM), analyzing their bioindicator potential. These results were discussed in relation to climate change predictions. The RS showed higher mineralization, salinity, hardness, water and air temperature, and low water quality index (WQI), relative to the RG. A discriminant analysis showed spatial (mineralization, salinity, and hardness in the RS) and temporal patterns (higher nitrogen compounds and temperature in the rainy season). The RS showed a lower AM diversity (40 taxa) compared to the RG (73 taxa); Ephemeroptera-Plecoptera-Trichoptera reached higher values in the RG. A co-inertia analysis identified five groups of sites with different AM assemblages and water quality characteristics. Climate change predictions for the TCBR suggest increased aridity, higher temperature, and lower rainfall, leading to reduced river flow and increased salinity and mineralization. These could alter habitat features and connectivity, with loss of AM diversity, highlighting the vulnerability of these unique ecosystems to climate change.
Development of a Combined Aerobic–Anoxic and Methane Oxidation Bioreactor System Using Mixed Methanotrophs and Biogas for Wastewater Denitrification
Authors: Kim I-Tae , Lee Ye-Eun , Yoo Yeong-Seok , Jeong Wonsik , Yoon Young-Han , Shin Dong-Chul , Jeong Yoonah
Published: July 2019

We developed a lab-scale aerobic–methane oxidation bioreactor (MOB)–anoxic system, combining a MOB and the aerobic–anoxic denitrification process, and evaluated its potential for advanced nitrogen treatment in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The MOB used biogas generated from a WWTP and secondary-treated wastewater to support mixed methanotroph cultures, which mediated the simultaneous direct denitrification by methanotrophs and methanol production necessary for denitrifying bacteria in the anoxic chamber for denitrification. Compared to the aerobic–anoxic process, the aerobic–MOB–anoxic system with an influent concentration of 4.8 L·day−1 showed a marked increase in the reduction efficiency for total nitrogen (41.9% vs. 85.9%) and PO4−3-P (41.1% vs. 69.5%). However, the integrated actions of high nitrogen and phosphorus consumption are required for methanotroph growth, as well as the production and supply of methanol as a carbon source for denitrification and methane monooxygenase-mediated oxidation of NH3 into N2O by methanotrophs. After three months of continuous operation using actual wastewater, the total nitrogen removal rate was 76.3%, equivalent to the rate observed in a tertiary-advanced WWTP, while the total phosphorus removal rate reached 83.7%.
Using of e-learning in agricultural training programs
Authors: Lengyel Péter
Published: July 2019

We use the Moodle at the University of Debrecen, Businessand Agricultural Department since January 2007. The Moodle is an open source Learning Management System. Learning Management System (or LMS) which is a software package, which enables the management and delivery of learning content and resources to students. Most LMS systems are web-based to facilitate „anytime, anywhere” access to learning content and administration. LMS tracks student progress in a course and indicates completions. At the least, learning management systemstrack individual student progress, record scores of quizzes and tests within an online learning program, and track course completions. The Moodle has more and more function at our Department in education. In January we worked to introduce Moodle in our Faculty. Therefore, we took lessons for the tutors about the usage of the Moodle. Our aim was to develop such a learning system, which is an integral part of  educational process,to improve the efficiency of agricultural higher education.
The economic potential of industrial parks in the Northern Great Plain Region
Authors: Papdi József Ákos
Published: July 2019

The practice of the conception and park-like economic development (between market economy circumstances) seems to be novel in our country. The first industrial parks have been established decentralized, with a local initiation, with some determining foreign undertakings early in the 90 years. Since then the increase of the number of the parks is high also the areas which have weaker economic level. We have make attention (inthe development politics) to the industrial parks working in the most harmful micro-regions, where the capital task is to extension of the employment, and to involvement of the capital. In the Northern Great Plain Region there are 31 industrial park at the ends of 2007. There are developed infrastructure and service in the big part of the parks. The smaller part of the parks cannot live on its title of industrial park, because of regional position, and concerned their management troubles. But the extension and developing of the park’s economic is very important in the region.
Akuntansi syariah dalam metafora haji
Authors: Jurana
Published: July 2019

Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk memberikan gambaran terkait berbagai nilai akuntabilitas yang seharusnya ada dalam akuntansi syariah. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan akuntabilitas dalam metafora haji. Hal ini dikarenakan salah satu bentuk dari akuntabilitas individu dan sosial bangsa indonesia kepada Allah SWT ialah dengan melaksanakan ibadah haji yang merupakan rukun Islam yang kelima. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa nilai yang seharusnya ada dalam akuntansi syariah yang juga ada dalam haji ialah nilai motivasi, ikhtiar, nilai pengorbanan, introspeksi diri, komitmen bekerja keras, dan pantang berputus asa, penyerahan diri dan pengendalian diri.  Abstract This study aims to provide an overview of the various values of accountability that should be present in Islamic accounting. This research was conducted using accountability in the hajj metaphor. This is because one of the forms of individual and social accountability of the Indonesian nation to Allah SWT is by performing the Hajj which is the fifth pillar of Islam. The results showed that the values that should be present in Islamic accounting which also existed in the Hajj were values of motivation, effort, sacrifice value, self-introspection, commitment to work hard, and abstinence from despair, surrender and self-control.
PENGARUH DEBT TO ASSETS RATIO (DAR), CURRENT RATIO (CR) DAN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DALAM MEMPREDIKSI FINANCIAL DISTRESS PADA PERUSAHAAN BUMN SEKTOR NON KEUANGAN YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA
Authors: Alipudin Asep , Marota Rochman , Maiyarash Ayursila
Published: July 2019

Kemampuan suatu perusahaan untuk dapat bersaing sangat ditentukan oleh kinerja perusahaan. Perusahaan yang tidak mampu bersaing untuk mempertahankan kinerjanya lambat laun akan tergusur dari lingkungan industrinya dan akan mengalami kebangkrutan. Perusahaan yang terus menunjukan kinerja yang menurun dikhawatirkan akan mengalami kondisi financial distress yang berujung pada kebangkrutan perusahaan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk menjelaskan pengaruh Debt to Assets Ratio (DAR), Current Ratio (CR), dan Corporate Governance secara parsial dan simultan dalam memprediksi financial distress pada perusahaan BUMN sektor non keuangan yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Penelitian ini menggunakan data sekunder, metode penarikan sampel menggunakan purposive sampling, metode analisis yang digunakan kuantitatif statistik, analisis data pada penelitian ini yaitu verifikatif dengan metode explanatory survey, analisis regresi linear berganda, dan uji hipotesis. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa (1) Secara parsial, Debt to Assets Ratio (DAR) dan Current Ratio (CR) memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan dalam memprediksi financial distress. Sedangkan Corporate governance tidak memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan dalam memprediksi financial distress (2) Debt to Assets Ratio (DAR), Current Ratio (CR), dan corporate governance secara simultan berpengaruh signifikan dalam memprediksi financial ditress
DO FINANCIAL RATIOS, FIRM CHARACTERISTICS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AFFECT FIRM PERFORMANCE?
Authors: JENNY  , CHRISTINA SILVY
Published: July 2019

The purpose of this research is to provide evidence about variables that influence firm performance. These variables are board size, debt ratio, firm size, firm age, return on asset, and independent board. Sample of this research are 67 manufactured companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange. The sample selected using purposive method, during the 2013 until 2015. Hypothesis tested by using multiple regression analysis. In this research, firm performance were measured by Tobin’s Q. The result of this research shows that debt ratio, firm size, return on asset and independent board have influence on firm performance. The other variables such as board size and firm age have no influence on firm performance.
THE INFLUENCE OF CREATIVE ACCOUNTING AND OTHER FACTORS TO DIVIDEND PAYOUT RATIO
Authors: METTA TJUNGANDI  , RICKY A. MULYANA
Published: July 2019

The objective of this research is to analyze the influence of creative accounting, liquidity, size, leverage, return on equity and sales growth on dividend payout ratio. Population in this research is all listed manufacturing companies in Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2010 to 2012. Samples are obtained through purposive sampling method, in which 37 listed manufacturing companies in Indonesia Stock Exchange meet the sampling criteria resulting 111 data available are taken as sample. The result of this research shows that return on equity and sales growth have influence to dividend payout ratio. On the other hand, creative accounting, liquidity, size and leverage do not influence dividend payout ratio.
PENGARUH KESESUAIAN KOMPENSASI, KOMITMEN ORGANISASI DAN BUDAYA ORGANISASI TERHADAP KEADILAN DISTRIBUTIF DI DINAS KABUPATEN BANYUMAS
Authors: PUTRI NANDA , Herwiyanti Eliada , Warsidi Warsidi
Published: July 2019

This research is a quantitative research that was conducted in Banyumas Regency. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of compensation suitability, organizational commitment and organizational culture to distributive justice. Hypothesis testing in this research using the method of multiple linear regression analysis. The population in this research are all Financial Officer in Banyumas Regency. Samples were taken using purposive sampling technique and Slovin Formula to determining the sample size, thus there are 52 samples in this research. Data was collected trough questionnaires to all of the respondents. Based on the results, it shown that the compensation suitability, organizational commitment, and organizational culture have a positive coefficient on distributive justice. All three independent variables simultaneously influenced to distributive justice, whereas the most influential variable is compensation suitability. It can be conclude that the higher level of compensation suitability, organizational commitment, and organizational culture, the higher level of distributive justice.
Pengaruh Debt Covenant dan Political Cost Terhadap Konservatisme Akuntansi
Authors: Iskandar Okto Reyhansyah , Sparta Sparta
Published: July 2019

This research aims to understand and analyzes the effect of debt covenant, bonus plan, and political cost against company’s accounting conservatism. Independent variable for which used in this research was debt covenant measured by the ratio of leverage, bonus plan measured by company share ownership by managers, and political cost measured by the size of the company.While the dependent variable measured by accounting conservatism. The sample selection is using purposive sampling method, in order to obtain 36 observations of manufacturing company which narrowed to subsector industrial consumer goods and consistently listed at Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period 2012-2015. This research uses secondary data from company financial statements obtained from the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Multiple linear regression technique is used in this research to achieve analytical results. The result showed that debt covenant have negative insignificant effects to accounting conservatism, bonus plan have negative and significant effects to accounting conservatism, and political cost it has positive effects and significantl to accounting conservatism.
Pengaruh Corporate Social Responsibility Terhadap Kinerja Keuangan
Authors: Lestari Nanik , Lelyta Novi
Published: July 2019

This research aims to obtain empirical evidence on the influence of Corporate Social Responsibility impact on Corporate Financial Performance. Data used are non-financial companies in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) period 2010-2015 as many as 419 samples. Corporate Financial Performance dependent variable is measured by Return on Asset (ROA) and Retunr on Invesment Capital (ROIC).The Independent variables of corporate Social Responsibility is adopted from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3.1 Guidelines with 6 indicators and 81 items. The control variables is Sales Growth. Data analysis technique used is panel data regression analysis. The results of this study are, the first Corporate Social Responsibility has positive on Corporate Financial Performance proxicated by ROA. The second, Corporate Social Responsibility has positive on Corporate Financial Performance proxicated by ROIC.
Pengaruh Media Exposure Tehradap Pengungkapan Corporate Social Responsibility Perusahaan Manufaktur Terdaftar di BEI
Authors: Sparta Sparta , Rheadanti Desak Kadek
Published: July 2019

Social and environmental responsibility becomes one of the components of corporate disclosure listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI). This study examines the factors that influence the disclosure policy of social and environmental responsibility to manufacturing companies on BEI by expanding disclosure items. Factors suspected to affect social and environmental responsibility disclosure policies are media exposure, firm size, profitability and leverage. The research sample is a manufacturing company that discloses social and environmental responsibility in the period 2013-2015. The number of sample companies is 31. The number of observations used is 93 observations. The disclosure policy of social and environmental responsibility is measured by the disclosure index. This index is measured by the disclosure item in the Reporting Guidelines contained in General Repoting Initiatives (GRI). Hypothesis testing is done by multiple regression analysis. The test results fail to prove the effect of media exposure, firm size and profitability on the disclosure of social and environmental responsibility.
Dampak Pernikaha Usia Dini di Wilayah Pedesaan A Systematic Review
Authors: Ma’rifah Siti , Muhaimin Toha
Published: July 2019

Pernikahan dini memiliki implikasi yang serius pada kesehatan masyarakat. Secara global, lebih dari 650 juta wanita hidup atau satu dari lima gadis menikah sebelum 18 tahun, satu dari 20 anak perempuan menikah sebelum 15 tahun setiap harinya. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui dampak pernikahan dini bagi perempuan dan populasi yang rentan terhadapnya. Tinjauan sistematis dilakukan pada database online SCOPUS, PubMed, ProQuest, dan EBSCO dengan lima kata kunci, “early marriage” OR “child marriage” AND “impact” OR “outcomes” AND “in rural areas” kemudian disaring berdasarkan publikasi khusus tahun 2012-2018, berbahasa Inggris, dan teks lengkap. Terdapat tujuh artikel asli memenuhi kriteria inklusi. Penelitian ini mengidentifikasi bahwa pernikahan dini meningkatkan kemungkinan kehamilan yang tidak diinginkan, terminasi kehamilan, kelahiran mati, keguguran, komplikasi kehamilan atau persalinan, kesuburan tinggi, kekurangan gizi, kesehatan mental, mendapat kekerasan pasangan intim, sulit dalam kegiatan sehari-hari. Akibatnya, mereka memiliki kemungkinan untuk lebih sering dan lebih awal hamil, yang dimana ini menimbulkan berbagai keluhan kesehatan baik jangka pendek bahkan jangka panjang, dalam beberapa kasus dapat mengakibatkan kematian. Kesimpulannya, terdapat banyak dampak dalam pernikahan dini. Sehingga, mencegah terjadinya pernikahan dini merupakan hal terpenting yang harus dilakukan, yaitu memberikan pendidikan seksualitas, kesehatan reproduksi, dan dampak pernikahan usia dini secara komprehensif.