bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
EVALUATION OF SELECTED COST AGGREGATION METHODS ON HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE STEREO IMAGES
Authors: Tatar N. , Arefi H.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. Dense stereo processing requires a critical step that called cost aggregation or cost optimization. Most of the cost aggregation methods are evaluated on close range stereo images from Middlebury or KITTI datasets. While the effect of cost aggregation on high resolution satellite stereo processing has not yet been sufficiently evaluated. In this paper, three typical cost aggregation methods together with another approach which is a combination of these methods are evaluated on high resolution satellite stereo images and then are compared with LiDAR ground truth. These methods including Semi-Global Matching (SGM), Guided Filtering (GF), iterative GF (IGF), and SGM followed by GF (SGM-GF) with Census and Zero Normalized Cross Correlation (ZNCC) cost functions. Although the Census cost function has a good performance on the border of the objects and low blurring effects, the results of both cost functions, i.e. Census and ZNCC, have same treatment on all stereo methods. Also, in order to make an impartial assessment, for all stereo methods, we do not perform any disparity map refinement. The bad-pixel criteria with an absolute difference height error greater than 2 meters for SGM, GF, IGF, and SGM-GF methods is 36.7%, 34.8%, 33.8%, and 28.6% respectively. Also, the Normalized Median Absolute Difference (NMAD) error for SGM, GF, IGF, and SGM-GF is 1.29, 1.15, 1.06, and 0.94 meters, respectively. Overall, the experimental results on WV III stereo images demonstrate that the SGM method has lower accuracy and SGM-GF method is accurate than other methods.
MODELLING THE AMOUNT OF CARBON STOCK USING REMOTE SENSING IN URBAN FOREST AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH LAND USE CHANGE
Authors: Tavasoli N. , Arefi H. , Samiei-Esfahany S. , Ronoud Q.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. The estimation of biomass has been highly regarded for assessing carbon sources. In this paper, ALOS PALSAR, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and ground data are used for estimating of above ground biomass (AGB) with SVM-genetic model Moreover Landsat satellite data was used to estimate land use change detection. The wide range of vegetation, textural and principal component analysis (PCA) indices (using optical images) and backscatter, decomposition and textural features (from radar images) are derived together with in situ collected AGB data into model to predict AGB. The results indicated that the coefficient of determination (R2) for ALOS PALSAR, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 were 0.51, 0.50 and 0.60 respectively. The best accuracy for combining all data was 0.83. Afterwards, the carbon stock map was calculated. Landsat series data were acquired to document the spatiotemporal dynamics of green spaces in the study area. By using a supervised classification algorithm, multi-temporal land use/cover data were extracted from a set of satellite images and the carbon stock time series simulated by using carbon stock maps and green space (urban forest) maps.
EXPLOITATION OF MCDA TO LEARN THE RADIAL BASE NEURAL NETWORK (RBFNN) AIM PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS VERSUS THE EARTHQUAKE (CASE STUDY: SANANDAJ CITY, IRAN)
Authors: Yariyan P. , Karami M. R. , Ali Abbaspour R.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. Despite years of research on natural hazards and efforts to reduce physical and psychological damage, earthquake as a natural disaster is catastrophic. Though, human is the main axis in dealing with crisis and vulnerability, and since the space of cities encompasses largest population spectrum, managing this space is considered as an essential issue. Accordingly, the vulnerability of the City of Sanandaj was defined by environmental, physical and social criteria. In this regard, with the aim of modeling, and assessing the risk and vulnerability, the MCDA-ANN hybrid model was introduced as a new method for teaching of learning models. In order to determine the final value of each of the criteria, AHP analysis was performed as one of the MCDA methods to solve complex and non-structural problems by creating a functional hierarchy, and after that, a training data base for learning ANN was created randomly based on the AHP classification map. Then, for modeling, the radial base functional neural network (RBFNN) was used as one of the techniques of artificial neural networks. After the modeling, 30% of the points were selected as validation data to determine the accuracy of the model. After the implementation of RBFNN model, the area of AUC curve resulted is 0.922, which indicates the high accuracy of the model in assessing the risk of an earthquake. The results show high vulnerability in urban areas1 and 2 and in downtown Sanandaj that in these zones the physical and social factors dramatically affect the vulnerability of these areas.
A NOVEL APPROACH TO OPTIMIZE THE RIDESHARING PROBLEM USING GENETIC ALGORITHM
Authors: Rangriz S. , Davoodi M. , Saberian J.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. The enormous increase in the number of vehicles in the cities makes plenty of problems including air pollution, noise pollution, and traffic jam. Overcoming these annoying issues needs a significant plan in urban management such as using modern techniques in public transportation systems. Sharing either cars or taxies is one of the most interesting ways that has been used in some countries recently. In this phenomenon, 2 or 3 people use other’s car or taxi. In this article, an innovative approach to share taxies is proposed, and it uses a Genetic Algorithm to determine the placement of travelers in taxies. Therefore, some taxis will be switched off, and this helps to decrease urban traffic jam in cities. The results present that the proposed model turns off 69.8 % of taxies, and also 27.8 % of them carry more than one passenger; hence, this confirms the performance of the proposed model.
ESTIMATING CANOLA’S BIOPHYSICAL PARAMETERS FROM TEMPORAL, SPECTRAL, AND POLARIMETRIC IMAGERY USING MACHINE LEARNING APPROACHES
Authors: Reisi Gahrouei O. , Homayouni S. , Safari A.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. The objective of this study was to investigate the application of multi-temporal optical and polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) Earth observations for crop characterization. Crop dry biomass, Leaf Area Index (LAI), and Plant Water Content (PWC) were estimated and assessed using Machin learning approaches. An accurate estimation of crop parameters provides essential information to increased food production and plays a crucial role in the management of agricultural lands. Multispectral and PolSAR data provide valuable observations of spectral and structural properties which are essential for crops parameter modelling. The Earth observations used in this paper were collected by RapidEye satellites and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) system in the summer of 2012, over an agriculture area in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The RapidEye vegetation indices (VIs) and UAVSAR polarimetric parameters were used as inputs in artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector regression (SVR) models for canola biophysical parameters estimation. The best models were provided by SVR for canola. Also combining optical VIs and polarimetric features appeared as a powerful tool for crop parameters estimation in agricultural lands.
SPATIO-STATISTICAL MODELING OF HUMAN BRUCELLOSIS USING ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS: A CASE STUDY OF NORTHERN IRAN
Authors: Seyedalizadeh N. , Alesheikh A. A. , Ahmadkhani M.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases which is endemic in Iran. This disease is considered a significant hazard to citizens’ health and imposes heavy economic burdens, hence, requires a thorough control and management plan. The aims of this study are identifying the areas having the highest risk of brucellosis, as well as discovering the contributing environmental factors. The maximum entropy (MaxEnt) method was used to model the probability of brucellosis in Golestan, Mazandaran, and Guilan provinces. The possible contribution of 12 environmental parameters in this disease was also measured using the Jackknife method. The results showed that the highest risk of brucellosis is located in southern Golestan, East, and West of Mazandaran, and south of Guilan province, and moisture, slope, vegetation and elevation are the most effective environmental factors on the spatial distribution of the disease. In addition, the probability of the disease in northern Iran increases from west to east. These findings could assist the public health managers and decision-makers in organizing a more efficient public health system.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF EARTHQUAKES TO THE DEFORMATION OF ZAGROS TECTONIC PROVINCE
Authors: Sharifi M. A. , Bahroudi A. , Mafi S.
Published: October 2019

Abstract. In this study, we investigate the contribution of earthquakes to the deformation of Zagros province and compare the seismicity and the density of earthquakes in different parts of the province. The mathematics used in this research is based on calculations of moment rates. The seismic moment rate is the average amount of seismic energy releases from the tectonic province in each year. The geodetic moment rate is the average amount of energy which is consumed every year to make deformation in Zagros. The ratio of these two moment rates expresses the contribution of earthquakes in making deformation in Zagros province. According to the calculations, this ratio is estimated to be 13.06%. Along with the information obtained from the moment rates, we can also obtain the shear and the dilative strain rates from the strain rate tensors, which show the volumetric changes and the deformation rate in different parts of the Zagros, respectively. The data used in this study include the focal coordinates of the Zagros earthquakes with their magnitude and the velocity vectors of the Zagros geodynamic network, which are used to calculate the seismic and the geodetic moment rates.
Extremeness of recent drought events in Switzerland: dependence on variable and return period choice
Authors: Brunner Manuela I. , Liechti Katharina , Zappa Massimiliano
Published: October 2019

Abstract. The 2018 drought event had severe ecological, economic, and social impacts. How extreme was it in Switzerland? We addressed this question by looking at different types of drought, including meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, and groundwater drought, and at the two characteristics deficit and deficit duration. The analysis consisted of three main steps: (1) event identification using a threshold-level approach, (2) drought frequency analysis, and (3) comparison of the 2018 event to the severe 2003 and 2015 events. In Step 2 the variables precipitation, discharge, soil moisture, and low-flow storage were first considered separately in a univariate frequency analysis; pairs of variables were then investigated jointly in a bivariate frequency analysis using a copula model for expressing the dependence between the two variables under consideration. Our results show that the 2018 event was especially severe in north-eastern Switzerland in terms of soil moisture, with return periods locally exceeding 100 years. Slightly longer return periods were estimated when discharge and soil moisture deficits were considered together. The return period estimates depended on the region, variable, and return period considered. A single answer to the question of how extreme the 2018 drought event was in Switzerland is therefore not possible – rather, it depends on the processes one is interested in.
Negentropy anomaly analysis of the borehole strain associated with the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake
Authors: Zhu Kaiguang , Yu Zining , Chi Chengquan , Fan Mengxuan , Li Kaiyan
Published: October 2019

Abstract. A large earthquake of 8.0 magnitude occurred on 12 May 2008, 14:28 UTC, with the epicentre in Wenchuan. To investigate the pre-earthquake anomalous strain changes, negentropy is introduced to borehole strain data for three locations, approximated by skewness and kurtosis, revealing the non-Gaussianity of recorded fluctuations. We separate the negentropy anomalies from the background by Otsu's method and accumulate the anomaly frequency on different scales. The results show that the long-term cumulative frequency of negentropy anomalies follows a sigmoid behaviour, while the inflection point of the fitting curve is close to the occurrence of the earthquake. For the short-term analysis before the earthquake, there are two cumulative acceleration phases. To further verify the correlation with the earthquake, we compare our findings for different time periods and stations and rule out the possible influence of meteorological factors. We consider the negentropy analysis to exhibit potential for studying pre-earthquake anomalies.
González Ramos, A.M. (dir.) (2018): Mujeres en la ciencia contemporánea. La aguja y el camello, Barcelona, Icaria. 220 pp
Authors: García Rodríguez María Isabel
Published: October 2019

El libro presenta la situación de las mujeres en el sistema de ciencia contemporáneo analizando elementos como la estructura del sistema, las políticas de evaluación de méritos, el capital social y el modelo de gestión. El objetivo es conocer los impactos que tienen estos elementos sobre la situación de las mujeres en el sistema.
INTERFACES ENTRE COMUNICAÇÃO PARA A SUSTENTABILIDADE E EDUCAÇÃO AMBIENTAL: UMA COMPREENSÃO A PARTIR DA EXTENSÃO UNIVERSITÁRIA
Authors: Sousa Silva Francisco Mário de , Nascimento Verônica Salgueiro do , Queiroz Zuleide Fernandes de
Published: October 2019

RESUMO: Estudos sobre a sustentabilidade e educação ambiental apontam a necessária interação dos conceitos a ações éticas e democráticas, o que inclui processos comunicativos, educativos e emancipatórios. Nesse contexto, a pesquisa objetivou compreender as interfaces entre a comunicação para a sustentabilidade e educação ambiental, tendo como objeto de análises, ações desempenhadas por uma iniciativa de extensão universitária, vinculada à Universidade Federal do Cariri. Para tanto, utilizou-se da pesquisa participante como principal instrumento metodológico, no período correspondente a março de 2016 e dezembro de 2017. Constatou-se que, a “comunicação para a sustentabilidade” possui como fundamento, práticas de educação ambiental, pautadas em princípios democráticos e emancipatórios, característico de ações dialógicas que consideram a participação social.

Palavras-chave: Comunicação para a Sustentabilidade; Educação Ambiental; Extensão Universitária.
n. 38 - ESTUDO DAS POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS DE FORMAÇÃO DE PROFESSORES ASSOCIADO AOS RESULTADOS DO IDEB DOS ESTADOS DO CEARÁ E MARANHÃO
Authors: Da Silva Maria Cristina Mesquita , Rassi Cerce Lívia Maria Maria , Brito Renato De Oliveira
Published: October 2019

Por meio deste artigo são analisadas as políticas públicas nacionais e estaduais voltadas à formação de professores, e a concretização dessas políticas nos estados do Ceará e do Maranhão. O estudo constituiu-se de um exercício reflexivo para compreender a abrangência destas políticas nos respectivos estados e o seu alcance junto aos profissionais para os quais se direcionam, buscando observar a possível relação das mesmas com o desempenho dos estados nas avaliações nacionais da educação básica, em especial no Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (IDEB). A análise se sustenta na revisão bibliográfica, dos normativos e dos documentos técnico-institucionais relacionados ao tema. Considera-se que a oferta suficiente em quantidade e qualidade de políticas públicas para a formação de professores é um fator grande relevância para a melhoria da qualidade da Educação Básica e, consequentemente, para o incremento dos resultados das avaliações.
Development of a Learning School in Wat Srichan School, Khon Kaen Province: A Participatory Action Research
Authors: Chanthago Phramaha Jittipong , Phrakrudhammapissamai Phrakrudhammapissamai , Jantaragaroon Chayanon
Published: October 2019

This research was conducted in order to develop a learning school system at Wat Srichan School. This monk school has experienced problems related to quality due to the students’ low proficiency as evidenced in the unsatisfying O-net Test score. This research was framed around the participatory discipline in which both critical social theory and theory of post-modernism were integrated in order to assure the attainment of information from collobaration between the researcher and the research participants. Thirty research participants were engaged in different processes of the research, including planning, acting, observing, and reflecting upon the results. These research processes were deployed in 2 semesters between the academic year 2015-2016. The development was aimed at creating positive changes in the student’s learning. The research created three developmental projects: 1) Creating an environment that promoted learning, 2) Developing teachers to foster teaching skills that promote critical thinking and creativity among the learners, and 3) Developing critical thinking skills and creativity for the learners. The projects were found to be effective for the promotion of learning at the school because the overall scores of all of the projects’ indicators and the score for each individual project were both averaged above 3.50. The project helped to create awareness among the researchers and the participants regarding the importance of collaborative and democratic measures as crucial means for success. Particularly in this research, it was observed that in order for the learning environment to be created the three projects mentioned above should be implemented.
Chondroprotective efficiencies of intra-articular treatment of glucosamine sulfate and hyaluronic acid
Authors: KARADUMAN Zekeriya Okan , ISTEMI Yucel , BAS Elif Gulsah , SOLAK Kazım , MIDI Ahmet
Published: October 2019

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to determine a comparison between the chondroprotective efficacy of intra-articularadministrations of glucosamine sulphate (GS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) in the experimental knee osteoarthritis model in rats.Materials and Methods: Forty-five rats were assigned to the following three groups: GS group (Group 1), HA group (Group 2), controlgroup (Group 3). The knee joints of the rats were seen macroscopically and the anterior cruciate ligaments were resected. Two weeksafter surgery, an intra-articular injection was applied to each group for three weeks with 1 week interval. In the osteoarthritic rat kneejoints, the histopathological effects of tissue regeneration of GS and HA applications were compared with the control group.Results: The total Mankin Scale was 2.64±2.56, 3.58±3.9, 8.12±2.80 for the GS group, HA group and control group respectively.According to these results, the GS and HA were superior to the control group. The values of the total Mankin scale, cartilage structure,cellular abnormality, matrix staining and tidemark integrity of the GS group were lower than the values of the HA group but thisdifference was not statistically significant.Conclusion: According to the results of this study, intra-articular administration of GS for the management of osteoarthritis may bebeneficial for patients with knee osteoarthritis.
The Change and Construction of Chinese National Image in 1949-2019
Authors: Hailong Zhu
Published: October 2019

The image of country is overall impression and evaluation of the country itself given by countries and people at home and abroad. It is a concrete expression of the country’s strategic resources and overall strength. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, its national image has evolved over the past 70 years. It has realized the transformation from a monist image of “political supremacy” to “democracy, livelihood, and civil rights”, from a poor and backward country in the East to a rich and advanced socialist country, and from “hard power” to “soft power”. In the future, the national image construction needs to improve the theoretical building and strengthen the top-level design, highlight the strategic perspective of the international communication system, expand the communication path, and enhance the time-effectiveness of the dissemination of the Chinese national image.
Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Wetland Ecosystem of Port-Harcourt Metropolis, Nigeria
Authors: Elekwachi Wali , P. O. Phil-Eze , Hycienth O. Nwankwoala , Lilian C. Bosco-Abiahu , Victoria O. Emelu
Published: October 2019

The study analyzed changes in land use and land cover overtime in Port-Harcourt metropolis using remote sensing techniques from 1984-2013.The Geo-referencing properties of 1984, 1999, 2003 and 2013 include; universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection, and datum WGS 84, zone 32, ERDAS Imagine (2014).These were used for displaying processing, enhancement, classification of the imageries and also used for the delineation of the study area imagery. IDRIS SELVA was used for the development of land use land cover classes. ArcGIS 10.1was used in developing, display and processing of the location maps. Total percentage change and total rate of change for the entire trend after conversion are thus: Saltwater Wetland 23.44%, to- 2.17, Freshwater Wetland - 26.44%to- 11.49 Fallow land- 47.13%to- 5.41 Built-up Area 43.33% to 7.41Water bodies 43.36% to 3.06.The study recommended that activities shrinking wetlands size should be thoroughly put to check by the government and better efforts should be focused on those activities that inspire wetland conservation.
Agriculture and Non-Agriculture Growth, Inflation and Income Inequality in Developed and Developing Countries
Authors: Siami-Namini Sima
Published: October 2019

The aim of this article is to examine how agriculture and non-agriculture growth and inflation affect income inequality. The multivariate panel data approach is used to examine the application of Kuznets hypothesis between income inequality and agriculture and non-agriculture growth and test the existence of nonlinear relationship between income inequality and inflation rate in a large sample of data collected for developed and developing countries. The Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter is used to separate the cyclical component from the trend component of inflation rate and agriculture and non-agriculture growth. The results demonstrate a significant negative nonlinear relationship between income inequality and the HP filtered inflation rate squared in developed countries. The findings confirm the application of a ‘U-shaped’ of Kuznets curve between income inequality and agriculture growth and between income inequality and non-agriculture growth in developed countries. In addition, the results show Kuznets inverted ‘U-shaped’ curve between agriculture growth and income inequality, and Kuznets ‘U-shaped’ curve between non-agriculture growth and income inequality in developing countries.
Experience of support in the light of the concept of Max van Manen’s pedagogical relationship
Authors: Krupska Marta
Published: October 2019

The article takes a closer look at some important aspects of the ethical meaning of the experience of support in a pedagogical relationship in the light of the achievements of modern phenomenological pedagogy. The presented refl ection will refer to methodological proposals as well as ethical and pedagogical refl ection of one of the world’s most important representatives of pedagogy inspired by phenomenology – Max van Manen, a retired professor at the University of Alberta in Canada. The main goal of the issue is to deepen understanding of the nature and importance of support in the process of building and developing a pedagogical relationship and in the context of refl ection on the concept of pedagogical tact. Refl ection on the pedagogical relationship indicates the need to care for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of support in the process of upbringing and education. The proposed attempt to explore the importance of support in a pedagogical relationship refers to the ethical and pedagogical dimension of refl ection on the importance of heteronomy and vulnerability of a child and adult responsibility.
Implementation of an individualized education path at school – legal assumptions
and practical solutions
Authors: Sikorski Jacek
Published: October 2019

The individualized educational path is one of many forms of psychological and pedagogical help offered to the pupil on school grounds. It is a form of support for pupils with difficulties in functioning, mainly due to their health condition. It is implemented by pupil based on the opinion issued by a psychological and pedagogical counseling center. Due to the fact that the individualized education path is a new form of psychological and pedagogical help, attempts have been made to research this area. In order to learn about the procedure for its organization and implementation on school grounds, a questionnaire was used, which was addressed to school pedagogues. The obtained research results indicate: its proper organization in accordance with the procedures, cooperation of teachers with specialists employed in the school, cooperation of pedagogues with psychological and pedagogical counseling center, and above all with parents of the pupil covered by the individualized education path. The obtained results allowed to formulate the most important conclusion: the individualized education path is a form beneficial to the pupil, giving a chance to improve its functioning, both in the educational, emotional as well as social spheres.
Co nauczyciele wiedzą o edukacji dla zrównoważonego rozwoju? Analiza wyników badań
Authors: Mróz Anna , Ocetkiewicz Iwona
Published: October 2019

Contemporary societies live in a complex reality in which the only certainty is the growing pace of change. In order to meet the requirements of modern times, we need profound changes in the fi eld of educating young people who will decide about social, economic and environmental development in the future. The answer to the challenges of today is to be a sustainable development model, which is possible to achieve through well-planned and effectively implemented education. The article deals with the issue of teachers’ knowledge in the fi eld of education for sustainable development. Using the survey method, an attempt was made to answer the question: What is the level of teachers’ knowledge in the fi eld of education for sustainable development? Moreover, efforts were made to fi nd out where teachers get knowledge about education for sustainable development. 337 teachers of core subjects from Lesser Poland schools took part in the study. The results show that teachers’ knowledge in the fi eld of education for sustainable development is insuffi cient.
Truancy as an educational wilderness area
Authors: Zińczuk Monika
Published: October 2019

The problem of truancy of students in a modern school is a frequent phenomenon that leads to
student failures in learnin g. Truancy contributes not only to lowering the student’s performance at school, but also to deepening the existing diffi culties. The article presents related terms of truancy, their typology, determinants and consequences. Based on the results of the research, the scale of this phenomenon was discussed. Methods of preventing school truancy were also proposed.
Digital Video Stabilization: Algorithms and Evaluation
Authors: Souza Marcos Roberto , Pedrini Helio
Published: October 2019

Several devices have allowed the acquisition and editing of videos in various circumstances, such as digital cameras, smartphones and other mobile devices. However, the use of cameras under adverse conditions usually results in non-precise motion and occurrence of shaking, which may compromise the stability of the obtained videos. To overcome such problem, digital stabilization aims to correct camera motion oscillations that occur in the acquisition process, particularly when the cameras are mobile and handled in adverse conditions, through software techniques - without the use of specific hardware - to enhance visual quality either with the intention of enhancing human perception or improving final applications, such as detection and tracking of objects. This is important in order to avoid hardware cost and indispensable for videos already recorded. This work proposed three methods to perform digital video stabilization and two other techniques to evaluate video stabilization quality.
A visual approach for user-guided feature fusion
Authors: Hilasaca Gladys M. , Paulovich Fernando V.
Published: October 2019

Dimensionality Reduction transforms data from high-dimensional space into visual space preserving the existing relationships. This abstract representation of complex data enables exploration of data similarities, but brings challenges about the analysis and interpretation for users on mismatching between their expectations and the visual representation. A possible way to model these understandings is via different feature extractors, because each feature has its own way to encode characteristics. Since there is no perfect feature extractor, the combination of multiple sets of features has been explored through a process called feature fusion. Feature fusion can be readily performed when machine learning or data mining algorithms have a cost function. However, when such a function does not exist, user support needs to be provided otherwise the process is impractical. In this project, we present a novel feature fusion approach that employs data samples and visualization to allow users to not only effortlessly control the combination of different feature sets but also to understand the attained results. The effectiveness of our approach is confirmed by a comprehensive set of qualitative and quantitative experiments, opening up different possibilities for user-guided analytical scenarios. The ability of our approach to provide real-time feedback for feature fusion is exploited in the context of unsupervised clustering techniques, where users can perform an exploratory process to discover the best combination of features that reflects their individual perceptions about similarity. A traditional way to visualize data similarities is via scatter plots, however, they suffer from overlap issues. Overlapping hides data distributions and makes the relationship among data instances difficult to observe, which hampers data exploration. To tackle this issue, we developed a technique called Distance-preserving Grid (DGrid). DGrid employs a binary space partitioning process in combination with Dimensionality Reduction output to create orthogonal regular grid layouts. DGrid ensures non-overlapping instances because each data instance is assigned only to one grid cell. Our results show that DGrid outperforms the existing state-of-the-art techniques, whereas requiring only a fraction of the running time and computational resources rendering DGrid as a very attractive method for large datasets.
Hierarchy-of-Visual-Words: a Learning-based Approach for Trademark Image Retrieval
Authors: Lourenço Vítor N. , Silva Gabriela G. , Fernandes Leandro A. F.
Published: October 2019

In this paper, we present the Hierarchy-of-Visual-Words (HoVW), a novel trademark image retrieval (TIR) method that decomposes images into simpler geometric shapes and defines a descriptor for binary trademark image representation by encoding the hierarchical arrangement of component shapes. The proposed hierarchical organization of visual data stores each component shape as a visual word. It is capable of representing the geometry of individual elements and the topology of the trademark image, making the descriptor robust against linear as well as to some level of nonlinear transformation. Experiments show that HoVW outperforms previous TIR methods on the MPEG-7 CE-1 and MPEG-7 CE-2 image databases.
Uncertainty Quantification in Reservoir History Matching Using the Ensemble Smoother
Authors: Silva Thiago M. D. , Barreto Abelardo , Pesco Sinesio
Published: October 2019

Ensemble-based methods have been widely used in uncertainty quantification, particularly, in reservoir history matching. The search for a more robust method which holds high nonlinear problems is the focus for this area. The Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) is a popular tool for these problems, but studies have noticed uncertainty in the results of the final ensemble, high dependent on the initial ensemble. The Ensemble Smoother (ES) is an alternative, with an easier impletation and low computational cost. However, it presents the same problem as the EnKF. The Ensemble Smoother with Multiple Data Assimilation (ES-MDA) seems to be a good alternative to these ensemble-based methods, once it assimilates tha same data multiple times. In this work, we analyze the efficiency of the Ensemble Smoother and the Ensemble Smoother with multiple data assimilation in a reservoir histoy matching of a turbidite model with 3 layers, considering permeability estimation and data mismatch.
Kontextualismus
Authors: Grimmel Andreas
Published: October 2019

If a context changes, the range of possible perceptions, interpretations and possible courses of action related to it also changes. This volume takes this central finding as its starting point in order to place the concept of context in a broader theoretical framework and shows how political science research could benefit from a new contextualist approach that has its roots in both the ‘linguistic turn’ and differentiation theory.
In addition to the theoretical foundations of the socio-scientific contextualism outlined here, this book explores different fields of application at the point where politics and law overlap. The focus here is on current challenges posed by both EU integration and processes of functional differentiation in global society.
Extraction of Silica from the residue of Thermoelectric Power Plants
Authors: Irigon Paula Irigon de , Tubino Rejane Maria Candiota , Kirchheim Ana Paula , Ferret Lizete , Sanches Filho Pedro José
Published: October 2019

Brazil presents the second largest coal reserves in Latin America, whose exploration is mainly focused on electricity generation. The present study was carried out to systematically evaluate the influence of various physical and chemical factors on the extraction of pure amorphous silica precipitated from coal-fired bottom ash. The coal bottom ashes (CBA) is a disposable waste from thermoelectric plants, which basically consists of oxides of silicon (80-60%), aluminium (25-20%) and iron (10-2%), being considered as raw material for silica production, by the sol-gel process. The CBA characterization was carried out by determining moisture, elemental composition (XRF), amorphism (XRD) and granulometry.The process evaluation tookplace in two stages: the quantitative evaluation that wasrelated to the quantification of the amount of silica obtained and the process variables (NaOH concentration and temperature); and the qualitative evaluationof the silica extracted. The extracted silica particles were characterized by TG, BET, XRD.Silica and aluminium contents were obtained by gravimetric analysis. Among the factors analysed, the concentration of sodium hydroxide and temperature interference were the most important. Likewise, the repeat process for the same ash sample (sequential extraction) proved to be more effective than increasing the NaOH concentration. The obtained yield was 51.34%. The silica is 89.4% pure, when 5,63% of impurities are related to aluminium oxide .
Análise do potencial da utilização de energia solar em Cuiabá/MT
Authors: Magalhães Natália Amorim , Santos Felipe Gustavo Capovilla dos , Luz Emília Garcez da , Nogueira Marta Cristina de Jesus Albuquerque , Nogueira José de Souza , Santos Flávia Maria de Moura
Published: October 2019

A capital de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, assim como o restante do estado, apresenta condições climáticas intensas ao longo do ano. Cidade de clima quente e com céu predominantemente ensolarado durante todo o ano, Cuiabá possui grande potencial para a implantação de energia solar fotovoltaica, apesar de não estar localizada na área do Brasil que recebe maior radiação. Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar este potencial, tendo em vista a importância do aproveitamento de energias renováveis no cenário atual e do aumento da demanda por energia elétrica no Brasil. A análise foi feita por meio dos dados de irradiação provenientes do software SunData, tanto no plano horizontal, quanto no plano inclinado ideal para a geração de energia, e a partir deles foi calculado o fator de capacidade de duas placas solares para a irradiação incidente na área urbana de Cuiabá/MT. Além disso, foi realizada uma análise do potencial na escala local a partir de modelagem 3D gerada pelo software Autodesk Revit em conjunto com o plugin Insight Analysis.
Purification and characterization of glycerin obtained from soybean biodiesel production
Authors: Pereira Roberto Guimarães , Souza Fernanda Arenásio Benites Alves de
Published: October 2019

The crude glycerin is a raw material which can be applied in a wide range of products, even with all its impurities, without the need for purification. However, the purification processes allow a wider application, making it more salable. With increasing demand for biodiesel, a glycerin excess is being released to the market. Therefore, the search for alternative treatments for the glycerin derived from the biodiesel production process is of utmost importance, ensuring biofuel production flow. This paper presents glycerin purification experiments done in a crude glycerin (64.44% of glycerol) obtained from the soybean biodiesel production, which was subjected to pre-purification process, purification with activated carbon and by ion exchange process. After the purification process the glycerin sample was characterized and compared with commercially used glycerin. The highest content of glycerol achieved was 94.22% corresponding to the steps of: pre-purification process (washing, acidification, separation, neutralization, salting-outing and evaporation); purification with activated carbon and by ion exchange process with mixed resin.
Vandermonde determinantal ideals
Authors: Watanabe Junzo , Yanagawa Kohji
Published: October 2019

We show that the ideal generated by maximal minors (i.e., $k+1$-minors) of a $(k+1) \times n$ Vandermonde matrix is radical and Cohen-Macaulay. Note that this ideal is generated by all Specht polynomials with shape $(n-k,1, …,1)$.
Isomorphisms of spaces of affine continuous complex functions
Authors: Rondoš Jakub , Spurný Jiří
Published: October 2019

Let $X$ and $Y$ be compact convex sets such that their each extreme point is a weak peak point. We show that $\operatorname{ext} X$ is homeomorphic to $\operatorname{ext} Y$ provided there exists a small-bound isomorphism of the space $\mathfrak{A}(X,\mathbb{C} )$ of continuous affine complex functions on $X$ onto $\mathfrak{A}(Y,\mathbb{C} )$. Further, we generalize a result of Cengiz to the context of compact convex sets.
Exploring the mediatization of organizational communication by religious communities in digital media
Authors: Knudsen Gry Høngsmark , Nielsen Marie Vejrup
Published: October 2019

This article presents an exploratory study of some of the ways in which religious communities communicate as organizations in digital spaces. Based on previous research, the article examines the extent to which processes of mediatization are visible in the digital spaces utilized by religious communities in Denmark today.The study is based on data from websites and Facebook groups from ten Christian churches: five ELCD (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark) parishes and five free churches. Data was collected using methods particularly designed for collecting digital data, with due consideration of the ethical implications of researching religious identity online. The data collection represents a follow-up study to the research project Religion in Aarhus 2013. Based on our findings, we suggest that mediatization processes progress more slowly in institutional religious communication because of the way in which they are organized. Furthermore, we demonstrate that there are some patterns in the way Christian communities express themselves online, and that these patterns to some extent depend on whether an ELCD parish or a free church is involved.
La critique musicale d’Émile Vuillermoz autour de la Première Guerre mondiale : musique apolitique ?
Authors: Leduc Marie-Pier
Published: October 2019

Durant la Première Guerre mondiale, le critique musical français Émile Vuillermoz a défendu la musique comme devant être autonome et apolitique. C’est au nom de cette conception esthétique qu’il a rejeté le nationalisme musical et l’union sacrée, mettant son discours au service d’une attitude tantôt patriotique, tantôt pacifiste et antimilitariste. Les mêmes thématiques esthétiques et politiques reviennent lorsqu’il écrit dans La Revue rhénane/Rheinische Blätter entre 1920 et 1924, mensuel bilingue de propagande qui, sous couvert de stimuler les échanges intellectuels et artistiques franco-rhénans, cherche à favoriser un rapprochement de la Rhénanie avec la France et ainsi fragiliser l’unité de l’Allemagne.

À travers le cas de Vuillermoz, cet article démontre que le discours préconisant l’apolitisme de la musique et la présentant comme un trait d’union entre les peuples n’est pas forcément apolitique, et peut être mis au service de différents projets politiques, parfois même contraires.
Chronology of Key Events of Riga Technical University
Authors: Zigmunde Alīda , Lapsa Rūta , Gudro Ilze
Published: October 2019

In study year 2018/2019
Design and reporting considerations for genetic screening tests
Authors: Hagenkord Jill , Funke Birgit , Qian Emily , Hegde Madhuri , Jacobs Kevin B , Ferber Matthew , Lebo Matthew , Buchanan Adam H , Bick David
Published: October 2019

Testing asymptomatic individuals for unsuspected conditions is not new to the medical and public health communities and protocols to develop screening tests are well-established. However, the application of screening principles to inherited diseases presents unique challenges. Unlike most screening tests, the natural history and disease prevalence of most rare inherited diseases in an unselected population are unknown. It is difficult or impossible to obtain a “truth set” cohort for clinical validation studies. As a result, it is not possible to accurately calculate clinical positive and negative predictive values for “likely pathogenic” genetic variants, which are commonly returned in genetic screening assays. In addition, many of the genetic conditions included in screening panels do not have clinical confirmatory tests. All of these elements are typically required to justify the development of a screening test, according to the World Health Organization screening principles. Nevertheless, as the cost of DNA sequencing continues to fall, more individuals are opting to undergo genomic testing in the absence of a clinical indication. Despite the challenges, reasonable estimates can be deduced and used to inform test design strategies. Here, we review test design principles and apply them to genetic screening.
Phage integration alters the respiratory strategy of its host
Authors: Carey Jeffrey N , Mettert Erin L , Fishman-Engel Daniel R , Roggiani Manuela , Kiley Patricia J , Goulian Mark
Published: October 2019

Temperate bacteriophages are viruses that can incorporate their genomes into their bacterial hosts, existing there as prophages that refrain from killing the host cell until induced. Prophages are largely quiescent, but they can alter host phenotype through factors encoded in their genomes (often virulence factors) or by disrupting host genes as a result of integration. Here we describe another mechanism by which a prophage can modulate host phenotype. We show that a temperate phage that integrates in Escherichia coli reprograms host regulation of an anaerobic respiratory system, thereby inhibiting a bet hedging strategy. The phage exerts this effect by upregulating a host-encoded signal transduction protein through transcription initiated from a phage-encoded promoter. We further show that this phenomenon occurs not only in a laboratory strain of E. coli, but also in a natural isolate that contains a prophage at this site.
A question of support
Authors: Loissel Elsa
Published: October 2019

Who helps early-career researchers when they experience mental health difficulties?
Radiometric Survey of Granitic Quarry Site of Ebony State, Nigeria
Authors: Onwuka M. , Ononugbo C. P.
Published: October 2019

Radiometric survey of the granitic quarry site at Ishiagu and its environment was done using two radiation monitors and geographical positioning system (GPS) for GIS mapping. In-situ measurement of exposure rate was carried out following the international standard organizational standard between May 2018 and June 2019. The measured average exposure rates ranged from 0.010± 0.002 to 0.038 ± 0.003 mRh-1 with mean value of 0.026 ±0.005 mRh-1. The estimated outdoor absorbed dose rate ranged from 87.0 to 330.6 nGyh-1 with mean value of 228.38 nGyh-1. The equivalent dose rate ranges from 0.84 to 3.20 mSvy-1 with mean value of 2.21 mSvy-1. The mean annual effective dose equivalent (AEDE) calculated was 0.28 mSvy-1 while the mean excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) was 0.98 x 10-3. The estimated annual effective dose to different organs showed that the testes have the highest annual effective  dose of 0.191 mSvy-1 followed by ovaries and kidney of 0.135 and 0.139 mSvy-1 respectively while the liver has the lowest annual effective  dose of 0.103 mSvy-1. The radiation contour map of the area showed the distribution of radiation of high and low areas. The result showed that the radiation exposure rate and its associated radiological risk parameters exceeded the safe limits prescribed by ICRP and also the values reported in literatures. However, these values may not constitute acute health risk but long term exposure of residents and workers may be detrimental to their health. Therefore adequate monitoring of this quarry site is necessary to checkmate the exposure rate and provide some protective measures for quarry workers.
Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Broilers Fed Diets Containing Various Duration of Water Soaked Sweet Orange Peels
Authors: Amaga A. O. , Oluremi O. I. A. , Tuleun C. D. , Kaankuka F. G.
Published: October 2019

An experiment was conducted with one hundred and eighty (180) unsexed day old broiler chicks of Arbor acre strain to investigate the effect of feeding diets supplemented with water soaked sweet orange peel meal (SOP) on the performance and carcass characteristics of broiler chicken. The broiler chickens were randomly distributed into six (6) dietary treatments of 30 birds per treatment which were further distributed into three (3) replicates of 10 birds per replicate from day old, in a completely randomized design. Six dietary treatments were formulated such that, T1 which is control was maize based. In diets 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, sweet orange peels replaced maize at various duration of water soaked, 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours respectively and incorporated at 30% inclusion. Data were collected on feed intake and weekly weight gain. Six (6) birds were randomly selected per treatment starved over night, weighed and sacrificed by cervical dislocation for carcass analysis. Result reveals significant (p<0.05) difference in daily feed intake, there was no significant (p>0.05) difference on final weight and daily weight gain. The result of carcass characteristics showed no significant (p>0.05) difference in carcass cut and internal organs. It can be concluded that supplementing broiler diets with water soaked sweet orange peels had no detrimental effects on the performance and carcass characteristics.