bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Social Contribution of Housing on Vulnerable Populations: A Case Study for the Region of La Araucanía
Authors: Maldonado V , Sierra-Varela L , Loyola M
Published: June 2020

Within the framework of social sustainability, the studies that measure the contribution of houses allocated to the country’s most vulnerable population are limited. This article presents a case study that assesses the contribution of a social housing project to social sustainability in the Region of La Araucanía, Chile. Here, the degree of social contribution for the Amuley Ruka project in Pitrufquén, Region of La Araucanía is determined. In this study, a pre-post assessment was used by triangulating the data obtained in field visits, interviews and document reviews. Thus, appropriate indicators were adjusted to measure multiple evaluation criteria and the measurement scales were standardized. All this makes it possible to determine the vulnerable situation of the beneficiaries, the effects on the context and the criteria to improve. The results obtained clarify the partial and total contribution of the social housing project. It is detected that the criteria “Connectivity and access” and “Family support” do not present significant differences resulting from the project. In addition, the criteria “Community Health and Safety” and “Recreation infrastructure” show a reduction in their contribution with respect to the social housing intervention.
Public Transport as a Public Place: Urban Insertion Strategies of the Coquimbo – La Serena Light Rail Project
Authors: Hidalgo R
Published: June 2020

The public transport systems, as much for its infrastructure magnitude as for the importance of its services, have been addressed from the urban design theory and practice as potential structure elements of the contemporary urban experience. They are presented as privileged meeting points, and as possible protagonists of the form, culture and identity of a city. The Coquimbo-La Serena light rail project arises as an alternative to improve the connectivity through public transportation of this conurbation, a new metropolitan area of almost half million inhabitants, which has undergone far-reaching changes in its mobility habits in the last decades. The use of private cars has doubled in detriment of the use of public transport and walking, which consequently produces congestion and pollution problems. This project proposes a new longitudinal connection, a clean, efficient and interconnected backbone of public transport, which links isolated residential sectors with the city town areas and the main public infrastructure of both cities. It is presented as a “complete street” project that unites important elements of history, geography and city life, being a new urban landmark that conveys the will of diverse actors accomplished as a public-private project through the MOP (Acronym for Ministry of Public Works) concession system.

This article, which is the first academic work about the project, highlights the role of the public transport infrastructure as a central element of the sustainable construction and development of the city, and it discusses the light rail suitability in this sense, particularly compared to the BRT option. Through the presentation of the urban insertion strategies of the Coquimbo–La Serena light rail project, it is stated that a public transportation infrastructure constitutes “place” when it is integrated to the structure, landscape and urban public spaces in a sustainable way.
Effects of the Built Environment on Pedestrian Accessibility in Neighbourhoods in Southern Chile. The case of Temuco, Chile
Authors: Zumelzu A , Estrada M , Jara C , Peña C
Published: June 2020

The aim of this article is to evaluate the effects of the built environment on pedestrian accessibility in two neighborhoods in the area of Alemania Avenue, in the city of Temuco, Chile. The methodology integrates three evaluation methods: the methodMorphoto explore the morphological conditions that influence walkability; The method developed by Emily Talen to measure walking distance to local services and facilities; andPeople Followingmethod from Space Syntax theory to evaluate which spatial factors influence the choice of routes and to explore the distance that people walk between their points of interests. Results show that the choice of routes that people take to reach a destination is not defined by the shortest route, but rather by the spatial quality of streets and street frontages. The study suggests that elements such as blind walls, the absence of green spaces and the decrease in the size of sidewalks on streets affects negatively in the choice of routes, and consequently pedestrian accessibility. The article concludes with recommendations for urban planning neighborhoods towards a more sustainable future.
Hearing Children’s Voices: The Role of Public Space in Vulnerable Communities. The case of the Hills of Valparaíso, Chile
Authors: Soto M , León J , Escobar A
Published: June 2020

The relationship of childhood and public space is increasingly distant. Various factors, both social and governmental (from violence to the planning processes themselves), have gradually led to an environment in which what is public becomes alien. In this context, the analysis of public space and its relationship to children’s lives must draw attention to not only children’s perceptions of these spaces but also the role they should accommodate. In this respect, the research aims to identify children’s activity patterns and safety perceptions about public spaces in communities highly vulnerable to socio-natural disasters. To this end, three case studies are presented, corresponding to three public spaces located in the hills of the city of Valparaíso, a territory which, in addition to having a lack of green areas, is characterized by recurring socio-natural disasters such as earthquakes and fires. Additionally, these three public spaces were chosen according to the level of inclusion of the child population in their respective design processes. Six focus groups with children between the ages of 8 and 11 years old who study in educational establishments near the squares were conducted to identify the children’s perceptions of these public spaces and understand their roles as safe spaces amid anthropogenic or natural risks. The results show that the children feel more involved in and closer to public spaces when they have participated in their design; however, they do not consider these spaces areas of protection against socio-natural disasters.
Urban Ecology. Bird Diversity in Cities in Southern Chile
Authors: Muñoz-Pedreros A
Published: June 2020

Urbanisation is a dominant demographic trend and an important component of the earth’s global transformation. It has unprecedented socioeconomic, cultural and environmental implications, and poses a threat to the conservation of biodiversity, as it can provoke alterations in ecological systems and lead to poor functioning of urban systems as they are currently structured. From the ecological point of view, the city is a fragmented, heterogeneous, complex mosaic of habitats, including ecosystems with different degrees of alteration. Urban systems contain only small areas of fragments of original vegetation and/or artificial green spaces, leading to a drastic decrease from their original abundance and diversity. However, green spaces, including original fragments, can help to conserve bird diversity, improving the functioning of these artificial systems in the medium term. This study looks at the characteristics and benefits of urban ecology in the framework of sustainable development, and carries out a meta-analysis of research into bird diversity in four cities in southern Chile, using ecological indices (Shannon-Wiener, β diversity between cities). The results reveal that there is low evenness in the four cities and that the city with the highest evenness is Valdivia (J = 0.78). There is clear dominance by a few bird species (e.g. the exotic species house sparrow Passer domesticus and rock pigeon Columba livia, and the native species rufous-collared sparrow Zonotricia capensis, austral thrush Turdus falklandii, southern lapwing Vanellus chilensis, and chimango caracara Milvago chimango). β diversity is low as the four cities show similarity greater than 50%. Birds reject paved surfaces in squares and prefer areas with native bushes and trees, with nearby bodies of water and large spaces (parks rather than squares). The study proposes technical recommendations and suggests further research.
The impact of fire in palm oil estate on the bird and butterfly species diversity: case study in RAJ Oil Palm Estate, South Sumatera
Authors: Masy’ud Burhanuddin , Santosa Yanto , Aulia Nurrizki , Gusnadi Farhan Dwi
Published: June 2020

RAJ oil palm is one of the oil plantation estates in South Sumatera that experienced land fires in 2018 with the burning estimated around 110 ha, and are believed to have a negative impact reducing on species diversity of birds and butterflies in the area. The study was conducted to identify and analyze the comparison of species diversity of birds and butterflies, loss and gain of the species in burnt and unburnt areas after one year of fire. Data collection was carried out in two types of land cover (grass and gelam) in pairs for burnt and unburnt lands after one year of fire. To inventory, the birds and butterfly species were done at the active time of animals, by using strip transect method, parallel in burnt and unburnt areas with a total of 3 repetitions in each type of land cover. The estimation of the impact was obtained by reckoning the loss and gain of birds and butterfly species from the burnt and unburnt area, the level of species richness, evenness, and similarity. The results showed that the total number of animal species found in both observation lines for each type of land cover (grass and gelam) for unburnt and burnt areas were 29 species of birds and 6 species of butterflies. Generally, it can be stated that the values of H and Dmg for birds were relatively greater in the burnt area compared to in the unburnt area. On the contrary, the values for butterflies were greater in the unburnt area than in the burnt area. The percentage of species loss for the bird was smaller than the gain in the burnt area compared to unburnt land, 24% of species loss and 28% of species gain in the grassland, and 14% of species loss and 33% of species gain in the gelam land. For butterflies, the percentage of species loss was relatively greater than the percentage of species gain due to fire, 67% for the species loss and 33% for the species gain.
How land fire impacts mammal diversity after several years: A study in Waimusi Agroindah Oil Palm Plantation, South Sumatra
Authors: Yudea Catharina , Santosa Yanto
Published: June 2020

Forest and land fire are one of the global disaster that raging every year. Most of the time, fire from concession and oil palm plantation area are accused to be the main factor that caused degradation of natural habitat and the biodiversity, including mammals. Mammals have important roles in sustaining a balanced ecosystem. However, the study of the impacts and mammals response to forest and land fires is yet to be fathomed. To provide more understanding in the impacts of fire on mammals a study was conducted at Waimusi Agroindah Oil Palm Plantation, South Sumatera, in two different periods, which are two years and four years after the fire to identify and comparing the diversity of mammal species. The data was collected with strip transect method, parallel in post-burned area and in unburned area with total four repetitions in each areas. The estimation of the impact is obtained by calculating the loss and gain of mammals from the unburned area and post-burned area, the level of species richness, evenness, also the similarity. Result shows that two years after fire, the habitat are already recovering, the number of species, species richness and evenness index was increased 2, 0.19, and 0.1. There was one species lost and two species gained. In the time of four years after the fire, opposite was resulted, all the parameters were decreased, species number decreased one species, richness and evenness number each decreased 0.42 and 0.32 and there was one species lost, but no species gained. This study indicates that land fire impacted mammal diversity, not only caused a degradation, but also an increase on the diversity.
The impact of fire on herpetofauna species diversity : case study in PT Waimusi Agroindah, Sumatera Selatan
Authors: Sri Rejeki Sani Sari , Santosa Yanto
Published: June 2020

PT Waimusi Agroindah (PT WMA) is one of the oil palm companies that experienced land fires in 2015 with the burning estimated arround 400 ha. This caused PT WMA to be accused of reducing biodiversity in the area. Therefore, this research was conducted to identify the impact of fire on herpetofauna diversity, community similarity and percentage species loss or gain. The observation was done by using visual encounter survey (VES) method in 2017 and 2019 in 2 types area, that is Unburnt (UBA) and post-burnt area (PBA). The result of the study showed that PBA 2017 has the highest of species and individual number, and also richness index (S = 15; N = 61 individuals; Dmg = 3.41). Meanwhile, the similarity index (IS) increased from 0,54 in 2017 to 0.87 in 2019. In addition, the percentage of loss in 2017 was 36.36% to 23.08% in 2019. In addition, the percentage of loss decreased from 36.36% in 2017 to 23.08% in 2019. The impact of a fire is not always negative, this can be seen from the presence of herpetofauna species found in post-burnt areas that are not even found in unburnt areas.
Peat lost by fire in Kalampangan area, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
Authors: Kusin Kitso , Jagau Yusurum , Ricardo Jeni , Saman Tampung N. , Aguswan Yusuf
Published: June 2020

Fire is a major threat to the existence of peatlands because once drained, dry peat is flammable. In addition, tropical peat ecosystems, including their flora and fauna, are affected more severely by fire than by illegal logging. Fires in peatlands are mostly caused by human activities, such as opening canals for plantations and agricultural development. The peat soil becomes dry due to the lowering of the groundwater level, therefore it is very easy to burn. We recorded that the peat loss within the area of regrowing forest was reaching 44.2 cm deep on average, 32.1 cm within the opened and 53.9 cm within the degraded forest area. Loss of peat will also cause loss of carbon, about 337.9 tC/ha in the regrowing forest area, 240.0 tC/ha in open area and 382.6 tC/ha in the degraded forest area.
Response in bird community to a forest fire: Does bird population recover after several years?
Authors: Kwatrina Rozza Tri , Santosa Yanto
Published: June 2020

Fires occur almost every year in Sumatra Indonesia and have impacted on biodiversity. As a part of the ecosystem, birds play an essential role in the food chain and have a function as specific indicators of the ecosystem. Despite its important role, the response of the bird community to forest fires is not yet completely understood. To improve the understanding of the recovery of bird community after the forest fire, especially in Indonesia, we conducted a study in 2017 and 2019 at a sago plantation forest in Riau Province, Sumatra. We used the combination of point count method, transect method, and exploration to observe the bird community for 40 days at the burned area and unburned area. We estimated the response of birds on forest fire by quantifying and assess the level of species richness, species evenness, similarity, and feeding group of species. We found that bird communities are starting being recovery four years after the forest fire. Even though the value varies among sites, the species richness and evenness in the burned area are increasing in two years, as much as 28.56%, and 6.52%, respectively. In the fourth year, this recovery was also indicated by the higher number of individuals in the burned area than in the unburned area. In the functional diversity, insectivore is the dominant feeding group. This study revealed that the burned are, that impact on food source regimes, may sustain the existence and recovery of bird community in the post-fire area.
Damaged soil vs degraded soil: a brief note on the Government Regulation of Indonesia No. 4/2001
Authors: Iskandar  , Djajakirana G , Sumawinata B
Published: June 2020

Government Regulation (GR) of Indonesia No. 4/2001 concerning Environmental Damage and/or Pollution Control related to Forest and/or Land Fire summarizes the general criteria for damage to soil properties, both on mineral and peat soil due to forest and or land fires. This GR focuses more on soils in its function as a planting medium and only lists the general criteria for qualitative soil damage, the value of which is only written as up or down without mentioning numbers. Soil has a buffering capacity and resilience capability, therefore, changes in soil properties are temporary. Soils has also chemical, physical and biological properties with a wide range of values. Soils that experiences a change in soil properties in a negative direction should be not referred as damaged soil, but degraded soil. The level of soil degradation (light, medium, heavy and very heavy) will be related to land suitability class and productivity level. Recovery costs can be then calculated from the costs required to procure ameliorant materials so that the productivity of the soil returns to its original state.
Post forest fire management at tropical peat swamp forest: a review of Malaysian experience on rehabilitation and risk mitigation
Authors: Musri I. , Ainuddin A. N. , Hyrul M. H. I. , Hazandy A.H. , Azani A.M. , Mitra U.
Published: June 2020

Malaysian Peat swamp forests constitute a significant component with an estimated 1.54 million hectares remaining. More than 70% of these peat swamp forests are in Sarawak, less than 10% Sabah in and the remainder 20% in Peninsular Malaysia (UNDP, 2006). Peat swamp forest is the fragile unique forest ecosystem type that usually found in the lowland of tropical forest areas. Peat forest is exposed to the fire even especially during the dry season. The impact of forest fires at the peat swamp area not only destroys the above-ground biomass but also penetrates the underlying peat, resulting in undesirable environmental impacts, including high atmospheric emissions of carbon gases. Therefore, undertaking the rehabilitation and fire risk mitigation activities at burned peat land is very tough and challenges due to the massive destruction and changes in the ecosystem. This paper will emphasize more on restoration and rehabilitation as well as fire risk mitigation efforts on burn peat swamp forest in Malaysia. The issues and challenges encountered in order to restore the burn peat swamp forest area will also be addressed.
Inaccuracy of hotspots data for early warning land fires incidence
Authors: Sumawinata B , Hamzah AS , Simanjuntak F , Gumbara RH , Darmawan
Published: June 2020

Severe and expansive land fires in Indonesia have been occurred since 1982 due to the human activities and got more severe because of El Nino phenomenon. The impact of this catastrophe has always been notorious. The land fires in 2019 burned down a total of 850,000 hectares of which 200,000 hectares were peat land. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) stated that 85% of the land fires incidence did not occur in concession land, on the contrary, The Ministry of Environment and Forestry claimed that 85% of the land fires were related to oil palm plantation or oil palm businesses. These contradictory statements of both government institutions have led to the public’s bafflement, therefore the aim of this study was to seek the actual condition regarding the land fires in 2019. The results show that the BNPB statement was based on satellite data and actual field observation data while extinguishing the fires. Meanwhile, The Ministry of Environment and Forestry released their statement according to the land fires hotspots data. This research showed that there are many land fires cases actually detected from real time burn scar of Sentinel L1C and L2A, but are not detected from the MODIS C6 hotspots data. This fact related to the fire flow that fire was initiated mostly in areas with low biomass vegetation such as shrubs. This type of vegetation provided highly combustible fuel for fires so that fire continuously swept the whole similar areas and eventually approached areas with higher biomass vegetation, such as oil palm plantation. Once fire reaches and burns higher biomass vegetation, it lasts for a longer period, and will be recorded as hotspots data. Referring to the regulation of The Ministry of Environment and Forestry Number P.8/MENLHK / General Secretariat / KUM.1 / 3 / 2018 article 8, land fires without hotspots recorded will not be the priority to be checked and controlled. Consequently, the fire will be only detected and then checked after reaching the area with higher biomass vegetation, such as oil palm plantation. There will be a significant delay for inspecting and controlling initial fires. This study also showed that as the result of this monitoring system, The Ministry of Environment and Forestry tended to assume that the land fires are mostly initiated and occurred on oil palm plantations or on concession areas. Therefore it can be concluded that hotspots data cannot be the only source for early warning land fires incidence. An alternative method which is more accurate and susceptive should be invented.
Fuelling the fires: practical steps towards wildfires in Indonesia
Authors: Azahari Darmawan Delima Hasri
Published: June 2020

Forest and land fires occurs in numerous countries, including Indonesia. Even countries with the best technology and equipment, such as the US, Australia and European countries - have strong management and government as well as the funds to better prevent their forest and land fires. This paper argues that forests and land fires can occur in different places, regardless of its plantation. Thus, it shows that palm oil plantations do not necessarily cause such fires, as many have argued for the case of Indonesia. Russia, the US, Australia, Portugal and Italy for example do not have oil palm plantations, but forest and land fires have taken place, even more severe than in Indonesia. This paper will look at the distribution of the fires based on sector and land use. At the same time, by using the case of Indonesia, it will also provide update information on forest and land fires in Indonesia and efforts by stakeholders in palm oil governance.
A proposal of community-based firefighting in peat hydrological unit of Kahayan – Sebangau River: methods and approaches
Authors: Yulianti Nina , Kusin Kitso , Jagau Yusurum , Naito Daisuke , Susetyo Kurniawan Eko
Published: June 2020

In 2019, Indonesia has experienced a very recent El Nino event, which generates an impact on the severity of forest and peatland fires both in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Some provinces such as Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Riau, South Sumatra, and Jambi have been covered in a thick and poisonous haze for months. The total number of fire in Central Kalimantan processed from NASA hotspot data from January to October is reaches 10 000, which approximately 86% occur during two months of the dry season (September – October 2019). The areas that experienced very severe fires in 2019 were Peat Hydrological Unit (PHU) Kahayan – Sebangau River in the administrative boundaries of Pulang Pisau and Palangka Raya. The interesting is the fire in 2019 becomes the four of top fire in Central Kalimantan after 2015, 2006 and 2009. About 10,000 hectares of land including peatlands have been burned only in Central Kalimantan during the forest and land fires season. The smoldering type of peat combustion underground with low-temperature combustion is the most common occurrence in dry peatland areas. This unique fire behavior answers some of the questions why smoldering fires occur over long durations, and why peat fires are difficult to extinguish and produce more smoke. This paper will review the update of 2019’s fire in Central Kalimantan and introduce the methods and approaches of firefighting by the local community. The method that will be presented is a combination of scientific data with the experience of the firefighting team, which is called Tim Serbu Api Kelurahan (TSAK). The collaboration project between the University of Palangka Raya, Kyoto University and CIFOR that supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Japan has proposed to draft a manual for fire prevention and protection for the local fire fighting. This manual covers the method of fire investigation, firefighting preparedness such as making wellbore, fire break, the installation on machine and horse as well as the effective peat rewetting and watering. This method has been tested successfully to slow the movement and spread of fire under thick peat. On the other hand, there is still a need for sophisticated equipment for underground fire detection such as thermal cameras or drones.
Enhancement of Properties of Geopolymer concrete with Crimped Steel Fibers
Authors: Kawade U.R. , Daule S.N.
Published: June 2020

Geopolymer technology is nascent technology in the world of concrete. Indian standard code is not available for geopolymer concrete. However, at the initial stage, mix design of plain geopolymer concrete is done by testing various parameters. Calcium based, sodium based and potassium based solutions are available in the market. Sodium based alkaline solutions are used in the present research. Here, 100% replacement of cement is done with fly ash. Fly ash used is Pozzocrete 63. Geopolymer concrete with addition of crimped steel fibers are used in the research. Molarity is finalized as 13M and ratio of Na2SiO3/NaOH is finalized as 2.Alkaline solution to fly ash ratio is taken in the research. Crimped steel fibers of aspect ratio 70 and 100 are added in geopolymer concrete. Results obtained shows that as aspect ratio of crimped steel fibers increases there is increase in compressive strength, flexural strength and split tensile strength of concrete. It is observed that as the aspect ratio of fibers increased up to some extent, its compressive strength is also increased.
Seismic investigation of longitudinally aligned shape memory alloy-stainless steel reinforced concrete column
Authors: Pardeshi Rahul , Thakur Bhairav , Parghi Anant
Published: June 2020

Shape memory alloy (SMA) is a smart material sustain (8∼13%) an enormous amount of strain and having an ability to regain parental shape after the removal of an external load and temperature due to its pseudo-elastic (SE) and shape memory effect (SME) properties. The SE and SME properties, lower modulus of elasticity, and higher elastic straining of SMA compared to conventional steel reinforcement makes it predictable for the design of the reinforced concrete (RC) structure. The present research is focused on the seismic investigation of RC columns reinforced with SMA rebar in the plastic hinge region along with stainless steel (SS) in the remaining portion of the column. A nonlinear static pushover seismic analysis is used for the numerical investigation of SMA-SS RC column. The numerical model is validated having 98% accuracy with existing literature results. The impact of various parameters on SMA-SS RC column is evaluated for SMA in the plastic hinge region. The results reveal that an aspect ratio, the yield strength of reinforcement, the compressive strength of concrete and axial load are significantly affecting the lateral strength and the ductility of the column under seismic loading.
Fracture analysis of center cracked laminated composite plate subjected to bi-axial loading using extended finite element method
Authors: Lal Achchhe , Jain Khushbu , Palekar S P
Published: June 2020

Among various numerical method, finite element method (FEM) is extensively used but handling the fracture problem with conventional FEM is time-consuming and costly. So, extended finite element method (XFEM) which is based on partition of unity method and enrichment functions is used to handle material with discontinuities. In the present study, fracture analysis of center cracked layered composite plate under different biaxial loadings (tensile, shear and combined) using XFEM is investigated and mixed mode stress intensity factor (MMSIF) is calculated for different parameters.
Performance Evaluation of Bridge Piers Reinforced with Shape Memory Alloys in Plastic Hinge Region: Part 2 – Optimization
Authors: Thakkar Kanan , Parghi Anant
Published: June 2020

Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) rebars are emerging as a potential solution to mitigate the permanent/residual deformation of bridge piers in recent decades. The maximum damage of a bridge pier being concentrated in the plastic hinge region and SMA being the expensive material to be utilized in the large-scale structural elements, the bridge piers are reinforced with SMA in the plastic hinge regions only. The bridge piers are modeled with a non-linear finite element tool. Three variable material parameters are adopted for this study, such as the compressive strength of concrete, the yield strength of steel, and the type of SMA composition. The bridge pier models considering One-Factor-at-a-Time (OFAT) Method, and Full Factorial Design Method in the previous study (Part 1) are considered. In this paper, the results of full factorial design of the previous research are optimized using optimization techniques in order to determine the best suitable combination of these three material properties. The performance of SMA-reinforced bridge piers is evaluated based on the drift values at various performance criteria, i.e., cracking, spalling, yielding, and crushing. The results are presented in terms of the rank-wise significance for each possible combination of the considered material properties of bridge piers.
Application of Light Interference Technique for Locating Groundwater Veins
Authors: Muthekar Vijay V , Sasane Pratik S , Phalak Rupam R , Gour Shivani S , Kharat Avinash G
Published: June 2020

Water is one of the most needful resources on Earth. The increasing population, growing urbanization, and enhanced industrialization over the years have led to increased demand for water all over the world, causing a scarcity of resources and thereby made the world dependent on other sources of water than surface water. Among all, a majorly available and reliable source is groundwater. With diminishing groundwater levels, it endures the need for precise groundwater exploration. The groundwater investigation has been a more significant issue during the last few years due to intolerable distraction, depreciating water quality, and emerging pollution threats to potable resources. To overcome limitations of contemporary groundwater exploration methods present study proposes a new technique utilizing the ‘Light Interference Technique,’ a concept from fundamental Physics. An instrument, NaAvmeter, developed based on Light Interference Technique, was used for groundwater exploration in the current study. A literature survey shows that earth radiations are much dominant over groundwater locations. Empirical investigations were carried out in the Pune city under various site conditions to check the feasibility of application of ‘Light Interference Technique’ for groundwater exploration in the Deccan trap flood basalt terrain. An attempt is also made in the current study to propose a simplified groundwater exploration method using NaAvmeter; an instrument developed based on the ‘Light Interference Technique.’
Experimental study of partial replacement of cement by waste marble powder in a concrete prepared with artificial sand
Authors: Korabu I , Pise C
Published: June 2020

Marble is the most common building material having a huge amount of waste. This waste causes dust pollution also it makes soil infertile etc. Day by day marble waste goes on increasing. Another problem is regarding no availability of natural sand as resources of natural sand exhausting very rapidly also it contains a lot of deleterious materials to overcome this issue we can make partial replacement of cement by waste marble powder and natural sand by artificial sand. The concrete is made with heterogeneous material therefore compressive strength of concrete depends upon various materials with various trials. so the process is simplified in a mathematical technique called the regression method, which gives predicted compressive strength, if we get regression equation, it reduces the trials of concrete mix.
A review on microstructures and properties of high entropy alloys manufactured by selective laser melting
Authors: Zhang Chen , Zhu Junkai , Zheng Huai , Li Hui , Liu Sheng , Cheng Gary J
Published: June 2020

High entropy alloys (HEAs) with multi-component solid solution microstructures have the potential for large-scale industrial applications due to their excellent mechanical and functional properties. However, the mechanical properties of HEAs limit the selection of processing technologies. Additive manufacturing technology possesses strong processing adaptability, making itthe best candidate method to overcome this issue. This comprehensive review examines the current state of selective laser melting (SLM) of HEAs. Introducing SLM to HEAs processing is motivated by its high quality for dimensional accuracy, geometric complexity, surface roughness, and microstructure. This review focuses on analyzing the current developments and challenges in SLM of HEAs, including defects, microstructures, and properties, as well as strengthing prediction models of fabricated HEAs. This review also offers directions for future studies to address existing challenges and promote technological advancement.
Special needs of frail people undergoing emergency laparotomy surgery
Authors: McCarthy Kathryn , Hewitt Jonathan
Published: June 2020

There are now over 30 000 emergency laparotomies under taken in the UK every year, a figure that is increasing year on year. Over half of these people are aged over 70 years old. Frailty is commonly seen in this population and becomes increasingly common with age and is seen in over 50% of elderly emergency laparotomies in people aged over 85 years old. In older people who undergo surgery one third will have died within one year of surgery, a figure which is worse in frail individuals. For those that do survive, post-operative morbidity is worse and 30% of frail older people do not return to their own home. In the UK, the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) is leading the way in providing the evidence base in this population group. Beyond collecting data on every Emergency Laparotomy undertaken in the UK, it is also key in driving improvement in care. Their most recent report highlights that only 23% of patients over 70 years received geriatric involvement following surgery. More encouragingly, the degree of multidisciplinary geriatric involvement seems to be increasing. In the research setting, well designed studies focusing on the older frail emergency laparotomy patient are underway. It is anticipated that these studies will better define outcomes following surgery, improving the communication and decision making between patients, relatives, carers and their surgical teams.
Importance of previous hospital stays on the risk of hospital re-admission in older adults: a real-life analysis of the PAERPA study population
Authors: Visade Fabien , Babykina Genia , Lamer Antoine , Defebvre Marguerite-Marie , Verloop David , Ficheur Grégoire , Genin Michael , Puisieux François , Beuscart Jean-Baptiste
Published: June 2020

Background

consideration of the first hospital re-admission only and failure to take account of previous hospital stays, which are the two significant limitations when studying risk factors for hospital re-admission. The objective of the study was to use appropriate statistical models to analyse the impact of previous hospital stays on the risk of hospital re-admission among older patients.

Methods

an exhaustive analysis of hospital discharge and health insurance data for a cohort of patients participating in the PAERPA (‘Care Pathways for Elderly People at Risk of Loss of Personal Independence’) project in the Hauts de France region of France. All patients aged 75 or over were included. All data on hospital re-admissions via the emergency department were extracted. The risk of unplanned hospital re-admission was estimated by applying a semiparametric frailty model, the risk of death by applying a time-dependent semiparametric Cox regression model.

Results

a total of 24,500 patients (median [interquartile range] age: 81 [77–85]) were included between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2017. In a multivariate analysis, the relative risk (95% confidence interval [CI]) of hospital re-admission rose progressively from 1.8 (1.7–1.9) after one previous hospital stay to 3.0 (2.6–3.5) after five previous hospital stays. The relative risk [95%CI] of death rose slowly from 1.1 (1.07–1.11) after one previous hospital stay to 1.3 (1.1–1.5) after five previous hospital stays.

Conclusion

analyses of the risk of hospital re-admission in older adults must take account of the number of previous hospital stays. The risk of death should also be analysed.
Carbon assimilation through a vertical light gradient in the canopy of invasive herbs grown under different temperature regimes is determined by leaf and whole-plant architecture
Authors: Jorgensen Andreas , Sorrell Brian K , Eller Franziska
Published: June 2020

This study examined the acclimation to temperature of two globally invasive species Iris pseudacorus and Lythrum salicaria, which share the same habitat type but differ in morphology. Iris pseudacorus has long vertical leaves, allowing light penetration through the canopy, while L. salicaria has stems with small horizontal leaves, creating significant self-shading. We aimed to build a physiological understanding of how these two species respond to different growth temperatures with regard to growth and gas exchange-related traits over the canopy. Growth and gas exchange-related traits in response to low (15 °C) and high (25 °C) growth temperature regimes were compared. Plants were grown in growth chambers, and light response curves were measured with infrared gas analysers after 23–33 days at three leaf positions on each plant, following the vertical light gradient through the canopy. After 37 days of growth, above-ground biomass, photosynthetic pigments and leaf N concentration were determined. The maximum photosynthesis rate was lower in lower leaf positions but did not differ significantly between temperatures. Iris pseudacorus photosynthesis decreased with decreasing leaf position, more so than L. salicaria. This was explained by decreasing N and chlorophyll concentrations towards the leaf base in I. pseudacorus, while pigment concentrations increased towards the lower canopy in L. salicaria. Biomass, shoot height and specific leaf area increased with temperature, more so in I. pseudacorus than in L. salicaria. Light response curves revealed that L. salicaria had a higher degree of shade acclimation than I. pseudacorus, probably due to self-shading in L. salicaria. High temperature decreased C assimilation at the bottom of the canopy in L. salicaria, while C assimilation in I. pseudacorus was less affected by temperature. As vegetative growth and flowering was stimulated by temperature, the invasive potential of these species is predicted to increase under global warming.
Morphological characterization of flight feather shafts in four bird species with different flight styles
Authors: Osváth Gergely , Vincze Orsolya , David Dragomir-Cosmin , Nagy László Jácint , Lendvai Ádám Z , Nudds Robert L , Pap Péter L
Published: June 2020

Variation in rachis (central shaft) morphology in individual remiges (flight feathers) within and among species reflects adaptations to requirements imposed by aerodynamic forces, but the fine-scale variation of feather morphology across remiges is not well known. Here we describe how the shape of the rachis, expressed by the height/width ratio, changes along the longitudinal and lateral axis of the wing in four bird species with different flight styles: flapping-soaring (white storks), flapping-gliding (common buzzards), passerine-type (house sparrows) and continuous flapping (pygmy cormorants). Overall, in each wing feather, irrespective of species identity, rachis shape changed from circular to rectangular, from the base towards the feather tip. The ratio between the height and width of the calamus was similar across remiges in all species, whereas the ratio at the base, middle and tip of the rachis changed among flight feathers and species. In distal primaries of white storks and common buzzards, the ratio decreased along the feather shaft, indicating a depressed (wider than high) rachis cross section towards the feather tip, whereas the inner primaries and secondaries became compressed (higher than wide). In house sparrows, the rachis was compressed in each of the measurement points, except at the distal segment of the two outermost primary feathers. Finally, in pygmy cormorants, the width exceeds the height at each measurement point, except at the calamus. Our results may reflect the resistance of the rachis to in-plane and out-of-plane aerodynamic forces that vary across remiges and across study species. A link between rachis shape and resistance to bending from aerodynamic forces is further indicated by the change of the second moment of areas along the wing axes.
Jeffreys-prior penalty, finiteness and shrinkage in binomial-response generalized linear models
Authors: Kosmidis Ioannis , Firth David
Published: June 2020

Penalization of the likelihood by Jeffreys’ invariant prior, or a positive power thereof, is shown to produce finite-valued maximum penalized likelihood estimates in a broad class of binomial generalized linear models. The class of models includes logistic regression, where the Jeffreys-prior penalty is known additionally to reduce the asymptotic bias of the maximum likelihood estimator, and models with other commonly used link functions, such as probit and log-log. Shrinkage towards equiprobability across observations, relative to the maximum likelihood estimator, is established theoretically and studied through illustrative examples. Some implications of finiteness and shrinkage for inference are discussed, particularly when inference is based on Wald-type procedures. A widely applicable procedure is developed for computation of maximum penalized likelihood estimates, by using repeated maximum likelihood fits with iteratively adjusted binomial responses and totals. These theoretical results and methods underpin the increasingly widespread use of reduced-bias and similarly penalized binomial regression models in many applied fields.
Imperceptible Somatosensory Single Pulse and Pulse Train Stimulation Oppositely Modulate Mu Rhythm Activity and Perceptual Performance
Authors: Iliopoulos Fivos , Taskin Birol , Villringer Arno , Nierhaus Till
Published: June 2020

Subliminal stimulation alters conscious perception – a potential mechanism is the modulation of cortical background rhythms especially in the alpha range. Here, in the human somatosensory domain, we assessed effects of subthreshold (imperceptible) electrical finger nerve stimulation – either presented as single pulses or as brief (1 s) 7 Hz pulse trains—on mu-alpha rhythm and perceptual performance. In electroencephalography, subthreshold single pulses transiently (~150–350 ms poststimulus) increased mu activity (event-related synchronization), while, interestingly, subthreshold trains led to prolonged (>1 s) mu desynchronization. In psychophysics, detection of near-threshold target stimuli was consistently reduced when presented together with subthreshold trains (at three delays), whereas for targets paired with subthreshold single pulses detection remained unaffected (30 and 180 ms) or was even elevated (60 ms). Though both imperceptible, single pulses and pulse trains exerted opposite effects on neural signaling and perception. We suggest that the common neural basis is preferential activation of cortical inhibitory interneurons. While the inhibitory impact of a subthreshold single pulse (reflected by mu synchronization) is not psychophysically detectable—rather perception may be facilitated—repetition of the same subthreshold pulse shifts the excitation-inhibition balance toward an inhibitory cortical state (reflected by perceptual impediment) accompanied by mu desynchronization. These differential findings provide novel insights on the notion of alpha activity mediating functional inhibition.
Assessing the Feasibility of Typhoid Elimination
Authors: Stanaway Jeffrey D , Atuhebwe Phionah L , Luby Stephen P , Crump John A
Published: June 2020

In 1993, the International Task Force on Disease Eradication classified the political will for typhoid eradication as “none.” Here we revisit the Task Force’s assessment in light of developments in typhoid vaccines and increasing antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella Typhi that have served to increase interest in typhoid elimination. Considering the requisite biological and technical factors for elimination, effective interventions exist for typhoid, and humans are the organism’s only known reservoir. Improvements in water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and food safety are critical for robust long-term typhoid control, and the recent Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization recommendation and World Health Organization prequalification should make typhoid conjugate vaccine more accessible and affordable in low-income countries, which will allow the vaccine to offer a critical bridge to quickly reduce burden. While these developments are encouraging, all current typhoid diagnostics are inadequate, having either poor performance characteristics, limited scalability, or both. No clear solution exists, and this should be viewed as a critical challenge to any elimination effort. Moreover, asymptomatic carriers and limited data and surveillance remain major challenges, and countries considering elimination campaigns will need to develop strategies to identify high-risk populations and to monitor progress over time. Finally, policymakers must be realistic in planning, learn from the planning failures of previous elimination and eradication efforts, and expect unforeseeable shocks and setbacks. In the end, if we assume neither unanticipated breakthroughs in typhoid control nor any chaotic shocks, history suggests that we should expect typhoid elimination to take decades.