bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Weighted Kernel Filter Based Anti-Air Object Tracking for Thermal Infrared Systems
Authors: Kim Chuljoong , Ko Hanseok
Published: July 2020

Visual object tracking is an important component of surveillance systems and many high-performance methods have been developed. However, these tracking methods tend to be optimized for the Red/Green/Blue (RGB) domain and are thus not suitable for use with the infrared (IR) domain. To overcome this disadvantage, many researchers have constructed datasets for IR analysis, including those developed for The Thermal Infrared Visual Object Tracking (VOT-TIR) challenges. As a consequence, many state-of-the-art trackers for the IR domain have been proposed, but there remains a need for reliable IR-based trackers for anti-air surveillance systems, including the construction of a new IR dataset for this purpose. In this paper, we collect various anti-air thermal-wave IR (TIR) images from an electro-optical surveillance system to create a new dataset. We also present a framework based on an end-to-end convolutional neural network that learns object tracking in the IR domain for anti-air targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones. More specifically, we adopt a Siamese network for feature extraction and three region proposal networks for the classification and regression branches. In the inference phase, the proposed network is formulated as a detection-by-tracking method, and kernel filters for the template branch that are continuously updated for every frame are introduced. The proposed network is able to learn robust structural information for the targets during offline training, and the kernel filters can robustly track the targets, demonstrating enhanced performance. Experimental results from the new IR dataset reveal that the proposed method achieves outstanding performance, with a real-time processing speed of 40 frames per second.
Vision-Based Moving Obstacle Detection and Tracking in Paddy Field Using Improved Yolov3 and Deep SORT
Authors: Qiu Zhengjun , Zhao Nan , Zhou Lei , Wang Mengcen , Yang Liangliang , Fang Hui , He Yong , Liu Yufei
Published: July 2020

Using intelligent agricultural machines in paddy fields has received great attention. An obstacle avoidance system is required with the development of agricultural machines. In order to make the machines more intelligent, detecting and tracking obstacles, especially the moving obstacles in paddy fields, is the basis of obstacle avoidance. To achieve this goal, a red, green and blue (RGB) camera and a computer were used to build a machine vision system, mounted on a transplanter. A method that combined the improved You Only Look Once version 3 (Yolov3) and deep Simple Online and Realtime Tracking (deep SORT) was used to detect and track typical moving obstacles, and figure out the center point positions of the obstacles in paddy fields. The improved Yolov3 has 23 residual blocks and upsamples only once, and has new loss calculation functions. Results showed that the improved Yolov3 obtained mean intersection over union (mIoU) score of 0.779 and was 27.3% faster in processing speed than standard Yolov3 on a self-created test dataset of moving obstacles (human and water buffalo) in paddy fields. An acceptable performance for detecting and tracking could be obtained in a real paddy field test with an average processing speed of 5–7 frames per second (FPS), which satisfies actual work demands. In future research, the proposed system could support the intelligent agriculture machines more flexible in autonomous navigation.
Towards Highly Efficient Polymer Fiber Laser Sources for Integrated Photonic Sensors
Authors: Spelthann Simon , Unland Stefanie , Thiem Jonas , Jakobs Florian , Kielhorn Jana , Ang Pen Yiao , Johannes Hans-Hermann , Kracht Dietmar , Neumann Joerg , Ruehl Axel , Kowalsky Wolfgang , Ristau Detlev
Published: July 2020

Lab-on-a-Chip (LoC) devices combining microfluidic analyte provision with integrated optical analysis are highly desirable for several applications in biological or medical sciences. While the microfluidic approach is already broadly addressed, some work needs to be done regarding the integrated optics, especially provision of highly integrable laser sources. Polymer optical fiber (POF) lasers represent an alignment-free, rugged, and flexible technology platform. Additionally, POFs are intrinsically compatible to polymer microfluidic devices. Home-made Rhodamine B (RB)-doped POFs were characterized with experimental and numerical parameter studies on their lasing potential. High output energies of 1.65 mJ, high slope efficiencies of 56 % , and 50 % -lifetimes of ≥900 k shots were extracted from RB:POFs. Furthermore, RB:POFs show broad spectral tunability over several tens of nanometers. A route to optimize polymer fiber lasers is revealed, providing functionality for a broad range of LoC devices. Spectral tunability, high efficiencies, and output energies enable a broad field of LoC applications.
Grinding Wheel Loading Evaluation by Using Acoustic Emission Signals and Digital Image Processing
Authors: Liu Chien-Sheng , Ou Yang-Jiun
Published: July 2020

In the manufacturing industry, grinding is used as a major process for machining difficult-to-cut materials. Grinding is the most complicated and precise machining process. For grinding machines, continuous generating gear grinding machines are widely used to machine gears which are essential machine elements. However, due to its complicated process, it is very difficult to design a reliable measurement method to identify the grinding wheel loading phenomena during the grinding process. Therefore, this paper proposes a measurement method to identify the grinding wheel loading phenomenon in the grinding process for continuous generating gear grinding machines. In the proposed approach, an acoustic emission (AE) sensor was embedded to monitor the grinding wheel conditions; an offline digital image processing technique was used to determine the loading areas over the surface of Al2O3 grinding wheels; and surface roughness of the ground workpiece was measured to quantify its machining quality. Then these three data were analyzed to find their correlation. The experimental results have shown that there are two stages of grinding in the grinding process and the proposed measurement method can provide a quantitative grinding wheel loading evaluation from the AE signals online.
Fail-Aware LIDAR-Based Odometry for Autonomous Vehicles
Authors: García Daza Iván , Rentero Mónica , Salinas Maldonado Carlota , Izquierdo Gonzalo Ruben , Hernández Parra Noelia , Ballardini Augusto , Fernandez Llorca David
Published: July 2020

Autonomous driving systems are set to become a reality in transport systems and, so, maximum acceptance is being sought among users. Currently, the most advanced architectures require driver intervention when functional system failures or critical sensor operations take place, presenting problems related to driver state, distractions, fatigue, and other factors that prevent safe control. Therefore, this work presents a redundant, accurate, robust, and scalable LiDAR odometry system with fail-aware system features that can allow other systems to perform a safe stop manoeuvre without driver mediation. All odometry systems have drift error, making it difficult to use them for localisation tasks over extended periods. For this reason, the paper presents an accurate LiDAR odometry system with a fail-aware indicator. This indicator estimates a time window in which the system manages the localisation tasks appropriately. The odometry error is minimised by applying a dynamic 6-DoF model and fusing measures based on the Iterative Closest Points (ICP), environment feature extraction, and Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) methods. The obtained results are promising for two reasons: First, in the KITTI odometry data set, the ranking achieved by the proposed method is twelfth, considering only LiDAR-based methods, where its translation and rotation errors are 1.00 % and 0.0041 deg/m, respectively. Second, the encouraging results of the fail-aware indicator demonstrate the safety of the proposed LiDAR odometry system. The results depict that, in order to achieve an accurate odometry system, complex models and measurement fusion techniques must be used to improve its behaviour. Furthermore, if an odometry system is to be used for redundant localisation features, it must integrate a fail-aware indicator for use in a safe manner.
Developing an Online Measurement Device Based on Resistance Sensor for Measurement of Single Grain Moisture Content in Drying Process
Authors: Li Chengjie , Li Bin , Huang Junying , Li Changyou
Published: July 2020

The online measurement of moisture content for grains is an essential technology to realize real-time tracking and control, improve drying quality and reduce energy consumption of the drying process. To improve the measurement accuracy and reliability of the dynamic measurement process as well as expand the application scope of the device, the present work constructed an experimental equipment for determining dynamic resistance characteristics of a single grain. The relations between moisture content and real-time resistance waveform were revealed, and an analytical calculation method of peak value and peak area of waveform was proposed, which correctly revealed the electrical measurement properties of grain. The results demonstrated that the gap width between the electrodes had large influence on the sensor’s performance. Moreover, an online measuring device was developed based on the experimental analysis and calculation method, and the test results in both lab and field for different grains showed that online real-time absolute measurement error are within ±0.5% in the varied moisture content (10–35%w.b.) and the temperature (−20–50 °C). The main results and the developed device might provide technical support for developing intelligent grain drying equipment.
Efficient Similarity Point Set Registration by Transformation Decomposition
Authors: Wang Chen , Chen Xinrong , Wang Manning
Published: July 2020

Point set registration is one of the basic problems in computer vision. When the overlap ratio between point sets is small or the relative transformation is large, local methods cannot guarantee the accuracy. However, the time complexity of the branch and bound (BnB) optimization used in most existing global methods is exponential in the dimensionality of parameter space. Therefore, seven-Degrees of Freedom (7-DoF) similarity transformation is a big challenge for BnB. In this paper, a novel rotation and scale invariant feature is introduced to decouple the optimization of translation, rotation, and scale in similarity point set registration, so that BnB optimization can be done in two lower dimensional spaces. With the transformation decomposition, the translation is first estimated and then the rotation is optimized by maximizing a robust objective function defined on consensus set. Finally, the scale is estimated according to the potential correspondences in the obtained consensus set. Experiments on synthetic data and clinical data show that our method is approximately two orders of magnitude faster than the state-of-the-art global method and more accurate than a typical local method. When the outlier ratio with respect to the inliers is up to 1.0, our method still achieves accurate registration.
Solar Blue Light Radiation Enhancement during Mid to Low Solar Elevation Periods under Cloud Affected Skies
Authors: Parisi Alfio V. , Igoe Damien P. , Amar Abdurazaq , Downs Nathan J.
Published: July 2020

Solar blue-violet wavelengths (380−455 nm) are at the high energy end of the visible spectrum; referred to as “high energy visible” (HEV). Both chronic and acute exposure to these wavelengths has been often highlighted as a cause for concern with respect to ocular health. The sun is the source of HEV which reaches the Earth’s surface either directly or after scattering by the atmosphere and clouds. This research has investigated the effect of clouds on HEV for low solar elevation (solar zenith angles between 60° and 80°), simulating time periods when the opportunity for ocular exposure in global populations with office jobs is high during the early morning and late afternoon. The enhancement of “bluing” of the sky due to the influence of clouds was found to increase significantly with the amount of cloud. A method is presented for calculating HEV irradiance at sub-tropical latitudes from the more commonly measured global solar radiation (300–3000 nm) for all cases when clouds do and do not obscure the sun. The method; when applied to global solar radiation data correlates well with measured HEV within the solar zenith angle range 60° and 80° (R2 = 0.82; mean bias error (MBE) = −1.62%, mean absolute bias error (MABE) = 10.3% and root mean square error (RMSE) = 14.6%). The technique can be used to develop repeatable HEV hazard evaluations for human ocular health applications
Impact of Trunk Resistance and Stretching Exercise on Fall-Related Factors in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study
Authors: Youm Changhong , Kim Youkyung , Noh Byungjoo , Lee Myeounggon , Kim Jinhee , Cheon Sang-Myung
Published: July 2020

Background: This study aimed to examine the effect of a 12-week progressive trunk resistance and stretching exercise program on fall-related factors in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: A randomized study assessed a progressive trunk resistance and stretching exercise program over a 12-week period. A total of 17 patients with PD participated and wererandomly allocated into an exercise group (n = 10) or a control group (n = 7). Participants in the exercise group completed the exercise program in 60- to 90-min sessions for three days per week. Primary and secondary outcome measures included the trunk mobility scale, functional fitness test, standing balance, and sit-to-walk test. Results: The exercise group showed improvements in functional fitness, trunk mobility, standing balance, and dynamic stability compared with the control group (all p < 0.05). The 2.44 m timed up and go test (odds ratio (OR): 0.125) and the 2 min step test (OR: 10.584) of the functional fitness test, and the first-step length (OR: 3.558) and first-toe clearance height (OR: 4.777) of the sit-to-walk test, were different between the groups following the exercise program. Conclusion: This 12-week exercise program improved fall-related factors in patients with PD and may lead to prevention of fall-related injuries.
Unsupervised KPIs-Based Clustering of Jobs in HPC Data Centers
Authors: Halawa Mohamed S. , Díaz Redondo Rebeca P. , Fernández Vilas Ana
Published: July 2020

Performance analysis is an essential task in high-performance computing (HPC) systems, and it is applied for different purposes, such as anomaly detection, optimal resource allocation, and budget planning. HPC monitoring tasks generate a huge number of key performance indicators (KPIs) to supervise the status of the jobs running in these systems. KPIs give data about CPU usage, memory usage, network (interface) traffic, or other sensors that monitor the hardware. Analyzing this data, it is possible to obtain insightful information about running jobs, such as their characteristics, performance, and failures. The main contribution in this paper was to identify which metric/s (KPIs) is/are the most appropriate to identify/classify different types of jobs according to their behavior in the HPC system. With this aim, we had applied different clustering techniques (partition and hierarchical clustering algorithms) using a real dataset from the Galician computation center (CESGA). We concluded that (i) those metrics (KPIs) related to the network (interface) traffic monitoring provided the best cohesion and separation to cluster HPC jobs, and (ii) hierarchical clustering algorithms were the most suitable for this task. Our approach was validated using a different real dataset from the same HPC center.
Changes in Dairy Products Value Chain in Georgia
Authors: Al Sidawi Rami , Urushadze Teo , Ploeger Angelika
Published: July 2020

The livestock sector, as a part of the traditional food system in Georgia, occupies a considerable portion of the national economy. Though smallholder farmers are the key suppliers at the primary stage in the food value chain, the empowerment of smallholder farmers in the dairy production system in Georgia is a questionable matter. This research study reports the results of changes in the dairy sector in Georgia (Caucasus) after becoming independent from the Soviet Union (literature survey) and how these changes are seen by experts in the dairy value chain. In addition, this study aimed to look in-depth at the dynamics of the value chain of dairy in Georgia and examine the current dairy production policies. Qualitative research was applied as the methodology for expert interviews in 2019. The findings showed the difficulties experienced by the local and national dairy market sectors in Georgia nowadays. Where these difficulties were analyzed by the parameters of the value chain, it states the impact of the current regulations and policies on the safety and the quality of dairy production in the country and the depth of social, economic, and ethical impacts on the marketing of dairy products for smallholders. Furthermore, the Sustainable Development Goals on the dairy value chain are described.
Analysis of Potential Shift to Low-Carbon Urban Travel Modes: A Computational Framework Based on High-Resolution Smartphone Data
Authors: Bagheri Mehrdad , Mladenović Miloš N. , Kosonen Iisakki , Nurminen Jukka K.
Published: July 2020

Given the necessity to understand the modal shift potentials at the level of individual travel times, emissions, and physically active travel distances, there is a need for accurately computing such potentials from disaggregated data collection. Despite significant development in data collection technology, especially by utilizing smartphones, there are limited efforts in developing useful computational frameworks for this purpose. First, development of a computational framework requires longitudinal data collection of revealed travel behavior of individuals. Second, such a computational framework should enable scalable analysis of time-relevant low-carbon travel alternatives in the target region. To this end, this research presents an open-source computational framework, developed to explore the potential for shifting from private car to lower-carbon travel alternatives. In comparison to previous development, our computational framework estimates and illustrates the changes in travel time in relation to the potential reductions in emission and increases in physically active travel, as well as daily weather conditions. The potential usefulness of the framework was evaluated using long-term travel data of around a hundred travelers within the Helsinki Metropolitan Region, Finland. The case study outcomes also suggest that in several cases traveling by public transport or bike would not increase travel time compared to the observed car travel. Based on the case study results, we discuss potentially acceptable travel times for mode shift, and usefulness of the computational framework for decisions regarding transition to sustainable urban mobility systems. Finally, we discuss limitations and lessons learned for data collection and further development of similar computational frameworks.
A Territorial Estimate for Household Energy Vulnerability: An Application for Spain
Authors: Murias Pilar , Valcárcel-Aguiar Beatriz , Regueiro-Ferreira Rosa María
Published: July 2020

This paper proposes a composite indicator intended to assess territorial differences in household energy vulnerability. Although the estimation of household energy vulnerability has received less attention in scientific literature than energy poverty, it is a key element for political action as it allows for the diagnosis and subsequent action to tackle potential situations of household poverty before they actually occur. In this sense, the principal contribution of this article is a proposal for a tool designed to quantify the abstract and multidimensional phenomenon of household energy vulnerability. The technique used for constructing this synthetic indicator allows for the participation of stakeholders, especially policy makers, in defining and calculating the index. The synthetic index for energy vulnerability has been estimated for Spanish provinces. The results allow for the creation of a map providing an approximate insight into the spatial distribution of household energy vulnerability in Spain.
New Frontiers in Travel Motivation and Social Media: The Case of Longyearbyen, the High Arctic
Authors: Aldao Carolina , Mihalic Tanja A.
Published: July 2020

Tourism explores new frontiers by traveling around unknown geographical and technological territories that bring new tourism opportunities and hazards to satisfy visitors’ needs and sustainability and responsibility in destinations. This study introduces a composite model for measuring travel motivation and the impact of social media on travel behavior and applies it to the town of Longyearbyen in the High Arctic. Both aspects were surveyed through qualitative semi-structured visitor interviews. While the motivation to visit Longyearbyen depended on travelers’ needs, their travel experiences, and push and pull motivational factors, respondents gave examples of how social media positively or negatively affected different elements of their motivation and visitation. The study indicates the opportunities and hazards analyzed from social media as well as future research directions needed in the pursuit of a more responsible tourism approach while exploring new technological and geographical frontiers.
Social Economy, Environmental Proactivity, Eco-Innovation and Performance in the Spanish Wine Sector
Authors: Calle Félix , González-Moreno Ángela , Carrasco Inmaculada , Vargas-Vargas Manuel
Published: July 2020

Concerned about climate change, cooperatives in the wine sector are beginning to adapt their strategies, guided by cooperative principles that encompass high social responsibility and the pursuit of community values. In this context and focused on the analysis of the decisions that drive firms to be more environmentally sustainable, our goal is twofold. On the one hand, we wish to examine whether there exist differences between cooperative and non-cooperative firms as regards their environmental proactivity. On the other hand, we hope to demonstrate the diversity of behaviors within the category of cooperative firms, identifying the possible patterns of environmental proactivity in Spanish cooperatives in the wine sector. We first conducted a difference of means t-test for independent samples (n = 251; sampled in 2017)—cooperatives (51) vs. non cooperative firms (200)- and then a two-stage cluster analysis and a subsequent variance analysis, using SPSS 24. Our results show no significant differences between cooperative and non-cooperative firms concerning their environmental behavior and underlines the diversity within the cooperatives in the wine sector as regards their environmental proactivity, revealing the existence of proactive, preventive and activist patterns of behavior. These patterns also show differences in the motivations for their environmental behaviors and their assessment of financial performance.
Emotional Development in People with High Capacities: Induction of Emotions through Pictorial Abstraction
Authors: de la Cuétara Isabel
Published: July 2020

The goal of this work was to help the researcher that studies emotions in people with high capacities (HCs) to understand and intervene in the socio-emotional aspects of this group, considering the features of their profile that present a certain specificity. The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) developed by Lang, and based on the dimensional theory of emotions, was applied using abstract works by Kandinsky and Mondrian as emotional stimuli. The study was conducted with university students not classified as HC, to represent the normative group and enable the establishment of comparisons, to verify the existence of social-emotional mismatches in the individuals considered HC. The results indicate that the stimuli used elicit emotional states with valence and medium-high arousal that are free of connotations derived from figurative representation and correspond only to the sensory properties of the stimulus (colour, shape, etc.), which facilitate the study of traits such as emotional intensity and sensitivity.
Sustainability Challenges and Drivers of Cross-Border Greenway Tourism in Rural Areas
Authors: Tambovceva Tatjana , Atstaja Dzintra , Tereshina Maria , Uvarova Inga , Livina Agita
Published: July 2020

This article provides a practical example of the development of cross-border tourism and its link to achieving sustainable development goals. Greenways (GWs) are successful and recognized initiatives in Western Europe, but have recently also shown development trends in Eastern Europe, notably, in the Baltic Sea Region and Russia. These initiatives improve the quality of life and provide opportunities for sustainable economic activities for the local communities, especially in rural areas, adding value to their natural, cultural, historical and human heritage. The authors studied examples of best practice in scientific literature and practice, encouraging the development of cross-border tourism and GWs in Europe and Russia, in order to further adapt it to other continents. Analyzing the environmental, economic, social and institutional factors in the region and their role in sustainable development, the need for institutional regulation that would allow the development of a wider development of GWs is identified. Research results reveal sustainable development dilemmas of positive socioeconomic effects of GWs and negative environmental effects of increased flows of tourists. Focus groups and expert interviews allowed us to assess the level of various factors contributing to sustainable development and clarify the directions of the future research.
Integrating Design Thinking into a Packaging Design Course to Improve Students’ Creative Self-Efficacy and Flow Experience
Authors: Yang Chao-Ming , Hsu Tzu-Fan
Published: July 2020

Creativity can be evaluated from learners’ internal motivation and learning outcomes. Implementation of innovative teaching methods by teachers can increase students’ learning motivation. In this study, convenience sampling was employed to select 54 students from a packaging design course; they were randomly grouped into 12 creative teams. Design thinking was integrated into the packaging design course, and its influence on the students’ creative self-efficacy and flow experience was investigated through empirical research. A pretest–posttest design was adopted to perform teaching experiments. In the pretest, conventional lectures were employed, whereas in the posttest, design thinking teaching was incorporated into the course. Packaging design practice spanned 4 weeks. The experiment results revealed that in the 12 creative teams, the students’ creative self-efficacy and flow experience were superior in the posttest than in the pretest. The results also demonstrated that design thinking improved the self-efficacy of students with low creativity tendency as well as the creative flow experience of all students regardless of creativity tendency.
Slow-Release Urea Prills Developed Using Organic and Inorganic Blends in Fluidized Bed Coater and Their Effect on Spinach Productivity
Authors: Beig Bilal , Niazi Muhammad Bilal Khan , Jahan Zaib , Pervaiz Erum , Abbas Shah Ghulam , Ul Haq Midrar , Zafar Mazhar Iqbal , Zia Munir
Published: July 2020

The application of urea-based fertilizers in developing countries has gained significant momentum over time. urea usage is to meet demand and supply gap of food resources as world population is increasing at a fast pace. urea contains largest content of nitrogen (46%) among all the solid nitrogenous fertilizers. However, main drawback of urea is its higher dissolution rate. After soil application, most of urea nitrogen is lost through a leaching, runoff, nitrification-denitrification and ammonia volatilization. To tackle urea related environmental pollution, development of slow-release urea fertilizer is a need of the hour and this would also increase product use efficiency in terms of crop productivity and its N uptake. We studied the usage of polymeric materials in combination with inorganic substances like sulfur and plaster of Paris as effective and biodegradable coating substances for urea prills. For coating on urea prills, fluidized bed coater was used whereas paraffin wax and molasses were used as binding agents. The urea was coated with four different formulations, i.e., C-1: PVA 5% + plaster of Paris 10% + sulfur 5% + paraffin wax 2%, C-2: PVA 5% + starch 10% + sulfur 5% + paraffin wax 2%, C-3: gelatin 5% + plaster of Paris 10% + sulfur 5% + paraffin wax 2% and C-4: PVA 5% + starch 10% + sulfur 5% + paraffin wax 2.5% + molasses 2.5%. Each formulation along with uncoated urea prills (C-0) were evaluated for characterization and N release kinetics. All the formulations along with uncoated urea were applied to spinach crop in pot experiment. A control (No N: untreated) was also kept. Spinach biomass yield and N uptake were determined. The formulation C-1 yielded highest urea-N release efficiency and spinach N uptake of6.87% and 1.93 g N/pot, respectively. Themodified Schwarz and Sinclair formula gave the excellent representation of release of nutrient-N from coated urea prills. It is concluded that coating urea prills with organic and inorganic blends is better option to slow down N release kinetics and improve spinach productivity. Therefore, by using coated fertilizers, farmers can improve agro-environmental value of urea, worldwide.
Identifying Sustainable Grassland Management Approaches in Response to the Invasive Legume Lespedeza cuneata: A Functional Group Approach
Authors: Garrett Erin M. , Gibson David J.
Published: July 2020

We propose combining the filter framework model of community assembly with the passenger-driver model of non-native species behavior to help clarify the impacts of invasive species in the communities they invade and to guide sustainable management protocols. Observational field surveys and a greenhouse experiment explored the role of the invasive legume Lespedeza cuneata in the communities it invades and how natives in three functional groups—grasses, forbs, and legumes—respond to its presence. Within-site analyses from the field survey revealed differences in invaded and uninvaded areas in half of the sites, suggesting that site-specific characteristics influences whether L. cuneata’s presence corresponds to local differences in species composition. The greenhouse experiment found higher levels of saprophytic and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soil conditioned by L. cuneata than in unconditioned soil. However, competition between L. cuneata or the native congener L. capitata and nine native species illustrated stronger aboveground competitive effects than belowground soil effects due to soil conditioning, with impacts differing among functional groups. The response of L. cuneata was reduced in the presence of grasses and other legumes but not forbs. Assessing the impact of L. cuneata with the combined community assembly model revealed this invasive plant acts as a driver because it alters abiotic and biotic filters to impact species composition. Managing for high grass abundance and planting native legumes will help sustain grasslands from L. cuneata invasion.
Further Theory of Neutrosophic Triplet Topology and Applications
Authors: Al Shumrani Mohammed A. , Gulistan Muhammad , Smarandache Florentin
Published: July 2020

In this paper we study and develop the Neutrosophic Triplet Topology (NTT) that was recently introduced by Sahin et al. Like classical topology, the NTT tells how the elements of a set relate spatially to each other in a more comprehensive way using the idea of Neutrosophic Triplet Sets. This article is important because it opens new ways of research resulting in many applications in different disciplines, such as Biology, Computer Science, Physics, Robotics, Games and Puzzles and Fiber Art etc. Herein we study the application of NTT in Biology. The Neutrosophic Triplet Set (NTS) has a natural symmetric form, since this is a set of symmetric triplets of the form , , where  and  are opposites of each other, while , being in the middle, is their axis of symmetry. Further on, we obtain in this paper several properties of NTT, like bases, closure and subspace. As an application, we give a multicriteria decision making for the combining effects of certain enzymes on chosen DNA using the developed theory of NTT.
Comparison of Multiplexed Immunofluorescence Imaging to Chromogenic Immunohistochemistry of Skin Biomarkers in Response to Monkeypox Virus Infection
Authors: Sood Anup , Sui Yunxia , McDonough Elizabeth , Santamaría-Pang Alberto , Al-Kofahi Yousef , Pang Zhengyu , Jahrling Peter B. , Kuhn Jens H. , Ginty Fiona
Published: July 2020

Over the last 15 years, advances in immunofluorescence-imaging based cycling methods, antibody conjugation methods, and automated image processing have facilitated the development of a high-resolution, multiplexed tissue immunofluorescence (MxIF) method with single cell-level quantitation termed Cell DIVETM. Originally developed for fixed oncology samples, here it was evaluated in highly fixed (up to 30 days), archived monkeypox virus-induced inflammatory skin lesions from a retrospective study in 11 rhesus monkeys to determine whether MxIF was comparable to manual H-scoring of chromogenic stains. Six protein markers related to immune and cellular response (CD68, CD3, Hsp70, Hsp90, ERK1/2, ERK1/2 pT202_pY204) were manually quantified (H-scores) by a pathologist from chromogenic IHC double stains on serial sections and compared to MxIF automated single cell quantification of the same markers that were multiplexed on a single tissue section. Overall, there was directional consistency between the H-score and the MxIF results for all markers except phosphorylated ERK1/2 (ERK1/2 pT202_pY204), which showed a decrease in the lesion compared to the adjacent non-lesioned skin by MxIF vs an increase via H-score. Improvements to automated segmentation using machine learning and adding additional cell markers for cell viability are future options for improvement. This method could be useful in infectious disease research as it conserves tissue, provides marker colocalization data on thousands of cells, allowing further cell level data mining as well as a reduction in user bias.
Molecular Characterization of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus and Its New Genetic Classification Based on the Nucleocapsid Gene
Authors: Kim Sung-Jae , Nguyen Van-Giap , Huynh Thi-My-Le , Park Yong-Ho , Park Bong-Kyun , Chung Hee-Chun
Published: July 2020

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes continuous, significant damage to the swine industry worldwide. By RT-PCR-based methods, this study demonstrated the ongoing presence of PEDV in pigs of all ages in Korea at the average detection rate of 9.92%. By the application of Bayesian phylogenetic analysis, it was found that the nucleocapsid (N) gene of PEDV could evolve at similar rates to the spike (S) gene at the order of 10−4 substitutions/site/year. Based on branching patterns of PEDV strains, three main N gene-base genogroups (N1, N2, and N3) and two sub-genogroups (N3a, N3b) were proposed in this study. By analyzing the antigenic index, possible antigenic differences also emerged in both the spike and nucleocapsid proteins between the three genogroups. The antigenic indexes of genogroup N3 strains were significantly lower compared with those of genogroups N1 and N2 strains in the B-cell epitope of the nucleocapsid protein. Similarly, significantly lower antigenic indexes in some parts of the B-cell epitope sequences of the spike protein (COE, S1D, and 2C10) were also identified. PEDV mutants derived from genetic mutations of the S and N genes may cause severe damage to swine farms by evading established host immunities.
Endogenous Retroviruses Walk a Fine Line between Priming and Silencing
Authors: Cullen Harrison , Schorn Andrea J.
Published: July 2020

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) in mammals are closely related to infectious retroviruses and utilize host tRNAs as a primer for reverse transcription and replication, a hallmark of long terminal repeat (LTR) retroelements. Their dependency on tRNA makes these elements vulnerable to targeting by small RNAs derived from the 3′-end of mature tRNAs (3′-tRFs), which are highly expressed during epigenetic reprogramming and potentially protect many tissues in eukaryotes. Here, we review some key functions of ERV reprogramming during mouse and human development and discuss how small RNA-mediated silencing maintains genome stability when ERVs are temporarily released from heterochromatin repression. In particular, we take a closer look at the tRNA primer binding sites (PBS) of two highly active ERV families in mice and their sequence variation that is shaped by the conflict of successful tRNA priming for replication versus evasion of silencing by 3′-tRFs.
Modeling Green Roof Potential to Mitigate Urban Flooding in a Chinese City
Authors: Liu Li , Sun Liwei , Niu Jie , Riley William J.
Published: July 2020

The Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River (MLRYR) region, which has humid subtropical climate conditions and unique plum rain season, is characterized by a simultaneous high-frequency urban flooding and reduction in groundwater levels. Retrofitting the existing buildings into green roofs is a promising approach to combat urban flooding, especially for a densely developed city. Here, the application potential of the Green Roof System (GRS) and the Improved Green Roof System (IGRS) designed to divert overflowing water from green roofs to recharge groundwater were analyzed in a densely developed city, Nanchang, China. For the first time, the influence of GRS on the hydraulic condition of Combined Sewage System/Storm Water System (CSS/SWS) is analyzed, which is a direct reflection of the effect of GRS on alleviating urban flooding. The simulation results show that GRS can retain about 41–75% of precipitation in a 2-hour timescale and the flooding volumes in the GRS/IGRS region are 82% and 28% less than those of the Traditional Roof System (TRS) in 10- and 100-yr precipitation events, respectively. In the continuous simulations, GRS also enhances Evapotranspiration (ET), which accounts for 39% of annual precipitation, so that reduces the cumulative surface runoff. Considering the IGRS can provide more hydrological benefits than the GRS under the same climate conditions, we may conclude that the widespread implementation of both the GRS and the IGRS in Nanchang and other densely developed cities in the MLRYR region could significantly reduce surface and peak runoff rates.
Optimization of Combined Submerged Macrophyte Planting Conditions for Inhibiting Algae by Response Surface Methodology
Authors: Wang Shengnan , Yu Junxia , Guo Fang , Pan Guoqiang , Zhang Lin , Hu Hongying , Lu Yifeng , Dao Guohua
Published: July 2020

Combined planting of submerged macrophytes could be an effective way of controlling algal blooms in landscape waters. In this study, the algal inhibition of single and combined planting of Hydrilla verticillata (A) and Myriophyllum spicatum (B) were explored. The optimized combined planting conditions were investigated using the central composite design. The results showed that the combined planting had a synergistic algal-inhibiting effect. Its inhibition (I (K)) is about 10.8% higher than that of single planting with the same density. The synergism of the combined planting may be due to the different ways in which the two plants inhibit the algal growth. H. verticillata inhibited the algal biomass and M. spicatum inhibited the algal specific growth rate. When the density of H. verticillata and M. spicatum were 7.2 g/L and 6.7 g/L, the value of I (K) reached a maximum 92.2%. Although increasing planting density would improve the algal inhibition, high planting density was not beneficial for the growth of plants. Moreover, no further significant improvement was shown with the increasing planting density when the value of I(K) was higher than 90%. Therefore, the cost-effective combined macrophyte density was 11.6 g/L and the value of A/B ranged from 1.05 to 1.07, where the value of I (K) could achieve 90%. This study can provide a practical basis for using macrophytes to control algal blooms.
Resposta do desempenho da cultura do girassol (Helianthus annuus L., asteraceae) cultivados com esterco aviário em vaso
Authors: Rocha Santos Daniel , PINHEIRO Rodrigo Almeida , SILVA Jecilãine Efigênia da , SOUSA Taynara Alves de , BARROS Rubens Pessoa de
Published: July 2020

O girassol (Helianthus annuus L.) pertence à família asteraceae, é cultivado em todos os continentes, tem importância econômica. Seu cultivo necessita de fertilizantes orgânicos, que além de ter custo baixo de aquisição, melhora as propriedades químicas, físicas e biológicas do solo e reciclagem dos nutrientes no sistema solo-planta. Objetivou-se com esse estudo verificar o desempenho do girassol (H. annuus) com esterco aviário cultivado em vasos comparando com outras fontes de matérias orgânicas. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, com 4 tratamentos (solo com esterco aviário,  solo + esterco bovino, solo + esterco caprino e solo sem adubo (Testemunha) com 5 repetições. Foi realizada a solarização por 5 dias, para eliminar possíveis microrganismos fitopatogênicos. No período da pré-colheita as variáveis: altura da planta - AP e diâmetro do caule - DC analisadas pelo teste Tukey a 5% de probabilidade tiveram resultados significativos no tratamento com a utilização de solo com esterco aviário. No período da pós-colheita da biomassa do girassol, as variáveis tamanho da raiz - TR, massa fresca total - MFT e massa seca total - MST mostraram resultados significativo no tratamento de solo com esterco aviário. A produção vegetal do girassol nos períodos de pré-colheita da fenologia da planta e pós-colheita, obtiveram resultados significativos com a adição de matéria orgânica utilizada.
Patency Outcomes of Arteriovenous Fistulas and Grafts for Hemodialysis Access: A Trade-Off between Nonmaturation and Long-Term Complications
Authors: Voorzaat Bram M. , Janmaat Cynthia J. , van der Bogt Koen E.A. , Dekker Friedo W. , Rotmans Joris I.
Published: July 2020

Background

Arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) for hemodialysis (HD) are often associated with better outcomes than arteriovenous grafts (AVGs). We aimed to investigate vascular access (VA) outcomes and assessed if AVF nonmaturation outweighs long-term complications of AVGs.

Methods

In this multicenter, retrospective cohort study in The Netherlands, 1- and 3-year primary, primary assisted, secondary, and functional patency rates were calculated, and the incidence of adverse events and procedures was assessed. Functional patency of RCAVFs, upper arm AVFs, and AVGs was compared using Cox analyses.

Results

In total, 1041 patients who received their first VA were included, of whom 863 had VAs that successfully matured. These patients were analyzed with a median follow-up of 25 months. The 1-year functional patency rates were 67%±2.0% for RCAVFs, 83%±2.0% for upper arm AVFs, and 85%±3.5% for AVGs. Three-year functional patency rates were 62%±2.0% for RCAVFs, 74%±2.0% for upper arm AVFs, and 69%±5% for AVGs. AVGs required more procedures per year (3.3 per year) of functional patency when compared with upper arm AVFs (1.8 per year).

Conclusions

The functional patency of AVFs and AVGs is comparable, although AVGs required more interventions to maintain usability for HD. The choice of VA is a trade-off between short-term advantages, favoring AVGs, and long-term advantages, favoring AVFs. Which VA is most appropriate depends on the patient’s prognosis and preferences.
Trayectorias laborales en la calle
Authors: Rausky María Eugenia
Published: July 2020

El objetivo de este trabajo es dar cuenta de los modos en que adolescentes y jóvenes que pertenecen a diferentes clases sociales -clases medias y sectores populares- experimentan sus vínculos con el mundo del trabajo. En particular, se estudia el caso de un grupo de trabajadores callejeros, y se indaga en los diversos recorridos laborales que han trazado, la relación con otros procesos sociales, los cambios significativos que han experimentado en sus biografías en general y en sus experiencias laborales en particular y sobre los modos en que anticipan su futuro laboral.Uno de los aspectos más salientes de la investigación es que pese a la transformación profunda del mundo productivo caracterizado por su flexibilidad, inestabilidad y precariedad y pese a que en nuestras sociedades ya hay varias generaciones que no conocen la experiencia del empleo “para toda la vida”, en tanto apuesta y construcción de trayectorias futuras, ese ideal de empleo tiene aún una fuerte pregnancia.
Entre el deseo, la amistad y la precarización
Authors: Del Mármol Mariana
Published: July 2020

Me propongo caracterizar los modos de ganarse la vida de lxs actores y actrices que conforman el circuito teatral independiente de la ciudad de La Plata. Un conjunto que se enorgullece de producir con escasos apoyos estatales y casi sin remuneración. Me interesa poner en tensión las miradas nativas sobre el rol del deseo, la amistad y la militancia cultural con ciertas propuestas que ponen estos mismos aspectos en cuestión, al señalar que contribuyen al carácter autoprecarizante del trabajo artístico, volviéndolo funcional a los mecanismos del capitalismo neoliberal.

Desde una perspectiva que resalta el valor de la aproximación etnográfica, propondré que muchas de las contradicciones que se ponen de manifiesto a partir de estas propuestas conforman, en las experiencias cotidianas de las personas, entramados que articulan diferentes regímenes de valor, y que es en esta compleja articulación que actores y actrices platenses hacen del teatro su medio de vida.
El crédito al consumo en los sectores populares argentinos
Authors: Saiag Hadrien
Published: July 2020

Este artículo analiza las transformaciones de las prácticas financieras de los sectores populares del cordón industrial rosarino durante los gobiernos kirchneristas. En este periodo, los trabajadores de la economía popular accedieron por primera vez al crédito al consumo de forma masiva, como consecuencia de su incorporación al sistema de protección social y de la formalización parcial de trabajos precarios. Los trabajadores percibieron esta transformación de forma ambivalente: por un lado, el acceso a dicho crédito significó una forma de inclusión para quienes no habían tenido acceso a este por falta de ingresos estables; por otro lado, expuso a los trabajadores de la economía popular a una nueva forma de explotación basada en el desfasaje temporal entre las finanzas y el trabajo precario, que agudizó las estratificaciones vigentes dentro de los sectores populares. Para incluir sin explotar, resulta imprescindible vincular finanzas y derechos.
LOWER CRETACEOUS CARBONATE DEPOSITS FROM THE DEREZNA BOREHOLE (CARPATHO-BALKKANIDES, EASTERN SERBIA) AND REMARKS ON SOME DASYCLADALEAN ALGAE
Authors: Bucur Ioan I. , Jovanovic Divna , Radoicic Rajka , Sudar Milan , Mircescu Cristian Victor
Published: July 2020

An exploratory borehole cross-cutting Miocene deposits near Derezna (south of Kučevo town, Eastern Serbia) has intercepted Lower Cretaceous carbonate rocks in its lower part. The identified microfacies and micropaleontological associations indicate a Barremian age for these limestones. Among the identified dasycladalean algae, Salpingoporella patruliusi Bucur, a generally rare alga, is here recorded in relatively high abundance. Its occurrence is recorded for the first time in Serbia. Similiclypeina aff. somalica (Conrad et al.) is another dasycladalean species identified for the first time in the region. Its presence allows us to make some remarks concerning the two genera Similiclypeina and Piriferella.