bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the Design of an Efficient Cardiac Health Monitoring System Through Combined Analysis of ECG and SCG Signals
Authors: Sahoo Prasan Kumar , Thakkar Hiren Kumar , Lin Wen-Yen , Chang Po-Cheng , Lee Ming-Yih
Published: January 2018

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major public concern and socioeconomic problem across the globe. The popular high-end cardiac health monitoring systems such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography scan (CT scan), and echocardiography (Echo) are highly expensive and do not support long-term continuous monitoring of patients without disrupting their activities of daily living (ADL). In this paper, the continuous and non-invasive cardiac health monitoring using unobtrusive sensors is explored aiming to provide a feasible and low-cost alternative to foresee possible cardiac anomalies in an early stage. It is learned that cardiac health monitoring based on sole usage of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals may not provide powerful insights as ECG provides shallow information on various cardiac activities in the form of electrical impulses only. Hence, a novel low-cost, non-invasive seismocardiogram (SCG) signal along with ECG signals are jointly investigated for the robust cardiac health monitoring. For this purpose, the in-laboratory data collection model is designed for simultaneous acquisition of ECG and SCG signals followed by mechanisms for the automatic delineation of relevant feature points in acquired ECG and SCG signals. In addition, separate feature points based novel approach is adopted to distinguish between normal and abnormal morphology in each ECG and SCG cardiac cycle. Finally, a combined analysis of ECG and SCG is carried out by designing a Naïve Bayes conditional probability model. Experiments on Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved licensed ECG/SCG signals acquired from real subjects containing 12,000 cardiac cycles show that the proposed feature point delineation mechanisms and abnormal morphology detection methods consistently perform well and give promising results. In addition, experimental results show that the combined analysis of ECG and SCG signals provide more reliable cardiac health monitoring compared to the standalone use of ECG and SCG.
Cutting Pattern Identification for Coal Mining Shearer through a Swarm Intelligence–Based Variable Translation Wavelet Neural Network
Authors: Xu Jing , Wang Zhongbin , Tan Chao , Si Lei , Liu Xinhua
Published: January 2018

As a sound signal has the advantages of non-contacted measurement, compact structure, and low power consumption, it has resulted in much attention in many fields. In this paper, the sound signal of the coal mining shearer is analyzed to realize the accurate online cutting pattern identification and guarantee the safety quality of the working face. The original acoustic signal is first collected through an industrial microphone and decomposed by adaptive ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD). A 13-dimensional set composed by the normalized energy of each level is extracted as the feature vector in the next step. Then, a swarm intelligence optimization algorithm inspired by bat foraging behavior is applied to determine key parameters of the traditional variable translation wavelet neural network (VTWNN). Moreover, a disturbance coefficient is introduced into the basic bat algorithm (BA) to overcome the disadvantage of easily falling into local extremum and limited exploration ability. The VTWNN optimized by the modified BA (VTWNN-MBA) is used as the cutting pattern recognizer. Finally, a simulation example, with an accuracy of 95.25%, and a series of comparisons are conducted to prove the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method.
Use of Acoustic Emission and Pattern Recognition for Crack Detection of a Large Carbide Anvil
Authors: Chen Bin , Wang Yanan , Yan Zhaoli
Published: January 2018

Large-volume cubic high-pressure apparatus is commonly used to produce synthetic diamond. Due to the high pressure, high temperature and alternative stresses in practical production, cracks often occur in the carbide anvil, thereby resulting in significant economic losses or even casualties. Conventional methods are unsuitable for crack detection of the carbide anvil. This paper is concerned with acoustic emission-based crack detection of carbide anvils, regarded as a pattern recognition problem; this is achieved using a microphone, with methods including sound pulse detection, feature extraction, feature optimization and classifier design. Through analyzing the characteristics of background noise, the cracked sound pulses are separated accurately from the originally continuous signal. Subsequently, three different kinds of features including a zero-crossing rate, sound pressure levels, and linear prediction cepstrum coefficients are presented for characterizing the cracked sound pulses. The original high-dimensional features are adaptively optimized using principal component analysis. A hybrid framework of a support vector machine with k nearest neighbors is designed to recognize the cracked sound pulses. Finally, experiments are conducted in a practical diamond workshop to validate the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method.
Compressive Multispectral Spectrum Sensing for Spectrum Cartography
Authors: Marín Alfonso Jeison , Martínez Torre Jose , Arguello Fuentes Henry , Agudelo Leonardo
Published: January 2018

In the process of spectrum sensing applied to wireless communications, it is possible to build interference maps based on acquired power spectral values. This allows the characterization of spectral occupation, which is crucial to take management spectrum decisions. However, the amount of information both in the space and frequency domains that needs to be processed generates an enormous amount of data with high transmission delays and high memory requirements. Meanwhile, compressive sensing is a technique that allows the reconstruction of sparse or compressible signals using fewer samples than those required by the Nyquist criterion. This paper presents a new model that uses compressed multispectral sampling for spectrum sensing. The aim is to reduce the number of data required for the storage and the subsequent construction of power spectral maps with geo-referenced information in different frequency bands. This model is based on architectures that use compressive sensing to analyze multispectral images. The operation of a centralized manager is presented in order to select the power data of different sensors by binary patterns. These sensors are located in different geographical positions. The centralized manager reconstructs a data cube with the transmitted power and frequency of operation of all the sensors based on the samples taken and applying multispectral sensing techniques. The results show that this multispectral data cube can be built with 50% of the samples generated by the devices, and the spectrum cartography information can be stored using only 6.25% of the original data.
A Total Bounded Variation Approach to Low Visibility Estimation on Expressways
Authors: Cheng Xiaogang , Yang Bin , Liu Guoqing , Olofsson Thomas , Li Haibo
Published: January 2018

Low visibility on expressways caused by heavy fog and haze is a main reason for traffic accidents. Real-time estimation of atmospheric visibility is an effective way to reduce traffic accident rates. With the development of computer technology, estimating atmospheric visibility via computer vision becomes a research focus. However, the estimation accuracy should be enhanced since fog and haze are complex and time-varying. In this paper, a total bounded variation (TBV) approach to estimate low visibility (less than 300 m) is introduced. Surveillance images of fog and haze are processed as blurred images (pseudo-blurred images), while the surveillance images at selected road points on sunny days are handled as clear images, when considering fog and haze as noise superimposed on the clear images. By combining image spectrum and TBV, the features of foggy and hazy images can be extracted. The extraction results are compared with features of images on sunny days. Firstly, the low visibility surveillance images can be filtered out according to spectrum features of foggy and hazy images. For foggy and hazy images with visibility less than 300 m, the high-frequency coefficient ratio of Fourier (discrete cosine) transform is less than 20%, while the low-frequency coefficient ratio is between 100% and 120%. Secondly, the relationship between TBV and real visibility is established based on machine learning and piecewise stationary time series analysis. The established piecewise function can be used for visibility estimation. Finally, the visibility estimation approach proposed is validated based on real surveillance video data. The validation results are compared with the results of image contrast model. Besides, the big video data are collected from the Tongqi expressway, Jiangsu, China. A total of 1,782,000 frames were used and the relative errors of the approach proposed are less than 10%.
International Development Policies and Coastalscape Metabolism: The Case of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam
Authors: Zinzani Andrea
Published: January 2018

Over the last few decades, coastalscapes have been seriously threatened by the rising effects of climate change such as sea level rise, coastal degradation and extreme flooding. To cope with these threats, since 1992, international development organisations have promoted Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and its implementation in particular in coastal regions of the “Global South”. Inspired by a political ecology of development approach, this paper analyses coastalscape metabolism and community level socio-environmental transformations in relation to ICZM implementation politics in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. ICZM was designed to integrate management of coastal regions and to promote socio-economic and environmental sustainability. By adopting the concept of metabolism to coastalscapes, and reflecting on their interactions, data were collected through qualitative field-research at the community level in the Mekong Delta. Research shows that ICZM and its development initiatives implementation slightly shaped coastalscape governance and communities relations, merely influencing policy-making and state bureaucratic structure and legitimation. Rather, the Mekong Delta coastalscape was reconfigured by complex metabolic socio-environmental transformations which embed global political-economic processes, shifting water flows and climate change dynamics.
Species-Specific Impacts of Invasive Plant Success on Vertical Profiles of Soil Carbon Accumulation and Nutrient Retention in the Minjiang River Tidal Estuarine Wetlands of China
Authors: Wang Weiqi , Sardans Jordi , Wang Chun , Asensio Dolores , Bartrons Mireia , Peñuelas Josep
Published: January 2018

The increasing presence of successful invasive plant species can have an impact on wetlands capacity to store and release C. We have investigated the relationships between stocks of different soil organic carbon (SOC) along the soil vertical profile and invasive plant success in a China wetland. In stands dominated by the exotic invasive species Spartina alterniflora and the native invasive Phragmites australis soil organic-carbon concentrations (SOC) were higher (12% and 9%, respectively) than in plots of a native species, Cyperus malaccensis, whereas SOC content (g m−2) was 18% and 17% lower under P. australis than under S. alterniffolia and C. malaccensis, respectively. Soils under both invasive species had the concentrations and contents of light-fraction organic carbon (LFOC), light-fraction organic nitrogen (LFON) at 30–60 cm of soil depth and labile organic carbon (LOC) concentrations at 0–10 cm higher than soils under native species. The invasive species had higher total aboveground, total biomasses and lower shoot:root ratios than the native species. The success of both invasive species was associated with higher growth rates and accumulation of nutrients in biomass than in the native species and also accumulation of C in plant soil system. The stands currently dominated by the invasive species were recently occupied by monospecific stands of the native C. malaccensis, strongly suggesting that all or most of the current soil differences were due to the invasions. Higher sand fraction in C. malaccensis community and higher clay fraction in P. australis community relative to the native species, were correlated with higher soil N and P concentrations in invaded stands. The results suggest that different vegetation cover with distinct shoot/root ratio can change soil structure by favoring sedimentation of different particle size classes. Thus, despite both invasive species have some common traits, the results also showed that different invasive species with partially distinct impacts on soil and nutrient uses can succeed under the same conditions. The traits conferring invasive success are thus not necessarily species-specific. A clear change in the general accumulation of C, N and P in the plant-soil system was related to the invasive plant success in this wetland areas.
Predictors of Academic Achievement among Physical Education and Sports Undergraduate Students
Authors: Şahin Ertuğrul , Çekin Resul , Yazıcılar Özçelik İlknur
Published: January 2018

Although a number of studies have attempted to determine the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of students’ academic performance, there are few studies in the literature that examine the correlates of academic achievement for physical education and sports undergraduate students. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the academic achievement of first-year physical education and sports students and their sociodemographics, attitudes towards the teaching profession, personality traits, and achievement goal orientations. The participants of the study consisted of 127 (67% male) physical education and sports students, ranging in age from 16 to 30 years old when they began their studies. Participants responded to a questionnaire to determine their sociodemographic characteristics, their attitudes towards the teaching profession in their high school years, their core self-evaluations, and their achievement goal orientations. Pearson correlation analysis results showed that students’ first year grade-point average (GPA) was associated with gender, high school GPA, core-self evaluations, and mastery-approach achievement goal orientation. Results of the regression analysis suggested that the three variables that predicted the students’ first year GPA were their mastery-approach scores, attitudes towards the teaching profession in high school years, and high school GPA. In order to prevent academic failure in physical education and sports students, those who do not have a mastery-approach goal orientation and who had a low high school GPA should be identified at the beginning of the academic year, so that educational interventions can be directed at these students.
Anthropometric Variables and Somatotype of Young and Professional Male Basketball Players
Authors: Gryko Karol , Kopiczko Anna , Mikołajec Kazimierz , Stasny Petr , Musalek Martin
Published: January 2018

Background: Determining somatic models and profiles in young athletes has recently become a fundamental element in selecting basketball playing positions. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the body build of young and adult elite male basketball players at different playing positions. Methods: Participants consisted of 35 young (age: 14.09 ± 0.30 years, n = 35) and 35 adult professional basketball players (age: 24.45 ± 5.40 years, n = 35) competing in elite leagues. The anthropometric characteristics assessed included body mass, body height, skinfolds, somatotypes, girths, and breadths. Results: The centers in both age groups were significantly taller and heavier (p < 0.001) compared to forwards and guards. The greatest difference between categories were in the guards’ personal height (from 169.36 to 186.68 = 17.32 cm). The guards from the professional team were closest in height to the forwards (difference = 7.17 cm) compared to young players where the difference between guards and forwards was 13.23 cm. Young competitors were more ectomorphic (2.12-3.75-4.17), while professional players were more mesomorphic (2.26-4.57-3.04). Significant criteria for center selection at professional level seems to be personal height and arm span ratio. Conclusions: The results indicate that the selection for basketball playing positions should include the analysis of body height and mass, shoulder breadth, humerus breadth, femur breadth and specifically for centers the difference between personal the height and arm span.
Tourism Diversification and Its Implications for Smart Specialisation
Authors: Weidenfeld Adi
Published: January 2018

The complex nature of tourism, its strong inter-sectoral relationships and regional dimension challenge innovation. The advent of smart specialisation, which focuses on regional diversification across sectors, offers considerable and hitherto largely unrealized potential for developing innovative tourism policies within this new agenda. This paper addresses the understudied concept of tourism diversification and its unrealized relevance to smart specialisation, which has emerged as a mainstream logic underpinning EU Cohesion Policy reforms and has diffused into other OECD countries. It provides a theoretical framework for studying product, market, sectoral and regional diversification as well as related variety in tourism. Some policy implications for realizing tourism diversification and for the potential role of tourism in smart specialisation strategies in particular are suggested.
Rethinking Sustainability within the Viticulture Realities Integrating Economy, Landscape and Energy
Authors: Zambon Ilaria , Colantoni Andrea , Cecchini Massimo , Mosconi Enrico
Published: January 2018

Sustainability is often explained through three dimensions (society, economy and environment). However, such a definition currently appears to be restricted. Sustainable development often includes the energy issue. An example of realities founded on bioenergy are agro-energy districts. These realities involve all the three dimensions of sustainability, integrating also the energy dimension and fueling a potential circular economy. Based on these premises, the most affluent rural subdivision in Italy is that of wine. The wine sector has experienced a recent growth of its economic market, diverging from other agricultural activities and enlarging its cultivated surface areas. In this sense, the local landscape has also changed. Owing to the strong inclination of the wine sector in adopting sustainable strategies and measures, agro-energy districts can be the following future phase in viticulture realities as a cutting-edge business in the modern agricultural sector, implementing new strategies and opportunities.
Long-Term Collaboration Network Based on ClinicalTrials.gov Database in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Authors: Yang Heyoung , Lee Hyuck
Published: January 2018

Increasing costs, risks, and productivity problems in the pharmaceutical industry are important recent issues in the biomedical field. Open innovation is proposed as a solution to these issues. However, little statistical analysis related to collaboration in the pharmaceutical industry has been conducted so far. Meanwhile, not many cases have analyzed the clinical trials database, even though it is the information source with the widest coverage for the pharmaceutical industry. The purpose of this study is to test the clinical trials information as a probe for observing the status of the collaboration network and open innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. This study applied the social network analysis method to clinical trials data from 1980 to 2016 in ClinicalTrials.gov. Data were divided into four time periods—1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s—and the collaboration network was constructed for each time period. The characteristic of each network was investigated. The types of agencies participating in the clinical trials were classified as a university, national institute, company, or other, and the major players in the collaboration networks were identified. This study showed some phenomena related to the pharmaceutical industry that could provide clues to policymakers about open innovation. If follow-up studies were conducted, the utilization of the clinical trial database could be further expanded, which is expected to help open innovation in the pharmaceutical industry.
Evaluating Spatial Priority of Urban Green Infrastructure for Urban Sustainability in Areas of Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study of Pukou in China
Authors: Wei Jiaxing , Qian Jing , Tao Yu , Hu Feng , Ou Weixin
Published: January 2018

Rapid urbanization in recent decades highlights the limitations on the sustainable development of cities due to the fragmentation of restricted urban green land. The aim of this paper is to formulate a workable framework for planning and managing urban green infrastructure (UGI) for urban sustainability. This study provides a new method for modeling and analyzing UGI based on a case study of the Pukou District in Nanjing, which is a typical developing area in China. We adopt the morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) method and combine it with the landscape connectivity index to identify the UGI hubs and links. In addition, the least-cost path model is employed to construct the potential UGI network in this case. We further integrate the spatial syntax model into landscape ecological principles to evaluate the spatial priority of the UGI network. The results showed that the framework proposed in this study is suitable for the green infrastructure network construction by combining the MSPA, landscape connectivity, and the space syntax methods. This framework can be used to better understand the spatial distribution and priority of the green infrastructure network for achieving urban sustainability in China.
A Taxonomy of Climate Accounting Principles for Financial Portfolios
Authors: Thomä Jakob , Dupré Stan , Hayne Michael
Published: January 2018

Climate accounting for financial portfolios has seen growing prominence in the past years, thanks to both private and public sector initiatives. Over 200 financial institutions have conducted some form of portfolio analysis. In the context of this growing prominence, the academic and practitioner’s discussion of climate accounting has largely focused on questions of climate data quality and choices for estimation models. Missing in this debate is an analysis of the underlying accounting principles related to climate data. There is no overview of the climate accounting principles and the implications of choosing different principles and rules. This article provides a taxonomy of key accounting choices currently applied for climate accounting of financial portfolios, notably regarding units of accounting, boundaries of accounting, normalization rules, and allocation rules. Based on a review of data providers accounting approaches in practice, as well as sample applications of different accounting principles, it distills key accounting categories and highlights the potential sensitivity of the ultimate results to these choices. The article concludes that climate assessments of portfolios may be equally sensitive to accounting choices as to the quality of underlying data, suggesting more attention and standards are needed.
Minimization of the Environmental Emissions of Closed-Loop Supply Chains: A Case Study of Returnable Transport Assets Management
Authors: Bottani Eleonora , Casella Giorgia
Published: January 2018

This study investigates the issue of minimizing the environmental burden of a real closed-loop supply chain (CLSC), consisting of a pallet provider, a manufacturer and several retailers. A simulation model is developed under Microsoft Excel™ (Microsoft Corporation, Washington, US) to reproduce the flow of returnable transport items (RTIs) in the CLSC and to compute the corresponding environmental impact. Multi-objective optimization, including some relevant environmental key performance indicators (KPIs), is then carried out exploiting the commercial software ModeFRONTIER™ (ESTECO S.p.A., Trieste, Italy), to determine the settings that minimize emissions of the CLSC. In addition, economic and strategic metrics are taken into account in the optimization, to make the analysis more comprehensive. Three scenarios are considered (one “base” scenario and two scenarios examined in a sensitivity analysis) with different relative importance assigned to the metrics subject to optimization. Results show that the asset retrieving operations contribute to the environmental impact of the system to the greatest extent, mainly because of the quite relevant distance between Company A and its customers. Conversely, emissions due to the purchase of new assets contribute to the total environmental impact of the system to a very limited extent. Because the analysis is grounded on a real CLSC, the results are expected to provide practical indications to logistics and supply chain managers, to minimize the environmental performance of the system.
Biogas Micro-Production from Human Organic Waste—A Research Proposal
Authors: Regattieri Alberto , Bortolini Marco , Ferrari Emilio , Gamberi Mauro , Piana Francesco
Published: January 2018

Organic waste (OW) management tackles the problem of sanitation and hygiene in developing countries and humanitarian camps where unmanaged waste often causes severe health problems and premature death. OW still has a usable energy content, allowing biogas production, potentially contributing to satisfy the local needs, e.g., cooking, lighting and heating. Digesters are the devices converting OW into biogas under anaerobic conditions. They are simple and effective solutions for the OW management in rural areas, humanitarian camps and remote developing regions, producing energy and fertilizers for local farming as residual. This paper describes the design and lab-test of a domestic OW management system integrating a waterless toilet with a small-scale digester producing safe biogas for local micro-consumption. Starting from people’s needs and an extensive review of the current state-of-art technology, the proposed system’s key innovation and strength is the combination of effectiveness and a very simple construction, set up and use, fitting with the rural conditions and raw materials available within the emerging countries. A small-scale prototype is assembled and lab-tested assessing the quantity—i.e., productivity—and quality—i.e., composition and methane content—of the produced biogas. The measured productivity in terms of specific biogas production (SBP) is of about 0.15 m3/kgSV and a methane content of about 74% in mass match the energy needs of domestic users, encouraging the spread of such systems in developing regions and rural areas.
Waste Management System for Batteries
Authors: Leba Monica , Ionica Andreea , Dovleac Raluca , Dobra Remus
Published: January 2018

We live in a technology driven era where each day new gadgets improve the way we live our lives. Many resources are being spent on building these devices that often turn obsolete overnight. Taking into account that these electronics have a long-term impact on the environment, a waste management system must be embedded in the electronic product lifecycle. In this paper, we propose a monitoring system for recycling batteries from electronic equipment and devices. This solution covers specific waste management issues to manage and reduce battery waste and to recover valuable materials and components. A solution for the continuous monitoring of each battery waste container is also proposed. The solution involves the storage of all information regarding the recycling process, such as pickup date and time, collector’s name, quantity, and location. The research is also extended for smartphone usage. This is an important feature for collectors who need to access data in real time from any location. The mobile application directly reads the weight of battery waste, automatically saves the date and time, and stores the location along with any other useful information.
Modeling the Dynamics and Spillovers of the Health Labor Market: Evidence from China’s Provincial Panel Data
Authors: Zhu Bin , Fu Yang , Liu Jinlin , Mao Ying
Published: January 2018

Health workforce misdistribution is a major challenge faced by almost all countries. A more profound understanding of the dynamics of the health labor market provides evidence for policy makers to balance health workforce distribution with solid evidence. However, one major deficit of existing theoretical and empirical studies is that they often ignore the intra-regional spillovers of the health labor market. This study builds a theoretical “supply–demand–spillover” model that considers both intra-regional supply and demand-side factors, and inter-regional spillovers, hence providing a theoretical reference point for further in-depth studies. Using spatial econometric panel models, the effect of all determinants and spillovers were empirically measured based on a Chinese panel data set, shedding light on health workforce policies in China.
Design Optimization Considering Variable Thermal Mass, Insulation, Absorptance of Solar Radiation, and Glazing Ratio Using a Prediction Model and Genetic Algorithm
Authors: Lin Yaolin , Zhou Shiquan , Yang Wei , Li Chun-Qing
Published: January 2018

This paper presents the optimization of building envelope design to minimize thermal load and improve thermal comfort for a two-star green building in Wuhan, China. The thermal load of the building before optimization is 36% lower than a typical energy-efficient building of the same size. A total of 19 continuous design variables, including different concrete thicknesses, insulation thicknesses, absorbance of solar radiation for each exterior wall/roof and different window-to-wall ratios for each façade, are considered for optimization. The thermal load and annual discomfort degree hours are selected as the objective functions for optimization. Two prediction models, multi-linear regression (MLR) model and an artificial neural network (ANN) model, are developed to predict the building thermal performance and adopted as fitness functions for a multi-objective genetic algorithm (GA) to find the optimal design solutions. As compared to the original design, the optimal design generated by the MLRGA approach helps to reduce the thermal load and discomfort level by 18.2% and 22.4%, while the reductions are 17.0% and 22.2% respectively, using the ANNGA approach. Finally, four objective functions using cooling load, heating load, summer discomfort degree hours, and winter discomfort degree hours for optimization are conducted, but the results are no better than the two-objective-function optimization approach.
How Human Activities Affect Heavy Metal Contamination of Soil and Sediment in a Long-Term Reclaimed Area of the Liaohe River Delta, North China
Authors: Yan Xiaolu , Liu Miao , Zhong Jingqiu , Guo Jinting , Wu Wen
Published: January 2018

Heavy metal pollution in soils and sediments is becoming a matter of wide concern, this study was carried out in Dawa County of the Liaohe River Delta, with the aim of exploring the impacts of land use levels on heavy metal contamination of soil and sediment. A total of 129 soil samples were collected in different land use intensities (LUI). Soil metals (Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) and soil salinity, pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), nitrate nitrogen (NO3−-N), available phosphorus (AP) and grain sizes were analyzed. Correlation analysis indicated that SOC and grain size played important roles in affecting the heavy metal distribution. The factor analysis results indicated that heavy metal contamination was most probably caused by industrial and agricultural wastewater discharges, domestic sewage discharge and atmospheric deposition. Using ANOVA, it found that human activities significantly changed soil physic-chemical properties through soil erosion, leaching and fertilizer application, further affecting the behaviors of heavy metals in the soil and sediments. The anthropogenic factors could lead to potential environmental risk, as indicated by the Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) results of heavy metals. Overall, the heavy metals generally had approached or even exceeded moderately polluted (0 < Igeo < 1, 1 < Igeo < 2), but the Pb and Cu pollution level was low (Igeo < 0), and the Cd pollution level was moderately or strongly polluted (2 < Igeo < 3, 3 < Igeo < 4) in the five land use levels. This study will provide valuable information for appropriately determining how land should be used in future reclamation areas, as well as for the sustainable management of estuarine areas around the world.
Social Perception of Rural Tourism Impact: A Case Study
Authors: Sanagustin-Fons Victoria , Lafita-Cortés Teresa , Moseñe José
Published: January 2018

Rural tourism is based on the natural and cultural resources in an area that make it unique, with people as the main drivers. The main objective of this paper is to know the social perception about rural tourism impact in the Cinco Villas region (Aragon, Spain), analysing its evolution and effect on the territory. The theoretical approach is based on concepts such as rural tourism and its different elements from the perspective of sustainable local endogenous development. The research method chosen is the study case based on the Cinco Villas region. A combination of qualitative and quantitative instruments was used to research and achieve the aims of this study. A documentary analysis of the last ten years based on secondary data from institutional database sources was conducted. Primary data have been compiled from two different sources: semi-structured interviews with political leaders and tourism business people and participatory observation in focus groups.
Have Housing Prices Gone with the Smelly Wind? Big Data Analysis on Landfill in Hong Kong
Authors: Li Rita , Li Herru
Published: January 2018

Unlike many other places around the globe, Hong Kong is a small city with a high population density. Some housing units are built near the sources of an externality, such as a landfill site. As the blocks of buildings are particularly tall, many are walled buildings that block the bad odor from the landfill. Thus, the wind blowing from a landfill site may not affect the entire building estate. Some buildings are more heavily affected than others, partly because walled buildings built near landfills are rare. Only a few studies currently examine the correlation between wind direction and the prices of walled buildings. In this paper, we aim to bridge this research gap by illustrating Hong Kong as a case study. Most previous research studies only examine a few factors affecting housing prices. Modern big data is characterized by its large volume of data, which includes various types of data that analysts would not necessarily sample, but instead merely observe to track what happens. Therefore, another innovative point of our paper, is that we adopt a big data approach to study this issue. In this aspect, this paper is the first of its kind. There are 53,071 observations in the 1999 to 2014 dataset, with 2,175,911 data entries. Our results reflect that when more municipal solid waste is sent to the South East New Territories Landfill, residents’ complaints in Tseung Kwan O increase. However, entire property prices in the region also increase, which rejects our hypothesis. We speculate that as more people become aware of the housing estate due to complaints, with only a limited number of housing units affected by the smell, since the wind usually only blows in certain directions, the “advertisement effect” originating from complaints about the bad smell boosts the property prices of the unaffected units. That is, people become aware of the existence of the property, visit the site, and discover that only specific units facing one particular direction are affected. Then, they purchase units that are unaffected by the smelly wind, leading to an overall increase in property prices. The study’s results may provide a new perspective on urban planning, and possible implications for other cities in view of the constant increase in population and expansion of landfill sites.
Immigration and the Housing Market: The Case of Castel Volturno, in Campania Region, Italy
Authors: Forte Fabiana , Antoniucci Valentina , De Paola Pierfrancesco
Published: January 2018

According to Eurostat, Italy is the fifth country of the European Union per immigrant population. The complexity of the phenomenon, as it has evolved in recent years, leads to analyzing it from a specific point of view, that of the real estate market. The article represents the early stage of research on the housing condition of the immigrant population in the Southern Italy and its effect on the housing market. First, we describe the spatial segregation phenomenon affecting the immigrant population in Campania Region; then we analyze data of the municipality of Castel Volturno, which has one of the greater migratory pressure throughout the whole region. We provide statistical regressions correlating housing prices and socio-economic features from 2006 to 2016. The results confirm the findings of the current literature on the subject: there is a specific phenomenon associated with the presence of an immigrant population residing in conjunction with a reduction of housing prices.
The Design of New Technology Supporting Wellbeing, Independence and Social Participation, for Older Adults Domiciled in Residential Homes and/or Assisted Living Communities
Authors: Cahill Joan , McLoughlin Sean , Wetherall Sean
Published: January 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify and validate the requirements for new technology supporting wellness, independence and social participation for older people domiciled in residential homes and/or assisted-living communities. Method: This research adopts a stakeholder evaluation approach to requirements elicitation and user interface design. Specifically, the study design combines several qualitative human–machine interaction (HMI) design frameworks/methods, including realist ethnography, scenario-based design, persona-based design, and participatory design. Findings: New technology should reflect positive values around ageing and link to psychosocial models of successful ageing, and biopsychosocial models of health and wellbeing. Resident autonomy, wellness and social participation cannot be conceptualized outside an understanding of the relationships older adults have with others. The design remit for this technology is to enable a resident experience that is similar to living at home. New technologies should facilitate wellness and communication/connection, and not simply risk assessment. New technology provides an opportunity to bridge existing information gaps between care planning, care assessments and daily care. Overall this technology needs to be intuitive and uphold the resident’s dignity and rights. Person-to-person interaction is central to care delivery. The introduction of new technology should enhance this interaction, and not threaten it. Conclusions: Future assisted-living (AL) technology should be premised by biopsychosocial models of wellness and support relationships between older adults and members of the personal and professional community. New assisted-living technology affords the possibility for improved social relationships, enhanced wellbeing, better quality of care, and independence. Such technologies require careful consideration in relation to adapting to age/condition and managing issues pertaining to resident consent, privacy and human contact.
Utilization of Blended Waste Materials in Bricks
Authors: Rahman Muhammad , Ong Phang , Nabinejad Omid , Islam Sumaiya , Khandoker Neamul , Pakrashi Vikram , Shorowordi Kazi
Published: January 2018

Cement is considered a key raw material for brick production. However, excessive use of cement leads to a negative environment impact. Cement replaced with locally available waste materials has a significant potential to address this environmental impact, especially in the construction industry by contributing to cleaner production. The objective of this research is to investigate the performance of brick where cement is replaced by fly ash and palm oil fuel ash, waste materials typically available in Malaysia, where the construction industry is on the rise. To determine the performance of these bricks, a compressive strength test, a water absorption test, and a thermogravimetric analysis were carried out at different percentage combinations of fly ash and palm oil fuel ash. The results from the tests reveal that both fly ash and palm oil fuel ash incorporated bricks satisfy Class 1 and Class 2 load-bearing brick requirements according to the Malaysian Standard MS76:1972 along with water absorption requirements as per ASTM C55-11. The thermogravimetric analysis study confirms that the Ca(OH)2 gradually decreases due to the increase of pozzolanic material contents (fly ash and palm oil fuel ash). Moreover, these newly developed bricks cost less than the conventional bricks.
Data Analyses and Modelling for Risk Based Monitoring of Mycotoxins in Animal Feed
Authors: Van der Fels-Klerx H.J. , Adamse Paulien , Punt Ans , Van Asselt Esther
Published: January 2018

Following legislation, European Member States should have multi-annual control programs for contaminants, such as for mycotoxins, in feed and food. These programs need to be risk based implying the checks are regular and proportional to the estimated risk for animal and human health. This study aimed to prioritize feed products in the Netherlands for deoxynivalenol and aflatoxin B1 monitoring. Historical mycotoxin monitoring results from the period 2007–2016 were combined with data from other sources. Based on occurrence, groundnuts had high priority for aflatoxin B1 monitoring; some feed materials (maize and maize products and several oil seed products) and complete/complementary feed excluding dairy cattle and young animals had medium priority; and all other animal feeds and feed materials had low priority. For deoxynivalenol, maize by-products had a high priority, complete and complementary feed for pigs had a medium priority and all other feed and feed materials a low priority. Also including health consequence estimations showed that feed materials that ranked highest for aflatoxin B1 included sunflower seed and palmkernel expeller/extracts and maize. For deoxynivalenol, maize products were ranked highest, followed by various small grain cereals (products); all other feed materials were of lower concern. Results of this study have proven to be useful in setting up the annual risk based control program for mycotoxins in animal feed and feed materials.
Activation of Aflatoxin Biosynthesis Alleviates Total ROS in Aspergillus parasiticus
Authors: Kenne Gabriel , Gummadidala Phani , Omebeyinje Mayomi , Mondal Ananda , Bett Dominic , McFadden Sandra , Bromfield Sydney , Banaszek Nora , Velez-Martinez Michelle , Mitra Chandrani , Mikell Isabelle , Chatterjee Saurabh , Wee Josephine , Chanda Anindya
Published: January 2018

An aspect of mycotoxin biosynthesis that remains unclear is its relationship with the cellular management of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here we conduct a comparative study of the total ROS production in the wild-type strain (SU-1) of the plant pathogen and aflatoxin producer, Aspergillus parasiticus, and its mutant strain, AFS10, in which the aflatoxin biosynthesis pathway is blocked by disruption of its pathway regulator, aflR. We show that SU-1 demonstrates a significantly faster decrease in total ROS than AFS10 between 24 h to 48 h, a time window within which aflatoxin synthesis is activated and reaches peak levels in SU-1. The impact of aflatoxin synthesis in alleviation of ROS correlated well with the transcriptional activation of five superoxide dismutases (SOD), a group of enzymes that protect cells from elevated levels of a class of ROS, the superoxide radicals (O2−). Finally, we show that aflatoxin supplementation to AFS10 growth medium results in a significant reduction of total ROS only in 24 h cultures, without resulting in significant changes in SOD gene expression. Our findings show that the activation of aflatoxin biosynthesis in A. parasiticus alleviates ROS generation, which in turn, can be both aflR dependent and aflatoxin dependent.
Global Burden and Challenges of Melioidosis
Authors: Dance David , Limmathurotsakul Direk
Published: January 2018

Melioidosis, an infectious disease caused by the environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, has remained in the shadows for far too long[...]
Development and Clinical Validation of a Multiplex Real-Time Quantitative PCR Assay for Human Infection by Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Ehrlichia chaffeensis
Authors: Reller Megan , Dumler J.
Published: January 2018

Background: Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), caused by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis, often present as undifferentiated fever but are not treated by typical empiric regimens for acute febrile illness. Their role as agents of vector-borne febrile disease in tropical regions is more poorly studied than for other rickettsial infections. Limitations in diagnosis have impaired epidemiologic and clinical research and needless morbidity and mortality occur due to untreated illness. Methods: We designed and clinically validated a multiplex real-time quantitative PCR assay for Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Ehrlichia chaffeensis using samples confirmed by multiple gold-standard methods. Results: Clinical sensitivity and specificity for A. phagocytophilum were 100% (39/39) and 100% (143/143), respectively, and for E. chaffeensis 95% (20/21) and 99% (159/161), respectively. Conclusions: These assays could support early diagnosis and treatment as well as the high-throughput testing required for large epidemiologic studies.
Cross-Cultural, Aboriginal Language, Discovery Education for Health Literacy and Informed Consent in a Remote Aboriginal Community in the Northern Territory, Australia
Authors: Shield Jennifer , Kearns Thérèse , Garŋgulkpuy Joanne , Walpulay Lisa , Gundjirryirr Roslyn , Bundhala Leanne , Djarpanbuluwuy Veronica , Andrews Ross , Judd Jenni
Published: January 2018

Background: Education for health literacy of Australian Aboriginal people living remotely is challenging as their languages and worldviews are quite different from English language and Western worldviews. Becoming health literate depends on receiving comprehensible information in a culturally acceptable manner. Methods: The study objective was to facilitate oral health literacy through community education about scabies and strongyloidiasis, including their transmission and control, preceding an ivermectin mass drug administration (MDA) for these diseases. A discovery education approach where health concepts are connected to cultural knowledge in the local language was used. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal educators worked collaboratively to produce an in-depth flip-chart of the relevant stories in the local language and to share them with clan elders and 27% of the population. Results: The community health education was well received. Feedback indicated that the stories were being discussed in the community and that the mode of transmission of strongyloidiasis was understood. Two-thirds of the population participated in the MDA. This study documents the principles and practice of a method of making important Western health knowledge comprehensible to Aboriginal people. This method would be applicable wherever language and culture of the people differ from language and culture of health professionals.