bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of Bioenergy Potential and Relative Impact of Microclimate Conditions for Sustainable Fuel Pellets Production and Carbon Sequestration of Short-Rotation Forestry (Populus × Canadensis Moench.) in Reclaimed Land, South Korea: Three-Year Monitoring
Authors: Jang Jihwi , Woo Su Young , Kwak Myeong Ja , Je Sun Mi , Lee Jong Kyu , Kim Ie Reh
Published: August 2020

It is important to manage sustainable short-rotation coppices (SRCs), having an important role in carbon sink and bioenergy output, because most of SRCs in South Korea were established on reclaimed land. However, during the last three years, the growth pattern of the SRCs was remarkably changed with soil condition. This study aimed to identify the sustainability of SRCs used for carbon storage, biomass and fuel pellet production, monitoring the neighboring vegetation of SRCs by land-use exchange, examine physiological changes of poplar in a seasonal trend, and to evaluate whether poplar is suitable for making wood pellets over time. The calculated biomass yield per area of poplar grown was 103.07 Mg per total area (55.6 ha), and volumes of carbon dioxide absorption were estimated to be 329.72 Mg CO2. Wood pellet quality based on the criteria scored third grade, indicating that poplar is appropriate to be manufactured as fuel pellets. Moreover, monitoring of the flora distribution in SRCs revealed changes in species composition. As halophyte was increased during drought, soil organic matter, net growth and total chlorophyll of poplar were significantly decreased. These findings indicate that physiological changes and growth pattern of SRCs may be negatively affected by microclimate and provide better understanding for the effective management of SRCs amid environmental changes.
Three-Dimensional Imaging of Plant Cell Wall Deconstruction Using Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy
Authors: Zoghlami Aya , Refahi Yassin , Terryn Christine , Paës Gabriel
Published: August 2020

Lignocellulosic biomass (LB) is recalcitrant to enzymatic hydrolysis due to its compact and complex cell wall structure. To identify the parameters behind LB recalcitrance, experimental data over hydrolysis time must be collected. Here, we describe a novel method to collect time-lapse images during cell wall deconstruction by enzymatic hydrolysis. The protocol includes instructions for sample preparation, layout of a custom designed incubation chamber and instructions for confocal time lapse acquisition. The protocol sets out a detailed plan where cross-sections of untreated and pretreated poplar samples are mounted in a sealed frame containing a buffer and an enzymatic cocktail. The sealed frame is then placed into an incubator to maintain the sample at a constant temperature of 50 °C, which is optimal for enzymatic reaction while avoiding enzymatic cocktail evaporation. Using lignin natural autofluorescence, confocal z-stacks of untreated and pretreated samples were acquired at regular time intervals during enzymatic hydrolysis for 24 h. Acquisition parameters were optimized to compromise between image resolution and reduced photo-bleaching. The acquired image might then be processed by further development of algorithms to extract precise quantitative information on cell wall deconstruction. This protocol is an important first step towards elucidating the underlying parameters of LB recalcitrance by allowing the acquisition of high-quality images of LB hydrolysis for extracting quantitative data on LB deconstruction.
Unsettling Physics in the Quantum-Corrected Schwarzschild Black Hole
Authors: Faraoni Valerio , Giusti Andrea
Published: August 2020

We study a quantum-corrected Schwarzschild black hole proposed recently in Loop Quantum Gravity. Prompted by the fact that corrections to the innermost stable circular orbit of Schwarzschild diverge, we investigate time-like and null radial geodesics. Massive particles moving radially outwards are confined, while photons make it to infinity with infinite redshift. This unsettling physics, which deviates radically from both Schwarzschild (near the horizon) and Minkowski (at infinity) is due to repulsion by the negative quantum energy density that makes the quasilocal mass vanish as one approaches spatial infinity.
Oscillatory-Precessional Motion of a Rydberg Electron Around a Polar Molecule
Authors: Oks Eugene
Published: August 2020

We provide a detailed classical description of the oscillatory-precessional motion of an electron in the field of an electric dipole. Specifically, we demonstrate that in the general case of the oscillatory-precessional motion of the electron (the oscillations being in the meridional direction (θ-direction) and the precession being along parallels of latitude (φ-direction)), both the θ-oscillations and the φ-precessions can actually occur on the same time scale—contrary to the statement from the work by another author. We obtain the dependence of φ on θ, the time evolution of the dynamical variable θ, the period Tθ of the θ-oscillations, and the change of the angular variable φ during one half-period of the θ-motion—all in the forms of one-fold integrals in the general case and illustrated it pictorially. We also produce the corresponding explicit analytical expressions for relatively small values of the projection pφ of the angular momentum on the axis of the electric dipole. We also derive a general condition for this conditionally-periodic motion to become periodic (the trajectory of the electron would become a closed curve) and then provide examples of the values of pφ for this to happen. Besides, for the particular case of pφ = 0 we produce an explicit analytical result for the dependence of the time t on θ. For the opposite particular case, where pφ is equal to its maximum possible value (consistent with the bound motion), we derive an explicit analytical result for the period of the revolution of the electron along the parallel of latitude.
Bi-Directional Filter for the Removal of Lines and Cracks in Images
Authors: Awad Ali Said
Published: August 2020

In this paper, a method for the removal of noisy lines and cracks corrupted by different noise types is explored, using a cascade of filtering cycles based on the principle of symmetry among neighboring pixels. Each filtering cycle includes a filter in two perpendicular directions, one horizontal and the other vertical. Any pixel, to be deemed original, should have a number of symmetric pixels within its neighboring pixels greater than the number specified by the condition set for each direction in all the filters. Since the conditions of each filter increase gradually from one cycle to the next, it becomes more difficult for a noisy pixel to satisfy the filter conditions in each filtering cycle, while an original pixel can easily satisfy the conditions in all the filtering cycles. The reason is that a noisy pixel has a random value and therefore faces difficulty in finding a sufficient number of symmetric pixels in each direction, while an original one has a value correlated with the values of its neighboring pixels. Extensive simulation experiments prove that the proposed method efficiently detects and restores different noisy lines and cracks of different shape and thickness. Also, it retains the image details and outperforms other well-known algorithms, both objectively and subjectively. More specifically, the proposed algorithm achieves restoration performance better than the other known methods by ≥0.81dB in all simulation experiments.
Energy Dissipation Characteristics and Parameter Identification of Symmetrically Coated Damping Structure of Pipelines under Different Temperature Environment
Authors: Jiang Feng , Ding Zheyu , Wu Yiwan , Bai Hongbai , Shao Yichuan , Zi Bao
Published: August 2020

In this paper, a symmetrically coated damping structure for entangled metallic wire materials (EMWM) of pipelines was designed to reduce the vibration of high temperature (300 °C) pipeline. A series of energy dissipation tests were carried out on the symmetrically coated damping structure at 20–300 °C. Based on the energy dissipation test results, the hysteresis loop was drawn. The effects of temperature, vibration amplitude, frequency, and density of EMWM on the energy dissipation characteristics of coated damping structures were investigated. A nonlinear energy dissipation model of the symmetrically coated damping structure with temperature parameters was established through the accurate decomposition of the hysteresis loop. The parameters of the nonlinear model were identified by the least square method. The energy dissipation test results show that the symmetrically coated damping structure for EMWM of pipelines had excellent and stable damping properties, and the established model could well describe the changing law of the restoring force and displacement of the symmetrically coated damping structure with amplitude, frequency, density, and ambient temperature. It is possible to reduce the vibration of pipelines in a wider temperature range by replacing different metal wires.
Hybrid Modelling and Sliding Mode Control of Semi-Active Suspension Systems for Both Ride Comfort and Road-Holding
Authors: Aljarbouh Ayman , Fayaz Muhammad
Published: August 2020

Rigorous model-based design and control for intelligent vehicle suspension systems play an important role in providing better driving characteristics such as passenger comfort and road-holding capability. This paper investigates a new technique for modelling, simulation and control of semi-active suspension systems supporting both ride comfort and road-holding driving characteristics and implements the technique in accordance with the functional mock-up interface standard FMI 2.0. Firstly, we provide a control-oriented hybrid model of a quarter car semi-active suspension system. The resulting quarter car hybrid model is used to develop a sliding mode controller that supports both ride comfort and road-holding capability. Both the hybrid model and controller are then implemented conforming to the functional mock-up interface standard FMI 2.0. The aim of the FMI-based implementation is to serve as a portable test bench for control applications of vehicle suspension systems. It fully supports the exchange of the suspension system components as functional mock-up units (FMUs) among different modelling and simulation platforms, which allows re-usability and facilitates the interoperation and integration of the suspension system components with embedded software components. The concepts are validated with simulation results throughout the paper.
Multifractal Analysis of Movement Behavior in Association Football
Authors: Freitas Cruz Igor , Sampaio Jaime
Published: August 2020

Research in football has been embracing the complex systems paradigm in order to identify different insights about key determinants of performance. The present study explored the multifractal properties of several football-related scenarios, as a candidate method to describe movement dynamics. The sample consisted of five footballers that were engaged in six different training situations (jogging, high intensity interval protocol, running circuit, 5 vs. 5, 8 vs. 8 and a 10 vs. 10 small-sided game). All kinematic measures were collected using a 100 Hz wireless and wearable inertial measurement unit (WIMUPRO©). Data were processed using a discrete wavelet leader transform in order to obtain a spectrum of singularities that could best describe the movement dynamics. The Holder exponent for each of all six conditions revealed mean values h < 0.5 indicating presence of long memory with anti-correlated behavior. A strong trend was found between the width of the multifractal spectrum and the type of task performed, with jogging showing the weakest multifractality ∆h = 0.215 ± 0.020, whereas, 10 vs. 10 small-sided game revealed the strongest ∆h = 0.992 ± 0.104. The Hausdorff dimension indicates that a maximal fluctuation rate occurs with a higher probability than that of the minimal fluctuation rate for all tasks, with the exception of the high intensity interval protocol. Moreover, the spectrum asymmetry values of jogging, running circuit, 5 vs. 5, 8 vs. 8 and 10 vs. 10 small-sided games reveal their multifractal structures are more sensitive to the local fluctuations with small magnitudes. The multifractal analysis has shown a potential to systematically elucidate the dynamics and variability structure over time for the training situations.
Ambient Exposure to Agricultural Pesticides during Pregnancy and Risk of Cerebral Palsy: A Population-Based Study in California
Authors: Liew Zeyan , von Ehrenstein Ondine S. , Ling Chenxiao , Yuan Yuying , Meng Qi , Cui Xin , Park Andrew S. , Uldall Peter , Olsen Jørn , Cockburn Myles , Ritz Beate
Published: August 2020

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common neuro-motor disability in young children. Disruptions of maternal hormone function during pregnancy have been linked to CP risk. We investigated whether prenatal exposure to pesticide compounds with endocrine-disrupting action affect CP risk. We conducted a case-control study of 3905 CP cases and 39,377 controls born between 1998 and 2010 in California to mothers who lived in proximity (within 2 km) to any agricultural pesticide application recorded in the California Pesticide Use Reporting (PUR) system. We focused on 23 pesticides considered endocrine disruptors that are frequently used, and we found that exposure to any of the 23 pesticides in the first trimester was associated with elevated CP risks in female offspring (OR = 1.19; 95% CI: 1.05–1.35) but not males (OR = 0.99; 95% CI: 0.89–1.09) compared to the unexposed offspring. Positive associations were estimated for 15 pesticides suspected to affect the estrogen and 7 pesticides suspected to affect the thyroid hormone system. Our study suggests that first trimester exposure to pesticides that are suspected endocrine disruptors are associated with CP risk in female offspring. Pesticide exposures in early pregnancy may have sex-specific influences on the neuro-motor development of the fetus by interfering with endocrine systems.
The Effects of Botulinum Toxin Injections on Spasticity and Motor Performance in Chronic Stroke with Spastic Hemiplegia
Authors: Chen Yen-Ting , Zhang Chuan , Liu Yang , Magat Elaine , Verduzco-Gutierrez Monica , Francisco Gerard E. , Zhou Ping , Zhang Yingchun , Li Sheng
Published: August 2020

Spastic muscles are weak muscles. It is known that muscle weakness is linked to poor motor performance. Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injections are considered as the first-line treatment for focal spasticity. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively investigate the effects of BoNT injections on force control of spastic biceps brachii muscles in stroke survivors. Ten stroke survivors with spastic hemiplegia (51.7 ± 11.5 yrs; 5 men) who received 100 units of incobotulinumtoxinA or onabotulinumtoxinA to the biceps brachii muscles participated in this study. Spasticity assessment (Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and reflex torque) and muscle strength of elbow flexors, as well as motor performance assessment (force variability of submaximal elbow flexion) were performed within one week before (pre-injection) and 3~4 weeks (3-wk) after BoNT injections. As expected, BoNT injections reduced the MAS score and reflex torque, and elbow flexor strength on the spastic paretic side. However, motor performance remained within similar level before and after injections. There was no change in muscle strength or motor performance on the contralateral arm after BoNT injections. The results of this study provide evidence that BoNT injections can reduce spasticity and muscle strength, while motor performance of the weakened spastic muscle remains unchanged.
OMICs Approaches in Diarrhetic Shellfish Toxins Research
Authors: Campos Alexandre , Freitas Marisa , de Almeida André M. , Martins José Carlos , Domínguez-Pérez Dany , Osório Hugo , Vasconcelos Vitor , Reis Costa Pedro
Published: August 2020

Diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DSTs) are among the most prevalent marine toxins in Europe’s and in other temperate coastal regions. These toxins are produced by several dinoflagellate species; however, the contamination of the marine trophic chain is often attributed to species of the genus Dinophysis. This group of toxins, constituted by okadaic acid (OA) and analogous molecules (dinophysistoxins, DTXs), are highly harmful to humans, causing severe poisoning symptoms caused by the ingestion of contaminated seafood. Knowledge on the mode of action and toxicology of OA and the chemical characterization and accumulation of DSTs in seafood species (bivalves, gastropods and crustaceans) has significantly contributed to understand the impacts of these toxins in humans. Considerable information is however missing, particularly at the molecular and metabolic levels involving toxin uptake, distribution, compartmentalization and biotransformation and the interaction of DSTs with aquatic organisms. Recent contributions to the knowledge of DSTs arise from transcriptomics and proteomics research. Indeed, OMICs constitute a research field dedicated to the systematic analysis on the organisms’ metabolisms. The methodologies used in OMICs are also highly effective to identify critical metabolic pathways affecting the physiology of the organisms. In this review, we analyze the main contributions provided so far by OMICs to DSTs research and discuss the prospects of OMICs with regard to the DSTs toxicology and the significance of these toxins to public health, food safety and aquaculture.
Effects of Peptidoglycan, Lipoteichoic Acid and Lipopolysaccharide on Inflammation, Proliferation and Milk Fat Synthesis in Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells
Authors: Wu Yongjiang , Sun Yawang , Zhang Zhu , Chen Juncai , Dong Guozhong
Published: August 2020

The mammary gland of the cow is particularly susceptible to infections of a wide range of pathogenic bacteria, including both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The endotoxins of these pathogenic bacteria include peptidoglycan (PGN), lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and they are the pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) to induce mastitis. LPS can directly inhibit proliferation and milk fat synthesis of bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) while inducing mastitis, but it is unclear whether PGN and LTA also have such effects. Furthermore, since the three PAMPs usually appear simultaneously in the udder of cows with mastitis, their synergistic effects on proliferation and milk fat synthesis of BMECs are worth investigating. The immortalized BMECs (MAC-T cells) were stimulated for 24 h using various concentrations of PGN, LTA and LPS, respectively, to determine the doses that could effectively cause inflammatory responses. Next, the cells were stimulated for 24 h with no endotoxins (CON), PGN, LTA, LPS, PGN + LTA, and PGN + LTA + LPS, respectively, with the predetermined doses to analyze their effects on proliferation and milk fat synthesis of BMECs. PGN, LTA and LPS successfully induced inflammatory responses of BMECs with doses of 30, 30 and 0.1 μg/mL, respectively. Although the proliferation of BMECs was significantly inhibited in the following order: LTA < PGN + LTA < PGN + LTA + LPS, there was no change in cell morphology and cell death. LTA significantly promoted the expression of fatty acid synthesis-related genes but did not change the content of intracellular triglyceride (TG), compared with the CON group. The mRNA expression of fatty acid synthesis-related genes in the LPS group was the lowest among all the groups. Meanwhile, LPS significantly decreased the content of intracellular non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) and TG, compared with the CON group. PGN had no effects on milk fat synthesis. Co-stimulation with PGN, LTA and LPS significantly increased the expression of fat acid synthesis-related genes and the intracellular NEFAs, but decreased intracellular TG, compared with sole LPS stimulation. Collectively, PGN, LTA and LPS showed an additive effect on inhibiting proliferation of BMECs. The promoting role of LTA in fatty acid synthesis might offset the negative effects of LPS in this regard, but co-stimulation with PGN, LTA and LPS significantly decreased intracellular TG content.
Revisiting the Cosmological Constant Problem within Quantum Cosmology
Authors: Gueorguiev Vesselin , Maeder Andre
Published: August 2020

A new perspective on the Cosmological Constant Problem (CCP) is proposed and discussed within the multiverse approach of Quantum Cosmology. It is assumed that each member of the ensemble of universes has a characteristic scale a that can be used as integration variable in the partition function. An averaged characteristic scale of the ensemble is estimated by using only members that satisfy the Einstein field equations. The averaged characteristic scale is compatible with the Planck length when considering an ensemble of solutions to the Einstein field equations with an effective cosmological constant. The multiverse ensemble is split in Planck-seed universes with vacuum energy density of order one; thus, Λ˜≈8π in Planck units and a-derivable universes. For a-derivable universe with a characteristic scale of the order of the observed Universe a≈8×1060, the cosmological constant Λ=Λ˜/a2 is in the range 10−121–10−122, which is close in magnitude to the observed value 10−123. We point out that the smallness of Λ can be viewed to be natural if its value is associated with the entropy of the Universe. This approach to the CCP reconciles the Planck-scale huge vacuum energy–density predicted by QFT considerations, as valid for Planck-seed universes, with the observed small value of the cosmological constant as relevant to an a-derivable universe as observed.
BKTyper: Free Online Tool for Polyoma BK Virus VP1 and NCCR Typing
Authors: Martí-Carreras Joan , Mineeva-Sangwo Olga , Topalis Dimitrios , Snoeck Robert , Andrei Graciela , Maes Piet
Published: August 2020

Human BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) prevalence has been increasing due to the introduction of more potent immunosuppressive agents in transplant recipients, and its clinical interest. BKPyV has been linked mostly to polyomavirus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis, in allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, and polyomavirus-associated nephropathy in kidney transplant patients. BKPyV is a circular double-stranded DNA virus that encodes for seven proteins, of which Viral Protein 1 (VP1), the major structural protein, has been extensively used for genotyping. BKPyV also contains the noncoding control region (NCCR), configured by five repeat blocks (OPQRS) known to be highly repetitive and diverse, and linked to viral infectivity and replication. BKPyV genetic diversity has been mainly studied based on the NCCR and VP1, due to the high occurrence of BKPyV-associated diseases in transplant patients and their clinical implications. Here BKTyper is presented, a free online genotyper for BKPyV, based on a VP1 genotyping and a novel algorithm for NCCR block identification. VP1 genotyping is based on a modified implementation of the BK typing and grouping regions (BKTGR) algorithm, providing a maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree using a custom internal BKPyV database. Novel NCCR block identification relies on a minimum of 12-bp motif recognition and a novel sorting algorithm. A graphical representation of the OPQRS block organization is provided.
A Lectin Disrupts Vector Transmission of a Grapevine Ampelovirus
Authors: Prator Cecilia A. , Almeida Rodrigo P. P.
Published: August 2020

Grapevine leafroll disease is one of the most important virus diseases of grapevines and occurs in every major grape-growing region of the world. The vector-transmission mechanisms of the causative agent, Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3), remain poorly understood. We show that the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus, feeds through a membrane feeding system on GLRaV-3 viral purifications from both V. vinifera and N. benthamiana and transmits the virus to test plants from plants from both species. Building on this strategy, we used an immunofluorescence approach to localize virions to two retention sites in P. ficus mouthparts. Assays testing molecules capable of blocking virus transmission demonstrated that GLRaV-3-transmission by P. ficus could be disrupted. Our results indicate that our membrane feeding system and transmission-blocking assays are a valid approach and can be used to screen other candidate blocking molecules.
Performance of a Ditch-Style Phosphorus Removal Structure for Treating Agricultural Drainage Water with Aluminum-Treated Steel Slag
Authors: Shedekar Vinayak S. , Penn Chad J. , Pease Lindsay , King Kevin W. , Kalcic Margaret M. , Livingston Stan J.
Published: August 2020

Several structural, treatment, and management approaches exist to minimize phosphorus (P) transport from agricultural landscapes (e.g., cover cropping and conservation tillage). However, many of these practices are designed to minimize particulate P transport and are not as effective in controlling dissolved P (DP) losses. Phosphorus removal structures employ a P sorption material (PSM) to trap DP from flowing water. These structures have been successful in treating surface runoff by utilizing aluminum (Al)-treated steel slag, but subsurface tile drainage has never been tested with this material. The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance and economics of a ditch-style P removal structure using Al-treated steel slag for treating agricultural subsurface drainage discharge. The structure treated subsurface drainage water from a 4.5 ha agricultural field with elevated soil test P levels. Overall, the structure removed approximately 27% and 50% of all DP and total P (TP) entering the structure, respectively (i.e., 2.4 and 9.4 kg DP and TP removal). After an initial period of strong DP removal, the discrete DP removal became highly variable. Flow-through analysis of slag samples showed that the slag used to construct the structure was coarser and less sorptive compared to the slag samples collected prior to construction that were used to design and size the structure. Results of this study highlight the importance of correctly designing the P removal structures using representative PSMs.
Effects of Water Level Decline in Lake Urmia, Iran, on Local Climate Conditions
Authors: Dehghanipour Amir Hossein , Moshir Panahi Davood , Mousavi Hossein , Kalantari Zahra , Tajrishy Massoud
Published: August 2020

Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran is the largest lake in Iran and the second largest saltwater lake in the world. The water level in Lake Urmia has decreased dramatically in recent years, due to drought, climate change, and the overuse of water resources for irrigation. This shrinking of the lake may affect local climate conditions, assuming that the lake itself affects the local climate. In this study, we quantified the lake’s impact on the local climate by analyzing hourly time series of data on climate variables (temperature, vapor pressure, relative humidity, evaporation, and dewpoint temperature for all seasons, and local lake/land breezes in summer) for the period 1961–2016. For this, we compared high quality, long-term climate data obtained from Urmia and Saqez meteorological stations, located 30 km and 185 km from the lake center, respectively. We then investigated the effect of lake level decrease on the climate variables by dividing the data into periods 1961–1995 (normal lake level) and 1996–2016 (low lake level). The results showed that at Urmia station (close to the lake), climate parameters displayed fewer fluctuations and were evidently affected by Lake Urmia compared with those at Saqez station. The effects of the lake on the local climate increased with increasing temperature, with the most significant impact in summer and the least in winter. The results also indicated that, despite decreasing lake level, local climate conditions are still influenced by Lake Urmia, but to a lesser extent.
Performance of a PDE-Based Hydrologic Model in a Flash Flood Modeling Framework in Sparsely-Gauged Catchments
Authors: Poméon Thomas , Wagner Niklas , Furusho Carina , Kollet Stefan , Reinoso-Rondinel Ricardo
Published: August 2020

Modeling and nowcasting of flash floods remains challenging, mainly due to uncertainty of high-resolution spatial and temporal precipitation estimates, missing discharge observations of affected catchments and limitations of commonly used hydrologic models. In this study, we present a framework for flash flood hind- and nowcasting using the partial differential equation (PDE)-based ParFlow hydrologic model forced with quantitative radar precipitation estimates and nowcasts for a small 18.5 km2 headwater catchment in Germany. In the framework, an uncalibrated probabilistic modeling approach is applied. It accounts for model input uncertainty by forcing the model with precipitation inputs from different sources, and accounts for model parameter uncertainty by perturbing two spatially uniform soil hydraulic parameters. Thus, sources of uncertainty are propagated through the model and represented in the results. To demonstrate the advantages of the proposed framework, a commonly used conceptual model was applied over the same catchment for comparison. Results show the framework to be robust, with the uncalibrated PDE-based model matching streamflow observations reasonably. The model lead time was further improved when forced with precipitation nowcasts. This study successfully demonstrates a parsimonious application of the PDE-based ParFlow model in a flash flood hindcasting and nowcasting framework, which is of interest in applications to poorly or ungauged watersheds.
Soil Moisture Estimation Using Citizen Observatory Data, Microwave Satellite Imagery, and Environmental Covariates
Authors: Kibirige Daniel , Dobos Endre
Published: August 2020

Soil moisture (SM) is a key variable in the climate system and a key parameter in earth surface processes. This study aimed to test the citizen observatory (CO) data to develop a method to estimate surface SM distribution using Sentinel-1B C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Landsat 8 data; acquired between January 2019 and June 2019. An agricultural region of Tard in western Hungary was chosen as the study area. In situ soil moisture measurements in the uppermost 10 cm were carried out in 36 test fields simultaneously with SAR data acquisition. The effects of environmental covariates and the backscattering coefficient on SM were analyzed to perform SM estimation procedures. Three approaches were developed and compared for a continuous four-month period, using multiple regression analysis, regression-kriging and cokriging with the digital elevation model (DEM), and Sentinel-1B C-band and Landsat 8 images. CO data were evaluated over the landscape by expert knowledge and found to be representative of the major SM distribution processes but also presenting some indifferent short-range variability that was difficult to explain at this scale. The proposed models were evaluated using statistical metrics: The coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE). Multiple linear regression provides more realistic spatial patterns over the landscape, even in a data-poor environment. Regression kriging was found to be a potential tool to refine the results, while ordinary cokriging was found to be less effective. The obtained results showed that CO data complemented with Sentinel-1B SAR, Landsat 8, and terrain data has the potential to estimate and map soil moisture content.
Efficiency of the Drawdown Flushing and Partition Desilting of a Reservoir in Taiwan
Authors: Wang Hsiao-Wen , Tsai Bing-Shiou , Hwang Charnsmorn , Chen Guan-Wei , Kuo Wei-Cheng
Published: August 2020

Sedimentation limits the benefits of storage reservoirs, especially in areas with higher sediment yields, such as Agongdian Reservoir in southern Taiwan. Although drawdown flushing is a known strategy that releases large amounts of fine sediment into a downstream channel, there is limited information on the long-term monitoring and multiple metrics being used to evaluate flushing efficiency. The objectives of this study were three-fold: (1) to continue collecting valuable long-term observed data, since Agongdian Reservoir is one of the few reservoirs currently conducting sediment flushing operations; (2) to evaluate and identify the hydrological parameters that are highly related to the flushing efficiency; (3) to execute numerical simulations of different reservoir flushing scenarios at multiple water levels to discuss potential strategies to improve the flushing efficiency. The findings of this study revealed that long-term monitoring data was valuable for identifying factors highly related to the flushing efficiency, which included the initial water level; average water level; average velocity. Based on simulations, compartmentalizing the reservoir is a proposed strategy that has demonstrated high levels of improvement in terms of the flushing efficiency, depending on particular scenarios involving partition desilting, empty flushing, or a combination of both. Recommendations to increase the flushing efficiency include lowering the initial water level, creating a narrower gorge-like geometry by partitioning, and further considering to modify the operation rules.
New Zealand River Hydrology under Late 21st Century Climate Change
Authors: Collins Daniel B. G.
Published: August 2020

Climate change is increasingly affecting the water cycle and as freshwater plays a vital role in countries’ societal and environmental well-being it is important to develop national assessments of potential climate change impacts. Focussing on New Zealand, a climate-hydrology model cascade is used to project hydrological impacts of late 21st century climate change at 43,862 river locations across the country for seven hydrological metrics. Mean annual and seasonal river flows validate well across the whole model cascade, and the mean annual floods to a lesser extent, while low flows exhibit a large positive bias. Model projections show large swathes of non-significant effects across the country due to interannual variability and climate model uncertainty. Where changes are significant, mean annual, autumn, and spring flows increase along the west and south and decrease in the north and east. The largest and most extensive increases occur during winter, while during summer decreasing flows outnumber increasing. The mean annual flood increases more in the south, while mean annual low flows show both increases and decreases. These hydrological changes are likely to have important long-term implications for New Zealand’s societal, cultural, economic, and environmental well-being.
Modelling Hydrological Processes and Identifying Soil Erosion Sources in a Tropical Catchment of the Great Barrier Reef Using SWAT
Authors: Rafiei Vahid , Ghahramani Afshin , An-Vo Duc-Anh , Mushtaq Shahbaz
Published: August 2020

Study region: North Johnstone catchment, located in the north east of Australia. The catchment has wet tropical climate conditions and is one of the major sediment contributors to the Great Barrier Reef. Study focus: The purpose of this paper was to identify soil erosion hotspots through simulating hydrological processes, soil erosion and sediment transport using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). In particular, we focused on predictive uncertainty in the model evaluations and presentations—a major knowledge gap for hydrology and soil erosion modelling in the context of Great Barrier Reef catchments. We carried out calibration and validation along with uncertainty analysis for streamflow and sediment at catchment and sub-catchment scales and investigated details of water balance components, the impact of slope steepness and spatio-temporal variations on soil erosion. The model performance in simulating actual evapotranspiration was compared with those of the Australian Landscape Water Balance (AWRA-L) model to increase our confidence in simulating water balance components. New hydrological insights for the region: The spatial locations of soil erosion hotspots were identified and their responses to different climatic conditions were quantified. Furthermore, a set of land use scenarios were designed to evaluate the effect of reforestation on sediment transport. We anticipate that protecting high steep slopes areas, which cover a relatively small proportion of the catchment (4–9%), can annually reduce 15–26% sediment loads to the Great Barrier Reef.
Speed Regulation Control for an Integrated Motor-Transmission System under External Disturbances
Authors: Huang Wei , Huang Jianfeng , Yin Chengliang
Published: August 2020

Precise motor speed regulation control is essential to achieve a good gear shifting quality of the integrated motor-transmission (IMT) system, in which the relative speed between outgoing shaft and the gearwheel to be engaged can be eliminated directly through regulation of the motor speed. The speed regulation control confronts the difficulty that there exist external disturbances on the motor shaft, like the unknown load torque arised from bearing friction, oil shearing and oil churning, etc. To deal with these disturbances, a robust speed regulation controller combined a nominal proportional control and integral sliding mode control is proposed. The former is designed to achieve a good speed tracking performance and the latter provides functionality of disturbances rejection. The effects of different controller parameters for the robust controller design are assessed via simulations. Moreover, to verify the effectiveness of the combined control scheme in practical engineering use, experiments are carried out on a test bench with a real IMT powertrain system. Results indicate that the proposed approach can attain a rapid and smooth speed regulation process with a simple controller structure and good robustness.
El giro kantiano de Rawls hacia el hegelianismo
Authors: Farfán Moreno William
Published: August 2020

El presente artículo discute el giro que hace Rawls desde la interpretación kantiana de la justicia como imparcialidad hacia el hegelianismo. El primer Rawls considera la interpretación kantiana de la justicia como imparcialidad como el argumento más fuerte que sustenta la legitimidad en su idea del contrato social. Respondiendo a las críticas de los comunitaristas (especialmente las de Sandel) Rawls da un giro del kantismo al hegelianismo incorporando dos constructos relevantes que no aparecen en A Theory of Justice: por una parte, el consenso traslapado conectado con el equilibrio reflexivo y, por otra, la razón pública. Así, el segundo Rawls (el del liberalismo político) es más hegeliano que kantiano.
La crítica de Hermann Heller a la teoría de la "personalidad estatal" de G. W. F. Hegel
Authors: Jiménez Colodrero Andrés
Published: August 2020

El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar y analizar críticamente la teoría de la “personalidad estatal” y del Machtstaat, según la interpretación hegeliana que ha presentado Hermann Heller en su tesis de 1921.
La máquina antropológica como máquina óptica. Lo humano como imagen
Authors: Prósperi Germán
Published: August 2020

En este artículo nos proponemos retomar la categoría de “máquina antropológica” de Furio Jesi y Giorgio Agamben pero entendiéndola, según una sugerencia de este último, como una “máquina óptica”, es decir como un dispositivo constituido por dos ojos y dos miradas: el ojo del alma y el ojo del cuerpo. Nuestro objetivo es explicar los principales aspectos de este dispositivo histórico cuyo funcionamiento consiste en generar imágenes de lo humano.
Análise bibliométrica de Mobilidade Urbana
Authors: Hugo-Pereira Victor
Published: August 2020

O estudo de Mobilidade Urbana subsidia ações públicas e privadas que proporcionem deslocamentos sustentáveis para a plenitude da cidadania. O presente trabalho visa realizar um estudo bibliométrico que permita selecionar artigos científicos de grande relevância, identificando o estado da arte sobre o tema, por meio de busca de artigos científicos publicados em periódicos indexados às principais bases de pesquisa encontrados no sítio eletrônico Periódicos da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) utilizando a palavra-chave “mobilidade urbana” no período de 2012 a 2018 em um processo estruturado de seleção chamado Knowledge Development Process Constructivist – Proknow C. De um total de 268 trabalhos, foram selecionados 31 artigos de maior relevância no tema Mobilidade Urbana, cujos autores e periódicos de maior destaque foram classificados mediante análise bibliométrica, concluindo que a pesquisa relacionada à Mobilidade Urbana é extensa, abordando aspectos socioeconômicos, ambientais, sanitários, produtivos e de qualidade de vida da população, contudo, se concentra em um restrito grupo de pesquisadores e periódicos.
Evaluating Blind Image Quality Using RBF Neural Network
Authors: Soliga Abi , Jasil Godlin
Published: August 2020

Blind Image Quality Assessment (BIQA) methods are the most part feeling mindful. The BIQA method learns regression models from preparing images with human subjective scores to predict the perceptual nature of test images. The general quality of image and the nature of every image patches are measured by normal pooling. By coordinating the components of normal picture measurements got from different signs, we take a multivariate Gaussian model of picture patches from an accumulation of unblemished regular pictures. The proposed radial bias function neural network method is used to evaluate the quality of images and this method represents the structure of picture distortions with flexibility.
Quality of Service based Multicasting Routing Protocols for MANETs: A Survey
Authors: Sahu Prabhat Kumar , Pattanayak Binod Kumar
Published: August 2020

The modern electronic age consists of many new approaches for the communication among the humancivilizations and the AD HOC network is one of the successful self-configuring and infrastructure-lesscommunicating approach. Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) comprised of mobile nodes organize themselves insuch a manner that the can move freely inside the network and frequently change their position. Open architectureand dynamic nature of the network enhance its use in multimedia applications that needs graphics, audio, data,image, video and animation. Now a day’s the increasing use of multimedia and Internet technology needs quality ofservice (QoS) in MANETs in order to provide better service for the companies. This type of applications lendsthemselves well to multicast operations. As multicasting supports group oriented computing it can improve the QoSof the wireless medium by means of sending multiple copies of packets by exploring the internet broadcast propertiesof wireless transmission. Hence QoS multicasting plays a great role in MANETs for multimedia applications.However it is very difficult and challenging task to provide QoS multicasting. With unique features and by means ofdifferent recovery mechanisms, many researchers have been proposed various QoS based multicasting routingprotocols for MANETs. In order to assist QoS multicasting routing protocols design for MANETs, we characterizethe taxonomy of the multicast routing protocols and design features in this paper.
RK algorithm: stochastic parallel methodology for symmetric key cryptography
Authors: Ramesh Yegireddi , Reddi Kiran Kumar
Published: August 2020

With the enormous growth in the Internet and network, data security has become an inevitable concern forany organization. From antecedent security has attracted considerable attention from network researchers. In thisperspective many possible fields of endeavour come to mind with many cryptographic algorithms in a broader way,each is highly worthy and lengthy. As society is moving towards digital information age we necessitate highlystandard algorithms which compute faster when data size is of wide range or scope. On survey, numerous sequentialapproaches carried out by symmetric key algorithms on 128 bits as block size are ascertained to be highly insecurable and resulting at a low speed. As in the course the commodities are immensely parallelized on multi coreprocessors to solve computational problems, in accordance with, propound parallel symmetric key based algorithmsto encrypt/decrypt large data for secure conveyance. The algorithm is aimed to prevail by considering 64 character(512 bits) plain text data, processed 16 characters separately by applying parallelism and finally combine each 16-character cipher data to form 64-character cipher text. The round function employed in the algorithm is verycomplex, on which improves efficacy.
ECOLOGICAL APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FOR MARINE ECONOMY OF TRA VINH PROVINCE
Authors: Nguyen Tu Van
Published: August 2020

Economic development under the scope of sustainability and environment friendliness are the development trends recently. Tra Vinh Province currently has seven typical marine ecosystems with quite abundant biological and fishery resources. The province has also established some of the integrated multi-trophic aquaculture models (IMTA) that meet the criteria of sustainability and ability to effectively use wetland resources. To promote the existing strengths, Tra Vinh Province needs to invest and develop groups of solutions for exploiting, using biological, ecological and environmental resources in sustainable, rational way, highly adaptable toclimate change and sea-level rise.
CREDIT SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE MARINE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN TRA VINH PROVINCE: THE CASE OF AQUACULTURE
Authors: Nguyen Ha Hong , Phan Linh Nhat , Bui Thuy Thi
Published: August 2020

This study aims to research credit solutions for sustainable marine economic development in Tra Vinh Province on the case of aquaculture by using themethod of collecting secondary data from reports of the State Bank in Tra Vinh Province, Department of Statistics Tra Vinh Province, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Tra Vinh Province in the period of 2016 to 2018. By using statistical and general, evaluating and analyzing methods, the authors have assessed the realities of financing credit, clarified advantages and challenges for marine economy in Tra Vinh Province. Thereby, the study has implied policies for sustainable development of marine economy in Tra Vinh Province in the coming time.
MARINE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH NEW RURAL CONSTRUCTION PLANNING FOR COASTAL COMMUNES IN TRA VINH PROVINCE
Authors: Huynh Hiep Van , Nguyen Cong Thanh , Bui Hao Phuoc
Published: August 2020

In current context, the sea and ocean play particularly important roles in the sustainable economic development, national defense, security and foreign affairs,and international cooperation. Well-planning of sea spaces for interdisciplinary, interregional management of sea areas, islands and coastal areas aims to ensure the association of economic development in the early stage of the development process. This study reassesses the sea space planning in association with new rural (NR) construction planning at coastal communes of Tra Vinh Province. The study found that the construction of NR in the coastal communes was difficult to reach 19 criteria for NR. Up to now, Tra Vinh Province has 45/85 communes and 01 district reached the criteria of NR, 01 town completed the mission of building NR, the average number of criteria is 16.4/commune. The research results are useful for planners and managers to have wellplanning for NR coastal communes for soon achieve the province’s proposed criteria.
THE ROLE OF TRA VINH UNIVERSITY IN THE SOCIAL – ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF TRA VINH PROVINCE AND SURROUNDING AREA
Authors: Nguyen Nguyen Van
Published: August 2020

The study aims to review activities of Tra Vinh University (TVU) in training, education as well as in scientific research, in technology transfer and their effectson the social – economic development of Tra Vinh Province and surrounding area. The data was collected from TVU’s annual report in the period of 2014 to 2018 and used for evaluating the contribution of TVU in the fields of knowledge enhancement, scientific research, technology transfer, economic development, attracting high quality labor, connecting the local with domestic and foreign partners, researching and consulting policy.