bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Transition Metal (Fe, Co, Ni) Nanoparticles on Selective Amino-N-Doped Carbon as High-Performance Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalyst
Authors: Kim Seonghee , Kato Shuhei , Ishizaki Takahiro , Li Oi Lun , Kang Jun
Published: May 2019

Metal-air batteries are attracting increasing attention as a superior renewable energy conversion device due to their high performance and strong potential. However, the high cost and low stability of the current Pt catalyst is the main obstacle preventing wide industrial application. In this work, we applied a plasma process to fabricate aniline and a transition metals electrode (Fe, Co, Ni) as the carbon-nitrogen and the metal nanoparticle (NP) precursors, respectively, for selective metal/amino-N-doped carbon catalysts. All three as-synthesized catalysts exhibited dominant amino-N as the major C–N bonding state. In electrochemical testing, Co/amino-N-doped carbon showed positive E1/2 potential (0.83 V vs. Reversible Hydrogen Electrode (RHE)). In addition, the calculated electron transfer number (n) of Co/amino-N-doped carbon at 0.5 V vs. RHE was 3.81, which was only slightly less than that of commercial Pt/C (3.97). This superior performance of transition metal/amino-N-doped carbon promotes it as an economical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalyst to replace expensive Pt/C in metal-air batteries.
Interscapular and Perivascular Brown Adipose Tissue Respond Differently to a Short-Term High-Fat Diet
Authors: Aldiss Peter , Lewis Jo E. , Boocock David J. , Miles Amanda K. , Bloor Ian , Ebling Francis J. P. , Budge Helen , Symonds Michael E.
Published: May 2019

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) function may depend on its anatomical location and developmental origin. Interscapular BAT (iBAT) regulates acute macronutrient metabolism, whilst perivascular BAT (PVAT) regulates vascular function. Although phenotypically similar, whether these depots respond differently to acute nutrient excess is unclear. Given their distinct anatomical locations and developmental origins and we hypothesised that iBAT and PVAT would respond differently to brief period of nutrient excess. Sprague-Dawley rats aged 12 weeks (n=12) were fed either a standard (10% fat, n=6) or high fat diet (HFD: 45% fat, n=6) for 72h and housed at thermoneutrality. Following an assessment of whole body physiology, fat was collected from both depots for analysis of gene expression and the proteome. HFD consumption for 72h induced rapid weight gain (c. 2.6%) and reduced serum non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) with no change in either total adipose or depot mass. In iBAT, an upregulation of genes involved in insulin signalling and lipid metabolism was accompanied by enrichment of lipid-related processes and functions, plus glucagon and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signalling pathways. In PVAT, HFD induced a pronounced down-regulation of multiple metabolic pathways which was accompanied with increased abundance of proteins involved in apoptosis (e.g., Hdgf and Ywaq) and toll-like receptor signalling (Ube2n). There was also an enrichment of DNA-related processes and functions (e.g., nucleosome assembly and histone exchange) and RNA degradation and cell adhesion pathways. In conclusion, we show that iBAT and PVAT elicit divergent responses to short-term nutrient excess highlighting early adaptations in these depots before changes in fat mass.
Nutrition and Vulnerable Groups
Authors: Devine Amanda , Lawlis Tanya
Published: May 2019

Food insecurity is a complex ‘wicked’ problem that results from a range of unstable and uncertain physical, social, cultural, and economic factors that limit access to nutritious food [...]
Prenatal Intervention with Partial Meal Replacement Improves Micronutrient Intake of Pregnant Women with Obesity
Authors: Phelan Suzanne , Abrams Barbara , Wing Rena R.
Published: May 2019

A behavioral lifestyle intervention with partial meal replacement reduced excess gestational weight gain in ethnically diverse women with overweight/obesity, but the effects on micronutrient intake remained unknown. A secondary analysis of a randomized, controlled trial tested whether the intervention improved micronutrient intake relative to usual care. Pregnant women (n = 211; 30.5 years of age, body mass index, BMI, of 32.0 kg/m2) were enrolled and randomized within site and ethnicity (40% were Hispanic) into intervention (n = 102) or usual care (n = 109) groups. Two 24 h dietary recalls were conducted on random days at study entry and late pregnancy (35–36 weeks gestation). Nutrient adequacy was defined using the Estimated Average Requirement cut-point method. At study entry and including prenatal vitamins, ≥90% of participants reported inadequate intake of vitamins D and E and iron; 40–50% reported inadequate intake of calcium, protein, vitamins A, C, B6, folate, magnesium, and zinc. From study entry to late pregnancy, the behavioral intervention with partial meal replacement increased the overall intake of vitamins A, E, and D and copper and reduced the odds of inadequate intake of calcium (odds ratio (OR) = 0.37 (0.18, 0.76)), vitamins A (OR = 0.39 (0.21, 0.72)) and E (OR = 0.17 (0.06, 0.48)), and magnesium (OR = 0.36 (0.20, 0.65)). A behavioral intervention with partial meal replacement during pregnancy improved the intake of several micronutrients in Hispanic and non-Hispanic women with overweight/obesity.
Impact of Gut Microbiota Composition on Onset and Progression of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases
Authors: Noce Annalisa , Marrone Giulia , Di Daniele Francesca , Ottaviani Eleonora , Wilson Jones Georgia , Bernini Roberta , Romani Annalisa , Rovella Valentina
Published: May 2019

In recent years, mounting scientific evidence has emerged regarding the evaluation of the putative correlation between the gut microbiota composition and the presence of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and arterial hypertension. The aim of this narrative review is to examine the current literature with respect to the relationship between intestinal dysbiosis and the insurgence/progression of chronic NCDs, analyzing the physiopathological mechanisms that can induce microbiota modification in the course of these pathologies, and the possible effect induced by microbiota alteration upon disease onset. Therapy based on probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplant can represent a useful therapeutic tool, as has been highlighted on animal studies. To this moment, clinical studies that intended to demonstrate the beneficial effect induced by this kind of oral supplementation on the gut microbiota composition, and subsequent amelioration of signs and symptoms of chronic NCDs have been conducted on limited sample populations for a limited follow-up period. Therefore, to fully evaluate the therapeutic value of this kind of intervention, it would be ideal to design ample population; randomized clinical trials with a lengthy follow up period.
VitalSign6: A Primary Care First (PCP-First) Model for Universal Screening and Measurement-Based Care for Depression
Authors: Trivedi Madhukar , Jha Manish , Kahalnik Farra , Pipes Ronny , Levinson Sara , Lawson Tiffany , Rush A. , Trombello Joseph , Grannemann Bruce , Tovian Corey , Kinney Robert , Clark E. , Greer Tracy
Published: May 2019

Major depressive disorder affects one in five adults in the United States. While practice guidelines recommend universal screening for depression in primary care settings, clinical outcomes suffer in the absence of optimal models to manage those who screen positive for depression. The current practice of employing additional mental health professionals perpetuates the assumption that primary care providers (PCP) cannot effectively manage depression, which is not feasible, due to the added costs and shortage of mental health professionals. We have extended our previous work, which demonstrated similar treatment outcomes for depression in primary care and psychiatric settings, using measurement-based care (MBC) by developing a model, called Primary Care First (PCP-First), that empowers PCPs to effectively manage depression in their patients. This model incorporates health information technology tools, through an electronic health records (EHR) integrated web-application and facilitates the following five components: (1) Screening (2) diagnosis (3) treatment selection (4) treatment implementation and (5) treatment revision. We have implemented this model as part of a quality improvement project, called VitalSign6, and will measure its success using the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. In this report, we provide the background and rationale of the PCP-First model and the operationalization of VitalSign6 project.
Rheology of Concentrated Polymer/Ionic Liquid Solutions: An Anomalous Plasticizing Effect and a Universality in Nonlinear Shear Rheology
Authors: Liu Zhonghua , Wang Wei , Stadler Florian J. , Yan Zhi-Chao
Published: May 2019

An anomalous plasticizing effect was observed in polymer/ionic liquid (IL) solutions by applying broad range of rheological techniques. Poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO)/IL solutions exhibit stronger dynamic temperature dependence than pure PEO, which is in conflict with the knowledge that lower-Tg solvent increases the fractional free volume. For poly(methy methacrylate)(PMMA)/IL solutions, the subtle anomaly was detected from the fact that the effective glass transition temperature Tg,eff of PMMA in IL is higher than the prediction of the self-concentration model, while in conventional polymer solutions, Tg,eff follows the original Fox equation. Observations in both solutions reveal retarded segmental dynamics, consistent with a recent simulation result (Macromolecules, 2018, 51, 5336) that polymer chains wrap the IL cations by hydrogen bonding interactions and the segmental unwrapping delays their relaxation. Start-up shear and nonlinear stress relaxation tests of polymer/IL solutions follow a universal nonlinear rheological behavior as polymer melts and solutions, indicating that the segment-cation interaction is not strong enough to influence the nonlinear chain orientation and stretch. The present work may arouse the further theoretical, experimental, and simulation interests in interpreting the effect of complex polymer-IL interaction on the dynamics of polymer/IL solutions.
Mosques as Gendered Spaces: The Complexity of Women’s Compliance with, And Resistance to, Dominant Gender Norms, And the Importance of Male Allies
Authors: Nyhagen Line
Published: May 2019

Women’s presence and role in contemporary mosques in Western Europe is debated within and outside Muslim communities, but research on this topic is scarce. Applying a feminist lens on religion and gender, this article situates the mosque as a socially constituted space that both enables and constrains Western European Muslim women’s religious formation, identity-making, participation, belonging, and activism. Informed by qualitative interviews with twenty Muslim women residing in Norway and the United Kingdom, the article argues that women’s reflexive engagement simultaneously expresses compliance with, and challenges to, male power and authority in the mosque. It contends that a complex practice of accommodation and resistance to “traditional” gender norms is rooted in the women’s discursive positioning of “authentic Islam” as gender equal. While men typically inhabit positions of religious and organizational power in mosques, the article also suggests the importance of male allies in women’s struggles for inclusion in the mosque.
Visions and Revisions of the Hindu Goddess: Sound, Structure, and Artful Ambivalence in the Devī Māhātmya
Authors: Balkaran Raj
Published: May 2019

The Hindu Goddess makes her Brahmanical debut circa 5th century CE in the Sanskrit narrative work Devī Māhātmya, the “Greatness of the Goddess” (henceforth DM). This monumental mythic moment enshrines the first Indic articulation of ultimate divinity as feminine. That she is perennially feminine and ever omnipotent, there can be no doubt. But how do we further characterize this feminine face? This study performs a close synchronic examination of the DM to demonstrate the extent to which it encodes an ambivalence on behalf of the Devī (Goddess) between violent wrath and compassionate care. Preserving paradox as only narrative can, the DM dispenses with neither face of the supreme Goddess—yet it posits her benign visage as ultimately supreme. This paper firstly examines the use of sound throughout the DM as expressive of the Devī’s sacrality and virulence alike. While violent sound is something the Devī deploys, sacred sound is something the Devī is. It then proceeds to analyze the second of the four hymns within the DM—the Śakrādi Stuti, occupying Chapter 4—to demonstrate the artful manner in which the hymn encodes the Devi’s ambivalence through its sophisticated design. This paper ultimately suggests that this ambivalence of the Devī finds an earthly analogue in the Indian king.
Israelite Festivals: From Cyclical Time Celebrations to Linear Time Commemorations
Authors: Farber Zev I.
Published: May 2019

The Pentateuch and later Jewish tradition associates the key pilgrimage festivals with stories about Israel’s past. Nevertheless, these festivals all began as agricultural or seasonal festivals. Using comparative evidence from the ancient Near East, and looking at the Covenant Collection, the earliest biblical law collection, through a redaction critical lens, we can uncover the early history of these festivals and even how they developed in stages. A similar process is evident with the Sabbath, which appears to have begun as a moon festival, as per certain biblical references and from comparative evidence, but which eventually developed into the seventh day of rest as part of the institution of the week, and then comes to be associated with the story of God resting after creation. These developments, from celebrating agricultural and lunar cycles to celebrating mnemohistorical events, can be seen as part of two parallel processes: the coalescing of Israelite cultural memory and the institution of the linear calendar as the dominant conception of time.
Reconstructing Cloud Contaminated Pixels Using Spatiotemporal Covariance Functions and Multitemporal Hyperspectral Imagery
Authors: Angel Yoseline , Houborg Rasmus , McCabe Matthew F.
Published: May 2019

One of the major challenges in optical-based remote sensing is the presence of clouds, which imposes a hard constraint on the use of multispectral or hyperspectral satellite imagery for earth observation. While some studies have used interpolation models to remove cloud affected data, relatively few aim at restoration via the use of multi-temporal reference images. This paper proposes not only the use of image time-series, but also the implementation of a geostatistical model that considers the spatiotemporal correlation between them to fill the cloud-related gaps. Using Hyperion hyperspectral images, we demonstrate a capacity to reconstruct cloud-affected pixels and predict their underlying surface reflectance values. To do this, cloudy pixels were masked and a parametric family of non-separable covariance functions was automated fitted, using a composite likelihood estimator. A subset of cloud-free pixels per scene was used to perform a kriging interpolation and to predict the spectral reflectance per each cloud-affected pixel. The approach was evaluated using a benchmark dataset of cloud-free pixels, with a synthetic cloud superimposed upon these data. An overall root mean square error (RMSE) of between 0.5% and 16% of the reflectance was achieved, representing a relative root mean square error (rRMSE) of between 0.2% and 7.5%. The spectral similarity between the predicted and reference reflectance signatures was described by a mean spectral angle (MSA) of between 1° and 11°, demonstrating the spatial and spectral coherence of predictions. The approach provides an efficient spatiotemporal interpolation framework for cloud removal, gap-filling, and denoising in remotely sensed datasets.
SenDiT: The Sentinel-2 Displacement Toolbox with Application to Glacier Surface Velocities
Authors: Nagy Teodor , Andreassen Liss M. , Duller Robert A. , Gonzalez Pablo J.
Published: May 2019

Satellite imagery represents a unique opportunity to quantify the spatial and temporal changes of glaciers world-wide. Glacier velocity has been measured from repeat satellite scenes for decades now, yet a range of satellite missions, feature tracking programs, and user approaches have made it a laborious task. To date, there has been no tool developed that would allow a user to obtain displacement maps of any specified glacier simply by establishing the key temporal, spatial and feature tracking parameters. This work presents the application and development of a unique, semi-automatic, open-source, flexible processing toolbox for the retrieval of displacement maps with a focus on obtaining glacier surface velocities. SenDiT combines the download, pre-processing, feature tracking, and postprocessing of the highest resolution Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B satellite images into a semi-automatic toolbox, leaving a user with a set of rasterized and georeferenced glacier flow magnitude and direction maps for their further analyses. The solution is freely available and is tailored so that non-glaciologists and people with limited geographic information system (GIS) knowledge can also benefit from it. The system can be used to provide both regional and global sets of ice velocities. The system was tested and applied on a range of glaciers in mainland Norway, Iceland, Greenland and New Zealand. It was also tested on areas of stable terrain in Libya and Australia, where sources of error involved in the feature tracking using Sentinel-2 imagery are thoroughly described and quantified.
Domain Adversarial Neural Networks for Large-Scale Land Cover Classification
Authors: Bejiga Mesay Belete , Melgani Farid , Beraldini Pietro
Published: May 2019

Learning classification models require sufficiently labeled training samples, however, collecting labeled samples for every new problem is time-consuming and costly. An alternative approach is to transfer knowledge from one problem to another, which is called transfer learning. Domain adaptation (DA) is a type of transfer learning that aims to find a new latent space where the domain discrepancy between the source and the target domain is negligible. In this work, we propose an unsupervised DA technique called domain adversarial neural networks (DANNs), composed of a feature extractor, a class predictor, and domain classifier blocks, for large-scale land cover classification. Contrary to the traditional methods that perform representation and classifier learning in separate stages, DANNs combine them into a single stage, thereby learning a new representation of the input data that is both domain-invariant and discriminative. Once trained, the classifier of a DANN can be used to predict both source and target domain labels. Additionally, we also modify the domain classifier of a DANN to evaluate its suitability for multi-target domain adaptation problems. Experimental results obtained for both single and multiple target DA problems show that the proposed method provides a performance gain of up to 40%.
Fire Control System Operation Status Assessment Based on Information Fusion: Case Study
Authors: Li Yingshun , Wang Aina , Yi Xiaojian
Published: May 2019

In traditional fault diagnosis strategies, massive and disordered data cannot be utilized effectively. Furthermore, just a single parameter is used for fault diagnosis of a weapons fire control system, which might lead to uncertainty in the results. This paper proposes an information fusion method in which rough set theory (RST) is combined with an improved Dempster–Shafer (DS) evidence theory to identify various system operation states. First, the feature information of different faults is extracted from the original data, then this information is used as the evidence of the state for a diagnosis object. By introducing RST, the extracted fault information is reduced in terms of the number of attributes, and the basic probability value of the reduced fault information is obtained. Based on an analysis of conflicts in the existing DS evidence theory, an improved conflict evidence synthesis method is proposed, which combines the improved synthesis rule and the conflict evidence weight allocation methods. Then, an intelligent evaluation model for the fire control system operation state is established, which is based on the improved evidence theory and RST. The case of a power supply module in a fire control computer is analyzed. In this case, the state grade of the power supply module is evaluated by the proposed method, and the conclusion verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method in evaluating the operation state of a fire control system.
A Comparative Study of Bio-Inspired Odour Source Localisation Strategies from the State-Action Perspective
Authors: Macedo João , Marques Lino , Costa Ernesto
Published: May 2019

Locating odour sources with robots is an interesting problem with many important real-world applications. In the past years, the robotics community has adapted several bio-inspired strategies to search for odour sources in a variety of environments. This work studies and compares some of the most common strategies from a behavioural perspective with the aim of knowing: (1) how different are the behaviours exhibited by the strategies for the same perceptual state; and (2) which are the most consensual actions for each perceptual state in each environment. The first step of this analysis consists of clustering the perceptual states, and building histograms of the actions taken for each cluster. In case of (1), a histogram is made for each strategy separately, whereas for (2), a single histogram containing the actions of all strategies is produced for each cluster of states. Finally, statistical hypotheses tests are used to find the statistically significant differences between the behaviours of the strategies in each state. The data used for performing this study was gathered from a purpose-built simulator which accurately simulates the real-world phenomena of odour dispersion and air flow, whilst being sufficiently fast to be employed in learning and evolutionary robotics experiments. This paper also proposes an xml-inspired structure for the generated datasets that are used to store the perceptual information of the robots over the course of the simulations. These datasets may be used in learning experiments to estimate the quality of a candidate solution or for measuring its novelty.
Empirical Insights of Individual Website Adjustments for People with Dyslexia
Authors: Kous Katja , Polančič Gregor
Published: May 2019

The existing body of knowledge reveals that customisable websites may lead to an increase in accessibility and usability for people with disabilities. In this way, the main goal of this research was to investigate how people with dyslexia respond to a customised version of a website in terms of its effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction and suitability when compared to the default version of the website. The customisation of the investigated website was enabled with the aid of integrated assistive technology that offers people with dyslexia the opportunity to adjust a website themselves in accordance with their individual needs, demands and preferences. They can do this by changing the parameters, such as font size, font type and contrast between the background and text. The answers to the research questions were obtained with complementary research methods and techniques, including formal usability testing, thinking aloud protocol, log analyses, questionnaires and interviews. The empirical results show that participants experienced more issues when interacting with the default website, and they enjoyed more benefits when using the customised website. Too much information on the screen, not enough graphic elements, issues with visual appearance and inappropriately presented information were identified as the most common issues when interacting with the default website. When using the customised website, all participants agreed on a better user experience and, as the majority of them reported, this was due to appropriate contrast and font size. Additionally, the majority of participants also expressed desire to use the individual website adjustments regularly in the future. The conclusions of this investigation are that the individual website adjustments used in this research can not only help to minimise issues, but also eliminate challenges that people with dyslexia have when interacting with a website. Therefore, the primary contributions of this research are the empirical insights of interaction with both the default and customised version of the website for people with dyslexia. Furthermore, this research also has three secondary contributions: (1) detailed presentation and application the general usability evaluation procedure to a specific target group (people with dyslexia); (2) recommendations to adapt the usability evaluation methods for people with dyslexia; and (3) the usage of quantitative measurement instruments for the evaluation of a website’s usability and suitability for people with dyslexia.
The Relationship between Change of Direction Tests in Elite Youth Soccer Players
Authors: Kadlubowski Björn , Keiner Michael , Hartmann Hagen , Wirth Klaus , Frick Ulrich
Published: May 2019

Change of direction (COD) is a performance-limiting factor in team sports. However, there are no exact definitions describing which physical abilities limit COD performance in soccer. Nevertheless, different COD tests are used or have been recommended as being equally effective in the professional practice of measuring COD performance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between different COD tests, and to test the independence and generalizability of these COD tests in soccer. As such, 27 elite youth soccer players were randomly recruited and were tested in different COD tests (i.e., Illinois agility test (IAT), T agility test (TT), 505 agility test (505), Gewandtheitslauf (GewT), triangle test (Tri-t), and square test (SQT)). Bivariate Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the relationships between the COD tests. The Benjamini–Hochberg method was used to control for the false discovery rate of the study at 0.05. This investigation calculated explained variances of 10% to 55% between performances in the different COD tests. This suggested that the tests covered different aspects or task-specific characteristics of the COD. Therefore, coaches and sport scientists should review and select different tests with a logical validity, based on the requirement profiles of the corresponding sport.
Environmental Regulation Intensity, Foreign Direct Investment, and Green Technology Spillover—An Empirical Study
Authors: Hu Jiangfeng , Wang Zhao , Huang Qinghua , Zhang Xiaoqin
Published: May 2019

Many researchers have studied the relationships among heterogeneous foreign direct investment (FDI), environmental regulation, and green total factor productivity. However, no research has been done on how different types of FDI can result in green technology spillover under different levels of environmental regulation intensity. To address this research gap, in this paper, we build a static linear panel model, a static panel threshold model, and a dynamic panel threshold model to investigate the environmental regulatory threshold effect of labor-based FDI and capital-based FDI in terms of their green technology spillover. Based on the measurement of green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 36 industry sectors in China from 2003 to 2015, we first compare the threshold effects of environmental regulation on green technology spillover between labor-based FDI and capital-based FDI with a static linear model and a static threshold model. The results show that environmental regulation is unable to significantly promote the green technology spillover of labor-based FDI. However, intensifying environmental regulation can reduce the negative impact of labor-based FDI on GTFP. The effect of environmental regulation on green technology spillover of capital-based FDI is more complex. In the static linear model, environmental regulation can significantly promote the green technology spillover of capital-based FDI. In the static threshold model, the green technology spillover of capital-based FDI exists only when the environmental regulation intensity is sufficiently low or sufficiently high. Finally, the dynamic threshold model is adopted for robustness check. The results show when the environmental regulation intensity is higher than a threshold, both types of FDI can indeed result in green technology spillover. In short, our results prove that to ensure that FDI results in green technology spillover, it is necessary to continue to strengthen environmental regulation.
Examining the Relationship between Urban Design Qualities and Walking Behavior: Empirical Evidence from Dallas, TX
Authors: Hamidi Shima , Moazzeni Somayeh
Published: May 2019

This study examines the relationship between street-level urban design perceptual qualities and walking behavior in the City of Dallas. While the city has the potential to experience growth in pedestrian activities, it exhibits a very low level of walking activity, placing it as one of the least walkable cities in the nation. To assess the impact of urban design qualities on walkability, we collected data on 23 features related to urban design, 11 built environment variables characterized as D variables comprising diversity, density, design, distance to transit, and destination accessibility. The sample included 402 street block faces in Dallas Downtown Improvement District. Accounting for spatial autocorrelation, we found that two urban design qualities, among five, including image-ability—such as a memorable quality of a place, and transparency—as to what degree people can see beyond the street’s edge—significantly influence pedestrian volume in downtown streets. These findings are in agreement with the two previous studies that used the same methodology in different cities (New York City, NYC and Salt Lake City, UT). According to the findings of these three studies, the other urban design qualities including human scale, complexity, as well as enclosure, are not playing a significant role in walkability, despite the theoretical justification and the extensive operationalization efforts. The findings of this study draw policy makers’ attention to creating more appealing and walkable places through the implementation of these urban design qualities.
Unintended Circularity?—Assessing a Product-Service System for its Potential Contribution to a Circular Economy
Authors: Matschewsky Johannes
Published: May 2019

Product-service systems (PSSs) are seen as valuable facilitators of a circular economy (CE) on a business level. However, that PSSs contribute to a CE is not a given and is determined by the chosen PSS business model and strategy applied throughout the entire lifecycle. Thus, in order to support companies in implementing circular business models such as PSSs, an increasing number of frameworks and methods have been proposed in prior research. This article hypothesizes that many industrial companies are expanding to become PSS providers with neither such support nor a strong sustainability focus. There is a gap in the literature regarding the potential contribution of such PSSs to a CE. Thus, the research reported aims to provide initial insight regarding whether unintended circularity, i.e., an unintended contribution to a CE, may occur when becoming a PSS provider. Applying and adapting an existing framework for the assessment of PSSs’ potential contribution to a CE, the use-oriented PSS of an industrial company was assessed in-depth. Results regarding the relative resource reduction and the prospect of achieving absolute resource decoupling are reported and discussed. While relative improvements over product sales are identified, e.g., resulting from end-of-life efforts on reuse and remanufacturing, opportunities for additional enhancement are found, e.g., in adjustments of the PSS design process. Concerning absolute resource decoupling, a fundamental challenge lies in the use-oriented PSS’s dependency on an increasing number of physical components as the company’s business expands. This article advances the discussion on PSSs’ potential contributions to a CE with an in-depth empirical study. For practitioners, the results reported expand on important aspects of efficient and effective PSS provision throughout the lifecycle.
An Earthquake Fatalities Assessment Method Based on Feature Importance with Deep Learning and Random Forest Models
Authors: Jia Hanxi , Lin Junqi , Liu Jinlong
Published: May 2019

This study aims to analyze and compare the importance of feature affecting earthquake fatalities in China mainland and establish a deep learning model to assess the potential fatalities based on the selected factors. The random forest (RF) model, classification and regression tree (CART) model, and AdaBoost model were used to assess the importance of nine features and the analysis showed that the RF model was better than the other models. Furthermore, we compared the contributions of 43 different structure types to casualties based on the RF model. Finally, we proposed a model for estimating earthquake fatalities based on the seismic data from 1992 to 2017 in China mainland. These results indicate that the deep learning model produced in this study has good performance for predicting seismic fatalities. The method could be helpful to reduce casualties during emergencies and future building construction.
Deviation of Peak Hours for Urban Rail Transit Stations: A Case Study in Xi’an, China
Authors: Yu Lijie , Chen Quan , Chen Kuanmin
Published: May 2019

The inconsistencies of passenger flow volume between stations’ peak hours and cities’ peak hours have emerged as a phenomenon in various cities worldwide. Passenger flow forecasting at planning stages can only predict passenger flow volume in city peak hours and for the whole day. For some stations, the highest flow does not occur in the city peak hours, and station scale design is often too small. This study locates the formation mechanism of station peak in which the temporal distribution of the station is the superposition of different temporal distributions of the purpose determined by land-use attributes. Data from 63 stations in Xi’an, China, were then used to present an enlargement coefficient which can change the boarding and alighting volume in city peak hours to a station’s own peak hours. This was done by analyzing the inconsistencies of passenger flow volume between the station’s peak hours and the city’s peak hours. Morning peak deviation coefficient (PDC) and evening PDC were selected as datasets, and stations were classified accordingly. Statistics of land usage for every type of station showed that when the stations were surrounded by developed land, the relationship between the PDC and the commuter travel land proportion was to some extent orderly. More than 90.00% of stations with a proportion of commuter travel land that was more than 0.50 had PDCs under 1.10. All stations with a proportion of commuter travel land that was less than 0.50 had morning PDCs over 1.10. Finally, data from 52 stations in Chongqing, China were used to verify the findings, with the results in Chongqing predominantly corresponding to those in Xi’an.
A Method for Urban Flood Risk Assessment and Zoning Considering Road Environments and Terrain
Authors: Chen Nengcheng , Yao Shuang , Wang Chao , Du Wenying
Published: May 2019

Floods have been severely threatening social development worldwide. The occurrence of floods has multiple factors, and the flood risk considering road environments needs comprehensive analysis from meteorology, underlying surface, and urban road network. Thus, this study proposes an integrated method and constructs a road risk zoning model (RRZM). In the RRZM, submerged depth was obtained by the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) model, and the degree of road importance was obtained by the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method. These two parts were used to characterize road vulnerability. Then the flood risk grade was evaluated based on the optimized artificial neural network (ANN). Finally, the results of flood risk assessment were obtained by road vulnerability and flood risk grade. The RRZM was applied to the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration (CZTUA), China. The results showed that the spatial distributions of flood risk and the extent of road damage varied remarkably in different cities. Changsha was the most sensitive city to floods in the CZTUA. The flood risk zones were classified into six levels, and the vulnerable road sections identified from the risk zones at level 6 in the maps carried more traffic volume than others. By comparing with existing methods, it was found that the RRZM effectively reflected the spatial characteristics of flood risk considering road environments. It provides a new perspective for urban flood risk assessment and disaster response decision-making.
The Influence of Corporate Governance and Operating Characteristics on Corporate Environmental Investment: Evidence from China
Authors: Yang Defeng , Wang Zhanqing , Lu Fangmin
Published: May 2019

This study mainly explores the relationship between company governance, company operation characteristics, management connection and corporate environmental investment. Based on the theory of stakeholders and principal-agent, it expounds the factors affecting the environmental behavior of companies, and empirically tests the relationship of the involved variables. This study takes the non-financial listed companies of Shanghai Stock Exchange from 2009 to 2011 as a sample, and conducts empirical research on corporate governance, business operation characteristics, management connection and corporate environmental protection investment. The results show that under the same circumstances, if the CEO is also the chairman of the board of directors, it will lead to opportunistic situation of the controlling shareholder, and the degree of willingness to invest in environmental preservation is low, which is negatively related to environmental protection investment. The more redundant resources or the higher the production efficiency exist, the higher the willingness of enterprises to invest in environmental protection will be stimulated.
Performance Indicators Framework for Assessment of a Sanitary Sewer System Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)
Authors: Nam Seong-Nam , Nguyen Thao Thi , Oh Jeill
Published: May 2019

In this study, performance indicators (PIs) for assessing services of the sanitary sewer system in South Korea were evaluated based on general opinions collected from experts in the field. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was then carried out. The evaluated set of PIs consisted of five major criteria: management, operation and maintenance, service, environment, and finance. Using the experts’ survey incorporated into the AHP tool, the prioritization of the five criteria was performed, consisting of a total of 14 indicators and 34 checklists on three levels. Of the criteria groups, operation and maintenance was found to be the most important indicator, comprising 43% of all the scores. The AHP results showed that, of the 34 checklists, 13 indicators were explained as candidates of key PIs: on-the-job training and work role and responsibility from management, sewer condition inspection, pump, sewer maintenance, flow rate/water quality/odor monitoring from operation and maintenance, complaint resolution from service, inflow volume from environment, and operational cost in annual expenditures from finance. The PIs developed in this study are expected to be used by stakeholders involved in the provision of sewer services, such as undertaking companies, policy-making bodies, and financing agencies.
Blue Carbon Cooperation in the Maritime Silk Road with Network Game Model and Simulation
Authors: Zhao Changping , Xu Xiaojiang , Gong Yu , Fan Houming , Chen Haojia
Published: May 2019

The blue carbon cooperation is a joint effort of the countries along the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) to utilize marine activities and organisms to absorb and store carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, an initiative that has great strategic value for coping with the most important environmental problems in the 21st century and promoting the building of a community with shared aspirations for mankind’s future. This research combines the decision-making structure model with the reality of the blue carbon cooperation game of the MSR to make conditional assumptions and carry out model construction. It uses the simulation method to test the influencing factors such as decision-maker type, initial input cost, continuous input maintenance cost, rate of return, carbon tax rate and others. The results suggest that initial and continuous input costs, returns, and neighbor subsidies have positive impacts on blue carbon cooperation, while carbon tax rates and income discount rates have negative impacts on blue carbon cooperation. To promote blue carbon cooperation along the MSR, emphasis should be placed on the design of incentive and subsidy mechanisms, together with the appropriate punishment mechanisms.
Exploring the Entrepreneurial Intentions of Science and Engineering Students in China: A Q Methodology Study
Authors: Fang Chen , Chen Liwen
Published: May 2019

The entrepreneurial intentions of Chinese students have received rapidly evolving attention, with the “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” program as a driving force, which encourages individuals to start their own business. Entrepreneurial intention, which is perceived as being a predictor of entrepreneurial behavior, has generally been explored in the existing literature on the basis of the theory of planned behavior and the intention–behavior model. Since intention is a psychological notion, it is important to investigate the motivation for developing entrepreneurial intention from a subjective perspective. The aim of this study is to identify the objective factors that determine Chinese science and engineering students’ entrepreneurial intentions, and to understand how these different factors affect their intention to become an entrepreneur. Q methodology, which is a technological combination of qualitative and quantitative research, was conducted using thirty Chinese science and engineering students, and this paper reports their individual attitudes and discourses concerning their entrepreneurial intentions. After compiling 32 Q sets of statements and performing factor analysis, three distinct types of entrepreneurs were revealed. The findings suggest that a subjective approach to entrepreneurship education should be taken to enhance science and engineering students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Some theoretical and practical implications of these findings for techno-entrepreneurship education and development are also discussed.
Study on the Fracture Distribution Law and the Influence of Discrete Fractures on the Stability of Roadway Surrounding Rock in the Sanshandao Coastal Gold Mine, China
Authors: Liu Gang , Ma Fengshan , Zhao Haijun , Li Guang , Cao Jiayuan , Guo Jie
Published: May 2019

Cracks are critical for the deformation and failure of rock masses, but the effects of real cracks are rarely considered when evaluating the stability and safety of practical engineering. This paper presents a study on the application of fractures in the Sanshandao Gold Mine. Field investigation and statistical analysis methods were adopted to obtain the distribution laws of the cracks. Laboratory tests, MATLAB programming, and simulation using the software, GDEM (Gdem Technology, Beijing, China, Co., Ltd.), were employed to study the mechanical behaviors of rock masses with real fractures after excavation. The main results are as follows: (1) Three sets of highly discrete cracks were developed in the study area. Their inclination and dip can be approximately considered to follow a Gaussian distribution or uniform distribution. They had close ties to the three faults developed in the mining area. (2) Compared with the model that did not consider cracks and the model processed by the equivalence idea, the surrounding rock deformation caused by excavation of the model that considered real cracks was larger than that of the former and smaller than that of the latter. However, its influence range was larger than that of the other two models. The results show that it is reasonable to use three sets of discrete cracks to characterize the fracture distribution of the surrounding rock. In the evaluation of roadway stability, it is not advisable to use the equivalence method to deal with all the cracks. Considering a part of the cracks that are compatible with the size of the calculation model, a relatively accurate evaluation can be obtained in terms of the deformation, failure, and permeability changes of the surrounding rock.
Relationality and Social–Ecological Systems: Going Beyond or Behind Sustainability and Resilience
Authors: Lejano Raul P.
Published: May 2019

Sustainability and resilience are most often thought of as systems concepts that evaluate the state and function of objects of interest as well as the system as a whole. In this article, we shift the focus toward the “space in between”—i.e., the relationships among objects in the system. The article develops the concept of relationality, which provides a new lens to understanding what social and material processes drive or impede the functioning and sustainability of a social–ecological system (SES). Relationality seeks to understand a system not so much as a set of interacting objects but a web of relationships. By foregrounding relationships, we are better able to understand the rich ground of practice that guides a system in ways that the formal rational designs do not explain. Several examples are drawn from the literature that suggests how a relational analysis might proceed and what social–ecological phenomena we can better explain by this means. The article ends with a note on how the promise of relational analyses also bears in it its challenges.
The Farmers’ Channel Selection and Sustainable Analysis under Carbon Tax Policy
Authors: Zheng Cong , Pang Quangui , Li Tianpei , Wang Guizheng , Cai Yiji , Yang Lei
Published: May 2019

This paper examines a farmer’s channel selection in a supply chain led by a retailer, considering carbon emissions and products’ deterioration. Three channels—online channels, retail channels, and dual channels—are proposed. The inventory model of perishable products and the two-stage Stackelberg game model are used to illustrate the operational process. To compare performances of the three channel structures, we further determine the critical points consisting of the profits and the carbon emissions among these channels. The results provide useful insights for supply chain members and the government. Farmers can choose a channel to optimize profit with respect to deterioration rate and product yield, but it might conflict with the aim of least carbon emissions. When the deterioration rate is high, the online channel is not a suitable choice. For the government, the carbon tax contributes to the reduction of carbon emissions, but it also leads to the loss of the farmer’s profit. Additionally, numerical results further illustrate that, from the perspective of the government, transporting and inventory processes are two major sources of emissions, and it is essential to implement carbon tax and exploit low-carbon transportation.