bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Time–Frequency Acoustic Emission-Based Technique to Assess Workpiece Surface Quality in Ceramic Grinding with PZT Transducer
Authors: Aulestia Viera Martin A. , Aguiar Paulo R. , Oliveira Junior Pedro , Alexandre Felipe A. , Lopes Wenderson N. , Bianchi Eduardo C. , da Silva Rosemar Batista , D’addona Doriana , Andreoli Andre
Published: September 2019

Innovative monitoring systems based on sensor signals have emerged in recent years in view of their potential for diagnosing machining process conditions. In this context, preliminary applications of fast-response and low-cost piezoelectric diaphragms (PZT) have recently emerged in the grinding monitoring field. However, there is a lack of application regarding the grinding of ceramic materials. Thus, this work presents an analysis of the feasibility of using the acoustic emission signals obtained through the PZT diaphragm, together with digital signal processing in the time–frequency domain, in the monitoring of the surface quality of ceramic components during the surface grinding process. For comparative purpose, an acoustic emission (AE) sensor, commonly used in industry, was used as a baseline. The results obtained by the PZT diaphragm were similar to the results obtained using the AE sensor. The time–frequency analysis allowed to identify irregularities throughout the monitored process.
Towards a Fog-Enabled Intelligent Transportation System to Reduce Traffic Jam
Authors: Brennand Celso A. R. L. , Filho Geraldo P. Rocha , Maia Guilherme , Cunha Felipe , Guidoni Daniel L. , Villas Leandro A.
Published: September 2019

Frustrations, monetary losses, lost time, high fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions are some of the problems caused by traffic jams in urban centers. In an attempt to solve this problem, this article proposes a traffic service to control congestion, named FOXS–Fast Offset Xpath Service. FOXS aims to reduce the problems generated by a traffic jam in a distributed way through roads classification and the suggestion of new routes to vehicles. Unlike the related works, FOXS is modeled using the Fog computing paradigm. Therefore, it is possible to take advantage of the inherent aspects of this paradigm, such as low latency, processing load balancing, scalability, geographical correlation and the reduction of bandwidth usage. In order to validate FOXS, our performance evaluation considers two realistic urban scenarios with different characteristics. When compared with related works, FOXS shows a reduction in stop time by up to 70%, the CO 2 emissions by up to 29% and, the planning time index by up to 49%. When considering communication evaluation metrics, FOXS reaches a better result than other solutions on the packet collisions metric (up to 11.5%) and on the application delay metric (up to 30%).
Navigation Algorithm Based on the Boundary Line of Tillage Soil Combined with Guided Filtering and Improved Anti-Noise Morphology
Authors: Lu Wei , Zeng Mengjie , Wang Ling , Luo Hui , Mukherjee Subrata , Huang Xuhui , Deng Yiming
Published: September 2019

An improved anti-noise morphology vision navigation algorithm is proposed for intelligent tractor tillage in a complex agricultural field environment. At first, the two key steps of guided filtering and improved anti-noise morphology navigation line extraction were addressed in detail. Then, the experiments were carried out in order to verify the effectiveness and advancement of the presented algorithm. Finally, the optimal template and its application condition were studied for improving the image-processing speed. The comparison experiment results show that the YCbCr color space has minimum time consumption of 0.094   s in comparison with HSV, HIS, and 2R-G-B color spaces. The guided filtering method can effectively distinguish the boundary between the tillage soil compared to other competing vanilla methods such as Tarel, multi-scale retinex, wavelet-based retinex, and homomorphic filtering in spite of having the fastest processing speed of 0.113   s . The extracted soil boundary line of the improved anti-noise morphology algorithm has the best precision and speed compared to other operators such as Sobel, Roberts, Prewitt, and Log. After comparing different sizes of image templates, the optimal template with the size of 140   ×   260 pixels could achieve high-precision vision navigation while the course deviation angle was not more than 7.5 ° . The maximum tractor speed of the optimal template and global template were 51.41   km / h and 27.47   km / h , respectively, which can meet the real-time vision navigation requirement of the smart tractor tillage operation in the field. The experimental vision navigation results demonstrated the feasibility of the autonomous vision navigation for tractor tillage operation in the field using the tillage soil boundary line extracted by the proposed improved anti-noise morphology algorithm, which has broad application prospect.
High-Accuracy Correction of a Microlens Array for Plenoptic Imaging Sensors
Authors: Li Suning , Yuan Yuan , Gao Ziyi , Tan Heping
Published: September 2019

Microlens array (MLA) errors in plenoptic cameras can cause the confusion or mismatching of 4D spatio-angular information in the image space, significantly affecting the accuracy and efficiency of target reconstruction. In this paper, we present a high-accuracy correction method for light fields distorted by MLA errors. Subpixel feature points are extracted from the microlens subimages of a raw image to obtain correction matrices and perform registration of the corresponding subimages at a subpixel level. The proposed method is applied for correcting MLA errors of two different categories in light-field images, namely form errors and orientation errors. Experimental results show that the proposed method can rectify the geometric and intensity distortions of raw images accurately and improve the quality of light-field refocusing. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons between images before and after correction verify the performance of our method in terms of accuracy, stability, and adaptability.
Effects of an Integrated Carbide Slag-Mushroom Dreg-Calcium Superphosphate Amendment on the Stabilization Process of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd in Contaminated Soils
Authors: Wu Lieshan , Nong Jiajing , Zeng Dongmei , Li Yi
Published: September 2019

In the present study, the integrated use of organic and inorganic amendments (CS–MD–CSP) including carbide slag (CS), calcium superphosphate (CSP) and mushroom dreg (MD) are employed for the stabilization of heavy metals in contaminated soils. A response surface methodology combined with immobilization efficiency was employed to evaluate and optimize the proportion of the integration amendments on the stabilization process. The results predicted by a Box–Behnken design indicated that the maximum immobilization efficiencies of soil Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd could be achieve up to 99.88, 96.11, 99.78 and 87.88%, respectively, when the dosage of CS, CSP and MD were set as 4, 1 and 6%, respectively. European Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) speciation analysis indicated that the acid-soluble proportion of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd in the soils decreased by 72.68, 37.03, 9.36 and 12.94%, respectively. Thus, this CS–MD–CSP integration amendment could potentially be used for the remediation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd in contaminated soils.
Fostering and Planning a Smart Governance Strategy for Evaluating the Urban Polarities of the Sardinian Island (Italy)
Authors: Garau Chiara , Desogus Giulia , Coni Mauro
Published: September 2019

The interrelations between cities, inland areas, connecting road networks, urban, and political polarities have evolved, thereby determining economic, social, and place-based impacts. Thus, via a case study of Sardinia island (Italy), this study analyses regional transport data to evaluate the interrelations and mobility issues between the main cities and the settlement geographies of internal areas with a predominantly agricultural vocation. First, it frames the problems (common to the islands) theoretically and focuses on how the internal areas (considered marginal for a long time) have considerable material and immaterial resources to be valorised. Second, the study evaluates the internal relationship networks that characterise the island territory through the cluster and principal components analysis using origin–destination data to represent vocations and population needs. A smart governance strategy is proposed for Sardinia through an assessment of the functionality of urban settlements and interconnections between the hinterlands (the small and the main cities of the case study), following the smart region paradigm. The study underlines the importance of the interconnection between urban geographical areas. Thus, given an analytical-numerical approach, the originality of this research is highlighted in how it is possible to extract social vocations of the territory, which is generally not easily quantifiable.
Constructing an Evaluation Model for User Experience in an Unmanned Store
Authors: Lo Chi-Hung , Wang Yi-Wen
Published: September 2019

Traditional stores feature three characteristics: the goods, convenience, and the service provided to its customers (users). Due to the development of the online/offline omni channel consumption model, the starting point for supplying the user with services is no longer the time at which a user arrives at the store door. Instead, it is expected that services can be merged seamlessly into users’ lives at any point in time. Convenience and quality of service can be maximized and optimized via any medium or device. Therefore, in light of the foreseen commercial requirements of the supply end, we introduce a strategy for implementing intelligent equipment in order to achieve the goals of enhanced efficiency and reduced manpower. We investigate the possibility of traditional stores being replaced by other types of convenient store. This study investigates the experience evaluation of unmanned stores with respect to three dimensions: the economic experience, marketing experience, and qualia experience. A case study approach is implemented in this study. The goal is to investigate the course of the user experience in the X-Store, which was founded by the Uni-President Enterprises Corporation in Taiwan. By determining the relationship between users’ interactions with tangible and intangible objects, it is possible to understand the reasons behind the insufficiency in a bad user experience. It is then possible to deal with the insufficiency represented by an intangible service guidance interface, rather than the single and tangible factor of there being no clerks. Finally, a type I quantification theory is applied to the quantification of qualitative data. It is known that the elements corresponding to higher user ratings include, respectively, entertaining setting, positive sensory experience, and innovative products or facilities. The most representative factors for these elements include an interactive drinks cabinet, a futuristic layout, and facial recognition. In contrast, the elements of lower satisfaction level include a setting far from feelings of hustle and bustle, the experience of being introduced to new ideas (thinking), and facilities that are easy to operate. The most representative factors behind these elements include being unable to perform immersive shopping, there being no memory of limited-edition souvenirs, and apps that are not good to use. The contributions of this study are twofold. Firstly, we provide an evaluation of user experience for the first unmanned store in Taiwan, along with a subsequent ranking of the factors. This could provide companies with a reference for either maintaining or improving upon their current state. Secondly, we analyzed the five-stage experience activities for the embodiment of the interactive relationship between users and other people who were analyzed. Any follow-up changes to user influence can be traced back by means of this approach.
Quantifying the Influence Path of Water Conservation Awareness on Water-Saving Irrigation Behavior Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and Structural Equation Modeling: A Case Study from Northwest China
Authors: Zhong Fanglei , Li Lili , Guo Aijun , Song Xiaoyu , Cheng Qingping , Zhang Yongnian , Ding Xiaojiang
Published: September 2019

Water-saving irrigation behavior (WSIB) is important for sustainable economic and social development in river basins and is promoted by improving water-saving awareness. Understanding the factors of WSIB could facilitate water demand management and information campaigns. Using the theory of planned behavior, this paper analyzes the influence of subjective attitude, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms on behavioral intention and final behavior with a structural equation model (SEM). Moreover, comparative study of the upper, middle and lower reaches of a river basin is also carried out to examine the regional differences. A survey of 546 rural residents in Heihe River Basin (HRB), which is located in northwest China, shows that (1) water-saving expectations and subjective norms have a significant impact on WSIB in upstream areas, and perceived behavioral control and subjective norms have positive effects in the middle and lower reaches; (2) the transformation of awareness into WSIB is slow and non-significant in all areas, mainly hindered by expected economic benefits; and (3) family water-saving experiences and social networks promote WSIB in the midstream and downstream areas. Compared with the midstream and downstream reaches, historical water-saving experience has no obvious effect on WSIB in the upper reaches. These findings highlight policies that (1) strengthen economic interests and increase the transformation of water-saving awareness into WSIB; (2) strengthen public awareness and neighborhood interaction, setting good examples to promote WSIB; and (3) increase farmer participation in relevant decision-making.
Boundary Conditions of the Curvilinear Relationships between Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility and New Product Performance: Evidence from China
Authors: Yang Zhuoer , Zhang Yahui , Gao Yu , Gao Shanxing , Huang Kuo-Feng
Published: September 2019

This study examines whether a firm’s environmental corporate social responsibility advances the growth of its new product performance, and investigates the moderating roles of a firm’s heterogeneous local institutional environment and ownership type. Based on a multi-informant survey dataset of 303 Chinese firms, we found that a firm’s environmental corporate social responsibility has a U-shaped relationship with the firm’s new product performance. In addition, compared with non-state-owned enterprises, state-owned enterprises with a higher environmental corporate social responsibility would receive relatively lower new product performance. Firms located in the provinces with a lower local institutional development level and higher environmental corporate social responsibility may experience relatively higher new product performance than firms located in the provinces with a higher local institutional development level.
ILRA: Novelty Detection in Face-Based Intervener Re-Identification
Authors: Marín-Reyes Pedro A. , Irigoien Itziar , Sierra Basilio , Lorenzo-Navarro Javier , Castrillón-Santana Modesto , Arenas Concepción
Published: September 2019

Transparency laws facilitate citizens to monitor the activities of political representatives. In this sense, automatic or manual diarization of parliamentary sessions is required, the latter being time consuming. In the present work, this problem is addressed as a person re-identification problem. Re-identification is defined as the process of matching individuals under different camera views. This paper, in particular, deals with open world person re-identification scenarios, where the captured probe in one camera is not always present in the gallery collected in another one, i.e., determining whether the probe belongs to a novel identity or not. This procedure is mandatory before matching the identity. In most cases, novelty detection is tackled applying a threshold founded in a linear separation of the identities. We propose a threshold-less approach to solve the novelty detection problem, which is based on a one-class classifier and therefore it does not need any user defined threshold. Unlike other approaches that combine audio-visual features, an Isometric LogRatio transformation of a posteriori (ILRA) probabilities is applied to local and deep computed descriptors extracted from the face, which exhibits symmetry and can be exploited in the re-identification process unlike audio streams. These features are used to train the one-class classifier to detect the novelty of the individual. The proposal is evaluated in real parliamentary session recordings that exhibit challenging variations in terms of pose and location of the interveners. The experimental evaluation explores different configuration sets where our system achieves significant improvement on the given scenario, obtaining an average F measure of 71.29% for online analyzed videos. In addition, ILRA performs better than face descriptors used in recent face-based closed world recognition approaches, achieving an average improvement of 1.6% with respect to a deep descriptor.
Hybrid Multi-Domain Analytical and Data-Driven Modeling for Feed Systems in Machine Tools
Authors: Mei Zaiwu , Ding Jianwan , Chen Liping , Pi Ting , Mei Zaidao
Published: September 2019

Position error-compensation control in the servo system of computerized numerical control (CNC) machine tools relies on accurate prediction of dynamic tracking errors of the machine tool feed system. In this paper, in order to accurately predict dynamic tracking errors, a hybrid modeling method is proposed and a dynamic model of the ball screw feed system is developed. Firstly, according to the law of conservation of energy, a complete multi-domain system analytical model of a ball screw feed system was established based on energy flow. In order to overcome the uncertainties of the analytical model, then the data-driven model based on the back propagation (BP) neural network was established and trained using experimental data. Finally, the data-driven model was coupled with the multi-domain analytical model and the hybrid model was developed. The model was verified by experiment at different velocities and the results show that the prediction accuracy of the hybrid model reaches high levels. The hybrid modeling method combines the advantages of analytical modeling and data-driven modeling methods, and can significantly improve the feed system’s modeling accuracy. The research results of this paper are of great significance to improve the compensation control accuracy of CNC machine tools.
From Science to Practice: A Review of Laterality Research on Ungulate Livestock
Authors: Leliveld Lisette M. C.
Published: September 2019

In functional laterality research, most ungulate livestock species have until recently been mainly overlooked. However, there are many scientific and practical benefits of studying laterality in ungulate livestock. As social, precocial and domestic species, they may offer insight into the mechanisms involved in the ontogeny and phylogeny of functional laterality and help to better understand the role of laterality in animal welfare. Until now, most studies on ungulate livestock have focused on motor laterality, but interest in other lateralized functions, e.g., cognition and emotions, is growing. Increasingly more studies are also focused on associations with age, sex, personality, health, stress, production and performance. Although the full potential of research on laterality in ungulate livestock is not yet exploited, findings have already shed new light on central issues in cognitive and emotional processing and laid the basis for potentially useful applications in future practice, e.g., stress reduction during human-animal interactions and improved assessments of health, production and welfare. Future research would benefit from further integration of basic laterality methodology (e.g., testing for individual preferences) and applied ethological approaches (e.g., established emotionality tests), which would not only improve our understanding of functional laterality but also benefit the assessment of animal welfare.
Study on Stiffness-Oriented Cable Tension Distribution for a Symmetrical Cable-Driven Mechanism
Authors: Yang Kaisheng , Yang Guilin , Chen Si-Lu , Wang Yi , Zhang Chi , Fang Zaojun , Zheng Tianjiang , Wang Chongchong
Published: September 2019

In this paper, we focus on the issues pertaining to stiffness-oriented cable tension distribution for a symmetrical 6-cable-driven spherical joint module (6-CSJM), which can be employed to construct modular cable-driven manipulators. Due to the redundant actuation of the 6-CSJM, three cables are employed for position regulation by adjusting the cable lengths, and the remaining three cables are utilized for stiffness regulation by adjusting the cable tensions, i.e., the position and stiffness can be regulated simultaneously. To increase the range of stiffness regulation, a variable stiffness device (VSD) is designed, which is serially connected to the driving cable. Since the stiffness model of the 6-CSJM with VSDs is very complicated, it is difficult to directly solve the cable tensions from the desired stiffness. The stiffness-oriented cable tension distribution issue is formulated as a nonlinear constrained optimization problem, and the Complex method is employed to obtain optimal tension distributions. Furthermore, to significantly improve the computation efficiency, a decision variable elimination technique is proposed to deal with the equality constraints, which reduces decision variables from 6 to 3. A comprehensive simulation study is conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, showing that the 6-CSJM can accurately achieve the desired stiffness through cable tension optimization.
Chemometric Evaluation of the Link between Acute Toxicity, Health Issues and Physicochemical Properties of Silver Nanoparticles
Authors: Nedyalkova Miroslava , Dimitrov Dimitar , Donkova Borjana , Simeonov Vasil
Published: September 2019

The present study’s objective is to focus on some developments in the field of statistical models of a complex system, like nanoparticles responses in the environmental media. An important problem that still needs to be studied and interpreted is the relations between physicochemical parameters of the nanoparticles like primary size, primary hydrophobic diameter, zeta potential, etc. with respective toxicity values. It holds true especially for silver nanoparticle systems due to their known bactericidal effect and wide distribution in practice. The present study deals with the data for physicochemical and toxicity parameters of 94 different silver nanoparticle systems in order to reveal specific relations between physicochemical properties and acute toxicity readings using multivariate statistical methods. Searching for these specific relationships between physicochemical parameters and toxicity responses is the novel element in the present study. This has focused our study toward developing a model that describes the relationship between physicochemical properties and toxicity of silver NPs based on a dataset gathered from the literature. It is shown that the systems studied could be divided into four patterns (clusters) of similarity depending not only on the physicochemical indicators related to particles size but also by their acute toxicity. The acute toxicity is strongly correlated to the zeta potential of the particles if the whole data set is considered.
To Go or Stay: The Development, Benefit, and Detriment of Tissue-Resident Memory CD8 T Cells during Central Nervous System Viral Infections
Authors: Mockus Taryn E. , Ren Heather M. , Shwetank  , Lukacher Aron E.
Published: September 2019

CD8 T cells coordinate immune defenses against viral infections of the central nervous system (CNS). Virus-specific CD8 T cells infiltrate the CNS and differentiate into brain-resident memory CD8 T cells (CD8 bTRM). CD8 bTRM are characterized by a lack of recirculation and expression of phenotypes and transcriptomes distinct from other CD8 T cell memory subsets. CD8 bTRM have been shown to provide durable, autonomous protection against viral reinfection and the resurgence of latent viral infections. CD8 T cells have also been implicated in the development of neural damage following viral infection, which demonstrates that the infiltration of CD8 T cells into the brain can also be pathogenic. In this review, we will explore the residency and maintenance requirements for CD8 bTRM and discuss their roles in controlling viral infections of the brain.
A Deep-Sequencing Workflow for the Fast and Efficient Generation of High-Quality African Swine Fever Virus Whole-Genome Sequences
Authors: Forth Jan , Forth Leonie , King Jacqueline , Groza Oxana , Hübner Alexandra , Olesen Ann , Höper Dirk , Dixon Linda , Netherton Christopher , Rasmussen Thomas , Blome Sandra , Pohlmann Anne , Beer Martin
Published: September 2019

African swine fever (ASF) is a severe disease of suids caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV). Its dsDNA genome (170–194 kbp) is scattered with homopolymers and repeats as well as inverted-terminal-repeats (ITR), which hamper whole-genome sequencing. To date, only a few genome sequences have been published and only for some are data on sequence quality available enabling in-depth investigations. Especially in Europe and Asia, where ASFV has continuously spread since its introduction into Georgia in 2007, a very low genetic variability of the circulating ASFV-strains was reported. Therefore, only whole-genome sequences can serve as a basis for detailed virus comparisons. Here, we report an effective workflow, combining target enrichment, Illumina and Nanopore sequencing for ASFV whole-genome sequencing. Following this approach, we generated an improved high-quality ASFV Georgia 2007/1 whole-genome sequence leading to the correction of 71 sequencing errors and the addition of 956 and 231 bp at the respective ITRs. This genome, derived from the primary outbreak in 2007, can now serve as a reference for future whole-genome analyses of related ASFV strains and molecular approaches. Using both workflow and the reference genome, we generated the first ASFV-whole-genome sequence from Moldova, expanding the sequence knowledge from Eastern Europe.
The Cellular Immune Response to Rabies Vaccination: A Systematic Review
Authors: Overduin Lisanne A. , van Dongen Jacques J.M. , Visser Leonardus G.
Published: September 2019

The effectiveness of rabies vaccines is conventionally determined by serological testing. In addition to this assessment of humoral immunity, cellular immunity could help assess effectiveness and protection through a broad range of parameters. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically review all literature on the kinetics and composition of the cellular immune response to rabies vaccination in humans. A total of 1360 studies were identified in an extensive literature search. Twenty studies were selected for inclusion. In a primary response, plasma cells are detectable from day 7 to day 14, peaking at day 10. Memory B-cells appear from day 10 up to at least day 28. After revaccination, natural killer (NK) cells are the first detectable cellular parameters. Further research is required to assess cellular parameters in relation to long-term (serological) immunity. This review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under registration number CRD42019134416.
Mutations in VP0 and 2C Proteins of Duck Hepatitis A Virus Type 3 Attenuate Viral Infection and Virulence
Authors: Wen Xingjian , Guo Jinlong , Sun Di , Wang Mingshu , Cao Dian , Cheng Anchun , Zhu Dekang , Liu Mafeng , Zhao Xinxin , Yang Qiao , Chen Shun , Jia Renyong , Wu Ying , Zhang Shaqiu , Mao Sai , Ou Xumin , Chen Xiaoyue , Yu Yanling , Zhang Ling , Liu Yunya , Tian Bin , Pan Leichang , Rehman Mujeeb Ur
Published: September 2019

Duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) is prevalent worldwide and has caused significant economic losses. As the predominant serotype in China, DHAV-3 has become a major challenge to the local duck industry. Here the genetics and pathogenesis of a virulent DHAV-3 strain and its embryo-passaged strain were assessed. There were only two amino acid substitutions (Y164N in VP0 protein and L71I in 2C protein) introduced during the adaptation process. The pathogenicity of these strains was further evaluated in vivo. Clinical signs, gross pathology, and histopathological analysis showed that the embryo-passaged strain was attenuated. Meanwhile, the viral RNA loads were significantly lower in the liver tissues of the ducklings infected with the attenuated strain. As expected, infection with the virulent and attenuated strains led to the activation of different innate immune genes. We suspected that the loss of replication efficiency in ducklings was responsible for the attenuation phenotype of the embryo-passaged strain. In addition, different innate immune responses in the liver of ducklings were at least partly responsible for the differential infectivity phenotype. These findings provide new insights into the genetics and pathogenesis of DHAV-3, which may aid the development of new vaccines and the implementation of immunization strategies.
Flood Risk Assessment of the Wadi Nu’man Basin, Mecca, Saudi Arabia (During the Period, 1988–2019) Based on the Integration of Geomatics and Hydraulic Modeling: A Case Study
Authors: Abdelkarim Ashraf , Gaber Ahmed F.D.
Published: September 2019

This study aims to assess the impact of flash floods in the Wadi Nu’man basin on urban areas, east of Mecca, which are subjected to frequent floods, during the period from 1988–2019. By producing and analyzing the maps of the regions, an integrated approach to geomatics and hydraulic modelling is employed. The following maps are used: Flood-prone urbanity from 1988–2019, a flood risk map of Wadi Nu’man based on a risk matrix map, and a map of the proposed protection measures and alternatives in the study area. In order to achieve these goals, changes in the land use in the Wadi Nu’man basin were monitored by analyzing successive satellite images, taken by the US satellite, Landsat, in 1988, 1998, 2013, and 2019. Using a supervised classification, with the maximum likelihood method of ERDAS IMAGINE 2016, GIS was used in the production and analysis of soil maps, and geological and hydrological groups of drainage basins, as well as the hydrological model (HEC-HMS), were applied in calculating the hydrograph curve of the Wadi Nu’man basin. The flood water volumes and flow rates were estimated based on the SCS unit hydrograph, and the rain depth was analyzed and estimated for different periods. The hydraulic modeling program (HEC-RAS) was employed, when developing a two-dimensional model to calculate the speed, depth, and spread of the flood, in order to apply the risk matrix method. The recommendations based on this study give priority to the implementation of a flood prevention plan and the protection of infrastructure by maintaining the existing flood drainage facilities and establishing new drainage facilities to protect lives, property, and infrastructure.
Willingness to Pay for Enhanced Water Security in a Rapidly Developing Shale Gas Region in China
Authors: Jiang Danlu , Bai Dong , Yin Zhaowei , Fan Gongyuan
Published: September 2019

With the rapid development of shale gas exploration (SGE) in China, there is an urgent need to evaluate the public’s preferences with respect to the environmental risks that go along with the exploration, which have not yet been studied in the literature. This study aims to estimate local residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for a water security-enhanced scenario in the Fuling shale gas field, Chongqing, China. Using the double-bounded contingent valuation method, we estimate that the annual mean WTP is 32.655 Chinese yuan per year per household, which accounts for 3.80% of the basic household gas bill. The results also show that WTP is significantly influenced by the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents, including the age of the respondent, household location, household income, and primary source of household income. Moreover, the respondents’ satisfaction with respect to the environmental impacts caused by SGE also has negative influences on the WTP. Thus, our analysis estimates the affected public’s benefits during SGE and provides insight into the relevant policymaking process.
Methods for Sample Collection, Storage, and Analysis of Freshwater Phosphorus
Authors: Kianpoor Kalkhajeh Yusef , Jabbarian Amiri Bahman , Huang Biao , Henareh Khalyani Azad , Hu Wenyou , Gao Hongjian , Thompson Michael L.
Published: September 2019

Although phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for biological productivity, it can cause freshwater degradation when present at fairly low concentrations. Monitoring studies using continuous sampling is crucial for documenting P dynamics in freshwater ecosystems and to reduce the risk of eutrophication. Despite literature updates of developments of the analytical methods for measurement of P species in natural waters, there has been no comprehensive review addressing freshwater sample collection, sample preparation, and sample treatment to fractionate and characterize different forms of P. Therefore, this paper aims to elaborate the different techniques for freshwater sampling and to introduce alternative laboratory methods for sample preservation and P fractionation. The advantages and disadvantages of various sampling techniques, including the traditional manual and the recently developed automatic and passive methods, are presented to highlight the importance of collecting representative freshwater samples. Furthermore, we provide suggestions for sample pretreatment, including filtration, transportation, and storage steps to minimize microbial activity and to maximize the accuracy of measurement of various P fractions. Finally, the most common laboratory methods to measure dissolved and particulate as well as the organic and inorganic freshwater P fractions are efficiently provided. Using this guide, a comprehensive monitoring program of P dynamics in freshwater ecosystems can be developed and applied to improve water quality, particularly of P-rich freshwaters.
Hydrogeochemical Assessment of Groundwater Quality of Mokopane Area, Limpopo, South Africa Using Statistical Approach
Authors: Molekoa Mmasabata , Avtar Ram , Kumar Pankaj , Minh Huynh , Kurniawan Tonni
Published: September 2019

Despite being a finite resource, both the quality and quantity of groundwater are under tremendous pressure due to rapid global changes, viz. population growth, land-use/land-cover changes (LULC), and climate change. The 6th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) aims to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. One of the most significant dimensions of the SDG agenda is the emphasis on data and governance. However, the lack of good governance coupled with good observed data cannot ensure the achievement of SDG6. Therefore, this study strives to evaluate water quality status and hydrochemical processes governing it in the data-scarce Mokopane area of South Africa. Groundwater is the main source of fresh water supply for domestic usage, intensive agriculture, and mining activities in Mokopane. In this study, hydrogeochemical analysis of groundwater samples was employed to calculate the water quality index (WQI) and evaluate factors governing water quality evolution in the study area. Statistical and spatial analysis techniques were carried out to divide sampling sites into clusters and delineate principal factors responsible for determining water quality of the sampled groundwater. Results suggest that most of the physico-chemical parameters are within permissible limits for drinking water set by the World Health Organization (WHO), except for high fluoride in some samples. Na-HCO3 is the most abundant water type followed by Mg-HCO3, which indicates dominance of Na+, Mg2+, and HCO3±. Rock-water interaction is the prime factor responsible for fluoride enrichment in water. The alkaline nature of groundwater favors the release of exchangeable F− from minerals like muscovite. The WQI suggests that 80% of water samples fall into the good and excellent categories. Poor management of untreated domestic sewage and agricultural runoff is a main factor for the bad/very bad categories of water samples. As the area lacks any credible scientific/government work to report water quality and its management aspects, the findings of this study will definitely help both scientific communities and policy makers to do what is needed for sustainable water resource management in a timely manner.
Hydrochemical Characteristics and Water Quality Assessment for the Upper Reaches of Syr Darya River in Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia
Authors: Ma Long , Abuduwaili Jilili , Li Yaoming , Abdyzhapar uulu Salamat , Mu Shuyong
Published: September 2019

Based on water sampling of the upper reaches of the Syr River and its tributaries from the parts of Aral Sea Basin in Kyrgyzstan, the chemical compositions of river waters were systematically analyzed for revealing the hydrochemical characteristics and evaluating the water quality. Research indicates that there are some differences in ion concentration between the low-flow season (LFS) and high-flow season (HFS), but the hydrochemical classification reflected that all water samples fall in the calcium bicarbonate category, except that only three samples fall in the not dominant category during the LFS. The water quality classification shows that the water samples fall in the excellent to good categories for irrigation use. The analysis shows that the main ions of river waters come from the weathering of rocks, and the dissolution of carbonates is higher than that of silicates. Human activities have had an impact on the waterbody, especially inferred from the indicators of NH4-N and fecal coliform (FC). FC groups were detected in some rivers, in which the detection rate at the high-water level increased. The contents of potentially toxic elements are lower than international drinking water standards, but there are clustering differences between the LFS and HFS. There may be anthropogenic intrusions of Cu, Pb, and Zn during the LFS period and of Cu, Pb, Zn, and Cd during the HFS period. The results fill the gaps in the study of the hydrochemical composition and water quality assessment in the Aral Sea Basin and will also provide a basis for water resource management and for the study of water quality evolution in the future.
Flash Flood Risk Perception by the Population of Mindelo, S. Vicente (Cape Verde)
Authors: Martins Bruno , Nunes Adélia , Lourenço Luciano , Velez-Castro Fátima
Published: September 2019

São Vicente Island (Republic of Cape Verde) lies within the Sahelian zone and faces several natural hazards, one of which is flash flooding. With the purpose of understanding what factors determine flash flood risk perception, a questionnaire entitled Flash Flood Hazard Perception in Cape Verde was applied to 199 subjects. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to identify the primary factors associated with the perception of flash flood risk. Differences between different groups under the same impact factor were also compared. The results indicated that certain socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents (gender, level of education, and type of housing) and prior experience correlated with flash flood risk perception. The study also shows statistical differences between the groups. In general, males and the respondents with a high level of education, homeowners, and people with prior experience have better perception of the flash flood risk. These findings can help decision makers to improve effective flash flood risk communication policies and flood risk reduction strategies.
Dependence Between Extreme Rainfall Events and the Seasonality and Bivariate Properties of Floods. A Continuous Distributed Physically-Based Approach
Authors: Gabriel-Martin Ivan , Sordo-Ward Alvaro , Garrote Luis , T. García Juan
Published: September 2019

This paper focuses on proposing the minimum number of storms necessary to derive the extreme flood hydrographs accurately through event-based modelling. To do so, we analyzed the results obtained by coupling a continuous stochastic weather generator (the Advanced WEather GENerator) with a continuous distributed physically-based hydrological model (the TIN-based real-time integrated basin simulator), and by simulating 5000 years of hourly flow at the basin outlet. We modelled the outflows in a basin named Peacheater Creek located in Oklahoma, USA. Afterwards, we separated the independent rainfall events within the 5000 years of hourly weather forcing, and obtained the flood event associated to each storm from the continuous hourly flow. We ranked all the rainfall events within each year according to three criteria: Total depth, maximum intensity, and total duration. Finally, we compared the flood events obtained from the continuous simulation to those considering the N highest storm events per year according to the three criteria and by focusing on four different aspects: Magnitude and recurrence of the maximum annual peak-flow and volume, seasonality of floods, dependence among maximum peak-flows and volumes, and bivariate return periods. The main results are: (a) Considering the five largest total depth storms per year generates the maximum annual peak-flow and volume, with a probability of 94% and 99%, respectively and, for return periods higher than 50 years, the probability increases to 99% in both cases; (b) considering the five largest total depth storms per year the seasonality of flood is reproduced with an error of less than 4% and (c) bivariate properties between the peak-flow and volume are preserved, with an error on the estimation of the copula fitted of less than 2%.
Mining Rock Wastes for Water Treatment: Potential Reuse of Fe- and Mn-Rich Materials for Arsenic Removal
Authors: Casentini Barbara , Lazzazzara Marco , Amalfitano Stefano , Salvatori Rosamaria , Guglietta Daniela , Passeri Daniele , Belardi Girolamo , Trapasso Francesca
Published: September 2019

The worldwide mining industry produces millions of tons of rock wastes, raising a considerable burden for managing both economic and environmental issues. The possible reuse of Fe/Mn-rich materials for arsenic removal in water filtration units, along with rock properties, was evaluated. By characterizing and testing 47 samples collected from the Joda West Iron and Manganese Mine in India, we found As removal up to 50.1% at 1 mg/L initial As concentration, with a corresponding adsorption capacity of 0.01–0.46 mgAs/g mining waste. The As removal potential was strictly related to spectral, mineralogical, and elemental composition of rock wastes. Unlike rock crystallinity due to quartz and muscovite, the presence of hematite, goethite, and kaolinite, in association with the amorphous fractions of Fe and Al, enhanced the As adsorption. The natural content of arsenic indicated itself the presence of active sorptive sites. The co-occurrence of site-specific competitors (i.e., phosphate) represented a consequent limitation, whereas the content of Ce, Cu, La, and Pb contributed positively to the As adsorption. Finally, we proposed a simplified multiple linear model as predictive tool to select promising rock wastes suitable for As removal by water filtration in similar mining environments: As predicted = 0.241 + 0.00929[As] + 0.000424[La] + 0.000139[Pb] − 0.00022[P].
La realidad educativa y social ecuatoriana a partir del análisis de la deserción académica
Authors: Posligua Anchundia Rosa
Published: September 2019

La deserción académica es un problema que atenta contra la educación, el alumno, la sociedad y el desarrollo del país. Se considera en este estudio que el sistema educativo ecuatoriano debe garantizar las condiciones mínimas para que quienes asisten a una unidad educativa continúen estudiando. Esta condición implica que los docentes conozcan las características sociales, familiares y personales de los alumnos que atienden. Para ello esta investigación indaga en las razones que llevaron a niños y adolescentes que desertaron de sus estudios de la Unidad Educativa Fiscal Vicente Rocafuerte de la ciudad de Guayaquil, Ecuador. Además enfatiza en la necesidad de que el currículo posibilite un proceso de aprendizaje que esté conectado a la vida de los estudiantes y organizado alrededor de sus intereses vitales, experiencias y aspiraciones, con relevancia y significado para ellos. Es pertinente, pues, que las propuestas curriculares no pasen por alto quiénes son los estudiantes, qué saben, qué les interesa, cómo es la comunidad en la que viven, qué hacen, cómo es su vida, su cultura. De este modo, este artículo ofrece una visión panorámica de las causas y consecuencias principales de este fenómeno y da cuenta de algunas alternativas para erradicarlo.
Las prácticas pre profesionales y su impacto social
Authors: Chávez Loor María Dolores , Chancay Cedeño Carlos Humberto , Chávez Loor Yadira del Pilar , Mendoza Bravo Karina Luzdelia
Published: September 2019

El objetivo del trabajo consiste en ofrecer una reflexión crítica sobre las prácticas pre profesionales de los estudiantes universitarios en la Escuela de Pedagogía de los Idiomas Nacionales y Extranjeros de la Universidad Técnica de Manabí, demostrando el impacto social de dicha actividad en relación con el proceso formativo e investigativo y su aporte a la sociedad. Para ello se realizó un análisis de documentos científicos así como los documentos normativos que regulan este tipo de actividad docente, llegando a la conclusión que las prácticas pre profesionales cumplen varios roles de formación continua de la propia comunidad universitaria como institución pública social en su conjunto, así como de profesionales, dirigentes y empresarios: (1) un rol en la divulgación científica y de la diversidad cultural; (2) un rol en la transformación social y el desarrollo comunitario y (3) un rol en la transferencia tecnológica, con visión estratégica del desarrollo.
La alfabetización informacional en la innovación curricular: estrategias pedagógicas a partir del empleo de la biblioteca escolar
Authors: Lucas Delgado Darwin
Published: September 2019

La Alfabetización Informacional (ALFIN) es uno de los pilares del desarrollo de los procesos formativos. Definida como el conjunto integrado de habilidades, conocimientos y valores ligados a la búsqueda, acceso, organización, uso y representación de la información en la resolución de problemas utilizando un pensamiento crítico, esta disciplina constituye una competencia transversal clave en la sociedad del conocimiento. Además cumple un papel preponderante en la formación de los niños y jóvenes como personas capaces de gestionar la información que reciben en las aulas de clase y en las actividades extraescolares asumiendo su importancia para la vida diaria y a partir de la asimilación de los conocimientos que les permitan desenvolverse con soltura ante el avance de las nuevas tecnologías y en el espacio digital. En este contexto, el presente trabajo pretende brindar una mirada particular a las estrategias pedagógicas que se pueden aplicar utilizando la biblioteca escolar para el desarrollo de competencias informativas. Los niños desde la más tierna edad empiezan a recibir información, es la familia y luego la escuela las encargadas de afirmar los conocimientos, habilidades y destrezas que necesitan para hacer frente a las demandas del mundo en que les toca interactuar. Por ello, es de fundamental importancia concebir en este estudio a la ALFIN como un proceso de aprendizaje instrumental indispensable para cualquier individuo, porque es una condición necesaria, para poder obtener nuevos conocimientos de mayor complejidad intelectual y cultural.