bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Climatically-Controlled River Terraces in Eastern Australia
Authors: Daley James , Cohen Tim
Published: October 2018

In the tectonically stable rivers of eastern Australia, changes in response to sediment supply and flow regime are likely driven by both regional climatic (allogenic) factors and intrinsic (autogenic) geomorphic controls. Contentious debate has ensued as to which is the dominant factor in the evolution of valley floors and the formation of late Quaternary terraces preserved along many coastal streams. Preliminary chronostratigraphic data from river terraces along four streams in subtropical Southeast Queensland (SEQ), Australia, indicate regionally synchronous terrace abandonment between 7.5–10.8 ka. All optically stimulated luminescence ages are within 1σ error and yield a mean age of incision at 9.24 ± 0.93 ka. Limited samples of the upper parts of the inset floodplains from three of the four streams yield near-surface ages of 600–500 years. Terrace sediments consist of vertically accreted fine sandy silts to cohesive clays, while top stratum of the floodplains are comprised of clay loams to fine-medium sands. The inundation frequency of these alluvial surfaces depends on their specific valley setting. In narrow valley settings, where floodplains comprise <5% of the valley floor, terraces are inundated between the 20 and 50-year annual exceedance probability (AEP) flood, while in wide settings (floodplains >20%), the terraces are no longer inundated. Floodplain inundation frequencies also vary between these settings by an order of magnitude between 5- to 50-year AEP, respectively. The correlation of terrace abandonment within SEQ with fluvial and palaeoenvironmental records elsewhere in the subtropics, and more broadly across eastern Australia, are an indication that terrace abandonment has primarily been driven by climatic forcing. Contemporaneous channel incision in the early Holocene may have been driven by an increasingly warmer and wetter environment in SEQ, with a climate commensurate with the delivery of more extreme weather events. Following channel incision, many streams in SEQ have been largely confined to their entrenched “macrochannel” form that remains preserved within the valley floor.
Multi-Spectral Water Index (MuWI): A Native 10-m Multi-Spectral Water Index for Accurate Water Mapping on Sentinel-2
Authors: Wang Zifeng , Liu Junguo , Li Jinbao , Zhang David D.
Published: October 2018

Accurate water mapping depends largely on the water index. However, most previously widely-adopted water index methods are developed from 30-m resolution Landsat imagery, with low-albedo commission error (e.g., shadow misclassified as water) and threshold instability being identified as the primary issues. Besides, since the shortwave-infrared (SWIR) spectral band (band 11) on Sentinel-2 is 20 m spatial resolution, current SWIR-included water index methods usually produce water maps at 20 m resolution instead of the highest 10 m resolution of Sentinel-2 bands, which limits the ability of Sentinel-2 to detect surface water at finer scales. This study aims to develop a water index from Sentinel-2 that improves native resolution and accuracy of water mapping at the same time. Support Vector Machine (SVM) is used to exploit the 10-m spectral bands among Sentinel-2 bands of three resolutions (10-m; 20-m; 60-m). The new Multi-Spectral Water Index (MuWI), consisting of the complete version and the revised version (MuWI-C and MuWI-R), is designed as the combination of normalized differences for threshold stability. The proposed method is assessed on coincident Sentinel-2 and sub-meter images covering a variety of water types. When compared to previous water indexes, results show that both versions of MuWI enable to produce native 10-m resolution water maps with higher classification accuracies (p-value < 0.01). Commission and omission errors are also significantly reduced particularly in terms of shadow and sunglint. Consistent accuracy over complex water mapping scenarios is obtained by MuWI due to high threshold stability. Overall, the proposed MuWI method is applicable to accurate water mapping with improved spatial resolution and accuracy, which possibly facilitates water mapping and its related studies and applications on growing Sentinel-2 images.
Reliable Acoustic Path and Direct-Arrival Zone Spatial Gain Analysis for a Vertical Line Array
Authors: Qiu Chunyu , Ma Shuqing , Chen Yu , Meng Zhou , Wang Jianfei
Published: October 2018

A method is developed in this paper to calculate the spatial gain of a vertical line array when the plane-wave assumption is not applicable and when the oceanic ambient noise is correlated. The proposed optimal array gain (OAG), which can evaluate the array’s performance and effectively guide its deployment, can be given by an equation in which the noise gain (NG) is subtracted from the signal gain (SG); hence, a high SG and a negative NG can enhance the performance of the array. OAGs and SGs with different array locations are simulated and analyzed based on the sound propagation properties of the direct-arrival zone (DAZ) and the reliable acoustic path (RAP) using ray theory. SG and NG are related to the correlation coefficients of the signals and noise, respectively, and the vertical correlation is determined by the structures of the multipath arrivals. The SG in the DAZ is always high because there is little difference between the multipath waves, while the SG in the RAP changes with the source-receiver range because of the variety of structure in the multiple arrivals. The SG under different conditions is simulated in this work. The “dual peak” structure can often be observed in the vertical directionality pattern of the noise because of the presence of bottom reflection and deep sound channel. When the directions of the signal and noise are close, the conventional beamformer will enhance the correlation of not only the signals but also the noise; thus, the directivity of the signals and noise are analyzed. Under the condition of having a typical sound speed profile, the OAG in some areas of the DAZ and RAP can achieve high values and even exceed the ideal gain of horizontal line array 10 logN dB, while, in some other areas, it will be lowered because of the influence of the NG. The proposed method of gain analysis can provide analysis methods for vertical arrays in the deep ocean under many conditions with references. The theory and simulation are tested by experimental data.
Evaluation of IEEE802.15.4g for Environmental Observations
Authors: Muñoz Jonathan , Chang Tengfei , Vilajosana Xavier , Watteyne Thomas
Published: October 2018

IEEE802.15.4g is a low-power wireless standard initially designed for Smart Utility Networks, i.e., for connecting smart meters. IEEE802.15.4g operates at sub-GHz frequencies to offer 2–3× longer communication range compared to its 2.4 GHz counterpart. Although the standard offers 3 PHYs (Frequncy Shift Keying, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing and Offset-Quadrature Phase Shift Keying) with numerous configurations, 2-FSK at 50 kbps is the mandatory and most prevalent radio setting used. This article looks at whether IEEE802.15.4g can be used to provide connectivity for outdoor deployments. We conduct range measurements using the totality of the standard (all modulations with all further parametrization) in the 863–870 MHz band, within four scenarios which we believe cover most low-power wireless outdoor applications: line of sight, smart agriculture, urban canyon, and smart metering. We show that there are radio settings that outperform the “2-FSK at 50 kbps” base setting in terms of range, throughput and reliability. Results show that highly reliable communications with data rates up to 800 kbps can be achieved in urban environments at 540 m between nodes, and the longest useful radio link is obtained at 779 m. We discuss how IEEE802.15.4g can be used for outdoor operation, and reduce the number of repeater nodes that need to be placed compared to a 2.4 GHz solution.
Person Re-Identification with RGB-D Camera in Top-View Configuration through Multiple Nearest Neighbor Classifiers and Neighborhood Component Features Selection
Authors: Paolanti Marina , Romeo Luca , Liciotti Daniele , Pietrini Rocco , Cenci Annalisa , Frontoni Emanuele , Zingaretti Primo
Published: October 2018

Person re-identification is an important topic in retail, scene monitoring, human-computer interaction, people counting, ambient assisted living and many other application fields. A dataset for person re-identification TVPR (Top View Person Re-Identification) based on a number of significant features derived from both depth and color images has been previously built. This dataset uses an RGB-D camera in a top-view configuration to extract anthropometric features for the recognition of people in view of the camera, reducing the problem of occlusions while being privacy preserving. In this paper, we introduce a machine learning method for person re-identification using the TVPR dataset. In particular, we propose the combination of multiple k-nearest neighbor classifiers based on different distance functions and feature subsets derived from depth and color images. Moreover, the neighborhood component feature selection is used to learn the depth features’ weighting vector by minimizing the leave-one-out regularized training error. The classification process is performed by selecting the first passage under the camera for training and using the others as the testing set. Experimental results show that the proposed methodology outperforms standard supervised classifiers widely used for the re-identification task. This improvement encourages the application of this approach in the retail context in order to improve retail analytics, customer service and shopping space management.
Experimental Characterization of Inkjet-Printed Stretchable Circuits for Wearable Sensor Applications
Authors: Abu-Khalaf Jumana , Saraireh Razan , Eisa Saleh , Al-Halhouli Ala’aldeen
Published: October 2018

This paper introduces a cost-effective method for the fabrication of stretchable circuits on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using inkjet printing of silver nanoparticle ink. The fabrication method, presented here, allows for the development of fully stretchable and wearable sensors. Inkjet-printed sinusoidal and horseshoe patterns are experimentally characterized in terms of the effect of their geometry on stretchability, while maintaining adequate electrical conductivity. The optimal fabricated circuit, with a horseshoe pattern at an angle of 45°, is capable of undergoing an axial stretch up to a strain of 25% with a resistance under 800 Ω. The conductivity of the circuit is fully reversible once it is returned to its pre-stretching state. The circuit could also undergo up to 3000 stretching cycles without exhibiting a significant change in its conductivity. In addition, the successful development of a novel inkjet-printed fully stretchable and wearable version of the conventional pulse oximeter is demonstrated. Finally, the resulting sensor is evaluated in comparison to its commercially available counterpart.
Analysis of the Output Characteristics of a Novel Small-Angle Transducer Used in High-Precision Inertial Sensors
Authors: Chen Zongyu , Dong Jiuzhi , Li Xingfei
Published: October 2018

This paper presents the design of a novel small-angle transducer characterized by a simple structure, fast response and very low reaction torque. A theoretical model is presented which describes the linear relationship between the output voltage and the angular displacement when the rotor rotates away from the null position. By analysis of the theoretical model, it is revealed that the small-angle transducer possesses a very high linearity within ±4° and a high sensitivity (approximately 0.34 V/°), and the parameters affecting output characteristics can be obtained. Furthermore, it is found that the transducer sensitivity can be improved by optimizing the load impedance and excitation frequency. These findings are verified by numerical evaluations. In addition, the established theoretical model and simulation analysis provide a quantitative method for analyzing the output characteristics of the novel small-angle transducer.
Enhancement of the Performance and Data Processing Rate of an Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometer Distributed Sensing System Using A Limited Swept Wavelength Range
Authors: Feng Kunpeng , Cui Jiwen , Jin Yihua , Sun Xun , Jiang Dong , Dang Hong , Niu Yizhao , Tan Jiubin
Published: October 2018

A novel optical frequency domain reflectometer (OFDR) processing algorithm is proposed to enhance the measurable range and data processing rate using a narrow swept spectrum range and reducing the time consuming of the process distributed sensing results. To reduce the swept wavelength range and simultaneously enhance strain measurable range, the local similarity characteristics of Rayleigh scattering fingerprint spectrum is discovered and a new similarity evaluation function based on least-square method is built to improve the data processing rate and sensing performance. By this method, the strain measurable range is raised to 3000 µε under a highest spatial resolution of 3 mm when the swept spectrum range is only 10 nm and the data processing rate is improved by at least 10 times. Experimental results indicate that a nonlinearity of less than 0.5%, a strain resolution of better than 10 µε, a repeatability at zero strain of below ±0.4 GHz and a full-scale accuracy is lower than 0.85 GHz under a highest spatial resolution of 3 mm can be achieved. Advantages of this method are fast processing rate, large strain measurable range, high SNR, and applicability with current OFDR systems.
G-Networks to Predict the Outcome of Sensing of Toxicity
Authors: Grenet Ingrid , Yin Yonghua , Comet Jean-Paul
Published: October 2018

G-Networks and their simplified version known as the Random Neural Network have often been used to classify data. In this paper, we present a use of the Random Neural Network to the early detection of potential of toxicity chemical compounds through the prediction of their bioactivity from the compounds’ physico-chemical structure, and propose that it be automated using machine learning (ML) techniques. Specifically the Random Neural Network is shown to be an effective analytical tool to this effect, and the approach is illustrated and compared with several ML techniques.
The Limpet: A ROS-Enabled Multi-Sensing Platform for the ORCA Hub
Authors: Sayed Mohammed E. , Nemitz Markus P. , Aracri Simona , McConnell Alistair C. , McKenzie Ross M. , Stokes Adam A.
Published: October 2018

The oil and gas industry faces increasing pressure to remove people from dangerous offshore environments. Robots present a cost-effective and safe method for inspection, repair, and maintenance of topside and marine offshore infrastructure. In this work, we introduce a new multi-sensing platform, the Limpet, which is designed to be low-cost and highly manufacturable, and thus can be deployed in huge collectives for monitoring offshore platforms. The Limpet can be considered an instrument, where in abstract terms, an instrument is a device that transforms a physical variable of interest (measurand) into a form that is suitable for recording (measurement). The Limpet is designed to be part of the ORCA (Offshore Robotics for Certification of Assets) Hub System, which consists of the offshore assets and all the robots (Underwater Autonomous Vehicles, drones, mobile legged robots etc.) interacting with them. The Limpet comprises the sensing aspect of the ORCA Hub System. We integrated the Limpet with Robot Operating System (ROS), which allows it to interact with other robots in the ORCA Hub System. In this work, we demonstrate how the Limpet can be used to achieve real-time condition monitoring for offshore structures, by combining remote sensing with signal-processing techniques. We show an example of this approach for monitoring offshore wind turbines, by designing an experimental setup to mimic a wind turbine using a stepper motor and custom-designed acrylic fan blades. We use the distance sensor, which is a Time-of-Flight sensor, to achieve the monitoring process. We use two different approaches for the condition monitoring process: offline and online classification. We tested the offline classification approach using two different communication techniques: serial and Wi-Fi. We performed the online classification approach using two different communication techniques: LoRa and optical. We train our classifier offline and transfer its parameters to the Limpet for online classification. We simulated and classified four different faults in the operation of wind turbines. We tailored a data processing procedure for the gathered data and trained the Limpet to distinguish among each of the functioning states. The results show successful classification using the online approach, where the processing and analysis of the data is done on-board by the microcontroller. By using online classification, we reduce the information density of our transmissions, which allows us to substitute short-range high-bandwidth communication systems with low-bandwidth long-range communication systems. This work shines light on how robots can perform on-board signal processing and analysis to gain multi-functional sensing capabilities, improve their communication requirements, and monitor the structural health of equipment.
Strength of Crowd (SOC)—Defeating a Reactive Jammer in IoT with Decoy Messages
Authors: Sciancalepore Savio , Oligeri Gabriele , Di Pietro Roberto
Published: October 2018

We propose Strength of Crowd (SoC), a distributed Internet of Things (IoT) protocol that guarantees message broadcast from an initiator to all network nodes in the presence of either a reactive or a proactive jammer, that targets a variable portion of the radio spectrum. SoC exploits a simple, yet innovative and effective idea: nodes not (currently) involved in the broadcast process transmit decoy messages that cannot be distinguished (by the jammer) from the real ones. Therefore, the jammer has to implement a best-effort strategy to jam all the concurrent communications up to its frequency/energy budget. SoC exploits the inherent parallelism that stems from the massive deployments of IoT nodes to guarantee a high number of concurrent communications, exhausting the jammer capabilities and hence leaving a subset of the communications not jammed. It is worth noting that SoC could be adopted in several wireless scenarios; however, we focus on its application to the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) domain, including IoT, Machine-to-Machine (M2M), Device-to-Device (D2D), to name a few. In this framework, we provide several contributions: firstly, we show the details of the SoC protocol, as well as its integration with the IEEE 802.15.4-2015 MAC protocol; secondly, we study the broadcast delay to deliver the message to all the nodes in the network; and finally, we run an extensive simulation and experimental campaign to test our solution. We consider the state-of-the-art OpenMote-B experimental platform, adopting the OpenWSN open-source protocol stack. Experimental results confirm the quality and viability of our solution.
Death and Coping Mechanisms in Animated Disney Movies: A Content Analysis of Disney Films (1937–2003) and Disney/Pixar Films (2003–2016)
Authors: Graham James A. , Yuhas Hope , Roman Jessica L.
Published: October 2018

The purpose of this content analysis was to examine how death depictions in animated Disney films has changed in the past 14 years and the coping mechanisms used to process death within these films. A content analysis from 2005 was used to investigate the influence of Disney films on children’s concepts of death based on 23 death scenes from 10 full-length Disney Classic animated films from 1937 to 2003 and 10 death scenes from 8 selected full-length Disney and Pixar animated films from 2003 to 2016. Our goal was to compare the findings across the two studies. Similar to the original study, the portrayal of death focused on five categories: character status; depiction of death; death status; emotional reaction; and causality. We expanded on the original study and more research by examining coping mechanisms used to process death within a selection of these films. Our findings indicated that some scenes from animated Disney and Pixar films obscure the permanence and irreversibility of death and often fail to acknowledge deaths emotionally. Our conclusions showed that Disney’s and Pixar’s portrayal of death in newer films might have more positive implications for children’s understanding of death than Disney Classic animated films.
Assessment of Landslide-Prone Areas and Their Zonation Using Logistic Regression, LogitBoost, and NaïveBayes Machine-Learning Algorithms
Authors: Pourghasemi Hamid Reza , Gayen Amiya , Park Sungjae , Lee Chang-Wook , Lee Saro
Published: October 2018

The occurrence of landslide in the hilly region of South Korea is a matter of serious concern. This study tries to produce landslide susceptibility maps for Jumunjin Country in South Korea. Three machine learning algorithms, namely Logistic Regression (LR), LogitBoost (LB), and NaïveBayes (NB) are used, and their final model outcomes are compared to each other. Firstly, a landslide inventory map and the associated input data layers of the landslide conditioning factors were developed based on field verification, historical records, and high-resolution remote-sensing data in the geographic information system (GIS) environment. Seventeen landslide conditioning factors were prepared, including aspect, slope, altitude, maximum curvature, profile curvature, topographic wetness index (TWI), topographic positioning index (TPI), distance from fault, convexity, forest type, forest diameter, forest density, land use/land cover, lithology, soil, flow accumulation, and mid slope position. The result showed that the area under the curve (AUC) values of LR, LB, and NB models were 84.2%, 70.7%, and 85.2%, respectively. The results revealed that the LR and LB models produced reasonable accuracy than respect to NB model in landslide susceptibility assessment. The final susceptibility maps would be useful for preliminary land-use planning and hazard mitigation purpose.
Financial Credit Risk Evaluation Based on Core Enterprise Supply Chains
Authors: Mou WeiMing , Wong Wing-Keung , McAleer Michael
Published: October 2018

Supply chain finance has broken through traditional credit modes and advanced rapidly as a creative financial business discipline. Core enterprises have played a critical role in the credit enhancement of supply chain finance. Through the analysis of core enterprise credit risks in supply chain finance, by means of a ‘fuzzy analytical hierarchy process’ (FAHP), the paper constructs a supply chain financial credit risk evaluation system, making quantitative measurements and evaluation of core enterprise credit risk. This enables enterprises to take measures to control credit risk, thereby promoting the healthy development of supply chain finance. The examination of core enterprise supply chains suggests that a unified information file should be collected based on the core enterprise, including the operating conditions, asset status, industry status, credit record, effective information to the database, collecting related data upstream and downstream of the archives around the core enterprise, developing a data information system, electronic data information, and updating the database accurately using the latest information that might be available. Moreover, supply chain finance and modern information technology should be integrated to establish the sharing of information resources and realize the exchange of information flows, capital flows, and logistics between banks. This should reduce a variety of risks and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain finance.
Identification of Levels of Sustainable Consciousness of Teachers in Training through an E-Portfolio
Authors: Colás-Bravo Pilar , Magnoler Patrizia , Conde-Jiménez Jesús
Published: October 2018

The contents of Education for Sustainable Development should be included in teachers’ initial and advanced training programs. A sustainable consciousness is one of the main foundations for determining the key competences for sustainability. However, there are not many empirical studies that deal with consciousness from education. In this context, the e-portfolio appears as a tool that promotes reflection and critical thinking, which are key competences for consciousness development. This work intends to propose a categorization system to extract types of consciousness and identify the levels of consciousness of teachers in training. For this research work, which is of an eminently qualitative nature, we have selected 25 e-portfolios of students (teachers in pre-service training) in the last year of the School of Education at the University of Macerata (Italy). The qualitative methodological procedure that was followed enabled deducing three bases that shape the consciousness of teachers in training: thinking, representation of reality, and type of consciousness. We concluded that the attainment of a sustainable consciousness in teachers requires activating and developing higher levels of thinking, as well as a projective and macrostructural representation of reality.
Upland Livelihoods between Local Land and Global Labour Market Dependencies: Evidence from Northern Chin State, Myanmar
Authors: Kmoch Laura , Palm Matilda , Persson U. Martin , Rudbeck Jepsen Martin
Published: October 2018

Livelihoods and agrarian change processes across upland South-East Asia have been explored for decades. Yet, knowledge gaps remain about contemporary livelihood strategies and land dependence in areas previously inaccessible to academic research, such as in upland Myanmar. Moreover, new strands of inquiry arise with continued globalisation, e.g., into the effects of remittances and labour migration on household incomes and livelihoods in distant upland areas. This study applied clustering techniques to income accounts of 94 households from northern Chin State, Myanmar to: (i) Identify households’ livelihood strategies; (ii) assess their dependence on access to land and natural resources; and (iii) compare absolute and relative incomes across strategies. We show that households engaged in six relatively distinct livelihood strategies: Relying primarily on own farming activities; making a living off the land with mixed income from agriculture and forest resources; engaging in wage employment; living from remittances; practicing non-forest tree husbandry; or engaging in self-employed business activities. We found significant income inequalities across clusters, with households engaging in remittance and wage-oriented livelihood strategies realizing higher incomes than those primarily involved in land-based activities. Our findings point to differentiated vulnerabilities associated with the identified livelihood strategies—to climate risks, shifting land-governance regimes and labour market forces.
Generating Future-Oriented Energy Policies and Technologies from the Multidisciplinary Group Discussions by Text-Mining-Based Identification of Topics and Experts
Authors: Suh Jong Hwan
Published: October 2018

With increasing problems and challenging issues for sustainability under climate change, energy research has gained a lot of global attention from citizens, business and government on an important mission to make energy available in sustainable and clean ways. Moreover, as the bigger energy issues get, the more closely they are related to humans, so the multidisciplinary approach in energy research by integrating human sciences in energy domain has been called for and recognized to be of immense importance. However, so far most of the energy research has focused on one side such as economics and technology innovation. In addition, there have been limits to policymakers’ taking multidisciplinary perspectives for agenda-setting and policy-making on energy issues for future society under climate change. In this context, this paper proposes a systematic approach for agenda-setting and policy-making in future-oriented and multidisciplinary perspectives. In particular, it applies text-mining techniques to designing multidisciplinary group discussions and generates energy policies and technologies (EP&Ts) for the future society from the multidisciplinary perspectives. The proposed method was applied to South Korea. To sum up, the core energy-specific future trends in South Korea were identified and subsequently the top-priority future-oriented EP&Ts were generated for South Korea as follows: (i) real-time plan for electricity usage; (ii) purchase system, specialized for green energy products; (iii) cooperation association for sustainability; (iv) donating self-produced energy; (v) social media-based energy policy portal; and (vi) expert system designing the eco-friendly and low-energy indoor and outdoor designs. Thus, this paper has its novelty as the first trial that combines both qualitative and quantitative approaches for building up future-oriented strategies from the balanced and multidisciplinary perspectives. Eventually, it will help deal with bigger problems and grand challenges that our future energy society should overcome to sustain under climate change.
Culturally Based Education for Sustainability—Insights from a Pioneering Ultraorthodox City in Israel
Authors: Alkaher Iris , Goldman Daphne , Sagy Gonen
Published: October 2018

Because culture affects the way people perceive human–nature relationships, it is acknowledged as a crucial component of sustainability. Israel has made efforts to involve cultural groups in education-for-sustainability (EfS). However, EfS within minorities still lags behind the dominant social majority. This study addressed incorporating EfS in the ultraorthodox sector (“ultraorthodoxing” EfS), focusing on a pioneering ultraorthodox municipality. In this interpretive study, interviews were conducted with nine stakeholders that hold key-positions regarding EfS policy-making. It explored how sustainability is introduced into ultraorthodox discourse and promoted in this community. Challenges to incorporating EfS include low environmentalism among the ultraorthodox and cultural–religious barriers. The findings indicate several directions of activity implemented by the Municipality to adapt EfS to ultraorthodox values and worldviews. The study suggests several principles for incorporating EfS in diverse cultural groups within multicultural societies (for example, allocating leaders from within the cultural group and developing their professional expertise, and establishing productive external–internal partnerships). Based on the findings, we suggest that implementing the particularistic approach within specific communities provides the means for empowering them, and is a necessary stage towards the participation of such cultural groups in pluralistic dialogue in wider society.
Modern Wheat Varieties as a Driver of the Degradation of Spanish Rainfed Mediterranean Agroecosystems throughout the 20th Century
Authors: Carranza-Gallego Guiomar , Guzmán Gloria Isabel , Soto David , Aguilera Eduardo , Villa Inma , Infante-Amate Juan , Herrera Antonio , González de Molina Manuel
Published: October 2018

The high grain yield of modern varieties (MV) respond to the increase in fossil-based inputs, and the widespread belief that they are more productive than old varieties (OV) is biased. This belief focuses only on marketable biomass, without considering the consequences on agroecosystem sustainability of the reductions in other portions of NPP. Additionally, field comparisons of OV and MV were normally conducted under industrialized farming conditions, which is detrimental for OV performance. Both trials carried out in this study comparing wheat OV and MV show that, under Mediterranean rainfed conditions and traditional organic management, aerial and belowground biomass production of OV is higher than that of MV, without significantly decreasing yield and enabling a better competition against weeds. From the data of our trials, bibliographic review and information from historical sources, we have reconstructed the NPP and destinations of biomass of Spanish wheat fields (1900–2000). Varietal replacement entailed the reduction in residues and unharvested biomass (UhB), which involved soil degradation in rainfed cereal fields and undermining heterotrophic trophic webs. Our results suggest that OV can increase the sustainability of rainfed Mediterranean agroecosystems at present through the improvement of soil quality, the reduction of herbicides use, and the recovery of biodiversity.
Antibody Microarray Immunoassay for Simultaneous Quantification of Multiple Mycotoxins in Corn Samples
Authors: Zhang Xian , Wang Zuohuan , Fang Yun , Sun Renjie , Cao Tong , Paudyal Narayan , Fang Weihuan , Song Houhui
Published: October 2018

We developed and tested a prototype of an antibody microarray immunoassay for simultaneous quantitative detection of four typical mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, and fumonisin B1) in corn samples. The test kit consisted of a nitrocellulose membrane layered with immobilized monoclonal antibodies against mycotoxins. During the assay, the mycotoxin-protein conjugates were biotinylated. The signal detection was enhanced by a combination of the biotin-streptavidin system and enhanced chemiluminescence (ECL). This improved the sensitivity of the assay. Under the optimized conditions, four calibration curves with goodness of fit (R2 > 0.98) were plotted. The results showed that the detection limits for aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, and fumonisin B1 were 0.21, 0.19, 0.09, and 0.24 ng/mL, with detection ranges of 0.47–55.69, 0.48–127.11, 0.22–31.36, and 0.56–92.57 ng/mL, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) of this antibody microarray for aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, and fumonisin B1 in corn was 5.25, 4.75, 2.25, and 6 μg/kg, respectively. The recovery rates from the spiked samples were between 79.2% and 113.4%, with coefficient of variation <10%. The results of the analysis of commercial samples for mycotoxins using this new assay and the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) were comparable and in good agreement. This assay could also be modified for the simultaneous detection of other multiple mycotoxins, as well as low-weight analytes, hazardous to human health.
Combining E-Nose and Lateral Flow Immunoassays (LFIAs) for Rapid Occurrence/Co-Occurrence Aflatoxin and Fumonisin Detection in Maize
Authors: Ottoboni Matteo , Pinotti Luciano , Tretola Marco , Giromini Carlotta , Fusi Eleonora , Rebucci Raffaella , Grillo Maria , Tassoni Luca , Foresta Silvia , Gastaldello Silvia , Furlan Valentina , Maran Claudio , Dell’Orto Vittorio , Cheli Federica
Published: October 2018

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential use of an e-nose in combination with lateral flow immunoassays for rapid aflatoxin and fumonisin occurrence/co-occurrence detection in maize samples. For this purpose, 161 samples of corn have been used. Below the regulatory limits, single-contaminated, and co-contaminated samples were classified according to the detection ranges established for commercial lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) for mycotoxin determination. Correspondence between methods was evaluated by discriminant function analysis (DFA) procedures using IBM SPSS Statistics 22. Stepwise variable selection was done to select the e-nose sensors for classifying samples by DFA. The overall leave-out-one cross-validated percentage of samples correctly classified by the eight-variate DFA model for aflatoxin was 81%. The overall leave-out-one cross-validated percentage of samples correctly classified by the seven-variate DFA model for fumonisin was 85%. The overall leave-out-one cross-validated percentage of samples correctly classified by the nine-variate DFA model for the three classes of contamination (below the regulatory limits, single-contaminated, co-contaminated) was 65%. Therefore, even though an exhaustive evaluation will require a larger dataset to perform a validation procedure, an electronic nose (e-nose) seems to be a promising rapid/screening method to detect contamination by aflatoxin, fumonisin, or both in maize kernel stocks.
Conference report: Internationaler Kongress "Formen, Verfahren und Funktionen der Bildung lexematischer und polylexematischer Einheiten im Deutschen", 31.03.–01.04.2017; Lyon, France
Authors: Thibault Magnin
Published: October 2018

Am 31. März 2017 und 01. April 2017 fand in Lyon unter Federführung des Forschungszentrums Centre d'Etudes Linguistiques (CEL – EA 1663) und unter Beteiligung des Labors Interactions, Corpus, Apprentissages, Représentations (ICAR – UMR 5191) der Universitäten Lumière Lyon 2 und der Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon ein internationaler Kongress zu Formen, Verfahren und Funktionen der Bildung lexematischer und polylexematischer Einheiten im Deutschen (Formation et préformation lexicale de l'allemand) statt. GermanistInnen aus Deutschland, Frankreich, Polen, Russland und Spanien nahmen an diesem Symposium teil.
 
Dieser Beitrag ist ursprünglich im Peter-Lang-Verlag erschienen (https://www.ingentaconnect.com/contentone/plg/jwf/2018/00000002/00000002/art00003)
Banding cytogenetics of chimeric hybrids Coturnix coturnix × Coturnix japonica and comparative analysis with the domestic fowl
Authors: Kartout-Benmessaoud Yasmine , Ladjali-Mohammedi Kafia
Published: October 2018

The Common quailCoturnixcoturnixLinnaeus, 1758 is a wild migratory bird which is distributed in Eurasia and North Africa, everywhere with an accelerating decline in population size. This species is protected by the Bonn and Berne conventions (1979) and by annex II/1 of the Birds Directive (2009). In Algeria, its breeding took place at the hunting centre in the west of the country. Breeding errors caused uncontrolled crosses between the Common quail and Japanese quailCoturnixjaponicaTemminck & Schlegel, 1849. In order to help to preserve the natural genetic heritage of the Common quail and to lift the ambiguity among the populations of quail raised in Algeria, it seemed essential to begin to describe the chromosomes of this species in the country since no cytogenetic study has been reported to date. Fibroblast cultures from embryo and adult animal were initiated. Double synchronization with excess thymidine allowed us to obtain high resolution chromosomes blocked at prometaphase stage. The karyotype and the idiogram in GTG morphological banding (G-bands obtained with trypsin and Giemsa) corresponding to larger chromosomes 1–12 and ZW pair were thus established. The diploid set of chromosomes was estimated as 2N=78. Cytogenetic analysis of expected hybrid animals revealed the presence of a genetic introgression and cellular chimerism. This technique is effective in distinguishing the two quail taxa. Furthermore, the comparative chromosomal analysis of the two quails and domestic chickenGallusgallusdomesticusLinnaeus, 1758 has been conducted. Differences in morphology and/or GTG band motifs were observed on 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 and W chromosomes. Neocentromere occurrence was suggested for Common quail chromosome 1 and Chicken chromosomes 4 and W. Double pericentric inversion was observed on the Common quail chromosome 2 while pericentric inversion hypothesis was proposed for Chicken chromosome 8. A deletion on the short arm of the Common quail chromosome 7 was also found. These results suggest that Common quail would be a chromosomally intermediate species between Chicken and Japanese quail. The appearance of only a few intrachromosomal rearrangements that occurred during evolution suggests that the organization of the genome is highly conserved between these three galliform species.
L’Espagne face au laxisme marocain
Authors: Delmote Gilles
Published: October 2018

L’augmentation des flux d’immigration clandestine du Maroc vers l’Espagne a provoqué début 2002 une crise diplomatique entre ces deux pays. Le phénomène touche non seulement le détroit de Gibraltar et les enclaves de Ceuta et Melilla mais aussi les îles Canaries.
Régime politique et commerce international en Afrique centrale
Authors: Gandjon Fankem Gislain Stéphane
Published: October 2018

L’objectif de cet article est d’évaluer empiriquement l’influence du niveau de démocratie des pays d’Afrique centrale sur leur commerce international. Nos résultats, obtenus à partir d’un modèle de gravité en panel, montrent que leur commerce bilatéral est une fonction décroissante de leur niveau de démocratie. Cela semble suggérer que le processus de démocratisation enclenché après le sommet de la Baule en 1990 n’a pas encore permis d’accroître les échanges des pays d’Afrique centrale. Contrôler les estimations pour différents indicateurs de démocratie ainsi que pour la qualité des institutions ne modifie pas cette conclusion.
Evaluación de la erosión de riberas de ríos en regiones semiáridas mediante datos de teledetección y SIG: caso del río Rdat (Marrakech, Marruecos)
Authors: Ait Mlouk M. , Algouti Ab. , Algouti Ah. , Ourhzif Z.
Published: October 2018

La erosión de riberas es el proceso de desprendimiento de los granos materiales que constituyen las orillas de los ríos bajo el efecto del agua. En regiones semiáridas, las inundaciones se caracterizan por su irregularidad. Este fenómeno tiene varios impactos ambientales en el ecosistema fluvial, por lo que es esencial realizar estudios al respecto. En este contexto, el propósito de este trabajo es proporcionar un enfoque sencillo que permita estimar las alturas de los bancos con el fin de evaluar la tasa de contribución de la erosión de riberas a la carga sedimentaria de los ríos durante los últimos 32 años y sus consecuencias en el sistema fluvial. La base de datos considerada son las imágenes Landsat de 1984 a 2016 y los datos de elevación ALOS PALSAR de la cuenca del Rdat, que se encuentra en el sureste de Marrakech en Marruecos, así como pruebas de campo. Estos datos se procesaron utilizando herramientas de teledetección y SIG y luego se combinaron para mejorar los resultados. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la ribera de la cuenca del Rdat es, de forma significativa, inestable y contribuye al suministro de sedimentos al río, con una tasa de retroceso en la ribera de 5 m/yr y una tasa de erosión volumétrica anual de 286,82 m3/yr en promedio. Los sedimentos liberados en el río, cuando se erosionan desde las orillas, pueden ser el origen de sedimentos contaminados (fósforo, mercurio...), así como la causa principal del relleno del cauce del río.
Facilitation et simulation clinique : modalités de l’activité de guidage dans la situation simulée chez les formateurs en soins infirmiers
Authors: Policard Florence
Published: October 2018

La simulation clinique pleine échelle tend à devenir un outil pédagogique de premier plan dans la formation des professionnels de santé. L’activité des formateurs dans ce format est un domaine de recherche émergent. Cet article se propose d’étudier l’activité de facilitation réalisée par les formateurs au cours de situations simulées. L’objectif vise à identifier les modalités de guidage et à repérer les logiques qui les sous-tendent. Le matériau empirique a été recueilli auprès de seize formateurs exerçant en Institut de formation en soins infirmiers (Ifsi) lors d’observations en situation et d’entretiens d’autoconfrontation. Nous identifions sept modalités de guidage (étayant, didactique, productif, instrumental, normatif, prospectif, et de commodité) interdépendantes et parfois en tension. La situation simulée est ainsi considérée comme un espace d’imprévus au sein duquel le formateur doit composer avec des préoccupations entremêlées et opérer des compromis équilibrés.
Développement de la santé au travail : complémentarité de l’analyse de l’activité et des représentations du risque
Authors: Cottin Irène , Valléry Gérard
Published: October 2018

Cet article illustre la diversité des potentialités de la psychologie du travail et de l’ergonomie, en se basant sur une recherche-action conduite en milieu hospitalier, mobilisant une complémentarité de pratiques. Dans un contexte de conception organisationnelle de situations de travail présentant un risque biologique, l’étude vise à concilier les enjeux de prévention des risques professionnels et d’efficacité du travail, qui visent ensemble le développement de la santé au travail.L’analyse de l’activité est enrichie des représentations du risque, dans une visée préventive et développementale de la santé au travail.Cet article prend la forme de deux retours d’expérience sur l’intégration de méthodes et analyses complémentaires, dont la rencontre se fait autour de l’activité de travail. Nos résultats montrent comment l’analyse de l’activité peut bénéficier de la prise en compte des représentations individuelles et collectives pour la co-conception de situations de travail et leur amélioration continue. Les enjeux de développement de la santé au travail, s’appuyant sur des ressources individuelles, collectives et organisationnelles, sont ainsi mis en lumière.
Intégration de la préparation physique dans l’approche ergonomique : quel dispositif pour quel(s) objectif(s) ?
Authors: Uguen Céline , Sablon Sandra , Carballeda Gabriel
Published: October 2018

L’article présente un cas d’intervention ergonomique proposant la préparation physiologique des ouvriers comme levier de prévention des Troubles Musculo-Squelettiques dans le secteur agroalimentaire. Dans une entreprise dont les activités présentent de fortes contraintes organisationnelles et physiologiques, la place des marges de manœuvre dans un tel dispositif est questionnée. La mise en œuvre d’échauffements au sein d’une entreprise nécessite d’une part de disposer de compétences tant ergonomiques que sur la préparation physiologique. D’autre part, l’intégration des échauffements, forme de préparation physiologique ici mise en œuvre, imposerait une construction sociale spécifique de l’intervention. Enfin, les conditions de réussite du projet tant du point de vue des intervenants que de l’entreprise devraient être posées au préalable afin de garantir le succès du dispositif global de prévention.
Effets premiers de l’intervention
Authors: Nahon Sandrine , Queriaud Célia , Mege Piney Cécile , Thibault Isabelle
Published: October 2018

Depuis de nombreuses années, la question de l’évaluation de l’intervention sur les Troubles Musculo squelettiques (TMS) et les Risques Psychosociaux (RPS) est une préoccupation pour tous les acteurs. Confronté à ces sujets complexes, l’intervenant est souvent mis en difficulté pour repérer les indicateurs de la pertinence du dispositif qu’il mobilise. La capitalisation des interventions menées au sein de notre Cabinet Conseil depuis 25 ans nous a permis d’identifier cinq signaux à détecter, précurseurs d’« effets premiers ». À partir de l’exemple d’une intervention menée dans le secteur des transports, nous proposons de les caractériser : une nouvelle lecture partagée de l’existant, une nouvelle appréciation de la valeur, une évolution du périmètre de l’intervention vers les activités managériales et organisatrices du travail, un élargissement des catégories d’acteurs « embarqués », et, une construction de nouveaux standards et outils de gestion qui se distinguent par une intégration des critères de santé et de performance économique.