bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
USING CROWDSOURCED DATA (TWITTER & FACEBOOK) TO DELINEATE THE ORIGIN AND DESTINATION OF COMMUTERS OF THE GAUTRAIN PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEM IN SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: Moyo T. , Musakwa W.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The study of commuters’ origins and destinations (O_D) promises to assist transportation planners with prediction models to inform decision making. Conventionally O_D surveys are undertaken through travel surveys and traffic counts, however data collection for these surveys has historically proven to be time consuming and having a strain on human resources, thus a need for an alternative data source arises. This study combines the use social media data and geographic information systems in the creation of a model for origin and destination surveys. The model tests the potential of using big data from Echo echo software which contains Twitter and Facebook data obtained from social media users in Gauteng. This data contains geo-location and it is used to determine origin and destination as well as concentration levels of Gautrain commuters. A kriging analysis was performed on the data to determine the O-D and concentration levels of Gautrain users. The results reveal the concentration of Gautrain commuters at various points of interest that is where they work, live or socialise. The results from the study highlight which nodes attract the most commuters and also possible locations for the expansion for Gautrain. Lastly, the study also highlights some weakness of crowdsourced data for informing transportation planning.
GEOGRAPHIC DATA AS PERSONAL DATA IN FOUR EU MEMBER STATES
Authors: de Jong A. J. , van Loenen B. , Zevenbergen J. A.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The EU Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data aims at harmonising data protection legislation in the European Union. This should promote the free flow of products and services within the EU. This research found a wide variety of interpretations of the application of data protection legislation to geographic data. The variety was found among the different EU Member States, the different stakeholders and the different types of geographic data. In the Netherlands, the Data Protection Authority (DPA) states that panoramic images of streets are considered personal data. While Dutch case law judges that the data protection legislation does not apply if certain features are blurred and no link to an address is provided. The topographic datasets studied in the case studies do not contain personal data, according to the Dutch DPA, while the German DPA and the Belgian DPA judge that topographic maps of a large scale can contain personal data, and impose conditions on the processing of topographic maps. The UK DPA does consider this data outside of the scope of legal definition of personal data. The patchwork of differences in data protection legislation can be harmonised by using a traffic light model. This model focuses on the context in which the processing of the data takes place and has four categories of data: (1) sensitive personal data, (2) personal data, (3), data that can possibly lead to identification, and (4) non-personal data. For some geographic data, for example factual data that does not reveal sensitive information about a person, can be categorised in the third category giving room to opening up data under the INSPIRE Directive.
URBAN GROWTH SCENARIOS OF A FUTURE MEGA CITY: CASE STUDY AHMEDABAD
Authors: Lehner A. , Kraus V. , Steinnocher K.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The study of urban areas and their development focuses on cities, their physical and demographic expansion and the tensions and impacts that go along with urban growth. Especially in developing countries and emerging national economies like India, consistent and up to date information or other planning relevant data all too often is not available. With its Smart Cities Mission, the Indian government places great importance on the future developments of Indian urban areas and pays tribute to the large-scale rural to urban migration. The potentials of urban remote sensing and its contribution to urban planning are discussed and related to the Indian Smart Cities Mission. A case study is presented showing urban remote sensing based information products for the city of Ahmedabad. Resulting urban growth scenarios are presented, hotspots identified and future action alternatives proposed.
BIG BICYCLE DATA PROCESSING: FROM PERSONAL DATA TO URBAN APPLICATIONS
Authors: Pettit C. J. , Lieske S. N. , Leao S. Z.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Understanding the flows of people moving through the built environment is a vital source of information for the planners and policy makers who shape our cities. Smart phone applications enable people to trace themselves through the city and these data can potentially be then aggregated and visualised to show hot spots and trajectories of macro urban movement. In this paper our aim is to develop procedures for cleaning, aggregating and visualising human movement data and translating this into policy relevant information. In conducting this research we explore using bicycle data collected from a smart phone application known as RiderLog. We focus on the RiderLog application initially in the context of Sydney, Australia and discuss the procedures and challenges in processing and cleaning this data before any analysis can be made. We then present some preliminary map results using the CartoDB online mapping platform where data are aggregated and visualised to show hot spots and trajectories of macro urban movement. We conclude the paper by highlighting some of the key challenges in working with such data and outline some next steps in processing the data and conducting higher volume and more extensive analysis.
INVARIANT DESCRIPTOR LEARNING USING A SIAMESE CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK
Authors: Chen L. , Rottensteiner F. , Heipke C.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In this paper we describe learning of a descriptor based on the Siamese Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture and evaluate our results on a standard patch comparison dataset. The descriptor learning architecture is composed of an input module, a Siamese CNN descriptor module and a cost computation module that is based on the L2 Norm. The cost function we use pulls the descriptors of matching patches close to each other in feature space while pushing the descriptors for non-matching pairs away from each other. Compared to related work, we optimize the training parameters by combining a moving average strategy for gradients and Nesterov's Accelerated Gradient. Experiments show that our learned descriptor reaches a good performance and achieves state-of-art results in terms of the false positive rate at a 95 % recall rate on standard benchmark datasets.
ROBUST LOW-ALTITUDE IMAGE MATCHING BASED ON LOCAL REGION CONSTRAINT AND FEATURE SIMILARITY CONFIDENCE
Authors: Chen Min , Zhu Qing , Huang Shengzhi , Hu Han , Wang Jingxue
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Improving the matching reliability of low-altitude images is one of the most challenging issues in recent years, particularly for images with large viewpoint variation. In this study, an approach for low-altitude remote sensing image matching that is robust to the geometric transformation caused by viewpoint change is proposed. First, multiresolution local regions are extracted from the images and each local region is normalized to a circular area based on a transformation. Second, interest points are detected and clustered into local regions. The feature area of each interest point is determined under the constraint of the local region which the point belongs to. Then, a descriptor is computed for each interest point by using the classical scale invariant feature transform (SIFT). Finally, a feature matching strategy is proposed on the basis of feature similarity confidence to obtain reliable matches. Experimental results show that the proposed method provides significant improvements in the number of correct matches compared with other traditional methods.
PAIRWISE-SVM FOR ON-BOARD URBAN ROAD LIDAR CLASSIFICATION
Authors: Shu Zhen , Sun Kai , Qiu Kaijin , Ding Kou
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The common method of LiDAR classifications is Markov random fields (MRF). Based on construction of MRF energy function, spectral and directional features are extracted for on-board urban point clouds. The MRF energy function is consisted of unary and pairwise potentials. The unary terms are computed by SVM classifictaion. The initial labeling is mainly processed through geometrical shapes. The pairwise potential is estimated by Naïve Bayes. From training data, the probability of adjacent objects is computed by prior knowledge. The final labeling method is reweighted message-passing to minimization the energy function. The MRF model is difficult to process the large-scale misclassification. We propose a super-voxel clustering method for over-segment and grouping segment for large objects. Trees, poles ground, and building are classified in this paper. The experimental results show that this method improves the accuracy of classification and speed of computation.
MEDIUM FORMAT CAMERA EVALUATION BASED ON THE LATEST PHASE ONE TECHNOLOGY
Authors: Tölg T. , Kemper G. , Kalinski D.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In early 2016, Phase One Industrial launched a new high resolution camera with a 100 MP CMOS sensor. CCD sensors excel at ISOs up to 200, but in lower light conditions, exposure time must be increased and Forward Motion Compensation (FMC) has to be employed to avoid smearing the images. The CMOS sensor has an ISO range of up to 6400, which enables short exposures instead of using FMC. This paper aims to evaluate the strengths of each of the sensor types based on real missions over a test field in Speyer, Germany, used for airborne camera calibration. The test field area has about 30 Ground Control Points (GCPs), which enable a perfect scenario for a proper geometric evaluation of the cameras. The test field includes both a Siemen star and scale bars to show any blurring caused by forward motion. The result of the comparison showed that both cameras offer high accuracy photogrammetric results with post processing, including triangulation, calibration, orthophoto and DEM generation. The forward motion effect can be compensated by a fast shutter speed and a higher ISO range of the CMOS-based camera. The results showed no significant differences between cameras.
HORIZONTAL POSITION OPTIMAL SOLUTION DETERMINATION FOR THE SATELLITE LASER RANGING SLOPE MODEL
Authors: Wang Yu , Ai Yu , Hu Yu , Wang RenLi
Published: June 2016

Abstract. According to the Gaussian-fit laser echo model and the terrain slope model, the regular mean value theorem and the asymptotic principle of the median point of the double integral mean value theorem are used to derive the optimal solution for the horizontal position of a single-mode laser echo. Through simulation experiments, the horizontal position results of the echo signal peak from various terrain slopes are analyzed. When ignoring the effect of the atmosphere and the surface roughness of the target, considering the geometric position of the Gaussian single-mode echo signal peak to be the center of the laser spot is highly accurate. However, as the accuracy significantly decreases when the slope is greater than 26°, making the range of the peak value of the single-mode echo data (for a slope of less than 26°) to be the range of the geometrical center of the laser spot can obtain a higher degree of accuracy.
ASSESSMENT OF FOUR TYPICAL TOPOGRAPHIC CORRECTIONS IN LANDSAT TM DATA FOR SNOW COVER AREAS
Authors: Zhou Yan , Jiang He , Wang Zhe , Yang Xiaoxia , Geng Erhui
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The accuracy of snow cover information extraction in remote-sensing images dependent on a variety of factors, especially in mountain area with complex terrain. This paper aims at analyzing the accuracy of snow cover information extraction from remot esensing images, using Landsat5 TM images and DEM data, with the study area of Xinjiang Tianshan, measuring topographic correction effects of Cosine correction, C correction, SCS correction, and SCS + C correction from four aspects: visual comparison, standard deviation, correlation analysis and histogram, then extract snow cover area for study area. Results showed that C correction and SCS+C correction performed better among four classic terrain correction models, which indicated changes in snow pixel rat io after correction with variation range of 2% , and correlation coefficient of each band is highest before and after correction.
GEOMETRIC CALIBRATION OF ZIYUAN-3 THREE-LINE CAMERAS COMBINING GROUND CONTROL POINTS AND LINES
Authors: Cao Jinshan , Yuan Xiuxiao , Gong Jianya
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Due to the large biases between the laboratory-calibrated values of the orientation parameters and their in-orbit true values, the initial direct georeferencing accuracy of the Ziyuan-3 (ZY-3) three-line camera (TLC) images can only reach the kilometre level. In this paper, a point-based geometric calibration model of the ZY-3 TLCs is firstly established by using the collinearity constraint, and then a line-based geometric calibration model is established by using the coplanarity constraint. With the help of both the point-based and the line-based models, a feasible in-orbit geometric calibration approach for the ZY-3 TLCs combining ground control points (GCPs) and ground control lines (GCLs) is presented. Experimental results show that like GCPs, GCLs can also provide effective ground control information for the geometric calibration of the ZY-3 TLCs. The calibration accuracy of the look angles of charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors achieved by using the presented approach reached up to about 1.0''. After the geometric calibration, the direct georeferencing accuracy of the ZY-3 TLC images without ground controls was significantly improved from the kilometre level to better than 11 m in planimetry and 9 m in height. A more satisfactory georeferencing accuracy of better than 3.5 m in planimetry and 3.0 m in height was achieved after the block adjustment with four GCPs.
STUDY ON THE EXPLAINABLE ABILITY BY USING AIRBORNE LIDAR IN STAND VALUE AND STAND COMPETITION
Authors: Huang S. C. , Yeh J. Y. , Chen C. T. , Chen J. C.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Forest canopy structure is composed by the various species. Sun light is a main factor to affect the crown structures after tree competition. However, thinning operation is an appropriate way to control canopy density, which can adjust the competition conditions in the different crown structures. Recently, Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), has been established as a standard technology for high precision three dimensional forest data acquisition; it could get stand characteristics with three-dimensional information that had develop potential for the structure characteristics of forest canopy. The 65 years old, different planting density of Cryptomeria japonica experiment area was selected for this study in Nanytou, Taiwan. Use the LiDAR image to estimate LiDAR characteristic values by constructed CHM, voxel-based LiDAR, mu0ltiple echoes, and assess the accuracy of stand characteristics with intensity values and field data. The competition index was calculated with field data, and estimate competition index of LiDAR via multiple linear regression. The results showed that the highest accuracy with stand characteristics was stand high which estimate by LiDAR, its average accuracy of 91.03%. LiDAR raster grid size was 20 m × 20 m for the correlation was the best, however, the higher canopy density will reduce the accuracy of the LiDAR characteristic values to estimate the stand characteristics. The significantly affect canopy thickness and the degree of competition in different planting distances.
APPLICATION OF LiDAR DATE TO ASSESS THE LANDSLIDE SUSCEPTIBILITY MAP USING WEIGHTS OF EVIDENCE METHOD – AN EXAMPLE FROM PODHALE REGION (SOUTHERN POLAND)
Authors: Kamiński Mirosław
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Podhale is a region in southern Poland, which is the northernmost part of the Central Carpathian Mountains. It is characterized by the presence of a large number of landslides that threaten the local infrastructure. In an article presents application of LiDAR data and geostatistical methods to assess landslides susceptibility map. Landslide inventory map were performed using LiDAR data and field work. The Weights of Evidence method was applied to assess landslides susceptibility map. Used factors for modeling: slope gradient, slope aspect, elevation, drainage density, faults density, lithology and curvature. All maps were subdivided into different classes. Then were converted to grid format in the ArcGIS 10.0. The conditional independence test was carried out to determine factors that are conditionally independent of each other with landslides. As a result, chi-square test for further GIS analysis used only five factors: slope gradient, slope aspect, elevation, drainage density and lithology. The final prediction results, it is concluded that the susceptibility map gives useful information both on present instability of the area and its possible future evolution in agreement with the morphological evolution of the area.
A UNIVERSAL DE-NOISING ALGORITHM FOR GROUND-BASED LIDAR SIGNAL
Authors: Ma Xin , Xiang Chengzhi , Gong Wei
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Ground-based lidar, working as an effective remote sensing tool, plays an irreplaceable role in the study of atmosphere, since it has the ability to provide the atmospheric vertical profile. However, the appearance of noise in a lidar signal is unavoidable, which leads to difficulties and complexities when searching for more information. Every de-noising method has its own characteristic but with a certain limitation, since the lidar signal will vary with the atmosphere changes. In this paper, a universal de-noising algorithm is proposed to enhance the SNR of a ground-based lidar signal, which is based on signal segmentation and reconstruction. The signal segmentation serving as the keystone of the algorithm, segments the lidar signal into three different parts, which are processed by different de-noising method according to their own characteristics. The signal reconstruction is a relatively simple procedure that is to splice the signal sections end to end. Finally, a series of simulation signal tests and real dual field-of-view lidar signal shows the feasibility of the universal de-noising algorithm.
MANGROVE FOREST COVER EXTRACTION OF THE COASTAL AREAS OF NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, WESTERN VISAYAS, PHILIPPINES USING LIDAR DATA
Authors: Pada A. V. , Silapan J. , Cabanlit M. A. , Campomanes F. , Garcia J. J.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Mangroves have a lot of economic and ecological advantages which include coastal protection, habitat for wildlife, fisheries and forestry products. Determination of the extent of mangrove patches in the coastal areas of the Philippines is therefore important especially in resource conservation, protection and management. This starts with a well-defined and accurate map. LiDARwas used in the mangrove extraction in the different coastal areas of Negros Occidental in Western Visayas, Philippines. Total coastal study area is 1,082.55 km² for the 14 municipalities/ cities processed. Derivatives that were used in the extraction include, DSM, DTM, Hillshade, Intensity, Number of Returns and PCA. The RGB bands of the Orthographic photographs taken at the same time with the LiDAR data were also used as one of the layers during the processing. NDVI, GRVI and Hillshade using Canny Edge Layer were derived as well to produce an enhanced segmentation. Training and Validation points were collected through field validation and visual inspection using Stratified Random Sampling. The points were then used to feed the Support Vector Machine (SVM) based on tall structures. Only four classes were used, namely, Built-up, Mangroves, Other Trees and Sugarcane. Buffering and contextual editing were incorporated to reclassify the extracted mangroves. Overall accuracy assessment is at 98.73% (KIA of 98.24%) while overall accuracy assessment for Mangroves only is at 98.00%. Using this workflow, mangroves can already be extracted in a large-scale level with acceptable overall accuracy assessments.
MOBILE MAPPING BY FMCW SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR OPERATING AT 300 GHZ
Authors: Palm S. , Sommer R. , Hommes A. , Pohl N. , Stilla U.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. While optical cameras or laser systems are widely used for mobile mapping low attention was payed for radar systems. Due to new semiconductor technologies, compact and leight weight SAR systems based on the Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) principle in the millimeter wave domain can serve for mobile radar mapping on cars. For mapping of long stripes along roads in close range a special strategy for focusing of SAR images was developed. Hereby local adapted planes for processing are used considering the IMU data of the sensor. An experimental system was designed for high resolution radar mapping of urban scenes in close range geometry. This small and leight weighted system has a bandwidth of 30 GHz (5 mm resolution) and operates with 300 GHz in the lower terahertz domain. Experiments with a van in an urban scenario were carried out for proof of applicability of an operating SAR system resolving objects in the subcentimeter domain. The results show that narrow cracks in the asphalt of the road are visible and the measuring of small metallic objects placed in the scene is possible. Based on this mobile mapping techniques a first result from an acquisition of vertical facade structure is shown.
WAVELENGTH SELECTION OF HYPERSPECTRAL LIDAR BASED ON FEATURE WEIGHTING FOR ESTIMATION OF LEAF NITROGEN CONTENT IN RICE
Authors: Du Lin , Shi Shuo , Gong Wei , Yang Jian , Sun Jia , Mao Feiyue
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Hyperspectral LiDAR (HSL) is a novel tool in the field of active remote sensing, which has been widely used in many domains because of its advantageous ability of spectrum-gained. Especially in the precise monitoring of nitrogen in green plants, the HSL plays a dispensable role. The exiting HSL system used for nitrogen status monitoring has a multi-channel detector, which can improve the spectral resolution and receiving range, but maybe result in data redundancy, difficulty in system integration and high cost as well. Thus, it is necessary and urgent to pick out the nitrogen-sensitive feature wavelengths among the spectral range. The present study, aiming at solving this problem, assigns a feature weighting to each centre wavelength of HSL system by using matrix coefficient analysis and divergence threshold. The feature weighting is a criterion to amend the centre wavelength of the detector to accommodate different purpose, especially the estimation of leaf nitrogen content (LNC) in rice. By this way, the wavelengths high-correlated to the LNC can be ranked in a descending order, which are used to estimate rice LNC sequentially. In this paper, a HSL system which works based on a wide spectrum emission and a 32-channel detector is conducted to collect the reflectance spectra of rice leaf. These spectra collected by HSL cover a range of 538 nm – 910 nm with a resolution of 12 nm. These 32 wavelengths are strong absorbed by chlorophyll in green plant among this range. The relationship between the rice LNC and reflectance-based spectra is modeled using partial least squares (PLS) and support vector machines (SVMs) based on calibration and validation datasets respectively. The results indicate that I) wavelength selection method of HSL based on feature weighting is effective to choose the nitrogen-sensitive wavelengths, which can also be co-adapted with the hardware of HSL system friendly. II) The chosen wavelength has a high correlation with rice LNC which can be retrieved by using PLS and SVMs regression methods.
The connection of the Indonesian Throughflow, South Indian Ocean Countercurrent and the Leeuwin Current
Authors: Lambert Erwin , Le Bars Dewi , de Ruijter Wilhelmus P. M.
Published: June 2016

Abstract. East of Madagascar, the shallow “South Indian Ocean Counter Current (SICC)” flows from west to east across the Indian Ocean against the direction of the wind-driven circulation. The SICC impinges on west Australia and enhances the sea level slope, strengthening the alongshore coastal jet: the Leeuwin Current (LC), which flows poleward along Australia. An observed transport maximum of the LC around 22° S can likely be attributed to this impingement of the SICC. The LC is often described as a regional coastal current that is forced by an offshore meridional density gradient or sea surface slope. However, little is known about the controls of these open-ocean gradients. The regional circulation system is embedded in the subtropical “super gyre” that connects the Indo-Pacific via the Tasman Gateway and the Indonesian passages. The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) circulates through the Indian Ocean back into the Pacific south of Australia. This return pathway appears to be partly trapped in the upper layer north of an outcrop line. It is redirected along this outcrop line and joins the eastward flow of the SICC. To study the connection of the basin-scale and the inter-ocean-scale dynamics, we apply both an ocean general circulation model and a conceptual two-layer model. Shutdown of the ITF in the models leads to a large decrease in Leeuwin Current transport. Most of the SICC was found to then reconnect to the internal gyre circulation in the Indian Ocean. ITF, SICC and LC thus appear to be dynamically connected.
The Impact of Sarbanes Oxley 404 Exemption on; Non-accelerated filers, Investor’s Confidence And External Audit Fees
Authors: Jaara Osama Omar , Oweis Maen Reda
Published: June 2016

This study adds on prior studies that have examined SOX 404 effect on external audit fees, internal controls and financial restatements. The paper examined the outcomes of Dodd–Frank Act that have exempted non-accelerated filers from SOX 404 (B). Where through this paper it has been assumed that this Act has decreased SOX 404 compliance costs on non-accelerated filers, and it also suggested that this Act did not have any negative effects on the effectiveness of the internal controls forthese companies.   After performing a correlation analysis on this assumption the results turned out to be consistent with what was previously assumed. Where the correlation results indicated that external audit fees for non-accelerated filers had declined, and the internal controls deficiencies count showed a constant declining trend. The paper examined also the extent to which investor’s confidence has been enhanced through the implementation of SOX 404. The assumption that was assumed in this paper was that; when a restatement is announced the amount of demand on that company’s share will decline resulting in a decrease in the share price. The results of the correlation analysis that was performed on this assumption showed that after implementing SOX 404 the financial restatements announcements stopped to have the same negative effect on share prices, in relation to the before implementation period. The finding that led to the conclusion that SOX 404 has successfully enhanced investors’ confidence.
The Impact of IFRS/IAS Adoption on Corporate Income Taxation in Ghana
Authors: Abedana Virgil Nbellah , Omane-Antwi Kwame B. , Owiredu Alexander
Published: June 2016

Studies in a multiplicity of reporting jurisdictions worldwide have revealed considerable divergence in the impact of IFRS/IAS adoption on taxation. There is minimal empirical study on the tax impacts or effects of reporting entities following the transition from GNAS to IFRS by Ghanaian listed companies. The study therefore investigates the changes to corporate taxes, deferred tax and net tax assets (liabilities) using a sample of entities from the Ghana Stock Exchange over the period 2007 / 2006 to 2008 / 2007 which encompasses the move from GNAS to IFRS, particularly IAS 12.The research design was predominately quantitative in nature and cross-sectional in approach. The population for the study was all companies’ listed (42 companies) on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) as at December 2015. The study used a sample of 22 listed entities after deducting invalid search results, companies that previously did not use GNAS as well as not using Ghana Cedis as their currencies, delisted entities since 2007 and free zone entities.The adoption of IFRS/IAS led to a few more listed companies paying less taxes and majority not having any changes in their tax burdens following the restatement of accounts from GNAS into IFRS/IAS. Overall, the paired sample t-test of GNAS and IFRS on reported tax amounts showed no differences between IFRS and GNAS computed amounts. Largely, 90.1% of firms observed did not report any changes to current tax assets. Whiles 94.5%, 86.4% and 59.1% of observations reported negative changes in deferred tax assets, current tax liabilities and deferred tax liabilities respectively. In terms of industry sectors, the manufacturing / trading industry saw a positive change of 13% in current year tax expenses burden whiles the financial / insurance / information technology industry reported a decrease of 13.3% in current year tax expenses liability.A further and in-depth longitudinal study could be done to study the trend of tax burdens as well as the pattern of effective tax rates of listed companies since the adoption of IFRS/IAS in Ghana since this one provide mixed impacts.
Ownership Structure and Dividend Policy of Listed Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria: A Tobit Regression Analysis
Authors: Ibrahim Idris , Shuaibu Hussaini
Published: June 2016

Free cash flow hypothesis posit that regular paying of dividend can reduce agency conflict and through this, the range of future probable misuse of resources by management reduces. Ownership structure has been identified to have relationship with dividend policy of a firm.  Though the relationship is different for different class of owners and at different level; it does not influence dividend policy uniformly. Although, the linkage between the two has been monitored by many researchers, yet empirical researches do not provide consensus as to the direction of the relationships. Thus, the paper investigates the likelihood impact of ownership structure on dividend policy in the context of agency relation while using managerial ownership, institutional ownership, ownership concentration and foreign ownershipon dividend policy in the listed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs)in Nigeria. The research designs are Correlational and ex-post facto using secondary data extracted from the sampled companies’ annual financial reports for the period 2010-2014. Maximum likelihood (panel data tobit regression) is adopted as a technique of analysis for the study, using a sample of ten (10) out of seventeen (17) listed DMBs in Nigeria that served as population. The result shows that managerial ownership and ownership concentration are likely to have significant negative impact on dividend policy of listed DMBsin Nigeria, while institutional ownership is found to have likely significant positive impact on dividend policy of listed DMBs in Nigeria. But foreign ownership is found not to have likely significant impact on dividend policyof listed DMBsin Nigeria. Based on the findings, it is recommended among others that policy makers (Security and Exchange Commission and Corporate Affairs Commission) to design future policies where dividend payment could be facilitated and the diverse range of shareholders to be satisfied most especially minority shareholders. And that a limit should be set for managers on the proportion of shares to be held as this can facilitate dividend payment.
The Impact of Open Book Management on Achieving Differentiation in the Business Organization
Authors: Al- Sha’ar Hamzeh
Published: June 2016

This study aimed to know the concept open Book management and differentiation in the organizations and studying the effect of the relation between open book administration and differentiation in the organization. Study population consisted of all the commercial banks in Jordan, while the study sample consisted of (30) mangers and division mangers in Cairo Amman Bank and the Kuwait National Bank. The questionnaire has been used as an instrument to collect the study data. The study reached a set of results including: there are roles with statistically significance at significance level (a≤0.05) for paying the wages and the incentives on achieving differentiation in the business organizations. There are differences open book management on differentiation in the organizations attribute to gender, scientific qualification and practical experience variables.
A useful orthonormal basis on bi-slant submanifolds of almost Hermitian manifolds
Authors: Gulbahar Mehmet , Kilic Erol , Keles Sadik
Published: June 2016

In this paper, we study bi-slant submanifolds of an almost Hermitian manifold for different cases. We introduce a new orthonormal basis on bi-slant submanifold, semi-slant submanifold and hemi-slant submanifold of an almost Hermitian manifold to compute Chen's main inequalities. We investigate these inequalities for semi-slant submanifolds, hemi-slant submanifolds and slant submanifolds of a generalized complex space form. We obtain some characterizations on such submanifolds of a complex space form.
Lorentz space estimates for vector fields with divergence and curl in Hardy spaces
Authors: Giga Yoshikazu , Xiang Xingfei
Published: June 2016

In this note, we establish the estimate on the Lorentz space $L(3/2,1)$ for vector fields in bounded domains under the assumption that the normal or the tangential component of the vector fields on the boundary vanishes. We prove that the $L(3/2,1)$ norm of the vector field can be controlled by the norms of its divergence and curl in the atomic Hardy spaces and the $L^1$ norm of the vector field itself.
La economía política de la sanidad colonial en Guinea Ecuatorial
Authors: Sampedro Vizcaya Benita
Published: June 2016

Las intervenciones médicas desempeñaron un papel importante enla colonización de África. La morbilidad y la enfermedad fueron una preocupación constante de los médicos, militares, científicos, políticos, colonos y miembros de las órdenes religiosas. El papel de la medicina y la ciencia en la arquitectura de la administración colonial está ligado, por lo tanto, de manera inextricable, a la legitimización de la ocupación y a los proyectos de ‘misión civilizadora’. El desarrollo de un discurso biomédico como parte del proceso colonizador de España en los Territorios españoles del Golfo de Guinea contribuyó desde el primer momento a la construcción de lo que entendemos por “África”, y del cuerpo africano como locus de la enfermedad, necesitado de reparación social y sujeto de conocimiento y observación por parte delestado colonial represor. Las tecnologías biomédicas sirvieron como instrumentos de consolidación de las estructuras coloniales, en particular durante la primera mitad del siglo XX. El presente ensayo responde a las siguientes preguntas: ¿cómo se gestó y se aplicó, y qué especificidades caracterizó, el conocimiento biomédico español? ¿Cómo se puso en circulación en la Guinea colonial y en la España metropolitana? ¿Hasta qué punto contribuyó a solidificar la arquitectura del poder colonial? En los regímenes dictatoriales postcoloniales, la salud y el miedo se fusionan con frecuencia bajo una mismacategoría, para actuar como estratagemas de represión socio-política. La patología sistémica de las dictaduras incorpora, como parte de su etiología, manifestaciones clínicas que incluyen la obstrucción de valores democráticos y el fomento de las desigualdades socio-económicas. La reapropiación de determinados aspectos del aparato biomédico colonial es, por consiguiente, instrumental para problematizar cuestiones de duración, de reproducción y de repetición en los regímenes actuales.
Ësáasi Eweera: en el laberinto del Estado dual
Authors: Siale Djangany José Fernando
Published: June 2016

El interés de esta monografía es interrogarnos acerca de la políticade la Monarquía española en la Isla de Fernando Poo entre 1892 y 1910; lapso en el que se desarrolló en Fernando Poo una actuación criminal “periférica” estrechamente varada en los arcanos de la soberanía monacal ibérica. Esta perspectiva conduce a la simetría entrelos actos del Gobierno colonial y los designios del proceso ocupacional de la España del S.XIX y XX. Correspondencia de igual forma palmaria entre los acontecimientos del valle de Moka (1904) y el levantamiento de Balachá (1910). Resumiendo: poner de manifiesto que a lo largo de los dieciocho años que cubren los estragos de Batete (1892), la muerte de Ësáasi Eweera (1904) y la del bötúkku Lubbà (1910), las políticas de hostilidad y daño deliberado a las condiciones de vida bubi fueron crímenes contra el derecho de gentes y se enmarcaban en los arcanos de soberanía españoles.
Keeping a lid on calcium uptake
Authors: Garg Vivek , Kirichok Yuriy
Published: June 2016

Biochemical assays reveal how three proteins fit together to form the channel that controls the flow of calcium ions into mitochondria.
Entailments, pragmatic assertion and mood in Spanish complements
Authors: Mejías-Bikandi Errapel
Published: June 2016

This paper examines a frequently overlooked class of expressions in Spanish that license the subjunctive mood in a complement clause. This class contains expressions such as poco/a/s “few”, menos de “less than” and solo “only”. The goal of the paper is to offer an account of the use of mood with these expressions that incorporates the data under discussion into previous pragmatic accounts of mood based on notions of assertion and informative value. The paper first offers a semantic characterization of this class of expressions that is based on their monotonic properties (Ladusaw 1980, Ladusaw 1983). Next, it explores the pragmatic effects of their semantic properties. Following Stalnaker (1978), I assume that the effect of a pragmatic assertion is to reduce the set of possible worlds that represents the presuppositions held by a speaker and their audience (referred to as the context set). It is argued that propositions under the scope of an upward entailing expression are more informative, and they are thus more relevant and higher in a scale of assertability (Lunn 1989), in that they allow for inferences that further reduce the context set. Propositions under the scope of expressions that are not upward entailing lose some of their informative value, and thus they are lower in the scale of assertability, which correlates with the possibility of using subjunctive mood in a complement under their scope.
Microfungal oasis in an oligotrophic desert: diversity patterns and community structure in three freshwater systems of Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico
Authors: Velez Patricia , Gasca-Pineda Jaime , Rosique-Gil Edmundo , Eguiarte Luis E. , Espinosa-Asuar Laura , Souza Valeria
Published: June 2016

The Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) comprises several oligotrophic aquatic ecosystems limited by phosphorus. These aquatic systems are dominated by a high prokaryotic diversity, shaped by the stress of low nutrient supplies and interspecific competition. Although fungi constitute a diverse and important component of microbial diversity, the microfungal diversity in the CCB remains to be unveiled. With the aim to explore microfungal diversity and ecological patterns in this area, we present the first investigation analyzing cultivable taxa from sediment and water, as well as lignocellulolytic taxa obtained from incubated submerged plant debris, and wood panels in three contrasting freshwater systems in the CCB: Churince, Becerra and Pozas Rojas. We chose a culture-based approach to analyze sediment and water samples in order to obtain fungal cultures, providing opportunities fora posterioristudies, and the possibility ofex situpreservation of the diversity. We evaluated sequence data from the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer including the 5.8 rDNA region for 126 isolates, revealing 37 OTUs. These OTUs were phylogenetically affiliated to several genera in the fungal phyla: Zygomycota, Basidiomycota, and Ascomycota. We recorded two OTUs with saline affinity, agreeing with previous findings on the prokaryotic communities with ancestral marine resemblances. All the studied systems showed moderate diversity levels, however discrepancies among the diversity indexes were observed, due to the occurrence of abundant taxa in the samples. Our results indicated that lignocellulolytic microfungal communities are dominated by transient fungal taxa, as resident species were not recorded perhaps as a result of the long-term strong competition with the highly adapted prokaryotic community. Moreover, the obtained microfungal taxa occurred mostly on the resident plant debris, rather than submerged wood panels, perhaps as a result of the high adaptation to specific environmental conditions. In conclusion, the CCB possess a moderate taxonomical diversity compared to other arid environments, probably as a result of high selective pressures. Nonetheless, due to high spatial and temporal heterogeneity, the functional fungal diversity was considerable as predicted by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. Decisively, the assessment of microfungal diversity freshwater systems is relevant, since this ecological group of microorganisms represents an important indicator of trophic complexity and biotic interactions among microbial communities, having important implications for understanding eukaryotic survival at the oligotrophic limit for life.
European adults’ physical activity socio-demographic correlates: a cross-sectional study from the European Social Survey
Authors: Marques Adilson , Martins João , Peralta Miguel , Catunda Ricardo , Nunes Luís Saboga
Published: June 2016

Background.From a public health perspective, the study of socio-demographic factors related to physical activity is important in order to identify subgroups for intervention programs.

Objective.This study aimed to identify the prevalence of, and the socio-demographic correlates related to, the achievement of recommended physical activity levels.

Methods.Using data from the European Social Survey round 6, physical activity and socio-demographic characteristics were collected, in 2012, from 39,278 European adults (18,272 men, 21,006 women), aged 18–65 years, from 28 countries. The question of meeting physical activity guidelines was assessed using World Health Organization criteria.

Results.A total of 64.50% (63.36% men, 66.49% women) attained physical activity recommended levels. The likelihood of attaining physical activity recommendations was higher in the 55–64 years age group (men: OR = 1.22,p< 0.05; women: OR = 1.66,p< 0.001), among those who had secondary education (men: OR = 1.28,p< 0.01; women: OR = 1.26,p< 0.05), among those who lived in rural areas (men: OR = 1.20,p< 0.001; women: OR = 1.10,p< 0.05), and among those who had three or more people living at home (men: OR = 1.40,p< 0.001; women: OR = 1.43,p< 0.001). On the other hand, attaining physical activity recommendations was negatively associated with being unemployed (men: OR = 0.70,p< 0.001; women: OR = 0.87,p< 0.05), being a student (OR = 0.56,p< 0.001; women: OR = 0.64,p< 0.01), being a retired person (men: OR = 0.86,p< 0.05) and with having a higher household income (OR = 0.80,p< 0.001; women: OR = 0.81,p< 0.01).

Conclusions.This research helped clarify that, as the promotion of physical activity is critical to sustain health and prevent disease, socio-demographic factors are important to consider when planning the increase of physical activity.
A closer look at four-dot masking of a foveated target
Authors: Daar Marwan , Wilson Hugh R.
Published: June 2016

Four-dot masking with a common onset mask was recently demonstrated in a fully attended and foveated target (Filmer, Mattingley & Dux, 2015). Here, we replicate and extend this finding by directly comparing a four-dot mask with an annulus mask while probing masking as a function of mask duration, and target-mask separation. Our results suggest that while an annulus mask operates via spatially local contour interactions, a four-dot mask operates through spatially global mechanisms. We also measure how the visual system’s representation of an oriented bar is impacted by a four-dot mask, and find that masking here does not degrade the precision of perceived targets, but instead appears to be driven exclusively by rendering the target completely invisible.
Uropygial gland and bib colouration in the house sparrow
Authors: Moreno-Rueda Gregorio
Published: June 2016

Birds frequently signal different qualities by plumage colouration, mainly during mating. However, plumage colouration is determined during the moult, and therefore it would indicate the quality of individual birds during the moult, not its current quality. Recent studies, however, suggest that birds could modify plumage colouration by using cosmetic preen oil produced by the uropygial gland. In this study, I show that bib colouration is related to uropygial gland size and body condition in male house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Moreover, I conducted an experiment in which a group of sparrows were inoculated with an antigen, mimicking an illness. In control birds, short-term changes in bib colouration were related to both body condition and change in uropygial gland size. Therefore, birds that reduced uropygial gland size showed a greater colouration change. However, bib colouration did not change with the change in uropygial gland size in experimental birds inoculated with the antigen. Given that the experiment did not affect preen oil production or consumption, this finding tentatively suggests that the immune challenge provoked a change in the composition of preen oil, affecting its cosmetic properties. In short, the results of this study suggest that (1) male house sparrows produce cosmetic preen oil that alters the colouration of their bibs; (2) the more change in uropygial gland size, the more change in bib colouration; and (3) in this way, bib colouration has the potential to signal current health status, since less healthy birds showed less capacity to change bib colouration.
Identification of putative Z‐ring‐associated proteins, involved in cell division in human pathogenic bacteria Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Kamran Mohammad , Sinha Swati , Dubey Priyanka , Lynn Andrew M. , Dhar Suman K.
Published: June 2016

Cell division in bacteria is initiated by FtsZ, which forms a Z ring at the middle of the cell, between the nucleoids. The Z ring is stabilized by Z ring‐associated proteins (Zaps), which crosslink the FtsZ filaments and provide strength. The deletion of Zaps leads to the elongation phenotype with an abnormal Z ring. The components of cell division in Helicobacter pylori are similar to other gram negative bacteria except for the absence of few components including Zaps. Here, we used HHsearch to identify homologs of the missing cell division proteins and got potential hits for ZapA and ZapB, as well as for few other cell division proteins. We further validated the function of the putative ZapA homolog by genetic complementation, immuno‐colocalization and biochemical analysis.