bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Association of Habitually Low Intake of Dietary Calcium with Blood Pressure and Hypertension in a Population with Predominantly Plant-Based Diets
Authors: Liu Ziqi , Fang Aiping , He Jingjing , Shen Xin , Gao Rong , Zhao Xintian , Li Keji
Published: May 2018

This study aimed to assess the association of habitually low dietary calcium intake with blood pressure or hypertensive risk using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in 2009. We included 6298 participants (2890 men and 3408 women) aged 18 years or older in this analysis. Food intakes were measured by 3-day 24-h individual recalls combined with a weighing and measuring of household food inventory. The participants were divided into normotensive, pre-hypertensive and hypertensive groups according to their mean blood pressure of three repeated measurements. Six intake levels were decided by percentiles of gender-specific dietary calcium intakes (P0–10, P10–30, P30–50, P50–70, P70–90, and P90–100). Average dietary calcium intakes were 405 mg/day for men and 370 mg/day for women, 80% and 84% of which were derived from plant-based food in men and women, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that dietary calcium intakes were not related with blood pressure in both genders (all P > 0.05). Logistic regression analyses showed a lower risk of pre-hypertension with higher dietary calcium intakes in women (all Pfor trend < 0.001), but not in men; no association between dietary calcium intake and hypertensive risk was found in both genders (all Pfor trend > 0.05). This study suggests that there are no conclusive associations of habitually low dietary calcium intake with blood pressure or hypertensive risk in Chinese individuals consuming predominantly plant-based diets.
Inflammation, not Cholesterol, Is a Cause of Chronic Disease
Authors: Tsoupras Alexandros , Lordan Ronan , Zabetakis Ioannis
Published: May 2018

Since the Seven Countries Study, dietary cholesterol and the levels of serum cholesterol in relation to the development of chronic diseases have been somewhat demonised. However, the principles of the Mediterranean diet and relevant data linked to the examples of people living in the five blue zones demonstrate that the key to longevity and the prevention of chronic disease development is not the reduction of dietary or serum cholesterol but the control of systemic inflammation. In this review, we present all the relevant data that supports the view that it is inflammation induced by several factors, such as platelet-activating factor (PAF), that leads to the onset of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) rather than serum cholesterol. The key to reducing the incidence of CVD is to control the activities of PAF and other inflammatory mediators via diet, exercise, and healthy lifestyle choices. The relevant studies and data supporting these views are discussed in this review.
Exercise and Nutrition Strategies to Counteract Sarcopenic Obesity
Authors: Trouwborst Inez , Verreijen Amely , Memelink Robert , Massanet Pablo , Boirie Yves , Weijs Peter , Tieland Michael
Published: May 2018

As the population is aging rapidly, there is a strong increase in the number of individuals with chronic disease and physical limitations. The decrease in skeletal muscle mass and function (sarcopenia) and the increase in fat mass (obesity) are important contributors to the development of physical limitations, which aggravates the chronic diseases prognosis. The combination of the two conditions, which is referred to as sarcopenic obesity, amplifies the risk for these negative health outcomes, which demonstrates the importance of preventing or counteracting sarcopenic obesity. One of the main challenges is the preservation of the skeletal muscle mass and function, while simultaneously reducing the fat mass in this population. Exercise and nutrition are two key components in the development, as well as the prevention and treatment of sarcopenic obesity. The main aim of this narrative review is to summarize the different, both separate and combined, exercise and nutrition strategies so as to prevent and/or counteract sarcopenic obesity. This review therefore provides a current update of the various exercise and nutritional strategies to improve the contrasting body composition changes and physical functioning in sarcopenic obese individuals.
Effect of Dietary Sugar Intake on Biomarkers of Subclinical Inflammation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies
Authors: Della Corte Karen W. , Perrar Ines , Penczynski Katharina J. , Schwingshackl Lukas , Herder Christian , Buyken Anette E.
Published: May 2018

It has been postulated that dietary sugar consumption contributes to increased inflammatory processes in humans, and that this may be specific to fructose (alone, in sucrose or in high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)). Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis and systematic literature review to evaluate the relevance of fructose, sucrose, HFCS, and glucose consumption for systemic levels of biomarkers of subclinical inflammation. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane libraries were searched for controlled intervention studies that report the effects of dietary sugar intake on (hs)CRP, IL-6, IL-18, IL-1RA, TNF-α, MCP-1, sICAM-1, sE-selectin, or adiponectin. Included studies were conducted on adults or adolescents with ≥20 participants and ≥2 weeks duration. Thirteen studies investigating 1141 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Sufficient studies (≥3) to pool were only available for (hs)CRP. Using a random effects model, pooled effects of the interventions (investigated as mean difference (MD)) revealed no differences in (hs)CRP between fructose intervention and glucose control groups (MD: −0.03 mg/L (95% CI: −0.52, 0.46), I2 = 44%). Similarly, no differences were observed between HFCS and sucrose interventions (MD: 0.21 mg/L (−0.11, 0.53), I2 = 0%). The quality of evidence was evaluated using Nutrigrade, and was rated low for these two comparisons. The limited evidence available to date does not support the hypothesis that dietary fructose, as found alone or in HFCS, contributes more to subclinical inflammation than other dietary sugars.
Association of Genetic Variation in the Epithelial Sodium Channel Gene with Urinary Sodium Excretion and Blood Pressure
Authors: Yang Yoon , Kim Jihye , Kwock Chang
Published: May 2018

This study was performed to investigate whether genetic variation in the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) is associated with 24-h urinary sodium excretion and blood pressure. A total of 3345 participants of the KoGES_Ansan and Ansung study were eligible for this study. Genomic DNA samples were isolated from peripheral blood and genotyped on the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 5.0. Thirty-four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were extracted for gene regions (SCNN1A, SCNN1B, and SCNN1G) as additive components by using Plink. Twenty-four-hour sodium excretions were estimated from spot urine samples using the Tanaka formula. The general linear model (GLM) was applied to assess the association between SNPs and urinary sodium excretion or blood pressure. In the SCNN1G gene, six SNPs (rs4073291, rs12934362, rs7404408, rs4494543, rs5735, and rs6497657) were significantly different in 24-h urinary sodium excretion according to gene variants. However, no difference was found in blood pressure among participants with gene variants of ENaC. Our finding indicated that 24-h urinary sodium excretions were different according to variants of the SCNN1G gene in large samples. Further studies to replicate these findings are warranted.
PLGA Microspheres Loaded with β-Cyclodextrin Complexes of Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate for the Anti-Inflammatory Properties in Activated Microglial Cells
Authors: Cheng Chun-Yuan , Pho Quoc-Hue , Wu Xiao-Yu , Chin Ting-Yu , Chen Chien-Min , Fang Peng-Hsiang , Lin Yung-Chang , Hsieh Ming-Fa
Published: May 2018

Although epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EG) is well-known as a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger for neurodegenerative diseases, it still has disadvantages that reduce its treatment effectiveness due to low bioavailability, slow absorption, and water solubility. Therefore, the aim of this study is to improve the bioavailability of EG and increase the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory properties to microglial cells by using Poly(Lactide-co-Glycolide) (PLGA) microspheres as carriers. In this study, we used UV–Vis spectroscopy to show the formation of the complex of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and EG (CD-EG). The loading efficiency of EG in PLGA microspheres was optimized by the addition of β-CD. The highest loading efficiency of 16.34% was found among other formulations. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated the loading of CD-EG in PLGA microspheres. The scanning electron microscopic images demonstrated the spherical PLGA particles with controlled particles size ranging from 1–14 µm. Moreover, the in vitro release of EG was conducted to explore the sustained release property of the PLGA formulations. In the in vitro model of mouse microglial cells (BV-2 cells) stimulated by lipopolysaccharide, the cytotoxicity test showed that for up to 1 mg/mL of PLGA microspheres no toxicity to BV-2 cells was found. PLGA microspheres can significantly suppress the nitric oxide production from BV-2 cells, indicating EG loaded in PLGA microspheres can suppress the inflammation of activated microglial cells. Furthermore, the intracellular iNOS in BV-2 cells was also found to be down regulated. In summary, we have successfully shown that the use of β-CD can increase the loading efficiency of EG in PLGA microspheres and provide neuroprotective effect on the activated microglial cells.
Degradation of Silicone Rubbers as Sealing Materials for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells under Temperature Cycling
Authors: Wu Fan , Chen Ben , Yan Yizhi , Chen Yanan , Pan Mu
Published: May 2018

Gaskets are compressed in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) to keep fuel, oxidant and coolant within their respective regions and are very important for sealing and maintaining electrochemical performance of fuel cells during their long-term operation. It has been proved that the gas leakage caused by the failure of the gaskets following long-term operation is one of the main reasons for PEMFC performance degradation. In this work, degradation of silicone rubbers, the potential gasket materials for PEMFCs, were investigated in the simulated PEMFC environment solution, weak acid solution, de-ionized water and air, respectively, under alternating temperature cycling from −20 °C to 90 °C. The changes in hardness, weight, chemical properties, mechanical behavior and surface morphology of the samples of silicone rubbers were studied after a certain number of temperature cycles. The results show that with the increase in temperature cycles, the hardness of the samples increases and the weight of the samples decreases gradually. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that cracks and caves constantly appear on the surface of the samples. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectra (ATR-FTIR) results demonstrate that the surface chemistry changes via de-crosslinking and chain scission in the backbone due to the exposure of samples to the environments over time under alternating temperature cycles.
Spiritual Jihad among U.S. Muslims: Preliminary Measurement and Associations with Well-Being and Growth
Authors: Saritoprak Seyma N. , Exline Julie J. , Stauner Nick
Published: May 2018

Religious and spiritual (r/s) struggles entail tension and conflict regarding religious and spiritual aspects of life. R/s struggles relate to distress, but may also relate to growth. Growth from struggles is prominent in Islamic spirituality and is sometimes referred to as spiritual jihad. This work’s main hypothesis was that in the context of moral struggles, incorporating a spiritual jihad mindset would relate to well-being, spiritual growth, and virtue. The project included two samples of U.S. Muslims: an online sample from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) worker database website (N = 280) and a community sample (N = 74). Preliminary evidence of reliability and validity emerged for a new measure of a spiritual jihad mindset. Results revealed that Islamic religiousness and daily spiritual experiences with God predicted greater endorsement of a spiritual jihad mindset among participants from both samples. A spiritual jihad mindset predicted greater levels of positive religious coping (both samples), spiritual and post-traumatic growth (both samples), and virtuous behaviors (MTurk sample), and less depression and anxiety (MTurk sample). Results suggest that some Muslims incorporate a spiritual jihad mindset in the face of moral struggles. Muslims who endorse greater religiousness and spirituality may specifically benefit from implementing a spiritual jihad mindset in coping with religious and spiritual struggles.
Semantic Labeling of High Resolution Aerial Imagery and LiDAR Data with Fine Segmentation Network
Authors: Pan Xuran , Gao Lianru , Marinoni Andrea , Zhang Bing , Yang Fan , Gamba Paolo
Published: May 2018

In this paper, a novel convolutional neural network (CNN)-based architecture, named fine segmentation network (FSN), is proposed for semantic segmentation of high resolution aerial images and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. The proposed architecture follows the encoder–decoder paradigm and the multi-sensor fusion is accomplished in the feature-level using multi-layer perceptron (MLP). The encoder consists of two parts: the main encoder based on the convolutional layers of Vgg-16 network for color-infrared images and a lightweight branch for LiDAR data. In the decoder stage, to adaptively upscale the coarse outputs from encoder, the Sub-Pixel convolution layers replace the transposed convolutional layers or other common up-sampling layers. Based on this design, the features from different stages and sensors are integrated for a MLP-based high-level learning. In the training phase, transfer learning is employed to infer the features learned from generic dataset to remote sensing data. The proposed FSN is evaluated by using the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) Potsdam and Vaihingen 2D Semantic Labeling datasets. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed framework can bring considerable improvement to other related networks.
Hyperspectral Anomaly Detection via Discriminative Feature Learning with Multiple-Dictionary Sparse Representation
Authors: Ma Dandan , Yuan Yuan , Wang Qi
Published: May 2018

Most hyperspectral anomaly detection methods directly utilize all the original spectra to recognize anomalies. However, the inherent characteristics of high spectral dimension and complex spectral correlation commonly make their detection performance unsatisfactory. Therefore, an effective feature extraction technique is necessary. To this end, this paper proposes a novel anomaly detection method via discriminative feature learning with multiple-dictionary sparse representation. Firstly, a new spectral feature selection framework based on sparse presentation is designed, which is closely guided by the anomaly detection task. Then, the representative spectra which can significantly enlarge anomaly’s deviation from background are picked out by minimizing residues between background spectrum reconstruction error and anomaly spectrum recovery error. Finally, through comprehensively considering the virtues of different groups of representative features selected from multiple dictionaries, a global multiple-view detection strategy is presented to improve the detection accuracy. The proposed method is compared with ten state-of-the-art methods including LRX, SRD, CRD, LSMAD, RSAD, BACON, BACON-target, GRX, GKRX, and PCA-GRX on three real-world hyperspectral images. Corresponding to each competitor, it has the average detection performance improvement of about 9.9 % , 7.4 % , 24.2 % , 10.1 % , 26.2 % , 20.1 % , 5.1 % , 19.3 % , 10.7 % , and 2.0 % respectively. Extensive experiments demonstrate its superior performance in effectiveness and efficiency.
Preliminary Investigation of a New AHI Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) Retrieval Algorithm and Evaluation with Multiple Source AOD Measurements in China
Authors: Yang Fukun , Wang Yang , Tao Jinhua , Wang Zifeng , Fan Meng , De Leeuw Gerrit , Chen Liangfu
Published: May 2018

The Himawari-8 geostationary weather satellite, which is an Earth observing satellite launched in October 2014, has been applied in climate, environment, and air quality studies. Using hourly observation data from the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) on board Himawari-8, a new dark target algorithm was proposed to retrieve the aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 1 km and 5 km resolutions over mainland China. Because of the short satellite operation time and lack of AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) sites across China, we cannot derive robust and representative surface reflectance relationships for the visible to near-infrared channels by atmospheric correction. Therefore, we inherited the empirical reflectance relationship from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and we used the AHI and MODIS spectral response functions to make the relationship more suitable for AHI. Ultimately, our AOD products can better reflect the regional characteristics with the AHI sensor. Seasonal averages showed that our product is more similar to MODIS Collection 6 (C6) Dark Target (DT) AOD than the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) AHI AOD, but the difference is largest in winter. In addition, we evaluated several satellite retrieval products (our AHI AOD, JAXA AHI AOD, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) VIIRS AOD, MODIS DT AOD, and MODIS DB AOD) against AERONET AOD from July 2016 to June 2017. The results showed that our AHI measurements demonstrate good agreement with, but exhibit a little overestimation, as compared to ground-based AERONET measurements with a correlation coefficient of 0.83 and an root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.112. The hourly validation also showed stable statistical results. A time series comparison with ground-based observations from two AERONET sites (Beijing-CAMS and XiangHe) showed that our AHI AOD products have trends as those in MODIS DB AOD, but that the bias in Beijing-CAMS is positive and higher than that in XiangHe. This error and the slight overestimation may be caused by the single continental aerosol model assumption and not considering the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).
Global Analysis of Burned Area Persistence Time with MODIS Data
Authors: Melchiorre Andrea , Boschetti Luigi
Published: May 2018

Biomass burning causes a non-permanent land cover change (burned area) through the removal of vegetation, the deposition of charcoal and ashes, and the exposure of soil; the temporal persistence of these changes is highly variable, ranging from a few weeks in savannas to years in forests. Algorithms for the generation of moderate-resolution (10–30 m) continental and global burned area maps have been prototyped in an effort to meet the needs of diverse users of fire information. Nevertheless, moderate-resolution sensors have reduced the temporal resolution (e.g., to 16 days for Landsat), which could potentially lead to omission errors, especially in ecosystems where the spectral signal associated with burning disappears quickly and cloud cover limits the number of valid observations. This study presents a global analysis of the burned area persistence time, defined as the duration of the spectral separability of the burned/unburned areas mapped by the MODIS MCD64 Global Burned Area Product. The separability was computed by analyzing time series of normalized burn ratio (NBR) from nadir BRDF-adjusted MODIS reflectances (MCD43 product). Results showed that, globally, the median burned area persistence time was estimated at 29 days, and 86.6% of the global area, as detected by MODIS, can only be detected accurately for up to 48 days. Thus, results indicate that burned area persistence time can be a limiting factor for global burned area mapping from moderate-resolution satellite sensors, which have a low temporal resolution (e.g., Landsat 16 days, Sentinel-2A/B 5 days).
Attribution of Flux Partitioning Variations between Land Surface Models over the Continental U.S.
Authors: Kumar Sujay , Holmes Thomas , Mocko David , Wang Shugong , Peters-Lidard Christa
Published: May 2018

Accurate quantification of the terrestrial evapotranspiration ( E T ) components of plant transpiration (T), soil evaporation (E) and evaporation of the intercepted water (I) is necessary for improving our understanding of the links between the carbon and water cycles. Recent studies have noted that, among the modeled estimates, large disagreements exist in the relative contributions of T, E and I to the total E T . As these models are often used in data assimilation environments for incorporating and extending E T relevant remote sensing measurements, understanding the sources of inter-model differences in E T components is also necessary for improving the utilization of such remote sensing measurements. This study quantifies the contributions of two key factors explaining inter-model disagreements to the uncertainty in total E T : (1) contribution of the local partitioning and (2) regional distribution of E T . The analysis is conducted by using outputs from a suite of land surface models in the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) configuration. For most of these models, transpiration is the dominant component of the E T partition. The results indicate that the uncertainty in local partitioning dominates the inter-model spread in modeled soil evaporation E. The inter-model differences in T are dominated by the uncertainty in the distribution of E T over the Eastern U.S. and the local partitioning uncertainty in the Western U.S. The results also indicate that uncertainty in the T estimates is the primary driver of total E T errors. Over the majority of the U.S., the contribution of the two factors of uncertainty to the overall uncertainty is non-trivial.
Combining Fog Computing with Sensor Mote Machine Learning for Industrial IoT
Authors: Lavassani Mehrzad , Forsström Stefan , Jennehag Ulf , Zhang Tingting
Published: May 2018

Digitalization is a global trend becoming ever more important to our connected and sustainable society. This trend also affects industry where the Industrial Internet of Things is an important part, and there is a need to conserve spectrum as well as energy when communicating data to a fog or cloud back-end system. In this paper we investigate the benefits of fog computing by proposing a novel distributed learning model on the sensor device and simulating the data stream in the fog, instead of transmitting all raw sensor values to the cloud back-end. To save energy and to communicate as few packets as possible, the updated parameters of the learned model at the sensor device are communicated in longer time intervals to a fog computing system. The proposed framework is implemented and tested in a real world testbed in order to make quantitative measurements and evaluate the system. Our results show that the proposed model can achieve a 98% decrease in the number of packets sent over the wireless link, and the fog node can still simulate the data stream with an acceptable accuracy of 97%. We also observe an end-to-end delay of 180 ms in our proposed three-layer framework. Hence, the framework shows that a combination of fog and cloud computing with a distributed data modeling at the sensor device for wireless sensor networks can be beneficial for Industrial Internet of Things applications.
Monitoring of Cardiorespiratory Signals Using Thermal Imaging: A Pilot Study on Healthy Human Subjects
Authors: Barbosa Pereira Carina , Czaplik Michael , Blazek Vladimir , Leonhardt Steffen , Teichmann Daniel
Published: May 2018

Heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) are important parameters for patient assessment. However, current measurement techniques require attachment of sensors to the patient’s body, often leading to discomfort, stress and even pain. A new algorithm is presented for monitoring both HR and RR using thermal imaging. The cyclical ejection of blood flow from the heart to the head (through carotid arteries and thoracic aorta) leads to periodic movements of the head; these vertical movements are used to assess HR. Respiratory rate is estimated by using temperature fluctuations under the nose during the respiratory cycle. To test the viability and feasibility of this approach, a pilot study was conducted with 20 healthy subjects (aged 18–36 and 1 aged 50 years). The study consisted of two phases: phase A (frontal view acquisitions) and phase B (side view acquisitions). To validate the results, photoplethysmography and thoracic effort (piezoplethysmography) were simultaneously recorded. High agreement between infrared thermography and ground truth/gold standard was achieved. For HR, the root-mean-square errors (RMSE) for phases A and B were 3.53 ± 1.53 and 3.43 ± 1.61 beats per minute, respectively. For RR, the RMSE between thermal imaging and piezoplethysmography stayed around 0.71 ± 0.30 breaths per minute (phase A). This study demonstrates that infrared thermography may be a promising, clinically relevant alternative for the assessment of HR and RR.
Application and Comparison of the MODIS-Derived Enhanced Vegetation Index to VIIRS, Landsat 5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI Platforms: A Case Study in the Arid Colorado River Delta, Mexico
Authors: Jarchow Christopher J. , Didan Kamel , Barreto-Muñoz Armando , Nagler Pamela L. , Glenn Edward P.
Published: May 2018

The Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) is a key Earth science parameter used to assess vegetation, originally developed and calibrated for the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites. With the impending decommissioning of the MODIS sensors by the year 2020/2022, alternative platforms will need to be used to estimate EVI. We compared Landsat 5 (2000–2011), 8 (2013–2016) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS; 2013–2016) to MODIS EVI (2000–2016) over a 420,083-ha area of the arid lower Colorado River Delta in Mexico. Over large areas with mixed land cover or agricultural fields, we found high correspondence between Landsat and MODIS EVI (R2 = 0.93 for the entire area studied and 0.97 for agricultural fields), but the relationship was weak over bare soil (R2 = 0.27) and riparian vegetation (R2 = 0.48). The correlation between MODIS and Landsat EVI was higher over large, homogeneous areas and was generally lower in narrow riparian areas. VIIRS and MODIS EVI were highly similar (R2 = 0.99 for the entire area studied) and did not show the same decrease in performance in smaller, narrower regions as Landsat. Landsat and VIIRS provide EVI estimates of similar quality and characteristics to MODIS, but scale, seasonality and land cover type(s) should be considered before implementing Landsat EVI in a particular area.
Multi-Dimensional Evaluation of Simulated Small-Scale Irrigation Intervention: A Case Study in Dimbasinia Watershed, Ghana
Authors: Worqlul Abeyou W. , Dile Yihun T. , Bizimana Jean-Claude , Jeong Jaehak , Gerik Thomas J. , Srinivasan Raghavan , Richardson James W. , Clarke Neville
Published: May 2018

This paper studied the impacts of small-scale irrigation (SSI) interventions on environmental sustainability, agricultural production, and socio-economics using an Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS). The IDSS is comprised of a suite of models, namely the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX), and Farm Income and Nutrition Simulator (FARMSIM). The IDSS was applied in Dimbasinia watershed in northern Ghana using irrigation water from shallow groundwater. The watershed has a modest amount of shallow groundwater resources. However, the average annual irrigation water requirement exceeded the average annual shallow groundwater recharge. It was found that the current crop yield in Dimbasinia watershed was only ~40% of the potential crop production. This is mainly related to climate variability, low soil fertility, and land-management practices. For example, application of 50 kg/ha urea and 50 kg/ha DAP doubled maize and sorghum yield from the current farmers’ practices. Better income was obtained when irrigated vegetables/fodder were cultivated in rotation with sorghum as compared to in rotation with maize. Investment in solar pumps paid better dividends and also supplied clean energy. The socio-economic analysis indicated that having irrigated dry season vegetables will improve household nutrition. Since shallow groundwater recharge alone may not provide sufficient water for irrigation in a sustainable manner, surface water may be stored using water-harvesting structures to supplement the groundwater for irrigation. Integrated use of the water resources will also reduce depletion of the shallow groundwater aquifer. We conclude that IDSS is a promising tool to study gaps and constraints as well as upscaling of SSI.
Drivers and Barriers in Socially Responsible Human Resource Management
Authors: Barrena-Martinez Jesus , López-Fernández Macarena , Romero-Fernandez Pedro M.
Published: May 2018

The current recession has caused a large number of companies to reevaluate their valuable resources and ways to preserve and invest those resources. Given the relevance of employees as key stakeholders, developing a socially responsible orientation in human resource management for taking care of workers and their needs must be an essential process for business success. This study, based on stakeholder theory and a social integrative approach, examines the main drivers and barriers in the implementation of socially responsible actions in human resource management. The research uses a quantitative analysis based on questionnaires responded to by 85 human resource managers from large Spanish companies. We conclude that there are two significant drivers of socially responsible actions in human resource management (HRM): access to public subsidies and the improvement of the working environment. The main significant barriers highlighted by human resource managers are conflicts in decisions with boards and/or management teams and the lack of employees’ acceptance. The professional implications of the research are discussed at the end of the paper.
Research on Construction Engineering Project Risk Assessment with Some 2-Tuple Linguistic Neutrosophic Hamy Mean Operators
Authors: Wu Shengjun , Wang Jie , Wei Guiwu , Wei Yu
Published: May 2018

In this paper, we expand the Hamy mean (HM) operator, weighted Hamy mean (WHM), dual Hamy mean (DHM) operator, and weighted dual Hamy mean (WDHM) operator with 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic numbers (2TLNNs) to propose a 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic Hamy mean (2TLNHM) operator, 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic weighted Hamy mean (2TLNWHM) operator, 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic dual Hamy mean (2TLNDHM) operator, and 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic weighted dual Hamy mean (2TLNWDHM) operator. Then, the multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) methods are proposed with these operators. Finally, we utilize an applicable example in risk assessment for construction engineering projects to prove the proposed methods.
Global SDGs Assessments: Helping or Confusing Indicators?
Authors: Janoušková Svatava , Hák Tomáš , Moldan Bedřich
Published: May 2018

On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—adopted by world leaders in 2015—came into force. They build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. Since the SDGs are not legally binding, governments are expected to take ownership and establish national frameworks for the achievement of the 17 Goals. Countries thus have the primary responsibility for follow-up and review of the progress made in implementing the Goals, which will require quality, accessible and timely data collection. This will be instrumental for both regional and global follow-up analyses and assessments—several such major global assessments have already appeared. It might be supposed that the SDGs framework, including indicators, is conceptually and methodologically well-designed and tested in order to function reliably and provide guidance for such assessments. However, while it seems that the current structure of the SDGs has provided a firm policy framework, the Goals and targets have been mostly operationalized by indicators. We demonstrate and argue that without a procedurally well-designed, conceptual indicator framework for selecting and/or designing indicators, the results of SDGs assessments may be ambiguous and confusing.
Fairtrade and Sustainability: Motivations for Fairtrade Certification among Smallholder Coffee Growers in Tanzania
Authors: Pyk Filippa , Abu Hatab Assem
Published: May 2018

Drawing on a survey of 148 Fairtrade-certified smallholder coffee farmers in the Kagera region of Tanzania, a quantitative investigation was performed on the farmers’ motivations for Fairtrade certification. A factor analysis approach was used to analyze the importance of economic, social, and environmental motivations in farmers’ decision-making on Fairtrade-labeled coffee certification. Moreover, three ordered logit models were estimated to assess the determinants of motivational behavior for Fairtrade certification among different socioeconomic groups in the survey sample. Overall, the results indicate that Fairtrade certification is predominantly economically motivated. Particularly, farmers are relatively less environmentally motivated to adopt the Fairtrade system. However, female coffee farmers are significantly more environmentally driven to adopt Fairtrade certification. Surprisingly, the results suggest that farmers’ level of education has no significant influence on their motivation for Fairtrade certification. Moreover, lower-income and smaller-scale coffee farmers are less economically and environmentally motivated for Fairtrade certification. In light of these findings, we suggest that efforts to promote Fairtrade certification among smallholder growers should be designed in ways that balance economic, social, and environmental outcomes. Furthermore, the findings call for targeted measures to strengthen Fairtrade’s commitment to empowering disadvantaged smallholder farmers, including women, to achieve sustainable development goals in the region.
What Is the Evolution of Convergence in the EU? Decomposing EU Disparities up to NUTS 3 Level
Authors: Butkus Mindaugas , Cibulskiene Diana , Maciulyte-Sniukiene Alma , Matuzeviciute Kristina
Published: May 2018

Research on convergence deals with the question of whether regional disparities are decreasing over time. Aiming to decompose EU disparities covering regions of all levels, this paper fills the gap of the empirical research on convergence in the EU in the following ways: (i) the research updates the assessment of regional disparities in the EU emphasizing, but not limited to, the analysis at the NUTS 3 level; (ii) based on a constructed three-level Theil index, the research decomposes EU disparities into between-country, within-country at the NUTS 2 level, and within the NUTS 2 region at the NUTS 3 level components, covering the period of 1995–2014 and all EU regions, (iii) it examines the linkages between the development of innovation and technology, sustainability, and evolution of disparities. Our main findings suggest that convergence in the EU is still present at different regional levels, but its speed is slowing down. Total EU disparities were decreasing mainly because of reducing disparities between member states. At the same time, in the majority of EU member states, old and new, within-country disparities were growing at all regional levels, and now within-country disparities account for almost two-fifths of total EU disparities.
Open Innovation of James Watt and Steve Jobs: Insights for Sustainability of Economic Growth
Authors: Yun JinHyo , Jung Kwangho , Yigitcanlar Tan
Published: May 2018

This paper analyzes open innovation approach similarities and differences of James Watt and Steve Jobs—symbolic entrepreneurs of the First and Fourth Industrial Revolutions, respectively. The methodologic approach includes a review of the literature. Firstly, the key characteristics of the First and Fourth Industrial Revolutions are determined by comprehensively reviewing the literature—particularly books on both legendary innovation entrepreneurs. Secondly, the related preceding research that describes open innovation characteristics that James Watt and Steve Jobs possessed are critically analyzed. Thirdly, open innovation strategies promoted by the two innovation entrepreneurs are scrutinized by analyzing the related literature. The findings reveal the common and differing points of the two entrepreneurs’ open innovation strategies and approaches. This paper serves as an editorial piece and introduces the special issue entitled ‘Sustainability of Economic Growth: Combining Technology, Market, and Society’, where the special issue contains 19 papers directly related to the open innovation strategy of Steve Jobs and James Watt.
Information Systems Security (ISS) of E-Government for Sustainability: A Dual Path Model of ISS Influenced by Institutional Isomorphism
Authors: Choi Myeonggil , Lee Jungwoo , Hwang Kumju
Published: May 2018

This study investigated information systems security (ISS) as one of the important issues of e-government for sustainable development. ISS is becoming increasingly important in the discourse on information technology-related organizational transformation, and governments need to undergo organizational transformation to establish an effective ISS system for advancing e-government capacity which plays a vital role in achieving sustainability. Furthermore, ISS breaches are becoming the norm rather than the exception, but ISS can only be achieved when employees fully and firmly embrace the concept by changing their behavior to comply with advanced ISS technologies. A research model is theoretically developed in this context based on institution theory, which proposes a dual path model consisting of legitimacy-leading organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) and organizational cynicism-causing counterproductive work behaviors (CWB) in the process of innovating ISS for e-government. This dual-path model is empirically tested against 388 data collected from information security managers in 30 departments and councils within Korea’s central government. A structural model evaluation of the collected data principally validates the research model. The results indicate that the path through legitimacy, influenced by normative and coercive isomorphism, is stronger than that through organizational cynicism. The data largely supports the proposed research model, confirming the applicability of institutional theory in explaining the institutionalization processes in effective ISS compliance at the organizational and individual levels. The implications of these findings are then discussed in detail.
Force Loading Tracking Control of an Electro-Hydraulic Actuator Based on a Nonlinear Adaptive Fuzzy Backstepping Control Scheme
Authors: Li Xiang , Zhu Zhen-Cai , Rui Guang-Chao , Cheng Dong , Shen Gang , Tang Yu
Published: May 2018

In this article, a nonlinear adaptive fuzzy backstepping controller combined with an adaptive backstepping controller and an adaptive fuzzy controller is proposed for real-time tracking control of an electro-hydraulic force loading system. Firstly, a nonlinear dynamic model for the electro-hydraulic force loading system is built with consideration of parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. Then, the adaptive backstepping controller is employed to obtain desired control output for the force loading control system considering parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. Furthermore, an adaptive fuzzy control scheme is designed to adjust uncertain control parameters based on adaptive fuzzy system to cope with the chattering condition that results from the overwhelming external disturbances. The stability of the overall system with the proposed control algorithm can be proved by Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, an electro-hydraulic force loading experimental system with xPC rapid prototyping technology is carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed nonlinear adaptive fuzzy backstepping controller. Experimental results verify that the proposed control method exhibit excellent performances on force loading tracking control of the electro-hydraulic force loading experimental system compared with a conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller with velocity feedforward and adaptive backstepping control schemes.
Electrochemical Immunosensor for Detection of Aflatoxin B1 Based on Indirect Competitive ELISA
Authors: Azri Farah , Sukor Rashidah , Selamat Jinap , Abu Bakar Fatimah , Yusof Nor , Hajian Reza
Published: May 2018

Mycotoxins are the secondary toxic metabolites produced naturally by fungi. Analysis of mycotoxins is essential to minimize the consumption of contaminated food and feed. In this present work, an ultrasensitive electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was successfully developed based on an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Various parameters of ELISA, including antigen–antibody concentration, blocking agents, incubation time, temperature and pH of reagents, were first optimized in a 96-well microtiter plate to study the antigen–antibody interaction and optimize the optimum parameters of the assay. The optimized assay was transferred onto the multi-walled carbon nanotubes/chitosan/screen-printed carbon electrode (MWCNTs/CS/SPCE) by covalent attachment with the aid of 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimetylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS). Competition occurred between aflatoxin B1-bovine serum albumin (AFB1–BSA) and free AFB1 (in peanut sample and standard) for the binding site of a fixed amount of anti-AFB1 antibody. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis was used for the detection based on the reduction peak of TMB(ox). The developed immunosensor showed a linear range of 0.0001 to 10 ng/mL with detection limit of 0.3 pg/mL. AFB1 analysis in spiked peanut samples resulted in recoveries between 80% and 127%. The precision of the developed immunosensor was evaluated by RSD values (n = 5) as 4.78% and 2.71% for reproducibility and repeatability, respectively.
Designed Strategies for Fluorescence-Based Biosensors for the Detection of Mycotoxins
Authors: Sharma Atul , Khan Reem , Catanante Gaelle , Sherazi Tauqir , Bhand Sunil , Hayat Akhtar , Marty Jean
Published: May 2018

Small molecule toxins such as mycotoxins with low molecular weight are the most widely studied biological toxins. These biological toxins are responsible for food poisoning and have the potential to be used as biological warfare agents at the toxic dose. Due to the poisonous nature of mycotoxins, effective analysis techniques for quantifying their toxicity are indispensable. In this context, biosensors have been emerged as a powerful tool to monitors toxins at extremely low level. Recently, biosensors based on fluorescence detection have attained special interest with the incorporation of nanomaterials. This review paper will focus on the development of fluorescence-based biosensors for mycotoxin detection, with particular emphasis on their design as well as properties such as sensitivity and specificity. A number of these fluorescent biosensors have shown promising results in food samples for the detection of mycotoxins, suggesting their future potential for food applications.
Clostridium perfringens Virulent Bacteriophage CPS2 and Its Thermostable Endolysin LysCPS2
Authors: Ha Eunsu , Son Bokyung , Ryu Sangryeol
Published: May 2018

Clostridium perfringens is one of the most common causes of food-borne illness. The increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria requires the development of alternatives to typical antimicrobial treatments. Here, we isolated and characterized a C. perfringens-specific virulent bacteriophage CPS2 from chicken feces. The CPS2 phage contains a 17,961 bp double-stranded DNA genome with 25 putative ORFs, and belongs to the Picovirinae, subfamily of Podoviridae. Bioinformatic analysis of the CPS2 genome revealed a putative endolysin, LysCPS2, which is homologous to the endolysin of Clostridium phage phiZP2 and phiCP7R. The enzyme showed strong lytic activity against C. perfringens with optimum conditions at pH 7.5–10, 25–65 °C, and over a broad range of NaCl concentrations. Interestingly, LysCPS2 was found to be highly thermostable, with up to 30% of its lytic activity remaining after 10 min of incubation at 95 °C. The cell wall binding domain in the C-terminal region of LysCPS2 showed a binding spectrum specific to C. perfringens strains. This is the first report to characterize highly thermostable endolysin isolated from virulent C. perfringens bacteriophage. The enzyme can be used as an alternative biocontrol and detection agent against C. perfringens.
Genome Sequences of Akhmeta Virus, an Early Divergent Old World Orthopoxvirus
Authors: Gao Jinxin , Gigante Crystal , Khmaladze Ekaterine , Liu Pengbo , Tang Shiyuyun , Wilkins Kimberly , Zhao Kun , Davidson Whitni , Nakazawa Yoshinori , Maghlakelidze Giorgi , Geleishvili Marika , Kokhreidze Maka , Carroll Darin S. , Emerson Ginny , Li Yu
Published: May 2018

Annotated whole genome sequences of three isolates of the Akhmeta virus (AKMV), a novel species of orthopoxvirus (OPXV), isolated from the Akhmeta and Vani regions of the country Georgia, are presented and discussed. The AKMV genome is similar in genomic content and structure to that of the cowpox virus (CPXV), but a lower sequence identity was found between AKMV and Old World OPXVs than between other known species of Old World OPXVs. Phylogenetic analysis showed that AKMV diverged prior to other Old World OPXV. AKMV isolates formed a monophyletic clade in the OPXV phylogeny, yet the sequence variability between AKMV isolates was higher than between the monkeypox virus strains in the Congo basin and West Africa. An AKMV isolate from Vani contained approximately six kb sequence in the left terminal region that shared a higher similarity with CPXV than with other AKMV isolates, whereas the rest of the genome was most similar to AKMV, suggesting recombination between AKMV and CPXV in a region containing several host range and virulence genes.