bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A New Educational Thermodynamic Software to Promote Critical Thinking in Youth Engineering Students
Authors: Biasi Miguel Romero Di , Valencia Guillermo Eliecer , Obregon Luis Guillermo
Published: December 2019

This article presents the application of a new educational thermodynamic software called MOLECULARDISORDER, based on graphical user interfaces created in Matlab® to promote critical thinking in youth engineering students, by means of the energy and entropy balance application in different systems. Statistics of the results obtained by the youth students are shown to determine the influence of the software in a regular course in thermodynamics to promote critical thinking. Two case studies were done by the students, where parameters such as temperature of the fluid and metal surfaces, pressure of the system, mass of the fluid and solid, volume, and velocity of the fluid are used to obtain output variables such as enthalpy, entropy, changes in entropy, entropy production, and energy transfer in the chosen system. Four cognitive skills were considered to evaluate the cognitive competencies of interpreting, arguing and proposing, and interacting with the different graphical user interfaces; these cognitive skills (CS) were argumentative claim (CS1), modeling (CS2), interpreting data/information (CS3), and organization (CS4). Student´s T-test was used to compare the degree of difficulty of each criterion. The case studies were evaluated first without using the software and then with the use of the software to determine the significant effect of the software quantitatively. A population of 130 youth students was taken to perform the statistical analysis with a level of significance of 5%. With the help of the software, the students obtained an improvement when performing case study 1 since the p-value obtained was 0.03, indicating that there are significant differences between the results before and after taking the software. The overall averages of the grades for case study 1 had an increase after using the software from 3.74 to 4.04. The overall averages for case study 2 were also higher after taking the software from 3.44 to 3.75.
Social Interaction of Indonesian Rural Youths in the Internet Age
Authors: Priatama Rista , Onitsuka Kenichiro , Rustiadi Ernan , Hoshino Satoshi
Published: December 2019

The internet penetration on young villagers gives rise to question about its effects on the social interaction and behavior patterns as it accelerates the interaction with the wider network. However, the internet could possibly decrease both the social interaction with local people at the village and the dependency toward native villagers as internet utilization allows the users to be more selective in terms of interactions according to their interests. This research aims to examine the impacts of the Internet through a dystopian view by comparing the degrees of senses of place, participation in local activities, and social capital among internet and non-internet users using a statistical approach. The analysis of variance and linear regression were employed in the present study. The results revealed that the internet did strengthen both broad and local social capital. It also supported young villager’s participation in local activities. Nevertheless, the internet was observed to decline the villager’s sense of place, especially the desire to remain a resident in the native village. Better access to information and network gained by the users elevated their chances to move outside the village when better opportunities were observed elsewhere.
Impact of Flax and Basalt Fibre Reinforcement on Selected Properties of Geopolymer Composites
Authors: Frydrych Miroslav , Hýsek Štěpán , Fridrichová Ludmila , Le Van Su , Herclík Miroslav , Pechočiaková Miroslava , Le Chi Hiep , Louda Petr
Published: December 2019

The submitted paper deals with the physical and mechanical properties of geopolymer composite materials reinforced with natural fibres. For this study, we aimed to develop a geopolymer composite reinforced with long flax fibres, which were implemented in the geopolymer in the form of a nonwoven fabric that reinforced the structure of the geopolymer over the entire thickness of the board. In order to compare the properties of the developed composite with natural fibres, a geopolymer without fibres and a geopolymer reinforced with basalt fibres were also produced. The monitored mechanical properties were impact bending, bending strength and compressive strength. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and microscopic analysis were also carried out. The results clearly showed the positive effect of the addition of natural fibres on impact bending and bending strength. However, the addition of natural fibres in the form of a nonwoven fabric significantly increased the variability of the properties of the developed composites. In addition, a different pattern of joint failure was noted between geopolymer reinforced with flax fibres and geopolymer reinforced with basalt fibres.
Equity in Access to Outdoor Recreation—Informing a Sustainable Future
Authors: Winter Patricia L. , Crano William D. , Basáñez Tatiana , Lamb Christopher S.
Published: December 2019

Despite an increasingly ethnically and racially diverse population in the United States (U.S.), growing evidence indicates that minorities are underrepresented in national forest visitation. Many reasons for continuing underrepresentation have been examined, involving research reaching back multiple decades. In the current study, a random sample of residents (n = 1977) from four large metropolitan statistical areas in California was involved in a telephone survey about forest visitation. Analysis revealed a continuing pattern of inequities in lifetime visitation to a national forest, as well as recency of visitation. Constraints to national forest visitation show similarities among groups. Lack of time was the most often mentioned constraint, with resource-related constraints more frequently cited by minority respondents. In contrast to prior studies, a lack of information or concerns about discrimination were not cited by survey respondents, though the open-ended approach to top constraints may underpin some of this variation from prior research. The primary information source for outdoor recreation used most frequently and most trusted was the Internet, followed closely by social networks (family and friends). In the presentation of U.S. outdoor recreation information, natural resource management agencies, use groups, and opportunity providers would benefit from incorporating culturally relevant messaging and images to affirm the message of inclusion and welcome.
Short Comments on the Application of Criteria for Identifying Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs)
Authors: Huang Hao , Tang Dongmei , Chen Bin , Li Weiwen , Ou Danyun , Wang Lei , An Lina
Published: December 2019

In 2008, the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted seven criteria for identifying ecologically or biologically significant marine areas (EBSAs) for biodiversity conservation. Nine international workshops were held in which 209 areas and 38 potential areas were identified as meeting the EBSA criteria. This study analyzes the 209 identified areas and reveals that the use of the seven criteria in different workshops differed, so their scores are therefore not quantifiable. Furthermore, descriptions specific to criteria regarding areas having “special importance for the life-history stages of species” accounted for only 1.44% of the overall descriptions. Most descriptions regarding “vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, or slow recovery” were almost contributed by the “importance of threatened, endangered, or declining species and/or habitats”. These three criteria were based on scientific evidences and have been widely accepted by the public. Therefore, we would suggest the criteria of “special importance for the life-history stages of species” and the criteria of “vulnerability, fragility, sensitivity, or slow recovery” need further investigation for biodiversity conservation.
A Structured Table of Graphs with Symmetries and Other Special Properties
Authors: Zhang Yidan , Huang Xiaolong , Xu Zhipeng , Deng Yuefan
Published: December 2019

We organize a table of regular graphs with minimal diameters and minimal mean path lengths, large bisection widths and high degrees of symmetries, obtained by enumerations on supercomputers. These optimal graphs, many of which are newly discovered, may find wide applications, for example, in design of network topologies.
Co-Training Semi-Supervised Deep Learning for Sentiment Classification of MOOC Forum Posts
Authors: Chen Jing , Feng Jun , Sun Xia , Liu Yang
Published: December 2019

Sentiment classification of forum posts of massive open online courses is essential for educators to make interventions and for instructors to improve learning performance. Lacking monitoring on learners’ sentiments may lead to high dropout rates of courses. Recently, deep learning has emerged as an outstanding machine learning technique for sentiment classification, which extracts complex features automatically with rich representation capabilities. However, deep neural networks always rely on a large amount of labeled data for supervised training. Constructing large-scale labeled training datasets for sentiment classification is very laborious and time consuming. To address this problem, this paper proposes a co-training, semi-supervised deep learning model for sentiment classification, leveraging limited labeled data and massive unlabeled data simultaneously to achieve performance comparable to those methods trained on massive labeled data. To satisfy the condition of two views of co-training, we encoded texts into vectors from views of word embedding and character-based embedding independently, considering words’ external and internal information. To promote the classification performance with limited data, we propose a double-check strategy sample selection method to select samples with high confidence to augment the training set iteratively. In addition, we propose a mixed loss function both considering the labeled data with asymmetric and unlabeled data. Our proposed method achieved a 89.73% average accuracy and an 93.55% average F1-score, about 2.77% and 3.2% higher than baseline methods. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model trained on limited labeled data, which performs much better than those trained on massive labeled data.
Particle Methods Simulations by Kinetic Theory Models of Human Crowds Accounting for Stress Conditions
Authors: Elaiw Ahmed , Al-Turki Yusuf
Published: December 2019

This paper tackles the problem of simulating the dynamics of human crowds in high density conditions on venues which include internal obstacles and in the interaction between two crowd streams moving in two opposite directions. The role of stress condition is taken into account as simulations aim at providing a support to crisis managers in charge of reducing the risk of incidents. The rationale of the modeling approach is that kinetic theory approach, where individual interactions, which might be nonlinearly additive, non symmetric, and non nonlocal, lead to collective behaviors to be examined towards safety problems.
Small Wind Turbine Blade Design and Optimization
Authors: Muhsen Hani , Al-Kouz Wael , Khan Waqar
Published: December 2019

This work aims at designing and optimizing the performance of a small Horizontal-Axis-Wind-Turbine to obtain a power coefficient (CP) higher than 40% at a low wind speed of 5 m/s. Two symmetric in shape airfoils were used to get the final optimized airfoil. The main objective is to optimize the blade parameters that influence the design of the blade since the small turbines are prone to show low performance due to the low Reynolds number as a result of the small size of the rotor and the low wind speed. Therefore, the optimization process will select different airfoils and extract their performance at the design conditions to find the best sections which form the optimal design of the blade. The sections of the blade in the final version mainly consist of two different sections belong to S1210 and S1223 airfoils. The optimization process goes further by investigating the performance of the final design, and it employs the blade element momentum theory to enhance the design. Finally, the rotor-design was obtained, which consists of three blades with a diameter of 4 m, a hub of 20 cm radius, a tip-speed ratio of 6.5 and can obtain about 650 W with a Power coefficient of 0.445 at a wind-speed of 5.5 m/s, reaching a power of 1.18 kW and a power coefficient of 0.40 at a wind-speed of 7 m/s.
Efficient C2 Continuous Surface Creation Technique Based on Ordinary Differential Equation
Authors: Bian Shaojun , Maguire Greg , Kokke Willem , You Lihua , Zhang Jian J.
Published: December 2019

In order to reduce the data size and simplify the process of creating characters’ 3D models, a new and interactive ordinary differential equation (ODE)-based C2 continuous surface creation algorithm is introduced in this paper. With this approach, the creation of a three-dimensional surface is transformed into generating two boundary curves plus four control curves and solving a vector-valued sixth order ordinary differential equation subjected to boundary constraints consisting of boundary curves, and first and second partial derivatives at the boundary curves. Unlike the existing patch modeling approaches which require tedious and time-consuming manual operations to stitch two separate patches together to achieve continuity between two stitched patches, the proposed technique maintains the C2 continuity between adjacent surface patches naturally, which avoids manual stitching operations. Besides, compared with polygon surface modeling, our ODE C2 surface creation method can significantly reduce and compress the data size, deform the surface easily by simply changing the first and second partial derivatives, and shape control parameters instead of manipulating loads of polygon points.
Protective Role of Hydrogen Gas on Oxidative Damage and Apoptosis in Intestinal Porcine Epithelial Cells (IPEC-J2) Induced by Deoxynivalenol: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Ji Xu , Zheng Weijiang , Yao Wen
Published: December 2019

To explore the protective role of hydrogen gas (H2) on oxidative damage and apoptosis in intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2) induced by deoxynivalenol (DON), cells were assigned to four treatment groups, including control, 5 μM DON, H2-saturated medium, and 5 μM DON + H2-saturated medium treatments. After 12 h of different treatments, the cell viability, biomarkers of cell redox states, and gene expression of antioxidant enzymes and apoptosis were observed and detected. Furthermore, caspase-3 and Bax protein expressions were measured by Western blot analysis. Our results demonstrated that the 5 μM DON significantly caused cytotoxicity to IPEC-J2 cells by reducing cell viability and increasing lactate dehydrogenase release in culture supernatants. Moreover, DON treatments significantly increased levels of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine, 3-nitrotyrosine, and malonaldehyde; however, they decreased total superoxide dismutase and catalase activities and downregulated messenger RNA (mRNA) expression related to antioxidant enzymes in cells. The 5 μM DON treatment also downregulated Bcl-2 expression and upregulated caspase-3 and Bax expression. However, the H2-saturated medium significantly improved cell growth status and reversed the change of redox states and expression of genes and proteins related to apoptosis induced by DON in IPEC-J2 cells. In conclusion, H2 could protect IPEC-J2 cells from DON-induced oxidative damage and apoptosis in vitro.
The Novel Clostridial Neurotoxin Produced by Strain IBCA10-7060 Is Immunologically Equivalent to BoNT/HA
Authors: Fan Yongfeng , Barash Jason R. , Conrad Fraser , Lou Jianlong , Tam Christina , Cheng Luisa W. , Arnon Stephen S. , Marks James D.
Published: December 2019

Background: Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) comprise seven agreed-on serotypes, A through G. In 2014, a novel chimeric neurotoxin produced by clostridial strain IBCA10-7060 was reported as BoNT/H, with subsequent names of BoNT/FA or BoNT/HA based on sequence homology of the N-terminus to BoNT/F, the C-terminus to BoNT/A and neutralization studies. The purpose of this study was to define the immunologic identity of the novel BoNT. Methods: monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to the novel BoNT/H N-terminus were generated by antibody repertoire cloning and yeast display after immunization with BoNT/H LC-HN or BoNT/F LC-HN. Results: 21 unique BoNT/H LC-HN mAbs were obtained; 15 from the BoNT/H LC-HN immunized library (KD 0.78 nM to 182 nM) and six from the BoNT/F-immunized libraries (KD 20.5 nM to 1490 nM). A total of 15 of 21 mAbs also bound catalytically inactive BoNT/H holotoxin. The mAbs bound nine non-overlapping epitopes on the BoNT/H LC-HN. None of the mAbs showed binding to BoNT serotypes A-G, nor any of the seven subtypes of BoNT/F, except for one mAb that weakly bound BoNT/F5. Conclusions: The results, combined with the chimeric structure and neutralization by anti-A, but not anti-F antitoxin indicate that immunologically the novel BoNT is BoNT/HA. This determination has significant implications for existing countermeasures and potential vulnerabilities.
Theoretical Study on Spin-Selective Coherent Electron Transfer in a Quantum Dot Array
Authors: Masuda Shumpei , Tan Kuan Yen , Nakahara Mikio
Published: December 2019

Recently, we proposed the spin-selective coherent electron transfer in a silicon-quantum-dot array. It requires temporal tuning of two pulses of an oscillating magnetic field and gate voltage control. This paper proposes a simpler method that requires a single pulse of oscillating magnetic field and gate voltage control. We examined the robustness of the control against the error in the pulse amplitude and the effect of the excited states relaxation to the control efficiency. In addition, we propose a novel control method based on a shortcuts-to-adiabaticity protocol, which utilizes two pulses but requires temporal control of the pulse amplitude for only one of them. We compared their efficiencies under the effect of realistic pulse amplitude errors and relaxation.
Synergistic Recapturing of External and Internal Phosphorus for In Situ Eutrophication Mitigation
Authors: Pan Minmin , Lyu Tao , Zhang Meiyi , Zhang Honggang , Bi Lei , Wang Lei , Chen Jun , Yao Chongchao , Ali Jafar , Best Samantha , Ray Nicholas , Pan Gang
Published: December 2019

In eutrophication management, many phosphorus (P) adsorbents have been developed to capture P at the laboratory scale. Existing P removal practice in freshwaters is limited due to the lack of assessment of the possibility and feasibility of controlling P level towards a very low level (such as 10 μg/L) in order to prevent the harmful algal blooms. In this study, a combined external and internal P control approach was evaluated in a simulated pilot-scale river–lake system. In total, 0.8 m3 of simulated river water was continuously supplied to be initially treated by a P adsorption column filled with a granulated lanthanum/aluminium hydroxide composite (LAH) P adsorbent. At the outlet of the column (i.e., inlet of the receiving tanks), the P concentration decreased from 230 to 20 µg/L at a flow rate of 57 L/day with a hydraulic loading rate of 45 m/day. In the receiving tanks (simulated lake), 90 g of the same adsorbent material was added into 1 m3 water for further in situ treatment, which reduced and maintained the P concentration at 10 µg/L for 5 days. The synergy of external and internal P recapture was demonstrated to be an effective strategy for maintaining the P concentration below 10 µg/L under low levels of P water input. The P removal was not significantly affected by temperature (5–30 °C), and the treatment did not substantially alter the water pH. Along with the superior P adsorption capacity, less usage of LAH could lead to reduced cost for potation eutrophication control compared with other widely used P adsorbents.
Molecular Analyses of Fecal Bacteria and Hydrodynamic Modeling for Microbial Risk Assessment of a Drinking Water Source
Authors: Chuquimia Olga D. , Bergion Viktor , Guzman-Otazo Jessica , Sörén Kaisa , Rosén Lars , Pettersson Thomas J. R. , Sokolova Ekaterina , Sjöling Åsa
Published: December 2019

Safe water is a global concern, and methods to accurately monitor quality of water are vital. To assess the risks related to bacterial pathogen load in Lake Vomb that provides drinking water to the southern part of Sweden, this study combined molecular analyses of enterobacteria and bacterial pathogens in water using quantitiative real-time PCR with hydrodynamic modeling and quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). A real-time PCR assay to detect enterobacteria was set up by primers targeting ssrA. Between February 2015 and May 2016, presence of ssrA gene copies as well as Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and EHEC O157 DNA was analyzed by real-time PCR at several locations in the catchment of Lake Vomb and its tributaries Björkaån, Borstbäcken, and Torpsbäcken. Björkaån had the highest detected concentrations of the ssrA gene and, according to the results of hydrodynamic modeling, contributed most to the contamination of the water intake in the lake. None of the water samples were positive for genes encoding EHEC O157 and Campylobacter spp., while invA (Salmonella spp.) was present in 11 samples. The QMRA showed that the suggested acceptable risk level (daily probability of infection <2.7 × 10−7) is achieved with a 95% probability, if the Salmonella concentrations in the water intake are below 101 bacteria/100 mL. If a UV-disinfection step is installed, the Salmonella concentration at the water intake should not exceed 106 bacteria/100 mL.
Groundwater Estimation from Major Physical Hydrology Components Using Artificial Neural Networks and Deep Learning
Authors: Afzaal Hassan , Farooque Aitazaz A. , Abbas Farhat , Acharya Bishnu , Esau Travis
Published: December 2019

Precise estimation of physical hydrology components including groundwater levels (GWLs) is a challenging task, especially in relatively non-contiguous watersheds. This study estimates GWLs with deep learning and artificial neural networks (ANNs), namely a multilayer perceptron (MLP), long short term memory (LSTM), and a convolutional neural network (CNN) with four different input variable combinations for two watersheds (Baltic River and Long Creek) in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Variables including stream level, stream flow, precipitation, relative humidity, mean temperature, evapotranspiration, heat degree days, dew point temperature, and evapotranspiration for the 2011–2017 period were used as input variables. Using a hit and trial approach and various hyperparameters, all ANNs were trained from scratched (2011–2015) and validated (2016–2017). The stream level was the major contributor to GWL fluctuation for the Baltic River and Long Creek watersheds (R2 = 50.8 and 49.1%, respectively). The MLP performed better in validation for Baltic River and Long Creek watersheds (RMSE = 0.471 and 1.15, respectively). Increased number of variables from 1 to 4 improved the RMSE for the Baltic River watershed by 11% and for the Long Creek watershed by 1.6%. The deep learning techniques introduced in this study to estimate GWL fluctuations are convenient and accurate as compared to collection of periodic dips based on the groundwater monitoring wells for groundwater inventory control and management.
Effects of Extensive Green Roofs on Energy Performance of School Buildings in Four North American Climates
Authors: Mahmoodzadeh Milad , Mukhopadhyaya Phalguni , Valeo Caterina
Published: December 2019

A comprehensive parametric analysis was conducted to evaluate the influence of the green roof design parameters on the thermal or energy performance of a secondary school building in four distinctively different climate zones in North America (i.e., Toronto, ON, Canada; Vancouver, BC, Canada; Las Vegas, NV, USA and Miami, FL, USA). Soil moisture content, soil thermal properties, leaf area index, plant height, leaf albedo, thermal insulation thickness and soil thickness were used as design variables. Optimal parameters of green roofs were found to be functionally related to meteorological conditions in each city. In terms of energy savings, the results showed that the light-weight substrate had better thermal performance for the uninsulated green roof. Additionally, the recommended soil thickness and leaf area index for all four cities were 15 cm and 5 respectively. The optimal plant height for the cooling dominated climates is 30 cm and for the heating dominated cities is 10 cm. The plant albedo had the least impact on the energy consumption while it was effective in mitigating the heat island effect. Finally, unlike the cooling load, which was largely influenced by the substrate and vegetation, the heating load was considerably affected by the thermal insulation instead of green roof design parameters.
A New Algorithm for Delineation of Surface Depressions and Channels
Authors: Wang Ning , Chu Xuefeng
Published: December 2019

Topographic delineation is critical to watershed hydrologic modeling, which may significantly influence the accuracy of model simulations. In most traditional delineation methods, however, surface depressions are fully filled and hence, watershed-scale hydrologic modeling is based on depression-less topography. In reality, dynamic filling and spilling of depressions affect hydrologic connectivity and surface runoff processes, especially in depression-dominated areas. Thus, accounting for the internal hydrologic connectivity within a watershed is crucial to such hydrologic simulations. The objective of this study was to improve watershed delineation to further reveal such complex hydrologic connectivity. To achieve this objective, a new algorithm, HUD-DC, was developed for delineation of hydrologic units (HUs) associated with depressions and channels. Unlike the traditional delineation methods, HUD-DC considers both filled and unfilled conditions to identify depressions and their overflow thresholds, as well as all channels. Furthermore, HUs, which include puddle-based units and channel-based units, were identified based on depressions and channels and the detailed connectivity between the HUs was determined. A watershed in North Dakota was selected for testing HUD-DC, and Arc Hydro was also utilized to compare with HUD-DC in depression-oriented delineation. The results highlight the significance of depressions and the complexity of hydrologic connectivity. In addition, HUD-DC was utilized to evaluate the variations in topographic characteristics under different filling conditions, which provided helpful guidance for the identification of filling thresholds to effectively remove artifacts in digital elevation models.
Chitosan–Starch Films Modified with Natural Extracts to Remove Heavy Oil from Water
Authors: Lozano-Navarro Jessica I. , Díaz-Zavala Nancy P. , Melo-Banda José A. , Velasco-Santos Carlos , Paraguay-Delgado Francisco , Peréz-Sánchez Josué F. , Domínguez-Esquivel José M. , Suárez-Domínguez Edgardo J. , Sosa-Sevilla Jaime E.
Published: December 2019

Chitosan films were used to remove heavy oil from connate water, deionized water, and seawater. In this research, chitosan–starch films were modified with natural extracts from cranberry, blueberry, beetroot, pomegranate, oregano, pitaya, and grape. These biodegradable, low-cost, eco-friendly materials show an important oil sorption capacity from different water conditions. It was observed that the sorption capacity has a clear correlation with the extract type, quantity, and water pH. In order to understand the physical and chemical properties of the films, they were analyzed according to their apparent density, water content, solubility, and swelling degree by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS), and the determination of surface area using the Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) method. The results indicate that chitosan–starch films modified with natural extracts can be successfully applied for environmental issues such as oil spill remedy.
Distribution Coefficient and Metal Pollution Index in Water and Sediments: Proposal of a New Index for Ecological Risk Assessment of Metals
Authors: Sedeño-Díaz Jacinto Elías , López-López Eugenia , Mendoza-Martínez Erick , Rodríguez-Romero Alexis Joseph , Morales-García Sandra Soledad
Published: December 2019

The Lake of Texcoco is a closed basin with soils that confer salinity, conductivity, and alkalinity to it. It has undergone a reduction in size, incorporation of wastewater, and short-term desiccation, and includes temporary wetlands interconnected during the rainy season, some of which receive treated wastewater. Sediments contain metals, thus affecting water quality. Five artificial lakes were studied, and 12 metals (As, Ba, Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mg, Mn, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were monitored bimonthly in water and sediments from June 2015 to March 2018. The Metal Pollution Index (MPI) and the Distribution Coefficient (Kd) were computed. Fe and Cd were the most and least stable metals in sediments, respectively (mean Log(Kd) = 4.24 and 2.079). Based on Log(Kd), metals were ranked as Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Mg > Cr > Ni > Ba > Pb > Hg > As > Cd. Log(Kd) values < 3 and > 5 indicate that metals occur mainly in water and sediments, respectively. The Mean Distribution Coefficient Log(Kd MPI) is a novel index proposed to assess ecological risk from metals in a water body. This index allows determining the phase (liquid or solid) where metals predominate, negatively affecting either free-swimming or benthic organisms. Log(Kd MPI) values indicated that metals occur primarily in the liquid phase in all lakes studied.
Effects of Deforestation on Water Flow in the Vadose Zone
Authors: Wiekenkamp Inge , Huisman Johan Alexander , Bogena Heye Reemt , Vereecken Harry
Published: December 2019

The effects of land use change on the occurrence and frequency of preferential flow (fast water flow through a small fraction of the pore space) and piston flow (slower water flow through a large fraction of the pore space) are still not fully understood. In this study, we used a five year high resolution soil moisture monitoring dataset in combination with a response time analysis to identify factors that control preferential and piston flow before and after partial deforestation in a small headwater catchment. The sensor response times at 5, 20 and 50 cm depths were classified into one of four classes: (1) non-sequential preferential flow, (2) velocity based preferential flow, (3) sequential (piston) flow, and (4) no response. The results of this analysis showed that partial deforestation increased sequential flow occurrence and decreased the occurrence of no flow in the deforested area. Similar precipitation conditions (total precipitation) after deforestation caused more sequential flow in the deforested area, which was attributed to higher antecedent moisture conditions and the lack of interception. At the same time, an increase in preferential flow occurrence was also observed for events with identical total precipitation. However, as the events in the treatment period (after deforestation) generally had lower total, maximum, and mean precipitation, this effect was not observed in the overall occurrence of preferential flow. The results of this analysis demonstrate that the combination of a sensor response time analysis and a soil moisture dataset that includes pre- and post-deforestation conditions can offer new insights in preferential and sequential flow conditions after land use change.
Spatiotemporal Variations in Seston C:N:P Stoichiometry in a Large Eutrophic Floodplain Lake (Lake Taihu): Do the Sources of Seston Explain Stoichiometric Flexibility?
Authors: Cai Jian , Bai Chengrong , Tang Xiangming , Dai Jiangyu , Jiang Xingyu , Hu Yang , Shao Keqiang , Gao Guang
Published: December 2019

Although sources of seston are much more complicated in lakes compared to oceans, the influences of different sources on the spatiotemporal variations in seston stoichiometry are still underexplored, especially in large eutrophic floodplain lakes. Here, we investigated seston stoichiometric ratios across a typical large eutrophic floodplain lake (Lake Taihu, East China) over one year. In addition, we used the n-alkane proxies to examine the influence of the seston source on seston stoichiometry variation. Throughout the study, the average value of the C:N:P ratio of 143:19:1 across Lake Taihu was close to the canonical lake’s ratios (166:20:1). Similar to other eutrophic lakes, seston C:N ratios varied the least across all environments, but C:P and N:P ratios varied widely and showed a strong decreasing trend in ratios of N:P and C:P from growing season to senescence season. This seasonal change was mainly associated with the decreasing contribution from algal-derived materials in seston pools because the non-algal dominated seston exhibited significantly lower ratios than algal-dominated seston. Furthermore, the spatial heterogeneity of stoichiometric ratios was also related to the seston source. During the senescence season, the terrestrial-dominated seston from agricultural watershed exhibited the lowest ratios in estuary sites compared with other areas. Statistically, the predictive power of environmental variables on stoichiometric ratios was strongly improved by adding n-alkanes proxies. Apart from source indicators, particulate phosphorus (PP) contents also partly explained the spatiotemporal variations in stoichiometric ratios. This study, thus, highlights the utility of multiple-combined n-alkane proxies in addition to simple C:N ratios to get more robust source information, which is essential for interpreting the spatiotemporal variations in seston stoichiometric ratios among eutrophic floodplain lakes and other freshwater ecosystems.
Spatial Data Management and Numerical Modelling: Demonstrating the Application of the QGIS-Integrated FREEWAT Platform at 13 Case Studies for Tackling Groundwater Resource Management
Authors: De Filippis Giovanna , Pouliaris Christos , Kahuda Daniel , Vasile Teodora , Manea Valentina , Zaun Florian , Panteleit Björn , Dadaser-Celik Filiz , Positano Pio , Nannucci Marco , Grodzynskyi Mykhailo , Marandi Andres , Sapiano Manuel , Kopač Irena , Kallioras Andreas , Cannata Massimiliano , Filiali-Meknassi Youssef , Foglia Laura , Borsi Iacopo , Rossetto Rudy
Published: December 2019

Because of the spatial nature of groundwater-related data and their time component, effective groundwater management requires the application of methods pertaining to the Information and Communication Technologies sector, such as spatial data management and distributed numerical modelling. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the QGIS-integrated FREEWAT platform and an approach combining spatial data management and numerical models to target groundwater management issues. FREEWAT is a free and open source platform integrated in a Geographic Information System environment and embedding tools for pre- and post-processing of spatial data and integrating numerical codes for the simulation of the hydrological cycle, with a main focus on groundwater. To this aim, this paper briefly presents the FREEWAT platform, introduces the FREEWAT approach, and showcases 13 case studies in European and non-European countries where the FREEWAT platform was applied. Application of the FREEWAT platform to real-world case studies is presented for targeting management of coastal aquifers, ground- and surface-water interaction, climate change impacts, management of transboundary aquifers, rural water management and protection of groundwater-dependent ecosystems. In this sense, compared to other existing software suites, FREEWAT allows data analysis and visualization to accomplish each step of the modelling workflow, i.e., from data analytics, to conceptual model definition, to numerical modelling and reporting of results. The presented experiences demonstrate that improved access to data and the portability of models and models’ results can help to promote water sustainability from the local- to the basin-scale. Furthermore, FREEWAT may represent a valuable tool to target the objective of increasing the capabilities of public authorities and private companies to manage groundwater resources by means of up-to-date, robust, well-documented and reliable software, without entailing the need of costly licensing, nowadays seldom affordable by public water authorities. Based on the strengths highlighted, the FREEWAT platform is a powerful tool for groundwater resources management, and for data collection, sharing, implementation and comparison of scenarios, for supporting planning and decision-making.
Modeled Land Atmosphere Coupling Response to Soil Moisture Changes with Different Generations of Land Surface Models
Authors: Shrestha Prabhakar , Simmer Clemens
Published: December 2019

An idealized study with two land surface models (LSMs): TERRA-Multi Layer (TERRA-ML) and Community Land Model (CLM) alternatively coupled to the same atmospheric model COSMO (Consortium for Small-Scale Modeling), reveals differences in the response of the LSMs to initial soil moisture. The bulk parameterization of evapotranspiration pathways, which depends on the integrated soil moisture of active layers rather than on each discrete layer, results in a weaker response of the surface energy flux partitioning to changes in soil moisture for TERRA-ML, as compared to CLM. The difference in the resulting surface energy flux partitioning also significantly affects the model response in terms of the state of the atmospheric boundary layer. For vegetated land surfaces, both models behave quite differently for drier regimes. However, deeper reaching root fractions in CLM align both model responses with each other. In general, differences in the parameterization of the available root zone soil moisture, evapotranspiration pathways, and the soil-vegetation structure in the two LSMs are mainly responsible for the diverging tendencies of the simulated land atmosphere coupling responses.
Crayfish as Bioindicators for Monitoring ClO2: A Case Study from a Brewery Water Treatment Facility
Authors: Malinovska Viktoriia , Ložek Filip , Kuklina Iryna , Císař Petr , Kozák Pavel
Published: December 2019

This study focuses on the use of crayfish as bioindicators in the water treatment process during operating conditions. The crayfish physiological responses to water disinfected with chlorine dioxide (ClO2) was evaluated. Monitoring was conducted at the private commercial enterprise Protivín Brewery in Czech Republic under standard operating conditions. This brewery has a water treatment facility, where ClO2 is used for water purification. A total of 25 adult signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) were kept in separate flow-through aquaria receiving the purified water with ClO2 concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 0.29 mg L−1. Diurnal rhythms of 32% of crayfish was disturbed even at lower concentrations of ClO2 (0.01–0.2 mg L−1), while higher concentrations (>0.2 mg L−1) affected all animals. A random decline and rise of heart rate was detected. In addition, the frequent occurrence of higher levels of ClO2 significantly increased mortality. On average, mortality of crayfish occurred three to four weeks after stocking into the experimental system. Crayfish mortality is estimated to occur at concentrations exceeding 0.2 mg L−1 of ClO2. Our results suggest that long-term exposure to ClO2 adversely affects crayfish physiology. In addition, the results of this study could contribute to the use of crayfish as bioindicators in long-term water quality monitoring under industrial conditions.
Accelerating beyond Early Adopters to Achieve Equitable and Widespread Electric Vehicle Use in the San Francisco Bay Area
Authors: Fisher Rebecca , Tang Mark , Le Tin , Yee Deanna , White Karissa
Published: December 2019

The San Francisco Bay Area (Bay Area) leads the United States and California in the rate of electric vehicle (EV) adoption. However, EVs only represent 3% of vehicles driving on Bay Area roads. Widespread EV adoption requires that all Bay Area residents participate in the EV revolution regardless of demographics or geography. Equitable access to EVs will ensure that all Bay Area residents benefit from improved air quality, lower fuel and maintenance costs, and a better driving experience. Below, we delve into the unique EV market in the Bay Area and present information and insights from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (Air District) EV programs.
Analisis Yuridis Putusan Bebas terhadap Kasus Tindak Pidana Pembunuhan
Authors: Lumbantoruan Ramot
Published: December 2019

The purpose of this research is to describe the legal arrangements regarding the Free Verdict according to positive legal provisions, the Judicial role of the Judge in deciding a case and Juridical Analysis of a conviction for a murder crime (Study of Judgment Number 423 / Pid / 2008 PN. South Jakarta. This research method is normative juridical research.The nature of this research is descriptive analysis, which is a method used to describe a condition or condition that is happening or ongoing in order to provide as much data as possible about the object of research so as to explore things that are ideal, then analyzed based on legal theory or applicable laws and regulations.Results of this study, first, the legal arrangements regarding the acquittal according to positive legal provisions is to look at Article 191 Paragraph (1), paragraph (2) and paragraph (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code specifically also provides an understanding that reinforces its role law about being free from all lawsuits. Second, the role of judges legally in deciding a case in the decision of Case Decision Number 423 / Pid / 2008 / PN. South Jakarta is a judge must pay attention to the interests of various parties, both the interests of the defendant, witnesses, and the interests of the Public Prosecutor.
PENEGAKAN HUKUM TERHADAP PELAKU TINDAK PIDANA PERJUDIAN ONLINE (Studi Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Medan Nomor 870/Pid.B/2018/PN.Mdn)
Authors: Manalu Hendri Saputra
Published: December 2019

Judi melalui internet (internet gambling) biasanya terjadi karena peletakan taruhan pada kegiatan olah raga atau kasino melalui internet. Pelaku judi online tersebut dapat dipidana berdasarkan Pasal 27 ayat (2) jo. Pasal 45 ayat (2) Undang-Undang Nomor 19 Tahun 2016 tentang Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik. Online game yang sesungguhnya seluruh proses baik itu taruhannya, permainannya maupun pengumpulan uangnya melalui internet. Praktek perjudian online dilakukan dengan melakukan traksaksi berupa menjual chip yang kemudian ditawarkan dan dibeli oleh orang lain atau agen tertentu untuk dijual/ditransfer ke account poker lain yang berminat. Pin dan chip ini akan dijual dengan harga tertentu secara cash (tunai) dalam bentuk uang (rupiah).Pengaturan tindak pidana  perjudian bola online di Indonesia diatur  di dalam Undang-Undang Nomor 19 Tahun 2016 tentang Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik tepatnya pada Pasal 27 ayat (2) dan untuk pengaturan tindak pidananya di atur pada Pasal 45 Undang-undang Informasi dan transaksi elektronik tersebut.  Penegakan  hukum oleh hakim terhadap pelaku tindak pidana perjudian bola online pada putusan Pengadilan Negeri Medan Nomor 870/Pid.B/2018/PN.Mdn adalah dengan penerapan sanksi pidana terhadap pembuat tindak pidana perjudian. Hambatan yuridis pembuktian tindak pidana judi bola adalah kurangnya upaya penanggulangan yang dilakukan oleh pihak penegak hukum sendiri, penegak hukum masih menggunakan peraturan-peraturan yang lama untuk menjatuhi pidana terhadap pelaku perjudian online ini, sementara sudah ada peraturan khusus yang mengatur mengenai tindak  pidana perjudian online ini.
CORRECTION OF METABOLIC INTOXICATION SYNDROME IN PATIENTS WITH NON-ALCOHOLIC STEATOHEPATITIS WITH UNDRLYING PNEUMOCONIOSIS ASSOCIATED WITH VEGETO-SENSORY POLYNEUROPATHY DURING MEDICAL REHABILITATION
Authors: Myakotkina G.V. , Sotskaya Ya.A.
Published: December 2019

The purpose of the work is to assess the severity of metabolic intoxication syndrome in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and underlying pneumoconiosis with vegeto-sensory polyneuropathy (VSP) during medical rehabilitation.
Materials and Methods. The authors examined 112 men, 30–59 years of age, with NASH and underlying pneumoconiosis associated with VSP. The patients were divided into two groups. The main group included 57 patients who were administered a combination of hepatrin and bronchomunal as medical rehabilitation; control group consisted of 55 patients under widely accepted NASH treatment. Nikolaychik method was used to determine the concentration of medium-weight molecules in the peripheral blood, before and after medical rehabilitation.
Results. It is established that in patients with NASH and underlying pneumoconiosis with VSP there is a significant increase in the concentration of medium-weight molecules in blood serum. A comprehensive scheme of medical rehabilitation of patients with this comorbid pathology reduces the level of such molecules. However, the decrease it is not enough effective and rapid.
Conclusions. Introduction of the combination of hepatoprotector hepatrin and bronchomunal immunomodulator in medical rehabilitation of patients with NASH and pneumoconiosis with VSP contributes to the everlast elimination of metabolic intoxication.
Keywords: non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, pneumoconiosis, vegeto-sensory polyneuropathy, medical rehabilitation.
Цель работы – оценить выраженность синдрома метаболической интоксикации у больных с неалкогольным стеатогепатитом (НАСГ) на фоне пневмокониоза с вегето-сенсорной полинейропатией (ВСП) под влиянием медицинской реабилитации.
Материалы и методы. Обследовано 112 мужчин с НАСГ на фоне пневмокониоза с ВСП в возрасте от 30 до 59 лет, распределенных на две группы. Основную группу составили 57 больных, принимавших в качестве медицинской реабилитации комбинацию препаратов гепатрин и бронхомунал; группу сопоставления – 55 пациентов, получавших общепринятое лечение НАСГ. Концентрацию молекул средней массы в периферической крови определяли, руководствуясь методом Николайчика,
до и после проведения медицинской реабилитации.
Результаты. Установлено, что у больных с НАСГ на фоне пневмокониоза с ВСП имеет место достоверное повышение концентрации молекул средней массы в сыворотке крови. Комплексная схема медицинской реабилитации больных с данной коморбидной патологией снижает уровень этих молекул, однако недостаточно эффективно и стремительно.
Выводы. Включение комбинации препаратов, состоящей из гепатопротектора гепатрина и иммуномодулятора бронхомунала, в комплекс медицинской реабилитации больных с НАСГ на фоне пневмокониоза с ВСП способствует стойкому устранению метаболической интоксикации.
Ключевые слова: неалкогольный стеатогепатит, пневмокониоз, вегето-сенсорная полинейропатия, медицинская реабилитация.