bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identifying 2010 Xynthia Storm Signature in GNSS-R-Based Tide Records
Authors: Vu Phuong Lan , Ha Minh Cuong , Frappart Frédéric , Darrozes José , Ramillien Guillaume , Dufrechou Grégory , Gegout Pascal , Morichon Denis , Bonneton Philippe
Published: April 2019

In this study, three months of records (January–March 2010) that were acquired by a geodetic Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) station from the permanent network of RGP (Réseau GNSS Permanent), which was deployed by the French Geographic Institute (IGNF), located in Socoa, in the south of the Bay of Biscay, were used to determine the tide components and identify the signature of storms on the signal to noise ratio (SNR) during winter 2010. The Xynthia storm hit the French Atlantic coast on the 28th of February 2010, causing large floods and damages from the Gironde to the Loire estuaries. Blind separation of the tide components and of the storm signature was achieved while using both a singular spectrum analysis (SSA) and a continuous wavelet transform (CWT). A correlation of 0.98/0.97 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.21/0.28 m between the tide gauge records of Socoa and our estimates of the sea surface height (SSH) using the SSA and the CWT, respectively, were found. Correlations of 0.76 and 0.7 were also obtained between one of the modes from the SSA and atmospheric pressure from a meteorological station and a mode of the SSA. Particularly, a correlation reaches to 0.76 when using both the tide residual that is associated to surges and atmospheric pressure variation.
Befriending Your Food: Pigs and People Coming of Age in the Anthropocene
Authors: Trachsel Mary
Published: April 2019

Geologists and ecologists report that Earth is undergoing its sixth massive extinction event, an occasion that calls for radical revision of conservation ethics. The biologist Edward O. Wilson has proposed that conservation projects in the Anthropocene should be grounded in biophilia, an evolved, relational (or biocentric) mode of perception that activates aesthetic and affective responses to non-human life alongside cognitive understanding. Because biophilia includes non-rational modes of perception, the nurturing of biophilic conservation ethics cannot fall to ecology alone; imaginative literature, for example, can prompt readers to imagine and work to realize more environmentally friendly roles for humans and, further, can assist in cultivating a conservation ethic suited to current ecological conditions. In particular, coming-of-age novels about friendships between people and pigs offer an alternative to the industrial “pork story” that seeks to gain narrative control of relational norms between people and pigs, at the expense of biodiversity and ecological health. Three such novels published in 2017 depict human–pig friendships, a relational model created by pigs’ shift in status from food to companion animals. In presenting this realignment, the stories facilitate development of a biophilic conservation ethic.
Differentiation Strategy, R&D Intensity, and Sustainability of Accounting Earnings: With a Focus on Biotech Firms
Authors: Lee Namryoung , Lee Jaehong
Published: April 2019

In this paper, we examine the association between management strategy and a firm’s sustainability of accounting earnings over almost 20,000 firm-year observations in South Korea between 2000 and 2017. Using the differentiation strategy developed by Porter for measuring management strategy, we find that firms that implement the differentiation strategy make more-sustainable accounting earnings, as measured by the persistence of return on assets. In addition, regardless of the magnitude of R&D investments, proper implementation of the differentiation strategy is positively associated with the sustainability of accounting outcomes. However, except when sales increase, a reduction in R&D intensity has a negative impact on the persistence of accounting income for biotech firms. This is because biotech firms are not be able to continue to strengthen core competencies and thus cannot ultimately implement a differentiating strategy effectively.
Fishing Community Sustainability Planning: A Roadmap and Examples from the California Coast
Authors: Richmond Laurie , Dumouchel Robert , Pontarelli Henry , Casali Laura , Smith Wyatt , Gillick Kathryn , Godde Pamela , Dowling Michelle , Suarez Alyssa
Published: April 2019

Fishing communities are facing a variety of challenges including declines in participation, reduced access to fish resources, aging physical infrastructure, gentrification, competition from foreign imports, the “graying” or aging of their fleets, along with a host of environmental stressors. These factors can represent threats to the continued viability of individual fishing communities. Such communities are clearly in need of tools that will enable them to plan strategically and to be more proactive in charting a sustainable future. This manuscript provides a roadmap for how to engage fishing communities in a bottom-up strategic planning process termed “fishing community sustainability planning” by describing implementation efforts in four diverse California ports: Morro Bay, Monterey, Shelter Cove, and Eureka. The process draws from the literature on sustainability and community development to assess fishing community sustainability around four broad categories: economics and markets; social and community; physical infrastructure and critical services; environment and regulation. Process steps included developing a project team and community coalition, analyzing baseline data, conducting interviews with waterfront stakeholders, hosting public workshops, and drafting a Fishing Community Sustainability Plan (FCSP) that includes concrete recommendations for how a community’s fishing industry and waterfront can be improved. Experiences from the four ports reveal that fishing community sustainability planning can be adapted to a variety of contexts and can contribute tangible benefits to communities. However, there are limitations to what community-scale planning can achieve, as many regulatory decisions that affect communities are enacted at the state or national level. Combining community-level planning with scaled-up fishing community sustainability planning efforts at the state and federal level could help overcome these limitations. FCSP planning is one tool fishing communities should consider as they seek to address threats and plan for their long-term viability.
Measuring Industrial Customer Satisfaction: The Case of the Natural Gas Market in Greece
Authors: Drosos Dimitrios , Skordoulis Michalis , Arabatzis Garyfallos , Tsotsolas Nikos , Galatsidas Spyros
Published: April 2019

This aim of this paper is to measure industrial consumer satisfaction in the natural gas sector in Greece. By using the Multicriteria Satisfaction Analysis (MUSA) method, the paper measures industrial customer satisfaction based on criteria concerning the provided products and services, communication and collaboration with providers’ staff, customer service, pricing policy and website. The research results that are based on the analysis of 95 questionnaires collected during the period between June 2017 and October 2017 show that the index of the global customer has a good performance as its value is about 74.99%. Furthermore, the satisfaction criterion with the highest performance is the one concerning communication and collaboration with natural gas providers’ staff. It should be noted that the criterion concerning the provided products and services criterion is the only one with high performance and importance—meaning that it should be in the spotlight of the natural gas providers. The paper concludes that there is considerable space for improvements to be made. Customer satisfaction is of great importance for every company, as it can be highly connected with its performance. Using the results of this study, natural gas providers will have the chance to frame their future actions in order to keep their industrial customers satisfied. Taking into account both the fact that industrial customers’ share in the Greek natural gas market is about 25% and that this market has been recently liberalized, it is of vital importance for natural gas providers to have sufficient information about their industrial customers’ satisfaction.
Field Evaluation of the Dust Impacts from Construction Sites on Surrounding Areas: A City Case Study in China
Authors: Yan Hui , Ding Guoliang , Li Hongyang , Wang Yousong , Zhang Lei , Shen Qiping , Feng Kailun
Published: April 2019

Construction activities generate a large amount of dust and cause significant impacts on air quality of surrounding areas. Thus, revealing the characteristics of construction dust is crucial for finding the way of reducing its effects. To fully uncover the characteristics of construction dust affecting surrounding areas, this study selected seven representative construction sites in Qingyuan city, China as empirical cases for field evaluation. In the experiment, the up-downwind method was adopted to monitor and collect TSP (total suspended particulate), PM10 and PM2.5 (particulate matter ≤10 µm and 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter, respectively) concentrations, meteorological data and construction activities of each site for 2 to 3 days and 18 h in a day. The results show that the average daily construction site makes the surrounding areas’ concentration of TSP, PM10 and PM2.5 increase by 42.24%, 19.76% and 16.27%, respectively. The proportion of TSP, PM10 and PM2.5 in building construction dust is 1, 0.239 and 0.116, respectively. The large diameter particulate matter was the major constituent and the distance of its influence was limited. In addition, construction vehicles were one of the main influencing factors for building construction dust. However, building construction dust was not significantly correlated with any single meteorological factor when it did not change too much. Findings of this research can provide a valuable basis for reducing the impact of building construction dust on surrounding areas.
Judgement of Transport Security, Risk Sensitivity and Travel Mode Use in Urban Areas
Authors: Rundmo Torbjørn , Nordfjærn Trond
Published: April 2019

The current study aims to examine judgement of security in public transport and, more specifically, the role of the priority of security and risk sensitivity in the use of public travel modes versus car among an urban public. The results are based on a self-completion questionnaire survey conducted among residents above 18 years of age in the six most urbanised areas in Norway (n = 1043). The respondents were randomly obtained from the Norwegian population registry. The results showed that priority of security as well as risk sensitivity was significant predictors of travel mode use among an urban public when demographic factors were controlled for. In studies carried out previously, risk sensitivity was conceived to be a predictor of risk perception. The large proportion of explained variance in perceived risk reported in previous studies could be partly due to the use of risk sensitivity as a predictor variable, which is coincident with the criterion variable. It is suggested that the risk perception concept could be replaced with perceived risk evaluations, which cover the intuitive cognitive judgements of probability of an event with negative consequences as well as the severity of consequences if such an event takes place. It is proposed that risk sensitivity could be the main concept, covering the perceived risk evaluations, including intuitive judgments of probability as well as severity of consequences across a set of risk sources.
BIM and E-Negotiation Practices in AEC Consulting Businesses
Authors: Rahmawati Yani , Utomo Christiono , Zawawi Noor Amila Wan Abdullah
Published: April 2019

Architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) consulting businesses are developing into a specialized industry, and collaborative decision making is essential to obtain the finest design. Everything is now virtual. Building information modelling (BIM) has the most potential to support current practices. BIM is promising for effective and efficient design processes. Negotiation and decision-making processes appear to be activities that are the most difficult for BIM to facilitate. Both activities are hard to complete in person and virtually. Every participant has their own preferences, intention, and pay-off optimum, and conflicts are difficult to avoid. Communication and e-negotiation are main issues in BIM practices. This paper proposes BIM and e-negotiation practices in AEC consulting businesses, with the main intention to reveal critical success factors that enhance the utilization of BIM in supporting communication and e-negotiation. A survey through observation and questionnaire distribution was used to collect the data. Descriptive analysis through a mean and standard deviation scatter plot was used to analyse the data. Two hundred and two respondents consisting of 91 design managers (leaders) and 111 designers/consultants (non-leaders) were involved in the research. Based on the analysis, it was found that there are different perceptions between those two groups. The design managers stated that they were the most vital factor in supporting the e-negotiation in BIM, whereas the consultants (designers) stated that job description was the main essential factor.
Stormwater Utility Fees and Credits: A Funding Strategy for Sustainability
Authors: Zhao Jerry Zhirong , Fonseca Camila , Zeerak Raihana
Published: April 2019

Lack of stable and dedicated funding has been a primary challenge for municipalities in the United States to implement effective stormwater management programs. Stormwater utility fees (SUFs), as user fees, are an alternative dedicated revenue source to fund stormwater management. When complemented with stormwater utility credits or discounts, SUFs provide greater flexibility to adopting best management practices and reducing stormwater runoff at a lower overall cost to the community. While SUFs have been increasingly used, there is little systematic research on this topic. This paper reviews literature on how SUFs work, discusses the mechanisms for setting the fees, and provides examples of different rate structures from across the U.S. Then, we use the findings of the literature to evaluate SUFs as a funding strategy for stormwater management based on four revenue evaluation criteria of efficiency, equity, revenue adequacy, and feasibility. Overall, the literature indicates that stormwater utility fees are a more efficient and environmentally sustainable source of revenue that allows for long-range planning of capital improvements and operations, but their high political visibility and legal obstacles can affect their effective implementation. However, more empirical research is needed to assess these propositions. There is a lack of literature on effective SUF designs, equitable fee types, the extent to which SUFs lead to change in public behavior and their impact on business and stormwater management investments in a municipality.
Does More Managerial Power Impede or Promote Corporate Tax Avoidance? Evidence from Listed Chinese Companies
Authors: Tang Yingkai , Liu Yao , Liu Jing , Li Weiping
Published: April 2019

Paying taxes is a form of corporate social responsibility. Corporate tax avoidance effectively reduces operating costs, thereby increasing shareholder returns, but the pros and cons are different for executives. This paper takes data from companies listed in China from 2000 to 2016 to explore the causal relationship between managerial power and corporate tax avoidance, using principal component analysis and entropy weight methodology to construct managerial power. First, we conduct an ordinary least square regression, and then we employ alternative measures to avoid taxation, and use managerial power as a robustness check. Next, we rerun the model by using quantile regression and propensity score matching. Finally, in order to tackle problems with endogeneity, we carry out regressions utilizing instrumental variables and simultaneous regression equations. We conclude that managerial power reduces corporate tax avoidance, and firms with more managerial power have fewer incentives to avoid taxes. The results of this paper can guide the taxation of companies listed on the Chinese market to achieve the full payment of tax obligations by reinforcing managerial power in companies, which improves national taxation and leads to sustained economic growth.
Experiencing LoRa Network Establishment on a Smart Energy Campus Testbed
Authors: Kim Dong-Hoon , Lee Eun-Kyu , Kim Jibum
Published: April 2019

The fundamental properties of long-range (LoRa) performance have been revealed by previous research, but advanced issues remain unresolved. This paper tackles three technical challenges that are confronted when establishing a LoRa network on a smart energy campus testbed in Korea. First, the communication range of LoRa in a combined indoor and outdoor environment has yet to be determined. To address this problem, this study builds a LoRa testbed from which we measure the propagation properties of radio signals in a combined environment. Then, we establish a simplified path loss model for LoRa PHY and compute the communication range. Next, national regulations enforce the use of the Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) scheduling scheme, but its performance has never been examined. This paper enumerates the impacts of LBT, threshold values, back-off algorithms, and application parameters on LoRa Medium Access Control (MAC) performance. Last, the application parameters required by the smart energy scenario influence LoRa performance, but their impacts have been scarcely reported. Based on the application parameters and experimental results, this paper proposes a strategy to deploy LoRa gateway(s) and nodes on the campus. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first work that considers performance issues when establishing a LoRa network on a real-world application testbed.
Support Vector Machine Algorithm for Automatically Identifying Depositional Microfacies Using Well Logs
Authors: Wang Dahai , Peng Jun , Yu Qian , Chen Yuanyuan , Yu Hanghang
Published: April 2019

Depositional microfacies identification plays a key role in the exploration and development of oil and gas reservoirs. Conventionally, depositional microfacies are manually identified by geologists based on the observation of core samples. This conventional method for identifying depositional microfacies is time-consuming, and only the depositional microfacies in a few wells can be identified due to the limited core samples in these wells. In this study, the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm is proposed to identify depositional microfacies automatically using well logs. The application of SVM includes the following steps: First, the depositional microfacies are determined manually in several wells with core samples. Then, the training sets used in the SVM algorithm are extracted from the well logs. Finally, a quantitative discrimination model based on the SVM algorithm is established to realize the classification of depositional microfacies. Field application shows that this innovative and constructive solution can be effectively used in uncored wells to identify depositional microfacies with a rate of accuracy approaching 84%. It overcomes the limitation of the conventional manual method which greatly contributes to the cost-saving of core analysis and improves the sustainable profitability of oil and gas exploration.
Payment for Rice Growers to Reduce Using N Fertilizer in the GHG Mitigation Program Driven by the Government: Evidence from Shanghai
Authors: Gu Hai-Ying , Hu Qing-Mi , Wang Tian-Qiong
Published: April 2019

The overuse of N fertilizer by rice growers triggers excessive greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, leading to the environmental and climatic problem. However, growers will probably suffer loss in profits if they reduce the use of N fertilizer under the existing technology condition. The payment in market-based or government-driven way may overcome the potential barrier. For the appropriate carbon trading market is absent, the government-driven program will play a role in the payment. Three key issues in the designed program are the price of the payment, the participation rate of rice growers, and the variation of items associated with the social welfare. Due to the difficulty in estimating the economic value, prices of the payment can be set according to shadow prices. This paper applies the parametric directional output distance function to derive shadow prices of CO2 for 308 rice growers in Shanghai from 2008–2015. Average shadow prices range from RMB 1130 to 3769 yuan/ton (or US 163 to 618 $/ton). Taking the year of 2015 as sample, this paper predicts the participation rate (97.08%) of rice growers with the aim of 10% N fertilizer reduction and the specific price of the payment (7.47 yuan/kg). Moreover, this paper discusses on the variation of factors linked with the social welfare, and derive two important relationships from it. In detail, the relationship between the yield of the rice and the reduction of the N fertilizer should be balanced; the relationship between the improvement on the profit of rice growers (or the participation rate) in the program and the payment by the government should also be balanced.
Cruise Passengers’ Intention and Sustainable Management of Cruise Destinations
Authors: Fernández Gámez Manuel Angel , Sánchez Serrano Jose Ramón , Callejón Gil Angela , Cisneros Ruiz Ana José
Published: April 2019

Recent tourism studies have shown that cruise passengers´ intention can be used as a tool to evaluate the sustainability of port of call destination. However, studies on this topic remain scarce and only offer an initial conceptualization of this issue. Hoping to help fill this void, the present research proposes a robust model for the analysis of the cruise passengers´ intention as assessed by Partial Least Squares. Data was collected in the port of Malaga (Spain), between January and December 2018. The results showed that reputation and familiarity are the best explanatory factors of the cruise passengers´ intention with a port of call destination. Also, cognitive perception and affective evaluation are the antecedents of reputation and familiarity.
Optimal Design of a Distributed Energy System Using the Functional Interval Model That Allows Reduced Carbon Emissions in Guanzhong, a Rural Area of China
Authors: Zhu Ying , Tong Quanling , Zeng Xueting , Yan Xiaxia , Li Yongping , Huang Guohe
Published: April 2019

Nowadays, rural power supply in China plays an important role in restricting the economic development and improvement of residential living standards. In this study, an interval full-infinite programming rural energy model (IFIP-REM) was developed for supporting distributed energy system (DES) optimal design under uncertainties in rural areas. By affecting the upper and lower bounds of the interval by complex and variable external conditions, IFIP-REM could simulate the influence of external systems. To validate the model, a real case study of DES optimal design in Guanzhong, a rural area of China, was tested and aimed to minimize system cost and constraints of resources, energy supply reliability, and carbon emission mitigation. The data revealed generation of reasonable optimization schemes to obtain interval solutions of IFIP-REM. Compared to centralized energy system (CES), DES reduced electricity purchasing of the municipal grid by 47.5% and extended carbon emission of both upper and lower bounds to [17.13, 44.51] % and [12.42, 36.02] %, respectively. Overall, the proposed model could help managers make decisions of DES optimal design by coordinating conflicts among economic cost, system efficiency, and carbon emission mitigation.
From Landfills to the Dinner Table: Red Grape Pomace Waste as a Nutraceutical for Broiler Chickens
Authors: Kumanda Cebisa , Mlambo Victor , Mnisi Caven Mguvane
Published: April 2019

The disposal of red grape pomace (GP) in landfills and by incineration has negative impacts on the environment. It is, therefore, imperative that alternative and sustainable ways of managing this waste product are identified. Using GP as a source of nutrients and beneficial bioactive compounds in avian diets is a potential waste-reduction and valorization strategy that promotes sustainable agriculture. However, there is limited information on the valorization of GP for this purpose. This study, therefore, investigated the effect of dietary inclusion of GP on growth performance, blood parameters, carcass characteristics, and breast meat quality traits of broilers. Four hundred, two-week old Cobb 500 broilers (279.2 ± 18.87 g) were allocated to 40 pens. Five isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets were formulated by including GP in commercial broiler diets at 0 (GP0), 2.5 (GP25), 4.5 (GP45); 5.5% (GP55); and 7.5% (GP75). Feed intake, weight gain, feed utilization efficiency, hematology, serum biochemistry, carcass characteristics, and breast meat quality traits were measured. Chickens on GP75 had the least feed intake (p < 0.05) but there were no dietary effects on weight gain. Birds on GP0 had the highest (p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio (1.79) while those fed GP75 had the lowest (p < 0.05) ratio (1.45). Breast meat from broilers offered GP75 had the highest (p < 0.05) redness value (0.75) while the GP0 diet promoted the least (p < 0.05) redness value (0.49). Broilers fed GP55 and GP75 diets had higher (p < 0.05) feed conversion efficiency compared to GP0 birds. Inclusion of GP in broiler diets has the potential to reduce feed costs, thus making this valorization strategy a sustainable alternative to current pomace disposal methods. Adoption of this waste-reduction and valorization strategy promotes sustainable agriculture by contributing to food security and environmental stewardship.
Multi-Scale Assessment of the Economic Impacts of Flooding: Evidence from Firm to Macro-Level Analysis in the Chinese Manufacturing Sector
Authors: Hu Xi , Pant Raghav , Hall Jim W. , Surminski Swenja , Huang Jiashun
Published: April 2019

We present an empirical study to systemically estimate flooding impacts, linking across scales from individual firms through to the macro levels in China. To this end, we combine a detailed firm-level econometric analysis of 399,356 firms with a macroeconomic input-output model to estimate flood impacts on China’s manufacturing sector over the period 2003–2010. We find that large flooding events on average reduce firm outputs (measured by labor productivity) by about 28.3% per year. Using an input-output analysis, we estimate the potential macroeconomic impact to be a 12.3% annual loss in total output, which amounts to 15,416 RMB billion. Impacts can propagate from manufacturing firms, which are the focus of our empirical analysis, through to other economic sectors that may not actually be located in floodplains but can still be affected by economic disruptions. Lagged flood effects over the following two years are estimated to be a further 5.4% at the firm level and their associated potential effects are at a 2.3% loss in total output or 2,486 RMB billion at the macro-level. These results indicate that the scale of economic impacts from flooding is much larger than microanalyses of direct damage indicate, thus justifying greater action, at a policy level and by individual firms, to manage flood risk.
Rural Credit Constraint and Informal Rural Credit Accessibility in China
Authors: Lin Liqiong , Wang Weizhuo , Gan Christopher , Cohen David A. , Nguyen Quang T.T
Published: April 2019

This paper investigates the effects of rural households’ demographic characteristics on formal credit constraint, and explores the relationship between informal and formal lending in rural China. Using 2013 China’s Household Finance survey data, the authors apply probit regression models to investigate the effects of demographic factors on formal credit constraint and the household’s decision to borrow from informal credit sources. In addition, the endogenous switching regression model is applied to evaluate the impact of credit constraint on the welfare of rural farm households. The empirical evidence confirms that age, family size, annual household nonagricultural income, level of education, and history of informal borrowing have significant influence over credit constraint. Moreover, annual household nonagricultural income, the presence of children, borrowing from social networks and monthly communication expenses significantly impact rural households’ decision to utilise informal borrowing. Results from the endogenous switching regression model suggest that credit constraint by formal credit sources has no impact on household consumption.
Guided High-Quality Development, Resources, and Environmental Forcing in China’s Green Development
Authors: Li Zhengda , Yang Wanping , Wang Chengjun , Zhang Yuesheng , Yuan Xiaoling
Published: April 2019

High-quality guided development and environmental forcing are two routes for China’s green development, and each has different focuses and outcomes. The aim of this study is to clarify coordinated mechanisms to reveal the reasons and determine paths for China’s green development. A research framework for synergetic evolution is established, and the Haken model is applied to analyze the different effects of high-quality development that guide resource- and environmental-forcing mechanisms. This research showed that: (1) the preferred route and key factor in China’s green development is high-quality developmental guidance; (2) high-quality development and environmental-forcing mechanisms are non-coordinated, and while the former might coordinate with the latter, the latter does not; (3) mutual promotion of high-quality developmental guidance and the resource mechanism was not observed; (4) the critical point coordinated value is 0.5686 for China’s green development. Eastern China possesses a relatively high level of green development, while the north, east, west, and central areas of the country still have much progress to make.
An Investigation on Factors Affecting Stock Valuation Using Text Mining for Automated Trading
Authors: Cheng Xusen , Huang Danya , Chen Jin , Meng Xiangsong , Li Chengyao
Published: April 2019

Predicted price-to-book value ratios (P/BV) are widely used for the valuation of listed common stocks. However, with the application of automated trading system (ATS), the existing indicators that are applied in the method are losing their effectiveness in the Chinese market. Combining qualitative research with the text mining method, this study explores and validates those ignored factors to improve the accuracy of the stock valuation. On the basis of the principal of the existing valuation method, we clarify the scope of the factors that affects the P/BV ratio prediction. Through semi-structured interviews that are designed with six first-level factors which are taken from the literature, we then excavate some second-level factors. After that, with three corpuses including samples form Sina.com.cn, Xueqiu.com, and CSDN.net, four first-level factors and thirteen second-level factors have been verified step by step through the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) model. In the process, two other new factors and three sub-factors are also found. Furthermore, based on the factor correlation that was found in a data analysis, a factor relationship model was built. The results can be used in a stock valuation in future work as the basis of the indicator system for the prediction of P/BV ratio.
Optimal Sizing of Seawater Pumped Storage Plant with Variable-Speed Units Considering Offshore Wind Power Accommodation
Authors: Yao Weiwei , Deng Changhong , Li Dinglin , Chen Man , Peng Peng , Zhang Hao
Published: April 2019

To improve the output characteristics of offshore wind power and to enhance the wind power accommodation, this paper analyzes its output characteristics along the southern coast in China, and then proposes an optimal sizing method of seawater pumped storage plant (SPSP) with variable-speed units in a connected mode on an islanded microgrid. Based on the constraints of variable-speed unit characteristics and power smoothness at the point of common coupling (PCC), the maximum static revenue as the objective function for the optimal sizing of SPSP is established. Notably, under an appropriate smoothness rate at PCC, the constraints that are mentioned above can adequately reflect the advantages of variable-speed units: fast power response and wide operating range. Additionally, they contain more concise models and variables than previously, which are friendly for optimizing the calculations. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is feasible and practical, by simulating and comparing in different scenarios.
Early CU Depth Decision and Reference Picture Selection for Low Complexity MV-HEVC
Authors: Khan Shahid Nawaz , Muhammad Nazeer , Farwa Shabieh , Saba Tanzila , Khattak Shadan , Mahmood Zahid
Published: April 2019

The Multi-View extension of High Efficiency Video Coding (MV-HEVC) has improved the coding efficiency of multi-view videos, but this comes at the cost of the extra coding complexity of the MV-HEVC encoder. This coding complexity can be reduced by efficiently reducing time-consuming encoding operations. In this work, we propose two methods to reduce the encoder complexity. The first one is Early Coding unit Splitting (ECS), and the second is the Efficient Reference Picture Selection (ERPS) method. In the ECS method, the decision of Coding Unit (CU) splitting for dependent views is made on the CU splitting information obtained from the base view, while the ERPS method for dependent views is based on selecting reference pictures on the basis of the temporal location of the picture being encoded. Simulation results reveal that our proposed methods approximately reduce the encoding time by 58% when compared with HTM (16.2), the reference encoder for MV-HEVC.
Propagation of Blast Waves in a Non-Ideal Magnetogasdynamics
Authors: Chauhan Astha , Arora Rajan , Siddiqui Mohd Junaid
Published: April 2019

Blast waves are generated when an area grows abruptly with a supersonic speed, as in explosions. This problem is quite interesting, as a large amount of energy is released in the process. In contrast to the situation of imploding shocks in ideal gas, where a vast literature is available on the effect of magnetic fields, very little is known about blast waves propagating in a magnetic field. As this problem is highly nonlinear, there are very few techniques that may provide even an approximate analytical solution. We have considered a problem on planar and radially symmetric blast waves to find an approximate solution analytically using Sakurai’s technique. A magnetic field has been taken in the transverse direction. Gas particles are supposed to be propagating orthogonally to the magnetic field in a non-deal medium. We have further assumed that specific conductance of the medium is infinite. Using Sakurai’s approach, we have constructed the solution in a power series of ( C / U ) 2 , where C is the velocity of sound in an ideal gas and U is the velocity of shock front. A comparison of obtained results in the absence of a magnetic field within the published work of Sakurai has been made to generate the confidence in our results. Our results match well with the results reported by Sakurai for gas dynamics. The flow variables are computed behind the leading shock and are shown graphically. It is very interesting that the solution of the problem is obtained in closed form.
Protective Effects of Centella asiatica on Cognitive Deficits Induced by D-gal/AlCl3 via Inhibition of Oxidative Stress and Attenuation of Acetylcholinesterase Level
Authors: Chiroma Samaila Musa , Baharuldin Mohamad Taufik Hidayat , Mat Taib Che Norma , Amom Zulkhairi , Jagadeesan Saravanan , Ilham Adenan Mohd , Mahdi Onesimus , Moklas Mohamad Aris Mohd
Published: April 2019

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with cholinergic dysfunctions and impaired redox homeostasis. The plant Centella asiatica (CA) is renowned for its nutritional benefits and herbal formulas for promoting health, enhancing cognition, and its neuroprotective effects. The present study aims to investigate the protective role of CA on D-gal/AlCl3-induced cognitive deficits in rats. The rats were divided into six groups and administered with donepezil 1 mg/kg/day, CA (200, 400, and 800 mg/kg/day) and D-gal 60 mg/kg/day + AlCl3 200 mg/kg/day for 10 weeks. The ethology of the rats was evaluated by the Morris water maze test. The levels of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), phosphorylated tau (P-tau), malondialdehyde (MDA) and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex were estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Additionally, the ultrastructure of the prefrontal cortex of the rats’ was observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Rats administered with D-gal/AlCl3 exhibited cognitive deficits, decreased activities of SOD, and marked increase in AChE and MDA levels. Further, prominent alterations in the ultrastructure of the prefrontal cortex were observed. Conversely, co-administration of CA with D-gal/AlCl3 improved cognitive impairment, decreased AChE levels, attenuated the oxidative stress in hippocampus and cerebral cortex, and prevented ultrastructural alteration of neurons in the prefrontal cortex. Irrespective of the dose of CA administered, the protective effects were comparable to donepezil. In conclusion, this study suggests that CA attenuated the cognitive deficits in rats by restoring cholinergic function, attenuating oxidative stress, and preventing the morphological aberrations.
Nasal Colonization of Humans with Occupational Exposure to Raw Meat and to Raw Meat Products with Methicillin-Susceptible and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Cuny Christiane , Layer Franziska , Hansen Sonja , Werner Guido , Witte Wolfgang
Published: April 2019

Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) is widely disseminated as a nasal colonizer of conventionally raised livestock and of humans subjected to occupational exposure. Reports on contamination of raw meat raise the question as to whether occupationally exposed food handlers are at particular risk of nasal colonization by LA-MRSA. Here, we report the results from a cross-sectional study on nasal S. aureus/MRSA colonization of butchers, meat sellers, and cooks in Germany. We sampled 286 butchers and meat sellers in 26 butcheries and 319 cooks handling meat in 16 professional canteen kitchens. Swabs were processed on both blood agar plates and MRSA-selective plates. MRSA were confirmed by PCR for mec genes and by broth microdilution. All isolates were subjected to molecular typing. PCR for markers useful to differentiate human-adapted and animal-adapted subpopulations was performed due to the presence of clonal complexes known to occur in both livestock and humans (CC5, CC7, CC8, CC9, and CC398). Only two participants (0.33%) were colonized by MRSA (Hospital-associated MRSA ST22). Nasal colonization by methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) was detected in 16.6% of cooks and in 26.2% of butchers and meat sellers. Among 16 of the isolates attributed to CC7, three were negative for the immune evasion gene cluster, suggesting an animal origin. Isolates attributed to CC5, CC8, and CC398 were negative for markers typical of animal-adapted subpopulations. The occupational handling of raw meat and raw meat products was not associated with nasal colonization by LA-MRSA.
First Characterization of The Venom from Apis mellifera syriaca, A Honeybee from The Middle East Region
Authors: Frangieh Jacinthe , Salma Yahya , Haddad Katia , Mattei Cesar , Legros Christian , Fajloun Ziad , El Obeid Dany
Published: April 2019

Bee venom is a mixture of several components with proven therapeutic benefits, among which are anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and various cardiovascular conditions. In this work, we analyzed for the first time the proteomic content and biological properties of the crude venom from Apis mellifera syriaca, a honeybee from the Middle East region. Using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, we evidence the venom contains phospholipase A2, hyaluronidase, mast cell-degranulating peptide, adolapin, apamin, and melittin. The latter was purified by solid phase extraction method (SPE) and tested in parallel with crude venom for biological activities. Precisely, crude venom—but not melittin—exhibited antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. Alongside, hemolytic activity was observed in human blood subjected to the venom at high doses. A. mellifera syriaca venom displayed antioxidant activities, and not surprisingly, PLA2 catalytic activity. Eventually, the venom proved to exert antiproliferative effects against MCF-7 and 3T3 cancer cells lines. This first report of a new bee venom opens new avenues for therapeutic uses of bee venoms.
The N-Terminal Domain of Spike Protein Is Not the Enteric Tropism Determinant for Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus in Piglets
Authors: Wang Gang , Liang Rui , Liu Ziwei , Shen Zhou , Shi Jiale , Shi Yuejun , Deng Feng , Xiao Shaobo , Fu Zhen F. , Peng Guiqing
Published: April 2019

Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) is the etiologic agent of transmissible gastroenteritis in pigs, and the N-terminal domain of TGEV spike protein is generally recognized as both the virulence determinant and enteric tropism determinant. Here, we assembled a full-length infectious cDNA clone of TGEV in a bacterial artificial chromosome. Using a novel approach, the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) systems efficiently and rapidly rescued another recombinant virus with a 224-amino-acid deletion in the N-terminal domain of the TGEV Spike gene (S_NTD224), which is analogous to the N-terminal domain of porcine respiratory coronavirus. S_NTD224 notably affected the TGEV growth kinetics in PK-15 cells but was not essential for recombinant virus survival. In animal experiments with 13 two-day-old piglets, the TGEV recombinant viruses with/without S_NTD224 deletion induced obvious clinical signs and mortality. Together, our results directly demonstrated that S_NTD224 of TGEV mildly influenced TGEV virulence but was not the enteric tropism determinant and provide new insights for the development of a new attenuated vaccine against TGEV. Importantly, the optimized reverse genetics platform used in this study will simplify the construction of mutant infectious clones and help accelerate progress in coronavirus research.
Development of a Versatile, Near Full Genome Amplification and Sequencing Approach for a Broad Variety of HIV-1 Group M Variants
Authors: Banin Andrew N. , Tuen Michael , Bimela Jude S. , Tongo Marcel , Zappile Paul , Khodadadi-Jamayran Alireza , Nanfack Aubin J. , Meli Josephine , Wang Xiaohong , Mbanya Dora , Ngogang Jeanne , Heguy Adriana , Nyambi Phillipe N. , Fokunang Charles , Duerr Ralf
Published: April 2019

Near full genome sequencing (NFGS) of HIV-1 is required to assess the genetic composition of HIV-1 strains comprehensively. Population-wide, it enables a determination of the heterogeneity of HIV-1 and the emergence of novel/recombinant strains, while for each individual it constitutes a diagnostic instrument to assist targeted therapeutic measures against viral components. There is still a lack of robust and adaptable techniques for efficient NFGS from miscellaneous HIV-1 subtypes. Using rational primer design, a broad primer set was developed for the amplification and sequencing of diverse HIV-1 group M variants from plasma. Using pure subtypes as well as diverse, unique recombinant forms (URF), variable amplicon approaches were developed for NFGS comprising all functional genes. Twenty-three different genomes composed of subtypes A (A1), B, F (F2), G, CRF01_AE, CRF02_AG, and CRF22_01A1 were successfully determined. The NFGS approach was robust irrespective of viral loads (≥306 copies/mL) and amplification method. Third-generation sequencing (TGS), single genome amplification (SGA), cloning, and bulk sequencing yielded similar outcomes concerning subtype composition and recombinant breakpoint patterns. The introduction of a simple and versatile near full genome amplification, sequencing, and cloning method enables broad application in phylogenetic studies of diverse HIV-1 subtypes and can contribute to personalized HIV therapy and diagnosis.
Empowering the Next Generation of Watershed Decision-Makers: A Pedagogical Design
Authors: Perry Jim , Thompson Louise
Published: April 2019

Watershed management is the art and practice of understanding stakeholder values for ecosystem services within a watershed and instituting management practices that consider trade-offs to sustain these goods and services. Effective watershed management practices are hydrologically defined, ecosystem-based, inclusive, and integrate biophysical as well as socioeconomic decisions. The uncertainties and unpredictability of climate change create an ambiguous backdrop to the increasingly social problem of water resource management. Inequities in watershed decision-making processes often lead to the reinforcement of power and resource imbalances. Future watershed managers must be able to engage across socioeconomic and cultural boundaries to support decisions that advance water as a human right in an uncertain future. We offer a design for a graduate level, 15-week university course that uses publicly available resources to help emerging watershed leaders prepare for an uncertain future. The design is interactive and constructivist, engaging the refereed literature and leading to an increased understanding of ecosystem-based watershed management under climate scenarios, with special attention to vulnerable populations.
An Analysis of the Factors Affecting Hyporheic Exchange based on Numerical Modeling
Authors: Ren Jie , Wang Xiuping , Zhou Yinjun , Chen Bo , Men Lili
Published: April 2019

The hyporheic zone is a transition zone for the exchange of matter and energy between surface water and subsurface water. The study of trends and sensitivities of bed hyporheic exchanges to the various influencing factors is of great significance. The surface−groundwater flow process was simulated using a multiphysics computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method and compared to previous flume experiments. Based on that, the single-factor effects of flow velocity (u), water depth (H), dune wave height (h), and bed substrate permeability (κ) on hyporheic exchange in the bed hyporheic zone were investigated. The sensitivity analysis of various factors (H, u, dune wavelength (L), h, bed substrate porosity (θ), κ, and the diffusion coefficient of solute molecules (Dm)) in the surface−subsurface water coupling model was done using orthogonal tests. The results indicated that u, h, and κ were positively related, whereas H was negatively related to hyporheic exchange. H and u showed large effects, whereas κ, Dm, and θ had moderate effects, and L and h showed small effects on hyporheic exchange. This study provides valuable references for the protection and recovery of river ecology.