bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of Emulsified Asphalt on the Mechanical Property and Microstructure of Cement-Stabilized Gravel under Freezing and Thawing Cycle Conditions
Authors: Wang Yiqi , Tan Yiqiu , Guo Meng , Wang Xinglong
Published: May 2017

Properties of cement-stabilized gravel modified by emulsified asphalt under freezing and thawing cycle conditions were investigated by adjusting the dosage of cement. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were introduced to analyze the influential mechanism. The results indicate that cement emulsified asphalt stabilized gravel with 5 wt % of cement performed well in both mechanics and frost-resistance. Although the addition of emulsified asphalt would lead to a partial decrease of strength, it can extend the process of strength loss and improve the freezing resistance. The main reason for this is that the permeability can be improved by the filling effects of emulsified asphalt. The frost-heave stress caused by the phase transition of water can also be remitted by emulsified asphalt, the elasticity modulus of which is much lower than the matrix. The generating speed of the micro crack can also be slowed down by emulsified asphalt.
Composite Materials Based on Hemp and Flax for Low-Energy Buildings
Authors: Brzyski Przemysław , Barnat-Hunek Danuta , Suchorab Zbigniew , Łagód Grzegorz
Published: May 2017

The article presents the results obtained in the course of a study on prospective application of flax/hemp wastes as a filling material of lime-based composites in the construction of low-energy buildings. The utilized filler comprised the hydrated lime with clay and Portland cement used as additives. The analysis involved evaluation of such properties as porosity, density, thermal conductivity, absorptivity, permeability, as well as compressive and flexural strength. Depending on the quantity of the filler, the properties of the composite changed. This, in turn, enabled to evaluate whether the utilized composite met the thermal requirements established for low-energy buildings. Afterwards, the obtained data were cross-referenced with the results gathered in the case of a room built of autoclaved aerated concrete. In order to prevent reaching the critical surface humidity, the internal surface temperature had to be calculated. Moreover, the chances of interstitial condensation occurring in the wall made of the analyzed lime–flax–hemp composite were determined as well. The study showed that the composite exhibits low strength, low density, low thermal conductivity, and high absorptivity. The external walls made of the lime–flax–hemp composite receive a limited exposure to condensation, but not significant enough to constitute any threat. The requirements established for low-energy buildings can be met by using the analyzed composite.
Femtosecond Two-Photon Absorption Spectroscopy of Poly(fluorene) Derivatives Containing Benzoselenadiazole and Benzothiadiazole
Authors: Gonçalves Vivas Marcelo , Dario Fonseca Ruben , De Paula Siqueira Jonathas , Renato Mendonça Cleber , Rodrigues Paula , De Boni Leonardo
Published: May 2017

We have investigated the molecular structure and two-photon absorption (2PA) properties relationship of two push–pull poly(fluorene) derivatives containing benzoselenadiazole and benzothiadiazole units. For that, we have used the femtosecond wavelength-tunable Z-scan technique with a low repetition rate (1 kHz) and an energy per pulse on the order of nJ. Our results show that both 2PA spectra present a strong 2PA (around 600 GM (1 GM = 1 × 10−50 cm4·s·photon−1)) band at around 720 nm (transition energy 3.45 eV) ascribed to the strongly 2PA-allowed 1Ag-like → mAg-like transition, characteristic of poly(fluorene) derivatives. Another 2PA band related to the intramolecular charge transfer was also observed at around 900 nm (transition energy 2.75 eV). In both 2PA bands, we found higher 2PA cross-section values for the poly(fluorene) containing benzothiadiazole unit. This outcome was explained through the higher charge redistribution at the excited state caused by the benzothiadiazole group as compared to the benzoselenadiazole and confirmed by means of solvatochromic Stokes shift measurements. To shed more light on these results, we employed the sum-over-states approach within the two-energy level model to estimate the maximum permanent dipole moment change related to the intramolecular charge transfer transition.
Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Structure-Activity Relationships of Brominated Indoles from a Marine Mollusc
Authors: Ahmad Tarek , Rudd David , Smith Joshua , Kotiw Michael , Mouatt Peter , Seymour Lisa , Liu Lei , Benkendorff Kirsten
Published: May 2017

Marine molluscs are rich in biologically active natural products that provide new potential sources of anti-inflammatory agents. Here we used bioassay guided fractionation of extracts from the muricid Dicathais orbita to identify brominated indoles with anti-inflammatory activity, based on the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in calcium ionophore-stimulated 3T3 ccl-92 fibroblasts. Muricid brominated indoles were then compared to a range of synthetic indoles to determine structure-activity relationships. Both hypobranchial gland and egg extracts inhibited the production of NO significantly with IC50 of 30.8 and 40 μg/mL, respectively. The hypobranchial gland extract also inhibited the production of TNFα and PGE2 with IC50 of 43.03 µg/mL and 34.24 µg/mL, respectively. The purified mono-brominated indole and isatin compounds showed significant inhibitory activity against NO, TNFα, and PGE2, and were more active than dimer indoles and non-brominated isatin. The position of the bromine atom on the isatin benzene ring significantly affected the activity, with 5Br > 6Br > 7Br. The mode of action for the active hypobranchial gland extract, 6-bromoindole, and 6-bromoisatin was further tested by the assessment of the translocation of nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 mouse macrophage. The extract (40 µg/mL) significantly inhibited the translocation of NFκB in the LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages by 48.2%, whereas 40 µg/mL of 6-bromoindole and 6-bromoistain caused a 60.7% and 63.7% reduction in NFκB, respectively. These results identify simple brominated indoles as useful anti-inflammatory drug leads and support the development of extracts from the Australian muricid D. orbita, as a new potential natural remedy for the treatment of inflammation.
Anti-Onchocerca and Anti-Caenorhabditis Activity of a Hydro-Alcoholic Extract from the Fruits of Acacia nilotica and Some Proanthocyanidin Derivatives
Authors: Dikti Vildina Jacqueline , Kalmobe Justin , Djafsia Boursou , Schmidt Thomas , Liebau Eva , Ndjonka Dieudonne
Published: May 2017

Acacia nilotica fruits with high tannin content are used in the northern parts of Cameroon as anti-filarial remedies by traditional healers. In this study, the hydro-alcoholic fruit extract (crude extract (CE)) and, one of the main constituents in its most active fractions, (+)-catechin-3-O-gallate (CG), as well as four related proanthocyanidins, (−)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate (ECG), (+)-gallocatechin (GC), (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC) and (−)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG), were assessed for their potential in vitro anthelmintic properties against the free-living model organism Caenorhabditis elegans and against the cattle filarial parasite Onchocerca ochengi. Worms were incubated in the presence of different concentrations of fruit extract, fractions and pure compounds. The effects on mortality were monitored after 48 h. The plant extract and all of the pure tested compounds were active against O. ochengi (LC50 ranging from 1.2 to 11.5 µg/mL on males) and C. elegans (LC50 ranging from 33.8 to 350 µg/mL on wild type). While high LC50 were required for the effects of the compounds on C. elegans, very low LC50 were required against O. ochengi. Importantly, tests for acute oral toxicity (lowest dose: 10 mg/kg) in Wistar rats demonstrated that crude extract and pure compounds were non-toxic and safe to use. Additionally, the results of cytotoxicity tests with the Caco-2 cell line (CC50 ranging from 47.1 to 93.2 µg/mL) confirmed the absence of significant toxicity of the crude extract and pure compounds. These results are in good accordance with the use of A. nilotica against nematode infections by traditional healers, herdsmen and pastoralists in Cameroon.
A Molecular Electron Density Theory Study of the Reactivity of Azomethine Imine in [3+2] Cycloaddition Reactions
Authors: Domingo Luis R. , Ríos-Gutiérrez Mar
Published: May 2017

The electronic structure and the participation of the simplest azomethine imine (AI) in [3+2] cycloaddition (32CA) reactions have been analysed within the Molecular Electron Density Theory (MEDT) using Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations at the MPWB1K/6-311G(d) level. Topological analysis of the electron localisation function reveals that AI has a pseudoradical structure, while the conceptual DFT reactivity indices characterises this three-atom-component (TAC) as a moderate electrophile and a good nucleophile. The non-polar 32CA reaction of AI with ethylene takes place through a one-step mechanism with moderate activation energy, 8.7 kcal·mol−1. A bonding evolution theory study indicates that this reaction takes place through a non-concerted [2n + 2τ] mechanism in which the C–C bond formation is clearly anticipated prior to the C–N one. On the other hand, the polar 32CA reaction of AI with dicyanoethylene takes place through a two-stage one-step mechanism. Now, the activation energy is only 0.4 kcal·mol−1, in complete agreement with the high polar character of the more favourable regioisomeric transition state structure. The current MEDT study makes it possible to extend Domingo’s classification of 32CA reactions to a new pseudo(mono)radical type (pmr-type) of reactivity.
Synthesis of Europium-Doped Fluorapatite Nanorods and Their Biomedical Applications in Drug Delivery
Authors: Zeng Haifeng , Li Xiyu , Sun Muyang , Wu Sufan , Chen Haifeng
Published: May 2017

Europium (Eu)-doped fluorapatite (FA) nanorods have a biocompatibility similar to that of hydroxyapatite (HA) for use as cell imaging biomaterials due to their luminescent property. Here, we discuss the new application of europium-doped fluorapatite (Eu-FA) nanorods as an anticancer drug carrier. The Eu-FA nanorods were prepared by using a hydrothermal method. The morphology, crystal structure, fluorescence, and composition were investigated. The specific crystal structure enables the effective loading of drug molecules. Doxorubicin (DOX), which was used as a model anticancer drug, effectively loaded onto the surface of the nanorods. The DOX release was pH-dependent and occurred more rapidly at pH 5.5 than at pH 7.4. The intracellular penetration of the DOX-loaded Eu-FA nanorods (Eu-FA/DOX) can be imaged in situ due to the self-fluorescence property. Treatment of melanoma A375 cells with Eu-FA/DOX elicited a more effective apoptosis rate than direct DOX treatment. Overall, Eu-FA exhibits potential for tracking and treating tumors and may be potentially useful as a multifunctional carrier system to effectively load and sustainably deliver drugs.
Protective Effects of Amarogentin against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver Fibrosis in Mice
Authors: Zhang Ya , Zhao Hang , Li Hua , Cao Wei , Wang Fang , Zhang Tian , Wang Si-Wang
Published: May 2017

Amarogentin, a secoiridoid glycoside that is mainly extracted from Swertia and Gentiana roots, has been suggested to exhibit many biological effects, including anti-oxidative, anti-tumour, and anti-diabetic activities. The present study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of amarogentin on carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in vivo and the underlying mechanism. Fibrosis was induced by subcutaneous injections of 6 mL/kg of 20% carbon tetrachloride (dissolved in olive oil) twice per week for seven weeks. Mice were orally treated with 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg amarogentin and with colchicine as a positive control. Biochemical assays and histopathological investigations showed that amarogentin delayed the formation of liver fibrosis; decreased alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, malondialdehyde and hydroxyproline levels; and increased albumin, cyclic guanosine monophosphate, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase levels. Moreover, amarogentin exhibited downregulation of α-smooth muscle actin and transforming growth factor-β1 levels in immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses. The levels of phosphorylated extracellular regulated protein kinases, c-Jun N-terminal kinase, and p38 were also significantly reduced in all amarogentin-treated groups in a dose-dependent manner. These findings demonstrated that amarogentin exerted significant hepatoprotective effects against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in mice and suggested that the effect of amarogentin against liver fibrosis may be by anti-oxidative properties and suppressing the mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling pathway.
Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of New Substituted Hantzsch Thiazole Derivatives from Environmentally Benign One-Pot Synthesis Using Silica Supported Tungstosilisic Acid as Reusable Catalyst
Authors: Bouherrou Houria , Saidoun Aicha , Abderrahmani Ahmed , Abdellaziz Lamia , Rachedi Yahia , Dumas Françoise , Demenceau Albert
Published: May 2017

An efficient and green method has been developed for the synthesis of new substituted Hantzsch thiazole derivatives in 79%–90% yield, via the one-pot multi-component procedure, by the reaction of 3-(bromoacetyl)-4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2-one, thiourea and substituted benzaldehydes in the presence of silica supported tungstosilisic acid, as a reusable catalyst, under conventional heating or under ultrasonic irradiation. The catalyst is recoverable by a simple filtration and can be reused in the subsequent reactions. Most of the thiazoles exhibited significant antibacterial activity compared toamoxicillin and ciprofloxacin as positive controls. In addition, the new compounds showed moderate to good antioxidant (DPPH) radical scavenging activity.
Synthesis of Aminoglycoside-2′-O-Methyl Oligoribonucleotide Fusions
Authors: Granqvist Lotta , Kraszewski Andrzej , Tähtinen Ville , Virta Pasi
Published: May 2017

Phosphoramidite building blocks of ribostamycin (3 and 4), that may be incorporated at any position of the oligonucleotide sequence, were synthesized. The building blocks, together with a previously described neomycin-modified solid support, were applied for the preparation of aminoglycoside-2′-O-methyl oligoribonucleotide fusions. The fusions were used to clamp a single strand DNA sequence (a purine-rich strand of c-Myc promoter 1) to form triple helical 2′-O-methyl RNA/DNA-hybrid constructs. The potential of the aminoglycoside moieties to stabilize the triple helical constructs were studied by UV-melting profile analysis.
Wealth, Well-Being, and the Danger of Having Too Much
Authors: Crummett Dustin
Published: May 2017

It is impossible for an agent who is classically economically rational to have so much wealth that it is harmful for them, since such an agent would simply give away their excess wealth. Actual agents, vulnerable to akrasia and lacking full information, are not economically rational, but economists, ethicists and political philosophers have nonetheless mostly ignored the possibility that having too much might be harmful in some ways. I survey the major philosophical theories of well-being and draw on ethics and the social sciences to point out several ways in which, on the most plausible of these theories, having too much, relative to other members of one’s society, might be harmful to oneself (for instance, by making it harder for one to have appropriate relationships with others, or by making it more likely than one will develop undesirable character traits). I argue that because egalitarian policies prevent these harms and provide the advantaged with other benefits (such as access to public goods which help rich and poor alike), egalitarian policies are not as harmful to the rich as is commonly supposed, and may even be helpful to them on balance. I close by discussing the practical implications of this.
Improving the Impervious Surface Estimation from Hyperspectral Images Using a Spectral-Spatial Feature Sparse Representation and Post-Processing Approach
Authors: Liu Shuai , Gu Guanghua
Published: May 2017

Impervious surfaces have been widely recognized as an indicator for urbanization and environment monitoring. Plenty of methods have been proposed to extract impervious surfaces using remote sensing images. However, accurately extracting impervious surface is still a challenging task due to the confusion between impervious surface and bare soil. Thus, this paper presents a hybrid approach consisting of spectral-spatial feature sparse representation (SS-SR) and post-processing to extract urban impervious surface from hyperspectral images. We first extracted spectral and spatial features from hyperspectral images. Then, the spectral and spatial information of a pixel is represented by the vector stacking strategy. Each pixel vector can be represented by a linear combination of a few atoms from a learned dictionary, which is more suitable for impervious surface estimation. The sparse coefficients were automatically learned and then used for extracting impervious surface. The proposed impervious surface extraction method was evaluated with four hyperspectral datasets. We compared our algorithms with the state-of-the-art per-pixel based impervious surface extraction methods. The encouraging experimental results demonstrate the SS-SR algorithm generally outperforms the classic support vector machines and random forest. The improvement is more significant when combining SS-SR with post-classification approach.
Wearable Contactless Respiration Sensor Based on Multi-Material Fibers Integrated into Textile
Authors: Guay Philippe , Gorgutsa Stepan , LaRochelle Sophie , Messaddeq Younes
Published: May 2017

In this paper, we report on a novel sensor for the contactless monitoring of the respiration rate, made from multi-material fibers arranged in the form of spiral antenna (2.45 GHz central frequency). High flexibility of the used composite metal-glass-polymer fibers permits their integration into a cotton t-shirt without compromising comfort or restricting movement of the user. At the same time, change of the antenna geometry, due to the chest expansion and the displacement of the air volume in the lungs, is found to cause a significant shift of the antenna operational frequency, thus allowing respiration detection. In contrast with many current solutions, respiration is detected without attachment of the electrodes of any kind to the user’s body, neither direct contact of the fiber with the skin is required. Respiration patterns for two male volunteers were recorded with the help of a sensor prototype integrated into standard cotton t-shirt in sitting, standing, and lying scenarios. The typical measured frequency shift for the deep and shallow breathing was found to be in the range 120–200 MHz and 10–15 MHz, respectively. The same spiral fiber antenna is also shown to be suitable for short-range wireless communication, thus allowing respiration data transmission, for example, via the Bluetooth protocol, to mobile handheld devices.
Inspection and Reconstruction of Metal-Roof Deformation under Wind Pressure Based on Bend Sensors
Authors: Yang Liman , Cui Langfu , Li Yunhua , An Chao
Published: May 2017

Metal roof sheathings are widely employed in large-span buildings because of their light weight, high strength and corrosion resistance. However, their severe working environment may lead to deformation, leakage and wind-lift, etc. Thus, predicting these damages in advance and taking maintenance measures accordingly has become important to avoid economic losses and personal injuries. Conventionally, the health monitoring of metal roofs mainly relies on manual inspection, which unavoidably compromises the working efficiency and cannot diagnose and predict possible failures in time. Thus, we proposed a novel damage monitoring scheme implemented by laying bend sensors on vital points of metal roofs to precisely monitor the deformation in real time. A fast reconstruction model based on improved Levy-type solution is established to estimate the overall deflection distribution from the measured data. A standing seam metal roof under wind pressure is modeled as an elastic thin plate with a uniform load and symmetrical boundaries. The superposition method and Levy solution are adopted to obtain the analytical model that can converge quickly through simplifying an infinite series. The truncation error of this model is further analyzed. Simulation and experiments are carried out. They show that the proposed model is in reasonable agreement with the experimental results.
Vulnerability- and Diversity-Aware Anonymization of Personally Identifiable Information for Improving User Privacy and Utility of Publishing Data
Authors: Majeed Abdul , Ullah Farman , Lee Sungchang
Published: May 2017

Personally identifiable information (PII) affects individual privacy because PII combinations may yield unique identifications in published data. User PII such as age, race, gender, and zip code contain private information that may assist an adversary in determining the user to whom such information relates. Each item of user PII reveals identity differently, and some types of PII are highly identity vulnerable. More vulnerable types of PII enable unique identification more easily, and their presence in published data increases privacy risks. Existing privacy models treat all types of PII equally from an identity revelation point of view, and they mainly focus on hiding user PII in a crowd of other users. Ignoring the identity vulnerability of each type of PII during anonymization is not an effective method of protecting user privacy in a fine-grained manner. This paper proposes a new anonymization scheme that considers the identity vulnerability of PII to effectively protect user privacy. Data generalization is performed adaptively based on the identity vulnerability of PII as well as diversity to anonymize data. This adaptive generalization effectively enables anonymous data, which protects user identity and private information disclosures while maximizing the utility of data for performing analyses and building classification models. Additionally, the proposed scheme has low computational overheads. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the scheme and verify the aforementioned claims.
Super-Resolution Reconstruction of High-Resolution Satellite ZY-3 TLC Images
Authors: Li Lin , Wang Wei , Luo Heng , Ying Shen
Published: May 2017

Super-resolution (SR) image reconstruction is a technique used to recover a high-resolution image using the cumulative information provided by several low-resolution images. With the help of SR techniques, satellite remotely sensed images can be combined to achieve a higher-resolution image, which is especially useful for a two- or three-line camera satellite, e.g., the ZY-3 high-resolution Three Line Camera (TLC) satellite. In this paper, we introduce the application of the SR reconstruction method, including motion estimation and the robust super-resolution technique, to ZY-3 TLC images. The results show that SR reconstruction can significantly improve both the resolution and image quality of ZY-3 TLC images.
Convolutional Neural Network-Based Human Detection in Nighttime Images Using Visible Light Camera Sensors
Authors: Kim Jong , Hong Hyung , Park Kang
Published: May 2017

Because intelligent surveillance systems have recently undergone rapid growth, research on accurately detecting humans in videos captured at a long distance is growing in importance. The existing research using visible light cameras has mainly focused on methods of human detection for daytime hours when there is outside light, but human detection during nighttime hours when there is no outside light is difficult. Thus, methods that employ additional near-infrared (NIR) illuminators and NIR cameras or thermal cameras have been used. However, in the case of NIR illuminators, there are limitations in terms of the illumination angle and distance. There are also difficulties because the illuminator power must be adaptively adjusted depending on whether the object is close or far away. In the case of thermal cameras, their cost is still high, which makes it difficult to install and use them in a variety of places. Because of this, research has been conducted on nighttime human detection using visible light cameras, but this has focused on objects at a short distance in an indoor environment or the use of video-based methods to capture multiple images and process them, which causes problems related to the increase in the processing time. To resolve these problems, this paper presents a method that uses a single image captured at night on a visible light camera to detect humans in a variety of environments based on a convolutional neural network. Experimental results using a self-constructed Dongguk night-time human detection database (DNHD-DB1) and two open databases (Korea advanced institute of science and technology (KAIST) and computer vision center (CVC) databases), as well as high-accuracy human detection in a variety of environments, show that the method has excellent performance compared to existing methods.
Simultaneous Detection of Static and Dynamic Signals by a Flexible Sensor Based on 3D Graphene
Authors: Xu Rongqing , Wang Di , Zhang Hongchao , Xie Na , Lu Shan , Qu Ke
Published: May 2017

A flexible acoustic pressure sensor was developed based on the change in electrical resistance of three-dimensional (3D) graphene change under the acoustic waves action. The sensor was constructed by 3D graphene foam (GF) wrapped in flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Tuning forks and human physiological tests indicated that the acoustic pressure sensor can sensitively detect the deformation and the acoustic pressure in real time. The results are of significance to the development of graphene-based applications in the field of health monitoring, in vitro diagnostics, advanced therapies, and transient pressure detection.
The Influence of Green Supply Chain Integration on Firm Performance: A Contingency and Configuration Perspective
Authors: Song Yongtao , Cai Junya , Feng Taiwen
Published: May 2017

This study investigates the impacts of three dimensions of green supply chain integration (GSCI) on operational and financial performance, from both a contingency and a configuration perspective. From the contingency perspective, we used hierarchical regression to determine the impacts of individual GSCI dimensions (green internal, customer and supplier integration) and their interactions on firm performance. From the configuration perspective, we used cluster analysis to develop patterns of GSCI, which were analyzed in terms of GSCI strength and balance. Analysis of variance was used to examine the relationship between GSCI pattern and firm performance. We used data collected from manufacturing firms in Shanxi, Shandong, Beijing, Guangdong and Jiangsu to test hypotheses. The findings from both the contingency and configuration perspective indicate that GSCI was related to both operational and financial performance. Furthermore, the interaction between green internal integration and green customer integration was positively related to both operational and financial performance, while the interaction between green internal integration and green supplier integration was negatively related to financial performance. The interaction between green customer integration and green supplier integration was positively related to financial performance.
Product Family Approach in E-Waste Management: A Conceptual Framework for Circular Economy
Authors: Parajuly Keshav , Wenzel Henrik
Published: May 2017

As the need for a more circular model is being increasingly pronounced, a fundamental change in the end-of-life (EoL) management of electrical and electronic products (e-products) is required in order to prevent the resource losses and to promote the reuse of products and components with remaining functionality. However, the diversity of product types, design features, and material compositions pose serious challenges for the EoL managers and legislators alike. In order to address these challenges, we propose a framework that is based on the ‘product family’ philosophy, which has been used in the manufacturing sector for a long time. For this, the product families can be built based on intrinsic and extrinsic attributes of e-products as well as of the EoL management system. Such an approach has the potential to improve the current EoL practices and to support designers in making EoL thinking operational during the product design stage. If supported by a better EoL collection, presorting and testing platform, and a family-centric approach for material recovery, such a framework carries the potential to avoid the losses occurring in today’s e-waste management system. This, in turn, could facilitate a smooth transition towards a circular model for the electrical and electronic industry.
Performing Ecosystem Services at Mud Flats in Seocheon, Korea: Using Q Methodology for Cooperative Decision Making
Authors: Lee Jae-hyuck , Kim Moohan , Kim Byeori , Park Hong-Jun , Kwon Hyuck-soo
Published: May 2017

The concept of ecosystem services, which are the direct and indirect benefits of nature to humans, has been established as a supporting tool to increase the efficiency in decision-making regarding environmental planning. However, preceding studies on decision-making in relation to ecosystem services have been limited to identifying differences in perception, whereas few studies have reported cooperative alternatives. Therefore, this study aimed to present a method for cooperative decision-making among ecosystem service stakeholders using Q methodology. The results showed three perspectives on ecosystem services of small mud flat areas: ecological function, ecotourism, and human activity. The perspectives on cultural services and regulating services were diverse, whereas those on supporting services were similar. Thus, supporting services were considered crucial for the cooperative assessment and management of small mud flat ecosystems as well as for the scientific evaluation of regulating services. Furthermore, this study identified practical implementation measures to increase production through land management, to manufacture related souvenirs, and to link them to ecotourism. Overall, our results demonstrated the ideal process of cooperative decision-making to improve ecosystem services.
Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2) Vaccines in the Context of Current Molecular Epidemiology
Authors: Karuppannan Anbu , Opriessnig Tanja
Published: May 2017

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is an economically important swine pathogen and, although small, it has the highest evolution rate among DNA viruses. Since the discovery of PCV2 in the late 1990s, this minimalistic virus with a 1.7 kb single-stranded DNA genome and two indispensable genes has become one of the most important porcine pathogens, and presently is subjected to the highest volume of prophylactic intervention in the form of vaccines in global swine production. PCV2 can currently be divided into five different genotypes, PCV2a through PCV2e. It is well documented that PCV2 continues to evolve, which is reflected by changes in the prevalence of genotypes. During 2006, commercial vaccines for PCV2 were introduced on a large scale in a pig population mainly infected with PCV2b. Since 2012, the PCV2d genotype has essentially replaced the previously predominant PCV2b genotype in North America and similar trends are also documented in other geographic regions such as China and South Korea. This is the second major PCV2 genotype shift since the discovery of the virus. The potential increase in virulence of the emergent PCV2 genotype and the efficacy of the current vaccines derived from PCV2a genotype against the PCV2d genotype viruses has received considerable attention. This review attempts to synthesize the understanding of PCV2 biology, experimental studies on the antigenic variability, and molecular epidemiological analysis of the evolution of PCV2 genotypes.
Fuzzy Comprehensive Assessment Method Based on the Entropy Weight Method and Its Application in the Water Environmental Safety Evaluation of the Heshangshan Drinking Water Source Area, Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China
Authors: Ding Xiaowen , Chong Xiao , Bao Zhengfeng , Xue Ying , Zhang Shanghong
Published: May 2017

The safety of drinking water from source areas is an important issue, and the fuzzy comprehensive assessment method is a useful evaluation approach. However, it has limitations due to its complicated calculation, as well as the effects of subjective factors on the results. The objective of the research is to develop an effective method with more objective results for tackling water environmental evaluation problems in drinking water source areas. In this study, a new method— i.e., the fuzzy comprehensive assessment method based on the entropy weight method—was proposed; a water environmental safety evaluation index system was built, and then the water environmental safety of the Heshangshan drinking water source area was evaluated. The results indicated that the water environment of the study area was substantially safe. Furthermore, water-saving measurements should be taken, the industrial structure should be optimized, investment in environmental protection should be increased, and the utilization ratio of water resources should be improved. It can be concluded that the proposed approaches were feasible and reasonable. It is the first attempt to develop such an evaluation method and index system for water environmental safety evaluation, which can provide references and decision support for the related researchers and managers.
Performance and Microbial Diversity in a Low-Energy ANF-WDSRBC System for the Post-Treatment of Decentralized Domestic Wastewater
Authors: Li Juanhong , Lu Xiwu
Published: May 2017

Recently, more decentralized wastewater treatments are of great interest for rural regions. In this work, a novel ANF-WDSRBC system combined with an anoxic filter (ANF) and a four-stage water-dropping-self-rotating biological contactor (WDSRBC) was designed as a post-treatment option. With a total hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8.8 h and reflux ratio of 1:1, the ANF-WDSRBC system was operated 160 days. The results showed the ANF-WDSRBC system had better performance without mechanical aeration devices, the removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia (NH4+–N) and total nitrogen (TN) were 61.4% ± 4.3%, 86.1% ± 3.7%, and 54.5% ± 3.9%, respectively. By means of high-throughput MiSeq sequencing, the results suggested that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi were the predominant phyla in the system. In the WDSRBC units, Nitrosomonas, Nitrosospira, Bacillus, and Nitrospira were the main genera to take part in nitrification. Longilinea, Bellilinea, Thiobacillus, and Thauera in the ANF unit were the main genera to participate in denitrification and organic matters degradation. The novel ANF-WDSRBC system had great potential in the post-treatment of decentralized domestic wastewater.
Water Use and Pollution Recognition from the Viewpoint of Local Residents in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Authors: Akter Kazi , Kurisu Kiyo , Hanaki Keisuke
Published: May 2017

This study focuses on urban and rural house dwellers’ opinions about their own as well as commercial, industrial and agricultural water use and pollution issues in Dhaka, Bangladesh. One hundred respondents were asked to make comparative choices on five water use sectors arranged in pairs, about five water issues regarding water shortage, earning money, damage due to water shortage, water pollution and water loss during use. To analyze the homogeneities and variations in perceptions, the respondents were categorized into five clusters (P1–P5), based on the view of comparative importance of each sector, where clusters P1–P3 consisted of mostly urban respondents, while P4–P5 were of rural respondents. Clusters P1 and P5 thought of industries as the most responsible sector for water issues, whereas P2 and P3 clusters thought urban dwellers are more responsible for all water issues, except earning money. The respondents were asked also about their water spending and saving attitudes along with their concern regarding water issues. Two factors regarding water attitude and water issue concern were derived from factor analysis using the water attitude questions. Five clusters showed variations in water attitudes and concerns among them. Some clusters’ perceptions about sectoral water issues were found to be influenced by their positive attitudes and concerns. Residential peoples’ perception regarding sectoral water use might be useful for policy makers to identify the target groups (urban or/and rural water users) for management intervention.
Downscaling GLDAS Soil Moisture Data in East Asia through Fusion of Multi-Sensors by Optimizing Modified Regression Trees
Authors: Park Seonyoung , Park Sumin , Im Jungho , Rhee Jinyoung , Shin Jinho , Park Jun
Published: May 2017

Soil moisture is a key part of Earth’s climate systems, including agricultural and hydrological cycles. Soil moisture data from satellite and numerical models is typically provided at a global scale with coarse spatial resolution, which is not enough for local and regional applications. In this study, a soil moisture downscaling model was developed using satellite-derived variables targeting Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) soil moisture as a reference dataset in East Asia based on the optimization of a modified regression tree. A total of six variables, Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) and Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT) soil moisture products, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products, including Land Surface Temperature, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, and land cover, were used as input variables. The optimization was conducted through a pruning approach for operational use, and finally 59 rules were extracted based on root mean square errors (RMSEs) and correlation coefficients (r). The developed downscaling model showed a good modeling performance (r = 0.79, RMSE = 0.056 m3·m−3, and slope = 0.74). The 1 km downscaled soil moisture showed similar time series patterns with both GLDAS and ground soil moisture and good correlation with ground soil moisture (average r = 0.47, average RMSD = 0.038 m3·m−3) at 14 ground stations. The spatial distribution of 1 km downscaled soil moisture reflected seasonal and regional characteristics well, although the model did not result in good performance over a few areas such as Southern China due to very high cloud cover rates. The results of this study are expected to be helpful in operational use to monitor soil moisture throughout East Asia since the downscaling model produces daily high resolution (1 km) real time soil moisture with a low computational demand. This study yielded a promising result to operationally produce daily high resolution soil moisture data from multiple satellite sources, although there are yet several limitations. In future research, more variables including Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) precipitation, Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) soil moisture, and other vegetation indices will be integrated to improve the performance of the proposed soil moisture downscaling model.
Evaluation of Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Remotely Sensed Evapotranspiration to Infer Information about Hydrological Behaviour in a Data-Scarce Region
Authors: Wambura Frank , Dietrich Ottfried , Lischeid Gunnar
Published: May 2017

Information about the hydrological behaviour of a river basin prior to setting up, calibrating and validating a distributed hydrological model requires extensive datasets that are hardly available for many parts of the world due to insufficient monitoring networks. In this study, the focus was on prevailing spatio-temporal patterns of remotely sensed evapotranspiration (ET) that enabled conclusions to be drawn about the hydrological behaviour and spatial peculiarities of a river basin at rather high spatial resolution. The prevailing spatio-temporal patterns of ET were identified using a principal component analysis of a time series of 644 images of MODIS ET covering the Wami River basin (Tanzania) between the years 2000 and 2013. The time series of the loadings on the principal components were analysed for seasonality and significant long-term trends. The spatial patterns of principal component scores were tested for significant correlation with elevations and slopes, and for differences between different soil texture and land use classes. The results inferred that the temporal and spatial patterns of ET were related to those of preceding rainfalls. At the end of the dry season, high ET was maintained only in areas of shallow groundwater and in cloud forest nature reserves. A region of clear reduction of ET in the long-term was related to massive land use change. The results also confirmed that most soil texture and land use classes differed significantly. Moreover, ET was exceptionally high in natural forests and loam soil, and very low in bushland and sandy-loam soil. Clearly, this approach has shown great potential of publicly available remote sensing data in providing a sound basis for water resources management as well as for distributed hydrological models in data-scarce river basins at lower latitudes.
A new set of microsatellite primers for Coelogyne fimbriata (Orchidaceae) and cross‐amplification in C. ovalis
Authors: Huang Wei‐Chang , Jiang Kai , Hu Chao , Xiao Yue‐E , Seyler Barnabas C. , Li Yuan‐Yuan
Published: May 2017

Premise of the study:

Declining orchid populations have made it necessary to prioritize the study of population structure and genetic diversity for species including Coelogyne fimbriata (Orchidaceae).

Methods and Results:

A biotin‐streptavidin capture method was used to construct a microsatellite library for C. fimbriata. A total of 15 polymorphic nuclear microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized using 47 C. fimbriata individuals from two natural populations in China. The number of alleles per locus for the two populations ranged from two to 17. The observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.000 to 1.000 and from 0.000 to 0.867, respectively. Among these polymorphic primers, 11 loci were also successfully amplified in C. ovalis, and 10 loci showed moderate to high‐level polymorphism. Cross‐amplification of the 15 polymorphic loci was tested in five related species: C. cumingii, C. eberhardtii, C. mayeriana, C. peltastes, and C. velutina.

Conclusions:

Fifteen microsatellites in C. fimbriata and 10 in C. ovalis have moderate to high‐level genetic variation, indicating their utility in population genetic studies, thus contributing to orchid conservation.
GENERALIZED DEMATEL TECHNIQUE WITH CENTRALITY MEASUREMENTS
Authors: CHEN Chin-Yi , TZENG Gwo-Hshiung , HUANG Jih-Jeng
Published: May 2017

DEMATEL technique is a useful tool for understanding the influential relationship be­tween criteria of a systematic problematique in structural modeling, and has received much atten­tion in the field of decision analysis recently. However, the past papers focused on the applications of DEMATEL technique and ignored the convergence problem of the approach. In addition, two simple indicators, i.e., in-degree and out-degree centralities, used in DEMATEL technique cannot fully represent the insight of the network relationship. In this paper, we propose a general DE­MATEL technique which incorporated the concept based on interaction diminishing effect. The traditional DEMATEL technique can be considered as a special case of the proposed method when we ignore the effect. Later, we give six important indicators which can be used in DEMATEL tech­nique to conclude the relative importance of criteria. In addition, a numerical example is used to demonstrate the proposed method and the applications of the indicators.
MACROECONOMIC NOISE REMOVAL ALGORITHM (MARINER)
Authors: SKARE Marinko
Published: May 2017

Standard econometric filters fail to extract explicit trend component from macroeconomic data series. Isolated cycles provide no economic interpretation of the extracted component. Adding new data to the sample (filtering) period results in instability of extracted components. This study proposes a new econometric filtering technique (MARINER) able to overcome known shortcomings in standard econometrics filters such as Hodrick and Prescott (1997), Baxter and King (1999), Christiano and Fitzgerald (2003). MARINER provides a practical tool for policy makers dealing with business cycles. It also provides economic interpretation (new theory) on causes and sources of business cycles elaborating on theories developed by Phillips (1962) and Škare (2010). MARINER decomposes GDP macroeconomic data series in trend (long term) and cycles (medium term) components using three year moving average recursive filtering method. Extracted cycles are defined as deviations from equilibrium GDP path (minimized output gap) caused by poor synchronization between monetary and fiscal policy. MARINER bridge the gap in the literature on measuring and causes of business cycles. MARINER can purpose as foundation for building a new, primer econometric filtering methods.
Time-series Spectroscopy of the Oscillating Algol-type Binary AB Cas
Authors: Hong Kyeongsoo , Lee Jae Woo , Koo Jae-Rim , Kim Seung-Lee , Lee Chung-Uk , Park Jang-Ho , Rittipruk Pakakaew
Published: May 2017

This study presents the high-resolution spectra of the eclipsing binary AB Cas with a δ Sct-type pulsating component, which were obtained using the Bohyunsan Optical Echelle Spectrograph in Korea. In this paper, the radial velocities for the primary and secondary stars were measured from a total of 27 spectra made during two nights in 2015 October. We derived accurate physical properties of the system for the first time by simultaneously analyzing our radial velocity curves together with previously published uvby light curves. Individual masses, radii, and effective temperatures of both components were determined to be

M
⊙ and

M
⊙,

R
⊙ and

R
⊙, and

K and

K, respectively. The results should be more accurate than previous photometric studies. We investigated the evolutionary history of AB Cas by comparing its physical parameters with stellar evolutionary models. The primary component is not a classical δ Sct pulsator but is the result of mass accretion transferred from the initial more massive star, which is the present secondary. This indicates that AB Cas is an oscillating Algol-type eclipsing binary with a low-mass and oversized secondary component filling its inner Roche lobe.