bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improvement of Clustering Methods for Modelling Abrupt Land Surface Changes in Satellite Image Fusions
Authors: Zhong Detang , Zhou Fuqun
Published: July 2019

A key challenge in developing models for the fusion of surface reflectance data across multiple satellite sensors is ensuring that they apply to both gradual vegetation phenological dynamics and abrupt land surface changes. To better model land cover spatial and temporal changes, we proposed previously a Prediction Smooth Reflectance Fusion Model (PSRFM) that combines a dynamic prediction model based on the linear spectral mixing model with a smoothing filter corresponding to the weighted average of forward and backward temporal predictions. One of the significant advantages of PSRFM is that PSRFM can model abrupt land surface changes either through optimized clusters or the residuals of the predicted gradual changes. In this paper, we expanded our approach and developed more efficient methods for clustering. We applied the new methods for dramatic land surface changes caused by a flood and a forest fire. Comparison of the model outputs showed that the new methods can capture the land surface changes more effectively. We also compared the improved PSRFM to two most popular reflectance fusion algorithms: Spatial and Temporal Adaptive Reflectance Fusion Model (STARFM) and Enhanced version of STARFM (ESTARFM). The results showed that the improved PSRFM is more effective and outperforms STARFM and ESTARFM both visually and quantitatively.
Field-Scale Crop Seeding Date Estimation from MODIS Data and Growing Degree Days in Manitoba, Canada
Authors: Dong Taifeng , Shang Jiali , Qian Budong , Liu Jiangui , Chen Jing , Jing Qi , McConkey Brian , Huffman Ted , Daneshfar Bahram , Champagne Catherine , Davidson Andrew , MacDonald Dan
Published: July 2019

Information on crop seeding date is required in many applications such as crop management and yield forecasting. This study presents a novel method to estimate crop seeding date at the field level from time-series 250-m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and growing degree days (GDD; base 5 ºC; ºC-days). The start of growing season (SOS) was first derived from time-series EVI2 (two-band Enhanced Vegetation Index) calculated from a MODIS 8-day composite surface reflectance product (MOD09Q1; Collection 6). Based on GDD calculated from the Daymet gridded estimates of daily weather parameters, a simple model was developed to establish a linkage between the observed seeding date and the SOS. Calibration and validation of the model was conducted on three major crops, spring wheat, canola and oats in the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The estimated SOS had a strong linear correlation with the observed seeding date; with a deviation of a few days depending on the year. The seeding date of the three crops can be calculated from the SOS by adjusting the number of days needed to accumulate GDD (AGDD) for emergence. The overall root-mean-square-difference (RMSD) of the estimated seeding date was less than 10 days. Validation showed that the accuracy of the estimated seeding date was crop-type independent. The developed method is useful for estimating the historical crop seeding date from remote sensing data in Canada to support studies of the interactions among seeding date, crop management and crop yield under climate change. It is anticipated that this method can be adapted to other crops in other locations using the same or different satellite data.
Removal of Chlorophyll-a Spectral Interference for Improved Phycocyanin Estimation from Remote Sensing Reflectance
Authors: Ogashawara Igor , Li Lin
Published: July 2019

Monitoring cyanobacteria is an essential step for the development of environmental and public health policies. While traditional monitoring methods rely on collection and analysis of water samples, remote sensing techniques have been used to capture their spatial and temporal dynamics. Remote detection of cyanobacteria is commonly based on the absorption of phycocyanin (PC), a unique pigment of freshwater cyanobacteria, at 620 nm. However, other photosynthetic pigments can contribute to absorption at 620 nm, interfering with the remote estimation of PC. To surpass this issue, we present a remote sensing algorithm in which the contribution of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) absorption at 620 nm is removed. To do this, we determine the PC contribution to the absorption at 665 nm and chl-a contribution to the absorption at 620 nm based on empirical relationships established using chl-a and PC standards. The proposed algorithm was compared with semi-empirical and semi-analytical remote sensing algorithms for proximal and simulated satellite sensor datasets from three central Indiana reservoirs (total of 544 sampling points). The proposed algorithm outperformed semi-empirical algorithms with root mean square error (RMSE) lower than 25 µg/L for the three analyzed reservoirs and showed similar performance to a semi-analytical algorithm. However, the proposed remote sensing algorithm has a simple mathematical structure, it can be applied at ease and make it possible to improve spectral estimation of phycocyanin from space. Additionally, the proposed showed little influence from the package effect of cyanobacteria cells.
Kelvin–Voigt Parameters Reconstruction of Cervical Tissue-Mimicking Phantoms Using Torsional Wave Elastography
Authors: Callejas Antonio , Gomez Antonio , Faris Inas H. , Melchor Juan , Rus Guillermo
Published: July 2019

The reconstruction of viscous properties of soft tissues, and more specifically, of cervical tissue is a challenging problem. In this paper, a new method is proposed to reconstruct the viscoelastic parameters of cervical tissue-mimicking phantoms by a Torsional Wave Elastography (TWE) technique. The reconstruction method, based on a Probabilistic Inverse Problem (PIP) approach, is presented and experimentally validated against Shear Wave Elastography (SWE). The anatomy of the cervical tissue has been mimicked by means of a two-layer gelatine phantom that simulates the epithelial and connective layers. Five ad hoc oil-in-gelatine phantoms were fabricated at different proportion to test the new reconstruction technique. The PIP approach was used for reconstructing the Kelvin-Voigt (KV) viscoelastic parameters by comparing the measurements obtained from the TWE technique with the synthetic signals from a Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) KV wave propagation model. Additionally, SWE tests were realized in order to characterize the viscoelastic properties of each batch of gelatine. Finally, validation was carried out by comparing the KV parameters inferred from the PIP with those reconstructed from the shear wave dispersion curve obtained from the SWE measurements. In order to test the degree of agreement between both techniques, a Student’s T-test and a Pearson’s correlation study were performed. The results indicate that the proposed method is able to reconstruct the KV viscoelastic properties of the cervical tissue, for both the epithelial and connective layers, as well as the thickness of the first layer with acceptable accuracy.
Measurements of Normal Incidence Reflection Loss as a Function of Temperature at the Water-Castor Oil Interface
Authors: Han Dong-Gyun , Seo Him-Chan , Cho Sungho , Choi Jee Woong
Published: July 2019

Reflection loss at the water-castor oil interface as a function of temperature was measured in a direction normal to the interface using a 200-kHz acoustic signal. The acoustic impedance of water increases with temperature, whereas that of castor oil decreases. The measured reflection losses varied from 30 to 65 dB, and a sharp rising peak in reflection loss was observed at the temperature at which the acoustic impedance of water became equal to that of castor oil. This temperature is called the temperature of intromission in this paper. These measurements were compared with the model predictions based on a Rayleigh-reflection model using the measured sound speeds of both fluids. The sound speeds in water and castor oil as functions of temperature are the input parameters of the Rayleigh-reflection model, and were measured directly using an arrival time difference method in the temperature range of 5 to 30 °C. The comparison results imply that temperature is an important factor affecting the reflection at the interface separating the two fluids.
Vehicle Detection in Aerial Images Using a Fast Oriented Region Search and the Vector of Locally Aggregated Descriptors
Authors: Liu Chongyang , Ding Yalin , Zhu Ming , Xiu Jihong , Li Mengyang , Li Qihui
Published: July 2019

Vehicle detection in aerial images plays a significant role in civil and military applications and it faces many challenges including the overhead-view perspective, the highly complex background, and the variants of vehicles. This paper presents a robust vehicle detection scheme to overcome these issues. In the detection stage, we propose a novel algorithm to generate oriented proposals that could enclose the vehicle objects properly as rotated rectangles with orientations. To discriminate the object and background in the proposals, we propose a modified vector of locally aggregated descriptors (VLAD) image representation model with a recently proposed image feature, i.e., local steering kernel (LSK) feature. By applying non-maximum suppression (NMS) after classification, we show that each vehicle object is detected with a single-oriented bounding box. Experiments are conducted on aerial images to compare the proposed method with state-of-art methods and evaluate the impact of the components in the model. The results have proven the robustness of the proposed method under various circumstances and the superior performance over other existing vehicle detection approaches.
Compact Viscometer Prototype for Remote In Situ Analysis of Sludge
Authors: Fried Tomas , Cheneler David , Monk Stephen D. , Taylor C. James , Dodds Jonathan M.
Published: July 2019

On the Sellafield site there are several legacy storage tanks and silos containing sludge of uncertain properties. While there are efforts to determine the chemical and radiological properties of the sludge, to clean out and decommission these vessels, the physical properties need to be ascertained as well. Shear behaviour, density and temperature are the key parameters to be understood before decommissioning activities commence. However, limited access, the congested nature of the tanks and presence of radioactive, hazardous substances severely limit sampling and usage of sophisticated characterisation devices within these tanks and therefore, these properties remain uncertain. This paper describes the development of a cheap, compact, and robust device to analyse the rheological properties of sludge, without the need to extract materials from the site in order to be analysed. Analysis of a sludge test material has been performed to create a suitable benchmark material for the rheological measurements with the prototype. Development of the device is being undertaken with commercial off the shelf (COTS) components and modern rapid prototyping techniques. Using these techniques, an initial prototype for measuring shear parameters of sludge has been developed, using a micro-controller for remote control and data gathering. The device is also compact enough to fit through a 75 mm opening, maximising deployment capabilities.
A Rail Fault Diagnosis Method Based on Quartic C2 Hermite Improved Empirical Mode Decomposition Algorithm
Authors: Liu Hanzhong , Qin Chaoxuan , Liu Ming
Published: July 2019

For compound fault detection of high-speed rail vibration signals, which presents a difficult problem, an early fault diagnosis method of an improved empirical mode decomposition (EMD) algorithm based on quartic C2 Hermite interpolation is presented. First, the quartic C2 Hermite interpolation improved EMD algorithm is used to decompose the original signal, and the intrinsic mode function (IMF) components are obtained. Second, singular value decomposition for the IMF components is performed to determine the principal components of the signal. Then, the signal is reconstructed and the kurtosis and approximate entropy values are calculated as the eigenvalues of fault diagnosis. Finally, fault diagnosis is executed based on the support vector machine (SVM). This method is applied for the fault diagnosis of high-speed rails, and experimental results show that the method presented in this paper is superior to the traditional EMD algorithm and greatly improves the accuracy of fault diagnosis.
The Evolution of Cultural Space in a World Heritage Site: Tourism Sustainable Development of Mount Wuyi, China
Authors: Guo Weifeng , Zheng Xiangmin , Meng Fang , Zhang Xiaonan
Published: July 2019

It is necessary to examine cultural space in tourism destinations, including World Heritage Sites, for the long-term sustainable development of these destinations. Existing studies on cultural space mainly concentrate on the conceptual and textural elements. However, factors influencing the evolution of cultural space still need to be explored for the sustainable development of tourism destinations. Taking Mount Wuyi, a World Heritage Site in China, as a case study, this research examines the evolutionary trend of its tea cultural space. Specifically, this study investigates indicators that influence cultural space and explores its evolutionary mechanism. The vector autoregressive model was used to analyze Mount Wuyi’s tea cultural space evolution from 1996 to 2017. The results reveal that culture had the highest overall development in the tea-space evolution; the market supply and demand were the strongest and most enduring exogenous forces. Moreover, the evolution of tea cultural space demonstrated a multi-stranded interactive evolution model. This study not only enriches the understanding of cultural space evolution in tourism destinations but also offers suggestions for the sustainable development and management of World Heritage Sites.
Opportunities for the Adoption of Health-Based Sustainable Dietary Patterns: A Review on Consumer Research of Meat Substitutes
Authors: Weinrich Ramona
Published: July 2019

This article reviews empirical research on consumers’ adoption of meat substitutes published up to spring 2018. Recent meat substitutes often have sustainable characteristics in line with consumers’ concerns over aspects of healthy food and the environmental impact of food production. However, changing lifestyles with less time for cooking, any transition from a strongly meat-based to a more plant-based diet depends on the successful establishment of convenient meat substitutes. This article reviews the growing body of research on meat substitutes. These research articles were classified into five different stages in line with the innovation-decision process of: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation. The research was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively, with results suggesting that although health, environmental and animal welfare aspects can persuade consumers and influence their decision to try a meat substitute, the appearance and taste of those meat substitutes are crucial factors for their consumption on a regular basis. However, there still remains a gap in research articles focusing on the regular consumption of meat substitutes.
A Boundary Plane Approach to Map Hotspots for Achievable Soil Carbon Sequestration and Soil Fertility Improvement
Authors: Piikki Kristin , Söderström Mats , Sommer Rolf , Da Silva Mayesse , Munialo Sussy , Abera Wuletawu
Published: July 2019

Soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration is important in the global carbon cycle and an integral part of many initiatives and policies to mitigate climate change. For efficient targeting of measures leading to SOC sequestration, it is necessary to know the actual SOC content (%) and a realistic target SOC content (in contrast to the saturation content, which may not be easily achievable) under local biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. We developed a new method for the practical assessment of achievable SOC sequestration concerning soil texture based on a non-linear boundary plane approach, also applicable for mapping of SOC sequestration hotspots. The method was tested at two spatial scales (a 125 km2 catchment and a 4 km2 sub-area of that catchment) in a region in Western Kenya characterized by smallholder farming. Moreover, we assessed the associated benefits of increasing the SOC content from a crop production perspective and found significant correlations between SOC and other soil properties (pH, cation exchange capacity, and various plant-available macro- and micronutrients). This indicates a possible improvement in soil fertility when the SOC content is raised to the modeled target levels, which should be attainable without major changes in land use or agricultural systems.
Methodological Approach for the Development of a Simplified Residential Building Energy Estimation in Temperate Climate
Authors: Reus-Netto Gabriela , Mercader-Moyano Pilar , Czajkowski Jorge D.
Published: July 2019

Energy ratings and minimum requirements for thermal envelopes and heating and air conditioning systems emerged as tools to minimize energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency and promote greater transparency with regard to energy use in buildings. In Latin America, not all countries have building energy efficiency regulations, many of them are voluntary and more than 80% of the existing initiatives are simplified methods and are centered in energy demand analysis and the compliance of admissible values for different indicators. However, the application of these tools, even when simplified, is reduced. The main objective is the development of a simplified calculation method for the estimation of the energy consumption of multifamily housing buildings. To do this, an energy model was created based on the real use and occupation of a reference building, its thermal envelope and its thermal system’s performance. This model was simulated for 42 locations, characterized by their climatic conditions, whilst also considering the thermal transmittance fulfilment. The correlation between energy consumption and the climatic conditions is the base of the proposed method. The input data are seven climatic characteristics. Due to the sociocultural context of Latin America, the proposed method is estimated to have more possible acceptance and applications than other more complex methods, increasing the rate of buildings with an energy assessment. The results have demonstrated a high reliability in the prediction of the statistical models created, as the determination coefficient (R2) is nearly 1 for cooling and heating consumption.
A Holistic Approach to the Environmental Certification of Green Airports
Authors: Gómez Comendador Víctor Fernando , Arnaldo Valdés Rosa María , Lisker Bernard
Published: July 2019

Airports around the world are more and more environmentally concerned, increasing their efforts in reducing aviation impacts by applying environmental management, certification systems, or other types of ecological rating systems to their infrastructures and operation. Especially relevant are the airports’ efforts to manage and reduce their CO2 emissions through Airport Carbon Accreditation, the efforts made by Eurocontrol to encourage collaborative environmental management, or the increasing numbers of airports worldwide that get their terminals certified according to several world-recognized Green Building Rating Standards (GBRS). However, although these standards are state-of-the-art sustainability valuation programs, none of them fully cover all the environmental impacts of aeronautical activity at an airport. This paper presents the results of an exploratory research where the use of a GBRS into a more holistic certification scheme for airports is discussed and areas of challenge are highlighted. The paper seeks to shed some light on the value of holistic approaches from the perspective of maximizing environmental management efficiency and effectiveness, the integration of actions of individual airport partners to potentially encourage greater coordination of efforts, the challenges of dealing with both construction and operational impacts within one scheme, and the accountability difficulties.
Eco-Efficiency Assessment of Japanese Municipalities Based on Environmental Impacts and Gross Regional Product
Authors: Yamasaki Junya , Ikaga Toshiharu , Itsubo Norihiro
Published: July 2019

Governments at different levels need to appreciate the environmental impacts of socioeconomic activities within their boundaries. They also need to decide relevant environmental policies after carefully examining future pathways based on the relationship between the environment and the economy. This study focuses on Japanese basic administrative divisions (i.e., municipalities) and attempts to quantify the annual environmental efficiency of processes and socioeconomic activities within each of these divisions using life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) concepts. A key element of the LCIA is the integration of different environmental loads across various impact categories, such as global warming, air pollution, and land use, and their representation through a simple indicator. First, we conduct annual environmental impact assessments for all Japanese municipalities based on reliable, verifiable, and comparable statistical information. Next, we estimate the environmental efficiency of socioeconomic activities within each division by dividing the gross regional product (GRP) with the environmental damage amounts calculated through LIME2, an LCIA-based tool tailored for Japan. Assessment results for each municipality are visualized on maps of Japan in order to highlight the spatial distribution of the values for each indicator. The findings of this study can aid local, regional, and national governments in Japan to inform environmental policy design and decision-making at different spatial levels.
Optimal Ridge–Furrow Ratio for Maximum Drought Resilience of Sunflower in Semi-Arid Region of China
Authors: Pan Yuying , Pan Xuebiao , Zi Tan , Hu Qi , Wang Jing , Han Guolin , Wang Jialin , Pan Zhihua
Published: July 2019

Ridge–furrow planting is often applied in semi-arid regions to reduce the drought risk on crop yield under rain-fed conditions. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is widely planted in northern China and how to reduce the drought risk on sunflower production remains a significant issue. A three-year field experiment with seven treatments (a flat plot without mulching, three plastic film-mulching treatments and three non-film-mulching treatments with different ridge–furrow ratios (1.0 m:1.0 m, 1.0 m:0.5 m and 0.5 m:1.0 m)) was conducted to study the effects of the ridge–furrow rainwater harvesting system on the rain-fed sunflower. The results showed that the sunflowers in the film-mulched treatment with the larger ridge–furrow ratio (1.0 m:0.5 m) (M1R2) had greater growth advantage under drought conditions. In the dry year, M1R2 improved the yield and water use efficiency by 11.9%–107.5% and 13.8%–120.6%, respectively, and reduced the blight grain rate by 21.5%–32.5% with less evapotranspiration (ET) compared to other treatments. Based on the historical climatological data, the guarantee rate of sunflower water requirement for M1R2 was about 75%, while the guarantee rates for the other two film-mulched treatments were only about 40% and 50%. Based on the effects of drought resilience and the characteristics of precipitation, M1R2 is recommended to be the relatively optimal treatment for sunflower production in regions with similar climatic conditions to Wuchuan County in northern China.
The Impact of Knowledge Sharing and Innovation on Sustainable Performance in Islamic Banks: A Mediation Analysis through a SEM Approach
Authors: Abbas Jaffar , Hussain Iftikhar , Hussain Safdar , Akram Sabahat , Shaheen Imrab , Niu Ben
Published: July 2019

This research is among the very few studies seeking a focalized examination on the relationship between knowledge sharing within a firm and organizational innovation. This specific study establishes that the knowledge sharing and innovation processes in Islamic banks are integral parts of the survival and progress of business organizations. Knowledge sharing and creativity are essential elements in the development of innovative strategies, but few studies have sought to investigate this relationship. This study proposes a framework with five hypotheses, which predicts the influences of knowledge sharing and organizational innovation on the Pakistani banking sector. This survey scrutinizes the impacts of knowledge sharing and innovation, and its primary objective is to determine how learning in Islamic banks mediates the relationship, and enhances the performance, of Pakistani Islamic banks. The authors distributed a self-administered survey, and randomly selected 554 employees from Mirpur AJ&K, Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. We screened and tested the data received using SPSS version 25 for analysis purposes to measure the strength of the relationships which exist among the studied variables. The findings indicate that all of the proposed hypotheses have significant positive relationships, proving that knowledge sharing and organizational innovation have mediating impacts upon organizational learning. The findings can also be used to propose a systematic and holistic framework for attaining an improved performance in Islamic banks through the mediating role of organizational learning. This study offers empirical evidence and original data to examine the connection between knowledge sharing, innovation processes and learning culture in Islamic Banks. The generalizability of these findings is restricted to Islamic banks, and the study delivers valuable insights and suggestions for imminent research studies.
Sustainability in Supply Chains with Behavioral Concerns
Authors: Dong Ciwei , Li Qingying , Shen Bin , Tong Xun
Published: July 2019

Environmental sustainability has received considerable attention in industry and academia. Many firms have begun to adopt sustainability practices, such as investing in cleaner technology and using organic or recyclable materials, to enhance sustainability in supply chains. Such sustainability practices affect corporate social responsibility and business performance. On the other hand, when consumers and supply chain managers make decisions, they may be constrained by behavioral concerns. Behavioral concerns can significantly influence optimization in supply chains. Thus, it is critical to consider the impacts of behavioral concerns on sustainability in supply chains. In this paper, we concisely examine studies in sustainability issues in supply chains with behavioral concerns and introduce the papers featured in this Special Issue.
Bacillus thuringiensis Vip1 Functions as a Receptor of Vip2 Toxin for Binary Insecticidal Activity against Holotrichia parallela
Authors: Geng Jianxun , Jiang Jian , Shu Changlong , Wang Zeyu , Song Fuping , Geng Lili , Duan Jiangyan , Zhang Jie
Published: July 2019

Bacillus thuringiensis is a well-known entomopathogenic bacterium that produces vegetative insecticidal proteins (Vips, including Vip1, Vip2, Vip3, and Vip4) during the vegetative phase. Here, we purified Vip1 and Vip2 from B. thuringiensis and characterized the insecticidal effects of these protoxins. Bioassay results showed that a 1:1 mixture of Vip1Ad and Vip2Ag, purified by ion-affinity chromatography independently, exhibited insecticidal activity against Holotrichia parallela larvae, with a 50% lethal concentration value of 2.33 μg/g soil. The brush border membrane (BBM) in the midgut of H. parallela larvae was destroyed after feeding the Vip1Ad and Vip2Ag mixture. Vacuolization of the cytoplasm and slight destruction of BBM were detected with Vip2Ag alone, but not with Vip1Ad alone. Notably, Vip1Ad bound to BBM vesicles (BBMVs) strongly, whereas Vip2Ag showed weak binding; however, binding of Vip2Ag to BBMV was increased when Vip1Ad was added. Ligand blotting showed that Vip2Ag did not bind to Vip1Ad but bound to Vip1Ad-t (Vip1Ad was activated by trypsin), suggesting the activation of Vip1Ad was important for their binary toxicity. Thus, our findings suggested that Vip1Ad may facilitate the binding of Vip2Ag to BBMVs, providing a basis for studies of the insecticidal mechanisms of Vip1Ad and Vip2Ag.
Abnormal Development of Hyalomma Marginatum Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) Induced by Plant Cytotoxic Substances
Authors: Buczek Alicja , Bartosik Katarzyna , Buczek Alicja M. , Buczek Weronika , Kulina Dorota
Published: July 2019

The increasing application of toxic plant substances to deter and fight ticks proves the need for investigations focused on the elucidation of their impact on the developmental stages and populations of these arthropods. We examined the course of embryogenesis and egg hatch in Hyalomma marginatum ticks under the effect of cytotoxic plant substances. The investigations demonstrated that the length of embryonic development of egg batches treated with 20 μL of a 0.1875% colchicine solution did not differ significantly from that in the control group. Colchicine caused the high mortality of eggs (16.3%) and embryos (9.7%), disturbances in larval hatch (8.1%), and lower numbers of normal larval hatches (65.6%). In 0.2% of the larvae, colchicine induced anomalies in the idiosoma (67.6%) and gnathosoma (22.5%) as well as composite anomalies (8.5%). The study demonstrates that cytotoxic compounds with an effect similar to that of colchicine can reduce tick populations and cause teratological changes, which were observed in the specimens found during field studies. Since there are no data on the toxic effects of active plant substances on other organisms and the risk of development of tick resistance, a strategy for the use of such compounds in tick control and the management of plant products should be developed.
Water-Use Efficiency of Crops in the Arid Area of the Middle Reaches of the Heihe River: Taking Zhangye City as an Example
Authors: Xiao Xingyuan , Fan Limeng , Li Xiubin , Tan Minghong , Jiang Tao , Zheng Luqian , Jiang Fengrui
Published: July 2019

The middle reaches of the Heihe River are an important food base in the arid regions of Northwest China. The agricultural water consumption in this region accounts for about 90% of the total water consumption. The shortage of water resources is the primary reason for restricting agricultural development. Therefore, studying the efficiency of agricultural water use is essential to improving the effective use of water resources. Under the premise of considering agricultural water saving, we improved the water efficiency model from the perspective of pure agricultural income that farmers are more concerned about. In this study, we took Zhangye City in the middle reaches of the Heihe River as an example, based on meteorological crop data and farmer survey data. Then, we used the input–output method to quantitatively analyze the net income of the crops in Zhangye City. We used the CROPWAT model to calculate the water demand of crops during the growing season. Lastly, we used the improved water-use efficiency (WUE) model to analyze WUE differences of crops in the study area. We reached the following conclusions: (1) among the six crops in the study area, the net profit of seed corn was 20,520 yuan/ha, followed by field corn, 11,700 yuan/ha, then followed by potato, rapeseed, wheat, and barley; (2) the maximum water requirement for the crop growth period was 597.2 mm for field corn, followed by 577.3 mm for seed corn, then followed by rapeseed, wheat, barley, and potato; (3) among the six crops, the WUE calculated using the water efficiency model before and after improvement had obvious differences. The WUE calculated using the original model reached 9.03 yuan/m3 for potato, followed by 6.33 yuan/m3 for seed corn. The WUE calculated using the improved model reached 3.44 yuan/m3 for seed corn, which is the maximum, followed by potato with 2.25 yuan/m3. Considering the agricultural water saving and crop yields, we propose to properly expand the cultivation of seed corn and potato in the middle reaches of the Heihe River. This would be more conducive to achieving a “win-win” situation for water conservation and revenue.
Cost–Benefit Prediction of Asset Management Actions on Water Distribution Networks
Authors: Nafi Amir , Brans Jonathan
Published: July 2019

The potential costs and benefits of a combination of asset management actions on the water distribution network are predicted. Two types of actions are considered: maintenance actions and renewal actions. Leak detection and reparation of failures on connections and pipes define the set of potential maintenance actions to be carried out. Renewal actions concern connections, pipes, and meters. All these actions represent the model’s decision variables in order to determine a trade-off between two objectives: (i) the maximization of the water efficiency rate and (ii) the minimization of the total cost of actions to be carried out on the water system. The assessment of objective functions is ensured by an artificial neural network (ANN) trained on a French mandatory database «SISPEA». A non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) is coupled to the ANN to reach the set of compromised solutions representing potential actions to achieve. Applied to a real water distribution system in the southeast of France, the proposed decision model indicates that the improvement of water efficiency rate (WER) in the short term requires increasing operation expenditures (OPEX), which represent 99% of the total cost. Results show the existence of a threshold effect that implies to use the budget in a certain way to improve performance. A potential solution can be chosen by the decision maker among the generated Pareto front with regard to the constraint on the budget and the targeted WER.
STABILITAS AKTIVITAS ALT SERUM, PLASMA HEPARIN
Authors: Chindara Chitra Adzka Nabila , Kurnaeni Nani , Nurhayati Betty , Rinaldi Sonny Feisal
Published: July 2019

Kesalahan terbanyak dalam pemeriksaan laboratorium klinis yaitu pada tahap pra analitik dapat terjadi saat penanganan sampel. Salah satu pemeriksaan laboratorium klinis yaitu pemeriksaan aktivitas ALT. Berdasarkan wawancara, spesimen biasanya disimpan di laboratorium pada suhu 2-8oC sebelum dimusnahkan dengan waktu yang berbeda tiap laboratorium. Spesimen yang dapat digunakan untuk pemeriksaan aktivitas ALT adalah serum, plasma heparin, dan plasma EDTA. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat stabilitas pada 3 jenis sampel yang berbeda terhadap parameter ALT. Jumlah sampel yang digunakan sebanyak 2400 µL untuk masing-masing sampel. Metode penelitian ini adalah sampel serum, plasma heparin, dan plasma EDTA diperiksa langsung dan ditunda selama total 15 hari yang disimpan pada suhu refrigerator. Data yang diperoleh hasilnya tidak terdapat perbedaan secara statistik pada sampel serum antara yang diperiksa langsung dan yang ditunda (p >0.050). Pada sampel plasma heparin dan plasma EDTA terdapat perbedaan secara statistik antara yang diperiksa langsung dan yang ditunda (p <0.050) masing-masing pada hari ke-7 dan ke-9, terdapat juga perbedaan secara klinis pada plasma heparin dan plasma EDTA antara yang diperiksa langsung dan yang ditunda masing-masing pada hari ke-9 (25.2%) dan hari ke-15 (22.3%). Dari hasil tersebut dapat disimpulkan bahwa ALT pada serum stabil sampai 15 hari, pada plasma heparin stabil sampai 7 hari, dan pada plasma EDTA stabil sampai 13 hari pada suhu simpan 2-8oC.
Authors: Ramdaniati Sri , Sukarni Ning
Published: July 2019

Dengue Haemorragik Fever (DHF) atau yang biasa disebut demam berdarah dengue (DBD) sejak ditemukan pertama kali di Indonesia pada tahun 1968 sampai sekarang sering menjadi penyebab kematian terutama pada anak remaja dan dewasa. DHF juga telah menyebar ke hampir seluruh wilayah Indonesia. Provinsi Jawa Barat khususnya kota Bandung merupakan daerah perkotaan dengan tingkat kepadatan penduduk yang tinggi ditunjang dengan kondisi sanitasi lingkungan yang masih rendah, mengakibatkan angka kejadian DHF masih tinggi. Berdasarkan hasil pengamatan di lapangan penyuluhan upaya pencegahan DHF sudah terjadwalkan satu bulan satu kali namun berdasarkan informasi yang diperoleh dari puskesmas bahwa masih banyak terdapat kasus DHF yang setiap tahunnya meningkat. Studi ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara pengetahuan dan sikap masyarakat tentang penyakit DHF terhadap perilaku pencegahan penyakit DHF. Jenis penelitian ini adalah deskriptif korelasional. Populasi seluruh masyarakat atau keluarga berjumlah 2913 KK dengan  sample dalam penelitian ini adalah kepala keluarga atau anggota keluarga dewasa  sejumlah 352 KK yang berada di Kelurahan Sukagalih Kecamatan Sukajadi Kota Bandung. Tehnik pengumpulan data dengan kuisioner. Analisa data dengan univariat berupa distribusi frekuensi dan analisa bivariat dengan Kendal Tau dan untuk analisa karakteristik responden menggunakan coeficient contingency. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian setengahnya (50 %) keluarga memiliki tingkat pengetahuan yang baik, dan lebih dari setengahnya (53.1 %) keluarga mempunyai sikap mendukung terhadap perilaku pencegahan DHF. Hasil analisa bivariat terdapat hubungan/korelasi yang bermakna antara pengetahuan dan sikap terhadap perilaku pencegahan penyakit DHF dengan nilai p kurang dari 0,01.
Un acercamiento al trabajo colaborativo
Authors: Glinz Férez Patricia Elízabeth
Published: July 2019

El propósito de este documento es presentar en forma clara y sencilla lo que es la técnica del trabajo colaborativo, su aplicación en las tres modalidades de esta estrategia de aprendizaje: informal, formal, virtual. Asimismo la metodología empleada durante el proceso de implantación requerido para el curso de Diseño de Actividades colaborativas, además de los resultados de la misma.

El objeto de estudio fue un grupo de la Preparatoria del Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) Campus Aguascalientes, en la materia de Historia de la Civilización II, que se imparte en el segundo semestre. En educación se han generado fuertes cambios en su paradigma, entre los cuales se encuentra el desarrollo de la habilidad de saber trabajar en grupo, dentro de la que se inserta, de forma natural cuando es bien dirigido, el Trabajo Colaborativo.
Las funciones de la literatura infantil en la Educación
Authors: Guimarães Botelho Rafael
Published: July 2019

Este artículo tiene por objetivos analizar y discutir las funciones de la literatura infantil en la Educación. Para ello, se realizó una investigación bibliográfica en libros, artículos, actas de congreso y tesis doctorales en castellano, portugués e inglés sobre literatura infantil. En base a todo lo expuesto, se concluye que la reunión de las seis funciones descriptas en este artículo –todas relevantes y con el mismo grado de importancia– pone de manifiesto la dimensión educativa real que ejerce la literatura infantil. Esta dimensión engloba la cuestión didáctica (esencial para el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje), el aspecto lúdico (necesario en la etapa de la infancia), la función literaria (que, como las demás asignaturas, presenta una función educativa), la sociocultural (que presenta en la narrativa de los libros infantiles aspectos reales de la sociedad, además de transmitir los rasgos culturales relacionados con una determinada región o país), la función axiológica (que colabora para que el niño construya, autónomamente, su jerarquía de valores) y la terapéutica (que tiene por objetivo ayudar a niños y niñas con distintos problemas de salud).

 

Palabras clave: literatura infantil, funciones, Educación
Educar sujetos, propuesta pedagógica para nuestra cultura
Authors: López Herrerías José Ángel
Published: July 2019

La realización personal es una trayectoria compleja de proyección ética, dado que consistimos en dar razón de nuestra historia existencial. Consistimos en ser individuos, concretados en un yo, con mayor o menor nivel de subjetivación, de reconocernos como sujetos, autores y actores, de nuestra existencia.Hoy, debido al fuerte desarrollo científico-tecnológico de la mediación comunicativa y a la radical experiencia relacional de los humanos, vivimos una fuerte crisis de autonomía personal, lo cual genera carencias en la autoría y realización de nuestra proyección existencial. La superación de esa crisis de sujeto requiere incrementar varios procesos de concientización. En primer lugar, reconocer y animar que la existencia ha de ser siempre una proyección ética, un saber ser y hacer que consiste en que cada yo se esfuerce por ser el sujeto autónomo de la personal realización. Somos los autores y actores de la inalienable autonomía de nuestro esfuerzo de libertad.
Preguntas desde el interior: los jóvenes, la ciencia y la tecnología
Authors: Santillán Javier E. , Colombo Elisa M. , Jarma Nora , Pérez Adriana I. , Isgro Christine A. , Chirre Adrián , Lazarte Elisa L.
Published: July 2019

La importancia de la inversión de recursos en educación, y más específicamente en lo referido a la formación científica y tecnológica, viene siendo destacada hace más de veinte años como estratégica para el crecimiento de un país. Se observa en los jóvenes una valoración positiva de la ciencia pero simultáneamente un sentimiento de incapacidad hacia el estudio de disciplinas científicas y tecnológicas. Se investiga de forma interdisciplinaria la problemática planteada por los jóvenes de la provincia de Tucumán indagando sus representaciones y actitudes a partir de dos líneas de abordaje. Una cualitativa, utilizando técnicas grupales de investigación-acción participativa en 5 escuelas y donde participaron 220 alumnos. Otra cuantitativa basada en un instrumento psicométrico aplicado a 2040 alumnos de 120 escuelas secundarias urbanas y rurales. Los resultados del trabajo grupal permitieron apreciar la didáctica de las ciencias como una actividad que puede integrar los aspectos conceptuales, procedimentales, tecnológicos, así como los actitudinales y emocionales. Los datos obtenidos a través del cuestionario muestran el interés de los jóvenes tucumanos por la ciencia y la tecnología, pero también que su aprendizaje no puede estar acotado solamente al ámbito formal de las instituciones educativas, sino que debe ser pensado como una actividad con procesos educativos amplios, donde la educación social y no-formal tiene un rol fundamental.
IKAN YANG BERUAYA DI DAERAH MANGROVE PANTAI TASIK RIA
Authors: Lokbere Otinus , Boneka Farnis B , Sinyal Chatrien A , Wagey Billy Th , Ompi Medy , Mantiri Rose OSE
Published: July 2019

This study is intended to find out the fish that are cultured into the mangrove area of Tasik Ria beach, Mokupa, Minahasa Regency. Fish is obtained through gill jarring at high tide. The fish that were identified were Archamia fucata, Lutjanus fulvus, Lutjanus eherenbergii, Lethrinus ornatus, Scolopsis lineate, Sargocentron diadema, Epinephelus merra and Scorpaenopsis oxycephala. The fish are generally carnivorous, and are nocturnal.Key words: Tasik Ria Beach, the fishes, carnivorous, mangroves
Development of a new hybrid approach combining AFM and SEM for the nanoparticle dimensional metrology
Authors: Crouzier Loïc , Delvallée Alexandra , Ducourtieux Sébastien , Devoille Laurent , Noircler Guillaume , Ulysse Christian , Taché Olivier , Barruet Elodie , Tromas Christophe , Feltin Nicolas
Published: July 2019

At this time, there is no instrument capable of measuring a nano-object along the three spatial dimensions with a controlled uncertainty. The combination of several instruments is thus necessary to metrologically characterize the dimensional properties of a nano-object. This paper proposes a new approach of hybrid metrology taking advantage of the complementary nature of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques for measuring the main characteristic parameters of nanoparticle (NP) dimensions in 3D. The NP area equivalent, the minimal and the maximal Feret diameters are determined by SEM and the NP height is measured by AFM. In this context, a kind of new NP repositioning system consisting of a lithographed silicon substrate has been specifically developed. This device makes it possible to combine AFM and SEM size measurements performed exactly on the same set of NPs. In order to establish the proof-of-concept of this approach and assess the performance of both instruments, measurements were carried out on several samples of spherical silica NP populations ranging from 5 to 110 nm. The spherical nature of silica NPs imposes naturally the equality between their height and their lateral diameters. However, discrepancies between AFM and SEM measurements have been observed, showing significant deviation from sphericity as a function of the nanoparticle size.
Transferrin-mediated glioblastoma cell targeting of hexagonal boron nitrides
Authors: Emanet Melis , Şen Özlem , Culha Mustafa
Published: July 2019

Hexagonal boron nitrides (hBNs) are promising nanomaterials with their high boron content, non-toxic nature in inactive form, high chemical stability and mechanical strength. However, their hydrophobic nature limits their use in biomedical applications. Therefore, the hBNs have been functionalized with DSPE-PEG-NH2 to increase their colloidal stability and circulation time in bloodstream, as well as to provide active sites on their surface for further functionalization with tumor targeting agents. Then, further functionalization of the DSPE-PEG-hBNs with transferrin was performed for selective targeting of transferrin receptors overexpressed by brain tumor cells. Then, the cellular interaction and biocompatibility of the structure was investigated on glioblastoma multiform (U87MG) cancer cells. The cellular investigations showed that transferrin functionalization of the DSPE-PEG-hBNs increased their uptake by glioblastoma cancer cells, and decreased cell viability due to the enhanced cellular internalization. Based on the data, the TrF-DSPE-PEG-hBNs are promising agents to evaluate them as drug carrying and targeting applications.
Investigating Subphotospheric Dissipation in Gamma-Ray Bursts Using Joint Fermi–Swift Observations
Authors: Ahlgren Björn , Larsson Josefin , Valan Vlasta , Mortlock Daniel , Ryde Felix , Pe’er Asaf
Published: July 2019

The jet photosphere has been proposed as the origin for the gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission. In many such models, characteristic features in the spectra appear below the energy range of the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) detectors, so joint fits with X-ray data are important in order to assess the photospheric scenario. Here we consider a particular photospheric model which assumes localized subphotospheric dissipation by internal shocks in a non-magnetized outflow. We investigate it using Bayesian inference and a sample of eight GRBs with known redshifts which are observed simultaneously with Fermi GBM and the Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT). This provides us with an energy range of 0.3 keV–40 MeV and much tighter parameter constraints. We analyze 32 spectra and find that 16 are well described by the model. We also find that the estimates of the bulk Lorentz factor, Γ, and the fireball luminosity, L
0,52, decrease while the fraction of dissipated energy, ε
d, increases in the joint fits compared to GBM-only fits. These changes are caused by a small excess of counts in the XRT data, relative to the model predictions from fits to GBM-only data. The fact that our limited implementation of the physical scenario yields 50% accepted spectra is promising, and we discuss possible model revisions in the light of the new data. Specifically, we argue that the inclusion of significant magnetization, as well as removing the assumption of internal shocks, will provide better fits at low energies.