bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Advances of 2nd Life Applications for Lithium Ion Batteries from Electric Vehicles Based on Energy Demand
Authors: Wewer Aleksandra , Bilge Pinar , Dietrich Franz
Published: May 2021

Electromobility is a new approach to the reduction of CO2 emissions and the deceleration of global warming. Its environmental impacts are often compared to traditional mobility solutions based on gasoline or diesel engines. The comparison pertains mostly to the single life cycle of a battery. The impact of multiple life cycles remains an important, and yet unanswered, question. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate advances of 2nd life applications for lithium ion batteries from electric vehicles based on their energy demand. Therefore, it highlights the limitations of a conventional life cycle analysis (LCA) and presents a supplementary method of analysis by providing the design and results of a meta study on the environmental impact of lithium ion batteries. The study focuses on energy demand, and investigates its total impact for different cases considering 2nd life applications such as (C1) material recycling, (C2) repurposing and (C3) reuse. Required reprocessing methods such as remanufacturing of batteries lie at the basis of these 2nd life applications. Batteries are used in their 2nd lives for stationary energy storage (C2, repurpose) and electric vehicles (C3, reuse). The study results confirm that both of these 2nd life applications require less energy than the recycling of batteries at the end of their first life and the production of new batteries. The paper concludes by identifying future research areas in order to generate precise forecasts for 2nd life applications and their industrial dissemination.
Soiling Comparison of Mirror Film and Glass Concentrating Solar Power Reflectors in Southwest Louisiana
Authors: Ritter Kenneth , McBride Albert , Chambers Terrence
Published: May 2021

Soiling effects influence the output of solar thermal plants, significantly causing unwanted transmittance, reflectance, and absorbance losses. Research is needed to identify what type of reflective surfaces are best suited for semitropical climates, such as the southeastern United States. This paper initially presents a review of several concentrating solar power (CSP) reflector testbeds used to analyze the soiling effects of various reflective materials. A soiling testbed is developed for this study that comprised six sets of reflective surfaces mounted at a fixed tilt of 30 degrees: three sets of thin-film surfaces and three sets of glass types. Two generations of 3M solar mirror film (SMF), 3M SMF 1100 and 3M SMF 2020, were used along with Konica Minolta SMF, silvered Corning Willow Glass, a dichroic cold mirror, and a standard mirror. Results show that the 3M SMF 2020 and Konica Minolta SMF performed the best during regular cleaning intervals, whereas the silvered Corning Willow Glass gave the best performance if only cleaned naturally. The other glass types showed the least average loss due to soiling throughout this study but gave the lowest performance for specular reflection.
Forced Displacement and Agriculture: Implications for Host Communities
Authors: George Justin , Adelaja Adesoji
Published: May 2021

The disruptive effects of conflict and climate-related shocks and their tendencies to cause human population displacements are well documented in the literature. Given the growing number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) worldwide and the resulting population and service demand overload in host communities, it is important to understand the socioeconomic impacts. Because many host communities in developing countries are agriculture dependent, we investigate what happens to key agricultural sector outcomes in host communities when there is an influx of IDPs. For displacements caused by insurgency, communal clashes, and natural disasters, we estimate the impacts on agricultural outputs, employment, wages, and land use. We find that forced displacements generally result in reduced agricultural production due to lower land and labor productivity. Specifically, while the effect of insurgency-driven IDP influx is negative, it is positive for communal violence. Cassava, potatoes, and soya are particularly hard hit. Additionally, while insurgency-driven population influx reduces the agricultural wages of both males and females, it increases the reliance on male and female household labor but has no effect on hired labor. Finally, while insurgency-driven IDP influx does not affect land use and land market activities, it lowers the expected value of land and the number of farm plots harvested. We highlight the opportunity to leverage humanitarian assistance in building local agricultural capacity in host communities.
Urban Design and Walkability: Lessons Learnt from Iranian Traditional Cities
Authors: Jamei Elmira , Ahmadi Khatereh , Chau Hing Wah , Seyedmahmoudian Mehdi , Horan Ben , Stojcevski Alex
Published: May 2021

Physical activity is connected to public health in many ways, and walking is its most popular form. Modern planning models have been applied to cities to manage rapid urban expansions. However, this practice has led to low level of walkability and strong car-dependency in today’s cities. Hence, this study aims to provide a review of the most promising urban design parameters affecting walkability, using Frank Lawrence’s theory of “Objectively Measured Urban Form” (density, connectivity and accessibility, and mixed-use development) as the basis of discussion. The second part of this paper takes a case study approach, through discussing the main design elements of traditional Iranian cities (mosques, bazaars, residential quarters, and alleyways) and analyses their impacts on promoting walkability. This study concludes that incorporating inherent values of traditional urban design elements will complement modern planning and design practices.
A Regional Approach for Investigation of Temporal Precipitation Changes
Authors: Ozcelik Ceyhun
Published: May 2021

Climatic variability is one of the fundamental aspects of the climate. Our scope of knowledge of this variability is limited by unavailable long-term high-resolution spatial data. Climatic simulations indicate that warmer climate increases extreme precipitations but decreases high-frequency temperature variability. As an important climatologic variable, the precipitation is reported by the IPCC to increase in mid and high altitudes and decrease in subtropical areas. On a regional scale, such a change needs spatio-parametric justification. In this regard, a regionalization approach relying on frequency characteristics and parameters of heavy precipitation may provide better insight into temporal precipitation changes, and thus help us to understand climatic variability and extremes. This study introduces the “index precipitation method”, which aims to define hydrologic homogeneous regions throughout which the frequency distribution of monthly maximum hourly precipitations remains the same and, therefore, investigate whether there are significant temporal precipitation changes in these regions. Homogenous regions are defined based on L-moment ratios of frequency distributions via cluster analysis and considering the spatial contiguity of gauging sites via GIS. Regarding the main hydrologic characteristics of heavy precipitation, 12 indices are defined in order to investigate the existence of regional trends by means of t- and Mann–Kendall tests for determined homogenous regions with similar frequency behaviors. The case study of Japan, using hourly precipitation data on 150 gauges for 1991–2010, shows that trends that statistically exist for single-site observations should be regionally proved. Trends of heavy precipitation have region-specific properties across Japan. Homogenous regions beneficially define statistically significant trends for heavy precipitation.
Development of Modified SERVQUAL–MCDM Model for Quality Determination in Reverse Logistics
Authors: Stević Željko , Tanackov Ilija , Puška Adis , Jovanov Goran , Vasiljević Jovica , Lojaničić Darko
Published: May 2021

To run a business successfully, quality determination and customer relations are very important factors. Therefore, it is necessary to measure quality and identify critical points of business. In this paper, an original integrated model for measuring the service quality of reverse logistics (RL) was developed for the company Komunalac Teslić, which was used as an example. The Delphi and Full Consistency Method (FUCOM) was applied to determine the significance of the quality dimensions, while a modified SERVQUAL (SQ) model was used to measure the service quality of the logistics. An original SQ questionnaire was formed with a total of 21 statements that were arranged in five standard dimensions. Examining the reliability of the questionnaire for quality dimensions using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient, it was found that the measurement scales for dimensions are appropriate in terms of user expectations, while in terms of quality perception there is no measurement scale for the empathy dimension. An extensive statistical analysis was then performed to verify the results. A Signum test was applied to identify the relationship between the responses in terms of expectations and perceptions, i.e., to examine their differences. The findings obtained by this research show that the expectations were higher than the perceived quality of the services and that there was a significant statistical difference for 12 of the SQ statements. For two statements, there was a significant statistical difference in favor of perceived quality compared to expectations. Based on the results obtained, the company must improve its services in order for service quality to be at a satisfactory level.
Optimization of On-Street Parking Charges Based on Price Elasticity of the Expected Perceived Parking Cost
Authors: Li Jun , Wu Sifan , Feng Xiaoman
Published: May 2021

Price discrimination is widely employed to regulate on-street parking behaviors to provide better service to users, and the prices are usually set according to the occupancy of parking spaces without direct consideration of user perception. A binary logit-style choice model is built to describe the parking choice between on-street parking and off-street parking. A new index, named the price elasticity of expected perceived parking cost, is proposed to evaluate users’ response to parking charge. Based on the theory of second-degree price discrimination, three user types are defined according to the parking duration, namely, the preferred users, the neutral users, and the non-preferred users. The optimized parking prices are calculated by the proposed index. A case study of Guangzhou’s on-street parking is presented. It is found that the current pricing scheme for Type-I Zones (High Demand Zones) is reasonable, while the pricing scheme for the Type-II Zones (Low Demand Zones) does not achieve the objectives of usage optimization of on-street parking spaces. An optimized price scheme for the Type-II Zones is proposed to achieve the usage optimization of on-street parking spaces for short-term parking.
Building Optimization through a Parametric Design Platform: Using Sensitivity Analysis to Improve a Radial-Based Algorithm Performance
Authors: R. M. Sakiyama Nayara , C. Carlo Joyce , Mazzaferro Leonardo , Garrecht Harald
Published: May 2021

Performance-based design using computational and parametric optimization is an effective strategy to solve the multiobjective problems typical of building design. In this sense, this study investigates the developing process of parametric modeling and optimization of a naturally ventilated house located in a region with well-defined seasons. Its purpose is to improve its thermal comfort during the cooling period by maximizing Natural Ventilation Effectiveness (NVE) and diminishing annual building energy demand, namely Total Cooling Loads (TCL) and Total Heating Loads (THL). Following a structured workflow, divided into (i) model setting, (ii) Sensitivity Analyses (SA), and (iii) Multiobjective Optimization (MOO), the process is straightforwardly implemented through a 3D parametric modeling platform. After building set up, the input variables number is firstly reduced with SA, and the last step runs with an innovative model-based optimization algorithm (RBFOpt), particularly appropriate for time-intensive performance simulations. The impact of design variables on the three-performance metrics is comprehensively discussed, with a direct relationship between NVE and TCL. MOO results indicate a great potential for natural ventilation and heating energy savings for the residential building set as a reference, showing an improvement between 14–87% and 26–34% for NVE and THL, respectively. The approach meets the current environmental demands related to reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions, which include passive design implementations, such as natural or hybrid ventilation. Moreover, the design solutions and building orientation, window-to-wall ratio, and envelope properties could be used as guidance in similar typologies and climates. Finally, the adopted framework configures a practical and replicable approach for studies aiming to develop high-performance buildings through MOO.
Crises and Their Effects on Freight Transport Modes: A Literature Review and Research Framework
Authors: Borca Bianca , Putz Lisa-Maria , Hofbauer Florian
Published: May 2021

Learning from the effects of past crises allows the transport sector to handle future crises effectively and proactively. The goal of this paper is to identify and classify types of crises that have hit Europe in the previous 20 years and to identify the effects of these crises on the freight transport modes. Moreover, further research on each transport mode is derived. To reach this goal, we conducted a systematic literature review by using five well-known databases, which resulted in 296 search results, of which 29 references were relevant. We identified four crises that hit the freight transport modes in the previous 20 years in Europe: the 2008 financial crisis, the 2015 migration crisis, the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, and the ongoing climate crisis. However, the effects of the different crises on the transport modes can be both positive (e.g., the introduction of a new maritime slow-steaming service) or negative (e.g., a reduction in safety). The insights, gaps, and future research directions identified will encourage researchers, as well as practitioners, to learn from previous crises and be prepared for proactive actions during future crises, thus contributing to more reliable and sustainable transportation systems.
A Systematic Review of Enterprise Innovation Ecosystems
Authors: Feng Lijie , Lu Jiarui , Wang Jinfeng
Published: May 2021

With rapid changes and increasing uncertainty in the market environment, enterprise innovation ecosystems (EIEs) have increasingly been promoted in the past decade. Nevertheless, research on EIEs has fallen into a fuzzy state. Scholars have scattered views on the subject and have not systematically classified it, leading to a discussion regarding its conceptual rigor and comprehensive analysis. The purpose of this article is to conduct integrative research on EIEs and to examine all the relevant issues of existing views. This study screened all relevant topics in the past decade through the WOS database and identified significant journal articles. By reviewing and sorting out the relevant thematic literature from 2011 to 2020 and performing keyword cluster analysis, the research focus and hot spots of EIEs are determined. The entity structure, main types, dynamic mechanism, and evolution mechanism of EIEs were elaborated, and the definition of an EIE is finally determined. Through an analysis of the emerging viewpoints of EIEs, the hot spots of this topic are discussed. These streams provide opportunities for further research to consolidate the concepts of EIEs.
Indicators for Measuring Intergenerational Fairness of Social Security Systems—The Case of the German Social Health Insurance
Authors: Fetzer Stefan , Moog Stefan
Published: May 2021

The issue of fiscal sustainability is often labelled as a synonym for intergenerational fairness; however, pay-as-you-go schemes such as the German Social Health Insurance (SHI) involve a “natural” amount of intergenerational redistribution from younger net payers to older net beneficiaries. We calculate intertemporal balance sheets of SHI and compare two generational accounting approaches (GAC and GAIB) with an alternative measure of intergenerational fairness, SM, which we derive from Settergren and Mikula (2005). Our results indicate that the SM concept leads to similar implications concerning the amount of intergenerational redistribution as classical measures of fiscal sustainability. For the SM approach, the balance sheet of SHI shows a rate of unfunded benefits of 25 percent. Closing this gap requires an increase of the contribution rate by 30 to 40 percent. This total effect can be separated into an effect due to the current population structure (10 p.p.), the increase in life expectancy (10 p.p.), and medical technical progress (about 10 to 20 p.p.).
Bridging Science and Practice-Importance of Stakeholders in the Development of Decision Support: Lessons Learned
Authors: Tumwebaze Innocent K. , Rose Joan B. , Hofstra Nynke , Verbyla Matthew E. , Okaali Daniel A. , Katsivelis Panagis , Murphy Heather M.
Published: May 2021

User-friendly, evidence-based scientific tools to support sanitation decisions are still limited in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector. This commentary provides lessons learned from the development of two sanitation decision support tools developed in collaboration with stakeholders in Uganda. We engaged with stakeholders in a variety of ways to effectively obtain their input in the development of the decision support tools. Key lessons learned included: tailoring tools to stakeholder decision-making needs; simplifying the tools as much as possible for ease of application and use; creating an enabling environment that allows active stakeholder participation; having a dedicated and responsive team to plan and execute stakeholder engagement activities; involving stakeholders early in the process; having funding sources that are flexible and long-term; and including resources for the acquisition of local data. This reflection provides benchmarks for future research and the development of tools that utilize scientific data and emphasizes the importance of engaging with stakeholders in the development process.
Can Habitat Quality Index Measured Using the InVEST Model Explain Variations in Bird Diversity in an Urban Area?
Authors: Li Dehuan , Sun Wei , Xia Fan , Yang Yixuan , Xie Yujing
Published: May 2021

Biodiversity maintenance is a crucial ecosystem service. Due to time limits and data availability, assessing biodiversity using indicators or models has become a hot topic in recent decades. However, whether some proposed indicators can explain biodiversity well at the local scale is still unclear. This study attempted to test whether the habitat quality index (HQI) as measured using the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs (InVEST) model could explain variations in bird diversity in New Jiangwan Town, a rapidly urbanized region of Shanghai, China. The relationships from 2002 to 2013 among HQI and the two diversity indices, species richness and species abundance, were analyzed using Fisher’s exact test and gray correlation analysis. No significant association was found. Habitat connectivity was then integrated to develop a new combined indicator of habitat quality and connectivity index (HQCI). The associations between HQCI and the two diversity indices were improved significantly. The results indicated that connectivity may be an important factor explaining the diversity of certain species at a local scale. More empirical studies should be conducted to provide scientific evidence relating habitat quality to biodiversity.
Spatial Heterogeneity and Complexity of the Impact of Extreme Climate on Vegetation in China
Authors: Li Shuang , Wei Feili , Wang Zheng , Shen Jiashu , Liang Ze , Wang Huan , Li Shuangcheng
Published: May 2021

The impact of extreme climate on natural ecosystems and socioeconomic systems is more serious than that of the climate’s mean state. Based on the data of 1698 meteorological stations in China from 2001 to 2018, this study calculated the 27 extreme climate indices of the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI). Through correlation analysis and collinearity diagnostics, we selected two representative extreme temperature indices and three extreme precipitation indices. The spatial scale of the impact of extreme climate on Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in China during the growing season from 2001 to 2018 was quantitatively analyzed, and the complexity of the dominant factors in different regions was discussed via clustering analysis. The research results show that extreme climate indices have a scale effect on vegetation. There are spatial heterogeneities in the impacts of different extreme climate indices on vegetation, and these impacts varied between the local, regional and national scales. The relationship between the maximum length of a dry spell (CDD) and NDVI was the most spatially nonstationary, and mostly occurred on the local scale, while the effect of annual total precipitation when the daily precipitation amount was more than the 95th percentile (R95pTOT) showed the greatest spatial stability, and mainly manifested at the national scale. Under the current extreme climate conditions, extreme precipitation promotes vegetation growth, while the influence of extreme temperature is more complicated. As regards intensity and range, the impact of extreme climate on NDVI in China over the past 18 years can be categorized into five types: the humidity-promoting type, the cold-promoting and drought-inhibiting compound type, the drought-inhibiting type, the heat-promoting and drought-inhibiting compound type, and the heat-promoting and humidity-promoting compound type. Drought is the greatest threat to vegetation associated with extreme climate in China.
The COVID-19 Scenario in Terms of Gender: A Preliminary Analysis in IBEX-35 Companies
Authors: Campos-García Irene
Published: May 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has had serious consequences on employment and recent reports have warned that the impacts of the crisis are never gender-neutral. The objective of this research is to analyse the variations that have existed in terms of female representation in the Spanish listed companies during the COVID-19 scenario. The integrated annual reports and the non-financial information reports of each company have been examined to identify the changes that have occurred in their governance structures, leadership positions, and total workforce. A descriptive and correlational analysis was carried out in 2019 and 2020. The findings reveal that: (1) there has been a slight increase in the figures of female representation in different hierarchical positions; (2) the proportion of women on the boards of directors does not depend on the number of women in lower positions; and (3) there is a positive relationship between female representation in leadership positions and the number of women in the total workforce. These results have important implications for business sustainability in the medium and long term.
Resource Scarcity and Sustainability—The Shapes Have Shifted but the Stakes Keep Rising
Authors: Randall Alan
Published: May 2021

The objective is to provide an interpretive reading of the literature in resource scarcity and sustainability theory from the nineteenth century to the present time, focusing on shifts that have occurred in problem definition, conceptual framing, research tools applied, findings, and their implications. My reading shows, as one would expect, that the discourse has become more technical and the analysis more sophisticated; special cases have been incorporated into the mainstream of theory; and, where relevant, dynamic formulations have largely supplanted static analysis. However, that is barely scratching the surface. Here, I focus on more fundamental shifts. Exhaustible and renewable resource analyses were incorporated into the mainstream theory of financial and capital markets. Parallels between the resources and environmental spheres were discovered: market failure concepts, fundamental to environmental policy, found applications in the resources sector (e.g., fisheries), and renewable resource management concepts and approaches (e.g., waste assimilation capacity) were adopted in environmental policy. To motivate sustainability theory and assessment, there has been a foundational problem shift from restraining human greed to dealing with risk viewed as chance of harm, and a newfound willingness to look beyond stochastic risk to uncertainty, ambiguity, and gross ignorance. Newtonian dynamics, which seeks a stable equilibrium following a shock, gave way to a new dynamics of complexity that valued resilience in the face of shocks, warned of potential for regime shifts, and focused on the possibility of systemic collapse and recovery, perhaps incomplete. New concepts of sustainability (a safe minimum standard of conservation, the precautionary principle, and planetary boundaries) emerged, along with hybrid approaches such as WS-plus which treats weak sustainability (WS) as the default but may impose strong sustainability restrictions on a few essential but threatened resources. The strong sustainability objective has evolved from maintaining baseline flows of resource services to safety defined as minimizing the chance of irreversible collapse. New tools for management and policy (sustainability indicators and downscaled planetary boundaries) have proliferated, and still struggle to keep up with the emerging understanding of complex systems.
Business Model Innovation of IT-Enabled Customer Participating in Value Co-Creation Based on the Affordance Theory: A Case Study
Authors: Guo Yanli , Zhu Yi , Chen Jianbin
Published: May 2021

This study uses the structured–pragmatics–situational case study approach to explore the intrinsic mechanism of enterprise digital enablement using affordance theory and how traditional enterprises enable customers to participate in value co-creation through information technology, then realize business model innovation and maintain continuous consumption. The study revealed the following: (1) Product affordance drives customers’ original willingness to engage in value co-creation in four dimensions: economy, reliability, uniqueness, and selectivity; (2) The visibility, convenience, association, and persistence of the platform affordance enhance users’ abilities to engage in value co-creation; (3) The interaction of affordance, structural enablement, and digital enablement drives the interaction of willingness and capability to engage in value co-creation; and (4) User participation behaviors in value co-creation can be divided into three dimensions (informational, actionable, and attitudinal participation)and four stages. The findings explain how traditional enterprises use IT enablement to promote business model innovation of customer participation in value co-creation and enrich the theories of digital enablement. The conclusions reveal the managerial implications of the ways, paths, and mechanism of business model innovation by IT enabling customers to participate in value co-creation.
Residential Location Choice in Istanbul, Tehran, and Cairo: The Importance of Commuting to Work
Authors: Masoumi Houshmand
Published: May 2021

The determinants of residential location choice have not been investigated in many developing countries. This paper examines this topic, including the influence of urban travels on house location decision-making in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Based on 8284 face-to-face interviews in Istanbul, Tehran, and Cairo, the dummy variable of residential location choice, including two categories of mobility reasons and other factors, was modeled by binary probit regression modeling. By means of receiver-operating characteristic analysis, the cutoff value of commuting distance and the time passed from the last relocation was estimated. Finally, the significant difference between the value of these two variables for people with different house location reasons were tested by Mann–Whitney U-test. The results show that the eight variables of shopping-entertainment mode choice in faraway places, frequency of public transit trips, neighborhood attractiveness perception, age, number of driving licenses in household, commuting distance, number of accessed facilities, and the (walkable) accessibility of facilities influence the residential self-selections. People who chose their current home based on mobility commute a daily mean distance of 8596 m and relocated less than 15.5 years ago, while those who chose their home based on other reasons, such as socioeconomics or personal reasons, commute longer and moved to a new house more than 15.5 years ago. This shows how the attitudes of people about residential location have changed in the MENA region, but there are still contextual differences to high-income countries.
Multiframe Super-Resolution of Color Images Based on Cross Channel Prior
Authors: Shi Shen , Xiangli Bin , Yin Zengshan
Published: May 2021

Color images have a wider range of applications than gray images. There are two ways to extend the traditional super-resolution reconstruction method to color images: Super resolution reconstructs each channel of the color image individually; Change the RGB color bands into YCrCb color bands, then super-resolution reconstructs the luminance component and interpolates the chrominance components.These algorithms cannot effectively utilize the property that the edges and textures are similar in the RGB channels, and the results of those methods may lead to color artifacts. Aiming to solve these problems, we propose a new super-resolution method based on cross channel prior. First, a cross channel prior is proposed to describe the similarity of gradient in RGB channels. Then, a new super-resolution method is proposed for color images via combination of the cross channel prior and the traditional super-resolution methods. Finally, the proposed method reconstructs the color channels alternately. The experimental results show that the proposed method could effectively suppress the generation of color artifacts and improve the quality of the reconstructed images.
Lateralized Declarative-Like Memory for Conditional Spatial Information in Domestic Chicks (Gallus gallus)
Authors: Loconsole Maria , Mascalzoni Elena , Daisley Jonathan Niall , De Agrò Massimo , Vallortigara Giorgio , Regolin Lucia
Published: May 2021

Declarative memory is an explicit, long-term memory system, used in generalization and categorization processes and to make inferences and to predict probable outcomes in novel situations. Animals have been proven to possess a similar declarative-like memory system. Here, we investigated declarative-like memory representations in young chicks, assessing the roles of the two hemispheres in memory recollection. Chicks were exposed for three consecutive days to two different arenas (blue/yellow), where they were presented with two panels, each depicting a different stimulus (cross/square). Only one of the two stimuli was rewarded, i.e., it hid a food reward. The position (left/right) of the rewarded stimulus remained constant within the same arena, but it differed between the two arenas (e.g., reward always on the left in the blue context and on the right in the yellow one). At test, both panels depicted the rewarded stimulus, thus chicks had to remember food position depending on the previously experienced contextual rule. Both binocular and right-eye monocularly-tested chicks correctly located the reward, whereas left-eye monocularly-tested chicks performed at the chance level. We showed that declarative-like memory of integrated information is available at early stages of development, and it is associated with a left hemisphere dominance.
Survival and Reliability Analysis with an Epsilon-Positive Family of Distributions with Applications
Authors: Celis Perla , de la Cruz Rolando , Fuentes Claudio , Gómez Héctor W.
Published: May 2021

We introduce a new class of distributions called the epsilon–positive family, which can be viewed as generalization of the distributions with positive support. The construction of the epsilon–positive family is motivated by the ideas behind the generation of skew distributions using symmetric kernels. This new class of distributions has as special cases the exponential, Weibull, log–normal, log–logistic and gamma distributions, and it provides an alternative for analyzing reliability and survival data. An interesting feature of the epsilon–positive family is that it can viewed as a finite scale mixture of positive distributions, facilitating the derivation and implementation of EM–type algorithms to obtain maximum likelihood estimates (MLE) with (un)censored data. We illustrate the flexibility of this family to analyze censored and uncensored data using two real examples. One of them was previously discussed in the literature; the second one consists of a new application to model recidivism data of a group of inmates released from the Chilean prisons during 2007. The results show that this new family of distributions has a better performance fitting the data than some common alternatives such as the exponential distribution.
Effect of Plastic Anisotropy on the Collapse of a Hollow Disk under Thermal and Mechanical Loading
Authors: Lyamina Elena
Published: May 2021

Plastic anisotropy significantly affects the behavior of structures and machine parts. Given the many parameters that classify a structure made of anisotropic material, analytic and semi-analytic solutions are very useful for parametric analysis and preliminary design of such structures. The present paper is devoted to describing the plastic collapse of a thin orthotropic hollow disk inserted into a rigid container. The disk is subject to a uniform temperature field and a uniform pressure is applied over its inner radius. The condition of axial symmetry in conjunction with the assumption of plane stress, permits an exact analytic solution. Two plastic collapse mechanisms exist. One of these mechanisms requires that the entire disk is plastic. According to the other mechanism, plastic deformation localizes at the inner radius of the disk. Additionally, two special solutions are possible. One of these solutions predicts that the entire disk becomes plastic at the initiation of plastic yielding (i.e., plastic yielding simultaneously initiates in the entire disk). The other special solution predicts that the plastic localization occurs at the inner radius of the disk with no plastic region of finite size. An essential difference between the orthotropic and isotropic disks is that plastic yielding might initiate at the outer radius of the orthotropic disk.
Towards Better Performance for Protected Iris Biometric System with Confidence Matrix
Authors: Chai Tong-Yuen , Goi Bok-Min , Yap Wun-She
Published: May 2021

Biometric template protection (BTP) schemes are implemented to increase public confidence in biometric systems regarding data privacy and security in recent years. The introduction of BTP has naturally incurred loss of information for security, which leads to performance degradation at the matching stage. Although efforts are shown in the extended work of some iris BTP schemes to improve their recognition performance, there is still a lack of a generalized solution for this problem. In this paper, a trainable approach that requires no further modification on the protected iris biometric templates has been proposed. This approach consists of two strategies to generate a confidence matrix to reduce the performance degradation of iris BTP schemes. The proposed binary confidence matrix showed better performance in noisy iris data, whereas the probability confidence matrix showed better performance in iris databases with better image quality. In addition, our proposed scheme has also taken into consideration the potential effects in recognition performance, which are caused by the database-associated noise masks and the variation in biometric data types produced by different iris BTP schemes. The proposed scheme has reported remarkable improvement in our experiments with various publicly available iris research databases being tested.
Tourism Endowments, Institution Quality, and Inbound Tourists: A Panel Analysis of ASEAN
Authors: Hor Chantha
Published: May 2021

This study empirically examines the impact of the tourism endowments, institution quality, and its sub-components on inbound tourists in the Association of Southeast Asia Nation (ASEAN) member states using the fixed-effect model and panel data set from 2007–2017. The results show that the tourism endowment index and institution quality are essential factors that encourage inbound tourists to visit individual ASEAN member states. I further examine inbound tourists’ responses to each sub-component of institution quality. I corroborate that most of the sub-components of institution quality play an essential role in promoting inbound tourism in individual ASEAN member states. Other variables, such as China’s GDP per capita, foreign direct investment (FDIs), and single-entry visa schemes, show positive and significant impacts on inbound tourists in individual ASEAN member states. Therefore, these results aid the government and the policymakers in ASEAN member states to provide additional, appropriate tourism strategic development plans and policies.
Equations to Predict Growth Performance Changes by Dietary Deoxynivalenol in Pigs
Authors: Kim Jongkeon , Jeong Jin Young , Sung Jung Yeol , Kim Beob Gyun
Published: May 2021

The objectives of the present work were to assess the accuracy of previously published equations for predicting effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) on the growth performance changes of pigs and to update equations based on recently published data. A total of 59 data were employed for the validation of previously published equations. These data were used to update the equations. The REG and CORR procedures of SAS were used. In the present validation test, a linear bias was significant (p < 0.05), indicating that prediction errors were not consistent across the data ranges. The intercept for ΔFI (−7.75 ± 1.19, p < 0.01) representing a mean bias was less than 0, indicating that the predicted mean of ΔFI was greater than the measured mean of ΔFI. Dietary DON concentrations had negative correlations with ΔWG (r = −0.79; p < 0.01) and ΔFI (r = −0.71; p < 0.01). Updated prediction equations were: ΔWG = −5.93 × DON with r2 = 0.77 and ΔFI = −4.42 × DON with r2 = 0.68. In conclusion, the novel equations developed in this study might accurately predict effects of dietary DON on the performance changes of pigs.
Dysbiosis-Related Advanced Glycation Endproducts and Trimethylamine N-Oxide in Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Taguchi Kensei , Fukami Kei , Elias Bertha C. , Brooks Craig R.
Published: May 2021

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a public health concern that affects approximately 10% of the global population. CKD is associated with poor outcomes due to high frequencies of comorbidities such as heart failure and cardiovascular disease. Uremic toxins are compounds that are usually filtered and excreted by the kidneys. With the decline of renal function, uremic toxins are accumulated in the systemic circulation and tissues, which hastens the progression of CKD and concomitant comorbidities. Gut microbial dysbiosis, defined as an imbalance of the gut microbial community, is one of the comorbidities of CKD. Meanwhile, gut dysbiosis plays a pathological role in accelerating CKD progression through the production of further uremic toxins in the gastrointestinal tracts. Therefore, the gut-kidney axis has been attracting attention in recent years as a potential therapeutic target for stopping CKD. Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) generated by gut microbiota is linked to the progression of cardiovascular disease and CKD. Also, advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) not only promote CKD but also cause gut dysbiosis with disruption of the intestinal barrier. This review summarizes the underlying mechanism for how gut microbial dysbiosis promotes kidney injury and highlights the wide-ranging interventions to counter dysbiosis for CKD patients from the view of uremic toxins such as TMAO and AGEs.
Different Biological Activities of Histidine-Rich Peptides Are Favored by Variations in Their Design
Authors: Lointier Morane , Dussouillez Candice , Glattard Elise , Kichler Antoine , Bechinger Burkhard
Published: May 2021

The protein transduction and antimicrobial activities of histidine-rich designer peptides were investigated as a function of their sequence and compared to gene transfection, lentivirus transduction and calcein release activities. In membrane environments, the peptides adopt helical conformations where the positioning of the histidine side chains defines a hydrophilic angle when viewed as helical wheel. The transfection of DNA correlates with calcein release in biophysical experiments, being best for small hydrophilic angles supporting a model where lysis of the endosomal membrane is the limiting factor. In contrast, antimicrobial activities show an inverse correlation suggesting that other interactions and mechanisms dominate within the bacterial system. Furthermore, other derivatives control the lentiviral transduction enhancement or the transport of proteins into the cells. Here, we tested the transport into human cell lines of luciferase (63 kDa) and the ribosome-inactivating toxin saporin (30 kDa). Notably, depending on the protein, different peptide sequences are required for the best results, suggesting that the interactions are manifold and complex. As such, designed LAH4 peptides assure a large panel of biological and biophysical activities whereby the optimal result can be tuned by the physico-chemical properties of the sequences.
Epidemiology of Shuni Virus in Horses in South Africa
Authors: Motlou Thopisang P. , Williams June , Venter Marietjie
Published: May 2021

The Orthobunyavirus genus, family Peribunyaviridae, contains several important emerging and re-emerging arboviruses of veterinary and medical importance. These viruses may cause mild febrile illness, to severe encephalitis, fetal deformity, abortion, hemorrhagic fever and death in humans and/or animals. Shuni virus (SHUV) is a zoonotic arbovirus thought to be transmitted by hematophagous arthropods. It was previously reported in a child in Nigeria in 1966 and horses in Southern Africa in the 1970s and again in 2009, and in humans with neurological signs in 2017. Here we investigated the epidemiology and phylogenetic relationship of SHUV strains detected in horses presenting with febrile and neurological signs in South Africa. In total, 24/1820 (1.3%) horses submitted to the zoonotic arbovirus surveillance program tested positive by real-time reverse transcription (RTPCR) between 2009 and 2019. Cases were detected in all provinces with most occurring in Gauteng (9/24, 37.5%). Neurological signs occurred in 21/24 (87.5%) with a fatality rate of 45.8%. Partial sequencing of the nucleocapsid gene clustered the identified strains with SHUV strains previously identified in South Africa (SA). Full genome sequencing of a neurological case detected in 2016 showed 97.8% similarity to the SHUV SA strain (SAE18/09) and 97.5% with the Nigerian strain and 97.1% to the 2014 Israeli strain. Our findings suggest that SHUV is circulating annually in SA and despite it being relatively rare, it causes severe neurological disease and death in horses.
Experimental Evaluation of an Interferometric Light Microscopy Particle Counter for Titering and Characterization of Virus Preparations
Authors: Turkki Vesa , Alppila Elisa , Ylä-Herttuala Seppo , Lesch Hanna P.
Published: May 2021

Virus particle concentration is a critical piece of information for virology, viral vaccines and gene therapy research. We tested a novel nanoparticle counting device, “Videodrop”, for its efficacy in titering and characterization of virus particles. The Videodrop nanoparticle counter is based on interferometric light microscopy (ILM). The method allows the detection of particles under the diffraction limit capabilities of conventional light microscopy. We analyzed lenti-, adeno-, and baculovirus samples in different concentrations and compared the readings against traditional titering and characterization methods. The tested Videodrop particle counter is especially useful when measuring high-concentration purified virus preparations. Certain non-purified sample types or small viruses may be impossible to characterize or may require the use of standard curve or background subtraction methods, which increases the duration of the analysis. Together, our testing shows that Videodrop is a reasonable option for virus particle counting in situations where a moderate number of samples need to be analyzed quickly.
Divide et impera: An In Silico Screening Targeting HCMV ppUL44 Processivity Factor Homodimerization Identifies Small Molecules Inhibiting Viral Replication
Authors: Ghassabian Hanieh , Falchi Federico , Timmoneri Martina , Mercorelli Beatrice , Loregian Arianna , Palù Giorgio , Alvisi Gualtiero
Published: May 2021

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a leading cause of severe diseases in immunocompromised individuals, including AIDS patients and transplant recipients, and in congenitally infected newborns. The utility of available drugs is limited by poor bioavailability, toxicity, and emergence of resistant strains. Therefore, it is crucial to identify new targets for therapeutic intervention. Among the latter, viral protein–protein interactions are becoming increasingly attractive. Since dimerization of HCMV DNA polymerase processivity factor ppUL44 plays an essential role in the viral life cycle, being required for oriLyt-dependent DNA replication, it can be considered a potential therapeutic target. We therefore performed an in silico screening and selected 18 small molecules (SMs) potentially interfering with ppUL44 homodimerization. Antiviral assays using recombinant HCMV TB4-UL83-YFP in the presence of the selected SMs led to the identification of four active compounds. The most active one, B3, also efficiently inhibited HCMV AD169 strain in plaque reduction assays and impaired replication of an AD169-GFP reporter virus and its ganciclovir-resistant counterpart to a similar extent. As assessed by Western blotting experiments, B3 specifically reduced viral gene expression starting from 48 h post infection, consistent with the inhibition of viral DNA synthesis measured by qPCR starting from 72 h post infection. Therefore, our data suggest that inhibition of ppUL44 dimerization could represent a new class of HCMV inhibitors, complementary to those targeting the DNA polymerase catalytic subunit or the viral terminase complex.