bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dual-Modal In Vivo Fluorescence/Photoacoustic Microscopy Imaging of Inflammation Induced by GFP-Expressing Bacteria
Authors: Liu Yubin , Fu Lei , Xu Mengze , Zheng Jun , Yuan Zhen
Published: January 2019

In this study, dual-modal fluorescence and photoacoustic microscopy was performed for noninvasive and functional in vivo imaging of inflammation induced by green fluorescent protein (GFP) transfected bacteria in mice ear. Our imaging results demonstrated that the multimodal imaging technique is able to monitor the tissue immunovascular responses to infections with molecular specificity. Our study also indicated that the combination of photoacoustic and fluorescence microscopy imaging can simultaneously track the biochemical changes including the bacterial distribution and morphological change of blood vessels in the biological tissues with high resolution and enhanced sensitivity. Consequently, the developed method paves a new avenue for improving the understanding of the pathology mechanism of inflammation.
Measurements of Dynamic Deformations of Building Structures by Applying Wire Sensors
Authors: Cieplok Grzegorz , Bednarski Łukasz
Published: January 2019

Measurements of deformations by means of vibrating wire sensors are very important in the monitoring of building structures. These types of sensors are characterized by a high resistance to environmental conditions, long time of measurement stability, and a possibility to use long electric cables with a solid encasement in concrete. Vibrating wire sensors are mainly used for measuring stable or slowly changing deformations, however applications of these sensors for measuring time-variable deformations are becoming popular. New solutions generate new problems, which in case of vibrating wire sensors are mainly related to the operational stability of the systems exciting wire vibrations. The structure of such sensors and the length of the electric cables, which can reach a few kilometers, have an essential influence on their operations. This paper undertakes the task of determining the influence of the electric cables length on the proper operation of the measurement system and provides advice for improvements of its measurement possibilities. The subject of investigation constitutes a measurement system based on a self-exciting impulse exciter, for which the impedance of the electric cables and of the vibrating wire sensor are the most essential parameters. A mathematical model of this system, experimental verification of the model, and the results of theoretical analyses and measurement tests for electric cables of various lengths are presented in this paper.
CMTN-SP: A Novel Coverage-Control Algorithm for Moving-Target Nodes Based on Sensing Probability Model in Sensor Networks
Authors: Sun Zeyu , Xing Xiaofei , Yan Ben , Lv Zhiguo
Published: January 2019

The non-consecutive coverage problem for the target nodes in Sensor Networks could lead to the coverage blind area and a large amount of redundant data, which causes the bottleneck phenomenon for the communication link. A novel Coverage Control Algorithm for Moving Target Nodes Based on Sensing Probability Model (CMTN-SP) is proposed in this work. Firstly, according to the probability theory, we derive the calculation method for the expectation of the coverage quality with multiple joint nodes, which aims to reduce the coverage blind area and improving network coverage rate. Secondly, we employ the dynamic transferring mechanism of the nodes to re-optimize the deployment of the nodes, which alleviates the rapid exhaustion of the proper network energy. Finally, it is verified via the results of the simulation that the network coverage quality could not only be improved by the proposed algorithm, but the proposed algorithm could also effectively curb the rapid exhaustion of the node energy.
Hydrodynamic Analysis-Based Modeling and Experimental Verification of a New Water-Jet Thruster for an Amphibious Spherical Robot
Authors: Hou Xihuan , Guo Shuxiang , Shi Liwei , Xing Huiming , Liu Yu , Liu Huikang , Hu Yao , Xia Debin , Li Zan
Published: January 2019

Thrusters are the bottom actuators of the amphibious spherical robot, and play an important role in the motion control of these robots. To realize accurate motion control, a thrust model for a new water-jet thruster based on hydrodynamic analyses is proposed in this paper. First, the hydrodynamic characteristics of the new thruster were numerically analyzed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) commercial software CFX. The moving reference frame (MRF) technique was utilized to simulate propeller rotation. In particular, the hydrodynamics of the thruster were studied not only in the axial flow but also in oblique flow. Then, the basic framework of the thrust model was built according to hydromechanics theory. Parameters in the basic framework were identified through the results of the hydrodynamic simulation. Finally, a series of relevant experiments were conducted to verify the accuracy of the thrust model. These proved that the thrust model-based simulation results agreed well with the experimental results. The maximum error between the experimental results and simulation results was only 7%, which indicates that the thrust model is precise enough to be utilized in the motion control of amphibious spherical robots.
Energy-Efficient Patching Strategy for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Li Pengdeng , Yang Lu-Xing , Yang Xiaofan , Zhong Xiang , Wen Junhao , Xiong Qingyu
Published: January 2019

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are vulnerable to computer viruses. To protect WSNs from virus attack, the virus library associated with each sensor node must be updated in a timely way. This article is devoted to developing energy-efficient patching strategies for WSNs. First, we model the original problem as an optimal control problem in which (a) each control stands for a patching strategy, and (b) the objective functional to be optimized stands for the energy efficiency of a patching strategy. Second, we prove that the optimal control problem is solvable. Next, we derive the optimality system for solving the optimal control problem, accompanied with a few examples. Finally, we examine the effects of some factors on the optimal control. The obtained results help improve the security of WSNs.
LPWAN-Based Vehicular Monitoring Platform with a Generic IP Network Interface
Authors: Santa José , Sanchez-Iborra Ramon , Rodriguez-Rey Pablo , Bernal-Escobedo Luis , Skarmeta Antonio F.
Published: January 2019

Remote vehicle monitoring is a field that has recently attracted the attention of both academia and industry. With the dawn of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm, the possibilities for performing this task have multiplied, due to the emergence of low-cost and multi-purpose monitoring devices and the evolution of wireless transmission technologies. Low Power-Wide Area Network (LPWAN) encompasses a set of IoT communication technologies that are gaining momentum, due to their highly valued features regarding transmission distance and end-device energy consumption. For that reason, in this work we present a vehicular monitoring platform enabled by LPWAN-based technology, namely Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN). Concretely, we explore the end-to-end architecture considering vehicle data retrieving by using an On-Board Diagnostics II (OBD-II) interface, their compression with a novel IETF compression scheme in order to transmit them over the constrained LoRaWAN link, and information visualization through a data server hosted in the cloud, by means of a web-based dashboard. A key advance of the proposal is the design and development of a UNIX-based network interface for LPWAN communications. The whole system has been tested in a university campus environment, showing its capabilities to remotely track vehicle status in real-time. The conducted performance evaluation also shows high levels of reliability in the transmission link, with packet delivery ratios over 95%. The platform boosts the process of monitoring vehicles, enabling a variety of services such as mechanical failure prediction and detection, fleet management, and traffic monitoring, and is extensible to light vehicles with severe power constraints.
Efficient Location Service for a Mobile Sink in Solar-Powered Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Kang Minjae , Yoon Ikjune , Noh Dong Kun
Published: January 2019

By utilizing mobile sinks in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), WSNs can be deployed in more challenging environments that cannot connect with the Internet, such as those that are isolated or dangerous, and can also achieve a balanced energy consumption among sensors which leads to prolonging the network lifetime. However, an additional overhead is required to check the current location of the sink in order for a node to transmit data to the mobile sink, and the size of the overhead is proportional to that of the network. Meanwhile, WSNs composed of solar-powered nodes have recently been actively studied for the perpetual operation of a network. This study addresses both of these research topics simultaneously, and proposes a method to support an efficient location service for a mobile sink utilizing the surplus energy of a solar-powered WSN. In this scheme, nodes that have a sufficient energy budget can constitute rings, and the nodes belonging to these rings (which are called ring nodes) maintain up-to-date location information on the mobile sink node and serve this information to the other sensor nodes. Because each ring node only uses surplus energy to serve location information, this does not affect the performance of a node’s general operations (e.g., sensing, processing, and data delivery). Moreover, because multiple rings can exist simultaneously in the proposed scheme, the overhead for acquiring the position information of the sink can be significantly reduced, and also hardly increases even if the network size becomes larger.
Magnetometer Calibration and Field Mapping through Thin Plate Splines
Authors: Muraccini Marco , Mangia Anna Lisa , Lannocca Maurizio , Cappello Angelo
Published: January 2019

While the undisturbed Earth’s magnetic field represents a fundamental information source for orientation purposes, magnetic distortions have been mostly considered as a source of error. However, when distortions are temporally stable and spatially distinctive, they could provide a unique magnetic landscape that can be used in different applications, from indoor localization to sensor fusion algorithms for attitude estimation. The main purpose of this work, therefore, is to present a method to characterize the 3D magnetic vector in every point of the measurement volume. The possibility of describing the 3D magnetic field map through Thin Plate Splines (TPS) interpolation is investigated and demonstrated. An algorithm for the simultaneous estimation of the parameters related to magnetometer calibration and those describing the magnetic map, is proposed and tested on both simulated and real data. Results demonstrate that an accurate description of the local magnetic field using TPS interpolation is possible. The proposed procedure leads to errors in the estimation of the local magnetic direction with a standard deviation lower than 1 degree. Magnetometer calibration and magnetic field mapping could be integrated into different algorithms, for example to improve attitude estimation in highly distorted environments or as an aid to indoor localization.
Systems of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (SAACs) in Spain: A Systematic Review of the Educational Practices Conducted in the Last Decade
Authors: Boillos Pereira María del Mar , Pérez-Izaguirre Elizabeth , Apaolaza-Llorente Dorleta
Published: January 2019

Systems of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (SAACs) encompass a variety of forms of expression used to enhance the communication skills of people with disabilities and/or communication impairments. This paper compiles educational practices carried out in Spain using SAACs in the last decade. A systematic review of scientific research databases enabled a descriptive and qualitative analysis of the 25 case studies out of 88 that met the established inclusion criteria. The aim of this analysis was to obtain a global perspective of the main lines of action, as well as to identify its nature according to the beneficiary, context, aims, and typology of the SAACs implemented through the application of an evaluation grid. This evaluation grid tool arose in a broader European Project entitled AAC@ School for Social Inclusion. The results of this systematic review provide researchers and educators with evidence to apply SAACs with individuals with communication impairments, regardless of their age, gender, or the impairment or functional diversity they suffer from and could be applied in other European contexts.
An Experimental Examination of Binge Watching and Narrative Engagement
Authors: Erickson Sarah , Dal Cin Sonya , Byl Hannah
Published: January 2019

Increasingly, audiences are engaging with media narratives through the practice of binge watching. The effects of binge watching are largely unknown, although early research suggests binge watching may be motivated by a need for escape and could be associated with some qualities of addiction. In this study, we ask whether the practice of binge watching impacts audience engagement with a media narrative. Using an experimental approach, we manipulate the format of exposure to media narratives (binge or nonbinge) and test the effect of this manipulation on audience engagement, specifically parasocial relationships with favorite characters and narrative transportation. Results suggest that binge watching increases the strength of parasocial relationships and the intensity of narrative transportation. Media engagement has been shown to increase media effects, suggesting that binge watching could change not only how audiences engage with narrative media but also the effect it has on them.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Soil Systems in 2018
Authors:   Soil Systems Editorial Office
Published: January 2019

Rigorous peer-review is the corner-stone of high-quality academic publishing [...]
Intrapreneurial Self-Capital and Sustainable Innovative Behavior within Organizations
Authors: Duradoni Mirko , Di Fabio Annamaria
Published: January 2019

Innovative behavior is necessary to combat the 21st century’s sustainability challenges, as well as to ensure organizations’ longevity and success. Personality traits, such as extraversion, are strongly related to innovative behavior; nevertheless, such traits are not increasable through specific training. Intrapreneurial self-capital is a promising preventive resource to enhance people’s capability to cope with innovations. On this basis, this study analyzed, in an explorative way, the relationship between extraversion, intrapreneurial self-capital, and innovative behavior, using a sample of 120 Italian workers. A mediation model was used to assess the effects of extraversion on innovative behavior and innovative implementation behavior (outcome variables) through intrapreneurial self-capital (conceived as an intervening mediator variable). The mediation analysis highlighted that intrapreneurial self-capital is correlated with both workers’ innovative behavior and innovative implementation behavior. Therefore, implementing dedicated training on intrapreneurial self-capital could help organizations better address sustainability issues and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals introduced by the United Nations.
“Because We Don’t Want to Run in Smog”: Problems with the Sustainable Management of Sport Event Tourism in Protected Areas (A Case Study of National Parks in Poland and Slovakia)
Authors: Malchrowicz-Mośko Ewa , Botiková Zuzana , Poczta Joanna
Published: January 2019

The practice of active and qualified tourism in national parks in Poland and Slovakia has longstanding traditions. Primarily, these parks have been a place of individual recreational activity, as well as a place to educate and convene with nature. Recently, sport tourism, which is characterized by the participation of tourists in mass organized sporting events mainly of a competitive nature, has been gaining more popularity. Even though this activity takes place in protected areas, sports are the main priority, rather than educational goals. Natural values have the primary function of enriching emotional experiences, and exploring wildlife is not an end in itself. Running events are now at the head of the list as the most popular sporting events in Poland and in Slovakia. The authors of the article focused on protected areas in Poland and Slovakia, largely because these countries were considering organizing one of the world’s biggest sports events together: The Winter Olympic Games (2022). The purpose of the study was to recognize the attitude of Polish and Slovak national park authorities toward the organization of mass sports events in protected areas. A diagnostic survey was conducted using the method of interviews with the directors of Polish and Slovak national parks. The research results shed light on the current state of development of sports event tourism in protected areas in the two countries. The article examines the response of Polish and Slovak park authorities to the changes of the current era of shifting societal needs regarding physical development, in particular with regard to the sustainability of protected areas. Currently, there is a lack of a strategic approach toward the development of sports tourism in national parks in Poland and Slovakia. The answers given in the interviews create an image that indicates a differentiated approach to the issue of permitting the organization of sports events in the areas of national parks. It turns out that the practice in these areas is different in individual parks. The diagnosis presented in the article indicates that it is necessary to undertake interdisciplinary and international research among environmentalists, economists, sociologists, anthropologists, and physical culture specialists in order to develop methods for measuring the impact of sporting events organized in natural areas in this part of Europe.
A Reactive Power Compensation Strategy for Voltage Stability Challenges in the Korean Power System with Dynamic Loads
Authors: Lee Yunhwan , Song Hwachang
Published: January 2019

This paper describes a methodology and specifics for technical studies on fault-induced delayed voltage recovery (FIDVR) mitigation to ensure power system reliability. Optimal locations of the dynamic volts-ampere-reactive (VAR) sources are determined for addressing the FIDVR issues in the voltage stability analysis and assessment methodology. We propose a voltage stability analysis method for planning dynamic VAR sources for bettering electric power transmission systems under contingency conditions. A time-domain dynamic simulation is performed to assess short-term voltage stability. While conducting dynamic simulations, sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the need for dynamic VAR sources. This study focuses on a reactive power compensation strategy to determine system voltage recovery performance by optimal flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) placement in a metropolitan region. The objective of this study is to determine the optimal installation of dynamic VAR sources while satisfying the requirements of voltage stability margin and transient voltage dip under a set of criteria. New insights are presented on the effect of FACTS controls on the reactive power compensation, which supports voltage recovery. The main features of the proposed method are (i) the development based on a load model for FIDVR, (ii) the use of sensitivity analysis of the network to the variations of the IM load, (iii) the establishment of the control function and compensation strategy to maintain the voltage of system within criteria limits, and (iv) the use of the sensitivity analysis based on branch parameterization for unsolvable cases. Case studies on the Korean power system validated the performance of the proposed strategy, showing that it effectively installed FACTS under contingency scenarios.
Quantifying the Effect of Land Use Change and Climate Variability on Green Water Resources in the Xihe River Basin, Northeast China
Authors: Lyu Leting , Wang Xiaorui , Sun Caizhi , Ren Tiantian , Zheng Defeng
Published: January 2019

Based on a land use interpretation and distributed hydrological model, soil and water assessment tool (SWAT), this study simulated the hydrological cycle in Xihe River Basin in northern China. In addition, the influence of climate variability and land use change on green water resources in the basin from 1995 to 2015 was analyzed. The results show that (1) The ENS (Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient) and R2 (coefficient of determination) were 0.94 and 0.89, respectively, in the calibration period, and 0.89 and 0.88, respectively, in the validation period. These indicate high simulation accuracy; (2) Changes in green water flow and green water storage due to climate variability accounted for increases of 2.07 mm/a and 1.28 mm/a, respectively. The relative change rates were 0.49% and 0.9%, respectively, and the green water coefficient decreased by 1%; (3) Changes in green water flow and green water storage due to land use change accounted for increases of 69.15 mm and 48.82 mm, respectively. The relative change rates were 16.4% and 37.2%, respectively, and the green water coefficient increased by 10%; (4) Affected by both climate variability and land use change, green water resources increased by 121.3 mm and the green water coefficient increased by 9% in the Xihe River Basin. It is noteworthy that the influence of land use change was greater than that of climate variability.
Encouraging Environmental Commitment to Sustainability: An Empirical Study of Environmental Connectedness Theory to Undergraduate Students
Authors: Yu Tai-Kuei , Lin Feng-Yi , Kao Kai-Yun , Yu Tai-Yi
Published: January 2019

Environmental commitment to sustainability is one of the most critical issues in the “emerging contaminants”, few studies have examined the role of commitment to pro-environmental behavior and environmental concerns. This study aimed to explore the relationship between environmental commitment and three forms of emotional association: place attachment and social identity, connectedness and concerned about nature. Using 1288 respondents and a structural equation modeling approach, results show that connection to nature enhanced social identity, place attachment, and environmental concern, which in turn increased environmental commitment to sustainability. Place attachment was not related to environmental commitment to sustainability. Further analysis suggested that the theoretical model relationship between connection to nature and environmental commitment to sustainability was mediated by social identity and environmental concern. The findings of this research can offer guidelines for policy makers and green educators who evaluate an environmental commitment so as to provide proper beliefs association with nature and promote social identity and place attachment by emerging contaminants in educational activities. This demonstrates the importance of using a series of robustness of social identity and place attachment instruments and more environmental concern to promote environmental commitment to sustainability. Interpretation of the findings reveals the potential role that environmental commitment to sustainability can play as a hub and catalyst for major emerging contaminants change by fostering recognition of environmental commitment as a way of change and combine schools and government sectors to connect the micro- and macro-levels.
External Partnerships in Employee Education and Development as the Key to Facing Industry 4.0 Challenges
Authors: Stachová Katarína , Papula Ján , Stacho Zdenko , Kohnová Lucia
Published: January 2019

The new challenges that will currently affect the existence and sustainability of businesses stem from the dramatic changes that come from the fourth industrial revolution. Based on the concept of intellectual capital management as a resource-based strategic management approach, which leads to the management of structural, human, and relational capital, sustainable human resource management underlines the involvement of partnerships and external relations in learning and personal development processes. Industry 4.0 expects major changes in human resource management and processes such as education. Organizations will benefit from the new knowledge in the near future that will need to be brought into the internal environment of the organization constantly. However, this will require cooperation with the external environment, and the resulting new education opportunities built on cooperation with external partners, organizations, and educational institutions. Innovations as essential factors in adapting to major changes in the environment will be key in all organizational processes, including educational. This paper focuses on comparing highly innovative countries and less innovative countries in Central Europe, analyzing 1482 businesses by looking at differences in attitude towards employee education and individual forms of employee education. The main statistically significant difference is in the strategic approach to employee education and development and the set-up between innovative countries and moderate innovators.
Environmental Concern, Income, and Nature Experience in India
Authors: Bettin Johannes , Wollni Meike
Published: January 2019

The relationship between income and environmental concern has only in some samples been found to mirror an Environmental Kuznets curve of pollution behavior by U-shaped preferences. Inconclusive aggregate findings may be due to the differential presence of mechanisms causing a linear relationship, or a psychological equivalent to tunneling maximum pollution. We enquire into determinants of such a mechanism previously unrelated to income-concern literature, which could arise from persistent influence of environmentalism of the poor through economic development, until affluence and postmaterialist values become effective. It is empirically captured as influence of past nature experience on concern at critical intermediate income, retained by individuals that have abandoned farming and advanced to such income. The resultant moderated mediation model is calibrated on representative survey data from highly heterogeneous, urbanizing India. Our results explain pollution behavior within this middle-income country by a corresponding, U-shaped income-concern relationship. However, in addition, this relationship is hidden by bridging, i.e., particularly pronounced influence of past nature experience at middle-income for individuals that switched out of farming. Policy leverage may thus derive from reducing the attitude-behavior gap in India and fostering persistent positive nature experience elsewhere.
Multicriteria Decision Making for Evaluating and Selecting Information Systems Projects: A Sustainability Perspective
Authors: Zou Anquan , Duan Sophia Xiaoxia , Deng Hepu
Published: January 2019

This paper develops a multicriteria analysis method for effectively making the selection decision on information systems (IS) projects for project management in organizations from a sustainability perspective. The triple bottom line principle of sustainability in organizations is carefully considered in formulating the IS project selection process as a multicriteria analysis problem. The subjectiveness of the decision-making process is modelled by linguistic variables approximated by fuzzy numbers. The positive and the negative ideal solution concepts are used to calculate the overall sustainability performance of individual IS projects in a comprehensive manner. A decision support system framework is then constructed with the use of the developed method for facilitating the IS project selection process. Such a system can provide organizations with an effective mechanism for comprehensively evaluating available IS projects from a sustainability perspective. An example is presented for demonstrating the flexibility and effectiveness of the proposed method in solving the IS project selection problem.
Study on an Implementation Scheme of Synergistic Emission Reduction of CO2 and Air Pollutants in China’s Steel Industry
Authors: Li Hui , Tan Xianchun , Guo Jianxin , Zhu Kaiwei , Huang Chen
Published: January 2019

China’s steel industry is an energy-intensive sector. Synergistic reduction of emissions of CO2 and air pollutants (SO2, NOx, and PM2.5) in the steel industry has an important practical significance for climate change and air pollution control. According to the CO2 emission reduction intensity targets (CERO) and air pollutant emission targets (PERO) for 2020 and 2030, 28 types of energy-saving and emission reduction technologies (20 types of carbon reduction technology and eight types of air pollution end-of-pipe technology) were selected for examination, and a two-stage dynamic optimization model with collaborative implementation of PERO and CERO was built to assess the near future (2015–2020) and long-term (2020–2030) implementation plans for synergistic emissions reduction of CO2 and air pollutants. The results show that in the near future, the implementation of PERO will have a greater synergistic effect on CO2 emission reduction. CO2 emission reduction under PERO in 2020 will be 97 million tons (Mt) higher than that of CERO, an increase of nearly 26%. However, the effects of implementing CERO are better in the long run. Under CERO, the emission reductions of SO2, NOx, and PM2.5 in 2030 are 2.44 Mt, 1.47 Mt, and 0.86 Mt, respectively, and 7%, 4%, and 5% higher than the implementation of PERO. As far as marginal abatement cost is concerned, in the near future, the marginal abatement costs of CO2 and air pollutant equivalents are 1.06 yuan/kgCO2 and 133 yuan/kg pollution equivalent (pe) under PERO, which are 23% and 11% lower than that of CERO, while in the long run, the marginal abatement costs of CO2 and pollutant equivalents under CERO are 0.025 yuan/kgCO2 and 2.73 yuan/kgpe, about 96% and 95% lower than that of PERO.
Corporate Social Responsibility Practices in China: Trends, Context, and Impact on Company Performance
Authors: Li Kun , Khalili Nasrin R. , Cheng Weiquan
Published: January 2019

This study analyzes the trends, context, and impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on company’s performance and productivity in China. We use environmental and social responsibility data in 34,000 CSR projects released by 839 companies in 31 provinces from 2006 to 2016. Clustering methods as wells as ordinary least squares and the fixed effects panel regression modeling are performed to provide insights on the context, trends, and impact of CSR projects on companies’ productivity and financial outcomes. Results of data processing and modeling indicate that: (a) most projects focused on improving companies’ environmental sustainability (compared to social); (b) implementation of both environmental and social projects had positive impacts on companies’ performance; and (c) trends, context, and impact of the projects varied with time, company type, and location (provinces). In addition, data suggest that companies operating in regions with lower economic conditions (GDP per capita) seem to be less motivated to implement environmental and social sustainability projects compared to those operating in regions with higher economic conditions. This study is meaningful for both companies that consider adopting CSR initiatives, as well as stakeholders and managers who aim to promote sustainable development in China.
Characteristics of Transformational Adaptation in Climate-Land-Society Interactions
Authors: Warner Koko , Zommers Zinta , Wreford Anita , Hurlbert Margot , Viner David , Scantlan Jill , Halsey Kenna , Halsey Kevin , Tamang Chet
Published: January 2019

Countries across the world aspire towards climate resilient sustainable development. The interacting processes of climate change, land change, and unprecedented social and technological change pose significant obstacles to these aspirations. The pace, intensity, and scale of these sizeable risks and vulnerabilities affect the central issues in sustainable development: how and where people live and work, access to essential resources and ecosystem services needed to sustain people in given locations, and the social and economic means to improve human wellbeing in the face of disruptions. This paper addresses the question: What are the characteristics of transformational adaptation and development in the context of profound changes in land and climate? To explore this question, this paper contains four case studies: managing storm water runoff related to the conversion of rural land to urban land in Indonesia; using a basket of interventions to manage social impacts of flooding in Nepal; combining a national glacier protection law with water rights management in Argentina; and community-based relocation in response to permafrost thaw and coastal erosion in Alaska. These case studies contribute to understanding characteristics of adaptation which is commensurate to sizeable risks and vulnerabilities to society in changing climate and land systems. Transformational adaptation is often perceived as a major large-scale intervention. In practice, the case studies in this article reveal that transformational adaptation is more likely to involve a bundle of adaptation interventions that are aimed at flexibly adjusting to change rather than reinforcing the status quo in ways of doing things. As a global mosaic, transformational change at a grand scale will occur through an inestimable number of smaller steps to adjust the central elements of human systems proportionate to the changes in climate and land systems. Understanding the characteristics of transformational adaptation will be essential to design and implement adaptation that keeps society in step with reconfiguring climate and land systems as they depart from current states.
A Multifactorial Approach to Value Supporting Ecosystem Services in Spanish Forests and Its Implications in a Warming World
Authors: González-Díaz Patricia , Ruiz-Benito Paloma , Gosalbez Ruiz Jorge , Chamorro Gregorio , Zavala Miguel A.
Published: January 2019

Carbon storage and sequestration are key ecosystem services critical to human well-being and biodiversity conservation. In a warming context, the quantification and valuation of carbon storage and sequestration is important in ensuring that effective incentives are put in place to tackle climate change. The quantification and valuation of ES such as carbon storage and sequestration requires the calculus of actual values and prediction, however, it usually does not include key processes that can indirectly influence carbon dynamics (i.e., risk, conservation or management). Here, we define a multifactorial approach to value ecosystem services based on two stages: (1) a biophysical approximation that integrates yearly supporting ecosystem services (i.e., quantification of carbon storage and sequestration) and (2) a weighing approach including factors that indirectly influence carbon storage and sequestration or that deserve specific attention (i.e., risk, conservation or management factors). The quantification of carbon storage and sequestration indicated that Spanish forests store on average 43 Mg C ha−1 and sequestrate on average 1.02 Mg C ha−1 year−1. Forest structure was a strong determinant of carbon storage and sequestration in Iberian forests, hence there was a strong spatial variation in the carbon sink. We adapted the weighting values to a financial cap and the monetary value of carbon increased more than four times when the weighting factors were taken into account. Finally, we argue that a multifactorial approach to value supporting ecosystem services incorporating aspects related to conservation and risk prevention can facilitate ecosystem service valuation and assist policy makers and stakeholders to establish payment service policies.
Sustainable Knowledge Management and Its Impact on the Performances of Biotechnology Organizations
Authors: Zbuchea Alexandra , Pînzaru Florina , Busu Mihail , Stan Sergiu-Octavian , Bârgăoanu Alina
Published: January 2019

Starting from the findings of specialized studies on knowledge management in the field of biotechnology, this paper aims to present the factors that underline sustainable performances of Romanian biotechnology organizations. Particularly, descriptive analysis of these factors has outlined a picture of the current situation of biotechnology in Romania. The design of an exploratory knowledge management model for organizations in the biotechnology sector was achieved and validated through a panel data model. Starting from a model of growth based on productivity, capital inflow, and human capital, three statistical hypotheses were validated by a time series data panel regression model using EViews 9.0 software. The data were collected for the enterprises active in the field of biotechnology for a period of nine years. The paper highlights the fact that the economic performance of biotechnology organizations is determined by the flow of capital, productivity, and the workforce. Knowledge-based growth strategies are essential in the econometric model presented. Nevertheless, in terms of knowledge management strategies, the sector has not reached its maturity, and full sustainability is not a norm.
CoFi: Coding-Assisted File Distribution over a Wireless LAN
Authors: Ma Naji , Diao Ming
Published: January 2019

The wireless channel is volatile in nature, due to various signal attenuation factors including path-loss, shadowing, and multipath fading. Existing media access control (MAC) protocols, such as the widely adopted 802.11 wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) family, advocate masking harsh channel conditions with persistent retransmission and backoff, in order to provide a packet-level best-effort service. However, the asymmetry of the network environment of client nodes in space is not fully considered in the method, which leads to the decline of the transmission efficiency of the good ones. In this paper, we propose CoFi, a coding-assisted file distribution protocol for 802.11 based wireless local area networks (LANs). CoFi groups data into batches and transmits a random linear combination of packets within each batch, thereby reducing redundant packet and acknowledgement (ACK) retransmissions when the channel is lossy. In addition, CoFi adopts a MAC layer caching scheme that allows clients to store the overheard coded packets and use such cached packets to assist nearby peers. With this measure, it further improves the effective throughput and shortens the buffering delay when running applications such as bulk data transmission and video streaming. Our trace based simulation demonstrates that CoFi can maintain a similar level of packet delay to 802.11, but increases the throughput performance by a significant margin in a lossy wireless LAN. Furthermore, we perform a reverse-engineering on CoFi and 802.11 using a simple analytical framework, proving that they asymptotically approach different fairness measures, thus resulting in a disparate performance.
Assessment of Enterprise Performance Based on Picture Fuzzy Hamacher Aggregation Operators
Authors: Jana Chiranjibe , Pal Madhumangal
Published: January 2019

In the age of the knowledge-based economy and the rapid development of information technology, enterprise management is facing great challenges and has entered an era of prudent management. Traditional enterprise performance evaluation focuses on the interests of shareholders. Investors take financial data as their base and pay attention to the study of material attraction and the results; if they do not, they cannot adjust to a new economy period. Therefore, enterprise performance reflects the interests of shareholders and business strategists for the needs of stakeholders, which is important for the future of lively competition. With that in mind, aggregation of information is an important research tool that has recently drawn the attention of researchers for information analysis. In this paper, we have developed multiple-attribute decision-making methods for enterprise performance evaluation with picture fuzzy information. We have applied Hamacher aggregation operators such as the picture fuzzy Hamacher weighted averaging (PFHWA) operator and picture fuzzy Hamacher weighted geometric (PFHWG) operator in picture fuzzy environment for the assessment of the best enterprise selection. Finally, we justified the proposed approach with the existing methods for feasibility and effectiveness.
Some Exact Solutions and Conservation Laws of the Coupled Time-Fractional Boussinesq-Burgers System
Authors: Shi Dandan , Zhang Yufeng , Liu Wenhao , Liu Jiangen
Published: January 2019

In this paper, we investigate the invariant properties of the coupled time-fractional Boussinesq-Burgers system. The coupled time-fractional Boussinesq-Burgers system is established to study the fluid flow in the power system and describe the propagation of shallow water waves. Firstly, the Lie symmetry analysis method is used to consider the Lie point symmetry, similarity transformation. Using the obtained symmetries, then the coupled time-fractional Boussinesq-Burgers system is reduced to nonlinear fractional ordinary differential equations (FODEs), with

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fractional differential operator. Secondly, we solve the reduced system of FODEs by using a power series expansion method. Meanwhile, the convergence of the power series solution is analyzed. Thirdly, by using the new conservation theorem, the conservation laws of the coupled time-fractional Boussinesq-Burgers system is constructed. In particular, the presentation of the numerical simulations of q-homotopy analysis method of coupled time fractional Boussinesq-Burgers system is dedicated.
Using Two Meaningful Shadows to Share Secret Messages with Reversibility
Authors: Li Lin , Lin Chia-Chen , Chang Chin-Chen
Published: January 2019

A subtopic of visual secret sharing (VSS) is information hiding-based VSS (IH-VSS), which embeds secret messages into images using an information hiding technique. In the IH-VSS scheme, stego-images are divided into shadows under the guidance and constraint of some predetermined approaches. In order to achieve the purpose of security and reliability, the hidden information cannot be recovered unless a certain amount or all of the credible shadows work together. In this paper, we propose a (2, 2) IH-VSS scheme with reversibility and friendliness. In the shadow generation phase, two meaningful shadow images are produced and then distributed. In the extraction and restoration phase, the hidden secret information and cover image, respectively, can be reconstructed credibly and correctly. No complex computation of shadow generation is involved, but high security is achieved. Moreover, a satisfying peak-signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) is obtained with the high embedding capacity of 1.59 bpp in a very simple and effective way.
Adapting Engineering Education to Industry 4.0 Vision
Authors: Coşkun Selim , Kayıkcı Yaşanur , Gençay Eray
Published: January 2019

Industry 4.0 is originally a future vision described in the high-tech strategy of the German government that is conceived upon information and communication technologies like Cyber-Physical Systems, Internet of Things, Physical Internet, and Internet of Services to achieve a high degree of flexibility in production (individualized mass production), higher productivity rates through real-time monitoring and diagnosis, and a lower wastage rate of material in production. An important part of the tasks in the preparation for Industry 4.0 is the adaption of the higher education to the requirements of this vision, in particular the engineering education. In this work, we introduce a road map consisting of three pillars describing the changes/enhancements to be conducted in the areas of curriculum development, lab concept, and student club activities. We also report our current application of this road map at the Turkish German University, Istanbul.
ParlAmI: A Multimodal Approach for Programming Intelligent Environments
Authors: Stefanidi Evropi , Foukarakis Michalis , Arampatzis Dimitrios , Korozi Maria , Leonidis Asterios , Antona Margherita
Published: January 2019

The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and services and their integration in intelligent environments creates the need for a simple yet effective way of controlling and communicating with them. Towards such a direction, this work presents ParlAmI, a conversational framework featuring a multimodal chatbot that permits users to create simple “if-then” rules to define the behavior of an intelligent environment. ParlAmI delivers a disembodied conversational agent in the form of a messaging application named MAI, and an embodied conversational agent named nAoMI employing the programmable humanoid robot NAO. This paper describes the requirements and architecture of ParlAmI, the infrastructure of the “Intelligent Home” in which ParlAmI is deployed, the characteristics and functionality of both MAI and nAoMI, and finally presents the findings of a user experience evaluation that was conducted with the participation of sixteen users.
Assessment of Toxigenic Fusarium Species and Their Mycotoxins in Brewing Barley Grains
Authors: Piacentini Karim C. , Rocha Liliana O. , Savi Geovana D. , Carnielli-Queiroz Lorena , De Carvalho Fontes Livia , Correa Benedito
Published: January 2019

Fusarium species threaten yield and quality of cereals worldwide due to their ability to produce mycotoxins and cause plant diseases. Trichothecenes and zearalenone are the most economically significant mycotoxins and are of particular concern in barley, maize and wheat. For this reason, the aim of this study was to characterize the Fusarium isolates from brewing barley and to assess deoxynivalenol and zearalenone contamination in grains. Characterization of the Fusarium strains was carried out by the phylogeny based on two loci (EF-1α and RPB2). Mycotoxin detection and quantification were performed by LC-MS. The results show that Fusarium was the predominant genus. Phylogenetic study demonstrated that the majority of the strains clustered within the Fusarium sambucinum species complex followed by the Fusarium tricinctum species complex. The results revealed high incidence of deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEA) contamination (90.6% and 87.5%, respectively). It was observed that 86% of the samples contaminated with ZEA were above the limits set by the EU and Brazilian regulations. These results may highlight the importance of controlling Fusarium toxins in barley, mainly because of its use in the brewing industry and the resistance of various mycotoxins to food processing treatments.
Generation of a Broadly Cross-Neutralizing Antibody Fragment against Several Mexican Scorpion Venoms
Authors: Riaño-Umbarila Lidia , Gómez-Ramírez Ilse V. , Ledezma-Candanoza Luis M. , Olamendi-Portugal Timoteo , Rodríguez-Rodríguez Everardo Remi , Fernández-Taboada Guillermo , Possani Lourival D. , Becerril Baltazar
Published: January 2019

The recombinant antibody fragments generated against the toxic components of scorpion venoms are considered a promising alternative for obtaining new antivenoms for therapy. Using directed evolution and site-directed mutagenesis, it was possible to generate a human single-chain antibody fragment with a broad cross-reactivity that retained recognition for its original antigen. This variant is the first antibody fragment that neutralizes the effect of an estimated 13 neurotoxins present in the venom of nine species of Mexican scorpions. This single antibody fragment showed the properties of a polyvalent antivenom. These results represent a significant advance in the development of new antivenoms against scorpion stings, since the number of components would be minimized due to their broad cross-neutralization capacity, while at the same time bypassing animal immunization.