bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Classification of Ancient Roman Coins by Denomination Using Colour, a Forgotten Feature in Automatic Ancient Coin Analysis
Authors: Ma Yuanyuan , Arandjelović Ognjen
Published: March 2020

Ancient numismatics, that is, the study of ancient currencies (predominantly coins), is an interesting domain for the application of computer vision and machine learning, and has been receiving an increasing amount of attention in recent years. Notwithstanding the number of articles published on the topic, the variety of different methodological approaches described, and the mounting realisation that the relevant problems in the field are most challenging indeed, all research to date has entirely ignored one specific, readily accessible modality: colour. Invariably, colour is discarded and images of coins treated as being greyscale. The present article is the first one to question this decision (and indeed, it is a decision). We discuss the reasons behind the said choice, present a case why it ought to be reexamined, and in turn investigate the issue for the first time in the published literature. Specifically, we propose two new colour-based representations specifically designed with the aim of being applied to ancient coin analysis, and argue why it is sensible to employ them in the first stages of the classification process as a means of drastically reducing the initially enormous number of classes involved in type matching ancient coins (tens of thousands, just for Ancient Roman Imperial coins). Furthermore, we introduce a new data set collected with the specific aim of denomination-based categorisation of ancient coins, where we hypothesised colour could be of potential use, and evaluate the proposed representations. Lastly, we report surprisingly successful performances which goes further than confirming our hypothesis—rather, they convincingly demonstrate a much higher relevant information content carried by colour than even we expected. Thus we trust that our findings will be noted by others in the field and that more attention and further research will be devoted to the use of colour in automatic ancient coin analysis.
Development and Evaluation of Curcumin Liquid Crystal Systems for Cervical Cancer
Authors: R David Sheba , Akmar Binti Anwar Nurul , Yian Koh Rhun , Mai Chun-Wai , Das Sanjoy Kumar , Rajabalaya Rajan
Published: March 2020

Curcumin is a hydrophobic compound with good anti-proliferative, anti-oxidative, and anti-cancer properties but has poor bioavailability. Liquid crystals (LC) can accommodate both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. The aim of this study was to formulate and evaluate a novel vaginal drug delivery system for cervical cancer using a curcumin LC system. The curcumin LC system was formulated using surfactant, glycerol, and water together with curcumin. Three types of surfactants were used to optimize the formulation, i.e., Tween 80, Cremphor EL, and Labrasol. The optimized formulations were subjected to physicochemical analysis, and their efficacy was evaluated in HeLa cells. The pH of the formulations was in the range of 3.91–4.39. Environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) observations revealed spherical as well as hexagonal micelles. In vitro release of LC curcumin from vaginal simulated fluid (VSF, pH 4.5) showed a release from 20.47% to 87.25%. The IC50 of curcumin in HeLa cells was 22.5 μg/mL, while the IC25 and IC75 were 6.5 μg/mL and 35μg/mL, respectively. The cytotoxicity of the formulations was determined in comparison with liquid crystals without curcumin and pure curcumin by performing a t-test based on a significance level of p less than or equal to 0.05 (p ≤ 0.05). The curcumin LC system was able to release the required amount of drug and was effective against the cervical cancer cell line examined.
Identity, Stigma, and Social Reaction
Authors: Kavish Daniel
Published: March 2020

A great deal of theoretical and empirical work has examined the relationship between identity, social reaction, and stigma [...]
Methane and Nitrous Oxide Emission Fluxes Along Water Level Gradients in Littoral Zones of Constructed Surface Water Bodies in a Rewetted Extracted Peatland in Sweden
Authors: Jordan Sabine , Strömgren Monika , Fiedler Jan , Lode Elve , Nilsson Torbjörn , Lundin Lars
Published: March 2020

Rewetted extracted peatlands are sensitive ecosystems and they can act as greenhouse gas (GHG) sinks or sources due to changes in hydrology, vegetation, and weather conditions. However, studies on GHG emissions from extracted peatlands after rewetting are limited. Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emission fluxes were determined using the opaque closed chamber method along water level gradients from littoral zones to the open water body of constructed shallow lakes with different vegetation zones in a nutrient-rich rewetted extracted peatland in Sweden. Vegetation communities and their position relative to water level, together with short-term water level fluctuations, such as inundation events and seasonal droughts, and temperature had a significant impact on CH4 emissions fluxes. During “normal” and “dry” conditions and high soil temperatures, CH4 emissions were highest from Carex spp.-Typha latifolia L. communities. During inundation events with water levels > 30 cm, sites with flooded Graminoids-Scirpus spp.-Carex spp. emitted most CH4. Methane emissions from the water body of the constructed shallow lakes were low during all water level conditions and over the temperature ranges observed. Nitrous oxide emissions contributed little to the emission fluxes from the soil-plant-water systems to the atmosphere, and they were only detectable from the sites with Graminoids. In terms of management, the construction of shallow lakes showed great potential for lowering GHG emission fluxes from nutrient rich peatlands after peat extraction, even though the vegetated shore emitted some N2O and CH4.
Effect of Dietary Supplementation with Moringa oleifera Leaves and/or Seeds Powder on Production, Egg Characteristics, Hatchability and Blood Chemistry of Laying Japanese Quails
Authors: Ashour Elwy A. , El-Kholy Mohamed S. , Alagawany Mahmoud , Abd El-Hack Mohamed E. , Mohamed Laila A. , Taha Ayman E. , El Sheikh Ahmed I. , Laudadio Vito , Tufarelli Vincenzo
Published: March 2020

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) leaves and/or seed powder on laying Japanese quail performance in terms of egg production, egg quality, blood serum characteristics, and reproduction. In total, 168 Japanese quails (120 hens and 48 males) at eight weeks of age in laying period were randomly distributed to four treatment groups, with six replicates per group and seven birds (five hens and two males) per replicate. The first group (G1) served as a control group, while G2, G3 and G4 groups were supplemented with M. oleifera leaves (ML) and M. oleifera seeds (MS) and their combination ((1 g/kg ML; 1 g/kg MS; and 1 ML g/kg + 1 MS g/kg (MSL), respectively). From the results, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, egg weight, fertility and hatchability from fertile eggs, egg and yolk index, and Haugh unit were not affected by dietary treatments. However, egg production, egg mass, eggshell thickness, and hatchability were significantly increased and blood aspartate transaminase (AST) and urea decreased in the MS treatment. Both triglycerides and total cholesterol were reduced (p < 0.05) in all treatments with ML, MS, and MSL, with no significant differences in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), albumin, total protein, globulin, and A/G ratio among dietary treatment. Our results clearly indicated that the inclusion of M. oleifera seeds in Japanese quail diet significantly increased egg production and improved hatchability, along with some egg quality parameters, and also lowered some blood biochemical components.
Towards A Relational Model for Emerging Urban Nature Concepts: A Practical Application and an External Assessment in Landscape Planning Education
Authors: Galan Juanjo
Published: March 2020

The increasing interest in urban nature and its connection to urban sustainability and resilience has promoted the generalized use of new concepts such as green infrastructure, ecosystem services and nature-based solutions. However, due to their heterogeneous origins and interpretations, the usage and understanding of these concepts may vary considerably between different academic and professional groups, affecting their coordinated and synergistic use in integrative planning education and emphasizing the need for the exploration of clearer syntaxes and articulations between them. Accordingly, the main aim of this research was to develop a relational model and to investigate, through an external evaluation process, the benefits that these types of models can provide in higher education and in professional practice. This article presents the background theory and process that led to the development of the relational model, the outcomes of its academic implementation and the results of the assessment of both the model and the students’ work by different types of planners, researchers and practitioners. The findings show the potential of the defined relational model to integrate different concepts operating in complex socio-ecological systems and the benefits of developing, testing and validating models by linking research, education and professional practice.
Analysing Organisational Collaboration Practices for Sustainability
Authors: Fobbe Lea
Published: March 2020

The complex sustainability challenges that society faces require organisations to engage in collaborative partnerships. Stakeholders affect, and are affected by an organisation’s sustainability activities, making it an important element when deciding with whom to collaborate. A large number of studies have focussed on collaboration for sustainability, especially on vertical and dyadic partnerships and collaborative networks, while there is limited research on overarching collaboration activities from the perspective of individual organisations (for example, the Kyosei approach), and even less that includes a stakeholder perspective. The objective of this paper is to analyse with whom individual organisations collaborate and how stakeholders affecting and being affected by sustainability efforts are considered when choosing collaboration partners. A survey was sent to a database of 5216 organisations, from which 271 responses were received. The responses were analysed using non-parametric tests. The results show that organisations are engaged in collaboration activities for sustainability, collaborating mostly with two to three external stakeholders. However, the focus on collaboration for sustainability does not extend to a point that it would lead to a change of organisational practice nor do organisations necessarily consider how stakeholders affect and are affected by their efforts when choosing their collaboration partners. An update to the Kyosei process is proposed, in order to provide guidance on how to strengthen and extend collaborative partnerships for sustainability.
Model of Color Parameters Variation and Correction in Relation to “Time-View” Image Acquisition Effects in Wheat Crop
Authors: Sala Florin , Popescu Cosmin Alin , Herbei Mihai Valentin , Rujescu Ciprian
Published: March 2020

Many images of agricultural crops are made at different times of the day, images with different spectral information about the same crop in relation to conditions when the picture was taken. A set of 30 digital images of a wheat crop in the BBCH 3-Stem elongation code 32–33 stage was captured between 9 am and 14 (UTC+3), in the 0°–180° variation range of the image acquisition angle on the E-W axis (cardinal directions). A high variation of the spectral data given by the combination of the hour (h) and angle (a) at which the images were captured was found. The interdependence relationship between the analyzed parameters (r, g, and b), and the time (t) and the angle (a) of image acquisition was assessed with the linear correlation coefficient. By calculating the roots of the mathematical expressions of the correlation coefficients dependence on the angles (a) or times of day (t), the optimal angle and time were determined as a combination of the two variables for capturing images and obtaining optimal ro, go, bo values. The correction coefficients of the normalized r, g, and b values obtained out of the optimal field were determined. To this end, the multiplication of the r(a,t), g(a,t), and b(a,t) values with the ρa,t, γa,t, and βa,t correction coefficients was suggested to reach the optimal values for sustainable decisions.
Space-Time Analysis of Migrations, Employment, and Housing as A Basis for Municipal Sustainable Urban Planning
Authors: Abelairas-Etxebarria Patricia , Astorkiza Inma
Published: March 2020

A close relationship exists between population, the housing market and the level of employment at the local level. On the one hand, the housing market is influenced by local planning decisions and, on the other hand, that market is a significant factor in population and economic dynamization. Although there are studies on these variables, it is not common to include their spatial perspective by introducing Geographic Information System (GIS) tools in the analysis. The aim of this study is to analyse space-time associations among the variables migrations, housing prices, and employment prior to and during the economic crisis, in order to adapt sustainable land use policies to be used by land use planning authorities. Bivariate Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (bivariate ESDA) has been used for this purpose. As our main results demonstrate, spatial positive autocorrelation was found between the variables employment in a village before the crisis and housing prices in neighbouring municipalities during it, indicating that people move to live in areas close to their workplace, but not necessarily to the same municipality. The analysis also shows spatial homogeneity of the variable housing prices, accompanied by temporal stability. The results indicate the need to implement sustainable control land use policies, not at the municipality level but at the county level.
The Potential of Absorbing Foreign Agricultural Investment to Improve Food Security in Developing Countries
Authors: Jiang Xiaoyu , Chen Yangfen
Published: March 2020

Global food security has been in a severe condition in recent years, especially in developing countries. These countries need sufficient investment to promote their agricultural development. At the same time, the increasing foreign investment in agriculture has aroused widespread concern in the international community. It is controversial whether it is conducive to the host country’s agriculture and social development. In order to study whether developing countries can promote food security by absorbing adequate and effective foreign agricultural investment, we use principal component analysis and select 135 countries (regions) as samples to construct an indicator system from three aspects: investment demand, investment environment and investment motivation. We use cross-section data consisting of the values of the most recent year updated for each indicator. The results show that the demand for foreign investment in developing countries is strong, but overall, it does not have much investment appeal and the investment environment is bad. There is a gap between the expectations and realities in societies in each developing country in terms of the introduction of foreign agricultural investment to promote food security. Governance and capacity building should be strengthened to reconcile their investment needs with investors’ motives. Meanwhile, more inclusive rules for foreign agricultural investment will help it to play its due role in developing countries.
Understanding the Role of Rural Poor’s Endogenous Impetus in Poverty Reduction: Evidence from China
Authors: Liu Jing , Huang Fubin , Wang Zihan , Shuai Chuanmin , Li Jiaxin
Published: March 2020

Motivating the endogenous impetus of the poor to eradicate poverty is an endogenous dilemma that is difficult to solve using the current external poverty alleviation model. In this paper, based on the field survey data of 1112 poor rural households in China, we examine the impact of the poor’s endogenous impetus on their poverty reduction. Firstly, we identify two different components of endogenous impetus: thought impetus and behavior impetus. Secondly, the poverty reduction (livelihood status) of farmers was used as an endogenous variable to construct a partial least squares model to verify our explanation of the role of endogenous impetus of the poor in poverty reduction. The results indicate that (1) both thought impetus and behavior impetus have a positive impact on the livelihood status of the poor; (2) the human capital, physical capital, and social capital of the poor have a positive relationship with the two components of endogenous impetus; and (3) endogenous impetus plays a mediation role between livelihood capital and livelihood status. As expected, human and physical capital have a positive and significant relationship with poverty reduction. The important enlightenment of this study is that it is very important to motivate the poor’s endogenous impetus of escaping poverty in addition to improving external conditions such as livelihood capital owned by farmers in an effort to realize sustainable poverty reduction.
Quantifying the Use of Forest Ecosystem Services by Local Populations in Southeastern Cameroon
Authors: Lhoest Simon , Vermeulen Cédric , Fayolle Adeline , Jamar Pierre , Hette Samuel , Nkodo Arielle , Maréchal Kevin , Dufrêne Marc , Meyfroidt Patrick
Published: March 2020

In order to improve sustainability and design adequate management strategies in threatened tropical forests, integrated assessments of the use of ecosystem services are needed, combining biophysical, social, and economic approaches. In particular, no integrated ecosystem services (ES) assessment has been conducted in Central Africa, where rural communities deeply depend on forests in a high-poverty context. Here, we aimed to quantify the use of ES provided by tropical forests to local populations in the Dja area (Cameroon), identify its determinants and evaluate its sustainability. We conducted various interviews and field surveys with 133 households in three villages, focusing on three provisioning services (bushmeat, firewood, and timber), and five cultural services (cultural heritage, inspiration, spiritual experience, recreation, and education). Local populations consumed a mean of 56 kg of bushmeat/person/year (hunting zones covering on average 213 km2), 1.17 m3 of firewood/person/year (collection zones covering on average 4 km2), and 0.03 m3 of timber/person/year. Between 25% and 86% of respondents considered cultural services as important. The use of ES was mainly influenced by population size, deforestation rate, and forest allocations, whereas the influence of socio-demographic characteristics of households remained limited to slight differences between Baka and Bantu people. We conclude that the consumption of firewood and timber is sustainable, whereas high hunting pressure has resulted in severe defaunation in the area due to the large decline in the abundance and biomass of forest mammals hunted for bushmeat by local populations.
The Spatial Distribution, Influencing Factors, and Development Path of Inbound Tourism in China—An Empirical Analysis of Market Segments Based on Travel Motivation
Authors: Huang Heping , Zhong Wei , Lai Qingsheng , Qiu Yishu , Jiang Hong
Published: March 2020

According to China’s tourism statistics, the inbound tourism market is composed of eight types of travel motivations (sightseeing, leisure, business meeting (business-m), visiting relatives and friends (visiting-rf), shopping, religious worship (religious-w), culture and sports (culture-s), and health care (health-c)), and the spatial distribution of each type of travel motivation is significantly different. Four inbound sub-markets (foreigners, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) were selected as our research object. Through empirical analysis of the variable elasticity of eight different inbound motive market segments, we found that the sensitivities (elasticity) of the influencing factors (traffic conditions (traffic-c), destination image (destination-i), industry structure (industry-s), infrastructure, consumer price index (CPI), resource endowment (resource-e), and dressing index (ICL)) are different. Therefore, investment options in the target market can have differential treatment based on the rate of marginal return on investment. In accordance with the characteristics of different market segments, we suggest more feasible development paths and countermeasures, providing a decision-making basis for the accurate development of the inbound tourism market.
Can Higher Education, Economic Growth and Innovation Ability Improve Each Other?
Authors: Xu Haiying , Hsu Wei-Ling , Meen Teen-Hang , Zhu Ju Hua
Published: March 2020

This study argues that the coupling between higher education, economic growth, and innovation ability is of great significance for regional sustainable development. Through the experience of Jiangsu Province in China, this study establishes a coupling coordination evaluation index system and applies the coupling coordination model to evaluate interactive relationships among the three. It finds that during 2007–2017, the level of coupling of 13 prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu was increasing over time, which fully verified the previous scholars’ view that the three can improve each other over a long period. However, this study finds that there are obvious differences within Jiangsu. Inadequate investment in higher education has become a crucial constraint on sustainable economic growth in northern and central Jiangsu, which are backward regions of Jiangsu. By contrast, in southern Jiangsu, which is the advanced region of Jiangsu, although the resources of higher education are abundant the growth of innovation ability cannot support sustained economic growth well. Thus, the quality of higher education should be improved to meet the needs of the innovation-based economy. Accordingly, cross-regional cooperation and balanced investment in higher education are the keys to practicing a balanced and sustained regional development. The results of this study’s coupling coordination analysis and evaluation can serve as a reference for governments in enhancing regional sustainable development.
Do Human Resources and the Research System Affect Firms’ Innovation Activities? Results from Poland and the Czech Republic
Authors: Zygmunt Aleksandra
Published: March 2020

Strong relationships between innovation of firms and sustainable development of regions and countries have priority in issues related to firms’ innovation performance. In this paper, particular emphasis is given to Poland and the Czech Republic as countries with similar innovation performance. Specifically, it seems interesting to identify the extent to which human resources and the research system in these countries matter in firms’ innovation activities. Thus, the aim of the paper is to test whether human resources and the research system affect Polish and Czech firms’ innovation activities. The data were sourced from the European Innovation Scoreboard (2018, 2019) for the period of 2010–2016. A set of variables concerning human resources and the research system were employed. The hypotheses were tested with the Cobb–Douglas function. This paper contributes to the existing literature by adding to studies that seek to identify determinants of firms’ innovation activities. The findings indicate the statistical significance of such a variable related with human resources, as lifelong learning for innovation activities of firms from Poland and such a variable connected with the research system, as the top 10% most cited publications on Czech firms’ innovation activities. The paper has practical and policy implications. There is a need, among others, to strengthen knowledge diffusion processes between firms and universities, research organisations, and institutional environments in order to improve innovation activities of firms.
Local Nuances of Authoritarian Environmentalism: A Legislative Study on Household Solid Waste Sorting in China
Authors: Wang Hao , Jiang Chengxu
Published: March 2020

Faced with an unprecedented increase in the amount of solid waste, China aims to tighten its waste management regulation. Corresponding local policy experiments are encouraged. This study explores China’s authoritarian environmentalism through an examination of local legislations on Household Solid Waste (HSW) sorting. We present a full picture of relevant local legislation from five key dimensions: local legislative outputs, local standards of HSW classifications, reward and penalty provisions, the use of the social credit system and duties imposed on local governments. We then compare policy-making models based on the experience of Shanghai and Guangzhou. We find China’s HSW sorting policy has been dominated by the central state. The local lawmaking process is generally non-transparent and non-participative. When attempting to mobilize the public, local policymakers emphasize educating the public about “how to” instead of “why to sort wastes”. Also, while the central waste management policies are generally undermined locally, some sub-national governments do demonstrate a strong commitment to push the national policy through. Multiple factors account for this pattern. Though civic engagement did emerge in certain localities where civil society was relatively active, authoritarian environmentalism will continue to prevail in China in the near future.
Does Power Distance Necessarily Hinder Individual Innovation? A Moderated-Mediation Model
Authors: Luo Shiwen , Wang Jie , Tong David Yoon Kin
Published: March 2020

Individual innovation behavior is the driving force for enterprise sustainable development and can be affected by many factors, among which power distance is important. To explore the mediating mechanism and boundary conditions of power distance on individual innovation behavior, this paper constructed a moderated mediation model with task characteristics as the moderator and voice behavior as the mediator from the two-dimensional perspective of individual innovation behavior (innovative idea generation and implementation). Responses to 336 valid questionnaires from 133 technological innovation enterprises in China revealed that power distance has a negative effect on innovative idea generation, but a positive effect on innovative idea implementation. In this process, task characteristics only play a moderating effect in the relationship between power distance and innovative idea implementation, but fail to moderate the relationship between power distance and innovative idea generation. In addition, it was found that voice behavior mediates the relationship between power distance and individual innovation behavior. This study provides useful insight on the mechanism of organizational culture on individual innovation behavior, and suggests leaders take effective measures to improve the enterprise sustainable development ability.
The Influence of Emotions, Motivation and Habits in the Academic Performance of Primary Education Students in French as a Foreign Language
Authors: Méndez-Aguado Cristina , Aguilar-Parra José M. , Álvarez Joaquín F. , Trigueros Rubén , Fernández-Archilla José A.
Published: March 2020

Schools have traditionally focused on the cognitive development of students without paying attention to how emotions modulate the students’ psychological state and how this affects their academic performance. For that, the aim of this study is to determine the influence of emotions on the motivation of primary school students to learn French as a foreign language, and their influence on the adoption of adaptive habits and academic performance. For this purpose, the sample of participants consisted of 394 students who ranged in age from 10 to 13 years who answered three questionnaires on the study variables. Several statistical analyses were carried out that helped explain the causal relationships between the study variables and a predictive model hypothesized through structural equation modeling was created. The results revealed that positive emotion positively influenced academic motivation. At the same time, academic motivation was positively related to leisure habits related to French, and this was positively related to academic performance. In light of these results, the importance of attending to emotions in a foreign language class is highlighted, as well as the academic motivation of the students as it leads to adaptive behaviors and habits related to the learning of French.
City-Region Food Systems and Second Tier Cities: From Garden Cities to Garden Regions
Authors: van der Gaast Koen , van Leeuwen Eveline , Wertheim-Heck Sigrid
Published: March 2020

Theory and practice show that second-tier cities can play an important role in linking the urban and the rural. Second-tier cities are the middle ground of the urban system. The smaller spatial scale of second-tier cities, and their often-stronger connections with the rural hinterland can potentially enable a more sustainable food system. In this paper, we argue that the extent to which the benefits ascribed to the re-localisation of food can be achieved greatly depends on the contextual specifics of the second-tier city and the region in which it is embedded. Furthermore, we argue that to reach resilient, healthy and environmentally friendly city region food systems, three contextual elements need to be considered in their mutual coherence: (1) the historical development of the second-tier city and the region; (2) the proximity of food production to the second-tier city; (3) the scale and reach of the city region’s food system. We use the case-study of the Dutch city Almere to show how (a controlled) growth of cities can be combined with maintaining (or even increasing) the strength of adjacent rural areas. Such cities can play a role in creating Garden Regions: regions that foster healthy, sustainable and resilient food systems and that do not just connect urban and rural regions, but also connect city region food systems to national and global markets.
The Contribution of NBS to Urban Resilience in Stormwater Management and Control: A Framework with Stakeholder Validation
Authors: Beceiro Paula , Brito Rita Salgado , Galvão Ana
Published: March 2020

Urban waters represent a crucial component for the enhancement of urban resilience due to their importance in cities. Nature-based solutions (NBS) have emerged as sustainable solutions to contribute to urban resilience in order to meet the challenges of climate change. In order to promote the use of NBS for increasing urban resilience, tools that demonstrate the value of this type of solutions over the long-term are required. A performance assessment system provides an adequate basis for demonstrating this value, as well as for diagnosing the current city situation, selecting and monitoring the implementation of solutions. Regarding NBS management, some assessment approaches have been published, focusing on assessing the effectiveness of NBS in the face of climate change and supporting their design and impact assessment. Nevertheless, an integrated approach to assess the NBS contribution for urban resilience has not been published. This paper presents a comprehensive resilience assessment framework (RAF) to evaluate the NBS contribution for urban resilience, focused on solutions for stormwater management and control. Furthermore, details on stakeholders’ validation, with focus on the metrics’ relevance and applicability to cities, is also presented.
Sustainability in the Anthropocene: Between Extinction and Populism
Authors: Arias-Maldonado Manuel
Published: March 2020

The pursuit of environmental sustainability has been affected by two significant developments in the last years. On the one hand, the Anthropocene hypothesis suggests that the human impact on the environment has increased to such a degree, that natural systems are now disrupted at a planetary level. The most dangerous manifestation of the Anthropocene is climate change, where there is need for greater urgency in the face of insufficient climate action. There are a number of scientists who currently warn of the possibility that failing to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may render the Earth uninhabitable in the first place. A first goal of this paper is thus to ponder how the sustainability paradigm may be affected in the face of this threat and whether, in fact, sustainability may be displaced by “habitability”. On the other hand, some climate policies are eliciting the reaction of a populist movement—from Trumpism to the gilets jaunes in France—that opposes the rise of environmentally-related taxes and denies climate change or questions the severity of its effects. Both as a concept and as a policy goal, sustainability thus finds itself under double pressure: as it must focus on keeping the planet inhabitable, while the political opposition to measures directed towards decarbonization also increases. In what follows, the paper suggests that sustainability should be understood as a technocratic project to keep the planet safe for humanity rather than imposing a new way of life for all its inhabitants. This is not to imply that moral or ideological debate is to be curtailed, but rather to differentiate between achieving environmental sustainability and seeking the reshaping of socionatural relations.
Mapping Maize Fields by Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-2A Images in Makarfi, Northern Nigeria, Africa
Authors: Abubakar Ghali Abdullahi , Wang Ke , Shahtahamssebi AmirReza , Xue Xingyu , Belete Marye , Gudo Adam Juma Abdallah , Mohamed Shuka Kamal Abdelrahim , Gan Muye
Published: March 2020

A timely and accurate crop type mapping is very significant, and a prerequisite for agricultural regions and ensuring global food security. The combination of remotely sensed optical and radar datasets presents an opportunity for acquiring crop information at relative spatial resolution and temporal resolution adequately to capture the growth profiles of various crop species. In this paper, we employed Sentinel-1A (S-1) and Sentinel-2A (S-2) data acquired between the end of June and early September 2016, on a semi-arid area in northern Nigeria. A different set of (VV and VH) SAR and optical (SI and SB) images, illustrating crop phenological development stage, were employed as inputs to the two machines learning Random Forest (RF) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithms to automatically map maize fields. Significant increases in overall classification were shown when the multi-temporal spectral indices (SI) and spectral band (SB) datasets were added with the different integration of SAR datasets (i.e., VV and VH). The best overall accuracy (OA) for maize (96.93%) was derived by using RF classification algorithms with SI-SB-SAR datasets, although the SI datasets for RF and SB datasets for SVM also produced high overall maize classification accuracies, of 97.04% and 97.44%. The outcomes indicate the robustness of the RF or SVM methods to produce high-resolution maps of maize for subsequent application from agronomists, policy planners, and the government, because such information is lacking in our study area.
Abundance and Phenotypic Diversity of the Medicinal Sideritis Scardica Griseb. in Relation to Floristic Composition of Its Habitat in Northern Greece
Authors: Papaporfyriou Pinelopi K. , Sarrou Eirini , Avramidou Eleni , Abraham Eleni M.
Published: March 2020

Sideritis scardica (S. scardica) is an endemic medicinal species of the Central Balkan Peninsula. The aerial parts are traditionally used in folk medicine and, therefore, have been collected extensively from natural habitats. Overexploitation in combination with climate change has resulted in severely fragmented populations. In this context, the purpose of this study was to access the abundance and phenotypic diversity of S. scardica populations in relation to plant community structure and environmental and anthropogenic factors in six mountainous areas of Northern Greece. For this reason, the floristic composition and diversity was determined by accessing the number of plant species, number of individuals per plant species, and plant cover in each study area. In addition, the soil properties of the studied areas were determined and the phenotypic diversity of S. scardica populations was accessed through the imaging of leaf and inflorescence main characteristics. As a result, 141 plant species were identified in all studied areas, while the floristic composition clearly distinguished the North-Central from the North-Eastern studied areas. S. scardica was the predominant species in the habitats where the presence of forbs was favored, while a high presence of graminoid and shrub species in the study areas depressed its presence. A high coefficient of variations was recorded among the six populations, varying from 12.2%–29.2% and 13.3%–43.1% for inflorescence and leaf traits.
Regional Poverty and Inequality in the Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou City Cluster in China Based on NPP/VIIRS Night-Time Light Imagery
Authors: Pan Wenbin , Fu Hongming , Zheng Peng
Published: March 2020

Poverty and inequality remain outstanding challenges in many global regions. Understanding the underlying social and economic conditions is important in formulating poverty eradication strategies. Using Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Night-Time Light (NTL) images and multidimensional socioeconomic data between 2012 and 2018, this study measured regional poverty and inequality in the Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou city cluster in the People’s Republic of China. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Theil index decomposition method were used to establish an Integrated Poverty Index (IPI) and a regional inequality index, respectively. The results indicated that: (1) The poverty index is affected by the geographical location, policies, and resources of a district/county. A significant logarithmic correlation model between VIIRS Average Light Index (ALI) and IPI was established. (2) The Theil index derived from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) indicators showed that overall inequality and between-prefecture inequality declined, while within-prefecture inequality remained unchanged. In terms of the contributions to regional inequality, the contribution of within-prefecture inequality is the largest. The results indicated that Suomi National Polar Partnership/Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP/VIIRS) night-time data can help to perform district/county-level poverty assessments at small and medium spatial scales, although the evaluation effect on regional inequality is slightly lower.
District Heating Energy Consumption of the Building Sector in the Jing-Jin-Ji urban Agglomeration: Decomposition and Decoupling Analysis
Authors: Zhang Linghui , Ma Xin , Zhang Shushen
Published: March 2020

China’s rapid urbanization has caused dramatically increasing energy consumption in the district heating systems of the building sector in the Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration, and this change has led to enormous air pollution issues in this region. However, the drivers and the sustainable development process of the district heating system of the building sector have not been investigated to understand the management of energy conservation and emissions reduction in the Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration. This study investigates the drivers of the district heating energy consumption of the building sector (DHEB) in the Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration between 2004 and 2016 by developing a decomposition framework. The decoupling status between the DHEB and gross domestic product (GDP) is then analyzed based on the Tapio decoupling index. The results show that a weak decoupling effect is mainly found between the DHEB and GDP in the Jing-Jin-Ji urban agglomeration from 2004 to 2016. The increase in the DHEB in 2004–2016 is largely driven by the growth of the district heating area and population, while the heating energy intensity negatively contributes to the increase. Significant differences in the effects of the share of the energy mix and share of heat production technology were found between subregions in response to government policy, which impacted levels in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei in decreasing order.
Strategies for Sustainable and Circular Management of Phosphorus in the Baltic Sea Region: The Holistic Approach of the InPhos Project
Authors: Smol Marzena , Preisner Michał , Bianchini Augusto , Rossi Jessica , Hermann Ludwig , Schaaf Tanja , Kruopienė Jolita , Pamakštys Kastytis , Klavins Maris , Ozola-Davidane Ruta , Kalnina Daina , Strade Elina , Voronova Viktoria , Pachel Karin , Yang Xiaosheng , Steenari Britt-Marie , Svanström Magdalena
Published: March 2020

Despite the significant reduction of phosphorus (P) discharge in the Baltic Sea in the last decades, obtained through the implementation of some approaches within the Helsinki Convention, eutrophication is still considered the biggest problem for the Baltic Sea environment. Consequently, the reduction of P load is an urgent need to solve, but the complexity of both the environmental and legislative context of the area makes this process difficult (more than in the past). Eutrophication is an intricate issue requiring a proper framework of governance that is not easy to determine in the Baltic Sea Region where the needs of several different countries converge. To identify the most suitable strategy to reduce the eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, the InPhos project (no. 17022, 2018–2019, funded by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Raw Materials) adopted a holistic approach considering technical, political, economic, environmental and social aspects of P management. With the aims to raise awareness about the P challenge, foster the dialogue among all the stakeholders, and find solutions already developed in other countries (such as Germany and Switzerland) to be transferred in the Baltic Sea Region, the InPhos project consortium applied the methodology proposed in this paper, consisting of three main phases: (i) analysis of the available technologies to remove P from waste streams that contribute to eutrophication; (ii) analysis of the main streams involving P in Baltic Sea countries to highlight the potential of more sustainable and circular P management; (iii) study of the current context (e.g., already-existing initiatives and issues). This approach allowed us to identify four categories of recommendations and practical actions proposed to improve P management in the Baltic Sea region. During the project, the consortium mainly addressed social aspects. Following steps beyond the project will be more quantitative to determine the techno-economic feasibility of circular P management in selected demo cases in the region.
Assessment of Conditional Dependence Structures in Commodity Futures Markets Using Copula-GARCH Models and Fuzzy Clustering Methods
Authors: Just Małgorzata , Łuczak Aleksandra
Published: March 2020

The dynamic development of commodity derivatives markets has been observed since the mid-2000s. It is related to the development of e-commerce, the inflow of financial investors’ capital, and the emergence of exchange-traded funds and passively managed index funds focused on commodities. These advances are accompanied by changes in dependence structure in the markets. The main purpose of this study is to assess the conditional dependence structure in various commodity futures markets (energy, metals, grains and oilseeds, soft commodities, agricultural commodities) in the period from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2018. The specific purpose is to identify the states of the market corresponding to typical patterns of the conditional dependency structure, and to determine the time of transition from one state to another. The copula-based Multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity models were used to describe the dynamics of dependencies between the rates of return on prices of commodity futures, while the dynamic Kendall’s tau correlation coefficients were applied to measure the strength of dependencies. The daily changes in the conditional dependence structure in the markets (changes in states of the markets) were identified with the fuzzy c-means clustering method. In 2000–2018, the conditional dependence structure in commodity futures markets was not stable, as evidenced by the different states of markets identified (two states in the grains and oilseeds market, the agricultural market, the soft commodities market and the metals market, and three states in the energy market).
Bibliometric Analysis of Supplier Management: The Theme and Cluster Perspectives
Authors: Wen Decheng , Sun Xiaojing , Liu Yuying
Published: March 2020

This paper conducted a bibliometric analysis based on 4687 papers on supplier management from 1997 to 2017. Through a comparative analysis of the four stages using Bibexcel and Ucinet6 software, this paper explores the evolution of supplier management from the theme and cluster perspectives. The results show that supplier management research has made breakthroughs in both breadth and depth. Representative research themes, such as “sustainable supply chain”, “corporate social responsibility”, “knowledge management”, etc., have gradually penetrated into the field of supplier management. Research related to “supplier selection” and “supplier relations” have always been of the highest strategic importance, and themes in “supplier relations” cluster such as “trust” and “commitment” have gradually attracted more and more researchers’ attention. The “inventory” cluster has also been a research focus, and the structural stability and maturity of the cluster have gradually improved. The “innovation” cluster is a relatively “open” cluster, and its impact on the entire research filed of supplier management has been gradually increasing. More importantly, the “sustainability” cluster is an evolving cluster, research themes related to “sustainability”, such as “green supply chain”, “sustainable supply chain” and “green supplier selection”, will play an increasingly important role in the field of supplier management.
Transcriptomic Analysis Suggests the M1 Polarization and Launch of Diverse Programmed Cell Death Pathways in Japanese Encephalitis Virus-Infected Macrophages
Authors: Wang Zhao-Yang , Zhen Zi-Da , Fan Dong-Ying , Wang Pei-Gang , An Jing
Published: March 2020

The Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a Culex mosquito-borne flavivirus and is the pathogenic agent of Japanese encephalitis, which is the most important type of viral encephalitis in the world. Macrophages are a type of pivotal innate immunocyte that serve as sentinels and respond quickly to pathogen invasions. However, some viruses like JEV can hijack macrophages as a refuge for viral replication and immune escape. Despite their crucial involvement in early JEV infection, the transcriptomic landscapes of JEV-infected macrophages are void. Here, by using an in situ JEV infection model, we investigate the transcriptomic alteration of JEV-infected peritoneal macrophages. We found that, upon JEV infection, the macrophages underwent M1 polarization and showed the drastic activation of innate immune and inflammatory pathways. Interestingly, almost all the programmed cell death (PCD) pathways were activated, especially the apoptosis, pyroptosis, and necroptosis pathways, which were verified by the immunofluorescent staining of specific markers. Further transcriptomic analysis and TUNEL staining revealed that JEV infection caused apparent DNA damage. The transcriptomic analysis also revealed that JEV infection promoted ROS and RNS generation and caused oxidative stress, which activated multiple cell death pathways. Our work uncovers the pivotal pathogenic roles of oxidative stress and multiple PCD pathways in JEV infection, providing a novel perspective on JEV–host interactions.