bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Iodine Status among Somali Immigrants in Norway
Authors: Madar Ahmed , Meltzer Helle , Heen Espen , Meyer Haakon
Published: March 2018

We lack knowledge about iodine status in the Norwegian population in general, and particularly among immigrants. We aimed to estimate the iodine status and potentially associated factors in a Somali population in Norway. Somali men and women aged 20–73, who were living in one district in Oslo, were recruited between December 2015 and October 2016. Twenty-four-hour urine was collected from 169 participants (91 females and 78 males). Iodine was analysed using the Sandell–Kolthoff reaction on microplates and colorimetric measurement. Information about diet was collected using a short food frequency questionnaire. Iodine intake was calculated from the 24-h iodine excretion. The mean urine volume over 24-h was 1.93 liters (min–max: 0.55–4.0) and the urinary iodine concentration (UIC) varied from 13 to 263 µg/L with a median value of 62.5 µg/L indicating a population with mild iodine deficiency. The median daily iodine intake for the study population was estimated to be 124 μg/day. Mean serum thyroid-stimulating hormone, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) was 2.1 (SD 1.1) mU/L, 15.0 (SD 2.1) pmol/L, and 5.1 (SD 0.6) pmol/L, respectively. No food groups were associated with iodine intake and neither was gender, age, education level nor length of residence in Norway. In conclusion, this study showed that iodine intake was low, and a considerable proportion of the Somali population studied had sub-optimal iodine status. Monitoring of iodine status should be prioritised and measures to ensure adequate iodine intake, particularly among vulnerable groups initiated.
Potential Roles of n-3 PUFAs during Skeletal Muscle Growth and Regeneration
Authors: Tachtsis Bill , Camera Donny , Lacham-Kaplan Orly
Published: March 2018

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs), which are commonly found in fish oil supplements, are known to possess anti-inflammatory properties and more recently alter skeletal muscle function. In this review, we discuss novel findings related to how n-3 PUFAs modulate molecular signaling responsible for growth and hypertrophy as well as the activity of muscle stem cells. Muscle stem cells commonly known as satellite cells, are primarily responsible for driving the skeletal muscle repair process to potentially damaging stimuli, such as mechanical stress elicited by exercise contraction. To date, there is a paucity of human investigations related to the effects of n-3 PUFAs on satellite cell content and activity. Based on current in vitro investigations, this review focuses on novel mechanisms linking n-3 PUFA’s to satellite cell activity and how they may improve muscle repair. Understanding the role of n-3 PUFAs during muscle growth and regeneration in association with exercise could lead to the development of novel supplementation strategies that increase muscle mass and strength, therefore possibly reducing the burden of muscle wasting with age.
Towards Cognitive Moral Quasi-Realism
Authors: García-Ramírez Eduardo
Published: March 2018

There is a long-standing discussion concerning the nature of moral discourse. Multiple views range from realism—according to which moral discourse is closer to scientific discourse than to fictional discourse—to anti-realism—according to which moral discourse is rather closer to fictional discourse. In this paper, I want to motivate a novel anti-realist account. On this view, there are no moral properties or truths, neither mind-independent nor mind-dependent ones (i.e., anti-realism). However, moral cognition results from the use of higher order cognitive abilities with enough resources to grant moral discourse with all the features of a realist talk (i.e., cognitive quasi-realism). I defend this view based on empirical evidence on human moral development and by showing that the resulting account can meet the demands of robust moral realism. The paper concludes by placing the proposed view within the metaethical landscape by comparing it against other forms of anti-realism, most significantly against expressivism.
Prestressed Unbonded Reinforcement System with Multiple CFRP Plates for Fatigue Strengthening of Steel Members
Authors: Hosseini Ardalan , Ghafoori Elyas , Motavalli Masoud , Nussbaumer Alain , Zhao Xiao-Ling , Koller Roland
Published: March 2018

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites have exhibited a great potential for strengthening of steel structures. In the current study, an innovative prestressed unbonded reinforcement (PUR) system is introduced for fatigue strengthening of existing steel members. The system relies on a pair of mechanical clamps; each holds multiple CFRP plates and anchors their prestressing forces to the steel substrate via friction. A finite element model was established to optimize the design of the required mechanical components of the system. A set of static and fatigue tests was conducted on the developed mechanical clamps as the key elements of the proposed PUR system. The performance of the PUR system was then evaluated using a set of fatigue tests on two precracked steel plate specimens, one without any strengthening system and the other one strengthened with the proposed PUR system. In the latter specimen, the CFRP plates were prestressed up to about 800 MPa (approximately 30% of the CFRP tensile strength), which resulted in a complete fatigue crack arrest in the precracked steel plate. Furthermore, neither slippage of the mechanical clamps nor any prestress loss in the CFRP plates was observed after 7.5 million fatigue cycles. Based on the promising experimental results, obtained from the sets of fatigue tests performed in the current study, it can be concluded that the proposed PUR system can be considered as an efficient alternative to the conventional bonded reinforcement solutions for fatigue strengthening of damaged steel members.
Thickening Supercritical CO2 with π-Stacked Co-Polymers: Molecular Insights into the Role of Intermolecular Interaction
Authors: Sun Wenchao , Sun Baojiang , Li Ying , Huang Xiaonan , Fan Haiming , Zhao Xinxin , Sun Haoyang , Sun Wenxia
Published: March 2018

Vinyl Benzoate/Heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate (VBe/HFDA) co-polymers were synthesized and characterized as thickening agents for supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2). The solubility and thickening capability of the co-polymer samples in SC-CO2 were evaluated by measuring cloud point pressure and relative viscosity. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation for all atoms was employed to simulate the microscopic molecular behavior and the intermolecular interaction of co-polymer–CO2 systems. We found that the introduction of VBe group decreased the polymer–CO2 interaction and increased the polymer–polymer interaction, leading to a reduction in solubility of the co-polymers in SC-CO2. However, the co-polymer could generate more effective inter-chain interaction and generate more viscosity enhancement compared to the Poly(Heptadecafluorodecyl) (PHFDA) homopolymer due to the driving force provided by π-π stacking of the VBe groups. The optimum molar ratio value for VBe in co-polymers for the viscosity enhancement of SC-CO2 was found to be 0.33 in this work. The P(HFDA0.67-co-VBe0.33) was able to enhance the viscosity of SC-CO2 by 438 times at 5 wt. %. Less VBe content would result in a lack of intermolecular interaction, although excessive VBe content would generate more intramolecular π-π stacking and less intermolecular π-π stacking. Both conditions reduce the thickening capability of the P(HFDA-co-VBe) co-polymer. This work presented the relationship between structure and performance of the co-polymers in SC-CO2 by combining experiment and molecular simulations.
Landsat Super-Resolution Enhancement Using Convolution Neural Networks and Sentinel-2 for Training
Authors: Pouliot Darren , Latifovic Rasim , Pasher Jon , Duffe Jason
Published: March 2018

Landsat is a fundamental data source for understanding historical change and its effect on environmental processes. In this research we test shallow and deep convolution neural networks (CNNs) for Landsat image super-resolution enhancement, trained using Sentinel-2, in three study sites representing boreal forest, tundra, and cropland/woodland environments. The analysis sought to assess baseline performance and determine the capacity for spatial and temporal extension of the trained CNNs. This is not a data fusion approach and a high-resolution image is only needed to train the CNN. Results show improvement with the deeper network generally achieving better results. For spatial and temporal extension, the deep CNN performed the same or better than the shallow CNN, but at greater computational cost. Results for temporal extension were influenced by change potentiality reducing the performance difference between the shallow and deep CNN. Visual examination revealed sharper images regarding land cover boundaries, linear features, and within-cover textures. The results suggest that spatial enhancement of the Landsat archive is feasible, with optimal performance where CNNs can be trained and applied within the same spatial domain. Future research will assess the enhancement on time series and associated land cover applications.
Classifying Wheat Hyperspectral Pixels of Healthy Heads and Fusarium Head Blight Disease Using a Deep Neural Network in the Wild Field
Authors: Jin Xiu , Jie Lu , Wang Shuai , Qi Hai , Li Shao
Published: March 2018

Classification of healthy and diseased wheat heads in a rapid and non-destructive manner for the early diagnosis of Fusarium head blight disease research is difficult. Our work applies a deep neural network classification algorithm to the pixels of hyperspectral image to accurately discern the disease area. The spectra of hyperspectral image pixels in a manually selected region of interest are preprocessed via mean removal to eliminate interference, due to the time interval and the environment. The generalization of the classification model is considered, and two improvements are made to the model framework. First, the pixel spectra data are reshaped into a two-dimensional data structure for the input layer of a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). After training two types of CNNs, the assessment shows that a two-dimensional CNN model is more efficient than a one-dimensional CNN. Second, a hybrid neural network with a convolutional layer and bidirectional recurrent layer is reconstructed to improve the generalization of the model. When considering the characteristics of the dataset and models, the confusion matrices that are based on the testing dataset indicate that the classification model is effective for background and disease classification of hyperspectral image pixels. The results of the model show that the two-dimensional convolutional bidirectional gated recurrent unit neural network (2D-CNN-BidGRU) has an F1 score and accuracy of 0.75 and 0.743, respectively, for the total testing dataset. A comparison of all the models shows that the hybrid neural network of 2D-CNN-BidGRU is the best at preventing over-fitting and optimize the generalization. Our results illustrate that the hybrid structure deep neural network is an excellent classification algorithm for healthy and Fusarium head blight diseased classification in the field of hyperspectral imagery.
Remote Sensing of River Erosion on the Colville River, North Slope Alaska
Authors: Payne Cole , Panda Santosh , Prakash Anupma
Published: March 2018

The Colville is an Arctic river in the Alaska North Slope. The residents of Nuiqsut rely heavily on the Colville for their subsistence needs. Increased erosion has been reported on the Colville, especially along bluffs, which shaped the goals of this study: to use remote sensing techniques to map and quantify erosion rates and the volume of land loss at selected bluff sites along the main channel of the Colville, and to assess the suitability of automated methods of regional erosion monitoring. We used orthomosaics from high resolution aerial photos acquired in 1955 and 1979/1982, as well as high resolution WorldView-2 images from 2015 to quantify long-term erosion rates and the cubic volume of erosion. We found that, at the selected sites, erosion rates averaged 1 to 3.5 m per year. The erosion rate remained the same at one site and increased from 1955 to 2015 at two of the four sites. We estimated the volume of land loss to be in the magnitude of 166,000 m3 to 2.5 million m3 at our largest site. We also found that estimates of erosion were comparable for manual hand-digitized and automated methods, suggesting our automated method was effective and can be extended to monitor erosion at other sites along river systems that are bordered by bluffs.
Calibration of GLONASS Inter-Frequency Code Bias for PPP Ambiguity Resolution with Heterogeneous Rover Receivers
Authors: Liu Yanyan , Gu Shengfeng , Li Qingquan
Published: March 2018

Integer ambiguity resolution (IAR) is important for rapid initialization of precise point positioning (PPP). Whereas many studies have been limited to Global Positioning System (GPS) alone, there is a strong need to add Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema (GLONASS) to the PPP-IAR solution. However, the frequency-division multiplexing of GLONASS signals causes inter-frequency code bias (IFCB) in the receiving equipment. The IFCB causes GLONASS wide-lane uncalibrated phase delay (UPD) estimation with heterogeneous receiver types to fail, so GLONASS ambiguity is therefore traditionally estimated as float values in PPP. A two-step method of calibrating GLONASS IFCB is proposed in this paper, such that GLONASS PPP-IAR can be performed with heterogeneous receivers. Experimental results demonstrate that with the proposed method, GLONASS PPP ambiguity resolution can be achieved across a variety of receiver types. For kinematic PPP with mixed receiver types, the fixing percentage within 10 min is only 33.5% for GPS-only. Upon adding GLONASS, the percentage improves substantially, to 84.9%.
An Orthogonal Projection Algorithm to Suppress Interference in High-Frequency Surface Wave Radar
Authors: Chen Zezong , Xie Fei , Zhao Chen , He Chao
Published: March 2018

High-frequency surface wave radar (HFSWR) has been widely applied in sea-state monitoring, and its performance is known to suffer from various unwanted interferences and clutters. Radio frequency interference (RFI) from other radiating sources and ionospheric clutter dominate the various types of unwanted signals because the HF band is congested with many users and the ionosphere propagates interference from distant sources. In this paper, various orthogonal projection schemes are summarized, and three new schemes are proposed for interference cancellation. Simulations and field data recorded by experimental multi-frequency HFSWR from Wuhan University are used to evaluate the cancellation performances of these schemes with respect to both RFI and ionospheric clutter. The processing results may provide a guideline for identifying the appropriate orthogonal projection cancellation schemes in various HFSWR applications.
Modeling Wildfire-Induced Permafrost Deformation in an Alaskan Boreal Forest Using InSAR Observations
Authors: Eshqi Molan Yusuf , Kim Jin-Woo , Lu Zhong , Wylie Bruce , Zhu Zhiliang
Published: March 2018

The discontinuous permafrost zone is one of the world’s most sensitive areas to climate change. Alaskan boreal forest is underlain by discontinuous permafrost, and wildfires are one of the most influential agents negatively impacting the condition of permafrost in the arctic region. Using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) of Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) images, we mapped extensive permafrost degradation over interior Alaskan boreal forest in Yukon Flats, induced by the 2009 Big Creek wildfire. Our analyses showed that fire-induced permafrost degradation in the second post-fire thawing season contributed up to 20 cm of ground surface subsidence. We generated post-fire deformation time series and introduced a model that exploited the deformation time series to estimate fire-induced permafrost degradation and changes in active layer thickness. The model showed a wildfire-induced increase of up to 80 cm in active layer thickness in the second post-fire year due to pore-ice permafrost thawing. The model also showed up to 15 cm of permafrost degradation due to excess-ice thawing with little or no increase in active layer thickness. The uncertainties of the estimated change in active layer thickness and the thickness of thawed excess ice permafrost are 27.77 and 1.50 cm, respectively. Our results demonstrate that InSAR-derived deformation measurements along with physics models are capable of quantifying fire-induced permafrost degradation in Alaskan boreal forests underlain by discontinuous permafrost. Our results also have illustrated that fire-induced increase of active layer thickness and excess ice thawing contributed to ground surface subsidence.
Analysis of Secular Ground Motions in Istanbul from a Long-Term InSAR Time-Series (1992–2017)
Authors: Aslan Gokhan , Cakır Ziyadin , Ergintav Semih , Lasserre Cécile , Renard François
Published: March 2018

The identification and measurement of ground deformations in urban areas is of great importance for determining the vulnerable parts of the cities that are prone to geohazards, which is a crucial element of both sustainable urban planning and hazard mitigation. Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time series analysis is a very powerful tool for the operational mapping of ground deformation related to urban subsidence and landslide phenomena. With an analysis spanning almost 25 years of satellite radar observations, we compute an InSAR time series of data from multiple satellites (European Remote Sensing satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2, Envisat, Sentinel-1A, and its twin sensor Sentinel-1B) in order to investigate the spatial extent and rate of ground deformation in the megacity of Istanbul. By combining the various multi-track InSAR datasets (291 images in total) and analysing persistent scatterers (PS-InSAR), we present mean velocity maps of ground surface displacement in selected areas of Istanbul. We identify several sites along the terrestrial and coastal regions of Istanbul that underwent vertical ground subsidence at varying rates, from 5 ± 1.2 mm/yr to 15 ± 2.1 mm/yr. The results reveal that the most distinctive subsidence patterns are associated with both anthropogenic factors and relatively weak lithologies along the Haramirede valley in particular, where the observed subsidence is up to 10 ± 2 mm/yr. We show that subsidence has been occurring along the Ayamama river stream at a rate of up to 10 ± 1.8 mm/yr since 1992, and has also been slowing down over time following the restoration of the river and stream system. We also identify subsidence at a rate of 8 ± 1.2 mm/yr along the coastal region of Istanbul, which we associate with land reclamation, as well as a very localised subsidence at a rate of 15 ± 2.3 mm/yr starting in 2016 around one of the highest skyscrapers of Istanbul, which was built in 2010.
Medium and Short Wave RF Energy Harvester for Powering Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Leon-Gil Jesus , Cortes-Loredo Agustin , Fabian-Mijangos Angel , Martinez-Flores Javier , Tovar-Padilla Marco , Cardona-Castro M. , Morales-Sánchez Alfredo , Alvarez-Quintana Jaime
Published: March 2018

Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging platform in which every day physical objects provided with unique identifiers are connected to the Internet without requiring human interaction. The possibilities of such a connected world enables new forms of automation to make our lives easier and safer. Evidently, in order to keep billions of these communicating devices powered long-term, a self-sustainable operation is a key point for realization of such a complex network. In this sense, energy-harvesting technologies combined with low power consumption ICs eliminate the need for batteries, removing an obstacle to the success of the IoT. In this work, a Radio Frequency (RF) energy harvester tuned at AM broadcast has been developed for low consumption power devices. The AM signals from ambient are detected via a high-performance antenna-free LC circuit with an efficiency of 3.2%. To maximize energy scavenging, the RF-DC conversion stage is based on a full-wave Cockcroft–Walton voltage multiplier (CWVM) with efficiency up to 90%. System performance is evaluated by rating the maximum power delivered into the load via its output impedance, which is around 62 μW, although power level seems to be low, it is able to power up low consumption devices such as Leds, portable calculators and weather monitoring stations.
A New Method for Immobilization of His-Tagged Proteins with the Application of Low-Frequency AC Electric Field
Authors: Takahashi Shunsuke , Kishi Kazuki , Hiraga Ryota , Hayashi Kazuki , Mamada Youhei , Oshige Masahiko , Katsura Shinji
Published: March 2018

Continued advancement of protein array, bioelectrode, and biosensor technologies is necessary to develop methods for higher amount and highly oriented immobilization activity of proteins. In pursuit of these goals, we developed a new immobilization method by combining electrostatic transport and subsequent molecular diffusion of protein molecules. Our developed immobilization method is based on a model that transports proteins toward the substrate surface due to steep concentration gradient generated by low-frequency AC electric field. The immobilization of the maximum amounts can be obtained by the application of the AC voltage of 80 Vpp, 20 Hz both for His-tagged Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and Discosoma sp. Red Fluorescent Protein (DsRed), used as model proteins. The amounts of the immobilized His-tagged GFP and DsRed were approximately seven-fold higher than that in the absence of the application of low-frequency AC electric field. Furthermore, the positively and negatively charged His-tagged GFP at acidic and alkaline pH were immobilized by applying of low-frequency AC electric field, whereas the non-charged His-tagged GFP at the pH corresponding to its isoelectric point (pI) was not immobilized. Therefore, unless the pH is equal to pI, the immobilization of electrically charged proteins was strongly enhanced through electrostatic transport and subsequent molecular diffusion.
Key Odorants from Pig Production Based on Improved Measurements of Odor Threshold Values Combining Olfactometry and Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS)
Authors: Hansen Michael , Kasper Pernille , Adamsen Anders , Feilberg Anders
Published: March 2018

Analytical measurements of odorants in combination with odor threshold values is an alternative to sensory measurements that can be used to evaluate abatement technologies for pig production facilities. The purpose of the present study was to estimate odor threshold values for key odorants found in pig house air. A new method was applied where an olfactometer was used to dilute the sample air and the concentrations of odorants presented to the panelists at the dilutions steps were measured by proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). The results demonstrate that the odor threshold values of acetic acid, butanoic acid, and 4-methylphenol are considerably lower than reported previously, whereas the values of hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol and dimethylsulfide were comparable. Consequently, acetic acid, butanoic acid, and 4-methyl-phenol will have a larger influence on odor from pig production facilities than previously assumed. The results highlight the necessity for directly measuring exposure concentrations when determining odor threshold values.
Hybrid GMR Sensor Detecting 950 pT/sqrt(Hz) at 1 Hz and Room Temperature
Authors: Guedes André , Macedo Rita , Jaramillo Gerardo , Cardoso Susana , Freitas Paulo , Horsley David
Published: March 2018

Advances in the magnetic sensing technology have been driven by the increasing demand for the capability of measuring ultrasensitive magnetic fields. Among other emerging applications, the detection of magnetic fields in the picotesla range is crucial for biomedical applications. In this work Picosense reports a millimeter-scale, low-power hybrid magnetoresistive-piezoelectric magnetometer with subnanotesla sensitivity at low frequency. Through an innovative noise-cancelation mechanism, the 1/f noise in the MR sensors is surpassed by the mechanical modulation of the external magnetic fields in the high frequency regime. A modulation efficiency of 13% was obtained enabling a final device’s sensitivity of ~950 pT/Hz1/2 at 1 Hz. This hybrid device proved to be capable of measuring biomagnetic signals generated in the heart in an unshielded environment. This result paves the way for the development of a portable, contactless, low-cost and low-power magnetocardiography device.
Quality Control Procedure Based on Partitioning of NMR Time Series
Authors: Staniszewski Michał , Skorupa Agnieszka , Boguszewicz Łukasz , Sokół Maria , Polański Andrzej
Published: March 2018

The quality of the magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) depends on the stability of magnetic resonance (MR) system performance and optimal hardware functioning, which ensure adequate levels of signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) as well as good spectral resolution and minimal artifacts in the spectral data. MRS quality control (QC) protocols and methodologies are based on phantom measurements that are repeated regularly. In this work, a signal partitioning algorithm based on a dynamic programming (DP) method for QC assessment of the spectral data is described. The proposed algorithm allows detection of the change points—the abrupt variations in the time series data. The proposed QC method was tested using the simulated and real phantom data. Simulated data were randomly generated time series distorted by white noise. The real data were taken from the phantom quality control studies of the MRS scanner collected for four and a half years and analyzed by LCModel software. Along with the proposed algorithm, performance of various literature methods was evaluated for the predefined number of change points based on the error values calculated by subtracting the mean values calculated for the periods between the change-points from the original data points. The time series were checked using external software, a set of external methods and the proposed tool, and the obtained results were comparable. The application of dynamic programming in the analysis of the phantom MRS data is a novel approach to QC. The obtained results confirm that the presented change-point-detection tool can be used either for independent analysis of MRS time series (or any other) or as a part of quality control.
Accurate Decoding of Short, Phase-Encoded SSVEPs
Authors: Youssef Ali Amer Ahmed , Wittevrongel Benjamin , Van Hulle Marc
Published: March 2018

Four novel EEG signal features for discriminating phase-coded steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) are presented, and their performance in view of target selection in an SSVEP-based brain–computer interfacing (BCI) is assessed. The novel features are based on phase estimation and correlations between target responses. The targets are decoded from the feature scores using the least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) classifier, and it is shown that some of the proposed features compete with state-of-the-art classifiers when using short (0.5 s) EEG recordings in a binary classification setting.
Segmentation of Oil Spills on Side-Looking Airborne Radar Imagery with Autoencoders
Authors: Gallego Antonio-Javier , Gil Pablo , Pertusa Antonio , Fisher Robert B.
Published: March 2018

In this work, we use deep neural autoencoders to segment oil spills from Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) imagery. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has been much exploited for ocean surface monitoring, especially for oil pollution detection, but few approaches in the literature use SLAR. Our sensor consists of two SAR antennas mounted on an aircraft, enabling a quicker response than satellite sensors for emergency services when an oil spill occurs. Experiments on TERMA radar were carried out to detect oil spills on Spanish coasts using deep selectional autoencoders and RED-nets (very deep Residual Encoder-Decoder Networks). Different configurations of these networks were evaluated and the best topology significantly outperformed previous approaches, correctly detecting 100% of the spills and obtaining an

F
1

score of 93.01% at the pixel level. The proposed autoencoders perform accurately in SLAR imagery that has artifacts and noise caused by the aircraft maneuvers, in different weather conditions and with the presence of look-alikes due to natural phenomena such as shoals of fish and seaweed.
Has Selection for Grain Yield Altered Intermediate Wheatgrass?
Authors: Cattani Douglas , Asselin Sean
Published: March 2018

Perennial grains are demonstrating a greater probability of occupying land currently dedicated to other agricultural production. Arable land that is currently in use for forage or annual crop production becomes utilized. Breeding materials for the introduction of perennial grains directly into the human food chain has required utilizing existing plant materials in the domestication of species or manufacturing diverse crosses to introduce perenniality into existing crops. In the domestication of intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium (Host), Barkworth and Dewey), existing forage cultivars or plant accessions were used to develop populations selected for grain production. A comparison of Cycle 3 materials from The Land Institute (TLI), Salina, KS, USA to USDA-Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) accessions took place under space-planted field conditions at Carman, MB, Canada from 2011 to 2014. One hundred plants (75 TLI and 25 GRIN identified in May 2012) were followed through three seed harvests cycles with phenological, morphological and agronomic traits measured throughout. Selection for seed productivity (TLI materials) reduced the importance of biomass plant−1 on seed yield plant−1, leading to an increase in harvest index. Principal component analysis demonstrated the separation of the germplasm sources and the differential impact of years on the performance of all accessions. Path coefficient analysis also indicated that plant biomass production was of less importance on seed yield plant−1 in the TLI materials. Analysis removing area plant−1 as a factor increased both the importance of biomass and heads on seed yield cm−2 in the TLI materials, especially in the first two seed production years. Plant differences due to selection appear to have reduced overall plant area and increased harvest index in the TLI materials, indicating progress for grain yield under selection. However, a greater understanding of the dynamics within a seed production field is needed to provide insight into the development of more effective selection criteria for long-term field level production.
Green and Clean: Reviewing the Justification of Claims for Nanomaterials from a Sustainability Point of View
Authors: Pallas Georgios , Peijnenburg Willie , Guinée Jeroen , Heijungs Reinout , Vijver Martina
Published: March 2018

Nanotechnology is an emerging technology with the potential to contribute towards sustainability. However, there are growing concerns about the potential environmental and human health impacts of nanomaterials. Clearly, nanomaterials have advantages and disadvantages, and a balanced view is needed to assess the overall benefit. The current “green and clean” claims of proponents of nanomaterials across different sectors of the economy are evaluated in this review study. Focusing on carbon emissions and energy use, we have reviewed 18 life cycle assessment studies on nanomaterials in the solar, energy, polymer, medical and food sectors. We find that the “green and clean” claims are not supported for the majority of the reviewed studies in the energy sector. In the solar sector, only specific technologies tend to support the “green and clean” claims. In the polymer sector, only some applications support the “green and clean” claims. The main findings show that nanomaterials have high cradle-to-gate energy demand that result in high carbon emissions. Synthesis of nanomaterials is the main contributor of carbon emissions in the majority of the studies. Future improvements in reducing parameter uncertainties and in the energy efficiency of the synthesis processes of nanomaterials might improve the environmental performance of nanotechnologies.
ASPIE: A Framework for Active Sensing and Processing of Complex Events in the Internet of Manufacturing Things
Authors: Li Shaobo , Chen Weixing , Hu Jie , Hu Jianjun
Published: March 2018

Rapid perception and processing of critical monitoring events are essential to ensure healthy operation of Internet of Manufacturing Things (IoMT)-based manufacturing processes. In this paper, we proposed a framework (active sensing and processing architecture (ASPIE)) for active sensing and processing of critical events in IoMT-based manufacturing based on the characteristics of IoMT architecture as well as its perception model. A relation model of complex events in manufacturing processes, together with related operators and unified XML-based semantic definitions, are developed to effectively process the complex event big data. A template based processing method for complex events is further introduced to conduct complex event matching using the Apriori frequent item mining algorithm. To evaluate the proposed models and methods, we developed a software platform based on ASPIE for a local chili sauce manufacturing company, which demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methods for active perception and processing of complex events in IoMT-based manufacturing.
The Outcomes of Corporate Social Responsibility to Employees: Empirical Evidence from a Developing Country
Authors: Gharleghi Behrooz , Afshar Jahanshahi Asghar , Nawaser Khaled
Published: March 2018

Employees creativity has been recognized as a crucial part of an organization’s ability to be innovative. To know which factors contribute to employee involvement in creative work, in this paper, we first examine the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to employees. Moreover, we study the employees’ positive work attitudes and their intention to leave as a mediating mechanism to explain the effect of CSR to employees on the involvement of employees in creative work. Survey data from 209 employees in 45 small-sized enterprises in Iran were used to test the hypotheses of the study. The hypotheses were tested with hierarchical regression analyses using SPSS software. The results support the direct impact of CSR to employees on employees’ creative work involvement. In addition, the findings indicate that the indirect effect of CSR to employees on the involvement of employees in creative work through positive work attitudes and their intention to leave are significant. Consequently, small-sized enterprises should reinforce CSR to employees to elevate their involvement in creative work.
Livelihood Benefits from Post-Earthquake Nature-Based Tourism Development: A Survey of Local Residents in Rural China
Authors: Liu Shuwen , Cheung Lewis , Lo Alex , Fang Wei
Published: March 2018

Large-scale tourism development after a natural disaster often leads to substantial changes in the living conditions of local residents. Few studies have examined how these changes are perceived by residents and related to their support to tourism development. We conducted a household survey in Wolong National Nature Reserve, which is a popular nature-based tourist location severely devastated by a catastrophic earthquake in 2008. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to explore the association between residents’ expectation of tourism impacts and their willingness to support tourism development. Results indicated that they held high expectations about development and believed that it would be enhance Wolong’s economic progress and improve their personal living conditions. Expected economic benefits (EEB) had a significant and positive relationship with the expected improvement of their personal living conditions, but not with their support to tourism development. The latter two variables, however, were associated with each other, suggesting that expected improvement of living conditions mediated between expected benefits and stated support to tourism development. Similar results were not found for resistance and concerns about tourism development. Policy-makers and tourism planners should recognize that public support to tourism development is not necessarily driven directly by expected economic benefits.
Wide Strip Backfill Mining for Surface Subsidence Control and Its Application in Critical Mining Conditions of a Coal Mine
Authors: Cao Wenhao , Wang Xufeng , Li Peng , Zhang Dongsheng , Sun Chundong , Qin Dongdong
Published: March 2018

Critical mining under buildings, railways, and water bodies (BRW) brings the contradiction between high recovery rate and minor environmental hazards. To lessen this contradiction, an innovative mining method referred to as “wide strip backfill mining” (WSBM) was proposed in this study. A Winkler beam model is applied to the primary key strata (PKS), and the study revealed a surface subsidence control mechanism and designed the technical parameters of the method. The respective numerical simulations suggested the feasibility of the proposed method and the main influencing factors on surface subsidence can be ranked in descending order as wide filling strip width (WFSW), filling ratio, and pillar width. Meanwhile, a drop in the WFSW from 96 m to 72 m brought out the surface subsidence reduction by 44.5%. By using the super-high water content filling material, the proposed method was applied in the Taoyi coal mine under critical mining conditions. The resulting surface subsidence and deformations met the safety requirements for building protection level 1, and the recovery rate reached 75.9%. Moreover, the application of the method achieved significant technical and economic benefits. The research can provide a theoretical and experimental substantiation for critical mining under BRW.
Responsible Research and Innovation in Industry—Challenges, Insights and Perspectives
Authors: Martinuzzi André , Blok Vincent , Brem Alexander , Stahl Bernd , Schönherr Norma
Published: March 2018

The responsibility of industry towards society and the environment is a much discussed topic, both in academia and in business. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has recently emerged as a new concept with the potential to advance this discourse in light of two major challenges industry is facing today. The first relates to the accelerating race to innovate in order to stay competitive in a rapidly changing world. The second concerns the need to maintain public trust in industry through innovations that generate social value in addition to economic returns. This Special Issue provides empirical and conceptual contributions that explore corporate motivations to adopt RRI, the state of implementation of concrete RRI practices, the role of stakeholders in responsible innovation processes, as well as drivers and barriers to the further diffusion of RRI in industry. Overall, these contributions highlight the relevance of RRI for firms of different sizes and sectors. They also provide insights and suggestions for managers, policymakers and researchers wishing to engage with responsibility in innovation. This editorial summarizes the most pertinent conclusions across the individual articles published in this Special Issue and concludes by outlining some fruitful avenues for future research in this space.
Farmers’ Value Assessment of Sociocultural and Ecological Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Landscapes
Authors: Temesgen Habtamu , Wu Wei
Published: March 2018

Biophysical and economic values of ecosystem services (ESs) are commonly used to define areas for land use and management planning. To date, there has been limited research conducted in Ethiopia regarding farmers’ evaluations of ESs. This article addresses farmers’ evaluations and perceptions of 16 ESs that are provided by five major land uses within two catchments, using a combined method of data generation and synthesis. Most farmers perceived the majority of land use/land cover (LUC) types as multifunctional; however, they showed distinctly diverse opinions of the benefits and services that the land uses provide. The farmers also distinguished pristine ESs as different importantance depending on their location in up- or downstream regions. Accordingly, shade and shelter values in the upstream region and fodder sources in the downstream regions were among the services perceived as the most important, followed by erosion control. Conversely, water treatment and tenure security were attributed poor value. Farmers’ also identified various threats to the studied ESs that were believed to be the consequences of overpopulation coupled with climate change. Routine anthropogenic activities, woodlots extraction, agribusiness investment, and drought and rainfall variability appeared to be the main drivers of these threats. The farmers’ perceptions recorded in this study generally parallel empirical research, wherein anthropogenic and environmental challenges affect the ecosystems. This general consensus represents an important basis for the establishment of collaborative land management activities.
A Duopoly Manufacturers’ Game Model Considering Green Technology Investment under a Cap-and-Trade System
Authors: Zheng Yi , Zhang Gaoxun , Zhang Weiwei
Published: March 2018

This research studied the duopoly manufacturers’ decision-making considering green technology investment and under a cap-and-trade system. It was assumed there were two manufacturers producing products which were substitutable for one another. On the basis of this assumption, the optimal production capacity, price, and green technology investment of the duopoly manufacturers under a cap-and-trade system were obtained. The increase or decrease of the optimal production quantity of the duopoly manufacturers under a cap-and-trade system was decided by their green technology level. The increase of the optimal price as well as the increase or decrease of the maximum expected profits were decided by the initial carbon emission quota granted by the government. Our research indicates that the carbon emission of unit product is inversely proportional to the market share of an enterprise and becomes an important index to measure the core competitiveness of an enterprise.
Quantifying the Economy-Environment Interactions in Tourism: Case of Gansu Province, China
Authors: Lu Chenyu , Li Wenlei , Pang Min , Xue Bing , Miao Hong
Published: March 2018

Together, the regional economy, tourism industry, and ecological environment form mutually interactive and interdependent relationships. Therefore, a better understanding of their evolutionary relationships could help reveal the spatial-temporal evolution patterns of their coordinated development and promote a successful implementation of strategies for regional sustainable development. By choosing the 14 cities (12 cities and 2 city-level prefectures) in Gansu Province as cases, this study establishes the respective evaluation indices for assessing the coordinated developmental level of the tourism system. With a combination of varying quantitative methods including order parameter analysis, fuzzy membership classification, regression analysis and gray correlation analysis, measurement models for assessing the coordinated developmental level and analyzing the associated spatial-temporal evolution patterns are established between 2000 and 2016. The conclusions are as follows. Between 2000 and 2016, the development of the regional economy, tourism industry, and ecological environment mutually reinforced one another in Gansu Province. Overall, the coordinated developmental level kept gradually improving over time. However, the development of the ecological environment lagged behind that of the tourism industry and economic growth, and synchronous and coordinated development among these three subsystems was not achieved. The overall level of coordination among 14 cities was also gradually improved, as manifested by the good level of coordinated development. However, spatial differences still existed.
Natural Capital, Domestic Product and Proximate Causes of Economic Growth: Uruguay in the Long Run, 1870–2014
Authors: Sandonato Silvana , Willebald Henry
Published: March 2018

The debate on the relationship between natural resources abundance and economic growth is still open. Our contribution to this field combines a long-run perspective (1870–2014) with the study of a peripheral country in the world economy (Uruguay). The purpose is to build a historical series of natural capital and contrast its level and evolution with the level and growth of GDP, as well as the proximate causes of its economic growth (produced and human capital, exports and terms of trade). We show that natural capital has tended to decline in importance in the economy, while simultaneously becoming more diversified. Although this evolution is consistent in historical terms, we do not find a causal relationship between the abundance of natural resources and economic performance. Instead of a direct relationship, the proximate causes appear to have been important in explaining the evolution of natural capital when we consider three stages of economic growth: physical capital and terms of trade during the agro-exporter model; human capital and exports during the period of import substitution industrialization; and terms of trade from the 1970s afterwards. These factors cause natural capital but not the other way around, leading us to conclude that an abundance of natural capital is an endogenous process.
An Empirical Study of the Assessment of Green Development in Beijing, China: Considering Resource Depletion, Environmental Damage and Ecological Benefits Simultaneously
Authors: Wu Haohui , Yu Yajuan , Li Shanshan , Huang Kai
Published: March 2018

Urban green development (UGD) is a highly topical issue. To assess the degree of UGD, in this paper, we use the driving forces, pressures, states, impacts, and responses (DPSIR) model to evaluate UGD with a collection of 40 indicators based on the three aspects of resource depletion, environmental damage and ecological benefits. The established system of indicators is then applied to evaluate the UGD in Beijing from 2000 to 2014 as a case study. The results demonstrate that it is essential to analyze the trend in the change in resource depletion, which had a high weight of 0.556 because environmental damage and ecological benefits partly changed in response to this driving force and pressure. However, the UGD index value of environmental damage (positive index) has decreased since 2010. By ranking the degree of correlation among indicators, it can be seen that UGD is highly related to the lifestyle, status quo, technology and education, industrialization, environmental quality, and ecological environment of a city. The health situation in Beijing has improved in the past 15 years; it was determined to be very unhealthy (75% at the very unhealthy level (V) and 9% at the very healthy level (I)) in 2000 but very healthy (8% at the very unhealthy level (V) and 60% at the very healthy level (I)) in 2014. However, there are internal problems due to imbalanced development in Beijing related to aspects such as the ecological environment, population and economy, social life, investment management, energy consumption and urban infrastructure. And government should adjust the energy structure, formulate detailed plans and policies on urban environment, and increase investment in education and business development.