bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of Fillers on the Recovery of Rubber Foam: From Theory to Applications
Authors: Prasopdee Thridsawan , Smitthipong Wirasak
Published: November 2020

Natural rubber foam (NRF) can be prepared from concentrated natural latex, providing specific characteristics such as density, compression strength, compression set, and so on, suitable for making shape-memory products. However, many customers require NRF products with a low compression set. This study aims to develop and prepare NRF to investigate its recoverability and other related characteristics by the addition of charcoal and silica fillers. The results showed that increasing filler loading increases physical and mechanical properties. The recoverability of NRF improves as silica increases, contrary to charcoal loading, due to the higher specific surface area of silica. Thermodynamic aspects showed that increasing filler loading increases the compression force (F) as well as the proportion of internal energy to the compression force (Fu/F). The entropy (S) also increases with increasing filler loading, which is favorable for thermodynamic systems. The activation enthalpy (∆Ha) of the NRF with silica is higher than the control NRF, which is due to rubber–filler interactions created within the NRF. A thermodynamic concept of crosslinked rubber foam with filler is proposed. From theory to application, in this study, the NRF has better recoverability with silica loading.
Laser-Induced Ignition and Combustion Behavior of Individual Graphite Microparticles in a Micro-Combustor
Authors: Wang Yue , Zhang Minqi , Chang Shuhang , Li Shengji , Huang Xuefeng
Published: November 2020

Microscale combustion has potential application in a micro power generator. This paper studied the ignition and combustion behavior of individual graphite microparticles in a micro-combustor to explore the utilization of carbon-based fuels at the microscale system. The individual graphite microparticles inside the micro-combustor were ignited by a highly focused laser in an air flow with natural convection at atmospheric temperature and pressure. The results show that the ignition of graphite microparticles was heterogeneous. The particle diameter had a small weak effect on ignition delay time and threshold ignition energy. The micro-combustor wall heat losses had significant effects on the ignition and combustion. During combustion, flame instability, photophoresis, repetitive extinction and reignition were identified. The flame structure was asymmetric, and the fluctuation of flame front and radiation intensity showed combustion instability. Photophoretic force pushed the graphite away from the focal point and resulted in extinction. Owing to large wall heat loss, the flame quickly extinguished. However, the graphite was inductively reignited by laser.
Effect of Clearance and Cavity Geometries on Leakage Performance of a Stepped Labyrinth Seal
Authors: Hur Min Seok , Lee Soo In , Moon Seong Won , Kim Tong Seop , Kwak Jae Su , Kim Dong Hyun , Jung Il Young
Published: November 2020

This study evaluated the leakage characteristics of a stepped labyrinth seal. Experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis were conducted for a wide range of pressure ratios and clearance sizes, and the effect of the clearance on the leakage characteristics was analyzed by determining the performance of the seal using a dimensionless parameter. It was observed from the analysis that the performance parameter of the seal decreases as the clearance size increases, but it tends to increase when the clearance size exceeds a certain value. In other words, it was revealed that there exists a specific clearance size (Smin) which minimizes the performance parameter of the seal. To identify the cause of this tendency change, a flow analysis was conducted using CFD. It was confirmed that the leakage characteristics of the stepped seal are affected by the size of the cavity, which is the space between the teeth. Therefore, a parametric study was conducted on the design parameters related to the cavity size (tooth height and pitch). The results show that the performance parameter decreases as the tooth height and pitch decreases. Moreover, Smin increases as the tooth height increases and the pitch decreases.
A Bayesian Internal Model for Reserve Risk: An Extension of the Correlated Chain Ladder
Authors: Ercole Carnevale Giulio , Paolo Clemente Gian
Published: November 2020

The goal of this paper was to exploit the Bayesian approach and MCMC procedures to structure an internal model to quantify the reserve risk of a non-life insurer under Solvency II regulation. To this aim, we provide an extension of the Correlated Chain Ladder (CCL) model to the one-year time horizon. In this way, we obtain the predictive distribution of the next year obligations and we are able to assess a capital requirement compliant with Solvency II framework. Numerical results compare the one-year CCL with other traditional approaches, such as Re-Reserving and the Merz and Wüthrich formula. One-year CCL proves to be a legitimate alternative, providing values comparable with the more traditional approaches and more robust and accurate risk estimations, that embed external knowledge not present in the data and allow for a more precise and tailored representation of the risk profile of the insurer.
HierarchyNet: Hierarchical CNN-Based Urban Building Classification
Authors: Taoufiq Salma , Nagy Balázs , Benedek Csaba
Published: November 2020

Automatic building categorization and analysis are particularly relevant for smart city applications and cultural heritage programs. Taking a picture of the facade of a building and instantly obtaining information about it can enable the automation of processes in urban planning, virtual city tours, and digital archiving of cultural artifacts. In this paper, we go beyond traditional convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for image classification and propose the HierarchyNet: a new hierarchical network for the classification of urban buildings from all across the globe into different main and subcategories from images of their facades. We introduce a coarse-to-fine hierarchy on the dataset and the model learns to simultaneously extract features and classify across both levels of hierarchy. We propose a new multiplicative layer, which is able to improve the accuracy of the finer prediction by considering the feedback signal of the coarse layers. We have quantitatively evaluated the proposed approach both on our proposed building datasets, as well as on various benchmark databases to demonstrate that the model is able to efficiently learn hierarchical information. The HierarchyNet model is able to outperform the state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks in urban building classification as well as in other multi-label classification tasks while using significantly fewer parameters.
A Decadal Global Climatology of Ice Cloud Fraction with Their Microphysical and Optical Properties Inferred from the CALIPSO and Reanalysis Data
Authors: Pan Honglin , Wang Minzhong , Kumar Kanike Raghavendra , Zhang Jiantao , Meng Lu
Published: November 2020

In the present study, the spatiotemporal and vertical distributions of ice cloud properties and their association with meteorological variables are analyzed for the period 2007–2016 using the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) and Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research (MERRA-2) reanalysis observations. The distribution of ice cloud fraction (ICF) with its peak does not overlap with that of the ice water content (IWC) peak during daytime and nighttime due to the sampling bias. Moreover, the vertical distributions of mean IWC exhibited a vaguely “sharp thorn” at an altitude of ~4 km in all seasons at the location of about ±40°, which can be caused by the artifacts. Furthermore, it is noted that different ice cloud optical depth (ICOD) presents significant changes observed in their diurnal variations in the heights of peaks. The maximum diurnal difference of ice cloud properties occurs in the tropical regions of the North Hemisphere (NH) during summer. We also investigated the relation between ICOD and the meteorological variables and found that the ICOD values are dependent on the meteorological parameters.
Beyond Measurement: Extracting Vegetation Height from High Resolution Imagery with Deep Learning
Authors: Radke David , Radke Daniel , Radke John
Published: November 2020

Measuring and monitoring the height of vegetation provides important insights into forest age and habitat quality. These are essential for the accuracy of applications that are highly reliant on up-to-date and accurate vegetation data. Current vegetation sensing practices involve ground survey, photogrammetry, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and airborne light detection and ranging sensors (LiDAR). While these methods provide high resolution and accuracy, their hardware and collection effort prohibits highly recurrent and widespread collection. In response to the limitations of current methods, we designed Y-NET, a novel deep learning model to generate high resolution models of vegetation from highly recurrent multispectral aerial imagery and elevation data. Y-NET’s architecture uses convolutional layers to learn correlations between different input features and vegetation height, generating an accurate vegetation surface model (VSM) at 1×1 m resolution. We evaluated Y-NET on 235 km2 of the East San Francisco Bay Area and find that Y-NET achieves low error from LiDAR when tested on new locations. Y-NET also achieves an R2 of 0.83 and can effectively model complex vegetation through side-by-side visual comparisons. Furthermore, we show that Y-NET is able to identify instances of vegetation growth and mitigation by comparing aerial imagery and LiDAR collected at different times.
Spatial and Temporal Human Settlement Growth Differentiation with Symbolic Machine Learning for Verifying Spatial Policy Targets: Assiut Governorate, Egypt as a Case Study
Authors: Abdelkader Mahmood , Sliuzas Richard , Boerboom Luc , Elseicy Ahmed , Zevenbergen Jaap
Published: November 2020

Since 2005, Egypt has a new land-use development policy to control unplanned human settlement growth and prevent outlying growth. This study assesses the impact of this policy shift on settlement growth in Assiut Governorate, Egypt, between 1999 and 2020. With symbolic machine learning, we extract built-up areas from Landsat images of 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 and a Landscape Expansion Index with a new QGIS plugin tool (Growth Classifier) developed to classify settlement growth types. The base year, 1999, was produced by the national remote sensing agency. After extracting the built-up areas from the Landsat images, eight settlement growth types (infill, expansion, edge-ribbon, linear branch, isolated cluster, proximate cluster, isolated scattered, and proximate scattered) were identified for four periods (1999:2005, 2005:2010, 2010:2015, and 2015:2020). The results show that prior to the policy shift of 2005, the growth rate for 1999–2005 was 11% p.a. In all subsequent periods, the growth rate exceeded the target rate of 1% p.a., though by varying amounts. The observed settlement growth rates were 5% (2005:2010), 7.4% (2010:2015), and 5.3% (2015:2020). Although the settlements in Assiut grew primarily through expansion and infill, with the latter growing in importance during the last two later periods, outlying growth is also evident. Using four class metrics (number of patches, patch density, mean patch area, and largest patch index) for the eight growth types, all types showed a fluctuated trend between all periods, except for expansion, which always tends to increase. To date, the policy to control human settlement expansion and outlying growth has been unsuccessful.
Beyond ‘Family Planning’—Local Realities on Contraception and Abortion in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Authors: Drabo Seydou
Published: November 2020

Family planning has long been promoted within international health efforts because of its potential benefits for controlling population growth, reducing poverty and maternal and child mortality, empowering women, and enhancing environmental sustainability. In Burkina Faso, the government and donor partners share a commitment to ‘family planning’, notably by increasing the low uptake of ‘modern’ contraceptive methods in the general population and reducing recourse to induced abortion, which remains legally restricted. This paper presents ethnographic findings that show the complexity of family planning within the social context of women’s lives and care-seeking trajectories. It draws on participant observation in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital, and interviews with women with a wide range of reproductive experiences and providers of family planning services. First, the paper shows that women’s use of contraceptive methods and abortion is embedded in the wider social dilemmas relating to marriage, sexuality, and gendered relationships. Second, it shows that women use contraceptives to meet a variety of needs other than those promoted in public health policies. Thus, while women’s use of contraceptive methods is often equated with family planning within public health research and health policy discourse, the uses women make of them imbue them with other meanings related to social, spiritual, or aesthetic goals.
When Residential Energy Labeling Becomes Irrelevant: Sustainability vs. Profitability in the Liberalized Chilean Property Market
Authors: Encinas Felipe , Marmolejo-Duarte Carlos , Aguirre-Nuñez Carlos , Vergara-Perucich Francisco
Published: November 2020

The study of the relevance of energy efficiency attributes on residential choices is usually based on stated preferences, using performance indicators. However, this issue has not been researched in developing countries, where energy certification schemes have a low adoption rate. This article paper uses a methodology based on a Kansei Engineering and Kano Model to identify home buyers’ energy performance perceptions in three real estate developments in Santiago de Chile. Surprisingly, energy ratings negatively affected the survey respondents’ willingness to buy. On the other hand, the ratings indicated that the most relevant attribute for influencing the purchasing is the perception of the home as a good investment. This finding contradicts most of the studies on energy certification and shows the relevance given to the profit of purchasing new housing units. Therefore, the analyses suggest that this situation represents a decoupling of consumer perception from both the items measured by energy labels and their contribution to consumer choices.
Development and Evaluation of the Hydropower Reservoir Rule Curve for a Sustainable Water Supply
Authors: Choi Youngje , Lee Eunkyung , Ji Jungwon , Ahn Jaehwang , Kim Taesoon , Yi Jaeeung
Published: November 2020

The Seoul metropolitan area in the Han River basin is searching for sustainable water supply options after recently experiencing an extreme drought. Building a new reservoir is a common way to alleviate water shortage, but this comes at a great environmental cost. The South Korean government granted permission to add on a water supply function for the Hwacheon Reservoir, the largest hydropower reservoir in Korea, for the first time in the history. This study develops a new rule curve for the Hwacheon Reservoir to supply water and generate energy at the same time, considering the status of other reservoirs in the Han River basin. The simulation model uses two scenarios, with scenario 1 simulating historic operation and scenario 2 applying the deficit supply method. The new rule curve was formulated based on the results from scenario 2. Time-based and volumetric reliability increased by 33% and 4%, respectively, and resiliency more than doubled compared to the historic reservoir operation. This is the first case study in South Korea that demonstrates how to successfully integrate a water supply function into an existing hydropower reservoir. This study can be applied and extended to other river basins in an attempt to alleviate water shortages by adding new functions to existing reservoirs.
Indicators for Sustainable Demand Risk Allocation in Transport Infrastructure Projects
Authors: Roumboutsos Athena , Temeljotov-Salaj Alenka , Karousos Iosif
Published: November 2020

Efficient risk allocation has been proven to be at the heart of effective and efficient infrastructure project operation. While most risks may be reasonably assigned in transport infrastructure projects, demand risk remains ambiguous due to the multiple factors influencing its appropriate allocation. The present research is a first attempt to introduce indicators as tools to guide contracting parties in assigning demand risk. The level of control, based on infrastructure characteristics and attributes, describes the potential control over demand an operator may have. The optimal demand risk allocation is seen as an assessment of the appropriateness of demand risk allocation effected. The indicators are constructed following accomplished rules set by supranational organizations. Furthermore, 51 project cases ranging different transport infrastructure modes from 19 European countries including projects delivered traditionally and as Public Private Partnerships were used to validate the indicators and assess their performance. Results show the potential of both indicators to guide governments, operators and also financiers in appropriately allocating demand risk in transport infrastructure projects. This optimality was shown to be related to more accurate traffic forecasts resulting in sustainable transport infrastructure as the project then delivers on its economic, environmental, and social/welfare targets.
Contextualizing Sustainable Development Metric Standards: Imagining New Entrepreneurial Possibilities
Authors: Fisher William P.
Published: November 2020

Imagination is more important than knowledge, but if intellect does not provide the needed logical structures, capacities for envisioning new possibilities are overly constrained. The sustainability problems we face today cannot be solved with the same kind of thinking that created them, but clarity on what counts as a new kind of thinking is sorely lacking. This article proposes methodical, model-based ways of heeding Bateson’s warning about the negative consequences for the ecology of mind that follow from ignoring the contexts of relationships. Informed by S. L. Star’s sense of boundary objects, a sequence of increasingly complex logical types distinguishes and interconnects qualitatively different kinds of thinking in ways that liberate imaginative new possibilities for life. The economy of thought instantiated at each level of complexity is only as meaningful, useful, beautiful, ethical, and efficient as the standards informing local adaptive improvisations. Standards mediating the general and specific, global and local, universally transcendent and embodied particulars enable meaningful negotiations, agreements, and communications. Attending to the differences between levels of discourse sets up new possibilities for creative and imaginative entrepreneurial approaches to viable, feasible, and desirable goals for measuring and managing sustainable development.
Improvement of the Performance Balance between Thermal Comfort and Energy Use for a Building Space in the Mid-Spring Season
Authors: Ahn Jonghoon
Published: November 2020

In thermal controls in buildings, recent statistical and data-driven approaches to optimize supply air conditions have been examined in association with several types of building spaces and patterns of energy consumption. However, many strategies may have some problems where high-control precision may increase energy use, or low energy use in systems may decrease indoor thermal quality. This study investigates a neural network algorithm with an adaptive model on how to control the supply air conditions reflecting learned data. During the process, the adaptive model complements the signals from the network to independently maintain the comfort level within setting ranges. Although the proposed model effectively optimizes energy consumption and supply air conditions, it achieves quite improved comfort levels about 14% more efficient than comparison models. Consequently, it is confirmed that a network and learning algorithm equipped with an adaptive controller properly responds to users’ comfort levels and system’s energy consumption in a single space. The improved performance in space levels can be significant in places where many spaces are systematically connected, and in places which require a high consistency of indoor thermal comfort. Another advantage of the proposed model is that it properly reduces an increase in energy consumption despite an intensive strategy is utilized to improve thermal comfort.
Influence of Methods Approximating Fractional-Order Differentiation on the Output Signal Illustrated by Three Variants of Oustaloup Filter
Authors: Wiora Józef , Wiora Alicja
Published: November 2020

Fractional-order (FO) differential equations are more and more frequently applied to describe real-world applications or models of phenomena. Despite such models exhibiting high flexibility and good fits to experimental data, they introduce their inherent inaccuracy related to the order of approximation. This article shows that the chosen model influences the dynamic properties of signals. First, we calculated symbolically the steady-state values of an FO inertia using three variants of the Oustaloup filter approximation. Then, we showed how the models influence the Nyquist plots in the frequency domain. The unit step responses calculated using different models also have different plots. An example of FO control system evidenced different trajectories dependent on applied models. We concluded that publicized parameters of FO models should also consist of the name of the model used in calculations in order to correctly reproduce described phenomena. For this reason, the inappropriate use of FO models may lead to drawing incorrect conclusions about the described system.
Fault Diagnosis of an Analog Circuit Based on Hierarchical DVS
Authors: Deng Yong , Zhou Yuhao
Published: November 2020

Analog circuit fault diagnosis technology is widely used in the diagnosis of various electronic devices. The basic strategy is to extract circuit fault characteristics and then to use a clustering algorithm for diagnosis. The discrete Volterra series (DVS) is a common feature extraction method; however, it is difficult to calculate its parameters. To solve the problem of feature extraction in fault diagnosis, we propose an improved hierarchical Levenberg–Marquardt (LM)–DVS algorithm (IDVS). First, the DVS is simplified on the basis of the hierarchical symmetry of the memory parameters, the LM strategy is used to optimize the coefficients, and a Bayesian information criterion based on the symmetry of entropy is introduced for order selection. Finally, we propose a fault diagnosis method by combining the improved DVS algorithm and a condensed nearest neighbor algorithm (CNN) (i.e., the IDVS–CNN method). A simulation experiment was conducted to verify the feature extraction and fault diagnosis ability of the IDVS–CNN. The results show that the proposed method outperforms conventional methods in terms of the macro and micro F1 scores (0.903 and 0.894, respectively), which is conducive to the efficient application of fault diagnosis. In conclusion, the improved method in this study is helpful to simplify the calculation of the DVS parameters of circuit faults in analog electronic systems, and provides new insights for the prospective application of circuit fault diagnosis, system modeling, and pattern recognition.
Advantages of Lateral Flow Assays Based on Fluorescent Submicrospheres and Quantum Dots for Clostridium difficile Toxin B Detection
Authors: Qi Haonan , Sun Qiuli , Ma Yi , Wu Peidian , Wang Jufang
Published: November 2020

Clostridium difficile colitis is caused by a cytotoxin produced by the anaerobic bacteria C. difficile in the epithelial cells of the large intestine, particularly C. difficile toxin B (TcdB). However, the sensitivity of currently utilized C. difficile endotoxin determination methods has been called into question, and, therefore, more accurate and convenient detection methods are needed. Our study is the first to systematically compare fluorescent submicrosphere-based and quantum-dot nanobead-based lateral fluidity measurement methods (FMs-LFA and QDNBs-LFA) with toxin B quantification in fecal samples via sandwich analysis. The limits of detection (LOD) of FMs-LFA and QDNBs-LFA in the fecal samples were 0.483 and 0.297 ng/mL, respectively. TcdB analyses of the fecal samples indicated that the results of QDNBs-LFA and FMs-LFA were consistent with those of a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kit. The sensitivity of QDNBs-LFA was highly correlated with clinical diagnoses. Therefore, quantum dot nanobeads (QDNBs) are deemed highly suitable for lateral fluidity analyses, which would facilitate the implementation of portable and rapid on-the-spot applications, such as food hygiene and safety tests and onsite medical testing.
First Report of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in Marine Invertebrates and Fish in Spain
Authors: Ben-Gigirey Begoña , Rossignoli Araceli E. , Riobó Pilar , Rodríguez Francisco
Published: November 2020

A paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) episode developed in summer 2018 in the Rías Baixas (Galicia, NW Spain). The outbreak was associated with an unprecedentedly intense and long-lasting harmful algal bloom (HAB) (~one month) caused by the dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum. Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) were analyzed in extracts of 45 A. minutum strains isolated from the bloom by high-performance liquid chromatography with post-column oxidation and fluorescence detection (HPLC-PCOX-FLD). PSTs were also evaluated in tissues from marine fauna (invertebrates and fish) collected during the episode and in dolphin samples. The analysis of 45 A. minutum strains revealed a toxic profile including GTX1, GTX2, GTX3 and GTX4 toxins. With regard to the marine fauna samples, the highest PSTs levels were quantified in bivalve mollusks, but the toxins were also found in mullets, mackerels, starfish, squids and ascidians. This study reveals the potential accumulation of PSTs in marine invertebrates other than shellfish that could act as vectors in the trophic chain or pose a risk for human consumption. To our knowledge, this is the first time that PSTs are reported in ascidians and starfish from Spain. Moreover, it is the first time that evidence of PSTs in squids is described in Europe.
Effects of Secondary Currents on Turbulence Characteristics of Supercritical Open Channel Flows at Low Aspect Ratios
Authors: Demiral Dila , Boes Robert M. , Albayrak Ismail
Published: November 2020

In this paper, we present secondary current effects on the turbulence characteristics of supercritical narrow open channel flows over a smooth fixed bed. The main hydraulic parameters are low channel width to flow depth ratios varying between 1 and 2, and Froude numbers (F) ranging from 2 to 4. Detailed profiling of instantaneous streamwise and vertical flow velocities was conducted in a laboratory flume using a 2D laser Doppler anemometry. The cross-sectional distributions of mean flow velocities, turbulence intensities, Reynolds, and bed shear stresses were obtained from the measurements. The mean streamwise and vertical flow velocity distributions reveal that four pairs of secondary current cells are formed: a pair of well-developed free-surface vortices near the water surface, a pair of bottom vortices near the bed, and two pairs of mid-vortices between the free-surface and bottom vortices. These secondary currents cause bulging of the contour lines of the streamwise velocities with respect to the water surface and the bottom corner bisectors resulting in an undulated pattern of the mean velocity distribution across the cross-section. Furthermore, they cause the velocity dip phenomenon, i.e., the maximum flow velocity occurs well below the surface, and redistribute the Reynolds and bed shear stresses in transverse direction. The results demonstrate that decreasing the aspect ratio increases the strength of the secondary currents causing a significant change in flow patterns with larger free-surface vortices compared to the bottom vortices. Compared to the aspect ratio effect, the Froude number only slightly impacts the flow characteristics as a result of flow non-uniformity. For all investigated aspect ratios and Froude numbers, bed shear stresses are concentrated at the flume center, and on average 5 to 10% higher than their mean values. The modified wake-log-law holds both in the inner and outer regions, matching well with the experimental data for all test conditions. The present findings are discussed with literature data, and their impact on engineering applications is demonstrated.
Impact of Hydro-Climatic Changes on Coastal Dunes Landscape According to Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (The Case Study of Curonian Spit)
Authors: Taminskas Julius , Šimanauskienė Rasa , Linkevičienė Rita , Volungevičius Jonas , Slavinskienė Gintarė , Povilanskas Ramūnas , Satkūnas Jonas
Published: November 2020

Coastal dunes are recognized as one of the most threatened ecosystems, the formation of which mainly depends on two opposite processes—sand dunes overgrowth and formation of open dunes. The application of cost-effective remote sensing methods permits monitoring the interaction of these two processes over a large area and long periods of time. Therefore in this study we assessed the links between hydro-meteorological parameters and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in Curonian spit coastal dunes landscape-a creation of human and nature integrity situated in the South eastern part of the Baltic Sea. Time series of NDVI (2000–2019) were obtained from the moderate resolution imaging spectro-radiometer and compared with hydro-meteorological parameters in three different ecosystems—forest, herbaceous and open sands. Moderate and strong positive correlation between NDVI and average wind speed was detected in non-forested ecosystems. Moderate positive correlation was detected between NDVI and the Baltic sea water level in all three analyzed ecosystems. Moderate positive correlation between NDVI and air temperature was found in forest ecosystem. This confirms that NDVI could be treated as an appropriate indicator, showing the interaction of coastal dunes overgrowth and formation of open dunes, and could be applied in its management that should be reconsidered under nowadays climate change.
CFD Modeling of UV/H2O2 Process in Internal Airlift Circulating Photoreactor
Authors: Luo Minghan , Zeng Fan , Jeong Taeseop , Wu Gongde , Guan Qingqing
Published: November 2020

UV chemical degradation is a low-cost and sustainable wastewater treatment technology that protects the environment. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), mass transfer, and photochemical kinetic models combined with the continuous flow mode of UV/H2O2 were applied for the photochemical reaction of internal airlift circulation photocatalytic reactor to improve the efficiency of the reaction. Results show that with the increase in gas flow rate, the turbulence intensity and internal circulation effect of liquid in the reactor can be enhanced under the condition of constant baffle spacing. The CFD simulation prediction results of the chemical components in the liquid flow show that H2O2 has a high correlation with the OH radical formation, which depends on the intensity of UV. Thus, the degradation rate of methylene blue (MB) has a high correlation with UV intensity. The degradation efficiency of MB is improved with the increase in gas velocity by comparing the experimental data with the numerical simulation data. The experimental data are generally lower than the numerical prediction data, and although a certain difference range is observed, the overall prediction results are better.
Assessment of the Anthropogenic Sediment Budget of a Littoral Cell System (Northern Tuscany, Italy)
Authors: Cappucci Sergio , Bertoni Duccio , Cipriani Luigi Enrico , Boninsegni Gianfranco , Sarti Giovanni
Published: November 2020

In the present study we describe a straightforward and highly replicable methodology to assess the anthropogenic sediment budget within a coastal system (the Northern Tuscany littoral cell, Italy), specifically selected in a partially natural and partially highly urbanized coastal area, characterized by erosion and accretion processes. The anthropogenic sediment budget has been here calculated as an algebraic sum of sediment inputs, outputs and transfer (m3) within a 40 year time interval (1980–2020). Sediment management strongly influences the sediment budget and, even if its evaluation is crucial to assess the efficiency of a coastal management policy, it is often difficult to quantify the anthropogenic contribution to sedimentary processes. Different types of intervention are carried out by a variety of competent authorities over time (Municipalities, Marinas, Port Authorities), and the correct accountability of sediment budget is no longer known, or possible, for the scientific community. In the Northern Tuscany littoral cell, sedimentation is concentrated in a convergent zone and updrift of port structures, which have determined a series of actions, from offshore dumping and disposal into confined facilities (sediment output), to bypassing and redistribution interventions (sediment transfer); conversely, river mouths and coastal areas protected by groins and barriers are subjected to severe erosion and coastline retreat, resulting in many beach nourishments (sediment input). The majority of coastal protection interventions were carried out to redistribute sand from one site to another within the study area (2,949,800 m3), while the sediment input (1,011,000 m3) almost matched the sediment output (1,254,900 m3) in the considered time interval. A negative anthropogenic sediment budget (−243,900 m3) is here documented.
Hydrological Modelling in Data Sparse Environment: Inverse Modelling of a Historical Flood Event
Authors: Bárdossy András , Anwar Faizan , Seidel Jochen
Published: November 2020

We dealt with a rather frequent and difficult situation while modelling extreme floods, namely, model output uncertainty in data sparse regions. A historical extreme flood event was chosen to illustrate the challenges involved. Our aim was to understand what the causes might have been and specifically to show how input and model parameter uncertainties affect the output. For this purpose, a conceptual model was calibrated and validated with recent data rich time period. Resulting model parameters were used to model the historical event which subsequently resulted in a rather poor hydrograph. Due to the bad model performance, a spatial simulation technique was used to invert the model for precipitation. Constraints, such as taking the precipitation values at historical observation locations in to account, with correct spatial structures and following the observed regional distributions were used to generate realistic precipitation fields. Results showed that the inverted precipitation improved the performance significantly even when using many different model parameters. We conclude that while modelling in data sparse conditions both model input and parameter uncertainties have to be dealt with simultaneously to obtain meaningful results.
Implications of Nutrient Enrichment and Related Environmental Impacts in the Pearl River Estuary, China: Characterizing the Seasonal Influence of Riverine Input
Authors: Niu Lixia , van Gelder Pieter , Luo Xiangxin , Cai Huayang , Zhang Tao , Yang Qingshu
Published: November 2020

The Pearl River estuary is an ecologically dynamic region located in southern China that experiences strong gradients in its biogeochemical properties. This study examined the seasonality of nutrient dynamics, identified related environmental responses, and evaluated how river discharge regulated nutrient sink and source. The field investigation showed significant differences of dissolved nutrients with seasons and three zones of the estuary regarding the estuarine characteristics. Spatially, nutrients exhibited a clear decreasing trend along the salinity gradient; temporally, their levels were obviously higher in summer than other seasons. The aquatic environment was overall eutrophic, as a result of increased fluxes of nitrogen and silicate. This estuary was thus highly sensitive to nutrient enrichment and related pollution of eutrophication. River discharge, oceanic current, and atmospheric deposition distinctly influenced the nutrient status. These factors accordingly may influence phytoplankton that are of importance in coastal ecosystems. Phytoplankton (in terms of chlorophyll) was potentially phosphate limited, which then more frequently resulted in nutrient pollution and blooms. Additionally, the nutrient sources were implied according to the cause–effect chains between nutrients, hydrology, and chlorophyll, identified by the PCA-generated quantification. Nitrogen was constrained by marine-riverine waters and their mutual increase-decline trend, and a new source was supplemented along the transport from river to sea, while a different source of terrestrial emission from coastal cities contributed to phosphate greatly.
Enhancing Water Literacy through an Innovative Television Series Focused on Wai Maoli: Hawai’i Fresh Water Initiative
Authors: Seraphin Kanesa Duncan
Published: November 2020

This study examined the ability of four 30-min television (TV) episodes to affect viewers’ understanding of, and engagement in, fresh water recharge, conservation, and reuse. We used questionnaires to examine changes in viewers’ perceived understanding, interest, and motivation after watching episodes at in-person screenings during September 2019 (average 27.5 attendees and 19.5 respondents per episode screening). In general, perception of skills and engagement increased after viewing the episode, and viewers reported a willingness to take action themselves as well as to pledge support for the use of public funds in water-related actions. However, viewers were less swayed on topics such as the “ickiness” of recycled water and on policies that allow black water recycling. At the final screening of the series, we also investigated preference for in-depth content versus a synoptic episode via structured focus groups. With a high degree of consensus, focus group participants felt that topics were better presented in episodes with more in-depth content. These results support the use of long-form, content-rich educational videos to teach water science and increase motivation. In combination with TV viewing metrics, our study thus supports the use of TV as an effective medium for reaching a broad demographic. However, our findings also imply that changing viewers’ perceptions on controversial water-use topics requires additional consideration to support the construction of new beliefs, water literacy, and citizen engagement.
Impact of Relative Sea-Level Rise on Low-Lying Coastal Areas of Catalonia, NW Mediterranean, Spain
Authors: López-Dóriga Uxía , Jiménez José A.
Published: November 2020

Low-lying coastal areas are high-risk areas regarding sea-level rise (SLR) due to the combination of low elevation, subsidence and currently low sediment supply, on the one hand, and their high natural and socio-economic values, on the other. Because of this, there is a growing need to assess the integrated impact of SLR taking into account the interactions between physical and ecological factors to make more informed decisions for the design of adaptation strategies. This study presents a methodology for improved SLR-induced flood-damage assessments in natural areas which is composed of (i) a pseudo-dynamic method coupling equilibrium-based coastal response and classical bathtub modeling approaches and (ii) a simple method to account for habitat conversion following inundation. This methodology is applied to low-lying coastal areas of Catalonia under different SLR scenarios, which show very different sensitivities depending on the configuration of the water-land border, topography, geomorphology, and degree of human impact on the floodplain. In terms of potential impact, natural habitats will be the most benefited from the likely conversion at the expense of agriculture lands. This can help coastal managers to adopt adaptation strategies where considering the inherent capacity of some coastal landscapes to adapt opens up new alternatives.
Some inherited disorders in pacing horses in Turkey
Authors: ÖZBEYAZ Ceyhan , YÜCEER ÖZKUL Banu
Published: November 2020

This study was carried out to detect the presence of mutant alleles of polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) disorders in pacing horses raised in different regions of Turkey. Blood/hair samples from 264 (182 Indigenous, 31 Iranian, 24 Afghan, and 27 Bulgarian) pacing horses aged 4 and over were used. As a result of the study, a mutation-heterozygosis (GA) in the GYS1 gene related to PSSM disease was detected in one of the pacing horses (Bulgarian horse). No deletions were observed in the DNA-PKcs gene region in the pacing horses for SCID disease. This study has been carried out to identify the status of two inherited disorders in pacing horses in Turkey. It was determined that there are no mutant genes in indigenous pacing horses, in terms of PSSM and SCID disorders, which are the major hereditary disorders in horses.
Habilidades sociales y rendimiento académico en adolescentes de secundaria
Authors: Torres Díaz Silvia Eugenia , Hidalgo Apolo Gladys Angélica , Suarez Pesántez Karla Verónica
Published: November 2020

El bajo rendimiento escolar evidenciado en el sistema educativo ecuatoriano según los datos aportados por el Ineval (Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa), motiva la investigación de esta problemática. El estudio planteó analizar las relaciones entre habilidades sociales y el rendimiento académico de los alumnos de Educación Secundaria de un centro educativo de la ciudad de Loja, con edades comprendidas entre los 16 y 18 años. La metodología empleada para el análisis de la información se constituye mediante el diseño descriptivo. La muestra considerada en el estudio estuvo constituida por 91 estudiantes de segundo de bachillerato. Los instrumentos de medida utilizados fueron el test EHS Escala de Habilidades Sociales, y el registro acumulativo de calificaciones de cada uno de los alumnos participantes. Se concluye que, el nivel de habilidades sociales alto se relaciona con rendimiento académico alto, mientras que el nivel de habilidades sociales bajo se relaciona con niveles de rendimiento académico bajo.
Análisis de carga horaria presencial para alcanzar nivel A1 Inglés. Caso: Carrera Comunicación Social UPSE
Authors: Jara Escobar Cecilia Alexandra , Zuñiga Muñoz Herman Christian , García Villao Rosa Tatiana , Niola Sanmartín Rosa Elena
Published: November 2020

El presente estudio analizó la realidad del proceso enseñanza y aprendizaje del idioma Inglés de los estudiantes de la carrera de Comunicación Social nivel 1, de la Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena. El objetivo es demostrar si 32 horas clases presenciales de enseñanza del idioma inglés permiten alcanzar el nivel A1 del idioma de acuerdo al Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las lenguas, tomando como herramienta principal la metodología de enseñanza de blended learning. El estudio se realizó bajo el planteamiento metodológico mixto, que permite demostrar la hipótesis planteada; el procedimiento se aplicó bajo un diseño longitudinal, acompañado de una metodología descriptiva y cuasi-experimental. Para la recolección de datos se utilizó la encuesta y la documentación. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran la necesidad de incrementar la carga horaria para que los estudiantes logren alcanzar el nivel A1, ya que sus habilidades y destrezas no se comparan con lo exigido por el Marco Común Europeo.
Perancangan Visual Aplikasi "info dusun" sebagai Sistem Informasi Masyarakat
Authors: Miyosa Atmaja Septa
Published: November 2020

SmartCity dapat dimulai dari wilayah tingkat dusun. Perancangan desain visual aplikasi InfoDusun merupakan sebuah inovasi yang berbentuk aplikasi pada smartphone. Keunggulan aplikasi InfoDusun adalah menciptakan sistem informasi berupa proses saling berbagi informasi kegiatan sehingga warga mampu mengambil keputusan yang lebih baik dalam merencanakan acara. Hasil perancangan berupa desain logo ikon, desain halaman login dan desain halaman utama.
Penguatan E-Commerce Fesyen Tas Kayu Mindi Berbasis Inovasi Desain di Bantul Yogyakarta
Authors: Susanto Moh Rusnoto , Retnaningsih Rahayu , Kirana Kusuma Chandra
Published: November 2020

Kayu mindi merupakan kayu lokal yang mudah diperoleh dan saat ini sangat diminati karena mudah pengolahannya bagi para pengrajin mengingat sifat kayu yang stabil dan tidak mudah melengkung. Kayu mindi lazim digunakan sebagai bahan baku pembuatan barang kerajinan khusus yang dapat disesuaikan dengan kebutuhan karena karakteristik teksturnya yang cenderung lurus dan bebas dari mata kayu sehingga cenderung mulus. Ruaya merupakan salah satu industri rumahan yang fokus pembuatannya pada produk tas mode berbasis kayu olahan dengan citra desain khas tas mode. Sebagai produsen Tas Kayu mode, Ruaya fokus mempertahankan kualitas produknya dan keunikan gaya dengan terus berinovasi untuk mengembangkan produk-produknya. Produk yang dipasarkan hingga pasar mancanegara ini sangat beragam, yakni tas kayu mode sebagai produk unggulan, pengeras suara  (speaker) kayu, dompet kayu dan produk-produk lainnya. Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat (PKM) yang dilaksanakan di industri rumahan  Ruaya sebagai mitra menggunakan metode pendampingan partisipasi melalui intervensi kegiatan peningkatan mutu SDM dan tata kelola produksi maupun Pemasaran. Metode PKM ini digunakan untuk memberikan strategi penguatan E-Commerce tas mode kayu mindi berbasis inovasi desain yang dituangkan dalam paparan ilmiah sebagai hasil pendampingan UKM pada kegiatan Hibah PKM. Hasil PKM yang diperoleh di antaranya; penguatan merek (brand) tas mode kayu mindi sebagai rintisan industri kreatif melalui E-Commerce, Penguatan sistem Marketing Communication (MARCOM) berbasis E-Commerce sebagai upaya meningkatkan omzet penjualan dan penguatan strategi bisnis pasar global, Strategi penguatan E-Commerce tas mode kayu mindi berbasis inovasi desain di Pajangan, Bantul.
Por que professor? Docência em língua inglesa e(m) navegações identitárias
Authors: Ribeiro Kelli , Eduardo da Silva Moll
Published: November 2020

Tomando o discurso como materialização ideológica da consciência individual, o artigo investiga as navegações identitárias de professores de Língua Inglesa em vídeos-resposta publicados no YouTube através da Teoria Dialógica do Discurso. Firmando-nos num escopo sociocultural, erigimos conceitos do ideário bakhtiniano e das teorizações em identidade de Bonny Norton para criar inteligibilidade sobre as afiliações a comunidades imaginadas através do apoio coral nas enunciações concretas analisadas. Percebemos a proeminência do pathos e da autorealização do desejo como laços de alinhamento à comunidade docente, além da ressignificação da “vocação” no horizonte social. Com isso, refratamos sentidos para a condição de professor no contexto brasileiro contemporâneo.