bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Spatio-Temporal Changes in Wildlife Habitat Quality in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem
Authors: Kija Hamza K. , Ogutu Joseph O. , Mangewa Lazaro J. , Bukombe John , Verones Francesca , Graae Bente J. , Kideghesho Jafari R. , Said Mohammed Y. , Nzunda Emmanuel F.
Published: March 2020

Understanding habitat quality and its dynamics is imperative for maintaining healthy wildlife populations and ecosystems. We mapped and evaluated changes in habitat quality (1975–2015) in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem of northern Tanzania using the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. This is the first habitat quality assessment of its kind for this ecosystem. We characterized changes in habitat quality in the ecosystem and in a 30 kilometer buffer area. Four habitat quality classes (poor, low, medium and high) were identified and their coverage quantified. Overall (1975–2015), habitat quality declined over time but at rates that were higher for habitats with lower protection level or lower initial quality. As a result, habitat quality deteriorated the most in the unprotected and human-dominated buffer area surrounding the ecosystem, at intermediate rates in the less heavily protected Wildlife Management Areas, Game Controlled Areas, Game Reserves and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the least in the most heavily protected Serengeti National Park. The deterioration in habitat quality over time was attributed primarily to anthropogenic activities and major land use policy changes. Effective implementation of land use plans, robust and far-sighted institutional arrangements, adaptive legal and policy instruments are essential to sustaining high habitat quality in contexts of rapid human population growth.
Residents’ Views on Landscape and Ecosystem Services during a Wind Farm Proposal in an Island Protected Area
Authors: Vlami Vassiliki , Danek Jan , Zogaris Stamatis , Gallou Eirini , Kokkoris Ioannis P. , Kehayias George , Dimopoulos Panayotis
Published: March 2020

Industrial wind farms are being developed within many protected areas, such as in EU Natura 2000 sites; this includes proposals on small Mediterranean islands, such as Samothraki in Greece. Scarce wild land areas on islands may be particularly vulnerable to landscape-scale degradation; this may have serious negative societal impacts. Samothraki’s resident perceptions were surveyed in the wake of such a proposal, in June 2018. Of 98 respondents, 48% reported they were against the wind farm plan, while 22% did not take sides. We compare for-and-against sub-group perceptions of the proposed wind farm with potential impacts on the landscape and explore residents’ opinions on ecosystem services and environmental pressures and threats. Conflict over the wind farm was prevalent; residents most frequently reported that the proposal threatens aesthetic and landscape qualities. Aesthetic qualities were also the second highest ranked ecosystem services, after freshwater provision. However, other threats, such as livestock overgrazing, top residents’ opinion of major environmental problems on the island. The questionnaire survey used provides a scoping assessment, which may assist in identifying "conflict hotspots" for wind farm development. A critical review of wind farm planning in protected areas is presented in light of insights gained from this survey and other relevant studies.
Increasing Grazing in Dairy Cow Milk Production Systems in Europe
Authors: Hennessy Deirdre , Delaby Luc , van den Pol-van Dasselaar Agnes , Shalloo Laurence
Published: March 2020

In temperate regions of Europe where grass grows for most of the year, grazed pasture is the lowest cost feed for milk production. Grazed pasture can make a contribution to dairy cow feeding systems in other parts of Europe, but is less important. While there are many challenges to maintaining or increasing the proportion of grazed grass in dairy cow diets, there are also opportunities to increase its contribution. Grass use and quality can be challenging for several reasons, including the cow and sward interaction, and factors influencing dry matter intake. Adapting grazing management strategies can provide opportunities for incorporating grazing and perhaps increase grazing in dairy cow milk production systems. Pasture management tools and techniques offer the opportunity to increase herbage use at grazing. While there are many benefits of grazing including economic, environmental, animal welfare and social, there are also the challenges to maintaining grazed pasture in dairy cow diets. The objective of this paper is to present an overview of the challenges and opportunities for grazing in dairy milk production systems.
Risks Without Borders: A Cultural Consensus Model of Risks to Sustainability in Rapidly Changing Social–Ecological Systems
Authors: Blair Berill , Lovecraft Amy
Published: March 2020

Global sustainability goals cannot realistically be achieved without strategies that build on multiscale definitions of risks to wellbeing. Particularly in geographic contexts experiencing rapid and complex social and environmental changes, there is a growing need to empower communities to realize self-identified adaptation goals that address self-identified risks. Meeting this demand requires tools that can help assess shared understandings about the needs for, and barriers to, positive change. This study explores consensus about risks and uncertainties in adjacent boroughs grappling with rapid social–ecological transformations in northern Alaska. The Northwest Arctic and North Slope boroughs, like the rest of the Arctic, are coping with a climate that is warming twice as fast as in other regions. The boroughs are predominantly inhabited by Iñupiat people, for whom the region is ancestral grounds, whose livelihoods are still supported by subsistence activities, and whose traditional tribal governance has been weakened through multiple levels of governing bodies and institutions. Drawing on extensive workshop discussions and survey experiments conducted with residents of the two boroughs, we developed a model of the northern Alaska region’s social–ecological system and its drivers of change. Using cultural consensus analysis, we gauged the extent of consensus across the boroughs about what key risks threaten the sustainability of their communities. Though both boroughs occupy vast swaths of land, each with their own resource, leadership, and management challenges, we found strong consensus around how risks that impact the sustainability of communities are evaluated and prioritized. Our results further confirmed that rapid and complex changes are creating high levels of uncertainties for community planners in both boroughs. We discuss the mobilizing potential of risk consensus toward collective adaptation action in the civic process of policy making. We note the contribution of cultural consensus analysis as a tool for cross-scale learning in areas coping with rapid environmental changes and complex social challenges.
The Landscape of Envisioning and Speculative Design Methods for Sustainable Mobility Futures
Authors: Sustar Helena , Mladenović Miloš N. , Givoni Moshe
Published: March 2020

Urban mobility is facing an increased long-term uncertainty and complexity generated by accelerated technological development. These challenges require radical advancement in planning processes and methods, which could enable breaking out of path dependencies and unlocking alternative, sustainable futures. In order to provide a landscape overview of foresight-focused methods used in the domain of urban mobility, we conduct a systematic literature review. An analytical framework for review is based on planning knowledge taxonomy, including dialectic between knowing how/what and knowing to what end and doing. Such framework formulation is aiming to assess methodological capacity for widening system boundary and holism (object-focus) as well as integration and imagination (process-focus). Results show that the overall trend of methodological development is emphasizing development in object or process-focus domain, but rarely both. In addition to this assessment, we conclude that methodological development should further reflect the moral and democratic dimension concerning public deliberation. Such development should aim to create spaces for shared discussion, reflection, and formation of alternative futures, while allowing spaces for agonistic contestation and conflicting opinions through radical, experimental, and experiential approaches.
Uncertainty Analysis for Data-Driven Chance-Constrained Optimization
Authors: Häussling Löwgren Bartolomeus , Weigert Joris , Esche Erik , Repke Jens-Uwe
Published: March 2020

In this contribution our developed framework for data-driven chance-constrained optimization is extended with an uncertainty analysis module. The module quantifies uncertainty in output variables of rigorous simulations. It chooses the most accurate parametric continuous probability distribution model, minimizing deviation between model and data. A constraint is added to favour less complex models with a minimal required quality regarding the fit. The bases of the module are over 100 probability distribution models provided in the Scipy package in Python, a rigorous case-study is conducted selecting the four most relevant models for the application at hand. The applicability and precision of the uncertainty analyser module is investigated for an impact factor calculation in life cycle impact assessment to quantify the uncertainty in the results. Furthermore, the extended framework is verified with data from a first principle process model of a chloralkali plant, demonstrating the increased precision of the uncertainty description of the output variables, resulting in 25% increase in accuracy in the chance-constraint calculation.
A Characterization of Metrics for Comparing Satellite-Based and Ground-Measured Global Horizontal Irradiance Data: A Principal Component Analysis Application
Authors: Bueso Maria. C. , Paredes-Parra José Miguel , Mateo-Aroca Antonio , Molina-García Angel
Published: March 2020

The increasing integration of photovoltaic (PV) power plants into power systems demands a high accuracy of yield prediction and measurement. With this aim, different global horizontal irradiance (GHI) estimations based on new-generation geostationary satellites have been recently proposed, providing a growing number of solutions and databases, mostly available online, in addition to the many ground-based irradiance data installations currently available. According to the specific literature, there is a lack of agreement in validation strategies for a bankable, satellite-derived irradiance dataset. Moreover, different irradiance data sources are compared in recent contributions based on a diversity of arbitrary metrics. Under this framework, this paper describes a characterization of metrics based on a principal component analysis (PCA) application to classify such metrics, aiming to provide non-redundant and complementary information. Therefore, different groups of metrics are identified by applying the PCA process, allowing us to compare, in a more extensive way, different irradiance data sources and exploring and identifying their differences. The methodology has been evaluated using satellite-based and ground-measured GHI data collected for one year in seven different Spanish locations, with a one-hour sample time. Data characterization, results, and a discussion about the suitability of the proposed methodology are also included in the paper.
A Novel Low-Temperature Non-Corrosive Sulfate/Sulfide Scale Dissolver
Authors: Gamal Hany , Elkatatny Salaheldin , Al Shehri Dhafer , Bahgat Mohamed
Published: March 2020

The oil and gas production operations suffer from scale depositions. The scale precipitations have a damaging impact on the reservoir pores, perforations, downhole and completion equipment, pipeline network, wellhead chokes, and surface facilities. Hydrocarbon production possibly decreased because of the scale accumulation in the well tubular, leading to a well plugging, this requires wells to be shut-in in severe cases to perform a clean-out job. Therefore, scale deposition is badly affecting petroleum economics. This research aims to design a scale dissolver with low cost, non-damaging for the well equipment and has a high performance at the field operating conditions. This paper presents a novel non-corrosive dissolver for sulfate and sulfide composite scale in alkaline pH and works at low-temperature conditions. The scale samples were collected from a production platform from different locations. A complete description of the scale samples was performed as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The new scale dissolver was prepared in different concentrations to examine its dissolution efficiency for the scale with time at low temperatures. The experimental design studied the solid to fluid ratio, temperature, solubility time, and dissolution efficiency in order to achieve the optimum and most economic performance of solubility in terms of high dissolution efficiency with the smallest possible amount of scale dissolver. A solubility comparison was performed with other commercial-scale-dissolvers and the corrosion rate was tested. The experimental work results demonstrated the superior performance of the new scale dissolver. The new scale dissolver showed a solubility efficiency of 91.8% at a low temperature of 45 °C and 79% at 35 °C. The new scale dissolver showed a higher solubility ratio for the scale sample than the ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) (20 wt. %), diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) (20 wt. %), and HCl (10 wt. %). The corrosion rate for the new non-corrosive dissolver was 0.01357 kg/m2 (0.00278 lb./ft²) which was considered a very low rate and non-damaging for the equipment. The low corrosive effect of the new dissolver will save the extra cost of adding the corrosion inhibitors and save the equipment from the damaging effect of the corrosive acids.
A Diagnosis Method for the Compound Fault of Gearboxes Based on Multi-Feature and BP-AdaBoost
Authors: Zhang Yangyang , Jia Yunxian , Wu Weiyi , Cheng Zhonghua , Su Xiaobo , Lin Aqiang
Published: March 2020

Gearbox is an important structure of rotating machinery, and the accurate fault diagnosis of gearboxes is of great significance for ensuring efficient and safe operation of rotating machinery. Aiming at the problem that there is little common compound fault data of gearboxes, and there is a lack of an effective diagnosis method, a gearbox fault simulation experiment platform is set up, and a diagnosis method for the compound fault of gearboxes based on multi-feature and BP-AdaBoost is proposed. Firstly, the vibration signals of six typical states of gearbox are obtained, and the original signals are decomposed by empirical mode decomposition and reconstruct the new signal to achieve the purpose of noise reduction. Then, perform the time domain analysis and wavelet packet analysis on the reconstructed signal, extract three time domain feature parameters with higher sensitivity, and combine them with eight frequency band energy feature parameters obtained by wavelet packet decomposition to form the gearbox state feature vector. Finally, AdaBoost algorithm and BP neural network are used to build the BP-AdaBoost strong classifier model, and feature vectors are input into the model for training and verification. The results show that the proposed method can effectively identify the gearbox failure modes, and has higher accuracy than the traditional fault diagnosis methods, and has certain reference significance and engineering application value.
The Inertial Sub-Gradient Extra-Gradient Method for a Class of Pseudo-Monotone Equilibrium Problems
Authors: Rehman Habib ur , Kumam Poom , Kumam Wiyada , Shutaywi Meshal , Jirakitpuwapat Wachirapong
Published: March 2020

In this article, we focus on improving the sub-gradient extra-gradient method to find a solution to the problems of pseudo-monotone equilibrium in a real Hilbert space. The weak convergence of our method is well-established based on the standard assumptions on a bifunction. We also present the application of our results that enable to solve numerically the pseudo-monotone and monotone variational inequality problems, in addition to the particular presumptions required by the operator. We have used various numerical examples to support our well-proved convergence results, and we can show that the proposed method involves a considerable influence over-running time and the total number of iterations.
Generalising Exponential Distributions Using an Extended Marshall–Olkin Procedure
Authors: García Victoriano , Martel-Escobar María , Vázquez-Polo F.J.
Published: March 2020

This paper presents a three-parameter family of distributions which includes the common exponential and the Marshall–Olkin exponential as special cases. This distribution exhibits a monotone failure rate function, which makes it appealing for practitioners interested in reliability, and means it can be included in the catalogue of appropriate non-symmetric distributions to model these issues, such as the gamma and Weibull three-parameter families. Given the lack of symmetry of this kind of distribution, various statistical and reliability properties of this model are examined. Numerical examples based on real data reflect the suitable behaviour of this distribution for modelling purposes.
Nonlocal Elasticity Response of Doubly-Curved Nanoshells
Authors: Dindarloo Mohammad Hassan , Li Li , Dimitri Rossana , Tornabene Francesco
Published: March 2020

In this paper, we focus on the bending behavior of isotropic doubly-curved nanoshells based on a high-order shear deformation theory, whose shape functions are selected as an accurate combination of exponential and trigonometric functions instead of the classical polynomial functions. The small-scale effect of the nanostructure is modeled according to the differential law consequent, but is not equivalent to the strain-driven nonlocal integral theory of elasticity equipped with Helmholtz’s averaging kernel. The governing equations of the problem are obtained from the Hamilton’s principle, whereas the Navier’s series are proposed for a closed form solution of the structural problem involving simply-supported nanostructures. The work provides a unified framework for the bending study of both thin and thick symmetric doubly-curved shallow and deep nanoshells, while investigating spherical and cylindrical panels subjected to a point or a sinusoidal loading condition. The effect of several parameters, such as the nonlocal parameter, as well as the mechanical and geometrical properties, is investigated on the bending deflection of isotropic doubly-curved shallow and deep nanoshells. The numerical results from our investigation could be considered as valid benchmarks in the literature for possible further analyses of doubly-curved applications in nanotechnology.
Challenges in Supersymmetric Cosmology
Authors: Antoniadis Ignatios , Chatrabhuti Auttakit
Published: March 2020

We discuss the possibility that inflation is driven by supersymmetry breaking with the scalar component of the goldstino superfield (sgoldstino) playing the role of the inflaton and charged under a gauged U ( 1 ) R-symmetry. Imposing a linear superpotential allows us to satisfy easily the slow-roll conditions, avoiding the so-called η -problem, and leads to an interesting class of small field inflation models, characterised by an inflationary plateau around the maximum of the scalar potential near the origin, where R-symmetry is restored with the inflaton rolling down to a minimum describing the present phase of the Universe. Inflation can be driven by either an F- or a D-term, while the minimum has a positive tuneable vacuum energy. The models agree with cosmological observations and in the simplest case predict a rather small tensor-to-scalar ratio of primordial perturbations. We propose a generalisation of Fayet-Iliopoulos model as a microscopic model leading to this class of inflation models at low energy.
New Numerical Results for the Time-Fractional Phi-Four Equation Using a Novel Analytical Approach
Authors: Gao Wei , Veeresha Pundikala , Prakasha Doddabhadrappla Gowda , Baskonus Haci Mehmet , Yel Gulnur
Published: March 2020

This manuscript investigates the fractional Phi-four equation by using q -homotopy analysis transform method ( q -HATM) numerically. The Phi-four equation is obtained from one of the special cases of the Klein-Gordon model. Moreover, it is used to model the kink and anti-kink solitary wave interactions arising in nuclear particle physics and biological structures for the last several decades. The proposed technique is composed of Laplace transform and q -homotopy analysis techniques, and fractional derivative defined in the sense of Caputo. For the governing fractional-order model, the Banach’s fixed point hypothesis is studied to establish the existence and uniqueness of the achieved solution. To illustrate and validate the effectiveness of the projected algorithm, we analyze the considered model in terms of arbitrary order with two distinct cases and also introduce corresponding numerical simulation. Moreover, the physical behaviors of the obtained solutions with respect to fractional-order are presented via various simulations.
Balance Adjustment of Power-Line Inspection Robot Using General Type-2 Fractional Order Fuzzy PID Controller
Authors: Chen Yao , Zhao Tao , Dian Songyi , Zeng Xiaodong , Wang Haipeng
Published: March 2020

In this study, a general type-2 fractional order fuzzy PID (GT2FO-FPID) controller is proposed to fulfil the balance adjustment of the Power-line Inspection (PLI) robot system. It is a combination of Mamdani general type-2 fuzzy logic controller (GT2-FLC) and fractional PID controller. Since the PLI robot system is an under-actuated system, it’s necessary to get complete information of the system. However, when all state variables are treated as input to the controller, there is a problem with the rule explosion. Because of this, the information fusion method is adopt to solve the problem and simplify the controller design. At the same time, fractional-order integral-differential operators and input-output scaling factors, which are taken as design variables and optimized by genetic algorithm (GA). To assess the performance of proposed controller based on symmetry criterion, we compared it against existing controllers, i.e., interval type-2 fractional order fuzzy PID (IT2FO-FPID), type-1 fractional order fuzzy PID (T1FO-FPID), and conventional fractional order (FOPID) controllers. Furthermore, to show the anti-inference ability of the proposed controller, three common perturbed process are tested. Finally, simulation results show that the GT2FO-FPID controller outperforms other controllers in the presence of external perturbations on the PLI robot system.
Classification of Guillain–Barré Syndrome Subtypes Using Sampling Techniques with Binary Approach
Authors: Torres-Vásquez Manuel , Chávez-Bosquez Oscar , Hernández-Ocaña Betania , Hernández-Torruco José
Published: March 2020

Guillain–Barré Syndrome (GBS) is an unusual disorder where the body’s immune system affects the peripheral nervous system. GBS has four main subtypes, whose treatments vary among them. Severe cases of GBS can be fatal. This work aimed to investigate whether balancing an original GBS dataset improves the predictive models created in a previous study. purpleBalancing a dataset is to pursue symmetry in the number of instances of each of the classes.The dataset includes 129 records of Mexican patients diagnosed with some subtype of GBS. We created 10 binary datasets from the original dataset. Then, we balanced these datasets using four different methods to undersample the majority class and one method to oversample the minority class. Finally, we used three classifiers with different approaches to creating predictive models. The results show that balancing the original dataset improves the previous predictive models. The goal of the predictive models is to identify the GBS subtypes applying Machine Learning algorithms. It is expected that specialists may use the model to have a complementary diagnostic using a reduced set of relevant features. Early identification of the subtype will allow starting with the appropriate treatment for patient recovery. This is a contribution to exploring the performance of balancing techniques with real data.
Biological Activities and Proteomic Profile of the Venom of Vipera ursinii ssp., a very Rare Karst Viper from Croatia
Authors: Lang Balija Maja , Leonardi Adrijana , Brgles Marija , Sviben Dora , Kurtović Tihana , Halassy Beata , Križaj Igor
Published: March 2020

The karst viper (Vipera ursinii ssp.) favours high-mountain dry grasslands in southern and south-eastern Croatia. It is medically less important than other Vipera species, because of its remote habitat and the very small amount of venom that it injects by its relatively short fangs. The scientific literature on Vipera ursinii deals mostly with the morphology, ecology and distribution range of this snake, due to the species’ conservation issues, while the toxinological aspects of its venom have not so far been investigated. Here we report on the composition and biological activity of the Vipera ursinii ssp. venom. Using a proteomics approach, we have identified 25 proteins in the venom that belong to seven protein families: snake venom metalloproteinase, serine protease, secreted phospholipase A2, cysteine-rich secretory protein, snake C-type lectin-like protein, serine protease inhibitor and nerve growth factor. The Vipera ursinii ssp. venom was found to be distinctively insecticidal. Its lethal toxicity towards crickets was more than five times greater than that of Vipera ammodytes ammodytes venom, while the opposite held in mice. Interestingly, the mode of dying after injecting a mouse with Vipera ursinii ssp. venom may suggest the presence of a neurotoxic component. Neurotoxic effects of European vipers have so far been ascribed exclusively to ammodytoxins and ammodytoxin-like basic secreted phospholipases A2. Structural and immunological analyses of the Vipera ursinii ssp. venom, however, confirmed that ammodytoxin-like proteins are not present in this venom.
Therapeutic Effects of Apamin as a Bee Venom Component for Non-Neoplastic Disease
Authors: Gu Hyemin , Han Sang Mi , Park Kwan-Kyu
Published: March 2020

Bee venom is a natural toxin produced by honeybees and plays an important role in defending bee colonies. Bee venom has several kinds of peptides, including melittin, apamin, adolapamine, and mast cell degranulation peptides. Apamin accounts for about 2%–3% dry weight of bee venom and is a peptide neurotoxin that contains 18 amino acid residues that are tightly crosslinked by two disulfide bonds. It is well known for its pharmacological functions, which irreversibly block Ca2+-activated K+ (SK) channels. Apamin regulates gene expression in various signal transduction pathways involved in cell development. The aim of this study was to review the current understanding of apamin in the treatment of apoptosis, fibrosis, and central nervous system diseases, which are the pathological processes of various diseases. Apamin’s potential therapeutic and pharmacological applications are also discussed.
Molecular Basis of the Ternary Interaction between NS1 of the 1918 Influenza A Virus, PI3K, and CRK
Authors: Dubrow Alyssa , Lin Sirong , Savage Nowlan , Shen Qingliang , Cho Jae-Hyun
Published: March 2020

The 1918 influenza A virus (IAV) caused the worst flu pandemic in human history. Non-structural protein 1 (NS1) is an important virulence factor of the 1918 IAV and antagonizes host antiviral immune responses. NS1 increases virulence by activating phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) via binding to the p85β subunit of PI3K. Intriguingly, unlike the NS1 of other human IAV strains, 1918 NS1 hijacks another host protein, CRK, to form a ternary complex with p85β, resulting in hyperactivation of PI3K. However, the molecular basis of the ternary interaction between 1918 NS1, CRK, and PI3K remains elusive. Here, we report the structural and thermodynamic bases of the ternary interaction. We find that the C-terminal tail (CTT) of 1918 NS1 remains highly flexible in the complex with p85β. Thus, the CTT of 1918 NS1 in the complex with PI3K can efficiently hijack CRK. Notably, our study indicates that 1918 NS1 enhances its affinity to p85β in the presence of CRK, which might result in enhanced activation of PI3K. Our results provide structural insight into how 1918 NS1 hijacks two host proteins simultaneously.
From Bivariate to Multivariate Analysis of Cytometric Data: Overview of Computational Methods and Their Application in Vaccination Studies
Authors: Lucchesi Simone , Furini Simone , Medaglini Donata , Ciabattini Annalisa
Published: March 2020

Flow and mass cytometry are used to quantify the expression of multiple extracellular or intracellular molecules on single cells, allowing the phenotypic and functional characterization of complex cell populations. Multiparametric flow cytometry is particularly suitable for deep analysis of immune responses after vaccination, as it allows to measure the frequency, the phenotype, and the functional features of antigen-specific cells. When many parameters are investigated simultaneously, it is not feasible to analyze all the possible bi-dimensional combinations of marker expression with classical manual analysis and the adoption of advanced automated tools to process and analyze high-dimensional data sets becomes necessary. In recent years, the development of many tools for the automated analysis of multiparametric cytometry data has been reported, with an increasing record of publications starting from 2014. However, the use of these tools has been preferentially restricted to bioinformaticians, while few of them are routinely employed by the biomedical community. Filling the gap between algorithms developers and final users is fundamental for exploiting the advantages of computational tools in the analysis of cytometry data. The potentialities of automated analyses range from the improvement of the data quality in the pre-processing steps up to the unbiased, data-driven examination of complex datasets using a variety of algorithms based on different approaches. In this review, an overview of the automated analysis pipeline is provided, spanning from the pre-processing phase to the automated population analysis. Analysis based on computational tools might overcame both the subjectivity of manual gating and the operator-biased exploration of expected populations. Examples of applications of automated tools that have successfully improved the characterization of different cell populations in vaccination studies are also presented.
Australian Veterinarians’ Perceptions Regarding the Zoonotic Potential of Mycobacterium avium Subspecies Paratuberculosis
Authors: Acharya Kamal R. , Plain Karren M. , Whittington Richard J. , Dhand Navneet K.
Published: March 2020

Public concerns over exposure to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) or MAP components via foods of animal origin could have negative trade consequences, despite the absence of conclusive scientific evidence of a causal association between Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) and Crohn’s disease (CD). This study was conducted among Australian veterinarians to understand (a) their perceptions regarding the role of MAP in the causation of CD (an ordinal outcome), and (b) their consideration of the adoption of the precautionary principle against Johne’s disease (JD; a binary outcome). Ordinal and binary logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association of explanatory variables with the above outcomes, respectively. Almost one-third of the respondents (32.2%) considered that MAP was likely to be involved in the causation of CD whereas more than two-thirds (69.8%) agreed with the adoption of the precautionary principle against JD. Veterinarians who were concerned about exposure to and/or getting infected with MAP were more likely to consider MAP as a causative agent of CD (odds ratio: 7.63; 95% CI: 1.55, 37.63) and favor the adoption of the precautionary principle against JD (odds ratio: 6.20; 95% CI: 1.90, 20.25). Those perceiving MAP as a causative agent of CD were also more likely to favor the adoption of the precautionary principle against JD (odds ratio: 13.2; 95% CI: 1.26, 138.90). The results suggest that Australian veterinarians, particularly those who consider MAP as a causative agent of CD are concerned about exposure to MAP and favor the adoption of the precautionary principle against JD. These findings can be useful for animal health authorities for designing JD control programs and policies.
Merging Satellite and Gauge Rainfalls for Flood Forecasting of Two Catchments Under Different Climate Conditions
Authors: Min Xinyi , Yang Chuanguo , Dong Ningpeng
Published: March 2020

As satellite rainfall data has the advantages of wide spatial coverage and high spatial and temporal resolution, it is an important means to solve the problem of flood forecasting in ungauged basins (PUB). In this paper, two catchments under different conditions, Xin’an River Basin and Wuding River Basin, were selected as the representatives of humid and arid regions, respectively, and four kinds of satellite rainfall data of TRMM 3B42RT, TRMM 3B42V7, GPM IMERG Early, and GPM IMERG Late were selected to evaluate the monitoring accuracy of rainfall processes in the two catchments on hourly scale. Then, these satellite rainfall data were respectively integrated with the gauged data. HEC-HMS (The Hydrologic Engineering Center's-Hydrologic Modeling System) model was calibrated and validated to simulate flood events in the two catchments. Then, improvement effect of the rainfall merging on flood forecasting was evaluated. According to the research results, in most cases, the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficients of the simulated streamflow from initial TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) and GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement) satellite rainfall data were negative at the two catchments. By merging gauge and TRMM rainfall, the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient is mostly around 0.7, and the correlation coefficient is as high as 0.9 for streamflow simulation in the Xin'an River basin. For the streamflow simulated by merging gauge and GPM rainfall in Wuding River basin, the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient is about 0.8, and the correlation coefficient is more than 0.9, which indicate good flood forecasting accuracy. Generally, higher performance statistics were obtained in the Xin'an River Basin than the Wuding River Basin. Compared with the streamflow simulated by the initial satellite rainfalls, significant improvement was obtained by the merged rainfall data, which indicates a good prospect for application of satellite rainfall in hydrological forecasting. In the future, it is necessary to further improve the monitoring accuracy of satellite rainfall products and to develop the method of merging multi-source rainfall data, so as to better applications in PUB and other hydrological researches.
Influence of Wastewater Discharge on the Occurrence of PBTC, HEDP, and Aminophosphonates in Sediment, Suspended Matter, and the Aqueous Phase of Rivers
Authors: Rott Eduard , Happel Oliver , Armbruster Dominic , Minke Ralf
Published: March 2020

Sediment, suspended matter (SM), and water of a large river (Neckar; River1) and a small river (Körsch; River2) were analyzed for the phosphonates 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid (PBTC), 1-hydroxyethylidene (1,1-diphosphonic acid) (HEDP), aminotris (methylphosphonic acid) (ATMP), ethylenediaminetetra (methylene phosphonic acid) (EDTMP), and diethylenetriaminepenta (methylene phosphonic acid) (DTPMP). Ten samplings were performed at intervals of one to two months during one year, each covering the relevant matrices before and behind the discharge point of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). In River1, the total concentration of dissolved phosphonate did not change significantly (2.4–5.8 µg/L before vs. 2.5–6.6 µg/L behind WWTP; p = 0.9360). In River2, it increased significantly from <0.1–1.6 µg/L to 19–39 µg/L (p < 0.0001). Based on the median, the total phosphonate load in River1 sediment increased 1.9-fold (6.7–29.4 mg/kg before vs. 17.8–53.5 mg/kg behind WWTP; p = 0.0033) and in River2 by a factor of eight (1.8–5.0 mg/kg before vs. 18.1–51.4 mg/kg behind WWTP; p < 0.0001). This indicates that phosphonates discharged by WWTPs adsorb onto solid particles and accumulate in the sediment. In the case of River2, the SM load could reach values of 1000–1710 mg/kg behind the WWTP, presumably due to the introduction of insufficiently retained activated sludge particles of >2000 mg/kg phosphonate loads. In general, the nitrogen-free phosphonates PBTC and HEDP were most predominant in both dissolved and adsorbed form, of which HEDP had the highest adsorption affinity.
Managing Water Quality in Intermittent Supply Systems: The Case of Mukono Town, Uganda
Authors: Sakomoto Takuya , Lutaaya Mahmood , Abraham Edo
Published: March 2020

Intermittent water supply networks risk microbial and chemical contamination through multiple mechanisms. In particular, in the cities of developing countries, where intrusion through leaky pipes are more prevalent and the sanitation systems coverage is low, contaminated water can be a public health hazard. Although countries using intermittent water supply systems aim to change to continuous water supply systems—for example, Kampala city is targeting to change to continuous water supply by 2025 through an expansion and rehabilitation of the pipe infrastructure—it is unlikely that this transition will happen soon because of rapid urbanisation and economic feasibility challenges. Therefore, water utilities need to find ways to supply safe drinking water using existing systems until gradually changing to a continuous supply system. This study describes solutions for improving water quality in Mukono town in Uganda through a combination of water quality monitoring (e.g., identifying potential intrusion hotspots into the pipeline using field measurements) and interventions (e.g., booster chlorination). In addition to measuring and analyses of multiple chemical and microbial water quality parameters, we used EPANET 2.0 to simulate the water quality dynamics in the transport pipeline to assess the impact of interventions.
Poroacoustic Traveling Waves under the Rubin–Rosenau–Gottlieb Theory of Generalized Continua
Authors: Jordan Pedro M.
Published: March 2020

We investigate linear and nonlinear poroacoustic waveforms under the Rubin–Rosenau– Gottlieb (RRG) theory of generalized continua. Working in the context of the Cauchy problem, on both the real line and the case with periodic boundary conditions, exact and asymptotic expressions are obtained. Numerical simulations are also presented, von Neumann–Richtmyer “artificial” viscosity is used to derive an exact kink-type solution to the poroacoustic piston problem, and possible experimental tests of our findings are noted. The presentation concludes with a discussion of possible follow-on investigations.
A New Approach to Use Load Duration Curves to Evaluate Water Quality: A Study in the Doce River Basin, Brazil
Authors: Serrano Ligia de Oliveira , Borges Alisson Carraro , Pruski Fernando Falco , Melo Marília Carvalho de
Published: March 2020

Although water availability depends both on qualitative and quantitative aspects, most studies focus only on one of these. Therefore, the goal here is to relate water quality and quantity with the construction of Load Duration Curves (LDC) and to estimate E. coli load patterns in different flow conditions, seasons, and positions of two sub-basins of the Doce watershed (Brazil): Piracicaba and Piranga. A novel methodology is proposed in which the Burr XII distribution is adjusted to the LDC to compare all observed loads to their respective Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), allowing the estimation of the relative difference (RD) between these. Higher values of RD were observed for low flows for the Piracicaba basin, more urbanized, where point sources of pollution are the primary concern, reaching up to 99% of needed load reduction. In the Piranga basin, more agricultural, there was a broader RD variation, from 9% to 97% load reduction needed, which is an evidence of point sources of pollution combined with non-point sources. The new methodology can be used to estimate the load reduction of any pollutant and can be used by environmental agencies to identify effective practices to minimize and control pollution in different locations of the basins.
Effects of Two-Phase Flow of Water and Air on Shallow Slope Failures Induced by Rainfall: Insights from Slope Stability Assessment at a Regional Scale
Authors: Kang Sinhang , Cho Sung-Eun , Kim Byungmin , Go Gyu-Hyun
Published: March 2020

Over 160 shallow landslides resulted from heavy rainfall that occurred in 26–27 July 2011 at Umyeon Mountain, Seoul, South Korea. To accurately reflect the fluid flow mechanism in the void spaces of soils, we considered the two-phase flow of water and air for rainfall infiltration analysis using available historical rainfall data, topographic maps, and geotechnical/hydrological properties. Variations in pore water and air pressure from the infiltration analysis are used for slope stability assessment. By comparing the results from numerical models applying single- and two-phase flow models, we observed that air flow changes the rate of increase in pore water pressure, influencing the safety factor on slopes with a low infiltration capacity, where ponding is more likely to occur during heavy rainfall. Finally, several slope failure assessments were conducted to evaluate the usefulness of using the two-phase flow model in forecasting slope stability in conditions of increased rainfall sums. We observed that the two-phase flow model reduces the tendency of over-prediction compared to the single-phase model. The results from the two-phase flow model revealed good agreement with actual landslide events.
Trends and Extremes of Drought Episodes in Vietnam Sub-Regions during 1980–2017 at Different Timescales
Authors: Stojanovic Milica , Liberato Margarida L.R. , Sorí Rogert , Vázquez Marta , Phan-Van Tan , Duongvan Hieu , Hoang Cong Tin , Nguyen Phuong N. B. , Nieto Raquel , Gimeno Luis
Published: March 2020

This study investigated the temporal occurrence of dry conditions in the seven climatic sub-regions of Vietnam during the 1980–2017 period. This assessment was performed using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) at 1 to 24 months timescales. Results show that the main periods of extreme drought occurred simultaneously throughout the country in 1992–1993 and 2003–2004, except for 2015–2016, when it was not identified in the southern region. In addition, a slight temporal lag was identified latitudinally (north–south) at the beginning of dry conditions, revealing the largest difference between the northern and southern regions. A positive trend in the time series of both indices (SPEI and SPI) prevailed in all sub-regions, with the SPEI minus SPI difference always being negative, suggesting the importance of temperature and evapotranspiration for this trend. Further detailed analyses were then performed using SPEI at 1-month and 12-months timescales for all climate sub-regions, as well as the main indicators to characterize duration and severity. Results show that the number of drought episodes did not vary much between regions, but they did vary in duration and severity at the annual scale. Moreover, changes in the soil root zone are largely associated with dry and wet conditions not only from season to season, but also in longer accumulation periods and more strongly in the northern regions of Vietnam. Indeed, a study of the most severe drought episodes also revealed the occurrence of negative anomalies of the root-soil moisture in the subsequent four or more months. Dynamic atmospheric conditions associated with the peak of most severe drought episodes show the crucial role of subsidence of dry air in the middle and high atmosphere, which prevents convection in the lower troposphere. Finally, the linkages between drought conditions in Vietnam and large-scale atmospheric and oceanic teleconnection patterns were revealed to be quite different among northern and southern sub-regions. During the positive phase of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), drought episodes at different timescales were identified in the southern climate sub-regions, while the negative phase was associated with drought conditions in the northern regions.
Comparison Between Two Hydrodynamic Models in Simulating Physical Processes of a Reservoir with Complex Morphology: Maroon Reservoir
Authors: Zamani Behnam , Koch Manfred
Published: March 2020

Two 3D hydrodynamic models, AEM3D and MIKE3, are compared in simulating hydrodynamics of the Maroon Reservoir in southwest Iran. The reservoir has a complex bathymetry with steep walls, which makes it a good case for studying the performance of hydrodynamic models. The models were compared together and with measured water temperatures from different locations of the reservoir in a five-month period between December 2011 and April 2012. The results indicated that the AEM3D model, which uses a finite difference scheme with a purely z-level vertical discretization, showed better consistency with observations so that the AME and RMSE of the model remain below 1 °C. The MIKE3 model showed overall higher errors from 56% to 130% larger than AEM3D and the level of error strongly depends on its vertical discretization method and the turbulence model. The lowest errors by MIKE3 were seen by the k-ε turbulence model with a hybrid z-sigma discretization, while the highest errors were generated by using the sigma vertical discretization. The vertical mixing model in AEM3D model, used instead of the constant eddy viscosity or k-ε formulation, showed a better performance in modeling vertical mixing and wind mixed layer, which is another reason of observing better results by this model than MIKE3. Overall, this study shows AEM3D as a more appropriate model for simulating deep and complex reservoirs with steep slopes and walls.
Assessment of Flood Inundation by Coupled 1D/2D Hydrodynamic Modeling: A Case Study in Mountainous Watersheds along the Coast of Southeast China
Authors: Zhang Wenting , Zhang Xingnan , Liu Yongzhi , Tang Wenwen , Xu Jan , Fu Zhimin
Published: March 2020

Mountain flood disasters in China’s southeastern coastal watershed are not predictable and are sudden. With rapid urbanization and development in the middle and lower reaches of the region, the accumulation of wealth and population has magnified the flood risk. Exploring flood numerical simulation technology suitable for the rapid economic development of mountainous basins, effective flood models are the key tools for controlling and mitigating flood disasters. In this paper, we established a 1D/2D real-time dynamic coupling hydraulic model, aimed at exploring the applicability of the model in flood simulation of mountainous river basins with rapid economic development. The Luojiang River Basin (Huazhou Section) in Guangdong Province was used as the case study. The model’s ability was validated against the 22 July 2010 and 14 August 2013 inundation events that occurred there. The simulation results show that the output of the flood model is highly similar to the observation and survey results of historical flood events. The research results prove that the 1D/2D coupling model is not only an applicable tool for exploring flood spread characteristics such as flood range, velocity, depth, arrival time, and duration, but also can feed back the impact of water conservancy projects such as dikes on flood spread in the basin. It is of great significance to effectively guide the comprehensive design and management of subsequent wading projects in mountain river basins, and to improve flood prevention and disaster reduction capabilities in mountain areas.