bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leaf Lipid Alterations in Response to Heat Stress of Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Shiva Sunitha , Samarakoon Thilani , Lowe Kaleb A. , Roach Charles , Vu Hieu Sy , Colter Madeline , Porras Hollie , Hwang Caroline , Roth Mary R. , Tamura Pamela , Li Maoyin , Schrick Kathrin , Shah Jyoti , Wang Xuemin , Wang Haiyan , Welti Ruth
Published: July 2020

In response to elevated temperatures, plants alter the activities of enzymes that affect lipid composition. While it has long been known that plant leaf membrane lipids become less unsaturated in response to heat, other changes, including polygalactosylation of galactolipids, head group acylation of galactolipids, increases in phosphatidic acid and triacylglycerols, and formation of sterol glucosides and acyl sterol glucosides, have been observed more recently. In this work, by measuring lipid levels with mass spectrometry, we confirm the previously observed changes in Arabidopsis thaliana leaf lipids under three heat stress regimens. Additionally, in response to heat, increased oxidation of the fatty acyl chains of leaf galactolipids, sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerols, and phosphatidylglycerols, and incorporation of oxidized acyl chains into acylated monogalactosyldiacylglycerols are shown. We also observed increased levels of digalactosylmonoacylglycerols and monogalactosylmonoacylglycerols. The hypothesis that a defect in sterol glycosylation would adversely affect regrowth of plants after a severe heat stress regimen was tested, but differences between wild-type and sterol glycosylation-defective plants were not detected.
Chemical Defense of Yacón (Smallanthus sonchifolius) Leaves against Phytophagous Insects: Insect Antifeedants from Yacón Leaf Trichomes
Authors: Tsunaki Kaisei , Morimoto Masanori
Published: July 2020

Yacón is a perennial crop with high insect resistance. Its leaves have many glandular trichomes, which may be related to pest resistance. In order to collect the constituents of glandular trichomes, leaves were rinsed using dichloromethane (DCM) to obtain the rinsate, and the plant residues were subsequently extracted by DCM to obtain a DCM extract containing the internal constituents of yacón leaves. Biologic evaluations revealed that insect antifeedant activity was stronger for the rinsate than for the DCM extract against the common cutworm. The major constituents of rinsate were isolated by silica gel flash chromatography and were identified as sesquiterpene lactones (SLs), uvedalin (1) and enhydrin (2) and uvedalin aldehyde (3), collectively known as melampolides. Although SLs 1 and 2 exhibited remarkably strong insect antifeedant activity, SL 3 and reduced corresponding derivatives (4 and 5) of 1 and 2 exhibited moderate insect antifeedant activity. Additionally, the two analogs, parthenolide (6) and erioflorin (7) showed moderate insect antifeedant activity. The results indicate that the substituent patterns of SLs may be related to the insect antifeedant activities. The insect antifeedant activities of SLs 1 and 2 were similar to that of the positive control azadirachtin A (8), and thus these natural products may function in chemical defense against herbivores.
A Coarse-Grained Force Field for Silica–Polybutadiene Interfaces and Nanocomposites
Authors: David Alessio , Pasquini Marta , Tartaglino Ugo , Raos Guido
Published: July 2020

We present a coarse-grained force field for modelling silica–polybutadiene interfaces and nanocomposites. The polymer, poly(cis-1,4-butadiene), is treated with a previously published united-atom model. Silica is treated as a rigid body, using one Si-centered superatom for each SiO 2 unit. The parameters for the cross-interaction between silica and the polymer are derived by Boltzmann inversion of the density oscillations at model interfaces, obtained from atomistic simulations of silica surfaces containing both Q 4 (hydrophobic) and Q 3 (silanol-containing, hydrophilic) silicon atoms. The performance of the model is tested in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. We expect the present model to be useful for future large-scale simulations of rubber–silica nanocomposites.
Synergistic Effects of Black Phosphorus/Boron Nitride Nanosheets on Enhancing the Flame-Retardant Properties of Waterborne Polyurethane and Its Flame-Retardant Mechanism
Authors: Yin Sihao , Ren Xinlin , Lian Peichao , Zhu Yuanzhi , Mei Yi
Published: July 2020

We applied black phosphorene (BP) and hexagonal boron nitride (BN) nanosheets as flame retardants to waterborne polyurethane to fabricate a novel black phosphorus/boron nitride/waterborne polyurethane composite material. The results demonstrated that the limiting oxygen index of the flame-retarded waterborne polyurethane composite increased from 21.7% for pure waterborne polyurethane to 33.8%. The peak heat release rate and total heat release of the waterborne polyurethane composite were significantly reduced by 50.94% and 23.92%, respectively, at a flame-retardant content of only 0.4 wt%. The superior refractory performances of waterborne polyurethane composite are attributed to the synergistic effect of BP and BN in the gas phase and condensed phase. This study shows that black phosphorus-based nanocomposites have great potential to improve the fire resistance of polymers.
Conversion of Starchy Waste Streams into Polyhydroxyalkanoates Using Cupriavidus necator DSM 545
Authors: Brojanigo Silvia , Parro Elettra , Cazzorla Tiziano , Favaro Lorenzo , Basaglia Marina , Casella Sergio
Published: July 2020

Due to oil shortage and environmental problems, synthetic plastics have to be replaced by different biodegradable materials. A promising alternative could be polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), and the low-cost abundant agricultural starchy by-products could be usefully converted into PHAs by properly selected and/or developed microbes. Among the widely available starchy waste streams, a variety of residues have been explored as substrates, such as broken, discolored, unripe rice and white or purple sweet potato waste. Cupriavidus necator DSM 545, a well-known producer of PHAs, was adopted in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process through an optimized dosage of the commercial amylases cocktail STARGEN™ 002. Broken rice was found to be the most promising carbon source with PHAs levels of up to 5.18 g/L. This research demonstrates that rice and sweet potato waste are low-cost feedstocks for PHAs production, paving the way for the processing of other starchy materials into bioplastics.
New Procedure for BIM Characterization of Architectural Models Manufactured Using Fused Deposition Modeling and Plastic Materials in 4.0 Advanced Construction Environments
Authors: Diaz-Perete Daniel , Mercado-Colmenero Jorge Manuel , Valderrama-Zafra Jose Manuel , Martin-Doñate Cristina
Published: July 2020

This paper presents a new procedure for the building information modeling (BIM) characterization of structural topologies manufactured with plastic materials and fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive technology. The procedure presented here transforms the architectural geometry into an expanded three-dimensional model, capable of directly linking the topology of the plastic structure with the technological, functional and economic requirements for working in advanced construction 4.0 environments. The model incorporates a new algorithm whose objective is to recognize the topological surface of the plastic structural part obtaining in a fully automated way the FDM manufacturing time as well as the manufacturing cost. The new algorithm starts from the voxelized geometrical surface of the architectural model, calculating the manufacturing time from the full geometric path traveled by the extruder in a voxel, the extruder’s speed, the print pattern and the layer height. In this way it is possible to obtain a complete digital model capable of managing and analyzing the plastic architectural object in an advanced BIM 4.0 environment. The model presented in this paper was applied to two architectural structures designed for a real urban environment. The final structural geometries have been obtained through topological processes in order to reduce the raw plastic manufacturing material and to improve the plastic structure strength. The architectural elements have been validated structurally by the means of numerical simulations, following the scenario of loads and boundary conditions required for the real project. The displacement maps point to a maximum value of 0.5 mm according to the project requirements. The Von Mises stress fields indicate maximum values of 0.423 and 0.650 MPa, not exceeding in any case the tensile yield strength of the thermoplastic material.
Investigations on the Mechanical Properties of Glass Fiber/Sisal Fiber/Chitosan Reinforced Hybrid Polymer Sandwich Composite Scaffolds for Bone Fracture Fixation Applications
Authors: Arumugam Soundhar , Kandasamy Jayakrishna , Md Shah Ain Umaira , Hameed Sultan Mohamed Thariq , Safri Syafiqah Nur Azrie , Abdul Majid Mohd Shukry , Basri Adi Azriff , Mustapha Faizal
Published: July 2020

This study aims to explore the mechanical properties of hybrid glass fiber (GF)/sisal fiber (SF)/chitosan (CTS) composite material for orthopedic long bone plate applications. The GF/SF/CTS hybrid composite possesses a unique sandwich structure and comprises GF/CTS/epoxy as the external layers and SF/CTS/epoxy as the inner layers. The composite plate resembles the human bone structure (spongy internal cancellous matrix and rigid external cortical). The mechanical properties of the prepared hybrid sandwich composites samples were evaluated using tensile, flexural, micro hardness, and compression tests. The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images were studied to analyze the failure mechanism of these composite samples. Besides, contact angle (CA) and water absorption tests were conducted using the sessile drop method to examine the wettability properties of the SF/CTS/epoxy and GF/SF/CTS/epoxy composites. Additionally, the porosity of the GF/SF/CTS composite scaffold samples were determined by using the ethanol infiltration method. The mechanical test results show that the GF/SF/CTS hybrid composites exhibit the bending strength of 343 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 146 MPa, and compressive strength of 380 MPa with higher Young’s modulus in the bending tests (21.56 GPa) compared to the tensile (6646 MPa) and compressive modulus (2046 MPa). Wettability study results reveal that the GF/SF/CTS composite scaffolds were hydrophobic (CA = 92.41° ± 1.71°) with less water absorption of 3.436% compared to the SF/CTS composites (6.953%). The SF/CTS composites show a hydrophilic character (CA = 54.28° ± 3.06°). The experimental tests prove that the GF/SF/CTS hybrid composite can be used for orthopedic bone fracture plate applications in future.
Sequestration of Sulfate Anions from Groundwater by Biopolymer-Metal Composite Materials
Authors: Hassan Md. Mehadi , Mohamed Mohamed H. , Udoetok Inimfon A. , Steiger Bernd G. K. , Wilson Lee D.
Published: July 2020

Binary (Chitosan-Cu(II), CCu) and Ternary (Chitosan-Alginate-Cu(II), CACu) composite materials were synthesized at variable composition: CCu (1:1), CACu1 (1:1:1), CACu2 (1:2:1) and CACu3 (2:1:1). Characterization was carried out via spectroscopic (FTIR, solids C-13 NMR, XPS and Raman), thermal (differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and TGA), XRD, point of zero charge and solvent swelling techniques. The materials’ characterization confirmed the successful preparation of the polymer-based composites, along with their variable physico-chemical and adsorption properties. Sulfate anion (sodium sulfate) adsorption from aqueous solution was demonstrated using C and CACu1 at pH 6.8 and 295 K, where the monolayer adsorption capacity (Qm) values were 288.1 and 371.4 mg/g, respectively, where the Sips isotherm model provided the “best-fit” for the adsorption data. Single-point sorption study on three types of groundwater samples (wells 1, 2 and 3) with variable sulfate concentration and matrix composition in the presence of composite materials reveal that CACu3 exhibited greater uptake of sulfate (Qe = 81.5 mg/g; 11.5% removal) from Well-1 and CACu2 showed the lowest sulfate uptake (Qe of 15.7 mg/g; 0.865% removal) from Well-3. Generally, for all groundwater samples, the binary composite material (CCu) exhibited attenuated sorption and removal efficiency relative to the ternary composite materials (CACu).
Hoping against Hope: Dealing with Hopelessness in Ancient Times and Today †
Authors: Rieger Joerg
Published: July 2020

The hope of Abraham was “hope against hope,” the apostle Paul notes in a famous passage in his letter to the Romans 4:18. Such is the hope of the underdog, whose hope is not backed up by the powers that be, manifest by the prevalent empires of the day. Any discussion of hope in this context needs to deal with the limits of hope that have been expressed powerfully by Miguel De La Torre in his book Embracing Hopelessness (2017). As a result, the faith of Abraham that led to hope against hope cannot be blind faith, or what has sometimes been called “the power of positive thinking.” COVID-19 has once again reinforced this insight. Only when the challenges and the roadblocks to faith and hope are seen and embraced, and when false hope is exposed for what it is, can glimpses of real hope break through.
A Review of Spiritual Development and Transformation among College Students from Jesuit Higher Education
Authors: Plante Thomas G.
Published: July 2020

The college experience can be a critically important and enriching time for personal as well as academic growth and development. For many students, college is their first foray into a more independent world and lifestyle no longer under the careful, and sometimes critical, eyes of their parents, families, and schoolteachers. When students go far away from home to attend college, they need to find ways to live independently, manage their many needs, and attend to the rigors of academic life in higher education. Additionally, the college years offer a unique and important period for spiritual growth, development, and transformation. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the developmental tasks and challenges of the college years and provide examples of how colleges can be intentional and strategic about spiritual growth and development by focusing on strategies offered by Jesuit higher education.
An Anisotropic Scattering Analysis Method Based on the Statistical Properties of Multi-Angular SAR Images
Authors: Teng Fei , Lin Yun , Wang Yanping , Shen Wenjie , Feng Shanshan , Hong Wen
Published: July 2020

The scatterings of many targets are aspect dependent, which is called anisotropy. Multi-angular synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a suitable means of detecting this kind of anisotropic scattering behavior by viewing targets from different aspect angles. First, the statistical properties of anisotropic and isotropic scatterings are studied in this paper. X-band chamber circular SAR data are used. The result shows that isotropic scatterings have stable distributions in different aspect viewing angles while the distributions of anisotropic scatterings are various. Then the statistical properties of single polarization high-resolution multi-angular SAR images are modeled by different distributions. G 0 distribution performs best in all types of areas. An anisotropic scattering analysis method based on the multi-angular statistical properties is proposed. A likelihood ratio test based on G 0 distribution is used to measure the anisotropy. Anisotropic scatterings can be discriminated from isotropic scatterings by thresholding. Besides, the scattering direction can also be estimated by our method. AHH polarization C-band circular SAR data are used to validate our method. The result of using G 0 distribution is compared with the result of using Rayleigh distribution. The result of using G 0 distribution is the better one.
Spectral-Similarity-Based Kernel of SVM for Hyperspectral Image Classification
Authors: Wang Ke , Cheng Ligang , Yong Bin
Published: July 2020

Spectral similarity measures can be regarded as potential metrics for kernel functions, and can be used to generate spectral-similarity-based kernels. However, spectral-similarity-based kernels have not received significant attention from researchers. In this paper, we propose two novel spectral-similarity-based kernels based on spectral angle mapper (SAM) and spectral information divergence (SID) combined with the radial basis function (RBF) kernel: Power spectral angle mapper RBF (Power-SAM-RBF) and normalized spectral information divergence-based RBF (Normalized-SID-RBF) kernels. First, we prove these spectral-similarity-based kernels to be Mercer’s kernels. Second, we analyze their efficiency in terms of local and global kernels. Finally, we consider three hyperspectral datasets to analyze the effectiveness of the proposed spectral-similarity-based kernels. Experimental results demonstrate that the Power-SAM-RBF and SAM-RBF kernels can obtain an impressive performance, particularly the Power-SAM-RBF kernel. For example, when the ratio of the training set is 20 % , the kappa coefficient of Power-SAM-RBF kernel (0.8561) is 1.61 % , 1.32 % , and 1.23 % higher than that of the RBF kernel on the Indian Pines, University of Pavia, and Salinas Valley datasets, respectively. We present three conclusions. First, the superiority of the Power-SAM-RBF kernel compared to other kernels is evident. Second, the Power-SAM-RBF kernel can provide an outstanding performance when the similarity between spectral signatures in the same hyperspectral dataset is either extremely high or extremely low. Third, the Power-SAM-RBF kernel provides even greater benefits compared to other commonly used kernels when the sizes of the training sets increase. In future work, multiple kernels combining with the spectral-similarity-based kernel are expected to be provide better hyperspectral classification.
A Ridgeline-Based Terrain Co-registration for Satellite LiDAR Point Clouds in Rough Areas
Authors: Zhou Ruqin , Jiang Wanshou
Published: July 2020

It is still a completely new and challenging task to register extensive, enormous and sparse satellite light detection and ranging (LiDAR) point clouds. Aimed at this problem, this study provides a ridgeline-based terrain co-registration method in preparation for satellite LiDAR point clouds in rough areas. This method has several merits: (1) only ridgelines are extracted as neighbor information for feature description and their intersections are extracted as keypoints, which can greatly reduce the number of points for subsequent processing, and extracted keypoints is of high repeatability and distinctiveness; (2) a new local-reference frame (LRF) construction method is designed by combining both three dimensional (3D) coordinate and normal vector covariance matrices, which effectively improves its direction consistency; (3) a minimum cost–maximum flow (MCMF) graph-matching strategy is adopted to maximize similarity sum in a sparse-matching graph. It can avoid the problem of “many-to-many” and “one to many” caused by traditional matching strategies; (4) a transformation matrix-based clustering is adopted with a least square (LS)-based registration, where mismatches are eliminated and correct pairs are fully participated in optimal parameters evaluation to improve its stability. Experiments on simulated satellite LiDAR point clouds show that this method can effectively remove mismatches and estimate optimal parameters with high accuracy, especially in rough areas.
Movable Platform-Based Topology Detection for a Geographic Routing Wireless Sensor Network
Authors: Li Runzhi , Wang Jian , Chen Jiongyi
Published: July 2020

With the increasing adoption of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), the wireless sensors network (WSN), as an underlying application of IoT, has attracted increasing attention. Topology, the working structure used to observe WSN, is the most instinctive form in troubleshooting and has great significance to WSN management and safety. To this end, it is imperative to recover WSN topology for the purpose of network management and non-cooperative network detection. Traditional network topology recovery mainly relies on the monitoring modules installed in nodes, or an extra network attached. However, these two approaches have several limitations, such as high energy consumption for monitoring nodes, time synchronization problems, reuse failure, limitation to specific targeted networks and high cost. In this paper, we present a new approach to recover the topology of WSN that adopts location-based routing protocols, based on movable platforms. Our observation is that the network topology is consistent with the node routing, as the nodes choose the next hop according to the geological position of neighbor nodes. Hence, we calculate the cost parameters of choosing routing nodes for the targeted network according to the partial connection of the nodes. Based on those cost parameters, we can determine the topology of the whole network. More specifically, by collecting the geological position and data packets of the nodes from movable platforms, we are able to infer the topology of the WSN according to the recovered partial connection of nodes. Our approach can be easily adopted to many scenarios, especially for non-cooperative large-scale networks. The evaluation of 30 simulations shows that the accuracy of recovery is above 90%.
Toward Achieving Sustainable Food Consumption: Insights from the Life Course Paradigm
Authors: Moschis George P. , Mathur Anil , Shannon Randall
Published: July 2020

Trends in world population growth have created an agri-food demand that is unsustainable under the present resource-intensive agricultural systems and expected growth in income levels in many developing countries. As such, research and policy making related to sustainable development have focused on consumption. One major approach to sustainable consumption lies in shaping food demand that would require changes in people’s present food consumption habits that are excessive and unhealthy, leading to overweight and obesity. In order to change food consumption habits, one must understand the factors that lead to their onset and change. This article offers the life course paradigm, which is increasingly used by social and behavioral scientists to study the development and change of various forms of behavior, as a research framework for studying the onset and change in food consumption habits. It shows how the life course approach could help guide future research not only on sustainable consumption, but also on environmental and social sustainability.
Modeling and Validation of the Cool Summer Microclimate Formed by Passive Cooling Elements in a Semi-Outdoor Building Space
Authors: Del Rio Maria Alejandra , Asawa Takashi , Hirayama Yukari
Published: July 2020

Previous measurements (Del Rio et al. 2019) have confirmed the formation of cool summer microclimates through a combination of passive cooling elements (i.e., evaporative cooling louver, vegetation, and sunscreen) in semi-outdoor building spaces in Japan. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation is useful to understand the contribution of each element to semi-outdoor and indoor microclimates with natural ventilation, and to determine their effective combination. To date, there have not been sufficient studies on the modeling and validation for the CFD simulation of microclimates by such elements. This study demonstrates the modeling method using literature-based values and field measurements. It also demonstrates model validity by comparing the obtained results with field measurements. The results show that CFD simulation with detailed modeling of these elements can replicate vertical temperature distributions at four different positions across the semi-outdoor space and indoor space. The maximum difference in air temperature between the measurements and simulation results was 0.7–1 °C. The sensitivities of each passive cooling element on the microclimates formed in both spaces were confirmed. The watered louver condition and shorter louver–window distance were most effective in cooling both spaces. These results indicate that the modeling method could be effectively applied to assess cool microclimates and formulate a passive cooling design.
Organic Food Consumption in Italy: The Role of Subjective Relevance of Food as Mediator between Organic Food Choice Motivation and Frequency of Organic Food Consumption
Authors: Castellini Greta , Savarese Mariarosaria , Castiglioni Cinzia , Graffigna Guendalina
Published: July 2020

Nowadays, the problems that afflict our planet (climate change, loss of biodiversity, etc.) are leading to the implementation of a more sustainable type of consumption. Increasing the consumption of organic products is a way to face and try to solve these problems. In order to reach this aim, it is important to understand how consumers’ subjective relevance of these products impacts on their consumption. The recent literature, in fact, highlighted how food consumption is salient for the individual to express their identity and life orientations, even more in the case of organic food consumption. Nonetheless, little is known about how subjective relevance of food affects organic food consumption. The present research aims to measure the role of subjective relevance in organic food consumption. Data were collected with a self-report questionnaire that was filled out by a sample of 964 Italians, representative of the population. We used structural equation modelling (SEM) and the bootstrap technique to test the hypothesis. The results show that subjective food relevance is a mediator between the motivations of organic food consumption and the frequency of consumption of it. This research points out the necessity to study consumers in a wider way, using communication that emphasizes the role that these products have in satisfying the psychological needs of consumers.
Has China’s Emission Trading System Achieved the Development of a Low-Carbon Economy in High-Emission Industrial Subsectors?
Authors: Zhang Haoran , Zhang Rongxia , Li Guomin , Li Wei , Choi Yongrok
Published: July 2020

An emission trading system (ETS) is a powerful emission reduction tool for achieving low-carbon economic development in the world. Focusing on the industrial subsectors, this paper comprehensively analyzes the environmental and economic effects of the pilot ETS in China from the perspectives of economic development, technological optimization, and innovation-driven development by using the propensity score matching–difference in differences (PSM-DID) model based on 2005–2017 provincial panel data. This paper compensates for the limitations of existing studies on the effects of ETS on different subsectors; furthermore, the triple difference model (DDD) model is used to discuss the impacts of differences in environmental responsibility and economic potential among subsectors on policy effects. The empirical results show that: (1) The pilot ETS produces a 14.5% carbon reduction effect on the covered subsectors while reducing GDP by 4.8% without achieving a low-carbon economy. Thus, production decline is the main reason for carbon emission reductions. (2) Economic development factors have significant positive impacts on carbon emissions, while technological optimization and innovation-driven development are key factors for achieving reductions in carbon emissions. (3) The pilot ETS produces a 60.1% carbon emission inhibition effect and 23.2% GDP inhibition effect on the subsectors with greater environmental responsibility. Therefore, the Chinese government should fully simulate the impact of technological innovation and utilize resource endowment differences in the environmental and economic aspects of different sectors to achieve low-carbon economic development.
Effects of High-Tech Urban Agriculture on Cooking and Eating in Dutch Nursing Homes
Authors: van de Vlasakker Paulien C. H. , Veen Esther J.
Published: July 2020

Questions have arisen about the sustainability of the industrialised food system. Alternatives like urban agriculture have emerged to reduce the negative social, environmental and health impacts of industrial agriculture. Such new food supply chains can change the way that people acquire and process food. This study looks at high-tech indoor gardening practices in nursing homes for elderly people, studying four nursing homes in the Dutch city of Velp. We used both qualitative and quantitative approaches to collect data, using site visits, a survey amongst employees, and semi-structured interviewees with residents and decision makers. Inspired by social practice theory, we aimed to understand the transformation of existing practices, investigating how the gardens affect cooking and eating practices, and how their constitutive elements of meaning, material and competences enable these transformations. Our work shows that the indoor gardens resulted in an integration of gardening and the resulting harvest into cooking practices, which in turn transformed residents’ eating practices. Appreciation of the taste of fresh vegetables and appearance of the meal decorated by fresh vegetables, as well as observing the growth of plants and their use, holds value for the elderly residents. Employees welcome the possibility to serve healthier meals. The integration of indoor gardens in existing cooking practices is more successful when employees have gardening and/or cooking competences, when they enjoy cooking and when they do not already cook with fresh ingredients. The gardens are more easily integrated when they are easily accessible. The materiality of the gardens does not require fully equipped kitchens.
On Intergenerational Commitment, Weak Sustainability, and Safety
Authors: Randall Alan
Published: July 2020

This article examines sustainability from a policy perspective rooted in environmental economics and environmental ethics. Endorsing the Brundtland Commission stance that each generation should have undiminished opportunity to meet its own needs, I emphasize the foundational status of the intergenerational commitment. The standard concepts of weak and strong sustainability, WS and SS, are sketched and critiqued simply and intuitively, along with the more recent concept of WS-plus. A recently proposed model of a society dependent on a renewable but vulnerable resource (Barfuss et al. 2018) is introduced as an expositional tool, as its authors intended, and used as a platform for thought experiments exploring the role of risk management tools in reducing the need for safety. Key conclusions include: (i) Safety, in this case, the elimination of risk in uncertain production systems, comes at an opportunity cost that is often non-trivial. (ii) Welfare shocks can be cushioned by savings and diversification, which are enhanced by scale. Scale increases with geographic area, diversity of production, organizational complexity, and openness to trade and human migration. (iii) Increasing scale enables enhancement of sustainable welfare via local and regional specialization, and the need for safety and its attendant opportunity costs is reduced. (iv) When generational welfare is stochastic, the intergenerational commitment should not be abandoned but may need to be adapted to uncertainty, e.g., by expecting less from hard-luck generations and correspondingly more from more fortunate ones. (v) Intergenerational commitments must be resolved in the context of intragenerational obligations to each other in the here and now, and compensation of those asked to make sacrifices for sustainability has both ethical and pragmatic virtue. (vi) Finally, the normative domains of sustainability and safety can be distinguished—sustainability always, but safety only when facing daunting threats.
Assessing the Potential of Short Sea Shipping and the Benefits in Terms of External Costs: Application to the Mediterranean Basin
Authors: Comi Antonio , Polimeni Antonio
Published: July 2020

The paper aims to investigate short sea shipping services as a competitive, sustainable freight transport system which is able to respond to economic, social and environmental needs. An assessment methodology is proposed which considers an aggregate discrete choice model, simulating the split between the competitive transport alternatives in the Mediterranean basin. The proposed methodology was used to assess the potential of short sea shipping (SSS) and the net benefits deriving from lower external costs in the north-western Mediterranean basin. Two future scenarios are considered: introduction of new SSS services as envisaged by current EU projects and plans, and the introduction of new SSS routes and an increase in frequencies of existing services. Significant results were obtained in terms of shifting freight traffic from the road network as well as external benefits.
Simulated Soil Organic Carbon Density Changes from 1980 to 2016 in Shandong Province Dry Farmlands Using the CENTURY Model
Authors: Tang Min , Wang Shihang , Zhao Mingsong , Qin Falyu , Liu Xiaoyu
Published: July 2020

The changes in cultivated soil organic carbon (SOC) have significant effects on soil fertility and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration. Shandong Province is an important agricultural and grain production area in China. Dry farmland accounts for 74.15% of the province’s area, so studies on dynamic SOC changes would be helpful to understand its contribution to the Chinese national carbon (C) inventory. Using the spatial overlay analysis of the soil layer (1:10,000,000) and the land use layer (1:10,000,000), 2329 dry farmland soil polygons were obtained to drive the CENTURY model to simulate SOC dynamics in Shandong Province from the period 1980 to 2016. The results showed that the CENTURY model can be used to simulate the dry farmland SOC in Shandong Province. From the period 1980 to 2016, the soil organic carbon storage (SOCS) and soil organic carbon density (SOCD) showed an initial increase and then decreased, especially after reaching a maximum in 2009. In 2016, the SOCS was 290.58 × 106 t, an increase of 26.99 × 106 t compared with 1980. SOCD in the dry farmland increased from 23.69 t C ha−1 in 1980 to 25.94 t C ha−1 in 2016. The dry farmland of Shandong Province was a C sink from 1980 to 2016. Among the four soil orders, inceptisols SOCD dominated, and accounted for 47.81% of the dry farmland, followed by >entisols > vertisols > alfisols. Entisols SOCD growth rate was the highest (0.23 t C ha−1year−1). Compared to 1980, SOCD in 2016 showed an increasing trend in the northeast, northwest and southeast regions, while it followed a downward trend in the southwest.
Family Home Business in Kibbutz Industry Sustainability
Authors: Moskovich Yaffa
Published: July 2020

This study defines and examines kibbutz industries as an expanded form of family business. It explores the sociological characteristics of this new type of enterprise, extending familial business culture theory innovatively by adding a new category of business to those already described in the relevant literature. The research addressed multiple case studies, using anthropological interviews and document analysis methods to explore three new familial types: 1. Communal Familial Type, Kibbutz industries that are still communal and have retained familial attributes; 2. Business Communal Familial Type, Kibbutz industries that have undergone privatization, retaining only half the communal cultural features typical of kibbutzim and displaying greater business orientation; 3. Business Type, Kibbutz industries that have lost their familial attributes or communal cultural features. The first two types maintain kibbutz community and industrial sustainability, while the last can be a threat to kibbutz sustainability.
Competence Literate but Context Lacking? Investigating the Potential of Study Abroad Programs to Promote Sustainability Competence Acquisition in Students
Authors: Ayers James
Published: July 2020

The examination of pedagogies that promote effective sustainability learning has led to vigorous academic discussion, as has research regarding the role of competence-based learning for sustainability. This paper investigates the role of a study abroad program, the Engineers without Borders Design Summit, in promoting the acquisition of sustainability competencies in its students. This study analysed both content of the program pedagogy and the written learning reflections of 137 student participants to examine if the program resulted in sustainability competence acquisition. The study’s findings suggested that students did acquire sustainability competencies during the program, but also that students may become competence-literate but context-lacking as they acquire competency skillsets without understanding their purpose for use as sustainability tools or to promote sustainability outcomes. Therefore, this study recommends that competence-based education for sustainability requires situation of competence acquisition within sustainability contextualisation to ensure full competence potential is fulfilled. This study suggests that contextualisation can occur in a number of ways, including the use of defined sustainability principles as boundary conditions to frame learning environments, the use of sustainability epistemic teachers as “guides” to connect learning to sustainability and the facilitation of student experiences with unsustainability to promote personally motivated action towards sustainability.
A Methodological Approach to Upscale Toward an Agroecology System in EU-LAFSs: The Case of the Parma Bio-District
Authors: Guareschi Marianna , Maccari Michele , Sciurano Juan Pablo , Arfini Filippo , Pronti Andrea
Published: July 2020

The increasing interest in bio-districts is part of the debate on the capacity to integrate agri-food systems and territory in order to improve the quality of life in rural communities. Considering the goals of developing and promoting an innovative territorial rural development approach, the bio-district can become a process toward a more sustainable model represented by the agroecological agriculture system. The paper presents a case study of the Parma bio-district through the approach of a Localized Agri Food System (LAFS) to verify whether bio-districts can be a tool for scaling up towards agroecology. Stakeholder classification and analysis are conducted using an influence–interest matrix. We identified four groups of stakeholders in relation to their interests and power to influence the process. In the case of the Parma bio-district the role of local institutions in dialogue with consumers and producers’ associations is crucial for success. We conclude that bio-districts can be a tool for a scaling-up towards agroecology since they can facilitate a synergetic relation between organic and agroecological agriculture, spreading organic agriculture more widely around the local area. However, the involvement of a wide variety of different stakeholders means that governance is a key element in facilitating “cross fertilization” and preventing the process from becoming purely formulaic.
Identification of Marginal Landscapes as Support for Sustainable Development: GIS-Based Analysis and Landscape Metrics Assessment in Southern Italy Areas
Authors: Cervelli Elena , Scotto di Perta Ester , Pindozzi Stefania
Published: July 2020

Landscape is increasingly characterized by a multifaced nature. In scientific literature and landscape governance, new landscape definitions are often coined to explain new meanings and to define specific intervention strategies and tools. The present study purposes a framework for the identification of hybrid landscapes as support for land-use planners, which aim to guarantee development opportunities as well as natural heritage preservation and valorization. “Marginal lands” were identified starting from EU Directives and scientific approaches, by means of multicriteria analysis. Different scenarios were built: (1) no-change; (2) energy crops; (3) green infrastructures. An ecosystem services approach, via landscape metrics analysis, was used to compare the possible effects of scenarios. About 20% of the study area, an internal area of the southern Apennines, was identified as suitable for land-use change in a medium-short time, and scenarios of land-use changes show a better condition, in terms of fragmentation, than as a current asset. Results showed the strategic role and potentialities of marginal lands, as a trade-off between nature conservation and development issues, suggesting new opportunities for green infrastructures and a renewable energies chain. The study allowed for deepening the close connection among landscape planning approaches, land use change scenarios building and environmental assessment, focused on the ex-ante evaluation stage.
Reconstructing the History of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, East Nepal: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Authors: Byers Alton C. , Chand Mohan Bahadur , Lala Jonathan , Shrestha Milan , Byers Elizabeth A. , Watanabe Teiji
Published: July 2020

An interdisciplinary field investigation of historic glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in the Kanchenjunga region of Nepal was conducted between April and May, 2019. Oral history and field measurements suggested that at least six major GLOFs have occurred in the region since 1921. A remote sensing analysis confirmed the occurrence of the six GLOFs mentioned by informants, including two smaller flood events not mentioned that had occurred at some point before 1962. A numerical simulation of the Nangama GLOF suggested that it was triggered by an ice/debris avalanche of some 800,000 m3 of material, causing a surge wave that breached the terminal moraine and released an estimated 11.2 × 106 m3 ± 1.4 × 106 m3 of water. Debris from the flood dammed the Pabuk Khola river 2 km below the lake to form what is today known as Chheche Pokhari lake. Some concern has been expressed for the possibility of a second GLOF from Nangama as the result of continued and growing landslide activity from its right lateral moraine. Regular monitoring of all lakes and glaciers is recommended to avoid and/or mitigate the occurrence of future GLOF events in the region. Collectively, the paper demonstrates the benefits and utility of interdisciplinary research approaches to achieving a better understanding of past and poorly documented GLOF events in remote, data-scarce high mountain environments.
Material Flow Cost Accounting in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review
Authors: Tran Thuy Thanh , Herzig Christian
Published: July 2020

This study aims to provide a better understanding of material flow cost accounting (MFCA) application in developing countries, which are characterized by rapid structure transformation leading to serious environmental problems. By systematically reviewing the existing literature, our analysis of 28 studies from nine developing countries (China, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam) shows that MFCA research has primarily focused on Asian developing countries. Moreover, while the use of MFCA is often associated with improving eco-efficiency, the reviewed studies also indicate a high relevance for strategic decision-making processes within organizations. Finally, one of the key challenges in MFCA application reported in developing country studies lies in existing accounting systems with limited data availability and insufficient cost allocation. Based on our findings and gaps identified in the MFCA literature, we suggest paths for further research, including the necessity of quantitative research and comparative analysis of MFCA application across countries, the further investigation of MFCA application in small and medium-sized enterprises as well as in various manufacturing and service sectors in developing countries.
Program for Lagging Districts as a Framework for Innovative Approaches within the State Regional Development Policies in Slovakia
Authors: Finka Maroš , Husár Milan , Sokol Tomáš
Published: July 2020

This paper analyses new approaches in Slovak regional policy based on the law that frames the paradigm shift by introducing a new scheme of state support for lagging districts. This law created the frame for integrated actions in the districts with high unemployment rates and caused wide-reaching structural changes in their peripheral locations. The key difference lies in shifting from the sectoral policy approach to integrated and integrative policies that have so far been absent. The main goal of this policy has been to restart the social and economic development and increase the availability of work opportunities in lagging districts, which has been defined by their monthly unemployment rate over the past years. The concurrence of this government initiative with the Maria Currie project RegPol2 focused on socio-economic and political responses to regional polarization in Central and Eastern Europe, and engagement of academics in the preparation and implementation of the program that has been developed in accordance with this law; this has allowed the use of the latest knowledge and innovative solutions to build on a comprehensive understanding of the problems of decline, using integrative and integrated territorial strategies that capitalize on the scientific achievements in higher efficiency of public intervention efforts. The evaluation of this new approach occurs within the VEGA 1/0789/18 project granted by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Slovak Republic. The paper analyses the applied strategies as tools framed by the new paradigm within the law on supporting lagging districts and discusses the implications in improving the situation in other EU countries. Positive experience as well as identified problems from the program realization have created the base for the definition of a new development strategy for the Slovak Republic 2030 as the main implementation tool of the Agenda 2030 in Slovakia; this is a new act on integrated development that replaces the previous set of less coordinated norms on regional development and cohesion policy.
Contribution of Irrigation Ponds to the Sustainability of Agriculture. A Review of Worldwide Research
Authors: López-Felices Belén , Aznar-Sánchez José A. , Velasco-Muñoz Juan F. , Piquer-Rodríguez María
Published: July 2020

The use of irrigation ponds has proved to be an efficient alternative for increasing the availability and quality of water resources for irrigation and contributing to the sustainability of agriculture. This article analyses the dynamics of worldwide research on this topic over the last two decades. To do this, a review including a qualitative systematic analysis and a quantitative bibliometric analysis was carried out on a sample of 951 articles. The results reveal that this line of research is becoming more relevant within agricultural research, particularly in recent years. The research in this topic has focused on the sustainable development of vulnerable regions, the contribution to the agronomic improvement of crops and farms, environmental impact assessment, the joint management of water resources, the restoration of groundwater bodies, and the use of rainfall. Gaps have been found in the literature with respect to the capacity of irrigation ponds to cover the irrigation needs in different agricultural contexts, the perceptions and attitudes of farmers towards the use of irrigation ponds, and the economic–financial feasibility of these systems.