bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Multi-Spectral Lidar: Radiometric Calibration, Canopy Spectral Reflectance, and Vegetation Vertical SVI Profiles
Authors: Okhrimenko Maxim , Coburn Craig , Hopkinson Chris
Published: July 2019

Multi-spectral (ms) airborne lidar data are enriched relative to traditional lidar due to the multiple channels of intensity digital numbers (DNs), which offer the potential for active Spectral Vegetation Indices (SVIs), enhanced classification, and change monitoring. However, in case of SVIs, indices should be calculated from spectral reflectance values derived from intensity DNs after calibration. In this paper, radiometric calibration of multi-spectral airborne lidar data is presented. A novel low-cost diffuse reflectance coating was adopted for creating radiometric targets. Comparability of spectral reflectance values derived from ms lidar data for coniferous stand (2.5% for 532 nm, 17.6% for 1064 nm, and 8.4% for 1550 nm) to available spectral libraries is shown. Active vertical profiles of SVIs were constructed and compared to modeled results available in the literature. The potential for a new landscape-level active 3D SVI voxel approach is demonstrated. Results of a field experiment with complex radiometric targets for estimating losses in detected lidar signals are described. Finally, an approach for estimating spectral reflectance values from lidar split returns is analyzed and the results show similarity of estimated values of spectral reflectance derived from split returns to spectral reflectance values obtained from single returns (p > 0.05 for paired test).
A Multi-Scale Wavelet 3D-CNN for Hyperspectral Image Super-Resolution
Authors: Yang Jingxiang , Zhao Yong-Qiang , Chan Jonathan Cheung-Wai , Xiao Liang
Published: July 2019

Super-resolution (SR) is significant for hyperspectral image (HSI) applications. In single-frame HSI SR, how to reconstruct detailed image structures in high resolution (HR) HSI is challenging since there is no auxiliary image (e.g., HR multispectral image) providing structural information. Wavelet could capture image structures in different orientations, and emphasis on predicting high-frequency wavelet sub-bands is helpful for recovering the detailed structures in HSI SR. In this study, we propose a multi-scale wavelet 3D convolutional neural network (MW-3D-CNN) for HSI SR, which predicts the wavelet coefficients of HR HSI rather than directly reconstructing the HR HSI. To exploit the correlation in the spectral and spatial domains, the MW-3D-CNN is built with 3D convolutional layers. An embedding subnet and a predicting subnet constitute the MW-3D-CNN, the embedding subnet extracts deep spatial-spectral features from the low resolution (LR) HSI and represents the LR HSI as a set of feature cubes. The feature cubes are then fed to the predicting subnet. There are multiple output branches in the predicting subnet, each of which corresponds to one wavelet sub-band and predicts the wavelet coefficients of HR HSI. The HR HSI can be obtained by applying inverse wavelet transform to the predicted wavelet coefficients. In the training stage, we propose to train the MW-3D-CNN with L1 norm loss, which is more suitable than the conventional L2 norm loss for penalizing the errors in different wavelet sub-bands. Experiments on both simulated and real spaceborne HSI demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is competitive with other state-of-the-art HSI SR methods.
Optimal Deployment of Vector Sensor Nodes in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks
Authors: Kim Sunhyo , Choi Jee Woong
Published: July 2019

Underwater acoustic sensor networks have recently attracted considerable attention as demands on the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) increase. In terms of efficiency, it is important to achieve the maximum communication coverage using a limited number of sensor nodes while maintaining communication connectivity. In 2017, Kim and Choi proposed a new deployment algorithm using the communication performance surface, which is a geospatial information map representing the underwater acoustic communication performance of a targeted underwater area. In that work, each sensor node was a vertically separated hydrophone array, which measures acoustic pressure (a scalar quantity). Although an array receiver is an effective system to eliminate inter-symbol interference caused by multipath channel impulse responses in underwater communication environments, a large-scale receiver system degrades the spatial efficiency. In this paper, single-vector sensors measuring the particle velocity are used as underwater sensor nodes. A single-vector sensor can be considered to be a single-input multiple-output communication system because it measures the three directional components of particle velocity. Our simulation results show that the optimal deployment obtained using single-vector sensor nodes is more effective than that obtained using a hydrophone (three-channel vertical-pressure sensor) array.
Quantifying Caregiver Movement when Measuring Infant Movement across a Full Day: A Case Report
Authors: Zhou Judy , Schaefer Sydney Y. , Smith Beth A.
Published: July 2019

There is interest in using wearable sensors to measure infant movement patterns and physical activity, however, this approach is confounded by caregiver motion. The purpose of this study is to estimate the extent that caregiver motion confounds wearable sensor data in full-day studies of infant leg movements. We used wearable sensors to measure leg movements of a four-month-old infant across 8.5 hours, during which the infant was handled by the caregiver in a typical manner. A researcher mimicked the actions of the caregiver with a doll. We calculated 7744 left and 7107 right leg movements for the infant and 1013 left and 1115 right “leg movements” for the doll. In this case, approximately 15% of infant leg movements can be attributed to background motion of the caregiver. This case report is the first step toward removing caregiver-produced background motion from the infant wearable sensor signal. We have estimated the size of the effect and described the activities that were related to noise in the signal. Future research can characterize the noise in detail and systematically explore different methods to remove it.
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of a Photoacoustic Resonator for Solid Samples: Towards a Non-Invasive Glucose Sensor
Authors: El-Busaidy Said , Baumann Bernd , Wolff Marcus , Duggen Lars , Bruhns Henry
Published: July 2019

T-cell resonators have been used lately for non-invasive blood glucose measurements for photoacoustic spectroscopy on skin samples. A resonator has a significant role in determining the strength of the measured signal and the overall sensitivity of the sensor. Here we present results of the measurement of the photoacoustic signal of such a T-cell resonator. The signal is also modelled using the amplitude mode expansion method, which is based on eigenmode expansion and the introduction of losses in the form of loss factors. The measurement reproduced almost all the calculated resonances from the numerical models with fairly good agreement. The cause of the differences between the measured and the simulated resonances are explained. In addition, the amplitude mode expansion simulation model is established as a faster and computationally less demanding photoacoustic simulation alternative to the viscothermal model. The resonance frequencies from the two models differ by less than 1.8%. It is noted that the relative height of the amplitudes from the two models depends on the location of the antinodes within the different parts of the resonator. The amplitude mode expansion model provides a quick simulation tool for the optimization and design of macro resonators.
DNN-MVL: DNN-Multi-View-Learning-Based Recover Block Missing Data in a Dam Safety Monitoring System
Authors: Mao Yingchi , Zhang Jianhua , Qi Hai , Wang Longbao
Published: July 2019

Many sensor nodes have been widely deployed in the physical world to gather various environmental information, such as water quality, earthquake, and huge dam safety. Due to the limitation in the batter power, memory, and computational capacity, missing data can occur at arbitrary sensor nodes and time slots. In extreme situations, some sensors may lose readings at consecutive time slots. The successive missing data takes the side effects on the accuracy of real-time monitoring as well as the performance on the data analysis in the wireless sensor networks. Unfortunately, existing solutions to the missing data filling cannot well uncover the complex non-linear spatial and temporal relations. To address these problems, a DNN (Deep Neural Network) multi-view learning method (DNN-MVL) is proposed to fill the successive missing readings. DNN-MVL mainly considers five views: global spatial view, global temporal view, local spatial view, local temporal view, and semantic view. These five views are modeled with inverse distance of weight interpolation, bidirectional simple exponential smoothing, user-based collaborative filtering, mass diffusion-based collaborative filtering with the bipartite graph, and structural embedding, respectively. The results of the five views are aggregated to a final value in a multi-view learning algorithm with DNN model to obtain the final filling readings. Experiments on large-scale real dam deformation data demonstrate that DNN-MVL has a mean absolute error about 6.5%, and mean relative error 21.4%, and mean square error 8.17% for dam deformation data, outperforming all of the baseline methods.
Real-Time User Identification and Behavior Prediction Based on Foot-Pad Recognition
Authors: Heo Kuk Ho , Jeong Seol Young , Kang Soon Ju
Published: July 2019

In the IoT (Internet of things)-based smart home, the technology for recognizing individual users among family members is very important. Although research in areas such as image recognition, biometrics, and individual wireless devices is very active, these systems suffer from various problems such as the need to follow an intentional procedure or own a specific device. Furthermore, with a centralized server system for IoT service, it is difficult to guarantee real-time determinism with high accuracy. To overcome these problems, we suggest a method of recognizing users in real time from the foot pressure characteristics measured as a user steps on a footpad. The proposed model in this paper uses a preprocessing algorithm to determine and generalize the angle of foot pressure. Based on this generalized foot pressure angle, we extract nine features that can distinguish individual human beings, and employ these features in user-recognition algorithms. Performance evaluation of the model was conducted by combining two preprocessing algorithms used to generalize the angle with four user-recognition algorithms.
Optimized Multi-Spectral Filter Arrays for Spectral Reconstruction
Authors: Wu Renjie , Li Yuqi , Xie Xijiong , Lin Zhijie
Published: July 2019

Multispectral filter array (MSFA)-based imaging is a compact, practical technique for snapshot spectral image capturing and reconstruction. The imaging and reconstruction quality is highly influenced by the spectral sensitivities and spatial arrangement of channels on MSFAs, and the used reconstruction method. In order to design a MSFA with high imaging capacity, we propose a sparse representation based approach to optimize spectral sensitivities and spatial arrangement of MSFAs. The proposed approach first overall models the various errors associated with spectral reconstruction, and then uses a global heuristic searching method to optimize MSFAs via minimizing the estimated error of MSFAs. Our MSFA optimization method can select filters from off-the-shelf candidate filter sets while assigning the selected filters to the designed MSFA. Experimental results on three datasets show that the proposed method is more efficient, flexible, and can design MSFAs with lower spectral construction errors when compared with existing state-of-the-art methods. The MSFAs designed by our method show better performance than others even using different spectral reconstruction methods.
Synthesizing Depth Hand Images with GANs and Style Transfer for Hand Pose Estimation
Authors: He Wangyong , Xie Zhongzhao , Li Yongbo , Wang Xinmei , Cai Wendi
Published: July 2019

Hand pose estimation is a critical technology of computer vision and human-computer interaction. Deep-learning methods require a considerable amount of tagged data. Accordingly, numerous labeled training data are required. This paper aims to generate depth hand images. Given a ground-truth 3D hand pose, the developed method can generate depth hand images. To be specific, a ground truth can be 3D hand poses with the hand structure contained, while the synthesized image has an identical size to that of the training image and a similar visual appearance to the training set. The developed method, inspired by the progress in the generative adversarial network (GAN) and image-style transfer, helps model the latent statistical relationship between the ground-truth hand pose and the corresponding depth hand image. The images synthesized using the developed method are demonstrated to be feasible for enhancing performance. On public hand pose datasets (NYU, MSRA, ICVL), comprehensive experiments prove that the developed method outperforms the existing works.
Unobtrusive Estimation of Cardiovascular Parameters with Limb Ballistocardiography
Authors: Yao Yang , Shin Sungtae , Mousavi Azin , Kim Chang-Sei , Xu Lisheng , Mukkamala Ramakrishna , Hahn Jin-Oh
Published: July 2019

This study investigates the potential of the limb ballistocardiogram (BCG) for unobtrusive estimation of cardiovascular (CV) parameters. In conjunction with the reference CV parameters (including diastolic, pulse, and systolic pressures, stroke volume, cardiac output, and total peripheral resistance), an upper-limb BCG based on an accelerometer embedded in a wearable armband and a lower-limb BCG based on a strain gauge embedded in a weighing scale were instrumented simultaneously with a finger photoplethysmogram (PPG). To standardize the analysis, the more convenient yet unconventional armband BCG was transformed into the more conventional weighing scale BCG (called the synthetic weighing scale BCG) using a signal processing procedure. The characteristic features were extracted from these BCG and PPG waveforms in the form of wave-to-wave time intervals, wave amplitudes, and wave-to-wave amplitudes. Then, the relationship between the characteristic features associated with (i) the weighing scale BCG-PPG pair and (ii) the synthetic weighing scale BCG-PPG pair versus the CV parameters, was analyzed using the multivariate linear regression analysis. The results indicated that each of the CV parameters of interest may be accurately estimated by a combination of as few as two characteristic features in the upper-limb or lower-limb BCG, and also that the characteristic features recruited for the CV parameters were to a large extent relevant according to the physiological mechanism underlying the BCG.
Support Needs and Expectations of People Living with Dementia and Their Informal Carers in Everyday Life: A European Study
Authors: Lethin Connie , Hanson Elizabeth , Margioti Eleni , Chiatti Carlos , Gagliardi Cristina , Vaz de Carvalho Carlos , Malmgren Fänge Agneta
Published: July 2019

The aim of this study was to describe the needs and expectations of support within everyday life among community-dwelling people living well with an early stage dementia and their informal carers. The study employed a qualitative design. Data were collected in 2018, via four focus group interviews with, in total, 17 people with dementia and 21 informal carers, transcribed and analyzed with manifest content analysis. Needs and expectations of support among persons with dementia were expressed as the importance of “Participation in my own care,” “Attitude of the informal carers,” and “Trusting relationships with informal carers.” Informal carers’ needs and expectations of support were expressed as the importance of “Formal care and services,” “Getting out of a carer mindset,” and “Family context.” The findings from this study highlighted that persons with dementia were well aware of their cognitive impairments and tried to maintain their independence, with both formal and informal care to help remain “being themselves.” Health professionals should acknowledge persons with dementia and informal carers’ well-being, and acknowledge the importance of their needs together with an understanding of the importance of continuity of frontline carers to building trusting relationships.
Women and Leadership in Higher Education: Special Issue Editorial
Authors: White Kate , Burkinshaw Paula
Published: July 2019

This Special Issue focuses on women and leadership in higher education (HE) [...]
Incentives and Barriers to Water-Saving Measures in Hotels in the Mediterranean: A Case Study of the Muga River Basin (Girona, Spain)
Authors: Torres-Bagur Maria , Ribas Anna , Vila-Subirós Josep
Published: July 2019

Decreasing water availability and growing demands due to climate change and increasing tourist numbers in the Mediterranean basin are likely to result in worsening conflicts between socioeconomic sectors that depend on water to survive. We conducted 19 in-depth interviews with hotel owners and managers in the Muga river basin (Girona, north-east Spain) to analyze their use of water-saving measures and explore perceived incentives and barriers. Hotel size, category, and year of construction/renovation were all directly associated with the implementation or lack of implementation of certain measures. The hoteliers did not perceive any strong incentives to adopt water-saving measures, but there were clear indications of cost and technical barriers and a lack of awareness about possible options. Efforts are clearly needed to improve incentives and increase awareness and knowledge about water-saving measures among hoteliers in this part of the Mediterranean basin, where water is a necessary resource for the tourist industry and many other sectors.
Cooperation Perspectives in Sustainable Medical Tourism: The Case of Lithuania
Authors: Perkumienė Dalia , Vienažindienė Milita , Švagždienė Biruta
Published: July 2019

Sustainable medical tourism is an emergent and growing business worldwide, combining different and very specific purposes from pleasurable travel to sometimes-stressful services of health care. Lithuania can boast of medical technologies and the professionalism of doctors, but this is not enough to compete in the field of sustainable medical tourism. In this situation, cooperation is very significant in sustainable medical tourism. This research investigates a conceptual framework for cooperation possibilities in sustainable medical tourism. Based on a systematic and comparative analysis of scientific literature, the authors of this paper present the conceptual model illustrating the dissemination of sustainable medical tourism through cooperation. The overall results imply that facilitators’ cooperation perspectives in sustainable medical tourism should be highly beneficial for participants and medical tourists. The basis for the improvement of cooperation is communication, contact development, the form of work organization, coordination of work, sharing of knowledge and experience. Cooperation in this particular field determines the role of tourism development, but it is concluded that cooperation in this area is not developed well.
Alternative Product Development as Strategy Towards Sustainability in Tourism: The Case of Lanzarote
Authors: Eckert Christian , Pechlaner Harald
Published: July 2019

Currently, tourist destinations are, more than ever, confronted with specific challenges and also negative impacts arising from overarching developments. In order to address such challenges and to reduce negative impacts resulting from tourism, sustainable development has emerged as a widely accepted approach. Under special consideration of seemingly successful destinations, this article aims to identify complementary strategies towards sustainability in tourism, instead of developing completely new strategies which replace the existing ones. This will be done in the course of endogenous values and structures within a destination. To discuss this issue, the Canary island of Lanzarote is used as case in point, via a qualitative interview series consisting of eleven interviews with different direct and indirect tourism stakeholders from the island, which have been evaluated according to the GABEK®-method (German abbreviation for “GAnzheitliche BEwältigung von Komplexität”: holistic coping of complexity). The results show that aspects of mass tourism have a negative impact on the island and therefore a seemingly successful destination, at least in quantitative terms, is confronted with issues of sustainability and a need for action. In this field, diversification regarding both new offers and target groups is helpful to enable tourism and regional development to be more sustainable. In consequence and from a conceptual point of view, alternative product development as a new approach towards sustainability in tourism within established destinations will be presented.
The Effect of Posted Speed Limit on the Dispersion of Traffic Flow Speed
Authors: Gao Chao , Xu Jinliang , Li Qunshan , Yang Jie
Published: July 2019

Speed dispersion is an important indicator to portray the quality of traffic flow and is closely related to the road safety operation level. In order to clarify the influence of posted speed limits on the dispersion of traffic flow speed, three sections with speed limits of 80 km/h, 100 km/h and 120 km/h on the same expressway were selected for observation, and traffic volume, speed and other parameters were collected. The characteristic speeds, such as average speed, V15 and V85, were evaluation indicators, where V15 and V85 are the speeds of the 15th and 85th percentiles measured at the feature points of the road when the traffic is in a free-flow state and the weather is good. The relationship between different posted speed limit values and the above indicators was analyzed using the statistical analysis software, SPSS. The results show that the speed limit has a high correlation with the average speed of traffic flow, V15 and V85 in free-flow state, with the coefficient of determination being as high as 0.84, 0.85 and 0.92, respectively. In the restricted flow state, the factors affecting the driver’s driving speed are mainly the decrease in driving freedom caused by the increase of traffic volume rather than the speed limit value. In a free-flow state, when the posted speed limit is increased and the average speed and the V85 also increased by approximately the same magnitude. The posted speed limit values of 80 km/h, 100 km/h and 120 km/h correspond to the 90, 88 and 97 percentile speeds of the traffic flow, respectively. The higher the speed limit is, the larger the speed difference between V15 and V85 becomes. The results of the study are very useful for rationally determining the speed limit scheme under different traffic flows.
Choosing Physical, Physicochemical and Chemical Methods of Pre-Treating Lignocellulosic Wastes to Repurpose into Solid Fuels
Authors: Taylor Martin , Alabdrabalameer Hassan , Skoulou Vasiliki
Published: July 2019

Various methods of physical, chemical and combined physicochemical pre-treatments for lignocellulosic biomass waste valorisation to value-added feedstock/solid fuels for downstream processes in chemical industries have been reviewed. The relevant literature was scrutinized for lignocellulosic waste applicability in advanced thermochemical treatments for either energy or liquid fuels. By altering the overall naturally occurring bio-polymeric matrix of lignocellulosic biomass waste, individual components such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin can be accessed for numerous downstream processes such as pyrolysis, gasification and catalytic upgrading to value-added products such as low carbon energy. Assessing the appropriate lignocellulosic pre-treatment technology is critical to suit the downstream process of both small- and large-scale operations. The cost to operate the process (temperature, pressure or energy constraints), the physical and chemical structure of the feedstock after pre-treatment (decomposition/degradation, removal of inorganic components or organic solubilization) or the ability to scale up the pre-treating process must be considered so that the true value in the use of bio-renewable waste can be revealed.
Research on Trade Credit and Bank Credit Based on Dynamic Inventory
Authors: Lei Quansheng , Xu Zhelian , Yang Siqi
Published: July 2019

Trade credit is a short-term business financing based on purchases between the retailer and the supplier. This paper considers a supply chain consisting of a well-funded supplier and a capital-constrained retailer. At the beginning of each sales season, the retailer need to place an order from the supplier to meet the stochastic demand. The capital-constrained retailer determines the order quantity and whether to borrow loans from a bank or the supplier or just use its initial capital, according to its finance and stock status with the wholesale price provided by the supplier. We build the Stackelberg game with the supplier as the leader and divide the retailer’s initial inventory and capital into different wealth regions to discuss the optimal strategies of different wealth regions. We extend to the two-period dynamic financing model based on dynamic inventory and capital flow so as to obtain the optimal strategy matrix of the retailer and the supplier under bank and trade credit. Numerical results validate our theoretical analysis of bank credit and supplier credit with dynamic inventory under different period setting.
The Main Performance and Effectiveness Factors of Sustainable Financial Administration Reform Using Multidimensional Statistical Tools
Authors: Kot Sebastian , Štefko Róbert , Dobrovič Ján , Rajnoha Rastislav , Váchal Jan
Published: July 2019

The tax system reform is a part of Slovakia’s comprehensive tax and levies reform. The reform should contribute to improving and making public finances more efficient. Its implementation into practice, however, is problematic due to attitudes and problems on the part of both the professional public and business entities. The aim of the paper is to help public authorities, and also tax policymakers and business entities to understand the perception of the tax system reform focusing on the most important and key factors of its sustainable effectiveness and performance in the context of its non-macroeconomic especially social, technological and process aspects. The analysis reveals the differences in perceptions of key factors from the viewpoint of the three studied groups. The paper is based on the information of the main actors of tax reform. In extensive empirical quantitative research (N = 1500), the data was obtained through the questionnaire survey carried out in four main districts of Slovakia. The data obtained during six months of 2018 using the questionnaire method were processed by basic statistical methods of descriptive statistics, followed by an analysis of major components and the factor analysis using more sophisticated multidimensional statistical tools. The factor analysis is crucial to the present paper as it has identified five significant indicators of the reform assessment and the functioning of the tax system after tax reform. Subsequently, a correspondence analysis has been applied to the item “electronization/computerization—great user comfort” to find out the differences in its perception by the respondents. The article thus provides a new scientific view on the evaluation of the reform of the financial administration’s management system in the Slovak Republic as well as its functioning in the context of its sustainable effectiveness and performance. The research results offer important and exciting implications and also motives for further investigation on the issue.
Predicting Sheet and Rill Erosion of Shihmen Reservoir Watershed in Taiwan Using Machine Learning
Authors: Nguyen Kieu Anh , Chen Walter , Lin Bor-Shiun , Seeboonruang Uma , Thomas Kent
Published: July 2019

Shihmen Reservoir watershed is vital to the water supply in Northern Taiwan but the reservoir has been heavily impacted by sedimentation and soil erosion since 1964. The purpose of this study was to explore the capability of machine learning algorithms, such as decision tree and random forest, to predict soil erosion (sheet and rill erosion) depths in the Shihmen reservoir watershed. The accuracy of the models was evaluated using the RMSE (Root Mean Squared Error), MAE (Mean Absolute Error), and R2. Moreover, the models were verified against the multiple regression analysis, which is commonly used in statistical analysis. The predictors of these models were 14 environmental factors which influence soil erosion, whereas the target was 550 erosion pins installed at 55 locations (on 55 slopes) and monitored over a period of approximately three years. The data sets for the models were separated into 70% for the training data and 30% for the testing data, using the simple random sampling and stratified random sampling methods. The results show that the random forest algorithm performed the best of the three methods. Moreover, the stratified random sampling method had better results among the two sampling methods, as anticipated. The average error (RMSE relative to 1:1 line) of the stratified random sampling method of the random forest algorithm is 0.93 mm/yr in the training data and 1.75 mm/yr in the testing data, respectively. Finally, the random forest algorithm predicted that type of slope, slope direction, and sub-watershed are the three most important factors of the 14 environmental factors collected and used in this study for splits in the trees and thus they are the three most important factors affecting the depth of sheet and rill erosion in the Shihmen Reservoir watershed. The results of this study can be employed by decision-makers to improve soil conservation planning and watershed remediation.
Reliability Analysis and Optimization of Cold Chain Distribution System for Fresh Agricultural Products
Authors: Zhang Jinghan , Cao Wujun , Park Minyoung
Published: July 2019

In recent years, with the Chinese government’s emphasis on the development of the cold chain logistics market for fresh agricultural products, the rapid development of agricultural cold chain logistics has been promoted in many aspects. However, in the circulation of fresh agricultural products, there is still a serious problem of “broken chain” leading to a high corrosion rate. Therefore, this research has analyzed the uncertain factors affecting the cold chain distribution system based on fault tree model, and then transform it into Bayesian network to evaluate the reliability of the cold chain distribution system for fresh agricultural product, and identify the key factors affecting the reliability of the cold chain distribution system through calculated probability importance of each node. Then we have constructed nonlinear equations with the limit of the cost, based on reliability allocation method to improve the system reliability. Numerical examples are given to validate the proposed models. The optimization result shows that higher reliability value assigned to the factors with high probability importance is more conducive to the improvement of system reliability.
Hiking Tourism in Spain: Origins, Issues and Transformations
Authors: Gómez-Martín María Belén
Published: July 2019

In Spain, hiking is an activity that involves following paths, which may or may not be signposted, on foot, for sporting and cultural purposes. In the country as a whole, although with important regional variations, hiking has traditionally been linked to mountaineering and rambling clubs. However, at the beginning of the 1990s this activity became much more widely popular, reaching beyond the more limited sphere within which the pioneers of hiking in Spain had acted. Hiking stopped being just a sporting and cultural activity and also became a form of tourism and leisure, coinciding with the emergence and consolidation of what have become known as alternative forms of tourism. In this context of change, hiking tourism has gradually evolved over the years into a strategic option for development in many territories. This article presents the most important aspects of this transformation: the changes in the territorial model for the management of the paths on which the creation of hiking tourism products is based; the fact that in the design of routes more consideration is being given to the differential characteristics of tourist demand for hiking; the adaptation of the accommodation, restaurant facilities and the main specific services associated with it; and the emergence and engagement of new stakeholders in the processes of planning, distribution and communication of this activity.
Examination of Chinese Cruise Tourists’ Attributes Using a Choice Experiment
Authors: Park SeYoung , Lee Won Seok , Moon Joonho , Heo Jun
Published: July 2019

Several studies have mentioned the differentiation between Western and Asian cultures in terms of people’s backgrounds, life styles, and perspectives. In particular, in cruise tourism, tourists from China have shown different behavior from Western tourists. Previous research has investigated the preferences of cruise tourists. However, there have been few systematic studies of their preferences. Thus, it is necessary to examine cultural uniqueness with a systematic method. Therefore, the main purpose of the study is to apply a choice experiment (CE), which is a scientific method for understanding Chinese tourists’ preferences for a given attribute as a form of marginal willingness-to-pay, and to identify their priorities. In order to collect the data from an online data platform, the answers from 244 Chinese were used for multinomial logit analysis. The study results demonstrate that the respondents placed the highest value on having a variety of shopping items in duty-free shops on board. Furthermore, room type, percentage of traditional Chinese food served, and touring in ports of call were also statistically significant attributes. The conclusion and the implications of this study will be discussed.
Symmetric Criticality and Magnetic Monopoles in General Relativity
Authors: Franklin Joel
Published: July 2019

The Weyl method for finding solutions in general relativity using symmetry by varying an action with respect to a reduced set of field variables is known to fail in some cases. We add to the list of failures by considering an application of the Weyl method to a magnetically charged spherically symmetric source, obtaining an incorrect geometry. This is surprising, because the same method, applied to electrically charged central bodies correctly produces the Reissner-Nordström spacetime.
Fixed Coeficient A(α) Stable Block Backward
Differentiation Formulas for Stiff Ordinary
Differential Equations
Authors: Ibrahim Zarina Bibi , Mohd Noor Nursyazwani , Othman Khairil Iskandar
Published: July 2019

The main contribution in this paper is to construct an implicit fixed coefficient Block Backward Differentiation Formulas denoted as A ( α ) -BBDF with equal intervals for solving stiff ordinary differential equations (ODEs). To avoid calculating the differentiation coefficients at each step of the integration, the coefficients of the formulas will be stored, with the intention of optimizing the performance in terms of precision and computational time. The plots of their A ( α ) stability region are provided, and the order of the method is also verified. The necessary conditions for convergence, such as the consistency and zero stability of the method, are also discussed. The numerical results clearly showed the efficiency of the method in terms of accuracy and execution time as compared to other existing methods in the scientific literature.
Some Identities of Ordinary and Degenerate Bernoulli Numbers and Polynomials
Authors: Dolgy Dmitry V. , Kim Dae San , Kwon Jongkyum , Kim Taekyun
Published: July 2019

In this paper, we investigate some identities on Bernoulli numbers and polynomials and those on degenerate Bernoulli numbers and polynomials arising from certain p-adic invariant integrals on Z p . In particular, we derive various expressions for the polynomials associated with integer power sums, called integer power sum polynomials and also for their degenerate versions. Further, we compute the expectations of an infinite family of random variables which involve the degenerate Stirling polynomials of the second and some value of higher-order Bernoulli polynomials.
Evolutionary Algorithm for Aerospace Shell Product Digital Production Line Scheduling Problem
Authors: Wang Qing , Luo Haiwei , Xiong Jian , Song Yanjie , Zhang Zhongshan
Published: July 2019

The production of aerospace shell products is directly related to the safety and reliability of aerospace products. In this work, the aerospace shell product digital production line scheduling problem (ASPDPLSP) was studied, and a solution was developed. In the production process, it is necessary to decide the processing machine and time of each operation. In order to create a scientific shell product production plan, we propose an operation scheduling algorithm (OSA). Based on the constraints of the inspection process, the OSA has two heuristic task scheduling rules. Then, in order to further optimize the product production plan, an improved genetic algorithm (IGA) is proposed. Considering the repeatability caused by random search, a method for the initial population generation with similar and diverse characteristics is proposed. Two of these generation rules retain symmetry and randomness. IGA was used to optimize the order in which the products were processed, resulting in lower costs. Simulation experiments showed that the proposed algorithm solved ASPDPLSP well and provided suggestions to produce aerospace shell products.
In Vitro and In Vivo Antimalarial Activity of LZ1, a Peptide Derived from Snake Cathelicidin
Authors: Fang Yaqun , He Xiaoqin , Zhang Pengcheng , Shen Chuanbin , Mwangi James , Xu Cheng , Mo Guoxiang , Lai Ren , Zhang Zhiye
Published: July 2019

Antimalarial drug resistance is an enormous global threat. Recently, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are emerging as a new source of antimalarials. In this study, an AMP LZ1 derived from snake cathelicidin was identified with antimalarial activity. In the in vitro antiplasmodial assay, LZ1 showed strong suppression of blood stage Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) with an IC50 value of 3.045 μM. In the in vivo antiplasmodial assay, LZ1 exerted a significant antimalarial activity against Plasmodium berghei (P. berghei) in a dose- and a time- dependent manner. In addition, LZ1 exhibited anti-inflammatory effects and attenuated liver-function impairment during P. berghei infection. Furthermore, by employing inhibitors against glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation in erythrocytes, LZ1 specifically inhibited adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production in parasite-infected erythrocyte by selectively inhibiting the pyruvate kinase activity. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that LZ1 is a potential candidate for novel antimalarials development.
Identification and Evaluations of Novel Insecticidal Proteins from Plants of the Class Polypodiopsida for Crop Protection against Key Lepidopteran Pests
Authors: Liu Lu , Schepers Eric , Lum Amy , Rice Janet , Yalpani Nasser , Gerber Ryan , Jiménez-Juárez Nuria , Haile Fikru , Pascual Alejandra , Barry Jennifer , Qi Xiuli , Kassa Adane , Heckert Matthew J. , Xie Weiping , Ding Changkui , Oral Jarred , Nguyen Minh , Le James , Procyk Lisa , Diehn Scott H. , Crane Virginia C. , Damude Howard , Pilcher Carol , Booth Russ , Liu Lu , Zhu Genhai , Nowatzki Timothy M. , Nelson Mark E. , Lu Albert L. , Wu Gusui
Published: July 2019

Various lepidopteran insects are responsible for major crop losses worldwide. Although crop plant varieties developed to express Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins are effective at controlling damage from key lepidopteran pests, some insect populations have evolved to be insensitive to certain Bt proteins. Here, we report the discovery of a family of homologous proteins, two of which we have designated IPD083Aa and IPD083Cb, which are from Adiantum spp. Both proteins share no known peptide domains, sequence motifs, or signatures with other proteins. Transgenic soybean or corn plants expressing either IPD083Aa or IPD083Cb, respectively, show protection from feeding damage by several key pests under field conditions. The results from comparative studies with major Bt proteins currently deployed in transgenic crops indicate that the IPD083 proteins function by binding to different target sites. These results indicate that IPD083Aa and IPD083Cb can serve as alternatives to traditional Bt-based insect control traits with potential to counter insect resistance to Bt proteins.
Recent Advances in the Development of Peptide Vaccines and Their Delivery Systems against Group A Streptococcus
Authors: Azuar Armira , Jin Wanli , Mukaida Saori , Hussein Waleed M. , Toth Istvan , Skwarczynski Mariusz
Published: July 2019

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection can cause a variety of diseases in humans, ranging from common sore throats and skin infections, to more invasive diseases and life-threatening post-infectious diseases, such as rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. Although research has been ongoing since 1923, vaccines against GAS are still not available to the public. Traditional approaches taken to develop vaccines for GAS failed due to poor efficacy and safety. Fortunately, headway has been made and modern subunit vaccines that administer minimal bacterial components provide an opportunity to finally overcome previous hurdles in GAS vaccine development. This review details the major antigens and strategies used for GAS vaccine development. The combination of antigen selection, peptide epitope modification and delivery systems have resulted in the discovery of promising peptide vaccines against GAS; these are currently in preclinical and clinical studies.
Energy Sorghum Production under Arid and Semi-Arid Environments of Texas
Authors: Enciso Juan , Chavez Jose C. , Ganjegunte Girisha , Zapata Samuel D.
Published: July 2019

Water availability and supply are critical factors in the production of bioenergy. Dry biomass productivity and water use efficiency (WUE) of two biomass sorghum cultivars (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) were studied in two different climatic locations during 2014 and 2015. The objective of this field study was to evaluate the dry biomass productivity and water use efficiency of two energy sorghum cultivars grown in two different climatic environments: one at Pecos located in the Chihuahuan Desert and a second one located at Weslaco in the Lower Rio Grande bordering Mexico and with a semiarid environment. There were significant differences between locations in dry biomass and WUE. Dry biomass productivity ranged from 22.4 to 31.9 Mg ha−1 in Weslaco, while in Pecos it ranged from 7.4 to 17.6 Mg ha−1. Even though it was possible to produce energy sorghum biomass in an arid environment with saline-sodic soils and saline irrigation, the energy sorghum dry biomass yield was reduced more than 50% in the arid environment compared to production in a semiarid environment with good soil and water quality, and it required approximately twice as much water. Harsh production conditions combined with low energy prices resulted in negative net returns for all treatments. However, a moderate increase in ethanol price could make the semiarid cropland of Texas an economically feasible feedstock production location.
Efficiency of Combined Processes Coagulation/Solar Photo Fenton in the Treatment of Landfill Leachate
Authors: Rebolledo Liceth P. , Arana Victoria A. , Trilleras Jorge , Barros Gustavo E. , González-Solano Arturo J. , Maury-Ardila Henry
Published: July 2019

The combined coagulation-solar photo Fenton treatment of leachate from the sanitary landfill located in Atlantico-Colombia was investigated. Firstly, the efficiency of two alternative combined treatments for the reduction of chemical oxygen demand in leachate was assessed, coagulation with poly-aluminum chloride followed by solar photo-Fenton process (Treatment 1) and coagulation with FeCl3·6H2O followed by ferrioxalate-induced solar photo-Fenton process (Treatment 2). Afterwards, treatments 1 and 2 were compared with the treatment currently used in the sanitary landfill (only coagulation with poly-aluminum chloride), in terms of efficiency and costs. An optimization study of alternative treatments was performed combining central-composite experimental design and response surface methodology. The optimum conditions resulted in a chemical oxygen demand reduction of 73 % and 80 % for Treatment 1 and 2, respectively. Both alternative treatments for the leachate are more efficient than the treatment currently used in the sanitary landfill (chemical oxygen demand reduction of 20 %). In terms of costs, treatment 1 would be the most competitive to implement in the sanitary landfill, since this would have an increase of 13.3 % in the total unitary cost compared to an increase of 39.5 % of treatment 2.
New Insights of the Sicily Channel and Southern Tyrrhenian Sea Variability
Authors: Menna Milena , Poulain Pierre-Marie , Ciani Daniele , Doglioli Andrea , Notarstefano Giulio , Gerin Riccardo , Rio Marie-Helene , Santoleri Rosalia , Gauci Adam , Drago Aldo
Published: July 2019

The dynamics of the Sicily Channel and the southern Tyrrhenian Sea are highly influenced by the seasonal variability of the Mediterranean basin-wide circulation, by the interannual variability of the numerous mesoscale structures present in the Channel, and by the decadal variability of the adjacent Ionian Sea. In the present study, all these aspects are investigated using in-situ (Lagrangian drifter trajectories and Argo float profiles) and satellite data (Absolute Dynamic Topography, Sea Level Anomaly, Sea Surface Temperature, wind products) over the period from 1993 to 2018. The availability of long time series of data and high-resolution multi-sensor surface currents allow us to add new details on the circulation features and on their driving mechanisms and to detect new permanent eddies not yet described in literature. The structures prevailing in winter are mainly driven by wind, whereas those prevailing in summer are regulated by topographical forcing on surface currents. The strength of the surface structures located at the western entrance of the Ionian Sea and of the mesoscale activity along the northern Sicily coast is modulated by the large-scale internal variability. The vertical hydrological characteristics of these mesoscale eddies are delineated using the Argo float profiles inside these structures.