bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of Multifunctional Oligomethylsilsesquioxanes by Catalyst-Free Hydrolytic Polycondensation of Methyltrimethoxysilane under Microwave Radiation
Authors: Kalinina Alexandra A. , Gorbatsevich Olga B. , Yakhontov Nikita G. , Demchenko Nina V. , Vasilenko Nataliya G. , Kazakova Valentina V. , Muzafarov Aziz M.
Published: January 2023

The catalyst-free hydrolytic polycondensation of methyltrimethoxysilane under microwave radiation has been studied. The effect of molar ratios of the reagents (MTMS/H2O = 1/0.5–1/9), radiation power (20–300 W), temperature (30–50 °C) and duration of exposure (2.5–90 min) on the course of the process is considered. It has been shown that the use of microwave radiation promotes the activation of the process, and almost complete conversion of the monomer can be achieved in 5 min at 30 °C, 20 W and an MTMS/H2O ratio of 1/3. The optimal radiation power for the maximum conversion of the monomer and MeO-groups is in the range from 20 to 100 W. An increase in the water amount, the duration and temperature of the process contribute to an increase in the monomer conversion, a decrease in the content of residual MeO-groups and the yield of non-volatile oligomethylsilsesquioxanes. The limits of this approach using to the synthesis of multifunctional branched polyorganosilsesquioxanes are determined. Depending on the process conditions, homogeneous water–alcohol solutions of oligomethylsilsesquioxane with a concentration of 20 to 50 wt.% can be obtained. The OH-group content and the molecular weight of the obtained oligomers vary from 10 to 30 wt.% and from 1000 to 600 Da, respectively.
Azimuth-Aware Discriminative Representation Learning for Semi-Supervised Few-Shot SAR Vehicle Recognition
Authors: Zhang Linbin , Leng Xiangguang , Feng Sijia , Ma Xiaojie , Ji Kefeng , Kuang Gangyao , Liu Li
Published: January 2023

Among the current methods of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) automatic target recognition (ATR), unlabeled measured data and labeled simulated data are widely used to elevate the performance of SAR ATR. In view of this, the setting of semi-supervised few-shot SAR vehicle recognition is proposed to use these two forms of data to cope with the problem that few labeled measured data are available, which is a pioneering work in this field. In allusion to the sensitivity of poses of SAR vehicles, especially in the situation of only a few labeled data, we design two azimuth-aware discriminative representation (AADR) losses that suppress intra-class variations of samples with huge azimuth-angle differences, while simultaneously enlarging inter-class differences of samples with the same azimuth angle in the feature-embedding space via cosine similarity. Unlabeled measured data from the MSTAR dataset are labeled with pseudo-labels from categories among the SARSIM dataset and SAMPLE dataset, and these two forms of data are taken into consideration in the proposed loss. The few labeled samples in experimental settings are randomly selected in the training set. The phase data and amplitude data of SAR targets are all taken into consideration in this article. The proposed method achieves 71.05%, 86.09%, and 66.63% under 4-way 1-shot in EOC1 (Extended Operating Condition), EOC2/C, and EOC2/V, respectively, which overcomes other few-shot learning (FSL) and semi-supervised few-shot learning (SSFSL) methods in classification accuracy.
Simulation of CrIS Radiances Accounting for Realistic Properties of the Instrument Responsivity That Result in Spectral Ringing Features
Authors: Borg Lori , Loveless Michelle , Knuteson Robert , Revercomb Hank , Taylor Joe , Chen Yong , Iturbide-Sanchez Flavio , Tobin David
Published: January 2023

This paper provides a procedure for the simulation of radiances from the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) Fourier Transform Spectrometer to include spectral ringing effects caused by the finite-band, non-flat instrument spectral response to incident radiation. A simulation using a line-by-line radiative transfer model is performed to illustrate the magnitude of the effect and to indicate which spectral channels are likely to be impacted. Comparisons with CrIS observations are made to show that for most channels this effect is negligibly small compared to errors in the radiative transfer calculations but for the longwave edge of the CrIS longwave band and a few other regions, the brightness temperature ringing is significant. While the ringing artifact described in this paper may appear to be removed when Hamming apodization is applied, as is done for the assimilation of CrIS data into Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models, it is still present, and its influence reappears if the spectral correlation induced by apodization is properly handled to preserve the information content that derives from high spectral resolution. Inclusion of the instrument responsivity in calculated spectra to properly mimic the observed spectra as defined here eliminates artifacts from this type of ringing. Users of CrIS radiances should consider whether this effect is important for their application.
Predicting Spatially Explicit Composite Burn Index (CBI) from Different Spectral Indices Derived from Sentinel 2A: A Case of Study in Tunisia
Authors: Amroussia Mouna , Viedma Olga , Achour Hammadi , Abbes Chaabane
Published: January 2023

Fire severity, which quantifies the degree of organic matter consumption, is an important component of the fire regime. High-severity fires have major ecological implications, affecting carbon uptake, storage and emissions, soil nutrients, and plant regeneration, among other ecosystem services. Accordingly, spatially explicit maps of the fire severity are required to develop improved tools to manage and restore the most damaged areas. The aim of this study is to develop spatially explicit maps of the field-based fire severity (composite burn index—CBI) from different spectral indices derived from Sentinel 2A images and using several regression models. The study areas are two recent large fires that occurred in Tunisia in the summer of 2021. We employed different spectral severity indices derived from the normalized burn ratio (NBR): differenced NBR (dNBR), relative differenced NBR (RdNBR), and relativized burn Ratio (RBR). In addition, we calculated the burned area index for Sentinel 2 (BAIS2) and the thermal anomaly index (TAI). Different tree decision models (i.e., the recursive partitioning regression method [RPART], bagging regression trees [Bagging], and boosted regression trees [BRT]), as well as a generalized additive model [GAM]), were applied to predict the CBI. The main results indicated that RBR, followed by dNBR, were the most important spectral severity indices for predicting the field-based CBI. Moreover, BRT was the best regression model, explaining 92% of the CBI variance using the training set of points and 88% when using the validation set. These results suggested the adequacy of RBR index derived from Sentinel 2A for assessing and mapping forest fire severity in Mediterranean forests. These spatially explicit maps of field-based CBI could help improve post-fire recovery and restoration efforts.
Early Warning of the Carbon-Neutral Pressure Caused by Urban Agglomeration Growth: Evidence from an Urban Network-Based Cellular Automata Model in the Greater Bay Area
Authors: He Sanwei , Ma Shifa , Zhang Bin , Li Guangdong , Yang Zhenjie
Published: January 2023

Carbon neutrality is becoming an important development goal for regions and countries around the world. Land-use cover/change (LUCC), especially urban growth, as a major source of carbon emissions, has been extensively studied to support carbon-neutral planning. However, studies have typically used methods of small-scale urban growth simulation to model urban agglomeration growth to assist in carbon-neutral planning, ignoring the significant characteristics of the process to achieve carbon neutrality: large-scale and long-term. This paper proposes a framework to model large-scale and long-term urban growth, which couples a quantity module and a spatial module to model the quantity and spatial allocation of urban land, respectively. This framework integrates the inertia of historical land-use change, the driving effects of the urbanization law (S-curve), and the traction of the urban agglomeration network to model the long-term quantity change of urban land. Moreover, it couples a partitioned modeling framework, spatially heterogeneous rules derived by geographically weighted regression (GWR), and quantified land-use planning orientations to build a cellular automata (CA) model to accurately allocate the urbanized cells in a large-scale spatial domain. Taking the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GHMGBA) as an example, the proposed framework is calibrated by the urban growth from 2000 to 2010 and validated by that from 2010 to 2020. The figure of merit (FoM) of the results simulated by the framework is 0.2926, and the simulated results are also assessed by some evidence, which both confirm the good performance of the framework to model large-scale and long-term urban growth. Coupling with the coefficients proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this framework is used to project the carbon emissions caused by urban growth in the GHMGBA from 2020 to 2050. The results indicate that Guangzhou, Foshan, Huizhou, and Jiangmen are under great pressure to achieve the carbon-neutral targets in the future, while Hong Kong, Macao, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai are relatively easy to bring up to the standard. This research contributes to the ability of land-use models to simulate large-scale and long-term urban growth to predict carbon emissions and to support the carbon-neutral planning of the GHMGBA.
Investigating the Influence of Water Vapor on Heavy Rainfall Events in the Southern Korean Peninsula
Authors: Kim Yoo-Jun , Jee Joon-Bum , Lim Byunghwan
Published: January 2023

In this study, we examined the influence of water vapor on heavy rainfall events over the complex mountainous terrain of the southern Korean Peninsula using rawinsonde and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) datasets from a mobile observation vehicle (MOVE). Results demonstrated that the prevailing southeasterly winds enhanced precipitation on the leeward side of the mountainous region. The probability of severe rainfall increased in the highest precipitable water vapor (PWV) bin (>60 mm). A lead–lag analysis demonstrated that the atmosphere remained moist for 1 h before and after heavy rainfall. The temporal behavior of PWV retrieved from the MOVE-GNSS data demonstrated that during Changma (the summer monsoon) (Case 1), heavy rainfall events experience a steep decrease after a long increasing trend in PWV. However, the most intense rainfall events occurred after a rapid increase in PWV along with a strong southwesterly water vapor flow during convective instability (Case 2), and they had consistently higher moisture and greater instability than those in Case 1 over the entire period. The results of this study can provide some insights to improve the predictability of heavy rainfall in the southern Korean Peninsula.
Segment-then-Segment: Context-Preserving Crop-Based Segmentation for Large Biomedical Images
Authors: Benčević Marin , Qiu Yuming , Galić Irena , Pižurica Aleksandra
Published: January 2023

Medical images are often of huge size, which presents a challenge in terms of memory requirements when training machine learning models. Commonly, the images are downsampled to overcome this challenge, but this leads to a loss of information. We present a general approach for training semantic segmentation neural networks on much smaller input sizes called Segment-then-Segment. To reduce the input size, we use image crops instead of downscaling. One neural network performs the initial segmentation on a downscaled image. This segmentation is then used to take the most salient crops of the full-resolution image with the surrounding context. Each crop is segmented using a second specially trained neural network. The segmentation masks of each crop are joined to form the final output image. We evaluate our approach on multiple medical image modalities (microscopy, colonoscopy, and CT) and show that this approach greatly improves segmentation performance with small network input sizes when compared to baseline models trained on downscaled images, especially in terms of pixel-wise recall.
Persistence of Hg-Contaminated Soil Stabilization in Typical Areas of Dehua County, Fujian Province, China
Authors: Wang Rui , Chen Nan , Liu Guannan , Ding Jianhua , Chen Ming , Zhang Jiawen
Published: January 2023

The in-situ stabilization remediation of Hg-contaminated soil in Qianyang, Dehua County, Fujian Province, was studied through the pre-experiments (stabilization orthogonal experiment and pot experiment) and field plot experiments for two consecutive years. The pre-experiments results showed that the main factors of the stabilization were the initial concentration of Hg in the soil and the amount of amendment added, followed by the amendment type, while the aging time had less effect. When the initial concentration of Hg in the soil was less than 10 mg·kg−1 and the amendment (modified biochar with modified attapulgite) added ratio was 0.2–0.4%, indicating optimized stabilization effect. After one-time application of 6750 and 11,250 kg·hm−2 amendment in low (1.38 mg·kg−1), medium (2.46 mg·kg−1), and high (8.52 mg·kg−1) Hg-contaminated soils, it could accelerate the transformation of Hg from exchangeable to residual and oxidizable Hg, enhance the activities of catalase, urease, and invertase in the soil. After one year of remediation, the case of adding 6750 kg·hm−2 amendment showed a significant stabilization effect. Compared to the control group, the available Hg content in the soil and Hg content in the water spinach reduced to 52.1–62.0% and 58.2–66.6%, respectively. When the application amount was increased to 11,250 kg·hm−2, the reduction rates were 43.2–46.0% and 58.2–62.0%, respectively. After two years of remediation, the stabilization effect was weakened, but the available Hg content in the soil and the water spinach was still significantly lower than that of the control, indicating that the persistence of the stabilization was good. For the soil contaminated slightly by Hg, the Hg content in the water spinach within two years was lower than the limit value of the Chinese standard (0.01 mg·kg−1). Although the Hg content in the water spinach for the soil contaminated highly by Hg was higher than the limit value, it could reduce to 67.3%, indicating an acceptable stabilization effect on heavily contaminated soil.
Integration, Resilience, and Innovation Capability Enhance LSPs’ Operational Performance
Authors: Deng Qining , Noorliza K.
Published: January 2023

In the context of the development of industry 4.0 embedded in various industries, organizations face stiffening competition from external dynamically changing and unpredictable environments. To remain competitive and sustainable in this era, organizations need resilience and innovation capability. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the association between external integration, resilience, innovation capability, and logistics service providers (LSPs) operational performance. Moreover, this research investigates the mediating effects of sustainable logistics and innovation capability between external integration and LSPs operational performance. Based on Resource orchestration theory, a framework has been drawn. The survey of 273 Chinese LSPs was examined through the PLS-SEM technique. The findings indicate that external integration has a positive relationship with logistics resilience and innovation capability, which have a positive impact on LSPs’ operational performance. The results also show that innovation capability positively mediates the relationship between external integration and operational performance. Unexpectedly, logistics resilience has not played a mediating role between external integration and operational performance. This study makes contributions to the construction of a mechanism of LSP performance improvement by integrating the external environment, resilience, and innovation. The paper also advanced the theory of resource orchestration theory by adding these two mediators of logistics resilience and innovation capability
Does Teachers’ Intention Translate to Actual Usage? Investigating the Predictors of K-12 Teachers’ Usage of Open Educational Resources in China
Authors: Cai Huiying , Dong Haixia , Li Xin , Wong Lung-Hsiang
Published: January 2023

Education stakeholders around the world have been promoting the use of open educational resources (OER) by K-12 teachers to improve the quality of classroom instruction. Prior research identified individual and contextual factors that influenced teachers’ use of OER yet ignored the factor of quality. The aim of this survey study was to investigate how three categories of factors (quality of OER, teacher-related factors, and school-related factors) influence teachers’ use of OER based on the framework of the integrative model of behavior prediction. Multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling of survey data from 1398 Chinese teachers yielded unexpected findings that contradict the understanding of the issue as reported in the prior literature. That is, compared with the distal school-related factors, the distal OER-related factor is a stronger predictor of teachers’ use of OER. Among the proximal teacher-related factors, the effects of the two types of distal factors on teachers’ use of OER were positively mediated by their self-efficacy in using OER and negatively mediated by their intention to use and attitude toward using OER. This reflects how the salient features of the Chinese educational landscape may have distorted previously known factors conducive to teachers’ use of OER among scholars and practitioners worldwide. Recommendations for future improvement of teachers’ OER adoption in Chinese K-12 education are discussed.
Education for Sustainable Development in Germany: Governance and Inter-Organizational Perspectives—A Discussion on Qualitative Research Regarding the Municipal Level
Authors: Gebauer Ronald , Schönheit Anna-Luise , Rink Dieter
Published: January 2023

The background of this conceptual paper constitutes the manifold efforts in Germany to establish and continue to develop municipal ESD landscapes. Related research is directed toward identifying factors which are either favorable or unfavorable for ESD implementation. Against this background, we outline the process of deriving research questions for new qualitative research. This is realized by adopting a governance analytical perspective. On the basis of a literature review, we elaborate on the state of research and discuss two promising governance approaches, along with associated empirical findings. Along with a further literature review, we also address why we consider expert interviews to be an appropriate approach for data collection and analysis. We conclude that it is important to not only focus on the coordination of collaborations, but also include the history of municipal cooperation, existing ESD (self-)understanding of involved actors, and collaboration practices. On this basis, we identify research gaps and specify research questions, which can serve as a basis for further research on ESD. Corresponding empirical research may optimize municipal ESD implementation processes.
Does Global Value Chain Embedment Contribute to Environmental Pollution in Emerging Economies?
Authors: Zhang Guimei , Liu Guangyue
Published: January 2023

Scientifically judging the environmental effects of embedding in the global value chain (GVC) has important theoretical significance and practical value, especially for emerging economies, but there are few studies on the relationship between GVC embedment and environmental pollution in emerging economies. Based on the classical theory of Grossman, this study analyzed the mechanism framework of GVC embedment on environmental pollution and then used the panel data of 16 emerging economies from 1998 to 2019 for empirical tests. After using the FGLS regression model and a series of empirical tests, the main conclusions are as follows. (1) The impact of GVC embedment on environmental pollution in emerging economies includes five effects. The scale effect brings about the expansion of production activities and increases the emission of environmental pollutants. The technological effect refers to improvements in the level of clean technology, which are brought about by the acquisition and acceptance of “technology spillover” in the value chain. The structural effect is the reduction in pollutant emissions and improvement in the environment through economic upgrading. The income effect is a “demand push” to improve the environment and reduce pollution triggered by an increase in national income. The lock-in effect means that the leaders of the value chain hinder emerging economies from achieving high-level economic upgrades, intending to lock them into the links with relatively high pollution. These effects are not static but are interlinked and affect each other. (2) The results of the empirical study show that embedding in the GVC initially has a negative impact on the environment, but with the deepening of GVC embedment, environmental pollution will decrease; that is, it shows an inverted U-shaped relationship. (3) The density of energy use, the share of fossil fuels, and the per capita income of emerging economies are positively correlated with environmental pollution, while population density and manufacturing share are negatively correlated. This study also provides suggestions on how to improve the environment in the process of GVC embedment in the future.
Statistical Analysis of Alpha Power Inverse Weibull Distribution under Hybrid Censored Scheme with Applications to Ball Bearings Technology and Biomedical Data
Authors: Haj Ahmad Hanan , Almetwally Ehab M. , Rabaiah Ahmed , Ramadan Dina A.
Published: January 2023

Applications in medical technology have a massive contribution to the treatment of patients. One of the attractive tools is ball bearings. These balls support the load of the application as well as minimize friction between the surfaces. If a heavy load is applied to a ball bearing, there is the risk that the balls may be damaged and cause the bearing to fail earlier. Hence, we aim to study the model of the failure times of ball bearings. A hybrid Type-II censoring scheme is recommended to minimize the experimental time and cost where the components are following alpha power inverse Weibull distribution. A ball bearing is one example; the other is the resistance of guinea pigs exposed to dosages of virulent tubercle bacilli. We use different estimation methods to obtain point and interval estimates of the unknown parameters of the distribution; consequently, estimating statistical functions such as the hazard rate and the survival functions are observed. The maximum likelihood method and the maximum product spacing methods are used, in addition to the Bayesian estimation method, in which symmetric and asymmetric loss functions are utilized. Interval estimators are obtained for the unknown parameters using three different criteria: approximate, credible, and bootstrap confidence intervals. The performance of the parameters’ estimation is accomplished via simulation analysis and numerical methods such as Newton–Raphson and Monte Carlo Markov chains. Finally, results and conclusions support the suitability of alpha power inverse Weibull distribution under a hybrid Type-II censoring scheme for modeling real biomedical data.
Special Issue Editorial: “Discrete and Continuous Memristive Nonlinear Systems and Symmetry”
Authors: He Shaobo
Published: January 2023

Memristor, as the fourth basic electronic component, was first reported by Chua in 1971 [...]
A Retrospective Study of the Severity of Injury following Potassium Permanganate Ingestion in Teenagers and Adults in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
Authors: Beningfield Samantha J. , Webber Emily A. , Oosthuizen George V. , Čačala Sharon R.
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Potassium Permanganate (KMnO4) is an uncommon cause of caustic ingestion in teenagers and adults; only case reports are found in the recent literature. At Ngwelezana Hospital in South Africa, KMnO4 ingestion is not an uncommon indication for admission. KMnO4 is readily available as used in most households and recommended for medicinal purposes by traditional health practitioners. Aim: To ascertain the reasons for KMnO4 ingestion, the extent and severity of injury as determined by upper gastro-intestinal studies, and patient outcomes in comparison with the available global literature. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 26 teenage and adult patients, admitted to our adult wards following KMnO4 ingestion. Data collected on patient demographics, reason for KMnO4 ingestion, and quantity ingested. Oral inspection and upper gastro-intestinal study findings recorded with grading (Zargar) of corrosive injury to oesophagus and stomach. Patients’ outcome and duration of hospital stay documented. Results: There were 73% females and 27% males, with an average age of 23 years. Reasons for ingestion included parasuicide (84%), accidental ingestion (8%), and for relief of abdominal pain (8%). The vast majority (96%) swallowed KMnO4 in solution rather than in solid form. The volume and concentration of KMnO4 taken was difficult to quantify. Oral discoloration, oedema, and ulceration were found in 58%. Gastro-intestinal endoscopy was performed in 92%; abnormalities were demonstrated in 68% (oesophageal injury 14%, oesophageal and gastric injuries 14%, gastric injury alone 41%). Oesophageal injuries: n = 6; Zargar grade 1—83%, Zargar grade 2A—17%. Gastric injuries: n = 12; Zargar grade 1—42%, Zargar grade 2A—33%, Zargar grade 2B—25%. Average hospital stay was 2.9 days (range 2–8 days). There were no mortalities and no complications at 6 weeks. Conclusion: KMnO4 ingestion by teenagers and adults is not uncommon in our setting, mostly related to suicide attempts and most often taken in liquid form. KMnO4 was possibly of a low concentration as no systemic complications were noted and there were milder gastric and oesophageal injuries as compared to case reports from elsewhere of mucosal necrosis following ingestion of KMnO4.
Water Sensitive Planning for the Cities in the Global South
Authors: Kumar Ashok , Button Cat , Gupta Shambhavi , Amezaga Jaime
Published: January 2023

Water Sensitive Planning (WSP) recognizes the centrality of water in the urban built environment, something often overlooked in urban planning systems. WSP was primarily developed for western city contexts but many cities in the Global South are rapidly urbanizing, and informal settlements are the predominant form of development, with limited existing water provision. A new WSP framework is needed for these contexts. This paper envisions what a WSP theory would look like for a city in the Global South to enhance water security, using Delhi as a starting point. Firstly, the substantive components of WSP are identified from the literature. Secondly, this framework is critiqued with respect to the extent to which it is appropriate for planning rapidly urbanizing cities, especially in India. Finally, the key principles of WSP for cities in the Global South are suggested. Notable principles include integration of water planning and city planning; linking of drains with statute protected water bodies; green places as recharge areas; reuse of adequately treated wastewater for irrigation purposes; and building roads and drains as per hydrogeography of a place.
Analysis of Water Resource Carrying Capacity and Obstacle Factors Based on GRA-TOPSIS Evaluation Method in Manas River Basin
Authors: Gulishengmu Anfuding , Yang Guang , Tian Lijun , Pan Yue , Huang Zhou , Xu Xingang , Gao Yongli , Li Yi
Published: January 2023

The investigation of water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) in oasis cities in Northwest China is useful for guiding the sustainable development of arid regions. To quantify the WRCC of Shihezi, an oasis city in the Manas River Basin (MRB), Northwest China, a total of 21 indicators from three subsystems were selected to construct an evaluation index system based on the theory of the water resource–socio-economic–ecological complex system. Our study utilized a combination of the CRITIC method and the entropy weight method to determine the synthesis weight, the GRA-TOPSIS approach to comprehensively evaluate the WRCC, and the obstacle degree model to identify its main obstacle factors. Our results showed that the WRCC of Shihezi showed an increasing trend from 2011 to 2020, with the compositive index increasing from 0.3454 to 0.5210. The carrying capacities of the ecological environment and socio-economic subsystems were generally on the rise, but the rate of change was relatively gentle from 2017 to 2020. The carrying capacity index of the water resource subsystem dropped significantly from year to year from 2016 to 2020. The irrigation coverage rate, the proportion of agricultural water, water consumption per 10,000 CNY of GDP, the modulus of water production, water resource development and its utilization ratio, the water supply modulus, and the proportion of ecological water were the seven most significant obstacles. Our findings could serve as scientific references for enhancing WRCC and promoting the sustainable development of oasis cities in arid regions.
Herbicide Fate and Transport in the Great Barrier Reef: A Review of Critical Parameters
Authors: Nahar Kamrun , Baillie Justine , Zulkarnain Noor Azwa
Published: January 2023

Herbicides used for weed management on agricultural land in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef catchments are a key concern for its ecosystem, including the lagoon’s marine plants and corals, whose productivity has been found to decline. The most reliable way to assess herbicide risk is by monitoring a site regularly, but this is costly and time-consuming, so numerical simulations and computer models are an alternative method. Despite the availability of low-cost and less labor-intensive modelling methods, they have been limited in their effectiveness due to a lack of specific herbicide usage data and an inadequate understanding of the breakdown and transport processes of herbicides after application. This paper reviews current findings regarding herbicide risk in all Great Barrier Reef catchments according to their agricultural land use, and the most recent Reef Water Quality Protection Plan recommendations. The various pathways for fate and transport of the herbicides were also examined, and a list of critical parameters was developed to help with computer simulations. The accuracy and reliability of modelling can be improved by including aerial drifts, interceptions by crop residues, mechanisms within the root zone, and subsurface and groundwater contributions to the herbicide load in the GBR lagoon. Moreover, the findings will provide new directions for management practices adoption data with the fate and transport model from paddock to reef and improve the reliability of model results.
Citizen Science for Water Quality Monitoring in the Meki River, Ethiopia: Quality Assurance and Comparison with Conventional Methods
Authors: Babiso Wudinesh Zawuga , Ayano Kinfe Kassa , Haile Alemseged Tamiru , Keche Demissie Dawana , Acharya Kishor , Werner David
Published: January 2023

A lack of water quality information for many water bodies around the world makes it difficult to identify global change and discover early signs of myriad threats to freshwater resources. This problem is widely seen in Ethiopia due to absence of regular monitoring. Citizen science has a great potential to fill these gaps in water quality data, but there is concern about the accuracy of data collected by citizen scientists. Moreover, there is a gap to engage citizen scientists in water quality monitoring, and there is still insufficient awareness of how citizen scientists can become part of a collaborative scheme. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of water quality collected by citizen scientists and characterize the water quality of the Meki River with the involvement of citizen scientists. The suitability of the river water for irrigation was evaluated using a combination of citizen science and conventional water quality data collection methods. Water temperature, turbidity, ammonia, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, total alkalinity, total hardness, and pH were analyzed by both citizen scientists and in a conventional laboratory. The citizen scientists’ data, expressed as percent of synthetic standard solution concentrations, indicated good agreement for selected water quality parameters: 123.8 ± 24.7% for PO43−, 115.6 ± 6.3% for NO3−, 105.8 ± 7.4% for pH, and 133.3 ± 23.6% for NH4+. Thus, citizen scientists can monitor and collect water quality data accurately. From the results, the Meki River water can be used for irrigation, but pollution sources should be controlled to reduce further quality deterioration as the population increases.
Review of In-Situ and Remote Sensing-Based Indices and Their Applicability for Integrated Drought Monitoring in South Africa
Authors: Mukhawana Mxolisi B. , Kanyerere Thokozani , Kahler David
Published: January 2023

The devastating socioeconomic impacts of recent droughts have intensified the need for improved drought monitoring in South Africa (SA). This study has shown that not all indices can be universally applicable at all regions worldwide, and there is no single index that can represent all aspects of droughts. The aim of this study was to review the performance and applicability of the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI), surface water supply index (SWSI), vegetation condition index (VCI), standardised precipitation index (SPI), standardised precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), standardised streamflow index (SSI), standardised groundwater index (SGI), and GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment)-based drought indices in SA and provide guidelines for selecting feasible candidates for integrated drought monitoring. The review is based on the ‘2016 World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Handbook of Drought Indicators and Indices’ guidelines. The PDSI and SWSI are not feasible in SA, mainly because they are relatively complex to compute and interpret and cannot use readily available and accessible data. Combining the SPI, SPEI, VCI, SSI, and SGI using multi-index or hybrid methods is recommended. Hence, with best fitting probability distribution functions (PDFs) used, and with an informed choice between parametric and non-parametric approaches, this combination has the potential for integrated drought monitoring. Due to the scarcity of groundwater data, investigations on the use of GRACE-based groundwater drought indices must be carried out. These findings may contribute to improved drought early warning and monitoring in SA.
Equation Chapter 1 Section 1 Techno-Economic Analysis for the Selection of Cost-Effective Treatment for Algae Removal in Drinking Water Treatment Plants
Authors: Liu Mingmeng , Li Lili , Mubashar Muhammad , Su Xuhui , Liang Yangchun , Zhang Haiyang , Zhang Xuezhi
Published: January 2023

In this study, the responses of Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF), sedimentation, and sand filtration treatment processes on feed water with varied algal concentrations were investigated, based on a technical–economic analysis using data collected from a drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) in Guangxi, China. Cost-effective drinking water treatment processes for water sources with varied algae concentrations were proposed. The results showed that DAF was able to achieve almost 95% removal efficiency, while sedimentation was only able to reach 90% under different Polyaluminum Chloride (PACl)/dry cell weight concentrations in the DWTP. When algae concentrations increase, switching from sedimentation to DAF reduces treatment costs as DAF is more efficient for algae removal, which extends the backwashing interval of sand filtration. The threshold of sedimentation/DAF switching also depends on the quality requirement of the treated water. The lower the algae concentration in the treated water, the earlier the switch should be made from sedimentation to DAF. For instance, when the effluent thresholds are 1.2 mg·L−1, 0.8 mg·L−1, or 0.4 mg·L−1, DAF should be adopted instead of sedimentation—at feed algae concentrations of 43.9 mg·L−1, 31.5 mg·L−1, and 17.3 mg·L−1, respectively, in the raw water. The results set a baseline for a cost-effective drinking water treatment strategy based on a techno-economic model, which can precisely control the coagulation dosage and backwash interval of sand filtration coupled with sedimentation/DAF switching in algae-laden raw water.
Hydrogeochemistry and Strontium Isotopic Signatures of Mineral Waters from Furnas and Fogo Volcanoes (São Miguel, Azores)
Authors: Ferreira Letícia , Cruz José Virgílio , Viveiros Fatima , Durães Nuno , Coutinho Rui , Andrade César , Santos José Francisco , Acciaioli Maria Helena
Published: January 2023

This study focused on 13 water samples collected from two of the main active volcanoes (Furnas and Fogo) at São Miguel, Azores. Based on the major element composition, the waters are classified into Na-HCO3 and Na-Cl types. While the concentrations of chloride seem to reflect the contribution of sea salt aerosols, the behavior of the main cationic species and Sr in the analyzed waters appear to have been largely controlled by the interaction between meteoric waters and the underlying bedrock. The temperature and input of CO2 from the secondary volcanic activity are enhancing the silicate leaching. The stable isotopic data show that these waters have a meteoric origin (δ18O = −2.03 to −4.29‰; δ2H = −7.6 to −17.4‰) and are influenced by a deep hydrothermal/volcanic carbon source (δ13C = −4.36 to −7.04‰). The values of δ34S (0.13 to 12.76‰) reflects a juvenile sulfur source derived from the leaching of volcanic rocks. The Sr isotopic ratios show a slight difference between the values from Furnas (87Sr/86Sr = 0.705235–0.705432) and Fogo (87Sr/86Sr = 0.705509–0.707307) whereas the Furnas waters are less radiogenic. The Sr isotope also shows that the hydrochemical signatures of the groundwater was controlled by the rock leaching, and the samples Furnas reached water-rock isotopic equilibrium.
Importancia de los archivos y bibliotecas en la planificación estratégica de las universidades ecuatorianas
Authors: Bravo Ramos María José
Published: January 2023

La planificación estratégica desempeña un papel clave en el desarrollo sostenible de las universidades públicas y privadas. En el caso de Ecuador, las Instituciones de Educación Superior (IES) deben cumplir con diversos requisitos del Consejo de Aseguramiento de la Calidad de la Educación Superior (CACES), uno de ellos es el adecuado manejo de las bibliotecas y archivos. El objetivo de estudio fue comprender la importancia de estos servicios en la planificación estratégica de las IES. La base metodológica está determinada por una investigación cuantitativa descriptiva. Se analizaron un total de 64 IES de las cuales, el 87.5% de las instituciones cuenta con un plan estratégico establecido y/o en desarrollo, el 56.25% de IES mencionan a las bibliotecas en esta herramienta de dirección organizativa, mientras que el 19% aluden a los archivos. Además, las prioridades identificadas en los planes analizados se encuentran las siguientes: gestión documental, elaboración de políticas, asignación de recursos y presupuestos, uso y actualización de las bibliotecas con la tecnología y el conocimiento y capacitación y socialización. Por tanto, la planificación estratégica debe establecerse como un proceso clave dentro de la gestión administrativa y/o académica de las instituciones, incluyendo a los servicios de bibliotecas y archivos.
Health safety perception of hotel guests in the post-Covid-19 stage
Authors: Díaz-Pompa Félix , Estévez-Matos Oscar , Santos-Assán Arnoldo-Higinio , López-Báster Liliana Elvira
Published: January 2023

The rapid spread of Covid-19 worldwide generated a paralysis in all sectors, with tourism being the most severely affected, representing a challenge for all territories that depend to a greater or lesser extent on tourism. In this context, all tourism systems have the obligation to include security aspects due to the growing need of tourists and service providers to perceive confidence in the environment so that they can carry out the activities arranged for this purpose. The objective of the present research is to evaluate the perception of security of clients staying in hotels in the Pesquero tourist pole in the post Covid-19 stage. This is a quantitative and descriptive research. By means of a survey applied to a sample of 159 clients, it was found that there is a positive perception regarding health safety in the destination's hotels. The factors cleanliness and hygiene, medical assistance and hotel staff were the most highly valued, while prevention and mitigation, technology and communication scored lower. Finally, it can be inferred that the hotels in the Pesquero pole of the Holguín tourist destination, in the post-pandemic stage, are safe hotels.
Juegos de aprendizaje en línea para la formación de nociones lógico-matemática en Educación Inicial
Authors: Bedón Arteaga Viviana , Cedeño Macías Leticia
Published: January 2023

Los juegos de aprendizaje en línea representan una importante alternativa en la formación de nociones lógico-matemática en el contexto de la educación inicial. En correspondencia, el presente estudio tiene por objetivo determinar la relación de los juegos de aprendizaje en línea con la formación de las nociones lógico-matemática en los niños y niñas de tres a cuatro años de Educación. La metodología tiene un enfoque cuantitativo, el tipo de investigación es cuasi experimental y correlacional. La muestra estuvo conformada por 28 niños del Subnivel Inicial de la escuela Gabriela Mistral de una población de 56 niños y niñas de 3 a 4 años. El proceso de muestreo fue no probabilístico de tipo censal. La observación se aplicó como técnica de la investigación y como instrumento la ficha de observación. El análisis de datos se ejecutó con el software estadístico SPSS versión 26 en español, aplicando una prueba de normalidad con el test de Kolmogorov-Smirnov para la estadística inferencial y calculando el Rho de Spearman, para determinar la correlación de las variables juegos de aprendizaje en línea y formación de nociones lógico-matemática. Es importante destacar el aumento de la cantidad de niños que alcanzaron la cualidad óptima en la variable si se observa, la cual refleja el 93% de mejora posterior a la aplicación de los juegos en línea. Concluyéndose que existe una relación positiva y preponderante entre las variables de estudio, constituyendo un aporte significativo en términos de la Educación Inicial, lo cual destaca la relevancia de la utilización de los juegos de aprendizaje en línea para la formación de las nociones lógico-matemática.
Juntas Cantonales de Protección de Derechos en Manabí: análisis de la situación actual
Authors: Moreira-Pinargote Alba Liliana , Briones-Rivera Irina Tamara
Published: January 2023

Las Juntas Cantonales de Protección de Derechos (JCPD) son organismos financiados por los Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados para la protección de los derechos. Las JCPD son parte del sistema integral de protección de derechos y son responsables de la protección, defensa, exigibilidad y restitución de derechos a personas víctimas de vulneraciones, a escala local. Las juntas cumplen un rol fundamental porque contribuyen a que las víctimas de violencia puedan reconstruir su dignidad, confianza, seguridad y proyecto de vida, como lo menciona el Manual didáctico para la protección de derechos de las JCPD. El presente trabajo describe la situación actual de las JCPD en la provincia de Manabí. En este estudio se utilizó una encuesta para identificar aspectos sobre la conformación y organización de las juntas, así como la observación participante para el análisis de la actuación de las mismas. Las juntas se encuentran severamente limitadas por diferentes debilidades detectadas, entre ellas, el incumplimiento de competencias atribuidas en la normativa legal nacional, carencia de infraestructura necesaria, falta de presupuesto específico y entre otras.
ENZYMES CHARACTERISTICS OF TRICHOPHYTON SPECIES ISOLATED FROM PATIENTS ATTENDING HUE UNIVERSITY OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY HOSPITAL
Authors: Ngo Thi Minh Chau , Ton Nu Phuong Anh , Ha Thi Ngoc Thuy , Do Thi Bich Thao , Le Chi Cao , Vo Minh Tiep , Tran Thi Giang , Nguyen Phuoc Vinh
Published: January 2023

Abstract:
Background: Trichophyton is the common genus in dermatophytes fungi in the world. These fungi secreted virulence enzymes that help them take nutrition from the host. Objectives: 1. To determinate enzymes secretion ability of Trichophyton species isolated from patients, including lipase, phospholipase, and protease. 2. To evaluate the correlation between enzyme secretion ability and dermatomycoses clinical forms. Material and methods: Trichophyton species were isolated from the cultivation samples of dermatophytosis patients. Enzyme production experiments were checked by cultivating fungi into suitable solid agar media. Results: The prevalence of Trichophyton spp. producing protease, lipase, and phospholipase
were 96.1%%, 86.2%, and 21.6%, respectively. There were 78.4% of fungal strains that produced both lipase and protease, and 17.6% of fungal strains produced three enzymes. The ability to produce protease of T. rubrum was higher than T. mentagrophytes, and there was no statistically significant difference between lipase and phospholipase activities of these two fungal species. There was no difference between the fungal enzymatic activities and dermatophytosis clinical forms. Conclusion: Trichophyton species isolated from patients attending Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital produced more protease and lipase than phospholipase. T. rubrum strains showed higher ability protease produce than T. mentagrophytes.
Key words: dermatophytes, Trichophyton spp., fungal enzyme
CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CAUSES OF GASTROINTESTINAL BLEEDING IN&NBSP;CHILDREN
Authors: Pham Vo Phuong Thao , Phan Thi Minh Tuyen , Mai The Dung
Published: January 2023

Abstract:
Background: Gastrointestinal bleeding (GI) is a complication of many diseases, caused by injury at the
gastrointestinal tract or outside the gastrointestinal tract, causing bleeding from mild to severe severity, which
can even cause shock and death. The causes of gastrointestinal bleeding vary by age. Objectives: To describe the clinical, subclinical and common causes of non-infectious gastrointestinal bleeding in children. Subjects and methods: Patients from 2 months to 15 years old admitted to Pediatrics Department I, Pediatric Center, Hue Central Hospital from February 2020 to February 2021 with a diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding. The study was carried out by cross-sectional descriptive research method. Results: The study included 116 patients, 7 children in the group of 2 months - < 1 year old (6.0%), 36 children in the group 1 - < 6 years old (31%), 36 children in the group 6 - < 11 years old (31.1%) and 37 children in the group of 11-15 years old (31.9%). The mean age was 7.6 ± 4.6. Peptic ulcer disease is the most common cause of GI bleeding, accounting for 37%; 12.9% cases unknown cause. Most of the patients had mild and moderate GI bleeding, about 60.3% and 23.3%; severe bleeding 8.6% and very severe 7.8%. The most common cause of GI bleeding in the group of 2 months
- < 1 year old is Mallory-Weiss syndrome and milk protein allergy (22.2%), in the group of 1-5 years old is anal fissure (41.6%) and in children over 6 years old is peptic ulcer disease. Conclusion: The most common causes of gastrointestinal bleeding depend on the age and have different clinical features depending on the cause.
Key words: gastrointestinal bleeding in children, melena, hematemesis, hematochezia.