bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Enchainment of the Coefficient of Structural Quality of Elements in Compression and Bending by Combined Reinforcement of Concrete with Polymer Composite Bars and Dispersed Fiber
Authors: Stel’makh Sergey A. , Shcherban’ Evgenii M. , Beskopylny Alexey , Mailyan Levon R. , Meskhi Besarion , Dotsenko Natal’ya
Published: December 2021

Polymer composite reinforcement (PCR) and its use to produce high-quality concrete with the right design and technological and formulation solutions can demonstrate the results obtained with the steel rebars. This article discusses the synergistic effect from the combined reinforcement of concrete with traditional polymer rods and dispersed fiber, which, as a result, lead to an increase in strength and deformation characteristics and an improvement in the performance of compressed and bent structural elements. The synergistic effect of the joint work of polymer rods and dispersed reinforcement is considered in the context of relative indicators (structural quality factor CSQ), showing the relationship between strength characteristics and concrete density. The behavior of glass fiber in a cement matrix and the nature of its deformation during fracture were studied by scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that the use of PCR and dispersed reinforcement makes it possible to increase the strength characteristics of concrete in bending. In quantitative terms, the achieved results demonstrated that the CSQ values of a beam reinforced with a PCR frame with the addition of glass fiber were 3.4 times higher compared to the CSQ of a beam reinforced with steel reinforcement frames. In addition, for a beam reinforced with a PCR frame with no fiber addition, the CSQ values were three times higher.
Utilization of Gelling Polymer to Formulate Nanoparticles Loaded with Epalrestat-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complex: Formulation, Characterization, In-Silico Modelling and In-Vivo Toxicity Evaluation
Authors: Alvi Zunaira , Akhtar Muhammad , Rahman Nisar U. , Hosny Khaled M. , Sindi Amal M. , Khan Barkat A. , Nazir Imran , Sadaquat Hadia
Published: December 2021

Epalrestat (EPL) is an aldose reductase inhibitor with poor aqueous solubility that affects its therapeutic efficacy. The research study was designed to prepare epalrestat-cyclodextrins (EPL-CDs) inclusion complexes to enhance the aqueous solubility by using beta-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and sulfobutyl ether₇ β-CD (SBE7 β-CD). Furthermore, polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) of EPL-CDs were developed using chitosan (CS) and sodium tripolyphosphate (sTPP). The EPL-CDs complexed formulations were then loaded into chitosan nanoparticles (CS NPs) and further characterized for different physico-chemical properties, thermal stability, drug-excipient compatibility and acute oral toxicity studies. In-silico molecular docking of cross-linker with SBE7 β-CD was also carried out to determine the binding site of the CDs with the cross-linker. The sizes of the prepared NPs were laid in the range of 241.5–348.4 nm, with polydispersity index (PDI) ranging from 0.302–0.578. The surface morphology of the NPs was found to be non-porous, smooth, and spherical. The cumulative percentage of drug release from EPL-CDs loaded CS NPs was found to be higher (75–88%) than that of the pure drug (25%). Acute oral toxicity on animal models showed a biochemical, histological profile with no harmful impact at the cellular level. It is concluded that epalrestat-cyclodextrin chitosan nanoparticles (EPL-CDs-CS NPs) with improved solubility are safe for oral administration since no toxicity was reported on vital organs in rabbits.
WSG, a Glucose-Rich Polysaccharide from Ganoderma lucidum, Combined with Cisplatin Potentiates Inhibition of Lung Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo
Authors: Qiu Wei-Lun , Hsu Wei-Hung , Tsao Shu-Ming , Tseng Ai-Jung , Lin Zhi-Hu , Hua Wei-Jyun , Yeh Hsin , Lin Tzu-En , Chen Chien-Chang , Chen Li-Sheng , Lin Tung-Yi
Published: December 2021

Lung cancer has the highest global mortality rate of any cancer. Although targeted therapeutic drugs are commercially available, the common drug resistance and insensitivity to cisplatin-based chemotherapy, a common clinical treatment for lung cancer, have prompted active research on alternative lung cancer therapies and methods for mitigating cisplatin-related complications. In this study, we investigated the effect of WSG, a glucose-rich, water soluble polysaccharide derived from Ganoderma lucidum, on cisplatin-based treatment for lung cancer. Murine Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC1) cells were injected into C57BL/6 mice subcutaneously and through the tail vein. The combined administration of WSG and cisplatin effectively inhibited tumor growth and the formation of metastatic nodules in the lung tissue of the mice. Moreover, WSG increased the survival rate of mice receiving cisplatin. Co-treatment with WSG and cisplatin induced a synergistic inhibitory effect on the growth of lung cancer cells, enhancing the apoptotic responses mediated by cisplatin. WSG also reduced the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin in both macrophages and normal lung fibroblasts. Our findings suggest that WSG can increase the therapeutic effectiveness of cisplatin. In clinical settings, WSG may be used as an adjuvant or supplementary agent.
Integrated High-Definition Visualization of Digital Archives for Borobudur Temple
Authors: Pan Jiao , Li Liang , Yamaguchi Hiroshi , Hasegawa Kyoko , Thufail Fadjar I. , Brahmantara  , Tanaka Satoshi
Published: December 2021

The preservation and analysis of tangible cultural heritage sites have attracted enormous interest worldwide. Recently, establishing three-dimensional (3D) digital archives has emerged as a critical strategy for the permanent preservation and digital analysis of cultural sites. For extant parts of cultural sites, 3D scanning is widely used for efficient and accurate digitization. However, in many historical sites, many parts that have been damaged or lost by natural or artificial disasters are unavailable for 3D scanning. The remaining available data sources for these destroyed parts are photos, computer-aided design (CAD) drawings, written descriptions, etc. In this paper, we achieve an integrated digital archive of a UNESCO World Heritage site, namely, the Borobudur temple, in which buried reliefs and internal foundations are not available for 3D scanning. We introduce a digitizing framework to integrate three different kinds of data sources and to create a unified point-cloud-type digital archive. This point-based integration enables us to digitally record the entire 3D structure of the target cultural heritage site. Then, the whole site is visualized by stochastic point-based rendering (SPBR) precisely and comprehensibly. The proposed framework is widely applicable to other large-scale cultural sites.
A New Threshold-Based Method for Extracting Canopy Temperature from Thermal Infrared Images of Cork Oak Plantations
Authors: Liu Linqi , Xie Yingchao , Gao Xiang , Cheng Xiangfen , Huang Hui , Zhang Jinsong
Published: December 2021

Canopy temperature (Tc) is used to characterize plant water physiology, and thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing is a convenient technology for measuring Tc in forest ecosystems. However, the images produced through this method contain background pixels of forest gaps, thereby reducing the accuracy of Tc observations. Extracting Tc data from TIR images is of great significance for understanding changes in ecosystem water status. In this study, a temperature threshold method was developed to rapidly, accurately, and automatically extract forest canopy pixels for Tc data obtention. Specifically, this method takes the temperature corresponding to the point with a slope of 0.5 in the curve composed of the normalized average temperature and the normalized cumulative number of pixels as the segmentation threshold to separate the forest gap pixels from the forest canopy pixels in the TIR images and extract the separated forest canopy pixels based on the pixel coordinates for Tc data obtention. Taking the Tc values, measured using a thermocouple, as the standard, Tc extraction using the new temperature threshold method and traditional methods (the Otsu algorithm and direct extraction) was compared in cork oak plantations. The results showed that the temperature threshold method offered the highest extraction accuracy, followed by the direct extraction method and the Otsu algorithm. The temperature threshold method was determined to be the most suitable for extracting Tc data from the TIR images of cork oak plantations.
Ocean Front Detection with Glider and Satellite-Derived SST Data in the Southern California Current System
Authors: Olaya Frank C. , Durazo Reginaldo , Oerder Vera , Pallàs-Sanz Enric , Bento Joaquim P.
Published: December 2021

This study proposes a method to detect ocean fronts from in situ temperature and density glider measurements. This method is applied to data collected along the CalCOFI Line 90, south of the California Current System (CCS), over the 2006–2013 period. It is based on image-processing techniques commonly applied to sea surface temperature (SST) satellite data. Front detection results using glider data are consistent with those obtained in other studies carried out in the CCS. SST images of the Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution (MUR) dataset were also used to compare the probability of occurrence or front frequency (FF) obtained with the two datasets. Glider and MUR temperatures are highly correlated. Along Line 90, frontal frequency exhibited the same maxima near the transition zone (~130 km offshore) as derived from MUR and glider datasets. However, marked differences were found in the bimonthly FF probability with high (low) front frequency in spring-summer for glider (MUR) data. Methodological differences explaining these contrasting results are investigated. Thermohaline-compensated fronts are more abundant towards the oceanic zone, although most fronts are detected using both temperature and density criteria, indicating a significant contribution of temperature to density in this region.
Evaluation of BDS-2 and BDS-3 Satellite Atomic Clock Products and Their Effects on Positioning
Authors: Gu Shengfeng , Mao Feiyu , Gong Xiaopeng , Lou Yidong , Xu Xueyong , Zhou Ye
Published: December 2021

The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has completed third phase construction and currently provides global services, with a mixed constellation of BDS-2 and BDS-3. The newly launched BDS-3 satellites are equipped with rubidium and passive hydrogen maser (PHM) atomic clocks. The performance of atomic clocks is one of the cores of satellite navigation system, which will affect the performance of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). In this paper, we systematically analyze the characteristics of BDS-2 and BDS-3 atomic clocks, based on more than one year of precise satellite clock products and broadcast ephemeris. Firstly, the results of overlapping Allan variations demonstrate that BDS-3 Rb and PHM clocks improve better in stability than BDS-2 Rb clock and are comparable to GPS IIF Rb and Galileo PHM clocks. Accordingly, the STDs of BDS-3 broadcast satellite clock are better than GPS and BDS-2, which are at the same level with that of Galileo. Secondly, the inter-system bias (ISB) between BDS-2 and BDS-3 is analyzed by satellite clock datum comparison and precise point positioning (PPP). Surprisingly, the discrepancy between BDS-2 and BDS-3 satellite clock datum has a great difference between products that could reach up to about 10 ns for WHU satellite clock products and broadcast ephemeris. Moreover, the ISBs between BDS-2 and BDS-3 satellite clocks are quite stable over one-year periods. Thirdly, due to the improved stability of BDS-3 atomic clock, the 68% positioning accuracy is better than 0.65 m at 10 min for BDS-3 PPP, based on broadcast ephemeris. Besides, the non-negligible bias between BDS-2 and BDS-3 will greatly affect the BDS precise data processing. The accuracy of positioning is greatly improved when considering the ISB.
Green Hydrogen Value Chain in the Sustainability for Port Operations: Case Study in the Region of Valparaiso, Chile
Authors: Masip Macía Yunesky , Rodríguez Machuca Pablo , Rodríguez Soto Angel Alexander , Carmona Campos Roberto
Published: December 2021

The paper presents a complete value chain for the use of green hydrogen in a port facility. The main objective was to propose the sizing of the main components that make up green hydrogen to ensure the supply of 1 MWe in replacing the diesel generator. The energy demand required for the port was determined by establishing the leading small and large-scale conventional energy-consuming equipment. Hence, 60 kgH2 was required to ensure the power supply. The total electrical energy to produce all the hydrogen was generated from photovoltaic solar energy, considering three-generation scenarios (minimum, maximum and the annual average). In all cases, the energy supply in the electrolyzer was 3.08 MWe. In addition, the effect of generating in the port facility using a diesel generator and a fuel cell was compared. The cost of 1 kgH2 could be 4.09 times higher than the cost of 1 L of diesel, meaning that the output kWh of each system is economically similar. In addition, the value of electrical energy through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was a maximum of 79.79 times the value of a liter of diesel. Finally, the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) was calculated for two conditions in which the MWe was obtained from the fuel cell without and with the photovoltaic solar plant.
Readiness Assessment for IDE Startups: A Pathway toward Sustainable Growth
Authors: Gerdsri Nathasit , Manotungvorapun Nisit
Published: December 2021

Innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs) steer their businesses with ideas, technology, and innovation. However, many of them have limited resources, capabilities, and readiness to turn their valuable creativity into marketable products. For IDE startups to survive and achieve sustainable growth, they must seek financial and other, non-pecuniary support from governmental agencies and large corporate venture capitalists. Usually, governments and large firms need to determine the readiness level (RL) of IDE startups, in order to set up proper strategies for resource allocation, resource prioritization, and collaborative R&D to support startups. In addition, IDE startups themselves also need to perform self-assessment of their readiness level to identify rooms for improvement. This research addresses the significance of IDE readiness assessment. An assessment framework, connecting four dimensions, specifically technology, manufacturing, business, and commerce, is proposed, and three case examples are presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed framework.
Invasive Water Hyacinth Limits Globally Threatened Waterbird Abundance and Diversity at Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley, Nepal
Authors: Basaula Rajendra , Sharma Hari Prasad , Belant Jerrold L. , Sapkota Kumar
Published: December 2021

Invasive species alter ecosystem structure and functioning, including impacts on native species, habitat alteration, and nutrient cycling. Among the 27 invasive plant species in Nepal, water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) distribution is rapidly increasing in Lake Cluster of Pokhara Valley (LCPV) in the last several decades. We studied the effects of water hyacinth on threatened waterbird abundance, diversity, and physico-chemical parameters of water in the LCPV. We found areas with water hyacinth present (HP) had reduced threatened water bird abundance relative to areas where water hyacinth was absent (HA; p = 0.023). The occurrence of birds according to feeding guilds also varied between water hyacinth presence and absence habitats. Piscivorous birds were more abundant in HA areas than HP areas whereas insectivorous and omnivorous birds had greater abundance in HP areas than in HA areas. Threatened waterbird abundance and richness were greater in areas with greater water depth and overall bird abundance but declined in HP areas. Degraded water quality was also identified in HP areas. Our findings can be used as a baseline by lake managers and policy makers to develop strategies to remove or manage water hyacinth in LCPV to improve waterbird conservation.
Negative Affect and Maladaptive Eating Behavior as a Regulation Strategy in Normal-Weight Individuals: A Narrative Review
Authors: Brytek-Matera Anna
Published: December 2021

Emotions have a powerful influence on eating behavior, and eating behavior can have a powerful effect on emotions. The objective of the present narrative review was to evaluate the relationship between negative affect and maladaptive eating behavior as a regulation strategy in normal-weight individuals. A search of the literature within PubMed®, MEDLINE® and PsycINFO was conducted using a combination of the following terms: “affect”, “negative affect”, “affect regulation” and “maladaptive eating behavior”. A total of 106 papers were identified for full text review and were included in the final set of literature. The manuscript presents an overview of the literature on negative affect and maladaptive eating behavior. It offers a brief overview of restrained, uncontrolled and emotional eating in normal-weight individuals and looks at maladaptive eating behavior used to regulate their affect. Based on the previous research findings, we argue that using more adaptive strategies for emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal) might result in downregulating integral negative affect to food and in improving eating behavior.
The Applicability of Remote Sensing Models of Soil Salinization Based on Feature Space
Authors: Liu Jing , Zhang Li , Dong Tong , Wang Juanle , Fan Yanmin , Wu Hongqi , Geng Qinglong , Yang Qiangjun , Zhang Zhibin
Published: December 2021

Soil salinization is a major challenge for the sustainable use of land resources. An optimal remote sensing inversion model could monitor regional soil salinity across diverse geographical areas. In this study, the feature space method was used to study the applicability of the inversion model for typical salt-affected soils in China (Yanqi Basin (arid area) and Kenli County (coastal area)), and to obtain soil salinity grade distribution maps. The salinity index (SI) surface albedo (Albedo)model was the most accurate in both arid and coastal regions with overall accuracy reaching 93.3% and 88.8%, respectively. The sensitivity factors for the inversion of salinity in both regions were the same, indicating that the SI-Albedo model is applicable for monitoring salinity in arid and coastal areas of China. We combined Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager image data and field data to obtain the distribution pattern of soil salinity using the SI-Albedo model and proposed corresponding countermeasures for soil salinity in the Yanqi Basin and Kenli County according to the degree of salinity. This study on soil salinity in arid and coastal areas of China will provide a useful reference for future research on soil salinity both in China and globally.
Satellite Multi/Hyper Spectral HR Sensors for Mapping the Posidonia oceanica in South Mediterranean Islands
Authors: Borfecchia Flavio , Micheli Carla , De Cecco Luigi , Sannino Gianmaria , Struglia Maria Vittoria , Di Sarra Alcide Giorgio , Gomez Carlo , Mattiazzo Giuliana
Published: December 2021

The Mediterranean basin is a hot spot of climate change where the Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile (PO) and other seagrasses are under stress due to its effect on marine coastal habitats and the rising influence of anthropogenic activities (i.e., tourism, fishery). The PO and seabed ecosystems, in the coastal environments of Pantelleria and Lampedusa, suffer additional growing impacts from tourism in synergy with specific stress factors due to increasing vessel traffic for supplying potable water and fossil fuels for electrical power generation. Earth Observation (EO) data, provided by high resolution (HR) multi/hyperspectral operative satellite sensors of the last generation (i.e., Sentinel 2 MSI and PRISMA) have been successfully tested, using innovative calibration and sea truth collecting methods, for monitoring and mapping of PO meadows under stress, in the coastal waters of these islands, located in the Sicily Channel, to better support the sustainable management of these vulnerable ecosystems. The area of interest in Pantelleria was where the first prototype of the Italian Inertial Sea Wave Energy Converter (ISWEC) for renewable energy production was installed in 2015, and sea truth campaigns on the PO meadows were conducted. The PO of Lampedusa coastal areas, impacted by ship traffic linked to the previous factors and tropicalization effects of Italy’s southernmost climate change transitional zone, was mapped through a multi/hyper spectral EO-based approach, using training/testing data provided by side scan sonar data, previously acquired. Some advanced machine learning algorithms (MLA) were successfully evaluated with different supervised regression/classification models to map seabed and PO meadow classes and related Leaf Area Index (LAI) distributions in the areas of interest, using multi/hyperspectral data atmospherically corrected via different advanced approaches.
Towards Sustainable Finance: Conceptualizing Future Generations as Stakeholders
Authors: Abrudan Leonard-Călin , Matei Mirabela-Constanța , Abrudan Maria-Madela
Published: December 2021

The paper aims to address a difficult yet important issue of the modern world, which is related to a lack of consideration, from investors’ point of view, for the sustainable future of our socioeconomic system. Many investors think in terms of MSV (maximization of the shareholder value) and fail to consider other important stakeholders. Future generations will “inherit” the results of the actions of current generations. Investing money in some lucrative ideas is definitely a very important financial activity, but it must be done responsibly. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) postulated by the UN; the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria; and the Equator Principles are some notions proposed to be considered to make investors’ actions more responsible. Future generations deserve a better, safer, and unwasted place to live in, so it is the right time to start thinking of them as major stakeholders. The paper reviews some of the important research related to this issue and brings its contribution to the stakeholder theory by proposing a new vision, one that is future oriented. The proposal to conceptualize future generations as stakeholders is an important contribution of the paper. Methodologically, we relied on relevant literature and recent initiatives and approaches. Further research is needed to identify the means to operationalize our proposal.
A Proximal Algorithm with Convergence Guarantee for a Nonconvex Minimization Problem Based on Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space
Authors: Dou Hong-Xia , Deng Liang-Jian
Published: December 2021

The underlying function in reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) may be degraded by outliers or deviations, resulting in a symmetry ill-posed problem. This paper proposes a nonconvex minimization model with ℓ0-quasi norm based on RKHS to depict this degraded problem. The underlying function in RKHS can be represented by the linear combination of reproducing kernels and their coefficients. Thus, we turn to estimate the related coefficients in the nonconvex minimization problem. An efficient algorithm is designed to solve the given nonconvex problem by the mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) and proximal-based strategy. We theoretically prove that the sequences generated by the designed algorithm converge to the nonconvex problem’s local optimal solutions. Numerical experiment also demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.
GenU-Net++: An Automatic Intracranial Brain Tumors Segmentation Algorithm on 3D Image Series with High Performance
Authors: Zhang Yan , Liu Xi , Wa Shiyun , Liu Yutong , Kang Jiali , Lv Chunli
Published: December 2021

Automatic segmentation of intracranial brain tumors in three-dimensional (3D) image series is critical in screening and diagnosing related diseases. However, there are various challenges in intracranial brain tumor images: (1) Multiple brain tumor categories hold particular pathological features. (2) It is a thorny issue to locate and discern brain tumors from other non-brain regions due to their complicated structure. (3) Traditional segmentation requires a noticeable difference in the brightness of the interest target relative to the background. (4) Brain tumor magnetic resonance images (MRI) have blurred boundaries, similar gray values, and low image contrast. (5) Image information details would be dropped while suppressing noise. Existing methods and algorithms do not perform satisfactorily in overcoming these obstacles mentioned above. Most of them share an inadequate accuracy in brain tumor segmentation. Considering that the image segmentation task is a symmetric process in which downsampling and upsampling are performed sequentially, this paper proposes a segmentation algorithm based on U-Net++, aiming to address the aforementioned problems. This paper uses the BraTS 2018 dataset, which contains MR images of 245 patients. We suggest the generative mask sub-network, which can generate feature maps. This paper also uses the BiCubic interpolation method for upsampling to obtain segmentation results different from U-Net++. Subsequently, pixel-weighted fusion is adopted to fuse the two segmentation results, thereby, improving the robustness and segmentation performance of the model. At the same time, we propose an auto pruning mechanism in terms of the architectural features of U-Net++ itself. This mechanism deactivates the sub-network by zeroing the input. It also automatically prunes GenU-Net++ during the inference process, increasing the inference speed and improving the network performance by preventing overfitting. Our algorithm’s PA, MIoU, P, and R are tested on the validation dataset, reaching 0.9737, 0.9745, 0.9646, and 0.9527, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model outperformed the contrast models. Additionally, we encapsulate the model and develop a corresponding application based on the MacOS platform to make the model further applicable.
Certain Operations on Picture Fuzzy Graph with Application
Authors: Shoaib Muhammad , Mahmood Waqas , Xin Qin , Tchier Fairouz
Published: December 2021

Fuzzy graphs (FGs) can play a useful role in natural and human-made structures, including process dynamics in physical, biological, and social systems. Since issues in everyday life are often uncertain due to inconsistent and ambiguous information, it is extremely difficult for an expert to model those difficulties using an FG. Indeterminate and inconsistent information related to real-valued problems can be studied through a picture of the fuzzy graph (PFG), while the FG does not provide mathematically acceptable information. In this regard, we are interested in reducing the limitations of FGs by introducing some new definitions and results for the PFG. This paper aims to describe and explore a few properties of PFGs, including the maximal product (MP), symmetric difference (SD), rejection (RJ), and residue product (RP). Furthermore, we also discuss the degree and total degree of nodes in a PFG. This study also demonstrates the application of a PFG in digital marketing and social networking.
Application of Three Metaheuristic Algorithms to Time-Cost-Quality Trade-Off Project Scheduling Problem for Construction Projects Considering Time Value of Money
Authors: Kebriyaii Omid , Heidari Ali , Khalilzadeh Mohammad , Antucheviciene Jurgita , Pavlovskis Miroslavas
Published: December 2021

Time, cost, and quality have been known as the project iron triangles and substantial factors in construction projects. Several studies have been conducted on time-cost-quality trade-off problems so far, however, none of them has considered the time value of money. In this paper, a multi-objective mathematical programming model is developed for time-cost-quality trade-off scheduling problems in construction projects considering the time value of money, since the time value of money, which is decreased during a long period of time, is a very important matter. Three objective functions of time, cost, and quality are taken into consideration. The cost objective function includes holding cost and negative cash flows. In this model, the net present value (NPV) of negative cash flow is calculated considering the costs of non-renewable (consumable) and renewable resources in each time period of executing activities, which can be mentioned as the other contribution of this study. Then, three metaheuristic algorithms including multi-objective grey wolf optimizer (MOGWO), non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), and multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO) are applied, and their performance is evaluated using six metrics introduced in the literature. Finally, a bridge construction project is considered as a real case study. The findings show that considering the time value of money can prevent cost overrun in projects. Additionally, the results indicate that the MOGWO algorithm outperforms the NSGA-II and MOPSO algorithms.
Between Confrontation and Cooperation: Right to Water Advocacy in the Courts, on the Streets, and at the Capitols in the United States
Authors: Kozikis Sabrina , Winkler Inga T.
Published: December 2021

Communities across the United States face a widespread water crisis including risks of contamination, rate increases, shut-offs for non-payment, and dilapidating infrastructure. Against this background, a right to water movement has emerged which has found its strength in coalition-building and collectivity. Activists demand change using the framing of “water is a human right”, socially constructing the right to water from below. Based on more than 25 semi-structured interviews with water advocates and activists, our article explores how movement participants used the human rights framework to advocate for clean and affordable water for all. We used political opportunity theory and conceptions of government “openness” and “closedness” to examine when and how advocates decided to use confrontational and cooperative approaches. We identified a push and pull of different strategies in three key spaces: in the courts, on the streets, and at the Capitols. Advocates used adversarial approaches including protests and civil disobedience, reliance on human rights mechanisms, and to a more limited extent litigation simultaneously with cooperative approaches such as engaging with legislators and the development of concrete proposals and plans for ensuring water affordability. This adaptiveness, persistence, and ability to identify opportunities likely explains the movement’s initial successes in addressing the water crisis.
Engineering Resilience to Water Stress in the Late Prehispanic North-Central Andean Highlands (~600–1200 BP)
Authors: Lane Kevin
Published: December 2021

The Andes are defined by human struggles to provide for, and control, water. Nowhere is this challenge more apparent than in the unglaciated western mountain range Cordillera Negra of the Andes where rain runoff provides the only natural source of water for herding and farming economies. Based on over 20 years of systematic field surveys and taking a political ecology and resilience theory focus, this article evaluates how the Prehispanic North-Central highlands Huaylas ethnic group transformed the landscape of the Andes through the largescale construction of complex hydraulic engineering works in the Cordillera Negra of the Ancash Province, North-Central Peru. It is likely that construction of these engineered landscapes commenced during the Middle Horizon (AD 600–1000), reaching their apogee under the Late Intermediate Period (Huaylas group, AD 1000–1450) and Inca (AD 1450–1532) period, before falling into disuse during the early Spanish colony (AD 1532–1615) through a combination of disease, depopulation, and disruption. Persistent water stress in the western Pacific-facing Andean cordillera was ameliorated through the construction of interlinked dams and reservoirs controlling the water, soil, and wetlands. The modern study of these systems provides useful case-studies for infrastructure rehabilitation potentially providing low-cost, though technologically complex, solutions to modern water security.
Constitutionalising the Right to Water in Kenya and Slovenia: Domestic Drivers, Opportunity Structures, and Transnational Norm Entrepreneurs
Authors: Loen Mathea , Gloppen Siri
Published: December 2021

The international norm development that in 2010 culminated with the UN Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation changed international law. To what extent did this influence the parallel legal developments evident in many national constitutions across the globe? This article analyses the mobilisation for a constitutional right to water and sanitation in Kenya and Slovenia, identifying the main national and transnational actors involved and assessing their significance for the processes of constitutionalising the right. By analysing two very different cases, tracing their constitutionalisation processes through analysis of archival material, the article provides multifaceted insights into processes of norm diffusion from international norm entrepreneurs to the national level and the agency of domestic actors and their opportunity structures. We find that although the outcomes of the processes in Kenya and Slovenia are similar in that both constitutions contain articles securing the right to water, the framing of the right differs. Furthermore, we conclude that while there is involvement of international actors in both cases, domestic pro-water activists and their normative and political opportunity structures are more important for understanding the successful constitutionalisation of the right to water and differences in the framing of the right.
Assessing the Effects of Multiple Stressors on Aquatic Systems across Temporal and Spatial Scales: From Measurement to Management
Authors: Segurado Pedro , Ferreira Teresa , Branco Paulo
Published: December 2021

Freshwater habitats are home to a disproportionately high biodiversity, given the total area they cover worldwide, hosting 10% of all species while occupying less than 1% of the Earth’s surface [...]
Spatial Assessment of Hydrochemical Characteristics and Evolution of Inferior Quality Water in Kashi Delta
Authors: Qu Pengfei , Su Shengwei , Jiao Jian , Hu Xiangyang , Zhao Cheng , Fang Xiao , Yan Gengsheng
Published: December 2021

Hydrochemistry is a critical indicator of water quality. We analysed 146 hydrochemical parameters of groundwater and the hydrogeological background of the Kashi region in China, examined their spatial distributions, and elucidated the mechanisms of their occurrence. We used graphical and multivariate statistical methods to distinguish between high- and poor-quality water. In the Kizil-Cakmak River Basin of the northern Kashi region, the primary cations were Ca2+ and Mg2+, and the primary anion was SO42−; their concentrations were four times higher than the Class III water quality standard. Additionally, the salinity was high. In contrast, in the upstream and midstream parts of the Gez-Kushan River Basin in the southern Kashi region, the primary ions were HCO3− and SO42−, and the salinity was low. Downstream of the Gez-Kushan River Basin, the primary ion was Cl−, and the salinity was low. There was a wide-ranging spatial variability in the SO42−, Cl−, and Ca2+ contents throughout the study area. The present findings can be applied to locate suitable domestic, agricultural, and industrial water sources in the Kashi region and can provide theoretical guidance for the scientific development and management of groundwater in this region.
Las implicaciones sociales de la (des)cortesía en el lenguaje narrativo de los autores Nobel
Authors: Ahmed Elhalwany Manar
Published: December 2021

En este trabajo se expone un análisis contrastivo a nivel pragma-lingüístico del lenguaje narrativo en dos novelas: Charla sobre el Nilo del escritor Nobel egipcio Naguib Mahfuz y Conversación de la Catedral del novelista peruano Mario Vargas Llosa. El análisis se centra en el acuerdo intuitivo notable entre estos dos autores Nobel, a pesar de la distancia cultural, lingüística y geográfica, en desviar el Principio de Cortesía de Geoffery Leech. En ambas novelas se ve claro el uso de fórmulas lingüísticas que rompen la Cortesía pragmática con el fin de lograr una profunda y concienzuda crítica social de la realidad egipcia y peruana en la época de los años cincuenta y sesenta. A través de la violación del principio pragmático, ambos autores ganadores del Nobel, objeto de este estudio, buscan exponer una dolencia mayor que afecta a la sociedad tanto egipcia como peruana, una descortesía hacia los ciudadanos que pertenecen a diversos sectores y clases sociales. En las dos novelas analizadas, los novelistas encontraron en la transgresión del Principio de Cortesía el mejor camino para presentar las inquietudes y los conflictos constantes del ser humano contra su propia sociedad. Así mismo, tanto Mahfuz como Llosa, exponen las mentalidades que sustentan la estratificación de la sociedad, con sus respectivos prejuicios, creencias e ideologías.

PALABRAS CLAVE: pragmática, cortesía, literatura del Nobel, Naguib Mahfuz, Vargas Llosa.

The social implications of (im)politeness in narrative language of the Nobel authors

ABSTRACTIn this paper, a contrastive analysis is presented at a pragmatic linguistic level of narrative language in two novels: Talking on the Nile of the Egyptian Nobel writer Naguib Mahfuz and Conversation of the Cathedral of the Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. The analysis focuses on the remarkable intuitive agreement between these two Nobel authors in deviating from the Geoffery Leech Politeness Principle. In both novels it is clear the use of linguistic formulas that violates the pragmatic politeness in order to achieve a deep and thorough social criticism of the Egyptian and Peruvian reality in the time of the fifties and sixties. Through the violation of the pragmatic principle, both Nobel authors, the objective of this study, seek to expose a greater ailment that affects both Egyptian and Peruvian society, an impoliteness towards citizens belonging to various sectors and social classes. In the two novels analyzed, the novelists found in the transgression of the Principle of Courtesy the best way to present the concerns and constant conflicts of the human being against his own society. Likewise, both Mahfuz and Llosa, expose the mentalities that support the stratification of society, with their respective prejudices, beliefs and ideologies.

KEYWORDS: Pragmatics, politeness, Nobel`s authors, Naguib Mahfuz, Mario Vargas Llosa.
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