bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A New Approach to Inform Restoration and Management Decisions for Sustainable Apiculture
Authors: Picknoll Joanne Lee , Poot Pieter , Renton Michael
Published: May 2021

Habitat loss has reduced the available resources for apiarists and is a key driver of poor colony health, colony loss, and reduced honey yields. The biggest challenge for apiarists in the future will be meeting increasing demands for pollination services, honey, and other bee products with limited resources. Targeted landscape restoration focusing on high-value or high-yielding forage could ensure adequate floral resources are available to sustain the growing industry. Tools are currently needed to evaluate the likely productivity of potential sites for restoration and inform decisions about plant selections and arrangements and hive stocking rates, movements, and placements. We propose a new approach for designing sites for apiculture, centred on a model of honey production that predicts how changes to plant and hive decisions affect the resource supply, potential for bees to collect resources, consumption of resources by the colonies, and subsequently, amount of honey that may be produced. The proposed model is discussed with reference to existing models, and data input requirements are discussed with reference to an Australian case study area. We conclude that no existing model exactly meets the requirements of our proposed approach, but components of several existing models could be combined to achieve these needs.
Romanian Students’ Appraisal of the Emergency Remote Assessment due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Cernicova-Buca Mariana , Dragomir Gabriel-Mugurel
Published: May 2021

The response of most educational institutions to the health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic was the adoption of emergency remote teaching and assessment. The paper aims to evaluate students’ satisfaction with assessment activities in a Romanian university and to identify elements pertaining to sustainable assessment in the post-pandemic period. A collaborative research strategy was developed with students being invited as co-researchers for data collection by distributing an online questionnaire and for interpretation of the results in a focus group. The factor analysis of the responses to the survey extracted two pillars pertaining to students’ appraisal of remote assessment activities: Knowledge, and leisure and stress. The discussion in the focus group showed that the research helped participants to process and reason their experience with remote assessment activities in the summer of 2020. Students missed their academic rituals and interactions with peers and teachers. Despite their enthusiasm for technological innovation and the benefits brought by computer assisted assessment, students are inclined towards preserving human evaluators, preferably from their familiar teachers, in educational settings resembling pre-pandemic academic life. A sustainable, resilient model of education needs to be based on retaining features identified as acceptable by students as examinees.
Multi-Attribute Analysis of Contemporary Cultural Buildings in the Historic Urban Fabric as Sustainable Spaces—Krakow Case Study
Authors: Szpakowska-Loranc Ernestyna
Published: May 2021

This study concerns contemporary cultural buildings in the historic city centre of Krakow, Poland, and their assessment in terms of sustainability. The paper aims to bridge a research gap in previous studies on pluralistic values and the impact of cultural heritage on sustainability. The comparative case study conducted in Krakow aims to evaluate the functioning and potential of the space towards achieving the following five goals: accessibility, conservation, mix of functions, aesthetics, comfort and sociability. The perception of these buildings and the public space around them by the city residents, as well as their operation during unexpected circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, were also evaluated. The author combined an on-site analysis, behavioural mapping and a survey. The results correlate the liveability and aesthetics of public spaces along with the amount and quality of greenery found there with the comfort of users and the popularity of particular places. This paper highlights how important it is to create cultural spaces in a historic city to develop a range of their activities linked to the surrounding public spaces and green areas. Activating cultural spaces and connecting them to sustainability goals is especially important when faced with declining tourism.
Fruit Quality Properties of the Local Apple Varieties of Anatolia
Authors: Macit İdris , Aydın Erol , Tas Akgul , Gundogdu Muttalip
Published: May 2021

The importance of biochemical content of fruits in human health and nutrition is understood more and more day by day. In this study, new local varieties were added to apple genetic resources and the correlation between biochemical contents and agro-morphological properties of fruits belonging to them was revealed. It was observed that the total phenolics amount varied between 20.13 (“Bag”) mg GAE kg−1 and 80.59 (“Yeşil”) mg GAE kg−1. The highest total antioxidant capacity was determined as 90.96% in “Yeşil” variety. Potassium (K) content, which is among the macronutrients, was determined as the highest value in “Bağ” variety (7993.31 mg kg−1) and in “Zuza” variety (7983.31 mg kg−1). It was determined that the Fe content (iron) varied between as 14.17 mg kg−1 (“Zuza”) and 5.75 mg kg−1 (“Bağ”) and was higher than other micronutrients. In the light of the results obtained in this study, it was concluded that fruits belonging to new local apple varieties are rich in biochemical contents and these varieties can be used as genetic resources in plant breeding studies.
Road to Sustainability: University–Start-Up Collaboration
Authors: Jirapong Korapin , Cagarman Karina , von Arnim Laura
Published: May 2021

Considerations on sustainability have growing attention not only for scholars and businesses, but also for almost everyone. However, accomplishing sustainable progress is complicated and cannot be completely reached by single individuals or organizations. Consequently, entrepreneurs striving for sustainable change might search for collaborations with universities to overcome their resource and technology constraints. A quantitative research method was employed to explore the value of such collaborations. Data were gathered via questionnaires, between February and March 2020, from entrepreneurs/start-ups that are spin-offs of the ten leading higher education institutions in Berlin and Brandenburg (Germany). Correlation and logistic regression disclosed that start-ups with different sustainability goals employed dissimilar formats of collaboration with universities. Ecological-oriented entrepreneurs tend to utilize all three forms of university–start-up collaboration. On the contrary, social-driven start-ups are not likely to adopt any kind of collaboration with universities. While ventures with economical SDGs are prone to employ product and prototype development along with support from professors. The study extends the knowledge about the search for collaborations of start-ups when pursuing different SDGs. In the practical domain, this research can encourage entrepreneurs to cooperate with universities in order to achieve their sustainable goals beyond incubation and acceleration. Additionally, it can also trigger universities to supply resources for supporting start-ups, especially social-driven ventures, to facilitate them to accomplish sustainability as well as to reach the third mission of universities in terms of supporting society.
Analysis of Nutritional Quality Attributes and Their Inter-Relationship in Maize Inbred Lines for Sustainable Livelihood
Authors: Langyan Sapna , Dar Zahoor A. , Chaudhary D. P. , Shekhar J. C. , Herlambang Susila , El Enshasy Hesham , Sayyed R. Z. , Rakshit S.
Published: May 2021

The present investigation was planned to understand the variability and inter-relationship among various nutritional quality attributes of maize kernels to identify potential donors of the respective traits for future hybridization programs. Sixty-three maize inbred lines were processed for the estimation of protein, starch, fat, sugar, 100-kernel weight, specific gravity, and moisture level of the grain. The results reveal that a wide variability among protein, starch, 100-kernel weight, specific gravity, and fat was seen, with special emphasis on the protein concentration that varied from 8.83 to 15.54%, starch (67.43–75.31%), and 100-kernel weight (9.14–36.11 gm). Factor analysis revealed that the protein concentration, starch, and 100-kernel weight, the three major components, comprise 68.58% of the kernel variability. Protein exhibited a significant negative correlation with starch and 100-kernel weight, indicating that an increase in the protein concentration will down-regulate the starch and 100-kernel weight. The inbred lines are proposed as donors for the development of high cultivars for their respective traits, viz., high protein (DMR WNC NY 403 and DMR WNC NY 404), high starch concentration (DMR WNC NY 2163, DMR WNC NY 2219, DMR WNC NY 2234, DMR WNC NY 2408, DMR WNC NY 2437, and DMR WNC NY 2466), high 100-kernel wt. (DMR WNC NY 2113, DMR WNC NY 2213, DMR WNC NY 2233, DMR WNC NY 2234, DMR WNC NY 2414, DMR WNC NY 2435, DMR WNC NY 2465, and DMR WNC NY 2474), sugar (DMR WNC NY 2417), and specific gravity (DMR WNC NY 2418). Genetic distance analysis revealed that DMR WNC NY 397 and DMR WNC NY 404 are the farthest apart inbred lines, having major differences in their protein, fat, starch, and sugar contents, followed by DMR WNC NY 2436 and DMR WNC NY 2394, DMR WNC NY 2212 and DMR WNC NY 2430, DMR WNC NY 396 and DMR WNC NY 2415, DMR WNC NY 404 and DMR WNC NY 2144, and DMR WNC NY403 and DMR WNC NY 2115. Moreover, this study proposes that these possible combinations of lines (in a breeding program) would result in genetic variability with simultaneous high values for the respective characteristics.
An Innovative Approach to Assess the Ecotoxicological Risks of Soil Exposed to Solid Waste
Authors: Bordean Despina-Maria , Pirvulescu Luminita , Poiana Mariana-Atena , Alexa Ersilia , Cozma Antoanela , Raba Diana Nicoleta , Borozan Aurica Breica , Misca Corina Dana , Morar Adriana , Obistioiu Diana , Caba Ioan Ladislau
Published: May 2021

The adoption of sustainable waste management strategies is a challenge faced by most European countries, mainly due to the need to generate less waste and replace landfills with new methods of waste treatment, associated with increases in the separate collection of waste and recycling rates. This paper highlights the significance of environmental legislation regarding waste removal to protect ecosystems. The aim was to predict ecological responses to heavy metals in soil exposed to hazardous waste and to identify environmental hazards in landfills, small illegal waste dumps, and litter, in addition to identifying if heavy metal accumulation in the investigated soil samples showed a single or cumulative risk. This is an innovative method to predict the ecological risk generated by hazardous waste landfills. The assessment of ecological risks was based on the evaluation of a heavy metal soil contamination factor, pollution index of soil loadings, a geo-accumulation index for heavy metals, and potential ecological risk. The current study is also the first to attempt to identify the dimension of risk based on the type of waste deposit (landfill, small illegal waste dump, and litter) and to identify potential patterns. The geological index corresponding to cadmium Igeo(Cd) showed heavy contamination in the soil samples from the landfill and moderate contamination for those from the illegal waste dumps. These findings indicate that soil contamination is influenced by contamination time, anthropogenic processes, and a history of industrial activity, and not only by waste composition and storage. The present study shows that cadmium might be considered a latent fingerprint for waste disposal, which is correlated to the industrialization level and rehabilitation procedures.
Brand Personality Traits of World Heritage Sites: Text Mining Approach
Authors: Hassan Mohamed Abdalla Elsayed , Zerva Konstantina , Aulet Silvia
Published: May 2021

UNESCO World Heritage Sites (WHSs) must necessarily display Outstanding Universal Values (OUVs), as these play a vital role in constructing competitive brand personality (BP) in tourism marketing. However, how these WHS qualities are perceived by visitors still needs substantial investigation. Adopting a visitor-driven approach, this study seeks to explore the intangible attributes of WHSs and, for the first time, uses the BP concept to measure these attributes in cultural attractions. To investigate how visitors perceive WHS personality traits, 5579 visitor-generated reviews of 175 French (39), German (44), Italian (50), and Spanish (42) cultural WHSs on TripAdvisor were analysed using empirical, mixed methods. Results show that four personality dimension categories can be attributed to WHSs: Sophistication, Sincerity, Competence, and Excitement. Moreover, a novel BP lexical technique is presented along with a 222-item personality trait dictionary, which can be used to measure personality traits in cultural attractions. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed.
Enhancing Vocational Training in the Post-COVID Era through Mobile Mixed Reality
Authors: Smith Eleanor , McRae Kenneth , Semple Gordon , Welsh Hugh , Evans Dorothy , Blackwell Paul
Published: May 2021

COVID-19 and the resulting restrictions have had a massive impact on engineering education, particularly vocational and practical aspects of training. In this study, we present a novel mixed reality (MR) tool to simulate and guide learners through a simple fault diagnosis task of a three-phase power supply. The tool was created as a web-based application that could be accessed from budget smartphones in order to cover the majority of users. Comparisons were made between novices using MR guidance and those with more experience in the task who did not have additional guidance, finding that the novices outperformed the experts across all metrics measured. This indicates that MR could be a valuable tool to supplement traditional vocational learning methods, particularly at a time when physical access to equipment and facilities is scarce. MR has applications across the engineering industry, but the target task of a three-phase power supply was chosen as it has particular relevance to the offshore wind industry, which faces a shortage of skilled engineers and technicians in the coming years.
Identifying the Driving Factors of Food Nitrogen Footprint in China, 2000–2018: Econometric Analysis of Provincial Spatial Panel Data by the STIRPAT Model
Authors: Liu Chun , Nie Gui-hua
Published: May 2021

This paper studies the EKC hypothesis and STIRPAT model. Based on the panel data of carbon emission intensity and other influencing factors of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2018, the spatial effect of per capita food nitrogen footprint (FNF) and the effect of different socio-economic factors in China were studied by using exploratory spatial data analysis and fixed effect spatial Durbin model for the first time. The results show that: (1) there is a spatial agglomeration effect and a positive spatial dependence relationship in China’s provincial per capita FNF (FNFP), which verifies that the relationship between China’s FNF and economy is in the early stage of EKC hypothesis curve. (2) The driving forces of China’s FNF were explored, including Engel’s coefficient of urban households (ECU), population density (PDEN), urbanization, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and technology. (3) The results show that there is a significant spatial spillover effect of FNFP. The ECU and NUE can reduce the regional FNFP, and can slow down the FNFP of surrounding provinces. (4) Policy makers need to formulate food nitrogen emission reduction policies from the food demand side, food consumption side and regional level.
New Needed Quality Management Skills for Quality Managers 4.0
Authors: Santos Gilberto , Sá Jose Carlos , Félix Maria João , Barreto Luís , Carvalho Filipe , Doiro Manuel , Zgodavová Kristína , Stefanović Miladin
Published: May 2021

Digitalization is rushing throughout the world, namely, in industrial and societal infrastructures. Hence, digital transformation becomes a pillar of industrial policy, known in Europe as “Industry 4.0,” in China as “made in China 2025,” in Asia as “Smart Cities,” in Japan as “Society 5.0,” and in North America as “Industrial Internet.” These transformations will change the industrial landscape, toward Quality 4.0 and therefore, our lives. The presented research was conducted on quality management employees in Portugal and it aims to analyze if such employees have the perception of the impact of Industry 4.0 in the quality management profession and the required and needed skills. After analyzing the answered questionnaires, 90 results were considered valid. This is the sample of our study. Simultaneously, the goal of this research is also to review and analyze the main topics in progress related to quality management for the fourth industrial revolution and how quality emerges of this change. The professionals that work on quality management must have creative thinking, be leaders, know how to communicate and work as a team, as well as, to have knowledge and understanding of ICT (Information and Communications Technology), and main pillars of Industry 4.0. These are the main findings. Besides that, they must know how to motivate their work teams, be open to change, know how to use Big Data to make decisions and above all, they must know how to manage conflicts. In addition, quality professionals must promote the design and production of first class products, be the defenders of their customers within the organization, and finally, they must create value for the stakeholders.
Mathematical Model to Simulate the Transfer of Heavy Metals from Soil to Plant
Authors: Cârdei Petru , Tudora Cătălina , Vlăduț Valentin , Pruteanu Mirabela Augustina , Găgeanu Iuliana , Cujbescu Dan , Bordean Despina-Maria , Ungureanu Nicoleta , Ipate George , Cristea Oana Diana
Published: May 2021

Heavy metals are naturally occurring elements, but their various applications have led to their wide circulation in the environment, raising concerns over their latent effects on the environment and human health. Their toxicity depends on numerous factors, including chemical species, concentration of heavy metal ions, environmental factors, etc. Experimental studies on the single or cumulative effects of heavy metals on plants are complex, time consuming and difficult to conduct. An alternative is mathematical modeling, which can include different factors into an integrated system and can predict plant and environmental behavior under multiple stressors. This paper presents a mathematical model that simulates the dependence of temperature, concentration of Zn in the soil and the subsequent bioaccumulation in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.); respectively, the reaction of lettuce to Zn contamination. The main results consist of three mathematical models, based on systems of ordinary differential equations and checking their predictions with available experimental data. The models are applied to predict an optimal harvest time of lettuce with low concentration of Zn, in identifying the availability of the analyzed species to phytoremediation operations and the possibility of maneuvering certain control factors to reduce or increase the intensity of the bioaccumulation process.
Monitoring of the Environmental Corrosivity in Museums by RFID Sensors: Application to Pollution Emitted by Archeological Woods
Authors: Rioual Stephane , Lescop Benoit , Pellé Julien , Radicchi Gerusa De Alkmim , Chaumat Gilles , Bruni Marie Dominique , Becker Johan , Thierry Dominique
Published: May 2021

The control of air quality in museums or storages is of fundamental interest for the conservation of historic artifacts. The present work reports an example of application of RFID sensors developed in the European project SensMat and dedicated to this issue. The sensors are based on the variation of property of an RFID tag coupled with a sensitive silver thin film exposed to the environment. As it will be described in the paper, such low-cost sensors are interrogated by a commercial reader and provide the environmental corrosivity index and thus the presence of pollutants. The selected case study concerns the monitoring of pollution by H2S in a building dedicated to conservation and restoration of archeological and historical woods. The ability of sensors to map spatially the corrosivity within buildings is highlighted.
Energy Management System Optimization of Drug Store Electric Vehicles Charging Station Operation
Authors: Huang Yongyi , Yona Atsushi , Takahashi Hiroshi , Hemeida Ashraf Mohamed , Mandal Paras , Mikhaylov Alexey , Senjyu Tomonobu , Lotfy Mohammed Elsayed
Published: May 2021

Electric vehicle charging station have become an urgent need in many communities around the world, due to the increase of using electric vehicles over conventional vehicles. In addition, establishment of charging stations, and the grid impact of household photovoltaic power generation would reduce the feed-in tariff. These two factors are considered to propose setting up charging stations at convenience stores, which would enable the electric energy to be shared between locations. Charging stations could collect excess photovoltaic energy from homes and market it to electric vehicles. This article examines vehicle travel time, basic household energy demand, and the electricity consumption status of Okinawa city as a whole to model the operation of an electric vehicle charging station for a year. The entire program is optimized using MATLAB mixed integer linear programming (MILP) toolbox. The findings demonstrate that a profit could be achieved under the principle of ensuring the charging station’s stable service. Household photovoltaic power generation and electric vehicles are highly dependent on energy sharing between regions. The convenience store charging station service strategy suggested gives a solution to the future issues.
Analyses of the Life Cycles and Social Costs of CO2 Emissions of Single-Family Residential Buildings: A Case Study in Poland
Authors: Kania Gabriela , Kwiecień Klaudia , Malinowski Mateusz , Gliniak Maciej
Published: May 2021

Comprehensive environmental impact assessments of buildings and construction as a whole consider the preparation of construction and finishing materials, their transportation, the process of erecting buildings, long-term operations—including the consumption of electricity, water, and fuels—and the management of the waste generated during the demolition of facilities. In terms of the above-mentioned elements, the most negative environmental impact on a building’s life cycle is in its exploitation stage. In order to reduce this impact, modern sustainable construction uses renewable energy sources. In the area of the Polish building market, analyses of CO2 emissions, the application of LCAs for building materials, and assessments of the social impacts of modern buildings are still very limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the environmental life cycles and social costs of the CO2 emissions of single-family residential buildings, in which four different systems providing energy (heat and electricity) from renewable and nonrenewable sources are used. In this research, it was found that the annual CO2 emissions per square meter of building surface area in the analyzed objects were in the range of 30 to 176 kg CO2. The greatest contributor to the environmental effects was energy consumption (58% to 90%). The CO2 analysis conducted showed that facilities that use a heat pump are characterized by an environmental effect that is six times lower than that of facilities that are powered by coal combustion and electricity from the network. Similarly, the social costs associated with CO2 emissions were significantly lower in the case of the use of renewable energy sources.
Development of Key Performance Indicators for Measuring the Management Performance of Small Construction Firms in Korea
Authors: Kim Doyeong , Oh Wongyun , Yun Jiyeong , Youn Jongyoung , Do Sunglok , Lee Donghoon
Published: May 2021

Large construction firms execute management control in preparation for a fast-paced business environment, but small ones are unable to do so. This is because there is no management control model tailored to them. The current study derived Management Performance Evaluation Indicators (MAPEIs) for small construction firms for measuring the management performance of construction firms with 10 or fewer employees, considering the characteristics of small construction firms. MAPEIs consist of BSC (Balanced Scorecard), performance, and the hierarchy and weighted value of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). After an interview with an expert, based on the management performance indicators of large construction firms, a final hierarchy of small construction firms was constructed through modification and supplementation. The KPIs of the hierarchy were analyzed through a survey using the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method to finalize MAPEIs for small construction firms in Korea. The final MAPEIs underwent a feasibility evaluation to apply them to real life. It is expected that they can be used as fundamental resources for system development for small construction firm management performance and control. In addition, further studies to resolve the limitations would improve the competitiveness of small construction firms.
Carbon and Nitrogen Sourcing in High Elevation Landscapes of Mustang in Central Nepal
Authors: Ojha Roshan Babu , Manandhar Sujata , Neupane Avishesh , Panday Dinesh , Tiwari Achyut
Published: May 2021

Mustang valley in the central Himalaya of Nepal is a unique landscape formed by massive soil mass during a glacial period, which is attributed to a mix of vegetations and long agricultural history. Soil nutrients and their sourcing is highly important to understand the vegetation assemblage and land productivity in this arid zone. Twenty soil samples (from 0 to 20 cm depth) were collected from three landscape positions in Mustang district: valley, ridge, and midslope. We explored nutrient sourcing using natural abundance carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen isotope (δ15N) employing isotope ratio mass spectrophotometry. The results showed that the total soil carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN) ranged from 0.3 to 10.5% and 0.3 to 0.7%, respectively. Similarly, the CN ratio ranged from 0.75 to 15.6, whereas soil pH ranged from 6.5 to 7.5. Valley soil showed higher values of TN, CN, and soil pH than the ridge and midslope soils. The valleys had more positive δ15N signatures than ridge and midslope, which indicates higher inorganic and organic N fertilizer inputs in the valley bottom than in the midslope and ridge. This suggests that a higher nutrient content in the valley bottom likely results from agro-inputs management and the transport of nutrients from the ridge and midslope. Soil pH and CN ratio were a non-limiting factor of nutrient availability in the study regions. These findings are crucial in understanding the nutrient dynamics and management in relation to vegetation and agricultural farming in this unique topography of the Trans-Himalayan zone of Mustang in central Nepal.
Should We Expect a Disastrous Fire Accident in an Urban Road Tunnel? Literature Data Review and a Case Study for Selected Tunnels in Poland
Authors: Szewczyński Krystian , Król Aleksander , Król Małgorzata
Published: May 2021

Urban road tunnels are a reasonable remedy for inconvenience due to congested road traffic. However, they bring specific threats, especially those related to the possibility of fire outbreak. This work is a case study for selected urban road tunnels. Considering tunnel specificity, road traffic intensity, and structure and based on the literature data for vehicle fire probability, the chances of a fire accident were estimated for selected tunnels in Poland. It was shown that low power tunnel fires could be expected in the 10–20-year time horizon. Although such threats cannot be disregarded, tunnel systems are designed to cope with them. The chances of a disastrous fire accident were estimated as well. Such events can occur when an HGV with flammable goods or a tanker are involved. Such accidents are fortunately very rare, but, on the other hand, that is the reason why the available data are scanty and burdened with high uncertainty. Therefore, a discussion on the reliability of the obtained results is also provided.
Classroom Walls and City Hall: Mobilizing Local Partnerships to Advance the Sustainable Development Agenda
Authors: Morales Gaea , Bromaghim Erin , Kim Angela , Diamond Caroline , Maggini Alejo , Everhart Avery , Gruskin Sofia , Chase Anthony Tirado
Published: May 2021

This roundtable discussion raises and responds to the question: What can be learned from academic and local government partnerships to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? We draw on several years of cooperation between the Office of the Mayor of Los Angeles (CA, USA) and academic institutions on how to best advance and integrate the United Nations’ SDGs into policy. Stakeholders from this project give voice to varying perspectives across roles—as city officials, academic partners, graduate and undergraduate students—in the Los Angeles case of SDG implementation. The article outlines a “Task Force” model, under the joint facilitation of faculty advisors and guidance of city partners, that promotes students’ experiential learning, and meaningfully bridges theory and practice in bringing global frameworks to local practice. We highlight what we gain by disaggregating the local and taking space and place seriously in sustainability policy, while underscoring the importance of long-term trust and relationship building in the success of local sustainability efforts.
A Systematic Review on Seaweed Functionality: A Sustainable Bio-Based Material
Authors: Nakhate Pranav , van der Meer Yvonne
Published: May 2021

Sustainable development is an integrated approach to tackle ongoing global challenges such as resource depletion, environmental degradation, and climate change. However, a paradigm shift from a fossil-based economy to a bio-based economy must accomplish the circularity principles in order to be sustainable as a solution. The exploration of new feedstock possibilities has potential to unlock the bio-based economy’s true potential, wherein a cascading approach would maximize value creation. Seaweed has distinctive chemical properties, a fast growth rate, and other promising benefits beyond its application as food, making it a suitable candidate to substitute fossil-based products. Economic and environmental aspects can make seaweed a lucrative business; however, seasonal variation, cultivation, harvesting, and product development challenges have yet not been considered. Therefore, a clear forward path is needed to consider all aspects, which would lead to the commercialization of financially viable seaweed-based bioproducts. In this article, seaweed’s capability and probable functionality to aid the bio-based economy are systematically discussed. The possible biorefinery approaches, along with its environmental and economic aspects of sustainability, are also dealt with. Ultimately, the developmental process, by-product promotion, financial assistance, and social acceptance approach are summarized, which is essential when considering seaweed-based products’ feasibility. Besides keeping feedstock and innovative technologies at the center of bio-economy transformation, it is imperative to follow sustainable-led management practices to meet sustainable development goals.
Sustaining Healthy Staying Communities in University Residential Halls amid Unprecedented Pandemic
Authors: Cheng Michelle W. T. , Leung Man-Lai , Yu Christina W. M. , Yue Kevin K. M. , Liu Elaine S. C. , Chu Samuel K. W.
Published: May 2021

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most teaching and learning or student services in the higher education setting have moved to the digital world. However, university residential halls have continued to provide services as there are students who are unable to go back to their homes/countries because of travel bans or family reasons. This study investigates the perceptions of residents who stayed at university residential halls during the pandemic. In-depth interviews were conducted with 77 staying residents from four public universities in Hong Kong. Through the sharing of their residential experience, it was found that these stayers were impacted greatly by the changes in the residential hall environment, particularly in terms of reduced interaction and emerging disciplinary concerns. Results reveal that stayers had undergone different negative mental states, namely stress, paranoia, loneliness and boredom. After identifying their conditions, some sustainable residential practices were proposed, such as maintaining minimum face-to-face contact for stayers, practicing transparent communication and arranging bulk purchases of living supplies. It is hoped that the results of this study can help to inform readers regarding the possible impacts on the stayers during a partial lockdown environment in university residential halls and how they can be better supported by universities.
Risk and Opportunity Assessment Model for CSR Initiatives in the Face of Coronavirus
Authors: Krechowicz Maria , Kiliańska Katarzyna
Published: May 2021

This paper concerns an important and current problem of taking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the specific market conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. CSR activities, aimed at combating COVID-19, contribute to creating favorable conditions for the sustainable development of enterprises and the entire society. In this work, analysis of the survey results, interviews with the initiatives’ beneficiaries, and brainstorm sessions with CSR specialists and companies’ employees allowed us to identify risk and opportunity categories, factors, and develop scales for their probability and consequences assessment. Survey results revealed that socially responsible actions are important in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, and social expectations, in this regard, are growing. Two-parametric risk/opportunity matrix was used to calculate risk/opportunity level. The aim of this work is to present a new model of risk and opportunity assessment dedicated to organizations carrying out of CSR ventures in the pandemic era. The proposed risk and opportunity assessment model is an effective tool to identify the CSR initiative advantages and drawbacks, as well as a starting point for managing them, to maximize chances and minimize threats. Three examples of practical applications of the proposed model confirm that it can be successfully used in practice. The developed model is based on universal assumptions and criteria, so that it can be used in any country struggling with the pandemic.
Urban Public Policy and the Formation of Dilapidated Abandoned Buildings in Historic Cities: Causes, Impacts and Recommendations
Authors: Tavakoli Hamed , Marzbali Massoomeh Hedayati
Published: May 2021

The contradictory and inefficient nature of urban public policy in Iranian historic cities has been subject to long debates in recent years, and has even led to disorganisation in the formation of dilapidated abandoned buildings (DABs). Under the current policies, three government agencies oversee the urban management in historic cities. The projects and processes that have yet to be implemented by these agencies are crucial for solving the problems associated with DABs. This research aims to investigate the current public policies of the essential key players and stakeholders in order to ameliorate the problem of DABs, which in the literature has been proven to be associated with socio-spatial disadvantage. A qualitative semi-structured enquiry was conducted, and urban public policies were evaluated on the basis of 19 in-depth interviews regarding the three historic cities of Yazd, Kashan and Isfahan. The results were analysed using cutting and sorting techniques, and thematic and critical narrative analysis. Several inadequacies in the current urban public policy were specified. This research could help decision-makers to create efficient management plans with respect to the reduction of DABs, an approach that can be considered efficient for the regeneration of life in historic cities.
Orderliness in Tourism Enterprise Dynamics in United States Micropolitan Statistical Areas
Authors: Toerien Daan
Published: May 2021

Micropolitan statistical areas (micropolitans) are important elements in understanding the small-town economic forces operating in the United States. This study focuses on the tourism enterprise dynamics of micropolitans. These dynamics are an oft-neglected element in tourism analyses and reports. Power law (log-log) regression analyses are central to the examination of complex socio-economic systems, and have been used here. Micropolitan tourism enterprises are ubiquitous and there is much non-linear orderliness in the interplay between their demographic and entrepreneurial characteristics. The dynamics of the orderliness result in important differences. For instance, total micropolitan employment increases sub-linearly (more slowly) than increases in tourism enterprise numbers, while tourism employment increases super-linearly (more rapidly). This difference could be important in considerations of micropolitan employment. The relationship of tourism and poverty has often been debated. Here, a statistically significant negative correlation was observed between the number of tourism enterprises and a measure of community prosperity/wealth of the micropolitans. Expansion of the tourism sector apparently reduces community poverty in micropolitans. However, community poverty is also lower in larger micropolitans. Therefore, further analyses are needed to examine the potentially spurious correlation. Overall, future decision-making could be supported by the quantified information about the tourism dynamics of micropolitans.
Fixed Points of Proinov E-Contractions
Authors: Alghamdi Maryam A. , Gulyaz-Ozyurt Selma , Fulga Andreea
Published: May 2021

In this paper, we consider a new type of Proinov contraction on the setting of a symmetrical abstract structure, more precisely, the metric space. Our goal is to expand on some results from the literature using admissible mappings and the concept of E-contraction. The considered examples indicate the validity of the obtained results.
A Commodity Classification Framework Based on Machine Learning for Analysis of Trade Declaration
Authors: He Mingshu , Wang Xiaojuan , Zou Chundong , Dai Bingying , Jin Lei
Published: May 2021

Text, voice, images and videos can express some intentions and facts in daily life. By understanding these contents, people can identify and analyze some behaviors. This paper focuses on the commodity trade declaration process and identifies the commodity categories based on text information on customs declarations. Although the technology of text recognition is mature in many application fields, there are few studies on the classification and recognition of customs declaration goods. In this paper, we proposed a classification framework based on machine learning (ML) models for commodity trade declaration that reaches a high rate of accuracy. This paper also proposed a symmetrical decision fusion method for this task based on convolutional neural network (CNN) and transformer. The experimental results show that the fusion model can make up for the shortcomings of the two original models and some improvements have been made. In the two datasets used in this paper, the accuracy can reach 88% and 99%, respectively. To promote the development of study of customs declaration business and Chinese text recognition, we also exposed the proprietary datasets used in this study.
Fractional Weighted Ostrowski-Type Inequalities and Their Applications
Authors: Kashuri Artion , Meftah Badreddine , Mohammed Pshtiwan Othman , Lupaş Alina Alb , Abdalla Bahaaeldin , Hamed Y. S. , Abdeljawad Thabet
Published: May 2021

An important area in the field of applied and pure mathematics is the integral inequality. As it is known, inequalities aim to develop different mathematical methods. Nowadays, we need to seek accurate inequalities for proving the existence and uniqueness of the mathematical methods. The concept of convexity plays a strong role in the field of inequalities due to the behavior of its definition and its properties. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between convexity and symmetry concepts. Whichever one we work on, we can apply it to the other one due the strong correlation produced between them, especially in the last few years. In this study, by using a new identity, we establish some new fractional weighted Ostrowski-type inequalities for differentiable quasi-convex functions. Further, further results for functions with a bounded first derivative are given. Finally, in order to illustrate the efficiency of our main results, some applications to special means are obtain. The obtained results generalize and refine certain known results.
Hardware in the Loop Topology for an Omnidirectional Mobile Robot Using Matlab in a Robot Operating System Environment
Authors: Dosoftei Constantin-Catalin , Popovici Alexandru-Tudor , Sacaleanu Petru-Razvan , Gherghel Paul-Marcelin , Budaciu Cristina
Published: May 2021

The symmetry of the omnidirectional robot motion abilities around its central vertical axis is an important advantage regarding its driveability for the flexible interoperation with fixed conveyor systems. The paper illustrates a Hardware in the Loop architectural approach for integrated development of an Ominidirectional Mobile Robot that is designed to serve in a dynamic logistic environment. Such logistic environments require complex algorithms for autonomous navigation between different warehouse locations, that can be efficiently developed using Robot Operating System nodes. Implementing path planning nodes benefits from using Matlab-Simulink, which provides a large selection of algorithms that are easily integrated and customized. The proposed solution is deployed for validation on a NVIDIA Jetson Nano, the embedded computer hosted locally on the robot, that runs the autonomous navigation software. The proposed solution permits the live connection to the omnidirectional prototype platform, allowing to deploy algorithms and acquire data for debugging the location, path planning and the mapping information during real time autonomous navigation experiments, very useful in validating different strategies.
Impacts of Climate Change Interacting Abiotic Factors on Growth, aflD and aflR Gene Expression and Aflatoxin B1 Production by Aspergillus flavus Strains In Vitro and on Pistachio Nuts
Authors: Baazeem Alaa , Rodriguez Alicia , Medina Angel , Magan Naresh
Published: May 2021

Pistachio nuts are an important economic tree nut crop which is used directly or processed for many food-related activities. They can become colonized by mycotoxigenic spoilage fungi, especially Aspergillus flavus, mainly resulting in contamination with aflatoxins (AFs), especially aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). The prevailing climate in which these crops are grown changes as temperature and atmospheric CO2 levels increase, and episodes of extreme wet/dry cycles occur due to human industrial activity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of interacting Climate Change (CC)-related abiotic factors of temperature (35 vs. 37 °C), CO2 (400 vs. 1000 ppm), and water stress (0.98–0.93 water activity, aw) on (a) growth (b) aflD and aflR biosynthetic gene expression and (c) AFB1 production by two strains A. flavus (AB3, AB10) in vitro on milled pistachio-based media and when colonizing layers of shelled raw pistachio nuts. The A. flavus strains were resilient in terms of growth on pistachio-based media and the colonisation of pistachio nuts with no significant difference when exposed to the interacting three-way climate-related abiotic factors. However, in vitro studies showed that AFB1 production was significantly stimulated (p < 0.05), especially when exposed to 1000 ppm CO2 at 0.98–0.95 aw and 35 °C, and sometimes in the 37 °C treatment group at 0.98 aw. The relative expression of the structural aflD gene involved in AFB1 biosynthesis was decreased or only slightly increased, relative to the control conditions at elevated CO, regardless of the aw level examined. For the regulatory aflR gene expression, there was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in 1000 ppm CO2 and 37 °C for both strains, especially at 0.95 aw. The in situ colonization of pistachio nuts resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) stimulation of AFB1 production at 35 °C and 1000 ppm CO2 for both strains, especially at 0.98 aw. At 37 °C, AFB1 production was either decreased, in strain AB3, or remained similar, as in strain AB10, when exposed to 1000 ppm CO2. This suggests that CC factors may have a differential effect, depending on the interacting conditions of temperature, exposure to CO2 and the level of water stress on AFB1 production.
Reference Gene Selection for RT-qPCR Analysis in Maize Kernels Inoculated with Aspergillus flavus
Authors: Alves Oliveira Dafne , Tang Juliet D. , Warburton Marilyn L.
Published: May 2021

Resistance against infection by the fungus Aspergillus flavus Link in commercial maize (Zea mays L.) is the topic of many studies, but few studies have investigated the effects of A. flavus infection on gene expression levels in ear kernels. A crucial component of gene expression profiling by RT-qPCR is having a reliable set of reference genes that show relatively constant expression across the treatments and phenotypes under study. Currently, however, there is no published information on reference genes suitable for measuring changes in kernel gene expression levels after infection with A. flavus. Thus, in this study, six candidate reference genes (ACT1, β-Tub2, eIF4A2, TATA, EFIα, and GAPDH) were evaluated and ranked according to their expression stability. The genes were amplified from first-strand cDNA samples synthesized from kernels of two susceptible and two resistant maize lines that were either inoculated with A. flavus or water or not inoculated. Three software packages were used to calculate and rank the stability of expression for these genesgeNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper. The analysis revealed that the most stable genes to normalize expression levels from maize kernels responding to A. flavus inoculation and wounding were ACT1, EFIα, and eIF4A2.