bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phased Method for Solving Multi-Objective MPM Job Shop Scheduling Problem
Authors: Tselios Dimitrios C , Savvas Ilias K. , Kechadi M-Tahar
Published: June 2016

The project portfolio scheduling problem has become very popular in recent years since many modern organizations operate in multi-project and multi-objective environment. Current project oriented organizations have to design a plan in order to execute a set of projects sharing common resources such as personnel teams. This problem can be seen as an extension of the job shop scheduling problem; the multi-purpose job shop scheduling problem. In this paper, the authors propose a hybrid approach to deal with a bi-objective optimisation problem; Makespan and Total Weighted Tardiness. The approach consists of three phases; in the first phase they utilise a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to generate a set of initial solutions, which are used as inputs to recurrent neural networks (RNNs) in the second phase. In the third phase the authors apply adaptive learning rate and a Tabu Search like algorithm with the view to improve the solutions returned by the RNNs. The proposed hybrid approach is evaluated on some well-known benchmarks and the experimental results are very promising.
A Critical Review of the Big-Data Paradigm
Authors: Xing Ruben , Ren Jinluan , Sun Jianghua , Liu Lihua
Published: June 2016

The moving directions of big data are readjusted with updated concerns along with the quick boom of Internet of Things (IoT). Any serious contribution to the advance of the IoT must necessarily be the result of synergetic activities conducted in different fields of knowledge, such as telecommunications, informatics, electronics and social science. Big data was a hot topic in past years. It is not a new technology, but a huge resource generated from those fields. Some of the omitted focuses become major strategic plans for developers, and several new functions are becoming critical needs for the smart Internet movement. This paper is to address big data with the strategic changes and directions during the sensitive transitional period to be recognized for the business leaders and information technology (IT) developers.
Environmental Sustainability in the Fashion Supply Chain in India
Authors: Kumar Manoj
Published: June 2016

The fashion supply chain is one of the most polluting industries in the world, being a huge consumer of water, electricity and chemicals, and discharging massive quantities of wastes to land. Stakeholders' and customers' pressure on sustainability has pushed companies to transform general environmental sustainability concepts into business practices. However, a few contributions have offered a comprehensive analysis of the practices employed in the fashion supply chain to reduce its environmental impact. Each fashion supplier seeks to maximize its profits as well as to minimize its emissions throughout its supply chain with the latter criterion being weighted in an individual manner by each supplier. In this paper, a theoretical framework for mapping practices for environmental sustainability implemented in the fashion system is presented. The framework is then used to analyze the Indian scenario.
Analyzing the Factors Driving the Usage of Enterprise Social Network
Authors: Lal Prerna
Published: June 2016

Connectivity and networking benefits of social media platforms have motivated organizations to deploy similar model in an organizational setting in the form of Enterprise Social Network (ESN) with an objective to increase collaboration among employees. Further, ESN is considered more relevant in today's digital business environment where organizations have to deal with collaboration and communication challenges faced by teams that have members operating from different locations and time zones. Once the ESN is implemented the next challenge for the organization is to ensure the participation of employees and keeping them motivated to use ESN for interacting with their peers. This paper aims to elucidate the factors that influence employees' decision to use ESN in the context of Indian organizations. In this study, a conceptual model is developed on the theoretical grounding of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology theory, Technology-Organization-Environment framework, Social Capital theory and Critical Mass theory. This study proposes that employees' ESN usage behavior is driven by individual factors (i.e. perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment), organizational factors (i.e. top management support, facilitating conditions, and collaborative norms), as well as social factors (i.e. perception of the critical mass). Data was collected using questionnaire survey method. According to the data analysis of this study, all the six factors were found statistically significant. While, support from top management was identified as the most significant factor that encourages the use of ESN, followed by the perception of critical mass regarding the usage of ESN in an organization.
Evaluating the Relevance of Contextual Hyper-Advertising on Social Media
Authors: Tripti Dhote , Danish Zahoor
Published: June 2016

The ever-rising middle class coupled with high disposable incomes and burgeoning internet culture in the country has driven the e- commerce industry like never before. The resultant cluttered scenario has put pressures on the competing players & a rapid desperation to rise across social media and create relevance for their brand. Contextual hyper advertising by leveraging technology to own up key words is one such strategic formula applied by major players to make their brands more meaningful for optimally reaching out to consumers in the fastest and most economical way possible. The paper aims at evaluating the overall appeal of Contextual hyper-advertising as a strategy in creating Brand Relevance by adapting to certain models in integrating communication.
Retail Marketing Strategies and Brand Management
Authors: Kasemsap Kijpokin
Published: June 2016

This article aims to provide a critical review of the published literature related to retail marketing strategies and brand management in the global retail industry. The literature review covers the overview of marketing strategies; retail marketing strategies and technological utilization; international retail marketing strategies in the global retail industry; retail marketing strategies and internationalization; the challenges of retail marketing strategies in the fashion retail industry; the overview of brand management; and the significance of brand management in the global retail industry. Effective marketing is necessary to compete in the ever-growing worldwide retail industry sector. The improved retail profits are within reach with the purposeful retail marketing strategies. Brand management means defining the brand, positioning the brand, and delivering the brand. The literature review analysis provides both practitioners and researchers an important understanding about retail marketing strategies and brand management in the global retail industry.
Attracting Job-Seekers Through Online Job Advertisements
Authors: Banerjee Pratyush
Published: June 2016

Online recruitment research has time and again addressed the issue of lack of credibility of online job advertising media compared to traditional media such as newspapers and the issue of poor quality web design in E-recruitment. In this paper, the issues of lack of credibility and quality of E-recruitment channels have been addressed through the introduction of a) realistic job previews (RJP), b) company independent channels for advertising jobs online (for example Blogs), and c) podcasts for corporate previews in online job website design. Final year post-graduate students about to enter job market (N=457) took part in a 2x2x2 factorial experiment. The findings give distinct indications of the advantage of use of the above mentioned web design features on applicant perception of quality, credibility, and their subsequent development of organizational attractiveness and intention to apply for a job in the firm. Recommendations for practitioners have been highlighted through illustrated examples.
Development and Validation of the Technology Adoption and Gratification (TAG) Model in Higher Education
Authors: Islam A.Y.M. Atiquil
Published: June 2016

The prime objective of this study was to develop and validate the Technology Adoption and Gratification (TAG) Model to evaluate the adoption and gratification of lecturers in using ICT facilities for their teaching and research purposes in higher education. The second objective of this study was to evaluate the cross-cultural validation of the causal structure of the TAG model. A total of 396 lecturers were collected from two public universities, namely, University of Malaya in Malaysia and Jiaxing University in China using stratified random sampling procedure. The questionnaire's validity was established through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using SPSS version 21.0. The data was analyzed applying Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using AMOS version 18. The findings of the research using the TAG model discovered that the computer self-efficacy of the lecturers had a positive direct impact on their perceived usefulness and ease of use, while the latter two factors also had a significant direct impact on gratification and intention to use, separately. Meanwhile, gratification and actual use of ICT facilities were directly affected by intention to use. Moreover, computer self-efficacy had a positive and significant indirect impact on gratification and intention to use mediated by perceived usefulness and ease of use, respectively. In addition to lecturers' perceived ease of use and usefulness had a significant indirect effect on their gratification mediated by intention to use. The results of the invariance analysis of the TAG model also demonstrated that the model was valid for measuring lecturers' adoption and gratification in using ICT facilities. However, the TAG model works differently in cross-cultural settings. The findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge in the field of ICT by developing and validating the applicability of the TAG Model within institutions of higher education. Once validated the model could then be applied by future researchers, academicians and practitioners in the diverse context of education.
Impaired growth and erythrocyte nuclear lesions of immature Oreochromis niloticus exposed to waterborne crude oil: Persistent responses
Authors: Gunawickrama S. H. N. P. , Panawala P. D. S. M. , Gunawickrama K. B. S.
Published: June 2016

Crude oil impact studies have largely been limited to marine setting and it hampers the understanding and predictability pertaining to freshwater environments following contamination episodes. Growth and erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities (ENA) were followed in freshwater fish Oreochromis niloticus experimentally exposed to crude oil (Arabian light) dispersed in water. Study comprised of a control (no crude oil in water), and two experimental groups with 5 µL/L and 25 µL/L crude oil dispersed in water (5 ppm and 25 ppm respectively), and involved continuous exposure of fish (35 fish/tank in triplicate) with static renewal over a 90-day period. Growth was estimated serially at 18-day intervals (n=40-60). Both exposure groups reduced (p<0.05) weight-based and length-based growth rates and specific growth rates. Giemsa-stained peripheral blood and head kidney smears on day 90 (n=6) showed increased (p<0.05) micronuclei, nuclear buds, fragmented apoptotic nuclei and other types of ENA frequencies (per 1000 RBC) in the fish exposed to 25 ppm crude oil. Moreover, crude oil induced ENA levels were quantitatively different (p<0.05) between the peripheral blood and head kidney. Results show that crude oil hampers growth and sustains elevated ENA of O. niloticus juveniles in freshwater environment.
CLINICAL AND LABORATORY CHARACTERISTICS OF DENGUE-ORIENTI TSUTSUGAMUSHI CO-INFECTION FROM A TERTIARY CARE CENTER IN SOUTH INDIA
Authors: Basheer Aneesh , Iqbal Nayyar , Mookkappan Sudhagar , Anitha Patricia , Nair Shashikala , Kanungo Reba , Kandasamy Ravichandran
Published: June 2016

BackgroundConcurrent infection with multiple pathogens is common in tropics, posing diagnostic and treatment challenges. Although co-infections of dengue, malaria, leptospirosis and typhoid in various combinations have been described, data on dengue and scrub typhus co-infection is distinctly limited.MethodologyThis was a retrospective analysis of dengue and scrub typhus co-infection diagnosed between January 2010 and July 2014 at a tertiary care center. Clinical and laboratory features of these cases were compared with age and gender matched patients with isolated dengue fever and isolated scrub typhus. Positive test for dengue non-structural 1 (NS1) antigen was considered diagnostic of dengue whereas scrub typhus was diagnosed by IgM scrub antibodies demonstrated by ELISA.ResultsThere were 6 cases of dengue-scrub co-infection during the review period which fitted clinical and laboratory profile with a mean age of 42.5 years. Fever, headache and arthralgia were common. Normal haemoglobin, significant thrombocytopenia, transaminitis and hypoalbuminemia were identified in these patients. Compared to patients with isolated dengue, those with co-infection had higher pulse rate, lower systolic blood pressure, normal leucocyte counts, higher levels of liver enzymes, greater prolongation of partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and lower serum albumin. Co-infection was characterized by a lower nadir platelet count compared to scrub typhus, and lesser time to nadir platelet count and longer duration of hospital stay compared to either isolated dengue or scrub typhus.ConclusionDengue-scrub typhus co-infection may be under-diagnosed in tropics, particularly confounded during dengue epidemics. Normal leucocyte counts, early drop in platelets and hypoalbuminemia in dengue patients could be clues to concurrent scrub typhus infection. Prompt recognition and treatment of scrub typhus in such cases may reduce unnecessary hospital stay and cost.
BENDAMUSTINE AND RITUXIMAB AS FIRST LINE TREATMENT IN SPLENIC MARGINAL ZONE LYMPHOMAS of ELDERLY PATIENTS.
Authors: Castelli Roberto
Published: June 2016

Background: Splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) is a chronic B-cell lymphoproliferative disorder, comprising less than 2% of non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, and affecting mainly middle-aged and elderly patients with a median survival of >10 years. The typical clinical features of SMZL include splenomegaly. Treatment should be patient-tailored and can range from a ‘watchful waiting’ approach for asymptomatic patients without cytopenias to surgery, localized radiation therapy or immuno/chemotherapies. Recently, the combination of Rituximab and Bendamustine (R-Benda) has been defined as highly active in patients with follicular lymphomas, but little is known about the efficacy of R-Benda in SMZL.  Aim of the study: The purpose of this retrospective study was to report our experience on the efficacy of R-Benda as first line treatment in 23 consecutive elderly SMZL patients. Results: All patients had a complete resolution of splenomegaly along with restoration of their blood counts. Nineteen patients (83%) achieved a complete response (CR) to therapy; three patients (13%) achieved a partial response (PR).Ten patients (43%) obtained molecular remission. Toxicities were mild and mainly haematological and result in dose reductions for fourteen patients. Conclusions: Our data suggest a high activity and good tolerance of R-Benda, despite dose reduction due to potential toxicity.
BISPHOSPHONATES IN LANGERHANS CELL HISTIOCYTOSIS: AN INTERNATIONAL RETROSPECTIVE CASE SERIES
Authors: Chellapandian Deepak , Makras Polyzois , Kaltsas Gregory , Van den Bos Cor , Naccache Lamia , Rampal Raajit , Carret Anne-Sophie , Weitzman Sheila , Egeler R. Maarten , Abla Oussama
Published: June 2016

Background: Bone is the most common organ of involvement in patients with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), which is often painful and associated with significant morbidity from pathological fractures. Current first-line treatments include chemotherapy and steroids that are effective but often associated with adverse effects, whereas the disease may reactivate despite an initial response to first-line agents. Bisphosphonates are osteoclast inhibitors that have shown to be helpful in treating bone lesions of LCH. To date, there are no large international studies to describe their role in treating bone lesions of LCH. Method: We conducted a multicenter retrospective review of 13 patients with histologically proven LCH, who had received bisphosphonates either at diagnosis or at disease reactivation. Results: Ten patients (77%) had a single system bone disease, and 3 (23%) had bone lesions as part of multisystem disease. Median follow-up time post-bisphosphonate therapy was 4.6 years (range, 0.8 to 8.2 years). Treatment with bisphosphonates was associated with significant pain relief in almost all patients. Twelve  (92%) achieved resolution of active bone lesions, and 10 out of them had no active disease for a median of 3.5 years (range, 0.8 to 5 years). One patient did not respond. No major adverse effects were reported in this series.  Conclusion: Bisphosphonates are well-tolerated drugs that can significantly improve bone pain and induce remission in active bone LCH. Future prospective studies evaluating the role of bisphosphonates in LCH are warranted.
PARASITIC INFECTIONS IN HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION
Authors: Jarque Isidro , Salavert Miguel , Pemán Javier
Published: June 2016

Parasitic infections are rarely documented in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. However, they may be responsible for fatal complications that are only diagnosed at autopsy. Increased awareness of the possibility of parasitic diseases both in autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplant patients is relevant not only for implementing preventive measures but also for performing an early diagnosis and starting appropriate therapy for these unrecognized but fatal infectious complications in hematopoietic transplant recipients. In this review, we will focus on parasitic diseases occurring in this population especially those with major clinical relevance including toxoplasmosis, American trypanosomiasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, and strongyloidiasis, among others, highlighting the diagnosis and management in hematopoietic transplant recipients.
Increasing Tumor Accessibility with Conjugatable Disulfide-Bridged Tumor-Penetrating Peptides for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
Authors: Kotamraju Venkata Ramana , Sharma Shweta , Kolhar Poornima , Agemy Lilach , Pavlovich James , Ruoslahti Erkki
Published: June 2016

Tumor-homing peptides with tissue-penetrating properties increase the efficacy of targeted cancer therapy by delivering an anticancer agent to the tumor interior. LyP-1 (CGNKRTRGC) and iRGD (CRGDKGPDC) are founding members of this class of peptides. The presence of the cysteines forming the cyclizing disulfide bond complicates conjugation of these peptides with other molecules, such as drugs. Here, we report the synthesis of conjugatable disulfide-bridged peptides and their conjugation to biologically important molecules. We have synthesized the LyP-1, iRGD, and CRGDC (GACRGDCLGA) peptides with a cysteine or maleimidohexanoic acid added externally at N-terminus of the sequences. Subsequent conjugation to payloads yielded stable compounds in which the tumor-homing properties of the peptide and the biological activity of the payload were retained.
Arbeitsgemeinschaft: Mathematical Quasicrystals
Authors: Haynes Alan , Treviño Rodrigo , Weiss Barak
Published: June 2016

This introductory workshop encouraged participants to read important recent works in the topology, geometry and dynamics of highly regular (but aperiodic) discrete sets in Euclidean spaces, and their corresponding tiling spaces. These sets have been recently under intensive investigation by researchers in topology, mathematical physics, dynamics, diophantine approximation, and discrete mathematics, and various different perspectives were emphasized.
Приближение функций из пространств Лебега и Соболева с переменным показателем средними Валле Пуссена
Authors: Sharapudinov Idris Idrisovich
Published: June 2016

Рассматривается пространство $L^{p(\cdot)}_{2\pi}$, состоящее из $2\pi$-периодических действительных измеримых функций $f$, для которых существует конечный интеграл $\displaystyle\int_{-\pi}^{\pi}|f(x)|^{p(x)} dx$, где $1\leqslant p(x)$ - $2\pi$-периодическая измеримая функция (переменный показатель). Если $ p(x)\leqslant \overline p<\infty$, то пространство $L^{p(\cdot)}_{2\pi}$ можно превратить в банахово пространство с нормой
$\displaystyle\|f\|_{p(\cdot)}=\inf\{\alpha>0:\int_{-\pi}^{\pi}|\frac{f(x)}{\alpha}|^{p(x)} dx\leqslant1\}$. В пространстве $L^{p(\cdot)}_{2\pi}$ выделяется подпространство типа Соболева $W^{r,p(\cdot)}_{2\pi}$. В статье исследованы аппроксимативные свойства средних Валле Пуссена тригонометрических сумм Фурье для функций из пространств $W^{r,p(\cdot)}_{2\pi}$. В частности, доказано, что если переменный показатель $p=p(x)$ удовлетворяет условию Дини-Липшица $|p(x)-p(y)|\ln\frac{2\pi}{|x-y|}\leqslant c$ и $f\in W^{r,p(\cdot)}_{2\pi}$, то для средних Валле Пуссена $V_m^n(f)=V_m^n(f,x)$ с $n\leqslant am$ имеет место неравенство
$$
\|f-V_m^n(f)\|_{p(\cdot)}\leqslant \frac{c_r(p,a)}{n^r}\Omega(f^{(r)},\frac1n)_{p(\cdot)},
$$
где $\Omega(g,\delta)_{p(\cdot)}$ - модуль непрерывности функции $g\in L^{p(\cdot)}_{2\pi}$, определенный с помощью функций Стеклова. Доказано, что если $1<p(x)$, $r\geqslant1$, $f\in W^{r,p(\cdot)}_{2\pi}$ и выполнено условие Дини-Липшица, то
$$
|f(x)-V_m^n(f,x)|\leqslant \frac{c_r(p)}{m+1}\sum_{k=n}^{n+m}\frac{E_k(f^{(r)})_{p(\cdot)}}{(k+1)^{r-{{1}/{p(x)}}}},
$$
где $E_k(g)_{p(\cdot)}$ - наилучшее приближение функции $g\in L^{p(\cdot)}_{2\pi}$ тригонометрическими полиномами порядка $k$.
Библиография: 19 названий.
The Coming Breakthrough in Risk Research
Authors: Jaeger Carlo
Published: June 2016

The paper proposes a novel way to handle the relation between decision theory and uncertainty in the context of policy design. Present risk governance is based primarily on two institutions – insurance markets and public risk governance – supported by a powerful theory: the expected utility approach to risk. New systemic risks like those of nuclear war, pandemics, climate change and global financial breakdowns call for further progress. Such progress is feasible because recent research has developed ways to address the basic difficulties of expected utility without loosing its valuable insights. They involve three major advances. First, to introduce a risk function that generalizes expected utility so as to overcome well-known difficulties like the Allais paradox. Second, to embed expected utility in a framework of iterated network games so as to take into account the social learning processes that are essential for real world risk governance. And third, to accommodate the logic of complementary descriptions called for by the new systemic risks. The coming breakthrough in risk research may best be achieved by bringing these advances to bear on practical efforts aiming at integrated risk governance.
Impact of geographic variations of the convective and dehydration center on stratospheric water vapor over the Asian monsoon region
Authors: Zhang Kai , Fu Rong , Wang Tao , Liu Yimin
Published: June 2016

Abstract. The Asian monsoon region is the most prominent moisture center of water vapor in the lower stratosphere (LS) during boreal summer. Previous studies have suggested that the transport of water vapor to the Asian monsoon LS is controlled by dehydration temperatures and convection mainly over the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. However, there is a clear geographic variation of convection associated with the seasonal and intra-seasonal variations of the Asian monsoon circulation, and the relative influence of such a geographic variation of convection vs. the variation of local dehydration temperatures on water vapor transport is still not clear. Using satellite observations from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and a domain-filling forward trajectory model, we show that almost half of the seasonal water vapor increase in the Asian monsoon LS are attributable to geographic variations of convection and resultant variations of the dehydration center, of which the influence is comparable to the influence of the local dehydration temperature increase. In particular, dehydration temperatures are coldest over the southeast and warmest over the northwest Asian monsoon region. Although the convective center is located over Southeast Asia, an anomalous increase of convection over the northwest Asia monsoon region increases local diabatic heating in the tropopause layer and air masses entering the LS are dehydrated at relatively warmer temperatures. Due to warmer dehydration temperatures, anomalously moist air enters the LS and moves eastward along the northern flank of the monsoon anticyclonic flow, leading to wet anomalies in the LS over the Asian monsoon region. Likewise, when convection increases over the Southeast Asia monsoon region, dry anomalies appear in the LS. On a seasonal scale, this feature is associated with the monsoon circulation, convection and diabatic heating marching towards the northwest Asia monsoon region from June to August. The march of convection leads to an increasing fraction of the air mass to be dehydrated at warmer temperatures over the northwest Asia monsoon region. Work presented here confirms the dominant role of temperatures on water vapor variations and emphasizes that further studies should take geographic variations of the dehydration center into consideration when studying water vapor variations in the LS as it is linked to changes of convection and large-scale circulation patterns.
Measurement, growth types and shrinkage of newly formed aerosol particles at an urban research platform
Authors: Salma Imre , Németh Zoltán , Weidinger Tamás , Kovács Boldizsár , Kristóf Gergely
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Budapest platform for Aerosol Research and Training (BpART) was created for advancing long-term on-line atmospheric measurements and intensive aerosol sample collection campaigns in Budapest. A joint study including atmospheric chemistry or physics, meteorology, and fluid dynamics on several-year-long data sets obtained at the platform confirmed that the location represents a well-mixed, average atmospheric environment for the city centre. The air streamlines indicated that the host and neighbouring buildings together with the natural orography play an important role in the near-field dispersion processes. Details and features of the airflow structure were derived, and they can be readily utilised for further interpretations. An experimental method to determine particle diffusion losses in the differential mobility particle sizer (DMPS) system of the BpART facility was proposed. It is based on CPC–CPC (condensation particle counter) and DMPS–CPC comparisons. Growth types of nucleated particles observed in 4 years of measurements were presented and discussed specifically for cities. Arch-shaped size distribution surface plots consisting of a growth phase followed by a shrinkage phase were characterised separately since they supply information on nucleated particles. They were observed in 4.5 % of quantifiable nucleation events. The shrinkage phase took 1 h 34 min in general, and the mean shrinkage rate with standard deviation was −3.8 ± 1.0 nm h−1. The shrinkage of particles was mostly linked to changes in local atmospheric conditions, especially in global radiation and the gas-phase H2SO4 concentration through its proxy, or to atmospheric mixing in few cases. Some indirect results indicate that variations in the formation and growth rates of nucleated particles during their atmospheric transport could be a driving force of shrinkage for particles of very small sizes and on specific occasions.
Using airborne HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) to evaluate model and remote sensing estimates of atmospheric carbon dioxide
Authors: Frankenberg Christian , Kulawik Susan S. , Wofsy Steven C. , Chevallier Frédéric , Daube Bruce , Kort Eric A. , O'Dell Christopher , Olsen Edward T. , Osterman Gregory
Published: June 2016

Abstract. In recent years, space-borne observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) have been increasingly used in global carbon-cycle studies. In order to obtain added value from space-borne measurements, they have to suffice stringent accuracy and precision requirements, with the latter being less crucial as it can be reduced by just enhanced sample size. Validation of CO2 column-averaged dry air mole fractions (XCO2) heavily relies on measurements of the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Owing to the sparseness of the network and the requirements imposed on space-based measurements, independent additional validation is highly valuable. Here, we use observations from the High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) flights from 01/2009 through 09/2011 to validate CO2 measurements from satellites (Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite – GOSAT, Thermal Emission Sounder – TES, Atmospheric Infrared Sounder – AIRS) and atmospheric inversion models (CarbonTracker CT2013B, Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC) v13r1). We find that the atmospheric models capture the XCO2 variability observed in HIPPO flights very well, with correlation coefficients (r2) of 0.93 and 0.95 for CT2013B and MACC, respectively. Some larger discrepancies can be observed in profile comparisons at higher latitudes, in particular at 300 hPa during the peaks of either carbon uptake or release. These deviations can be up to 4 ppm and hint at misrepresentation of vertical transport. Comparisons with the GOSAT satellite are of comparable quality, with an r2 of 0.85, a mean bias μ of −0.06 ppm, and a standard deviation σ of 0.45 ppm. TES exhibits an r2 of 0.75, μ of 0.34 ppm, and σ of 1.13 ppm. For AIRS, we find an r2 of 0.37, μ of 1.11 ppm, and σ of 1.46 ppm, with latitude-dependent biases. For these comparisons at least 6, 20, and 50 atmospheric soundings have been averaged for GOSAT, TES, and AIRS, respectively. Overall, we find that GOSAT soundings over the remote Pacific Ocean mostly meet the stringent accuracy requirements of about 0.5 ppm for space-based CO2 observations.
Decadal changes in global surface NOx emissions from multi-constituent satellite data assimilation
Authors: Miyazaki Kazuyuki , Eskes Henk , Sudo Kengo , Boersma K. Forkert , Bowman Kevin , Kanaya Yugo
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Global surface emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) over a ten-year period (2005–2014) are estimated from an assimilation of multiple satellite datasets: tropospheric NO2 columns from OMI, GOME-2, and SCIAMACHY; O3 profiles from TES; CO profiles from MOPITT; and O3 and HNO3 profiles from MLS using an ensemble Kalman filter technique. Chemical concentrations of various species and emission sources of several precursors are simultaneously optimized. This is expected to improve the emission inversion because the emission estimates are influenced by biased in the modelled tropospheric chemistry, which can be partly corrected by also optimizing the concentrations. We present detailed distributions of the estimated emission distributions for all major regions, the diurnal and seasonal variability, and the development of these emissions over the ten-year period. The estimated regional total emissions show a strong positive trend over India (+29 %/decade), China (+26 %/decade), and the Middle East (+20 %/decade), and a negative trend over the United States (−38 %/decade), Southern Africa (−8.2 %/decade), and western Europe (−8.8 %/decade). The negative trends in the United States and western Europe are larger during 2005–2010 relative to 2011–2014, whereas the trend in China becomes negative after 2011. The data assimilation also suggests a large uncertainty in anthropogenic and fire-related emission factors and an important underestimation of soil NOx sources in the emission inventories. Despite the large trends observed for individual regions, the global total emission is almost constant between 2005 (47.9 Tg N yr−1) and 2014 (47.5 Tg N yr−1).
Classification of karst springs for flash-flood-prone areas in western Turkey
Authors: Demiroglu Muhterem
Published: June 2016

Abstract. Flash floods are caused by heavy rainfall that has become more frequent. They are more prominent in low-storage karst regions, although karst terrain often acts as a natural flood control particularly when it is bare and dominated by conduits. A study using a hydrogeochemical approach and assessing data from several springs in different carbonate rock in western Turkey has made it possible to classify karst aquifers based on their response to heavy rainfall events. According to this aim, physico-chemical measurements in wet and dry seasons and discharge rates in springs are compared in order to explain aquifer characteristics. Groundwater samples have a pH ranging from 6.3 to 8.9, temperature (T) varying from 7 to 35 °C and electrical conductivity (EC) ranging from 140 to 998 µs cm−1. Groundwater samples with high EC, high T and low dissolved oxygen (DO) represent the deep circulating water, while low EC, low T and high DO are linked to the shallow circulating water. Lower variability between wet and dry seasons reveals that fracture permeability is predominantly controlled by diffuse groundwater flow with low or high storage, and conduit permeability with high storage. However, variability of the physico-chemical characteristics is higher in a conduit permeability with low storage. These types of aquifers with high transfer capability, predominantly controlled by turbulent groundwater flow, affect flash floods.
Effects of sample size on estimation of rainfall extremes at high temperatures
Authors: Boessenkool Berry , Bürger Gerd , Heistermann Maik
Published: June 2016

Abstract. High precipitation quantiles tend to rise with air temperature, following the so-called Clausius–Clapeyron scaling. This CC-scaling relation breaks down, or even reverts, for very high temperatures. In our study, we verify this reversal using a 60-year period of summer data in Germany. One of the suggested meteorological explanations is limited moisture supply, but our findings indicate that this behavior could also originate from simple undersampling. The number of observations in high temperature ranges is small, so extreme rainfall intensities following CC-scaling may not yet be recorded but logically possible. Because empirical quantile estimators using plotting positions drop with decreasing sample size, they cannot correct for this effect. By fitting distributions to the precipitation records and using their parametric quantile, we obtain estimates of rainfall intensities that continue to rise with temperature. This procedure requires far fewer values (ca. 50 for the 99.9 % quantile) to converge than classical order based empirical quantiles (ca. 700). From the evaluation of several distribution functions, the Wakeby distribution appears to capture the precipitation behavior better than the General Pareto Distribution (GPD). Despite being parametric, GPD estimators still show some underestimation in small samples.
Western Faculty Profile: Dr. Martin Houde
Authors: Lieng Brandon
Published: June 2016

Dr. Martin Houde is a Full Professor with the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Western University. With experience at the California Institute of Technology’s Submillimeter Observatory in Hawaii and three degrees from the University of Montréal, Dr. Houde brings his wealth of knowledge in the fields of star formation, extraterrestrial chemistry, and astrophysical instrumentation to Western. His research focuses on how the interactions between basic physical processes like magnetism and chemical reactions lead to the formation of stars while experience from the California Institute of Technology allows Dr. Houde to continually develop and enhance astrophysical instrumentation that enables researchers to further explore what lies beyond our galaxy. He is also the Canada Research Chair in Star Formation and teaches courses in Physics and Astronomy at Western. Brandon Lieng, First Year Representative with WURJHNS, interviewed Dr. Houde to learn more about his background, work, experience, and insights on the field of research.
Psychosocial Wellbeing of Genocide Widows in Rwanda through Their Associations: A Case Study of Avega in Rwimbogo Sector
Authors: Ernestine Bayisenge
Published: June 2016

The research conducted on the role of associations of genocide widows was undertaken with the purpose of determining the contribution of Association of Widows of Genocide in Rwanda (AVEGA) in addressing the problems of widows of genocide in Rwanda and improving their wellbeing. The results of investigation carried out on 72 genocide widows through a questionnaire revealed that AVEGA improves the wellbeing of widows with the promotion of good health by providing medical services to them, the economic development by introducing activities which generate income in order to eradicate poverty, establishment of good relationship by encouraging the national policy of unity and reconciliation among Rwandans and supporting children in their studies.
Congo Gods by Christian Names: Hurston's Prayer-Speech as Cultural Inheritance
Authors: Melton McKinley Eric
Published: June 2016

Zora Neale Hurston's admiration for Black vernacular language is evident in her focus on prayer-speech, framed as part of a cultural and spiritual inheritance that Hurston consciously draws between the characters in her debut novel—the semiautobiographical Jonah's Gourd Vine (1934)—her nonfiction essays, and her folklore collections. As represented by Hurston, prayer-speech reflects the process of conscious syncretism whereby West African spiritual ideals were deliberately selected, retained, and applied to Western-framed Judeo-Christian beliefs and practices. Hurston's emphasis on prayer-speech, and the cultural consciousness that permeates the diasporic oral tradition, further positions her as a valuable resource for scholars of Africana religions.
Diversity from within: The Impact of Cultural Variables on Emotion Expressivity in Singapore
Authors: Hurley Carolyn M. , Teo Wen Jing , Kwok Janell , Seet Tessa , Peralta Erika , Chia Shuang Yu
Published: June 2016

Culture is intrinsically linked with emotion expression, as culture provides rules regarding how to manage emotions when they occur. Thus far, existing literature has extensively compared norms for emotional expression and suppression, revealing significant differences among culturally distinct but also geographically distant groups (e.g., “collectivistic” Chinese versus “individualistic” U.S. Americans). The present study examines the impact of cultural diversity within Singapore, a heterogeneous Asian nation of 5.4 million residents. Using an expression suppression paradigm, eighty-three participants viewed emotion eliciting video clips and their expressions were analyzed according to the Emotion Facial Action Coding System (EmFACS, Ekman, Irwin, & Rosenberg, 1994) for signs of happiness and disgust. Participants tasked to manage their expression were successful; however cultural indicators such as ethnicity, collectivism, and concern for face affected expressivity under both suppression and natural expression conditions. These results emphasize the importance of exploring culture within national boundaries, as multiple cultural factors (e.g., ethnic groupings, values, and face) influenced expression.
Effects of Long Term Exposure to Aspirin on Growth, Functionality and Protein Profile of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG) (ATCC 53103)
Authors: Obanla Temitayo , Adjei-Fremah Sarah , Gyawali Rabin , Zimmerman Tahl , Worku Mulumebet , Ibrahim Salam A.
Published: June 2016

In the present study, we determined the effects of long-term exposure to aspirin on the growth and functionality of Lactobacillus rhamnosus. One isolated colony of L. rhamnosus was propagated three times in deMan, Rogosa and Sharpe (MRS) broth and incubated at 37°C. The active strain was then harvested and washed with 0.1% peptone water. Cells were transferred into 9 mL MRS broth containing approximately 6 mg/mL of aspirin, vigorously mixed and incubated for 4 h. The cells were further harvested, transferred into MRS broth and incubated at 37°C. The exposure protocol was repeated for five sequential transfers a week, and the exposed strain cell was surface plated onto MRS agar containing equal amount of aspirin. One isolated colony of aspirin exposed L. rhamnosus from an aspirin containing agar plate was further activated in MRS broth. This procedure was repeated sequentially for 12 consecutive weeks. Bacterial populations, beta-galactosidase activity (beta-gal), and protein expression were determined. Bacterial cells unexposed to aspirin were used as the control. Our results showed that L. rhamnosus could survive after long term exposure to a sub-inhibitory concentration of aspirin. The average beta-gal activity of L. rhamnosus in unexposed cells was 153 ± 2.5 Gal U.; however, beta-gal activity was completely inhibited in exposed cells throughout the exposure period. There was approximately 54% more protein expressed in the long term aspirin-exposed strain compared to the short term exposed (4 h) strain as determined by BCA assay. In addition, the SDS-page gel indicated the synthesis of more protein in the exposed L. rhamnosus. The onset of common or chronic illnesses, especially among the elderly population, is often treated with common medications. However, regular the intake of medical drugs such as aspirin could affect beneficial gut microflora. Therefore, foods containing probiotics such as yogurt and other functional foods are important for the maintenance of optimal gastrointestinal health.
Diseño de un índice sintético de desarrollo sostenible y aplicación a la Unión Europea
Authors: González Laxe Fernando I. , Martín Palmero Federico G.
Published: June 2016

This article establishes the methodological foundations by designing a global synthetic index of sustainable development which fulfils three conditions: it adapts to the principles of Pressure - State - Response, it adopts the mandates established in Local Agenda 21 and adapts to the four components or basic dimensions of sustainability: institutional, environmental, economic and social. The synthetic index is constructed using the aforesaid methodology and based on the calculations of 78 variables, 37 sub-indicators and 13 indicators, gathered the latter in the previously mentioned four dimensions and subsequently applying this index to the EU countries.
El efecto de la preocupación por la salud, el interés por la gastronomía y la actividad social sobre la intensidad de consumo de vino de calidad
Authors: Martínez-Carrasco Martínez Laura , Brugarolas Mollá-Bauzá Margarita , Del Campo Gomis Francisco José , Martínez Poveda África
Published: June 2016

The aim of this work is the design of a theoretical model that explains quality wine consumption frequency. To collect the data, two surveys were carried out: the first one to 50 hostel professionals from Alicante, and the second one to 408 wine consumers from the same region. Structural equation models was used to estimate the model. This method allows for the construction of independent latent (unobserved) variables which influence consumption intensity. Moreover, this analysis permit the quantification of the influence of the theoretical constructs over the dependent variable. The results show that the variable that influence the most over quality wine consumption intensity is the «interest in gastronomy », followed by the «social activity». The «worry about health» has a negative influence over consumption intensity, that is, the highest worry about health, the lowest consumption intensity.
Modelos de valoración en ambiente de incertidumbre
Authors: Aznar Bellver Jerónimo , Guijarro Martínez Francisco
Published: June 2016

This work presents different uncertainty valuation models that combine precise and imprecise information. We have extended the basic goal programming technique to models that enable handling intervals in the price or exogenous variables expressions, and state some propositions which are able to inform about the accuracy between observed and estimated values. Furthermore, an accuracy index for model comparison is introduced.
Política medioambiental y negociación salarial
Authors: Campo María Luz
Published: June 2016

This paper studies the interaction between the performance of firms and unions and the environmental policy chosen by governments when there is a negative environmental externality from production of a good which only affects the country where the firm is located. I assume that governments choose an upper limit on emissions, unions choose the wage rates and firms choose the employment level. Specifically, I analyze the effect that unionized labor markets have on environmental policy.
Técnicas económicas para la estimación de la demanda de productos sostenibles: Un estudio para el café de comercio justo y orgánico en el Reino Unido
Authors: Galarraga Ibon , Markandya Anil
Published: June 2016

The hedonic approach is used in this paper to estimate how much is paid for the fair trade/organic characteristic of the coffee in the British market. This information is later combined with the Quantity Based Demand System (QBDS) model –developed by the authors— and the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) (Deaton and Muellbauer, 1980) to completely determine the demand function for different coffees. The QBDS model is easier to handle and less data demanding than the AIDS model in this study.
Heterogeneidad de preferencias y experimentos de elección: Aplicación de un logit con parámetros aleatorios a la demanda de nueces
Authors: Camarena Dena M. , Sanjuán Ana I.
Published: June 2016

Consumers’ stated preferences towards walnuts are studied by means of a choice experiment, with a double objective: first, to identify the main attributes searched by consumer at purchase and second, to analyse the chances for the introduction into the Spanish market of the Pecan variety. From this study, commercial guidelines may be derived, that helps distribution and import companies to commercialise this nut. A mixed or random parameters logit is estimated which relaxes the IIA property (independence of irrelevant alternatives) present in the logit model with fixed parameters. In a mixed logit, coefficients of each attribute/level vary randomly across consumers, reflecting the heterogeneity of individuals’ preferences. This model also allows estimate efficiently the parameters when each individual chooses several times, as in the present study.
Eficiencia de las reglas de asignación de agua en el regadío: Asignación a través de mercados, de la regla proporcional y de la regla uniforme
Authors: Goetz Renan-Ulrich , Martínez Yolanda , Rodrigo Jofre
Published: June 2016

In this paper, the introduction of three different methods for the assignment of water in agriculture is simulated in order to compare its economic efficiency for the case of an irrigated area located in the central Ebro Valley. Apart from the currently applied proportional system, water markets have been simulated along with the uniform rule, developed in social choice theory. The results show that although the water market achieves the best results in all cases, the uniform rule can be an interesting alternative to current management methods if water assignments are at regular levels, while in the case of severe water shortage; markets offer a clearer advantage with regard to any other method. The results also show that higher levels of heterogeneity between firms and high water prices situate the uniform rule in a more favorable situation then the currently applied proportional system.