bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Characterization of CMP Slurries Using Densitometry and Refractive Index Measurements
Authors: Vazquez Bengochea Leticia , Sampurno Yasa , Kavaljer Marcus , Johnston Rob , Philipossian Ara
Published: October 2018

We investigated the possibility of employing refractive index (RI) measurements for inline incoming slurry control at the point of use (POU), as an alternative to the widespread densitometry method. As such, it became necessary to determine if RI could detect smaller changes in slurry composition and, therefore, provide a tighter control. Three industrially-relevant silica-based slurries, namely, Fujimi PL-7106, Klebosol 1501-50, and CMC W7801, were characterized using both densitometry and RI measurements. Initial solutions of the three slurries were prepared and increasingly small amounts of ultrapurified water (UPW) were added to study the change in slurry properties. Results showed that both density and RI decreased linearly with the addition of water for all three slurries, with the 1501-50 being the most sensitive to water addition. A linear correlation between the two properties was found, with R2 values that exceeded 0.95 in all cases. Furthermore, the approximate limit of detection of both metrology tools was estimated based on the slope of the fitting line and resolution. When compared to densitometry, RI was found to be the far superior method for detecting smaller changes in water concentration.
Degradation of Thiol Collectors Using Ozone at a Low Dosage: Kinetics, Mineralization, Ozone Utilization, and Changes of Biodegradability and Water Quality Parameters
Authors: Fu Pingfeng , Lin Xiaofeng , Li Gen , Chen Zihao , Peng Hua
Published: October 2018

Ozonation at a high O3 dosage can achieve high efficiencies in removing flotation reagents but it has a low ozone-utilization rate. The ozonation of potentially toxic thiol collectors (potassium ethyl xanthate (EX), sodium diethyl dithiocarbamate (SN-9), O-isopropyl-N-ethyl thionocarbamate (Z-200) and dianilino dithiophoshoric acid (DDA)) was investigated in an ozone-bubbled reactor at a low O3 dosage of 1.125 mg/(min·L). The degradation kinetics, mineralization, ozone utilization, changes of biodegradability, and water quality parameters were studied, and the degradation behaviors of four collectors were compared. Thiol collectors could be effectively degraded with a removal ratio of >90% and a mineralization ratio of 10‒27%, at a low O3 dosage. The ozonation of thiol collectors followed the pseudo first-order kinetics, and rate constants had the order of kSN-9 > kEX > kZ-200 > kDDA. The Z-200 and DDA were the refractory flotation reagents treated in the ozonation process. After ozonation, the biodegradability of EX, SN-9, and DDA solutions was remarkably raised, but the biodegradability of Z-200 only increased from 0.088 to 0.15, indicating that the Z-200 and its intermediates were biologically persistent organics. After ozonation, the solution pH decreased from 10.0 to 8.0‒9.0, and both the conductivity and oxidation-reduction potential increased. The ozone utilization ratio in decomposing thiol collectors was above 98.41%, revealing almost complete usage of input O3. The results revealed that thiol collectors could be effectively degraded by O3, even at a low dosage, but their degradation behaviors were quite different, due to intrinsic molecular properties.
Strength and Brittleness of Interfaces in Fe-Al Superalloy Nanocomposites under Multiaxial Loading: An ab initio and Atomistic Study
Authors: Šesták Petr , Friák Martin , Holec David , Všianská Monika , Šob Mojmír
Published: October 2018

We present an ab initio and atomistic study of the stress-strain response and elastic stability of the ordered Fe 3 Al compound with the D0 3 structure and a disordered Fe-Al solid solution with 18.75 at.% Al as well as of a nanocomposite consisting of an equal molar amount of both phases under uniaxial loading along the [001] direction. The tensile tests were performed under complex conditions including the effect of the lateral stress on the tensile strength and temperature effect. By comparing the behavior of individual phases with that of the nanocomposite we find that the disordered Fe-Al phase represents the weakest point of the studied nanocomposite in terms of tensile loading. The cleavage plane of the whole nanocomposite is identical to that identified when loading is applied solely to the disordered Fe-Al phase. It also turns out that the mechanical stability is strongly affected by softening of elastic constants C ′ and/or C 66 and by corresponding elastic instabilities. Interestingly, we found that uniaxial straining of the ordered Fe 3 Al with the D0 3 structure leads almost to hydrostatic loading. Furthermore, increasing lateral stress linearly increases the tensile strength. This was also confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations employing Embedded Atom Method (EAM) potential. The molecular dynamics simulations also revealed that the thermal vibrations significantly decrease the tensile strength.
Synergistic Effect of Hybridized Cellulose Nanocrystals and Organically Modified Montmorillonite on κ-Carrageenan Bionanocomposites
Authors: Zakuwan Siti Zarina , Ahmad Ishak
Published: October 2018

The synergistic effect of using κ-carrageenan bionanocomposites with the hybridization of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) reinforcements was studied. The effects of different reinforcements and filler contents were evaluated through mechanical testing, and morphological and water uptake properties. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus of both bionanocomposites increased with filler loading and optimized at 4%. OMMT incorporation into the κ-carrageenan/CNCs bionanocomposites resulted in further mechanical property improvement with an optimum ratio of 1:1 (CNCs:OMMT) while maintaining high film transparency. X-ray diffraction and morphological analyses revealed that intercalation occurred between the κ-carrageenan bionanocomposite matrix and OMMT. The water uptake of the κ-carrageenan bionanocomposites was significantly reduced by the addition of both CNCs and OMMT. The enhancements in the mechanical properties and performance of the hybrid bionanocomposite indicate compatibility among the reinforcement, biopolymer, and well-dispersed nanoparticles. This renders the hybrid CNC/OMMT/κ-carrageenan nanocomposites extremely promising for food packaging applications.
Advanced Pharmaceutical Applications of Hot-Melt Extrusion Coupled with Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) 3D Printing for Personalised Drug Delivery
Authors: Tan Deck Khong , Maniruzzaman Mohammed , Nokhodchi Ali
Published: October 2018

Three-dimensional printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a fabrication process whereby a 3D object is created layer-by-layer by depositing a feedstock material such as thermoplastic polymer. The 3D printing technology has been widely used for rapid prototyping and its interest as a fabrication method has grown significantly across many disciplines. The most common 3D printing technology is called the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) which utilises thermoplastic filaments as a starting material, then extrudes the material in sequential layers above its melting temperature to create a 3D object. These filaments can be fabricated using the Hot-Melt Extrusion (HME) technology. The advantage of using HME to manufacture polymer filaments for FDM printing is that a homogenous solid dispersion of two or more pharmaceutical excipients i.e., polymers can be made and a thermostable drug can even be introduced in the filament composition, which is otherwise impractical with any other techniques. By introducing HME techniques for 3D printing filament development can improve the bioavailability and solubility of drugs as well as sustain the drug release for a prolonged period of time. The latter is of particular interest when medical implants are considered via 3D printing. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in implementing a continuous manufacturing method on pharmaceutical products development and manufacture, in order to ensure high quality and efficacy with less batch-to-batch variations of the pharmaceutical products. The HME and FDM technology can be combined into one integrated continuous processing platform. This article reviews the working principle of Hot Melt Extrusion and Fused Deposition Modelling, and how these two technologies can be combined for the use of advanced pharmaceutical applications.
Valorization of Wild Apple (Malus spp.) By-Products as a Source of Essential Fatty Acids, Tocopherols and Phytosterols with Antimicrobial Activity
Authors: Radenkovs Vitalijs , Kviesis Jorens , Juhnevica-Radenkova Karina , Valdovska Anda , Püssa Tõnu , Klavins Maris , Drudze Inese
Published: October 2018

The amplified production of fruit as well as burgeoning demand for plant-made food products have resulted in a sharp increase of waste. Currently, millions of tons of by-products are either being discarded or utilized rather ineffectively. However, these by-products may be processed and further incorporated as functional ingredients in making high-value food products with many physiological and biochemical effects. The chemical analysis of pomace oils using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and reversed-phase-liquid chromatography coupled with fluorescence detector (RP-HPLC/FLD) systems led to the identification and quantification of 56 individual lipophilic compounds including unsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fatty acids, as well as phytosterols and four homologs of tocopherol. The oils recovered from by-products of Malus spp. (particularly cv. “Ola”) are rich in fatty acids such as linolenic (57.8%), α-linolenic (54.3%), and oleic (25.5%). The concentration of total tocopherols varied among the Malus species and dessert apples investigated, representing the range of 16.8–30.9 mg mL−1. The highest content of total tocopherols was found in M. Bernu prieks, followed by M. cv. “Ola”, and M. × Soulardii pomace oils. A significantly higher amount of δ-tocopherol was established in the oil of M. Bernu prieks, indicating that this species could be utilized as a natural and cheap source of bioactive molecules. β-Sitosterol was the prevalent compound determined in all tested pomace oils with a percentage distribution of 10.3–94.5%. The main triterpene identified in the oils was lupeol, which varied in the range of 0.1–66.3%. A targeted utilization of apple pomace would facilitate management of tons of by-products and benefit the environment and industry.
A Markovian Approach to Unsupervised Change Detection with Multiresolution and Multimodality SAR Data
Authors: Solarna David , Moser Gabriele , Serpico Sebastiano B.
Published: October 2018

In the framework of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems, current satellite missions make it possible to acquire images at very high and multiple spatial resolutions with short revisit times. This scenario conveys a remarkable potential in applications to, for instance, environmental monitoring and natural disaster recovery. In this context, data fusion and change detection methodologies play major roles. This paper proposes an unsupervised change detection algorithm for the challenging case of multimodal SAR data collected by sensors operating at multiple spatial resolutions. The method is based on Markovian probabilistic graphical models, graph cuts, linear mixtures, generalized Gaussian distributions, Gram–Charlier approximations, maximum likelihood and minimum mean squared error estimation. It benefits from the SAR images acquired at multiple spatial resolutions and with possibly different modalities on the considered acquisition times to generate an output change map at the finest observed resolution. This is accomplished by modeling the statistics of the data at the various spatial scales through appropriate generalized Gaussian distributions and by iteratively estimating a set of virtual images that are defined on the pixel grid at the finest resolution and would be collected if all the sensors could work at that resolution. A Markov random field framework is adopted to address the detection problem by defining an appropriate multimodal energy function that is minimized using graph cuts.
Analysis and Simulation on Imaging Performance of Backward and Forward Bistatic Synthetic Aperture Radar
Authors: Li Tingting , Chen Kun-Shan , Jin Ming
Published: October 2018

In recent years, bistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technique has attracted considerable and increasing attention. Compared to monostatic SAR for which only the backscattering is measured, bistatic SAR expands the scattering measurements in aspects of angular region and polarization, and greatly enhances the capability of remote sensing over terrain and sea. It has been pointed out in recent theoretical researches that bistatic scattering measured in the forward region is preferable to that measured in the backward region in lines of surface parameters retrieval. In the forward region, both dynamic range and signal sensitivity increase to a great extent. For these reasons, bistatic SAR imaging is desirable. However, because of the separated positions of the transmitter and receiver, the degrees of freedom in the parameter space is increased and the forward bistatic imaging is more complicated than the backward bistatic SAR in the aspects of bistatic range history, Doppler parameter estimation and motion compensation, et, al. In this study, we analyze bistatic SAR in terms of ground range resolution, azimuth resolution, bistatic range history and signal to noise ratio (SNR) in different bistatic configurations. Effects of system motion parameters on bistatic SAR imaging are investigated through analytical modeling and numerical simulations. The results indicate that the range resolution is extremely degraded in some cases in forward bistatic SAR imaging. In addition, due to the different imaging projection rules between backward and forward bistatic SAR, the ghost point is produced in the forward imaging. To avoid the above problems, the forward bistatic imaging geometry must be carefully considered. For a given application requirement with the desired imaging performances, the design of the motion parameters can be considered as a question of solving the nonlinear equation system (NES). Then the improved chaos particle swarm optimization (CPSO) is introduced to solve the NES and obtain the optimal solutions. And the simulated imaging results are used to test and verify the effectiveness of CPSO. The results help to deepen understanding of the constraints and properties of bistatic SAR imaging and provide the reference to the optimal design of the motion parameters for a specific requirement, especially in forward bistatic configurations.
Evaluation of Sensor and Environmental Factors Impacting the Use of Multiple Sensor Data for Time-Series Applications
Authors: Rengarajan Rajagopalan , Schott John R.
Published: October 2018

Many remote sensing sensors operate in similar spatial and spectral regions, which provides an opportunity to combine the data from different sensors to increase the temporal resolution for short and long-term trend analysis. However, combining the data requires understanding the characteristics of different sensors and presents additional challenges due to their variation in operational strategies, sensor differences and environmental conditions. These differences can introduce large variability in the time-series analysis, limiting the ability to model, predict and separate real change in signal from noise. Although the research community has identified the factors that cause variations, the magnitude or the effect of these factors have not been well explored and this is due to the limitations with the real-world data, where the effects of the factors cannot be separated. Our work mitigates these shortcomings by simulating the surface, atmosphere, and sensors in a virtual environment. We modeled and characterized a deciduous forest canopy and estimated its at-sensor response for the Landsat 8 (L8) and Sentinel 2 (S2) sensors using the MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission (MODTRAN) modeled atmosphere. This paper presents the methods, analysis and the sensitivity of the factors that impacts multi-sensor observations for temporal analysis. Our study finds that atmospheric compensation is necessary as the variation due to the atmosphere can introduce an uncertainty as high as 40% in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) products used in change detection and time-series applications. The effect due to the differences in the Relative Spectral Response (RSR) of the two sensors, if not compensated, can introduce uncertainty as high as 20% in the NDVI products. The view angle differences between the sensors can introduce uncertainty anywhere from 9% to 40% in NDVI depending on the atmospheric compensation methods. For a difference of 5 days in acquisition, the effect of solar zenith angle can vary between 4% to 10%, depending on whether the atmospheric attenuations are compensated or not for the NDVI products.
Piezoelectric Polymer and Paper Substrates: A Review
Authors: Sappati Kiran Kumar , Bhadra Sharmistha
Published: October 2018

Polymers and papers, which exhibit piezoelectricity, find a wide range of applications in the industry. Ever since the discovery of PVDF, piezo polymers and papers have been widely used for sensor and actuator design. The direct piezoelectric effect has been used for sensor design, whereas the inverse piezoelectric effect has been applied for actuator design. Piezo polymers and papers have the advantages of mechanical flexibility, lower fabrication cost and faster processing over commonly used piezoelectric materials, such as PZT, BaTiO3. In addition, many polymer and paper materials are considered biocompatible and can be used in bio applications. In the last 20 years, heterostructural materials, such as polymer composites and hybrid paper, have received a lot of attention since they combine the flexibility of polymer or paper, and excellent pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties of ceramics. This paper gives an overview of piezoelectric polymers and papers based on their operating principle. Main categories of piezoelectric polymers and papers are discussed with a focus on their materials and fabrication techniques. Applications of piezoelectric polymers and papers in different areas are also presented.
Analyzing the Components of Emotional Competence of Football Coaches: A Qualitative Study from the Coaches’ Perspective
Authors: Lee Honggyu , Wäsche Hagen , Jekauc Darko
Published: October 2018

Emotional Competence (EC) is regarded as a fundamental skill for sports coaches. However, the applications of EC in football coaching are not well understood. This study analyzed the specific emotional processes football coaches experience. We interviewed 18 football coaches and analyzed the interview transcripts by using a systematic analysis process based on Grounded Theory principles. We derived a model from this analysis that comprises a four-phase process: emotional triggers, emotional experiences, emotion regulation strategies, and emotional consequences. In this model, we identified four categories which act as triggers of emotions in football coaches. These emotions can be positive or negative and are manifested at three levels. However, the coaches vary in their capability to perceive emotions. Our model also shows that coaches’ emotion regulation strategies influence the effect of emotional experiences. Experienced emotions promote consequences with psychological and social implications for coaches and may influence their perception of future situations. In short, the process seems to be circular. This finding suggests that the ability to deal with emotions is an important aspect for football coaches.
Factors Associated with the Regularity of Physical Exercises as a Means of Improving the Public Health System in Vietnam
Authors: Vuong Quan-Hoang , Hoang Anh-Duc , Vuong Thu-Trang , La Viet-Phuong , Nguyen Hong Kong T. , Ho Manh-Tung
Published: October 2018

Being ranked among the most sedentary countries, Vietnam’s social public health is challenged by the rising number of overweight people. This study aims to evaluate factors associated with the regularity of exercise and sports (EAS) among Vietnamese people living in the capital city of Hanoi, using data collected from a randomized survey involving 2068 individuals conducted in 2016. Physical exercises and daily sports are considered a major means for improving the Vietnamese social public health system by the government, families, and individuals. Applying the baseline-category logit model, the study analyzed two groups of factors associated with EAS regularity: (i) physiological factors (sex, body mass index (BMI)) and (ii) external factors (education, health communication, medical practice at home). Females with a university education or higher usually exercise less than those with lower education, while the opposite is true for males. The study also shows that those with a higher BMI tend to report higher activity levels. Additionally, improved health communication systems and regular health check-ups at home are also associated with more frequent EAS activities. These results, albeit limited to only one location in Vietnam, provide a basis for making targeted policies that promote a more active lifestyle. This, in turn, could help the country realize the goal of improving the average height of the population and reducing the incidents of non-communicable diseases.
Financial Feasibility and Social Acceptance for Reducing Nuclear Power Plants: A Contingent Valuation Study
Authors: Woo JongRoul , Lim Sesil , Lee Yong-Gil , Huh Sung-Yoon
Published: October 2018

Social acceptance of nuclear power has become a decisive factor in framing a sustainable energy policy. This study examines social acceptance for cancelling the construction of planned nuclear power plants (NPPs) and replacing them with other energy sources. The contingent valuation method (CVM) and cost–benefit analysis (CBA) are used to access the social acceptance and financial feasibility of such projects. Empirical analysis is based on the case of South Korea, where a similar policy is in progress under the new government. The CVM results show that a Korean household was willing to pay an additional KRW 1922.45/month (USD 1.80/month) for replacing seven 1-Gigawatt NPPs with other energy sources, which is about 3.5% of a household’s current electricity bill. The CBA suggests that the annual costs of replacing this amount of nuclear power capacity with renewables or liquefied natural gas is KRW 1291.40 billion (USD 1.21 billion) or KRW 1180.38 billion (USD 1.11 billion) larger than its benefits, which amounts to about 3% of total annual electricity generation costs in South Korea. As the additional costs of nuclear power replacement cannot be fully covered by the mean willingness-to-pay of the current acceptance level, moderate levels of social resistance are expected if all the additional costs are passed on to the end-users.
Historic Rural Landscapes: Sustainable Planning Strategies and Action Criteria. The Italian Experience in the Global and European Context
Authors: Di Fazio Salvatore , Modica Giuseppe
Published: October 2018

This paper focuses on the historic and cultural dimension of landscape, in relation to the holistic and dynamic approach today required in landscape research. In this direction, the Authors investigate the present role played by historical rural landscapes in relation to their multifaceted character and function. In recent years there has been an ever-growing appreciation of their cultural value, depending on the differential speed of environmental change (relatively high) and people’s adaptation to it (relatively slow), as a matter of compensation. Although reference is often made to the global and the European contexts, Italy is given special attention, since the long history of civilization known by its rural landscapes makes them particularly worthy of consideration and offers a wide variety of examples assuming a more general interest. The main changes occurred in the Italian rural landscapes over the last two centuries are described by referring to their main causes and to the parallel change observed in the urban-rural dialectic. The notion of “cultural landscape”, as it emerges from the international debate and documents, is applied to historic rural landscapes, according to a varied range of conditions and characteristics. Knowledge, identification, interpretation and characterization are fundamental actions to define sustainable landscape management strategies. These last should be diversified according to landscape character, functionality, integrity and obsolescence, not being limited to outstanding landscapes only but considering all rural landscapes as heritage. To this end, heritage strategies and policies must go together with agricultural sectorial policies, since agriculture and farmers are the major actors of rural landscape protection and transformation. EU Common Agricultural Policy is considered by focusing on its effect on rural landscape and proposals coming from the heritage experts for its future implementation are examined. Emerging strategic measures and action criteria are singled out and presented. In any case, to protect historic rural landscapes, balanced change-dynamics and development vitality should be strengthened if present, introduced if not, so as to assure resilience. Neo-rurality today expresses the search for sustainable lifestyles, green development models and a better quality of life, implicitly offering new opportunities for the revitalisation of historic rural landscapes. Finally, a holistic approach and multidisciplinary cooperation are needed to allow for an effective synthesis of the many cultural visions, which today concern the theme of landscape.
Consumer Imperfect Information in the Market for Expired and Nearly Expired Foods and Implications for Reducing Food Waste
Authors: Collart Alba J. , Interis Matthew G.
Published: October 2018

A substantial source of food waste occurs when consumers and sellers dispose of expired food despite it being safe to eat. We conduct an incentive-compatible, non-hypothetical laboratory choice experiment in which 150 participants choose between food products of varying perishability level at various dates before or after their best-before dates. In one treatment, participants received information about the interpretation of food date labels. In another they received this information plus additional information on food waste due to date label confusion and its environmental impacts. We find that clarifying the meaning of date labels is insufficient to change preferences for food past its best-before date, but when a link between date labels, food waste, and its environmental impacts is made, participants’ willingness-to-pay for expired food increases, particularly for expired frozen or recently expired semi-perishable products. Our findings have implications for food waste reduction efforts because increasing the value of expired food increases the opportunity cost of wasting expired but consumable food.
Role of Domestic Financial Reforms and Internationalization of Non-Financial Transnational Firms: Evidence from the Chinese Market
Authors: Baloch Muhammad Saad , Saeed Abubakr , Ahmed Ishtiaq , Oláh Judit , Popp József , Máté Domicián
Published: October 2018

The successful internationalization process of Chinese firms which enhances the sustainability of the Chinese economy receives massive research attention. Studies emphasize that firm’s motives and institutional voids play a pivotal role in getting benefits from the internationalization process, but the factors that initiated this process have been overlooked. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of those institutional factors which initiated the internationalization process. This study reveals that institutional factors of cross listing and increased financial availability induced the internationalization process of Chinese firms. Using the financial data of non-financial firms for the period of 2005–2015, we demonstrate that the domestic financial reforms initiated the internationalization process that helps Chinese economies to achieve sustainable economic development. The study also finds that state-ownership helped firms to gain more from increased financial availability than the stand-alone firms. The study concludes that the open business environment helped firms to survive and sustain the international pressure successfully and maintain their sustainable performance.
Graph-Based Spatial Data Processing and Analysis for More Efficient Road Lighting Design
Authors: Ernst Sebastian , Łabuz Marek , Środa Kamila , Kotulski Leszek
Published: October 2018

The efficiency and affordability of modern street lighting equipment are improving quickly, but systems used to manage and design lighting installations seem to lag behind. One of their problems is the lack of consistent methods to integrate all relevant data. Tools used to manage lighting infrastructure are not aware of the geographic characteristics of the lit areas, and photometric calculation software requires a lot of manual editing by the designer, who needs to assess the characteristics of roads, define the segments, and assign the lighting classes according to standards. In this paper, we propose a graph-based method to integrate geospatial data from various sources to support the process of data preparation for photometric calculations. The method uses graph transformations to define segments and assign lighting classes. A prototype system was developed to conduct experiments using real-world data. The proposed approach is compared to results obtained by professional designers in a case study; the method was also applied to several European cities to assess its efficiency. The obtained results are much more fine-grained than those yielded by the traditional approach; as a result, the lighting is more adequate, especially when used in conjunction with automated optimisation tools.
Remote Sensing Detection of Vegetation and Landform Damages by Coal Mining on the Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Wu Qianhan , Liu Kai , Song Chunqiao , Wang Jida , Ke Linghong , Ma Ronghua , Zhang Wensong , Pan Hang , Deng Xinyuan
Published: October 2018

In order to satisfy the needs of constant economic growth, the pressure to exploit natural resources has been increasing rapidly in China. Particularly with the implementation of the National Western Development Strategies since 1999, more and more mining activities and related infrastructure constructions have been conducted on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Mining activities are known to have substantial impacts on plant dynamics and hence the water and energy cycles. Identifying mining activities and quantifying their effects on vegetation cover are critical to the monitoring and protection of the pristine TP environment. Thus, this study aims to develop an automated approach that detects the timing of initial mining development and assess the spatial distribution of mining-ruined vegetation. The Breaks for Additive Seasonal and Trend (BFAST) algorithm was used to decompose the signal in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series derived from high-frequency MODIS images, and to detect abrupt changes of surface vegetation. Results show that the BFAST algorithm is able to effectively identify abrupt changes in vegetation cover as a result of open-mining development on the studied alpine grassland. The testing study in Muli Town of Qinghai Province shows that the mining development began in 2003 and massive destructions of vegetation cover followed between 2008 and 2012. The integrated use of Landsat imagery and multi-temporal DEMs further reveals detailed areal and volumetric changes in the mining site. This study demonstrates the potential of applying multi-mission satellite datasets to assess large-scale environmental influences from mining development, and will be beneficial to environmental conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in remote regions.
Does Environmental Sustainability Impact Innovation, Ecological and Social Measures of Firm Performance of SMEs? Evidence from South Africa
Authors: Masocha Reginald
Published: October 2018

This study investigated the question of whether environmental sustainability influences firm performance. Firm performance, a multidimensional construct, was researched utilizing innovation, ecological and social measures on the premises of SMEs in South Africa. Thus, the study hypothesized that environmental sustainability is positively and significantly related to innovation, ecological and social measures of firm performance. A cross-sectional research design was adopted in this study to test the abovementioned hypotheses. A total of 208 self-administered questionnaires distributed to SME owners and managers were analyzed utilizing structural equation modelling (SEM) and Amos Version 24 software. Primarily, the study established that environmental sustainability was significantly and positively correlated to all three measures of firm performance used in this study. Thus, the inferences from the findings suggest that environmental sustainability practices contribute positively towards firm innovation, ecological and social performances. The findings of this study greatly contribute towards the practice and theory of small businesses and firm performance by providing a more specific and streamlined perspective for approaching firm performance.
Motivations and Constraints of Meat Avoidance
Authors: Schenk Patrick , Rössel Jörg , Scholz Manuel
Published: October 2018

Reducing the consumption of meat can make a significant contribution to sustainable development. However, at least in Western societies with their already rather high levels of per-capita meat consumption, only a minority of consumers reduces meat intake by following a vegetarian or plant-based diet. To arrive at a differentiated understanding of the conditions of meat avoidance, we empirically assess the importance of a broad set of specific motivations and constraints previously discussed in the literature, including specific benefits, particular constraints, social norms, and a vegetarian self-identity. The analysis is based on a random sample of students at the university of Zurich (Switzerland)—a social group exhibiting a rather high prevalence of plant-based diets and vegetarianism. Researching this young and educated population sheds light on the motivational underpinnings of consumer segments especially willing to reduce meat intake. Data were collected in November and December 2016. We found that a vegetarian self-identity, both injunctive and descriptive social norms, and convenience are the most important direct determinants of meat avoidance among this young and highly educated consumer segment. Furthermore, the results suggest that a vegetarian self-identity mediates the effects of ethical, health-related, and environmental benefits, taste as a constraint and partially the injunctive norm. Pecuniary costs of a vegetarian diet are not significantly correlated with meat avoidance.
Integrated Emergy and Economic Evaluation of Huzhou Mulberry-Dyke and Fish-Pond Systems
Authors: Liu Shaohui , Min Qingwen , Jiao Wenjun , Liu Chuanjiang , Yin Jianzhong
Published: October 2018

The Huzhou mulberry-dyke and fish-pond system (HMFS) is a compound structure of agriculture with interaction among several subsystems, and it is an effective example of a circular economy by exogenous input and waste reduction to maintain a harmonious relationship between humans and nature. As increases in rural urbanization and transition of peasants occur, the traditional systems remain in a constant state of change, along with different kinds of adaptation models. In this study, two main existing models are examined by field investigation and extensive literature analysis. Emergy theory and methods are adopted to make a further quantitative analysis from emergy structure and indices synthetically and systemically. In this process, the models of HMFS are split into several subsystems, including mulberry dyke, fish pond, rape dyke, and silkworm, in terms of a modularization approach. The proportion of combinations among different subsystems is calculated by the average production level of local peasants. The empirical results of emergy analysis indicate that the two existent patterns of HMFS are themselves superior in terms of environmental capacity and commercial efficiency. The mulberry–silkworm–fish model possesses more sustainable characteristics than the rape–fish model by the mass flow and energy flux. In addition, the rape–fish model may obtain considerably better economic returns by more inorganic resources, and thus achieve higher economic benefits. Therefore, the rape–fish model may be an evolutionary model to make directions for further research and protection, while other adaptive units are introduced to form multiple systems.
A Cask Evaluation Model to Assess Safety in Chinese Rural Roads
Authors: Shi Longyu , Huseynova Nigar , Yang Bin , Li Chunming , Gao Lijie
Published: October 2018

Suburban roads are an important part of China’s road network and essential infrastructure for rural development. Poorly designed road curves and scarcity of traffic signs have caused an excessively high traffic accident rate in plain topographical areas. In this study, an approach to evaluate and improve rural road traffic safety is introduced. Based on fuzzy and cask theory and weighted analysis, a cask evaluation model is built. It provides a quantitative instant method for analyzing road safety in the absence of traffic accident information or rigorous road space data, by identifying dangerous sections and key impact factors, and ultimately help to put forward traffic safety improvements. Based on the application to a specific section of Xiaodang Central Road in the Fengxian District of Shanghai, the result shows that the pavement conditions of cement-hardened dual-lane rural roads was good, but traffic safety was poor. Missing traffic signs, unreasonable road alignment, and poor roadside conditions were the main problems. Finally, improvements of the short-stave subsystem were proposed: the location of guide signs and roadside conditions should be improved, and the number and efficacy of the rural road traffic signs need to be increased, and markings should be and receive regular maintenance.
Real Options Analysis for Acquisition of New Technology: A Case Study of Korea K2 Tank’s Powerpack
Authors: Kim Sungchul , Giachetti Ronald , Park Sangsung
Published: October 2018

For sustainable defense management, it is essential to acquire weapons systems that can adapt to future uncertain threats and, at the same time, to invest efficiently with limited budgets. Economic analysis is used to examine the costs, benefits and uncertainties of alternatives. In particular, the use of the real options valuation, which is one of the methodologies of economic analysis, is expanding. The real options valuation has shown effectiveness across various industries to evaluate investment strategies. In this paper, we apply the real options valuation to the weapon systems development case and confirm its usefulness. Unlike previous studies, the real option valuation methodology is applied retroactively to the finished project, compared to existing research mainly applying real options to value research and development (R&D) without knowing how the project completed. We use the following procedure. (1) Define the uncertainties of the three acquisition alternatives (development, technology adoption, and purchase). (2) Calculate the benefits of the three acquisition alternatives with expected and actual data without uncertainties. (3) Model the decision tree without options and with options. (4) Analyze and compare results with benefit and benefit cost ratio. We analyzed the Korea K2 tank powerpack development case by applying real options. We could see that the real options could have reduced the risk of losses when the development risk is high and market uncertainty exists. From the case study of the development of the powerpack, we learned the following three lessons. First, we reaffirmed the importance of objective value analysis in project decision making. Second, we need to analyze the project value continuously and revise the acquisition strategy accordingly. Third, the effectiveness of the real options valuation was confirmed for sustainable defense management. In addition, the real option analysis data acquired from similar finished projects can be useful for establishing a new product acquisition strategy and, at every decision-making phase, the real option evaluation should be continuously performed with updated information. In this paper, we first perform real option valuation of finished weapon systems in the Korean defense field. This paper is valuable in establishing a rational methodology for applying economic analysis to weapon system acquisition projects.
Factorizations of Symmetric Macdonald Polynomials
Authors: Colmenarejo Laura , Dunkl Charles F. , Luque Jean-Gabriel
Published: October 2018

We prove many factorization formulas for highest weight Macdonald polynomials indexed by particular partitions called quasistaircases. Consequently, we prove a conjecture of Bernevig and Haldane stated in the context of the fractional quantum Hall effect theory.
Modeling Water Yield: Assessing the Role of Site and Region-Specific Attributes in Determining Model Performance of the InVEST Seasonal Water Yield Model
Authors: Scordo Facundo , Lavender Thomas Michael , Seitz Carina , Perillo Vanesa L. , Rusak James A. , Piccolo M. Cintia , Perillo Gerardo M. E.
Published: October 2018

Simple hydrological models, such as the Seasonal Water Yield Model developed by the Natural Capital Project (InVEST SWYM), are attractive as data requirements are relatively easy to satisfy. However, simple models may produce unrealistic results when the underlying hydrological processes are inadequately described. We used the variation in performance of the InVEST SWYM across watersheds to identify correlates of poorly modeled outcomes of InVEST SWYM. We grouped 749 watersheds from across North America into five bioclimatic regions using nine environmental variables. For each region, we compared the predicted flow patterns to actual flow conditions over a 15-year period. The correlation between the modeled and actual flows was highly dispersed and relatively poor, with 92% of r2 values less than 0.5 and 42% less than 0.1. We linked cryospheric variables to model performance in the bioclimatic region with the poorest model performance (the Low elevation Boreal Sub-humid region—LeBSh). After incorporating cryospheric conditions into the InVEST SWYM, predictions improved significantly in 30% of the LeBSh watersheds. We provide a relatively straightforward approach for identifying processes that simple hydrological models may not consider or which need further attention or refinement.
Spatiotemporal Variation in Benthic-Invertebrates-Based Physical Habitat Modelling: Can We Use Generic Instead of Local and Season-Specific Habitat Suitability Criteria?
Authors: Theodoropoulos Christos , Skoulikidis Nikolaos , Stamou Anastasios , Dimitriou Elias
Published: October 2018

Generic habitat suitability criteria (HC) are often developed from spatially and temporally variable hydroecological datasets to increase generality, cost-effectiveness, and time-efficiency of habitat models. For benthic macroinvertebrates (BMIs), however, there is no prior knowledge on the spatiotemporal variation in their habitat preferences and how this may be reflected in the final environmental flow (e-flow) predictions. In this study, we used a large, spatiotemporally variable BMI-hydroecological dataset and developed generic, local, and season-specific subsets of HC for three seasons and two river types within various data pre-treatment options. Each subset was used to train a fuzzy habitat model, predict the habitat suitability in two hydrodynamically-simulated river reaches, and develop/compare model-based e-flow scenarios. We found that BMIs shift their habitat preferences among seasons and river types; consequently, spatiotemporally variable e-flow predictions were developed, with the seasonal variation being greater than the typological one. Within this variation, however, we found that with proper data pre-treatment, the minimum-acceptable e-flows from the generic models mostly (65–90%) lay within the acceptable e-flows predicted by the local and season-specific models. We conclude that, within specific limitations, generic BMI-HC can be used for geographically extended, cost-effective e-flow assessments, compensating for the within-limits loss of predictive accuracy.
Einfluss der Glukokortikoidtherapie auf die intratherapeutische Bio distribution von 131I bei der Radio jodtherapie des Morbus Basedow
Authors: Halstenberg Jörg , Kranert Wolfgang , Korkusuz Hüdayi , Mayer Amelie , Ackermann Hanns , Grünwald Frank , Happel Christian
Published: October 2018

Ziel: Die Radiojodtherapie (RJT) ist ein wichtiges Therapieverfahren in der definitiven Behandlung des Morbus Basedow (MB). Allerdings kann die RJT die Entstehung einer endokrinen Orbitopathie triggern oder eine bereits bestehende endokrine Orbitopathie verstärken. Die Leitlinie der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Nuklearmedizin (DGN) empfiehlt daher bei vorbestehender endokriner Orbitopathie eine therapiebegleitende Glukokortikoidgabe. Ziel dieser Studie ist es, den Einfluss einer protektiven Glukokortikoidtherapie auf die intratherapeutische Biokinetik des 131I bei Patienten mit MB zu untersuchen. Material und Methoden: In einer retrospektiven Analyse wurden 211 Patienten mit MB untersucht, die sich ohne thyreostatische Medikation einer RJT unterzogen hatten. Es wurden prä- und intratherapeutisch der extrapolierte maximale Uptake (EMU) und die effektive Halbwertszeit des 131I in der Schilddrüse ermittelt. Patienten mit endokriner Orbitopathie erhielten ab dem Vortag der RJT Glukokortikoide nach einem festgelegten Schema, Patienten ohne endokrine Orbitopathie erhielten keine Glukokortikoide. Zur Auswertung wurden die intratherapeutisch ermittelten Parameter auf die prätherapeutisch im Radiojodtest ermittelten Parameter bezogen und die beiden Gruppen hinsichtlich dieser Quotienten statistisch miteinander verglichen. Um weitere Faktoren zu berücksichtigen, wurden die Gruppen auch in Hinblick auf Alter, Gewicht sowie TSH, TRAK, TAK und MAK untersucht. Ergebnisse: In der Gruppe der Patienten mit Glukokortikoideinnahme zeigte sich ein Rückgang des medianen EMU von 44 % im Radiojodtest auf intratherapeutisch 35 %. In der Kontrollgruppe ohne Glukokortikoide entsprach der prätherapeutische (47 %) dem intratherapeutischen EMU (46 %). Im Vergleich der EMU-Änderung der beiden Gruppen zeigte sich ein statistisch signifikanter Unterschied (p < 0,001). Der Vergleich aller weiteren Parameter einschließlich der effektiven Halbwertszeit (p = 0,79) ergab keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen beiden Gruppen. Schlussfolgerung: Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Studie legen nahe, dass Glukokortikoide einen Einfluss auf die Biokinetik von 131I haben, indem sie dessen Speicherung in der Schilddrüse reduzieren. Für Patienten unter Glukokortikoidtherapie, die keine thyreostatische Medikation erhalten, könnte daher eine entsprechende Anpassung der aus den Daten des Radiojodtests berechneten 131I-Therapieaktivität erwogen werden.