bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Cross-Sectional Study of the Gut Microbiota Composition in Moscow Long-Livers
Authors: Kashtanova Daria A. , Klimenko Nataliya S. , Strazhesko Irina D. , Starikova Elizaveta V. , Glushchenko Oksana E. , Gudkov Denis A. , Tkacheva Olga N.
Published: July 2020

The aim was to assess the gut microbiota of long-livers from Moscow. This study included two groups of patients who signed their consent to participate. The group of long-livers (LL) included 20 participants aged 97–100 years (4 men and 16 women). The second group included 22 participants aged 60–76 years (6 men) without clinical manifestations of chronic diseases (healthy elderly). Gut microbiota was studied by 16S rRNA sequencing. Long-livers underwent a complex geriatric assessment as well as expanded blood biochemistry. Gut microbiota composition in the cohorts was also compared with microbiome in long-livers from Japan and Italy. Russian long-livers’ microbiome contained more beneficial bacteria than healthy elderly including Ruminococcaceae, Christensenellaceae, Lactobacillaceae families. Conditional pathogens like Veillonellaceae, Mogibacteriaceae, Alcaligenaceae, Peptococcaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae were more abundant in the healthy elderly. Compared with Italian and Japanese microbiome LL, the Russian LL appeared to be more similar to the Italian cohort. Bifidobacterium/Coprococcus and Faecalibacterium/Coprococcus balances were associated with femoral and carotid intima–media thickness, respectively. Bifidobacterium/Coriobacteriaceae balance was assessed with the folic acid level and Faecalibacterium/Coriobacteriaceae_u the with Mini Nutritional Assessment score. Long-livers’ microbiome appeared to be unexpectedly balanced. The high representation of beneficial bacteria in long-livers may prevent them from low-grade inflammation and thus protect them from the development of atherosclerosis and other aging-associated conditions.
Sequential Scheelite Mineralization of Quartz–Scheelite Veins at the Sangdong W-Deposit: Microtextural and Geochemical Approach
Authors: Choi Woohyun , Park Changyun , Song Yungoo , Park Chaewon , Kim Ha , Lee Chulgyoo
Published: July 2020

The Sangdong W (tungsten)-deposit is known as one of the world’s largest W-deposits, a magmatic–hydrothermal ore deposit including both skarn and hydrothermal alteration zones. The strata-bound characteristic of the deposit resulted in three major orebodies (hanging wall, main, footwall). The main ore mineral is a scheelite (CaWO4)–powellite (CaMoO4) solid solution. We examined the fluid evolution and scheelite formation process of the quartz–scheelite veins of the ore deposit, based on the microtextures and geochemical characteristics of the scheelite. After the initial magmatic–hydrothermal fluid release from the granitic body, prograde skarn is formed. In the later prograde stage, secondary fluid rises and precipitates stage I scheelite. Well-developed oscillatory zoning with the highest Mo content indicates continuous fluid infiltration under an open system. Pressure rises as mineralization occurs, generating the pressure release of the retrograde fluid. Fluid migrates downward by the gravitational backflow mechanism, forming stage II to IV scheelites. Dented oscillatory zoning of stage II scheelite is strong evidence of this pressure release. Stage III and IV scheelite do not show specific internal structures with pure scheelite composition. Retrograde scheelites are formed by fractional crystallization under a closed system. The observation of systematical fractional crystallization in the quartz–scheelite vein system is a meaningful result of our research. The geochemical characteristics and microtextural evidence imprinted in scheelites from each stage provide crucial evidence for the understanding of sequential scheelite mineralization of the quartz–scheelite vein system of the Sangdong W-deposit.
Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticle Stabilized on Silicon Nanocrystal Containing Polymer Microspheres as Effective Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) Substrates
Authors: Zhu Guixian , Cheng Lin , Liu Gannan , Zhu Lianqing
Published: July 2020

Developing ideal surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates is significant in biological detection. Compared with free non-aggregated noble metal nanoparticles, loading metal nanoparticles on a large matrix can achieve a higher SERS effect due to the existence of many “hot spots”. A novel SERS substrate with intense “hot spots” was prepared through reducing gold ions with silicon nanocrystal containing polymer microspheres. The substrate exhibits high SERS sensitivity with an enhancement factor of 5.4 × 107. By applying 4-mercaptopyridine as a Raman reporter, the developed SERS substrate can realize measurement of pH values. The intensity ratio of 1574 to 1607 cm−1 of 4-mercaptopyridine showed excellent pH sensitivity, which increased as the surrounding pH increased. With good stability and reliability, the pH sensor is promising in the design of biological detection devices.
Celiac Dietary Adherence Test and Standardized Dietician Evaluation in Assessment of Adherence to a Gluten-Free Diet in Patients with Celiac Disease
Authors: Gładyś Katarzyna , Dardzińska Jolanta , Guzek Marek , Adrych Krystian , Małgorzewicz Sylwia
Published: July 2020

Adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD) is currently the mainstay of treatment strategy for celiac disease (CD). The aim of our study was measuring a GFD adherence in CD patients using two newly validated methods of dietary assessment—Standardized Dietician Evaluation (SDE) and the Celiac Dietary Adherence Test (CDAT). Ninety-two adults with CD were evaluated by a registered dietitian with extensive experience with the use of SDE and CDAT. Duodenal biopsy was performed and blood was drawn for serum anti-endomysial, anti-deamidated gliadin peptide and anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies in forty four of those patients. The results of CDAT and SDE were very convergent, but SDE scores better correlated with serologic and histologic findings. As many as 24–52% of study participants did not adhere well enough to a GFD. Insufficient adherence to a GFD in CD patients is still a significant problem. The knowledge about gluten content in food ingredients and additives is very low among adults with CD. SDE is the most accurate method in assessing compliance with a GFD and is especially helpful in determining hidden sources of gluten. The CDAT may be a fast tool for screening for a GFD adherence in CD patients.
Evaluation of EphB4 as Target for Image-Guided Surgery of Breast Cancer
Authors: de Muijnck Cansu , van Gorkom Yoren , van Duijvenvoorde Maurice , Eghtesadi Mina , Dekker-Ensink Geeske , Bhairosingh Shadhvi S. , Affinito Alessandra , Kuppen Peter J. K. , Vahrmeijer Alexander L. , Sier Cornelis F. M.
Published: July 2020

Background: Targeted image-guided surgery is based on the detection of tumor cells after administration of a radio-active or fluorescent tracer. Hence, enhanced binding of a tracer to tumor tissue compared to healthy tissue is crucial. Various tumor antigens have been evaluated as possible targets for image-guided surgery of breast cancer, with mixed results. Methods: In this study we have evaluated tyrosine kinase receptor EphB4, a member from the Eph tyrosine kinase receptor family, as a possible target for image-guided surgery of breast cancers. Two independent tissue micro arrays, consisting of matched sets of tumor and normal breast tissue, were stained for EphB4 by immunohistochemistry. The intensity of staining and the percentage of stained cells were scored by two independent investigators. Results: Immunohistochemical staining for EphB4 shows that breast cancer cells display enhanced membranous expression compared to adjacent normal breast tissue. The enhanced tumor staining is not associated with clinical variables like age of the patient or stage or subtype of the tumor, including Her2-status. Conclusion: These data suggest that EphB4 is a promising candidate for targeted image-guided surgery of breast cancer, especially for Her2 negative cases.
Slower Elimination of Tofacitinib in Acute Renal Failure Rat Models: Contribution of Hepatic Metabolism and Renal Excretion
Authors: Bae Sung Hun , Chang Sun-Young , Kim So Hee
Published: July 2020

Tofacitinib is a Jak inhibitor developed as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. Tofacitinib is metabolized mainly through hepatic CYP3A1/2, followed by CYP2C11. Rheumatoid arthritis tends to increase renal toxicity due to drugs used for long-term treatment. In this study, pharmacokinetic changes of tofacitinib were evaluated in rats with gentamicin (G-ARF) and cisplatin-induced acute renal failure (C-ARF). The time-averaged total body clearance (CL) of tofacitinib in G-ARF and C-ARF rats after 1-min intravenous infusion of 10 mg/kg was significantly decreased by 37.7 and 62.3%, respectively, compared to in control rats. This seems to be because the time-averaged renal clearance (CLR) was significantly lower by 69.5 and 98.6%, respectively, due to decreased creatinine clearance (CLCR). In addition, the time-averaged nonrenal clearance (CLNR) was also significantly lower by 33.2 and 57.4%, respectively, due to reduction in the hepatic CYP3A1/2 and CYP2C11 subfamily in G-ARF and C-ARF rats. After oral administration of tofacitinib (20 mg/kg) to G-ARF and C-ARF rats, both CLR and CLNR were also significantly decreased. In conclusion, an increase in area under plasma concentration-time curves from time zero to time infinity (AUC) of tofacitinib in G-ARF and C-ARF rats was due to the significantly slower elimination of tofacitinib contributed by slower hepatic metabolism and urinary excretion of the drug.
Improvement in the Microbial Resistance of Resin-Based Dental Sealant by Sulfobetaine Methacrylate Incorporation
Authors: Lee Myung-Jin , Mangal Utkarsh , Kim Se-Jin , Yoon Yeo-Phil , Ahn Eun-So , Jang Ee-Seul , Kwon Jae-Sung , Choi Sung-Hwan
Published: July 2020

Prevention of dental caries is a key research area, and improvement of the pit and fissure sealants used for caries prevention has been of particular interest. This report describes results of incorporating a zwitterion, sulfobetaine methacrylate (SB), into photo-polymerized resin-based sealants to enhance resistance to cariogenic bacteria and protein adhesion. Varying amounts (1.5–5 wt%) of SB were incorporated into a resin-based sealant, and the flexural strength, wettability, depth of cure, protein adhesion, bacterial viability, and cell cytotoxicity of the resultant sealants were evaluated. The flexural strength decreased with the increasing SB content, but this decrease was statistically significant only for sealants containing ≥3 wt% SB. Incorporating a zwitterion led to a significant reduction in the water contact angle and protein adhesion. The colony-forming unit count showed a significant reduction in the bacterial viability of S. mutans, which was confirmed with microscopic imaging. Moreover, cell cytotoxicity analysis of SB-modified sealants using an L929 fibroblast showed a cytotoxicity comparable to that of an unmodified control, suggesting no adverse effects on the cellular metabolism upon SB introduction. Hence, we conclude that the addition of 1.5–3 wt% SB can significantly enhance the inherent ability of sealants to resist S. mutans adhesion and prevent dental caries.
Numerical Analysis of the Flow around Two Square Cylinders in a Tandem Arrangement with Different Spacing Ratios Based on POD and DMD Methods
Authors: Wang Feng , Zheng Xiaodong , Hao Jianming , Bai Hua
Published: July 2020

To more clearly understand the changes in flow characteristics around two square cylinders with different spacing ratios, the main mode of the flow field was extracted by using the Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) methods. The changes in the main mode of the flow field at different spacing ratios and the difference of the time series were analyzed and compared. This processing can separate the mixed information in the flow field and obtain the dominant modes in the flow field. These main modes can clearly reflect the dominant flow characteristics in the flow field. The analysis results show that when L/D = 2, the flow field structure is consistent with the flow field around a single square cylinder. When L/D = 2.5–3.5, the vortex shedding from upstream cylinders combines with the vortex near the downstream cylinders. This mutual coupling causes a significant change in the drag coefficient value of the downstream cylinder. When L/D = 4, the main vortex from the upstream cylinder can be completely shed, which means that the upstream and downstream square cylinder vortices start to become independent. The main focus of this paper is to use the advantages of POD and DMD to obtain several modes with higher energy in the flow field. Furthermore, it can be considered that these main modes can fully reflect the flow characteristics of the flow field.
Remote Sensing Open Access Journal of MDPI: Current Progress and Future Vision
Authors: Thenkabail Prasad S.
Published: July 2020

A comparison of various remote sensing, geoscience, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) international journals is provided in Table 1 [...]
UAV Photogrammetry Accuracy Assessment for Corridor Mapping Based on the Number and Distribution of Ground Control Points
Authors: Ferrer-González Ezequiel , Agüera-Vega Francisco , Carvajal-Ramírez Fernando , Martínez-Carricondo Patricio
Published: July 2020

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry has recently emerged as a popular solution to obtain certain products necessary in linear projects, such as orthoimages or digital surface models. This is mainly due to its ability to provide these topographic products in a fast and economical way. In order to guarantee a certain degree of accuracy, it is important to know how many ground control points (GCPs) are necessary and how to distribute them across the study site. The purpose of this work consists of determining the number of GCPs and how to distribute them in a way that yields higher accuracy for a corridor-shaped study area. To do so, several photogrammetric projects have been carried out in which the number of GCPs used in the bundle adjustment and their distribution vary. The different projects were assessed taking into account two different parameters: the root mean square error (RMSE) and the Multiscale Model to Model Cloud Comparison (M3C2). From the different configurations tested, the projects using 9 and 11 GCPs (4.3 and 5.2 GCPs km−1, respectively) distributed alternatively on both sides of the road in an offset or zigzagging pattern, with a pair of GCPs at each end of the road, yielded optimal results regarding fieldwork cost, compared to projects using similar or more GCPs placed according to other distributions.
Foliar Spectra and Traits of Bog Plants across Nitrogen Deposition Gradients
Authors: Girard Alizée , Schweiger Anna K. , Carteron Alexis , Kalacska Margaret , Laliberté Etienne
Published: July 2020

Bogs, as nutrient-poor ecosystems, are particularly sensitive to atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition. Nitrogen deposition alters bog plant community composition and can limit their ability to sequester carbon (C). Spectroscopy is a promising approach for studying how N deposition affects bogs because of its ability to remotely determine changes in plant species composition in the long term as well as shorter-term changes in foliar chemistry. However, there is limited knowledge on the extent to which bog plants differ in their foliar spectral properties, how N deposition might affect those properties, and whether subtle inter- or intraspecific changes in foliar traits can be spectrally detected. The objective of the study was to assess the effect of N deposition on foliar traits and spectra. Using an integrating sphere fitted to a field spectrometer, we measured spectral properties of leaves from the four most common vascular plant species (Chamaedaphne calyculata, Kalmia angustifolia, Rhododendron groenlandicum and Eriophorum vaginatum) in three bogs in southern Québec and Ontario, Canada, exposed to different atmospheric N deposition levels, including one subjected to a 18-year N fertilization experiment. We also measured chemical and morphological properties of those leaves. We found detectable intraspecific changes in leaf structural traits and chemistry (namely chlorophyll b and N concentrations) with increasing N deposition and identified spectral regions that helped distinguish the site-specific populations within each species. Most of the variation in leaf spectral, chemical, and morphological properties was among species. As such, species had distinct spectral foliar signatures, allowing us to identify them with high accuracy with partial least squares discriminant analyses (PLSDA). Predictions of foliar traits from spectra using partial least squares regression (PLSR) were generally accurate, particularly for the concentrations of N and C, soluble C, leaf water, and dry matter content (<10% RMSEP). However, these multi-species PLSR models were not accurate within species, where the range of values was narrow. To improve the detection of short-term intraspecific changes in functional traits, models should be trained with more species-specific data. Our field study showing clear differences in foliar spectra and traits among species, and some within-species differences due to N deposition, suggest that spectroscopy is a promising approach for assessing long-term vegetation changes in bogs subject to atmospheric pollution.
Identification of Urban Functional Areas by Coupling Satellite Images and Taxi GPS Trajectories
Authors: Qian Zhen , Liu Xintao , Tao Fei , Zhou Tong
Published: July 2020

Urban functional area (UFA) recognition is one of the most important strategies for achieving sustainable city development. As remote-sensing and social-sensing data sources have increasingly become available, UFA recognition has received a significant amount of attention. Research on UFA recognition that uses a single dataset suffers from a low update frequency or low spatial resolution, while data fusion-based methods are limited in efficiency and accuracy. This paper proposes an integrated model to identify UFA using satellite images and taxi global positioning system (GPS) trajectories in four steps. First, blocks were generated as spatial units in the study area, and the spatiotemporal information entropy of the taxi GPS trajectory (STET) for each block was calculated. Second, a 24-hour time-frequency series was formed based on the pick-up and drop-off points extracted from taxi trajectories and used as the interpretation indicator of the blocks. The K-Means++ and k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) algorithm were used to identify their social functions. Third, a multilabel classification method based on the residual neural network (MLC-ResNets) and “You Only Look Once” (YOLO) target detection algorithms were used to identify the features of the typical and atypical spatial textures, respectively, of the satellite images in the blocks. The confidence scores of the features of the blocks were categorized by the decision tree algorithm. Fourth, to find the best way to integrate the two sub-models for UFA identification, the 10-fold cross-validation method based on stratified random sampling was applied to determine the most optimal STET thresholds. The results showed that the average accuracy reached 82.0%, with an average kappa of 73.5%—significant improvements over most existing studies. This paper provides new insights into how the advantages of satellite images and taxi trajectories in UFA identification can be fully exploited to support sustainable city management.
Wishart-Based Adaptive Temporal Filtering of Polarimetric SAR Imagery
Authors: Canty Morton J. , Nielsen Allan A. , Skriver Henning , Conradsen Knut
Published: July 2020

Temporal filtering for speckle reduction of polarimetric SARimages is described. The method is based on a sequential complex Wishart-based change detection algorithm which is applied to polarized SAR imagery, including the dual-polarization intensity data archived on the Google Earth Engine (GEE). Software for convenient application and analysis is presented. Results compare favorably with, and improve upon, standard spatial and temporal filters for speckle reduction.
Flood Detection Using Multi-Modal and Multi-Temporal Images: A Comparative Study
Authors: Islam Kazi Aminul , Uddin Mohammad Shahab , Kwan Chiman , Li Jiang
Published: July 2020

Natural disasters such as flooding can severely affect human life and property. To provide rescue through an emergency response team, we need an accurate flooding assessment of the affected area after the event. Traditionally, it requires a lot of human resources to obtain an accurate estimation of a flooded area. In this paper, we compared several traditional machine-learning approaches for flood detection including multi-layer perceptron (MLP), support vector machine (SVM), deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) with recent domain adaptation-based approaches, based on a multi-modal and multi-temporal image dataset. Specifically, we used SPOT-5 and RADAR images from the flood event that occurred in November 2000 in Gloucester, UK. Experimental results show that the domain adaptation-based approach, semi-supervised domain adaptation (SSDA) with 20 labeled data samples, achieved slightly better values of the area under the precision-recall (PR) curve (AUC) of 0.9173 and F1 score of 0.8846 than those by traditional machine approaches. However, SSDA required much less labor for ground-truth labeling and should be recommended in practice.
An Approach towards Motion-Tolerant PPG-Based Algorithm for Real-Time Heart Rate Monitoring of Moving Pigs
Authors: Youssef Ali , Peña Fernández Alberto , Wassermann Laura , Biernot Svenja , Wittauer Eva-Maria , Bleich André , Hartung Joerg , Berckmans Daniel , Norton Tomas
Published: July 2020

Animal welfare remains a very important issue in the livestock sector, but monitoring animal welfare in an objective and continuous way remains a serious challenge. Monitoring animal welfare, based upon physiological measurements instead of the audio–visual scoring of behaviour, would be a step forward. One of the obvious physiological signals related to welfare and stress is heart rate. The objective of this research was to measure heart rate (beat per minutes) in pigs with technology that soon will be affordable. Affordable heart rate monitoring is done today at large scale on humans using the Photo Plethysmography (PPG) technology. We used PPG sensors on a pig′s body to test whether it allows the retrieval of a reliable heart rate signal. A continuous wavelet transform (CWT)-based algorithm is developed to decouple the cardiac pulse waves from the pig. Three different wavelets, namely second, fourth and sixth order Derivative of Gaussian (DOG), are tested. We show the results of the developed PPG-based algorithm, against electrocardiograms (ECG) as a reference measure for heart rate, and this for an anaesthetised versus a non-anaesthetised animal. We tested three different anatomical body positions (ear, leg and tail) and give results for each body position of the sensor. In summary, it can be concluded that the agreement between the PPG-based heart rate technique and the reference sensor is between 91% and 95%. In this paper, we showed the potential of using the PPG-based technology to assess the pig′s heart rate.
A Survey on Secure Computation Based on Homomorphic Encryption in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks
Authors: Sun Xiaoqiang , Yu F. Richard , Zhang Peng , Xie Weixin , Peng Xiang
Published: July 2020

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), the security and privacy of vehicle data are core issues. In order to analyze vehicle data, they need to be computed. Encryption is a common method to guarantee the security of vehicle data in the process of data dissemination and computation. However, encrypted vehicle data cannot be analyzed easily and flexibly. Because homomorphic encryption supports computations of the ciphertext, it can completely solve this problem. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey of secure computation based on homomorphic encryption in VANETs. We first describe the related definitions and the current state of homomorphic encryption. Next, we present the framework, communication domains, wireless access technologies and cyber-security issues of VANETs. Then, we describe the state of the art of secure basic operations, data aggregation, data query and other data computation in VANETs. Finally, several challenges and open issues are discussed for future research.
Wetland Fire Scar Monitoring and Its Response to Changes of the Pantanal Wetland
Authors: Li Xiaodong , Song Kaishan , Liu Ge
Published: July 2020

Fire is an important disturbance factor which results in the irreversible change of land surface ecosystems and leads to a new ecological status after the fire is extinguished. Spanning the period from August to September 2019, the Amazon Forest fires were an unprecedented event in terms of the scale and duration of burning, with a duration of 42 days in the Pantanal wetland. Based on the observation data of wildfire and two Sentinel-2A images separated by a 35-day interval, the objectives of this study are to use the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) to map the spatiotemporal change features of fire and then quantitatively measure the fire severity and the impact of fire on the Pantanal wetland. The overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient of the extracted results of wetland types reached 80.6% and 0.767, respectively, and the statistically analyzed results showed that wildfires did not radically change the wetland types of the Pantanal wetland, because the hydrological variation of the burned area was still the main change factor, with a dynamic ratio of ≤50%. Furthermore, the savanna wetland in the burned area was the wetland type which was most affected by the fire. Meanwhile, fire scars belonged to the moderate and low-severity burned areas, with a maximum burn area of 599 km2. The case enriches the research into the impact of wildfire as the main disturbance factor on the change of wetland types and provides a scientific reference for the restoration and sustainable development of global wetland ecosystems.
Unidimensional ACGAN Applied to Link Establishment Behaviors Recognition of a Short-Wave Radio Station
Authors: Wu Zilong , Chen Hong , Lei Yingke
Published: July 2020

It is difficult to obtain many labeled Link Establishment (LE) behavior signals sent by non-cooperative short-wave radio stations. We propose a novel unidimensional Auxiliary Classifier Generative Adversarial Network (ACGAN) to get more signals and then use unidimensional DenseNet to recognize LE behaviors. Firstly, a few real samples were randomly selected from many real signals as the training set of unidimensional ACGAN. Then, the new training set was formed by combining real samples with fake samples generated by the trained ACGAN. In addition, the unidimensional convolutional auto-coder was proposed to describe the reliability of these generated samples. Finally, different LE behaviors could be recognized without the communication protocol standard by using the new training set to train unidimensional DenseNet. Experimental results revealed that unidimensional ACGAN effectively augmented the training set, thus improving the performance of recognition algorithm. When the number of original training samples was 400, 700, 1000, or 1300, the recognition accuracy of unidimensional ACGAN+DenseNet was 1.92, 6.16, 4.63, and 3.06% higher, respectively, than that of unidimensional DenseNet.
Sustainable Development and European Banks: A Non-Financial Disclosure Analysis
Authors: Cosma Simona , Venturelli Andrea , Schwizer Paola , Boscia Vittorio
Published: July 2020

This paper aims at contributing to the debate on the relationships between the European financial sector and sustainable development. Using a non-financial disclosure analysis of 262 European banks, the research sought, first, to investigate the “scope” of the contribution of European banks to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and, second, to explore the factors that seem to differentiate the SDGs approach among banks. The results show that country of origin, legal system, and adoption of an integrated report seem to differentiate banks in terms of contribution to the SDGs. The business model and stock exchange listing, conversely, do not seem to represent discriminatory factor in the contribution of banks toward the SDGs. The study can be useful for managers and decision makers to develop policies to support organizations in contributing to the SDGs.
Sustainability in Tourism as an Innovation Driver: An Analysis of Family Business Reality
Authors: Elmo Grazia Chiara , Arcese Gabriella , Valeri Marco , Poponi Stefano , Pacchera Francesco
Published: July 2020

Sustainable tourism can be the motivation to manage resources to satisfy environmental, social and economic needs through cultural integrity, biological diversity, ecological processes, social and economic equity, and general enrichment. Based on a systematic literature review conducted on research papers published between 2015 and 2020, and on the case studies contained within them (19 papers), this analysis focuses on the innovation drivers and sustainability drivers identified within family businesses in tourism. This desk-based research has made it possible to highlight how variable sustainability is present, albeit in a limited fashion, within family businesses in tourism; at the same time, it also shows how innovative strategies contribute to sustainable development. From the analysis, the correlations between family businesses, family dynamics, sustainability practices, innovation drivers and case studies were analyzed. The results show the poor implementation of innovative strategies, and at the same time, the presence of other variables that guarantee the adoption of sustainable practices. Important research gaps are identified, and future research priorities are suggested. Furthermore, the article is based on a collection of non-exhaustive literary sources. The implications for both family businesses and sustainable development are discussed.
A Methodological Framework for Sustainable Office Building Renovation Using Green Building Rating Systems and Cost-Benefit Analysis
Authors: Šuman Nataša , Marinič Mojca , Kuhta Milan
Published: July 2020

Sustainable development is a priority for the future of our society. Sustainable development is of particular importance to the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, both for new buildings and for the renovation of existing buildings. Great potential for sustainable development lies in the renovation of existing office buildings. This paper introduces a new framework for identifying the best set of renovation strategies for existing office buildings. The framework applies selected green building rating system criteria and cost-effective sustainable renovation solutions based on cost-benefit analysis (CBA), and thus provides a novelty in decision-making support for the sustainable renovation of office buildings at an early-stage. The framework covers all necessary steps and activities including data collection, determination of the required level of renovation, selection of the green building rating system, identification of impact categories and criteria, and final evaluation and decision-making using CBA. The framework can be used in conjunction with different systems and according to different regional characteristics. The applicability of the addressing procedure is shown through a case study of a comprehensive renovation of an office building in the city of Maribor.
Gross Employment Effects in the Renewable Energy Industry in Germany—An Input–Output Analysis from 2000 to 2018
Authors: O’Sullivan Marlene , Edler Dietmar
Published: July 2020

The purpose of this paper is to provide detailed insights into an approach to measure gross employment of the renewable energy (RES) industry in Germany in order to improve transparency and comparability. The method applied for the assessment of gross employment figures follows the input–output (IO) modeling approach and covers direct as well as indirect employment effects. All-in-all, four different approaches of applying the IO-methodology are described. The analysis includes 11 different RES technologies. It provides information on employment in manufacturing and installation, operation and maintenance (O&M), as well as the provision of biogenic fuels. The results show the relevance of the manufacturing and installation sector as well as the influence of foreign trade on this sector. On the other hand, it reveals the growing importance of O&M as well as the provision of biogenic fuels and their role in providing a more stable development of employment in the RES industry. Our main methodological conclusions are as follows: (1) data availability is a major challenge in assessing employment effects of specific technologies; (2) there are many different ways to apply the IO-modeling approach to specific technologies and services; (3) the transfer of results to other countries is limited.
Animated Character Style Investigation with Decision Tree Classification
Authors: Liu Kun , Chang Kang-Ming , Liu Ying-Ju , Chen Jun-Hong
Published: July 2020

Although animated characters are based on human features, these features are exaggerated. These exaggerations greatly differ by country, gender, and the character’s role in the story. This study investigated the characteristics of US and Japanese character designs and the similarities and differences or even the differences in exaggerations between them. In particular, these similarities and differences can be used to formulate a shared set of principles for US and Japanese animated character designs; 90 Japanese and 90 US cartoon characters were analyzed. Lengths for 20 parts of the body were obtained for prototypical real human bodies and animated characters from Japan and the United States. The distributions of lengths were determined, for all characters and for characters as segmented by country, gender, and the character’s role in the story. We also compared the body part lengths of animated characters and prototypical real human bodies, noting whether exaggerations were towards augmentation or diminishment. In addition, a decision tree classification method was used to determine the required body length parameters for identifying the classification conditions of animated characters by country, gender, and character’s role in the story. The results indicated that both US and Japanese male animated characters tend to feature exaggerations in head and body sizes, with exaggerations for US characters being more obvious. The decision tree only required five length parameters of the head and chest to distinguish between US and Japanese animated characters (accuracy = 94.48% and 67.46% for the training and testing groups, respectively). Through a decision tree method, this study quantitatively revealed the exaggeration patterns in animated characters and their differences by country, gender, and character’s role in the story. The results serve as a reference for designers and researchers of animated character model designs with regards to quantifying and classifying character exaggerations.
Chiral Perturbation Theory at NNNLO
Authors: Hermansson-Truedsson Nils
Published: July 2020

Chiral perturbation theory is a much successful effective field theory of quantum chromodynamics at low energies. The effective Lagrangian is constructed systematically order by order in powers of the momentum p2, and until now the leading order (LO), next-to leading order (NLO), next-to-next-to leading order (NNLO) and next-to-next-to-next-to leading order (NNNLO) have been studied. In the following review we consider the construction of the Lagrangian and in particular focus on the NNNLO case. We in addition review and discuss the pion mass and decay constant at the same order, which are fundamental quantities to study for chiral perturbation theory. Due to the large number of terms in the Lagrangian and hence low energy constants arising at NNNLO, some remarks are made about the predictivity of this effective field theory.
Intra-Specific Venom Variation in the Australian Coastal Taipan Oxyuranus scutellatus
Authors: Tasoulis Theo , Silva Anjana , Veerati Punnam Chander , Baker Mark , Hodgson Wayne C. , Dunstan Nathan , Isbister Geoffrey K.
Published: July 2020

Intra-specific venom variation has the potential to provide important insights into the evolution of snake venom, but remains a relatively neglected aspect of snake venom studies. We investigated the venom from 13 individual coastal taipans Oxyuranus scutellatus from four localities on the north-east coast of Australia, spanning a distance of 2000 km. The intra-specific variation in taipan venom was considerably less than the inter-specific variation between it and the other Australian elapids to which it was compared. The electrophoretic venom profile of O. scutellatus was visually different to six other genera of Australian elapids, but not to its congener inland taipan O. microlepidotus. There was minimal geographical variation in taipan venom, as the intra-population variation exceeded the inter-population variation for enzymatic activity, procoagulant activity, and the abundance of neurotoxins. The pre-synaptic neurotoxin (taipoxin) was more abundant than the post-synaptic neurotoxins (3FTx), with a median of 11.0% (interquartile range (IQR): 9.7% to 18.3%; range: 6.7% to 23.6%) vs. a median of 3.4% (IQR: 0.4% to 6.7%; range: 0% to 8.1%). Three taipan individuals almost completely lacked post-synaptic neurotoxins, which was not associated with geography and occurred within two populations. We found no evidence of sexual dimorphism in taipan venom. Our study provides a basis for evaluating the significance of intra-specific venom variation within a phylogenetic context by comparing it to the inter-specific and inter-generic variation. The considerable intra-population variation we observed supports the use of several unpooled individuals from each population when making inter-specific comparisons.
Purification, Toxicity and Functional Characterization of a New Proteinaceous Mussel Biotoxin from Bizerte Lagoon
Authors: Marrouchi Riadh , Benoit Evelyne , Schlumberger Sébastien , Marzougui Zeineb , Le Caer Jean-Pierre , Molgó Jordi , Kharrat Riadh
Published: July 2020

The marine environment is known to be occupied by microorganisms. The potential toxicity of some of these marine microorganisms, that are capable of producing unknown biotoxins, has always been underestimated. Indeed, these biotoxins may be a threat to human health through the consumption of contaminated seafood and fish. For more than ten years, recurrent but atypical toxicity has been detected in mussels from Bizerte lagoon (North of Tunisia) during routine tests. In this study, we have isolated and characterized a new proteinaceous marine biotoxin, named Mussel Toxic Peptide (MTP). Using HPLC, electrophoresis and LC/MS studies, we showed that MTP has a protein characteristic UV-spectrum, can be visualized by protein specific reagents such as Coomassie, and has a molecular mass of 6.4 kDa. Patch-clamp experiments performed on cultured N18 neuroblastoma cells revealed that MTP (0.9–18 µM) markedly inhibited voltage-gated Na current, but was about 23 times less active in blocking voltage-gated K current at equimolar concentrations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a proteinaceous marine biotoxin with relatively high molecular mass is isolated and involved in the contamination of mussels harvested from shellfish farming areas.
Simultaneous Quantification of Aflatoxin B1, T-2 Toxin, Ochratoxin A and Deoxynivalenol in Dried Seafood Products by LC-MS/MS
Authors: Deng Yijia , Wang Yaling , Deng Qi , Sun Lijun , Wang Rundong , Wang Xiaobo , Liao Jianmeng , Gooneratne Ravi
Published: July 2020

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by fungi. These contaminate dried seafoods during processing and storage and represent a potential health hazard for consumers. A sensitive, selective and accurate liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was established for simultaneous quantification of four common mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), T-2 toxin (T-2), ochratoxin A (OTA) and deoxynivalenol (DON)) in dried shrimp, dried fish and dried mussel products. Mycotoxins were extracted from dried seafood samples by acetonitrile/water (85/15, v/v), subjected to ultrasound for 60 min at 20 °C and cleaned up by defatting with n-hexane. The sample matrix affected the linearity of detection (R2 ≥ 0.9974). The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) in dried seafood products varied from 0.1 to 2.0 µg·kg−1 and 0.3 to 5.0 µg·kg−1, respectively. The method was validated by spiking samples with specific mycotoxin levels, and the recoveries, intra-relative standard deviation (RSDs) and inter-RSDs ranged between 72.2–98.4%, 2.8–10.6%, and 5.5–15.4%, respectively. This method was used to analyze 40 dried seafood products purchased from the Zhanjiang seafood market. Results of this product sampling showed that while no DON was detected, AFB1, T-2 and OTA were detected in 30.8%, 17.5% and 33.3% of the samples, respectively. AFB1, T-2 and OTA concentrations varied at 0.58–0.89, 0.55–1.34 and 0.36–1.51 µg·kg−1, respectively. Relatively high frequency of contamination and the presence of AFB1, OTA and T-2 residues indicate the need to monitor mycotoxins in dried seafood products.
Innovative HBV Animal Models Based on the Entry Receptor NTCP
Authors: Wettengel Jochen M. , Burwitz Benjamin J.
Published: July 2020

Hepatitis B is a major global health problem, with an estimated 257 million chronically infected patients and almost 1 million deaths per year. The causative agent is hepatitis B virus (HBV), a small, enveloped, partially double-stranded DNA virus. HBV has a strict species specificity, naturally infecting only humans and chimpanzees. Sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP), a bile acid transporter expressed on hepatocytes, has been shown to be one of the key factors in HBV infection, playing a crucial role in the HBV entry process in vitro and in vivo. Variations in the amino acid sequence of NTCP can inhibit HBV infection and, therefore, contributes, in part, to the species barrier. This discovery has revolutionized the search for novel animal models of HBV. Indeed, it was recently shown that variations in the amino acid sequence of NTCP represent the sole species barrier for HBV infection in macaques. Here, we review what is known about HBV entry through the NTCP receptor and highlight how this knowledge has been harnessed to build new animal models for the study of HBV pathogenesis and curative therapies.
Effects of Mosquito Biology on Modeled Chikungunya Virus Invasion Potential in Florida
Authors: Lord Cynthia C. , Lounibos L. Philip , Pohedra Joseph J. , Alto Barry W.
Published: July 2020

Arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus have been introduced to Florida on many occasions. Infrequently, these introductions lead to sporadic local transmission and, more rarely, sustained local transmission. Both mosquito species are present in Florida, with spatio-temporal variation in population composition. We developed a two-vector compartmental, deterministic model to investigate factors influencing Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) establishment. The model includes a nonlinear, temperature-dependent mosquito mortality function based on minimum mortality in a central temperature region. Latin Hypercube sampling was used to generate parameter sets used to simulate transmission dynamics, following the introduction of one infected human. The analysis was repeated for three values of the mortality function central temperature. Mean annual temperature was consistently important in the likelihood of epidemics, and epidemics increased as the central temperature increased. Ae. albopictus recruitment was influential at the lowest central temperature while Ae. aegypti recruitment was influential at higher central temperatures. Our results indicate that the likelihood of CHIKV establishment may vary, but overall Florida is permissive for introductions. Model outcomes were sensitive to the specifics of mosquito mortality. Mosquito biology parameters are variable, and improved understanding of this variation will improve our ability to predict the outcome of introductions.
Insights into Sensing of Murine Retroviruses
Authors: Moran Eileen A. , Ross Susan R.
Published: July 2020

Retroviruses are major causes of disease in animals and human. Better understanding of the initial host immune response to these viruses could provide insight into how to limit infection. Mouse retroviruses that are endemic in their hosts provide an important genetic tool to dissect the different arms of the innate immune system that recognize retroviruses as foreign. Here, we review what is known about the major branches of the innate immune system that respond to mouse retrovirus infection, Toll-like receptors and nucleic acid sensors, and discuss the importance of these responses in activating adaptive immunity and controlling infection.
Pneumococcal Vaccination for Children in Asian Countries: A Systematic Review of Economic Evaluation Studies
Authors: Zakiyah Neily , Insani Widya N. , Suwantika Auliya A. , van der Schans Jurjen , Postma Maarten J.
Published: July 2020

Background: Evidence on costs and health benefits of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) for children in Asian countries is limited but growing. As a region with a considerably high burden of pneumococcal disease, it is prominent to have a comprehensive overview on the cost-effectiveness of implementing and adopting a PCV vaccination program. Methods: We conducted a systematic review from Pubmed and Embase to identify economic evaluation studies of PCV for children in Asian countries up to May 2020. Data extraction included specific characteristics of the study, input parameters, cost elements, cost-effectiveness results, and key drivers of uncertainty. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) statement was followed for this systematic review. The reporting quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) statement. Results: After the screening process on both the title and abstract and full text of 518 records, a total of 25 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria, and were included in the review. The majority of included studies demonstrates that PCV for children is cost-effective in most of the Asian region, and even cost-saving in some countries. Most of the included studies implemented cost utility analysis (CUA) using either quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) or disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Overall, the main drivers affecting the cost effectiveness were vaccine price, burden regarding pneumonia-related parameters, and the inclusion of herd effects. Conclusion: The children pneumococcal vaccination program appears to be a cost-effective intervention in Asia, and even cost-saving in certain conditions. Vaccine price, pneumonia-related disease burden, and the inclusion of the herd effect are observed as important key drivers in estimating cost-effectiveness in this region. Incorporating PCV in vaccination programs in this region was found to be highly favorable.