bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pengaruh Produk, Harga, Promosi, Tempat, Proses, Orang dan Bukti Fisik Terhadap Loyalitas Nasabah Tabungan Simpedes Pada PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. Cabang Sintang
Authors: Anabas Safitri
Published: January 2018

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisa seberapa besar pengaruh bauran pemasaran jasa yaitu produk, harga, promosi, tempat, orang, proses dan bukti fisik terhadap loyalitas nasabah oleh nasabah yang menggunakan Tabungan Simpedes di PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. Cabang Sintang.Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode observasi, wawancara, kuesioner dan studi kepustakaan dengan menggunakan skala likert dan metode penentuan sampel yang digunakan adalah purposive sampling sebanyak 100 sampel. Teknik pengumpulan data yaitu data primer dan data sekunder. Metode analisis yang digunakan adalah metode regresi linear berganda (multi linear berganda).Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa bauran pemasaran jasa yang terdiri dari produk(X1), harga (X2), tempat (X3), promosi (X4), orang (X5), proses (X6) dan bukti fisik (X7) secara bersama-sama memiliki pengaruh yang positif. Dimana persamaan regresiỲ= 0,240+0,155X1-0,026X2+0,024X3+0,120X4+0,493X5+0,094X6+0,082X7. Koefisien determinasi (R2) menunjukkan bahwa sebanyak 96,80% loyalitas nasabah tabungan Simpedes dipengaruhi oleh bauran pemasaran yaitu produk, harga, promosi, tempat, orang, proses dan bukti fisik dan sisanya sebanyak 3,20% dipengaruhi oleh variabel lain diluar penelitian ini. Hasil uji simultan (Uji F) menunjukkan bahwa produk, harga, promosi, tempat,orang, proses dan bukti fisik secara simultan berpengaruh terhadap loyalitas nasabah tabungan Simpedes.  Pada uji parsial (Uji t) menunjukkan bahwa variabel produk sebesar 2,064, variabel tempat sebesar 2,109, variabel proses sebesar 7,966, variabel orang sebesar 2,546 variabel bukti fisik sebesar 3,644 secara parsial berpengaruh terhadap loyalitas nasabah tabungan Simpedes. Sedangkan harga dan promosi secara parsial tidak berpengaruh terhadap loyalitas nasabah tabungan Simpedes. Kata kunci: Produk, Harga, Tempat, Promosi, Orang, Proses, Bukti Fisik dan Loyalitas
Pengaruh Economic Value Added (Eva) Dan Market Value Added (Mva) Terhadap Return Saham Pada Perusahaan Yang Diperdagangkan Di Bursa Efek Indonesia
Authors: 01 Muiszudin , Budiarti Lina
Published: January 2018

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh Economic Value Added (EVA) dan  Market Value Added  (MVA) terhadap  Return  Saham pada perusahaan-perusahaan yang  di perdagangkan di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode purposive sampling. Berdasarkan kriteria pemilihan sampel yang telah ditentukan diperoleh jumlah sampel sebanyak 84 perusahaan. Teknik analisis yang digunakan adalah regresi linier berganda, pengujian hipotesis secara parsial dengan menggunakan uji t, secara simultan dengan menggunakan uji  F, dan uji determinasi (R2). Hasil dari penelitian dengan menggunakan secara parsial (uji t) menunjukkan bahwa variabel EVA dan MVA berpengaruh terhada pvariabel return saham terbukti dari nilai t hitung EVA sebesar 3.710 serta memiliki nilai probabilitas (sig) sebesar 0,000 artinya lebih kecil dari 0.05, dan untuk nilai t hitung MVA sebesar 3.823 serta memiliki nilai probabilitas (sig) sebesar 0,000 yang lebih kecil dari 0.05, sedangkan untuk pengujian secara simultan (uji F) menunjukkan bahwa kedua variabel bebas tersebut yaitu EVA dan MVA  secara bersama-sama berpengaruh terhadap variabel terikat (return saham) terbukti dari nilai F hitung sebesar 7,306  serta memiliki nilai signifikansi (sig) sebesar 0,001 yang lebih kecil dari 0,05, sedangkan hasil uji determinasi  (R2) diperoleh hasil variabel EVA dan MVA sebesar 0,153. Hal ini berarti bahwa 15,3% berpengaruh terhadap return, sedangkan sisanya yaitu sebesar 84,7% return saham dipengaruhi oleh variabel-variabel lainnya yang tidak diteliti dalam penelitian ini. Kata kunci: Economic Value Added (EVA), Market Value Added (MVA), Return Saham
PENGARUH BUDAYA ORGANISASI, KEPEMIMPINAN DAN KOMPENSASI MELALUI MOTIVASI KERJA TERHADAP KINERJA PEGAWAI.
Authors: Widodo Djoko Setyo
Published: January 2018

ABSTRAKPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh kompensasi, kepemimpinan dan budaya organisasi melalui motivasi kerja terhadap kinerja pegawai. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif dengan menyebarkan kuesioner terhadap pegawai di lingkungan pemerintahan Depok. Penelitian ini menunjukkan hasil yang positif dan siginifikan secara parsial dari pengaruh variabel kompensasi, kepemimpinan, budaya organisasi dan motivasi pada kinerja pegawai. Disisi lain, penelitian ini juga menemukan bahwa budaya organisasi tidak berpengaruh pada motivasi kerja. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dapat disimpulkan, bahwa semua hipotesis terdukung kecuali satu hipotesis yang menguji pengaruh budaya organisasi tidak berpengaruh pada motivasi kerja.Kata Kunci: kompensasi, kepemimpinan, budaya organisasi, motivasi kerja, kinerja pegawai ABSTRACTThis study aimed to examine the effect of compensation, leadership and organizational culture through work motivation on employee performance. This study uses a quantitative method by distributing questionnaires to employees in the Depok Government. This study shows a positive and significant results partially from the effect of variable compensation, leadership, organizational culture and motivation on employee performance. On the other hand, the study also found that organizational culture had no effect on work motivation. Based on the results of this study concluded that all hypothesis are supported but one hypotheses that examine the influence of organizational culture had no effect on work motivation.Keywords: compensation, leadership, organizational culture, work motivation, employee performance
Escape toCanada: Richard Ford's Fugitive Novel
Authors: Andrews Jennifer
Published: January 2018

In “Risking Nationalism: NAFTA and the Limits of the New American Studies” (1997), Bryce Traister draws on Amy Kaplan to caution against favouring models of pluralism in American studies that leave “national borders intact without interrogating their formation” (Kaplan 15). Conversely, many Canadianists remain deeply sceptical about both borderlands studies and hemispheric studies. Rather than dismissing American depictions of Canada outright as clichéd and stereotyped, it would behove scholars to consider why there is a long-standing American tradition of writers employing Canada, literally and figuratively (frequently by moving characters across the forty-ninth parallel), to deeply explore American concerns and why this fictional migration matters—both for Canadians and Americans. This article inverts the fearful presumptions cultivated by Canadians about America by using Richard Ford's Canada as a test case for such an analysis.
Registration of Two Wheat Germplasm Lines Fixed for Pm58
Authors: Wiersma Andrew T. , Whetten Rebecca B. , Zhang Guorong , Sehgal Sunish K. , Kolb Frederic L. , Poland Jesse A. , Mason R. Esten , Carter Arron H. , Cowger Christina , Olson Eric L.
Published: January 2018

Powdery mildew is a persistent threat to global wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production. To broaden the genetic base for resistance to powdery mildew in wheat, germplasm lines U6714‐A‐011 (Reg. No. GP‐1023, PI 682090) and U6714‐B‐056 (Reg. No. GP‐1022, PI 682089) were developed at Michigan State University and are fixed for the novel powdery mildew resistance gene Pm58. This gene was identified in Aegilops tauschii Coss. accession TA1662, introgressed, and mapped to wheat chromosome 2DS. The two germplasm lines described are BC2F4–derived inbred backcrossed lines from a direct cross between TA1662 and the recurrent wheat parent KS05HW14, a hard white winter wheat line adapted to western Kansas. In addition to exhibiting resistant reactions to multiple Bgt isolates with broad virulence profiles, both lines have moderate yield potential and good agronomic characteristics, making them suitable as breeding germplasm. The availability of these lines will enable the incorporation of Pm58 into wheat breeding programs, providing additional genetic variation for resistance to powdery mildew.
Experimental Implementation of a Passive Millimeter-Wave Fast Sequential Lobing Radiometric Seeker Sensor
Authors: Rossi Massimiliano , Liberati Riccardo , Frasca Marco , Angelini Mauro
Published: January 2018

The paper investigates the theory of operation of a passive millimeter-wave seeker sensor using a fast electronic sequential-lobing technique and the experimental validation obtained through laboratory trials. The paper analyzes in detail the theoretical performance of a difference channel sensor and a pseudo-monopulse sensor deriving agile formulas for the estimation of target angular tracking accuracy and the subsequent experimental validation.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Applied Sciences and Announcement of the 2017 Outstanding Reviewer Awards Winners
Authors:   Applied Sciences Editorial Office
Published: January 2018

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Applied Sciences maintains high quality standards for its published papers [...]
Pareto Optimal Solutions for Network Defense Strategy Selection Simulator in Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Sun Yang , Li Yun , Xiong Wei , Yao Zhonghua , Moniz Krishna , Zahir Ahmed
Published: January 2018

Using Pareto optimization in Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning (MORL) leads to better learning results for network defense games. This is particularly useful for network security agents, who must often balance several goals when choosing what action to take in defense of a network. If the defender knows his preferred reward distribution, the advantages of Pareto optimization can be retained by using a scalarization algorithm prior to the implementation of the MORL. In this paper, we simulate a network defense scenario by creating a multi-objective zero-sum game and using Pareto optimization and MORL to determine optimal solutions and compare those solutions to different scalarization approaches. We build a Pareto Defense Strategy Selection Simulator (PDSSS) system for assisting network administrators on decision-making, specifically, on defense strategy selection, and the experiment results show that the Satisficing Trade-Off Method (STOM) scalarization approach performs better than linear scalarization or GUESS method. The results of this paper can aid network security agents attempting to find an optimal defense policy for network security games.
AR Signaling in Human Malignancies: Prostate Cancer and Beyond
Authors: Antonarakis Emmanuel
Published: January 2018

The notion that androgens and androgen receptor (AR) signaling are the hallmarks of prostate cancer oncogenesis and disease progression is generally well accepted. What is more poorly understood is the role of AR signaling in other human malignancies. This special issue of Cancers initially reviews the role of AR in advanced prostate cancer, and then explores the potential importance of AR signaling in other epithelial malignancies. The first few articles focus on the use of novel AR-targeting therapies in castration-resistant prostate cancer and the mechanisms of resistance to novel antiandrogens, and they also outline the interaction between AR and other cellular pathways, including PI3 kinase signaling, transcriptional regulation, angiogenesis, stromal factors, Wnt signaling, and epigenetic regulation in prostate cancer. The next several articles review the possible role of androgens and AR signaling in breast cancer, bladder cancer, salivary gland cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as the potential treatment implications of using antiandrogen therapies in these non-prostatic malignancies.
“Deceived” Concentrated Immobilized Cells as Biocatalyst for Intensive Bacterial Cellulose Production from Various Sources
Authors: Stepanov Nikolay , Efremenko Elena
Published: January 2018

A new biocatalyst in the form of Komagataeibacter xylinum B-12429 cells immobilized in poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel for production of bacterial cellulose was demonstrated. Normally, the increased bacteria concentration causes an enlarged bacterial cellulose synthesis while cells push the polysaccharide out to pack themselves into this polymer and go into a stasis. Immobilization of cells into the poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel allowed “deceiving” them: bacteria producing cellulose pushed it out, which further passed through the pores of cryogel matrix and was accumulated in the medium while not covering the cells; hence, the latter were deprived of a possible transition to inactivity and worked on the synthesis of bacterial cellulose even more actively. The repeated use of immobilized cells retaining 100% of their metabolic activity for at least 10 working cycles (60 days) was performed. The immobilized cells produce bacterial cellulose with crystallinity and porosity similar to polysaccharide of free cells, but having improved stiffness and tensile strength. Various media containing sugars and glycerol, based on hydrolysates of renewable biomass sources (aspen, Jerusalem artichoke, rice straw, microalgae) were successfully applied for bacterial cellulose production by immobilized cells, and the level of polysaccharide accumulation was 1.3–1.8-times greater than suspended cells could produce.
Improved Corrosion Resistance of 5XXX Aluminum Alloy by Homogenization Heat Treatment
Authors: Choi In-Kyu , Cho Soo-Ho , Kim Sung-Joon , Jo Yoo-Shin , Kim Sang-Ho
Published: January 2018

The corrosion resistance of homogenized Al-Mg (6.5%) alloy—adding Si, Zn, Mn, and Fe (0.2%) to improve various properties—was observed. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and a JMatPro simulation revealed that the optimal homogenization temperature was 450 °C. The homogenization was carried out at 450 °C for 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 30 h in order to view the corrosion resistance change. Corrosion resistance was analyzed by a polarization test in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution. The corrosion resistance improved with increasing homogenization time up to 24 h, but there was no change with longer time periods. To observe the reason for the change in corrosion resistance, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (TEM-EDS) analyses were performed. Precipitates containing Mg, such as Al3Mg2 and Mg32(Al, Zn)49, decreased at the grain boundary. After homogenization, the amount of Mg measured by SEM-EDS at the grain boundary decreased from 36% to 8%, while Si increased. Generally, the potential difference between the grain boundary and the grains leads to intergranular corrosion. Reduction of Mg, whose standard electrode potential is lower than that of Al, and an increase of Si, which is present in higher concentration than Al at the grain boundaries, improved the corrosion resistance of 5XXX Al alloy by reducing the intergranular corrosion.
Personal-Care Products Formulated with Natural Antioxidant Extracts
Authors: Soto Maria , Parada María , Falqué Elena , Domínguez Herminia
Published: January 2018

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential use of some vegetal raw materials in personal-care products. Four ethanolic extracts (grape pomace, Pinus pinaster wood chips, Acacia dealbata flowers, and Lentinus edodes) were prepared and total phenolics, monomeric sugars, and antioxidant capacity were determined on alcoholic extracts. Six of the most important groups of cosmetics products (hand cream, body oil, shampoo, clay mask, body exfoliating cream, and skin cleanser) were formulated. Participants evaluated some sensory attributes and overall acceptance by a 10-point scale; the results showed differences among age-intervals, but not between males and females. The results confirmed that all extracts presented characteristics appropriate for their use in cosmetic formulations and their good acceptability by consumers into all cosmetic products. Texture/appearance, spreadability, and skin feeling are important attributes among consumer expectations, but odor and color were the primary drivers and helped differentiate the natural extracts added into all personal-care products.
A Feasible and Effective Post-Treatment Method for High-Quality CH3NH3PbI3 Films and High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells
Authors: Jiang Yaxiao , Tu Limin , Li Haitao , Li Shaohua , Yang Shi-E , Chen Yongsheng
Published: January 2018

The morphology control of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) thin-film is crucial for the high-efficiency perovskite solar cells, especially for their planar structure devices. Here, a feasible and effective post-treatment method is presented to improve the quality of MAPbI3 films by using methylamine (CH3NH2) vapor. This post-treatment process is studied thoroughly, and the perovskite films with smooth surface, high preferential growth orientation and large crystals are obtained after 10 s treatment in MA atmosphere. It enhances the light absorption, and increases the recombination lifetime. Ultimately, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.3% for the FTO/TiO2/MAPbI3/spiro-OMeTAD/Ag planar architecture solar cells is achieved in combination with this post-treatment method. It represents a 40% improvement in PCE compared to the best control cell. Moreover, the whole post-treatment process is simple and cheap, which only requires some CH3NH2 solution in absolute ethanol. It is beneficial to control the reaction rate by changing the volume of the solution. Therefore, we are convinced that the post-treatment method is a valid and essential approach for the fabrication of high-efficiency perovskite solar cells.
How Do Chinese Residents Expect of Government Subsidies on Solar Photovoltaic Power Generation?—A Case of Wuhan, China
Authors: Ding Liping , Zhang Fan , Shuai Jing
Published: January 2018

This paper investigates local residents’ expectations of the Chinese government subsidies on solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation. Residents’ demographics including age, educational attainment, income level, gender, and employment fields are analyzed based on a survey study in Wuhan, China. Results of the regression analysis on the influence of demographic variables on residents’ expectations indicate that: (1) residents with different demographics have significantly different expectations of the Chinese government subsidies for adopting PV power generation facilities; (2) income, education attainment, and residents’ employment fields have a significant impact on their expectations of government subsidies. With these findings, this paper concludes with useful policy implications.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Energies in 2017
Authors:   Energies Editorial Office
Published: January 2018

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Energies maintains high quality standards for its published papers [...]
An Intelligent Fault Diagnosis Method for Bogie Bearings of Metro Vehicles Based on Weighted Improved D-S Evidence Theory
Authors: Liu Jianqiang , Chen Aifeng , Zhao Nan
Published: January 2018

Bogie bearings are very important for the safe and normal operation of metro vehicles. The prevailing fault diagnosis methods for bogie bearings generally utilize a single information source, such as vibration, temperature or acoustics. There are some shortcomings in these methods, including low accuracy and poor reliability. To address these shortcomings, this paper proposes an intelligent fault diagnosis method. Based on improved D-S (Dempster-Shafer) evidence theory, this method comprehensively analyzes vibration and temperature signals to diagnose bearing faults. In order to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method, this study designed the hardware device and constructed a test platform. Bogie bearings with faults occurring on the outer ring, inner ring and rolling elements were tested on this platform. The diagnosis accuracy rate of the proposed fusion algorithm reached 91%, and the misdiagnosis rate was only 2%. The test results showed that the proposed method can accurately and reliably realize fault diagnosis with a high accuracy rate and a low misdiagnosis rate compared to previous methods. Thus, the proposed fault diagnosis method can accurately and effectively identify the faults of metro vehicle bogie bearings.
Linking of Barriers to Energy Efficiency Improvement in Indonesia’s Steel Industry
Authors: Soepardi Apriani , Pratikto Pratikto , Santoso Purnomo Budi , Tama Ishardita Pambudi , Thollander Patrik
Published: January 2018

Energy use in Indonesia’s steel industry accounts for about 20–35% of total production costs. Consequently, energy end-use efficiency is a crucial measure that is used to reduce energy intensity and decrease production costs. This article aims to investigate the relationships among different barriers to energy efficiency improvement (EEI), using a framework with the following six constructs: government policy, the financial–economic factor, the managerial–organizational factor, the technological factor, workforce, and quality and type of feedstock and fuel used. The data were collected from steel firm practitioners in Indonesia, using a questionnaire to test our framework. The results demonstrate that the applied framework was applicable. We find that EEI is moderately influenced by all constructs but that the managerial–organizational factor has the greatest direct effect on improvements and is the most significant factor.
Variability after 15 Years of Vegetation Recovery in Natural Secondary Forest with Timber Harvesting at Different Intensities in Southeastern China: Community Diversity and Stability
Authors: Wu Zhilong , Zhou Chengjun , Zhou Xinnian , Hu Xisheng , Gan Jianbang
Published: January 2018

The mixed Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook., Pinus massoniana Lamb., and hardwood forest in southeastern China is a major assemblage in natural secondary forests, and of national and international importance in terms of both timber and ecosystem services. However, over-harvesting has threatened its long-term sustainability, and there is a knowledge gap relating to the effect of harvesting on the ecosystem. After conifer species were selected for harvesting, the mixed Chinese fir, pine, and hardwood forest was changed into mixed evergreen broadleaf forest. In this context, we observed the restoration dynamics of plant communities over a period of 15 years (1996 to 2011) with different levels of harvesting intensity, including selective harvesting at low (13.0% removal of growing stock volume), medium (29.1%), high (45.8%), and extra-high (67.1%) intensities, as well as clear-cut harvesting (100.0%), with non-harvesting as the control, based on permanent sample plots established in a randomized block design in these forests in southeastern China. The impact on the richness, diversity, and evenness of plant species derived from descriptive statistical analyses was shown to initially increase, and then decrease, with an increase in harvesting intensity. The most critical impacts were on the richness, diversity, and evenness of shrub and herb species. Richness, diversity, and evenness of plant species recovered and increased under selective harvesting at low and medium intensities, while these parameters had not recovered and significantly decreased under selective harvesting at high and extra-high intensities, as well as with clear-cut harvesting. The impact on the plant community stability was derived from the stability test method of the improved Godron M. The plant community stability was closest to the point of stability (20/80) under selective harvesting at medium intensity, followed by selective harvesting at low intensity. The plant community stability was far from the point of stability (20/80) under selective harvesting at high and extra-high intensities, as well as with clear-cut harvesting. Of these treatments, clear-cut harvesting had the greatest effect with regard to reducing stability. Therefore, these results indicate that the selective harvesting at low and medium intensities is conducive to preserve or increase the species diversity and community stability. In order to prioritize promoting plant species diversity, clear-cut harvesting and selective harvesting at high and extra-high intensities should be avoided with regard to this type of forest in this region. This study sheds light on the practice of forest operation in the study region and subtropical forests with the same environment.
Kinematic Reconstruction of a Deep-Seated Gravitational Slope Deformation by Geomorphic Analyses
Authors: Morelli Stefano , Pazzi Veronica , Frodella William , Fanti Riccardo
Published: January 2018

On 4 November 2010, a deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (North Italy) reactivated with sudden ground movement. A 450,000 m2 mountainous area moved some metres downslope, but the undeniable signs were only connected to the triggering of a debris flow from the bulging area’s detrital cover and the presence of a continuous perimeter fracture near the crown area. Based on two detailed LiDAR surveys (2 m × 2 m) performed just a few days before and after the event, a quantitative topographic analysis was performed in a GIS environment, integrating morphometric terrain parameters (slope, aspect, surface roughness, hill shade, and curvature). The DEMs analysis highlighted some morphological changes related to deeper as well as shallow movements. Both global and sectorial displacements were widely verified and discussed, finally inferring that the geometry, persistence, and layout of all movements properly justify each current morphostructure, which has the shape of a typical Sackung-type structure with impulsive kinematics. Moreover, a targeted field survey allowed specific clues to be found that confirmed the global deduced dynamics of the slope deformation. Finally, thanks to a ground-based interferometric radar system (GB-InSAR) that was installed a few days after the reactivation, the residual deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (DSGSD) movements were also monitored. In the landslide lower bulging area, a localized material progression of small entities was observed for some months after the parossistic event, indicating a slow dissipation of forces in sectors more distant from the crown area.
Ground-Based Measurements of the 2014–2015 Holuhraun Volcanic Cloud (Iceland)
Authors: Pfeffer Melissa , Bergsson Baldur , Barsotti Sara , Stefánsdóttir Gerður , Galle Bo , Arellano Santiago , Conde Vladimir , Donovan Amy , Ilyinskaya Evgenia , Burton Mike , Aiuppa Alessandro , Whitty Rachel , Simmons Isla , Arason Þórður , Jónasdóttir Elín , Keller Nicole , Yeo Richard , Arngrímsson Hermann , Jóhannsson Þorsteinn , Butwin Mary , Askew Robert , Dumont Stéphanie , Von Löwis Sibylle , Ingvarsson Þorgils , La Spina Alessandro , Thomas Helen , Prata Fred , Grassa Fausto , Giudice Gaetano , Stefánsson Andri , Marzano Frank , Montopoli Mario , Mereu Luigi
Published: January 2018

The 2014–2015 Bárðarbunga fissure eruption at Holuhraun in central Iceland was distinguished by the high emission of gases, in total 9.6 Mt SO2, with almost no tephra. This work collates all ground-based measurements of this extraordinary eruption cloud made under particularly challenging conditions: remote location, optically dense cloud with high SO2 column amounts, low UV intensity, frequent clouds and precipitation, an extensive and hot lava field, developing ramparts, and high-latitude winter conditions. Semi-continuous measurements of SO2 flux with three scanning DOAS instruments were augmented by car traverses along the ring-road and along the lava. The ratios of other gases/SO2 were measured by OP-FTIR, MultiGAS, and filter packs. Ratios of SO2/HCl = 30–110 and SO2/HF = 30–130 show a halogen-poor eruption cloud. Scientists on-site reported extremely minor tephra production during the eruption. OPC and filter packs showed low particle concentrations similar to non-eruption cloud conditions. Three weather radars detected a droplet-rich eruption cloud. Top of eruption cloud heights of 0.3–5.5 km agl were measured with ground- and aircraft-based visual observations, web camera and NicAIR II infrared images, triangulation of scanning DOAS instruments, and the location of SO2 peaks measured by DOAS traverses. Cloud height and emission rate measurements were critical for initializing gas dispersal simulations for hazard forecasting.
Sustainable Transportation Attitudes and Health Behavior Change: Evaluation of a Brief Stage-Targeted Video Intervention
Authors: Mundorf Norbert , Redding Colleen , Paiva Andrea
Published: January 2018

Promoting physical activity and sustainable transportation is essential in the face of rising health care costs, obesity rates, and other public health threats resulting from lack of physical activity. Targeted communications can encourage distinct population segments to adopt active and sustainable transportation modes. Our work is designed to promote the health, social, and environmental benefits of sustainable/active transportation (ST) using the Transtheoretical Model of Change (TTM), which has been successfully applied to a range of health, and more recently, sustainability behaviors. Earlier, measurement development confirmed both the structure of ST pros and cons and efficacy measures as well as the relationship between these constructs and ST stages of change, replicating results found for many other behaviors. The present paper discusses a brief pre-post video pilot intervention study designed for precontemplators and contemplators (N = 604) that was well received, effective in moving respondents towards increased readiness for ST behavior change, and improving some ST attitudes, significantly reducing the cons of ST. This research program shows that a brief stage-targeted behavior change video can increase readiness and reduce the cons for healthy transportation choices.
Comparison of Split Window Algorithms for Retrieving Measurements of Sea Surface Temperature from MODIS Data in Near-Land Coastal Waters
Authors: Cavalli Rosa
Published: January 2018

Split window (SW) methods, which have been successfully used to retrieve measurements of land surface temperature (LST) and sea surface temperature (SST) from MODIS images, were exploited to evaluate the SST data of three sections of Italian coastal waters. For this purpose, sea surface emissivity (SSE) values were estimated by adding the effects of salinity and total suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations, sea surface wind speed, and zenith observation angle. The total column atmospheric water vapor contents were retrieved from MODIS data. SST data retrieved from MODIS images using these algorithms were compared with SSTskin measurements evaluated from in situ data. The comparison showed that the algorithms for retrieving LST measurements minimized the error in SST data in near-land coastal waters with respect to the algorithms for retrieving SST measurements: a method for retrieving LST measurements highlighted the smallest root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) value (0.48 K) and values of maximum bias and standard deviation (σ) equal to −3.45 K and 0.41 K; the current operation algorithm for retrieving LST data highlighted the smallest values of maximum bias and σ (−1.37 K and 0.35 K) and an RMSD value of 0.66 K; and the current operation algorithm for retrieving global measurements of SST showed values of RMSD, maximum bias, and σ equal to 0.68 K, −1.90 K, and 0.40 K, respectively.
Halfway between 2D and Animal Models: Are 3D Cultures the Ideal Tool to Study Cancer-Microenvironment Interactions?
Authors: Hoarau-Véchot Jessica , Rafii Arash , Touboul Cyril , Pasquier Jennifer
Published: January 2018

An area that has come to be of tremendous interest in tumor research in the last decade is the role of the microenvironment in the biology of neoplastic diseases. The tumor microenvironment (TME) comprises various cells that are collectively important for normal tissue homeostasis as well as tumor progression or regression. Seminal studies have demonstrated the role of the dialogue between cancer cells (at many sites) and the cellular component of the microenvironment in tumor progression, metastasis, and resistance to treatment. Using an appropriate system of microenvironment and tumor culture is the first step towards a better understanding of the complex interaction between cancer cells and their surroundings. Three-dimensional (3D) models have been widely described recently. However, while it is claimed that they can bridge the gap between in vitro and in vivo, it is sometimes hard to decipher their advantage or limitation compared to classical two-dimensional (2D) cultures, especially given the broad number of techniques used. We present here a comprehensive review of the different 3D methods developed recently, and, secondly, we discuss the pros and cons of 3D culture compared to 2D when studying interactions between cancer cells and their microenvironment.
Algorithms for Optimization of Processor and Memory Affinity for Remote Core Locking Synchronization in Multithreaded Applications
Authors: Paznikov Alexey , Shichkina Yulia
Published: January 2018

This paper proposes algorithms for optimization of the Remote Core Locking (RCL) synchronization method in multithreaded programs. We propose an algorithm for the initialization of RCL-locks and an algorithm for thread affinity optimization. The algorithms consider the structures of hierarchical computer systems and non-uniform memory access (NUMA) in order to minimize the execution time of multithreaded programs with RCL. The experimental results on multi-core computer systems show the reduction of execution time for programs with RCL.
Effect of Land Use Change on Soil Carbon Storage over the Last 40 Years in the Shi Yang River Basin, China
Authors: Yang Shurong , Sheng Danrui , Adamowski Jan , Gong Yifan , Zhang Jian , Cao Jianjun
Published: January 2018

Accounting for one quarter of China’s land area, the endorheic Shiyang River basin is a vast semi-arid to arid region in China’s northwest. Exploring the impact of changes in land use on this arid area’s carbon budget under global warming is a key component to global climate change research. Variation in the region’s soil carbon storage due to land use changes occurring between 1973 and 2012 was estimated. The results show that land use change has a significant impact on the soil carbon budget, with soil carbon storage having decreased by 3.89 Tg between 1973 and 2012. Grassland stored the greatest amount of soil carbon (114.34 Mg ha−1), whereas considerably lower carbon storage occurred in woodland (58.53 Mg ha−1), cropland (26.75 Mg ha−1) and unused land (13.47 Mg ha−1). Grasslands transformed into cropland, and woodlands degraded into grassland have substantially reduced soil carbon storage, suggesting that measures should be adopted to reverse this trend to improve soil productivity.
Acknowledgement to Reviewers of Mathematics in 2017
Authors:   Mathematics Editorial Office
Published: January 2018

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Mathematics maintains high quality standards for its published papers.[...]
Thermophysical and Mechanical Analyses of UO2-36.4vol % BeO Fuel Pellets with Zircaloy, SiC, and FeCrAl Claddings
Authors: Zhou Wei , Zhou Wenzhong
Published: January 2018

The thermophysical performance and solid mechanics behavior of UO2-36.4vol % BeO fuel pellets cladded with Zircaloy, SiC, and FeCrAl, and Zircaloy cladding materials coated with SiC and FeCrAl, are investigated based on simulation results obtained by the CAMPUS code. In addition, the effect of coating thickness (0.5, 1 and 1.5 mm) on fuel performance and mechanical interaction is discussed. The modeling results show that Zircaloy claddings are more effective in decreasing fuel centerline temperature and fission gas release than other kinds of cladding material because of the smaller gap between cladding and fuel at the same burnup. SiC claddings and SiC-coated Zircaloy claddings possess smaller plenum pressure than other kinds of cladding. SiC claddings contribute more to fuel radial displacement but less to fuel axial displacement. FeCrAl claddings exhibit very different radial and axial displacements in different axial positions. FeCrAl-coated Zircaloy claddings have a lower fuel centerline temperature than Zircaloy claddings at burnup below 850 MWh/kg U, but a higher fuel centerline temperature at higher burnup. The gap between FeCrAl-coated Zircaloy claddings and fuel pellets closes earlier than that of Zircaloy claddings. SiC-coated claddings increase fuel radial and axial displacements, and cladding axial displacements of inner and outer cladding surfaces.
Enhanced Isotopic Ratio Outlier Analysis (IROA) Peak Detection and Identification with Ultra-High Resolution GC-Orbitrap/MS: Potential Application for Investigation of Model Organism Metabolomes
Authors: Qiu Yunping , Moir Robyn , Willis Ian , Seethapathy Suresh , Biniakewitz Robert , Kurland Irwin
Published: January 2018

Identifying non-annotated peaks may have a significant impact on the understanding of biological systems. In silico methodologies have focused on ESI LC/MS/MS for identifying non-annotated MS peaks. In this study, we employed in silico methodology to develop an Isotopic Ratio Outlier Analysis (IROA) workflow using enhanced mass spectrometric data acquired with the ultra-high resolution GC-Orbitrap/MS to determine the identity of non-annotated metabolites. The higher resolution of the GC-Orbitrap/MS, together with its wide dynamic range, resulted in more IROA peak pairs detected, and increased reliability of chemical formulae generation (CFG). IROA uses two different 13C-enriched carbon sources (randomized 95% 12C and 95% 13C) to produce mirror image isotopologue pairs, whose mass difference reveals the carbon chain length (n), which aids in the identification of endogenous metabolites. Accurate m/z, n, and derivatization information are obtained from our GC/MS workflow for unknown metabolite identification, and aids in silico methodologies for identifying isomeric and non-annotated metabolites. We were able to mine more mass spectral information using the same Saccharomyces cerevisiae growth protocol (Qiu et al. Anal. Chem 2016) with the ultra-high resolution GC-Orbitrap/MS, using 10% ammonia in methane as the CI reagent gas. We identified 244 IROA peaks pairs, which significantly increased IROA detection capability compared with our previous report (126 IROA peak pairs using a GC-TOF/MS machine). For 55 selected metabolites identified from matched IROA CI and EI spectra, using the GC-Orbitrap/MS vs. GC-TOF/MS, the average mass deviation for GC-Orbitrap/MS was 1.48 ppm, however, the average mass deviation was 32.2 ppm for the GC-TOF/MS machine. In summary, the higher resolution and wider dynamic range of the GC-Orbitrap/MS enabled more accurate CFG, and the coupling of accurate mass GC/MS IROA methodology with in silico fragmentation has great potential in unknown metabolite identification, with applications for characterizing model organism networks.
Filaments Production and Fused Deposition Modelling of ABS/Carbon Nanotubes Composites
Authors: Dul Sithiprumnea , Fambri Luca , Pegoretti Alessandro
Published: January 2018

Composite acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS)/carbon nanotubes (CNT) filaments at 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 wt %, suitable for fused deposition modelling (FDM) were obtained by using a completely solvent-free process based on direct melt compounding and extrusion. The optimal CNT content in the filaments for FDM was found to be 6 wt %; for this composite, a detailed investigation of the thermal, mechanical and electrical properties was performed. Presence of CNT in ABS filaments and 3D-printed parts resulted in a significant enhancement of the tensile modulus and strength, accompanied by a reduction of the elongation at break. As documented by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, the stiffening effect of CNTs in ABS is particularly pronounced at high temperatures. Besides, the presence of CNT in 3D-printed parts accounts for better creep and thermal dimensional stabilities of 3D-printed parts, accompanied by a reduction of the coefficient of thermal expansion). 3D-printed nanocomposite samples with 6 wt % of CNT exhibited a good electrical conductivity, even if lower than pristine composite filaments.
Poly(carbonate urethane)-Based Thermogels with Enhanced Drug Release Efficacy for Chemotherapeutic Applications
Authors: Chan Benjamin , Cheng Hongwei , Liow Sing , Dou Qingqing , Wu Yun-Long , Loh Xian , Li Zibiao
Published: January 2018

In this study, we report the synthesis and characterisation of a thermogelling poly(carbonate urethane) system comprising poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) and poly(polytetrahydrofuran carbonate) (PTHF carbonate). The incorporation of PTHF carbonate allowed for the control of the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and decreased critical gelation concentration (CGC) of the thermogels significantly. In addition, the as-prepared thermogels displayed low toxicity against HepG2, L02 and HEK293T cells. Drug release studies were carried out using doxorubicin (Dox). Studies conducted using nude mice models with hepatocellular carcinoma revealed that the Dox-loaded poly(PEG/PPG/PTHF carbonate urethane) thermogels showed excellent in vivo anti-tumour performance and effectively inhibited tumour growth in the tested model.
A CNN-Based Method of Vehicle Detection from Aerial Images Using Hard Example Mining
Authors: Koga Yohei , Miyazaki Hiroyuki , Shibasaki Ryosuke
Published: January 2018

Recently, deep learning techniques have had a practical role in vehicle detection. While much effort has been spent on applying deep learning to vehicle detection, the effective use of training data has not been thoroughly studied, although it has great potential for improving training results, especially in cases where the training data are sparse. In this paper, we proposed using hard example mining (HEM) in the training process of a convolutional neural network (CNN) for vehicle detection in aerial images. We applied HEM to stochastic gradient descent (SGD) to choose the most informative training data by calculating the loss values in each batch and employing the examples with the largest losses. We picked 100 out of both 500 and 1000 examples for training in one iteration, and we tested different ratios of positive to negative examples in the training data to evaluate how the balance of positive and negative examples would affect the performance. In any case, our method always outperformed the plain SGD. The experimental results for images from New York showed improved performance over a CNN trained in plain SGD where the F1 score of our method was 0.02 higher.
Stability Assessment of the (A)ATSR Sea Surface Temperature Climate Dataset from the European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative
Authors: Berry David , Corlett Gary , Embury Owen , Merchant Christopher
Published: January 2018

Sea surface temperature is a key component of the climate record, with multiple independent records giving confidence in observed changes. As part of the European Space Agencies (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) the satellite archives have been reprocessed with the aim of creating a new dataset that is independent of the in situ observations, and stable with no artificial drift (<0.1 K decade−1 globally) or step changes. We present a method to assess the satellite sea surface temperature (SST) record for step changes using the Penalized Maximal t Test (PMT) applied to aggregate time series. We demonstrated the application of the method using data from version EXP1.8 of the ESA SST CCI dataset averaged on a 7 km grid and in situ observations from moored buoys, drifting buoys and Argo floats. The CCI dataset was shown to be stable after ~1994, with minimal divergence (~0.01 K decade−1) between the CCI data and in situ observations. Two steps were identified due to the failure of a gyroscope on the ERS-2 satellite, and subsequent correction mechanisms applied. These had minimal impact on the stability due to having equal magnitudes but opposite signs. The statistical power and false alarm rate of the method were assessed.
Automatic Ship Detection in Remote Sensing Images from Google Earth of Complex Scenes Based on Multiscale Rotation Dense Feature Pyramid Networks
Authors: Yang Xue , Sun Hao , Fu Kun , Yang Jirui , Sun Xian , Yan Menglong , Guo Zhi
Published: January 2018

Ship detection has been playing a significant role in the field of remote sensing for a long time, but it is still full of challenges. The main limitations of traditional ship detection methods usually lie in the complexity of application scenarios, the difficulty of intensive object detection, and the redundancy of the detection region. In order to solve these problems above, we propose a framework called Rotation Dense Feature Pyramid Networks (R-DFPN) which can effectively detect ships in different scenes including ocean and port. Specifically, we put forward the Dense Feature Pyramid Network (DFPN), which is aimed at solving problems resulting from the narrow width of the ship. Compared with previous multiscale detectors such as Feature Pyramid Network (FPN), DFPN builds high-level semantic feature-maps for all scales by means of dense connections, through which feature propagation is enhanced and feature reuse is encouraged. Additionally, in the case of ship rotation and dense arrangement, we design a rotation anchor strategy to predict the minimum circumscribed rectangle of the object so as to reduce the redundant detection region and improve the recall. Furthermore, we also propose multiscale region of interest (ROI) Align for the purpose of maintaining the completeness of the semantic and spatial information. Experiments based on remote sensing images from Google Earth for ship detection show that our detection method based on R-DFPN representation has state-of-the-art performance.
Unsupervised Clustering Method for Complexity Reduction of Terrestrial Lidar Data in Marshes
Authors: Nguyen Chuyen , Starek Michael , Tissot Philippe , Gibeaut James
Published: January 2018

Accurate characterization of marsh elevation and landcover evolution is important for coastal management and conservation. This research proposes a novel unsupervised clustering method specifically developed for segmenting dense terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data in coastal marsh environments. The framework implements unsupervised clustering with the well-known K-means algorithm by applying an optimization to determine the “k” clusters. The fundamental idea behind this novel framework is the application of multi-scale voxel representation of 3D space to create a set of features that characterizes the local complexity and geometry of the terrain. A combination of point- and voxel-generated features are utilized to segment 3D point clouds into homogenous groups in order to study surface changes and vegetation cover. Results suggest that the combination of point and voxel features represent the dataset well. The developed method compresses millions of 3D points representing the complex marsh environment into eight distinct clusters representing different landcover: tidal flat, mangrove, low marsh to high marsh, upland, and power lines. A quantitative assessment of the automated delineation of the tidal flat areas shows acceptable results considering the proposed method is unsupervised with no training data. Clustering results based on K-means are also compared to results based on the Self Organizing Map (SOM) clustering algorithm. Results demonstrate that the developed multi-scale voxelization approach and representative feature set are transferrable to other clustering algorithms, thereby providing an unsupervised framework for intelligent scene segmentation of TLS point cloud data in marshes.