bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pricing and Logistics Service Decisions in Platform-Led Electronic Closed-Loop Supply Chain with Remanufacturing
Authors: Liu Kai , Li Chunfa , Gu Runde
Published: October 2021

With the continuous development of e-commerce, it has become normal for the manufacturer to sell products and to collect used products through e-commerce platforms (platform for short). We consider an electronic closed-loop supply chain (E-CLSC) where we composed a manufacturer with remanufacturing capability and a platform that can provide logistics services. The purpose of this paper is to address whether the manufacturer should directly collect used products from the consumer under the platform. Specifically, we have developed four game models, namely model N (no collection), model M (the manufacturer collects), model E (the platform collects), and model T (the third-party collects) and derived the optimal pricing decisions, logistics service level, and collection rate for E-CLSC members. We found that remanufacturing used products is conducive to increasing the profits of the manufacturer and the platform as well as to increasing the utility of the consumer. Under the same conditions, for the manufacturer, the platform, and the consumer, the optimal choice is that the manufacturer directly collects the used products from the consumer. If the manufacturer is unable to establish an effective collection channel, he should consider outsourcing to a contractor and should consider the platform to be under the same conditions. Numerical examples are also given to verify the proposed results.
Discourse and Practice of REDD+ in Ghana and the Expansion of State Power
Authors: Johnson Shannon
Published: October 2021

Green market mechanisms, as part of the architecture of climate finance, have become key components of international environmental frameworks. One of the most widely known mechanisms for climate change mitigation has been the creation of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). The purpose of this paper is to trace global discourses and narratives throughout REDD+ official documents and compare them to the implementation on the ground to determine the extent that REDD+ meets its stated objectives in the Ghanaian context. Then, given the gaps in discourse and practice, this paper aims to define the inexplicit consequences, or rather instrumental effects, of REDD+. Discourse analysis of official REDD+ documents and land policies combined with qualitative interviews and focus groups to determine the linkages between discourse and practice of REDD+ and the impacts of these gaps. While critical civic environmentalism, highlighting environmental justice as a core principle, was somewhat incorporated into official discourse from the international to the national level, the depoliticization of the discourse and the apolitical nature of interventions make these justice concerns negligible and create gaps in discourse and practice. These gaps create disjointed, infeasible policies that establish REDD+ as a fad to bring in financial resources that expand state control of forest resources under the veil of social-ecological responsibility. As a result, state power expands into rural areas, allowing for greater control over land and forests at the expense of local communities.
UAV-Based Bridge Inspection via Transfer Learning
Authors: Aliyari Mostafa , Droguett Enrique Lopez , Ayele Yonas Zewdu
Published: October 2021

As bridge inspection becomes more advanced and more ubiquitous, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, such as machine and deep learning, could offer suitable solutions to the nation’s problems of overdue bridge inspections. AI coupling with various data that can be captured by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) enables fully automated bridge inspections. The key to the success of automated bridge inspection is a model capable of detecting failures from UAV data like images and films. In this context, this paper investigates the performances of state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks (CNNs) through transfer learning for crack detection in UAV-based bridge inspection. The performance of different CNN models is evaluated via UAV-based inspection of Skodsberg Bridge, located in eastern Norway. The low-level features are extracted in the last layers of the CNN models and these layers are trained using 19,023 crack and non-crack images. There is always a trade-off between the number of trainable parameters that CNN models need to learn for each specific task and the number of non-trainable parameters that come from transfer learning. Therefore, selecting the optimized amount of transfer learning is a challenging task and, as there is not enough research in this area, it will be studied in this paper. Moreover, UAV-based bridge inception images require specific attention to establish a suitable dataset as the input of CNN models that are trained on homogenous images. However, in the real implementation of CNN models in UAV-based bridge inspection images, there are always heterogeneities and noises, such as natural and artificial effects like different luminosities, spatial positions, and colors of the elements in an image. In this study, the effects of such heterogeneities on the performance of CNN models via transfer learning are examined. The results demonstrate that with a simplified image cropping technique and with minimum effort to preprocess images, CNN models can identify crack elements from non-crack elements with 81% accuracy. Moreover, the results show that heterogeneities inherent in UAV-based bridge inspection data significantly affect the performance of CNN models with an average 32.6% decrease of accuracy of the CNN models. It is also found that deeper CNN models do not provide higher accuracy compared to the shallower CNN models when the number of images for adoption to a specific task, in this case crack detection, is not large enough; in this study, 19,023 images and shallower models outperform the deeper models.
How to Communicate Sustainability: From the Corporate Web to E-Commerce. The Case of the Fashion Industry
Authors: SanMiguel Patricia , Pérez-Bou Silvia , Sádaba Teresa , Mir-Bernal Pedro
Published: October 2021

Sustainability strategy at companies has become a key business and management aspect for the development and success of an enterprise. The communication of strategies and actions relating to sustainability has become increasingly important for both companies and brands. This research studies the communication process that forms part of the sustainable strategy of fashion companies, ranging from the corporate website to e-commerce, and it proposes improvements for sustainability communication. Two new models are presented: the Operational Model for Evaluating Fashion Corporate Websites (OMEFCW) and the Operational Model for Evaluating Fashion E-Commerce (OMEFeC), based on the core dimensions of online sustainability communication (orientation, structure, ergonomics and content—OSEC), as established by Siano. In order to obtain an optimal view of the fashion industry, four corporate groups—two luxury fashion groups (Kering Group and Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH)) and two fast fashion groups (H&M Group and Intidex)—are compared. In addition, all of the e-commerce operations of the groups’ fashion brands are analyzed, a total of 32 brands. The results show that it is necessary to continue improving in terms of the communication of sustainability within the fashion industry, whilst demonstrating the great deficiency that exists regarding the communication of sustainability in the case of the brands’ e-commerce operations, which are precisely the web pages most visited by consumers.
Limits of Negotiable Developer Obligations
Authors: Hendricks Andreas , Lacoere Peter , Krabben Erwin van der , Oorschot Cynthia
Published: October 2021

Many local authorities apply public value capture on new developments to cover the costs of additional public services. The development obligations (DO) they apply can be either negotiable (NDO) or non-negotiable (NNDO). This article examines the limits of NDOs by comparing three national case studies according to the basic principles of proportionality, causality, connection, and lack of transparency for developers. Well-developed building land models and a delineation of applicable cost types offer more transparency for the developer and enable the municipal authorities to establish a fairer distribution of burdens based on actual benefit.
An Optimization-Based System Dynamics Simulation for Sustainable Policy Design in WEEE Management Systems
Authors: Llerena-Riascos Camilo , Jaén Sebastián , Montoya-Torres Jairo Rafael , Villegas Juan G.
Published: October 2021

The increase in the use of electrical and electronic devices worldwide has created a rapid growth of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The current paper presents an optimization-based simulation (OBS) approach that allows the design of sustainable WEEE management system policies. The proposed OBS approach integrates a system dynamics (SD) model and a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model to improve the representation and performance of the WEEE processes considering their operative and strategic interdependence. The SD component elicits the complexity of the WEEE generation process. Complementarily, the MINLP model periodically optimizes key variables of the WEEE management system. Computational results in a case study based on WEEE from Colombian mobile phones illustrates how an approach solely based on SD simulation is unable to capture the operative-strategic nature of the system and perform optimal parameter updates. By contrast, the OBS approach of this paper outperforms an exclusive SD analysis both in the economic and environmental performance of the system. It obtains 33% more profits and 65% more environmental benefits. Moreover, for this case study, the model suggests that the cornerstone of the WEEE management system for increasing its performance is the replacement rate.
Symplectic All-at-Once Method for Hamiltonian Systems
Authors: Zhu Bei-Bei , Zhao Yong-Liang
Published: October 2021

The all-at-once technique has attracted many researchers’ interest in recent years. In this paper, we combine this technique with a classical symplectic and symmetric method for solving Hamiltonian systems. The solutions at all time steps are obtained at one-shot. In order to reduce the computational cost of solving the all-at-once system, a fast algorithm is designed. Numerical experiments of Hamiltonian systems with degrees of freedom n≤3 are provided to show that our method is more efficient than the classical symplectic method.
Theory of Spinors in Curved Space-Time
Authors: Gu Ying-Qiu
Published: October 2021

By means of Clifford Algebra, a unified language and tool to describe the rules of nature, this paper systematically discusses the dynamics and properties of spinor fields in curved space-time, such as the decomposition of the spinor connection, the classical approximation of the Dirac equation, the energy-momentum tensor of spinors and so on. To split the spinor connection into the Keller connection Υμ∈Λ1 and the pseudo-vector potential Ωμ∈Λ3 not only makes the calculation simpler, but also highlights their different physical meanings. The representation of the new spinor connection is dependent only on the metric, but not on the Dirac matrix. Only in the new form of connection can we clearly define the classical concepts for the spinor field and then derive its complete classical dynamics, that is, Newton’s second law of particles. To study the interaction between space-time and fermion, we need an explicit form of the energy-momentum tensor of spinor fields; however, the energy-momentum tensor is closely related to the tetrad, and the tetrad cannot be uniquely determined by the metric. This uncertainty increases the difficulty of deriving rigorous expression. In this paper, through a specific representation of tetrad, we derive the concrete energy-momentum tensor and its classical approximation. In the derivation of energy-momentum tensor, we obtain a spinor coefficient table Sabμν, which plays an important role in the interaction between spinor and gravity. From this paper we find that Clifford algebra has irreplaceable advantages in the study of geometry and physics.
On Weighted Simpson’s
38 Rule
Authors: Rostamian Delavar Mohsen , Kashuri Artion , De La Sen Manuel
Published: October 2021

Numerical approximations of definite integrals and related error estimations can be made using Simpson’s rules (inequalities). There are two well-known rules: Simpson’s 13 rule or Simpson’s quadrature formula and Simpson’s 38 rule or Simpson’s second formula. The aim of the present paper is to extend several inequalities that hold for Simpson’s 13 rule to Simpson’s 38 rule. More precisely, we prove a weighted version of Simpson’s second type inequality and some Simpson’s second type inequalities for Lipschitzian, bounded variations, convex functions and the functions that belong to Lq. Some applications of the second type Simpson’s inequalities relate to approximations of special means and Simpson’s 38 formula, and moments of random variables are made.
Behavioral Implications in COVID-19 Spread and Vaccinations
Authors: Chichakly Karim
Published: October 2021

COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered quickly in the USA. However, a surprisingly large number of Americans are unwilling to get vaccinated. Without enough people getting vaccinated, the pandemic will not end. The longer the pandemic persists, the more opportunities exist for more virulent strains to emerge. This model looks at the effects of people’s behavior in containing and ending the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA. Human behavior adds several feedback loops to the standard SEIR model. Comparisons are made between cases with and without behavior loops, with reduced adherence to the recommended or mandated masks and social distancing, with and without the vaccine, and the effects of an early mask mandate termination. The results suggest human behavior must be accounted for in epidemiology models and that removing masks before enough vaccine are administered not only puts those vaccinated at risk, but allows the disease to readily spread again.
Influence of Electronic Cigarettes on Antioxidant Capacity and Nucleotide Metabolites in Saliva
Authors: Cichońska Dominika , Król Oliwia , Słomińska Ewa M. , Kochańska Barbara , Świetlik Dariusz , Ochocińska Jolanta , Kusiak Aida
Published: October 2021

The balance between reactive oxygen species production and the activity of antioxidant systems present in saliva is an important element in maintaining oral environment homeostasis. E-cigarettes adversely affect the oral cavity and their cytotoxic effect is related to oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of using electronic cigarettes on antioxidant capacity of saliva. The study involved 110 subjects (35 e-cigarettes users, 33 traditional cigarettes smokers and 42 non-smokers). Laboratory analysis involved quantitation of uric acid, hypoxanthine, xanthine, TAOS (total antioxidant status) and TEAC (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity) in saliva. Lower values for TAOS and TEAC were observed among e-cigarettes users and traditional cigarettes smokers in comparison to non-smokers. Uric acid concentration tended to be higher among e-cigarettes users while no differences in hypoxanthine and xanthine saliva concentrations were observed. Electronic cigarettes usage affects antioxidant capacity of saliva to the same extent as traditional cigarettes, when comparing smokers to non-smokers. Further longitudinal studies on a larger study group are needed to assess the effect of changes in antioxidant status on oral health.
Removal of Antimony(V) from Drinking Water Using nZVI/AC: Optimization of Batch and Fix Bed Conditions
Authors: Zhu Huijie , Huang Qiang , Fu Shuai , Zhang Xiuji , Yang Zhe , Lu Jianhong , Liu Bo , Shi Mingyan , Zhang Junjie , Wen Xiaoping , Li Junlong
Published: October 2021

Antimony (Sb) traces in water pose a serious threat to human health due to their negative effects. In this work, nanoscale zero-valent iron (Fe0) supported on activated carbon (nZVI) was employed for eliminating Sb(V) from the drinking water. To better understand the overall process, the effects of several experimental variables, including pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), coexisting ions, and adsorption kinetics on the removal of Sb(V) from the SW were investigated by employing fixed-bed column runs or batch-adsorption methods. A pH of 4.5 and 72 h of equilibrium time were found to be the ideal conditions for drinking water. The presence of phosphate (PO43−), silicate (SiO42−), chromate (CrO42−) and arsenate (AsO43−) significantly decreased the rate of Sb(V) removal, while humic acid and other anions exhibited a negligible effect. The capacity for Sb(V) uptake decreased from 6.665 to 2.433 mg when the flow rate was increased from 5 to 10 mL·min−1. The dynamic adsorption penetration curves of Sb(V) were 116.4% and 144.1% with the weak magnetic field (WMF) in fixed-bed column runs. Considering the removal rate of Sb(V), reusability, operability, no release of Sb(V) after being incorporated into the iron (hydr)oxides structure, it can be concluded that WMF coupled with ZVI would be an effective Sb(V) immobilization technology for drinking water.
Epidemiology of Animal Poisonings in the Canary Islands (Spain) during the Period 2014–2021
Authors: Rial-Berriel Cristian , Acosta-Dacal Andrea , Zumbado Manuel , Henríquez-Hernández Luis , Rodríguez-Hernández Ángel , Macías-Montes Ana , Boada Luis , Travieso-Aja María , Martin-Cruz Beatriz , Suárez-Pérez Alejandro , Cabrera-Pérez Miguel , Luzardo Octavio
Published: October 2021

Animal poisoning is one of the greatest conservation threats facing wildlife. In a preliminary study in the oceanic archipelago of the Canary Islands, we showed that the degree of threat from this circumstance was very high-even higher than that reported in other regions of continental Europe. Consequently, a legal framework for the effective prosecution of the crime of wildlife poisoning came into force in 2014 in this region. We present the results of the investigation of 961 animals and 84 baits sent to our laboratory for the diagnosis of animal poisonings during the period 2014–2021. We were able to identify poison as the cause of death in 251 animals and 61 baits. Carbofuran stands out as the main agent used in this archipelago. We have also detected an increasing tendency to use mixtures of several pesticides in the preparation of baits. The entry into operation of two canine patrols has led to the detection of more dead animals in the wild and a greater number of poisoned animals. The percentage of poison positives is significantly higher in areas with lower population density, corresponding to rural environments, as well as in areas with greater agricultural and livestock activity.
Glycan Recognition in Human Norovirus Infections
Authors: Tenge Victoria R. , Hu Liya , Prasad B. V. Venkataram , Larson Göran , Atmar Robert L. , Estes Mary K. , Ramani Sasirekha
Published: October 2021

Recognition of cell-surface glycans is an important step in the attachment of several viruses to susceptible host cells. The molecular basis of glycan interactions and their functional consequences are well studied for human norovirus (HuNoV), an important gastrointestinal pathogen. Histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs), a family of fucosylated carbohydrate structures that are present on the cell surface, are utilized by HuNoVs to initially bind to cells. In this review, we describe the discovery of HBGAs as genetic susceptibility factors for HuNoV infection and review biochemical and structural studies investigating HuNoV binding to different HBGA glycans. Recently, human intestinal enteroids (HIEs) were developed as a laboratory cultivation system for HuNoV. We review how the use of this novel culture system has confirmed that fucosylated HBGAs are necessary and sufficient for infection by several HuNoV strains, describe mechanisms of antibody-mediated neutralization of infection that involve blocking of HuNoV binding to HBGAs, and discuss the potential for using the HIE model to answer unresolved questions on viral interactions with HBGAs and other glycans.
A GIS-Based Groundwater Contamination Assessment Using Modified DRASTIC Geospatial Technique
Authors: Maqsoom Ahsen , Aslam Bilal , Alwetaishi Mamdooh , Awais Muhammad , Hassan Usman , Maqsoom Sidra , Alaloul Wesam Salah , Musarat Muhammad Ali , Zerouali Bilel , Hussein Enas E.
Published: October 2021

Groundwater contamination along with anthropogenic actions and land use forms are increasing threats in urbanized zones around the world. Additionally, water quality and quantity are declining due to urbanization development. DRASTIC parameters (depth to the water table, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, impact of the vadose zone, hydraulic conductivity) were considered to investigate hydrological characteristics for assessment of contamination. Having a major effect of anthropogenic activities, various susceptibility zones were produced by modifying the DRASTIC model into DRASTICA, integrating anthropogenic effects as the “A” parameter in an alphabetic system. After the assessment, the research exposes that from the total area, 14% is under very high susceptibility, 44% is of high susceptibility, 39% is of moderate susceptibility, and 3% is of low susceptibility to groundwater pollution. The results in the built-up areas and based on the parameter of nitrate in quality of water show that the altered DRASTIC model or DRASTICA model proved to give better outcomes compared with the usual DRASTIC model. The policy advisers and management authorities must use the analysis data as precaution measures so that future calamities can be avoided.
Ionic Liquid-Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Nanocomposite Based All Solid State Ion-Selective Electrode for the Determination of Copper in Water Samples
Authors: Wardak Cecylia , Pietrzak Karolina , Grabarczyk Małgorzata
Published: October 2021

A new copper sensitive all solid-state ion-selective electrode was prepared using multiwalled carbon nanotubes-ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) nanocomposite as an additional membrane component. The effect of nanocomposite content in the membrane on the electrode parameters was investigated. The study compares, among others, detection limits, sensitivity, and the linearity ranges of calibration curves. Content 6 wt.% was considered optimal for obtaining an electrode with a Nernstian response of 29.8 mV/decade. An electrode with an optimal nanocomposite content in the membrane showed a lower limit of detection, a wider linear range and pH range, as well as better selectivity and potential stability compared to the unmodified electrode. It was successfully applied for copper determination in real water samples.
A Comparison of BPNN, GMDH, and ARIMA for Monthly Rainfall Forecasting Based on Wavelet Packet Decomposition
Authors: Wang Wenchuan , Du Yujin , Chau Kwokwing , Chen Haitao , Liu Changjun , Ma Qiang
Published: October 2021

Accurate rainfall forecasting in watersheds is of indispensable importance for predicting streamflow and flash floods. This paper investigates the accuracy of several forecasting technologies based on Wavelet Packet Decomposition (WPD) in monthly rainfall forecasting. First, WPD decomposes the observed monthly rainfall data into several subcomponents. Then, three data-based models, namely Back-propagation Neural Network (BPNN) model, group method of data handing (GMDH) model, and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, are utilized to complete the prediction of the decomposed monthly rainfall series, respectively. Finally, the ensemble prediction result of the model is formulated by summing the outputs of all submodules. Meanwhile, these six models are employed for benchmark comparison to study the prediction performance of these conjunction methods, which are BPNN, WPD-BPNN, GMDH, WPD-GMDH, ARIMA, and WPD-ARIMA models. The paper takes monthly data from Luoning and Zuoyu stations in Luoyang city of China as the case study. The performance of these conjunction methods is tested by four quantitative indexes. Results show that WPD can efficiently improve the forecasting accuracy and the proposed WPD-BPNN model can achieve better prediction results. It is concluded that the hybrid forecast model is a very efficient tool to improve the accuracy of mid- and long-term rainfall forecasting.
Impacts of Rainfall and Temperature Changes on Smallholder Agriculture in the Limpopo Province, South Africa
Authors: Shikwambana Sydney , Malaza Ntokozo , Shale Karabo
Published: October 2021

The intensity and frequency in the recurrence of extreme climate events are compounding the vulnerability of smallholder farmers, who have always lacked the resources to adapt. The increasing temperatures and decreasing rainfall are exacerbating water scarcity challenges through drought recurrence. There is an urgent need for pathways that lead towards Sustainable Development Goals, mainly Goals 1 (no poverty) and 2 (zero hunger) in poor rural communities. This study assessed rainfall and temperature trends from 1960 to 2018 and their impacts on crop production in the Mopani and Vhembe Districts of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Trend analysis was used to analyse rainfall patterns, as well as the trends in temperature recorded for the past 58 years. The climate moisture index (CMI) and runoff estimates were used to assess the degree of aridity and water availability, respectively. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remotely sensed data were used to assess the changes over time. The total annual rainfall has declined significantly while annual minimum and maximum temperatures have increased significantly during the period under observation. An aridity index of −0.70 calculated for the study areas classifies the districts as dry and water scarce. The results of the analysis also indicate that the districts are climate change hot spots, and are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The changes are compounding water and food insecurity. Policy and decision-makers should focus on enhancing adaptation and resilience initiatives in the study areas through systematic, transformative, and integrated approaches, such as scenario planning, circular economy, and nexus planning.
Effective Communication for Water Resilient Communities: A Conceptual Framework
Authors: Abu Bakar Mohammad Fahmi , Wu Wenyan , Proverbs David , Mavritsaki Eirini
Published: October 2021

Communication campaigns to promote the importance of water as a vital but limited resource have evolved in many ways. Nowadays, the resources, techniques and skills to deliver effective communication campaigns are far greater than ever before. Over the past decades, there has been a significant body of research towards improving water conservation campaign communication but with limited success in promoting more resilient behaviours on behalf of water consumers. While the media and technology have rapidly evolved and awareness among consumers may have increased, this has not been sufficient to make the communication effective in changing behaviour. Communications to promote resilience among consumers need to reach a wide audience, capture audiences’ attention, build awareness and motivate water consumers to consume water sustainably. This represents a subject in need of further theoretical and conceptual investigation. This research reviews various approaches to effective communication and through a synthesis of the concepts aims to present a new, socio-psychological water conservation conceptual framework. The present conceptual framework integrates emotional appeal, for use on social media platforms and in order to foster more water resilient communities. This framework represents a potentially major contribution in providing guidelines for water sectors to deliver effective video communications on social media platforms.
Evaluating the Cost of Failure Risk: A Case Study of the Kang-Wei-Kou Stream Diversion Project
Authors: Liang Chung-Yuan , Wang Yuan-Heng , You Gene Jiing-Yun , Chen Po-Chun , Lo Emilie
Published: October 2021

For water resource engineering projects, some potential risks that are unclear and difficult to investigate are the most crucial problem for engineers. This study presents a unique case of unknown risks, the Kang-Wei-Kou (KWK) Diversion project, which collapsed due to an unexpected hydraulic jump resulting from uneven regional rainfall. We used HEC-RAS incorporating Monte Carlo simulations for analyzing the potential risks to the original design of the KWK Diversion, concerning boundary conditions. An extreme value type I distribution was selected as the form of probability density function (PDF) to upstream discharge, whereas a normal distribution was selected as the form of PDF to downstream water depth, as boundary conditions. Applying the Monte Carlo method, the analysis revealed that the probability of failure was 7.5%, which was non-negligible and should have been considered in the design plan. This case study indicates that overlooking downstream conditions can lead a major facility to fail, and a stochastic analysis could be a way to find out potential risks. We also applied the cost–benefit analysis to review whether the design plans were appropriately estimated with careful risk based consideration.
A Strategy to Optimize the Implementation of a Machine-Learning Scheme for Extreme Meiyu Rainfall Prediction over Southern Taiwan
Authors: Chu Jung-Lien , Chiang Chou-Chun , Hsu Li-Huan , Hwang Li-Rung , Yu Yi-Chiang , Lin Kuan-Ling , Wang Chieh-Ju , Su Shih-Hao , Yo Ting-Shuo
Published: October 2021

This study aims to propose a strategy to optimize the performance of the Support Vector Machine (SVM) scheme for extreme Meiyu rainfall prediction over southern Taiwan. Variables derived from Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) dataset are the candidates for predictor selection. A series of experiments with different combinations of predictors and domains are designed to obtain the optimal strategy for constructing the SVM scheme. The results reveal that the accuracy (ACC), positive predictive values (PPV), probability of detection (POD), and F1-score can exceed 0.6 on average. Choosing the predictors associated with the Meiyu system and determine the domain associated with the correlations between selected predictors and predictand can improve the forecast performance. Our strategy shows the potential to predict extreme Meiyu rainfall in southern Taiwan with lead times from 16 h to 64 h. The F1-score analysis further demonstrates that the forecast performance of our scheme is stable, with slight inter-annual fluctuations from 1990 to 2019. Higher performance would be expected when the north of the South China Sea is characterized by stronger southwesterly flow and abundant low-level moisture for a given year.
Methodology for Pumping Station Design Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)
Authors: Briceño-León Christian X. , Sanchez-Ferrer Diana S. , Iglesias-Rey Pedro L. , Martinez-Solano F. Javier , Mora-Melia Daniel
Published: October 2021

Pumping station (PS) designs in water networks basically contemplate technical and economic aspects. Technical aspects could be related to the number of pumps in PS and the operational modes of PS. Meanwhile, economic aspects could be related to all the costs that intervene in a PS design, such as investment, operational and maintenance costs. In general, water network designs are usually focused on optimizing operational costs or investment costs, However, some subjective technical aspects have not been approached, such as determining the most suitable pump model, the most suitable number of pumps and the complexity of control system operation in a PS design. Therefore, the present work aims to select the most suitable pump model and determine the priorities that technical and economic factors could have in a PS design by a multi-criteria analysis, such as an analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The proposed work will contemplate two main criteria, and every criterion will be integrated by sub-criteria to design a PS. In this way, technical factors (number of pumps and complexity of the operating system) and economic factors (investment, operational and maintenance costs) will be considered for a PS design. The proposed methodology consists of realizing surveys to a different group of experts that determines the importance of one criterion over each other criterion in a PS design through pairwise comparisons. Finally, this methodology will provide importance weight for the criteria and sub-criteria on the PS. Besides, this work will perform a rating of the considered alternatives of pump models in every case study, evaluating quantitatively every alternative with every criterion in the PS design. The main objective of this work will select the most adequate pump model according to the obtained rating, considering technical and economic aspects in every case study.
Sound transmission paths through a statistical energy analysis model of mechanically linked aircraft double-walls
Authors: Cherif Raef , Wareing Andrew , Atalla Noureddine
Published: October 2021

Sound transmission loss (TL) through mechanically linked aircraft double-walls is studied with a statistical energy analysis method. An overview of the method is given with details on acoustic and structural transfer path analysis. The studied structure is composed of a thick composite
sandwich panel representative of a skin panel, lined with an acoustic insulation layer (glass wool), and structurally connected via vibration isolators to a thin composite sandwich lining panel representative of a trim panel. Two types of vibration isolators are considered: a soft and rigid
mechanical link. Various experimental methods were used to assess the accuracy of this model. This study shows the robustness of the simple four-pole modeling of isolators, which depends mainly on the importance of correctly determining the experimental dynamic stiffness of typical aircraft
vibration isolators. The prediction of the TL while acceptable was, however, found less satisfactory for the soft configuration. This is traced to the uncertainties on the used coupling loss factor. Finally, a transfer path analysis is performed to identify the contribution of each transmission
path in the entire frequency range of interest. Results show that non-resonant airborne transmission dominates in low frequencies, the airborne radiation is significant in the critical frequency region of the panels, while the structure-borne radiation increases the noise transmitted in the
mid- and high-frequency ranges.
Ação da auxina sobre plantas de soja
Authors: Cassel Júlia Letícia , Rother Gabriele Molinari , Pimenta Bruna Dalcin , dos Santos Daniela Batista
Published: October 2021

A auxina é um importante fitormônio para o crescimento e desenvolvimento de espécies vegetais, dentre elas, a soja (Glycine max) que possui destaque na economia mundial, sendo matéria prima de alimentos para humanos e animais. Diante disso, este trabalho objetiva abordar, com enfoque à cultura da soja, a importância da auxina às plantas, descrevendo sua biossíntese, rotas e transporte, bem como fornecer uma visão geral sobre as aplicabilidades na agricultura. A auxina atua em distintos processos, dentre eles a dominância apical e o alongamento caulinar. Todo o desenvolvimento da planta depende de um ajuste fino de gradientes locais de auxina. Isso é possível graças à dinâmica de modulação das vias de síntese, transporte, conjugação e degradação da auxina. Essa dinâmica é regulada pela própria auxina, fato que aumenta drasticamente a complexidade para o entendimento da ciência. Sua biossíntese ocorre, principalmente, a partir do aminoácido triptofano, por distintas rotas bioquímicas recentemente mencionadas na literatura. Após sintetizada, a auxina é transportada em sentido basípeto preferencialmente por transporte polar, lento e com gasto de energia. Contudo, há registros também de um transporte entre células através de plasmodesmos. Para a cultura da soja, há estudos que comparam a ação do hormônio em plântulas de soja sombreadas com àquelas que obtiveram iluminação, fornecem fontes de auxina e ainda, avaliam a concentração do fitormônio após a remoção do cotilédone. As descobertas demonstram que a auxina se concentra principalmente nas zonas de alongamento e zona de maturação do caule e, neste local, provocam o alongamento celular atuando na promoção do crescimento do caule em busca de luz. Além disso, a auxina tem papel importante na dominância apical, fenômeno que inibe o desenvolvimento de gemas axilares e influencia diretamente a arquitetura da planta, cuja “arquitetura ideal” tem sido massivamente buscada por pesquisas de melhoramento genético visando a obtenção do máximo de rendimento. Ainda, existem auxinas sintéticas utilizadas como herbicidas seletivos para plantas daninhas dicotiledôneas, entre eles o ácido 2,4-diclorofenoxiacético (2,4-D), que quando em altas doses provoca um alongamento celular excessivo levando a planta à morte, enquanto que em baixas doses atua de forma semelhante ao ácido 3-indolacético (IAA), que é a principal forma de auxina encontrada nas plantas e por sua vez pode contribuir no aumento de rendimento. Diante do exposto, pode-se perceber que há uma complexidade acerca da temática e embora estudos estejam sendo conduzidos e seus resultados publicados em revistas de alto impacto e relevância científica, ainda existem lacunas acerca dos efeitos e mecanismos da auxina que precisam ser elucidadas, em especial, em situações como sombreamento e remoção da dominância apical na cultura da soja, para que, então, possam impactar em ações de melhoramento genético e em manejos para incremento de rendimento.
Investigar en pandemia:
Authors: Oviedo Raúl Ricardo , Gaibazzi María Florencia , Leda Ayelén Cecilia , Siegenthaler Bárbara Edith
Published: October 2021

El presente trabajo se propone abordar la problemática del impacto de la pandemia por COVID-19 en la investigación en Ciencias Económicas. Se propone indagar en cuáles han sido los aspectos de la investigación que se vieron modificados, reconociendo tanto cuestiones positivas como negativas de la investigación en línea forzada. Se busca evaluar cómo ha sido la experiencia de investigar en pandemia y cómo podría afectar a la investigación futura. El trabajo consta de dos partes: un momento reflexivo, en torno a la experiencia particular de equipo de investigación durante el año 2020; y un relevamiento empírico, a través de encuestas, a docentes-investigadores pertenecientes a los distintos Institutos de Investigación de la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Estadística (FCEyE) de la Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR)
organizaciones y sus líderes frente a un nuevo escenario*
Authors: Kobila María Teresa , Parolin Marisa Andrea
Published: October 2021

En el mundo un virus, tan inesperado como impensado, obligó a la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) a declarar una pandemia. En ese marco, el trabajo y el empleo en las organizaciones se vieron alterados, despertando el interés por indagar cómo se gestiona y transita ese cambio en las organizaciones. En ese contexto de dificultades y potencialidades, se plantearon los siguientes objetivos: sondear y describir los cambios en las formas de trabajo de las empresas estudiadas, conocer y narrar el rol desempeñado por sus líderes y/o directivos y reflejar los impactos preliminares sobre la cultura organizacional. Se empleó una investigación cualitativa de tipo exploratoria para clarificar la nueva realidad. Debido al aislamiento social, impuesto desde la esfera gubernamental, no se pudieron realizar observaciones personales en el lugar de trabajo. Los contactos se efectuaron vía email y/o comunicaciones telefónicas pactándose días y horarios para las entrevistas, que a posteriori se cometieron virtualmente. La pandemia, entre tantas problemáticas, oportunidades y desafíos infiltró la virtualidad en la esfera social. En tiempos de coronavirus el teletrabajo ha emergido con una nueva estrategia, convirtiendo el tele-trabajo en una capacidad clave tanto para el individuo como para la competitividad organizacional. Factores externos no controlables impactaron en las estrategias, estructuras y cultura de las organizaciones. Las empresas estudiadas, en mayor o menor medida, tuvieron que dar respuestas innovadoras frente a la nueva realidad que desafiaba hasta la supervivencia organizacional. Flexibilizar las estructuras, hacerla más dinámicas y orgánicas, adaptarse a las exigencias del mercado, fueron decisiones a implementar sin tiempo para analizar alternativas. El desempeño de los líderes se orientó a dar respuestas rápidas, y quiénes asumieron una actitud proactiva lograron adaptarse más rápidamente, también es cierto que quiénes aplazaron los cambios hoy están en esta senda. Se presume que quiénes no se adapten a los cambios quedarán marginados del mercado, por ello se piensa que los líderes y/o directivos enfrentan un gran desafío. En este sentido, es esperable que este nuevo escenario sea el inicio de un cambio cultural profundo.

 

*Esta ponencia se basa en un poster presentado en las XIV Jornadas de Ciencias, Tecnologías e Innovación de la UNR (2020) como síntesis y primera aproximación de los resultados del presente trabajo de investigación
Comercialización de seguros a través de sujetos no legitimados:
Authors: Hernández Joaquín Alejandro
Published: October 2021

En el microsistema jurídico del Derecho del Seguro, se encuentra ideado y regulado por nuestro legislador un Régimen Especial de Comercialización de Seguros que establece quienes son sujetos legitimados para poder comercializar los productos. La exigencia respecto la intervención de sujetos legitimados en la comercialización de seguros surge de la propia naturaleza técnica del contrato y la consecuente necesidad de procurar una correcta formación del consentimiento; debiendo para ello el asegurador dar cumplimento al deber de buena fe desde etapa precontractual, mediante la observación de la carga de informar a los asegurables sobre el contenido y extensión de las cláusulas del contrato desde el momento previo a su perfeccionamiento. Con el devenir de los años y la consecuente evolución de los mercados, fenómenos tales como la comercialización masiva de productos han intentado forzosamente adaptarse jurídicamente al régimen de comercialización del seguro mediante el dictado de reprochables e inconstitucionales normas reglamentarias, ampliando así el espectro de sujetos legitimados que carecían de los caracteres de profesionalidad y habilitación exigidos por normas de superior jerarquía para la cumplimentación del mencionado fin. En función de la aparición de nuevas formas de comercialización, el Código Civil y Comercial de la Nación vigente a partir del 1º de Agosto de 2015 ha receptado nuevas formas de manifestación del consentimiento, previendo una regulación protectoria para los contratos celebrados entre ausentes y, especialmente, por medios electrónicos; situación que llevó a ciertas voces en doctrina a afirmar que la exigencia de sujetos legitimados para la comercialización de seguros ya no tenía razón de ser en función de la nueva normativa. En relación, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo brindar respuesta a los siguientes interrogantes: ¿El Código Civil y Comercial de la Nación ha modificado el microsistema jurídico del derecho del seguro?. A raíz de su entrada en vigencia, ¿se ha ampliado el espectro de sujetos legitimados para su comercialización? De no haberlo realizado, ¿es suficiente con la protección otorgada por el nuevo ordenamiento para permitir la actuación de nuevos actores el mercado?. De comercializarse seguros a través de sujetos no legitimados, ¿cuáles son los riesgos que podrían afectar al mercado asegurador?
Vida e carreira da violinista Virgínia Sinay
Authors: Reis Adonhiran , Berbert Bruna Caroline de Souza , Oliveira Agles Vieira de
Published: October 2021

O presente artigo, desenvolvido através de pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, procura estabelecer uma biografia, ainda que fragmentada, da violinista paraense Virgínia Sinay, aluna de L. Massart no Conservatório de Paris, e importante docente em seu estado, a partir da análise de uma de suas maiores empreitadas artísticas — a turnê de 1886 —, realizada em conjunto com a sua irmã e pianista Mathilde Sinay e com o célebre violinista holandês Johannes Wolff. As críticas dos concertos realizados durante a turnê evidenciam a grande qualidade técnica e musical dos três artistas, destacam a excelente recepção do público que os assistiu e expõem de maneira clara alguns dos preconceitos da época, muito relacionados à concepção do que significava ser mulher e artista no século XIX.
PENGARUH MODEL PEMBELAJARAN KOOPERATIF TEKNIK WRITE-PAIR-SQUAR TERHADAP KEMAMPUAN PEMAHAMAN KONSEP MATEMATIS SISWA SMA NEGERI 2 BANGKINANG
Authors: Arcat Arcat
Published: October 2021

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh penerapan model pembelajaran kooperatif teknik Write Pair Square (WPS) terhadap kemampuan pemahaman konsep siswa. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Kabupaten Kampar tepatnya di Bangkinan Barat, Riau. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode Eksperimen dengan desain penelitian Two-Group Posttest Only Design. Pengambilan sampel dengan menggunakan teknik simple random sampling dengan mengundi semua kelas populasi. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa ada pengaruh penerapan model pembelajaran kooperatif teknik WPS terhadap kemampuan pemahaman konsep matematis siswa kelas X SMAN 2 Bangkinang Barat.
DAMPAK PENERAPAN CABRY 3D TERHADAP PRESTASI DAN KEAHLIAN DALAM TAHAP AWAL GEOMETRY
Authors: Rikayanti Rikayanti
Published: October 2021

Makalah ini menjelaskan tentang eksperimen kelas pada penerapan software untuk     mengoptimalkan kemampuan spasial dari 180 mahasiswa. One Shot case Study Design dipilih sebagai desain eksperimen yang diterapkan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisa peran software ini pada mata kuliah “Kapita Selekta Matematika Geometri”. Tes IQ merupakan salah satu instrumen yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini, tetapi tes performance berupa proyek dan pos tes tentang kemampuan spasial juga digunakan untuk melengkapi gambaran dari subjek penelitian. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa terdapat korelasi antara tes performance dengan pemahaman konsep. Di samping itu, hasil penelitian menunjukkan dampak yang positif dari penerapan software Cabry 3D khususnya pada domain kedudukan titik, garis, dan bidang dalam ruang dimensi 3. Belum diketahui penyebabnya bahwa terdapat hal yang istimewa dari hasil tes IQ, hasil menunjukkan bahwa 38% mahasiswa memiliki kemampuan di bawah rata-rata. Tetapi, performancenya menunjukkan peningkatan, walau demikian untuk satu atau beberapa kasus memerlukan penanganan khusus dan pengajaran oleh teman sebaya atau berbantuan video tutorial. Dalam hal ini diperlukan pula buku petunjuk untuk membantu menyelesaikan proyek. Hal ini menjadi perlu dikarenakan keterbatasan akses internet dan keterbatasan laboratorium komputer yang hanya memiliki satu server untuk 40 komputer. Secara umum, nilai rerata prestasi menunjukkan kemampuan spasial mencapai lebih dari 50%.