bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Food-Related Atrial Fibrillation? The Potential Role of Biogenic Amines in “Nutri-Arrhythmias” Genesis
Authors: Gammone Maria Alessandra , Vicentini Assia , Riccioni Graziano , De Girolamo Massimo , D’Aulerio Alberto , D’Orazio Nicolantonio
Published: December 2018

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of arrhythmia: a disorganized electrical atrial activity leading to irregular ventricular beats. Its most common risk factors include high blood pressure, congenital and valvular heart diseases, aging, heart failure and coronary heart diseases. Other risk factors include excessive alcohol intake, tobacco smoking, diabetes mellitus and thyrotoxicosis. However, many cases are not associated with any of these risk factors: probably, in these patients, immunological, functional and even dietary mechanisms may be responsible to induce cardiac arrhythmias. Several studies have focused on immunological and neurohumoral mechanisms; however, little information is available about the potential relationship between dietary patterns and atrial fibrillation episodes. This case report describes a potential correlation between biogenic amines in ingested food and recurrent atrial fibrillation onset in a 61-years old man in absence of a remarkable clinical history and of the most common risk factors. The nutritional team instituted a food protocol: a low calories diet and eliminating biogenic amines-rich foods. During the follow-up (16 months), there was a noticeable weight loss and no arrhythmic episodes happened again. This clinical case provides evidence for a possible new relationship between some kinds of food and heart conduction (defining the very novel field of arrhythmogenic foods and of “nutri-arrhythmias”), recognizing biogenic amines-rich foods abuse as the potential trigger and substrate for atrial fibrillation. Therefore, we suggested that clinical history in patients with new onset AF should also include questions concerning the ingestion of histamine-rich foodstuffs (or other amines-rich food) and alcohol consumption: their effects may result to be synergistic in the alteration of cardiac rhythm and may explain the recurrence of an unexplained atrial fibrillation.
Correction: Chen, Y., et al. Long-Term Subsidence in Lava Fields at the Piton de la Fournaise Volcano Measured by InSAR: New Insights for Interpretation of the Eastern Flank Motion. Remote Sens. 2018, 10, 597
Authors: Chen Yu , Zhang Kefei , Tan Kun , Feng Xiaojun , Li Huaizhan
Published: December 2018

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...]
Crustal Deformation on the Northeastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau from Continuous GPS Observations
Authors: Su Xiaoning , Yao Lianbi , Wu Weiwei , Meng Guojie , Su Lina , Xiong Renwei , Hong Shunying
Published: December 2018

We installed 10 continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) stations on the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau at the end of 2012, in order to qualitatively investigate strain accumulation across the Liupanshan Fault (LPSF). We integrated our newly built stations with 48 other existing GPS stations to provide new insights into three-dimensional tectonic deformation. We employed white plus flicker noise model as a statistical model to obtain realistic velocities and corresponding uncertainties in the ITRF2014 and Ordos-fixed reference frame. The total velocity decrease from northwest to southeast in the Longxi Block (LXB) was 5.3 mm/yr within the range of 200 km west of the LPSF on the horizontal component. The first-order characteristic of the vertical crustal deformation was uplift for the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. The uplift rates in the LXB and the Ordos Block (ORB) were 1.0 and 2.0 mm/yr, respectively. We adopted an improved spherical wavelet algorithm to invert for multiscale strain rates and rotation rates. Multiscale strain rates showed a complex crustal deformation pattern. A significant clockwise rotation of about 30 nradians/yr (10−9 radians/year) was identified around the Dingxi. Localized strain accumulation was determined around the intersectional region between the Haiyuan Fault (HYF) and the LPSF. The deformation pattern across the LFPS was similar to that of the Longmengshan Fault (LMSF) before the 2008 Wenchuan MS 8.0 earthquake. Furthermore, according to the distributed second invariant of strain rates at different spatial scale, strain partitioning has already spatially localized along the Xiaokou–Liupanshan–Longxian–Baoji fault belt (XLLBF). The tectonic deformation and localized strain buildup together with seismicity imply a high probability for a potential earthquake in this zone.
Ship Classification in High-Resolution SAR Images via Transfer Learning with Small Training Dataset
Authors: Lu Changchong , Li Weihai
Published: December 2018

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) as an all-weather method of the remote sensing, now it has been an important tool in oceanographic observations, object tracking, etc. Due to advances in neural networks (NN), researchers started to study SAR ship classification problems with deep learning (DL) in recent years. However, the limited labeled SAR ship data become a bottleneck to train a neural network. In this paper, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are applied to ship classification by using SAR images with the small datasets. To solve the problem of over-fitting which often appeared in training small dataset, we proposed a new method of data augmentation and combined it with transfer learning. Based on experiments and tests, the performance is evaluated. The results show that the types of the ships can be classified in high accuracies and reveal the effectiveness of our proposed method.
Real-Time Weighted Data Fusion Algorithm for Temperature Detection Based on Small-Range Sensor Network
Authors: Zhang Ziling , Nan Xinyuan , Wang Cong
Published: December 2018

Biological oxidation pretreatment, which can improve the yield of gold, is the main gold extraction technology for disposing refractory gold ore with high arsenic and sulfur. The temperature of the oxidation tank influences the oxidation efficiency between the ore pulp and bacteria, including the yield of gold. Therefore, measurement has consistently been an important subject for researchers. As an effective data processing method, data fusion has been used extensively in many fields of industrial production. However, the interference of equipment or external factors such as the diurnal temperature difference or powerful wind may constantly increase measurement errors and damage certain sensors, which may transmit error data. These problems can be solved by following a pretreatment process. First, we establish a heat transfer mechanism model. Second, we design a small-range sensor network for the pretreatment process and present a layered fusion structure of sharing sensors using a multi-connected fusion structure. Third, we introduce the idea of iterative operation in data processing. In addition, we use prior data for predicting state values twice in order to improve the effectiveness of extended Kalman filtering in one time step. This study also proposes multi-fading factors on the basis of a weighted fading memory index to adjust the prediction error covariance. Finally, the state estimation accuracy of each sensor can be used as a weighting principle for the predictive confidence of each sensor by adding a weighting factor. In this study, the performance of the proposed method is verified by simulation and compared with the traditional single-sensor method. Actual industrial measurement data are processed by the proposed method for the equipment experiment. The performance index of the simulation and the experiment shows that the proposed method has a higher global accuracy than the traditional single-sensor method. Simulation results show that the accuracy of the proposed method has a 55% improvement upon that of the traditional single-sensor method, on average. In the equipment experiment, the accuracy of the industrial measurement improved by 37% when using the proposed method.
Assessment of the Polyphenol Indices and Antioxidant Capacity for Beers and Wines Using a Tyrosinase-Based Biosensor Prepared by Sinusoidal Current Method
Authors: García-Guzmán Juan José , López-Iglesias David , Cubillana-Aguilera Laura , Lete Cecilia , Lupu Stelian , Palacios-Santander José María , Bellido-Milla Dolores
Published: December 2018

The application of a novel Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-Tyrosinase/Sonogel-Carbon electrode (PEDOT-Tyr/SNGC) biosensor to beers and wines analysis is proposed. This biosensor implies a new Sinusoidal Current (SC) electrodeposition method to immobilize the enzyme generating a nanostructure surface. The biosensors were characterized electrochemically, employing cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Sensitivity, limit of detection, and correlation coefficients of the linear fitting were 2.40 × 10−4 µA·µM−1, 4.33 µM, and R2 = 0.9987, respectively. Caffeic acid is used as the reference polyphenol. A sampling of nine beers (four lager, three stout, and two non-alcoholic beers), and four wines (three red and one white wine) purchased in a local store was performed. The Polyphenol indeces for beers and wines have been assessed using the proposed biosensor, and the obtained values are in agreement with the literature data. Antioxidant properties of the samples using the 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) radical spectrophotometric method were also evaluated. The correlation between the polyphenol index and the antioxidant capacity was obtained for beers and wines.
WallSense: Device-Free Indoor Localization Using Wall-Mounted UHF RFID Tags
Authors: Ma Liang , Liu Meng , Wang Hongjun , Yang Yang , Wang Na , Zhang Yajun
Published: December 2018

To achieve device-free indoor localization without the active participation of the users, this paper presents WallSense, a device-free indoor localization system based on off-the-shelf Radio RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) equipment. The system deploys two orthogonal tag arrays in adjoining walls and uses the RSSI and phase information measured by RFID readers to localize the target. By differentiating the backscattered signal between adjacent tag pairs, WallSense is able to eliminate most undesirable factors and extract information directly related to the location of the target. By applying Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) with a novel weighted fitness function and combining the localization result of two orthogonal tag arrays, the system is able to localize the target with high accuracy. Experiments show that the system is able to localize human target with 0.24 m median error. Also, WallSense has low deployment overhead and do not require the users to carry any devices.
Managing Devices of a One-to-One Computing Educational Program Using an IoT Infrastructure
Authors: Osimani Felipe , Stecanella Bruno , Capdehourat Germán , Etcheverry Lorena , Grampín Eduardo
Published: December 2018

Plan Ceibal is the name coined in Uruguay for the local implementation of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative. Plan Ceibal distributes laptops and tablets to students and teachers, and also deploys a nationwide wireless network to provide Internet access to these devices, provides video conference facilities, and develops educational applications. Given the scale of the program, management in general, and specifically device management, is a very challenging task. Device maintenance and replacement is a particularly important process; users trigger such kind of replacement processes and usually imply several days without the device. Early detection of fault conditions in the most stressed hardware parts (e.g., batteries) would permit to prompt defensive replacement, contributing to reduce downtime, and improving the user experience. Seeking for better, preventive and scalable device management, in this paper we present a prototype of a Mobile Device Management (MDM) module for Plan Ceibal, developed over an IoT infrastructure, showing the results of a controlled experiment over a sample of the devices. The prototype is deployed over a public IoT infrastructure to speed up the development process, avoiding, in this phase, the need for local infrastructure and maintenance, while enforcing scalability and security requirements. The presented data analysis was implemented off-line and represents a sample of possible metrics which could be used to implement preventive management in a real deployment.
Localization Based on MAP and PSO for Drifting-Restricted Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks
Authors: Hu Keyong , Song Xianglin , Sun Zhongwei , Luo Hanjiang , Guo Zhongwen
Published: December 2018

Localization is a critical issue for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks (UASNs). Existing localization algorithms mainly focus on localizing unknown nodes (location-unaware) by measuring their distances to beacon nodes (location-aware), whereas ignoring additional challenges posed by harsh underwater environments. Especially, underwater nodes move constantly with ocean currents and measurement noises vary with distances. In this paper, we consider a special drifting-restricted UASN and propose a novel beacon-free algorithm, called MAP-PSO. It consists of two steps: MAP estimation and PSO localization. In MAP estimation, we analyze nodes’ mobility patterns, which provide the priori knowledge for localization, and characterize distance measurements under the assumption of additive and multiplicative noises, which serve as the likelihood information for localization. Then the priori and likelihood information are fused to derive the localization objective function. In PSO localization, a swarm of particles are used to search the best location solution from local and global views simultaneously. Moreover, we eliminate the localization ambiguity using a novel reference selection mechanism and improve the convergence speed using a bound constraint mechanism. In the simulations, we evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm under different settings and determine the optimal values for tunable parameters. The results show that our algorithm outperforms the benchmark method with high localization accuracy and low energy consumption.
Sensitivity-Compensated Micro-Pressure Flexible Sensor for Aerospace Vehicle
Authors: Lü Xiaozhou , Jiang Jianan , Wang Hui , Gao Qiaobo , Zhao Shaobo , Li Ning , Yang Jiayi , Wang Songlin , Bao Weimin , Chen Renjie
Published: December 2018

When flight vehicles (e.g., aerospace vehicles, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, near-space aircrafts, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and drones) fly at high speed, their surfaces suffer the micro-pressure from high-altitude thin air. The long-term effect of this pressure causes the surface components of flight vehicle to deform or fall off, which can lead to a serious accident. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a sensitivity-compensated micro-pressure flexible sensor based on hyper-elastic plastic material and plate parallel capacitance. The sensor is able to measure a range of 0–6 kPa micro-pressure suffered by the flight vehicle’s surface with high sensitivity and flexible devices. In this paper, we propose the principle, structure design and fabrication of the sensitivity-compensated micro-pressure flexible sensor. We carried out experiments to obtain the static characteristic curve between micro-pressure and the output capacitance of the sensor devices, and investigated the relationship between sensitivity and geometric parameters. We also compared the performance of the flexible sensor before and after sensitivity compensation. The result shows that the sensor can measure a range of 0–2 kPa and 2–6 kPa with a sensitivity of 0.27 kPa−1 and 0.021 kPa−1, which are 80% and 141.38% higher than the sensor before compensation; a linearity of 1.39% and 2.88%, which are 51.7% and 13.1% higher than the sensor before compensation; and a hysteresis and repeatability of 4.95% and 2.38%, respectively. The sensor has potential applications in flight vehicles to measure the micro-pressure with high sensitivity and flexibility.
Secure Transmission for Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer in AF Untrusted Relay Networks
Authors: Shi Hui , Yang Weiwei , Chen Dechuan , Luo Yunpeng , Cai Yueming
Published: December 2018

This paper investigates secure communications of energy harvesting untrusted relay networks, where the destination assists jamming signal to prevent the untrusted relay from eavesdropping and to improve the forwarding ability of the energy constrained relay. Firstly, the source and the destination transmit the signals to the relay with maximal ratio transmission (MRT) technique or transmit antenna selection (TAS) technique. Then, the destination utilizes maximal ratio combining (MRC) technique or receive antenna selection (RAS) technique to receive the forwarded information. Therefore, four transmission and reception schemes are considered. For each scheme, the closed-form expressions of the secrecy outage probability (SOP) and the connection outage probability (COP) are derived. Besides, the effective secrecy throughput (EST) metric is analyzed to achieve a good tradeoff between security and reliability. In addition, the asymptotic performance of EST is also considered at the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Finally, simulation results illustrate that: (1) the EST of the system with MRT and MRC scheme are superior to other schemes, however, in the high SNR regime, the EST of the system with MRT scheme is inferior to TAS; and (2) for the source node, there exists an optimal number of antennas to maximize the EST of the proposed schemes.
Aptamer Conformation Switching-Induced Two-Stage Amplification for Fluorescent Detection of Proteins
Authors: Yu Qiao , Zhai Fenfen , Zhou Hong , Wang Zonghua
Published: December 2018

Basing on the conformation change of aptamer caused by proteins, a simple and sensitive protein fluorescent assay strategy is proposed, which is assisted by the isothermal amplification reaction of polymerase and nicking endonuclease. In the presence of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB), the natural conformation of a DNA aptamer would change into a Y-shaped complex, which could hybridize with a molecular beacon (MB) and form a DNA duplex, leading to the open state of the MB and generating a fluorescence signal. Subsequently, with further assistance of isothermal recycling amplification strategies, the designed aptamer sensing platform showed an increment of fluorescence. As a benefit of this amplified strategy, the limit of detection (LOD) was lowered to 0.74 ng/mL, which is much lower than previous reports. This strategy not only offers a new simple, specific, and efficient platform to quantify the target protein in low concentrations, but also shows a powerful approach without multiple washing steps, as well as a precious implementation that has the potential to be integrated into portable, low-cost, and simplified devices for diagnostic applications.
Computation of Traffic Time Series for Large Populations of IoT Devices
Authors: Izal Mikel , Morató Daniel , Magaña Eduardo , García-Jiménez Santiago
Published: December 2018

The Internet of Things (IoT) contains sets of hundreds of thousands of network-enabled devices communicating with central controlling nodes or information collectors. The correct behaviour of these devices can be monitored by inspecting the traffic that they create. This passive monitoring methodology allows the detection of device failures or security breaches. However, the creation of hundreds of thousands of traffic time series in real time is not achievable without highly optimised algorithms. We herein compare three algorithms for time-series extraction from traffic captured in real time. We demonstrate how a single-core central processing unit (CPU) can extract more than three bidirectional traffic time series for each one of more than 20,000 IoT devices in real time using the algorithm DStries with recursive search. This proposal also enables the fast reconfiguration of the analysis computer when new IoT devices are added to the network.
Object-Level Double Constrained Method for Land Cover Change Detection
Authors: Wang Zhihao , Liu Yalan , Ren Yuhuan , Ma Haojie
Published: December 2018

Land cover change detection based on remote sensing has become increasingly important for protecting the ecological environment. Spatial features of images can be extracted by object-level methods. However, the computational complexity is high when using many features to detect land cover change. Meanwhile, single-constrained change detection (SCCD) methods produce non-objective and inaccurate results. Therefore, we proposed a land cover change detection method: the object-level double constrained change detection (ODCD) method. First, spectral and spatial features were calculated based on multi-scale segmentation results. Second, using the significant difference test (SDT), feature differences among all categories were calculated, and the features with more significant differences were considered as the optimal features. Third, the maximum Kappa coefficient was used as the criterion for determining the optimal change intensity and correlation coefficient. Finally, the ODCD was validated using GF-1 satellite images on March 2016 and February 2017 in north Beiqijia Town, Beijing. Using optimal feature selection, the dimension of features was reduced from 26 to 12. Compared with SCCD methods, the result of the ODCD was more reliable and accurate. Its overall accuracy was 10% higher, overall error was 27% lower, and the Kappa coefficient was 0.22 higher. In conclusion, the ODCD is effective for land cover change detection and can improve computational efficiency.
Proposal and Application of Bluetooth Mesh Profile for Smart Cities’ Services
Authors: Veiga Adonay , Abbas Claudia
Published: December 2018

‘Smart cities’ is a concept that embraces many technologies and solutions in sensing and carrying a city’s data through a network for further processing and analysis. Smart cities’ main priority is citizens and environmental sustainability. In practice, wireless sensors networks over mesh networks are the approach employed most of the time. In terms of wireless communications technologies, Bluetooth low energy offers a robust, low cost, and low power consumption option. The recently published Bluetooth mesh profile specification addresses the most relevant challenges on that paradigm, adding secure multicast communications capabilities. A framework to create Smart Cities services was proposed and a traffic light service was used to demonstrate specification applicability for smart cities’ services. The proposed service showed that data may be collected and shared between devices in a mesh network through and over a metropolitan area. The specification’s strengths were demonstrated and some topics for further development were identified.
Indoor Air Quality and Sustainability Management—Case Study in Three Portuguese Healthcare Units
Authors: Fonseca Ana , Abreu Isabel , Guerreiro Maria João , Abreu Cristina , Silva Ricardo , Barros Nelson
Published: December 2018

Adequate management of indoor air quality (IAQ) in healthcare units has relevant impacts on sustainability performance due to its effects on patient safety, occupational health and safety, and energy consumptions. This study sought to identify improvement opportunities on IAQ management by collecting and analyzing experimental data of selected parameters in three healthcare units in Portugal: Two general hospitals and one primary healthcare center. Indoor air temperature, relative humidity, CO2, bacteria, and fungi concentrations were measured in summer and winter campaigns in June/July 2017 and in January/March 2018. Results show that the exclusive use of natural ventilation is not adequate when the affluence of users is high, but the analyzed parameters revealed acceptable results under low occupation intensity conditions. Results also show that keeping low indoor air relative humidity has a significant impact in reducing fungi concentration and that there is a significant correlation at the 0.05 level between indoor air CO2 concentration and bacterial loads. Therefore, as opportunities to improve sustainability, IAQ management in healthcare facilities should consider natural ventilation as a complement to mechanical ventilation systems and should focus on adequate control of indoor air relative humidity and CO2 concentration to reduce the risk of airborne infections.
Political Leadership as Meta-Governance in Sustainability Transitions: A Case Study Analysis of Meta-Governance in the Case of the Dutch National Agreement on Climate
Authors: Ottens Menno , Edelenbos Jurian
Published: December 2018

Sustainability transitions are of an inherently political nature. In particular, discussions on climate policy are dominated by national and international politics. Furthermore, sustainability transitions involve network governance in which both private, public, and societal actors are involved. These governance processes call for closely scrutinizing their performance in terms of democratic legitimacy. To study and assess the democratic quality of governance processes regarding climate policy, this article focuses on the role of political leadership, conceptualized as political meta-governance, in enhancing the democratic legitimacy in the field of sustainability transitions. In doing so, it examines the case of the Dutch National Agreement on Climate (“Nationaal Klimaatakkoord”). The findings of this study underline the theoretical assumption that governments seek to use network governance to address climate change and develop policies. Seeking to address the application of political meta-governance, this study finds that political leaders struggle to bring about a fully-fledged, deliberative, and integrative meta-governance approach. However, disparate meta-governance strategies are reported. Although democratic legitimacy concerning the Dutch Agreement on Climate in terms of accountability can be regarded as high, values concerning voice (inclusiveness) and due deliberation (transparency) score comparatively low. As such, this study further justifies the close attention governance scholars and practitioners pay to the democratic values at stake when governing through governance networks.
Effect of Irrigation Level and Irrigation Frequency on the Growth of Mini Chinese Cabbage and Residual Soil Nitrate Nitrogen
Authors: Xiang Youzhen , Zou Haiyang , Zhang Fucang , Qiang Shengcai , Wu You , Yan Shicheng , Wang Haidong , Wu Lifeng , Fan Junliang , Wang Xiukang
Published: December 2018

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is known to improve the quality and biomass of vegetables, but it is unclear how to manage the large amount of NO3-N that accumulates in the soil after vegetable harvest. In this study, we examined the influence of irrigation level and irrigation frequency on the growth and soil residual NO3-N of the catch crop mini Chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis) in a greenhouse. Using conventional border irrigation with adequate water supply as a control (CK), three irrigation levels (WH: 160% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), WM: 120% ETc and WL: 80% ETc) and three irrigation frequencies (intervals of F2: 2 days, F4: 4 days, and F8: 8 days) were assessed in 2014, 2015 and 2016 in northwest China. The results showed that the weight of the leaves and leaf stalks was the primary determinant of yield, and that these are the primary N-containing vegetative organs of the plants. At the same irrigation level, the total N content of the plants increased in the order F8 < F2 < F4. The trend in the total N content in the mini Chinese cabbage plants among different treatments was synchronized with the yield. The highest total N content in the plants was observed in the WMF4 treatment during all three years. The three-year averages of mini Chinese cabbage aboveground biomass, yield and water use efficiency (WUE) in the WMF4 treatment were 60%, 64.5% and 119.2% higher respectively than in the CK treatment. The residual NO3-N content in the soil in the WMF4 treatment was only 1.3% higher than that in the CK treatment. The total N uptake in the WMF4 treatment was 79.2% higher than that in the CK treatment, and the N loss in the WMF4 treatment was 46.3% lower than that in the CK treatment. Under these experimental conditions, the WMF4 treatment can be recommended as an appropriate irrigation regime for mini Chinese cabbage under fallow greenhouse management in northwest China.
A New Equation to Evaluate Liquefaction Triggering Using the Response Surface Method and Parametric Sensitivity Analysis
Authors: Pirhadi Nima , Tang Xiaowei , Yang Qing , Kang Fei
Published: December 2018

Liquefaction is one of the most damaging functions of earthquakes in saturated sandy soil. Therefore, clearly advancing the assessment of this phenomenon is one of the key points for the geotechnical profession for sustainable development. This study presents a new equation to evaluate the potential of liquefaction (PL) in sandy soil. It accounts for two new earthquake parameters: standardized cumulative absolute velocity and closest distance from the site to the rupture surface (CAV5 and rrup) to the database. In the first step, an artificial neural network (ANN) model is developed. Additionally, a new response surface method (RSM) tool that shows the correlation between the input parameters and the target is applied to derive an equation. Then, the RSM equation and ANN model results are compared with those of the other available models to show their validity and capability. Finally, according the uncertainty in the considered parameters, sensitivity analysis is performed through Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) to show the effect of the parameters and their uncertainties on PL. The main advantage of this research is its consideration of the direct influence of the most important parameters, particularly earthquake characteristics, on liquefaction, thus making it possible to conduct parametric sensitivity analysis and show the direct impact of the parameters and their uncertainties on the PL. The results indicate that among the earthquake parameters, CAV5 has the highest effect on PL. Also, the RSM and ANN models predict PL with considerable accuracy.
Preschool Teachers’ Perception of the Application of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Taiwan
Authors: Chen Liwen , Chen Tung-Liang , Lin Chieh-Ju , Liu Hsu-Kuan (Jonathan)
Published: December 2018

The aim of this study is to explore preschool teachers’ perception of the application of information communication technology in Taiwan using qualitative methodology in the form of interpretive phenomenology. Snowball sampling was used to select fourteen preschool teachers from public preschools. The data was collected from fourteen preschool teachers using one-to-one, semi-structured in-depth interviews, each of which lasted for one to two hours based on the guidelines for semi-structured interviews. The interviews were taped, recorded, and transcribed for the main textual analysis, which was based on a thematic analysis. Five themes were identified: (1) a formative and explorative growth process, (2) information devices: at once plentiful and limited, (3) decisions between control and freedom, (4) parent-teacher communications, and (5) trend-driven resource integration. Suggestions and implications for the utilization of ICT in classroom practice and its implementation in the curriculum are discussed.
Evaluating the Safety Impacts of Increased Speed Limits on Freeways in Kansas Using Before-And-After Study Approach
Authors: Shirazinejad Reza S. , Dissanayake Sunanda , Al-Bayati Ahmed Jalil , York David Daniel
Published: December 2018

In the summer of 2011, a change in the Kansas laws came into effect, increasing the speed limit on a selected set of freeway sections from 70 mph to 75 mph. Higher speeds were thought to have economic benefits, mostly because the travel time reduction means people reach their destinations more quickly. In this study, the sections where the speed limits remained unchanged, are compared to freeway sections that have been influenced by speed limit increase, to evaluate safety effectiveness. The study utilizes the before-and-after study with comparison group method to assess the safety effects provided in the Highway Safety Manual (HSM). Two crash datasets, obtained by considering three years before and three years after the speed limit increase, were compared in order to evaluate the safety effects of the speed limit change. The crash modification factors (CMFs) were estimated, which showed that there was a 27% increase in total crashes and a 35% increase in fatal and injury crashes across all sections after the speed limit change, and these increases were statistically significant at 95% confidence level. These confounding results show that the speed limit increase has not been beneficial for traffic safety in Kansas, and hence it is important to be cautious in such future situations. Also, additional data have been presented which would be beneficial in identifying and understanding any behavior change in drivers following a speed limit increase.
A Parking Space Allocation Method to Make a Shared Parking Strategy for Appertaining Parking Lots of Public Buildings
Authors: Cai Yifei , Chen Jun , Zhang Chu , Wang Bin
Published: December 2018

Appertaining parking lots of public buildings provide a large proportion of parking supply in cities. However, these parking lots mainly serve the parking demands of public buildings, leading to a low utilization ratio of parking spaces. It is therefore required to implement a shared parking strategy for these parking lots. In this study, a parking space allocation method (PSAM) at the network level is proposed to allocate the parking demand to a parking lot and then the parking space. The users are divided into M-users (users of the buildings) and P-users (public users). The shared parking strategy is analyzed from the aspects of open window, parking fee, and ratio of reservation spaces. The users are allocated to a parking lot by a multinomial logit(MNL) model. Specifically, it is determined whether they can enter parking lot and which space they are allocated according to the specific rules. After all the users are allocated with a parking space, the rejection number of M-users, occupancy rate, and profits of each parking lot are collected and a NSGA-II (non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II) algorithm is designed to determine the optimal strategy for each parking lot according to the above. Compared with the results of all-time all-space shared parking strategy, our method shows better performance in balancing the interests of all appertaining parking lots and protecting the interests of M-users while obtaining considerable profits for the parking lots.
Degree Reduction of S-λ Curves Using a Genetic Simulated Annealing Algorithm
Authors: Lu Jing , Qin Xinqiang
Published: December 2018

The S-λ Curves have become an important research subject in computer aided geometric design (CAGD), which owes to its good geometric properties (such as affine invariance, symmetry, and locality). This paper presents a new method to approximate an S-λ curve of degree n by using an S-λ curve of degree n-1. We transform this degree reduction problem into the function optimization problem first, and then using a new genetic simulated annealing algorithm to determine the global optimal solution of the optimization problem. The method can be used to approximate S-λ curves with fixed or unconstrained endpoints. Examples are given to verify the effectiveness of the presented algorithm; and these numeric examples show that the algorithm is not only easy to implement, but also offers high precision, which makes it valuable in practical applications.
Using ANFIS and BPNN Methods to Predict the Unfrozen Water Content of Saline Soil in Western Jilin, China
Authors: Liu Yufeng , Wang Qing , Zhang Xudong , Song Shengyuan , Niu Cencen , Shangguan Yunlong
Published: December 2018

Saline soil in seasonally frozen soil areas has caused tremendous damage to engineering and the ecological environment. The unfrozen water is the main factor affecting the properties of saline soil in seasonally frozen soil area and therefore needs to be studied. However, due to the high cost of laboratory measurement of the unfrozen water content, this study focuses on using an adaptive network fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and a back propagation neural network (BPNN) to predict the unfrozen water content of saline soil in the Zhenlai area, Western Jilin. The data for the constructed model is obtained by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) testing. The initial water content (W0), salt content (S), and temperature (T) are used as input parameters for predicting the unfrozen water content (Wu). The results of the ANFIS and BPNN models are compared. The results show that although both methods are suitable for predicting the unfrozen water content of saline soil in the Zhenlai area, western Jilin, the prediction accuracy of the ANFIS model is higher.
Some Fixed Point Results on Rectangular Metric-Like Spaces Endowed with a Graph
Authors: Souayah Nizar , Mrad Mehdi
Published: December 2018

The objective of this paper is to establish the existence and uniqueness of fixed points on rectangular metric-like spaces endowed with a graph. We introduce the notion of some generalized G-contractions principle. The usefulness of the considered metric space in real work is highlighted. The obtained results generalize some notes in the literature. Some examples are presented to support the main results.
Endophyte Infection and Methyl Jasmonate Treatment Increased the Resistance of Achnatherum sibiricum to Insect Herbivores Independently
Authors: Qin Junhua , Wu Man , Liu Hui , Gao Yubao , Ren Anzhi
Published: December 2018

Alkaloids are usually thought to be responsible for protecting endophyte-infected (EI) grasses from their herbivores. For EI grasses that produce few alkaloids, can endophyte infection enhance their resistance to herbivores? Related studies are limited. In the Inner Mongolian steppe, Achnatherum sibiricum is highly infected by Epichloë endophytes, but produces few alkaloids. Locusts are the common insect herbivores of grasses. In this study, A. sibiricum was used as plant material. Methyl jasmonate (MJ, when applied exogenously, can induce responses similar to herbivore damage) treatment was performed. The effects of endophyte infection and MJ treatment on the resistance of A. sibiricum to Locusta migratoria were studied. We found that locusts preferred EF (endophyte-free) plants to EI plants in both choice and no-choice feeding experiments. Endophyte infection enhanced the resistance of A. sibiricum to locusts. Endophyte infection decreased soluble sugar concentrations, while it increased the total phenolic content and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity, which may contribute to the resistance of A. sibiricum to locusts. There was an interaction effect between MJ treatment and endophyte infection on the growth of the host. MJ treatment was a negative regulator of the plant growth-promoting effects of endophyte infection. There was no interaction effect between MJ treatment and endophyte infection on the defense characteristics of the host. In groups not exposed to locusts, MJ treatment and endophyte infection had a similar effect in decreasing the soluble sugar content, while increasing the total phenolic content and the PAL activity. In groups exposed to locusts, the effect of MJ treatment on the above characteristics disappeared, while the effect of endophyte infection became more obvious. All of these results suggest that even for endophytes producing few alkaloids, they could still increase the resistance of native grasses to insect herbivores. Furthermore, endophyte infection might mediate the defense responses of the host, independent of jasmonic acid (JA) pathways.
Identification, Molecular Characterization, and Biology of a Novel Quadrivirus Infecting the Phytopathogenic Fungus Leptosphaeria biglobosa
Authors: Shah Unnati A. , Kotta-Loizou Ioly , Fitt Bruce D. L. , Coutts Robert H. A.
Published: December 2018

Here we report the molecular characterisation of a novel dsRNA virus isolated from the filamentous, plant pathogenic fungus Leptosphaeria biglobosa and known to cause significant alterations to fungal pigmentation and growth and to result in hypervirulence, as illustrated by comparisons between virus-infected and -cured isogenic fungal strains. The virus forms isometric particles approximately 40–45 nm in diameter and has a quadripartite dsRNA genome structure with size ranges of 4.9 to 4 kbp, each possessing a single ORF. Sequence analysis of the putative proteins encoded by dsRNAs 1–4, termed P1–P4, respectively, revealed modest similarities to the amino acid sequences of equivalent proteins predicted from the nucleotide sequences of known and suspected members of the family Quadriviridae and for that reason the virus was nominated Leptosphaeria biglobosa quadrivirus-1 (LbQV-1). Sequence and phylogenetic analysis using the P3 sequence, which encodes an RdRP, revealed that LbQV-1 was most closely related to known and suspected quadriviruses and monopartite totiviruses rather than other quadripartite mycoviruses including chrysoviruses and alternaviruses. Of the remaining encoded proteins, LbQV-1 P2 and P4 are structural proteins but the function of P1 is unknown. We propose that LbQV-1 is a novel member of the family Quadriviridae.
Numerical Simulation of Hydraulic Jumps. Part 1: Experimental Data for Modelling Performance Assessment
Authors: Valero Daniel , Viti Nicolò , Gualtieri Carlo
Published: December 2018

Hydraulic jumps have been the object of extensive experimental investigation, providing the numerical community with a complete case study for models’ performance assessment. This study constitutes an exhaustive literature review on hydraulic jumps’ experimental datasets. Both mean and turbulent parameters characterising hydraulic jumps are comprehensively discussed, presenting at least a reference to one dataset. Three studies stand out over other datasets due to their completeness. Using them as reference for model validation may ensure homogeneous and comparable performance assessment for the upcoming numerical models. Experimental inaccuracies are also addressed, allowing the numerical modeller to understand the uncertainties of reduced physical models and its limitations. Part 2 presents the three-dimensional numerical investigations to date and their main achievements.
Atmospheric Rivers over the Arctic: Lagrangian Characterisation of Their Moisture Sources
Authors: Vázquez Marta , Algarra Iago , Eiras-Barca Jorge , Ramos Alexandre M. , Nieto Raquel , Gimeno Luis
Published: December 2018

In recent years, the Arctic has become a subject of special interest due to the drastic effect of climate change over the region. Despite that there are several mechanisms that influence the Arctic region; some recent studies have suggested significant influences of moisture transport over the observed loss of sea ice. Moisture transport can affect the region in different ways: direct precipitation over the region, radiative effect from the cloud cover and through the release of latent heat. Atmospheric rivers (ARs) represent one of the main events involved in moisture transport from the tropics to the mid-latitudes and despite having been shown especially relevant on the northward advection, their effect over the Arctic has not been deeply investigated. The aim of this work was to establish the groundwork for future studies about the effect of ARs linked to moisture transport over the Arctic region. For this purpose, an automated algorithm was used to identify regions of maximum AR occurrence over the Arctic. This was done by analysing the number of AR detections every month over a band of 10° of latitude centred on 60° N. The Lagrangian model FLEXPART was used to find the areas where the ARs take their moisture to the Arctic. Using this model, the anomalous moisture contribution to these baroclinic structures was analysed taking into account only the dates of AR occurrence. From the results, it appears that the main moisture sources for AR events extend over the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans; moreover, the local input of moisture over the region of maximum AR occurrence seems to be especially relevant. In general terms, moisture comes from major evaporative areas over the western part of the oceanic regions in the band between 30° and 40° N for most months in the year, showing a continental origin in the summer months. This behaviour agrees with the climatological moisture transport into the Arctic determined in previous studies. However, in special association with AR events, an intensification of local moisture uptake is observed over the area of maximum AR activity and nearby. The study of the origin of this moisture and associated anomalies for Arctic ARs is an important step in the analysis of the effect of these structures on the Arctic environment.
La ciencia y el arte desde la perspectiva de la transevolución
Authors: Moya Andrés
Published: December 2018

La especie humana ha manipulado desde sus orígenes tanto el mundo real como el figurado. Mientras que la acción manipuladora de la especie humana sobre ambos mundos fue crítica para su supervivencia al comienzo de su evolución -hoy transevolución-, en la cultura ulterior esos mundos son abordados por dos actividades con bases conceptuales muy diferentes: la ciencia y el arte. En este trabajo sostengo la tesis de que ambos resultan necesarios para saber estar en el mundo y para transformarlo adecuadamente.
De lo óptico a lo mental. La poética cognitiva de Bernard Noël
Authors: Gamoneda Lanza Amelia
Published: December 2018

Paralelamente a su poesía, Bernard Noël desarrolla una obra en prosa que plantea interrogantes de orden cognitivo, en particular en torno a la percepción visual. La exploración de dispositivos tecnológicos (la cámara fotográfica) y de escenificaciones del acto de creación (la escena del pintor trabajando) es ocasión para contrastar la pertinencia de las intuiciones y reflexiones del poeta puestas bajo el foco de las actuales ciencias cognitivas. El trayecto de lo óptico a lo mental queda inscrito en una comprensión encarnada y gestual de la cognición que apunta también hacia el surgimiento del lenguaje. Su poesía ha de ser pues entendida como el tramo final del proceso.
Literatura y ciencia. Hacia una integración del conocimiento
Authors: Schwartz Gustavo Ariel , Berti Eduardo
Published: December 2018

Examinaremos en este artículo las relaciones entre literatura y ciencia a lo largo de los últimos dos siglos, con especial énfasis en el estado actual y en las perspectivas futuras. Veremos aquí que existen profundos vínculos entre ellas como consecuencia de que ambas se nutren de un imaginario colectivo común a la vez que lo alimentan. Analizaremos también diversos aspectos tales como las influencias recíprocas y los desarrollos simultáneos de nuevas ideas y conceptos. En este sentido, comprobaremos cómo los grandes cambios de paradigma se manifiestan muchas veces a la vez en la ciencia, la literatura y otros ámbitos del saber. Finalmente, discutiremos algunos aspectos relativos a la exploración de los espacios comunes entre literatura y ciencia con el objetivo de potenciar las formas de conocimiento a partir de un mestizaje epistémico y metodológico.