bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A New Structural Health Monitoring Strategy Based on PZT Sensors and Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: De Oliveira Mario A. , Monteiro Andre V. , Vieira Filho Jozue
Published: September 2018

Preliminaries convolutional neural network (CNN) applications have recently emerged in structural health monitoring (SHM) systems focusing mostly on vibration analysis. However, the SHM literature shows clearly that there is a lack of application regarding the combination of PZT-(lead zirconate titanate) based method and CNN. Likewise, applications using CNN along with the electromechanical impedance (EMI) technique applied to SHM systems are rare. To encourage this combination, an innovative SHM solution through the combination of the EMI-PZT and CNN is presented here. To accomplish this, the EMI signature is split into several parts followed by computing the Euclidean distances among them to form a RGB (red, green and blue) frame. As a result, we introduce a dataset formed from the EMI-PZT signals of 720 frames, encompassing a total of four types of structural conditions for each PZT. In a case study, the CNN-based method was experimentally evaluated using three PZTs glued onto an aluminum plate. The results reveal an effective pattern classification; yielding a 100% hit rate which outperforms other SHM approaches. Furthermore, the method needs only a small dataset for training the CNN, providing several advantages for industrial applications.
Automatic Calibration of an Around View Monitor System Exploiting Lane Markings
Authors: Choi Kyoungtaek , Jung Ho Gi , Suhr Jae Kyu
Published: September 2018

This paper proposes a method that automatically calibrates four cameras of an around view monitor (AVM) system in a natural driving situation. The proposed method estimates orientation angles of four cameras composing the AVM system, and assumes that their locations and intrinsic parameters are known in advance. This method utilizes lane markings because they exist in almost all on-road situations and appear across images of adjacent cameras. It starts by detecting lane markings from images captured by four cameras of the AVM system in a cost-effective manner. False lane markings are rejected by analyzing the statistical properties of the detected lane markings. Once the correct lane markings are sufficiently gathered, this method first calibrates the front and rear cameras, and then calibrates the left and right cameras with the help of the calibration results of the front and rear cameras. This two-step approach is essential because side cameras cannot be fully calibrated by themselves, due to insufficient lane marking information. After this initial calibration, this method collects corresponding lane markings appearing across images of adjacent cameras and simultaneously refines the initial calibration results of four cameras to obtain seamless AVM images. In the case of a long image sequence, this method conducts the camera calibration multiple times, and then selects the medoid as the final result to reduce computational resources and dependency on a specific place. In the experiment, the proposed method was quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated in various real driving situations and showed promising results.
A Compact Ultrawideband Antenna Based on Hexagonal Split-Ring Resonator for pH Sensor Application
Authors: Islam Mohammad Tariqul , Ashraf Farhad Bin , Alam Touhidul , Misran Norbahiah , Mat Kamarulzaman Bin
Published: September 2018

A compact ultrawideband (UWB) antenna based on a hexagonal split-ring resonator (HSRR) is presented in this paper for sensing the pH factor. The modified HSRR is a new concept regarding the conventional square split-ring resonator (SSRR). Two HSRRs are interconnected with a strip line and a split in one HSRR is introduced to increase the electrical length and coupling effect. The presented UWB antenna consists of three unit cells on top of the radiating patch element. This combination of UWB antenna and HSRR gives double-negative characteristics which increase the sensitivity of the UWB antenna for the pH sensor. The proposed ultrawideband antenna metamaterial sensor was designed and fabricated on FR-4 substrate. The electrical length of the proposed metamaterial antenna sensor is 0.238 × 0.194 × 0.016 λ, where λ is the lowest frequency of 3 GHz. The fractional bandwidth and bandwidth dimension ratio were achieved with the metamaterial-inspired antenna as 146.91% and 3183.05, respectively. The operating frequency of this antenna sensor covers the bandwidth of 17 GHz, starting from 3 to 20 GHz with a realized gain of 3.88 dB. The proposed HSRR-based ultrawideband antenna sensor is found to reach high gain and bandwidth while maintaining the smallest electrical size, a highly desired property for pH-sensing applications.
Energy-Efficient Forest Fire Prediction Model Based on Two-Stage Adaptive Duty-Cycled Hybrid X-MAC Protocol
Authors: Kang Jin-Gu , Lim Dong-Woo , Jung Jin-Woo
Published: September 2018

This paper proposes an adaptive duty-cycled hybrid X-MAC (ADX-MAC) protocol for energy-efficient forest fire prediction. The Asynchronous sensor network protocol, X-MAC protocol, acquires additional environmental status details from each forest fire monitoring sensor for a given period, and then changes the duty-cycle sleep interval to efficiently calculate forest fire occurrence risk according to the environment. Performance was verified experimentally, and the proposed ADX-MAC protocol improved throughput by 19% and was 24% more energy efficient compared to the X-MAC protocol. The duty-cycle was shortened as forest fire probability increased, ensuring forest fires were detected at faster cycle rate.
Detection of Glyphosate in Drinking Water: A Fast and Direct Detection Method without Sample Pretreatment
Authors: Noori Jafar Safaa , Dimaki Maria , Mortensen John , Svendsen Winnie E.
Published: September 2018

Glyphosate (Gly) is one of the most problematic pesticides that repeatedly appears in drinking water. Continuous on-site detection of Gly in water supplies can provide an early warning in incidents of contamination, before the pesticide reaches the drinking water. Here, we report the first direct detection of Gly in tap water with electrochemical sensing. Gold working electrodes were used to detect the pesticide in spiked tap water without any supporting electrolyte, sample pretreatment or electrode modifications. Amperometric measurements were used to quantify Gly to a limit of detection of 2 μM, which is below the regulation limit of permitted contamination of drinking water in the United States. The quantification of Gly was linearly proportional with the measured signal. The selectivity of this method was evaluated by applying the same technique on a Gly Metabolite, AMPA, and on another pesticide, omethoate, with a chemical structure similar to Gly. The testing revealed no interfering electrochemical activity at the potential range used for Gly detection. The simple detection of Gly presented in this work may lead to direct on-site monitoring of Gly contamination at drinking water sources.
A Homogeneous Breast Phantom Measurement System with an Improved Modified Microwave Imaging Antenna Sensor
Authors: Islam Mohammad Tariqul , Samsuzzaman Md. , Islam Md. Tarikul , Kibria Salehin , Singh Mandeep Jit
Published: September 2018

Microwave breast imaging has been reported as having the most potential to become an alternative or additional tool to the existing X-ray mammography technique for detecting breast tumors. Microwave antenna sensor performance plays a significant role in microwave imaging system applications because the image quality is mostly affected by the microwave antenna sensor array properties like the number of antenna sensors in the array and the size of the antenna sensors. In this paper, a new system for successful early detection of a breast tumor using a balanced slotted antipodal Vivaldi Antenna (BSAVA) sensor is presented. The designed antenna sensor has an overall dimension of 0.401λ × 0.401λ × 0.016λ at the first resonant frequency and operates between 3.01 to 11 GHz under 10 dB. The radiating fins are modified by etching three slots on both fins which increases the operating bandwidth, directionality of radiation pattern, gain and efficiency. The antenna sensor performance of both the frequency domain and time domain scenarios and high-fidelity factor with NFD is also investigated. The antenna sensor can send and receive short electromagnetic pulses in the near field with low loss, little distortion and highly directionality. A realistic homogenous breast phantom is fabricated, and a breast phantom measurement system is developed where a two antennas sensor is placed on the breast model rotated by a mechanical scanner. The tumor response was investigated by analyzing the backscattering signals and successful image construction proves that the proposed microwave antenna sensor can be a suitable candidate for a high-resolution microwave breast imaging system.
Glyphosate Determination by Coupling an Immuno-Magnetic Assay with Electrochemical Sensors
Authors: Bettazzi Francesca , Romero Natale Aline , Torres Eduardo , Palchetti Ilaria
Published: September 2018

Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is the most frequently used broad-spectrum herbicide worldwide. Its mechanism of action is based on the inhibition of an enzyme that is essential to plant growth. Its intensive use has caused global contamination to occur, which has not only affected the ecosystems, but even food and other objects of common use. Thus, there is a pronounced need for developing analytical methods for glyphosate determination in different matrices. Here, an electrochemical competitive immunoassay, based on the use of antibody-modified magnetic particles, has been developed. Tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) has been used as an enzymatic substrate. The extent of the affinity reaction has been achieved by monitoring the current value, due to the reduction of the enzymatic product. A disposable screen-printed electrochemical cell has been used. The calibration curve has been recorded in the 0–10,000 ng/L concentration range, with a detection limit of 5 ng/L and quantification limit of 30 ng/L. The electrochemical immunoassay has also been applied to the analysis of spiked beer samples.
Simple and Label-Free Fluorescent Detection of Melamine Based on Melamine–Thymine Recognition
Authors: Yang Hualin , Wang Jiujun , Wu Qinghua , Wang Yun , Li Li , Ding Baomiao
Published: September 2018

In the past few years, melamine has been illegally added into dairy products to increase the apparent crude protein levels. If humans or animals drink the milk adulteration of melamine, it can form insoluble melamine–cyanurate crystals in their kidneys which causes kidney damage or even death. In the present work, we constructed a simple and label-free fluorescent method for melamine detection based on melamine-thymine recognition. SYBR Green I was utilized as a reporter for this method as it did not require any modification or expensive equipment. In the absence of melamine, polythymine DNA was digested by Exo I, which caused a decrease in the fluorescence signal. In the presence of melamine, the polythymine DNA was able to fold into a double chain structure, however this was done with the help of T-melamine-T mismatches to prevent degradation. Then, the SYBR Green I combined with the double-stranded DNA to result in an intense fluorescence signal. The limit of detection in this method was 1.58 μM, which satisfied the FDA standards. This method also had a good linear relationship within the range of 10–200 μM. In addition, this new method has a good selectivity to distinguish melamine from the component of milk. As a result, we developed a simple and highly selectivity method for melamine detection.
Simultaneous Estimation of Rebar Diameter and Cover Thickness by a GPR-EMI Dual Sensor
Authors: Zhou Feng , Chen Zhongchang , Liu Hai , Cui Jie , Spencer Billie F. , Fang Guangyou
Published: September 2018

Precise characterization of reinforcing bars (rebars) in a concrete structure is of significant importance for construction quality control and post-disaster safety evaluation. This paper integrates ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) methods for simultaneous estimation of rebar diameter and cover thickness. A prototype of GPR-EMI dual sensor is developed, and a calibration experiment is conducted to collect a standard EMI dataset corresponding to various rebar diameters and cover thicknesses. The handheld testing cart can synchronously collect both GPR and EMI data when moving on the concrete surface, from which a data processing algorithm is proposed to simultaneously estimate the rebar diameter and cover thickness. Firstly, by extracting the apex of the hyperbolic reflection from the rebar in the preprocessed GPR profile, the rebar position is determined and further used to extract the effective EMI curve. Then, the rebar diameter and cover thickness are simultaneously estimated from the minimum mean square error between the measured and calibrated EMI data under the constraint of the GPR-estimated cover thickness. A laboratory experiment is performed using four casted concrete specimens with 11 embedded steel rebars. The results show that the diameters of 10 rebars are correctly estimated out of the 11 rebars, and the maximum estimation error for the cover thickness is 6.7%. A field trial is carried out in a newly-constructed building, and the diameters of four tested rebars are all accurately estimated while the estimation errors of the cover thickness are less than 5%. It is concluded that the developed GPR-EMI dual sensor and the proposed algorithm can estimate the rebar diameter and cover thickness accurately by a single scan.
A Multi-Sensor Matched Filter Approach to Robust Segmentation of Assisted Gait
Authors: Gill Satinder , Seth Nitin , Scheme Erik
Published: September 2018

Individuals with mobility impairments related to age, injury, or disease, often require the help of an assistive device (AD) such as a cane to ambulate, increase safety, and improve overall stability. Instrumenting these devices has been proposed as a non-invasive way to proactively monitor an individual’s reliance on the AD while also obtaining information about behaviors and changes in gait. A critical first step in the analysis of these data, however, is the accurate processing and segmentation of the sensor data to extract relevant gait information. In this paper, we present a highly accurate multi-sensor-based gait segmentation algorithm that is robust to a variety of walking conditions using an AD. A matched filtering approach based on loading information is used in conjunction with an angular rate reversal and peak detection technique, to identify important gait events. The algorithm is tested over a variety of terrains using a hybrid sensorized cane, capable of measuring loading, mobility, and stability information. The reliability and accuracy of the proposed multi-sensor matched filter (MSMF) algorithm is compared with variations of the commonly employed gyroscope peak detection (GPD) algorithm. Results of an experiment with a group of 30 healthy participants walking over various terrains demonstrated the ability of the proposed segmentation algorithm to reliably and accurately segment gait events.
Unsupervised Hierarchical Clustering Approach for Tourism Market Segmentation Based on Crowdsourced Mobile Phone Data
Authors: Rodríguez Jorge , Semanjski Ivana , Gautama Sidharta , Van de Weghe Nico , Ochoa Daniel
Published: September 2018

Understanding tourism related behavior and traveling patterns is an essential element of transportation system planning and tourism management at tourism destinations. Traditionally, tourism market segmentation is conducted to recognize tourist’s profiles for which personalized services can be provided. Today, the availability of wearable sensors, such as smartphones, holds the potential to tackle data collection problems of paper-based surveys and deliver relevant mobility data in a timely and cost-effective way. In this paper, we develop and implement a hierarchical clustering approach for smartphone geo-localized data to detect meaningful tourism related market segments. For these segments, we provide detailed insights into their characteristics and related mobility behavior. The applicability of the proposed approach is demonstrated on a use case in the Province of Zeeland in the Netherlands. We collected data from 1505 users during five months using the Zeeland app. The proposed approach resulted in two major clusters and four sub-clusters which we were able to interpret based on their spatio-temporal patterns and the recurrence of their visiting patterns to the region.
Wireless Sensor Network Localization via Matrix Completion Based on Bregman Divergence
Authors: Liu Chunsheng , Shan Hong , Wang Bin
Published: September 2018

One of the main challenges faced by wireless sensor network (WSN) localization is the positioning accuracy of the WSN node. The existing algorithms are arduous to use for dealing with the pulse noise that is universal and ineluctable in practical considerations, resulting in lower positioning accuracy. Aimed at this problem and introducing Bregman divergence, we propose in this paper a novel WSN localization algorithm via matrix completion (LBDMC). Based on the natural low-rank character of the Euclidean Distance Matrix (EDM), the problem of EDM recovery is formulated as an issue of matrix completion in a noisy environment. A regularized matrix completion model is established, smoothing the pulse noise by leveraging L 1 , 2 -norm and the multivariate function Bregman divergence is defined to solve the model to obtain the EDM estimator. Furthermore, node localization is available based on the multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) method. Multi-faceted comparison experiments with existing algorithms, under a variety of noise conditions, demonstrate the superiority of LBDMC to other algorithms regarding positioning accuracy and robustness, while ensuring high efficiency. Notably, the mean localization error of LBDMC is about ten times smaller than that of other algorithms when the sampling rate reaches a certain level, such as >30%.
Globally Optimal Distributed Kalman Filtering for Multisensor Systems with Unknown Inputs
Authors: Ruan Yali , Luo Yingting , Zhu Yunmin
Published: September 2018

In this paper, the state estimation for dynamic system with unknown inputs modeled as an autoregressive AR (1) process is considered. We propose an optimal algorithm in mean square error sense by using difference method to eliminate the unknown inputs. Moreover, we consider the state estimation for multisensor dynamic systems with unknown inputs. It is proved that the distributed fused state estimate is equivalent to the centralized Kalman filtering using all sensor measurement; therefore, it achieves the best performance. The computation complexity of the traditional augmented state algorithm increases with the augmented state dimension. While, the new algorithm shows good performance with much less computations compared to that of the traditional augmented state algorithms. Moreover, numerical examples show that the performances of the traditional algorithms greatly depend on the initial value of the unknown inputs, if the estimation of initial value of the unknown input is largely biased, the performances of the traditional algorithms become quite worse. However, the new algorithm still works well because it is independent of the initial value of the unknown input.
Modeling the Human Visuo-Motor System to Support Remote-Control Operation
Authors: Andersh Jonathan , Mettler Bérénice
Published: September 2018

The working hypothesis in this project is that gaze interactions play a central role in structuring the joint control and guidance strategy of the human operator performing spatial tasks. Perceptual guidance and control is the idea that the visual and motor systems form a unified perceptuo-motor system where necessary information is naturally extracted by the visual system. As a consequence, the response of this system is constrained by the visual and motor mechanisms and these effects should manifest in the behavioral data. Modeling the perceptual processes of the human operator provides the foundation necessary for a systems-based approach to the design of control and display systems used by remotely operated vehicles. This paper investigates this hypothesis using flight tasks conducted with remotely controlled miniature rotorcraft, taking place in indoor settings that provide rich environments to investigate the key processes supporting spatial interactions. This work also applies to spatial control tasks in a range of application domains that include tele-operation, gaming, and virtual reality. The human-in-the-loop system combines the dynamics of the vehicle, environment, and human perception–action with the response of the overall system emerging from the interplay of perception and action. The main questions to be answered in this work are as follows: (i) what is the general control and guidance strategy of the human operator, and (ii) how is information about the vehicle and environment extracted visually by the operator. The general approach uses gaze as the primary sensory mechanism by decoding the gaze patterns of the pilot to provide information for estimation, control, and guidance. This work differs from existing research by taking what have largely been conceptual ideas on action–perception and structuring them to be implemented for a real-world problem. The paper proposes a system model that captures the human pilot’s perception–action loop; the loop that delineates the main components of the pilot’s perceptuo-motor system, including estimation of the vehicle state and task elements based on operator gaze patterns, trajectory planning, and tracking control. The identified human visuo-motor model is then exploited to demonstrate how the perceptual and control functions system can be augmented to reduce the operator workload.
Organisational Identity as a Barrier to Widening Access in Scottish Universities
Authors: Boliver Vikki , Powell Mandy , Moreira Tiago
Published: September 2018

Widening access policy has historically focused on tackling the socioeconomic barriers to university access faced by prospective students from under-represented groups, but increasingly policy makers are seeking to also address the barriers to wider access posed by undergraduate admissions policies. In this vein, the Scottish Government has recently called upon universities to set separate academic entry requirements for socioeconomically disadvantaged applicants which recognise that “the school attainment of disadvantaged learners often does not reflect their full potential” and which better reflect the minimum needed to succeed in higher education. In this paper, we draw on in-depth interviews with admissions personnel at eighteen Scottish universities to explore the scope for more progressive admissions policies of this kind in light of universities’ identities as organisations and in light of corresponding organisational strategies for position-taking in global and national higher education fields. We present a theoretical model and an empirical illustration of three hierarchically-ordered ideal types of organisational identity—globally competitive, nationally selective, and locally transformative—and show that the more dominant of these tend to constrain the development of more progressive admissions policies. This is because globally competitive and, to a lesser extent, nationally selective organisational identities are understood to require admission of the ‘brightest and best’, conceptualised as those with the highest levels of prior academic attainment who can be expected to succeed at university and beyond as a matter of course. We conclude that universities must recognise and redress the implicitly exclusionary nature of their organisational identities if genuine progress on widening access is to be made.
Factor Decomposition of the Changes in the Rural Regional Income Inequality in Southwestern Mountainous Area of China
Authors: Xu Yun , Qiu Xiaoping , Yang Xueting , Chen Guojie
Published: September 2018

This study aimed to determine factors of rural income inequality changes in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan, China, to help formulate measures to reduce regional inequality and alleviate poverty in the southwestern mountainous area of China, which experiences frequent natural disasters and poor living conditions. Changes in rural income inequality are examined, which are then decomposed into different component factors based on the Gini index. Income inequality is comprised of four types of income source: wages, household operations, properties, and transfers. This analysis focuses on the period of 2003 to 2011—a special transitional stage during which the Wenchuan earthquake intervened. The results indicate that income from household operations plays a dominant role in income inequality. Its contribution to the overall inequality fluctuates from 36.40 to 50.39% and had a positive effect on reducing inequality after the earthquake. Wage income contributed the second-most to income inequality and had positive and negative effects on reducing inequality before and after the earthquake, respectively. Transfer and property incomes are important forces in income inequality that have different influencing mechanisms. Transfer income positively helps reduce income inequality. Exclusive favors or preferences should be granted to such areas.
Exploring the Hierarchical Structure of China’s Railway Network from 2008 to 2017
Authors: Lu Shiwei , Huang Yaping , Zhao Zhiyuan , Yang Xiping
Published: September 2018

The analysis of transport networks is an important component of urban and regional development and planning. Based on the four main stages of China’s railway development from 2008 to 2017, this paper analyzes the hierarchical and spatial heterogeneity distribution of train flows. We found a high degree of spatial matching with the distribution of China’s main railway corridors. Then, using a classical community detection algorithm, this paper attempts to describe the functional structure and regional effects of China’s railway network. We also explore the impacts of construction policies and changes to train operations on the spatial organizing pattern and evolution of network hierarchies. The results of this empirical study reveal a clear pattern of independent communities, which in turn indicates the existence of a hierarchical structure in China’s railway network. The decreases in both the number of communities and average distance between community centers indicate that the newer high-speed rail services have shortened the connections between cities. In addition, the detected communities are inconsistent with China’s actual administrative divisions in terms of quantity and boundaries. The spatial spillover and segmentation effects cause the railway network in different regions to be self-contained. Finally, the detected communities in each stage can be divided into the categories of monocentric structure, dual-nuclei structure, and polycentric structure according to the number of extracted hubs. The polycentric structure is the dominant mode, which shows that the railway network has significant spatial dependence and a diversified spatial organization mode. This study has great significance for policymakers seeking to guide the future construction of high-speed rail lines and optimize national or regional railway networks.
Effects of Legal Designation and Management of a Multiple-Use Protected Area on Local Sustainability
Authors: Rodríguez-Rodríguez David , López Iván
Published: September 2018

The designation of protected areas (PAs) entails environmental, social, and economic effects to local stakeholders through access restriction to natural resources. We used a mixed methods research framework that combines time series analysis and stakeholder surveys to elicit objective and subjective effects of legal and managerial designation of Sierra Cabrera-Bedar Natura 2000 site on local sustainability in south-eastern Spain. Firstly, 47 environmental, social, and economic variables for which official time series data were available were assessed using a multiple-paired-Before-After-Control-Impact research design, where “Impacts” were: (1) legal designation of Sierra Cabrera-Bedar as a Site of Community Importance (SCI); and (2) management implementation of the site as an Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The two municipalities having most of their territories in Sierra Cabrera-Bedar SCI/SAC were selected as ‘Cases’, whereas two similar municipalities outside the PA were chosen as ‘Controls’. Additionally, 13 local organisations pertaining to 11 socioeconomic guilds from case municipalities were surveyed on their perceived effects of the designation Sierra Cabrera-Bedar as an SAC on 28 social and economic variables. The effects of legal and managerial protection of the site on local sustainability were unclear although greater SAC sustainability is suggested, even though limited time series availability for the SAC period increases uncertainty. Local organisations perceived mostly limited and negative socioeconomic effects from SAC designation. Disagreement between statistical and perceptual results suggests use of time series analyses for accurate assessment of socioeconomic effects of PAs in Spain.
Transformation Is ‘Experienced, Not Delivered’: Insights from Grounding the Discourse in Practice to Inform Policy and Theory
Authors: Duncan Ronlyn , Robson-Williams Melissa , Nicholas Graeme , Turner James A. , Smith Rawiri , Diprose David
Published: September 2018

Calls for transformation, transformative research, and transformational impact are increasingly heard from governments, industry, and universities to recast a course towards sustainability. This paper retraces a social, qualitative, and interpretive research endeavor to contribute to broadening the conceptual base of transformation. Drawing on perspectives of practitioners involved in working with communities to bring about change in how land and water are managed, the objective of the research was to elicit a range of practice-based encounters of transformation to inform policy and theory. In identifying precursors and processes for change, the findings bring into view the often unseen internal and experiential dimensions of transformation. As such, the research provides insights on where transformation takes place, what the first step of transformation might look like, and what might be deemed transformational. The paper also builds on social practice theory to produce an explanatory model of transformational capacity that is enabled and constrained by structures, processes, understanding, and authority that impact on social practices of knowledge generation (including science) and land and water decision-making.
What Is the Efficiency of Fast Urbanization? A China Study
Authors: Ren Yitian , Li Heng , Shen Liyin , Zhang Yu , Chen Yang , Wang Jinhuan
Published: September 2018

Urbanization is commonly described as the process of population flow from rural to urban areas. As the largest developing country, China has experienced an unprecedentedly fast and large urbanization process since 1980s, which will continue for the coming future. The immense scale of the process has brought multidimensional benefits across all sectors in the country, yet also consumed a vast amount of resources and caused various types of environmental problems. The conflict between limited resources and an unstoppable urbanization process has become a pressing issue, which presents the urgent need for efficiency pursuance in the process of urbanization in order to ensure sustainable urban development. It is considered that the improvement of urbanization efficiency in large developing countries such as China has great implications for global sustainability. There is little existing study conducted to understand what efficiency achieved in the current fast urban development era in China. This study investigates the urbanization efficiency and its changes in the contemporary China. A set of input-output indicators are employed for analyzing the efficiency, in which both desirable and undesirable outputs are considered. The Super-efficiency Slack-based Measure (SBM) model and DEA-based Malmquist Production Index (MPI) are adopted collectively for conducting data analysis. The research is conducted at provincial level in China and the data collected for analysis are from 30 provinces for the period of 2006–2015. The results from this study show that the overall urbanization efficiency in China during the surveyed period is low, although certain improvement has been achieved. The difference between good and poor performers is considerable. In general, those provinces with better social and economic background have better urbanization efficiency performance. East China is much better than the rest of China, whilst Southwest region has the poorest performance.
Soil and Water Conservation in Burkina Faso, West Africa
Authors: Nyamekye Clement , Thiel Michael , Schönbrodt-Stitt Sarah , Zoungrana Benewinde J.-B. , Amekudzi Leonard K.
Published: September 2018

Inadequate land management and agricultural activities have largely resulted in land degradation in Burkina Faso. The nationwide governmental and institutional driven implementation and adoption of soil and water conservation measures (SWCM) since the early 1960s, however, is expected to successively slow down the degradation process and to increase the agricultural output. Even though relevant measures have been taken, only a few studies have been conducted to quantify their effect, for instance, on soil erosion and environmental restoration. In addition, a comprehensive summary of initiatives, implementation strategies, and eventually region-specific requirements for adopting different SWCM is missing. The present study therefore aims to review the different SWCM in Burkina Faso and implementation programs, as well as to provide information on their effects on environmental restoration and agricultural productivity. This was achieved by considering over 143 studies focusing on Burkina Faso’s experience and research progress in areas of SWCM and soil erosion. SWCM in Burkina Faso have largely resulted in an increase in agricultural productivity and improvement in food security. Finally, this study aims at supporting the country’s informed decision-making for extending already existing SWCM and for deriving further implementation strategies.
Cultural Perspective of Traditional Cheese Consumption Practices and Its Sustainability among Post-Millennial Consumers
Authors: Garanti Zanete , Berberoglu Aysen
Published: September 2018

(1) Background: The consumption of traditional foods has been linked to economic, social, and environmental sustainability; therefore, the main challenge of a changing marketplace is to ensure that young generations continue consuming traditional products. The current study uses a consumer culture theory (CCT) perspective to examine the following: (1) the way individuals use their traditional products to identify themselves with the culture and to feel that they are a part of the community, (2) the underlying values that turn young consumers into loyal customers of hellim/halloumi cheese, and (3) its implications to hellim/halloumi producers. (2) Methods: A qualitative research method is applied to study the perceptions of post-millennials towards traditional cheese products from a cultural perspective. (3) Results: The results of the study reveal that loyalty towards traditional food products amongst post-millennials is build based on (1) the memories that surround the food, (2) the rituals that preparing and eating a food involve, and (3) the identity that it builds, allowing people feel sense of belonging to their ethnic group. (4) Conclusions: Loyalty amongst post-millennials towards traditional food products tends to be emotional, rather than rational or behavioral. It allows us to present both theoretical and managerial implications. It also calls for more empirical research to understand the changing marketplace and post-millennials’ consumption habits.
Production of Pig Feed under Future Atmospheric CO2 Concentrations: Changes in Crop Content and Chemical Composition, Land Use, Environmental Impact, and Socio-Economic Consequences
Authors: Saxe Henrik , Hamelin Lorie , Hinrichsen Torben , Wenzel Henrik
Published: September 2018

With the rising atmospheric CO2, crops will assimilate more carbon. Yields will increase in terms of carbohydrates while diluting the content of protein and minerals in compound pig feed, calling for an altered formulation with more protein and less carbohydrate crops to maintain its nutritional value. Using crop response data from CO2 exposures in a linear modeling of feed formulation, we apply a consequential life cycle assessment (cLCA) to model all of the environmental impacts and socio-economic consequences that altered crop yields and chemical composition at elevated CO2 levels have on feed formulation, targeting altered amino acid contents rather than overall protein. An atmospheric CO2 of 550 µmole mole−1 gives rise to a 6% smaller demand for land use for pig feed production. However, feed produced at this CO2 must include 23% more soymeal and 5% less wheat than at present in order to keep its nutritional value. This counteracts the yield benefit. The monetized environmental cost of producing pig feed, where sunflower and soy contribute the most, equals the direct feed price in both scenarios. If external costs were internalized, honoring the Rio Declaration, feed prices would double. In contrast, the future composition of pig feed will increase the direct price by only 0.8%, while the external cost decreases by only 0.3%.
Platform Adoption Factors in the Internet Industry
Authors: Kim Junic
Published: September 2018

This study examines the factors influencing the choices of Internet platform services by applying the technology acceptance model. For this purpose, the analysis is conducted with 222 people who use different types of Internet platforms by utilizing structural equation modeling. The results show that perceived usefulness had positive effects on the intention to use, perceived ease of use, diversity, and security risks affected by the perceived usefulness, and the indirect influences on the intention to use. In addition, satisfaction (in relation to service quality) was found to affect both perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness. This research is significant because it will make it possible to predict users’ perceptions of Internet platforms, which is important for establishing relevant strategies.
Simplified Analytical Model and Shaking Table Test Validation for Seismic Analysis of Mid-Rise Cold-Formed Steel Composite Shear Wall Building
Authors: Ye Jihong , Jiang Liqiang
Published: September 2018

To develop the cold-formed steel (CFS) building from low-rise to mid-rise, this paper proposes a new type of CFS composite shear wall building system. The continuous placed CFS concrete-filled tube (CFRST) column is used as the end stud, and the CFS-ALC wall casing concrete composite floor is used as the floor system. In order to predict the seismic behavior of this new structural system, a simplified analytical model is proposed in this paper, which includes the following. (1) A build-up section with “new material” is used to model the CFS tube and infilled concrete of CFRST columns; the section parameters are determined by the equivalent stiffness principle, and the “new material” is modeled by an elastic-perfect plastic model. (2) Two crossed nonlinear springs with hysteretic parameters are used to model a composite CFS shear wall; the Pinching04 material is used to input the hysteretic parameters for these springs, and two crossed rigid trusses are used to model the CFS beams. (3) A linear spring is used to model the uplift behavior of a hold-down connection, and the contribution of these connections for CFRST columns are considered and individually modeled. (4) The rigid diaphragm is used to model the composite floor system, and it is demonstrated by example analyses. Finally, a shaking table test is conducted on a five-story 1:2-scaled CFS composite shear wall building to valid the simplified model. The results are as follows. The errors on peak drift of the first story, the energy dissipation of the first story, the peak drift of the roof story, and the energy dissipation of the whole structure’s displacement time–history curves between the test and simplified models are about 10%, and the largest one of these errors is 20.8%. Both the time–history drift curves and cumulative energy curves obtained from the simplified model accurately track the deformation and energy dissipation processes of the test model. Such comparisons demonstrate the accuracy and applicability of the simplified model, and the proposed simplified model would provide the basis for the theoretical analysis and seismic design of CFS composite shear wall systems.
Evaluation of UR-UVGI System for Sterilization Effect on Microorganism Contamination in Negative Pressure Isolation Ward
Authors: Bang Jong-Il , Park Jeongyeon , Choi Anseop , Jeong Jae-Weon , Kim Jin Yong , Sung Minki
Published: September 2018

A negative pressure isolation ward prevents the outflow of airborne microorganisms from inside the ward, minimizing the spread of airborne contamination causing respiratory infection. In response to recent outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Korea has increased the number of these facilities. However, airborne contaminants that flow into the ward from adjacent areas may cause secondary harm to patients. In this study, the sterilization effect of upper-room ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UR-UVGI) on microorganisms generated within the negative pressure isolation ward and those flowing inward from adjacent areas was evaluated through field experiments and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, to assess the potential of this approach as a supplementary measure to control such microorganisms. The sterilization effect was found to be not high because of high-level ventilation. CFD analysis under various conditions shows that the sterilization effect for indoor-generated microorganisms varies with the level of UV radiation, the source locations of the indoor-generated microorganisms, air supplies and exhausts, the UVGI system, and the airflow formed under the specified conditions. Our results show that when the UVGI system is installed in the upper part of the ward entrance, contaminated air from adjacent area is strongly sterilized.
Social Hotspot Analysis and Trade Policy Implications of the Use of Bioelectrochemical Systems for Resource Recovery from Wastewater
Authors: Shemfe Mobolaji B. , Gadkari Siddharth , Sadhukhan Jhuma
Published: September 2018

Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) have been catalogued as a technological solution to three pressing global challenges: environmental pollution, resource scarcity, and freshwater scarcity. This study explores the social risks along the supply chain of requisite components of BESs for two functionalities: (i) copper recovery from spent lees and (ii) formic acid production via CO2 reduction, based on the UK’s trade policy. The methodology employed in this study is based on the UNEP/SETAC guidelines for social life-cycle assessment (S-LCA) of products. Relevant trade data from UN COMTRADE database and generic social data from New Earth’s social hotspot database were compiled for the S-LCA. The results revealed that about 75% of the components are imported from the European Union. However, the social risks were found to vary regardless of the magnitude or country of imports. “Labour and Decent Work” was identified as the most critical impact category across all countries of imports, while the import of copper showed relatively higher risk than other components. The study concludes that BESs are a promising sustainable technology for resource recovery from wastewater. Nevertheless, it is recommended that further research efforts should concentrate on stakeholder engagement in order to fully grasp the potential social risks.
Equilibrium Strategy-Based Optimization Method for Carbon Emission Quota Allocation in Conventional Power Plants
Authors: Huang Qian , Feng Qing , Tian Yuan , Lu Li
Published: September 2018

Carbon emissions have become significant obstacles to sustainable development. To control carbon emissions, rational carbon emissions quota allocation provides an effective way. As conventional power plants (CPP) are the major contributors to global carbon emissions, this study proposes an equilibrium strategy-based bi-level multi-objective model for carbon emissions quota allocation which fully considers the conflict between the authority and the CPPs, and the conflict between economic development and environmental protection. In addition, uncertainty theory is employed to represent the imprecise parameters in reality. The proposed model is then applied to Shenzhen to show the practicality and efficiency of the proposed model. An interactive algorithm is developed to calculate. Based on results, the proposed method can achieve carbon emissions reductions, cooperative authority-CPPs relationship and economic-environmental coordination. It also indicates that the authority would allocate greater quotas to lower carbon emissions power plants. These results demonstrate the proposed method could help seek optimal allocation policies.
SWOT Analysis of the Application of International Standard ISO 14001 in the Chinese Context. A Case Study of Guangdong Province
Authors: Pesce Marco , Shi Chenyi , Critto Andrea , Wang Xiaohui , Marcomini Antonio
Published: September 2018

Industry has long been one of the most important drivers of Chinese economic growth. In order to improve the environmental footprint of industrial areas, Chinese authorities have established mechanisms of environmental control in the internal management processes of companies. In this regard, the international standard ISO 14001 for environmental management systems is the management tool that has had widest adoption among Chinese companies since its creation in 1996. The main purposes of the paper are to investigate the available international and national statistics on the adoptionof ISO 14001 in China, and present opinions on ISO 14001 of the 72 representatives of small and medium enterprises and multinational companies of Guangdong province that participated to the workshop “New tools and standards to advance and measure corporate sustainability”, held in Guangzhou on 26 January 2018. The analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) was adopted as the research method to collect opinions on the ISO 14001 standard. Participants were asked to discuss strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities considering four business aspects: sustainability, internal processes, stakeholder engagement, and resource management. Our findings indicate that companies fully embraced ISO 14001 and recognized the necessity of a standardized approach to identify environmental aspects. On the other hand, they also expressed concern about aspects such as the certification cost, the focus on certification itself and not on the improvement of environmental performance, and the lack of integration with sustainability tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and other sustainability paradigms such as circular economy and corporate social responsibility (CSR).