bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Producer Services Agglomeration and Carbon Emission Reduction—An Empirical Test Based on Panel Data from China
Authors: Mi Kena , Zhuang Rulong
Published: March 2022

Although China has a high rate of economic development, it still faces the problems of unstable industrial structure, low industrial level, and large carbon emissions, which pose huge challenges to China’s sustainable development. China is working hard to develop producer services to achieve industrial transformation and reduce carbon emissions. In this context, there is an extremely urgent need to conduct academic research on changes in producer service agglomeration and carbon emissions. Whether the producer service industry has agglomeration characteristics, and whether the producer service industry affects carbon emissions through multiple paths, are issues worthy of attention. Therefore, this paper takes China as the research area, selects the provincial administrative unit as the research sample, and conducts research on these issues by using exploratory spatial data analysis methods and various spatial econometric models under the guidance of the relevant theories of new economic geography. Our research finds that producer services have significant spatial agglomeration characteristics, and they also have significant spatial differentiation patterns. In addition, the agglomeration of producer services can significantly promote the reduction of carbon emissions and can show obvious spillover effects. Finally, in response to the research conclusions of this paper, we also put forward countermeasures and suggestions from the perspective of the common development of producer service industry and manufacturing industry, hoping to promote China’s transformation from industrial economy to service economy, to maximize the use of producer service industry accumulated dividends.
Experimental Research on the Remediation Ability of Four Wetland Plants on Acid Mine Drainage
Authors: Wu Aijing , Zhang Yongbo , Zhao Xuehua , Shi Hong , Xu Shuyuan , Li Jiamin , Zhang Guowei , Guo Lina
Published: March 2022

In order to study the economical, efficient, and environmentally friendly techniques for the treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD), this paper investigated the effects of watering with AMD on the growth condition, the resilience of four wetland plants, as well as the uptake and transport of pollutants by plants. The results showed that Typha orientalis was more resistant to AMD (irrigation with AMD increased its catalase activity and glutathione content and promoted its growth), so it was suitable for treating high concentrations of AMD (SO42− ≈ 9400 mg/L); Cyperus glomeratus was suitable for treating medium concentrations of AMD (SO42− ≈ 4600 mg/L); and Scirpus validus and Phragmites australis could be used to treat low concentrations of AMD (SO42− ≈ 2300 mg/L). All four plants could be used for phytoextraction for Mn-contaminated water (TF > 1). Phragmites australis could be used for phytoextraction for Zn-contaminated water, and the other three plants could be used for phytostabilisation for Zn-contaminated water (TF < 1); the microbial biomass in the soil was affected not only by the concentration of AMD but also by plant species. This study provides a scientific basis for the phytoremediation technology of AMD.
Quantifying the “Water–Carbon–Sulfur” Nexus for Coal Power Plants in China
Authors: Liu Xin , Wei Yiran , Ji Junping
Published: March 2022

China has implemented strict policies for the installation of desulfurization facilities in coal power plants in order to mitigate their negative environmental and human health impacts. However, it is rarely acknowledged that desulfurization processes lead to increased water consumption and carbon emissions from the coal power sector. By using a bottom-up approach, we quantified that the desulfurization facilities in all of China’s coal power plants together avoided emissions of 29.52 Mt of SO2 in 2014, with expenses of 550.26 million m3 of increased water consumption, and 53.28 Mt of additional CO2 emissions. Such conflicts were especially pronounced in the North China Grid, where 9.77 Mt of SO2 emission reductions were realized at expenses of 132.15 million m3 of water consumption, and 14.25 Mt of CO2 emissions. The provinces in the North China Grid were already facing extreme water scarcity. Furthermore, while more than 90% of China’s coal power plants have installed desulfurization facilities, the application of full desulfurization would further reduce the greatest amount of SO2 emissions with the smallest amounts of additional water consumption and carbon emissions in the Northwest Grid. Replacing all wet desulfurization facilities with dry ones saves 498.38 million m3 of water consumption in total, and reduces 26.65 Mt of CO2 emissions; however, this is at an expense of 14.33 Mt of SO2 emissions. These conflicts are most pronounced in Shanxi Province in the North Grid, and in Guangdong Province in the South Grid.
A New Cooperative Game—Theoretic Approach for Customer-Owned Energy Storage
Authors: Hanna Maria O. , Shaaban Mostafa F. , Salama Magdy M. A.
Published: March 2022

The increasing demand for energy storage systems (ESSs) alongside the continuous enhancements to storage technology have been of great positive impact on the electric grid. Their unceasing development has been driven by the need to accommodate increased penetration of renewable energy resources and defer capital investments, among other benefits. Moreover, ESSs have played a key role in the grid’s ability to cope with its ever-shifting load profiles, resulting in large economic gain for ESS owners. For this reason, this prospective study was designed to investigate privately-owned energy storage hubs (ESHs) and their interactions with potential customers as well as with the electric grid. This research examined two contrasting interaction approaches for customer-owned stationary energy storage hubs: a cooperative and a non-cooperative game-theoretic approach. The goal of the cooperative technique is to conduce to a correlated equilibrium increasing the social welfare of all players involved using a regret matching algorithm. On the other hand, in the non-cooperative approach, modeled as an ascending price-clinching auction, each player acts greedily, maximizing only their individual welfare. Implementing both case studies resulted in important insights into ESH players’ interactions and provided contrasting methods of modeling their behaviors. Finally, depending on the application at hand, the choice of one approach may be more realistic than the other.
Fuzzy AHP-Based Design Performance Index for Evaluation of Ferries
Authors: Cheemakurthy Harsha , Garme Karl
Published: March 2022

Within waterborne public transportation (WPT), one often observes a mismatch between the operational requirements and ferry characteristics. A method to holistically evaluate ferries with respect to local requirements could lead to tailored procurement and targeted refurbishment of existing fleet. In this study, we develop a structure for operational requirements and use it as a basis for a ferry evaluation methodology. The requirements’ structure follows a three-level hierarchy starting from broad vessel design to mandatory requirements to performance requirements. The performance requirements are based on the three pillars of sustainability, aided by commuter surveys carried out in Stockholm ferries, interviews with public transport providers (PTP) and previous literature. The evaluation of the ferry is performed using analytic hierarchic process (AHP) to convert the PTP’s subjective preferences and ferry performance into a single dimensionless index. Rules for quantification of performance metrics including social performance are proposed. The uncertainties associated with AHP are addressed by employing fuzzy AHP based on extent analysis and fuzzy AHP in combination with particle swarm optimization. Two applications including performance assessment of existing ferries and assembly of a modular ferry are discussed. The method can lead to objective decision making in ferry evaluation, potentially leading to a more efficient WPT.
Learning from the Past: Pandemics and the Governance Treadmill
Authors: Webster D. , Aytur Semra , Axelrod Mark , Wilson Robyn , Hamm Joseph , Sayed Linda , Pearson Amber , Torres Pedro , Akporiaye Alero , Young Oran
Published: March 2022

Global human health threats, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, necessitate coordinated responses at multiple levels. Public health professionals and other experts broadly agree about actions needed to address such threats, but implementation of this advice is stymied by systemic factors such as prejudice, resource deficits, and high inequality. In these cases, crises like epidemics may be viewed as opportunities to spark structural changes that will improve future prevention efforts. However, crises can also weaken governance and reinforce systemic failures. In this paper, we use the concept of the governance treadmill to demonstrate cross-level dynamics that help or hinder the alignment of capacities toward prevention during public health crises. We find that variation in capacities and responses across local, national, and international levels contributes to the complex evolution of global and local health governance. Where capacities are misaligned, effective local prevention of global pandemic impacts tends to be elusive in the short term, and multiple cycles of crisis and response may be required before capacities align toward healthy governance. We demonstrate that this transition requires broader societal adaptation, particularly towards social justice and participatory democracy.
Machine Learning-Based Intelligent Prediction of Elastic Modulus of Rocks at Thar Coalfield
Authors: Shahani Niaz Muhammad , Zheng Xigui , Guo Xiaowei , Wei Xin
Published: March 2022

Elastic modulus (E) is a key parameter in predicting the ability of a material to withstand pressure and plays a critical role in the design of rock engineering projects. E has broad applications in the stability of structures in mining, petroleum, geotechnical engineering, etc. E can be determined directly by conducting laboratory tests, which are time consuming, and require high-quality core samples and costly modern instruments. Thus, devising an indirect estimation method of E has promising prospects. In this study, six novel machine learning (ML)-based intelligent regression models, namely, light gradient boosting machine (LightGBM), support vector machine (SVM), Catboost, gradient boosted tree regressor (GBRT), random forest (RF), and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), were developed to predict the impacts of four input parameters, namely, wet density (ρwet) in gm/cm3, moisture (%), dry density (ρd) in gm/cm3, and Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) in MPa on output E (GPa). The associated strengths of every input and output were systematically measured employing a series of fundamental statistical investigation tools to categorize the most dominant and important input parameters. The actual dataset of E was split as 70% for the training and 30% for the testing for each model. In order to enhance the performance of each developed model, an iterative 5-fold cross-validation method was used. Therefore, based on the results of the study, the XGBoost model outperformed the other developed models with a higher accuracy, coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.999), mean absolute error (MAE = 0.0015), mean square error (MSE = 0.0008), root mean square error (RMSE = 0.0089), and a20-index = 0.996 of the test data. In addition, GBRT and RF have also shown high accuracy in predicting E with R2 values of 0.988 and 0.989, respectively, but they can be used conditionally. Based on sensitivity analysis, all parameters were positively correlated, while BTS was the most influential parameter in predicting E. Using an ML-based intelligent approach, this study was able to provide alternative elucidations for predicting E with appropriate accuracy and run time at Thar coalfield, Pakistan.
The Influence of Social Networks on the Digital Recruitment of Human Resources: An Empirical Study in the Tourism Sector
Authors: Oncioiu Ionica , Anton Emanuela , Ifrim Ana Maria , Mândricel Diana Andreea
Published: March 2022

The global employment landscape will continue to change due to new technologies, in particular automation, online collaboration tools, and artificial intelligence. The shortage of skilled workers and the growing jobs of e-tourism employees are a challenge for maintaining day-to-day operations. It is crucial to develop a digital recruitment strategy and communicate a good employer brand, supported by targeted digital advertising. This study aims to identify the impact of social networks on the effectiveness of digital human resources recruitment strategies in tourism. On the basis of a sample of 620 respondents who had experience of the digital recruitment of human resources in the tourism sector, the collected data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results underline the high relevance of building these strategies, as professional communication in social networks is the key to successful work in sustainable human resources practices.
A 3D-FE Model for the Rutting Prediction in Geogrid Reinforced Flexible Pavements
Authors: Leonardi Giovanni , Suraci Federica
Published: March 2022

Permanent deformation (rutting) is an important disturbing failure on flexible road pavements. This phenomenon appears on the flexible pavement as longitudinal depressions, and it is a consequence of the degradation of materials under high traffic loading based on consolidation/densification, surface wear, plastic/shear flow, and mechanical deformation. Hence, the rutting phenomenon depends on the accumulation of permanent deformations on pavement surfaces subjected to repeated wheel loads. In recent years, several studies have confirmed that the service life of asphalt pavements can be increased by using geosynthetics between or within layers because of the improved mechanical properties. The aim of this paper is to present the results of the 3D-finite element (FE) simulations and the development of the rutting phenomenon in a traditional flexible pavement and a reinforced one, both subjected to a cyclic load. Through Abaqus/CAE software, a road section reinforced by a geogrid was analyzed and compared with a traditional road section to investigate the advantages given by the geosynthetic completely embedded at two-thirds of the asphalt concrete layer (AC) in terms of permanent deformations. The results show the capability of the proposed FE study, that uses the plasticity model of Drucker-Prager for unbound materials combined with the simple creep law to model HMA layers to predict the permanent deformation distribution.
Analysis of SPI as a Drought Indicator during the Maize Growing Period in the Çukurova Region (Turkey)
Authors: Rolbiecki Roman , Yücel Ali , Kocięcka Joanna , Atilgan Atılgan , Marković Monika , Liberacki Daniel
Published: March 2022

One of the major challenges for agriculture related to climate change is drought. The increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation in many parts of the world have enhanced the frequency and severity of drought events. Therefore, a detailed analysis is required in order to determine the drought frequency and take the necessary precautions. In this study, the climatic conditions in the agricultural region of Çukurova (Turkey) were analysed. Meteorological data for the three provinces of Adana, Mersin, and Osmaniye were used. The aim was to calculate the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) for each of the three provinces analysed, and to use these values to detect drought during the different growth periods of maize. We also investigated whether the SPI values for the last 30 years differ significantly between the provinces. Furthermore, indicators such as the duration, magnitude, severity, recurrence, and drought frequency were also calculated. Using linear regression analysis, we determined whether there were trends in the multi-year data for the total precipitation and mean temperature. In addition, the water deficiency was determined by examining the amount of water required by maize and the adequacy of the precipitation in each development period. As a result, it was found that the Çukurova region is prone to droughts, but they follow a mild course in most cases. However, no statistically significant differences were observed between the SPI values in the three provinces. The calculated average approximate drought recurrences (Tr) and expected intensities (Iave) were Tr ~ 1.036 years and Iave ~ 5.634 mm year−1 in 3 years for Adana, Tr ~ 1.031 years and Iave ~ −0.312 mm year−1 in 3 years for Mersin, and Tr ~ 1.052 years and Iave ~ −0.084 mm year−1 in 3 years Osmaniye. The research carried out in this paper confirmed that maize cultivation in the Çukurova region is vulnerable to drought, and adaptation actions should be taken immediately.
Implementation of Construction Waste Recycling under Construction Sustainability Incentives: A Multi-Agent Stochastic Evolutionary Game Approach
Authors: Sun Ying , Gu Zhaolin
Published: March 2022

Because of the rapid development of the economy and the process of urbanization, construction waste recycling is becoming increasingly important and should be considered. Motivated by effectively managing the construction waste recycling under sustainability incentives, the multi-agent stochastic game model is used to evaluate the evolutionary behavior of the government agencies, waste recyclers, and waste producers. To capture the uncertainty existing in the external environment, the replicator dynamic formula is integrated with Gaussian noise, and the Lyapunov exponent diagram is analyzed to illustrate the nonlinear dynamic behavior. The numerical approximations are then solved by utilizing the random Taylor expansion formula. Finally, a numerical simulation is performed to evaluate the evolutionary trajectories of the participants involved. The findings revealed that: (1) the government agency should adopt a positive supervision approach, which can encourage waste producers and recyclers to collaborate around each other; (2) lower sorting and disposal costs can enhance construction waste recycling; and (3) the existence of uncertainty in the environment around different participants will influence one’s strategy selection.
An Asymmetric Nexus: Remittance-Led Human Capital Development in the Top 10 Remittance-Receiving Countries: Are FDI and Gross Capital Formation Critical for a Road to Sustainability?
Authors: Xia Chengjuan , Qamruzzaman Md. , Adow Anass Hamadelneel
Published: March 2022

As a growth input, human capital and remittances have received significant attention and their role on other macro fundamentals has also been investigated. However, the effects of remittances on human capital development are not yet conclusive in the literature. The motivation of the study is to gauge the role of remittances in the process of human capital development in the topb10 remittance recipients for the period spanning from 1980 to 2019. The study has implemented symmetric and asymmetric estimations to explore the effects of remittances, FDI, and gross capital formation on human capital development. The study documented a positive and statistically significant linkage between remittances and human capital development; a similar linkage was revealed for FDI and gross capital formation. Asymmetric assessment detected asymmetric effects running from remittances, FDI, and gross capital formation to human capital development, both in the long-run and the short-run. Moreover, asymmetric shocks in remittances and FDI have exposed positive and statistically significant human capital development. In contrast, gross capital formation revealed a negative and statistically significant connection with human capital development. Referring to a directional causality test, the study documented a feedback hypothesis that holds in explaining the causality between remittances, FDI, and human capital development and unidirectional causality running from gross capital formation and human capital development. In regard to policy formulation, the study suggested that offering additional incentives could induce migrants to send more remittances into the economy, eventually supporting sustainable economic growth. Second, an efficient and effective financial sector can ensure optimal utilization through the channel of capital formation in the economy; therefore, countries must pay attention to the establishment of efficient intermediation.
Using the Entropy and TOPSIS Models to Evaluate Sustainable Development of Islands: A Case in China
Authors: Zhao Ding-Yi , Ma Yu-Yu , Lin Hung-Lung
Published: March 2022

China is a major maritime country with numerous islands, which are rich in natural resources. Island resources exhibit excellent development potential; in this regard, the market demand for uninhabited island development has been strong. The scientific and reasonable utilization of the resources of uninhabited islands can create huge economic value for the region and the country, inject vitality into the national economy, and enhance the stability of the overall sustainable development of the national economy. However, previous research on islands focused on a limited area of economy or ecology, and few studies provide a comprehensive evaluation of uninhabited island development. Such development requires enormous investment and has a profound impact. Therefore, a comprehensive and scientific evaluation system is necessary for uninhabited island development planning. This paper accordingly develops an island planning and evaluation indicator system based on multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), and entropy analysis method, and the approach of Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). A validation analysis was conducted to prove the effectiveness of the evaluation system. The evaluation system comprehensively considers both economic and ecological factors, which makes up for the one-sidedness of the previous evaluation focusing on economy or ecology, and effectively ensures the sustainable development of island development. In this regard, the evaluation system can provide important guidance for the government’s island planning management and the investment decision-making of enterprises. This system can also provide new ideas for the sustainable development of islands.
How Can Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Be Effectively Implemented in Teaching and Learning? An Analysis of Educational Science Recommendations of Methods and Procedures to Promote ESD Goals
Authors: Riess Werner , Martin Monika , Mischo Christoph , Kotthoff Hans-Georg , Waltner Eva-Maria
Published: March 2022

Education for sustainable development (ESD) has been a task assigned to schools and universities since the mid-1990s. This global movement spawned ESD research in numerous fields, including, among others, didactics and educational sciences, as well as sustainability sciences. In this article, we analyze the state of research on reliable recommendations of means (more precisely, teaching and learning methods and procedures) to promote the ESD goals. Within the framework of systematic literature analysis, we compared and evaluated 17 scientific publications from the field of ESD. Using qualitative content analysis, we scanned the 17 articles for recommendations of means of ESD and the cited evidence for their effectiveness. The findings show two groups of recommended means, differing particularly in the degree of learner autonomy and the quality of evidence for their effectiveness. We discuss possible tasks that can be derived from these findings for didactic research on ESD, and we make a suggestion for further teaching action.
Multistep Model Predictive Control for Electrical Drives—A Fast Quadratic Programming Solution
Authors: Xie Haotian , Du Jianming , Ke Dongliang , He Yingjie , Wang Fengxiang , Hackl Christoph , Rodríguez José , Kennel Ralph
Published: March 2022

Due to its merits of fast dynamic response, flexible inclusion of constraints and the ability to handle multiple control targets, model predictive control has been widely applied in the symmetry topologies, e.g., electrical drive systems. Predictive current control is penalized by the high current ripples at steady state because only one switching state is employed in every sampling period. Although the current quality can be improved at a low switching frequency by the extension of the prediction horizon, the number of searched switching states will grow exponentially. To tackle the aforementioned issue, a fast quadratic programming solver is proposed for multistep predictive current control in this article. First, the predictive current control is described as a quadratic programming problem, in which the objective function is rearranged based on the current derivatives. To avoid the exhaustive search, two vectors close to the reference derivative are preselected in every prediction horizon. Therefore, the number of searched switching states is significantly reduced. Experimental results validate that the predictive current control with a prediction horizon of 5 can achieve an excellent control performance at both steady state and transient state while the computational time is low.
Effects of Dietary Ferulic Acid Supplementation on Hepatic Injuries in Tianfu Broilers Challenged with Lipopolysaccharide
Authors: Shu Gang , Tang Ziting , Du Hong , Zheng Yilei , Chang Lijen , Li Haohuan , Xu Funeng , Fu Hualin , Zhang Wei , Lin Juchun
Published: March 2022

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an endotoxin that can cause an imbalance between the oxidation and antioxidant defense systems and then induces hepatic damages. Ferulic acid (FA) has multiple biological functions including antibacterial and antioxidant activities; however, the effect of FA on lipopolysaccharide-induced hepatic injury remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of action of dietary Ferulic acid against Lipopolysaccharide-induced hepatic injuries in Tianfu broiler chickens. The results showed that supplementation of FA in daily feed increased body weight (BW) and decreased the feed conversion ratio (FCR) in LPS treatment broilers significantly (p < 0.05). Additionally, supplement of FA alleviated histological changes and apoptosis of hepatocytes in LPS treatment broilers. Supplement of FA significantly decreases the activities of ROS. Interestingly, the levels of antioxidant parameters including total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and glutathione (GSH) in LPS group were significantly increased by the FA supplementation (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, administration of LPS to broilers decreased the expressions of Nrf2, NQO1, SOD, GSH-Px, CAT and Bcl-2, whereas it increased the expressions of Bax and Caspase-3 (p < 0.05). Moreover, the expressions of Nrf2, NQO1, SOD, CAT, Bcl-2 were significantly upregulated and Caspase-3 were significantly downregulated in the FL group when compared to LPS group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, supplementation of FA in daily feed improves growth performance and alleviates LPS-induced oxidative stress, histopathologic changes, and apoptosis of hepatocytes in Tianfu broilers.
The Effectiveness of the Use of Regdanvimab (CT-P59) in Addition to Remdesivir in Patients with Severe COVID-19: A Single Center Retrospective Study
Authors: Chae Ganghee , Choi Aram , Lim Soyeoun , Park Sooneun , Lee Seungjun , Ahn Youngick , Kim Jinhyoung , Ra Seungwon , Jegal Yangjin , Ahn Jongjoon , Park Eunji , Jun Jaebum , Kwon Woonjung , Lee Taehoon
Published: March 2022

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) still has a high mortality rate when it is severe. Regdanvimab (CT-P59), a neutralizing monoclonal antibody that has been proven effective against mild to moderate COVID-19, may be effective against severe COVID-19. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the combined use of remdesivir and regdanvimab in patients with severe COVID-19. Methods: From March to early May 2021, 124 patients with severe COVID-19 were admitted to Ulsan University Hospital (Ulsan, Korea) and received oxygen therapy and remdesivir. Among them, 25 were also administered regdanvimab before remdesivir. We retrospectively compared the clinical outcomes between the remdesivir alone group [n = 99 (79.8%)] and the regdanvimab/remdesivir group [n = 25 (20.2%)]. Results: The oxygen-free days on day 28 (primary outcome) were significantly higher in the regdanvimab/remdesivir group [mean ± SD: 19.36 ± 7.87 vs. 22.72 ± 3.66, p = 0.003]. The oxygen-free days was also independently associated with use of regdanvimab in the multivariate analysis, after adjusting for initial pulse oximetric saturation (SpO2)/fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) ratio (severity index). Further, in the regdanvimab/remdesivir group, the lowest SpO2/FiO2 ratio during treatment was significantly higher (mean ± SD: 237.05 ± 89.68 vs. 295.63 ± 72.74, p = 0.003), and the Kaplan-Meier estimates of oxygen supplementation days in surviving patients (on day 28) were significantly shorter [mean ± SD: 8.24 ± 7.43 vs. 5.28 ± 3.66, p = 0.024]. Conclusions: In patients with severe COVID-19, clinical outcomes can be improved by administering regdanvimab, in addition to remdesivir.
Transcriptomics Reveal Several Novel Viruses from Canegrubs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Central Queensland, Australia
Authors: Etebari Kayvan , Lenancker Pauline , Powell Kevin S. , Furlong Michael J.
Published: March 2022

Canegrubs (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) are major pests of sugarcane crops in Australia, but despite long-term and intensive research, no commercially viable biological control agents have been identified. We used the RNA-Seq approach to explore the viriomes of three different species of canegrubs from central Queensland, Australia to identify potential candidates for biological control. We identified six novel RNA viruses, characterized their genomes, and inferred their evolutionary relationships with other closely related viruses. These novel viruses showed similarity to other known members from picornaviruses, benyviruses, sobemoviruses, totiviruses, and reoviruses. The abundance of viral reads varied in these libraries; for example, Dermolepida albohirtum picorna-like virus (9696 nt) was built from 83,894 assembled reads while only 1350 reads mapped to Lepidiota negatoria beny-like virus (6371 nt). Future studies are essential to determine their natural incidence in different life stages of the host, biodiversity, geographical distributions, and potential as biological control agents for these important pests of sugarcane.
The Impacts of the Freezing–Thawing Process on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities in Riffles and Pools: A Case Study of China’s Glacier-Fed Stream
Authors: Tian Yilin , Liu Yuwei , Gao Yingzhi , Cui Dong , Zhang Wei , Jiao Ziwei , Yao Fulong , Zhang Zhenxing , Yang Haijun
Published: March 2022

Glacier-fed streams are one of the environments most sensitive to global climate change. However, the effects of the freezing–thawing process on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in different habitats of glacier-fed streams are unclear. In this paper, we investigated benthic macroinvertebrates in riffles and pools of a glacier-fed stream in Xinjiang, China, during the pre-freezing period (November, 2018), freezing period (January 2019), and thawing period (April, 2019). Our results showed that the freezing–thawing process resulted in a decline in benthic macroinvertebrate species richness and diversity, both of which were attributed to the effects of the freezing–thawing process on habitat stability, water quality, and cycling of the stream ecosystems. During the whole freezing–thawing process, the indicator taxa of riffles were Rhithrogena sp. and Baetis sp., while the only indicator taxon of pools was Chironomus sp. The species richness, Margalef diversity, and EPT richness (Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera) of benthic macroinvertebrates in riffles were higher than those in pools, due to the higher habitat heterogeneity in the riffles. However, the density in riffles was significantly lower than that in pools during the freezing period (p < 0.05). Additionally, pools were dominated by taxa with higher resilience and resistance traits, such as “bi- or multi-voltine”, “abundant occurrence in drift”, and “small size at maturity”. This result indicated that pools provide a temporary refuge for benthic macroinvertebrates in the extreme environment of glacier-fed streams. The freezing–thawing process plays an essential role in the formation of the structure and function of the stream ecosystem. Our results can help us to further understand the winter ecological process of headwater streams, and provide a reference for stream biodiversity conservation in cold regions.
Groundwater Recharge Modeling under Water Diversion Engineering: A Case Study in Beijing
Authors: Zhao Mingyan , Meng Xiangbo , Wang Boxin , Zhang Dasheng , Zhao Yafeng , Li Ruyi
Published: March 2022

The influence of surface water resource exploitation and utilization projects on groundwater has been widely studied. Surface water diversion projects lead to a reduction in river discharge, which changes the recharge of groundwater systems. In this study, the numerical simulation method is used to predict the variation in groundwater level under different diversion scale scenarios. The Zhangfang water diversion project in Beijing, China, was chosen for the case study. The downstream plain area of the Zhangfang water diversion project is modeled by MODFLOW to predict the influence of reducing water diversion on the dynamic change in the groundwater level in the downstream plain area. The model results show that the difference in groundwater recharge and discharge on the downstream plain of Zhangfang is 9,991,900 m3/a, which is in a negative water balance state, and the groundwater level continues to decrease. Reducing the amount of water diverted by the Zhangfang water diversion project to replenish groundwater is beneficial to the rise of the groundwater level in the downstream plain area. The results indicate that the groundwater flow model in the downstream plain area of Zhangfang performed well in the influence assessment of surface water resource exploitation and utilization projects on groundwater. This study also provides a good example of how to coordinate the relationship between surface water resources and groundwater resources.
Why the Effect of CO2 on Potential Evapotranspiration Estimation Should Be Considered in Future Climate
Authors: Zhou Jian , Jiang Shan , Su Buda , Huang Jinlong , Wang Yanjun , Zhan Mingjin , Jing Cheng , Jiang Tong
Published: March 2022

Potential evapotranspiration (PET) is an important factor that needs to be considered in regional water management and allocation; thus, the reasonable estimation of PET is an important topic in hydrometeorology and other related fields. There is evidence that increased CO2 concentration alters the physiological properties of vegetation and thus affects PET. In this study, changes in PET with and without the CO2 effect over China is investigated using seven CMIP6-GCMs outputs under seven shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) based scenarios (SSP1-1.9, SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, SSP4-3.4, SSP4-6.0, and SSP5-8.5), as well as the contribution rate of CO2 on PET in different climatic regions. Changes in estimated PET based on modified Penman–Monteith (PM) method that considers the CO2 effect is compared with the traditional PM method to examine how PET quantity varies (differences) between these two approaches. The results show that the PET values estimated by the two methods explored opposite trends in 1961–2014 over entire China; it decreases with consideration of CO2 but increases without consideration of CO2. In the future, overall PET is projected to increase under all scenarios during 2015–2100 for China and its three sub-regions. PET generally tends to grow slower when CO2 is taken into account (modified PM approach), than when it is not (traditional PM method). In terms of differences in the estimated PET by the two methods, the difference between the two adopted methods increased in China and its sub-regions for the 1961–2014 period. In the future, the difference in estimated PET is anticipated to continuously increase under SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5. Spatially, a much greater extent of difference is found in the arid region. Across the arid region, the PET difference is projected to be the highest at 138% in the mid-term (2041–2060) with respect to the 1995–2014 period, whereas it tends to increase slower in the long-term period (2081–2100). Importantly, CO2 is found to be the most dominant factor (−154.2% contribution) to have a great effect on PET changes across the arid region. Our findings suggest that ignorance of CO2 concentration in PET estimation will result in significant overestimation of PET in the arid region. However, consideration of CO2 in PET estimation will be beneficial for formulating strategies on future water resource management and sustainable development at the local scale.
Differences in Spatiotemporal Variability of Potential and Reference Crop Evapotranspirations
Authors: Xiang Keyu , Zhang Xuan , Peng Xiaofeng , Yao Ning , Biswas Asim , Liu Deli , Zou Yufeng , Pulatov Bakhtiyor , Li Yi , Liu Fenggui
Published: March 2022

Potential evapotranspiration (ETp) and reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) are two key parameters in hydrology, meteorology, and agronomy. ETp and ETo are related to each other but have different meanings and applications. In this study, the ETp and ETo were distinguished and calculated with the Penman and FAO56 PM equations using the weather data of 551 stations in China from 1961 to 2018. The differences in their spatiotemporal variations were examined with an MMK test, an R/S test, and wavelet analysis. The monthly ETp and ETo were close but the ETp was always larger than the ETo, with values ranging from 1 to 356 mm and 2 to 323 mm, respectively. Their differences varied in different months and sub-regions. The maximum monthly difference transferred from south to north and then back to the south in a yearly cycle, showing spatiotemporal heterogeneity. The annual values of the ETp and ETo were also close, but the ETp was significantly higher than the ETo. The increasing future trends of ETp but decreasing trends of ETo were tested at most sites in China. Although the primary periods were almost the same, their spatial distribution was slightly different. In conclusion, ETp is different from ETo and they should be applied carefully. This study performs a thorough comparison and reveals the underlying basis of and discrepancy between ETp and ETo.
Study on the Decoupling Relationship and Rebound Effect between Agricultural Economic Growth and Water Footprint: A Case of Yangling Agricultural Demonstration Zone, China
Authors: Shi Jianwen
Published: March 2022

The coordinated development of the economy, water resources, and environment is key to the concept of sustainable development. In this study, in respect to the water footprint, it calculated the water resource input and sewage dilution for the Yangling Agricultural Demonstration Area during the agricultural economic growth period from 1999 to 2019. This study also established the Tapio decoupling analysis model on this basis to study the decoupling relationship between economic growth and the water resource environment, as well as its evolution law. A residual free-complete decomposition model was introduced to analyze the influence of the water resource input and sewage dilution on the agricultural economic growth in the Yangling Demonstration Area and its transmission mechanism. The results showed the following: (1) the economic growth and the blue and green water footprints of the Yangling Demonstration Area were decoupled from one another from 1999 to 2019, and the degree of decoupling between economic growth and the grey-water footprint was poor, indicating that economic growth had a more obvious promotion effect on the reduction of water resource consumption, and the pressure on the water environment was increased year by year; (2) the main factor affecting the reduction of water resource consumption in the Yangling Demonstration Area was the effect of technology, and this was greater than the effect of water resource consumption increments resulting from the expansion of the economic scale; (3) the progress of environmental governance technology was the main reason for the decrease in the grey-water footprint in the Yangling Demonstration Area. To improve the quality of our economic development, the pattern of economic development should be transformed to regulate economic growth and expand the scale, reducing water consumption, improving pollutant emission control technology, and making full use of water resources to provide evidence for a reasonable water resource management policy.
The role of MRI diagnostics of non-specific spondylitis
Authors:   National Center for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics of the Disabled, Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Sattarov Alisher Rakhimovich , Abdiev Sh.E. ,   Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Kobilov A.O. ,   National Center of Rehabilitation and Prosthetics of Disabled, Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Saidov S.S. ,   National Center for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics of the Disabled, Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Boimurodov Gulomjon Abdugaffarovich ,   National Center of Rehabilitation and Prosthetics of Disabled, Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center for Traumatology and Orthopedics of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Published: March 2022

Non-specific purulent-inflammatory lesions of the spine are rather difficult to diagnose and severe diseases. The demand for the problems of diagnosis and treatment of non-specific purulent-inflammatory lesions is explained by the increase in the incidence of this pathology, the emergence of new antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms, the severity of the disease and poor treatment outcomes. The review considers in detail the following vertebral infections: spondylodiscitis and epiduritis. Based on literature data, the authors thoroughly studied and described the etiology, clinical picture and diagnosis of these diseases. Thoroughly covered in the work are modern methods of diagnosing spondylodiscitis and epiduritis: laboratory, radiation methods: spondylography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, scintigraphy, positron emission tomography of the spine and biopsy data. Detailed description of modern methods of conservative and surgical treatment. Particular attention is paid to the technique of surgical treatment of spondylodiscitis and epiduritis.
Expert assessment of internal quality control and safety of medical activities of nursing staff in SBHI «Penza regional clinical hospital named after N. N. Burdenko»
Authors:   Institute of Nursing Education, Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Healthcare of Russia,  Samara, Kokareva Irina Alexandrovna , Dvoynikov Sergey Ivanovich ,   Samara State Medical University of the Ministry of Healthcare of Russia, Samara
Published: March 2022

aim of the study is to develop a scientifically based unified system of internal quality control and safety of medical activities. Results. The current system for assessing nursing staff is that, as a result of the assessment, conclusions can be drawn for the employee’s self-development, for developing his necessary competencies, improving relations with colleagues, and decisions are made on training, advanced training of the employee, promotion or demotion. Conclusion. In modern conditions, the labor The assessment system should become one of the main objects of personnel management. The development of effective methods and models of personnel assessment becomes a necessary factor in the activity of a medical organization.
Desarrollo de programa computacional para la verificación de corte por punzonamiento en losas de hormigón armado
Authors: Dorado Saucedo Ricardo , Ugarte Lucuy Bernardo
Published: March 2022

El objetivo  del  estudio  fue  diseñar  un programa computacional que automatice la  verificación  de  corte  por punzonamiento en losas planas, tanto macizas como aligeradas, para columnas rectangulares, circulares, u otra geometría. Además, se propuso  un procedimiento para calcular esfuerzos de punzonamiento en columnas situadas en la posición de “esquina invertida”. El código fuente  fue desarrollado y compilado en el entorno de programación Visual Studio, utilizando el lenguaje de programación VisualBasic. Para el análisis de la columna en esquina invertida, procedimientos similares a los descritos por las normas internacionales de concreto reforzado vigentes fueron utilizados. Como resultado del proyecto se obtuvo el programa computacional en formato ejecutable para el entorno de Windows, acompañado de la formulación y descripción del procedimiento para realizar la verificación de  esfuerzos  por punzonamiento en la posición mencionada. El desarrollo de dicha formulación queda sujeto a un análisis más detallado, respaldado por modelos matemáticos y físicos.
Effect of UI/UX Designer on Front End
Authors:   Departemen Sistem Informasi, Universitas Komputer Indonesia, Indonesia, Nurpalah A , Pasha M S , Rhamdhan D D , Maulana Hanhan ,   Departemen Teknik Informatika, Universitas Komputer Indonesia, Indonesia, Rafdhi Agis Abhi ,   Departemen Sistem Informasi, Universitas Komputer Indonesia, Indonesia
Published: March 2022

In this digital era, product quality cannot be separated from aesthetics, those who are responsible for the beauty of product appearance are UI/UX Design and FrontEnd. Therefore, this study aims to find out what distinguishes UI/UX from FrontEnd and the correlation between UI/UX to FrontEnd. The method that this research uses is descriptive by presenting a complete picture of a particular situation based on facts, theories, and accurate reference sources with previous research. The results show that the presence of a UI/UX Designer can affect FrontEnd in the design/development of information systems. The main influence it has is in terms of appearance being more interactive as well as attractive. Even so, the position of FrontEnd cannot be replaced by a UI/UX Designer, because it is FrontEnd here who will implement the design and ensure that the aesthetics and functionality of the system run well.
Effectiveness of Smart Home System Technology on Property
Authors:   Departemen Desain Interior, Fakultas Desain, Universitas Komputer Indonesia, Indonesia, Bahroun Praymoedya Alramadhan , Alamsyah Kurnia Tsani , Ummah Khaira , Saputra Herry ,   Departemen Sistem Informasi, Universitas Komputer Indonesia, Indonesia, Maulana Hanhan ,   Departemen Teknik Informatika, Universitas Komputer Indonesia, Indonesia
Published: March 2022

The purpose of this study is to find out how effective the use of smart home system technology is on properties; smart home systems can make it easier for users to control functions automatically. The research method used is a qualitative method in order to find out in depth how effective the use of the smart home system technology is. Along with the development of the times, technology also accompanies the property in terms of security, comfort, convenience, and cleanliness. Since the COVID-19 pandemic came, we have found that facilities that use smart home system technology are urgently needed at this time, because during the pandemic, work and learning activities turn into online activities. This research shows that the effectiveness of smart home system technology can make work and study activities more effective.