bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Improved Digital Elevation Model of the Lunar Mons Rümker Region Based on Multisource Altimeter Data
Authors: Li Fei , Zhu Chang , Hao Weifeng , Yan Jianguo , Ye Mao , Barriot Jean-Pierre , Cheng Qing , Sun Tao
Published: September 2018

Mons Rümker is the primary candidate region for the lunar landing mission of Chang’E-5. We propose a data processing method that combines multisource altimeter data and we developed an improved digital elevation model (DEM) of the Mons Rümker region with a horizontal resolution of 256 pixels per degree. The lunar orbiter laser altimeter (LOLA) onboard the lunar reconnaissance orbiter (LRO) acquired 884 valid orbital benchmark data with a high precision. A special crossover adjustment of 156 orbital profiles from the Chang’E-1 laser altimeter (LAM) and 149 orbital profiles from the SELenological and ENgineering Explorer (SELENE) laser altimeter (LALT) was applied. The radial residual root mean square (RMS) of the LAM was reduced from 154.83 ± 43.60 m to 14.29 ± 27.84 m and that of the LALT was decreased from 3.50 ± 5.0 m to 2.75 ± 4.4 m. We used the adjusted LAM and LALT data to fill the LOLA gaps and created the merged LOLA + LAM and LOLA + LALT DEMs. The merged LOLA + LAM DEM showed distortions because of the horizontal geolocation errors in the LAM data. The merged LOLA + LALT DEM was closer to the ground truth than the LOLA-only DEM when validated with the images of the LRO camera (LROC).
Evaluation of Semi-Analytical Algorithms to Retrieve Particulate and Dissolved Absorption Coefficients in Gulf of California Optically Complex Waters
Authors: Betancur-Turizo Stella Patricia , González-Silvera Adriana , Santamaría-del-Ángel Eduardo , Tan Jing , Frouin Robert
Published: September 2018

Two semi-analytical algorithms, Generalized Inherent Optical Property (GIOP) and Garver-Siegel-Maritorena (GSM), were evaluated in terms of how well they reproduced the absorption coefficient of phytoplankton (aph(λ)) and dissolved and detrital organic matter (adg(λ)) at three wavelengths (λ of 412, 443, and 488 nm) in a zone with optically complex waters, the Upper Gulf of California (UGC) and the Northern Gulf of California (NGC). In the UGC, detritus determines most of the total light absorption, whereas, in the NGC, chromophoric dissolved organic material (CDOM) and phytoplankton dominate. Upon comparing the results of each model with a database assembled from four cruises done from spring to summer (March through September) between 2011 and 2013, it was found that GIOP is a better estimator for aph(λ) than GSM, independently of the region. However, both algorithms underestimate in situ values in the NGC, whereas they overestimate them in the UGC. Errors are associated with the following: (a) the constant a*ph(λ) value used by GSM and GIOP (0.055 m2 mgChla−1) is higher than the most frequent value observed in this study’s data (0.03 m2 mgChla−1), and (b) satellite-derived chlorophyll a concentration (Chla) is biased high compared with in situ Chla. GIOP gave also better results for the adg(λ) estimation than GSM, especially in the NGC. The spectral slope Sdg was identified as an important parameter for estimating adg(λ), and this study’s results indicated that the use of a fixed input value in models was not adequate. The evaluation confirms the lack of generality of algorithms like GIOP and GSM, whose reflectance model is too simplified to capture expected variability. Finally, a greater monitoring effort is suggested in the study area regarding the collection of in situ reflectance data, which would allow explaining the effects that detritus and CDOM may have on the semi-analytical reflectance inversions, as well as isolating the possible influence of the atmosphere on the satellite-derived water reflectance and Chla.
Exploring the Inclusion of Small Regenerating Trees to Improve Above-Ground Forest Biomass Estimation Using Geospatial Data
Authors: Le Anh V. , Paull David J. , Griffin Amy L.
Published: September 2018

Research on the contribution of understory components to the total above ground biomass (AGB) has to date received very little attention because most prior biomass estimation studies have ignored small regenerating trees beneath the main canopy with the assumption that their contribution to biomass is generally negligible. Only a few biomass studies have emphasized a considerable contribution to biomass of understory components in forest ecosystems. However, this study of native, tropical, deciduous forest biomass in the Central Highlands of Vietnam was able to explore the contribution of small regenerating trees to total biomass by exploiting a large field inventory of hundreds to thousands of individually-counted small regenerating trees per hectare. Thus, this study investigated the influence of small regenerating tree biomass on models of the relationship between total AGB and remote sensing data. These analyses were trained with and without topographic variables derived from ASTER-GDEM. Our results demonstrate that the inclusion of small regenerating understory trees (R2 = 0.42, NRMSE or %RMSE = 30.5%) provides a quantifiable improvement in total estimated AGB compared to using only large woody canopy trees (R2 = 0.21, NRMSE or %RMSE = 36.6%) when correlating field-based biomass measurements with optical image-derived variables. All analyses show that the inclusion of terrain factors made an important contribution to biomass modeling. This study suggests that for young, open forests where there are many small regenerating trees, the contribution of understory biomass should be taken into consideration to improve total AGB estimation.
Label-Free Rapid Separation and Enrichment of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells from a Heterogeneous Cell Mixture Using a Dielectrophoresis Device
Authors: Yoshioka Junya , Ohsugi Yu , Yoshitomi Toru , Yasukawa Tomoyuki , Sasaki Naoki , Yoshimoto Keitaro
Published: September 2018

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are an important cell resource for stem cell-based therapy, which are generally isolated and enriched by the density-gradient method based on cell size and density after collection of tissue samples. Since this method has limitations with regards to purity and repeatability, development of alternative label-free methods for BMSC separation is desired. In the present study, rapid label-free separation and enrichment of BMSCs from a heterogeneous cell mixture with bone marrow-derived promyelocytes was successfully achieved using a dielectrophoresis (DEP) device comprising saw-shaped electrodes. Upon application of an electric field, HL-60 cells as models of promyelocytes aggregated and floated between the saw-shaped electrodes, while UE7T-13 cells as models of BMSCs were effectively captured on the tips of the saw-shaped electrodes. After washing out the HL-60 cells from the device selectively, the purity of the UE7T-13 cells was increased from 33% to 83.5% within 5 min. Although further experiments and optimization are required, these results show the potential of the DEP device as a label-free rapid cell isolation system yielding high purity for rare and precious cells such as BMSCs.
Sensor Selection to Improve Estimates of Particulate Matter Concentration from a Low-Cost Network
Authors: Sousan Sinan , Gray Alyson , Zuidema Christopher , Stebounova Larissa , Thomas Geb , Koehler Kirsten , Peters Thomas
Published: September 2018

Deployment of low-cost sensors in the field is increasingly popular. However, each sensor requires on-site calibration to increase the accuracy of the measurements. We established a laboratory method, the Average Slope Method, to select sensors with similar response so that a single, on-site calibration for one sensor can be used for all other sensors. The laboratory method was performed with aerosolized salt. Based on linear regression, we calculated slopes for 100 particulate matter (PM) sensors, and 50% of the PM sensors fell within ±14% of the average slope. We then compared our Average Slope Method with an Individual Slope Method and concluded that our first method balanced convenience and precision for our application. Laboratory selection was tested in the field, where we deployed 40 PM sensors inside a heavy-manufacturing site at spatially optimal locations and performed a field calibration to calculate a slope for three PM sensors with a reference instrument at one location. The average slope was applied to all PM sensors for mass concentration calculations. The calculated percent differences in the field were similar to the laboratory results. Therefore, we established a method that reduces the time and cost associated with calibration of low-cost sensors in the field.
A Simple and Low-Cost Optical Fiber Intensity-Based Configuration for Perfluorinated Compounds in Water Solution
Authors: Cennamo Nunzio , D’Agostino Girolamo , Sequeira Filipa , Mattiello Francesco , Porto Gianni , Biasiolo Adriano , Nogueira Rogério , Bilro Lúcia , Zeni Luigi
Published: September 2018

We present a very simple approach for the detection of the Perfluorinated Alkylated Substances (PFAs) in water solution. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are the most extensively investigated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water because human exposition can occur through different pathways, even if the dietary intake seems to be their main route of exposure. The developed sensor is based on a specific Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (MIP) receptor deposited on a simple D-shaped Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) platform. This novel chemical sensor has been characterized using a very simple and low-cost experimental setup based on an LED and two photodetectors. This optical sensor system is an alternative method to monitor the presence of contaminants with an MIP receptor, instead of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor in D-shaped POFs. For the sake of comparison, the results obtained exploiting the same MIP for PFAs on a classic SPR-POF sensor have been reported. The experimental results have shown that the actual limit of detection of this new configuration was about 0.5 ppb. It is similar to the one obtained by the configuration based on an SPR-POF with the same MIP receptor.
A Novel Parameter Estimation Method Based on a Tuneable Sigmoid in Alpha-Stable Distribution Noise Environments
Authors: Li Li , Younan Nicolas H. , Shi Xiaofei
Published: September 2018

In this paper, a novel method, that employs a fractional Fourier transform and a tuneable Sigmoid transform, is proposed, in order to estimate the Doppler stretch and time delay of wideband echoes for a linear frequency modulation (LFM) pulse radar in an alpha-stable distribution noise environment. Two novel functions, a tuneable Sigmoid fractional correlation function (TS-FC) and a tuneable Sigmoid fractional power spectrum density (TS-FPSD), are presented in this paper. The novel algorithm based on the TS-FPSD is then proposed to estimate the Doppler stretch and the time delay. Then, the derivation of unbiasedness and consistency is presented. Furthermore, the boundness of the TS-FPSD to the symmetric alpha stable ( S α S ) noise, the parameter selection of the TS-FPSD, and the feasibility analysis of the TS-FPSD, are presented to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. In addition, the Cramér–Rao bound for parameter estimation is derived and computed in closed form, which shows that better performance has been achieved. Simulation results and theoretical analysis are presented, to demonstrate the applicability of the forgoing method. It is shown that the proposed method can not only effectively suppress impulsive noise interference, but it also does not need a priori knowledge of the noise with higher estimation accuracy in alpha-stable distribution noise environments.
Advantages of the Surface Structuration of KBr Materials for Spectrometry and Sensors
Authors: Kamanina Natalia Vladimirovna , Likhomanova Svetlana Vladimirovna , Kuzhakov Pavel Viktorovich
Published: September 2018

A potassium bromide (KBr) material, which has been widely used as the key element in Fourier spectrometers and as the output window of the IR-lasers, was studied via applying carbon nanotubes in order to modify the potassium bromide surface. The laser-oriented deposition method was used to place the carbon nanotubes at the matrix material surface in the vertical position at different electric fields varying from 100 to 600 V × cm−1. The main idea of the improvement of the spectral properties of the potassium bromide structure is connected with the fact that the refractive index of the carbon nanotubes is substantially less than the refractive index of the studied material, and the small diameter of the carbon nanotubes allows one to embed these nano-objects in the voids of the lattice of the model matrix systems. Moreover, the mechanical characteristics and wetting features of potassium bromide structures have been investigated under the condition mentioned above. Analytical and quantum-chemical simulations have supported the experimental results.
Non-Contact Body Measurement for Qinchuan Cattle with LiDAR Sensor
Authors: Huang Lvwen , Li Shuqin , Zhu Anqi , Fan Xinyun , Zhang Chenyang , Wang Hongyan
Published: September 2018

The body dimension measurement of large animals plays a significant role in quality improvement and genetic breeding, and the non-contact measurements by computer vision-based remote sensing could represent great progress in the case of dangerous stress responses and time-costing manual measurements. This paper presents a novel approach for three-dimensional digital modeling of live adult Qinchuan cattle for body size measurement. On the basis of capturing the original point data series of live cattle by a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor, the conditional, statistical outliers and voxel grid filtering methods are fused to cancel the background and outliers. After the segmentation of K-means clustering extraction and the RANdom SAmple Consensus (RANSAC) algorithm, the Fast Point Feature Histogram (FPFH) is put forward to get the cattle data automatically. The cattle surface is reconstructed to get the 3D cattle model using fast Iterative Closest Point (ICP) matching with Bi-directional Random K-D Trees and a Greedy Projection Triangulation (GPT) reconstruction method by which the feature points of cattle silhouettes could be clicked and calculated. Finally, the five body parameters (withers height, chest depth, back height, body length, and waist height) are measured in the field and verified within an accuracy of 2 mm and an error close to 2%. The experimental results show that this approach could be considered as a new feasible method towards the non-contact body measurement for large physique livestock.
Vehicle Collision Prediction under Reduced Visibility Conditions
Authors: Chen Keng-Pin , Hsiung Pao-Ann
Published: September 2018

Rear-end collisions often cause serious traffic accidents. Conventionally, in intelligent transportation systems (ITS), radar collision warning methods are highly accurate in determining the inter-vehicle distance via detecting the rear-end of a vehicle; however, in poor weather conditions such as fog, rain, or snow, the accuracy is significantly affected. In recent years, the advent of Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) communication systems has introduced new methods for solving the rear-end collision problem. Nevertheless, there is still much left for improvement. For instance, weather conditions have an impact on human-related factors such as response time. To address the issue of collision detection under low visibility conditions, we propose a Visibility-based Collision Warning System (ViCoWS) design that includes four models for prediction horizon estimation, velocity prediction, headway distance prediction, and rear-end collision warning. Based on the history of velocity data, future velocity volumes are predicted. Then, the prediction horizon (number of future time slots to consider) is estimated corresponding to different weather conditions. ViCoWs can respond in real-time to weather conditions with correct collision avoidance warnings. Experiment results show that the mean absolute percentage error of our velocity prediction model is less than 11%. For non-congested traffic under heavy fog (very low visibility of 120 m), ViCoWS warns a driver by as much as 4.5 s prior to a possible future collision. If the fog is medium with a low visibility of 160 m, ViCoWs can give warnings by about 2.1 s prior to a possible future collision. In contrast, the Forward Collision Probability Index (FCPI) method gives warnings by only about 0.6 s before a future collision. For congested traffic under low visibility conditions, ViCoWS can warn a driver by about 1.9 s prior to a possible future collision. In this case, the FCPI method gives 1.2 s for the driver to react before collision.
Time Slot Utilization for Efficient Multi-Channel MAC Protocol in VANETs
Authors: Nguyen VanDung , Anh Khoa Tran , Zin Oo Thant , H. Tran Nguyen , Seon Hong Choong , Huh Eui-Nam
Published: September 2018

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), many schemes for a multi-channel media access control (MAC) protocol have been proposed to adapt to dynamically changing vehicle traffic conditions and deliver both safety and non-safety packets. One such scheme is to employ both time-division multiple access (TDMA) and carrier-sense multiple access (CSMA) schemes (called a hybrid TDMA/CSMA scheme) in the control channel (CCH) interval. The scheme can adjust the length of the TDMA period depending on traffic conditions. In this paper, we propose a modified packet transmitted in the TDMA period to reduce transmission overhead under a hybrid TDMA/CSMA multi-channel MAC protocol. Simulation results show that a MAC protocol with a modified packet supports an efficient packet delivery ratio of control packets in the CCH. In addition, we analyze the hybrid TDMA/CSMA multi-channel MAC protocol with the modified packet under saturated throughput conditions on the service channels (SCHs). The analysis results show that the number of neighbors has little effect on the establishment of the number of time slots in TDMA periods and on SCHs under saturated throughput conditions.
The Electronic Nose’s Emerging Role in Respiratory Medicine
Authors: Gasparri Roberto , Sedda Giulia , Spaggiari Lorenzo
Published: September 2018

New interest has grown in the respiratory disorder diagnosis and monitoring, throughout electronic nose technologies. This technology has several advantages compared to classic approach. In this short letter, we aim to emphasize electronic nose role in respiratory medicine.
Extensive Experimentations on Opportunistic Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Amdouni Ichrak , Adjih Cedric , AitSaadi Nadjib , Muhlethaler Paul
Published: September 2018

In this paper, we design and experiment ODYSSE (Opportunistic Duty cYcle based routing protocol for wirelesS Sensor nEtworks) protocol. It combines three main mechanisms: (i) duty cycle, where nodes alternate between active and sleep states, (ii) opportunistic routing where routing tables do not exist and the next hop is elected once the packet arrives, and (iii) source coding with LDPC (Low-Density Parity-Check) codes in order to face packet losses while minimizing energy consumption. We focus on two heterogeneous scenarios: bulk image transmission and infrequent events reporting. Modeling the average waiting delay of forwarders, we show that simple relay selection strategies are effective. We used 45 Arduino nodes communicating with IEEE 802.15.4 (XBee) within the large platform FIT IoT-LAB (IoT-LAB is part of the large platform FIT: Future Internet of Things). We implement and extensively study the behavior and performance of our proposal ODYSSE. We show that the three techniques fit perfectly, yielding a robust low complexity protocol for highly constrained nodes in typical IoT applications.
Conditioning Weapons: Ethnography of the Practice of Martial Arts Training
Authors: Domaneschi Lorenzo
Published: September 2018

Drawing on the inspiring work by Wacquant about apprenticeship in boxing, I present data generated from a five-year ethnographic study of one Wushu Kung Fu Association in Italy. Drawing on a Bourdieusian version of theories of social practice, the aim is to investigate in depth the relationship between habitus and materials, as it seems an underestimated issue both in Wacquant’s presentation and in most martial arts studies developed from his work. The aim is to explore the relationship between the practitioner and the set of weapons—a chief part of the martial art training—as an endless work of conditioning. To this aim, according to what Wacquant calls “enactive ethnography”, I completely immersed myself inside the fieldwork in order to be able to explore the phenomenon and to personally test its operative mechanism. The challenge here is to enter the theatre of action and, to the highest degree possible, train in the ways of the people studied so as to gain a visceral apprehension of their universe as materials and springboard for its analytic reconstruction. Drawing on the difference between the cognitive, conative, and emotive components of habitus through which, according to Bourdieu, social agents navigate social space and animate their lived world, I show how conditioning works not only on the conative or cognitive components (learning techniques and incorporating kinetic schemes), but how a deeper psychological form of conditioning also comes into play, which aims to neutralize the shock due to the fear generated by the threat of a contusion. It is at this point, therefore, that the affective component of the habitus becomes crucial in constructing a sort of intimacy bond with the tool. The detectable transformation in the habitus of the practitioner, eventually, can be deciphered, starting from the characteristics of the tool that produces, in the ways and limits given by its material features, such a transformation. In the end, I stress the relevance of recognizing the active role of objects in transforming the habitus and I briefly discuss the potentiality of enactive ethnography in analyzing social practices.
Design and Thermal Analysis of an Air Source Heat Pump Dryer for Food Drying
Authors: Liu Haolu , Yousaf Khurram , Chen Kunjie , Fan Rui , Liu Jiaxin , Soomro Shakeel Ahmed
Published: September 2018

In this study, an experimental heat pump dryer was designed. The specific moisture extraction rate and moisture extraction rate were used as performance indicators to explore the influence of environmental factors and the style of the hot air cycle on heat pump drying. The average temperature and humidity in Nanjing’s summer, winter, and throughout the whole year were taken as the experimental ambient temperature and humidity. Garlic slices 3 mm thick, with an initial moisture content of 66.714% w.b., were dried until the end moisture content was 10% w.b. Experimental results and thermal analysis showed that the open and semi-open heat pump dryers were greatly affected by ambient temperature and humidity. The closed heat pump drying system was greatly affected by the bypass air rate.
Permaculture—Scientific Evidence of Principles for the Agroecological Design of Farming Systems
Authors: Krebs Julius , Bach Sonja
Published: September 2018

Modern industrial agriculture is largely responsible for environmental problems, such as biodiversity loss, soil degradation, and alteration of biogeochemical cycles or greenhouse gas emission. Agroecology, as a scientific discipline as well as an agricultural practice and movement, emerged as a response to these problems, with the goal to create a more sustainable agriculture. Another response was the emergence of permaculture, a design system based on design principles, as well as a framework for the methods of ecosystem mimicry and complex system optimization. Its emphasis, being on a conscious design of agroecosystems, is the major difference to other alternative agricultural approaches. Agroecology has been a scientific discipline for a few decades already, but only recently have design principles for the reorganization of faming systems been formulated, whereas permaculture practitioners have long been using design principles without them ever being scrutinized. Here, we review the scientific literature to evaluate the scientific basis for the design principles proposed by permaculture co-originator, David Holmgren. Scientific evidence for all twelve principles will be presented. Even though permaculture principles describing the structure of favorable agroecosystems were quite similar to the agroecological approach, permaculture in addition provides principles to guide the design, implementation, and maintenance of resilient agroecological systems.
A Framework of Production Planning and Control with Carbon Tax under Industry 4.0
Authors: Tsai Wen-Hsien , Lu Yin-Hwa
Published: September 2018

In recent years, the international community has placed great emphasis on environmental protection issues. The United Nations has also successively enacted relevant laws and regulations to restrain international greenhouse gas emissions and some countries implemented carbon tax levies to reduce air pollution. The tire industry is a manufacturing industry with high pollution and high carbon emissions; therefore, the purpose of this paper is to propose a framework of production planning and control with carbon tax under Industry 4.0 and use the tire industry as the illustrative example. In this framework, the mathematical programming model, with Activity-Based Costing (ABC) and Theory of Constraints (TOC) for production planning, is used to achieve the optimal solution under various production and sale constraints in order to find the optimal product-mix maximizing the profit. On the other hand, Industry 4.0 utilizes new technologies such as 3D printing, robot and automated guided vehicle (AGV) and links all the components in the manufacturing systems by using various sensor systems, Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and Internet of Things (IoT) to collect and monitor the activity data of all the components in real-time, to give intelligent responses to various problems that may arise in the factory by the real-time analysis results of cloud computing and big data and to attain the various benefits of Industry 4.0 implementation. The parameters of the mathematical programming model will be updated periodically from the new big data set. In this paper, an illustrative example is used is used to demonstrate the application of the model. From the optimal solution and sensitivity analyses on increasing the raw material’s prices and carbon taxes will affect the profits. This framework can provide a general approach to help companies execute production management in the way of more efficiency, less cost, lower carbon emission and higher quality across the value chain for the tire industry and other industries.
Understanding Land Use and Rural Development in the National Scheme of Village Relocation and Urbanization in China: A Case Study of Two Villages in Jiangsu Province
Authors: Huang Qidong , Xu Jiajun , Qin Hua , Gao Xinyu
Published: September 2018

Large-scale village relocation and urbanization, one of the most significant social changes in China, bring villages both development opportunities and social risks. The social risks mainly stem from the government’s strong position in land expropriation and policy preference for urban development. We observe the amalgamation of Anyang and Bomu Village in China and explore the specific role of land policies in the social change and restructuring of the two villages. We find that clan gentries challenge the government’s “absolute” authority over land and landless villagers start the trend of “de-urbanization.” Our research presents targeted policy recommendations in terms of weakening the role of the government in urbanization, strengthening dialogues between the government and clans and coordinating urban and rural land use.
An Analysis of Environment Behavior Relationships towards the Design of a Local Mixed-used Street: Based on Behavior Settings of Belgium Street in Cebu City, Philippines
Authors: Espina Joachim Michael , Mori Suguru , Nomura Rie
Published: September 2018

Streets function as public spaces that improve the aspects of social sustainability by accommodating the daily activities of people, further contributing to the strengthening of relationships in society and the expansion of people’s social networks. This research focuses on studying the relationship of human behavior and the street environment in Cebu, Philippines, which can help to contribute to a better approach towards street improvements. Filipino behavior settings were identified and classified based upon people’s activities on the street that were gathered using the Behavior Mapping Method. From the analysis of behavior settings on the behavior maps, the current use of the street has been classified into zones, and has shown potential for street sharing by being flexible enough to accommodate both behavior settings and vehicular traffic at different times. Based on the findings of the analysis, design proposals were created as an interview tool to extract information from respondents on the street. From the results of the interviews, considerations such as the importance of preserving the existing behavior settings, promoting safety, and preventing conflicts on the street can be used to develop an improved street design.
Insulation or Smart Temperature Control for Domestic Heating: A Combined Analysis of the Costs, the Eco-Costs, the Customer Perceived Value, and the Rebound Effect of Energy Saving
Authors: Scheepens Arno E. , Vogtländer Joost G.
Published: September 2018

Calculating the environmental benefits of energy saving systems in dwellings in a life cycle assessment (LCA) has two major issues, namely: how to deal with the customer behaviour and how to deal with rebound effects. Both issues are important for sustainable strategies. From a user-centred design perspective, two fundamentally different strategies are observed, namely: a ‘passive’ end-user, who invests in insulating the building and maintaining their preferred behaviour routines, versus an ‘active’ end-user; who must change his or her behaviour in order to save energy. A combined analysis of cost, (market) value, and eco-burden is used to compare and evaluate the two strategies; by applying the methods of eco-costs/value ratio (EVR) and eco-efficient value creation. Simulation software is applied to calculate the results for the active end-user approach (by means of home energy management systems [HEMS]). The energy savings for a passive user approach (applying thermal insulation) are calculated with straightforward heat loss calculations. The rebound effect of energy savings is taken into consideration. From the environmental point of view, the optimal insulation thickness is calculated, by comparing the energy savings with the environmental burden of the insulation materials. This analysis shows that HEMS are effective for poorly insulated houses, but not for well insulated houses. Governmental policies that focus only on insulation, however, lack the urgency of greenhouse gas reduction; the HEMS for existing houses is an indispensable tool for a fast transition to less domestic energy consumption.
Banding of Fertilizer Improves Phosphorus Acquisition and Yield of Zero Tillage Maize by Concentrating Phosphorus in Surface Soil
Authors: Alam Md. Khairul , Bell Richard W. , Salahin Nazmus , Pathan Shahab , Mondol A.T.M.A.I. , Alam M.J. , Rashid M.H. , Paul P.L.C. , Hossain M.I. , Shil N.C.
Published: September 2018

Zero tillage increases stratification of immobile nutrients such as P. However, it is unclear whether near-surface stratification of soil P eases or hampers P uptake by maize (Zea mays L.) which needs an optimum P supply at/before six–leaf–stage to achieve potential grain yield. The aim of the three-year study was to determine whether P stratification, under zero tillage, impaired yield of maize and which P placement methods could improve P uptake on an Aeric Albaquept soil subgroup. Phosphorus fertilizer was placed by: (a) broadcasting before final tillage and sowing of seeds; (b) surface banding beside the row; and (c) deep banding beside the row (both the band placements were done at three–four leaf stage) Phosphorus treatments were repeated for 3 years along with three tillage practices viz.: (a) zero tillage (ZT); (b) conventional tillage (12 cm; CT); and (c) deep tillage (25 cm; DT). In the third year, all the tillage practices gave similar yield of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) hybrid maize–5, but the highest grain yield was obtained by surface band P placement. After three years of tillage and P placements, the root mass density (RMD) at 0–6 cm depth increased significantly from 1.40 mg cm−3 in DT under deep band placement to 1.98 mg cm−3 in ZT under surface band placement, but not at the other depths. The combination of ZT practices, with broadcast or surface band placement methods, produced the highest available, and total P, content in soil at 0–6 cm depth after harvesting of maize. Accordingly, a significant increase in P uptake by maize was also found with surface banding of P alone and also in combination with ZT. Organic carbon, and total N, also increased significantly at depths of 0–6 cm after three years in ZT treatments with P placed in bands. By contrast, CT and DT practices, under all placement methods, resulted in an even distribution of P up to 24 cm depth. Phosphorus application, by surface banding at the three–four leaf stage, led to increased P uptake at early growth and silking stages, which resulted in highest yield regardless of tillage type through increased extractable P in the soil. Even though ZT increased P stratification near the soil surface, and it increased plant available water content (PAWC) and RMD in the 0–6 cm depth, as did surface banding, it did not improve maize grain yield. Further research is needed to understanding the contrasting maize grain yield responses to P stratification.
Symmetrical Properties of Graph Representations of Genetic Codes: From Genotype to Phenotype
Authors: José Marco V. , Zamudio Gabriel S.
Published: September 2018

It has long been claimed that the mitochondrial genetic code possesses more symmetries than the Standard Genetic Code (SGC). To test this claim, the symmetrical structure of the SGC is compared with noncanonical genetic codes. We analyzed the symmetries of the graphs of codons and their respective phenotypic graph representation spanned by the RNY (R purines, Y pyrimidines, and N any of them) code, two RNA Extended codes, the SGC, as well as three different mitochondrial genetic codes from yeast, invertebrates, and vertebrates. The symmetry groups of the SGC and their corresponding phenotypic graphs of amino acids expose the evolvability of the SGC. Indeed, the analyzed mitochondrial genetic codes are more symmetrical than the SGC.
Modeling the Service Network Design Problem in Railway Express Shipment Delivery
Authors: Liu Siqi , Lin Boliang , Wu Jianping , Zhao Yinan
Published: September 2018

As air pollution becomes increasingly severe, express trains play a more important role in shifting road freight and reducing carbon emissions. Thus, the design of railway express shipment service networks has become a key issue, which needs to be addressed urgently both in theory and practice. The railway express shipment service network design problem (RESSNDP) not only involves the selection of train services and determination of service frequency, but it is also associated with shipment routing, which can be viewed as a service network design problem (SNDP) with railway characteristics. This paper proposes a non-linear integer programming model (INLP) which aims at finding a service network and shipment routing plan with minimum cost while satisfying the transportation time constraints of shipments, carrying capacity constraints of train services, flow conservation constraint and logical constraints among decision variables. In addition, a linearization technique was adopted to transform our model into a linear one to obtain a global optimal solution. To evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach, a small trial problem was solved by the state-of-the-art mathematical programming solver Gurobi 7.5.2.
Probabilistic Hesitant Intuitionistic Linguistic Term Sets in Multi-Attribute Group Decision Making
Authors: Malik M. G. Abbas , Bashir Zia , Rashid Tabasam , Ali Jawad
Published: September 2018

Decision making is the key component of people’s daily life, from choosing a mobile phone to engaging in a war. To model the real world more accurately, probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs) were proposed to manage a situation in which several possible linguistic terms along their corresponding probabilities are considered at the same time. Previously, in linguistic term sets, the probabilities of all linguistic term sets are considered to be equal which is unrealistic. In the process of decision making, due to the vagueness and complexity of real life, an expert usually hesitates and unable to express its opinion in a single term, thus making it difficult to reach a final agreement. To handle real life scenarios of a more complex nature, only membership linguistic decision making is unfruitful; thus, some mechanism is needed to express non-membership linguistic term set to deal with imprecise and uncertain information in more efficient manner. In this article, a novel notion called probabilistic hesitant intuitionistic linguistic term set (PHILTS) is designed, which is composed of membership PLTSs and non-membership PLTSs describing the opinions of decision makers (DMs). In the theme of PHILTS, the probabilities of membership linguistic terms and non-membership linguistic terms are considered to be independent. Then, basic operations, some governing operational laws, the aggregation operators, normalization process and comparison method are studied for PHILTSs. Thereafter, two practical decision making models: aggregation based model and the extended TOPSIS model for PHILTS are designed to classify the alternatives from the best to worst, as an application of PHILTS to multi-attribute group decision making. In the end, a practical problem of real life about the selection of the best alternative is solved to illustrate the applicability and effectiveness of our proposed set and models.
Lipopolysaccharide Structural Differences between Western and Asian Helicobacter pylori Strains
Authors: Li Hong , Tang Hong , Debowski Aleksandra W. , Stubbs Keith A. , Marshall Barry J. , Benghezal Mohammed
Published: September 2018

Recent structural analysis of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) isolated from Helicobacter pylori G27 wild-type and O-antigen ligase mutant resulted in the redefinition of the core-oligosaccharide and O-antigen domains. The short core-oligosaccharide (Glc–Gal–Hep-III–Hep-II–Hep-I–KDO) and its attached trisaccharide (Trio, GlcNAc–Fuc–Hep) appear to be highly conserved structures among H. pylori strains. The G27 LPS contains a linear glucan–heptan linker between the core-Trio and distal Lewis antigens. This linker domain was commonly identified in Western strains. In contrast, out of 12 partial LPS structures of Asian strains, none displayed the heptan moiety, despite the presence of Lewis antigens. This raises the question of how Lewis antigens are attached to the Trio, and whether the LPS structure of Asian strains contain another linker. Of note, a riban was identified as a linker in LPS of the mouse-adapted SS1 strain, suggesting that alternative linker structures can occur. In summary, additional full structural analyses of LPS in Asian strains are required to assess the presence or absence of an alternative linker in these strains. It will also be interesting to study the glucan-heptan linker moieties in pathogenesis as H. pylori infections in Asia are usually more symptomatic than the ones presented in the Western world.
Correction: Rajput, S.A., et al. Ameliorative Effects of Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin Extract on Growth Performance, Immune Function, Antioxidant Capacity, Biochemical Constituents, Liver Histopathology and Aflatoxin Residues in Broilers Exposed to Aflatoxin B1. Toxins 2017, 9, 371
Authors: Rajput Shahid , Sun Lvhui , Zhang Niya , Khalil Mahmoud , Gao Xin , Ling Zhao , Zhu Luoyi , Khan Farhan , Zhang Jiacai , Qi Desheng
Published: September 2018

The authors wish to make the following correction to their paper [...]
Advances in Ecological Water System Modeling: Integration and Leanification as a Basis for Application in Environmental Management
Authors: Goethals Peter L.M. , Forio Marie Anne Eurie
Published: September 2018

The art of applied modeling is determining an appropriate balance between integration of more processes and variables for the sake of increasing representativeness and reliability of the models, while also avoiding too long development and simulation times. The latter can be achieved via leanification, which can be based on reducing the number of variables and processes by focusing on key processes in the system and its management, but can be as well induced by using simplified methods for the description of relations among variables (such as regression and probabilistic methods) to, for instance, reduce the simulation time. In this way, integration and leanification can be combined and together contribute to models that are more relevant and convenient for use by water managers. In particular, it is crucial to find a good balance between the integration level of ecological processes answering environmental challenges in a relevant manner and costs for data collection and model development (and application).
Application of a Coastal Vulnerability Index. A Case Study along the Apulian Coastline, Italy
Authors: Pantusa Daniela , D’Alessandro Felice , Riefolo Luigia , Principato Francesca , Tomasicchio Giuseppe Roberto
Published: September 2018

The coastal vulnerability index (CVI) is a popular index in literature to assess the coastal vulnerability of climate change. The present paper proposes a CVI formulation to make it suitable for the Mediterranean coasts; the formulation considers ten variables divided into three typological groups: geological; physical process and vegetation. In particular, the geological variables are: geomorphology; shoreline erosion/accretion rates; coastal slope; emerged beach width and dune width. The physical process variables are relative sea-level change; mean significant wave height and mean tide range. The vegetation variables are width of vegetation behind the beach and posidonia oceanica. The first application of the proposed index was carried out for a stretch of the Apulia region coast, in the south of Italy; this application allowed to (i) identify the transects most vulnerable to sea level rise, storm surges and waves action and (ii) consider the usefulness of the index as a tool for orientation in planning strategies. For the case study presented in this work, the most influential variables in determining CVI are dune width and geomorphology. The transects that present a very high vulnerability are characterized by sandy and narrow beaches (without dunes and vegetation) and by the absence of Posidonia oceanica.
Impact of antibiotics for children presenting to general practice with cough on adverse outcomes: secondary analysis from a multicentre prospective cohort study
Authors: Redmond Niamh M , Turnbull Sophie , Stuart Beth , Thornton Hannah V , Christensen Hannah , Blair Peter S , Delaney Brendan C , Thompson Matthew , Peters Tim J , Hay Alastair D , Little Paul
Published: September 2018

Background

Clinicians commonly prescribe antibiotics to prevent major adverse outcomes in children presenting in primary care with cough and respiratory symptoms, despite limited meaningful evidence of impact on these outcomes.

Aim

To estimate the effect of children’s antibiotic prescribing on adverse outcomes within 30 days of initial consultation.

Design and setting

Secondary analysis of 8320 children in a multicentre prospective cohort study, aged 3 months to <16 years, presenting in primary care across England with acute cough and other respiratory symptoms.

Method

Baseline clinical characteristics and antibiotic prescribing data were collected, and generalised linear models were used to estimate the effect of antibiotic prescribing on adverse outcomes within 30 days (subsequent hospitalisations and reconsultation for deterioration), controlling for clustering and clinicians’ propensity to prescribe antibiotics.

Results

Sixty-five (0.8%) children were hospitalised and 350 (4%) reconsulted for deterioration. Clinicians prescribed immediate and delayed antibiotics to 2313 (28%) and 771 (9%), respectively. Compared with no antibiotics, there was no clear evidence that antibiotics reduced hospitalisations (immediate antibiotic risk ratio [RR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.47 to 1.45; delayed RR 0.70, 95% CI = 0.26 to 1.90, overall P = 0.44). There was evidence that delayed (rather than immediate) antibiotics reduced reconsultations for deterioration (immediate RR 0.82, 95% CI = 0.65 to 1.07; delayed RR 0.55, 95% CI = 0.34 to 0.88, overall P = 0.024).

Conclusion

Most children presenting with acute cough and respiratory symptoms in primary care are not at risk of hospitalisation, and antibiotics may not reduce the risk. If an antibiotic is considered, a delayed antibiotic prescription may be preferable as it is likely to reduce reconsultation for deterioration.
Treatments for subacute cough in primary care: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised clinical trials
Authors: Speich Benjamin , Thomer Anja , Aghlmandi Soheila , Ewald Hannah , Zeller Andreas , Hemkens Lars G
Published: September 2018

Background

Subacute cough following a non-specific viral infection lasting 3–8 weeks is common. However, despite many treatment options there are no systematic reviews evaluating these.

Aim

To provide a systematic overview of treatment options and outcomes evaluated in randomised clinical trials (RCTs).

Design and setting

Systematic review and meta-analyses assessing the overall effects of any treatment for subacute cough.

Method

The authors systematically searched PubMed/MEDLINE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (last search March 2017) for RCTs in adult patients with subacute cough. The authors considered trials evaluating any outcome of any drug or non-drug treatments, apart from traditional Chinese and Asian medicines. They combined treatment effects on cough-related outcomes in random effects meta-analyses.

Results

Six eligible RCTs including 724 patients were identified. These assessed montelukast, salbutamol plus ipratropium bromide, gelatine, fluticasone propionate, budesonide, and nociception opioid 1 receptor agonist and codeine. Five studies reported effects on various cough severity scores at various timepoints. No treatment option was associated with a clear benefit on cough recovery or other patient-relevant outcomes in any of the studies or in meta-analyses for cough outcomes at 14 days and 28 days. Reported adverse events were rather mild and reported for 14% of patients across all treatments.

Conclusion

Evidence on treatment options for subacute cough is weak. There is no treatment showing clear patient-relevant benefits in clinical trials.
L'archéologie française à l'étranger : redéfinition ou déclin
Authors: Cleuziou Serge
Published: September 2018

Nous publions ici la liste des missions archéologiques françaises opérant actuellement à l'étranger, liste qui comprend les activités des trois dernières années. Ces missions ne travaillent plus toutes sur le terrain, mais continuent à être financées par la Sous-direction des sciences sociales et humaines du Ministère des relations extérieures pour des activités d'étude et de publication. Nous indiquons ces éléments dans la mesure du possible. Nous avons tenté par la suite de donner une idée de la répartition des activités et des crédits sur ces trois années.

Cette liste a été établie par Nathalie Desse-Berset et le Service de documentation du Centre de recherches archéologique de Valbonne. Tableaux et commentaires sont de Serge Cleuziou.