bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Research on the Equity of Educational Facilities in Counties of the Loess Plateau Gully Area: Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province as an Example
Authors: Ni Qingsong , Wu Xin , Cui Peng
Published: October 2022

In this study, we construct a framework to evaluate the equity of educational facilities in counties in the Loess Plateau ravine area according to three dimensions: “equity in supply and demand”, “spatial justice”, and “equity in quality educational resources”. In this study, we use the improved MEAP model (Maximal Accessibility Equality Problem) to evaluate the equity of educational facilities in Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province, China. The results of the study show that (1) The shortage of educational facilities in the county in terms of supply and demand gradually changes from an uneven distribution of educational facilities in terms of quantity to an uneven distribution of educational facilities in terms of quality. The demand and supply of education in the county are out of balance with the population movement in the process of rapid urbanization, and the rate of urbanization of education is higher than the rate of urbanization of the population. (2) The spatial equity of educational facilities in the county is poor, with the geographical separation caused by gullies and the uneven development between urban and rural areas being the main causes. (3) The distribution of quality educational facilities within the county is uneven, with the central city being rich in quality educational resources but having limited room for expansion of facilities. Educational facilities in the peripheral areas of the county are relatively poor. These research results provide a new perspective and evaluation framework to assess the equity of educational facilities in the county areas of the Loess Plateau gully region and to provide a decision-making basis for planning and layout of educational facilities in the county areas.
Importance, Tools, and Challenges of Protecting Trees
Authors: Kozlowski Gregor , Song Yi-Gang
Published: October 2022

Trees are the most important landscape architects of our planet, not only in forests but also in countless other ecosystems, including human-fabricated habitats. Due to their significance in the majority of terrestrial ecosystems, trees play an important role in maintaining biodiversity and providing food and habitat for countless microorganisms, fungi, climbers, invertebrates, and vertebrates. Trees are also indispensable for the development of human societies and are important for our survival today and in the future. Trees therefore have an inestimable scientific, economic, social, cultural, and aesthetic value. In addition, they were and are playing an essential role in myths, rituals, and cultures of nearly all indigenous and modern societies. Despite these facts, the protection of trees is insufficient, both globally due to climate change and deforestation, but also locally, for example in the big cities through deterioration of soils or improper care. In industrialized countries, only recently has the need for targeted protection efforts for tree species or even for individual trees been recognized. Our review starts with the differentiation and definitions of forests and trees. Furthermore, we present the main categories and subcategories of trees, each of them possessing different functions in their ecosystems and for human societies and thus needing specific legal protection measures. The second part of our review presents the most important tools for improving the protection of trees. On the one hand, there exist a series of international initiatives, conventions, and agreements, and on the other hand, there are numerous legal tools, such as red lists, lists of protected species, and legislation for the protection of monument and habitat trees. The main challenge of the 21st century is to find a solution to make the development and growth of modern human societies compatible with the protection of natural resources such as forests. The large number of tree species, as well as the large proportion of threatened tree species, makes this problem even larger. Finally, the most recent and controversial approach of attributing trees the rights as legal persons is discussed.
Entrepreneurs’ Responses to COVID-19 Crisis: A Holistic Dynamic Capabilities Perspective in the Saudi Food and Beverage Sector
Authors: Elgammal Islam , Baeshen Mashhour Hani , Alhothali Ghada Talat
Published: October 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an active crisis for businesses around the globe. This paper adopts the Dynamic Capabilities (DC) theory to investigate factors that may account for differences in entrepreneurial marketing (EM) adoption and entrepreneurial marketing opportunities during two stages of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, namely the full and partial closure. The existing study provides useful insights into the functioning of entrepreneurial marketing that make the related opportunities and challenges visible. Additionally, the paper explores entrepreneurial marketing strategies employed by Saudi entrepreneurs within the Food and Beverage sector (F&B) to mitigate the uncertainty and challenges posed by the pandemic. Since the nature of the research inquiry is exploratory, semi-structured interviews with seventeen restaurant and cafe owners were conducted to explore the phenomena under investigation and confirm the constructs used for the model development. Under exceptional circumstances, restaurants and cafés representing the F&B sector have been forced to respond quickly, become innovative and make compromises. Findings revealed that converting to survival mode with short time frames was the only solution for entrepreneurial marketing within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Impact Analysis of Psychological Issues and Pandemic-Related Variables on Ecuadorian University Students during COVID-19
Authors: Méndez-Prado Silvia Mariela , Flores Ulloa Ariel
Published: October 2022

The study aims to find the impact of some life circumstances on psychological and pan-demic-related problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the European student’s union survey of 2020, the research has negative emotions as the primary variable of interest. Other analyzed variables are pandemic-related behaviors and home infrastructure. A total of 1100 Ecuadorian university students let us conclude that those with moderate levels of emotional issues and high family income profiles suffered less during the lockdown. Negative emotions and home infrastructure sometimes depend on demographic factors like gender or family income. The multiple regression analysis shows that pandemic-related behaviors are positively correlated with negative feelings, which is the opposite of home infrastructure, which is negatively related to negative emotions—the CFA and SEM help to confirm the validity and reliability test of the questionnaire. The results let us understand the current university students’ situation and the public-related policies to enhance by filling the research gap and facing the scarce related literature in Ecuador.
When Entrepreneurial Leadership Identity and Passion Meet Venture Growth Intention
Authors: Dhakal Purushottam , Wiesner Retha , Maraseni Tek
Published: October 2022

Within the emerging domain of entrepreneurial leadership research, gender issues have been largely ignored. This study aims to examine the nexus between entrepreneurial leader identity, entrepreneurial passion, and growth intention. This is done within the stacked context of being a woman entrepreneur, and in rural, regional and remote (RRR) Australia. This unique study draws upon a cross-sectional survey of 99 women entrepreneurs, employing a partial least square structural equation model. The study has found a positive relationship between entrepreneurial leader identity on the one hand and growth intention and passion on the other but could not find any conclusive evidence of a relationship between entrepreneurial passion and venture growth intention. The study opens new research avenues into the novel construct of entrepreneurial leader identity and helps to better understand the dynamics of RRR women entrepreneurship in the Australian context.
Factors Influencing the Willingness to Pay in Yachting Tourism in the Context of COVID-19 Regular Prevention and Control: The Case of Dalian, China
Authors: Yao Yunhao , Zheng Ruoquan , Parmak Merle
Published: October 2022

This study attempts to construct a framework of factors affecting the yachting tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) in the context of COVID-19 regular prevention and control in Dalian, China. Relying on the framework of the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), perceived external institutional and destination attribute factors are introduced to enhance the prediction of WTP. The results of the multivariate ordinal logistic regression model show that significant factors affecting yachting tourists’ WTP are income, education, past consumption experience, attitudes, destination attributes, and perceived behavior control. In addition, different factors affect the WTP of tourists who prefer motor boats and non-motor boats.
An Integrated Approach for Evaluating the Efficiency of FDI Attractiveness: Evidence from Vietnamese Provincial Data from 2012 to 2022
Authors: Le Thi-Nham , Dang Thanh-Tuan
Published: October 2022

In Vietnam, foreign direct investment (FDI) is an important capital flow for sustainable socio-economic growth and international economic integration, contributing to the supplementation of capital, modern technology, management and business capacity, and the ability to organize and participate in the global supply chain. In this paper, a novel hybrid model combining simple average combination of SMA (Simple Moving Average), IFTS (Improved Fuzzy Time Series), and DEA window analysis is proposed to evaluate FDI attractiveness in Vietnam. Five crucial indicators, including labor force (LF), gross regional domestic product (GDP), the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), FDI by capital, and FDI by cases, were employed to explore their impacts on the efficiency of attracting FDI into provinces, for sustainable economic growth. First, the future values of indicators for 2021–2022 were predicted based on collected historical data from 2012 to 2020. Then, the DEA window was employed to evaluate the efficiency of the provinces in terms of their FDI attractiveness during the period 2012–2022. From the results, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh, and Vung Tau were found to be the most efficient localities at attracting FDI, while An Giang, Tuyen Quang, and Can Tho had the lowest FDI attractiveness indexes. The proposed model was proven to be effective in identifying both the provinces which should be targeted for further improvement, and the provinces which should serve as role models for other provinces. In this direction, this paper can serve as a significant guideline for decision-makers and the Government to improve FDI attractiveness, with solutions to attract FDI in a sustainable way.
Government and Private Company Collaboration in the Governance of Shared Mobility Schemes: A Case Study of Dockless Bike-Sharing Schemes in Sydney, Australia
Authors: Cao Jun , Prior Jason , Giurco Damien
Published: October 2022

While a growing body of studies has investigated the collaborative governance (CG) of dockless bike-sharing schemes (DBSS) worldwide, few offer close descriptions and analyses of stakeholder interactions in specific social contexts. Our study fills this gap by examining the development of CG of DBSS in Sydney, Australia between 2017 and 2020. The methodology is guided by an Integrative Framework for CG, drawing on qualitative analysis of policy documentation and semi-structured interviews with key DBSS participants from the public and private sector. Our findings reveal context-specific drivers and dynamics that shaped the development of particular forms of CG within Sydney’s DBSS.
Sustainable Complete Streets Design Criteria and Case Study in Naples, Italy
Authors: Montella Alfonso , Chiaradonna Salvatore , Mihiel Alessandro Claudi de Saint , Lovegrove Gord , Nunziante Pietro , Rella Riccardi Maria
Published: October 2022

Background: A growing number of communities are re-discovering the value of their streets as important public spaces for many aspects of daily life, creating the need for a transformation in the quality of those streets. An emerging concept of ‘complete streets’ is to accommodate all users of the transportation system. Methods: In this paper, we present sustainable complete streets design criteria that integrate complete streets by adding socio-environmental design criteria related to the aesthetics, environment, liveability, and safety. To help set priorities, identify the street design features, and create intuitive multimodal networks throughout the city, we have defined a list of the general and specific criteria to be addressed for sustainable complete streets. Results: The proposed design criteria provide a street network with improvements in its aesthetics, to recover the historical urban character and realize historical area planning goals; the environment, to increase the permeable surfaces, reduce the heat island effect, and to absorb traffic-related air pollution; the liveability, to create a public space destination in the urban landscape; and safety, to improve the safety of all road users. The design scenarios proposed in the study were conceived to help practitioners to consider these context-based uses and design accordingly by gaining knowledge from past experiences to benefit future projects. Conclusions: The case study of the urban rehabilitation of the “Mostra d’Oltremare” area and its cultural and architectural assets in Naples, Italy, highlights the practical application of the proposed criteria and the possibility of using these criteria in other urban contexts.
Loss and Gain in Potential Distribution of Threatened Wild Cotton Gossypium thurberi in Mexico under Future Climate
Authors: Baez-Gonzalez Alma Delia , Alcala-Carmona Kimberly A. , Melgoza-Castillo Alicia , Titulaer Mieke , Kiniry James R.
Published: October 2022

Gossypium thurberi, a threatened wild cotton species native to northern Mexico and southwestern USA, is globally important because its agronomic traits can be introgressed into cultivated species to improve fiber quality and resistance to biotic and abiotic stressors. However, studies on the current and future potential distribution of the species are scarce. The objectives of this study were (1) to develop a distribution model of G thurberi using a Geographic Information System platform, (2) determine environmental factors that influence the current distribution of the species in Mexico, and (3) estimate the potential distribution of the species under current and future climates. We analyzed the following variables: Annual Available Soil Water (mm year−1, AASW), Flowering Growing Degree Days (FGDD), absolute minimum temperature (°C, Tminabs), and altitude (amsl, ALT). Results showed that the current potential distribution of G. thurberi in northern Mexico, estimated at 112,727 square kilometers, is projected to be drastically reduced by 77 and 86%, considering a possible increase in temperature of 1.5 °C and 2 °C in near-future (2021–2040) and mid-future (2041–2060) climates, respectively, and a 100 mm reduction in average annual precipitation under both climates. The greatest reduction will be in areas in Sonora (Mexico) adjoining Arizona (USA), where the largest populations of the species are currently reported. AASW, FGDD, and ALT jointly influence the distribution of G. thurberi, with AASW as the dominant factor under future climate change. The areas that may continue to harbor populations of G. thurberi under future climate will present AASW of 0.2–55.6 mm year−1, FGDD of 242–547, and ALT between 550 and 1561 amsl. The projected future potential distribution in the country includes new suitable areas, including one in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, that may serve as refuge areas. The findings can contribute to the design of more precise collection efforts and conservation strategies to prevent species extinction.
Sustainable Waste Management Companies with Innovative Smart Solutions: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Model
Authors: Farooq Muhammad , Cheng Jie , Khan Noor Ullah , Saufi Roselina Ahmad , Kanwal Nagina , Bazkiaei Hanieh Alipour
Published: October 2022

Overflowing garbage bins and unnecessary truck visits to collect waste have always been core issues of sustainability and maintaining a green environment. In the recent past, a transition has been observed in waste management towards a better environment and the achievement of sustainability goals. Companies are not only focused on producing less but also transforming waste into energy and reusable products. This transition process needs to evolve through sustainable solutions and innovative marketing initiatives that increase awareness and education among end users. This study used a systematic literature review protocol to identify and review the available research on sustainable waste-management solutions, innovative marketing initiatives, and a proposed conceptual model. It analyzed the latest literature from 1976 to 2022 to assess waste-management trends using the Web of Sciences and Scopus databases. To evaluate the practical perspective, this study analyzed ten waste-management companies offering services in the USA, the UK, Korea, Finland, Ireland, Turkey, Brazil, Slovakia, Portugal, Denmark, and Canada to assess their technological and marketing development for the creation of a better future. It was found that Ecube, Enevo, smart bins, Compology, Bigbelly, Sensoneo, Citibrain, ACO recycling, Evrek, Rico, and BrighterBins focus more on technology and less on user awareness and marketing. There is minimal focus on education and empowerment of end users. Our study’s findings guide academics, practitioners, and policymakers to apply ambidextrousness in energy innovation, particularly in the waste-management sector. By implementing sustainable and innovative solutions, companies can not only reduce waste products, but they can also recover, recycle, and better dispose of the waste. However, to do so, companies also need to educate end users.
Targeting Subsoil Constraints in Southern Queensland: Concept Proof of Spraying Polyacrylamide for Subsoil Stabilisation during Tillage
Authors: Zhu Yingcan , Ali Aram , Bennett John McLean , Guppy Chris , McKenzie David
Published: October 2022

Deep ripping, in conjunction with gypsum and/or organic amendment, is known to be useful for removing physical constraints and improving crop yields in dispersive subsoils. However, the benefits are short-lived due to lateral movement of Na into soil between the rip lines, and slumping following the wetting of loosened soil, leaving low pore volume for air and water movement. This study evaluated the effect of high concentration polyacrylamide (PAM) solutions on stabilising soil structure, with a focus on PAM application on dispersive aggregates theoretically dislodged by ripping, as part of the subsoil decompaction. Three distinct soils (Vertosol, Kandosol, and Dermosol) from southern Queensland were treated to be sodic. These aggregates were further applied with PAM solutions under three scenarios, including: immersion, coating, and no application. In general, PAM stabilised soil aggregates with a concentration above 1.5 g L–1 when immersed into PAM solution or coated with PAM product, as compared to non-PAM-treated samples. The efficacy depended on PAM concentration, viscosity, soil type, and mechanical force. The concept of spraying PAM for stabilising the subsoil during tillage was proposed, as there is feasible potential for PAM to prolong the benefits of subsoil decompaction long enough through stabilising aggregate structure.
The Impact of Chinese Carbon Emissions Trading System on Efficiency of Enterprise Capital Allocation: Effect Identification and Mechanism Test
Authors: Wang Zijin , Guo Jitao , Luo Gengyan
Published: October 2022

The carbon emission trading system, as a significant policy instrument to ensure the Chinese economy achieves a green and low carbon transition, will also affect economic enterprise efficiency. This paper takes listed enterprises in a Chinese carbon trading pilot from 2011 to 2020 as research samples, constructs a multi-period differential model, and explores the impact of Chinese the carbon emission trading system on enterprise capital allocation efficiency. We find that the Chinese carbon emission trading system effectively improves the capital allocation efficiency of enterprises, which is more significant in enterprises with light pollution intensity and strong regional environmental regulation. Further analysis shows that the carbon emission trading system can improve the efficiency of enterprise capital allocation by improving the efficiency of working capital management and asset operation efficiency, while the path of human capital value is not established. Carbon trading market activity and government efficiency play a positive moderating role in the impact of the carbon emission trading system on enterprise capital allocation efficiency. The higher carbon trading market activity and government efficiency, the stronger the relationship between them. The above conclusions provide empirical evidence for the microeconomic effects of the Chinese carbon emission trading system, and also provide a useful reference for the government to implement carbon trading according to local conditions and improve the efficiency of enterprise capital allocation.
Does Psychological Ownership Matter? Investigating Consumer Green Brand Relationships through the Lens of Anthropomorphism
Authors: Malhotra Gunjan , Jham Vimi , Sehgal Nidhi
Published: October 2022

Environment sustainability is becoming an important social obligation for organizations. As consumers are becoming conscious of the environment conservation, organizations are using technology to increase efficiency while saving labor costs and providing a unique in-store experience, engaging consumers interaction with the brand. Artificial intelligence (AI), that involves machines or applications mimicking human intelligence, is transforming the manner in which the consumers interact with the brands. Applying the theory of anthropomorphism and the psychological ownership theory, this study significantly contributes to the existing literature by investigating the interplay between crucial constructs such as AI anthropomorphism, psychological ownership, and product usage barrier in the context of green brands. Data was collected through a questionnaire from Indian consumers (N = 295). Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS PROCESS macro. The study provides empirical evidence on the significant role of psychological ownership with green brand AI anthropomorphism for building consumer relationships. The findings revealed that green brand AI anthropomorphism creates product usage barriers, but along with psychological ownership, the influence on consumer relationships remains positive.
Urban Lake Scenic Protected Area Zoning Based on Ecological Sensitivity Analysis and Remote Sensing: A Case Study of Chaohu Lake Basin, China
Authors: Wei Guoyi , Yang Zhao , Liang Chaozhong , Yang Xuewei , Zhang Shuiming
Published: October 2022

The protection of urban lakes is important for the construction and development of the city and the eco-environment. Affected by urban expansion, most urban lake scenic areas have suffered from a reduction in area and ecological degradation. Protecting and restoring urban lake scenic areas has been a hot topic among the public. Given this background information, we analyzed the ecological problems and contradictions from the perspective of landscape ecology. This study evaluated the landscape pattern and ecological sensitivity in the Chaohu Lake Basin, China. The proposed method was based on the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and geographical information system (GIS). The results showed that the ecological sensitivity map was divided into four sensitivity levels consisting of level 1, level 3, level 5, and level 7, which represent 65%, 27%, 5%, and 2% of the study area. It was found that highly sensitive areas existed primarily in the highlands, where the natural conditions were poorer than in other areas and human activities have been developing rapidly. Additionally, the medium sensitive levels occurred in the low lands, probably in response to agricultural practices. Based on our results, three ecological zones were proposed, which require different protection and utilization solutions in order to restore the local ecological environment in terms of sustainable development.
Exclusion and Cooperation of the Urban Poor Outside the Institutional Framework of the Smart City: A Case of Seoul
Authors: Kim Kon
Published: October 2022

Although information and communication technology (ICT) has recently revolutionized human settlements, its allocation and availability have not been evenly distributed globally. Consequently, the urban poor have often been excluded from government-driven smart city projects due to their inability to access and utilize ICT. Instead, the urban poor have attempted to forge an alternative smart city-making pathway outside institutions, in collaboration with radical social groups. Thus, this article examines the nature of the development of poor urban communities in their alternative smart city-related practices by exploring changing power dynamics and social infrastructure across the boundaries of smart city institutions. The case study of Seoul demonstrates that the urban poor can build a unique social infrastructure through radical intermediary intervention, which can improve their communal autonomy and construct a self-governing system, albeit within constraints. This article also argues that radical organizational transition can deprive these populations of opportunities to engage in various smart city-related practices, particularly those driven by the public and private sectors with speculative motives, while little or no qualitative growth of their communal autonomy has occurred within the institutional framework. Therefore, this article criticizes the double-edged ambivalence of the alternative smart city-making pathway for the urban poor, where their right to the smart city remains unachieved, despite their radical approach contributing to genuinely humanizing smart urbanism.
Criteria for Assessing the Safety and Functionality of Tram Stops
Authors: Rydlewski Mateusz , Tubis Agnieszka A.
Published: October 2022

The selection of criteria in the developed methods of analysis and evaluation has a significant impact on the implemented decision-making processes. For this reason, the very process of identifying the correct criteria is a research challenge worth undertaking. The conducted literature review shows that in the methodology of assessing tram and bus stops, the researchers focus primarily on aspects related to safety. Assessment of the functionality of tram stops becomes no less important. However, a literature review shows that this range of stops is sporadically mentioned in publications. Meanwhile, from a practical point of view, the aspects related to ensuring the required functionality in the tram stop zone are as important as the safety of passengers. That is why we surveyed experts who perform official functions in cities with a tram transport system. The conducted research was aimed at: (1) assessment of the elements and selected parameters of the stop infrastructure in terms of their impact on the safety and functionality of stops; (2) assessment of the inter-relationship between safety and functionality criteria when analyzing individual factors. The article aims to present the results obtained during the structured interviews and their interpretation. The obtained research results and their classification constitute not only scientific material, but they can also be used by people and organizations involved in the design, evaluation, and modernization of tram stops. The obtained results should also be analyzed by teams developing urban standards for transport infrastructure.
The Embodiment of Muslim Intention Elements in Buying Halal Food Products: A Literature Review
Authors: Wiyono Sulistyodewi Nur , Deliana Yosini , Wulandari Eliana , Kamarulzaman Nitty Hirawaty
Published: October 2022

Countries with mostly Muslim populations should have more halal-certified products for domestic consumption. In Indonesia, only a few food products are halal-certified, whereas many products are not certified, but are still consumed by Muslims. Therefore, this study aims to reveal the manifestations of consumer intentions in buying halal food products, and how this intention affects Muslim consumers in purchasing halal food products. This is a semi-systematic literature study that identifies and analyzes articles on a highly scientific database spanning a decade. VOSviewer is used to visualize the development of scientific topics that have been published through keywords. These findings provide in-depth insight into the intentions of Muslims in buying halal food products. This study can also assist the study of halal food products that analyze the factors of intention and contribute to the sustainable buying behavior of consumers in the future.
Identification of Predictive Nursing Workload Factors: A Six Sigma Approach
Authors: Buestan Marcos , Perez Cinthia
Published: October 2022

A balanced nursing workload is crucial for patient and staff safety. Although there are several nursing planning models, there is no generic methodology to identify critical workload factors and their relative impact on different healthcare environments. We propose Six Sigma (SS) as a generic methodology and its DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) framework to identify statistically proven factors that affect nursing workload (NW) in any healthcare environment. Additionally, using a regression model, we estimated their relative importance. For our case study, we found that the number of patients per ward, the number of times medication was administered per shift, the number of nurses and the type of shifts were significant factors in predicting nursing workload. Using their relative importance as input for the nursing planning process, we improved the nursing assignment process performance from 0.09 to 1.05, with an increase in the sigma level from −0.34 to 2.97. Also, we reached the 55% target for the percentage of NW, from a baseline of 50.3%. We also reached the percentage target of NW set by the management of 55%, from the baseline of 50.3%. This study shows that SS can be used effectively to estimate the importance of the main factors that affect nursing workload, providing a methodology to improve the nurse–patient assignment process.
Environmental Protection Is Not Relevant in the Perceived Quality of Life of Low-Income Housing Residents: A PLS-SEM Approach in the Brazilian Amazon
Authors: Santana Wylliam Bessa , Maués Luiz Maurício Furtado
Published: October 2022

Meeting the needs of users is imperative in construction, especially those of low-income people. This research looks into the perceptions of low-income users concerning green building (GB) and discusses how building sustainability can contribute to improving their lives. To this end, a model was developed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) relating the perceptions on residents’ quality of life with the GB criteria of Blue House Label (Selo Casa Azul—SCA), a Brazilian Sustainable Label. This model was based on data from a survey with 658 residents of the ‘Minha Casa, Minha Vida—MCMV’ (My Home, My Life) program, which is part of the Brazilian social housing system. The results of the model suggest that intangible issues such as the environmental protection criteria related to the construction of the building are not capable of influencing their perception of quality of life in the project. On the other hand, GB criteria capable of providing more practical benefits to low-income residents were broadly accepted, such as urban quality, GBT related to cost reduction, water management, and social practices. Furthermore, this article contributes to the discussion about sustainable social housing, the importance of adopting social criteria in GB, and the potential of environmental education to contribute to meeting sustainable development goals (SDG).
Dynamics of Stochastic Zika Virus with Treatment Class in Human Population via Spectral Method
Authors: Algehyne Ebrahem A. , Khan Farman Ullah , Khan Sami Ullah , Jamshed Wasim , Tag El Din El Sayed M.
Published: October 2022

The Zika virus model (ZIKV) is mathematically modeled to create the perfect control strategies. The main characteristics of the model without control strategies, in particular reproduction number, are specified. Based on the basic reproduction number, if R0<0, then ZIKV satisfies the disease-free equilibrium. If R0>1, then ZIKV satisfies the endemic equilibrium. We use the maximum principle from Pontryagin’s. This describes the critical conditions for optimal control of ZIKV. Notwithstanding, due to the prevention and treatment of mosquito populations without spraying, people infected with the disease have decreased dramatically. Be that as it may, there has been no critical decline in mosquitoes contaminated with the disease. The usage of preventive treatments and insecticide procedures to mitigate the spread of the proposed virus showed a more noticeable centrality in the decrease in contaminated people and mosquitoes. The application of preventive measures including treatment and insecticides has emerged as the most ideal way to reduce the spread of ZIKV. Best of all, to decrease the spread of ZIKV is to use avoidance, treatment and bug spraying simultaneously as control methods. Moreover, for the numerical solution of such stochastic models, we apply the spectral technique. The stochastic or random phenomenons are more realistic and make the model more informative with the additive information. Throughout this paper, the additive term is assumed as additive white noise. The Legendre polynomials and applications are implemented to transform the proposed system into a nonlinear algebraic system.
DualAC2NN: Revisiting and Alleviating Alert Fatigue from the Detection Perspective
Authors: Yang Gang , Tang Chaojing , Liu Xingtong
Published: October 2022

The exponential expansion of Internet interconnectivity has led to a dramatic increase in cyber-attack alerts, which contain a considerable proportion of false positives. The overwhelming number of false positives cause tremendous resource consumption and delay responses to the really severe incidents, namely, alert fatigue. To cope with the challenge from alert fatigue, we focus on enhancing the capability of detectors to reduce the generation of false alerts from the detection perspective. The core idea of our work is to train a machine-learning-based detector to grasp the empirical intelligence of security analysts to estimate the feasibility of an incoming HTTP request to cause substantial threats, and integrate the estimation into the detection stage to reduce false alarms. To this end, we innovatively introduce the concept of attack feasibility to characterize the composition rationality of an inbound HTTP request as a feasible attack under static scrutinization. First, we adopt a fast request-reorganization algorithm to transform an HTTP request into the form of interface:payload pair for further alignment of structural components which can reveal the processing logic of the target program. Then, we build a dual-channel attention-based circulant convolution neural network (DualAC2NN) to integrate the attack feasibility estimation into the alert decision, by comprehensively considering the interface sensitivity, payload maliciousness, and their bipartite compatibility. Experiments on a real-world dataset show that the proposed method significantly reduces invalid alerts by around 86.37% and over 61.64% compared to a rule-based commercial WAF and several state-of-the-art methods, along with retaining a detection rate at 97.89% and a lower time overhead, which indicates that our approach can effectively mitigate alert fatigue from the detection perspective.
Bell’s Polynomials and Laplace Transform of Higher Order Nested Functions
Authors: Caratelli Diego , Ricci Paolo Emilio
Published: October 2022

Using Bell’s polynomials it is possible to approximate the Laplace Transform of composite functions. The same methodology can be adopted for the evaluation of the Laplace Transform of higher-order nested functions. In this case, a suitable extension of Bell’s polynomials, as previously introduced in the scientific literature, is used, namely higher order Bell’s polynomials used in the representation of the derivatives of multiple nested functions. Some worked examples are shown, and some of the polynomials used are reported in the Appendices.
Ranking of Downstream Fish Passage Designs for a Hydroelectric Project under Spherical Fuzzy Bipolar Soft Framework
Authors: Ali Ghous , Abidin Muhammad Zain Ul , Xin  Qin , Tawfiq Ferdous M. O.
Published: October 2022

Nowadays, several real-world decision-making problems concerning falling economies, power crises, depleting resources, etc., require efficient decision-making. To solve such problems, researchers proposed several hybrid models by combining the spherical fuzzy sets with other theories, such as spherical fuzzy soft sets, which is an efficient tool to deal with the uncertainties concerning positive, neutral, and negative memberships in the soft environment. However, all the existing hybridizations of spherical fuzzy sets fail to deal with information symmetrically in a bipolar soft environment. Accordingly, this paper presents a novel hybrid model called spherical fuzzy bipolar soft sets (SFBSSs) by fusing spherical fuzzy sets and bipolar soft sets, considering the opposite sets of parameters in symmetry. An example considering the selection of a chief management officer (CMO) for a multi-national company illustrates the proposed model in detail. In addition, some symmetric properties and algebraic operations of the initiated model, including subset, complement, relative null SFBSSs, relative absolute SFBSSs, extended union, extended intersection, restricted union, restricted intersection, AND, and OR operations, are discussed and illustrated via numerical examples. Further, some fundamental results, namely, commutativity, associativity, distribution, and De Morgan’s laws are presented for SFBSSs. Moreover, by considering the massive impact of hydropower in combating the energy crisis and possible dangers to fish migration, a multi-attribute decision-making problem concerning the ranking of downstream fish passage designs for a hydroelectric project is modeled and solved under the developed algorithm based on SFBSSs. Finally, a comparative analysis discusses the supremacy of the initiated model over its building blocks.
Identification of Novel Reassortant Shuni Virus Strain in Clinical Cases of Israeli Ruminants, 2020–2021
Authors: Golender Natalia , Varsano Joseph Seffi , Nissimyan Tomer , Tiomkin Eitan
Published: October 2022

The Shuni virus (SHUV) causes an endemic viral infection in Israel and South Africa. It belongs to the Simbu serogroup within the order Bunyavirales, family Peribunyaviridae, genus Orthobunyavirus. Recently, it has been identified in aborted cases of domestic ruminants, young cattle and horses manifesting neural signs and acute death, symptomatic cows, and in carcasses of wild animals. Moreover, SHUV was isolated and identified in humans. In this study, we describe clinical cases of SHUV infection in Israeli domestic ruminants in 2020–2021, which represented clinical manifestations of simbuviral infection including abortions, a neural lethal case in a fattening calf, and an acute symptomatic case in a beef cow. In all cases, SHUV was confirmed by complete or partial viral genome sequencing. There is a significant difference of M and L segments of the novel strains compared with those of all known SHUV strains, while the S segments have more than 99% nucleotide (nt) identity with Israeli and African “Israeli-like” strains previously circulated in 2014–2019. This indicates a reassortment origin of the strain. At the same time, M and S segment nt sequences showed about 98–99% nt identity with some South African strains collected in 2016–2018. Nevertheless, the viral origin and the geographical place of the reassortment stayed unknown.
Mass Depopulation of Swine during COVID-19: An Exploration of Swine Veterinarians’ Perspectives
Authors: Bussolari Cori , Packman Wendy , Currin-McCulloch Jennifer , Strand Elizabeth , Kogan Lori
Published: October 2022

This qualitative study (n = 25) was created to better understand the mental health of U.S. swine veterinarians who were involved in the mass depopulation events related to COVID-19. A total of 25 swine veterinarians, participants in a previous larger quantitative study, volunteered to be interviewed about their experiences related to the COVID-19 mass depopulation event. Themes that emerged from these interviews included: (1) the need to be better prepared for crisis events; (2) lack of public understanding; (3) moral distress; (4) empathy for others, especially young veterinarians; (5) sources of support; (6) pride, honor and gratitude; and (7) an overarching theme of emotional distancing and detachment—concerns external to one’s own mental health. Based on our results, we recommend additional training and supportive services for those who might be involved in future depopulation efforts. Additionally, we suggest that the veterinary profession prioritize public education campaigns to help the public better understand the need for depopulation.
Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Heart Murmurs Detected on Cardiac Auscultation in 856 Cats
Authors: Ferasin Luca , Ferasin Heidi , Cala Altin , Creelman Naomi
Published: October 2022

Background: Cardiac auscultation is one of the most important clinical tools to identify patients with a potential heart disease. Although several publications have reported the prevalence of murmurs in cats, little information is available in relation to the exact origin of the blood flow turbulences responsible for these murmurs. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and clinical significance of murmurs detected during physical examination in cats. Methods: Retrospective evaluation of clinical records and echocardiographic examinations performed in cats for investigation of heart murmurs; Results: Records of 856 cats with full clinical information were available for review. The cause of murmur was identified in 93.1% of cases (72.3% with single blood flow turbulence, 26.4% with two, and 1.3% with three identifiable sources of murmur). Systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve (SAM) was the primary cause of murmur in this population (39.2%), followed by dynamic right ventricular outflow tract obstruction (DRVOTO) (32%) and flow murmurs (6.9%). Most cats with a murmur (56.7%) did not present any structural cardiac abnormality. Conclusions: This study indicates that some heart murmur characteristics (timing, loudness and point of maximal intensity) can potentially predict the presence of an underlying cardiac disease.
The Effects of Hypoxia on Threshold Food Concentrations in Different Daphnia Species
Authors: Wilczynski Wojciech , Babkiewicz Ewa , Pukos Szymon , Wawrzeńczak Julia , Zebrowski Marcin Lukasz , Banasiak Łukasz , Kudriashov Mark , Maszczyk Piotr
Published: October 2022

Numerous studies have revealed a negative correlation between the body size and temperature among a variety of aquatic ectotherms. Many studies at individual and population levels indicated that this mechanism may be explained by the decrease of competitive abilities of larger- over smaller-bodied individuals, as the production of larger-bodied individuals is more limited due to greater susceptibility to decreased oxygen concentrations (i.e., environmental hypoxia) at elevated temperatures. However, this hypothesis is still not tested at the community level. To test this, we performed several experiments on the food thresholds (which is a proxy for competitive ability) of 6 zooplankton (Daphnia) species varying in body size, at high or low oxygen concentrations. Contrary to the hypothesis tested, hypoxia increased threshold food concentrations to a relatively greater extent in smaller species than in larger ones. This may be attributed to the better evolutionary adaptations of larger-bodied daphnids to oxygen-poor environments manifested in higher production of haemoglobin. The results obtained in this study cannot exclude the possibility that environmental hypoxia is responsible for the temperature-size pattern in aquatic ectotherms, as our experiments did not take into account the long-term energetic costs of expedited haemoglobin synthesis, which could shift size-dependent competitive power.
Long-Term Performance of Liners Subjected to Freeze-Thaw Cycles
Authors: Al-Mahbashi Ahmed M. , Dafalla Muawia , Al-Shamrani Mosleh
Published: October 2022

The technique of using clay-sand mixtures as liners has been widely used in several geotechnical projects where hydraulic barriers or waste-buffer layers are required. During weather fluctuations and below-zero temperature conditions, these layers can be subjected to successive freeze-thaw cycles. The serviceability of such liners needs to be examined during their lifetime for efficiency and function under such suspected weather conditions. The hydraulic conductivity over the long run needs to remain within the acceptable design ranges. In this study, the efficiency of two different clay-sand liners were examined under the effect of freeze-thaw cycles for extended serviceability. The hydraulic conductivity under a continuous discharge rate of these layers was measured before and after applying 15 successive freeze-thaw cycles for more than half a year. The results indicate dramatic changes in the hydraulic conductivity parameter for the specimens subjected to freeze-thaw cycles depending on their mineralogical composition and applied stress. These changes were found to be related to the sealed material composition and placement conditions. The data obtained were found of interest and can be utilized for evaluating the efficiency of the liners in areas subjected to extreme environmental exposures including freeze conditions over extended periods.
Propagation Characteristics of Hydrological Drought Based on Variable and Fixed Threshold Methods in Snowmelt and Rainfall Driven Catchments
Authors: Wu Jiefeng , Yao Huaxia , Wang Guoqing
Published: October 2022

Based on long-term (>30 years) monthly streamflow data from two catchments with different hydrological features, i.e., snowmelt-driven in Harp Lake, south-central, Canada and rainfall-driven in Dongjiang river, south China, the differences in the hydrological drought (HD) propagation characteristics identified by fixed (FDT) and variable drought thresholds (VDT) were explored. The results showed that (i) despite both FDT and VDT methods being able to describe HD propagation patterns well (i.e., slow intensification but quick recovery), the onset time, peak intensity time, and termination time of HD within a year were significantly different between the two methods, due to the different drought conceptual backgrounds of the methods. (ii) The HD months identified by VDT were close to evenly distributed in each month of the year, while the HD months identified by FDT were mainly concentrated in the dry season. (iii) The onset, peak intensity, and termination time of HD identified by FDT were in good agreement with the dryness/wetness attributes of the two study basins and can be recommended in the study case. (iv) More methods for monitoring and predicting HD, and for revealing the driving mechanisms for HD propagation, are needed.