bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect of pH in the Hydrothermal Preparation of Bi2WO6 Nanostructures
Authors: Nagyné-Kovács Teodóra , Shahnazarova Gubakhanim , Lukács István Endre , Szabó Anna , Hernadi Klara , Igricz Tamás , László Krisztina , Szilágyi Imre M. , Pokol György
Published: May 2019

In this study, Bi2WO6 was prepared by the hydrothermal method. The effects of reaction temperature (150/170/200 °C) and reaction time (6/12/24 h) were investigated. The role of strongly acidic pH (1 >) and the full range between 0.3 and 13.5 were studied first. Every sample was studied by XRD and SEM; furthermore, the Bi2WO6 samples prepared at different temperatures were examined in detail by EDX and TEM, as well as FT-IR, Raman and UV-vis spectroscopies. It was found that changing the temperature and time slightly influenced the crystallinity and morphology of the products. The most crystallized product formed at 200 °C, 24 h. The pure, sheet-like Bi2WO6, prepared at 200 °C, 24 h, and 0.3 pH, gradually transformed into a mixture of Bi2WO6 and Bi3.84W0.16O6.24 with increasing pH. The nanosheets turned into a morphology of mixed shapes in the acidic range (fibers, sheets, irregular forms), and became homogenous cube- and octahedral-like shapes in the alkaline range. Their band gaps were calculated and were found to vary between 2.66 and 2.59 eV as the temperature increased. The specific surface area measurements revealed that reducing the temperature favors the formation of a larger surface area (35.8/26/21.6 m2/g belonging to 150/170/200 °C, respectively).
A Facile Synthesis of MoS2/g-C3N4 Composite as an Anode Material with Improved Lithium Storage Capacity
Authors: Tran Huu Ha , Nguyen Thi Xuan Dieu , Nguyen Van Kim , Kim Sung Jin , Vo Vien
Published: May 2019

The demand for well-designed nanostructured composites with enhanced electrochemical performance for lithium-ion batteries electrode materials has been emerging. In order to improve the electrochemical performance of MoS2-based anode materials, MoS2 nanosheets integrated with g-C3N4 (MoS2/g-C3N4 composite) was synthesized by a facile heating treatment from the precursors of thiourea and sodium molybdate at 550 °C under N2 gas flow. The structure and composition of MoS2/g-C3N4 were confirmed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and elemental analysis. The lithium storage capability of the MoS2/g-C3N4 composite was evaluated, indicating high capacity and stable cycling performance at 1 C (A·g−1) with a reversible capacity of 1204 mA·h·g−1 for 200 cycles. This result is believed the role of g-C3N4 as a supporting material to accommodate the volume change and improve charge transport for nanostructured MoS2. Additionally, the contribution of the pseudocapacitive effect was also calculated to further clarify the enhancement in Li-ion storage performance of the composite.
Multifunctional Metallic Nanowires in Advanced Building Applications
Authors: Shah Kwok Wei , Xiong Teng
Published: May 2019

Metallic nanowires (NWs) have attracted great attention in the frontiers of nanomaterial science due to their extraordinary properties, such as high thermal and electrical conductivity, high aspect ratio, good mechanical flexibility, and excellent optical transparency. The metallic NWs and their nanocomposites, as a promising alternative for conventional building materials, have been extensively studied recently, but review works on these novel versatile nanostructures and their various uses in the building and construction industry are still lacking. We present a comprehensive review on current state-of-the-art research and progress regarding multifunctional metallic NWs and their specific building applications, including thermal energy storage (TES), thermal transport, electrochromic windows (ECW), as well as photovoltaic (PV) cells. The nanosynthesis techniques and nanocharacterization of silver nanowires (AgNWs) and copper nanowires (CuNWs) are overviewed and compared with each other. In addition, the fundamentals of different NWs for advanced building applications are introduced. Further discussion is presented on the improved performance of base materials by using these nanostructures, highlighting the key factors exhibiting their superior performance. Finally, the key benefits and limitations of metallic NWs for new generation building materials are obtained.
Adsorptive Removal of Methylene Blue from Aquatic Environments Using Thiourea-Modified Poly(Acrylonitrile-co-Acrylic Acid)
Authors: Adeyi Abel Adekanmi , Jamil Siti Nurul Ain Md , Abdullah Luqman Chuah , Choong Thomas Shean Yaw , Lau Kia Li , Abdullah Mohammad
Published: May 2019

The paper evaluates the adsorptive potential of thiourea-modified poly(acrylonitrile-co-acrylic acid), (TA-poly(AN-co-AA)) for the uptake of cationic methylene blue (MB) from aquatic environments via a batch system. TA-poly(AN-co-AA) polymer was synthesized through redox polymerization and modified with thiourea (TA) where thioamide groups were introduced to the surface. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), CHNS and Zetasizer were used to characterize the physico-chemical and morphological properties of prepared TA-poly(AN-co-AA). Afterwards, it was confirmed that incorporation of thioamide groups was successful. The adsorption kinetics and equilibrium adsorption data were best described, respectively, by a pseudo-second-order model and Freundlich model. Thermodynamic analysis showed the exothermic and spontaneous nature of MB uptake by TA-poly(AN-co-AA). The developed TA-poly(AN-co-AA) polymer demonstrated efficient separation of MB dye from the aqueous solution and maintained maximum adsorption capacity after five regeneration cycles. The findings of this study suggested that synthesized TA-poly(AN-co-AA) can be applied successfully to remove cationic dyes from aquatic environments.
Comparison of the Mineralogy of Iron Ore Sinters Using a Range of Techniques
Authors: Honeyands T. , Manuel J. , Matthews L. , O’Dea D. , Pinson D. , Leedham J. , Zhang G. , Li H. , Monaghan B. , Liu X. , Donskoi E. , Webster N. A. S. , Pownceby M. I.
Published: May 2019

Many different approaches have been used in the past to characterise iron ore sinter mineralogy to predict sinter quality and elucidate the impacts of iron ore characteristics and process variables on the mechanisms of sintering. This paper compares the mineralogy of three sinter samples with binary basicities (mass ratio of CaO/SiO2) between 1.7 and 2.0. The measurement techniques used were optical image analysis and point counting (PC), quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD) and two different scanning electron microscopy systems, namely, Quantitative Evaluation of Materials by Scanning Electron Microscopy (QEMSCAN) and TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyser (TIMA). Each technique has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the objectives of the measurement, with the quantification of crystalline phases, textural relationships between minerals and chemical compositions of the phases covered by the combined results. Some key differences were found between QXRD and the microscopy techniques. QXRD results imply that not all of the silico-ferrite of calcium and aluminium (SFCA types) are being identified on the basis of morphology in the microscopy results. The amorphous concentration determined by QXRD was higher than the glass content identified in the microscopy results, whereas the magnetite and total SFCA concentration was lower. The scanning electron microscopy techniques were able to provide chemical analysis of the phases; however, exact correspondence with textural types was not always possible and future work is required in this area, particularly for differentiation of SFCA and SFCA-I phases. The results from the various techniques are compared and the relationships between the measurement results are discussed.
Characterization of Phenolic Compounds and Their Contribution to Sensory Properties of Olive Oil
Authors: Pedan Vasilisa , Popp Martin , Rohn Sascha , Nyfeler Matthias , Bongartz Annette
Published: May 2019

Olive oil is not only known for its pungent, bitter, and fruity taste, but also for its health potential, which is often hypothesized to depend on its phenolic compounds. One hundred extra virgin olive oil samples (monocultivaric as well as blends of varieties) were assessed with regard to their sensory properties and phenolic compound composition. Nineteen phenolic compounds have been determined and correlated with sensory data. In all olive oil samples, oleocanthal and oleacein were the most abundant phenolic compounds, with average amounts of 77.9 mg/kg and 41.8 mg/kg, respectively. The highest correlation coefficient between a sensory descriptor and the phenolic compounds was found for the bitter taste sensation and the total phenolic content with r = 0.72 and in particular, for 3,4-DHPEA-EA, with r = 0.57. Intensity plots were assessed for the three main sensory descriptors fruitiness, bitterness, pungency, and for the quality factor harmony, which is associated with the degree of ripeness aroma of olive oil. Positive correlations for the aroma descriptors freshly cut grass, leaves, and nuts, and the phenolic compounds were especially observed for oleoside 11-methylester and vanillic acid. The present study provides a comprehensive database of phenolic compounds in olive oils from six different varieties and seven countries.
Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Analysis and Phase Angle on Different Oral Zinc Supplementation in Eutrophic Children: Randomized Triple-Blind Study
Authors: Vermeulen Karina M. , Lopes Márcia Marília G. D. , Alves Camila X. , Brito Naira J. N. , Almeida Maria das Graças , Leite-Lais Lucia , Vale Sancha Helena L. , Brandão-Neto José
Published: May 2019

The parameters derived from bioelectrical impedance, phase angle (PA) and bioelectrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA) have been associated with cell membrane integrity and body cell mass. Zinc is a micronutrient that exerts important structural functions and acts in maintaining cellular functionality. To evaluate cell integrity and body cell mass, PA and BIVA were evaluated in children orally supplemented with zinc at different concentrations. Anthropometric, bioelectrical (resistance and reactance) and serum zinc variables were collected from two randomized, triple-blind, controlled clinical trials. Sampling was composed of 71 children consisting of three groups: a control group who received a placebo and two experimental groups who received oral supplementation of 5 or 10 mg-Zn/day for three months. The three groups presented increases (p < 0.001) in the linear height and weight. In the group supplemented with 10 mg-Zn/day, there was an increase in reactance values (p = 0.036) and PA (p = 0.002), in addition to vector displacement (p < 0.001) in relation to the confidence ellipses. An increase in serum zinc concentration was found (p < 0.001) in all three groups. Whit this, the supplementation with 10 mg-Zn/day promotes changes in the integrity of the cell membrane associated with the increase in the cellular mass of healthy children.
Control of Gelation and Properties of Reversible Diels–Alder Networks: Design of a Self-Healing Network
Authors: Strachota Beata , Morand Adama , Dybal Jiří , Matějka Libor
Published: May 2019

Reversible Diels–Alder (DA) type networks were prepared from furan and maleimide monomers of different structure and functionality. The factors controlling the dynamic network formation and their properties were discussed. Evolution of structure during both dynamic nonequilibrium and isothermal equilibrium network formation/breaking was followed by monitoring the modulus and conversion of the monomer. The gelation, postgel growth, and properties of the thermoreversible networks from tetrafunctional furan (F4) and different bismaleimides (M2) were controlled by the structure of the maleimide monomer. The substitution of maleimides with alkyl (hexamethylene bismaleimide), aromatic (diphenyl bismaleimide), and polyether substituents affects differently the kinetics and thermodynamics of the thermoreversible DA reaction, and thereby the formation of dynamic networks. The gel-point temperature was tuned in the range Tgel = 97–122 °C in the networks of the same functionality (F4-M2) with different maleimide structure. Theory of branching processes was used to predict the structure development during formation of the dynamic networks and the reasonable agreement with the experiment was achieved. The experimentally inaccessible information on the sol fraction in the reversible network was received by applying the theory. Based on the acquired results, the proper structure of a self-healing network was designed.
Model Fusion for Building Type Classification from Aerial and Street View Images
Authors: Hoffmann Eike Jens , Wang Yuanyuan , Werner Martin , Kang Jian , Zhu Xiao Xiang
Published: May 2019

This article addresses the question of mapping building functions jointly using both aerial and street view images via deep learning techniques. One of the central challenges here is determining a data fusion strategy that can cope with heterogeneous image modalities. We demonstrate that geometric combinations of the features of such two types of images, especially in an early stage of the convolutional layers, often lead to a destructive effect due to the spatial misalignment of the features. Therefore, we address this problem through a decision-level fusion of a diverse ensemble of models trained from each image type independently. In this way, the significant differences in appearance of aerial and street view images are taken into account. Compared to the common multi-stream end-to-end fusion approaches proposed in the literature, we are able to increase the precision scores from 68% to 76%. Another challenge is that sophisticated classification schemes needed for real applications are highly overlapping and not very well defined without sharp boundaries. As a consequence, classification using machine learning becomes significantly harder. In this work, we choose a highly compact classification scheme with four classes, commercial, residential, public, and industrial because such a classification has a very high value to urban geography being correlated with socio-demographic parameters such as population density and income.
Reconstruction of the Surface Inshore Labrador Current from SWOT Sea Surface Height Measurements
Authors: Ma Zhimin , Han Guoqi
Published: May 2019

Utilizing a high-resolution (2-km) coastal ocean model output off Eastern Newfoundland, this paper explores the potential for reconstructing the sea surface height (SSH) and the surface inshore Labrador Current from high-resolution SSH data of the upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission. The model results are evaluated against in-situ data from tide gauges and nadir altimetry for the period from June to October, 2010. The hourly model SSH output is used as true SSH and sampled along-swath with expected measurement errors by using a SWOT simulator, which produces SWOT-like data. We reconstruct half-day SSH fields from the SWOT-like data using optimal interpolation and average them into weekly fields. The average normalized root-mean-square difference between the weekly reconstructed SSH field and the model SSH filed is 0.07 for the inshore Labrador Current. Between the geostrophic surface current derived from the reconstructed SSH field and the model surface current, the average normalized root-mean-square difference is 0.26 for the inshore Labrador Current. For the surface unit-depth transport of the inshore Labrador Current, the normalized root-mean-square differences are 0.32–0.38 between the reconstructed current and the model current.
Predicting Taxi Demand Based on 3D Convolutional Neural Network and Multi-task Learning
Authors: Kuang Li , Yan Xuejin , Tan Xianhan , Li Shuqi , Yang Xiaoxian
Published: May 2019

Taxi demand can be divided into pick-up demand and drop-off demand, which are firmly related to human’s travel habits. Accurately predicting taxi demand is of great significance to passengers, drivers, ride-hailing platforms and urban managers. Most of the existing studies only forecast the taxi demand for pick-up and separate the interaction between spatial correlation and temporal correlation. In this paper, we first analyze the historical data and select three highly relevant parts for each time interval, namely closeness, period and trend. We then construct a multi-task learning component and extract the common spatiotemporal feature by treating the taxi pick-up prediction task and drop-off prediction task as two related tasks. With the aim of fusing spatiotemporal features of historical data, we conduct feature embedding by attention-based long short-term memory (LSTM) and capture the correlation between taxi pick-up and drop-off with 3D ResNet. Finally, we combine external factors to simultaneously predict the taxi demand for pick-up and drop-off in the next time interval. Experiments conducted on real datasets in Chengdu present the effectiveness of the proposed method and show better performance in comparison with state-of-the-art models.
A New Fast and Low-Cost Photogrammetry Method for the Engineering Characterization of Rock Slopes
Authors: Francioni Mirko , Simone Matteo , Stead Doug , Sciarra Nicola , Mataloni Giovanni , Calamita Fernando
Published: May 2019

Digital photogrammetry (DP) represents one of the most used survey techniques in engineering geology. The availability of new high-resolution digital cameras and photogrammetry software has led to a step-change increase in the quality of engineering and structural geological data that can be collected. In particular, the introduction of the structure from motion methodology has led to a significant increase in the routine uses of photogrammetry in geological and engineering geological practice, making this method of survey easier and more attractive. Using structure from motion methods, the creation of photogrammetric 3D models is now easier and faster, however the use of ground control points to scale/geo-reference the models are still required. This often leads to the necessity of using total stations or Global Positioning System (GPS) for the acquisition of ground control points. Although the integrated use of digital photogrammetry and total station/GPS is now common practice, it is clear that this may not always be practical or economically convenient due to the increase in cost of the survey. To address these issues, this research proposes a new method of utilizing photogrammetry for the creation of georeferenced and scaled 3D models not requiring the use of total stations and GPS. The method is based on the use of an object of known geometry located on the outcrop during the survey. Targets located on such objects are used as ground control points and their coordinates are calculated using a simple geological compass and trigonometric formula or CAD 3D software. We present three different levels of survey using (i) a calibrated digital camera, (ii) a non-calibrated digital camera and (iii) two commercial smartphones. The data obtained using the proposed approach and the three levels of survey methods have been validated against a laser scanning (LS) point cloud. Through this validation we highlight the advantages and limitations of the proposed method, suggesting potential applications in engineering geology.
Method of Delimiting the Spatial Structure of Villages for the Purposes of Land Consolidation and Exchange
Authors: Stręk Żanna , Noga Karol
Published: May 2019

Land fragmentation and the distribution of plots in rural areas has a negative effect on the profitability and efficiency of agricultural production. Land consolidation and exchange is an operation that facilitates improvements in the spatial structure, while at the same time contributing to the sustainable development of rural areas. With regard to the large number of problem areas, they cannot be subject to land consolidation and exchange at the same time for reasons related to finance and human resources. Therefore, the authors propose that land for consolidation should be consolidated into larger typological units. Identifying those areas that are most similar facilitates the analysis and makes it possible to capture the spatial differentiation of land. The proposed method was tested on 116 villages in the county of Łęczna, situated in Lublin Voivodeship in Eastern Poland. The aim of this research is to develop the concept of village grouping into larger typological units. The obtained results allowed for the creation of a grouping methodology based on selected diagnostic variables that can be applied to other research objects. The description of differences between the identified groups of villages makes it possible to determine the hierarchy of urgency of for land consolidation and exchange. Although delimitation itself does not determine the sequence in which consolidation should be performed, it does allow for the identification of similar areas where such works should be performed at the same time. Based on properly selected guidelines, it is also possible to develop an adequate hierarchy of works. In addition, identifying areas which share similar spatial characteristics and consolidating them has a positive influence, primarily on the cultural heritage, because some variables reflect both quantitative and qualitative aspects of human development on the use of land and on the built-up environment.
Characterization of Path Loss and Large-Scale Fading for Rapid Intervention Team Communication in Underground Parking Garages
Authors: Van Brandt Seppe , Van Thielen Robbe , Verhaevert Jo , Van Hecke Tanja , Rogier Hendrik
Published: May 2019

This paper reports the characterization of the 2.45-GHz-ISM-band radio wave propagation channel. Specifically, measurements were performed in an underground parking garage, with the aim of optimizing breadcrumb systems for a Rapid Intervention Team application. The effects of the high penetration loss and large reflections by the concrete reinforced building structure on the path loss and the large-scale fading were studied. Based on the analysis of the wireless channel, critical points for reliable communication between members of a Rapid Intervention Team were identified. In particular, attention was paid to dealing with large, spatially confined signal losses due to shadowing, the anticipation of corner losses and the ability of the system to operate on multiple floors.
Parameter Selection for a Microvolume Electrochemical Escherichia coli Detector for Pairing with a Concentration Device
Authors: Han Evelina J. Y. , Palanisamy Kannan , Hinks Jamie , Wuertz Stefan
Published: May 2019

Waterborne infections are responsible for health problems worldwide and their prompt and sensitive detection in recreational and potable water is of great importance. Bacterial identification and enumeration in water samples ensures water is safe for its intended use. Culture-based methods can be time consuming and are usually performed offsite. There is a need to for automated and distributed at-source detectors for water quality monitoring. Herein we demonstrate a microvolume Escherichia coli (E. coli) detector based on a screen printed electrode (SPE) bioelectroanalytical system and explore to what extent performance can be improved by coupling it with a filtration device. To confidently benchmark detector performance, we applied a statistical assessment method to target optimal detection of a simulated concentrated sample. Our aim was to arrive at a holistic understanding of device performance and to demonstrate system improvements based on these insights. The best achievable detection time for a simulated 1 CFU mL−1 sample was 4.3 (±0.6) h assuming no loss of performance in the filtration step. The real filtered samples fell short of this, extending detection time to 16–18 h. The loss in performance is likely to arise from stress imposed by the filtration step which inhibited microbial growth rates.
Validity of Instrumented Insoles for Step Counting, Posture and Activity Recognition: A Systematic Review
Authors: Ngueleu Armelle M. , Blanchette Andréanne K. , Maltais Désirée , Moffet Hélène , McFadyen Bradford J. , Bouyer Laurent , Batcho Charles S.
Published: May 2019

With the growing interest in daily activity monitoring, several insole designs have been developed to identify postures, detect activities, and count steps. However, the validity of these devices is not clearly established. The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the available information on the criterion validity of instrumented insoles in detecting postures activities and steps. The literature search through six databases led to 33 articles that met inclusion criteria. These studies evaluated 17 different insole models and involved 290 participants from 16 to 75 years old. Criterion validity was assessed using six statistical indicators. For posture and activity recognition, accuracy varied from 75.0% to 100%, precision from 65.8% to 100%, specificity from 98.1% to 100%, sensitivity from 73.0% to 100%, and identification rate from 66.2% to 100%. For step counting, accuracies were very high (94.8% to 100%). Across studies, different postures and activities were assessed using different criterion validity indicators, leading to heterogeneous results. Instrumented insoles appeared to be highly accurate for steps counting. However, measurement properties were variable for posture and activity recognition. These findings call for a standardized methodology to investigate the measurement properties of such devices.
ConvNet and LSH-Based Visual Localization Using Localized Sequence Matching
Authors: Qiao Yongliang , Cappelle Cindy , Ruichek Yassine , Yang Tao
Published: May 2019

Convolutional Network (ConvNet), with its strong image representation ability, has achieved significant progress in the computer vision and robotic fields. In this paper, we propose a visual localization approach based on place recognition that combines the powerful ConvNet features and localized image sequence matching. The image distance matrix is constructed based on the cosine distance of extracted ConvNet features, and then a sequence search technique is applied on this distance matrix for the final visual recognition. To speed up the computational efficiency, the locality sensitive hashing (LSH) method is applied to achieve real-time performances with minimal accuracy degradation. We present extensive experiments on four real world data sets to evaluate each of the specific challenges in visual recognition. A comprehensive performance comparison of different ConvNet layers (each defining a level of features) considering both appearance and illumination changes is conducted. Compared with the traditional approaches based on hand-crafted features and single image matching, the proposed method shows good performances even in the presence of appearance and illumination changes.
Smart Petri Nets Temperature Control Framework for Reducing Building Energy Consumption
Authors: Bouazza Kheir Eddine , Deabes Wael
Published: May 2019

Energy consumption is steadily increasing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which imposes continuous strains on the electrical load. Furthermore, consumption rationalization measures do not seem to improve the situation in any way. Therefore, the implementation of energy saving policies become an urgent need. This paper targets developing a smart energy-saving framework for integrating new advanced technologies and conventional Air Conditioning (AC) systems to achieve a comfortable environment, optimum energy efficiency and profitability. In this paper, a three-stage smart control framework, which allows controlling room temperature according to the user’s preferences, is implemented. The first stage is a user identification process. In the second stage, a Petri Nets (PN) model monitors users and sends their preferred temperatures to the third stage. A PID controller is implemented in the third stage to regulate room temperatures. The interconnected sensing and actuating devices in this smart environment are configured to provide users with comfort and energy saving functionality. Experimental results show the good performances and features of the proposed approach. The proposed smart framework reduces the energy consumption of the current ON/OFF controller ( 219.09 kW) by a significant amount which reaches ( 116.58 kW) by ratio about 46.79 % . Reducing energy consumption is one of these important features in addition to system reactivity and user comfort.
Phase-Specific Changes in Rate of Force Development and Muscle Morphology Throughout a Block Periodized Training Cycle in Weightlifters
Authors: Suarez Dylan G. , Mizuguchi Satoshi , Hornsby William Guy , Cunanan Aaron J. , Marsh Donald J. , Stone Michael H.
Published: May 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the kinetic and morphological adaptations that occur during distinct phases of a block periodized training cycle in weightlifters. Athlete monitoring data from nine experienced collegiate weightlifters was used. Isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) and ultrasonography (US) results were compared to examine the effects of three specific phases of a training cycle leading up to a competition. During the high volume strength-endurance phase (SE) small depressions in rate of force development (RFD) but statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) increases in vastus lateralis cross-sectional area (CSA), and body mass (BM) were observed. The lower volume higher intensity strength-power phase (SP) caused RFD to rebound above pre-training cycle values despite statistically significant reductions in CSA. Small to moderate increases only in the earlier RFD time bands (<150 ms) occurred during the peak/taper phase (PT) while CSA and BM were maintained. Changes in IMTP RFD and CSA from US reflected the expected adaptations of block periodized training phases. Changes in early (<100 ms) and late (≥150 ms) RFD time bands may not occur proportionally throughout different training phases. Small increases in RFD and CSA can be expected in well-trained weightlifters throughout a single block periodized training cycle.
RETRACTED: Urban Water Management Paradigms in Chinese Cities
Authors: van Dijk Meine , Zhang Mingshun
Published: May 2019

Three paradigms used in China to deal with urban water issues are compared. The analysis focuses on their definition and objectives, the role of different stakeholders, the issues they deal with and the possible solutions suggested. The use of these paradigms in Chinese cities is compared on different dimensions to conclude when and where they can be used for which purpose. The paradigms differ substantially in their scope (from the narrow focus of the sponge city paradigm to the broad goals of eco-city paradigms) and in terms of the governance mechanisms used to coordinate between different actors. The resilient and sponge paradigms mainly use government structures to achieve their objectives, while the idea is to also involve the private sector (certainly in case of the sponge city paradigm). This has not happened most of the times because project money had to be spent in time. In the eco-cities approach the citizens want to be involved through newly created governance structures. In resilient cities potential victims may be involved. Resilient and eco-city initiatives emphasize the involvement of stakeholders, while in the sponge cities approach the initiative is often taken by local government. Finally, in terms of expected solutions, the paradigms want to avoid disaster, create an eco-city or improve water management. Only in the case of eco-cities there is more space for different water management practices and using alternative technologies. Water-related technologies are available, generating energy from wastewater or underground water and diminishing the dependence on fossil fuels.
A Path Transition Towards a Bioeconomy—The Crucial Role of Sustainability
Authors: Gawel Erik , Pannicke Nadine , Hagemann Nina
Published: May 2019

The bioeconomy is a worldwide used strategy to cope with ecological, social, and economic sustainability challenges. However, we analyze current bioeconomy strategies and trends to point out potential sustainability conflicts and transition challenges. Our analysis shows that the bioeconomy is not sustainable per se, as mere input substitution may entail welfare losses. Instead, it requires further debates and actions to avoid exacerbation of ecological and social strains. Sustainability has to be the key concept behind the bioeconomy and predominantly requires (1) sustainability of the resource base and (2) sustainability of processes and products, especially by (3) circular processes of material fluxes, not least to gain consumer acceptance for bio-based products. Otherwise, the bioeconomy would only entail the substitution of fossil resources for bio-based resources potentially lacking the generation of additional societal and ecological benefits and contribution to climate mitigation. As markets alone will not suffice to fulfil this path transition towards a sustainable bioeconomy, we argue that innovative governance is necessary to reduce competitive drawbacks compared to fossil resources (enabling function) and to secure ecological, social, and economic sustainability requirements (limiting function).
Is the High-Density Housing Layout Affected by River Direction? Lessons from Seoul, South Korea
Authors: Kwon Youngsang , Seo Youkang , Hwang Jihyun
Published: May 2019

This study analyzes apartment building configurations in waterfront residential areas relative to water flow direction and assesses the waterfront impact on apartment construction planning. It surveyed 197 apartment buildings around Yangjaecheon, Gulpocheon, and Anyangcheon, three branches of the Han River, a major South Korean river, to ascertain the correlation between stream flows and apartment building configurations. The apartments were classified into four spatial-configuration categories relative to the adjacent stream’s flow axis—perpendicular, parallel, diagonal, and other—and three orientation categories—east- and/or west-facing, south-facing, and other. South-facing apartments were predominant around west- and north-flowing streams. The proportion of east- and/or west-facing apartments built and the percentage of south-facing apartments were relatively low, indicating that apartment building layouts are more diverse around north-flowing streams than around west-flowing streams. A t-test analysis of east- and south-facing apartments’ proportions relative to stream flow direction was statistically significant, and there were relatively higher percentages of east- and west-facing apartments near north-flowing streams than west-flowing ones. This suggests that the relationship with rivers is still important in urban housing in South Korea, and the importance of landscapes over the river is of increasing significance for planning urban settlements.
Peasant Seeds in France: Fostering A More Resilient Agriculture
Authors: Gevers Camille , van Rijswick Helena F.M.W. , Swart Julia
Published: May 2019

The profitability of the French agricultural sector has fallen over the last two decades, leading to the suggestion of a “rupture in technical progress”. Additionally, the intellectual property regime in force has contributed to the erosion of the cultivated biodiversity, limiting plant resiliency to climate change and other hazards. In the face of these challenges, agroecological farming practices are a viable alternative. This paper investigates the positive and negative aspects associated with the development of alternative seed procurement networks in France. The findings indicate that peasant seed networks can effectively contribute to overcoming many of the structural blockages with which French agriculture is confronted, but that yield concerns; higher information and supervisory costs, as well as the unfavourable legislative context, constitute key challenges to their development. However, these could be partially or totally eliminated if adequate policies are implemented. In this regard, the recommendations are to: (i) strengthen the dialogue with farmers in the shaping of policies related to the use of plant genetic resources; (ii) abrogate the “obligatory voluntary contribution” on farm-saved seeds; (iii) diversify the collection of Centres for Biological Resources, increase their number, and democratize their access; (iv) harmonize the French and European regime on intellectual property; and (v) encourage participatory research.
How to Make an Industry Sustainable during an Industry Product Harm Crisis: The Role of a Consumer’s Sense of Control
Authors: Li Qing , Wei Haiying , Laufer Daniel
Published: May 2019

Product harm crisis involving multiple products increasingly leads to an industry crisis. Yet previous researches have usually focused on the effectiveness of repair strategies under a single-company product harm crisis. Moreover, less is known about the effectiveness of repair strategies under an industry product harm crisis. This paper explores how firms should respond to an industry product harm crisis to make the industry sustainable. We used experimental methodology to examine the above effects. Across three experiments, this research finds that a consumer’s sense of control is a key variable that is found to mediate the effectiveness of a firm’s repair strategy. Results show that in general functional and informational repair strategies are more effective in restoring a consumer’s sense of control when compared with an affective repair strategy. The more control consumers feel they have, the higher their brand attitudes, and the more positive they rate a firm’s response appropriateness for an industry product harm crisis. However, for consumers who score high on an emotion-focused coping style, an affective repair strategy is more effective. The findings generate practical suggestions for firms in an industry product harm crisis to restore consumers’ sense of control to keep industry sustainability.
Classifying Livelihood Strategies Adopting the Activity Choice Approach in Rural China
Authors: Sun Rui , Mi Jianing , Cao Shu , Gong Xiao
Published: May 2019

The classification of livelihood strategies is important for designing effective and targeted poverty-reducing strategies. This paper classified livelihood strategies adopting the activity choice approach and compared differences among income levels, asset endowments, poverty rates, and poverty causes of different household clusters to provide bases for the identification of targeted poverty-reducing strategies. By making the two-step cluster analysis, 2042 households were divided into four clusters. Agricultural households get a relatively low income because of the reliance on agricultural production and the lack of required assets to enter more remunerative livelihood strategies. Self-employment is the most remunerative livelihood strategy and high physical and financial capital accumulations are the premise of adopting a self-employed strategy. Featured with a medium-level income and asset endowments, wage-employed households benefit from a more-educated labor force and shoulder a heavy burden caused by children’s education at the same time. Besides, rural households face a series of social issues from labor migration, especially self-employed and wage-employed households. Non-labor households have a low-level income and asset endowments with older family members and an unhealthier labor force caused mainly by the aging population and accompanying diseases and disabilities. The transfer income-oriented non-labor households are the main object of poverty alleviation.
What Factors Are Necessary for Sustaining Entrepreneurship?
Authors: Lee Hong Joo
Published: May 2019

Today, along with national economic growth and job creation, the need for entrepreneurship is increasing throughout all societies. In particular, entrepreneurship has important influences on national economies including reviving company economies, creating jobs, etc. In addition, Entrepreneurship or new firm formation plays an increasingly important role in knowledge-based economic development. In this study, research was conducted as follows. First, various research hypotheses were established through analysis of previous studies. Second, based on the research hypotheses, a research model is presented. Third, data were collected through questionnaire survey. Fourth, the significance of the research hypotheses through the statistical analysis and the validity of the research model was analyzed based on the collected data. According to the results, the government policies for companies and entrepreneurship has impacted funding in financial areas and business environments; this offers a positive influence on social system and environment, such as basic education in business and economy fields and good social environments for business. Lastly, these social systems are shown to have a positive impact on entrepreneurship. In addition, the results suggest an effective entrepreneurship policy.
Large-Scale Traffic Congestion Prediction Based on the Symmetric Extreme Learning Machine Cluster Fast Learning Method
Authors: Xing Yiming , Ban Xiaojuan , Liu Xu , Shen Qing
Published: May 2019

The prediction of urban traffic congestion has emerged as one of the most pivotal research topics of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). Currently, different neural networks have been put forward in the field of traffic congestion prediction and have been put to extensive use. Traditional neural network training takes a long time in addition to easily falling into the local optimal and overfitting. Accordingly, this inhibits the large-scale application of traffic prediction. On the basis of the theory of the extreme learning machine (ELM), the current paper puts forward a symmetric-ELM-cluster (S-ELM-Cluster) fast learning methodology. In this suggested methodology, the complex learning issue of large-scale data is transformed into different issues on small- and medium-scale data sets. Additionally, this methodology makes use of the extreme learning machine algorithm for the purpose of training the subprediction model on each different section of road, followed by establishing a congestion prediction model cluster for all the roads in the city. Together, this methodology fully exploits the benefits associated with the ELM algorithm in terms of accuracy over smaller subsets, high training speed, fewer parameters, and easy parallel acceleration for the realization of high-accuracy and high-efficiency large-scale traffic congestion data learning.
Evaluation of Sequencing Library Preparation Protocols for Viral Metagenomic Analysis from Pristine Aquifer Groundwaters
Authors: Kallies René , Hölzer Martin , Brizola Toscan Rodolfo , Nunes da Rocha Ulisses , Anders John , Marz Manja , Chatzinotas Antonis
Published: May 2019

Viral ecology of terrestrial habitats is yet-to be extensively explored, in particular the terrestrial subsurface. One problem in obtaining viral sequences from groundwater aquifer samples is the relatively low amount of virus particles. As a result, the amount of extracted DNA may not be sufficient for direct sequencing of such samples. Here we compared three DNA amplification methods to enrich viral DNA from three pristine limestone aquifer assemblages of the Hainich Critical Zone Exploratory to evaluate potential bias created by the different amplification methods as determined by viral metagenomics. Linker amplification shotgun libraries resulted in lowest redundancy among the sequencing reads and showed the highest diversity, while multiple displacement amplification produced the highest number of contigs with the longest average contig size, suggesting a combination of these two methods is suitable for the successful enrichment of viral DNA from pristine groundwater samples. In total, we identified 27,173, 5,886 and 32,613 viral contigs from the three samples from which 11.92 to 18.65% could be assigned to taxonomy using blast. Among these, members of the Caudovirales order were the most abundant group (52.20 to 69.12%) dominated by Myoviridae and Siphoviridae. Those, and the high number of unknown viral sequences, substantially expand the known virosphere.
Runoff Prediction Method Based on Adaptive Elman Neural Network
Authors: Li Chenming , Zhu Lei , He Zhiyao , Gao Hongmin , Yang Yao , Yao Dan , Qu Xiaoyu
Published: May 2019

The prediction of medium- and long-term runoff is of great significance to the comprehensive utilization of water resources. Building an adaptive data-driven runoff prediction model by automatic identification of multivariate time series change in runoff forecasting and identifying its influence degree is an attractive and intricate task. At present, the commonly used screening factor method is correlational analysis; others offer multi-collinearity. If these factors are directly input into the model, the parameters of the model tend to increase, and the excessive redundancy and noise adversely affects the prediction results of the model. On the basis of previous studies on medium- and long-term runoff prediction methods, this paper proposes an Elman Neural Network (ENN) adaptive runoff prediction method based on normalized mutual information (NMI) and kernel principal component analysis (KPCA). In this method, the features of the screening factors are extracted automatically by using the mutual information automatic screening factor, and then input into the Elman Neural Network for training. With less features, the parameters of the Elman Neural Network model can be reduced, and the problem of overfitting of the Elman Neural Network model is effectively alleviated. The method is evaluated by using the annual average runoff data of Jinping hydropower station in Chengdu, China, from 2007 to 2011. The maximum relative error of multiple forecasts was found to be less than 16%, and forecast effect was good. The accuracy of prediction is further improved by averaging the results of multiple forecasts.
MODERNIZATION OF SCHOOL EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: WAYS OF INTERNATIONALIZATION
Authors: Kyvliuk Olga , Zhukova Galina
Published: May 2019

Having analysed the internationalization of the educational process of the middle level education in Ukraine and compared the results with similar processes abroad, the ways of internationalization of school education in Ukraine were revealed through modernization and convergence. The internationallization of school education in Ukraine is closely linked to the processes of globalization, European integration, international cooperation, mobility, modernization, autonomy and development.
BASIC OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE VOCABULARY BY MEANS OF SUBJECT DRAWING IN ELDER PRESCHOOLERS
Authors: Mordous Iryna , Roga Violeta
Published: May 2019

The scientific studies prove that it is possible to increase the efficiency of a foreign language acquisition in preschool years by integrating it into various educational lines and activities of children. After all, the maximum inclusion of the child in a foreign language environment is being achieved in this way and conditions for the alternative use of the knowledge gained are being created. This, in turn, qualitatively affects the recording of foreign language information and releases stereotypes regarding the modification of the grammatical structures of one’s own speech in the future. The peculiarity of drawing in general and subject one in particular as a type of children’s activity opens up many opportunities for the implementation of an integrated approach in the context of teaching preschool-age children a foreign language.