bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Optimal Trajectory Planning for Wheeled Mobile Robots under Localization Uncertainty and Energy Efficiency Constraints
Authors: Zhang Xiaolong , Huang Yu , Rong Youmin , Li Gen , Wang Hui , Liu Chao
Published: January 2021

With the rapid development of robotics, wheeled mobile robots are widely used in smart factories to perform navigation tasks. In this paper, an optimal trajectory planning method based on an improved dolphin swarm algorithm is proposed to balance localization uncertainty and energy efficiency, such that a minimum total cost trajectory is obtained for wheeled mobile robots. Since environmental information has different effects on the robot localization process at different positions, a novel localizability measure method based on the likelihood function is presented to explicitly quantify the localization ability of the robot over a prior map. To generate the robot trajectory, we incorporate localizability and energy efficiency criteria into the parameterized trajectory as the cost function. In terms of trajectory optimization issues, an improved dolphin swarm algorithm is then proposed to generate better localization performance and more energy efficiency trajectories. It utilizes the proposed adaptive step strategy and learning strategy to minimize the cost function during the robot motions. Simulations are carried out in various autonomous navigation scenarios to validate the efficiency of the proposed trajectory planning method. Experiments are performed on the prototype “Forbot” four-wheel independently driven-steered mobile robot; the results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively improves energy efficiency while reducing localization errors along the generated trajectory.
Mobile LiDAR Scanning System Combined with Canopy Morphology Extracting Methods for Tree Crown Parameters Evaluation in Orchards
Authors: Wang Kai , Zhou Jun , Zhang Wenhai , Zhang Baohua
Published: January 2021

To meet the demand for canopy morphological parameter measurements in orchards, a mobile scanning system is designed based on the 3D Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) algorithm. The system uses a lightweight LiDAR-Inertial Measurement Unit (LiDAR-IMU) state estimator and a rotation-constrained optimization algorithm to reconstruct a point cloud map of the orchard. Then, Statistical Outlier Removal (SOR) filtering and European clustering algorithms are used to segment the orchard point cloud from which the ground information has been separated, and the k-nearest neighbour (KNN) search algorithm is used to restore the filtered point cloud. Finally, the height of the fruit trees and the volume of the canopy are obtained by the point cloud statistical method and the 3D alpha-shape algorithm. To verify the algorithm, tracked robots equipped with LIDAR and an IMU are used in a standardized orchard. Experiments show that the system in this paper can reconstruct the orchard point cloud environment with high accuracy and can obtain the point cloud information of all fruit trees in the orchard environment. The accuracy of point cloud-based segmentation of fruit trees in the orchard is 95.4%. The R2 and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values of crown height are 0.93682 and 0.04337, respectively, and the corresponding values of canopy volume are 0.8406 and 1.5738, respectively. In summary, this system achieves a good evaluation result of orchard crown information and has important application value in the intelligent measurement of fruit trees.
An Automated Light Trap to Monitor Moths (Lepidoptera) Using Computer Vision-Based Tracking and Deep Learning
Authors: Bjerge Kim , Nielsen Jakob Bonde , Sepstrup Martin Videbæk , Helsing-Nielsen Flemming , Høye Toke Thomas
Published: January 2021

Insect monitoring methods are typically very time-consuming and involve substantial investment in species identification following manual trapping in the field. Insect traps are often only serviced weekly, resulting in low temporal resolution of the monitoring data, which hampers the ecological interpretation. This paper presents a portable computer vision system capable of attracting and detecting live insects. More specifically, the paper proposes detection and classification of species by recording images of live individuals attracted to a light trap. An Automated Moth Trap (AMT) with multiple light sources and a camera was designed to attract and monitor live insects during twilight and night hours. A computer vision algorithm referred to as Moth Classification and Counting (MCC), based on deep learning analysis of the captured images, tracked and counted the number of insects and identified moth species. Observations over 48 nights resulted in the capture of more than 250,000 images with an average of 5675 images per night. A customized convolutional neural network was trained on 2000 labeled images of live moths represented by eight different classes, achieving a high validation F1-score of 0.93. The algorithm measured an average classification and tracking F1-score of 0.71 and a tracking detection rate of 0.79. Overall, the proposed computer vision system and algorithm showed promising results as a low-cost solution for non-destructive and automatic monitoring of moths.
Potentiometric Sensor Based on Carbon Paste Electrode for Monitoring Total Residual Chlorine in Electrolytically-Treated Ballast Water
Authors: Zhang Yaning , Li Zhihui , Guo Xiaotong , Liu Guangzhou , Zhang Shuyong
Published: January 2021

A new potentiometric sensor based on modified carbon paste electrode (CPE) was prepared for the sensitive and selective detection of total residual chlorine (TRC) in simulated electrolytically-treated ballast water (BW). The modified CPE was prepared using ferrocene (Fc) as the sensing species and paraffin oil as the binder. It is revealed that the addition of Fc can significantly shorten the response time and improve the reproducibility, selectivity, and stability of the sensor. The open circuit potential of the Fc-CPE is in linear proportion to the logarithm of TRC within the TRC concentration range from 1 mg∙dm−3 to 15 mg∙dm−3. In addition, the Fc-CPE sensor exhibits good selectivity to TRC over a wide concentration range of the possible co-exiting interference ions in seawater. The Fc-CPE electrode can be used as a convenient and reliable sensor for the continuous monitoring of TRC during the electrolytic treatment of BW.
LC–NMR for Natural Product Analysis: A Journey from an Academic Curiosity to a Robust Analytical Tool
Authors: Gebretsadik Tesfay , Linert Wolfgang , Thomas Madhu , Berhanu Tarekegn , Frew Russell
Published: January 2021

Liquid chromatography (LC)–nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) combines the advantage of the outstanding separation power of liquid chromatography (LC) and the superior structural elucidating capability of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). NMR has proved that it is a standout detector for LC by providing maximum structural information about plant originated extracts, particularly on the isolating ability of isomeric (same molecular formula) and/or isobaric (same molecular weight) compounds as compared to other detectors. The present review provides an overview of the developmental trends and application of LC–NMR in natural product analysis. The different LC–NMR operational modes are described, and how technical improvements assist in establishing this powerful technique as an important analytical tool in the analysis of complex plant-derived compounds is also highlighted. On-flow, stop-flow and loop-storage modes, as well as the new offline mode LC–solid phase extraction (SPE)–NMR and capillary LC (capLC)–NMR configurations which avoid the ingestion of expensive deuterated solvents throughout the experiment, are mentioned. Utilization of cryogenic probe and microprobe technologies, which are the other important promising approaches for guaranteeing sensitivity, are also described. Concluding remarks and future outlooks are also discussed.
Ethical Consumers’ Awareness of Vegan Materials: Focused on Fake Fur and Fake Leather
Authors: Choi Yeong-Hyeon , Lee Kyu-Hye
Published: January 2021

With an increase in ethical awareness, people have begun to criticize the unethical issues associated with the use of animal materials. This study focused on the transition of global consumers’ awareness toward vegan materials and the relationship between the interest in ethical subjects such as animals, the environment, and vegan materials. For this purpose, consumers’ posts about fur/fake fur and leather/fake leather uploaded on Google and Twitter from 2008 to 2019 were utilized, and the Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (Tf-idf) value was extracted using Python 3.7. Furthermore, the worldwide Google keyword search volume of each word was analyzed using Smart PLS 3.0 to investigate global consumers’ awareness. First, with time, consumers began relating animal materials such as fur and leather to topics such as animal rights, animal abuse, and animal protection. Second, as interest in “animal welfare” increased, interest in “fake fur” also rose, and as interest in “cruelty free” increased, interest in “fake fur”, “vegan fur”, and “vegan leather” also increased. Third, as consumers’ interest in the “environment” increased, interest in vegan materials such as “fake fur” and “fake leather” decreased. However, as interest in “eco” increased, interest in “vegan leather” also augmented.
Evaluation of Energy Savings and Economic Benefits of SOLTAG Rooftop Extensions under the Conditions of a Model Area in the Slovak Republic
Authors: Spirkova Daniela , Teplicka Katarina , Hurna Sona , Janiss Robert
Published: January 2021

Modular building systems in the Slovak Republic are assessed as a practical construction method and solution for a particular type of housing stock, as well as an alternative. Most existing panel buildings designed in the Slovak Republic had sufficient static reserve, allowing for the construction of rooftop extensions. Despite the considerable advantages of modular rooftop extensions, the aforementioned method of increasing available and sustainable housing stock—especially in large cities—is under-utilized in Slovakia. This paper outlines a solution for low-energy extensions—the SOLTAG concept—on the basis of knowledge acquired by studying problems related to Soltag extensions as part of the SURE-Fit (Sustainable Roof Extension Retrofit) project and practical experience from Denmark. This paper aims to assess and compare energy savings and economic benefits for three rooftop extensions of the SOLTAG concept and bricked extensions for a model area in the Slovak Republic.
Effect of Hierarchical Parish System on Portuguese Housing Rents
Authors: Vale Sofia , de Mello-Sampayo Felipa
Published: January 2021

This manuscript analyzes an inter-parish housing rents gradient with respect to surrounding parishes. Using data on housing rents for 4049 Portuguese parishes in 278 municipalities, the paper explores the spatial patterns of housing rents using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) methodology. The housing rents can be explained by socio-economic factors comprising the effects of unemployment, sustainability, social diversity, elderly dependency, and population density. The proportion of overcrowded dwellings reflecting how poor living conditions affect housing rents was also included in the spatial analysis. On the structural side, characteristics of the dwellings were also included such as the area of the home and the number of other homes available in the parishes. Locational factors reflect households’ valuation for access to other parishes. In order to capture location characteristics, besides considering mobility within municipalities, the GWR allowed using distances to nearby parishes, i.e., parish hierarchy distance effect. The results suggest that the Portuguese rental housing market exhibits a heterogeneous pattern across the territory, displaying spatial variability and a hierarchical space pattern as a consequence of its locational attributes.
Risk Assessment of Resources Exposed to Rainfall Induced Landslide with the Development of GIS and RS Based Ensemble Metaheuristic Machine Learning Algorithms
Authors: Mallick Javed , Alqadhi Saeed , Talukdar Swapan , AlSubih Majed , Ahmed Mohd. , Khan Roohul Abad , Kahla Nabil Ben , Abutayeh Saud M.
Published: January 2021

Disastrous natural hazards, such as landslides, floods, and forest fires cause a serious threat to natural resources, assets and human lives. Consequently, landslide risk assessment has become requisite for managing the resources in future. This study was designed to develop four ensemble metaheuristic machine learning algorithms, such as grey wolf optimized based artificial neural network (GW-ANN), grey wolf optimized based random forest (GW-RF), particle swarm optimization optimized based ANN (PSO-ANN), and PSO optimized based RF for modeling rainfall-induced landslide susceptibility (LS) in Aqabat Al-Sulbat, Asir region, Saudi Arabia, which observes landslide frequently. To obtain very high precision and robust prediction from machine learning algorithms, the grey wolf and PSO optimization algorithms were integrated to develop new ensemble machine learning techniques. Subsequently, LS maps produced by training dataset were validated using the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve based on the testing dataset. Based on the area under curve (AUC) value of ROC curve, the best method for LS modeling was selected. We developed ROC curve-based sensitivity analysis to investigate the influence of the parameters for LS modeling. The Gumble extreme value distribution was employed to estimate the rainfall at 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 year return periods. Then, the landslide hazard maps were prepared at different return periods by integrating the best LS model and estimated rainfall at different return periods. The theory of danger pixels was employed to prepare a final risk assessment of the resources, which have been exposed to the landslide. The results showed that 27–42 and 6–15 km2 were predicted as the very high and high LS zones using four ensemble metaheuristic machine learning algorithms. Based on the area under curve (AUC) of ROC, GR-ANN (AUC-0.905) appeared as the best model for LS modeling. The areas under high and very high landslide hazard were gradually increased over the progression of time (26 km2 at the 2 year return period and 40 km2 at the 100 year return period for the high landslide hazard zone, and 6 km2 at the 2 year return period and 20 km2 at the 100 year return period for the very high landslide hazard zone). Similarly, the areas of danger pixel also increased gradually from the 2 to 100 year return periods (37 km2 to 62 km2). Various natural resources, such as scrubland, built up, and sparse vegetation, were identified under risk zone due to landslide hazards. In addition, these resources would be exposed extensively to landslides over the advancement of return periods. Therefore, the outcome of the present study will help planners and scientists to propose high precision management plans for protecting natural resources, which have been exposed to landslides.
High-Commitment Work Practices and the Social Responsibility Issue: Interaction and Benefits
Authors: Revuelto-Taboada Lorenzo , Canet-Giner María Teresa , Balbastre-Benavent Francisco
Published: January 2021

Human Resource Management (HRM) has a potentially vital role to play in addressing the new challenges that companies have to face and in delivering initiatives in the framework of corporate sustainability. Our work attempts to shed light on the strategic role of High-Commitment Work Practices (HCWP) as a Corporate Sustainability (CS) partner and, more specifically, to analyze the implications of their integration on the competitiveness of the firm. With this purpose, we apply a qualitative methodology, using a single case study, to explore and explain why and how the interaction between HCWP and CS takes place. The results show how this interaction encourages the formulation and implementation of new socially responsible organizational initiatives that help the firm to improve its competitive position in the market through the development of employees’ innovative behavior. HCWP integrate with CS initiatives when CS values form part of the mission and strategy of the firm. Also, HCWP support CS deployment, primarily in its internal dimension. In addition, our work reveals that cultural factors such as organizational values and management style, and structural factors like empowerment and teamwork must be jointly considered when adopting a CS strategy aimed at developing innovative behavior and competitive advantage.
Environmental Impact and External Costs Associated with Hub-and-Spoke Network in Air Transport
Authors: Sun Mengyuan , Tian Yong , Zhang Yao , Nadeem Muhammad , Xu Can
Published: January 2021

Under the background of economic globalization, the air transport industry developed rapidly. It turns out that the city-to-city network has not been able to adapt well to the development of the society, and the hub-and-spoke network came into being. The hub-and-spoke network demonstrates the advantages of reducing the operating costs of airlines to keep a competitive advantage, and by maintaining the interests of airlines in the rapidly developing context. However, during the operation of aircrafts, they consume fuel and spew a great deal of harmful pollutants into the air, which has an adverse impact on the living environment. This paper explores the impact and external costs associated with hub-and-spoke network in air transport from an environmental perspective. With some mathematical models, we construct a hub-and-spoke network and take a quantitative study on the environmental impact of air transport. For calculating pollutant emissions, meteorological conditions were considered to revise the pollutant emission factors of the Engine Emissions Data Base (EEDB) published by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The environmental external costs measurement model is employed to calculate the externality of toxic gas and greenhouse gas (GHG). In order to make the study more convincing, two alternative networks are computed: hub-and-spoke network and city-to-city network. It is found that the hub-and-spoke network is associated with poorer environmental impact and environmental external costs because of the different network characteristics and the scale of the fleets. Therefore, under the general trend of green aviation, the environmental impact and environmental external costs associated with hub-and-spoke network in air transport provides a certain reference for airlines’ strategic decision-making.
A Modeling Framework: To Analyze the Relationship between Accessibility, Land Use and Densities in Urban Areas
Authors: Jayasinghe Amila , Madusanka N. B. S. , Abenayake Chethika , Mahanama P. K. S.
Published: January 2021

The study proposes a framework to model the three-dimensional relationship among density, land use, and accessibility in urban areas constructively contributing to overcome the limitations noted in the domains of urban planning and transport planning. First, most of the existing studies have focused on the topological characteristics in capturing the accessibility, but a limited attention has been given on measuring the accessibility by considering both topological and roadway characteristics. Second, the existing research studies have acknowledged the relationship among density, land use, and accessibility while a limited attention has been given to develop a modeling framework to capture the three-dimensional relationship. The modelling framework was tested in three urban areas in Sri Lanka. The research first analyzed the three-dimensional relationship among density, land use, and accessibility in the case studies. Then, the study developed a set of regression models to capture the density from the land use and accesability. The proposed model recorded a satisfactory level of accuracy (i.e., R2 > 0.70) on a par with internationally accepted standards. The relationship was further elaborated through a decision tree analysis and 4D plot diagrams. Findings of the study can be utilized to model the density of a given land use and the correspondent accessibility scenarios. The proposed model is capable of quantifying the impact of the changes in the density correspondent to the accessibility and land use. Therefore, the study concludes that this will be an effective tool for decision-makers in the fields of land-use planning and transport planning for scenario building, impact analysis, and the formulation of land use zoning and urban development plans aiming at the overarching sustainability of future cities.
Study on Comprehensive Assessment of Environmental Impact of Air Pollution
Authors: Zhang Miao , Shi Longyu , Ma Xiaofei , Zhao Yang , Gao Lijie
Published: January 2021

Pollutants discharged from irrational energy consumption pose a serious threat to urban ecological security. The Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone is an important part of China’s coastal economy. With the rapid development of the economy in this area, the atmospheric environmental pollution problem, caused by energy consumption, has become increasingly serious. Therefore, the study of the environmental impact assessment of air pollution in the Western Taiwan Straits Economic Zone has reference value to prevent ecological risks. This paper constructed a regional-scale environmental impact assessment model that includes pollution sources, pollution stress, and evaluation results, and evaluated the environmental impact of SO2, NO2, CO, PM10, and PM2.5 from three perspectives: regional integration, different energy consumption sectors, and different cities. The results showed that the regional environmental impact level of the research area was high, and the main pollutants transformed from SO2 to NO2, PM10, and PM2.5 from 2008 to 2016. According to the results of different sectors, the transportation sector contributes the most to NO2 and remains unchanged, and the industrial sector contributes the most to SO2, PM10, and PM2.5. Combined with the research results of different cities, cities concentrated in the coastal areas contribute more pollution than other cities do.
Leveraging Digital Twin for Sustainability Assessment of an Educational Building
Authors: Tagliabue Lavinia Chiara , Cecconi Fulvio Re , Maltese Sebastiano , Rinaldi Stefano , Ciribini Angelo Luigi Camillo , Flammini Alessandra
Published: January 2021

The EU Green Deal, beginning in 2019, promoted a roadmap for operating the transition to a sustainable EU economy by turning climate issues and environmental challenges into opportunities in all policy areas and making the transition fair and inclusive for all. Focusing on the built environment, the voluntary adoption of rating systems for sustainability assessment is growing, with an increasing market value, and is perceived as a social responsibility both by public administration and by private companies. This paper proposes a framework for shifting from a static sustainability assessment to a digital twin (DT)-based and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled dynamic approach. This new approach allows for a real-time evaluation and control of a wide range of sustainability criteria with a user-centered point of view. A pilot building, namely, the eLUX lab cognitive building in the University of Brescia, was used to test the framework with some sample applications. The educational building accommodates the daily activities of the engineering students by constantly interacting with the sensorized asset monitoring indoor comfort and air quality conditions as well as the energy behavior of the building in order to optimize the trade-off with renewable energy production. The framework is the cornerstone of a methodology exploiting the digital twin approach to support the decision processes related to sustainability through the whole building’s life cycle.
Communication of Socially-Responsible Activities by Higher Education Institutions
Authors: Tetrevova Libena , Vavra Jan , Munzarova Simona
Published: January 2021

Higher education institutions play a fundamental role in the scientific, economic, social, and cultural development of each and every society. In view of new challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of their social responsibility and ability to effectively communicate the socially–responsible activities which are performed is growing. The aim of this article is to analyze and evaluate the scope and structure of socially-responsible activities communicated on the websites of public higher education institutions operating in a small post-communist country where education plays a traditional role—the Czech Republic, and to formulate recommendations for improvement of the level of communication of social responsibility by higher education institutions. Primary data was obtained using latent analysis of the content of the websites of all public higher education institutions operating in the Czech Republic. The CE3SPA method was applied. The survey which was performed shows that the level of communication of social responsibility by higher education institutions in the Czech Republic is low. Activities in the field of economic and social responsibility are communicated in the greatest scope. On the contrary, activities in the field of environmental responsibility are communicated the least. Public higher education institutions in the Czech Republic should therefore apply the measures proposed in the article, these also being transferrable to practice in other countries.
Web Communication: A Content Analysis of Green Hosting Companies
Authors: Karyotakis Minos-Athanasios , Antonopoulos Nikos
Published: January 2021

While many studies in the field of environmental communication have focused on exploring the environmental impact of social media, this research paper takes a different turn. It investigates, through a qualitative content analysis, 391 websites that support and provide green hosting services. This study is considered the first in the field that aims to examine in-depth how these green websites tend to communicate their green services. Therefore, its contribution is to enhance the relevant bibliography and present more insights regarding green websites and sustainability. The results showed that most of the websites were trying to highlight the positive impact their services will have on the environment. In addition, many websites tried to educate their consumers concerning sustainable development and make them part of a broader green cultural tradition. Nevertheless, on many websites, green hosting seemed a supplementary factor for choosing the company’s services.
A Novel Video Steganography-Based Botnet Communication Model in Telegram SNS Messenger
Authors: Kwak Minkyung , Cho Youngho
Published: January 2021

In botnets, a bot master regularly sends command and control messages (C & C messages) to bots for various purposes, such as ordering its commands to bots and collecting critical data from bots. Although such C & C messages can be encrypted by cryptographic methods to hide them, existing botnet detection mechanisms could detect the existence of botnets by capturing suspicious network traffics between the bot master (or the C & C server) and numerous bots. Recently, steganography-based botnets (stego-botnets) have emerged to make C & C communication traffics look normal to botnet detection systems. In stego-botnets, every C & C message is embedded in a multimedia file, such as an image file by using steganography techniques and shared in Social Network Service (SNS) websites (such as Facebook) or online messengers (such as WeChat or KakaoTalk). Consequently, traditional botnet detection systems without steganography detection methods cannot detect them. Meanwhile, according to our survey, we observed that existing studies on the steganography botnet are limited to use only image steganography techniques, although the video steganography method has some obvious advantages over the image steganography method. By this motivation, in this paper, we study a video steganography-based botnet in Social Network Service (SNS) platforms. We first propose a video steganography botnet model based on SNS messengers. In addition, we design a new payload approach-based video steganography method (DECM: Divide-Embed-Component Method) that can embed much more secret data than existing tools by using two open tools VirtualDub and Stegano. We show that our proposed model can be implemented in the Telegram SNS messenger and conduct extensive experiments by comparing our proposed model with DECM with an existing image steganography-based botnet in terms of C & C communication efficiency and undetectability.
Indoxyl Sulfate Mediates the Low Inducibility of the NLRP3 Inflammasome in Hemodialysis Patients
Authors: Ho Li-Chun , Wu Ting-Yun , Lin Tsun-Mei , Liou Hung-Hsiang , Hung Shih-Yuan
Published: January 2021

The NLRP3 inflammasome is responsible for the maturation of caspase-1 and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Despite the study about basal activity of the NLRP3 inflammasome in hemodialysis (HD) patients, little is known about its inducibility in the milieu of uremia. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from 11 HD patients and 14 volunteers without a history of chronic kidney disease, as well as macrophages with or without the uremic toxin indoxyl sulfate (IS) pretreatment, underwent canonical NLRP3 inflammasome induction. Despite the high plasma levels of IL-1β in HD patients, caspase-1 and IL-1β in the PBMCs of HD patients remained predominantly immature and were not secreted in response to the canonical stimulus. In addition, while IS alone facilitated the inflammasome-independent secretion of IL-1β from macrophages, IS exposure before induction reduced the inducibility of the NLRP3 inflammasome, characterized by insufficient maturation of caspase-1. The low expression of inflammasome components, which was observed in both IS-pretreated cells and the PBMCs of HD patients, was probably responsible for the low inducibility.
Case Report and Genomic Characterization of a Novel Porcine Nodavirus in the United States
Authors: Yang Chenghuai , Wang Leyi , Schwartz Kent , Burrough Eric , Groeltz-Thrush Jennifer , Chen Qi , Zheng Ying , Shen Huigang , Li Ganwu
Published: January 2021

Nodaviruses are small bisegmented RNA viruses belonging to the family Nodaviridae. Nodaviruses have been identified in different hosts, including insects, fishes, shrimps, prawns, dogs, and bats. A novel porcine nodavirus was first identified in the United States by applying next-generation sequencing on brain tissues of pigs with neurological signs, including uncontrollable shaking. RNA1 of the porcine nodavirus had the highest nucleotide identity (51.1%) to the Flock House virus, whereas its RNA2 shared the highest nucleotide identity (48%) with the RNA2 segment of caninovirus (Canine nodavirus). Genetic characterization classified porcine nodavirus as a new species under the genus Alphanodavirus. Further studies are needed to understand the pathogenicity and clinical impacts of this virus.
B and T Cell Immunity in Tissues and Across the Ages
Authors: Booth Jayaum S. , Toapanta Franklin R.
Published: January 2021

B and T cells are key components of the adaptive immune system and coordinate multiple facets of immunity including responses to infection, vaccines, allergens, and the environment. In humans, B- and T-cell immunity has been determined using primarily peripheral blood specimens. Conversely, human tissues have scarcely been studied but they host multiple adaptive immune cells capable of mounting immune responses to pathogens and participate in tissue homeostasis. Mucosal tissues, such as the intestines and respiratory track, are constantly bombarded by foreign antigens and contain tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells that exhibit superior protective capacity to pathogens. Also, tissue-resident memory B (BRM) cells have been identified in mice but whether humans have a similar population remains to be confirmed. Moreover, the immune system evolves throughout the lifespan of humans and undergoes multiple changes in its immunobiology. Recent studies have shown that age-related changes in tissues are not necessarily reflected in peripheral blood specimens, highlighting the importance of tissue localization and subset delineation as essential determinants of functional B and T cells at different life stages. This review describes our current knowledge of the main B- and T-cell subsets in peripheral blood and tissues across age groups.
Antibody and Cell-Mediated Immune Responses Are Correlates of Protection against Influenza Infection in Vaccinated Older Adults
Authors: Verschoor Chris P. , Andrew Melissa K. , Loeb Mark , Pawelec Graham , Haynes Laura , Kuchel George A. , McElhaney Janet E.
Published: January 2021

Despite efforts to design better vaccines for older adults, the risk for serious complications of influenza remains disproportionately high. Identifying correlates of vaccine effectiveness and understanding the heterogeneity of health outcomes in older adults are key to the vaccine development pipeline. We sought correlates of protection against laboratory-confirmed influenza illness (LCII) in a 4-year randomized trial of standard versus high-dose influenza vaccination of adults 65 years and older. To this end, we quantified serum hemagglutination-inhibition (HAI) titers and interferon-gamma (IFNγ) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) secretion by virus-challenged peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Of the 608 participants included, 26 developed either A/H3N2-(n = 17) or B-LCII (n = 9) at 10–20 weeks post-vaccination. Antibody titres for A/H3N2 at 4-weeks post-vaccination were significantly associated with protection against LCII, where every 1-standard deviation increase reduced the odds of A/H3N2-LCII by 53%. Although B-titres did not correlate with protection against B-LCII, the fold-increase in IFNγ:IL-10 ratios from pre- to 4-weeks post-vaccination was significantly associated with protection against B-LCII, where every 1-standard deviation increase reduced the odds by 71%. Our results suggest that both antibody and cell-mediated immune measures are valuable and potentially complementary correlates of protection against LCII in vaccinated older adults, although this may depend on the viral type causing infection.
Valuation of Drought Information: Understanding the Value of the US Drought Monitor in Land Management
Authors: Liu Tingting , Krop Richard , Haigh Tonya , Smith Kelly Helm , Svoboda Mark
Published: January 2021

Droughts affect recreation and tourism, grazing, forests, and timber, and can have important indirect effects for the ecosystems and species that rely on water. Despite its importance, the effect of drought in the land management sector is less understood than in other water-intensive sectors, such as agriculture and public water supplies. This study presents the first-ever estimates of the economic valuation of the information provided by the U.S. Drought Monitor using the avoided cost method. These estimates are based on the time and labor saved by using the U.S. Drought Monitor rather than compiling drought-related information from other sources, or using other sources for tracking/monitoring droughts, communicating drought conditions, and dealing with drought-related issues. The results reflect rational behavior—the more time needed to compile or collect drought information provided by the U.S. Drought Monitor, the higher the dollar value in avoided cost. This dollar amount also varies by institution and organization, which indicates respondents from different organizations value the information from the U.S. Drought Monitor differently. For example, compared to the state offices, the field offices in the Bureau of Land Management value more of the information provided by the U.S. Drought Monitor. These estimates can be used to estimate the societal benefits and help policy makers evaluate the U.S. Drought Monitor in different sectors.
Ville et épidémiologie spatiale. Non-géographies de la COVID-19 en France ?
Authors: Darques Régis , Trottier Julie
Published: January 2021

La crise du SARS-CoV-2 et les confinements associés ont donné lieu à une diffusion massive de données statistiques et cartographiques. Information en temps réel et couverture spatiale généralisée ont été associées à des mesures de contrôle territorial. Les cartographies épidémiologiques à destination opérationnelle mises au point par les autorités ne sont pas exemptes de défauts. Faute de données suffisamment détaillées, les modèles de contamination développés par les épidémiologistes restent pratiquement «hors sol » . Les villes ont été identifiées très tôt comme zones à risque. Pourtant elles échappent presque totalement à l’analyse. De nouvelles méthodes d’identification des clusters doivent être développées. WaterCov est un projet pilote à visée méthodologique en milieu urbain à travers une analyse précise des traces virales dans les réseaux d’eaux usées.
Exclusion dans l'espace public : la présence invisible de ses habitants continus
Authors: Velasco Ávalos Mauricio
Published: January 2021

Parmi les inégalités douloureuses que l''isolement dû au COVID-19 nous a montrées, l''existence de sans-abris vivant dans la rue est l''une des plus dommageables, car c''est une communauté qui est en-dessous de la marge de participation et d''extrême pauvreté. La crise actuelle dans les pays en développement a montré que ceux qui n''ont pas de maison survivent dans les espaces publics, les partageant avec d''autres groupes sociaux, mais sans réelle coexistence. Repenser la ville doit nécessairement passer par une réflexion sur l''exclusion sociale et la proposition d''intégration de ceux qui occupent la position la plus dépréciée de l''économie et de la politique, et une place centrale dans l''espace public des villes.
Les charges "municipales" tirées au sort dans la démocratie athénienne classique
Authors: Demont Paul
Published: January 2021

The role of drawing lots in classical Athenian democracy – Brief reminder of the role of sortition in classical Athenian democracy. Focus on some problems relating to the duties of the municipal administration : what tasks were involved ? why were some provided by election and others by drawing lots ? what role could the slaves provided to the citizens drawn by lot (e. g. astynomoi) for the execution of their task play ?
Comment créer une communauté politique en 2021 ?
Authors: Chapuis Jean-Yves
Published: January 2021

Les institutions démocratiques que nous connaissons ne répondent plus à la demande politique et sociale. On est dans une défiance vis-à-vis du monde politique. Or il n’est pas possible de fonctionner dans une démocratie sans la confiance. Comment la retrouver ? Comprendre que le passage d’une société sédentaire à une société de la mobilité rend d’abord les limites territoires floues. Ensuite le passage d’un individualisme universaliste à un individualisme de singularité rend l’action politique complexe. Comment créer la démocratie de la connaissance et de la reconnaissance pour que chaque citoyen s’approprie la démocratie ? Comprendre la demande, saisir la notion d’habiter, permettre aux citoyens de se raconter, tel devrait être le travail des élus et des services, pour mieux répondre collectivement aux demandes de chacune et chacun.
De l'économie sociale et circulaire des mines urbaines
Authors: Duparay Guillaume , Schirrer Maxime
Published: January 2021

Cet article évoque une réflexion sur un objet de recherche en construction, celui des mines urbaines comme support d’un projet territorial. En effet, les déchets des équipements électriques et électroniques (D3E) constituent à la fois un gisement important en termes de matières premières, mais offrent aussi des perspectives en matière de création d’emploi local. Notre fil directeur est qu’une nouvelle filière industrielle émerge sur la base de la réutilisation, du reconditionnement des matériels électriques et électroniques. Cet allongement de la durée de vie des produits s’intègre dans le dispositif de l’économie circulaire.
MODEL BISNIS DAN PENGUNGKAPAN RISIKO PERUSAHAAN
Authors: Dewayanto Totok
Published: January 2021

The aim of this study is to examine business model on disclosure of corporate risk. This study uses Size as a control variable. The population in this study consists of manufacturing companies in Indonesia Stock Exchange for the period 2015 - 2017. Sample determined with purposive sampling method. Total sample of this research is 180 companies. This study used multiple regression analysis for hypotheses testing. The results of this study show that business model has positive effect and significant on corporate risk disclosure.
PENERAPAN ACTIVITY BASED COSTING DALAM PENENTUAN TARIF JASA RAWAT INAP DI RUMAH SAKIT UMUM DAERAH HJ. ANNA LASMANAH KABUPATEN BANJARNEGARA
Authors: Ainiyah Ghonimah Zumroatun , Maesaroh Siti
Published: January 2021

The phenomenon of the Hj. Anna Lasmanah Banjarnegara is less able to provide proper and accurate information for management, which can affect the profitability of the hospital. The objectives of this study: 1) describe the cost calculations used to determine inpatient service rates in 2019, 2) analysis cost calculations using an activity based costing system in determining the rates for inpatient services at Hj. Anna Lasmanah HospitalThe focus of this research is to calculate the cost of inpatient care and analysis the possibility of implementing an activity-based costing system as an alternative in determining the cost of hospitalization. The data analysis used in this research is quantitative descriptive analysis. Namely by comparing the results of the calculation of inpatient rates for patients with an activity based costing system with inpatient rates determined by the hospital.There are differences in the results of the calculation of inpatient rates for each class between the traditional method and the activity based costing system. This difference results in lower or higher tariffs. The results of the calculation show that the inpatient service tariff using an activity based costing system for VVIP A class is IDR 437,658, VVIP B class IDR 395,674, Class I IDR 378,180, Class II IDR 320,249, Class III IDR 319,374. It can be seen from these results that when compared with conventional methods, the activity based costing system provides higher hospitalization rates for Class I, II and III. The rates are set lower for Class VVIP A and VVIP B. Activity based costing system can provide more precise accuracy because it has made calculations according to the resources consumed by each class
PERAN SELF-EFFICACY DALAM MEMEDIASI PENGARUH PENGETAHUAN BERWIRAUSAHA, TINGKAT PENDIDIKAN, LINGKUNGAN KELUARGA, DAN PENGALAMAN KERJA TERHADAP MINAT BERWIRAUSAHA
Authors: Atiningsih Suci , Kristanto Rudi Suryo
Published: January 2021

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of self-efficacy in mediating the influence of entrepreneurial knowledge, education level, family environment, and work experience on interest in entrepreneurship.The research object was all SMEs players in the Banyudono sub-district, Boyolali district with a total sample size of 64 SMEs actors. The data analysis techniques used were multiple linear regression and sobel test. The results of this study are entrepreneurial knowledge, education level, and family environment have a positive and significant effect on self-efficacy, but work experience has no effect on self-efficacy. Entrepreneurial knowledge, education level, family environment and self-efficacy have a positive and significant effect on interest in entrepreneurship, but work experience has no effect on interest in entrepreneurship. Self-efficacy can mediate the influence of entrepreneurial knowledge, education level, family environment, and work experience on interest in entrepreneurship.The results of this study are expected to provide an empirical contribution to the role of self-efficacy in mediating the influence of entrepreneurial knowledge, education level, family environment, and work experience on interest in entrepreneurship
Kebijakan dan Implementasi Strategi Anti-Fraud: Studi pada PT. Bank UOB Indonesia
Authors: Asmara Fransiska Tarasita , Riduwan Akhmad , Priyadi Maswar Patuh
Published: January 2021

Based on the many fraud cases experienced by PT Bank UOB Indonesia, the implementation of the anti-fraud strategy at PT Bank UOB Indonesia refers to the implementation of policies issued by PT Bank UOB Indonesia in order to minimize fraud cases. This study aims to determine the policies and implementation of anti-fraud strategies at PT Bank UOB Indonesia. The object of this research is the Integrated Fraud Management Division. This research was conducted using a case study qualitative research method and using data analysis techniques Miles and Huberman. The data collection techniques in this study were participant observation, in-depth interviews and documentation. Selection of sources is carried out by purposive sampling method, in which sources are selected with specific considerations and goals. The results show that the policy and implementation of the Anti-Fraud strategy have been implemented in accordance with Bank Indonesia Circular No.13/28/DPNP dated 9 December 2011 concerning the Implementation of Anti-Fraud Strategies for Commercial Banks, however there are still deficiencies caused by obstacles in its implementation. namely the lack of awareness of employees to report all indications of fraud, very minimal employee rotation, frequent information about surprise audits that cannot be kept secret, and the recruitment pattern adopted by PT Bank UOB Indonesia does not include material on fraud awareness.
Water Scarcity in Aligambai Village, Alayadivembu Divisional Secretariat, Sri Lanka
Authors: Jayasinghe H D R P , Riswan M , Ishaq P
Published: January 2021

The scarcity of drinking water creates major impacts on the rural community, in particular. The people living in Aligambai have been facing numerous problems in getting a safe drinking water supply, even for their daily drinking purpose. This paper sets out to identify the contributing factors toward water scarcity and how to cope with it by increasing water productivity as an integrated approach in the study area. This study is a combination of research methods; quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques. It is built on the premise of the cultural theory, which can be used to study water scarcity issues in rural water points. Mainly, it tries to understand the gap between the performance of the rural water supply sector and the SDG Goal 6: ‘water & sanitation for all’ through networking with pluralist institutions and mechanisms. Research methods, such as interviews with key informants, direct observations, and Focus Group discussions, have been employed for the study. The secondary data were collected from the Aligambai Resource Profile, records from the GND/DS office, and the statistical records from the National Water Supply & Drainage Board. This study found that water scarcity has affected the community in terms of life and livelihood activities in Aligambai. Therefore, it tries to bring out potential solutions to coping with water scarcity by suggesting measures for water productivity at all levels through an integrated approach in the study area.