bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geographical Assessment of Low-Carbon Transportation Modes: A Case Study from a Commuter University
Authors: Sultana Selima , Kim Hyojin , Pourebrahim Nastaran , Karimi Firoozeh
Published: August 2018

This case study examines the geographic variation in students’ low-carbon transportation (LCT) modes to a commuter university campus. Three major goals are accomplished from this research: (1) identifying commuting zones for the bicycling, walking, and transit mode choice for UNCG students; (2) understanding whether the real vs. perception of space can be predictive to mode choice; and (3) understanding the relative importance of demographic, psychological, and logistic factors on students’ mode choice, using a suite of variables developed in multiple fields. Our analyses support the assertion that various physical, demographic, and psychological dimensions influence LCT mode choice. While the presence of sidewalks is conducive to walking, the distance, either perceived or actual, within 1.61 km from UNCG is the most important factor for walking mode share. The bicycling commute is not associated with either the distance or presence of bicycle lanes, while transit ridership most likely increases if students live >8 km from the UNCG campus with the nearest bus stop within 1 km from home. Given the limited bicycle lanes in Greensboro, students who commute to campus by bicycle are resilient to unfavorable bicycle conditions by sharing the road with cars and adjusting their travel routes. Our findings also concur with previous studies showing that bicycle commuters are disproportionately represented by self-identified whites while bus riders are disproportionately comprised of self-identified non-whites. Our analyses support Greensboro’s current planning and policy emphasis on low-carbon travel behaviors via equitable and safe transit-oriented multi-modal infrastructures, and suggest that UNCG should utilize its influence to advocate and further facilitate these ongoing efforts.
A Framework for Regional Ecological Risk Warning Based on Ecosystem Service Approach: A Case Study in Ganzi, China
Authors: Dong Tian , Xu Weihua , Zheng Hua , Xiao Yang , Kong Lingqiao , Ouyang Zhiyun
Published: August 2018

Worldwide, most ecosystem services have declined. However, the theoretical and analytical frameworks for the ecological risk assessment of ecosystem services are still lacking. Here a framework for the risk assessment of ecosystem services was developed based on the formation, changes, risk, and management of ecosystem services. The framework was tested in Ganzi, the upstream area of the Yangtze River Basin, for the regional ecological warning of ecosystem services. Ecosystem services in the form of soil retention and sandstorm prevention and ecological risks including soil and wind erosion were modelled. The results showed that with the increase in area and quality of natural vegetation (forest and grassland), the soil retention service and sandstorm prevention service increased by 66.92% and 8.59% between 2000 and 2015, respectively. Correspondingly, the ecological risk of soil erosion decreased by 8.8%, and wind erosion remained stable. Despite the negative impacts from agricultural development on sandstorm prevention, the increase in vegetation and improvement in ecological quality led to a decrease in the ecological risks of soil erosion and sandstorm erosion by improvement of ecosystem services. This research provides a new perspective for ecological risk assessment, as well as direct management information on ecological risks, by incorporating ecosystem services.
The Implication of Road Toll Discount for Mode Choice: Intercity Travel during the Chinese Spring Festival Holiday
Authors: Lin Xiaomei , Susilo Yusak O. , Shao Chunfu , Liu Chengxi
Published: August 2018

Intercity travel congestion during the main national holidays takes place every year at different places around the world. Charge reduction measurements on existing toll roads have been implemented to promote an efficient use of the expressways and to reduce congestion on the public transit networks. However, some of these policies have had negative effects. A more comprehensive understanding of the determinants of holiday intercity travel patterns is critical for better policymaking. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of the road toll discount policy on mode choice behavior for intercity travel. A mixed logit model is developed to model the mode choices of intercity travelers, which is estimated based on survey data about intercity journeys from Beijing during the 2017 Chinese Spring Festival holiday. The policy impact is further discussed by elasticity and scenario simulations. The results indicate that the expressway toll discount does increase the car use and decrease the public transit usage. Given the decreased toll on expressways, the demand tends to shift from car to public transit, in an order of coach, high-speed rail, conventional rail, and airplane. When it comes to its effect on socio-demographic groups, men and lower-income travelers are identified to be more likely to change mode in response to variation of road toll. Finally, policy effectiveness is found to vary for travelers in different travel distance groups. Conclusions provide useful insights on road pricing management.
Factors Causing Farmland Price-Value Distortion and Their Implications for Peri-Urban Growth Management
Authors: Chen Yu-Hui , Lee Chun-Lin , Chen Guan-Rui , Wang Chiung-Hsin , Chen Ya-Hui
Published: August 2018

Taiwan’s Agricultural Development Act (ADA) of 2000 relaxed farmland ownership criteria and allowed non-farmers to own farms. Although this opened up the market and induced a growth in farmland trading, relaxing these criteria without proper monitoring resulted in rapid development of farmhouses that fragmented farmlands, adversely affecting agricultural production and the quality of peri-urban environments, and increased management difficulties. Relaxing farmland ownership criteria also provided opportunities for speculation, which pushed up farmland prices, causing farmland price to deviate from its production value. We used a price:value ratio as an index of price-value distortion to explore farmland price-value distortion spatially using a geographical information system (GIS). Yilan County was used as a case study since its agricultural lands suffer high development pressure due to ready accessibility from the Taipei metropolitan area. Ordinary least square and quantile regression were used to identify factors driving distortion in Yilan County. Finally, we discuss the distortion and key factors for specific sites in Yilan to assess the urban sprawl and propose a preliminary course of action for peri-urban growth management. Our findings suggest that residential activities stimulate farmland price-value distortion but do not enhance farmland value. Designation of a land parcel as agricultural within an urban area allows for speculation and increases distortion. The land parcel’s association with infrastructure such as road and irrigation systems, and the price of agricultural products, are significantly correlated with distortion. Most of these identified factors increased farmland price because of the potential for non-agricultural land-use. We propose that to resolve farmland price-value distortion in Yilan, multi-functional values, in addition to agriculture, must be envisioned.
Using Traditional Chinese Medicine Ideas as a Mechanism to Engage People in Health Awareness
Authors: Song Donglei , Xia Yu , Wang Rusi , Xu Hao
Published: August 2018

Improving health awareness is essential to health and healthcare sustainability. How to arouse attention to the health of people and encourage them to attend to healthcare progress so that we can reduce the costs of promoting healthcare by achieving more with less effort remains to be explored. In this paper, we provide a simplified health management app, called iTongue, with a basis in traditional Chinese medicine. People use iTongue to take pictures of their tongues to have a general idea of their health. We realize automated tongue image diagnosis using machine learning techniques to establish the relationship between the tongue image features and the cold or hot ZHENG (traditional Chinese medicine syndrome) in traditional Chinese medicine by learning through examples and assisting people to engage in health management. The results show that health management interaction based on traditional Chinese medicine has a positive influence on improving people’s attention to their health, encouraging them to participate in health management activities and develop the habit of caring about their health over the long term. In the future, we could consider using this kind of traditional Chinese medicine idea as a means of publicity to engage people in healthcare and to assist healthcare sustainability development.
The Effect of Analyst Coverage on the Relationship between Seasoned Equity Offerings and Investment Efficiency From Korea
Authors: Oh Hyun Min , Kim Woo young
Published: August 2018

In order for a firm to remain sustainable, it must establish a strategy that is appropriate to its changing environment. One of these strategies is that the procurement of capital and the efficient operation of the procured capital are directly linked to the sustainability of the firm. This study empirically analyzes the relationship between seasoned equity offerings (hereafter SEO) and investment efficiency. We examine the investment efficiency of firms that have SEO and those that do not, and then analyze the effect of analysts on the relationship between SEO and investment efficiency. The empirical results of this study are as follows. First, there is a significant negative correlation between SEO and investment efficiency, meaning that firms with SEO have lower investment efficiency than firms without SEO. Second, the interaction variable between SEO and analyst participation showed a significant positive correlation with investment efficiency, meaning that the more active the analyst, the more any ineffective investment that is derived from managers’ opportunistic earnings management is suppressed. The results show that the efficient operation of procured capital is important for the sustainability of the firm, and that the analyst plays an important role in monitoring the efficient allocation of resources as an external auditor.
Measuring Country Sustainability Performance Using Ensembles of Neuro-Fuzzy Technique
Authors: Nilashi Mehrbakhsh , Cavallaro Fausto , Mardani Abbas , Zavadskas Edmundas Kazimieras , Samad Sarminah , Ibrahim Othman
Published: August 2018

Global warming is one of the most important challenges nowadays. Sustainability practices and technologies have been proven to significantly reduce the amount of energy consumed and incur economic savings. Sustainability assessment tools and methods have been developed to support decision makers in evaluating the developments in sustainable technology. Several sustainability assessment tools and methods have been developed by fuzzy logic and neural network machine learning techniques. However, a combination of neural network and fuzzy logic, neuro-fuzzy, and the ensemble learning of this technique has been rarely explored when developing sustainability assessment methods. In addition, most of the methods developed in the literature solely rely on fuzzy logic. The main shortcoming of solely using the fuzzy logic rule-based technique is that it cannot automatically learn from the data. This problem of fuzzy logic has been solved by the use of neural networks in many real-world problems. The combination of these two techniques will take the advantages of both to precisely predict the output of a system. In addition, combining the outputs of several predictors can result in an improved accuracy in complex systems. This study accordingly aims to propose an accurate method for measuring countries’ sustainability performance using a set of real-world data of the sustainability indicators. The adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) technique was used for discovering the fuzzy rules from data from 128 countries, and ensemble learning was used for measuring the countries’ sustainability performance. The proposed method aims to provide the country rankings in term of sustainability. The results of this research show that the method has potential to be effectively implemented as a decision-making tool for measuring countries’ sustainability performance.
Big Data Approach as an Institutional Innovation to Tackle Hong Kong’s Illegal Subdivided Unit Problem
Authors: Yau Yung , Lau Wai Kin
Published: August 2018

While applications of big data have been extensively studied, discussion is mostly made from the perspectives of computer science, Internet services, and informatics. Alternatively, this article takes the big data approach as an institutional innovation and uses the problem of illegal subdivided units (ISUs) in Hong Kong as a case study. High transaction costs incurred in identification of suspected ISUs and associated enforcement actions lead to a proliferation of ISUs in the city. We posit that the deployment of big data analytics can lower these transaction costs, enabling the government to tackle the problem of illegal accommodations. We propose a framework for big data collection, analysis, and feedback. As the findings of a structured questionnaire survey reveal, building professionals believed that the proposed framework could reduce transaction costs of ISU identification. Yet, concerns associated with the big data approach like privacy and predictive policing were also raised by the professionals.
Time, Cognition, and Approach: Sustainable Tourism Strategies for Abandoned Vernacular Landscapes
Authors: García-Esparza Juan A. , Altaba Tena Pablo
Published: August 2018

The main objective of the study is to challenge previous approaches to heritage, both in terms of management and conceptualization. It aims to highlight the importance and articulation of the different attributes in abandoned vernacular landscapes in search of a sustainable approach. To do so, the study focuses on a specific landscape in the Mediterranean basin where three areas of intensity have been selected for an eventual assessment of the principles of integration and consistency of the landscape. These areas have helped to establish the importance of distance and cognition in determining strategies for sustainable tourism. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have allowed us to ascertain the extent to which values, previously acquired from participatory fieldwork, can be detected depending on proximity or remoteness, as well as their application in the three cases for assessment. Thus, five criteria have been established to analyse these values: (1) overview of the landscape, (2) dominance or intensity of elements, (3) the aesthetic composition of space, (4) the selective interpretation of the visual variables, and (5) the fragility of specific areas in the landscape. Finally, the discussed criteria provide new insights into the dynamic and static realms of authenticity and integrity, which have helped in the analysis of previous rigid conventions on values, time, perception, and approach.
On the Contrasting Effect Exerted by a Thin Layer of CdS against the Passivation of Silver Electrodes Coated with Thiols
Authors: Salvietti Emanuele , Giurlani Walter , Foresti Maria Luisa , Passaponti Maurizio , Fabbri Lorenzo , Marcantelli Patrick , Caporali Stefano , Martinuzzi Stefano , Calisi Nicola , Pedio Maddalena , Innocenti Massimo
Published: August 2018

The passivation of metal electrodes covered by self-assembled monolayers of long-chain thiols is well known. The disappearance of the voltammetric peak of redox species in solution is a classical test for the formation of full layers of thiols. Similar studies on semiconductors are still very limited. We used silver surfaces covered by an ultrathin layer of CdS as substrate for self-assembling of n-hexadecanethiol (C16SH), and we compared the experimental results with those obtained by using the bare silver surface as substrate. The strong insulating effect of C16SH deposited on Ag(III) is shown by the inhibition of the voltammetric peak of Ru(NH3)63+/2+. On the contrary, the voltammogram obtained on CdS-covered Ag(III) is very similar to that obtained on the bare Ag(III) electrode, thus suggesting that the presence of CdS exerts a contrasting effect on the passivation of the silver electrode. A crucial point of our work is to demonstrate the effective formation of C16SH monolayers on Ag(III) covered by CdS. The formation of full layers of C16SH was strongly suggested by the inhibition of the stripping peak of Cd from the CdS deposit covered by C16SH. The presence of C16SH was confirmed by electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) measurements as well as by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysis.
No-Reference Image Blur Assessment Based on Response Function of Singular Values
Authors: Zhang Shanqing , Li Pengcheng , Xu Xianghua , Li Li , Chang Ching-Chun
Published: August 2018

Blur is an important factor affecting the image quality. This paper presents an efficient no-reference (NR) image blur assessment method based on a response function of singular values. For an image, the grayscale image is computed to the acquire spatial information. In the meantime, the gradient map is computed to acquire the shape information, and the saliency map can be obtained by using scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT). Then, the grayscale image, the gradient map, and the saliency map are divided into blocks of the same size. The blocks of the gradient map are converted into discrete cosine transform (DCT) coefficients, from which the response function of singular values (RFSV) are generated. The sum of the RFSV are then utilized to characterize the image blur. The variance of the grayscale image and the DCT domain entropy of the gradient map are used to reduce the impact of the image content. The SIFT-dependent weights are calculated in the saliency map, which are assigned to the image blocks. Finally, the blur score is the normalized sum of the RFSV. Extensive experiments are conducted on four synthetic databases and two real blur databases. The experimental results indicate that the blur scores produced by our method are highly correlated with the subjective evaluations. Furthermore, the proposed method is superior to six state-of-the-art methods.
Study of Morpho-Geometric Variables to Improve the Diagnosis in Keratoconus with Mild Visual Limitation
Authors: Cavas-Martínez Francisco , Fernández-Pacheco Daniel G. , Cañavate Francisco J. F. , Velázquez-Blázquez Jose S. , Bolarín Jose M. , Alió Jorge L.
Published: August 2018

The validation of new methods for the diagnosis of incipient cases of Keratoconus (KC) with mild visual limitation is of great interest in the field of ophthalmology. During the asymmetric progression of the disease, the current diagnostic indexes do not record the geometric decompensation of the corneal curvature nor the variation of the spatial profile that occurs in singular points of the cornea. The purpose of this work is to determine the structural characterization of the asymmetry of the disease by using morpho-geometric parameters in KC eyes with mild visual limitation including using an analysis of a patient-specific virtual model with the aid of computer-aided design (CAD) tools. This comparative study included 80 eyes of patients classified as mild KC according to the degree of visual limitation and a control group of 122 eyes of normal patients. The metric with the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was the posterior apex deviation. The most prominent correlation was found between the anterior and posterior deviations of the thinnest point for the mild keratoconic cases. This new custom computational approach provides the clinician with a three-dimensional view of the corneal architecture when the visual loss starts to impair.
A Coarse-to-Fine Approach for 3D Facial Landmarking by Using Deep Feature Fusion
Authors: Wang Kai , Zhao Xi , Gao Wanshun , Zou Jianhua
Published: August 2018

Facial landmarking locates the key facial feature points on facial data, which provides not only information on semantic facial structures, but also prior knowledge for other kinds of facial analysis. However, most of the existing works still focus on the 2D facial image which may suffer from lighting condition variations. In order to address this limitation, this paper presents a coarse-to-fine approach to accurately and automatically locate the facial landmarks by using deep feature fusion on 3D facial geometry data. Specifically, the 3D data is converted to 2D attribute maps firstly. Then, the global estimation network is trained to predict facial landmarks roughly by feeding the fused CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) features extracted from facial attribute maps. After that, input the local fused CNN features extracted from the local patch around each landmark estimated previously, and other local models are trained separately to refine the locations. Tested on the Bosphorus and BU-3DFE datasets, the experimental results demonstrated effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method for locating facial landmarks. Compared with existed methods, our results have achieved state-of-the-art performance.
On p-Adic Fermionic Integrals of q-Bernstein Polynomials Associated with q-Euler Numbers and Polynomials †
Authors: Jang Lee-Chae , Kim Taekyun , Kim Dae San , Dolgy Dmitry Victorovich
Published: August 2018

We study a q-analogue of Euler numbers and polynomials naturally arising from the p-adic fermionic integrals on Zp and investigate some properties for these numbers and polynomials. Then we will consider p-adic fermionic integrals on Zp of the two variable q-Bernstein polynomials, recently introduced by Kim, and demonstrate that they can be written in terms of the q-analogues of Euler numbers. Further, from such p-adic integrals we will derive some identities for the q-analogues of Euler numbers.
Connecting Electroweak Symmetry Breaking and Flavor: A Light Dilaton

D

and a Sequential Heavy Quark Doublet Q
Authors: Hou Wei-Shu
Published: August 2018

The 125 GeV boson is quite consistent with the Higgs boson of the Standard Model (SM), but there is a challenge from Anderson as to whether this particle is in the Lagrangian. As Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Run 2 enters its final year of running, we ought to reflect and make sure we have gotten everything right. The ATLAS and CMS combined Run 1 analysis claimed a measurement of 5.4σ vector boson fusion (VBF) production which is consistent with SM, which seemingly refutes Anderson. However, to verify the source of electroweak symmetry breaking (EWSB), we caution that VBF measurement is too important for us to be imprudent in any way, and gluon–gluon fusion (ggF) with similar tag jets must be simultaneous measured, which should be achievable in LHC Run 2. The point is to truly test the dilaton possibility—the pseudo-Goldstone boson of scale invariance violation. We illustrate EWSB by dynamical mass generation of a sequential quark doublet (Q) via its ultrastrong Yukawa coupling and argue how this might be consistent with a 125 GeV dilaton, D. The ultraheavy 2mQ≳4–5 TeV scale explains the absence of New Physics so far, while the mass generation mechanism shields us from the UV theory for the strong Yukawa coupling. Collider and flavor physics implications are briefly touched upon. Current Run 2 analyses show correlations between the ggF and VBF measurements, but the newly observed tt¯H production at LHC poses a challenge.
Systematic Review of Decision Making Algorithms in Extended Neutrosophic Sets
Authors: Khan Mohsin , Son Le Hoang , Ali Mumtaz , Chau Hoang Thi Minh , Na Nguyen Thi Nhu , Smarandache Florentin
Published: August 2018

The Neutrosophic set (NS) has grasped concentration by its ability for handling indeterminate, uncertain, incomplete, and inconsistent information encountered in daily life. Recently, there have been various extensions of the NS, such as single valued neutrosophic sets (SVNSs), Interval neutrosophic sets (INSs), bipolar neutrosophic sets (BNSs), Refined Neutrosophic Sets (RNSs), and triangular fuzzy number neutrosophic set (TFNNs). This paper contains an extended overview of the concept of NS as well as several instances and extensions of this model that have been introduced in the last decade, and have had a significant impact in literature. Theoretical and mathematical properties of NS and their counterparts are discussed in this paper as well. Neutrosophic-set-driven decision making algorithms are also overviewed in detail.
Long Time Behavior and Global Dynamics of Simplified Von Karman Plate Without Rotational Inertia Driven by White Noise
Authors: Chen Huatao , Cao Dengqing , Jiang Jingfei , Fan Xiaoming
Published: August 2018

Without the assumption that the coefficient of weak damping is large enough, the existence of the global random attractors for simplified Von Karman plate without rotational inertia driven by either additive white noise or multiplicative white noise are proved. Instead of the classical splitting method, the techniques to verify the asymptotic compactness rely on stabilization estimation of the system. Furthermore, a clear relationship between in-plane components of the external force that act on the edge of the plate and the expectation of radius of the global random attractors can be obtained from the theoretical results. Based on the relationship between global random attractor and random probability invariant measure, the global dynamics of the plates are analyzed numerically. With increasing the in-plane components of the external force that act on the edge of the plate, global D-bifurcation, secondary global D-bifurcation and complex local dynamical behavior occur in motion of the system. Moreover, increasing the intensity of white noise leads to the dynamical behavior becoming simple. The results on global dynamics reveal that random snap-through which seems to be a complex dynamics intuitively is essentially a simple dynamical behavior.
Lead Exposure and Oxidative Stress—A Life Course Approach in U.S. Adults
Authors: Obeng-Gyasi Emmanuel
Published: August 2018

Lead exposure and a marker of oxidative stress (gamma-glutamyl transferase—GGT), and their effects on life course variables (age, country of birth, education levels, gender, ethnicity, income, and occupation) were explored in this cross-sectional study of United States (U.S.) adults’ ≥ 20 years of age via the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2010 datasets. Country of birth, education levels, gender, ethnicity, income, and occupation showed significant differences depending on the degree of lead exposure, with higher levels of exposure resulting in worse outcomes. Age and GGT were significantly associated with lead exposure. More must be done to mitigate sources of lead exposure, to prevent it from altering the life course of at-risk populations.
Integrating Engineering, Manufacturing, and Regulatory Considerations in the Development of Novel Antivenoms
Authors: Laustsen Andreas Hougaard , Dorrestijn Netty
Published: August 2018

Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease that requires immediate attention. Conventional plasma-derived snakebite antivenoms have existed for more than 120 years and have been instrumental in saving thousands of lives. However, both a need and an opportunity exist for harnessing biotechnology and modern drug development approaches to develop novel snakebite antivenoms with better efficacy, safety, and affordability. For this to be realized, though, development approaches, clinical testing, and manufacturing must be feasible for any novel treatment modality to be brought to the clinic. Here, we present engineering, manufacturing, and regulatory considerations that need to be taken into account for any development process for a novel antivenom product, with a particular emphasis on novel antivenoms based on mixtures of monoclonal antibodies. We highlight key drug development challenges that must be addressed, and we attempt to outline some of the important shifts that may have to occur in the ways snakebite antivenoms are designed and evaluated.
Effects of Feeding a Mycotoxin Binder on Nutrient Digestibility, Alkaloid Recovery in Feces, and Performance of Lambs Fed Diets Contaminated with Cereal Ergot
Authors: Stanford Kim , Swift Mary Lou , Wang Yuxi , McAllister Tim A. , McKinnon John , Blakley Barry , Chaves Alex V.
Published: August 2018

As contamination with cereal ergot has been increasing in western Canada, this study evaluated impacts of feeding a mycotoxin binder (Biomin® II; BB) on nutrient digestibility, alkaloid recovery in feces, and lamb growth performance. Forty-eight ram lambs (25.9 ± 1.4 kg) were randomly assigned to one of four barley-based diets: Control (C), no added alkaloids, Control + BB fed at 30 g/head per day (CBB); Ergot, 2564 ppb total R + S epimers (E); Ergot + BB, 2534 ppb R + S epimers (EBB). Lambs were fed ab libitum for up to 11 weeks until slaughter at >46 kg live weight. Both average daily gain (ADG) and gain/feed ratio were greater (p < 0.01) for lambs fed C and CBB diets as compared with those containing added ergot, although dry matter intake was not affected by dietary ergot or BB. Serum prolactin concentrations were two times higher in EBB- compared with E-fed lambs (p < 0.05), although both were lower than in C or CBB (p < 0.001) lambs. Rectal temperatures were greater in lambs receiving dietary ergot (p ≤ 0.001) than in C- and CBB-fed lambs. In a digestibility study using eight ram lambs, treatment with BB increased neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility (p = 0.01). Nitrogen retention (g) was greater (p < 0.05) for lambs receiving C or CBB compared with ergot-contaminated diets. Feces of EBB lambs had 38.5% greater (p < 0.001) recovery of alkaloids compared with those fed E. Based on sparing of prolactin, BB may reduce impacts of ergot alkaloids by increasing their excretion in feces. Accordingly, concentrations of dietary alkaloids, which would not harm sheep, would be increased by feeding BB.
Gravitational Waves in Einstein-Æther Theory and Generalized TeVeS Theory after GW170817
Authors: Hou Shaoqi , Gong Yungui
Published: August 2018

In this paper , the polarization contents of Einstein-æther theory and the generalized TeVeS theory are studied. The Einstein-æther theory has five polarizations, while the generalized TeVeS theory has six. In particular, transverse and longitudinal breathing polarization are mixed. The possibility of using pulsar timing arrays to detect the extra polarizations in Einstein-æther theory was also investigated. The analysis showed that different polarizations cannot be easily distinguished by using pulsar timing arrays in this theory. For generalized TeVeS theory, one of the propagating modes travels much faster than the speed of light due to the speed bound set by GW170817. In some parameter subspaces, the strong coupling does not take place, so this theory is excluded.
Unprecedented Diversity of ssDNA Phages from the Family Microviridae Detected within the Gut of a Protochordate Model Organism (Ciona robusta)
Authors: Creasy Alexandria , Rosario Karyna , Leigh Brittany A. , Dishaw Larry J. , Breitbart Mya
Published: August 2018

Phages (viruses that infect bacteria) play important roles in the gut ecosystem through infection of bacterial hosts, yet the gut virome remains poorly characterized. Mammalian gut viromes are dominated by double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) phages belonging to the order Caudovirales and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) phages belonging to the family Microviridae. Since the relative proportion of each of these phage groups appears to correlate with age and health status in humans, it is critical to understand both ssDNA and dsDNA phages in the gut. Building upon prior research describing dsDNA viruses in the gut of Ciona robusta, a marine invertebrate model system used to study gut microbial interactions, this study investigated ssDNA phages found in the Ciona gut. We identified 258 Microviridae genomes, which were dominated by novel members of the Gokushovirinae subfamily, but also represented several proposed phylogenetic groups (Alpavirinae, Aravirinae, Group D, Parabacteroides prophages, and Pequeñovirus) and a novel group. Comparative analyses between Ciona specimens with full and cleared guts, as well as the surrounding water, indicated that Ciona retains a distinct and highly diverse community of ssDNA phages. This study significantly expands the known diversity within the Microviridae family and demonstrates the promise of Ciona as a model system for investigating their role in animal health.
Activation-induced Markers Detect Vaccine-Specific CD4+ T Cell Responses Not Measured by Assays Conventionally Used in Clinical Trials
Authors: Bowyer Georgina , Rampling Tommy , Powlson Jonathan , Morter Richard , Wright Daniel , Hill Adrian , Ewer Katie
Published: August 2018

Immunogenicity of T cell-inducing vaccines, such as viral vectors or DNA vaccines and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), are frequently assessed by cytokine-based approaches. While these are sensitive methods that have shown correlates of protection in various vaccine studies, they only identify a small proportion of the vaccine-specific T cell response. Responses to vaccination are likely to be heterogeneous, particularly when comparing prime and boost or assessing vaccine performance across diverse populations. Activation-induced markers (AIM) can provide a broader view of the total antigen-specific T cell response to enable a more comprehensive evaluation of vaccine immunogenicity. We tested an AIM assay for the detection of vaccine-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses in healthy UK adults vaccinated with viral vectored Ebola vaccine candidates, ChAd3-EBO-Z and MVA-EBO-Z. We used the markers, CD25, CD134 (OX40), CD274 (PDL1), and CD107a, to sensitively identify vaccine-responsive T cells. We compared the use of OX40+CD25+ and OX40+PDL1+ in CD4+ T cells and OX40+CD25+ and CD25+CD107a+ in CD8+ T cells for their sensitivity, specificity, and associations with other measures of vaccine immunogenicity. We show that activation-induced markers can be used as an additional method of demonstrating vaccine immunogenicity, providing a broader picture of the global T cell response to vaccination.
A Philosophical Justification for a Novel Analysis-Supported, Stakeholder-Driven Participatory Process for Water Resources Planning and Decision Making
Authors: Purkey David R. , Escobar Arias Marisa Isabel , Mehta Vishal K. , Forni Laura , Depsky Nicholas J. , Yates David N. , Stevenson Walter N.
Published: August 2018

Two trends currently shape water resources planning and decision making: reliance on participatory stakeholder processes to evaluate water management options; and growing recognition that deterministic approaches to the evaluation of options may not be appropriate. These trends pose questions regarding the proper role of information, analysis, and expertise in the inherently social and political process of negotiating agreements and implementing interventions in the water sector. The question of how one might discover the best option in the face of deep uncertainty is compelling. The question of whether the best option even exists to be discovered is more vexing. While such existential questions are not common in the water management community, they are not new to political theory. This paper explores early classical writing related to issues of knowledge and governance as captured in the work of Plato and Aristotle; and then attempts to place a novel, analysis-supported, stakeholder-driven water resources planning and decision making practice within this philosophical discourse, making reference to current decision theory. Examples from the Andes and California, where this practice has been used to structure participation by key stakeholders in water management planning and decision-making, argue that when a sufficiently diverse group of stakeholders is engaged in the decision making process expecting the discovery of the perfect option may not be warranted. Simply discovering a consensus option may be more realistic. The argument touches upon the diversity of preferences, model credibility and the visualization of model output required to explore the implications of various management options across a broad range of inherently unknowable future conditions.
Estimating the Optimal Velocity Measurement Time in Rivers’ Flow Measurements: An Uncertainty Approach
Authors: Clasing Robert , Muñoz Enrique
Published: August 2018

The gauging process can be very extensive and time-consuming due to the procedures involved. Since velocity measurement time (VMT) is one of the main variables that would allow gauging times to be reduced, this study seeks to determine the optimal point VMT and, thereby, reduce the overall gauging time. An uncertainty approach based on the USGS area-velocity method and the GLUE methodology applied to eight gauging samples taken in shallow rivers located in South-central Chile was used. The average point velocity was calculated as the average of 1 to 70 randomly selected instant velocity samples (taken every one second). The time at which the uncertainty bands reached a stability criterion (according to both width and slope stability) was considered to be the optimum VMT since the variations were negligible and it does not further contribute to a less uncertain solution. Based on the results, it is concluded that the optimum point VMT is 17 s. Therefore, a point velocity measurement of 20 s is recommended as the optimal time for gauging in shallow rivers.
Legionella Detection in Environmental Samples as an Example for Successful Implementation of qPCR
Authors: Toplitsch Daniela , Platzer Sabine , Pfeifer Bettina , Hautz Jürgen , Mascher Franz , Kittinger Clemens
Published: August 2018

Waterborne diseases are a serious threat because of their ability to infect a high number of individuals in a short time span, such as during outbreaks of Legionellosis. This significantly highlights the need for the rapid detection and quantification of bacteria in environmental water samples. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) for the detection of Legionellapneumophila (L. pneumophila) in environmental water samples and comparison of standard culture methods for Legionella detection with qPCR. Our study reached a negative predictive value (NPV) for L. pneumophila of 80.7% and for L. pneumophila serogroup 1 (sg1) the calculated NPV was 87.0%. The positive predictive value (PPV) for L. pneumophila was 53.9% and for L. pneumophila sg1 PPV was 21.4%. Results showed a correlation between qPCR and culture with an R2 value of 0.8973 for L. pneumophila, whereas no correlation was observed for the detection of L. pneumophila sg1. In our study, qPCR proved useful for the identification of L. pneumophila negative samples. However, despite the obvious benefits (sample handling, rapid generation of results), qPCR needs to be improved regarding the PPV before it can replace culture in water quality assessment.
Improved Mixed Distribution Model Considering Historical Extraordinary Floods under Changing Environment
Authors: Li Jianzhu , Zheng Yanchen , Wang Yimin , Zhang Ting , Feng Ping , Engel Bernard A.
Published: August 2018

Historical extraordinary floods are an important factor in non-stationary flood frequency analysis and they may occur at any time, regardless of whether the environment is changing or not. Based on mixed distribution (MD) modeling, this paper proposed an improved mixed distribution (IMD) model to consider the discontinuity and non-stationarity of flood samples simultaneously, which adds historical extraordinary floods in both sub-series divided by a change point. As a case study, the annual maximum peak discharge and volume series of Ankang hydrological station, located in the upper Hanjiang River Basin of China, were selected to identify non-stationarity by using the variation diagnosis system. MD and IMD were used to fit the flood characteristic series and a genetic algorithm was employed to estimate the optimal parameters. Compared with the design flood values fitted by the stationary Pearson type-III distribution, the results computed by IMD decreased at low return periods and increased at high return periods, with the difference varying from −6.67% to 7.19%. The results highlighted that although the design flood values of IMD are slightly larger than those of MD with different return periods, IMD provided a better result than MD. IMD provides a new perspective for non-stationary flood frequency analysis.
Les convertis évangéliques face à l’islam d’État en Algérie
Authors: Kaouès Fatiha
Published: August 2018

En Algérie, l’islam, religion d’État au titre de l’article 2 de la Constitution, est mobilisé comme source essentielle de légitimité politique. Dans ce contexte, le phénomène croissant depuis quinze ans des conversions au protestantisme évangélique se heurte à de sérieuses crispations de la part des autorités. Ces dernières ont en effet adopté en 2006 une loi qui réglemente très strictement les cultes autres que l’islam et interdit le prosélytisme. Cet article s’attache à démontrer que les nouveaux chrétiens ont su jouer de cette configuration apparemment défavorable pour améliorer leur statut en Algérie. Ils mettent notamment à profit les critères de véridiction de l’État, en jouant d’un patriotisme affirmé et en recourant à une diplomatie religieuse transnationale. L’analyse distingue deux périodes : celle d’une confrontation marquée par une médiatisation à tonalité polémique de 2004 à 2010 ; puis, à partir de 2011, celle d’une reconnaissance officielle du culte protestant algérien qui semble annoncer un début de normalisation de la présence chrétienne dans le pays.
Parrainages régionaux et polarisations belligènes : la rivalité entre l’Iran et l’Arabie saoudite au Liban
Authors: Daher Aurélie
Published: August 2018

Au Moyen-Orient, les années 2010 sont marquées par une montée des tensions entre sunnisme et chiisme. La rivalité qui oppose en particulier l’Arabie saoudite et l’Iran se transpose dans plusieurs pays de la région, au risque d’en déstabiliser dangereusement les équilibres politiques et sécuritaires. Cette étude analyse le double patronage régional, saoudien, d’une part, iranien, de l’autre, au Liban, et ses répercussions au sein de la classe politique comme de la société de ce pays. Elle pose tout d’abord que, loin d’être le résultat d’un clientélisme imposé, les protections saoudienne et iranienne sont mises en place à la demande à la fois des intéressés libanais et des puissances occidentales. Durant les années 1980, 1990 et 2000, les relations entretenues par l’Arabie et l’Iran avec leurs protégés libanais restent contrariées par le veto syrien. Le jeu interlibanais, les relations entre les acteurs libanais et leurs parrains régionaux, mais aussi le positionnement des mentors les uns par rapport aux autres produisent des systèmes d’action aux effets polarisateurs, sur l’échiquier libanais, mais aussi régional. Si les relations de clientélisme transnationales ainsi à l’œuvre importent depuis le régional vers le national des rationalités belliqueuses à forte capacité déstabilisatrice, elles exportent aussi des logiques et des limites plus locales vers les parrains étrangers, modifiant en sens inverse la structuration du jeu au niveau des scènes régionale et internationale.
Tombes de fondateurs dans les villes de Carie
Authors: Descat Raymond
Published: August 2018

L’exposé ne porte pas sur une découverte archéologique nouvelle mais sur quelque chose qui y ressemble fortement. En effet, une nouvelle identification est proposée dans R. Descat et K. Konuk, À l’Est d’Halicarnasse : la Carie du Golfe Céramique à la plaine de Mylasa, pour un des plus importants sites d’époque archaïque et classique en Carie, Alazeytin, très bien étudié par W. Radt en 1970. Ce site doit donc être identifié maintenant à la cité de Telmessos très célèbre pour être un centre divinatoire depuis l’époque lydienne bien connu par les sources littéraires grecques et qui était jusque-là placé de manière très incertaine dans divers endroits à l’Ouest d’Halicarnasse. Alazeytin présente en effet dans son centre des bâtiments très originaux qui semblent associer la fonction d’autels et de temples et dont nous pouvons avoir une idée plus claire grâce à ce que les sources nous disent sur Telmessos. Il y a en particulier au cœur de la ville un bâtiment (numéroté 30 par W. Radt) qui associe une structure souterraine et ce qui semble être un autel au-dessus. Les textes nous confirment en effet l’existence à Telmessos d’un tombeau du fondateur, Telmessos, sur lequel était installé un autel d’Apollon. Or l’installation de la tombe du héros fondateur au cœur de la cité semble se retrouver à Syangela, la cité voisine de Telmessos qui l’a souvent dominée politiquement, dans le tombeau dit de “Pikrès” du nom du chef de la cité à l’époque de l’empire athénien. Les sources nous disent que Syangela (et son nom même en est le signe pour les commentateurs grecs qui le comprennent comme le ‘tombeau du roi’) avait le tombeau de Kar, l’éponyme et le premier roi des Cariens.On peut faire l’hypothèse que le tombeau était celui supposé de Kar, dans une position semblable à celle du héros Telmessos à Telmessos. À travers ces deux exemples il faut ouvrir maintenant une réflexion sur une habitude qui semble être une spécificité carienne (par exemple à Mylasa avec la structure d’Uzun Yuva), l’association souvent à l’intérieur de la cité d’un tombeau et d’une structure cultuelle (avec autel éventuellement) juste au-dessus.
Le mort dans la ville
Authors: Aubriet Damien
Published: August 2018

Depuis 2005, plusieurs colloques internationaux consacrés à la Carie – et récemment publiés – ont pu mettre en évidence divers aspects du monde funéraire, relatifs à différentes tombes rupestres situées dans la chôra de plusieurs cités grecques ou de type grec. À l’occasion de ces Secondes Rencontres d’archéologie de l’IFEA, nous souhaiterions aborder, dans notre communication, le monde des morts dans la cité de Mylasa, en nous concentrant sur l’épigraphie funéraire qui n’a cessé de s’enrichir depuis la publication, par W. Blümel, de deux volumes d’inscriptions, dans la célèbre collection des Inschriften griechischer Stadte aus Kleinasien. Notre thèse de Doctorat, consacrée à Mylasa et à ses sanctuaires extra-urbains à l’époque hellénistique, nous a permis de nous intéresser à plusieurs aspects de cette épigraphie funéraire intra- muros, dont Louis Robert, Mylasien de la première heure, a souvent souligné l’importance pour la connaissance intime d’une cité. Cette communication qui s’appuiera également sur les travaux de plusieurs élèves du grand épigraphiste français, dont ceux de Madame Aşkıdil Akarca, disparue voilà quelques mois, peu avant la tenue des Premières Rencontres d’archéologie de l’IFEA, nous donnera l’occasion de présenter quelques traits particuliers de l’épigraphie funéraire mylasienne. Notre souhait le plus cher est de contribuer, au travers de cet exposé, à honorer la mémoire d’A. Akarca, tout à la fois élève de Louis Robert et Mylasienne.
The Tomb as a Node of public Representation
Authors: Berns Christof
Published: August 2018

This contribution focuses on the practice of intramural burial in Anatolia during the Roman Imperial period. The prominent tombs of this time may at first sight simply reﬂect a traditional habit of honouring benefactors, being in line with the retrospective cultural atmosphere that is often attributed to the Greek cities under Roman rule. However, a contextual analysis of the respective structures of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, considering their design, inscriptions, and urban setting, reveals a new and significant pattern. This is the linking of the tomb with important public donations of the deceased. As a result, the monuments were turned into hybrid spaces that answered the specific demands of elite representation in their time.