bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pharmacological and Therapeutic Properties of Punica granatum Phytochemicals: Possible Roles in Breast Cancer
Authors: Moga Marius Alexandru , Dimienescu Oana Gabriela , Bălan Andreea , Dima Lorena , Toma Sebastian Ionut , Bîgiu Nicușor Florin , Blidaru Alexandru
Published: February 2021

Background: Pomgranate (Punica granatum) represents a high source of polyphenols with great bioavailability. The role of this fruit in the prevention and treatment of various malignant pathologies has been long time cited in both scientific and non-scientific literature, making thus important to identify its involvement in the pathophysiological processes. The treatment for breast cancer had focused on the inhibition of the mechanisms that governs the estrogen activity. These mechanisms are covered either by the antagonism of the estrogen receptor (ER) or by the inhibition of the estrogen synthesis. Our interest in identifying a bioactive compound rich in polyphenols, which induces both the antagonism of the estrogen receptor, and the inhibition of the estrogen synthesis, revealed us the pomegranate fruit and its derivatives: peel and seeds. Pomegranates’ chemical composition include many biological active substances such as flavonols, flavanols, anthocyanins, proanthocyanidins, ellagitannins and gallotannins. Materials and Methods: We performed a review of the scientific literature by using the following keywords: “pomegranate”, “breast cancer”, “Punica granatum”, “pomegranate polyphenols”. Our search was performed in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases, and it included only original research written in English from the last 20 years. None of the articles were excluded due to affiliation. A total number of 28 original papers, which mentioned the beneficial activity of pomegranate against breast cancer, were selected. Both clinical and preclinical studies were considered for this review. Results: Recent discoveries pointed out that polyphenols from Punica granatum possess strong anti-cancer activity, exhibited by a variety of mechanisms, such as anti-estrogenic, anti-proliferative, anti-angiogenetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-metastatic. Pomegranate extracts induced cell cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase, and induced cytotoxicity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Moreover, several polyphenols extracted from pomegranate inhibited the invasion potential, migration and viability of breast cancer cells. The effects of pomegranate juice on serum estrogens and other sexual hormones levels were also investigated on two human cohorts. Conclusions: Punica granatum represents a promising area in oncology. The large availability and low cost, associated with the lack of side effects, made from this natural product a great strategy for the management of breast cancer. There are several mechanistic studies in mouse models and in breast cancer cell lines, suggesting the possible pathways through which polyphenols from pomegranate extracts act, but larger and better-controlled studies are necessary in the future. Only two small clinical trials were conducted on humans until now, but their results are contradictory and should be considered preliminary.
Atomic Insights into Ti Doping on the Stability Enhancement of Truncated Octahedron LiMn2O4 Nanoparticles
Authors: Xu Wangqiong , Li Hongkai , Zheng Yonghui , Lei Weibin , Wang Zhenguo , Cheng Yan , Qi Ruijuan , Peng Hui , Lin Hechun , Yue Fangyu , Huang Rong
Published: February 2021

Ti-doped truncated octahedron LiTixMn2-xO4 nanocomposites were synthesized through a facile hydrothermal treatment and calcination process. By using spherical aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (Cs-STEM), the effects of Ti-doping on the structure evolution and stability enhancement of LiMn2O4 are revealed. It is found that truncated octahedrons are easily formed in Ti doping LiMn2O4 material. Structural characterizations reveal that most of the Ti4+ ions are composed into the spinel to form a more stable spinel LiTixMn2−xO4 phase framework in bulk. However, a portion of Ti4+ ions occupy 8a sites around the {001} plane surface to form a new TiMn2O4-like structure. The combination of LiTixMn2−xO4 frameworks in bulk and the TiMn2O4-like structure at the surface may enhance the stability of the spinel LiMn2O4. Our findings demonstrate the critical role of Ti doping in the surface chemical and structural evolution of LiMn2O4 and may guide the design principle for viable electrode materials.
Healthy Lifestyle Management of Pediatric Obesity with a Hybrid System of Customized Mobile Technology: The PediaFit Pilot Project
Authors: Delli Bovi Anna Pia , Manco Cesari Giorgia , Rocco Maria Chiara , Di Michele Laura , Rimauro Ida , Lugiero Anna , Mottola Silvia , De Anseris Anna Giulia Elena , Nazzaro Lucia , Massa Grazia , Vajro Pietro
Published: February 2021

Pediatric obesity management strategies suffer from a high rate of dropout and persistence of weight excess, despite the use of new tools, such as automated mobile technology (MT). We aimed to compare the efficacy of two 6-month personalized MT protocols in terms of better engagement, adherence to follow-up visits and improved anthropometric and lifestyle parameters. MT contacts consisted of three personalized/not automated What’s App® self-monitoring or challenge messages per week. Messages, sent by a dedicated coach were inserted between three-monthly in-presence regular visits with (PediaFit 1.2) or without (PediaFit 1.1) monthly free-of charge short recall visits carried out by a specialized pediatric team. The sample included 103 children (mean age 10 years, range 6–14) recruited in the Pediatric Obesity Clinic between January 2017 and February 2019, randomized into Intervention group (IG) (n = 24 PediaFit 1.1; n = 30 PediaFit 1.2) and Control group (CG) (total n = 49). Controls received standard treatment only (indications for healthy nutrition and physical activity, and three months in presence regular visits). Overall, both IGs achieved significantly better results than the CGs for all considered parameters. Comparison of the two IGs at the sixth month in particular showed an IG 1.2 statistically significantly lower drop-out rate (10% vs. 62%, p = 0.00009), along with significantly improved BMI (p = 0.003), Screen Time (p = 0.04) and fruit and vegetables consumption (p = 0.02). The study suggests that the hybrid association of messaging through personalized/not automated MT plus monthly free-of charge recall visits may improve the prefixed outcomes of MT weight loss intervention programs.
Sarcopenia Risk Evaluation in a Sample of Hospitalized Elderly Men and Women: Combined Use of the Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment (MSRA) and the SARC-F
Authors: Rossi Andrea P. , Caliari Cesare , Urbani Silvia , Fantin Francesco , Brandimarte Piero , Martini Angela , Zoico Elena , Zoso Giulia , Babbanini Alessio , Zanotelli Alfredo , Zamboni Mauro
Published: February 2021

Background: SARC-F and Mini Sarcopenia Risk Assessment (MSRA) questionnaires have been proposed as screening tools to identify patients at risk of sarcopenia. The aim of this study is to test the use of SARC-F and MSRA, alone and combined, as a pre-screening tool for sarcopenia in geriatric inpatients. Methods: 152 subjects, 94 men and 58 women, aged 70 to 94, underwent muscle mass evaluation by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), muscle strength evaluation by handgrip, and completed the MSRA, SARC-F and Activity of daily living (ADL) questionnaires. Results: 66 subjects (43.4%) were classified as sarcopenic according to the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2) criteria. The 7-item SARC-F and MRSA and 5-item MSRA showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.666 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.542–0.789), 0.730 (95% CI: 0.617–0.842) and 0.710 (95% CI: 0.593–0.827), respectively. The optimal cut-off points for sarcopenia detection were determined for each questionnaire using the Youden index method. The newly calculated cut-off points were ≤25 and ≤40 for MSRA 7- and 5-items, respectively. The ideal cut-off for the SARC-F was a score ≥3. Applying this new cut-off in our study population, sensitivity and specificity of the 7-item MSRA were 0.757 and 0.651, and 0.688 and 0.679 for the 5-item MSRA, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of SARC-F were 0.524 and 0.765, respectively. The combined use of the 7-item SARC-F and MSRA improved the accuracy in sarcopenia diagnosis, with a specificity and sensitivity of 1.00 and 0.636. Conclusion: 7-item SARC-F and MSRA may be co-administered in hospital wards as an easy, feasible, first-line tool to identify sarcopenic subjects.
Efficacy and Safety of Armolipid Plus®: An Updated PRISMA Compliant Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials
Authors: Cicero Arrigo F. G. , Kennedy Cormac , Knežević Tamara , Bove Marilisa , Georges Coralie M. G. , Šatrauskienė Agnė , Toth Peter P. , Fogacci Federica
Published: February 2021

Armolipid Plus® is a multi-constituent nutraceutical that claims to improve lipid profiles. The aim of this PRISMA compliant systematic review and meta-analysis was to globally evaluate the efficacy and safety of Armolipid Plus® on the basis of the available randomized, blinded, controlled clinical trials (RCTs). A systematic literature search in several databases was conducted in order to identify RCTs assessing the efficacy and safety of dietary supplementation with Armolipid Plus®. Two review authors independently identified 12 eligible studies (1050 included subjects overall) and extracted data on study characteristics, methods, and outcomes. Meta-analysis of the data suggested that dietary supplementation with Armolipid Plus® exerted a significant effect on body mass index (mean difference (MD) = −0.25 kg/m2, p = 0.008) and serum levels of total cholesterol (MD = −25.07 mg/dL, p < 0.001), triglycerides (MD = −11.47 mg/dL, p < 0.001), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (MD = 1.84 mg/dL, p < 0.001), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (MD = −26.67 mg/dL, p < 0.001), high sensitivity C reactive protein (hs-CRP, MD = −0.61 mg/L, p = 0.022), and fasting glucose (MD = −3.52 mg/dL, p < 0.001). Armolipid Plus® was well tolerated. This meta-analysis demonstrates that dietary supplementation with Armolipid Plus® is associated with clinically meaningful improvements in serum lipids, glucose, and hs-CRP. These changes are consistent with improved cardiometabolic health.
Development of Microemulsion Containing Alpinia galanga Oil and Its Major Compounds: Enhancement of Antimicrobial Activities
Authors: Khumpirapang Nattakanwadee , Klayraung Srikanjana , Tima Singkome , Okonogi Siriporn
Published: February 2021

The aim of the present study was to develop a microemulsion (ME) containing Alpinia galanga oil (AGO), 1,8-cineole (C), or methyl eugenol (M) as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for enhancing their antimicrobial activities. Agar diffusion, broth microdilution, and killing kinetics were used for antimicrobial evaluations. The ME composed of 30% API, 33.4% Tween 80, 16.6% ethanol, and 20% water appeared as translucent systems with droplet size and polydispersity index of 101.1 ± 1.3 nm and 0.3 ± 0.1, 80.9 ± 1.1 nm and 0.4 ± 0.1, and 96.6 ± 2.0 nm and 0.2 ± 0.1 for ME-AGO, ME-C, and ME-M, respectively. These ME formulations showed minimum bacterial concentrations of 3.91–31.25 µg/mL and 50% fungal inhibition concentrations of 1.83 ± 0.27–0.46 ± 0.13 µg/mL, 2–4 times stronger, and faster kinetic killing rate than their respective API alone. Keeping the ME formulations at 4 °C, 25 °C, and 40 °C for 12 weeks did not affect their activities against fungi and Gram-negative bacteria, but the high temperature of 40 °C decreased their activities against Gram-positive bacteria. It is concluded that ME is a promising delivery system for AGO and its major compounds to enhance their water miscibility and antimicrobial activities.
Nanoencapsulation of Pomegranate Extract to Increase Stability and Potential Dermatological Protection
Authors: Yepes-Molina Lucía , Hernández José A. , Carvajal Micaela
Published: February 2021

Pomegranate extract (PG-E) has been reported to exert a protective effect on the skin due to its antioxidant activity. Ingredients rich in phenolic compounds are unstable in extract solutions, and, therefore, the use of a suitable nanosystem to encapsulate this type of extract could be necessary in different biotechnological applications. Thus, we investigated the capacity of Brassica oleracea L. (cauliflower) inflorescence vesicles (CI-vesicles) to encapsulate PG-E and determined the stability and the antioxidant capacity of the system over time. In addition, the protective effect against UV radiation and heavy metals in HaCaT cells was also tested. The CI-vesicles had an entrapment efficiency of around 50%, and accelerated stability tests did not show significant changes in the parameters tested. The results for the HaCaT cells showed the non-cytotoxicity of the CI-vesicles containing PG-E and their protection against heavy metals (lead acetate and mercuric chloride) and UV-B radiation through a reduction of oxidative stress. The reduction of the percentage of deleted mtDNA (mtDNA4977, “common deletion”) in UV-treated HaCaT cells due to the presence of CI-vesicles containing PG-E indicated the mechanism of protection. Therefore, the effects of CI-vesicles loaded with PG-E against oxidative stress support their utilization as natural cosmeceuticals to protect skin health against external damage from environmental pollution and UV radiation.
The Role of Zinc Chloride in Enhancing Mechanical, Thermal and Electrical Performance of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate/Carbonized Wood Fiber Conductive Composite
Authors: Mohd Pisal Mohd Hanif , Osman Azlin Fazlina , Jin Tan Soo , Rahman Rozyanty A. , Alrashdi Awad A. , Masa Abdulhakim
Published: February 2021

Carbonized natural filler can offer the production of low cost composites with an eco-friendliness value. The evolving field of electronics encourages the exploration of more functions and potential for carbonized natural filler, such as by modifying its surface chemistry. In this work, we have performed surface modification on carbonized wood fiber (CWF) prior to it being used as filler in the ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) composite system. Zinc chloride (ZnCl2) with various contents (2 to 8 wt%) was used to surface modify the CWF and the effects of ZnCl2 composition on the surface morphology and chemistry of the CWF filler were investigated. Furthermore, the absorptive, mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of the EVA composites containing CWF-ZnCl2 were also analyzed. SEM images indicated changes in the morphology of the CWF while FTIR analysis proved the presence of ZnCl2 functional groups in the CWF. EVA composites incorporating the CWF-ZnCl2 showed superior mechanical, thermal and electrical properties compared to the ones containing the CWF. The optimum content of ZnCl2 was found to be 6 wt%. Surface modification raised the electrical conductivity of the EVA/CWF composite through the development of conductive deposits in the porous structure of the CWF as a channel for ionic and electronic transfer between the CWF and EVA matrix.
Application of Remote Sensing Techniques to Discriminate the Effect of Different Soil Management Treatments over Rainfed Vineyards in Chianti Terroir
Authors: Puig-Sirera Àngela , Antichi Daniele , Warren Raffa Dylan , Rallo Giovanni
Published: February 2021

The work aimed to discriminate among different soil management treatments in terms of beneficial effects by high-resolution thermal and spectral vegetation imagery using an unmanned aerial vehicle and open-source GIS software. Five soil management treatments were applied in two organic vineyards (cv. Sangiovese) from Chianti Classico terroir (Tuscany, Italy) during two experimental years. The treatments tested consisted of conventional tillage, spontaneous vegetation, pigeon bean (Vicia faba var. minor Beck) incorporated in spring, mixture of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and clover (Trifolium squarrosum L.) incorporated or left as dead mulch in late spring. The images acquired remotely were analyzed through map-algebra and map-statistics in QGIS and correlated with field ecophysiological measurements. The surface temperature, crop water stress index (CWSI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of each vine row under treatments were compared based on frequency distribution functions and statistics descriptors of position. The spectral vegetation and thermal-based indices were significantly correlated with the respective leaf area index (R2 = 0.89) and stem water potential measurements (R2 = 0.59), and thus are an expression of the crop vigor and water status. The gravel and active limestone soil components determined the spatial variability of vine biophysical (e.g., canopy vigor) and physiological characteristics (e.g., vine chlorophyll content) in both farms. The vine canopy surface temperature, and CWSI were lower on the spontaneous and pigeon bean treatments in both farms, thus evidencing less physiological stress on the vine rows derived from the cover crop residual effect. In conclusion, the proposed methodology showed the capacity to discriminate across soil management practices and map the spatial variability within vineyards. The methodology could serve as a simple and non-invasive tool for precision soil management in rainfed vineyards to guide producers on using the most efficient and profitable practice.
Tomographic Performance of Multi-Static Radar Formations: Theory and Simulations
Authors: Seker Ilgin , Lavalle Marco
Published: February 2021

3D imaging of Earth’s surface layers (such as canopy, sub-surface, or ice) requires not just the penetration of radar signal into the medium, but also the ability to discriminate multiple scatterers within a slant-range and azimuth resolution cell. The latter requires having multiple radar channels distributed in across-track direction. Here, we describe the theory of multi-static radar tomography with emphasis on resolution, SNR, sidelobes, and nearest ambiguity location vs. platform distribution, observation geometry, and different multi-static modes. Signal-based 1D and 2D simulations are developed and results for various observation geometries, target distributions, acquisition modes, and radar parameters are shown and compared with the theory. Pros and cons of multi-static modes are compared and discussed. Results for various platform formations are shown, revealing that unequal spacing is useful to suppress ambiguities at the cost of increased multiplicative noise. In particular, we demonstrate that the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) mode, in combination with nonlinear spacing, outperforms the other modes in terms of ambiguity, sidelobe levels, and noise suppression. These findings are key to guiding the design of tomographic SAR formations for accurate surface topography and vegetation mapping.
Scene Complexity: A New Perspective on Understanding the Scene Semantics of Remote Sensing and Designing Image-Adaptive Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Peng Jian , Mei Xiaoming , Li Wenbo , Hong Liang , Sun Bingyu , Li Haifeng
Published: February 2021

Scene understanding of remote sensing images is of great significance in various applications. Its fundamental problem is how to construct representative features. Various convolutional neural network architectures have been proposed for automatically learning features from images. However, is the current way of configuring the same architecture to learn all the data while ignoring the differences between images the right one? It seems to be contrary to our intuition: it is clear that some images are easier to recognize, and some are harder to recognize. This problem is the gap between the characteristics of the images and the learning features corresponding to specific network structures. Unfortunately, the literature so far lacks an analysis of the two. In this paper, we explore this problem from three aspects: we first build a visual-based evaluation pipeline of scene complexity to characterize the intrinsic differences between images; then, we analyze the relationship between semantic concepts and feature representations, i.e., the scalability and hierarchy of features which the essential elements in CNNs of different architectures, for remote sensing scenes of different complexity; thirdly, we introduce CAM, a visualization method that explains feature learning within neural networks, to analyze the relationship between scenes with different complexity and semantic feature representations. The experimental results show that a complex scene would need deeper and multi-scale features, whereas a simpler scene would need lower and single-scale features. Besides, the complex scene concept is more dependent on the joint semantic representation of multiple objects. Furthermore, we propose the framework of scene complexity prediction for an image and utilize it to design a depth and scale-adaptive model. It achieves higher performance but with fewer parameters than the original model, demonstrating the potential significance of scene complexity.
Combining Augmented Reality and 3D Printing to Improve Surgical Workflows in Orthopedic Oncology: Smartphone Application and Clinical Evaluation
Authors: Moreta-Martinez Rafael , Pose-Díez-de-la-Lastra Alicia , Calvo-Haro José Antonio , Mediavilla-Santos Lydia , Pérez-Mañanes Rubén , Pascau Javier
Published: February 2021

During the last decade, orthopedic oncology has experienced the benefits of computerized medical imaging to reduce human dependency, improving accuracy and clinical outcomes. However, traditional surgical navigation systems do not always adapt properly to this kind of interventions. Augmented reality (AR) and three-dimensional (3D) printing are technologies lately introduced in the surgical environment with promising results. Here we present an innovative solution combining 3D printing and AR in orthopedic oncological surgery. A new surgical workflow is proposed, including 3D printed models and a novel AR-based smartphone application (app). This app can display the patient’s anatomy and the tumor’s location. A 3D-printed reference marker, designed to fit in a unique position of the affected bone tissue, enables automatic registration. The system has been evaluated in terms of visualization accuracy and usability during the whole surgical workflow. Experiments on six realistic phantoms provided a visualization error below 3 mm. The AR system was tested in two clinical cases during surgical planning, patient communication, and surgical intervention. These results and the positive feedback obtained from surgeons and patients suggest that the combination of AR and 3D printing can improve efficacy, accuracy, and patients’ experience.
Feature Subset Selection for Malware Detection in Smart IoT Platforms
Authors: Abawajy Jemal , Darem Abdulbasit , Alhashmi Asma A.
Published: February 2021

Malicious software (“malware”) has become one of the serious cybersecurity issues in Android ecosystem. Given the fast evolution of Android malware releases, it is practically not feasible to manually detect malware apps in the Android ecosystem. As a result, machine learning has become a fledgling approach for malware detection. Since machine learning performance is largely influenced by the availability of high quality and relevant features, feature selection approaches play key role in machine learning based detection of malware. In this paper, we formulate the feature selection problem as a quadratic programming problem and analyse how commonly used filter-based feature selection methods work with emphases on Android malware detection. We compare and contrast several feature selection methods along several factors including the composition of relevant features selected. We empirically evaluate the predictive accuracy of the feature subset selection algorithms and compare their predictive accuracy and the execution time using several learning algorithms. The results of the experiments confirm that feature selection is necessary for improving accuracy of the learning models as well decreasing the run time. The results also show that the performance of the feature selection algorithms vary from one learning algorithm to another and no one feature selection approach performs better than the other approaches all the time.
Transforming the COVID-19 Threat into an Opportunity: The Pandemic as a Stage to the Sustainable Economy
Authors: Oncioiu Ionica , Duca Ioana , Postole Mirela Anca , Georgescu (Crețan) Georgiana Camelia , Gherghina Rodica , Grecu Robert-Adrian
Published: February 2021

The aim of this research is to assess the impact of the economic shocks of supply and demand generated by the COVID-19 crisis on the climate sphere at the level of the Member States of the European Union. In this respect, a macroeconomic model was used to obtain firstly an estimate of the measure of demand shock and secondly an estimate of the supply of the economy. These milestones were eventually used to estimate the impact of the two economic shocks on the level of greenhouse gas emissions. The obtained results show that both the shock from the aggregate demand area and that from the aggregate supply area had the effect of decreasing the level of greenhouse gases, leading to a positive effect on the environment. From a quantitative point of view, the model estimates show that, as a result of the manifestation of the two cumulative shocks, the level of greenhouse gas emissions could decrease by about 10%.
Impact of Logistics Development Level on International Trade in China: A Provincial Analysis
Authors: Ma Wei , Cao Xiaoshu , Li Jiyuan
Published: February 2021

Transport infrastructure and logistics are gradually becoming important factors affecting global trade. At the same time, with the international logistics corridor along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) going deep into construction, China is emerging as a unique case to study how logistics affects international trade. Therefore, based on the evaluation index system of logistics development level of China’s provinces by using the entropy method, this paper systematically analyzed the impact of logistics development level on bilateral trade from 31 China’s provinces to 65 countries along the BRI by using the improved gravity model with data for the period 2008–2018. Empirical results show: (1) Logistics development level had significantly promoted international trade development. (2) Compared with partner countries, China’s provincial logistics development level presented a greater impact on bilateral trade. (3) Influence of logistics development level was manifested in different periods, different international and regions, especially, logistics development level coefficient of the western region was negative, while that in eastern region was positive. In view of the above research results, we argue that strengthening domestic and international logistics construction is not only conductive to the sustainable development of China’s future trade, but also help to realize the coordinated development between China’s eastern, central and western regions.
Perceived Accuracy of Electronic Performance Appraisal Systems: The Case of a Non-for-Profit Organization from an Emerging Economy
Authors: Ullah Zia , Ahmad Naveed , Scholz Miklas , Ahmed Bilal , Ahmad Ilyas , Usman Muhammad
Published: February 2021

Performance appraisal reports provide vital information for making strategic decisions. Uniting HR practices and IT is an attempt to maximize value creation. Organizations are transforming their performance management systems from traditional to web-technology based systems to enhance accuracy and objectivity. The present study is an effort to assess employees’ perception of the accuracy of e-performance appraisal systems. To that effect, 500 close-ended questionnaires were administered to randomly selected employees working for a non-for-profit organization where e-performance appraisal is practiced. A total of 352 questionnaires were included for analysis and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The results indicate that rater competence and the possibility to challenge performance appraisals judged as unfair or inaccurate highly influence the employees’ perception of accuracy of e-performance appraisals. Furthermore, a clear communication of standards and the reaction to the last rating moderately affect the employees’ perception of the accuracy of e-PA.
Transnational and Cross-Border Cooperation for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Baltic Sea Region
Authors: Kropinova Elena
Published: February 2021

This article highlights policy in the field of sustainable tourism development being implemented at various institutional levels with particular attention to Russia as one of the participants in this cooperation. The author of this paper examines the processes aimed at achieving sustainable development goals in tourism at each of these levels. The initial focus of this article is to investigate how the territorial cooperation programs operating in the Baltic Sea Region in 2014–2020 contributed to sustainable development of tourism. There were more than 1000 projects investigated within the research area and the author found that 155 of them contribute to sustainable tourism development. The programs with the highest number of projects are in Latvia–Russia, Poland–Russia and Lithuania–Russia. They are mostly targeted at ecotourism development (35) or historical and cognitive projects (28). This supports our hypothesis regarding the importance of cross-border cooperation programs in implementing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Monthly, Seasonal and Yearly Assessments of Global Solar Radiation, Clearness Index and Diffuse Fractions in Alice, South Africa
Authors: Apeh Oliver O. , Overen Ochuko K. , Meyer Edson L.
Published: February 2021

The constant scheduled load shedding in South Africa has commonly been executed in an attempt to maintain the long aging coal power plants in the country. With the rise in the reduction of fossil fuels, efforts to eradicate environmental hazards of carbon through solar photovoltaic (PV) resources to their complete prospect are in progress. South Africa, and in particular the town Alice, acquires sunshine annually, making it appropriate to harvest solar energy. This work aims to characterize solar radiation, clearness index (Kt), and diffuse fraction (Kd) in Alice, South Africa. Hourly global and diffuse solar irradiance were estimated into monthly, seasonal, and yearly variations of Kt and Kd for the years 2017–2020. The range of values for describing the daily classification of sky condition was centered on earlier studies. The cumulative frequency and frequency distribution of daily Kt was analyzed statistically in an individual month. The analyses show that the average percentage frequency of Kt within the period is 11.72% of the cloudy days, 57% of partially cloudy days, and 31.28% of clear sky days. The findings of this research show that Alice remains a key contender for solar energy conversion location, owing to its reasonably high frequency (Kt > 0.40) of clear and partially cloudy skies. Hence, it is essential to establish energy-efficiency for energy consumption and also for daily performances.
Small Renewable Energy Community: The Role of Energy and Environmental Indicators for Power Grid
Authors: Ceglia Francesca , Marrasso Elisa , Roselli Carlo , Sasso Maurizio
Published: February 2021

The Clean Energy for all Europeans Package pushes for the diffusion of renewable energy communities, introducing their definition in the European legislative framework. Following this interest, this paper analyses the energy and environmental performance of a renewable energy community composed of two office buildings located in Naples (Italy). Each building has a rooftop photovoltaic plant and one office presents an electric vehicle. The heating and cooling demands of both offices are satisfied by two reversible air to water heat pumps. The offices are connected through an electric microgrid and they are in parallel with a power grid. Buildings and plants are modelled and simulated by means of TRNSYS 17 simulation software. The first analysis has concerned the comparison of the results achieved in renewable energy community configuration and from individual buildings in terms of quantity of electricity imported, exported from/to power grid and consumed on-site. The share of self-consumed photovoltaic electricity rises up to 79% when energy sharing is allowed. The second analysis has been carried out to evaluate the energy and environmental performance of a renewable energy community by means of fixed and hourly varying values for power grid efficiency and emission factors for electricity. The use of time-dependent indicators has led to a lower community primary energy demand and carbon dioxide emissions of 18% and 12%, respectively, in comparison with the scenario in which the fixed parameters have been adopted.
Achieving Sustainable Nitrogen Management in Mixed Farming Landscapes Based on Collaborative Planning
Authors: Christensen Andreas Aa. , Andersen Peter S. , Kjeldsen Chris , Graversgaard Morten , Andersen Erling , Piil Kristoffer , Dalgaard Tommy , Olesen Jørgen E. , Vejre Henrik
Published: February 2021

Regulation of nitrogen (N) loss from the agri-environment is a global challenge with dire consequences for food production and environmental management. This is also the case in Denmark where regulation largely relies on general measures for reducing N inputs. These measures have significantly reduced nitrogen emissions, but further reduction is needed to achieve sustainable low levels of N transport to freshwater and marine ecosystems in compliance with standards set by the EU Water Framework Directive. As an alternative to general regulation, we tested a watershed-based, collaborative planning approach, engaging stakeholders in solution identification. Six watersheds with substantial agricultural production were used as test areas. A collaborative planning process of two stakeholder workshops embedded within a scenario formulation process was executed. Stakeholder inputs about possible, desirable and sustainable futures were used to formulate scenarios, for which N reduction effects were calculated. Upon conclusion of this process, results were assessed using a structured evaluation method. Results indicate that the process we tested was successful in terms of (1) engaging relevant stakeholders, (2) providing relevant data, (3) achieving processual flexibility, (4) including local knowledge and (5) facilitating a creative and explorative process. On this basis, suggestions for improving collaborative planning processes are provided.
A Study in the Early Prediction of ICT Literacy Ratings Using Sustainability in Data Mining Techniques
Authors: Kim Kyungyeul , Kim Han-Sung , Shim Jaekwoun , Park Ji Su
Published: February 2021

It would be very beneficial to determine in advance whether a student is likely to succeed or fail within a particular learning area, and it is hypothesized that this can be accomplished by examining student patterns based on the data generated before the learning process begins. Therefore, this article examines the sustainability of data-mining techniques used to predict learning outcomes. Data regarding students’ educational backgrounds and learning processes are analyzed by examining their learning patterns. When such achievement-level patterns are identified, teachers can provide the students with proactive feedback and guidance to help prevent failure. As a practical application, this study investigates students’ perceptions of computer and internet use and predicts their levels of information and communication technology literacy in advance via sustainability-in-data-mining techniques. The technique employed herein applies OneR, J48, bagging, random forest, multilayer perceptron, and sequential minimal optimization (SMO) algorithms. The highest early prediction result of approximately 69% accuracy was yielded for the SMO algorithm when using 47 attributes. Overall, via data-mining techniques, these results will aid the identification of students facing risks early on during the learning process, as well as the creation of customized learning and educational strategies for each of these students.
Smart City Design Differences: Insights from Decision-Makers in Germany and the Middle East/North-Africa Region
Authors: Ringel Marc
Published: February 2021

Smart cities offer solutions to environmental, economic, and societal problems in urban agglomerations. We investigate the potential for mutual learning in smart city implementation by comparing German approaches (smaller, local projects) to projects implemented in the MENA region (bigger, national designs). We contrast the outside view on these projects with an inside perspective, surveying key decision-makers in five German and seven MENA smart cities. We assess motivation, technology options, and factors that drive or impede smart city implementation. We find strong similarities in the motives to engage in smart cities, offering common ground for mutual good practice exchange. Energy efficiency solutions and—to a lesser extent—renewable energies are of strong interest to policymakers in all countries. In contrast, the appraisal of mobility solutions strongly diverges, showing that technology deployment is far from being a simple “plug and play” solution. Considering these insights can facilitate the overall deployment of smart cities, not only in the surveyed countries but also in global manner.
Measuring Territorial Social Responsibility and Sustainability Using the EFQM Excellence Model
Authors: Rivera Dalilis Escobar , Terradellas Piferrer Maria Rosa , Benito Mundet Maria Helena
Published: February 2021

Sustainability and social responsibility are goals that are currently aimed for by companies, entities and institutions as well as national and international agendas. In a globalized and highly connected world, the achievement of both goals must be pursued. This means more than mere compliance with agendas approved by national and international agencies; it means that all of these entities, each in their own field and area of responsibility, become co-responsible for their own social, environmental and economic situation. Because of this co-responsibility, their decisions and activities must contribute to the deployment of a jointly responsible and sustainable model of innovation, development and social transformation. In this context, this article aims to propose a model based on the principles of total quality management that will make it possible to explore the degree of territorial social responsibility and sustainability linked to the companies and institutions of a territory. The validity of this model is based on the application of the model of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) and its applicability to all types of organizations. The empirical validation was carried out in the specific region of Girona (Spain) with the participation of the University Social Responsibility (USR) Chair of the University of Girona (UdG).
Multi-Scale Evaluation of Dominant Factors (MSDF) on Forage: An Ecosystemic Method to Understand the Function of Forage
Authors: Lou Shanning , Ning Jiao , Zhang Cheng , Wang Chunmei , Zhu Wanhe , Chang Shenghua , Hou Fujiang
Published: February 2021

Grassland agroecosystem plays a key role on resource cycling and sustainability of global ecosystem. Forage is the basic factor and core of the grassland agroecosystem. At a single scale, the most of forage evaluation remain in a state of qualitative or quantitative evaluation, and lack a series of quantitative evaluation at multi spatial scales and influence of society, environment and economy. This study collected dominant indicators at micro, plot, farm, ecoregional and macro scales to compile a systemic evaluation of forage in agroecosystems. A case study is presented for forage evaluation by using plot, farm, and regional data from an arid region of Gansu, China. Multi-scale evaluation of dominant factors (MSDF) was used to aggregate forage evaluation indicators. Results showed that the scale of evaluation had significant effects on the results of the evaluation. The evaluation results of the single index for the same forage species among plot, farm and ecoregional scales were different. Results implied that forage MSDF are needed to guide the evaluation of forage and then production of forage and herbivore in the future. An appropriate scale of evaluation could be selected in term of the forage production objectives and moreover, MSDF evaluation of forage should be used to improve the environmental, social and productive evaluation of forage in a grassland agroecosystems.
National Limits of Sustainability: The Czech Republic’s CO2 Emissions in the Perspective of Planetary Boundaries
Authors: Parsonsova Aneta , Machar Ivo
Published: February 2021

Building on the planetary boundaries (PB) concept and recent studies on assessing the PB at the national level, this paper proposes a new method for addressing the growing need to conceptualize the national environmental limits in the global perspective. The global and national limits for the climate change PB are set using the GDP-adjusted model that represents an innovative and fairer CO2 emissions distribution mechanism. It elaborates on the equity principle and distributes the remaining global emission budget to countries on the basis of their past, current, and future population; past emissions; and current state of economic development. The results point to insufficient global efforts to reduce the CO2 emissions to avoid a global temperature rise of more than 2 °C by 2100. When examining the data in accordance with this climate change scenario, we see that some countries have already spent their CO2 budget and most high-income countries will spend their remaining budget by the end of the decade. This is also the case for the Czech Republic, which exceeded the limit for the period from 2017 onwards in 2018. While the result clearly points to the urgency of the decarbonization process, it also shows that some high-income countries, including the Czech Republic, are currently emitting at the expense of other countries. On the policy level, the findings could contribute to the re-evaluation of the GHG reduction plans as well as setting more appropriate and fairer national targets.
Nonlinear Problems of Equilibrium Charge State Transport in Hot Plasmas
Authors: Shurygin Vladimir A.
Published: February 2021

The general coupling between particle transport and ionization-recombination processes in hot plasma is considered on the key concept of equilibrium charge state (CS) transport. A theoretical interpretation of particle and CS transport is gained in terms of a two-dimensional (2D) Markovian stochastic (random) processes, a discrete 2D Fokker-Plank-Kolmogorov equation (in charge and space variables) and generalized 2D coronal equilibrium between atomic processes and particle transport. The basic tool for analysis of CS equilibrium and transport is the equilibrium cell (EC) (two states on charge and two on space), which presents simultaneously a unit phase volume, the characteristic scales (in space and time) of local equilibrium, and a comprehensive solution for the simplest nonlinear relations between transport and atomic processes. The space-time relationships between the equilibrium constant, transport rates, density distributions, and impurity confinement time are found. The subsequent direct calculation of the total and partial density profiles and the transport coefficients of argon impurity showed a strong dependence of the 2D CS equilibrium and transport on the atomic structure of ions. A model for recovering the recombination rate profiles of carbon impurity was developed basing on the CS equilibrium conditions, the derived relationships, the data about density profiles, plasma parameters and ionization rates.
Toxic Effects of Fumonisins, Deoxynivalenol and Zearalenone Alone and in Combination in Ducks Fed the Maximum EUTolerated Level
Authors: Peillod Céline , Laborde Marie , Travel Angélique , Mika Amandine , Bailly Jean Denis , Cleva Didier , Boissieu Cyril , Le Guennec Jean , Albaric Olivier , Labrut Sophie , Froment Pascal , Tardieu Didier , Guerre Philippe
Published: February 2021

Toxic effects among fumonisins B (FB), deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone (ZEN) administered alone and combined were investigated in 84-day-old ducks during force-feeding. 75 male ducks, divided into five groups of 15 animals, received daily during the meal a capsule containing the desired among of toxin. Treated animals received dietary levels of toxins equivalent to 20 mg FB1+FB2/kg (FB), 5 mg DON/kg (DON), 0.5 mg ZEN/kg (ZEN) and 20, 5 and 0.5 mg/kg of FB, DON and ZEN (FBDONZEN), respectively. Control birds received capsules with no toxin. After 12 days, a decrease in body weight gain accompanied by an increase in the feed conversion ratio was observed in ducks exposed to FBDONZEN, whereas there was no effect on performances in ducks exposed to FB, DON and ZEN separately. No difference among groups was observed in relative organ weight, biochemistry, histopathology and several variables used to measure oxidative damage and testicular function. A sphinganine to sphingosine ratio of 0.32, 1.19 and 1.04, was measured in liver in controls and in ducks exposed to FB and FBDONZEN, respectively. Concentrations of FB1 in liver were 13.34 and 15.4 ng/g in ducks exposed to FB and FBDONZEN, respectively. Together ZEN and its metabolites were measured after enzymatic hydrolysis of the conjugated forms. Mean concentrations of α-zearalenol in liver were 0.82 and 0.54 ng/g in ducks exposed to ZEN and FBDONZEN, respectively. β-zearalenol was 2.3-fold less abundant than α-zearalenol, whereas ZEN was only found in trace amounts. In conclusion, this study suggests that decreased performance may occur in ducks exposed to a combination of FB, DON and ZEN, but does not reveal any other interaction between mycotoxins in any of the other variables measured.
An Initial Framework for Understanding the Resilience of Aquifers to Groundwater Pumping
Authors: Hera-Portillo África de la , López-Gutiérrez Julio , Mayor Beatriz , López-Gunn Elena , Henriksen Hans Jørgen , Gejl Ryle Nørskov , Zorrilla-Miras Pedro , Martínez-Santos Pedro
Published: February 2021

Groundwater stored in aquifers experiences a wide variety of natural, induced and/or anthropogenic disturbances. Among them, groundwater extraction is the main disturbance that affects most of the aquifers in the world. Aquifer’s resilience, understood as the potential of the aquifer to sustain disturbances on the long term and to guarantee essential qualities and functions, provides a key tool when assessing sustainable groundwater management alternatives. The aim of this work is to illustrate an aquifer resilience framework that can support groundwater sustainable management. A theoretical framework is based on the identification of the key variables that parameterize the quantitative and qualitative responses of the groundwater flow system to pumping. An example from the literature based in Denmark is provided as an illustration of the proposed framework. The results show that long-term high quality data are essential to make a step further in aquifers dynamic responses. The quantitative understanding of the aquifer’s behavior before, during and after groundwater extraction provides a valuable source of information in order to identify thresholds of change (tipping points, transitions or regime shifts) which could permit pro-active groundwater management decisions. Moreover, a deeper understanding on the aquifer’s dynamics provides useful information in order to avert threats that may put the sustainability of the system at risk.