bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Appraisal of SMAP Operational Soil Moisture Product from a Global Perspective
Authors: Suman Swati , Srivastava Prashant K. , Petropoulos George P. , Pandey Dharmendra K. , O’Neill Peggy E.
Published: June 2020

Space-borne soil moisture (SM) satellite products such as those available from Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) offer unique opportunities for global and frequent monitoring of SM and also to understand its spatiotemporal variability. The present study investigates the performance of the SMAP L4 SM product at selected experimental sites across four continents, namely North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. This product provides global scale SM estimates at 9 km × 9 km spatial resolution at daily intervals. For the product evaluation, co-orbital in situ SM measurements were used, acquired at 14 test sites in North America, Europe, and Australia belonging to the International Soil Moisture Network (ISMN) and local networks in India. The satellite SM estimates of up to 0–5 cm soil layer were compared against collocated ground measurements using a series of statistical scores. Overall, the best performance of the SMAP product was found in North America (RMSE = 0.05 m3/m3) followed by Australia (RMSE = 0.08 m3/m3), Asia (RMSE = 0.09 m3/m3) and Europe (RMSE = 0.14 m3/m3). Our findings provide important insights into the spatiotemporal variability of the specific operational SM product in different ecosystems and environments. This study also furnishes an independent verification of this global product, which is of international interest given its suitability for a wide range of practical and research applications.
Rapid Change Detection of Flood Affected Area after Collapse of the Laos Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Dam Using Sentinel-1 GRD Data
Authors: Kim Yunjee , Lee Moung-Jin
Published: June 2020

Water-related disasters occur frequently worldwide and are strongly affected by a climate. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images can be effectively used to monitor and detect damage because these images are minimally affected by weather. This study analyzed changes in water quantity and flooded area caused by the collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Dam in Laos on 23 July 2018, using Sentinel-1 ground range detected (GRD) images. The collapse of this dam gained worldwide attention and led to a large number of casualties at least 98 people, as well as enormous economic losses. Thus, it is worth noting that this study quantitatively analyzed changes in both the Hinlat area, which was flooded, and the Xe-Namnoy reservoir. This study aims to suggest a practical method of change detection which is to simply compute flood extent and water volume in rapidly analysis. At first, a α -stable distribution was fitted to intensity histogram for removing the non-water-affected pixels. This fitting differs from other typical histogram fitting methods, which is applicable to histograms with two peaks, as it can be applied to histograms with not only two peaks but also one peak. Next, another type of threshold based on digital elevation model (DEM) data was used to correct for residual noise, such as speckle noise. The results revealed that about 2.2 × 108 m3 water overflowed from the Xe-Namnoy reservoir, and a flooded area of about 28.1 km3 was detected in the Hinlat area shortly after the dam collapse. Furthermore, the water quantity and flooded area decreased in both study areas over time. Because only SAR GRD images were used in this study for rapid change detection, it is possible that more accurate results could be obtained using other available data, such as optical images with high spatial resolution like KOMPSAT-3, and in-situ data collected at the same time.
A Long-Term Cloud Albedo Data Record Since 1980 from UV Satellite Sensors
Authors: Weaver Clark J. , Wu Dong L. , Bhartia Pawan K. , Labow Gordon J. , Haffner David P.
Published: June 2020

Black-sky cloud albedo (BCA) is derived from satellite UV 340 nm observations from NOAA and NASA satellites to infer long-term (1980–2018) shortwave cloud albedo variations induced by volcano eruptions, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and decadal warming. While the UV cloud albedo has shown no long-term trend since 1980, there are statistically significant reductions over the North Atlantic and over the marine stratocumulus decks off the coast of California; increases in cloud albedo can be seen over Southeast Asia and over cloud decks off the coast of South America. The derived BCA assumes a C-1 water cloud model with varying cloud optical depths and a Cox–Munk surface BRDF over the ocean, using radiances calibrated over the East Antarctic Plateau and Greenland ice sheets during summer.
Vehicle-Assisted Techniques for Health Monitoring of Bridges
Authors: Shokravi Hoofar , Shokravi Hooman , Bakhary Norhisham , Heidarrezaei Mahshid , Rahimian Koloor Seyed Saeid , Petrů Michal
Published: June 2020

Bridges are designed to withstand different types of loads, including dead, live, environmental, and occasional loads during their service period. Moving vehicles are the main source of the applied live load on bridges. The applied load to highway bridges depends on several traffic parameters such as weight of vehicles, axle load, configuration of axles, position of vehicles on the bridge, number of vehicles, direction, and vehicle’s speed. The estimation of traffic loadings on bridges are generally notional and, consequently, can be excessively conservative. Hence, accurate prediction of the in-service performance of a bridge structure is very desirable and great savings can be achieved through the accurate assessment of the applied traffic load in existing bridges. In this paper, a review is conducted on conventional vehicle-based health monitoring methods used for bridges. Vision-based, weigh in motion (WIM), bridge weigh in motion (BWIM), drive-by and vehicle bridge interaction (VBI)-based models are the methods that are generally used in the structural health monitoring (SHM) of bridges. The performance of vehicle-assisted methods is studied and suggestions for future work in this area are addressed, including alleviating the downsides of each approach to disentangle the complexities, and adopting intelligent and autonomous vehicle-assisted methods for health monitoring of bridges.
Autonomous Search of Radioactive Sources through Mobile Robots
Authors: Huo Jianwen , Liu Manlu , Neusypin Konstantin A. , Liu Haojie , Guo Mingming , Xiao Yufeng
Published: June 2020

The research of robotic autonomous radioactivity detection or radioactive source search plays an important role in the monitoring and disposal of nuclear safety and biological safety. In this paper, a method for autonomously searching for radioactive sources through mobile robots was proposed. In the method, by using a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP), the search of autonomous unknown radioactive sources was realized according to a series of radiation information measured by mobile robot. First, the factors affecting the accuracy of radiation measurement during the robot’s movement were analyzed. Based on these factors, the behavior set of POMDP was designed. Secondly, the parameters of the radioactive source were estimated in the Bayesian framework. In addition, through the reward strategy, autonomous navigation of the robot to the position of the radiation source was achieved. The search algorithm was simulated and tested, and the TurtleBot robot platform was used to conduct a real search experiment on the radio source Cs-137 with an activity of 37 MBq indoors. The experimental results showed the effectiveness of the method. Additionally, from the experiments, it could been seen that the robot was affected by the linear velocity, angular velocity, positioning accuracy and the number of measurements in the process of autonomous search for the radioactive source. The proposed mobile robot autonomous search method can be applied to the search for lost radioactive sources, as well as for the leakage of substances (nuclear or chemical) in nuclear power plants and chemical plants.
Quantification of Triple Single-Leg Hop Test Temporospatial Parameters: A Validated Method Using Body-Worn Sensors for Functional Evaluation after Knee Injury
Authors: Ahmadian Niloufar , Nazarahari Milad , Whittaker Jackie L. , Rouhani Hossein
Published: June 2020

Lower extremity kinematic alterations associated with sport-related knee injuries may contribute to an unsuccessful return to sport or early-onset post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Also, without access to sophisticated motion-capture systems, temporospatial monitoring of horizontal hop tests during clinical assessments is limited. By applying an alternative measurement system of two inertial measurement units (IMUs) per limb, we obtained and validated flying/landing times and hop distances of triple single-leg hop (TSLH) test against motion-capture cameras, assessed these temporospatial parameters amongst injured and uninjured groups, and investigated their association with the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Using kinematic features of IMU recordings, strap-down integration, and velocity correction techniques, temporospatial parameters were validated for 10 able-bodied participants and compared between 22 youth with sport-related knee injuries and 10 uninjured youth. With median (interquartile range) errors less than 10(16) ms for flying/landing times, and less than 4.4(5.6)% and 2.4(3.0)% of reference values for individual hops and total TSLH progression, differences between hopping biomechanics of study groups were highlighted. For injured participants, second flying time and all hop distances demonstrated moderate to strong correlations with KOOS Symptom and Function in Daily Living scores. Detailed temporospatial monitoring of hop tests is feasible using the proposed IMUs system.
An Energy-Efficient and Adaptive Channel Coding Approach for Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) Systems
Authors: Migabo Emmanuel , Djouani Karim , Kurien Anish
Published: June 2020

Most of the current research work on the Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) is focused on enhancing its network coverage. Many of the existing NB-IoT channel coding techniques are based on repeating transmission data and control signals as a way of enhancing the network’s reliability and therefore, enabling long-distance transmissions. Although most of these efforts are made at the expense of reducing the energy consumption of the NB-IoT network, they do not always consider the channel conditions. Therefore, this work proposes a novel NB-IoT Energy-Efficient Adaptive Channel Coding (EEACC) scheme. The EEACC approach is a two-dimensional (2D) approach which not only selects an appropriate channel coding scheme based on the estimated channel conditions (dynamically classified as bad, medium or good from initial based on a periodically assessed BLER performance outcome) but also minimizes the transmission repetition number under a pre-assessed probability of successful transmission (based on the ratio of previous successful transmissions over the total number of transmissions). This results in creating a single mixed gradient based on which a higher or lower Modulating Coding Scheme (MCS) is selected on each transmission. It is aimed at enhancing the overall energy efficiency of the network by dynamically selecting the appropriate Modulation Coding Scheme (MCS) number and efficiently minimizing the transmission repetition number. Link-level simulations are performed under different channel conditions (good, medium, or bad) considerations to assess the performance of the proposed up-link adaptation technique for NB-IoT. The obtained results demonstrate that the proposed technique outperforms the existing Narrowband Link Adaptation (NBLA) as well as the traditional repetition schemes in terms of the achieved energy efficiency as well as network reliability, latency, and scalability.
Detection of Ferric Ions and Catecholamine Neurotransmitters via Highly Fluorescent Heteroatom Co-Doped Carbon Dots
Authors: Le Thi Hoa , Lee Hyun Jong , Kim Ji Hyeon , Park Sang Joon
Published: June 2020

Carbon dots (CDs) demonstrate very poor fluorescence quantum yield (QY). In this study, with the help of a hydrothermal method, we combined CDs with nitrogen and phosphorus elements belonging to the VA group (in the periodic table) to form heteroatom co-doped CDs, i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped carbon dots (NPCDs). These displayed a significant improvement in the QY (up to 84%), which was as much as four times than that of CDs synthesized by the same method. The as-prepared NPCDs could be used as an “off-on” fluorescence detector for the rapid and effective sensing of ferric ions (Fe3+) and catecholamine neurotransmitters (CNs) such as dopamine (DA), adrenaline (AD), and noradrenaline (NAD). The fluorescence of NPCDs was “turned off” and the emission wavelength was slightly red-shifted upon increasing the Fe3+ concentration. However, when CNs were incorporated, the fluorescence of NPCDs was recovered in a short response time; this indicated that CN concentration could be monitored, relying on enhancing the fluorescence signal of NPCDs. As a result, NPCDs are considered as a potential fluorescent bi-sensor for Fe3+ and CN detection. Particularly, in this research, we selected DA as the representative neurotransmitter of the CN group along with Fe3+ to study the sensing system based on NPCDs. The results exhibited good linear ranges with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.2 and 0.1 µM for Fe3+ and DA, respectively.
BM-IQE: An Image Quality Evaluator with Block-Matching for Both Real-Life Scenes and Remote Sensing Scenes
Authors: Xu Ningshan , Ma Dongao , Ren Guoqiang , Huang Yongmei
Published: June 2020

Like natural images, remote sensing scene images; of which the quality represents the imaging performance of the remote sensor, also suffer from the degradation caused by imaging system. However, current methods measuring the imaging performance in engineering applications require for particular image patterns and lack generality. Therefore, a more universal approach is demanded to assess the imaging performance of remote sensor without constraints of land cover. Due to the fact that existing general-purpose blind image quality assessment (BIQA) methods cannot obtain satisfying results on remote sensing scene images; in this work, we propose a BIQA model of improved performance for natural images as well as remote sensing scene images namely BM-IQE. We employ a novel block-matching strategy called Structural Similarity Block-Matching (SSIM-BM) to match and group similar image patches. In this way, the potential local information among different patches can get expressed; thus, the validity of natural scene statistics (NSS) feature modeling is enhanced. At the same time, we introduce several features to better characterize and express remote sensing images. The NSS features are extracted from each group and the feature vectors are then fitted to a multivariate Gaussian (MVG) model. This MVG model is therefore used against a reference MVG model learned from a corpus of high-quality natural images to produce a basic quality estimation of each patch (centroid of each group). The further quality estimation of each patch is obtained by weighting averaging of its similar patches’ basic quality estimations. The overall quality score of the test image is then computed through average pooling of the patch estimations. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed BM-IQE method can not only outperforms other BIQA methods on remote sensing scene image datasets but also achieve competitive performance on general-purpose natural image datasets as compared to existing state-of-the-art FR/NR-IQA methods.
Robust Vision-Based Control of a Rotorcraft UAV for Uncooperative Target Tracking
Authors: Zhang Shijie , Zhao Xiangtian , Zhou Botian
Published: June 2020

This paper investigates the problem of using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to track and hover above an uncooperative target, such as an unvisited area or an object that is newly discovered. A vision-based strategy integrating the metrology and the control is employed to achieve target tracking and hovering observation. First, by introducing a virtual camera frame, the reprojected image features can change independently of the rotational motion of the vehicle. The image centroid and an optimal observation area on the virtual image plane are exploited to regulate the relative horizontal and vertical distance. Then, the optic flow and gyro measurements are utilized to estimate the relative UAV-to-target velocity. Further, a gain-switching proportional-derivative (PD) control scheme is proposed to compensate for the external interference and model uncertainties. The closed-loop system is proven to be exponentially stable, based on the Lyapunov method. Finally, simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed vision-based strategy in both hovering and tracking scenarios.
Counting of Hong-Ou-Mandel Bunched Optical Photons Using a Fast Pixel Camera
Authors: Nomerotski Andrei , Keach Michael , Stankus Paul , Svihra Peter , Vintskevich Stephen
Published: June 2020

The uses of a silicon-pixel camera with very good time resolution (∼nanosecond) for detecting multiple, bunched optical photons is explored. We present characteristics of the camera and describe experiments proving its counting capabilities. We use a spontaneous parametric down-conversion source to generate correlated photon pairs, and exploit the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference effect in a fiber-coupled beam splitter to bunch the pair onto the same output fiber. It is shown that the time and spatial resolution of the camera enables independent detection of two photons emerging simultaneously from a single spatial mode.
Intelligent Reflecting Surface-Assisted Secure Multi-Input Single-Output Cognitive Radio Transmission
Authors: Xiao Haitao , Dong Limeng , Wang Wenjie
Published: June 2020

Intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is a very promising technology for the development of beyond 5G or 6G wireless communications due to its low complexity, intelligence, and green energy-efficient properties. In this paper, we combined IRS with physical layer security (PLS) to solve the security issue of cognitive radio (CR) networks. Specifically, an IRS-assisted multi-input single-output (MISO) CR wiretap channel was studied. To maximize the secrecy rate of secondary users subject to a total power constraint (TPC) for the transmitter and interference power constraint (IPC) for a single antenna primary receiver (PR) in this channel, an alternating optimization (AO) algorithm is proposed to jointly optimize the transmit covariance R at transmitter and phase shift coefficient Q at IRS by fixing the other as constant. When Q is fixed, R is globally optimized by equivalently transforming the quasi-convex sub-problem to convex one. When R is fixed, bisection search in combination with minorization–maximization (MM) algorithm was applied to optimize Q from the non-convex fractional programming sub-problem. During each iteration of MM, another bisection search algorithm is proposed, which is able to find the global optimal closed-form solution of Q given the initial point from the previous iteration of MM. The convergence of the proposed algorithm is analyzed, and an extension of applying this algorithm to multi-antenna PR case is discussed. Simulations have shown that our proposed IRS-assisted design greatly enhances the secondary user’s secrecy rate compared to existing methods without IRS. Even when IPC is active, the secrecy rate returned by our algorithm increases with transmit power as if there is no IPC at all.
Mobile Computing Technologies for Health and Mobility Assessment: Research Design and Results of the Timed Up and Go Test in Older Adults
Authors: Ponciano Vasco , Pires Ivan Miguel , Ribeiro Fernando Reinaldo , Villasana María Vanessa , Crisóstomo Rute , Canavarro Teixeira Maria , Zdravevski Eftim
Published: June 2020

Due to the increasing age of the European population, there is a growing interest in performing research that will aid in the timely and unobtrusive detection of emerging diseases. For such tasks, mobile devices have several sensors, facilitating the acquisition of diverse data. This study focuses on the analysis of the data collected from the mobile devices sensors and a pressure sensor connected to a Bitalino device for the measurement of the Timed-Up and Go test. The data acquisition was performed within different environments from multiple individuals with distinct types of diseases. Then this data was analyzed to estimate the various parameters of the Timed-Up and Go test. Firstly, the pressure sensor is used to extract the reaction and total test time. Secondly, the magnetometer sensors are used to identify the total test time and different parameters related to turning around. Finally, the accelerometer sensor is used to extract the reaction time, total test time, duration of turning around, going time, return time, and many other derived metrics. Our experiments showed that these parameters could be automatically and reliably detected with a mobile device. Moreover, we identified that the time to perform the Timed-Up and Go test increases with age and the presence of diseases related to locomotion.
Technique and Circuit for Contactless Readout of Piezoelectric MEMS Resonator Sensors
Authors: Baù Marco , Ferrari Marco , Begum Habiba , Ali Abid , Lee Joshua E.-Y. , Ferrari Vittorio
Published: June 2020

A technique and electronic circuit for contactless electromagnetic interrogation of piezoelectric micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) resonator sensors are proposed. The adopted resonator is an aluminum-nitride (AlN) thin-film piezoelectric-on-silicon (TPoS) disk vibrating in radial contour mode at about 6.3 MHz. The MEMS resonator is operated in one-port configuration and it is connected to a spiral coil, forming the sensor unit. A proximate electronic interrogation unit is electromagnetically coupled through a readout coil to the sensor unit. The proposed technique exploits interleaved excitation and detection phases of the MEMS resonator. A tailored electronic circuit manages the periodic switching between the excitation phase, where it generates the excitation signal driving the readout coil, and the detection phase, where it senses the transient decaying response of the resonator by measuring through a high-impedance amplifier the voltage induced back across the readout coil. This approach advantageously ensures that the readout frequency of the MEMS resonator is first order independent of the interrogation distance between the readout and sensor coils. The reported experimental results show successful contactless readout of the MEMS resonator independently from the interrogation distance over a range of 12 mm, and the application as a resonant sensor for ambient temperature and as a resonant acoustic-load sensor to detect and track the deposition and evaporation processes of water microdroplets on the MEMS resonator surface.
Towards Simultaneous Actuator and Sensor Faults Estimation for a Class of Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Systems: A Twin-Rotor System Application
Authors: Pazera Marcin , Witczak Marcin , Kukurowski Norbert , Buciakowski Mariusz
Published: June 2020

The paper is devoted to the problem of estimating simultaneously states, as well as actuator and sensor faults for Takagi–Sugeno systems. The proposed scheme is intended to cope with multiple sensor and actuator faults. To achieve such a goal, the original Takagi–Sugeno system is transformed into a descriptor one containing all state and fault variables within an extended state vector. Moreover, to facilitate the overall design procedure an auxiliary fault vector is introduced. In comparison to the approaches proposed in the literature, a usual restrictive assumption concerning fixed fault rate of change is removed. Finally, the robust convergence of the whole observer is guaranteed by the so-called quadratic boundedness approach which assumes that process and measurement uncertainties are unknown but bounded within an ellipsoid. The last part of the paper portrays an exemplary application concerning a nonlinear twin-rotor system.
Biosensors Based on Advanced Sulfur-Containing Nanomaterials
Authors: Li Chunmei , Wang Yihan , Jiang Hui , Wang Xuemei
Published: June 2020

In recent years, sulfur-containing nanomaterials and their derivatives/composites have attracted much attention because of their important role in the field of biosensor, biolabeling, drug delivery and diagnostic imaging technology, which inspires us to compile this review. To focus on the relationships between advanced biomaterials and biosensors, this review describes the applications of various types of sulfur-containing nanomaterials in biosensors. We bring two types of sulfur-containing nanomaterials including metallic sulfide nanomaterials and sulfur-containing quantum dots, to discuss and summarize the possibility and application as biosensors based on the sulfur-containing nanomaterials. Finally, future perspective and challenges of biosensors based on sulfur-containing nanomaterials are briefly rendered.
From Social Deviance to Art: Vandalism, Illicit Dumping, and the Transformation of Matter and Form
Authors: Palermo Mark Tano
Published: June 2020

In this article, assemblage art is presented to visually underscore social discourse relevant to urban vandalism and illegal dumping. The waste emergency, brought about, in part, also by illegal dumping and littering, is experienced on a daily basis across the globe in industrialized and less-industrialized countries alike. Likewise, vandalism is so pervasive in some areas that we have come to normalize it as intrinsic to urban life. The pieces presented here serve as attention-inducers. Destroyed or dumped things are assembled into new forms which symbolically and “totemically” represent [contemporary] collective identity. While the poetics of the art presented is not political, nor was the art created for social purposes, its social impact or social and criminological connection with deviance is a consequence of the “where” the assembled parts were found. The matter collected is transformed and its shapes and its source can now be seen and confronted, rather than avoided. Broken parts become a new whole, and also herein lies another symbolic connection with the world of deviance as far as the obvious possibility for change and transformation, relevant to broken lives and broken communities.
Rapid Emergence and Increasing Risks of Hailstorms: A Potential Threat to Sustainable Agriculture in Northern Bangladesh
Authors: Raihan Md Lamiur , Onitsuka Kenichiro , Basu Mrittika , Shimizu Natsuki , Hoshino Satoshi
Published: June 2020

This study investigates the recent changes in natural hazard prioritizations in northern Bangladesh and presents community-based risk analyses of the various natural hazards that present threats to sustainable agriculture. The study area in northern Bangladesh included two union council areas under the Panchagarh sub-district. Climatological data analysis, a detailed questionnaire survey, and focus group discussions were conducted to assess farmers’ perceptions regarding the shifting and identification of hazards, their seasonal variation, and hazard prioritizations. The SMUG (seriousness, manageability, urgency, and growth) and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) models were applied for hazard prioritization. Hailstorms were found to be the most prioritized hazard over droughts and flash floods as perceived by the community. The farmers’ perceptions as evaluated through a questionnaire survey also support the findings of the SMUG and FEMA models. This was the first attempt to analyze the potential of hailstorms as a significant hazard in Bangladesh, and GIS maps showed their spatial distribution and temporal frequency across Bangladesh. This newly identified hazard is significantly diminishing farmers’ motivation to continue farming and has the potential to affect sustainable agriculture. The farmers’ perceptions, historical data analysis, use of the two models, institutional approach, hazard risk assessment, and vulnerability to the major sectors show that hailstorms should be considered as an important hazard in northern Bangladesh, and policymakers should pay urgent attention to minimize the threat to sustainable agriculture in northern Bangladesh.
Food First: COVID-19 Outbreak and Cities Lockdown a Booster for a Wider Vision on Urban Agriculture
Authors: Pulighe Giuseppe , Lupia Flavio
Published: June 2020

The COVID-19 emergency has revealed the extreme fragility of large cities to unexpected complex global risks and crises. City lockdown has led to increasing awareness of the vital importance of food availability for citizens. The combined effect of border closure and movement restrictions increased food losses and export costs, especially for vegetables and perishable goods exposing non-self-sufficient countries. We claim the idea that urban agriculture in developed countries should be fostered with emerging growing practices and edible green infrastructures, such as vertical farming, hydroponics, aeroponic, aquaponic, and rooftop greenhouses. Notwithstanding the limitations of traditional urban farming activities, innovative and disruptive solutions and short food supply chains of fresh agricultural products might play a positive role in lessening uncertainties from global systemic risks.
What Drives Stocks during the Corona-Crash? News Attention vs. Rational Expectation
Authors: Engelhardt Nils , Krause Miguel , Neukirchen Daniel , Posch Peter
Published: June 2020

We explore if the corona-crash 2020 was driven by news attention or rational expectations about the pandemic’s economic impact. Using a sample of 64 national stock markets covering 94% of the world’s GDP, we find the stock markets’ decline to be mainly associated with higher news attention and less with rational expectation. We estimate the economic cost from the news hype to amount to USD 3.5 trillion for the US and USD 200 billion on average for the rest of the G8 countries.
Remote Sensing Applications for Monitoring Terrestrial Protected Areas: Progress in the Last Decade
Authors: Mao Lijun , Li Mingshi , Shen Wenjuan
Published: June 2020

Terrestrial protected areas (PAs) play an essential role in maintaining biodiversity and ecological processes worldwide, and the monitoring of PAs is a useful tool in assessing the effectiveness of PA management. Advanced remote sensing technologies have been increasingly used for mapping and monitoring the dynamics of PAs. We review the advances in remote sensing-based approaches for monitoring terrestrial PAs in the last decade and identify four types of studies in this field: land use & land cover and vegetation community classification, vegetation structure quantification, natural disturbance monitoring, and land use & land cover and vegetation dynamic analysis. We systematically discuss the satellite data and methods used for monitoring PAs for the four research objectives. Moreover, we summarize the approaches used in the different types of studies. The following suggestions are provided for future studies: (1) development of remote sensing frameworks for local PA monitoring worldwide; (2) comprehensive utilization of multisource remote sensing data; (3) improving methods to investigate the details of PA dynamics; (4) discovering the driving forces and providing measures for PA management. Overall, the integration of remote sensing data and advanced processing methods can support PA management and decision-making procedures.
Ecosystem Network Analysis in a Smallholder Integrated Crop–Livestock System for Coastal Lowland Situation in Tropical Humid Conditions of India
Authors: Paramesh Venkatesh , Sreekanth Giri Bhavan , Chakurkar Eaknath. B. , Chethan Kumar H.B. , Gokuldas Parappurath , Manohara Kallakeri Kannappa , Ramdas Mahajan Gopal , Rajkumar Racharla Solomon , Ravisankar Natesan , Panwar Azad Singh
Published: June 2020

The integrated crop–livestock system (ICLS) is a farming strategy that helps to sustain agrobiodiversity, ecosystem services, and restores environmental sustainability. Furthermore, ICLS provides food and nutritional security to the small and marginal farmers in developing nations. In this context a mass-balanced ecosystem model was constructed for a smallholder ICLS along the Indian west coast to analyze the agro-ecological performance in terms of sustainability, resource use, nutrient balance and recycling. Thirteen functional groups were defined in the ICLS model with trophic levels ranging from 1.00 (detritus and benthic nitrogen fixers) to 3.00 (poultry and ruminants). The total system throughput index was estimated to be 1134.9 kg N ha−1 year−1 of which 60% was from consumption, 15% from exports, 10% from respiration, and the remaining 15% eventually flowing into detritus. The gross efficiency of the ecosystem was estimated to 0.3, which indicated higher growth rates and low maintenance energy costs. The higher food self-sufficiency ration of 7.4 indicated the integration of crop–livestock as an imperative system to meet the food and nutritional requirement of the farm family. The indices such as system overhead (60%), Finn’s cycling index (16.6) and mean path length (3.5) denoted that the ICLS is a small, resource-efficient, stable, maturing and sustainable ecosystem in terms of the ecosystem principles and recycling. The present model will serve as the first model on the ICLS from the humid tropics and will help in the evaluation of the other agro-ecological systems using the Ecopath modelling approach. In conclusion, farm intensification through crop and animal diversification has the highest impact on farm productivity, food self-sufficiency and resource-use-efficiency of the smallholder’s livelihood security.
Decision-Making Process in the Case of Insufficient Rail Capacity
Authors: Dolinayova Anna , Zitricky Vladislav , Cerna Lenka
Published: June 2020

One of the main priorities of transport policy in the EU is to take measures to support railway transport as an environmentally friendly transport mode. An interesting challenge for a railway transport operation is represented with cost items for its operation. This problem is exacerbated if transport flows are routed through a congested railway infrastructure. If some or all transport takes place on congested rail infrastructure, the carrier’s costs increase, which may ultimately lead to withdrawal from the market. The article deals with the impact of insufficient capacity on the rail carrier’s costs. We used a pre-cost calculation methodology to calculate the rail carrier’s additional costs due to the insufficient railway network capacity based on detailed calculation of train costs and proposed a methodology for carrier decision-making in case of insufficient rail infrastructure capacity. The case study showed that the use of a diversion track in case of insufficient planned rail line capacity may not be advantageous for carriers, even with a longer waiting time for capacity to be released. One of the ways to eliminate the negative effects of congested railway infrastructure is investment in the increase of its capacity.
Biotreatment of Poultry Waste Coupled with Biodiesel Production Using Suspended and Attached Growth Microalgal-Based Systems
Authors: Patrinou Vasiliki , Tsolcha Olga N. , Tatoulis Triantafyllos I. , Stefanidou Natassa , Dourou Marianna , Moustaka-Gouni Maria , Aggelis George , Tekerlekopoulou Athanasia G.
Published: June 2020

Poultry litter extract (PLE) was treated using a microbial consortium dominated by the filamentous cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. in synergy with heterotrophic microorganisms of the poultry waste. Laboratory- and pilot-scale experiments were conducted under aerobic conditions using suspended and attached growth photobioreactors. Different dilutions of the extract were performed, leading to different initial pollutant (nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved chemical oxygen demand (d-COD), total sugars) concentrations. Significant nutrient removal rates, biomass productivity, and maximum lipid production were determined for all the systems examined. Higher d-COD, nitrogen, phosphorus, and total sugars removal were recorded in the attached growth reactors in both laboratory- (up to 94.0%, 88.2%, 97.4%, and 79.3%, respectively) and pilot-scale experiments (up to 82.0%, 69.4%, 81.0%, and 83.8%, respectively). High total biomass productivities were also recorded in the pilot-scale attached growth experiments (up to 335.3 mg L−1d−1). The produced biomass contained up to 19.6% lipids (w/w) on a dry weight basis, while the saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids accounted for more than 70% of the total fatty acids, indicating a potential biodiesel production system. We conclude that the processing systems developed in this work can efficiently treat PLE and simultaneously produce lipids suitable as feedstock in the biodiesel manufacture.
Social Justice, Food Loss, and the Sustainable Development Goals in the Era of COVID-19
Authors: Fleetwood Janet
Published: June 2020

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rest on a set of broadly accepted values within a human rights framework. The SDGs seek to improve human lives, improve the planet, and foster prosperity. This paper examines the human rights framework and the principles of social justice and shows that, while the SDGs do not specifically state that there is human right to food, the SDGs do envision a better, more just, world which rests upon the sufficiency of the global food supply, on environmental sustainability, and on food security for all. Then the paper examines the interrelationships between the SDGs, food access and waste, and human rights within a framework of social justice. Finally, it looks at the potential pandemic of hunger wrought by COVID-19, showing that COVID-19 serves as an example of a crisis that has raised unprecedented challenges to food loss and waste in the global food supply system and tests our commitment to the principles espoused by the SDGs.
What Characteristics Help Entrepreneurs ‘Make It’ Early on in Their Entrepreneurial Careers? Findings of a Regional Study from Romania
Authors: Baciu Elena-Loreni , Vîrgă Delia , Lazăr Theofild-Andrei
Published: June 2020

Entrepreneurship plays an essential role in modern urban growth and development. Successful businesses engage more growth potential, but also failed ones produce significant losses. Therefore, in order to reduce losses, it becomes important to understand what contributes to entrepreneurial success. Based the character-based approach, the current study considers the entrepreneur a critical agent for the survival and success of the business, and aims to examine the differences between successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs in terms of human capital and personal characteristics. The sample consisted of 123 Romanian nascent urban entrepreneurs who participated in a government sponsored entrepreneurial support program and competed for a subsidy to start their business. A positive outcome in the competition (achieved by 39 study participants) was considered as entrepreneurial success. Based on the competition outcome, we split the sample in successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs and analyzed the differences between the two groups from the perspective of human capital and personal characteristics. In terms of human capital (education, professional experience, age, and sex), the results showed small differences between the successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs in the sample. In terms of personal characteristics, compared to their unsuccessful counterparts, the successful entrepreneurs registered increased levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and of problem-solving confidence, higher levels of trust in their capacity of taking up challenges, increased levels of adaptive assertiveness, and a greater confidence in their ability to control their entrepreneurial behaviour. No significant differences were recorded for the need for autonomy, tolerance of ambiguity, risk-taking propensity, impulsivity, and interpersonal reactivity. The findings indicate that the personal characteristics of entrepreneurs may have different influences on their success, depending on the stage in their entrepreneurial career.
Electroacupuncture with Usual Care for Patients with Non-Acute Pain after Back Surgery: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Alongside a Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Kim NamKwen , Shin Kyung-Min , Seo Eun-Sung , Park Minjung , Lee Hye-Yoon
Published: June 2020

Electroacupuncture (EA) is used to treat pain after back surgery. Although this treatment is covered by national health insurance in Korea, evidence supporting its cost-effectiveness and contribution to the sustainability of the national health care system has yet to be published. Therefore, an economic evaluation, alongside a clinical trial, was conducted to estimate the cost-effectiveness of EA and usual care (UC) versus UC alone to treat non-acute low back pain (LBP). In total, 108 patients were recruited and randomly assigned to treatment groups; 106 were included in the final cost utility analysis. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of EA plus UC was estimated as 7,048,602 Korean Rate Won (KRW) per quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) from the societal perspective (SP). If the national threshold was KRW 30 million per QALY, the cost-effectiveness probability of EA plus UC was an estimated 85.9%; and, if the national threshold was over KRW 42,496,372 per QALY, the cost-effectiveness probability would be over 95% percent statistical significance. Based on these results, EA plus UC combination therapy for patients with non-acute LBP may be cost-effective from a societal perspective in Korea.
Systematic Review of How Engineering Schools around the World Are Deploying the 2030 Agenda
Authors: Romero Susana , Aláez Marian , Amo Daniel , Fonseca David
Published: June 2020

At the UN Summit in New York 2015 it was agreed that a sustainable development of the planet is essential to strengthen universal peace in a broader capacity. On that basis, a call was made to all nations to achieve this through the 2030 Agenda. The issue is a complex one, as is evident from its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their interwoven interaction. Engineering plays a leading role in achieving the great majority of the SDGs. For this reason, engineering education should focus its efforts on training engineers to be active agents of sustainability in the world. Our research question is, in fact, how the engineering higher education institutions around the world are deploying the 2030 Agenda. To answer it, we carried out a systematic review of the literature regarding SDGs and engineering schools in the Scopus and Web of Science (WOS) databases. We applied PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology and, as a result, 22 papers were thoroughly studied. The results showed a consensus on the need for collaboration among the different stakeholders to achieve the desired degree profile of responsible engineers. Proposals to ensure this are diverse. They range from changes in curricula and competencies to a variety of teaching–learning strategies. Finally, future lines of research are identified from this study.
Psychological Care of Health Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy: Preliminary Report of an Occupational Health Department (AOUP) Responsible for Monitoring Hospital Staff Condition
Authors: Buselli Rodolfo , Baldanzi Sigrid , Corsi Martina , Chiumiento Martina , Del Lupo Elena , Carmassi Claudia , Dell’Osso Liliana , Cristaudo Alfonso
Published: June 2020

The recent worldwide COVID-19 outbreak provided a timely demonstration of the mental health needs of health care workers on the front lines of the response to the pandemic. In addition to international guidelines, local institutions demand rapid and practical approaches easily replicable in different populations and contests. The principal aim of this paper is to highlight and share the experience of an Occupational Health Department responsible for monitoring hospital staff conditions during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic phase 1. The multidisciplinary team of the Occupational Health Department of a major university hospital in central Italy (AOUP) developed a specific protocol called PsicoCovid19 in order to provide targeted help, based on new psychosocial risk factors, to workers involved in the COVID-19 emergency to preserve hospital staff health. As of the date of this report, 106 workers (79 female, 27 male, mean age respectively, 51 ± 9.8, 45.7± 10.1) requested this service, reporting mild to moderate subjective distress. Approximately 81% of all the participants were already monitored before the outbreak of the pandemic. Among the total sample, 60% received a remodeling of a previous therapeutic program. Meanwhile, 7% passed from a psychiatric therapy to a combination therapy with the addition of a psychological treatment. The results demonstrate that those who asked for help were primarily female nurses who already presented with mental health vulnerabilities. A more gender-specific, clinical approach is needed.
Influence of Brand Image of a Sports Event on the Recommendation of Its Participants
Authors: Martínez Cevallos Daniel , Alguacil Mario , Calabuig Moreno Ferran
Published: June 2020

The aim of this research is to test the psychometric properties and relationships of a model where, from brand congruence of a sport event, trust and commitment to it can be generated, influencing future behavior of participants and resulting in a higher recommendation also called Word of Mouth (hereinafter WOM). A quantitative approach has been carried out by means of a validated questionnaire with Likert-type responses, and data were analyzed with the EQS 6.4 software. The findings indicated that the model is adequate, and also confirm that from congruence, we can explain, at a theoretical level, 45% of trust, and in the same way, from the congruence and trust, we can explain 67% of the commitment with the brand. Finally, it is confirmed that trust and brand commitment significantly influence WOM, predicting it up to 51%. These conclusions provide implications to managers, to guide their marketing strategies more effectively and to know what is important to achieve the desired behaviors, which will favor the sustainability of the event and the generation of positive impacts in the host location. This research also provides original information in a context such as sporting events where the study of brand image is practically non-existent.