bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Experimental Study on the Shear Behaviors of Polymer-Sand Composite Materials after Immersion
Authors: Liu Jin , Bai Yuxia , Li Ding , Wang Qiongya , Qian Wei , Wang Ying , Kanungo Debi Prasanna , Wei Jihong
Published: August 2018

Sand mixed with geotextile/fiber/cement/lime or non-traditional chemical additives to form composite materials is recognized as an effective method for improving the sand properties. In this work, the variation in properties of composite materials after immersion is reported which has rarely appeared in the literature. The focus of this study is to evaluate the shear behaviors of polymer-sand composite material after immersion with direct shear tests. Several factors which may influence the shear behaviors after immersion are analyzed. The results demonstrate that this composite material still has good shear behaviors after immersion when compared to the purely sand material. The shear behaviors are improved with an increment in the curing time, polymer content and sand dry density while there is a decrease in the shear behaviors with increasing immersion time. The interaction between sand particles and the polymer are analyzed with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The polymer membranes are formed by polymer enwrapping and connected sand particles to build an elastic and viscous structure in the sand that increases the interlocking forces between sand particles and decreases the void ratio of this material. The membranes are softened in water resulting in a decrease in the shear strength. Moreover, other factors affect the shear behaviors by improving the completeness and stability of this structure.
Sulfonated Lignin-g-Styrene Polymer: Production and Characterization
Authors: Ghavidel Darestani Nasim , Tikka Adrianna , Fatehi Pedram
Published: August 2018

Among sustainable alternatives for replacing fossil-based chemicals, lignin is widely available on earth, albeit the least utilized component of biomass. In this work, lignin was polymerized with styrene in aqueous emulsion systems. The reaction afforded a yield of 20 wt % under the conditions of 100 g/L lignin concentration, pH 2.5, 0.35 mol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate concentration, 5 mol/mol styrene/lignin ratio, 5 wt % initiator, 90 °C, and 2 h. The lignin-g-styrene product under the selected conditions had a grafting degree of 31 mol % of styrene, which was determined by quantitative proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). The solvent addition to the reaction mixture and deoxygenation did not improve the yield of the polymerization reaction. The produced lignin-g-styrene polymer was then sulfonated using concentrated sulfuric acid. By introducing sulfonate group on the lignin-g-styrene polymers, the solubility and anionic charge density of 92 wt % (in a 10 g/L solution) and −2.4 meq/g, respectively, were obtained. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), static light scattering, two-dimensional COSY NMR, elemental analyses, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were also employed to characterize the properties of the lignin-g-styrene and sulfonate lignin-g-styrene products. Overall, sulfonated lignin-g-styrene polymer with a high anionicity and water solubility was produced.
Bagasse Cellulose Grafted with an Amino-Terminated Hyperbranched Polymer for the Removal of Cr(VI) from Aqueous Solution
Authors: Xia Lu , Huang Zhonghang , Zhong Lei , Xie Fengwei , Tang Chak Yin , Tsui Chi Pong
Published: August 2018

A novel bio-adsorbent was fabricated via grafting an amino-terminated hyperbranched polymer (HBP-NH2) onto bagasse cellulose. The morphology and microstructure of the HBP-NH2-grafted bagasse cellulose (HBP-g-BC) were characterized and its adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) ions in aqueous solutions was investigated. The rough surface structure of HBP-g-BC that is beneficial for improving the adsorption capacity was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The grafting reaction was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The adsorbent performance was shown to be better with a lower pH value, a higher adsorbent dosage, or a higher initial Cr(VI) concentration. Moreover, the kinetics study revealed that the adsorption behavior followed a pseudo-second-order model. The isotherm results showed that the adsorption data could be well-fitted by the Langmuir, Freundlich, or Temkin models. Moreover, HBP-g-BC could maintain 74.4% of the initial removal rate even after five cycles of regeneration. Thus, the high potential of HBP-g-BC as a bio-adsorbent for heavy metal removal has been demonstrated.
The Impact of Sovereign Yield Curve Differentials on Value-at-Risk Forecasts for Foreign Exchange Rates
Authors: Fink Holger , Fuest Andreas , Port Henry
Published: August 2018

A functional ARMA-GARCH model for predicting the value-at-risk of the EURUSD exchange rate is introduced. The model implements the yield curve differentials between EUR and the US as exogenous factors. Functional principal component analysis allows us to use the information of basically the whole yield curve in a parsimonious way for exchange rate risk prediction. The data analyzed in our empirical study consist of the EURUSD exchange rate and the EUR- and US-yield curves from 15 August 2005–30 September 2016. As a benchmark, we take an ARMA-GARCH and an ARMAX-GARCHX with the 2y-yield difference as the exogenous variable and compare the forecasting performance via likelihood ratio tests. However, while our model performs better in one situation, it does not seem to improve the performance in other setups compared to its competitors.
Virtual Structural Analysis of Jokisivu Open Pit Using ‘Structure-from-Motion’ Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Photogrammetry: Implications for Structurally-Controlled Gold Deposits in Southwest Finland
Authors: Sayab Mohammad , Aerden Domingo , Paananen Markku , Saarela Petri
Published: August 2018

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are rapidly growing remote sensing platforms for capturing high-resolution images of exposed rock surfaces. We used a DJI Phantom 3 Professional (P3P) quadcopter to capture aerial images that were used to generate a high-resolution three-dimensional (3-D) model of the Jokisivu open-pit gold deposit that is located in southwestern Finland. 158 overlapping oblique and nadir images were taken and processed with Agisoft Photoscan Pro to generate textured 3-D surface models. In addition, 69 overlapping images were taken from the steep faces of the open pit. We assessed the precision of the 3-D model by deploying ground control points (GCPs) and the average errors were found minimal along X (2.0 cm), Y (1.2 cm), and Z (5.0 cm) axes. The steep faces of the open pit were used for virtual structural measurements and kinematic analyses in CloudCompare and ArcGIS to distinguish the orientation of different fracture sets and statistical categorization, respectively. Three distinct fracture sets were observed. The NW-SE and NE-SW striking fractures form a conjugate geometry, whereas the NNW-SSE striking fractures cut the conjugate fracture set. The orientation of conjugate fractures match well with the resource model of the deposit and NW- and NE-trending segments of regional-scale anastomosing shear zones. Based on the conjugate geometry of fracture sets I and II, and the regional pattern of anastomosing shear system lead us to interpret an origin of gold mineralization in two stages. An early N-S or NNW-SSE crustal shortening, corresponding to the regional D4 (ca. 1.83–1.81 Ga) or pre-D4 (ca. 1.87–1.86 Ga) Svecofennian tectonic event(s) that produced anastomosing shear zones. Subsequent E-W directed D5 contraction (ca. 1.79–1.77 Ga) partly reactivated the anastomosing shear zones with the formation of conjugate system, which controlled the migration of fluids and gold mineralization in SW Finland.
A Generalized Zero-Shot Learning Framework for PolSAR Land Cover Classification
Authors: Gui Rong , Xu Xin , Wang Lei , Yang Rui , Pu Fangling
Published: August 2018

Most supervised classification methods for polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) data rely on abundant labeled samples, and cannot tackle the problem that categorizes or infers unseen land cover classes without training samples. Aiming to categorize instances from both seen and unseen classes simultaneously, a generalized zero-shot learning (GZSL)-based PolSAR land cover classification framework is proposed. The semantic attributes are first collected to describe characteristics of typical land cover types in PolSAR images, and semantic relevance between attributes is established to relate unseen and seen classes. Via latent embedding, the projection between mid-level polarimetric features and semantic attributes for each land cover class can be obtained during the training stage. The GZSL model for PolSAR data is constructed by mid-level polarimetric features, the projection relationship, and the semantic relevance. Finally, the labels of the test instances can be predicted, even for some unseen classes. Experiments on three real RadarSAT-2 PolSAR datasets show that the proposed framework can classify both seen and unseen land cover classes with limited kinds of training classes, which reduces the requirement for labeled samples. The classification accuracy of the unseen land cover class reaches about 73% if semantic relevance exists during the training stage.
Regional Patterns and Asynchronous Onset of Ice-Wedge Degradation since the Mid-20th Century in Arctic Alaska
Authors: Frost Gerald V. , Christopherson Tracy , Jorgenson M. Torre , Liljedahl Anna K. , Macander Matthew J. , Walker Donald A. , Wells Aaron F.
Published: August 2018

Ice-wedge polygons are widespread and conspicuous surficial expressions of ground-ice in permafrost landscapes. Thawing of ice wedges triggers differential ground subsidence, local ponding, and persistent changes to vegetation and hydrologic connectivity across the landscape. Here we characterize spatio-temporal patterns of ice-wedge degradation since circa 1950 across environmental gradients on Alaska’s North Slope. We used a spectral thresholding approach validated by field observations to map flooded thaw pits in high-resolution images from circa 1950, 1982, and 2012 for 11 study areas (1577–4460 ha). The total area of flooded pits increased since 1950 at 8 of 11 study areas (median change +3.6 ha; 130.3%). There were strong regional differences in the timing and extent of degradation; flooded pits were already extensive by 1950 on the Chukchi coastal plain (alluvial-marine deposits) and subsequent changes there indicate pit stabilization. Degradation began more recently on the central Beaufort coastal plain (eolian sand) and Arctic foothills (yedoma). Our results indicate that ice-wedge degradation in northern Alaska cannot be explained by late-20th century warmth alone. Likely mechanisms for asynchronous onset include landscape-scale differences in surficial materials and ground-ice content, regional climate gradients from west (maritime) to east (continental), and regional differences in the timing and magnitude of extreme warm summers after the Little Ice Age.
Coherence Difference Analysis of Sentinel-1 SAR Interferogram to Identify Earthquake-Induced Disasters in Urban Areas
Authors: Lu Chih-Heng , Ni Chuen-Fa , Chang Chung-Pai , Yen Jiun-Yee , Chuang Ray Y.
Published: August 2018

This study proposes a workflow that enables the accurate identification of earthquake-induced damage zones by using coherence image pairs of the Sentinel-1 satellite before and after an earthquake event. The workflow uses interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) processing to account for coherence variations between coseismic and preseismic image pairs. The coherence difference between two image pairs is useful information to detect specific disasters in a regional-scale area after an earthquake event. To remove background effects such as the atmospheric effect and ordinal surface changes, this study employs the two-step threshold method to develop the coseismic coherence difference (CCD) map for our analyses. Thirty-four Sentinel-1 images between January 2015 and February 2016 were collected to process 30 preseismic image pairs and two coseismic image pairs for assessing multiple types of disasters in Tainan City of southwestern Taiwan, where severe damages were observed after the Meinong earthquake event. The coseismic unwrapping phases were further calculated to estimate the surface displacement in east-west and vertical directions. Results in the CCD map agree well with the observations from post-earthquake field surveys. The workflow can accurately identify earthquake-induced land subsidence and surface displacements, even for areas with insufficient geological data or for areas that had been excluded from the liquefaction potential map. In addition, the CCD details the distribution of building damages and structure failures, which might be useful information for emergency actions applied to regional-scale problems. The conversion of 2D surface displacement reveals the complex behavior of geological activities during the earthquake. In the foothill area of Tainan City, the opposite surface displacements in local areas might be influenced by the axis activities of the Kuanmiao syncline.
An Occlusion-Aware Framework for Real-Time 3D Pose Tracking
Authors: Fu Mingliang , Leng Yuquan , Luo Haitao , Zhou Weijia
Published: August 2018

Random forest-based methods for 3D temporal tracking over an image sequence have gained increasing prominence in recent years. They do not require object’s texture and only use the raw depth images and previous pose as input, which makes them especially suitable for textureless objects. These methods learn a built-in occlusion handling from predetermined occlusion patterns, which are not always able to model the real case. Besides, the input of random forest is mixed with more and more outliers as the occlusion deepens. In this paper, we propose an occlusion-aware framework capable of real-time and robust 3D pose tracking from RGB-D images. To this end, the proposed framework is anchored in the random forest-based learning strategy, referred to as RFtracker. We aim to enhance its performance from two aspects: integrated local refinement of random forest on one side, and online rendering based occlusion handling on the other. In order to eliminate the inconsistency between learning and prediction of RFtracker, a local refinement step is embedded to guide random forest towards the optimal regression. Furthermore, we present an online rendering-based occlusion handling to improve the robustness against dynamic occlusion. Meanwhile, a lightweight convolutional neural network-based motion-compensated (CMC) module is designed to cope with fast motion and inevitable physical delay caused by imaging frequency and data transmission. Finally, experiments show that our proposed framework can cope better with heavily-occluded scenes than RFtracker and preserve the real-time performance.
A Theory of Optimal Green Defaults
Authors: Meran Georg , Schwarze Reimund
Published: August 2018

This paper develops an analytical framework for studying the Baumol–Oates efficiency of traditional single instrument abatement policies vis-à-vis green defaults in the face of price inertia and passive choice by subpopulations. In this special case of behavioural heterogeneity, command and control approaches can outperform price-based instruments while pure tax/subsidy schemes need to be adjusted in order to achieve politically desired levels of abatement. We also prove that choice-preserving nudges are superior to any single-instrument policy in this case. An average marginal abatement cost rule is developed to optimize the green defaults and traditional policies of standards and prices under different degrees of market rigidity.
Savings-Group Improvements Contribute to Sustainable Community-Fisheries Management: A Case Study in Cambodia
Authors: Lieng Sopha , Yagi Nobuyuki , Mori Aimee , Hastings Jay D.
Published: August 2018

Small-scale community fishers dominate fisheries in Cambodia. In the central floodplain of Cambodia, 35% of rural dwellers are part-time fishers and 15% full-time fishers. By 2012, the Cambodian government had abolished all commercial fishing lots and put these resources under the management of community fisheries. One challenge in the implementation of community-fisheries management is budget shortages and resultant livelihood stress. To address this problem, savings groups were established. The Sustainable Communities International program provided establishment and facilitation support for savings groups in 10 community fisheries in the Kampong Chhnang Province. The savings groups were recognized as useful support facilities, meeting the needs of community fishers and sustainable community fisheries operations. However, there were concerns about the sustainability of the savings groups and the fisheries. To date, there are no documented case studies of savings groups for community fisheries. This study was conducted in two community fisheries in the Kampong Chhnang Province. We found that the internal rules of the savings group must reflect the opinions and perceptions of the members to ensure sustainable operation. Education and integrated livelihood activities were important considerations in encouraging participation. These insights are also useful for community fisheries elsewhere.
Assessment of the Sustainability of the Territories Affected by Gully Head Advancements through Aerial Photography and Modeling Estimations: A Case Study on Samal Watershed, Iran
Authors: Nazari Samani Aliakbar , Tavakoli Rad Fatemeh , Azarakhshi Maryam , Reza Rahdari Mohammad , Rodrigo-Comino Jesús
Published: August 2018

Gully erosion is considered one of the major issues of land sustainability because it can remove considerable volumes of sediment and productive soils. Once started, gullies can continue to move by headcut retreat, or slumping of the side walls. Studies of gully development require constant monitoring activities which are not possible in not-well-explored areas, such as the arduous region of Iran, due to costs and a lack of geoinformation. Thus, the present research attempts to assess gully evolution using only two digital aerial photographs of different periods (1968 and 1994) and field assessment (2009) to estimate the gully head advancement based on frames geometry and rigorous procedure in southwestern Iran. Also, the gully head advancement was estimated and compared among them by different empirical equations. The results indicated that the mean of gully head advancement was 1.4 m year−1 and 1.2 m year−1 during 1968–1994 and 1994–2009, respectively, and the annual average of sediment mobilization was 26.8 m3 ha−1 in 2009. The model assessment indexes indicated that SCS (Soil Conservation Service) II was the best model for gully head advancement estimations in this study area. The main reasons for this can be associated with the Rp factor (previous gully head advancement) and the local environmental conditions. We conclude that the sustainability of the territory has been greatly affected due to this advancement. We also hypothesize that gully head changes could be related to the susceptibility of geological formations, climate, soil properties, and the coincidence of other gullies’ formation with common drainage networks in the study area. Based on the obtained results, land managers can use the results to distinguish the gullies in this region with a higher environmental risk, and to decide an effective implementation of soil conservation measures in order to include them in the land management plans.
Comparative Study on the Environmental Impact of Traditional Clay Bricks Mixed with Organic Waste Using Life Cycle Analysis
Authors: Lozano-Miralles José Adolfo , Hermoso-Orzáez Manuel Jesús , Martínez-García Carmen , Rojas-Sola José Ignacio
Published: August 2018

The construction industry is responsible for 40–45% of primary energy consumption in Europe. Therefore, it is essential to find new materials with a lower environmental impact to achieve sustainable buildings. The objective of this study was to carry out the life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of baked clay bricks incorporating organic waste. The scope of this comparative study of LCA covers cradle to gate and involves the extraction of clay and organic waste from the brick, transport, crushing, modelling, drying and cooking. Local sustainability within a circular economy strategy is used as a laboratory test. The energy used during the cooking process of the bricks modified with organic waste, the gas emission concentrate and the emission factors are quantified experimentally in the laboratory. Potential environmental impacts are analysed and compared using the ReCiPe midpoint LCA method using SimaPro 8.0.5.13. These results achieved from this method are compared with those obtained with a second method—Impact 2002+ v2.12. The results of LCA show that the incorporation of organic waste in bricks is favourable from an environmental point of view and is a promising alternative approach in terms of environmental impacts, as it leads to a decrease of 15–20% in all the impact categories studied. Therefore, the suitability of the use of organic additives in clay bricks was confirmed, as this addition was shown to improve their efficiency and sustainability, thus reducing the environmental impact.
Urban Transformations as an Indicator of Unsustainability in the P2P Mass Tourism Phenomenon: The Airbnb Case in Spain through Three Case Studies
Authors: Garcia-Ayllon Salvador
Published: August 2018

Globalization and the development of the so-called “collaborative economies” has coincided with an important transformation of mass tourism in the last decades. This phenomenon has been accentuated enormously in many European cities in recent years, generating a new P2P tourist model. The situation is having a strong social impact on the urban transformation of cities, and its characteristics are closely related to real estate speculative movements. In this sense, the analysis of urban transformation can offer interesting conclusions about the sustainability of these new tourist models in large touristic cities. In this article, we will analyse the effect associated with of so-called phenomena of “tourist flats” from the Airbnb portal in the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and Palma de Mallorca. Through the use of GIS indicators and geostatistic analysis of spatial correlation, the current incidence of this phenomenon in these cities, and possible future scenarios of maintaining the current trend, will be evaluated and discussed. The results obtained show worrying indicators in relation to the economic and social sustainability of the current urban-tourist model created in the city which are linked to gentrification processes.
Do Rural Policies Impact on Tourism Development in Italy? A Case Study of Agritourism
Authors: Giaccio Vincenzo , Mastronardi Luigi , Marino Davide , Giannelli Agostino , Scardera Alfonso
Published: August 2018

This paper investigates how and to what extent European and national policies have financed Italian agritourism. It analyses financial support derived from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) (First and Second Pillar) and national and local subsidies. For this purpose, the authors have proposed a comparative analysis between Italian agritourism and farms without tourism activities, by stressing the distribution of public financial supports concerning the 2007–2013 programming period of the European Union (EU) for Rural Development. The empirical analysis is based on the Italian Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) dataset. The data were stratified by altimetry zone and farm size. Descriptive statistics and the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for each group were used. The main results show how the Second Pillar has mainly supported small and medium-sized farms with tourism activities and located in disadvantaged areas. This study could be useful to policymakers regarding the evaluation of the mission for diversification in agriculture, represented here by the carrying out of tourist activities on farms and the contribution for the retention of small-scale farms in marginal areas.
Study of the Impact of a High-Speed Railway Opening on China’s Accessibility Pattern and Spatial Equality
Authors: Yang Jun , Guo Andong , Li Xueming , Huang Tai
Published: August 2018

China’s high-speed rail was inaugurated in 2008; it has greatly improved accessibility, and reduced the time required to travel between cities, but at the same time, has caused an unfair distribution of accessibility levels. Therefore, this paper analyzes urban traffic roads and socio-economic statistics, using network analysis methods, accessibility coefficients of variation, and social demand indexes to explore the spatial and temporal characteristics of transport accessibility and spatial equity in China. By 2015, the national transport accessibility level will form a new pattern of “corridors” and “islands”, centered on high-speed rail lines and sites. Additionally, the opening of high-speed railways has improved, to a certain extent, the inter-regional accessibility balance, and increased accessibility from high-speed railway sites to non-site cities. Spatial equality was also analyzed using the accessibility coefficient and social demand index. In conclusion, studying accessibility and spatial equity plays an important role in the rational planning of urban land resources and transportation.
Control Dust Pollution on Construction Sites: What Governments Do in China?
Authors: Xing Jinding , Ye Kunhui , Zuo Jian , Jiang Weiyan
Published: August 2018

Dust pollution is a key issue that contractors ought to address in the sphere of sustainable construction. Governments on behalf of the public assume part of the responsibilities for minimizing dust emissions on construction sites. However, the measures that are useful for governments to fulfill such a responsibility have not been explored explicitly in previous studies. The aim of this research is to map out China’s practices in this area with the intention of filling the knowledge gap. Using a combination of research methods, five categories of governmental measures are proposed: technological, economic, supervisory, organizational, and assessment-based. Data from 37 major cities in China are collected for analysis. While the proposed categories of measures are demonstrated in China, the data analysis results show that governments prefer technological and organizational measures, and institutional guarantees and technological innovation are a prerequisite for dust-free construction. This research provides a comprehensive examination of construction dust control from the perspective of governments, and it can assist governments in improving the performance of dust management in the construction context.
SLAM for Humanoid Multi-Robot Active Cooperation Based on Relative Observation
Authors: Pei Zhaoyi , Piao Songhao , Souidi Mohammed El Habib , Qadir Muhammad Zuhair , Li Guo
Published: August 2018

The simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) of robot in the complex environment is a fundamental research topic for service robots. This paper presents a new humanoid multi-robot SLAM mechanism that allows robots to collaborate and localize each other in their own SLAM process. Each robot has two switchable modes: independent mode and collaborative mode. Each robot can respond to the requests of other robots and participate in chained localization of the target robot under the leadership of the organiser. We aslo discuss how to find the solution of optimal strategy for chained localization. This mechanism can improve the performance of bundle adjustment at the global level, especially when the image features are few or the results of closed loop are not ideal. The simulation results show that this method has a great effect on improving the accuracy of multi-robot localization and the efficiency of 3D mapping.
Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Green Spaces in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region in the Past 20 Years
Authors: Tang Huaizhi , Liu Wenping , Yun Wenju
Published: August 2018

Rapid urbanization has caused the reduction of green spaces in most cities, disrupting the structure and process of urban and rural ecosystems. The accurate identification of spatiotemporal changes in green spaces is important to delineate future management and planning. We investigated green space types of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 based on the elevation data and land use/cover for those years. Spatiotemporal changes in these identified green spaces between 1995 and 2015 were evaluated as well as the spatial hotspots of disappeared and unstable green patches. The results indicate that the cultivated land in plains and forests and cultivated land in medium-high mountainous areas were the main green space types in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region during the period from 1995 to 2015. A large number of green spaces, in particular cultivated lands, in the peripheral areas of big cities were replaced by construction sites over the past 20 years. Hotspots of unstable green spaces were mainly distributed in the western and northern mountainous areas of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, where green spaces changed from one type to another. These findings provide an important reference for the management and planning of land and green spaces towards an integrative and collaborative development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
A Decision-Making Model for Adopting a Cloud Computing System
Authors: Yoo Seok-Keun , Kim Bo-Young
Published: August 2018

The use of big data, artificial intelligence, and new information and communication technologies has led to sustainable developments and improved business competitiveness. Until recently cloud services were classified as having special system requirements for a business organization, and was represented by different cloud computing architecture layers like infrastructure, platform, or software as a service. However, as the environment of IT services undergoes successive changes, companies have been required to reconsider their business models and consider adopting a cloud computing system, which can bring on business achievements and development. Regarding a decision-making model for adopting a cloud computing system, this paper analyzes critical variables in a hierarchical structure of decision areas: technology, organization, and environment, as well as seven factors and 23 attributes based on underlying decision factors of cloud computing adoption by AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and Delphi analysis. Furthermore, this research explores a comparative analysis between demanders and providers of cloud computing adoption. Resultantly, this study suggests several important factors for adopting a cloud computing system: top management support, competitive pressure, and compatibility. From the demander side, the high priority factor was compatibility and competitive pressure; in contrast, related advantage and top management support were regarded as priority factors for providers to service their cloud computing systems.
Sustainability Leaders’ Perceptions on the Drivers for and the Barriers to the Integration of Sustainability in Latin American Higher Education Institutions
Authors: Blanco-Portela Norka , R-Pertierra Luis , Benayas Javier , Lozano Rodrigo
Published: August 2018

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have been steadily progressing towards the integration of sustainable practices in their structures and operations. Several studies have reported the variety of drivers of change and the barriers to change that universities have found in the integration process. The present investigation is aimed at further characterizing and ranking the drivers for, and barriers of, sustainability integration in HEIs within their structures and operating functions. Open-ended expert opinion interviews of key sustainability leaders appointed at 45 HEIs from 10 Latin-American countries were conducted in order to learn lessons from their diverse experiences of the process. Additionally, a thematic workshop on HEI sustainability was organized to facilitate further discussions between 23 sustainability scholars and/or national coordinators of university networks from 11 Latin American countries. As a result, 15 barriers were identified as hindering the institutionalization of sustainability in HEIs. This study also examined the relationship between these reported barriers with 13 main drivers that were identified to be facilitating the integration of sustainable practices within the organizational and academic structures at the universities. The strong correspondence between the several observed drivers for, and barriers to, change highlights the importance of strategic planning that offers integrated actions. The findings of this paper can serve as a reference to assist HEIs in identifying drivers of, and barriers to, sustainability, so that the former can be fostered and the latter addressed effectively. This can help identify and plan targeted actions to make the transition towards sustainability in HEIs more natural and effective.
Three-Body Dispersion Potentials Involving Electric Octupole Coupling
Authors: Buhmann Stefan Yoshi , Salam A.
Published: August 2018

Non-pairwise additive three-body dispersion potentials dependent upon one or more electric octupole moments are evaluated using the theory of molecular quantum electrodynamics. To simplify the perturbation theory calculations, an effective two-photon interaction Hamiltonian operator is employed. This leads to only third-order theory being required to evaluate energy shifts instead of the usual sixth-order formula, and the summation over six time-ordered sequences of virtual photon creation and annihilation events. Specific energy shifts computed include DD-DD-DO, DD-DO-DO, DO-DO-DO, and DD-DO-OO terms, where D and O are electric dipole and octupole moments, respectively. The formulae obtained are applicable to an arbitrary arrangement of the three particles, and we present explicit results for the equilateral triangle and collinear configurations, which complements the recently published DD-DD-OO potential. In this last case it was found that the contribution from the octupole weight-1 term could be viewed as a higher-order correction to the triple-dipole dispersion potential DD-DD-DD. In a similar fashion the octupole moment is decomposed into its irreducible components of weights-1 and -3, enabling insight to be gained into the potentials obtained in this study. Dispersion interaction energies proportional to mixed dipole-octupole polarisabilities, for example, are found to depend only on the weight-1 octupole moment for isotropic species and are retarded. Additional approximations are necessary in the evaluation of wave vector integrals for these cases in order to yield energy shifts that are valid in the near-zone.
PUF Based Authentication Protocol for IoT
Authors: Braeken An
Published: August 2018

Key agreement between two constrained Internet of Things (IoT) devices that have not met each other is an essential feature to provide in order to establish trust among its users. Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) on a device represent a low cost primitive exploiting the unique random patterns in the device and have been already applied in a multitude of applications for secure key generation and key agreement in order to avoid an attacker to take over the identity of a tampered device, whose key material has been extracted. This paper shows that the key agreement scheme of a recently proposed PUF based protocol, presented by Chatterjee et al., for Internet of Things (IoT) is vulnerable for man-in-the-middle, impersonation, and replay attacks in the Yao–Dolev security model. We propose an alternative scheme, which is able to solve these issues and can provide in addition a more efficient key agreement and subsequently a communication phase between two IoT devices connected to the same authentication server. The scheme also offers identity based authentication and repudiation, when only using elliptic curve multiplications and additions, instead of the compute intensive pairing operations.
Reversible Gelation System for Hydrazine Based on Polymer Absorbent
Authors: Ochiai Bungo , Shimada Yohei
Published: August 2018

Reversible absorbents for safe storage of toxic hydrazine were developed. Various cross-linked polar polymers were examined as absorbents for hydrazine and its 35% aqueous solution, and structurally similar polymers were found to be suitable for effective absorption. Namely, cross-linked polyacrylamide (CPAM) was most effective among examined various hydrophilic polymers. CPAM absorbed 43- and 31-fold heavier amounts of absolute hydrazine and 35% aqueous solution, respectively, by simple soaking. Absorbed hydrazine could be quantitatively released either by N2 gas flow and compression, and the resulting absorbent reabsorbed hydrazine without loss of the absorption ability. The absorption ability was higher than conventional covalent storages, and the release protocol, without dissolution of the absorbent, are suitable for storage systems in hydrazine fuel cells.
Endotoxins from a Pharmacopoeial Point of View
Authors: Franco Elvira , Garcia-Recio Verónica , Jiménez Pilar , Garrosa Manuel , Girbés Tomás , Cordoba-Diaz Manuel , Cordoba-Diaz Damián
Published: August 2018

A pyrogen is a substance that causes fever after intravenous administration or inhalation. Gram negative endotoxins are the most important pyrogens to pharmaceutical laboratories. In the International, United States, Japanese and European Pharmacopoeias, there are two official methods to evaluate pyrogenicity—that is, the bacterial endotoxin test, and the pyrogen test. The main objective of this review is to compare the monographs of each test among the different Pharmacopeias, to detect similarities and differences. The former can be considered fully harmonized, and only non-significant differences were detected. The latter, which is the only available assay for some products and formulations to demonstrate apyrogenicity, shows large differences, which should be considered.
Purification and Characterization of a Novel Antiplatelet Peptide from Deinagkistrodon acutus Venom
Authors: Kong Yi , Sun Qing , Zhao Qi , Zhang Yaqiong
Published: August 2018

Animal venoms are considered as one of the most important sources for drug development. Deinagkistrodon acutus is famous for its toxicity to the human hematological system and envenomed patients develop a coagulation disorder with the symptoms of hemorrhage and microthrombi formation. The purpose of this study was to separate antiplatelet peptides from D. acutus venom using a combination of an ultrafiltration technique and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which was guided by monitoring antiplatelet aggregation bioactivity. A novel octa-peptide named DAA-8 was found. This peptide inhibited protease-activated receptor1 (PAR-1) agonist (SFLLRN-NH2) induced platelet aggregation and it also inhibited platelet aggregation induced by thrombin, ADP, and collagen. Furthermore, DAA-8 showed significant antithrombotic activity and resulted in a slightly increased bleeding risk in vivo. This is the first report of a peptide derived from snake venom, which inhibited PAR-1 agonist-induced platelet aggregation. This peptide may provide a template to design a new PAR-1 inhibitor.
Structural and Functional Investigation and Pharmacological Mechanism of Trichosanthin, a Type 1 Ribosome-Inactivating Protein
Authors: Shi Wei-Wei , Wong Kam-Bo , Shaw Pang-Chui
Published: August 2018

Trichosanthin (TCS) is an RNA N-glycosidase that depurinates adenine-4324 in the conserved α-sarcin/ricin loop (α-SRL) of rat 28 S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). TCS has only one chain, and is classified as type 1 ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP). Our structural studies revealed that TCS consists of two domains, with five conserved catalytic residues Tyr70, Tyr111, Glu160, Arg163 and Phe192 at the active cleft formed between them. We also found that the structural requirements of TCS to interact with the ribosomal stalk protein P2 C-terminal tail. The structural analyses suggest TCS attacks ribosomes by first binding to the C-terminal domain of ribosomal P protein. TCS exhibits a broad spectrum of biological and pharmacological activities including anti-tumor, anti-virus, and immune regulatory activities. This review summarizes an updated knowledge in the structural and functional studies and the mechanism of its multiple pharmacological effects.
Dark Matter with Genuine Spin-2 Fields
Authors: Urban Federico
Published: August 2018

Gravity is the only force which is telling us about the existence of Dark Matter. I will review the idea that this must be the case because Dark Matter is nothing else than a manifestation of Gravity itself, in the guise of an additional, massive, spin-2 particle.
The Diverse Roles of microRNAs at the Host–Virus Interface
Authors: Bernier Annie , Sagan Selena M.
Published: August 2018

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Through this activity, they are implicated in almost every cellular process investigated to date. Hence, it is not surprising that miRNAs play diverse roles in regulation of viral infections and antiviral responses. Diverse families of DNA and RNA viruses have been shown to take advantage of cellular miRNAs or produce virally encoded miRNAs that alter host or viral gene expression. MiRNA-mediated changes in gene expression have been demonstrated to modulate viral replication, antiviral immune responses, viral latency, and pathogenesis. Interestingly, viruses mediate both canonical and non-canonical interactions with miRNAs to downregulate specific targets or to promote viral genome stability, translation, and/or RNA accumulation. In this review, we focus on recent findings elucidating several key mechanisms employed by diverse virus families, with a focus on miRNAs at the host–virus interface during herpesvirus, polyomavirus, retroviruses, pestivirus, and hepacivirus infections.
Rapidity of Genomic Adaptations to Prasinovirus Infection in a Marine Microalga
Authors: Yau Sheree , Caravello Gaëtan , Fonvieille Nadège , Desgranges Élodie , Moreau Hervé , Grimsley Nigel
Published: August 2018

Prasinoviruses are large dsDNA viruses commonly found in aquatic systems worldwide, where they can infect and lyse unicellular prasinophyte algae such as Ostreococcus. Host susceptibility is virus strain-specific, but resistance of susceptible Ostreococcus tauri strains to a virulent virus arises frequently. In clonal resistant lines that re-grow, viruses are usually present for many generations, and genes clustered on chromosome 19 show physical rearrangements and differential expression. Here, we investigated changes occurring during the first two weeks after inoculation of the prasinovirus OtV5. By serial dilutions of cultures at the time of inoculation, we estimated the frequency of resistant cells arising in virus-challenged O. tauri cultures to be 10−3–10−4 of the inoculated population. Re-growing resistant cells were detectable by flow cytometry 3 days post-inoculation (dpi), visible re-greening of cultures occurred by 6 dpi, and karyotypic changes were visually detectable at 8 dpi. Resistant cell lines showed a modified spectrum of host-virus specificities and much lower levels of OtV5 adsorption.
New Adenovirus Groups in Western Palaearctic Bats
Authors: Iglesias-Caballero Maria , Juste Javier , Vázquez-Morón Sonia , Falcon Ana , Aznar-Lopez Carolina , Ibáñez Carlos , Pozo Francisco , Ruiz Guillermo , Berciano Jose M. , Garin Inazio , Aihartza Joxerra , Echevarría Juan E. , Casas Inmaculada
Published: August 2018

In the context of long-term screening for viruses on Western Palaearctic bats, we tested for the presence of adenovirus 1392 oropharyngeal swabs and 325 stool samples taken from 27 bat species. Adenoviruses were detected in 12 species of the Vespertilionidae and the Rhinolophidae families. Fifty positive respiratory and 26 positive stool samples were studied. Phylogenetic analyses of partial hexon protein and partial DNA-dependent DNA polymerase genes indicate that all these bat adenoviruses belong to the genus Mastadenovirus but without constituting a monophyletic cluster. According to genetic identities, the new groups are distinct to the previously described Bat mastadenovirus A and B species and contribute with potentially new members. Our data support that diversity of bat mastadenovirus is host-dependent and increase the knowledge of potentially pathogenic virus from bats. Due to the active role of bats as viral reservoirs, the characterization of these viruses is relevant for Public Health.
Integration of DSM and SPH to Model Tailings Dam Failure Run-Out Slurry Routing Across 3D Real Terrain
Authors: Wang Kun , Yang Peng , Hudson-Edwards Karen , Lyu Wensheng , Yang Chao , Jing Xiaofei
Published: August 2018

Tailings dam failure accidents occur frequently, causing substantial damage and loss of human and animal life. The prediction of run-out tailings slurry routing following dam failures is of great significance for disaster prevention and mitigation. Using satellite remote sensing digital surface model (DSM) data, tailings pond parameters and the advanced meshless smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method, a 3D real-scale numerical modelling method was adopted to study the run-out tailings slurry routing across real downstream terrains that have and have not been affected by dam failures. Three case studies, including a physical modelling experiment, the 2015 Brazil Fundão tailings dam failure accident and an operating high-risk tailings pond in China, were carried out. The physical modelling experiment and the known consequences were successfully modeled and validated using the SPH method. This and the other experiments showed that the run-out tailings slurry would be tremendously destructive in the early stages of dam failure, and emergency response time would be extremely short if the dam collapses at its full designed capacity. The results could provide evidence for disaster prevention and mitigation engineering, emergency management plan optimization, and the development of more responsible site plans and sustainable site designs. However, improvements such as rheological model selection, terrain data quality, computing efficiency and land surface roughness need to be made for future studies. SPH numerical modelling is a powerful and advanced technique that is recommended for hazard assessment and the sustainable design of tailings dam facilities globally.
Impact of Rainwater Harvesting on the Drainage System: Case Study of a Condominium of Houses in Curitiba, Southern Brazil
Authors: Teston Andréa , Teixeira Celimar Azambuja , Ghisi Enedir , Cardoso Ernani Benincá
Published: August 2018

The objective of this work is to assess the impact of rainwater use in single-family houses on drinking water consumption and on the urban drainage system by means of a case study of a condominium of houses in the city of Curitiba, southern Brazil. A quantitative evaluation of the rainwater volume used and spilled in the recovery system was carried out using two methods for sizing the rainwater tank capacity. Using daily rainfall data and three demand scenarios of water consumption, it was possible to verify the efficiency and reliability of the adopted systems. Furthermore, in order to verify the impact on drainage, the greatest rainfall in the series was assessed and then it was possible to measure it by comparing the hydrograph peak flows with and without the rainwater harvesting systems in the watershed outfall, corresponding to the storage tanks (concrete boxes) in the condominium. It was concluded that there was a decrease in the peak flow of 4.9% and 4.4%, respectively, in the two storage tanks evaluated when the rainwater tank capacities were estimated using the method based on the German Practical Method.