bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hybrid Radiobioconjugated Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide-Based Nanoparticles for Multimodal Cancer Therapy
Authors: Żuk Michał , Gawęda Weronika , Majkowska-Pilip Agnieszka , Osial Magdalena , Wolski Marcin , Bilewicz Aleksander , Krysiński Paweł
Published: November 2021

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are widely used for biomedical applications for their outstanding properties such as facile functionalization and doping with different metals, high surface-to-volume ratio, superparamagnetism, and biocompatibility. This study was designed to synthesize and investigate multifunctional nanoparticle conjugate to act as both a magnetic agent, anticancer immunological drug, and radiopharmaceutic for anticancer therapy. The carrier, 166Ho doped iron oxide, was coated with an Au layer, creating core-shell nanoparticles ([166Ho] Fe3O4@Au. These nanoparticles were subsequently modified with monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Tmab) to target HER2+ receptors. We describe the radiobioconjugate preparation involving doping of a radioactive agent and attachment of the organic linker and drug to the SPIONs’ surface. The size of the SPIONs coated with an Au shell measured by transmission electron microscopy was about 15 nm. The bioconjugation of trastuzumab onto SPIONs was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis, and the amount of two molecules per one nanoparticle was estimated with the use of radioiodinated [131I]Tmab. The synthesized bioconjugates showed that they are efficient heat mediators and also exhibit a cytotoxic effect toward SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells expressing HER2 receptors. Prepared radiobioconjugates reveal the high potential for in vivo application of the proposed multimodal hybrid system, combined with magnetic hyperthermia and immunotherapy against cancer tissues.
Patients, Social Workers, and Pharmacists’ Perceptions of Barriers to Providing HIV Care in Community Pharmacies in the United States
Authors: Tarfa Adati , Pecanac Kristen , Shiyanbola Olayinka
Published: November 2021

Retaining people living with HIV (PLWH) in clinical care is a global priority to end the HIV epidemic. Community pharmacies in the United States have structural influences on the success or failure of retention in HIV care by supporting patients’ complex needs. However, to date, barriers to retention in care in the community pharmacy setting have not been examined beyond pharmacy services of medication therapy management. We utilized the patient-centered medical home model to examine the barriers to HIV care in the community pharmacy setting. We utilized semi-structured interviews to collect data from 15 participants: five PLWH, five community pharmacists, and five social workers from a midwestern state. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed using directed content analysis. Four key themes emerged regarding the barriers that impact utilization of community pharmacy services by PLWH: the perception of the role of community pharmacists in HIV care, perceptions of pharmacists’ HIV knowledge, perceptions of pharmacy operation and services, and negative experiences within the community pharmacy space. Participants’ perceptions of solutions for improving HIV care in the community pharmacy focused on improving the relationship between pharmacists and patients, ensuring that the community pharmacy is a private and safe space for patients, and having a diverse pharmacy staff that is equipped to take care of the diverse and marginalized HIV population, such as transgender people.
The Impact of Sargassum Inundations on the Turks and Caicos Islands
Authors: Bartlett Debbie , Elmer Franziska
Published: November 2021

Since 2011, holopelagic Sargassum fluitans and natans have been arriving en masse to the wider Caribbean region and West Africa, impacting near-shore habitats and coastal communities. We examined the impacts of the Sargassum influx on tourism-related businesses through face-to-face interviews and focus groups and on near-shore seagrass beds through in-water surveys in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). Substantial accumulations of sargassum were found on the beaches of South Caicos and Middle Creek Cay in 2018 and 2019, including a Sargassum brown tide in 2018. A variety of different approaches to removing sargassum from the beaches were mentioned and a desire from local businesses as well as local authorities to find a sustainable, cost-effective solution to what is viewed by many as a serious problem. The brown tide and sargassum accumulating as a layer on the benthos inside the seagrass beds caused significant loss of Thalassia testudinum. Halodule wrightii, macroalgae and sand plains were found in the areas lost by T. testudinum. This finding suggests that, if a cost-effective end use for sargassum could be identified, harvesting material in inshore waters rather than when it has arrived on the beach would have dual benefits.
Composite Materials from Renewable Resources as Sustainable Corrosion Protection Coatings
Authors: Komartin Raluca Sanda , Balanuca Brindusa , Necolau Madalina Ioana , Cojocaru Anca , Stan Raluca
Published: November 2021

Epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) and kraft lignin (LnK) were used to obtain new sustainable composites as corrosion protection layers through a double-curing procedure involving UV radiation and thermal curing to ensure homogeneous distribution of the filler. The crosslinked structures were confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), by comparative monitorization of the absorption band at 825 cm−1, attributed to the stretching vibration of epoxy rings. Thermal degradation behavior under N2 gas indicates that the higher LnK content, the better thermal stability of the composites (over 30 °C of Td10% for ELO + 15% LnK), while for the experiment under air-oxidant atmosphere, the lower LnK content (5%) conducted to the more thermo-stable material. Dynamic-mechanic behavior and water affinity of the new materials were also investigated. The increase of the Tg values with the increase of the LnK content (20 °C for the composite with 15% LnK) denote the reinforcement effect of the LnK, while the surface and bulk water affinity were not dramatically affected. All the obtained composites were tested as carbon steel corrosion protection coatings, resulting in significant increase of corrosion inhibition efficiency (IE) of 140–380%, highlighting the great potential of the bio-based ELO-LnK composites as a future perspective for industrial application.
Influence of TiO2 and ZrO2 Nanoparticles on Adhesive Bond Strength and Viscosity of Dentin Polymer: A Physical and Chemical Evaluation
Authors: Al-Saleh Samar , Alateeq Abdullah , Alshaya Abdulaziz H. , Al-Qahtani Amal S. , Tulbah Huda I. , Binhasan Mashael , Shabib Sara , Farooq Imran , Vohra Fahim , Abduljabbar Tariq
Published: November 2021

The present study aimed to formulate an experimental adhesive (EA) and reinforce it with 5 wt.% titanium dioxide (TiO2) or zirconium oxide (ZrO2) to yield 5% TiO2 and 5% ZrO2 adhesives, respectively, and then analyze the impact of this reinforcement on various mechanical properties of the adhesives. The EA contained a blend of monomers such as bisphenol A glycol dimethacrylate (BisGMA), triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA), 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), and ethyl 4-dimethylamino benzoate and camphorquinone. The EA included ethyl 4-dimethylamino benzoate and camphorquinone photo-initiators, and diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate (DPIHP) was also included to act as an electron initiator. The TiO2 and ZrO2 nanoparticles were incorporated into the EA post-synthesis. To characterize the filler nanoparticles, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and line-energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were performed. The adhesives were characterized by analyzing their rheological properties, shear-bond strength (SBS), and interfacial failure types. Further, the resin–dentin interface was also analyzed via SEM. The TiO2 nanoparticles were spherically shaped on the SEM micrographs, while the ZrO2 nanoparticles were seen as non-uniformly shaped agglomerates. The EDX mapping demonstrated the presence of Ti and oxygen for TiO2 and Zr and oxygen for the ZrO2 nanoparticles. Both 5% TiO2 and 5% ZrO2 adhesives revealed decreased viscosity as compared with the EA. The 5% TiO2 adhesive demonstrated higher SBS values for both non-thermocycled (NTC) and thermocycled samples (NTC: 25.35 ± 1.53, TC: 23.89 ± 1.95 MPa), followed by the 5% ZrO2 adhesive group (NTC: 23.10 ± 2.22, TC: 20.72 ± 1.32 MPa). The bulk of the failures (>70%) were of adhesive type in all groups. The SEM analysis of the resin–dentin interface revealed the development of a hybrid layer and resin tags (of variable depth) for the EA and 5% TiO2 groups. However, for the 5% ZrO2 group, the hybrid layer and resin tag establishment appeared compromised. Reinforcement of the EA with TiO2 or ZrO2 caused an increase in the adhesive’s SBS (with the 5% TiO2 group demonstrating the highest values) in comparison with the EA (without nanoparticles). However, both nanoparticle-containing adhesives revealed decreased viscosity compared with the EA (without nanoparticles). Further studies investigating the impact of diverse filler concentrations on the properties of adhesives are suggested.
Enzymatic Functionalization of Wood as an Antifouling Strategy against the Marine Bacterium Cobetia marina
Authors: Filgueira Daniel , Bolaño Cristian , Gouveia Susana , Moldes Diego
Published: November 2021

The protection of wood in marine environments is a major challenge due to the high sensitivity of wood to both water and marine microorganisms. Besides, the environmental regulations are pushing the industry to develop novel effective and environmentally friendly treatments to protect wood in marine environments. The present study focused on the development of a new green methodology based on the laccase-assisted grafting of lauryl gallate (LG) onto wood to improve its marine antifouling properties. Initially, the enzymatic treatment conditions (laccase dose, time of reaction, LG concentration) and the effect of the wood specie (beech, pine, and eucalyptus) were assessed by water contact angle (WCA) measurements. The surface properties of the enzymatically modified wood veneers were assessed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Antifouling properties of the functionalized wood veneers against marine bacterium Cobetia marina were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and protein measurements. XPS and FTIR analysis suggested the stable grafting of LG onto the surface of wood veneers after laccase-assisted treatment. WCA measurements showed that the hydrophobicity of the wood veneers significantly increased after the enzymatic treatment. Protein measurements and SEM pictures showed that enzymatically-hydrophobized wood veneers modified the pattern of bacterial attachment and remarkably reduced the bacterium colonization. Thus, the results observed in the present study confirmed the potential efficiency of laccase-assisted treatments to improve the marine antifouling properties of wood.
Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Enhanced Biological Activities of Exopolysaccharide from Halomonas desertis G11: Biochemical and Genomic Insights
Authors: Chouchane Habib , Boutiti Sahar , Ouertani Awatef , Hassen Wafa , Guesmi Sihem , Neifar Mohamed , Jelassi Haikel , Sghaier Haïtham , Masmoudi Ahmed Salah Eddine , Cherif Ameur
Published: November 2021

In this work, a native exopolysaccharide (nEPS) produced by Halomonas desertis G11 isolated from a Tunisian extreme environment was modified by gamma irradiation. Characterization as well as the antioxidant and antitumor activities of nEPS and its gamma-irradiated derivatives (iEPSs) were comparatively evaluated. In vitro and in vivo antioxidant potentials were determined by using different methods and through different antioxidant enzymes. The antitumor activity was checked against a human colon cancer cell line. Analyses of the complete genome sequence were carried out to identify genes implicated in the production of nEPS. Thus, the genomic biosynthesis pathway and the export mechanism of nEPS were proposed. Analyses of irradiation data showed that iEPSs acquired new functional groups, lower molecular weights, and gained significantly (p < 0.05) higher antioxidant and antitumor abilities compared with nEPS. These findings provide a basis for using iEPSs as novel pharmaceutical agents for human therapies.
Application of Sentinel 2 Satellite Imagery for Sustainable Groundwater Management in Agricultural Areas—Chtouka Aquifer, Morocco
Authors: Stoffner Fabian , Mimouni Mustapha
Published: November 2021

In semi-arid regions that are characterized by large agricultural activities, a high volume of water is needed to cover the water requirements for agricultural production. Due to low precipitation and the associated limited availability of surface water, aquifers often represent the main source of irrigation water in these regions. Especially in coastal aquifers, high groundwater abstraction rates may change the flow dynamics of the aquifer and may lead to saltwater intrusion. In this study, within the framework of German–Moroccan international cooperation, the agricultural areas for the summer period 2019 of the Chtouka coastal aquifer in southern Morocco are classified using optical and multi-spectral Sentinel 2 data. Based on the developed land use maps, the groundwater abstraction for irrigation is then quantified by referring to local farmers’ irrigation practices. Following this approach, the total amount of groundwater abstraction is estimated at 157 million m3 for the summer period 2019 in the Chtouka aquifer.
A Loading Correction Model for GPS Measurements Derived from Multiple-Data Combined Monthly Gravity
Authors: Luo Jiesi , Chen Wei , Ray Jim , van Dam Tonie , Li Jiancheng
Published: November 2021

Time-dependent loading deformations of the Earth’s surface, due to nontidal changes in the atmosphere, ocean, land water/ice, etc., contribute significantly to the seasonal and secular Global Positioning System (GPS) site displacements, especially for the up component. While loading deformations derived from general circulation model (GCM) outputs are usually used to correct loading signals in the GPS site displacements, this study aims to provide a loading correction model based on the multiple-data combined monthly gravity products LDCmgm90. We have adopted GPS measurements from 249 IGS reference frame stations and 3 different GCM-based loading models to test the reliability of the LDCmgm90 model. Compared to the GCM-based models, the LDCmgm90 loading correction is more effective in attenuating seasonal (especially annual) loading signals and can bring more significant improvements to most stations for both the data-trend-removed and the data-trend-retained cases. Thus, we have validated the LDCmgm90 model from the loading aspect and proved it to be a reliable loading-correction model for GPS displacements. The relatively better secular loading signals provided by the LDCmgm90 loading model may provide us a chance to study the long-term, nonloading signals in GPS data.
Projected Meteorological Drought over Asian Drylands under Different CMIP6 Scenarios
Authors: Li Hongwei , Li Zhi , Chen Yaning , Liu Yongchang , Hu Yanan , Sun Fan , Kayumba Patient
Published: November 2021

Asia currently has the world’s largest arid and semi-arid zones, so a timely assessment of future droughts in the Asian drylands is prudent, particularly in the context of recent frequent sandstorms. This paper assesses the duration, frequency, and intensity of drought events in the Asian drylands based on nine climate models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). The results show that a high percentage of land area is experiencing significant drought intensification of 65.1%, 89.9%, and 99.8% under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP)126, SSP245, and SSP585 scenarios, respectively. Furthermore, the data indicate that future droughts will become less frequent but longer in duration and more intense, with even more severe future droughts predicted for northwest China and western parts of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Drought durations of 10.8 months and 13.4 months are anticipated for the future periods of 2021–2060 and 2061–2100, respectively, compared to the duration of 6.6 months for the historical period (1960–2000). Meanwhile, drought intensity is expected to reach 1.37 and 1.66, respectively, for future events compared to 0.97 for the historical period. However, drought severity under SSP245 will be weaker than that under SSP126 due to the mitigating effect of precipitation. The results of this study can provide a basis for the development of adaptation measures in Asian dryland nations.
Attention Enhanced U-Net for Building Extraction from Farmland Based on Google and WorldView-2 Remote Sensing Images
Authors: Li Chuangnong , Fu Lin , Zhu Qing , Zhu Jun , Fang Zheng , Xie Yakun , Guo Yukun , Gong Yuhang
Published: November 2021

High-resolution remote sensing images contain abundant building information and provide an important data source for extracting buildings, which is of great significance to farmland preservation. However, the types of ground features in farmland are complex, the buildings are scattered and may be obscured by clouds or vegetation, leading to problems such as a low extraction accuracy in the existing methods. In response to the above problems, this paper proposes a method of attention-enhanced U-Net for building extraction from farmland, based on Google and WorldView-2 remote sensing images. First, a Resnet unit is adopted as the infrastructure of the U-Net network encoding part, then the spatial and channel attention mechanism module is introduced between the Resnet unit and the maximum pool and the multi-scale fusion module is added to improve the U-Net network. Second, the buildings found on WorldView-2 and Google images are extracted through farmland boundary constraints. Third, boundary optimization and fusion processing are carried out for the building extraction results on the WorldView-2 and Google images. Fourth, a case experiment is performed. The method in this paper is compared with semantic segmentation models, such as FCN8, U-Net, Attention_UNet, and DeepLabv3+. The experimental results indicate that this method attains a higher accuracy and better effect in terms of building extraction within farmland; the accuracy is 97.47%, the F1 score is 85.61%, the recall rate (Recall) is 93.02%, and the intersection of union (IoU) value is 74.85%. Hence, buildings within farming areas can be effectively extracted, which is conducive to the preservation of farmland.
A Novel Blockchain and Bi-Linear Polynomial-Based QCP-ABE Framework for Privacy and Security over the Complex Cloud Data
Authors: Singamaneni Kranthi Kumar , Ramana Kadiyala , Dhiman Gaurav , Singh Saurabh , Yoon Byungun
Published: November 2021

As a result of the limited resources available in IoT local devices, the large scale cloud consumer’s data that are produced by IoT related machines are contracted out to the cloud. Cloud computing is unreliable, using it can compromise user privacy, and data may be leaked. Because cloud-data and grid infrastructure are both growing exponentially, there is an urgent need to explore computational sources and cloud large-data protection. Numerous cloud service categories are assimilated into numerous fields, such as defense systems and pharmaceutical databases, to compute information space and allocation of resources. Attribute Based Encryption (ABE) is a sophisticated approach which can permit employees to specify a higher level of security for data stored in cloud storage facilities. Numerous obsolete ABE techniques are practical when applied to small data sets to generate cryptograms with restricted computational properties; their properties are used to generate the key, encrypt it, and decrypt it. To address the current concerns, a dynamic non-linear polynomial chaotic quantum hash technique on top of secure block chain model can be used for enhancing cloud data security while maintaining user privacy. In the proposed method, customer attributes are guaranteed by using a dynamic non- polynomial chaotic map function for the key initialization, encryption, and decryption. In the proposed model, both organized and unorganized massive clinical data are considered to be inputs for reliable corroboration and encoding. Compared to existing models, the real-time simulation results demonstrate that the stated standard is more precise than 90% in terms of bit change and more precise than 95% in terms of dynamic key generation, encipherment, and decipherment time.
The Preparation of High Purity of Rebaudioside A and Stevioside and the Enrichment of Rebaudioside C by Subsequent Twice Crystallizations from Natural Stevia Resources
Authors: Luo Yingjie , Peng Lincai , Yang Zhaoziyuan , Yao Shun , Song Hang
Published: November 2021

A comprehensive utilization of rebaudioside A (RA), stevioside (ST), and rebaudioside C (RC) from natural stevia resources was proposed. The influence of the solvent, solvent concentration, solid-liquid ratio, temperature, and time on the purity and recovery were investigated with response surface methodology. A 99% purity and 81% recovery of the RA were achieved by one crystallization of crude stevia under optimized conditions. Around a 95% purity and 80% recovery of the ST were easily achieved by the recrystallization of less value of mother liquor sugar (MLS) with a certain concentration of isopropyl alcohol–methanol aqueous solution. During the crystallization of the ST, the enriched RC in the liquid phase was more than three times higher than that in the crude stevia, which can provide cheaper RC raw material for the subsequent preparation of very expensive and high-purity RC.
Libraries Fight Disinformation: An Analysis of Online Practices to Help Users’ Generations in Spotting Fake News
Authors: Herrero-Diz Paula , López-Rufino Clara
Published: November 2021

The work of libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, as facilitators of reliable information on health issues, has shown that these entities can play an active role as verification agents in the fight against disinformation (false information that is intended to mislead), focusing on media and informational literacy. To help citizens, these entities have developed a wide range of actions that range from online seminars, to learning how to evaluate the quality of a source, to video tutorials or the creation of repositories with resources of various natures. To identify the most common media literacy practices in the face of fake news (news that conveys or incorporates false, fabricated, or deliberately misleading information), this exploratory study designed an ad hoc analysis sheet, validated by the inter-judge method, which allowed one to classify the practices of N = 216 libraries from all over the world. The results reveal that the libraries most involved in this task are those belonging to public universities. Among the actions carried out to counteract misinformation, open-access materials that favor self-learning stand out. These resources, aimed primarily at university students and adults in general, are aimed at acquiring skills related to fact-checking and critical thinking. Therefore, libraries vindicate their role as components of the literacy triad, together with professors and communication professionals.
What Influences the Implementation and Sustainability of Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Interventions? A Case Study from Southern Bangladesh
Authors: Sharma Indu K. , Essink Dirk , Fumado Victoria , Mridha Malay Kanti , Bhattacharjee Lalita , Broerse Jacqueline E. W.
Published: November 2021

Nutrition-sensitive agriculture (NSA) provides a promising pathway for addressing malnutrition. Fulfilling this promise needs a better understanding of the implementation and sustainability of NSA interventions because of their highly complex nature. This study aimed to explore the factors affecting the implementation and sustainability of NSA interventions. A case study design was employed using two focus group discussions with beneficiaries (n = 15), semi-structured interviews with beneficiaries (n = 13), and actors involved in implementation (n = 18). Factors were thematically analyzed using both deductive and inductive approaches adapting the consolidated framework for implementation research. A complex interaction of the factors across the five domains was found: outer setting—nutrition sensitivity of policies, institutional framework; inner setting—culture, social and economic environment, biophysical environment, local capacity, other programs or projects; characteristics of actors—beneficiaries, family members, household capacity, implementers; intervention characteristics—adaptability, design quality, cost of interventions; and, implementation process—fit-to-context, integration and multisectoral collaboration, continuous motivation through engagement, monitoring. Implementing and sustaining NSA needs consideration of multiple factors, with careful analysis of the absorptive capacities of local institutions and beneficiary households. Future studies should explore which mechanisms created for adoption can be continued beyond the project funding cycle, and how.
DeveLoP—A Rationale and Toolbox for Democratic Landscape Planning
Authors: Blennow Kristina , Persson Erik , Persson Johannes
Published: November 2021

A rationale for an individuals-oriented landscape approach to sustainable land-use planning based on an analysis of bio-geo-physical components as well as the human components of the landscape is presented. A toolbox for analysing individuals’ decision-making and valuations in the landscape is described. The toolbox can provide evidence on the drivers of individuals’ decision-making in the landscape and the decision strategies they apply. This evidence can be used to identify communication needs and to design guidelines for effective communication. The tool for value elicitation separates the instrumental values (means) and end values (goals) of individuals with respect to locations in the landscape. This distinction, and knowledge of the end values in the landscape, are critical for the achievement of policy goals and for spatial planning from a democratic point of view. The individuals-oriented landscape approach has roots in geography and draws on behavioural decision research together with a model for integrating “science and proven experience” that is widely used in public decision-making in the Nordic countries. The approach differs from other scholarly disciplines addressing sustainable land-use planning. It is suitable for application on decision-making problems that include trade-offs between values. An overview of empirical studies is provided in which the individuals-oriented landscape rationale is applied to climate change.
Export Promotion Agencies’ Lived Turmoil, Response and Strategies in COVID-19 Times
Authors: Geldres-Weiss Valeska V. , Massa Nathaniel P. , Monreal-Pérez Joaquín
Published: November 2021

This paper explores Export Promotion Agencies’ (EPAs’) lived turmoil amid the COVID-19 crisis. It investigates: the EPAs’ perspective on pandemic impact on exporting SMEs; the pandemic impact on EPAs, their operations and response strategies; and EPAs’ perception and expectations post-COVID. The research draws on in-depth interviews with three countries’ EPA managers (Chile, Ecuador, Peru); five elite informants engaged operationally and strategically. A narrative approach inquiring on human experience is adopted, enabling rich insights on complex dynamics and contextual realities ‘from the inside’. Notwithstanding heavy regional impact, no research exists on South America; especially EPAs’ role in COVID times. The methodology provides intimate first-hand knowledge on idiosyncratic circumstances shrouded in uncertainty; unprecedented challenges faced at ground zero, addressed in unconventional ways. Country-specific complexities compounded pandemic impact. EPAs were compelled to rediscover their purpose, devising novel responses to help exporting SMEs. Notwithstanding reduced budgets and layoffs, the EPAs persevered, innovating resource-light solutions to pragmatically surmount turmoil; effectively serving their mission amid uncertainty and adversity. In/formal emergent trust-based cooperation strategies proved crucial. Also accentuated was production and consumption environmental sustainability. Detailed front-line perspectives provide valuable insight and important lessons on complex challenges endured and effective EPA action. Post-COVID perspectives, best practice and policy support recommendations are forthcoming.
Stay or Leave? Arctic Youth Prospects and Sustainable Futures of the Russian Arctic Communities
Authors: Rozanova-Smith Marya
Published: November 2021

Based on quantitative and qualitative analysis, this paper attempts to answer a research question that is critical for many Arctic communities: “What makes local youth want to leave?” Using the Russian Arctic cities of Naryan-Mar, Salekhard, and Novy Urengoy (Nenets and Yamalo-Nenets regions) as case studies, this article explores how local youth contribute to social sustainability and define the futures of their Arctic cities. The study identifies new variables relevant to the youth cohort built on the Urban Sustainability Index and social sustainability model. Based on 400+ questionnaires and interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth, education professionals, and public officials, this study looks at the youth’s educational and professional strategies, social activities and cultural consumption, migration patterns, and civic engagement in a broader context. This article also discusses how local youth feel disempowered in building their futures and highlights the importance of access to educational opportunities and wider career choices in the Arctic.
Geographic Distribution and Influencing Factor Analysis of Green Residential Buildings in China
Authors: Guo Ke , Yuan Yongbo
Published: November 2021

Green residential buildings (GRBs) are an important part of the concept of green building. Although green buildings are well studied for geographic distribution and influencing factors, GRBs have not been fully explored or widely noted by parties involved in the building sectors. In this paper, we study the geographic distribution and influencing factors of 2134 GRBs that met the Green Building Evaluation Standard and obtained a green building logo in 2008–2016 in China. First, we analyze the geographic distribution and spatial correlation of GRBs with different star ratings at the provincial and municipal levels by natural break-point method and Moran’s index. Second, we study the aggregation degree of medium- and high-star GRBs in each province by development concentration index and define 42 leading cities with more favorable levels of GRB development. Third, we analyze the correlation between the GRBs’ number and 18 influencing factors covering the social economy and real estate market in the 42 leading cities. According to the analysis, this paper shows that (1) there are differences in the geographical distribution characteristics of different star green buildings in China. (2) The differences in geographical distribution and the spatial correlation of GRBs are more obvious in the study of municipal administrative division levels. (3) The local commercial residential building prices and the local residents’ economic and social statuses, education levels, and living standards are significantly positively correlated with the grade of GRBs.
Sustainability of AI: The Case of Provision of Information to Consumers
Authors: Kindylidi Iakovina , Cabral Tiago Sérgio
Published: November 2021

The potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and its manifold applications have fueled the discussion around how AI can be used to facilitate sustainable objectives. However, the technical, ethical, and legal literature on how AI, including its design, training, implementation, and use can be sustainable, is rather limited. At the same time, consumers incrementally pay more attention to sustainability information, whereas businesses are increasingly engaging in greenwashing practices, especially in relation to digital products and services, raising concerns about the efficiency of the existing consumer protection framework in this regard. The objective of this paper is to contribute to the discussion toward sustainable AI from a legal and consumer protection standpoint while focusing on the environmental and societal pillar of sustainability. After analyzing the multidisciplinary literature available on the topic of the environmentally sustainable AI lifecycle, as well as the latest EU policies and initiatives regarding consumer protection and sustainability, we will examine whether the current consumer protection framework is sufficient to promote sharing and substantiation of sustainability information in B2C contracts involving AI products and services. Moreover, we will assess whether AI-related AI initiatives can promote a sustainable AI development. Finally, we will propose a set of recommendations capable of encouraging a sustainable and environmentally-conscious AI lifecycle while enhancing information transparency among stakeholders, aligning the various EU policies and initiatives, and ultimately empowering consumers.
Fluoride Toxicity Limit—Can the Element Exert a Positive Effect on Plants?
Authors: Jarosz Zbigniew , Pitura Karolina
Published: November 2021

The problem of fluoride toxicity to living organisms is the subject of many studies. Its effect, not always toxic, on the human organism has been well documented. However, although the phytotoxicity of the element has been proved, this issue is still being investigated. It seems to be still relevant due to the progressive pollution of the environment and fluoridation of water. Assuming that the source of food for humans is plants, the content of fluoride in fruits and vegetables is important for human health. In the available literature, fluoride has been demonstrated to be phytotoxic at the level of cell transformations, biometric plant parameters, development of resistance, and biochemical processes in plants. However, several studies have provided information on improvement of certain plant parameters, e.g., the length of roots or shoots, caused by low fluoride doses and improvement of respiratory indices. The aim of this study was to analyze changes caused in plants by exposure to fluoride and to determine its beneficial effects based on the latest literature reports. It was based on the latest knowledge from the last 8 years. Attempts were made to compare earlier research results with contemporary items. In conclusion, the analysis has shown that, although some sources provide information on the positive effect of small fluoride doses, the impact of this element requires further investigations, as has not been fully elucidated.
PM2.5 Concentration Prediction Based on Spatiotemporal Feature Selection Using XGBoost-MSCNN-GA-LSTM
Authors: Dai Hongbin , Huang Guangqiu , Zeng Huibin , Yang Fan
Published: November 2021

With the rapid development of China’s industrialization, air pollution is becoming more and more serious. Predicting air quality is essential for identifying further preventive measures to avoid negative impacts. The existing prediction of atmospheric pollutant concentration ignores the problem of feature redundancy and spatio-temporal characteristics; the accuracy of the model is not high, the mobility of it is not strong. Therefore, firstly, extreme gradient lifting (XGBoost) is applied to extract features from PM2.5, then one-dimensional multi-scale convolution kernel (MSCNN) is used to extract local temporal and spatial feature relations from air quality data, and linear splicing and fusion is carried out to obtain the spatio-temporal feature relationship of multi-features. Finally, XGBoost and MSCNN combine the advantages of LSTM in dealing with time series. Genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to optimize the parameter set of long-term and short-term memory network (LSTM) network. The spatio-temporal relationship of multi-features is input into LSTM network, and then the long-term feature dependence of multi-feature selection is output to predict PM2.5 concentration. A XGBoost-MSCGL of PM2.5 concentration prediction model based on spatio-temporal feature selection is established. The data set comes from the hourly concentration data of six kinds of atmospheric pollutants and meteorological data in Fen-Wei Plain in 2020. To verify the effectiveness of the model, the XGBoost-MSCGL model is compared with the benchmark models such as multilayer perceptron (MLP), CNN, LSTM, XGBoost, CNN-LSTM with before and after using XGBoost feature selection. According to the forecast results of 12 cities, compared with the single model, the root mean square error (RMSE) decreased by about 39.07%, the average MAE decreased by about 42.18%, the average MAE decreased by about 49.33%, but R2 increased by 23.7%. Compared with the model after feature selection, the root mean square error (RMSE) decreased by an average of about 15%. On average, the MAPE decreased by 16%, the MAE decreased by 21%, and R2 increased by 2.6%. The experimental results show that the XGBoost-MSCGL prediction model offer a more comprehensive understanding, runs deeper levels, guarantees a higher prediction accuracy, and ensures a better generalization ability in the prediction of PM2.5 concentration.
The Functions of Housing in Response to Changed Lifestyles in Korean Residential Spaces: A Comparative Analysis of the Cases in Lifestyle and Architectural Magazines
Authors: Kwon Hyun-ah , Kim Soomi
Published: November 2021

The housing type of apartments, spread widely across South Korea, has penetrated deep into its domestic housing culture, thanks to their advantages in terms of convenience, resulting from the mass production of industrial capitalism, which prioritizes functionality and efficiency. However, capitalist social structures have been undergoing transformation in the 21st century. Under a new paradigm emphasizing creativity over functionality and efficiency, the characteristics of everyday life are also changing. We started with the question of apartment spaces, which featured there are only basic minimum functions with simple combinations of similar rooms, without being able to capture the current changed lifestyle. Therefore, this study focuses on newly emerging lifestyles resulting from this transition of social structures and the characteristics of residential spaces at present, centering on the “function of housing”. Based on these considerations, we aimed to establish the essential function of housing that is prioritized by this era. To this end, we first looked at the changes in the functions of housing before and after modern times. We found that the functions of housing that were complex in traditional society have been differentiated and that houses have changed into a more private space along with the post-modern advent of urban public areas. However, the recent shift in social structure has led to the emergence of new lifestyles, which has also called for new functions of housing. Therefore, in this study, through the analysis of recent lifestyle magazines and architectural magazines, we compared the general public’s and architectural experts’ perspectives on the changed functions of housing and the characteristics of the required residential space. Accordingly, this research analyzed articles containing interviews with residents in lifestyle magazines and articles of architects and critics in architectural magazines. In addition to our previous literatures on changes in “characteristics of residents” and “relationship between individual and family”, this study will ignite discussions on contemporary urban housing from diverse and multi-layered levels as an attempt to achieve sustainable housing where residents’ everyday lives and their residential spaces match.
Frequency Stability of AC/DC Interconnected Power Systems with Wind Energy Using Arithmetic Optimization Algorithm-Based Fuzzy-PID Controller
Authors: Elkasem Ahmed H. A. , Khamies Mohamed , Magdy Gaber , Taha Ibrahim B. M. , Kamel Salah
Published: November 2021

This article proposes an intelligent control strategy to enhance the frequency dynamic performance of interconnected multi-source power systems composing of thermal, hydro, and gas power plants and the high penetration level of wind energy. The proposed control strategy is based on a combination of fuzzy logic control with a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller to overcome the PID limitations during abnormal conditions. Moreover, a newly adopted optimization technique namely Arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA) is proposed to fine-tune the proposed fuzzy-PID controller to overcome the disadvantages of conventional and heuristic optimization techniques (i.e., long time in estimating controller parameters-slow convergence curves). Furthermore, the effect of the high voltage direct current link is taken into account in the studied interconnected power system to eliminate the AC transmission disadvantages (i.e., frequent tripping during oscillations in large power systems–high level of fault current). The dynamic performance analysis confirms the superiority of the proposed fuzzy-PID controller based on the AOA compared to the fuzzy-PID controller based on a hybrid local unimodal sampling and teaching learning-based optimization (TLBO) in terms of minimum objective function value and overshoots and undershoots oscillation measurement. Also, the AOA’s proficiency has been verified over several other powerful optimization techniques; differential evolution, TLBO using the PID controller. Moreover, the simulation results ensure the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed fuzzy-PID controller using the AOA in achieving better performance under several contingencies; different load variations, the high penetration level of the wind power, and system uncertainties compared to other literature controllers adjusting by various optimization techniques.
Ensemble Flood Risk Assessment in the Yangtze River Economic Belt under CMIP6 SSP-RCP Scenarios
Authors: Peng Lu , Li Zhihui
Published: November 2021

The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is an important part of China’s “two screens and three belts” strategic ecological security barrier, and the urban agglomeration along the YREB is the core of its economic development. However, it has suffered the most from frequent and severe flood disasters that were affected by torrential rains, urbanization, and human activities, with climate change intensifying the potential occurrence of flood disasters in this area. Based on the CMIP6 climate data, this study constructed a flood risk assessment index system and assessed the temporal and spatial changes of the flood risk in the YREB during 2020–2050 under four shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP) scenarios, including SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, and SSP585. From the perspective of temporal change, the results showed that at the grid level, the area of middle-low risk (0.55 < R ≤ 0.65) accounted for 60% of the total area of the YREB and area of high-risk (R > 0.85) fluctuated first and then decreased under the four scenarios, with the area of high-risk being largest in the future under the SSP585 scenario. Specifically, at the city level, around half of the cities in the YREB had faced high flood risk and the risk showed an increasing trend during 2020–2050 under the SSP370 scenario. From the perspective of spatial change, the flood risk of the YREB presented a spatial pattern of low in the west and high in the east, with high risk mainly concentrated in the cities in the lower reaches of the YREB and also Chongqing and Sichuan. Compared with SSP126 and SSP245 scenarios, it showed that high-risk areas were larger under high emission scenarios SSP370 and SSP585, which were mostly concentrated in middle and lower reaches of the YREB and the cities of Chongqing and Chengdu during 2020–2050. Especially, flood risk showed an increasing trend in the middle and lower reaches of the YREB during 2020–2050, and the regions with high vulnerability would have greater socio-economic losses. The finding would provide scientific support for resilience improvement, risk reduction and management, and formulating policies to achieve green and sustainable development in the YREB.
When the Customer and the Wine Shelf Meet: Factors of Ethnocentrism When Selecting a Bottle of Wine
Authors: Petek Vita , Rozman Črtomir , Potočnik Topler Jasna
Published: November 2021

This study examines the importance of wine characteristics when choosing wine, such as the shape and colour of the bottle, type of wine cork, information on the wine label, price and ethnocentrism. Three research questions were proposed in this paper. A quantitative online survey in the form of 458 participants was carried out in Slovenia. Participants were asked questions relating to their wine consumption behaviour. The results of this study show the Spearman’s correlation coefficient between ethnocentrism and country-of-origin importance. These findings benefit winemakers who want to improve their wine sales and learn what characteristics of the wine label are significant.
Sustainable Management of Transboundary Groundwater Resources: Past and Future
Authors: Golovina Ekaterina , Pasternak Svetlana , Tsiglianu Pavel , Tselischev Nikolay
Published: November 2021

Groundwater resources at all times have provided and continue to provide a significant impact on the economic, social, and often political activities of any state, especially if the reserves of this strategic resource are limited. Coordinated groundwater resources management is one of the main conditions for the sustainable development of countries’ transboundary basins, affecting all aspects of human activity, including water supply, agriculture, industry, hydropower, water transport, environment, and the very quality of human life. Modern international trends in the field of transboundary groundwater resources management is undergoing significant changes. This article dwells upon the features of groundwater as a mineral, the structure of state groundwater management in the Russian Federation, the regulation of transboundary groundwater use, and protection at the international and domestic levels are analyzed. The system of management of the transboundary aquifers of Kazakhstan and Belarus is considered in more detail. The unitization approach used for coordinated development of oil and gas fields can, to some extent, serve as a model for managing common groundwater aquifers located on the border of neighboring states. Dogmatic and comparative legal methods consisting of analyzing the applicable legal regulations on the use and protection of groundwater were used. Several recommendations for improving the system of state sustainable management of groundwater resources at the global level are proposed.