bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Family History of Premature Coronary Artery Disease (P-CAD)—A Non-Modifiable Risk Factor? Dietary Patterns of Young Healthy Offspring of P-CAD Patients: A Case-Control Study (MAGNETIC Project)
Authors: Osadnik Tadeusz , Pawlas Natalia , Lonnie Marta , Osadnik Kamila , Lejawa Mateusz , Wądołowska Lidia , Bujak Kamil , Fronczek Martyna , Reguła Rafał , Gawlita Marcin , Strzelczyk Joanna Katarzyna , Góral Marta , Gierlotka Marek , Poloński Lech , Gąsior Mariusz
Published: October 2018

Dietary habits of healthy offspring with a positive family history of premature coronary artery disease (P-CAD) have not been studied so far. The aim of this study was twofold: (1) to identify dietary patterns in a sample of young healthy adults with (cases) and without (controls) family history of P-CAD, and (2) to study the association between dietary patterns and family history of P-CAD. The data came from the MAGNETIC case-control study. The participants were healthy adults aged 18–35 years old, with (n = 351) and without a family history of P-CAD (n = 338). Dietary data were collected with food frequency questionnaire FFQ-6. Dietary patterns (DP) were derived using principal component analysis (PCA). The associations between the adherence to DPs and family history of P-CAD were investigated using logistic regression. Two models were created: crude and adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, place of residence, financial situation, education, and physical activity at leisure time. Three DPs were identified: ‘prudent’, ‘westernized traditional’ and ‘dairy, breakfast cereals, and treats’. In both crude and adjusted models, subjects with family history of P-CAD showed higher adherence by 31% and 25% to ‘westernized traditional’ DP (odds ratio (OR) 1.31, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.12–1.53; p < 0.005; per 1 unit of standard deviation (SD) of DP score and adjOR 1.25, 95% CI: 1.06–1.48; p = 0.007; per 1 unit of SD of DP score, respectively). Young healthy adults with family history of P-CAD present unfavorable dietary patterns and are potentially a target group for CAD primary prevention programs.
Fungal Pathogens of Maize Gaining Free Passage Along the Silk Road
Authors: Thompson Michelle , Raizada Manish
Published: October 2018

Silks are the long threads at the tips of maize ears onto which pollen land and sperm nuclei travel long distances to fertilize egg cells, giving rise to embryos and seeds; however fungal pathogens also use this route to invade developing grain, causing damaging ear rots with dangerous mycotoxins. This review highlights the importance of silks as the direct highways by which globally important fungal pathogens enter maize kernels. First, the most important silk-entering fungal pathogens in maize are reviewed, including Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium verticillioides, and Aspergillus flavus, and their mycotoxins. Next, we compare the different modes used by each fungal pathogen to invade the silks, including susceptible time intervals and the effects of pollination. Innate silk defences and current strategies to protect silks from ear rot pathogens are reviewed, and future protective strategies and silk-based research are proposed. There is a particular gap in knowledge of how to improve silk health and defences around the time of pollination, and a need for protective silk sprays or other technologies. It is hoped that this review will stimulate innovations in breeding, inputs, and techniques to help growers protect silks, which are expected to become more vulnerable to pathogens due to climate change.
Cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and COX-1 Inhibitors in Cancer: A Review of Oncology and Medicinal Chemistry Literature
Authors: Pannunzio Alessandra , Coluccia Mauro
Published: October 2018

Prostaglandins and thromboxane are lipid signaling molecules deriving from arachidonic acid by the action of the cyclooxygenase isoenzymes COX-1 and COX-2. The role of cyclooxygenases (particularly COX-2) and prostaglandins (particularly PGE2) in cancer-related inflammation has been extensively investigated. In contrast, COX-1 has received less attention, although its expression increases in several human cancers and a pathogenetic role emerges from experimental models. COX-1 and COX-2 isoforms seem to operate in a coordinate manner in cancer pathophysiology, especially in the tumorigenesis process. However, in some cases, exemplified by the serous ovarian carcinoma, COX-1 plays a pivotal role, suggesting that other histopathological and molecular subtypes of cancer disease could share this feature. Importantly, the analysis of functional implications of COX-1-signaling, as well as of pharmacological action of COX-1-selective inhibitors, should not be restricted to the COX pathway and to the effects of prostaglandins already known for their ability of affecting the tumor phenotype. A knowledge-based choice of the most appropriate tumor cell models, and a major effort in investigating the COX-1 issue in the more general context of arachidonic acid metabolic network by using the systems biology approaches, should be strongly encouraged.
Oxidative Stress and Cardiovascular Complications in Chronic Kidney Disease, the Impact of Anaemia
Authors: Nuhu Faisal , Bhandari Sunil
Published: October 2018

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have significant cardiovascular morbidity and mortality as a result of risk factors such as left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), oxidative stress, and inflammation. The presence of anaemia in CKD further increases the risk of LVH and oxidative stress, thereby magnifying the deleterious consequence in uraemic cardiomyopathy (UCM), and aggravating progression to failure and increasing the risk of sudden cardiac death. This short review highlights the specific cardio-renal oxidative stress in CKD and provides an understanding of the pathophysiology and impact of uraemic toxins, inflammation, and anaemia on oxidative stress.
Characterization of Mechanical Property Distributions on Tablet Surfaces
Authors: Cabiscol Ramon , Finke Jan Henrik , Zetzener Harald , Kwade Arno
Published: October 2018

Powder densification through uniaxial compaction is governed by a number of simultaneous processes taking place on a reduced time as the result of the stress gradients within the packing, as well as the frictional and adhesive forces between the powder and the die walls. As a result of that, a density and stiffness anisotropy is developed across the axial and radial directions. In this study, microindentation has been applied to assess and quantify the variation of the module of elasticity ( E m o d ) throughout the surface of cylindrical tablets. A representative set of deformation behaviors was analyzed by pharmaceutical excipients ranging from soft/plastic behavior (microcrystalline cellulose) over medium (lactose) to hard/brittle behavior (calcium phosphate) for different compaction pressures. The results of the local stiffness distribution over tablet faces depicted a linear and directly proportional tendency between a solid fraction and E m o d for the upper and lower faces, as well as remarkable stiffness anisotropy between the axial and radial directions of compaction. The highest extent of the stiffness anisotropy that was found for ductile grades of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) in comparison with brittle powders has been attributed to the dual phenomena of overall elastic recovery and Poisson’s effect on the relaxation kinetics. As a reinforcement of this analysis, the evolution of the specific surface area elucidated the respective densification mechanism and its implementations toward anisotropy. For ductile excipients, the increase in the contact surface area as well as the reduction and closing of interstitial pores explain the reduction of surface area with increasing compaction pressure. For brittle powders, densification evolves through fragmentation and the subsequent filling of voids.
Designing and Preparation of Fiber-Reinforced Composites with Enhanced Interface Adhesion
Authors: Ren Dengxun , Chen Lin , Yuan Yue , Li Kui , Xu Mingzhen , Liu Xiaobo
Published: October 2018

The interfacial properties between fibers and resin matrices show great influence on the properties of fiber-reinforced composites. In this work, phthalonitrile containing benzoxazine (BA-ph) was chosen as the resin matrix, which combined with the glass fiber (GF) to prepare reinforced composite laminates at low temperature (200 °C). The poly(arylene ether nitrile) (PEN) was used to modify the GF and BA-ph matrix. Curing behaviors of the BA-ph/PEN were investigated with Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) and Dynamic rheological analysis (DRA), and results indicated that the polymerization would be hindered by PEN due to the dilution effects. Moreover, the formation of triazine rings which assigning to the ring-forming polymerization of nitrile groups in BA-ph and PEN could improve the compatibility of BA-ph and PEN in the matrix. The SEM images of the fracture surface of the composites revealed that the brittleness of BA-ph matrix and interfacial adhesion between GFs and matrix was improved. The enhanced interfacial adhesion was detailedly discussed from the perspective of physical entanglement and the copolymerization between PEN chains on the surface of GFs and BA-ph/PEN matrix. The results of DMA also explained the toughness of BA-ph/PEN matrix, the semi-interpenetrating polymer networks and the interfacial adhesion. In sum, a feasible strategy that modifies the surface of GFs and the brittleness of the thermosetting matrix by high-performance thermoplastic polymers, which can be employed to prepare the composite laminates with improved properties.
Heat Dissipation in Epoxy/Amine-Based Gradient Composites with Alumina Particles: A Critical Evaluation of Thermal Conductivity Measurements
Authors: Morak Matthias , Marx Philipp , Gschwandl Mario , Fuchs Peter Filipp , Pfost Martin , Wiesbrock Frank
Published: October 2018

For the design of the next generation of microelectronic packages, thermal management is one of the key aspects and must be met by the development of polymers with enhanced thermal conductivity. While all polymer classes show a very low thermal conductivity, this shortcoming can be compensated for by the addition of fillers, yielding polymer-based composite materials with high thermal conductivity. The inorganic fillers, however, are often available only in submicron- and micron-scaled dimensions and, consequently, can sediment during the curing reaction of the polymer matrix. In this study, an epoxy/amine resin was filled with nano- and submicron-scaled alumina particles, yielding a gradient composite. It was found that the thermal conductivity according to laser flash analysis of a sliced specimen ranged from 0.25 to 0.45 W·m−1·K−1 at room temperature. If the thermal conductivity of an uncut specimen was measured with a guarded heat flow meter, the ‘averaged’ thermal conductivity was measured to be only 0.25 W·m−1·K−1. Finite element analysis revealed that the heat dissipation through a gradient composite was of intermediate speed in comparison with homogeneous composites exhibiting a non-gradient thermal conductivity of 0.25 and 0.45 W·m−1·K−1.
Inorganic and Organic Hybrid Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Crosslinkers for Rubber Vulcanization with High-Filler Rubber Interaction
Authors: Chen Lijuan , Guo Xiaohui , Luo Yuanfang , Jia Zhixin , Chen Yongjun , Jia Demin
Published: October 2018

Improving the interfacial interaction between rubber and silica nanoparticles, and simultaneously reducing free sulfur and preventing migration and volatilization of a rubber vulcanizing agent, commercial sulfur compound aliphatic ether polysulfide (VA-7) was chemically attached to the silica surface to obtain a functionalized nanoparticle (silica-s-VA7). Functional nanoparticles can not only effectively crosslink rubber without sulfur as a novel vulcanizator, but are also evenly dispersed in the rubber matrix and improve the dispersion of the remaining pristine silica as an interfacial compatibilizer. In addition, the thicker immobilized polymer layer and prominent crosslinking density of SBR nanocomposites simultaneously demonstrate that the novel vulcanizing agent silica-s-VA7 gives rise to significant improvement on the rubber–filler interfacial adhesion on account of the covalent linkages of organic and inorganic interfaces between elastomer and nanofillers. We envisage that this strategy may provide a new avenue to implement high-efficiency design for a multifunctional rubber-vulcanizing agent through an organic and inorganic hybridization mechanism.
Phosphoproteomic Analysis of the Amygdala Response to Adolescent Glucocorticoid Exposure Reveals G-Protein Coupled Receptor Kinase 2 as a Target for Reducing Motivation for Alcohol
Authors: Bertholomey Megan L. , Stone Kathryn , Lam TuKiet T. , Bang Seojin , Wu Wei , Nairn Angus C. , Taylor Jane R. , Torregrossa Mary M.
Published: October 2018

Early life stress is associated with risk for developing alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in adulthood. Though the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this vulnerability are not well understood, evidence suggests that aberrant glucocorticoid and noradrenergic system functioning play a role. The present study investigated the long-term consequences of chronic exposure to elevated glucocorticoids during adolescence on the risk of increased alcohol-motivated behavior, and on amygdalar function in adulthood. A discovery-based analysis of the amygdalar phosphoproteome using mass spectrometry was employed, to identify changes in function. Adolescent corticosterone (CORT) exposure increased alcohol, but not sucrose, self-administration, and enhanced stress-induced reinstatement with yohimbine in adulthood. Phosphoproteomic analysis indicated that the amygdala phosphoproteome was significantly altered by adolescent CORT exposure, generating a list of potential novel mechanisms involved in the risk of alcohol drinking. In particular, increased phosphorylation at serines 296–299 on the α2A adrenergic receptor (α2AAR), mediated by the G-protein coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2), was evident after adolescent CORT exposure. We found that intra-amygdala infusion of a peptidergic GRK2 inhibitor reduced alcohol seeking, as measured by progressive ratio and stress reinstatement tests, and induced by the α2AAR antagonist yohimbine. These results suggest that GRK2 represents a novel target for treating stress-induced motivation for alcohol which may counteract alterations in brain function induced by adolescent stress exposure.
New Insights on Hedge Ratios in the Presence of Stochastic Transaction Costs
Authors: Andrade Elisson , Mattos Fabio , Lima Roberto Arruda de Souza
Published: October 2018

The objective of this research is to evaluate the influence on hedging decisions of a realistic set of transaction costs which are largely stochastic. The stochastic nature of some transaction costs (such as margin calls) means that their exact value is unknown when the hedge is placed, since they depend on the trajectory of futures prices during the hedge. Results are consistent with previous studies in that the introduction of transaction costs tend to affect hedge ratios. However, as opposed to the traditional literature, the introduction of stochastic costs in futures hedging can either decrease or increase hedge ratios depending on how these costs are determined.
Using Time Series of High-Resolution Planet Satellite Images to Monitor Grapevine Stem Water Potential in Commercial Vineyards
Authors: Helman David , Bahat Idan , Netzer Yishai , Ben-Gal Alon , Alchanatis Victor , Peeters Aviva , Cohen Yafit
Published: October 2018

Spectral-based vegetation indices (VI) have been shown to be good proxies of grapevine stem water potential (Ψstem), assisting in irrigation decision-making for commercial vineyards. However, VI-Ψstem correlations are mostly reported at the leaf or canopy scales, using proximal canopy-based sensors or very-high-spatial resolution images derived from sensors mounted on small airplanes or drones. Here, for the first time, we take advantage of high-spatial resolution (3-m) near-daily images acquired from Planet’s nano-satellite constellation to derive VI-Ψstem correlations at the vineyard scale. Weekly Ψstem was measured along the growing season of 2017 in six vines each in 81 commercial vineyards and in 60 pairs of grapevines in a 2.4 ha experimental vineyard in Israel. The Clip application programming interface (API), provided by Planet, and the Google Earth Engine platform were used to derive spatially continuous time series of four VIs—GNDVI, NDVI, EVI and SAVI—in the 82 vineyards. Results show that per-week multivariable linear models using variables extracted from VI time series successfully tracked spatial variations in Ψstem across the experimental vineyard (Pearson’s-r = 0.45–0.84; N = 60). A simple linear regression model enabled monitoring seasonal changes in Ψstem along the growing season in the vineyard (r = 0.80–0.82). Planet VIs and seasonal Ψstem data from the 82 vineyards were used to derive a ‘global’ model for in-season monitoring of Ψstem at the vineyard-level (r = 0.78; RMSE = 18.5%; N = 970). The ‘global’ model, which requires only a few VI variables extracted from Planet images, may be used for real-time weekly assessment of Ψstem in Mediterranean vineyards, substantially improving the efficiency of conventional in-field monitoring efforts.
A New Methodology for Estimating the Surface Temperature Lapse Rate Based on Grid Data and Its Application in China
Authors: Qin Yun , Ren Guoyu , Zhai Tianlin , Zhang Panfeng , Wen Kangmin
Published: October 2018

Land surface temperature (LST) is an important parameter in the study of the physical processes of land surface. Understanding the surface temperature lapse rate (TLR) can help to reveal the characteristics of mountainous climates and regional climate change. A methodology was developed to calculate and analyze land-surface TLR in China based on grid datasets of MODIS LST and digital elevation model (DEM), with a formula derived on the basis of the analysis of the temperature field and the height field, an image enhancement technique used to calculate gradient, and the fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering applied to identify the seasonal pattern of the TLR. The results of the analysis through the methodology showed that surface temperature vertical gradient inversion widely occurred in Northeast, Northwest, and North China in winter, especially in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the northern and the western parts of the Greater Khingan Mountains, the Lesser Khingan Mountains, and the northern area of Northwest and North China. Summer generally witnessed the steepest TLR among the four seasons. The eastern Tibetan Plateau showed a distinctive seasonal pattern, where the steepest TLR happened in winter and spring, with a shallower TLR in summer. Large seasonal variations of TLR could be seen in Northeast China, where there was a steep TLR in spring and summer and a strong surface temperature vertical gradient inversion in winter. The smallest seasonal variation of TLR happened in Central and Southwest China, especially in the Ta-pa Mountains and the Qinling Mountains. The TLR at very high altitudes (>5 km) was usually steeper than at low altitudes, in all months of the year.
The Role of Climate and Land Use in the Changes in Surface Albedo Prior to Snow Melt and the Timing of Melt Season of Seasonal Snow in Northern Land Areas of 40°N–80°N during 1982–2015
Authors: Anttila Kati , Manninen Terhikki , Jääskeläinen Emmihenna , Riihelä Aku , Lahtinen Panu
Published: October 2018

The rapid warming of the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes and the observed changes in boreal forest areas affect the global surface albedo and climate. This study looks at the trends in the timing of the snow melt season as well as the albedo levels before and after the melt season in Northern Hemisphere land areas between 40°N and 80°N over the years 1982 to 2015. The analysis is based on optical satellite data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). The results show that the changes in surface albedo already begin before the start of the melt season. These albedo changes are significant (the mean of absolute change is 4.4 albedo percentage units per 34 years). The largest absolute changes in pre-melt-season albedo are concentrated in areas of the boreal forest, while the pre-melt albedo of tundra remains unchanged. Trends in melt season timing are consistent over large areas. The mean of absolute change of start date of melt season is 11.2 days per 34 years, 10.6 days for end date of melt season and 14.8 days for length of melt season. The changes result in longer and shorter melt seasons, as well as changed timing of the melt, depending on the area. The albedo levels preceding the onset of melt and start of the melt season correlate with climatic parameters (air temperature, precipitation, wind speed). The changes in albedo are more closely linked to changes in vegetation, whereas the changes in melt season timing are linked to changes in climate.
Semi-Automated Delineation of Stands in an Even-Age Dominated Forest: A LiDAR-GEOBIA Two-Stage Evaluation Strategy
Authors: Sanchez-Lopez Nuria , Boschetti Luigi , Hudak Andrew T.
Published: October 2018

Regional scale maps of homogeneous forest stands are valued by forest managers and are of interest for landscape and ecological modelling. Research focused on stand delineation has substantially increased in the last decade thanks to the development of Geographic Object Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA). Nevertheless, studies focused on even-age dominated forests are still few and the proposed approaches are often heuristic, local, or lacking objective evaluation protocols. In this study, we present a two-stage evaluation strategy combining both unsupervised and supervised evaluation methods for semi-automatic delineation of forest stands at regional scales using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) raster summary metrics. The methodology is demonstrated on two contiguous LiDAR datasets covering more than 54,000 ha in central Idaho, where clearcuts were a common harvesting method during the twentieth century. Results show good delineation of even-aged forests and demonstrate the ability of LiDAR to discriminate stands harvested more than 50 years ago, that are generally challenging to discriminate with optical data. The two-stage strategy reduces the reference data required within the supervised evaluation and increases the scope of a reliable semi-automatic delineation to larger areas. This is an objective and straightforward approach that could potentially be replicated and adapted to address other study needs.
Ultrasonic Structural Health Monitoring Using Fiber Bragg Grating
Authors: Wu Qi , Okabe Yoji , Yu Fengming
Published: October 2018

The fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor, which was developed over recent decades, has been widely used to measure manifold static measurands in a variety of industrial sectors. Multiple experiments have demonstrated its ability in ultrasonic detection and its potential in ultrasonic structural health monitoring. Unlike static measurements, ultrasonic detection requires a higher sensitivity and broader bandwidth to ensure the fidelity of the ultrasonic Lamb wave that propagates in a plate-like structure for the subsequent waveform analysis. Thus, the FBG sensor head and its corresponding demodulation system need to be carefully designed, and other practical issues, such as the installation methods and data process methods, should also be properly addressed. In this review, the mature techniques of FBG-based ultrasonic sensors and their practical applications in ultrasonic structural health monitoring are discussed. In addition, state-of-the-art techniques are introduced to fully present the current developments.
Side-Slither Data-Based Vignetting Correction of High-Resolution Spaceborne Camera with Optical Focal Plane Assembly
Authors: Chen Chaochao , Pan Jun , Wang Mi , Zhu Ying
Published: October 2018

Optical focal plane assemblies are increasingly being used in high-resolution optical satellite systems to enhance the width of the image using linear push-broom imaging. With this system, vignetting occurs in the area of overlap, affecting image quality. In this paper, using the characteristics of the side-slither data, we propose side-slither data-based vignetting correction of a high-resolution spaceborne camera with an optical focal plane assembly. First, the raw side-slither data standardization is used to ensure that each row has the same features. Then, with the spatial correlation of a gray-level co-occurrence matrix, the gray-level co-occurrence matrix is proposed to identify the uniform regions, to extract the sample points. Finally, due to the characteristics of compatible linear response and non-linear response, the power-law model was used to fit, and the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm was used to fit the model. In the experiment, polynomial fitting, laboratory coefficients and on-orbit coefficients were used for comparison with the proposed method. The side-slither data can be treated as a uniform scene due to their characteristics, and the side-slither image that was corrected using the proposed method showed less than 1% change in mean value, a root-mean-square deviation value better than 0.1%, and the average streaking metrics were superior to 0.02. The results showed that the proposed method performs significantly better in the vignetting area.
Improving the Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Performance of Silver Nanodendritic Substrates with Sprayed-On Graphene-Based Coatings
Authors: Mohammadi Aida , Nicholls Danielle Lilly , Docoslis Aristides
Published: October 2018

This study examines the improvements in surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) performance achieved when silver nanodendritic structures are coated with various graphene-based materials, namely graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). The tests are performed on our unique SERS-active substrates, prepared on the surface of planar microelectrode chips using an electric field-guided Ag nanoparticle assembly process. The graphene-based materials are introduced into the substrate by means of an in-house spray-coating technique. The SERS enhancement effect of each coating is examined as a function of spray nozzle passes (N) and optimal values are identified for each coating type. The enhancements found for GO, rGO, and GNP (6–9 graphene layers thick) coatings are 2.3 (N = 25), 2.5 (N = 5), and 1.6 (N = 1), respectively. Additionally, in comparison with their uncoated counterparts, substrates coated with rGO (N = 5) are shown to enhance the intensity of the methamphetamine (5 ppb) spectrum in artificial saliva by approximately 3-fold. Overall, it can be concluded that the introduction of GO or rGO to the SERS substrate using spray-coating, a simple and also scalable method, can produce substantial SERS performance enhancement.
Hot Anchors: A Heuristic Anchors Sampling Method in RCNN-Based Object Detection
Authors: Zhang Jinpeng , Zhang Jinming , Yu Shan
Published: October 2018

In the image object detection task, a huge number of candidate boxes are generated to match with a relatively very small amount of ground-truth boxes, and through this method the learning samples can be created. But in fact the vast majority of the candidate boxes do not contain valid object instances and should be recognized and rejected during the training and evaluation of the network. This leads to extra high computation burden and a serious imbalance problem between object and none-object samples, thereby impeding the algorithm’s performance. Here we propose a new heuristic sampling method to generate candidate boxes for two-stage detection algorithms. It is generally applicable to the current two-stage detection algorithms to improve their detection performance. Experiments on COCO dataset showed that, relative to the baseline model, this new method could significantly increase the detection accuracy and efficiency.
Enabling Multi-Mission Interoperable UAS Using Data-Centric Communications
Authors: Vidal Ivan , Bellavista Paolo , Sanchez-Aguero Victor , Garcia-Reinoso Jaime , Valera Francisco , Nogales Borja , Azcorra Arturo
Published: October 2018

We claim the strong potential of data-centric communications in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), as a suitable paradigm to enhance collaborative operations via efficient information sharing, as well as to build systems supporting flexible mission objectives. In particular, this paper analyzes the primary contributions to data dissemination in UAS that can be given by the Data Distribution Service (DDS) open standard, as a solid and industry-mature data-centric technology. Our study is not restricted to traditional UAS where a set of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) transmit data to the ground station that controls them. Instead, we contemplate flexible UAS deployments with multiple UAV units of different sizes and capacities, which are interconnected to form an aerial communication network, enabling the provision of value-added services over a delimited geographical area. In addition, the paper outlines an approach to address the issues inherent to the utilization of network-level multicast, a baseline technology in DDS, in the considered UAS deployments. We complete our analysis with a practical experience aiming at validating the feasibility and the advantages of using DDS in a multi-UAV deployment scenario. For this purpose, we use a UAS testbed built up by heterogeneous hardware equipment, including a number of interconnected micro aerial vehicles, carrying single board computers as payload, as well as real equipment from a tactical UAS from the Spanish Ministry of Defense.
A Complex Network Theory-Based Modeling Framework for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Swarms
Authors: Wang Lizhi , Lu Dawei , Zhang Yuan , Wang Xiaohong
Published: October 2018

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms is an emerging technology that will significantly expand the application areas and open up new possibilities for UAVs, while also presenting new requirements for the robustness and reliability of the UAV swarming system. However, its complex and dynamic characteristics make it extremely challenging and uncertain to model such a system. In this study, to reach a full understanding of the swarming system, a modeling framework based on complex network theory is presented. First, the scope of work is identified from the point of view of control algorithms considering the dynamics and research novelty of the development of UAV swarming control strategy and three control structures consisting of three interdependent network layers are proposed. Second, three algorithms that systematically build the modeling framework considering all characteristics of the system are also developed. Finally, some network measurements are introduced by adjusting the fundamental ones into the UAV swarming system. The proposed framework is applied to a case study to illustrate the visualization models and estimate the statistical characteristics of the proposed networks with static and dynamic topology analysis. Furthermore, a simple demonstration of the robustness evaluation of the network is also presented. The networks obtained from this framework can be used to further analyze the robustness or reliability of a UAV swarming system in a high-confrontation battlefield environment the effect of cascading failure in ad-hoc network on system.
Ethics and Law in the Internet of Things World
Authors: Tzafestas Spyros G.
Published: October 2018

The aim of the law is to maintain social order, peace, and justice in society, whereas the aim of ethics is to provide codes of ethics and conduct that help people to decide what is wrong, and how to act and behave. Laws provide a minimum set of standards for obtaining good human behavior. Ethics often provides standards that exceed the legal minimum. Therefore, for the best behavior, both law and ethics should be respected. The Internet of Things (IoT) involves a large number of objects and humans that are connected via the Internet ‘anytime’ and ‘anyplace’ to provide homogeneous communication and contextual services. Thus, it creates a new social, economic, political, and ethical landscape that needs new enhanced legal and ethical measures for privacy protection, data security, ownership protection, trust improvement, and the development of proper standards. This survey and opinion article is concerned with the ethics and legislation of the IoT and provides an overview of the following: definition and history of the IoT; general ethical principles and theories that are available for application in the IoT; the role of governments in the IoT; regulations in the European Union (EU) and United States for the IoT’ IoT characteristics that have the potential to create ethical problems; IoT ethical questions and principles; IoT security, privacy, and trust aspects; and the ethical culture of IoT-related companies.
Climate Politics and Race in the Pacific Northwest
Authors: Slocum Rachel
Published: October 2018

The collective politics of climate justice makes the important claim that lowering emissions is not enough; society must also undertake radical transformation to address both the climate and inequality crises. Owing to its roots in the environmental justice movement, addressing systemic racism is central to climate justice praxis in the United States, which is a necessary intervention in typically technocratic climate politics. What emerges from US climate justice is a moral appeal to ‘relationship’ as politics, the procedural demand that communities of color (the ‘frontline’) lead the movement, and a distributive claim on carbon pricing revenue. However, this praxis precludes a critique of racial capitalism, the process that relies on structural racism to enhance accumulation, alienating, exploiting, and immiserating black, brown, and white, while carrying out ecocide. The lack of an analysis of how class and race produce the crises climate justice confronts prevents the movement from demanding that global north fossil fuel abolition occur in tandem with the reassertion of the public over the private and de-growth. Drawing on research conducted primarily in Oregon and Washington, I argue that race works to both create and limit the transformative possibilities of climate politics.
Stripping the Wallpaper of Practice: Empowering Social Workers to Tackle Poverty
Authors: McCartan Claire , Morrison Aine , Bunting Lisa , Davidson Gavin , McIlroy Jackie
Published: October 2018

The relationship between deprivation and health and educational inequalities has been well evidenced in the literature. Recent UK research has now established a similar social gradient in child welfare interventions (Bywaters et al. 2018) with children living in the most deprived areas in the UK facing a much higher chance of being placed on the child protection register or in out-of-home care. There is an emerging narrative that poverty has become the wallpaper of practice, “too big to tackle and too familiar to notice” (Morris et al. 2018) and invisible amid lack of public support and political will to increase welfare spending. This paper will examine poverty-related inequalities and how these affect families. It will discuss the importance of recognising that poverty is a social justice issue and a core task for social work and outline the range of supports that may be available for families to help lift them out of poverty. Finally, it will describe the development of a new practice framework for social work in Northern Ireland that challenges social workers to embed anti-poverty approaches in their practice. The framework emphasises that poverty is a social justice issue, seeks to provide practical support and guidance to re-focus attention, debate, and action on poverty in times of global economic uncertainty and give social workers the tools to make it central to their practice once again. It reinforces the need for social workers to understand and acknowledge the impact of poverty, and to advocate for and support those most in need. It aims to challenge and empower professionals to tackle poverty and inequality as an aspect of ethical and effective practice.
Monitoring Transboundary Water Cooperation in SDG 6.5.2: How a Critical Hydropolitics Approach Can Spot Inequitable Outcomes
Authors: Hussein Hussam , Menga Filippo , Greco Francesca
Published: October 2018

This article contributes to critical sustainability studies through an interrogation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their action towards improving access to water and sanitation. This is done through an analysis of ‘SDG 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all’, specifically focusing on Target 6.5: ‘By 2030, implement integrated water-resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate’, and its related Indicator 6.5.2, ‘Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation’. While on paper Target 6.5 might seem relatively unproblematic, this article shows that its implementation could have some unintended practical implications for countries sharing transboundary waters. This article fine-tunes SDG 6.5.2 by suggesting two additional qualitative steps to improve the indicator. These qualitative dimensions are deemed extremely important for two reasons: the first one is the need to unfold and tackle inequitable water agreements; the second reason is to assess, recognize, and promote the role of civil society, NGOs, and technical and informal cooperation as a positive path toward the actual achievement of formal cooperation. The two steps that we propose are deemed essential if the United Nations (UN) is going to include SDG 6.5.2 as a proactive tool in the achievement of “implementing integrated water-resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate”, as declared in the 2030 agenda.
New Energy Empowerment Using Kernel Principal Component Analysis in Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors Module Monitoring
Authors: Liu Bo-Ying , Wang Gao-Sheng , Tseng Ming-Lang , Li Zhi-Gang , Wu Kuo-Jui
Published: October 2018

At present, energy exhausted and environmental pollution are important issues, vigorously promoting new energy and improving the utilization efficiency and management level of new energy is an important way to achieve sustainable social development. Insulated gate bipolar transistors are important components in power converters and are widely used in new energy generation, new energy vehicles, high-speed rail and industrial production. However, the power module’s age is related to all aspects of its performance change, precluding the use of a single parameter to fully and accurately express the aging state. To monitor this state and evaluate the aging state, this study presents a method to analyze and process the state data of Insulated gate bipolar transistors power module aging tests using kernel principal component analysis and establishes a multi-dimensional grey model to evaluate the power module aging state. Using the temperature cycle aging test platform, the 7000 temperature cycling tests are implemented to accelerate the age of the power module to failure, the dynamic parameters of the power modules are measured after every 1000 cycles. During the accelerated aging process, the case temperature change rate, collector-emitter voltage drop Vce(SAT) and Miller platform of the gate signal of Vge are found to exhibit different variation trends at different aging stages. The result showed that multiple parameters are combined into integrated attributes to enable more accurate implementation of the state monitoring of power modules using the proposed method, which improves the status monitoring level of Insulated gate bipolar transistors modules. The proposed method is beneficial to improve the utilization efficiency and new energy source management level.
The Impact of Perceived Value on Farmers’ Regret Mood Tendency
Authors: Liao Wenmei , Xiang Dong , Chen Meiqiu , Yu Jiangli , Luo Qianfeng
Published: October 2018

Based on a survey of the poverty alleviation resettlement (PAR) farmers in China, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between the expected value, perceived value and regret mood of the relocated farmers. The results show that the expected value can positively affect the perceived value, and the latter negatively impact the regret mood of the PAR farmers. On average, the farmers with regret and non-regret sentiments are approximately fifty/fifty in percentage terms. Internal factors, such as demand levels, and external factors, such as relocation costs, also have significant effects on the regret mood of farmers after they have relocated. However, those factors have significant differences in their impacts on poor and non-poor households. Several political implications are also provided.
Blockchain Practices, Potentials, and Perspectives in Greening Supply Chains
Authors: Kouhizadeh Mahtab , Sarkis Joseph
Published: October 2018

Blockchain technology is an inchoate technology whose current popularity is peaking. Some of the most pervasive blockchain technology use cases exist for supply chains. Sustainable, and especially green, supply chains can benefit from blockchain technology, but there are also caveats. The sustainability and environmental management research and academic literature is only starting to investigate this emergent field. This paper seeks to help advance the discussion and motivate additional practice and research related to green supply chains and blockchain technology. This viewpoint paper provides insight into some of the main dimensions of blockchain technology, an overview of the use cases and issues, and some general research areas for further investigation.
Global Warming and Acidification Potential Assessment of a Collective Manure Management System for Bioenergy Production and Nitrogen Removal in Northern Italy
Authors: Provolo Giorgio , Mattachini Gabriele , Finzi Alberto , Cattaneo Martina , Guido Viviana , Riva Elisabetta
Published: October 2018

Collective manure processing facilities to reduce nutrient loads and produce renewable energy are often proposed as feasible solutions in intensive livestock production areas. However, the transferring of effluents from farms to the treatment plant and back to farms, as well as the treatment operations themselves, must be carefully evaluated to assure the environmental sustainability of the solution. This study evaluated the global warming potential (GWP) and acidification potential (AP) of a collective treatment plant for bioenergy production and nitrogen removal as an alternative strategy to conventional on-farm manure management systems. Two manure management scenarios were compared: manure management on individual farms and management by a collective treatment plant. Data were collected at a collective processing plant and at the individual farms of the consortium to estimate emissions of CO2, CH4, N2O, NOx, NH3 and SO2. The plant receives manure from 21 livestock production units, treating 660 tonnes day−1 of manure. The GWP and AP indicators were calculated to evaluate the potential impact of the two management solutions. The collective solution reduced both GWP (−52%) and AP (−43%) compared to manure management separately by each farm. Further improvement might be obtained in both indicators by introducing mitigation techniques in farm manure storage and manure application to soil.
Building Retrofit Measures and Design: A Probabilistic Approach for LCA
Authors: Favi Claudio , Di Giuseppe Elisa , D’Orazio Marco , Rossi Marta , Germani Michele
Published: October 2018

Green building design and architecture have become widespread tenets in the development of sustainable buildings. In this context, the use of sustainable materials and the awareness of resource/energy consumption are strategic aspects to consider for the improvement of building performances. This paper presents a new and structured approach to address uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to support the decision-making process in building renovation. This “probabilistic” approach to LCA allows for the obtaining of results expressed as ranges of environmental impacts and for alternative solutions, offering an idea of the meaning of input parameters’ uncertainties and their influence on the result. The approach includes (i) the assessment of inputs’ uncertainties (represented by Probability Density Functions—PDF); (ii) the data sampling; and (iii) the uncertainty propagation (Monte Carlo method). Variance decomposition techniques have been used to sample inputs’ PDFs and assess their impact on the LCA result distribution (sensitivity analysis). The methodology application is illustrated through a case study where three building retrofit measures were assessed. Results provide an insight about the uncertainties of LCA indicators in terms of climate change and nonrenewable energy. The input parameters related to the use phase are confirmed as the most influential in building LCA.
Export Diversification and Ecological Footprint: A Comparative Study on EKC Theory among Korea, Japan, and China
Authors: Liu Hongbo , Kim Hanho , Liang Shuanglu , Kwon Oh-Sang
Published: October 2018

This study examines the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis by adopting a country’s ecological footprint as an indicator of environmental degradation in three East Asian countries: Japan, Korea, and China. During the development process, countries intend to balance between stabilizing export demand and maintaining sustainable economic improvement in the context of deteriorating global warming and climate change. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (henceforth, EKC) was originally developed to estimate the correlation between environment condition and economic development. In this paper, we started from the EKC model and adopted an Error Correction Methodology (henceforth, ECM) to estimate the EKC relationships in Japan, Korea (two developed countries), and China (a developing country) over the period of 1990 to 2013. Besides this, instead of only using Gross Domestic Product (henceforth, GDP), two subdivisions of trade diversification—export product diversification and export market diversification—are introduced as proxy variables for economic development in rectification of the EKC. The results demonstrate that both Korea and Japan satisfy the EKC theory by demonstrating an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic development and ecological footprint, while analysis based on data from China does not display the same tendency. For both export product diversification and market diversification, the more diversified the country’s export is, the bigger its ecological footprint. The policy implications of this econometric outcome are also discussed.