bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative and competitive advantage of soybean cultivation in Noakhali and Laxmipur District of Bangladesh
Authors: Salam MA , Kamruzzaman M
Published: July 2016

The study highlighted different socio-economic aspects of soybean cultivation in Noakhali and Laxmipur district of Bangladesh. The issues were: cost and return of soybean and its competing crops cultivation, competitive and comparative advantage of soybean production, constraints to higher production, and farmers attitudes towards soybean cultivation in Bangladesh. The average yield of soybean, groundnut, cowpea and grasspea were 1813kg/ha, 1473kg/ha, 871kg/ha and 1076kg/ha, respectively. The net return received from soybean, groundnut, cowpea and grasspea cultivation were estimated at Tk. 25599/ha, Tk. 17047/ha 11805 and Tk. 8825/ha, respectively. The average benefits cost ratios of soybean, groundnut, cowpea and grasspea production were 1.43, 1.26, 1.28 and 1.29 over full cost, respectively. The estimated DRC value for soybean production was found 0.55 which clearly indicate that the production of soybean in Bangladesh has comparative advantage rather than import. Functional analysis showed that TSP, MP, gypsum and pesticide use had positive significant impact on soybean cultivation. Although the cultivation of soybean was found to be profitable, many farmers showed negative attitudes toward its production. Scarcity of chemical fertilizers with its peak price, lack of HYV seed availability, lack of technical knowledge and natural calamities were found as the barriers of soybean crops expansion in Noakhali and Laxmipur district of Bangladesh.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 13(2): 265-272, December 2015
Isolation and characterization of Acetobacter aceti from rotten papaya
Authors: Kowser J , Aziz MG , Uddin MB
Published: July 2016

The present study was concerned with the isolation and characterization of Acetobacter aceti from rotten papaya for vinegar production. The samples were inoculated in sterilized GYC standard media and then incubated at 30°C for 48 hours. Successive subculture was performed to screen out the strains. In Grams staining, the morphology of the isolated bacteria exhibited pink, small rod shaped single, pair and chain in arrangement, in the hanging drops technique, all the isolates revealed motile. Biochemical tests were performed by fermentation of five basic sugars by producing both acid and gas bubbles in Durham tube. All of the isolates were Indole, Voges-Proskauer (VP) and Oxidase negative, Methyl Red (MR) and Catalase positive. The growth rate of isolated strain was optimized by weighing dry cell and turbidity at 600 nm at different concentrations of dextrose (1%, 5% and 10%). Ten (10) percent dextrose solution showed rapid growth and higher cell mass than 5% and 1% solution respectively. Acidity of the media gradually increased from 0.102% to 2.18% from day 0 to day 7 and pH of the media decreased from 6.8 to 5.5 during the period. This protocol was successful for enriching Acetobacter aceti, which was essential for vinegar production.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 13(2): 299-306, December 2015
Design, Synthesis and Biochemical Evaluation of Novel Selective Estrogen Receptor Ligand Conjugates Incorporating an Endoxifen-Combretastatin Hybrid Scaffold
Authors: Keely Niall , Carr Miriam , Yassin Bassem , Ana Gloria , Lloyd David , Zisterer Daniela , Meegan Mary
Published: July 2016

Nuclear-receptors are often overexpressed in tumours and can thereby be used as targets when designing novel selective chemotherapeutic agents. To date, many conjugates incorporating an estrogen receptor (ER) ligand have been synthesised in order to direct chemical agents to tissue sites containing ERs. A series of ER ligand conjugates were synthesised incorporating an antagonistic ER ligand scaffold based on endoxifen, covalently-bound via an amide linkage to a variety of combretastatin-based analogues, which may act as antimitotic agents. These novel endoxifen-combretastatin hybrid scaffold analogues were biochemically evaluated in order to determine their antiproliferative and cytotoxicity effects in both the ER-positive MCF-7 and the ER-negative MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell lines. ER competitive binding assays were carried out to assess the binding affinity of the lead conjugate 28 towards both the ERα and ERβ isoforms. In results from the NCI 60-cell line screen, the lead conjugate 28 displayed potent and highly selective antiproliferative activity towards the MCF-7 human cancer cell line (IC50 = 5 nM). In the ER-binding assays, the lead conjugate 28 demonstrated potent ER competitive binding in ERα (IC50 value: 0.9 nM) and ERβ (IC50 value: 4.7 nM). Preliminary biochemical results also demonstrate that the lead conjugate 28 may exhibit pure antagonism. This series makes an important addition to the class of ER antagonists and may have potential applications in anticancer therapy.
Evaluating Thermal Comfort in a Naturally Conditioned Office in a Temperate Climate Zone
Authors: Gallardo Andrés , Palme Massimo , Lobato-Cordero Andrea , Beltrán R. , Gaona Gabriel
Published: July 2016

This study aims to determine the optimal approach for evaluating thermal comfort in an office that uses natural ventilation as the main conditioning strategy; the office is located in Quito-Ecuador. The performance of the adaptive model included in CEN Standard EN15251 and the traditional PMV model are compared with reports of thermal environment satisfaction surveys presented simultaneously to all occupants of the office to determine which of the two comfort models is most suitable to evaluate the thermal environment. The results indicate that office occupants have developed some degree of adaptation to the climatic conditions of the city where the office is located (which only demands heating operation), and tend to accept and even prefer lower operative temperatures than those considered optimum by applying the PMV model. This is an indication that occupants of naturally conditioned buildings are usually able to match their comfort temperature to their normal environment. Therefore, the application of the adaptive model included in CEN Standard EN15251 seems like the optimal approach for evaluating thermal comfort in naturally conditioned buildings, because it takes into consideration the adaptive principle that indicates that if a change occurs such as to produce discomfort, people tend to react in ways which restore their comfort.
TCF/LEF Transcription Factors: An Update from the Internet Resources
Authors: Hrckulak Dusan , Kolar Michal , Strnad Hynek , Korinek Vladimir
Published: July 2016

T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer-binding factor (TCF/LEF) proteins (TCFs) from the High Mobility Group (HMG) box family act as the main downstream effectors of the Wnt signaling pathway. The mammalian TCF/LEF family comprises four nuclear factors designated TCF7, LEF1, TCF7L1, and TCF7L2 (also known as TCF1, LEF1, TCF3, and TCF4, respectively). The proteins display common structural features and are often expressed in overlapping patterns implying their redundancy. Such redundancy was indeed observed in gene targeting studies; however, individual family members also exhibit unique features that are not recapitulated by the related proteins. In the present viewpoint, we summarized our current knowledge about the specific features of individual TCFs, namely structural-functional studies, posttranslational modifications, interacting partners, and phenotypes obtained upon gene targeting in the mouse. In addition, we employed several publicly available databases and web tools to evaluate the expression patterns and production of gene-specific isoforms of the TCF/LEF family members in human cells and tissues.
Effect of HNO3 Concentration on the Morphologies and Properties of Bi2WO6 Photocatalyst Synthesized by a Hydrothermal Method
Authors: Wang Wenjie , Guo Minna , Lu Dongliang , Wang Weimin , Fu Zhengyi
Published: July 2016

Bi2WO6 samples were prepared by a hydrothermal method using Bi(NO3)3·5H2O and Na2WO4·2H2O as raw materials. X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Raman and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) were employed for sample characterization. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was evaluated by the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible-light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of Bi2WO6, as well as the effect of varying HNO3 concentrations on the morphologies of Bi2WO6, was investigated. The HNO3 concentration significantly affected the structure and morphology of the Bi2WO6. The photocatalytic performance varied with the structure, morphology, and surface area of the Bi2WO6 samples. The results indicated that the H10 sample exhibits uniform morphology and excellent photocatalytic performance; using this sample, the degradation of Rhodamine B reached 96% in 90 min under visible-light irradiation.
EMD-Based Feature Extraction for Power Quality Disturbance Classification Using Moments
Authors: Lopez-Ramirez Misael , Ledesma-Carrillo Luis , Cabal-Yepez Eduardo , Rodriguez-Donate Carlos , Miranda-Vidales Homero , Garcia-Perez Arturo
Published: July 2016

In electric power systems, there are always power quality disturbances (PQDs). Usually, noise contamination interferes with their detection and classification. Common methods perform frequency or time-frequency analyses on the power distribution signal for detecting and classifying a limited number of PQDs with some difficulties at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In this regard, recently proposed methodologies for PQD detection estimate several parameters and apply distinct signal processing techniques to improve the detection of PQD. In this work, a novel methodology that merges empirical mode decomposition (EMD), the moments of a random variable, and an artificial neural network (ANN) is proposed for detecting and classifying different PQD. The proposed method estimates skewness, kurtosis, and Shannon entropy from the EMD of one-phase voltage/current signal. Then, an ANN is in charge of classifying the input signal into one of nine different classes for PQD, receiving these parameters as inputs. The effectiveness of the proposed method was verified through computer simulations and experimentation with real data. Obtained results demonstrate its high effectiveness reaching an outstanding 100% of accuracy in detecting and classifying all treated PQD through a few number of parameters, outperforming most of previously proposed approaches.
Aquaporins in the Colon as a New Therapeutic Target in Diarrhea and Constipation
Authors: Ikarashi Nobutomo , Kon Risako , Sugiyama Kiyoshi
Published: July 2016

Aquaporins (AQPs) play important roles in the water transport system in the human body. There are currently 13 types of AQP, AQP0 through AQP12, which are expressed in various organs. Many members of the AQP family are expressed in the intestinal tract. AQP3 is predominantly expressed in the colon, ultimately controlling the water transport. Recently, it was clarified that several laxatives exhibit a laxative effect by changing the AQP3 expression level in the colon. In addition, it was revealed that morphine causes severe constipation by increasing the AQP3 expression level in the colon. These findings have shown that AQP3 is one of the most important functional molecules in water transport in the colon. This review will focus on the physiological and pathological roles of AQP3 in the colon, and discuss clinical applications of colon AQP3.
La Autoantigen Induces Ribosome Binding Protein 1 (RRBP1) Expression through Internal Ribosome Entry Site (IRES)-Mediated Translation during Cellular Stress Condition
Authors: Gao Wenqing , Li Qi , Zhu Ruiyu , Jin Jian
Published: July 2016

The function of ribosome binding protein 1 (RRBP1) is regulating the transportation and secretion of some intracellular proteins in mammalian cells. Transcription of RRBP1 is induced by various cytokines. However, few studies focused on the process of RRPB1 mRNA translation. The RRBP1 mRNA has a long 5′ untranslated region that potentially formed a stable secondary structure. In this study, we show that the 5′ UTR of RRBP1 mRNA contains an internal ribosome entry site (IRES). Moreover, the RRBP1 expression is induced by chemotherapeutic drug paclitaxel or adriamycin in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells and accompanied with the increased expression of La autoantigen (La), which binds to RRBP1 IRES element and facilitates translation initiation. Interestingly, we found IRES-mediated RRBP1 translation is also activated during serum-starvation condition which can induce cytoplasmic localization of La. After mapping the entire RRBP1 5′ UTR, we determine the core IRES activity is located between nt-237 and -58. Furthermore, two apical GARR loops within the functional RRBP1 IRES elements may be important for La binding. These results strongly suggest an important role for IRES-dependent translation of RRBP1 mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma cells during cellular stress conditions.
Benefits of Sealed-Curing on Compressive Strength of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymers
Authors: Lee Sujeong , Van Riessen Arie , Chon Chul-Min
Published: July 2016

There is no standardized procedure for producing geopolymers; therefore, many researchers develop their own procedures for mixing and curing to achieve good workability and strength development. The curing scheme adopted is important in achieving maximum performance of resultant geopolymers. In this study, we evaluated the impact of sealed and unsealed curing on mechanical strength of geopolymers. Fly ash-based geopolymers cured in sealed and unsealed moulds clearly revealed that retention of water during curing resulted in superior strength development. The average compressive strength of sealed-cured geopolymers measured after 1 day of curing was a modest 50 MPa, while after 7 day curing the average compressive strength increased to 120~135 MPa. In the unsealed specimens the average compressive strength of geopolymers was lower; ranging from 60 to 90 MPa with a slight increase as the curing period increased. Microcracking caused by dehydration is postulated to cause the strength decrease in the unsealed cured samples. These results show that water is a crucial component for the evolution of high strength three-dimensional cross-linked networks in geopolymers.
Direct Metal Laser Sintering of Ti6Al4V for Biomedical Applications: Microstructure, Corrosion Properties, and Mechanical Treatment of Implants
Authors: Brezinová Janette , Hudák Radovan , Guzanová Anna , Draganovská Dagmar , Ižaríková Gabriela , Koncz Juraj
Published: July 2016

Ti6Al4V samples have been prepared by Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) with varied laser power. Some of the samples were stress-relief annealed. The microstructure of materials was investigated using a light microscopy. Columnar grains of martensite dominate in as-made microstructure. Stress-relief annealing led to the white acicular phase growth in the structure with a fishbone arrangement on the boundary of some original martensitic needles. Mechanical properties of materials were characterized through hardness measurement in two directions relating to the sample building direction. It was found that the hardness of materials increased with a laser power and values varied from 370 to 415 HV 0.3/30. After stress-relief annealing, the structure of materials being homogenized, pattern spacing dissolved and the hardness in both directions became stabilized at values of 350–370 HV 0.3/30. The laser power affects the corrosion rate of the material. The lowest corrosion rate was recorded at the maximum laser power (190 W). Heat treatment does not affect the corrosion rate remarkably, however it leads to stabilization of corrosion potential of materials Ecorr. The surface of the samples was modified by an abrasive blasting using spherical (zirblast) and sharp-edged (white corundum) blasting abrasives and three levels of air pressure. The abrasive blasting of sintered materials led to a decrease of the surface roughness of materials with air pressure increasing. Blasting with zirblast led to a more significant decrease of roughness parameters compared with surfaces blasted with sharp-edged white aluminum. Different shapes of abrasives caused characteristic surface morphology.
Wide Field-of-View Fluorescence Imaging with Optical-Quality Curved Microfluidic Chamber for Absolute Cell Counting
Authors: Shourav Mohiuddin , Kim Kyunghoon , Kim Subin , Kim Jung
Published: July 2016

Field curvature and other aberrations are encountered inevitably when designing a compact fluorescence imaging system with a simple lens. Although multiple lens elements can be used to correct most such aberrations, doing so increases system cost and complexity. Herein, we propose a wide field-of-view (FOV) fluorescence imaging method with an unconventional optical-quality curved sample chamber that corrects the field curvature caused by a simple lens. Our optics simulations and proof-of-concept experiments demonstrate that a curved substrate with lens-dependent curvature can reduce greatly the distortion in an image taken with a conventional planar detector. Following the validation study, we designed a curved sample chamber that can contain a known amount of sample volume and fabricated it at reasonable cost using plastic injection molding. At a magnification factor of approximately 0.6, the curved chamber provides a clear view of approximately 119 mm2, which is approximately two times larger than the aberration-free area of a planar chamber. Remarkably, a fluorescence image of microbeads in the curved chamber exhibits almost uniform intensity over the entire field even with a simple lens imaging system, whereas the distorted boundary region has much lower brightness than the central area in the planar chamber. The absolute count of white blood cells stained with a fluorescence dye was in good agreement with that obtained by a commercially available conventional microscopy system. Hence, a wide FOV imaging system with the proposed curved sample chamber would enable us to acquire an undistorted image of a large sample volume without requiring a time-consuming scanning process in point-of-care diagnostic applications.
A Novel Successive Cancellation Method to Retrieve Sea Wave Components from Spatio-Temporal Remote Sensing Image Sequences
Authors: Wei Yanbo , Zhang Jian-Kang , Lu Zhizhong
Published: July 2016

In this paper, we consider retrieving individual wave components in a multi-directional sea wave model. To solve this problem, a currently and commonly used method is three-dimensional discrete Fourier transform (3D DFT) on the radar image sequence. However, the uniform frequency and the uniform wavenumber in a wavenumber frequency domain can not always strictly satisfy the dispersion relation, and the spectral leakage in both temporal and spatial domains exists due to the limited analysis area selected from an image sequence. As a result, the DFT method incurs undesirable error performance in retrieving directional wave components. By deeply investigating the data structure of the multi-directional sea wave model, we obtain a new and decomposable matrix representation for processing the wave components. Then, a novel successive cancellation method is proposed to efficiently and effectively extract individual wave components, whose frequency and wavenumber rigorously satisfy the liner dispersion relation. Thus, it avoids spectral leakage in the spatial domain. The algorithm is evaluated by using linear synthetic wave image sequences. The validity of the proposed novel algorithm is verified by comparing the retrieved parameters of amplitude, phase, and direction of the individual wave components with the simulated parameters as well as those obtained by using the 3D DFT method. In addition, the reconstructed sea field using the retrieved wave components is also compared with the simulated remote sensing images as well as those attained using the inverse 3D DFT method. All the simulation results demonstrate that our proposed algorithm is more effective and has better performance for retrieving individual wave components from the spatio-temporal remote sensing image sequences than the 3D DFT method.
Techniques for Interface Stress Measurements within Prosthetic Sockets of Transtibial Amputees: A Review of the Past 50 Years of Research
Authors: Al-Fakih Ebrahim , Abu Osman Noor , Mahmad Adikan Faisal
Published: July 2016

The distribution of interface stresses between the residual limb and prosthetic socket of a transtibial amputee has been considered as a direct indicator of the socket quality fit and comfort. Therefore, researchers have been very interested in quantifying these interface stresses in order to evaluate the extent of any potential damage caused by the socket to the residual limb tissues. During the past 50 years a variety of measurement techniques have been employed in an effort to identify sites of excessive stresses which may lead to skin breakdown, compare stress distributions in various socket designs, and evaluate interface cushioning and suspension systems, among others. The outcomes of such measurement techniques have contributed to improving the design and fitting of transtibial sockets. This article aims to review the operating principles, advantages, and disadvantages of conventional and emerging techniques used for interface stress measurements inside transtibial sockets. It also reviews and discusses the evolution of different socket concepts and interface stress investigations conducted in the past five decades, providing valuable insights into the latest trends in socket designs and the crucial considerations for effective stress measurement tools that lead to a functional prosthetic socket.
Uncertainty Comparison of Visual Sensing in Adverse Weather Conditions
Authors: Lo Shi-Wei , Wu Jyh-Horng , Chen Lun-Chi , Tseng Chien-Hao , Lin Fang-Pang , Hsu Ching-Han
Published: July 2016

This paper focuses on flood-region detection using monitoring images. However, adverse weather affects the outcome of image segmentation methods. In this paper, we present an experimental comparison of an outdoor visual sensing system using region-growing methods with two different growing rules—namely, GrowCut and RegGro. For each growing rule, several tests on adverse weather and lens-stained scenes were performed, taking into account and analyzing different weather conditions with the outdoor visual sensing system. The influence of several weather conditions was analyzed, highlighting their effect on the outdoor visual sensing system with different growing rules. Furthermore, experimental errors and uncertainties obtained with the growing rules were compared. The segmentation accuracy of flood regions yielded by the GrowCut, RegGro, and hybrid methods was 75%, 85%, and 87.7%, respectively.
Spectrum Handoffs Based on Preemptive Repeat Priority Queue in Cognitive Radio Networks
Authors: Yang Xiaolong , Tan Xuezhi , Ye Liang , Ma Lin
Published: July 2016

Cognitive radio can significantly improve the spectrum efficiency, and spectrum handoff is considered as an important functionality to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) of primary users (PUs) and the continuity of data transmission of secondary users (SUs). In this paper, we propose an analytical framework based on a preemptive repeat identical (PRI) M/G/1 queuing network model to characterize spectrum handoff behaviors with general service time distribution of both primary and secondary connections, multiple interruptions and transmission delay resulting from the appearance of primary connections. Then, we derive the close-expression of the extended data delivery and the system sojourn time in both staying and changing scenarios. In addition, based on analysis of spectrum handoff behaviors resulting from multiple interruptions caused by the appearance of the primary connections, we investigate the traffic-adaptive policy, by which the considered SU will optimally adjust its handoff spectrum policy. Moreover, we investigate the admissible region and provide the reference for designing the admission control rule for the arriving secondary connection requests. Finally, simulation results verify that our proposed analytical framework is reasonable and can provide the reference for executing the optimal spectrum handoff strategy and designing the admission control rule for the SU in cognitive radio networks.
Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Cost Analysis of Magnesia Spinel Brick Production
Authors: Özkan Aysun , Günkaya Zerrin , Tok Gülden , Karacasulu Levent , Metesoy Melike , Banar Müfide , Kara Alpagut
Published: July 2016

Sustainable use of natural resources in the production of construction materials has become a necessity both in Europe and Turkey. Construction products in Europe should have European Conformity (CE) and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), an independently verified and registered document in line with the European standard EN 15804. An EPD certificate can be created by performing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study. In this particular work, an LCA study was carried out for a refractory brick production for environmental assessment. In addition to the LCA, the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) analysis was also applied for economic assessment. Firstly, a cradle-to-gate LCA was performed for one ton of magnesia spinel refractory brick. The CML IA method included in the licensed SimaPro 8.0.1 software was chosen to calculate impact categories (namely, abiotic depletion, global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, ozone depletion potential, and photochemical oxidation potential). The LCC analysis was performed by developing a cost model for internal and external cost categories within the software. The results were supported by a sensitivity analysis. According to the results, the production of raw materials and the firing process in the magnesia spinel brick production were found to have several negative effects on the environment and were costly.
Transforming Mature Tourism Resorts into Sustainable Tourism Destinations through Participatory Integrated Approaches: The Case of Puerto de la Cruz
Authors: Corral Serafin , Hernández Jesús , Navarro Ibáñez Manuel , Rivero Ceballos José
Published: July 2016

Transforming mature tourism resorts has evolved toward a greater involvement of public authorities and away from the mere renovation of public spaces. Authorities today are required to lead the reorganization of tourism activities through the development of co-operative networks between all stakeholders involved. In this paper, a participatory integrated approach has been designed and implemented in collaboration with Spanish authorities and the tourism sector to propose a strategy to achieve the renovation of tourism resorts. This methodology was applied to Puerto de la Cruz, the oldest tourism destination in the Canary Islands and a clear paradigm of a consolidated resort. The objective is to define and implement policies to transform Puerto de la Cruz into a more sustainable tourism destination.
State-of-the-Art Review on Sustainable Design and Construction of Quieter Pavements—Part 2: Factors Affecting Tire-Pavement Noise and Prediction Models
Authors: Sirin Okan
Published: July 2016

Traffic noise is a combination of noises produced from a number of sources. Of all the traffic noise sources, tire-pavement noise, which is emitted as a result of the interaction of rolling, slipping, or dragging tires and the pavement surface, is the dominant contributor of overall noise, particularly when vehicles are moving at higher speeds. Therefore, a number of research studies have been conducted to identify and analyze the factors affecting the generation of tire-pavement interaction noise. This helps in identifying and selecting appropriate noise mitigation techniques. In this paper, an extensive literature survey on the factors affecting tire-pavement noise is presented, and different views on the impact of each individual factor are discussed. From the literature survey, it is also evident that there is a potential correlation between pavement’s material characteristics and tire-pavement noise. A comprehensive discussion about this correlation is presented in the paper. In addition, this paper discusses various mathematical models for predicting pavement noise, and their advantages and shortcomings.
Towards a More Sustainable Food Supply Chain: Opening up Invisible Waste in Food Service
Authors: Derqui Belén , Fayos Teresa , Fernandez Vicenc
Published: July 2016

Future challenges to the global food supply chain are complex. In order to embrace sustainability, companies should change their management practices towards more efficient resource use. Food waste being a misuse of resources, we identify its causes and possible ways of minimising it. To achieve this goal, we conducted explorative research with qualitative and quantitative data through in-depth semi-structured interviews and an open questionnaire with top Spanish food service companies. Results show that most businesses mainly tend to minimise food waste according to economic criteria, without taking into account the social, ethical or environmental factors. As a consequence, just “visible” food waste that has an economic impact on the results is minimised. Nevertheless, visibility of real waste is often low. At the same time, awareness of (and therefore initiatives to reduce) food waste that does not directly affect a firm’s profit can be increased through multi-stakeholder collaboration. Opportunities for reducing food waste therefore arise from increasing the visibility of food that is discarded as well as addressing plate waste. We identify best practices that could lead to a reduction of the amount of food waste generated in the out of home channel in Spain.
Measures of Transport-Related Social Exclusion: A Critical Review of the Literature
Authors: Kamruzzaman Md. , Yigitcanlar Tan , Yang Jay , Mohamed Mohd
Published: July 2016

Quantitative measures of transport disadvantage are reviewed in this paper from the perspective of their effectiveness to investigate social exclusion. The effectiveness is assessed using criteria derived through a review of the concepts of transport disadvantage and social exclusion and their operationalisation. The specified criteria are related to issues of spatial (e.g., urban accessibility, and public transport accessibility), temporal (e.g., public transport availability, and facility opening hours), and social attributes of travel and activity participation (e.g., personal mobility, and disability). Four groups of transport disadvantage measures are identified and evaluated. These include deprivation-based measures, mobility-based measures, accessibility-based measures, and activity-based measures. The review suggests that although the first three categories of measures have traditionally been used to identify transport disadvantage, they do not satisfy issues surrounding activity participation—the key outcome of social exclusion. The activity space concept is a way in which these issues can be incorporated, as it is a measure of the outcomes of activity participation and their associated travel to that activity. Participation in an activity means that an individual has overcome the spatial, temporal and social barriers of travel for that activity. The research using the activity space concept has, however, inadequately identified individual travel and activity participation. This has been due to a separate application of a range of different indicators to assess activity space size. These indicators are by their nature multidimensional—e.g., area visited, distance travelled, and number of activity sites visited. Although each indicator represents a specific qualitative/quantitative aspect of travel and activity participation, researchers have treated these indicators in an isolated manner to identify transport disadvantage and consequently transport-related social exclusion. This paper identifies the weaknesses and strengths associated with these measures; and methods are directed to overcome the limitations.
FIRST OBSERVATIONAL SIGNATURE OF ROTATIONAL DECELERATION IN A MASSIVE, INTERMEDIATE-AGE STAR CLUSTER IN THE MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
Authors: Wu Xiaohan , Li Chengyuan , de Grijs Richard , Deng Licai
Published: July 2016

While the extended main-sequence turnoffs (eMSTOs) found in almost all 1–2 Gyr old star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds are often explained by postulating extended star formation histories (SFHs), the tight subgiant branches (SGBs) seen in some clusters challenge this popular scenario. Puzzlingly, the SGB of the eMSTO cluster NGC 419 is significantly broader at bluer than at redder colors. We carefully assess and confirm the reality of this observational trend. If we would assume that the widths of the features in color–magnitude space were entirely owing to a range in stellar ages, the SFHs of the eMSTO stars and the blue SGB region would be significantly more prolonged than that of the red part of the SGB. This cannot be explained by assuming an internal age spread. We show that rotational deceleration of a population of rapidly rotating stars, a currently hotly debated alternative scenario, naturally explains the observed trend along the SGB. Our analysis shows that a “converging” SGB could be produced if the cluster is mostly composed of rapidly rotating stars that slow down over time owing to the conservation of angular momentum during their evolutionary expansion from main-sequence turnoff stars to red giants.
A CLOUDINESS INDEX FOR TRANSITING EXOPLANETS BASED ON THE SODIUM AND POTASSIUM LINES: TENTATIVE EVIDENCE FOR HOTTER ATMOSPHERES BEING LESS CLOUDY AT VISIBLE WAVELENGTHS
Authors: Heng Kevin
Published: July 2016

We present a dimensionless index that quantifies the degree of cloudiness of the atmosphere of a transiting exoplanet. Our cloudiness index is based on measuring the transit radii associated with the line center and wing of the sodium or potassium line. In deriving this index, we revisited the algebraic formulae for inferring the isothermal pressure scale height from transit measurements. We demonstrate that the formulae of Lecavelier et al. and Benneke & Seager are identical: the former is inferring the temperature while assuming a value for the mean molecular mass and the latter is inferring the mean molecular mass while assuming a value for the temperature. More importantly, these formulae cannot be used to distinguish between cloudy and cloud-free atmospheres. We derive values of our cloudiness index for a small sample of seven hot Saturns/Jupiters taken from Sing et al. We show that WASP-17b, WASP-31b, and HAT-P-1b are nearly cloud-free at visible wavelengths. We find the tentative trend that more irradiated atmospheres tend to have fewer clouds consisting of sub-micron-sized particles. We also derive absolute sodium and/or potassium abundances ∼102 cm−3 for WASP-17b, WASP-31b, and HAT-P-1b (and upper limits for the other objects). Higher-resolution measurements of both the sodium and potassium lines, for a larger sample of exoplanetary atmospheres, are needed to confirm or refute this trend.
Éduquer la jeunesse délinquante : dans les pas de Mary Carpenter
Authors: Vergnon Marie
Published: July 2016

Au début du XIX e siècle, la révolution industrielle et l’exode rural qu’elle engendre font émerger dans leur sillage de nouvelles formes de précarité et de petite délinquance dans les villes. En Europe, la Grande-Bretagne devient précocement le théâtre de ces mutations qu’accompagne l’émergence de réflexions et d’initiatives philanthropes comme celles de Mary Carpenter qui consacra sa vie aux enfants incarcérés et placés dans des institutions de réforme. Nous proposons ici un éclairage sur l’évolution des idées concernant la prise en charge de la jeunesse en difficulté au tournant du XX e siècle à partir des actes des congrès pénitentiaires internationaux tenus à partir de 1872, étudiés au prisme des idées forces de Mary Carpenter.
Des pensées politiques critiques de l’éducation ?
Authors: Ferhat Ismail , Poucet Bruno
Published: July 2016

Le système éducatif est un enjeu important pour les gauches de gouvernement en France. Cependant, les différentes gauches ne se sont accordées ni sur la nature de l’institution scolaire, ni sur les politiques éducatives à mener. Les communistes ont développé des analyses spécifiques en la matière, tandis que le Parti socialiste, ainsi que les radicaux, ont eu leur propre projet. Les partis révolutionnaires, très peu étudiés sous cet angle, ont eu aussi des analyses et des programmes sur l’école, et ce depuis les réformes de la III e République. De plus, l’éducation constitue pour les gauches révolutionnaires un sujet complexe, surtout après Mai 1968 où elles trouvent un espace idéel et militant unique dans l’histoire de France. Les gauches révolutionnaires sont ici étudiées sous l’angle privilégié du PSU et des mouvements trotskystes (LCR, lambertistes), ainsi que des tendances d’extrême-gauche des organisations éducatives (syndicalisme enseignant, courants pédagogiques alternatifs). Tout en se distinguant des gauches plus traditionnelles de l’école, elles sont elles-mêmes divisées sur le sujet. S’y affrontent une approche refusant l’institution scolaire elle-même, celle de la critique d’une « école capitaliste » et la défense d’une transmission des savoirs pour le peuple. La période étudiée commence avec les évènements de Mai 1968 qui ouvrent un espace militant éducatif unique pour les gauches révolutionnaires dans l’histoire de France. Elle s’achève avec les « coordinations » d’instituteurs de janvier-février 1987, qui constituent une dernière poussée des thématiques et des méthodes de ces gauches dans le domaine des mobilisations éducatives.
Les collections de chimie de la Société d’encouragement pour l’industrie nationale
Authors: Benoît Serge , Emptoz Gérard
Published: July 2016

Depuis sa fondation en 1801, la Société d’encouragement pour l’industrie nationale a constamment accordé, à travers son Comité des arts chimiques, une place de premier plan à la chimie et aux secteurs industriels associés, dont témoigne aussi celle des chimistes parmi ses principaux dirigeants. Institution au service de l’invention et de l’innovation, elle a mis en place progressivement une bibliothèque internationale bien dotée en périodiques, à partir soit d’échanges de son Bulletin avec ceux d’autres sociétés savantes ou industrielles françaises ou étrangères, soit d’abonnements. Accessible au xx e siècle à des lecteurs extérieurs, cette bibliothèque était devenue, vers 1930, un des principaux centres parisiens de documentation et de veille scientifiques et techniques. La chimie constituait, de fait, une part substantielle de ses fonds. L’inventaire des périodiques chimiques fait apparaître que tous les grands secteurs du domaine sont représentés et qu’ils se sont particulièrement étoffés depuis la fin du xix e siècle, notamment pour la chimie industrielle et appliquée, en réponse à la prise de conscience des lacunes françaises en la matière.
El límite sur de la necrópolis medieval judía del Cerro de la Horca (Toledo) y el problema del contacto con otros cementerios
Authors: Ruiz Taboada Arturo
Published: July 2016

La excavación de un solar localizado en el número 25 de la calle General Villalba ha permitido identificar lo que pudo configurar parte del límite sur del cementerio judío medieval del Cerro de la Horca, en una zona caracterizada por la convergencia de cementerios de diferentes religiones: el ya mencionado judío, un segundo musulmán de época Taifa asociado al camino de Madrid y un tercero cristiano, dependiente de la ermita de San Eugenio. Además, la ausencia de lucillos y la presencia de tumbas en covacha lateral y escalonadas vienen a completar tanto la tipología de enterramientos conocida para este cementerio como su evolución y desarrollo.
Observations finales du CODESC sur le 4ème rapport périodique de la France : Morceaux choisis
Authors: Grosbon Sophie
Published: July 2016

Le Comité des droits économiques, sociaux et culturels, organe conventionnel chargé de contrôler la mise en œuvre du Pacte international relatif aux droits économiques, sociaux et culturels a examiné, lors de sa 58ème session (6-24 juin 2016), la situation de la France et a remis à ce titre ses observations finales. Les recommandations du Comité recouvrent pour partie celles émises en 2008 lors du précédent examen tout en mettant l’accent sur de nouvelles thématiques ou sur d’anciennes préoccupations aux enjeux renouvelés.
Seasonal population dynamics of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera and Ischnocera) infesting three species of woodpeckers (Aves: Piciformes: Picidae) in Manitoba, Canada
Authors: Lamb Robert J. , Galloway Terry D.
Published: July 2016

Three species of woodpeckers (Piciformes: Picidae) in Manitoba, Canada, were examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera): the resident downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens(Linnaeus),n=55), and two migrants, yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius(Linnaeus),n=316) and northern flicker (Colaptes auratus(Linnaeus),n=225). Six species were collected:Menacanthus pici(Denny) (Amblycera: Menoponidae) from all hosts, and five species of Ischnocera (Philopteridae):Penenirmus auritus(Scopoli) from downy woodpeckers and sapsuckers,Picicola snodgrassi(Kellogg) andBrueelia straminea(Denny) from downy woodpeckers, andPenenirmus jungens(Kellogg) andPicicola porismaDalgleish from flickers. Adults and nymphs were present on downy woodpeckers all year, and on migrant sapsuckers and flickers from when they arrived until they left, suggesting lice reproduce continuously on their hosts. Prevalence and mean intensities of louse infestations generally decreased from their respective springtime levels to their lowest values during or at the end of the breeding season of their hosts, and then increased in various degrees during the fall. No seasonal pattern in louse sex ratios was observed except on northern flickers, where male to female ratios for two of three species were lowest during the breeding season. Resident and migrant hosts had similar seasonal patterns of infestation by lice.
A new melanistic variant of the caterpillar hunterCalosoma wilcoxiLeConte, 1848 from Texas, United States of America and a preliminary phylogeny of the genusCalosomaWeber, 1801 (Coleoptera: Carabidae)
Authors: Ray Jesse W. , Seidel Matthias , Husemann Martin
Published: July 2016

Two aberrant ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) specimens from the genusCalosomaWeber, 1801 were collected in Waco, Texas, United States of America, in 2012–2013. The specimens, which are morphologically most similar toCalosoma wilcoxiLeConte, 1848, but are dark blue-black instead of the typical metallic green. We employed DNA barcoding and phylogenetic methods to confirm the identities of the aberrant specimens. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences of central Texas and southwestern species place the aberrant specimens with 100% confidence asC. wilcoxi.The new variant ofC. wilcoxipresumably occurs at low densities. Frequent collecting from 2011 to 2014 resulted in the discovery of only two of the aberrant coloured individuals among hundreds of typical green specimens. These specimens (to our knowledge) represent the first published record of melanisticCalosomafrom North America. While the majority of North American species in the genus are naturally black, two of the most widely distributed and abundant species,C. scrutator(Fabricius, 1775) andC. wilcoxi, are typically green. We sequenced the aberrant form as well as all species co-occurring with the new colour morph at the collection locality and used records from GenBank and the Barcode of Life Data System to generate a preliminary phylogeny of the genus, which suggested that some of the currently established subgenera are likely not monophyletic.
Revised health and safety compliance model for the Ghanaian construction industry
Authors: Mustapha Zakari
Published: July 2016

The construction industry in Ghana is faced with employees’ negligence in obeying rules and regulations, and acts that conflict with health and safety. The purpose of the paper was to present the revised health and safety (H&S) compliance model for the construction industry based on a developed theoretical six factor model. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted on the theoretical model to assess whether the variables were suitable for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).The EFA carried out on the theoretical model led to the revision of the H&S compliance model. The extraction method employed on the theoretical six factor model during the EFA was Principal Axis Factoring with Oblimin Rotation (PAF Oblimin).Findings from the study show that Total Variance Explained had fourteen factors above 1.00. Further findings show that four factors were retained from the six factor theoretical model. In some cases few variables were combined with other factors to form new factors. The combination of the variables led to the formation of new factors with different latent constructs. The remaining two factors from the theoretical model also form part of the new constructs. Twelve factors were finally obtained from the EFA, with a minimum of three variables each. The factors with negative factor loadings indicate their weakness in the model because they cross load over another. Hence, two factors with highest number of negative factor loadings were dropped, remaining ten factors with good communalities above 0.3 as shown in the revised model.Keywords: Compliance, exploratory factor analysis, Ghana, health and safety, model
Modeling investigation of light absorbing aerosols in the central Amazon during the wet season
Authors: Wang Qiaoqiao , Saturno Jorge , Chi Xuguang , Walter David , Lavric Jost V. , Moran- Zuloaga Daniel , Ditas Florian , Pöhlker Christopher , Brito Joel , Carbone Samara , Artaxo Paulo , Andreae Meinrat O.
Published: July 2016

Abstract. We use a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) to interpret observed light absorbing aerosols in Amazonia during the wet season. Observed aerosol properties, including black carbon (BC) concentration and light absorption, at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) site in the central Amazon have relatively low background levels, but frequently show high peaks during the study period of Jan–Apr 2014. With daily temporal resolution for open fire emissions and modified aerosol optical properties, our model successfully captures the observed variation of fine/coarse aerosol and BC concentrations as well as aerosol light absorption and its wavelength dependence over the Amazon basin. The source attribution in the model indicates the important influence of open fire on the observed variances of aerosol concentrations and absorption, mainly from regional sources (northern South America) and from Northern Africa. The contribution of open fires from these two regions are comparable, with the latter becoming more important in the late wet season. The analysis of correlation and enhancement ratios of BC versus CO suggests transport times of  1.8). Uncertainty analysis shows that accounting for absorption due to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and primary biogenic aerosol (PBA) particles could result in differences of