bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Botanicals Against Tetranychus urticae Koch Under Laboratory Conditions: A Survey of Alternatives for Controlling Pest Mites
Authors: Rincón Ricardo A. , Rodríguez Daniel , Coy-Barrera Ericsson
Published: August 2019

Tetranychus urticae Koch is a phytophagous mite capable of altering the physiological processes of plants, causing damages estimated at USD$ 4500 per hectare, corresponding to approximately 30% of the total cost of pesticides used in some important crops. Several tools are used in the management of this pest, with chemical control being the most frequently exploited. Nevertheless, the use of chemically synthesized acaricides brings a number of disadvantages, such as the development of resistance by the pest, hormolygosis, incompatibility with natural predators, phytotoxicity, environmental pollution, and risks to human health. In that sense, the continuous search for botanical pesticides arises as a complementary alternative in the control of T. urticae Koch. Although a lot of information is unknown about its mechanisms of action and composition, there are multiple experiments in lab conditions that have been performed to determine the toxic effects of botanicals on this mite. Among the most studied botanical families for this purpose are plants from the Lamiaceae, the Asteraceae, the Myrtaceae, and the Apiaceae taxons. These are particularly abundant and exhibit several results at different levels; therefore, many of them can be considered as promising elements to be included into integrated pest management for controlling T. urticae.
Poly (Butyl Acrylate)-Graft-Polystyrene Synthesis by Free-Radical Polymerization: Interplay between Structure, Morphology, Mechanical, and Optical Properties
Authors: Fage J. , Knoll K. , Niessner N. , Carstensen O. , Schulz T. , Malz F. , Döring M. , Schönberger F.
Published: August 2019

We report a new method of preparation of poly (butyl acrylate)-g-polystyrene/polystyrene blends by free-radical polymerization. Copolymerization of glycidyl (meth)acrylate with butyl acrylate is followed by a polymer analogous reaction of this copolymer with acrylic acid and subsequent copolymerization of the modified backbone with styrene. Investigation on the number of reactive groups per backbone chain and its molecular weight allows grafting efficiencies of about 35% to be reached, as well as low cross-linking. Blends of nanophase-separated copolymers having a backbone with Mn of around 50 kg/mol and 4 reactive groups per chain are transparent, with haze as low as 14%, tensile strength of around 22 MPa, and elongations at the break of around 3%. Correlation between morphology determined by transmission electron microscopy and properties of the blend is established.
Excellent Toughening of 2,6-Diaminopyridine Derived Poly (Urethane Urea) via Dynamic Cross-Linkages and Interfering with Hydrogen Bonding of Urea Groups from Partially Coordinated Ligands
Authors: Sun Ailing , Guo Wenjuan , Zhang Jinping , Li Wenjuan , Liu Xin , Zhu Hao , Li Yuhan , Wei Liuhe
Published: August 2019

Conventional approaches to synthesize thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with excellent robustness are limited by a competing relationship between soft and hard segments for tuning mechanical properties in terms of chain flexibility and micro-phase separation. Herein, we present a facile and effective way of simultaneously improving the tensile strength, elongation, and toughness by constructing dynamic cross-linkages from metal-ligand interaction between Zn2+ and pyridine moiety in backbone of poly(urethane urea) (PUU) derived from 2,6-diaminopyridine and poly(propylene glycol). It was found that a Zn2+/pyridine ratio of 1:4 is the most effective for improving robustness. Specifically, tensile strength, elongation, and toughness could be remarkably increased to 16.0 MPa, 1286%, and 89.3 MJ/m3 with 226%, 29%, and 185% increments compared to uncomplexed PUU, respectively. Results from UV-vis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), cyclic tensile tests, and stress relaxation reveal that metal-ligand interaction significantly interferes with the hydrogen bonding of urea groups, thus leading to weakening of stiffness. Furthermore, half of vacant ligands enable dynamic complexation during stretching, which consequently ensures constant noncovalent cross-linkages for constraining mutual chain sliding, contributing to simultaneous improvement of tensile strength, elongation, and toughness. This work provides a promising approach for designing TPU with excellent robustness.
Imbalance-Based Irregularity Molecular Descriptors of Nanostar Dendrimers
Authors: Hussain Zafar , Munir Mobeen , Rafique Shazia , Hussnain Tayyab , Ahmad Haseeb , Chel Kwun Young , Min Kang Shin
Published: August 2019

Dendrimers are branched organic macromolecules with successive layers of branch units surrounding a central core. The molecular topology and the irregularity of their structure plays a central role in determining structural properties like enthalpy and entropy. Irregularity indices which are based on the imbalance of edges are determined for the molecular graphs associated with some general classes of dendrimers. We also provide graphical analysis of these indices for the above said classes of dendrimers.
Do Thor and Odin Have Bodies? Superperception and Divine Intervention among the Old Norse Gods
Authors: Taggart Declan
Published: August 2019

In Old Norse mythology, gods like Freyja, Odin, and Thor are usually characterized as human-like creatures: they walk and ride animals, eat, grow old, and even die. Was there more to conceptions of Old Norse gods than those anthropomorphic representations? This article presents evidence that the gods of early Scandinavia were sometimes thought of as superperceiving and able to act in ways that defied the limitations of a physical body. It engages with and challenges theological correctness, a prominent theory in the Cognitive Science of Religion, to elucidate the sources of Old Norse religion and the cognitive and contextual foundations of the representations of gods encountered there. Following an examination of the mechanisms through which Old Norse gods’ superperception and disembodied action were narrativized and rationalized, the article concludes with a discussion of the consequences of non-anthropomorphic representations of the gods for understanding Scandinavian worshippers’ everyday religious life.
Decolonizing the Intercultural: A Call for Decolonizing Consciousness in Settler-Colonial Australia
Authors: Bradfield Abraham
Published: August 2019

Throughout this article I make a case for decolonizing consciousness as a reflexive orientation that reforms the ways in which Indigenous and non-Indigenous life-worlds are navigated and mutually apprehended in a settler colonial context. I consider how through decolonizing dominant habits of thought and action an intercultural dialogue responsive of diverse and mutually informing realities may be cultivated. This article aims to first introduce the key characteristics of ‘decolonizing consciousness’, this being reflexivity, deep listening, and border thinking. Using the Darling River in New South Wales, Australia, as a backdrop, I consider how place and environment are agents and facilitators of a contested intercultural dialogue where Indigenous and non-Indigenous ontologies, epistemologies, and axiologies often come to head. Drawing on fieldwork conducted with Aboriginal residents in far western New South Wales, as well as literature on decolonizing theory and Indigenous knowledge systems from different socio-cultural contexts, I argue that intercultural dialogue begins with reflexive contemplation of how one’s lived experiences is embedded in the realities of others.
Pinch Grasp and Suction for Delicate Object Manipulations Using Modular Anthropomorphic Robotic Gripper with Soft Layer Enhancements
Authors: Ponraj Joseph Vedhagiri Godwin , Prituja Avataram Venkatavaradan , Li Changsheng , Zhu Guoniu , Thakor Nitish V. , Ren Hongliang
Published: August 2019

This paper is an extension of our previous work about a modular anthropomorphic robotic hand with soft enhancements focusing on simultaneous pinch grasp and suction-based object manipulations. The base structure is a tendon-driven robotic hand comprising five fingers and a palm. Each finger consists of two rigid links covered with soft enhancements. The soft enhancements are like the skin and tissues of the robotic hand. The tip of the finger is equipped with a suction module which can be actuated by regulating negative pressure to the soft layers. While our previous work dealt with the rationale behind and the structure of the modular design with kinematic analysis, this paper focuses on analyzing two specific capabilities of the gripper—pinch grasp and suction modality. Experiments validate that the proposed gripper together with the soft enhancement layers is capable of performing delicate single finger suction-based manipulation tasks and two-finger pinch grasp tasks.
Leveraging Commercial High-Resolution Multispectral Satellite and Multibeam Sonar Data to Estimate Bathymetry: The Case Study of the Caribbean Sea
Authors: Pike Samuel , Traganos Dimosthenis , Poursanidis Dimitris , Williams Jamie , Medcalf Katie , Reinartz Peter , Chrysoulakis Nektarios
Published: August 2019

The global coastal seascape offers a multitude of ecosystem functions and services to the natural and human-induced ecosystems. However, the current anthropogenic global warming above pre-industrial levels is inducing the degradation of seascape health with adverse impacts on biodiversity, economy, and societies. Bathymetric knowledge empowers our scientific, financial, and ecological understanding of the associated benefits, processes, and pressures to the coastal seascape. Here we leverage two commercial high-resolution multispectral satellite images of the Pleiades and two multibeam survey datasets to measure bathymetry in two zones (0–10 m and 10–30 m) in the tropical Anguilla and British Virgin Islands, northeast Caribbean. A methodological framework featuring a combination of an empirical linear transformation, cloud masking, sun-glint correction, and pseudo-invariant features allows spatially independent calibration and test of our satellite-derived bathymetry approach. The best R2 and RMSE for training and validation vary between 0.44–0.56 and 1.39–1.76 m, respectively, while minimum vertical errors are less than 1 m in the depth ranges of 7.8–10 and 11.6–18.4 m for the two explored zones. Given available field data, the present methodology could provide simple, time-efficient, and accurate spatio-temporal satellite-derived bathymetry intelligence in scientific and commercial tasks i.e., navigation, coastal habitat mapping and resource management, and reducing natural hazards.
New Motion Intention Acquisition Method of Lower Limb Rehabilitation Robot Based on Static Torque Sensors
Authors: Feng Yongfei , Wang Hongbo , Vladareanu Luige , Chen Zheming , Jin Di
Published: August 2019

The rehabilitation robot is an application of robotic technology for people with limb disabilities. This paper investigates a new applicable and effective sitting/lying lower limb rehabilitation robot (the LLR-Ro). In order to improve the patient’s training initiative and accelerate the rehabilitation process, a new motion intention acquisition method based on static torque sensors is proposed. This motion intention acquisition method is established through the dynamics modeling of human–machine coordination, which is built on the basis of Lagrangian equations. Combined with the static torque sensors installed on the mechanism leg joint axis, the LLR-Ro can obtain the active force from the patient’s leg. Based on the variation of the patient’s active force and the kinematic functional relationship of the patient’s leg end point, the patient motion intention is obtained and used in the proposed active rehabilitation training method. The simulation experiment demonstrates the correctness of mechanism leg dynamics equations through ADAMS software and MATLAB software. The calibration experiment of the joint torque sensors’ combining limit range filter with an average value filter provides the hardware support for active rehabilitation training. The consecutive variation of the torque sensors from just the mechanism leg weight, as well as both the mechanism leg and the patient leg weights, obtains the feasibility of lower limb motion intention acquisition.
Iterative Trajectory Optimization for Physical-Layer Secure Buffer-Aided UAV Mobile Relaying
Authors: Shen Lingfeng , Wang Ning , Ji Xiang , Mu Xiaomin , Cai Lin
Published: August 2019

With the fast development of commercial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, there are increasing research interests on UAV communications. In this work, the mobility and deployment flexibility of UAVs are exploited to form a buffer-aided relaying system assisting terrestrial communication that is blocked. Optimal UAV trajectory design of the UAV-enabled mobile relaying system with a randomly located eavesdropper is investigated from the physical-layer security perspective to improve the overall secrecy rate. Based on the mobility of the UAV relay, a wireless channel model that changes with the trajectory and is exploited for improved secrecy is established. The secrecy rate is maximized by optimizing the discretized trajectory anchor points based on the information causality and UAV mobility constraints. However, the problem is non-convex and therefore difficult to solve. To make the problem tractable, we alternatively optimize the increments of the trajectory anchor points iteratively in a two-dimensional space and decompose the problem into progressive convex approximate problems through the iterative procedure. Convergence of the proposed iterative trajectory optimization technique is proved analytically by the squeeze principle. Simulation results show that finding the optimal trajectory by iteratively updating the displacements is effective and fast converging. It is also shown by the simulation results that the distribution of the eavesdropper location influences the security performance of the system. Specifically, an eavesdropper further away from the destination is beneficial to the system’s overall secrecy rate. Furthermore, it is observed that eavesdropper being further away from the destination also results in shorter trajectories, which implies it being energy-efficient as well.
A Novel Resource Allocation and Spectrum Defragmentation Mechanism for IoT-Based Big Data in Smart Cities
Authors: Peng Yuhuai , Wang Jiaying , Tan Aiping , Wu Jingjing
Published: August 2019

People’s demand for high-traffic applications and the need for Internet of Things (IoT) are enormous in smart cities. The amount of data generated by virtual reality, high-definition video, and other IoT applications is growing at an exponential rate that far exceeds our expectations, and the types of data are becoming more diverse. It has become critical to reliably accommodate IoT-based big data with reasonable resource allocation in optical backbone networks for smart cities. For the problem of reliable transmission and efficient resource allocation in optical backbone networks, a novel resource allocation and spectrum defragmentation mechanism for massive IoT traffic is presented in this paper. Firstly, a routing and spectrum allocation algorithm based on the distance-adaptive sharing protection mechanism (DASP) is proposed, to obtain sufficient protection and reduce the spectrum consumption. The DASP algorithm advocates applying different strategies to the resource allocation of the working and protection paths. Then, the protection path spectrum defragmentation algorithm based on OpenFlow is designed to improve spectrum utilization while providing shared protection for traffic demands. The lowest starting slot-index first (LSSF) algorithm is employed to remove and reconstruct the optical paths. Numerical results indicate that the proposal can effectively alleviate spectrum fragmentation and reduce the bandwidth-blocking probability by 44.68% compared with the traditional scheme.
Heterogeneous LoRa-Based Wireless Multimedia Sensor Network Multiprocessor Platform for Environmental Monitoring
Authors: García Sebastián , Larios Diego F. , Barbancho Julio , Personal Enrique , Mora-Merchán Javier M. , León Carlos
Published: August 2019

The acquisition of data in protected natural environments is subordinated to actions that do not stress the life-forms present in that environment. This is why researchers face two conflicting interests: autonomous and robust systems that minimize the physical interaction with sensors once installed, and complex enough ones to capture and process higher volumes of data. On the basis of this situation, this paper analyses the current state-of-the-art of wireless multimedia sensor networks, identifying the limitations and needs of these solutions. In this sense, in order to improve the trade-off between autonomous and computational capabilities, this paper proposes a heterogeneous multiprocessor sensor platform, consisting of an ultra-low power microcontroller and a high-performance processor, which transfers control between processors as needed. This architecture allows the shutdown of idle systems and fail-safe remote reprogramming. The sensor equipment can be adapted to the needs of the project. The deployed equipment incorporates, in addition to environmental meteorological variables, a microphone input and two cameras (visible and thermal) to capture multimedia data. In addition to the hardware description, the paper provides a brief description of how long-range (LoRa) can be used for sending large messages (such as an image or a new firmware), an economic analysis of the platform, and a study on energy consumption of the platform according to different use cases.
A Bio-Inspired Polarization Sensor with High Outdoor Accuracy and Central-Symmetry Calibration Method with Integrating Sphere
Authors: Wang Yinlong , Chu Jinkui , Zhang Ran , Li Jinshan , Guo Xiaoqing , Lin Muyin
Published: August 2019

A bio-inspired polarization sensor with lenses for navigation was evaluated in this study. Two new calibration methods are introduced, referred to as “central-symmetry calibration” (with an integrating sphere) and “noncontinuous calibration”. A comparison between the indoor calibration results obtained from different calibration methods shows that the two proposed calibration methods are more effective. The central-symmetry calibration method optimized the nonconstant calibration voltage deviations, caused by the off-axis feature of the integrating sphere, to be constant values which can be calibrated easily. The section algorithm proposed previously showed no experimental advantages until the central-symmetry calibration method was proposed. The outdoor experimental results indicated that the indoor calibration parameters did not perform very well in practice outdoor conditions. To establish the reason, four types of calibration parameters were analyzed using the replacement method. It can be concluded that three types can be easily calibrated or affect the sensor accuracy slightly. However, before the sensor is used outdoors every time, the last type must be replaced with the corresponding outdoor parameter, and the calculation needs a precise rotary table. This parameter, which is mainly affected by the spectrum of incident light, is the main factor determining the sensor accuracy. After calibration, the sensor reaches an indoor accuracy of ±0.009° and a static outdoor accuracy of ±0.05° under clear sky conditions. The dynamic outdoor experiment shows a ±0.5° heading deviation between the polarization sensor and the inertial navigation system with a ±0.06° angular accuracy.
Suspended-Core Microstructured Polymer Optical Fibers and Potential Applications in Sensing
Authors: Talataisong Wanvisa , Ismaeel Rand , Beresna Martynas , Brambilla Gilberto
Published: August 2019

The study of the fabrication, material selection, and properties of microstructured polymer optical fibers (MPOFs) has long attracted great interest. This ever-increasing interest is due to their wide range of applications, mainly in sensing, including temperature, pressure, chemical, and biological species. This manuscript reviews the manufacturing of MPOFs, including the most recent single-step process involving extrusion from a modified 3D printer. MPOFs sensing applications are then discussed, with a stress on the benefit of using polymers.
Nondestructive Analysis of Debonds in a Composite Structure under Variable Temperature Conditions
Authors: Sikdar Shirsendu , Kundu Abhishek , Jurek Michał , Ostachowicz Wiesław
Published: August 2019

This paper presents a nondestructive analysis of debonds in an adhesively-bonded carbon-fibre reinforced composite structure under variable temperature conditions. Towards this, ultrasonic guided wave propagation based experimental analysis and numerical simulations are carried out for a sample composite structure to investigate the wave propagation characteristics and detect debonds under variable operating temperature conditions. The analysis revealed that the presence of debonds in the structure significantly reduces the wave mode amplitudes, and this effect further increases with the increase in ambient temperature and debond size. Based on the debond induced differential amplitude phenomenon, an online monitoring strategy is proposed that directly uses the guided wave signals from the distributed piezoelectric sensor network to localize the hidden debonds in the structure. Debond index maps generated from the proposed monitoring strategy show the debond identification potential in the adhesively-bonded composite structure. The accuracy of the monitoring strategy is successfully verified with non-contact active infrared-thermography analysis results. The effectiveness of the proposed monitoring strategy is further investigated for the variable debond size and ambient temperature conditions. The study establishes the potential for using the proposed damage index constructed from the differential guided wave signal features as a basis for localization and characterization of debond damages in operational composite structures.
Integrating Surface-Based Temperature and Vegetation Abundance Estimates into Land Cover Classifications for Conservation Efforts in Savanna Landscapes
Authors: Herrero Hannah Victoria , Southworth Jane , Bunting Erin , Kohlhaas Romer Ryan , Child Brian
Published: August 2019

Southern African savannas are an important dryland ecosystem, as they account for up to 54% of the landscape, support a rich variety of biodiversity, and are areas of key landscape change. This paper aims to address the challenges of studying this highly gradient landscape with a grass–shrub–tree continuum. This study takes place in South Luangwa National Park (SLNP) in eastern Zambia. Discretely classifying land cover in savannas is notoriously difficult because vegetation species and structural groups may be very similar, giving off nearly indistinguishable spectral signatures. A support vector machine classification was tested and it produced an accuracy of only 34.48%. Therefore, we took a novel continuous approach in evaluating this change by coupling in situ data with Landsat-level normalized difference vegetation index data (NDVI, as a proxy for vegetation abundance) and blackbody surface temperature (BBST) data into a rule-based classification for November 2015 (wet season) that was 79.31% accurate. The resultant rule-based classification was used to extract mean Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) NDVI values by season over time from 2000 to 2016. This showed a distinct separation between each of the classes consistently over time, with woodland having the highest NDVI, followed by shrubland and then grassland, but an overall decrease in NDVI over time in all three classes. These changes may be due to a combination of precipitation, herbivory, fire, and humans. This study highlights the usefulness of a continuous time-series-based approach, which specifically integrates surface temperature and vegetation abundance-based NDVI data into a study of land cover and vegetation health for savanna landscapes, which will be useful for park managers and conservationists globally.
Moral Foundations in the 2015-16 U.S. Presidential Primary Debates: The Positive and Negative Moral Vocabulary of Partisan Elites
Authors: Lewis Paul G.
Published: August 2019

Moral foundations theory (MFT) suggests that individuals on the political left draw upon moral intuitions relating primarily to care and fairness, whereas conservatives are more motivated than liberals by authority, ingroup, and purity concerns. The theory of conservatism as motivated social cognition (CMSC) suggests that conservatives are more attuned than liberals to threat and to negative stimuli. Because evidence for both accounts rests on studies of mass publics, however, it remains unclear whether political elites of the left and right exhibit these inclinations. Thus, this analysis uses the 2015-16 United States presidential primary season as an occasion to explore partisan differences in candidates’ moral rhetoric. The analysis focuses on verbal responses to questions posed during party primary debates, a setting that is largely unscripted and thus potentially subject to intuitive influences. The Moral Foundations Dictionary is employed to analyze how frequently candidates used words representing various moral foundations, distinguishing between positive and negative references to each. Consistent with CMSC, the Republican candidates were more likely to use negative-valence moral terminology, describing violations of moral foundations. The direction of some partisan differences contradicts the expectations of MFT. Donald Trump, a novice candidate, was an exception to the typical Republican pattern, making markedly lower overall use of moral-foundations vocabulary.
Effects of Linear Versus Changes of Direction Repeated Sprints on Intermittent High Intensity Running Performance in High-level Junior Football Players over an Entire Season: A Randomized Trial
Authors: Sagelv Edvard H , Selnæs Ivar , Pedersen Sigurd , Pettersen Svein Arne , Randers Morten B , Welde Boye
Published: August 2019

Background: Changes of direction (COD) repeated sprints (RSs) might have greater relevance to football than linear RSs. We aimed to compare the effects of linear and COD RSs on intermittent high intensity running (HIR) over an entire season. Methods: In total, 19 high-level male football players (16–19 years) randomly performed linear RSs or COD RSs twice a week during their competitive season over 22 weeks. Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 2 (Yo-Yo IR2), and 10- and 20-m sprint was assessed pre-, mid- (11 weeks), and post-intervention (22 weeks). Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was assessed pre- and post-intervention. Results: There was no interaction effect (time x group) in Yo-Yo IR2 (p = 0.36, pη2 = 0.06) or sprint tests (10 m: p = 0.55, pη2 = 0.04, 20 m: p = 0.28 pη2 = 0.08), and no change differences between groups. There was a main effect of time for Yo-Yo IR2 (p = 0.002, pη2 = 0.31) but not in sprints or VO2max. Conclusion: Linear and COD RS exercise twice a week over 22 weeks equally improves intermittent HIR performance but does not improve sprint time or aerobic power in high-level junior football players. However, due to our two-armed intervention, we cannot exclude possible effects from other exercise components in the players’ exercise program.
Curating Indigenous Knowledge and Practices for Sustainable Development: Possibilities for a Socio-Ecologically-Minded University
Authors: Mbah Marcellus , Fonchingong Charles
Published: August 2019

Higher education continues to play an integral role in fostering regional development and this is underpinned by the concept that universities possess a social responsibility as proponents of progress in relation to society’s socio-economic, political and environmental challenges. Different approaches have been articulated but none seems to provide a useful framework to support African universities’ contribution to development in their regions. This paper interrogates the idea of the ecological university and moves on to posit the possibility for a socio-ecological premise to meet environmental and societal needs, based on a symbiotic relationship between indigenous practices and a university’s capacity to engender sustainable development. Findings from an in-depth analysis of participants’ transcripts drawn from qualitative responses depict indigenous knowledge and practices which can galvanise environmental and societal sustainability, and bring to the fore the idea of the socio-ecologically-minded university.
Big Data Analytics Capabilities and Eco-Innovation: A Study of Energy Companies
Authors: Munodawafa Russell Tatenda , Johl Satirenjit Kaur
Published: August 2019

Increased greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the past decades have created concerns about the environment. To stymie global warming and the deterioration of the natural environment, global CO2 emissions need to reach approximately 1.3 tons per capita by 2050. However, in Malaysia, CO2 output per capita—driven by fossil fuel consumption and energy production—is expected to reach approximately 12.1 tons by the year 2020. GHG mitigation strategies are needed to address these challenges. Cleaner production, through eco-innovation, has the potential to arrest CO2 emissions and buttress sustainable development. However, the cleaner production process has been hampered by lack of complete data to support decision making. Therefore, using the resource-based view, a preliminary study consisting of energy and utility firms is undertaken to understand the impact of big data analytics towards eco-innovation. Linear regression through SPSS Version 24 reveals that big data analytics could become a strong predictor of eco-innovation. This paper concludes that information and data are key inputs, and big data technology provides firms the opportunity to obtain information, which could influence its production process—and possibly help arrest increasing CO2 emissions.
Does CSR Signal the Firm Value? Evidence from China
Authors: Bing Tao , Li Meng
Published: August 2019

Compared to the rapid development of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in developing countries, especially in China, the research about the effect of CSR on firm value has evolved more slowly. This paper examines the relationship between CSR and firm value used by listed Chinese companies from 2010 to 2017. The results for the whole sample show CSR significantly reduces firm value. Additionally, there are no significant differences for the effect of CSR on firm value between state owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs or sensitive industry and non-sensitive industry. To explore whether the relationship changes over time, we divided the period into two sub-periods. During 2010–2014, the results are similar with those obtained by the whole sample. However, the results significantly change during 2015–2017. Specifically, the negative and significant relationship between CSR and firm value becomes non-significant in the second sub-period. Compared to the weakening effect of CSR for non-SOEs on firm value, CSR for SOEs alleviates the effect, and CSR of SOEs increases firm value significantly. Similar results are obtained for non-sensitive industry and sensitive industry. The changes are the result of increasing awareness by government, companies, and investors on sustainable development after 2015. This finding enriches the research on the dynamic effect of CSR on firm value in developing countries.
Exploration of Sustainable Urban Transportation Development in China through the Forecast of Private Vehicle Ownership
Authors: Li Yang , Miao Lu , Chen Ying , Hu Yike
Published: August 2019

With the acceleration of China’s urbanization process, the urban transportation problem has become increasingly serious. The rapid expansion of private vehicle ownership, in particular, has become one of the barriers to the realization of sustainable urban transition. This paper applied the Gompertz model to analyze the non-linear relationship between private vehicle ownership and per capita GDP in China using provincial data. In addition, we forecasted private vehicle ownership for 31 Chinese provinces for the period of 2019–2030 and predicted the time to reach the upper limit of 1000 people vehicle ownership of each province according to different scenarios. The main findings revealed that the number of private vehicles owned in China’s provinces was in line with “S”-shaped development and was currently in the process of accelerated growth. Under the scenario of an annual per capita GDP growth rate of 6%, China’s private vehicle ownership will reach 246 million, 375 million, and 475 million in 2020, 2025, and 2030, respectively. This indicates that China’s expansion of private vehicle ownership will generate significant challenges, such as on-road vehicle-related fossil fuel consumption, pollutant emissions, traffic congestion, and scrapped vehicle recycling. These issues will become increasingly prominent. In provinces such as Hubei, Hebei, Hunan, and other central provinces that have a 50–60% urbanization rate, the large potential for income promotion will significantly stimulate the increase in private vehicle ownership, and the upper limit of 1000 people vehicle ownership in each province will be reached in 2032, 2037, and 2046 with annual per capita GDP growth rates of 8%, 6%, and 4%, respectively.
Voting on Behalf of a Future Generation: A Laboratory Experiment
Authors: Kamijo Yoshio , Hizen Yoichi , Saijo Tatsuyoshi , Tamura Teruyuki
Published: August 2019

This paper investigates a new voting rule wherein some people are given extra votes to serve as proxies for future generations. We predict that this voting scheme affects the voting behavior of those who do not receive an extra vote (i.e., single-ballot voters) because they are less likely to become a pivot, while proxy voters are expected to behave in support of the future generation. To test this prediction, we compare three scenarios wherein single-ballot voters would cast a vote: (a) one-voter-one-vote scenario wherein all voters cast only a single ballot; (b) a standard proxy-voting scenario wherein other voters cast two ballots, and the second vote is to cast for the benefit of a future generation; and (c) a non-proxy-voting scenario wherein other voters cast two ballots with no explanation for the second vote. The result shows that single-ballot voters are less inclined to vote for the future-oriented option in (c) than in (a). This indicates the potential drawback of the new voting scheme. However, there is no difference in the single-ballot voters’ decision between (a) and (b), indicating that the explanation of the second ballot as the proxy is important for reducing the intergenerational inequality through this voting reform.
Time-Dependent Pricing for High-Speed Railway in China Based on Revenue Management
Authors: Qin Jin , Zeng Yijia , Yang Xia , He Yuxin , Wu Xuanke , Qu Wenxuan
Published: August 2019

High-speed railway (HSR) is recognized as a green transportation mode with lower energy consumption and less pollution emission than other transportation. At present, China has the largest HSR network globally, but the maximum revenue of railway transportation corporations has not been realized. In order to make HSR achieve a favorable position within the fierce competition in the market, increase corporate revenue, and achieve the sustainable development of HSR and railway corporations, we introduce the concept of revenue management in HSR operations and propose an innovative model to optimize the price and seat allocation for HSR simultaneously. In the study, we formulate the optimization problem as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model, which appropriately captures passengers’ choice behavior. To reduce the computational complexity, we further transform the proposed MINLP model into an equivalent model. Finally, the effectiveness of both the proposed model and solution algorithm are tested and validated by numerical experiments. The research results show that the model can flexibly adjust the price and seat allocation of the corresponding ticketing period according to the passenger demand, and increase the total expected revenue by 5.92% without increasing the capacity.
The Linkage between Sustainability and Innovation Performance in IT Hardware Sector
Authors: Michelino Francesca , Cammarano Antonello , Celone Andrea , Caputo Mauro
Published: August 2019

This work investigates the relationship between sustainability and innovation performance. Despite the relevance of the issue, few contributions deepen such a relationship after both a conceptual and a quantitative perspective. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to suggest a measure of sustainability for innovation processes and to define which innovation strategies can lead to more sustainable processes. The role of ambidexterity within the corporate sustainability framework is underlined: Ambidextrous organizations are able to improve the innovation performance and better use their resources, improving the sustainability of research and development (R&D) processes. By employing patent data and testing the framework on a sample of worldwide top R&D spending companies in the IT hardware industry, this work suggests which optimal value of ambidexterity will lead to more sustainable innovation. In addition, R&D processes with non-optimal levels of ambidexterity can be managed in a better way. Indeed, results show the usefulness of open innovation adoption to improve the performance of exploration processes. Moreover, R&D activities based on a preponderance of exploitation strategies are more sustainable if they fall into technological domains in which the focal company is highly specialized. The work also contributes to the conceptualization of sustainability and to definition of patent-based metrics related to sustainability.
Self-Consistent Two-Gap Description of MgB2 Superconductor
Authors: Kim Hyunsoo , Cho Kyuil , Tanatar Makariy A. , Taufour Valentin , Kim Stella K. , Bud’ko Sergey L. , Canfield Paul C. , Kogan Vladimir G. , Prozorov Ruslan
Published: August 2019

A self-consistent two-gap γ -model is used to quantitatively describe several thermodynamic properties of MgB 2 superconductor. The superconducting coupling matrix, ν i j , was obtained from the fitting of the superfluid density in the entire superconducting temperature range. Using this input, temperature-dependent superconducting gaps, specific heat, and upper critical fields were calculated with no adjustable parameters and compared with the experimental data as well as with the first-principles calculations. The observed agreement between fit and data shows that γ -model provides adequate quantitative description of the two-gap superconductivity in MgB 2 and may serve as a relatively simple and versatile self-consistent description of the thermodynamic quantities in multi-gap superconductors.
Finite Element Method in Assessing Strength Properties of a Railway Surface and Its Elements
Authors: Kukulski Jacek , Jacyna Marianna , Gołębiowski Piotr
Published: August 2019

Development of railway infrastructure at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as the speeds of trains in passenger and freight traffic are the result of improving the structure of modern rail vehicles and railway infrastructure optimization. The structure of the railway surface, which enables high speeds and transferring ever greater loads and pressures of up to 25–30 t/vehicle axis, must meet very strict strength and durability requirements. This paper discusses mathematical and numerical tools used in simulation and experimental tests of railway surfaces, as well as its selected elements. Issues addressed in this paper concern, among others, modeling of the railway track, calculations related to its static and dynamic loading, and simulation of the technological process of selected elements of railway turnout. Selected results of the simulation tests on numerical models showing their behavior under different loads are also presented in this paper. The concept of symmetry is included in the possibility of applying the method described in the article both for testing other sections of railway lines, as well as for testing other elements in which stresses occur.
An Overview of End-to-End Automatic Speech Recognition
Authors: Wang Dong , Wang Xiaodong , Lv Shaohe
Published: August 2019

Automatic speech recognition, especially large vocabulary continuous speech recognition, is an important issue in the field of machine learning. For a long time, the hidden Markov model (HMM)-Gaussian mixed model (GMM) has been the mainstream speech recognition framework. But recently, HMM-deep neural network (DNN) model and the end-to-end model using deep learning has achieved performance beyond HMM-GMM. Both using deep learning techniques, these two models have comparable performances. However, the HMM-DNN model itself is limited by various unfavorable factors such as data forced segmentation alignment, independent hypothesis, and multi-module individual training inherited from HMM, while the end-to-end model has a simplified model, joint training, direct output, no need to force data alignment and other advantages. Therefore, the end-to-end model is an important research direction of speech recognition. In this paper we review the development of end-to-end model. This paper first introduces the basic ideas, advantages and disadvantages of HMM-based model and end-to-end models, and points out that end-to-end model is the development direction of speech recognition. Then the article focuses on the principles, progress and research hotspots of three different end-to-end models, which are connectionist temporal classification (CTC)-based, recurrent neural network (RNN)-transducer and attention-based, and makes theoretically and experimentally detailed comparisons. Their respective advantages and disadvantages and the possible future development of the end-to-end model are finally pointed out. Automatic speech recognition is a pattern recognition task in the field of computer science, which is a subject area of Symmetry.
Public Key Protocols over Twisted Dihedral Group Rings
Authors: Gómez Olvera María Dolores , López Ramos Juan Antonio , Torrecillas Jover Blas
Published: August 2019

Key management is a central problem in information security. The development of quantum computation could make the protocols we currently use unsecure. Because of that, new structures and hard problems are being proposed. In this work, we give a proposal for a key exchange in the context of NIST recommendations. Our protocol has a twisted group ring as setting, jointly with the so-called decomposition problem, and we provide a security and complexity analysis of the protocol. A computationally equivalent cryptosystem is also proposed.
Lorentz Group Projector Technique for Decomposing Reducible Representations and Applications to High Spins
Authors: Banda Guzmán Victor Miguel , Kirchbach Mariana
Published: August 2019

The momentum-independent Casimir operators of the homogeneous spin-Lorentz group are employed in the construction of covariant projector operators, which can decompose anyone of its reducible finite-dimensional representation spaces into irreducible components. One of the benefits from such operators is that any one of the finite-dimensional carrier spaces of the Lorentz group representations can be equipped with Lorentz vector indices because any such space can be embedded in a Lorentz tensor of a properly-designed rank and then be unambiguously found by a projector. In particular, all the carrier spaces of the single-spin-valued Lorentz group representations, which so far have been described as 2 ( 2 j + 1 ) column vectors, can now be described in terms of Lorentz tensors for bosons or Lorentz tensors with the Dirac spinor component, for fermions. This approach facilitates the construct of covariant interactions of high spins with external fields in so far as they can be obtained by simple contractions of the relevant S O ( 1 , 3 ) indices. Examples of Lorentz group projector operators for spins varying from 1 / 2 –2 and belonging to distinct product spaces are explicitly worked out. The decomposition of multiple-spin-valued product spaces into irreducible sectors suggests that not only the highest spin, but all the spins contained in an irreducible carrier space could correspond to physical degrees of freedom.
Rates of Molecular Evolution in a Marine Synechococcus Phage Lineage
Authors: Kupczok Anne , Dagan Tal
Published: August 2019

Cyanophages are characterized by vast genomic diversity and the formation of stable ecotypes over time. The evolution of phage diversity includes vertical processes, such as mutation, and horizontal processes, such as recombination and gene transfer. Here, we study the contribution of vertical and horizontal processes to short-term evolution of marine cyanophages. Analyzing time series data of Synechococcus-infecting Myoviridae ecotypes spanning up to 17 years, we found a high contribution of recombination relative to mutation (r/m) in all ecotypes. Additionally, we found a molecular clock of substitution and recombination in one ecotype, RIM8. The estimated RIM8 evolutionary rates are 2.2 genome-wide substitutions per year (1.275 × 10−5 substitutions/site/year) and 29 genome-wide nucleotide alterations due to recombination per year. We found 26 variable protein families, of which only two families have a predicted functional annotation, suggesting that they are auxiliary metabolic genes with bacterial homologs. A comparison of our rate estimates to other phage evolutionary rate estimates in the literature reveals a negative correlation of phage substitution rates with their genome size. A comparison to evolutionary rates in bacterial organisms further shows that phages have high rates of mutation and recombination compared to their bacterial hosts. We conclude that the increased recombination rate in phages likely contributes to their vast genomic diversity.
Spatiotemporal Patterns of Terrestrial Evapotranspiration in Response to Climate and Vegetation Coverage Changes across the Chinese Loess Plateau
Authors: Zheng Han , Lin Henry , Zhu Xianjin
Published: August 2019

Spatiotemporal patterns of evapotranspiration (ET) and its controlling factors are important for ecosystem services and water resources management in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). In this study, we assessed the spatial patterns of ET and then investigated the interannual variability of ET and its relationships with climate variability and vegetation coverage changes at the timescales of annual, active growing season, as well as different seasons across the entire CLP from 2000 to 2014. A MODIS-derived ET dataset, ground-based datasets of precipitation and atmospheric evaporative demand (AED), and a remote-sensing dataset of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were comprehensively analyzed. Results showed that mean annual ET varied distinctly among different vegetation zones, generally higher in the more humid southeastern parts of the CLP. Summer ET and ET over active growing season significantly increased for more than 40% of the entire CLP area, and winter ET significantly decreased over ~70% of the entire CLP region, while annual ET, spring ET, and autumn ET remained quite stable during 2000–2014. Per-pixel interannual variability of ET was mainly positively correlated with that of precipitation and NDVI except for winter, but negatively correlated with AED trends. Our study also demonstrated that ET variation trends were exactly consistent for the entire CLP region, the areas mainly implemented with the Grain for Green (GFG) project, and other CLP areas not implemented with the GFG project during 2000–2014. Our findings suggest that the spatiotemporal patterns of CLP ET were mainly water-limited, and climate variability played an essential role in shaping the interannual variability of ET in the CLP. This study will improve our understanding on the ET variations over water-limited areas under climate and vegetation coverage changes.