ALBERT

Description: Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in rivers are an important factor in pollution management due to the abundance of stored carbon. Using fluorescent spectroscopy, we investigated the temporal and spatial dynamics of DOM compositions, as well as their properties, for two of the major four regulated rivers—Han River (HR) and Geum River (GR) in South Korea. We collected eight sampling sites, four from each of the two rivers (from close to the weirs) in order to observe the integrated effects of different land use (terrestrial input) during the monsoon (July) and post-monsoon periods (September). High integral values of DOM compositions (July: 30.81 ± 9.71 × 103 vs. September: 1.78 ± 0.66 × 103) were present in all eight sites after heavy rainfall during the monsoon period, which indicated that Asian monsoon climates occupy a potent role in the DOM compositions of the rivers. Regarding DOM compositions, tryptophan-like and fulvic acid-like components were predominant in HR and GR, especially in GR with high integral values of protein-like and humus components. However, the properties of terrestrial DOM between HR and GR are markedly different. These results considered due to the different land use, where the terrestrial DOM shows a low degree of humification due to a high percentage of agriculture and urban land use in GR. Furthermore, these two rivers are typical regulated rivers, due to their weir constructions. High values of DOM components were present in the downstream of the weirs; however, increasingly high patterns appeared in the HR because of heavy rainfall (511.01 mm in HR; 376.33 mm in GR). In addition, a lower increasing trend of humic-like component was present in the GR due to a low percentage of forest land use/cover. These results suggest that the effect of the weir on rivers can be highlighted by the different percentages of land use/cover under the conditions of the monsoon period. Hence, DOM fluorescence can serve as an effective indicator for providing an early signal for the complex impacts of the different land use and rainfall in the regulated river systems.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 3378: Fit between Organizational Culture and Innovation Strategy: Implications for Innovation Performance Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10103378 Authors: Zhi Chen Shenglan Huang Chong Liu Min Min Liying Zhou Although prior studies have indicated the interrelationships between specific types of innovation strategy and specific elements of organizational culture, few studies simultaneously evaluate the relationship between the two multi-dimensional constructs in holistic perspective. Based on configuration theory, we conceptualize fit as ‘profile deviation’, and investigate the fit between an organization’s culture and its innovation strategy. Data were collected from 183 Chinese organizations. We examine the hypothesis that greater fit between organizational culture and innovation strategy encourages superior innovation speed and innovation quality. Our results provide evidence that in the group of organizations exhibiting either exploratory or exploitative innovation strategy, the more similar the organizational culture configurations are to those of the top performers, the higher their innovation speed and innovation quality are. In the group of organizations exhibiting ambidextrous innovation strategy, the fit between organizational culture and innovation strategy is insignificantly associated with innovation speed and innovation quality. Implications for applying the culture–strategy fit in innovation management are discussed.

Description: The carbonation of concrete is the prime deterioration factor in reinforced concrete (RC) structures. During carbonation, the atmospheric CO2 penetrates the concrete and lowers its alkalinity. The problem in predicting carbonation is difficult to address, and a reliable probabilistic carbonation assessment is required to consider different variables such as the concrete quality, the chemistry of the reinforcing steel, and the quality of finishing materials. In the present study, we have used different finishing materials on concrete to minimize the effects of carbonation with a field survey and accelerated conditions. In one experiment, the measurement of the thickness of the concrete cover and the application of the finishing materials were done on-site, whereas, in the other experiment, these were done under accelerated conditions. The carbonation depth and the coefficient of silk wallpaper (SWP) were reduced by half in an accelerated 5% CO2 experiment compared to the plain ordinary Portland cement (OPC), owing to the external physical barrier that reduces the penetration of CO2 through the pores of the concrete. We found that carbonation did not reach the embedded rebar even after 100 years when SWP finishing material was used. The probability model predicted that 51 years would be required for OPC and water paint (WP) to reach a 30% onset of corrosion initiation through accelerated carbonation, while SWP would require 200 years.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 1992: Spatio-Temporal Evolution Analysis of the Urban Heat Island: A Case Study of Zhengzhou City, China Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10061992 Authors: Min Min Hongbo Zhao Changhong Miao During the progress of urbanization in China, a large number of natural landscapes have been replaced by impervious surfaces. The strong interference from human activities has led to the intensification of urban heat island (UHI) effects and has had a negative influence on the health of residents. Zhengzhou, as a new representative city of rapid urbanization, can be used as a case study for UHI. This study built an inversion model of the land surface temperature (LST) of Zhengzhou in 1996, 2000, 2006, 2010 and 2014. On this foundation, the four indicators of land use/land cover (LULC), density of the population, urban construction, and industrial development were chosen to establish a quantitative analysis model between them and the LST. The conclusions were as follows: (1) From 1996–2014, the average LST in Zhengzhou increased by 2.939 °C, and the standard deviation decreased from 4.08 to 2.64. (2) Since 2006, the development zone far from the center of city has become a new urban high temperature zone. The distribution characteristics of the UHI have changed from “centralization in downtown” to “downtown and suburban distribution”. (3) Construction land and vegetation had the most significant impacts on the UHI effect. The construction land was positively correlated with LST, and the vegetation showed the opposite effect. The population density, urban construction and industrial development have strong driving effects on the UHI effect, of which the driving force of industrial development is the most intense.

Description: Due to increasing global environmental awareness, supply chains that consider environmental protection tend to be favored by green-minded customers. In addition to adapting to the technology required for green supply chains and developing contingency plans, organizations must consider reducing their carbon footprint to meet corporate objectives and reducing their carbon footprint. To address this issue, this paper aims at establishing a decision-making process for buyers with sustainability in mind. A fuzzy data envelopment analysis (FDEA) model was developed to select the most suitable supplier. Production costs, lead time, and supply chain carbon footprints were used as the input criteria, and quality and demand quantity were used as the output criteria. Buyer-seller supply chains and non-cooperative and cooperative models were employed separately to calculate associative efficiency. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to understand the effects carbon footprints have on efficiency. This study found that suppliers with low carbon footprints exhibited poor efficiency, which may be attributed to the additional effort required to select raw materials. Additionally, suppliers with different supply chain operation models exhibited differing efficiencies. Therefore, suppliers must consider the balance between carbon footprint reduction and costs, and buyers must consider environmental criteria when selecting green suppliers.

Description: The effects of the addition of nutrients (nitrate: N; phosphate: P; and vitamin B1) and trace metals (iron: Fe; Copper: Cu; and selenium: Se) on the growth of Gymnodinium catenatum, which was isolated from Korean coastal waters, were investigated. The Korean isolate of G. catenatum grew under a wide range of concentrations of N and P. Whilst high concentrations of N (〉 N: P ratio of 23.5) did not stimulate the growth rate, an enhanced growth rate and cell density were observed with the addition of P. The experimental addition of vitamin B1 revealed that G. catenatum is not dependent on vitamin B1 for growth. Moreover, the addition of Fe and Cu resulted in no significant differences in the growth patterns and rates of G. catenatum between the controls and treatments. It is thus possible that growth of the Korean isolate of G. catenatum does not require high concentrations of Fe and Cu. However, the cell densities were enhanced in the stationary phases of treatments upon addition of Se, and the maximum cell densities were higher than those in the culture experiments upon additions of other nutrient and trace metals. Our findings indicate that G. catenatum prefers P and Se for proliferation, rather than other nutritional sources.

Description: The carbonation of concrete is the prime deterioration factor in reinforced concrete (RC) structures. During carbonation, the atmospheric CO2 penetrates the concrete and lowers its alkalinity. The problem in predicting carbonation is difficult to address, and a reliable probabilistic carbonation assessment is required to consider different variables such as the concrete quality, the chemistry of the reinforcing steel, and the quality of finishing materials. In the present study, we have used different finishing materials on concrete to minimize the effects of carbonation with a field survey and accelerated conditions. In one experiment, the measurement of the thickness of the concrete cover and the application of the finishing materials were done on-site, whereas, in the other experiment, these were done under accelerated conditions. The carbonation depth and the coefficient of silk wallpaper (SWP) were reduced by half in an accelerated 5% CO2 experiment compared to the plain ordinary Portland cement (OPC), owing to the external physical barrier that reduces the penetration of CO2 through the pores of the concrete. We found that carbonation did not reach the embedded rebar even after 100 years when SWP finishing material was used. The probability model predicted that 51 years would be required for OPC and water paint (WP) to reach a 30% onset of corrosion initiation through accelerated carbonation, while SWP would require 200 years.

Description: Although prior studies have indicated the interrelationships between specific types of innovation strategy and specific elements of organizational culture, few studies simultaneously evaluate the relationship between the two multi-dimensional constructs in holistic perspective. Based on configuration theory, we conceptualize fit as ‘profile deviation’, and investigate the fit between an organization’s culture and its innovation strategy. Data were collected from 183 Chinese organizations. We examine the hypothesis that greater fit between organizational culture and innovation strategy encourages superior innovation speed and innovation quality. Our results provide evidence that in the group of organizations exhibiting either exploratory or exploitative innovation strategy, the more similar the organizational culture configurations are to those of the top performers, the higher their innovation speed and innovation quality are. In the group of organizations exhibiting ambidextrous innovation strategy, the fit between organizational culture and innovation strategy is insignificantly associated with innovation speed and innovation quality. Implications for applying the culture–strategy fit in innovation management are discussed.

Description: Food security requires a thorough understanding of the spatial characteristics of cultivated land changes on a global scale. In particular, the spatial heterogeneity of global cultivated land changes needs to be evaluated with high spatial resolution data. This study aims to analyse the spatial distribution of global cultivated land and the characteristics of its variation, by using GlobeLand30 data for 2000 and 2010 with a 30-m spatial resolution. The cultivated land percentage and rate of cultivated land use change are calculated based on 18 agro-ecological zones (AEZs), 32 geopolitical and socioeconomic regions, and 283 world regions. The results show that (1) more cultivated land is located in regions under a temperate climate and moderate moisture conditions; (2) the percentage of cultivated land is related to the gross domestic product (GDP) and population, while increases and decreases in cultivated land are related to the rural population, policy encouragement, urbanization, and economic development; and (3) the percentage of cultivated land and rate of land use change within an AEZ vary greatly due to the different socioeconomic conditions, and the values within a geopolitical area also vary, due to different natural conditions.