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  • 1
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    Combined Use of Terrestrial Laser Scanning and IR Thermography Applied to a Historical Building (2015)
    MDPI
    Details
    Publication Date: 2017-04-04
    Description: Abstract: The conservation of architectural heritage usually requires a multidisciplinary approach involving a variety of specialist expertise and techniques. Nevertheless, destructive techniques should be avoided, wherever possible, in order to preserve the integrity of the historical buildings, therefore the development of non-destructive and non-contact techniques is extremely important. In this framework, a methodology for combining the terrestrial laser scanning and the infrared thermal images is proposed, in order to obtain a reconnaissance of the conservation state of a historical building. The proposed case study is represented by St. Augustine Monumental Compound, located in the historical centre of the town of Cosenza (Calabria, South Italy). Adopting the proposed methodology, the paper illustrates the main results obtained for the building test overlaying and comparing the collected data with both techniques, in order to outline the capabilities both to detect the anomalies and to improve the knowledge on health state of the masonry building. The 3D model, also, allows to provide a reference model, laying the groundwork for implementation of a monitoring multisensor system based on the use of non-destructive techniques.
    Description: The presented work has been carried out in the PON Monitoraggio in Area Sismica di SIstemi MOnumentali (MASSIMO) project framework, managed by the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research
    Description: Published
    Description: 194-213
    Description: 6A. Monitoraggio ambientale, sicurezza e territorio
    Description: JCR Journal
    Description: open
    Keywords: terrestrial laser scanner ; IR thermography ; historical buildings conservation ; preventive diagnosis ; 05. General::05.04. Instrumentation and techniques of general interest::05.04.99. General or miscellaneous
    Repository Name: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
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  • 2
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    Chromatography, Vol. 2, Pages 515-528: Evaluation of Carbon Nanotubes Functionalized Polydimethylsiloxane Based Coatings for In-Tube Solid Phase Microextraction Coupled to Capillary Liquid Chromatography (2015)
    MDPI
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-08-11
    Description: In the present work, the performance of carbon nanotubes (c-CNTs) functionalized polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based coatings as extractive phases for in-tube solid phase microextraction (IT-SPME) coupled to Capillary LC (CapLC) has been evaluated. Carboxylic-single walled carbon nanotubes (c-SWNTs) and carboxylic-multi walled carbon nanotubes (c-MWNTs) have been immobilized on the activated surface of PDMS capillary columns. The effect of different percentages of diphenyl groups in the PDMS extractive phase has also been evaluated. The extraction capability of the capillary columns has been tested for different organic pollutants, nitrogen heterocyclic compounds and polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs). The results indicated that the use of the c-CNTs-PDMS capillary columns improve pyriproxyfen and mainly PAH extraction. Triazines were better extracted by unmodified TRB-35 and modified c-CNTs-PDMSTRB-5. The results showed that the extraction capability of the c-CNT capillary columns depends not only on the polarity of the analytes (as it occurs with PDMS columns) but also on the interactions that the analytes can establish with the immobilized c-CNTs on the PDMS columns. The extraction efficiency has been evaluated on the basis of the preconcentration rate that can be achieved, and, in this sense, the best c-CNTs-PDMS capillary column for each group of compounds can be proposed.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9075
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology
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  • 3
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    Agronomy, Vol. 5, Pages 363-373: Cotton Water Use Efficiency under Two Different Deficit Irrigation Scheduling Methods (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Agronomy
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-08-14
    Description: Declines in Ogallala aquifer levels used for irrigation has prompted research to identify methods for optimizing water use efficiency (WUE) of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L). In this experiment, conducted at Lubbock, TX, USA in 2014, our objective was to test two canopy temperature based stress indices, each at two different irrigation trigger set points: the Stress Time (ST) method with irrigation triggers set at 5.5 (ST_5.5) and 8.5 h (ST_8.5) and the Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) method with irrigation triggers set at 0.3 (CWSI_0.3) and 0.6 (CWSI_0.6). When these irrigation triggers were exceeded on a given day, the crop was deficit irrigated with 5 mm of water via subsurface drip tape. Also included in the experimental design were a well-watered (WW) control irrigated at 110% of potential evapotranspiration and a dry land (DL) treatment that relied on rainfall only. Seasonal crop water use ranged from 353 to 625 mm across these six treatments. As expected, cotton lint yield increased with increasing crop water use but lint yield WUE displayed asignificant (p ≤ 0.05) peak near 3.6 to 3.7 kg ha−1 mm−1 for the ST_5.5 and CWSI_0.3 treatments, respectively. Our results suggest that WUE may be optimized in cotton with less water than that needed for maximum lint yield.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-4395
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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  • 4
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    Climate, Vol. 3, Pages 578-626: Rainfall: Features and Variations over Saudi Arabia, A Review (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Climate
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-08-13
    Description: The Saudi Arabia (SA) climate varies greatly, depending on the geography and the season. According to K ppen and Geiger, the climates of SA is “desert climate”. The analysis of the seasonal rainfall detects that spring and winter seasons have the highestrainfall incidence, respectively. Through the summer,small quantities of precipitation are observed, while autumn received more precipitation more than summer season considering the total annual rainfall. In all seasons, the SW area receives rainfall, with a maximum in spring, whereas in the summer season, the NE and NW areas receive very little quantities of precipitation. The Rub Al-Khali (the SE region) is almost totally dry. The maximum amount of annual rainfall does not always happen at the highest elevation. Therefore, the elevation is not the only factor in rainfall distribution.A great inter-annual change in the rainfall over the SA for the period (1978–2009) is observed. In addition, in the same period, a linear decreasing trend is found in the observed rainfall, whilst in the recent past (1994–2009) a statistically significant negative trend is observed. In the Southern part of the Arabian Peninsula (AP) and along the coast of the Red Sea, it is interesting to note that rainfall increased, whilst it decreased over most areas of SA during the 2000–2009 decade, compared to 1980–1989.Statistical and numerical models are used to predict rainfall over Saudi Arabia (SA). The statistical models based on stochastic models of ARIMA and numerical models based on Providing Regional Climates for Impact Studies of Hadley Centre (PRECIS). Climate and its qualitative character and quantified range of possible future changes are investigated. The annual total rainfall decreases in most regions of the SA and only increases in the south. The summertime precipitation will be the highest between other seasons over the southern, the southwestern provinces and Asir mountains, while the wintertime rainfall will remain the lowest.The climate in the SA is instructed by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other circulations such as centers of high and low pressure, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and SOI. Strength and oscillation of subtropical jet stream play a big role in pulling hot, dry air masses of SA.
    Electronic ISSN: 2225-1154
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geosciences
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  • 5
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    Information, Vol. 6, Pages 481-493: Black Box Traceable Ciphertext Policy Attribute-Based Encryption Scheme (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-15
    Description: In the existing attribute-based encryption (ABE) scheme, the authority (i.e., private key generator (PKG)) is able to calculate and issue any user’s private key, which makes it completely trusted, which severely influences the applications of the ABE scheme. To mitigate this problem, we propose the black box traceable ciphertext policy attribute-based encryption (T-CP-ABE) scheme in which if the PKG re-distributes the users’ private keys for malicious uses, it might be caught and sued. We provide a construction to realize the T-CP-ABE scheme in a black box model. Our scheme is based on the decisional bilinear Diffie-Hellman (DBDH) assumption in the standard model. In our scheme, we employ a pair (ID, S) to identify a user, where ID denotes the identity of a user and S denotes the attribute set associated with her.
    Electronic ISSN: 2078-2489
    Topics: Computer Science
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  • 6
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 727-745: From Classical to Discrete Gravity through Exponential Non-Standard Lagrangians in General Relativity (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-15
    Description: Recently, non-standard Lagrangians have gained a growing importance in theoretical physics and in the theory of non-linear differential equations. However, their formulations and implications in general relativity are still in their infancies despite some advances in contemporary cosmology. The main aim of this paper is to fill the gap. Though non-standard Lagrangians may be defined by a multitude form, in this paper, we considered the exponential type. One basic feature of exponential non-standard Lagrangians concerns the modified Euler-Lagrange equation obtained from the standard variational analysis. Accordingly, when applied to spacetime geometries, one unsurprisingly expects modified geodesic equations. However, when taking into account the time-like paths parameterization constraint, remarkably, it was observed that mutually discrete gravity and discrete spacetime emerge in the theory. Two different independent cases were obtained: A geometrical manifold with new spacetime coordinates augmented by a metric signature change and a geometrical manifold characterized by a discretized spacetime metric. Both cases give raise to Einstein’s field equations yet the gravity is discretized and originated from “spacetime discreteness”. A number of mathematical and physical implications of these results were discussed though this paper and perspectives are given accordingly.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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  • 7
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    Chromatography, Vol. 2, Pages 488-501: A Novel Micro Pressurized Liquid Extraction Method for Rapid Sample Preparation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Various Solids (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-04
    Description: The use of a novel micro pressurized liquid extraction (µPLE) method for the isolation of 16 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from various solid samples is explored. The technique employs rapid heating in a single static extraction mode to remove analytes in a matter of seconds from 5–10 mg samples using only 125 µL of solvent. For example, results show that 30 s extractions with toluene at 200 °C produce respective PAH recovery ranges of 90%–130% and 88%–114% from samples of soil and smoked chicken. Comparatively, solids containing significant amounts of biochar were more challenging to extract from. For instance, when using a pure biochar sample matrix, recoveries for the 16 PAHs range from only 33%–66% after 60 s of extraction with toluene at 200 °C. Overall, these extraction results agree very well with those reported when using conventional methods on similar samples. Therefore, the findings indicate that µPLE can potentially provide an alternative sample preparation method for PAHs that is both very rapid and requires little solvent.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9075
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology
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  • 8
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    Information, Vol. 6, Pages 443-453: Recommender System for E-Learning Based on Semantic Relatedness of Concepts (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Digital publishing resources contain a lot of useful and authoritative knowledge. It may be necessary to reorganize the resources by concepts and recommend the related concepts for e-learning. A recommender system is presented in this paper based on the semantic relatedness of concepts computed by texts from digital publishing resources. Firstly, concepts are extracted from encyclopedias. Information in digital publishing resources is then reorganized by concepts. Secondly, concept vectors are generated by skip-gram model and semantic relatedness between concepts is measured according to the concept vectors. As a result, the related concepts and associated information can be recommended to users by the semantic relatedness for learning or reading. History data or users’ preferences data are not needed for recommendation in a specific domain. The technique may not be language-specific. The method shows potential usability for e-learning in a specific domain.
    Electronic ISSN: 2078-2489
    Topics: Computer Science
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  • 9
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 793-820: The Dynamics, Ecological Variability and Estimated Carbon Stocks of Mangroves in Mahajamba Bay, Madagascar (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Mangroves are found throughout the tropics, providing critical ecosystem goods and services to coastal communities and supporting rich biodiversity. Globally, mangroves are being rapidly degraded and deforested at rates exceeding loss in many tropical inland forests. Madagascar contains around 2% of the global distribution, >20% of which has been deforested since 1990, primarily from over-harvest for forest products and conversion for agriculture and aquaculture. While historically not prominent, mangrove loss in Madagascar’s Mahajamba Bay is increasing. Here, we focus on Mahajamba Bay, presenting long-term dynamics calculated using United States Geological Survey (USGS) national-level mangrove maps contextualized with socio-economic research and ground observations, and the results of contemporary (circa 2011) mapping of dominant mangrove types. The analysis of the USGS data indicated 1050 hectares (3.8%) lost from 2000 to 2010, which socio-economic research suggests is increasingly driven by commercial timber extraction. Contemporary mapping results permitted stratified sampling based on spectrally distinct and ecologically meaningful mangrove types, allowing for the first-ever vegetation carbon stock estimates for Mahajamba Bay. The overall mean carbon stock across all mangrove classes was estimated to be 100.97 ± 10.49 Mg C ha−1. High stature closed-canopy mangroves had the highest average carbon stock estimate (i.e., 166.82 ± 15.28 Mg C ha−1). These estimates are comparable to other published values in Madagascar and elsewhere in the Western Indian Ocean and demonstrate the ecological variability of Mahajamba Bay’s mangroves and their value towards climate change mitigation.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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  • 10
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 644-652: On the Nature of the Tsallis–Fourier Transform (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: By recourse to tempered ultradistributions, we show here that the effect of a q-Fourier transform (qFT) is to map equivalence classes of functions into other classes in a one-to-one fashion. This suggests that Tsallis’ q-statistics may revolve around equivalence classes of distributions and not individual ones, as orthodox statistics does. We solve here the qFT’s non-invertibility issue, but discover a problem that remains open.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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  • 11
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 577-596: A Columbia River Basalt Group Aquifer in Sustained Drought: Insight from Geophysical Methods (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Resources
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Aquifers within the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) provide a critical water supply throughout much of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Increased pumping has resulted in water level declines in this region. Recharge into this aquifer system is generally not well understood. Recent suggestions of probable decades-long droughts in the 21st century add to this problem. We show that geophysical methods can provide useful parameters for improved modeling of aquifers in a primary CRBG aquifer located on the eastern edge of the Columbia Plateau. Groundwater models depend in part on the area, thickness, porosity, storativity, and nature of confinement of this aquifer, most of which are poorly constrained by existing well information and previous stress tests. We have made use of surface gravity measurements, borehole gravity measurements, barometric efficiency estimates, earth tidal response, and earthquake seismology observations to constrain these parameters. We show that the aquifer, despite its persistent drawdown, receives a great deal of recharge annually. Much of the recharge to the aquifer is due to leakage from overlying flows, ultimately tied to precipitation, an important result for future aquifer management in times of sustained drought.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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  • 12
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 566-576: Groundwater Abstraction for Irrigation and Its Impacts on Low Flows in a Watershed in Northwest Germany (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Resources
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Low flows of the Ilmenau River (1434 km2) in northwest Germany have decreased by about 25% over the last 50 years. In the same period, moderate climate changes have taken place and annual groundwater abstractions for sprinkler irrigation have increased by up to 50 hm3 (million m3), with a strong variation due to the respective prevailing weather conditions. Time-series analyses with multiple regression analysis allow detecting and quantifying different influences on low flows. It is also shown that farmers allocate irrigation water volumes carefully according to seasonal precipitation and temperatures. Decline of groundwater levels in summer and the low flow situation are aggravated by the cumulative effect of higher irrigation in drier years. Groundwater recharge and recovery of the water table have been observed subsequently during the winter season.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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  • 13
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 548-565: From Goals to Action: The Efforts for Increasing Energy Efficiency and Integration of Renewable Sources in Eskilstuna, Sweden (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Resources
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Cities’ energy usage accounts for two thirds of global primary energy consumption. Energy efficiency in urban areas is, therefore, one of the most important topics to consider when dealing with urban sustainability. This paper evaluates the goals for increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources in the areas of transportation, buildings and consumers’ awareness, as stated in the Climate action plan, for the municipality of Eskilstuna, Sweden. The efforts of the municipality to successfully reach their energy efficiency goals, are described in this paper including future perspectives. The results show that although the municipality counts with the advantage of owning and working together with the local housing company and energy provider, in order to reach the established goals, additional strategies need to be considered. For an increased use of renewable energy sources, analysis of rooftops suitable for photovoltaic (PV) installation should be carried out as well as the integration of goals for self-consumption. In the transport field, the city needs to prepare for large-scale electric vehicle (EV) market penetration and to consider different bike or car sharing options. Finally, more specific awareness campaigns are needed to engage the citizens in reducing their energy consumption and living a more sustainable life.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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  • 14
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    Climate, Vol. 3, Pages 563-577: Regional Landsat-Based Drought Monitoring from 1982 to 2014 (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Climate
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-08-08
    Description: Drought is a serious natural hazard with far-reaching impacts including soil damages, economic losses, and threatening the livelihood and health of local residents. The goal of the present work was to monitor the vegetation health across Lebanon in 2014 using remote sensing techniques. Landsat images datasets, with a spatial resolution of 30 m and from different platforms, were used to identify the VCI (Vegetation Condition Index) and TCI (Temperature Condition Index). The VCI was based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) datasets. The TCI used land surface temperature (LST) datasets. As a result, the VHI (Vegetation Health Index) was produced and classified into five categories: extreme, severe, moderate, mild, and no drought. The results show practically no extreme drought (~0.27 km2) in the vegetated area in Lebanon during 2014. Moderate to severe drought mainly occurred in the north of Lebanon (i.e., the Amioun region and the plain of Akkar). The Tyr region and the Bekaa valley experienced a low level of drought (mild drought). This approach allows decision makers to monitor, investigate and resolve drought conditions more effectively.
    Electronic ISSN: 2225-1154
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geosciences
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  • 15
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    Hydrology, Vol. 2, Pages 132-133: Introduction to the Special Issue “The Intersection of Society and Watershed Science” (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Hydrology
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-08-08
    Description: Despite significant advances in watershed science and technology, water availability, water quality, and water related health problems remain a significant worldwide concern [1]. While the concept of watershed-scale management to address these concerns remains intact, most scientists recognize that application of natural science concepts and advanced technologies are not sufficient to adequately address watershed-scale water management issues. There is a significant need for a paradigm shift, i.e., namely increased public interaction and participation in watershed management and decision-making. The effective application of an integrated approach requires developing new scientific concepts on integration of natural and social sciences. In recent years, concepts, such as integrated watershed management and/or holistic approaches to water resource management, have been widely promoted (e.g., [2–6]). [...]
    Electronic ISSN: 2306-5338
    Topics: Architecture, Civil Engineering, Surveying , Geography
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  • 16
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 957-967: Comparison of the Performance of Two Advanced Spectral Methods for the Analysis of Times Series in Paleoceanography (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-20
    Description: Many studies have revealed the cyclicity of past ocean/atmosphere dynamics at a wide range of time scales (from decadal to millennial time scales), based on the spectral analysis of time series of climate proxies obtained from deep sea sediment cores. Among the many techniques available for spectral analysis, the maximum entropy method and the Thomson multitaper approach have frequently been used because of their good statistical properties and high resolution with short time series. The novelty of the present study is that we compared the two methods by according to the performance of their statistical tests to assess the statistical significance of their power spectrum estimates. The statistical significance of maximum entropy estimates was assessed by a random permutation test (Pardo-Igúzquiza and Rodríguez-Tovar, 2000), while the statistical significance of the Thomson multitaper method was assessed by an F-test (Thomson, 1982). We compared the results obtained in a case study using simulated data where the spectral content of the time series was known and in a case study with real data. In both cases the results are similar: while the cycles identified as significant by maximum entropy and the permutation test have a clear physical interpretation, the F-test with the Thomson multitaper estimator tends to find as no significant the peaks in the low frequencies and tends to give as significant more spurious peaks in the middle and high frequencies. Nevertheless, the best strategy is to use both techniques and to use the advantages of each of them.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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  • 17
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    Agronomy, Vol. 5, Pages 405-417: Response of Table Grape to Irrigation Water in the Aconcagua Valley, Chile (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Agronomy
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-08-25
    Description: The irrigation water available for agriculture will be scarce in the future due to increased competition for water with other sectors, and the issue may become more serious due to climate change. In Chile, the table grape is only cultivated under irrigation. A five-year research program (2007–2012) was carried out in the Aconcagua Valley, the central area of grapes in Chile, to evaluate the response of table grape vines (Vitis vinifera L., cv Thompson Seedless) to different volumes of irrigation water. Four irrigation treatments were applied: 60, 88, 120 and 157% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) during the first four years, and 40, 54, 92 and 108% of ETc in the last year. Irrigation over 90%–100% of ETc did not increase fruit yield, whereas the application of water below 90% ETc decreased exportable yield, berry size and pruning weight. For example, 60% ETc applied water reduced exportable yield by 20%, and only 40% of the berries were in the extra and large category size, while pruning weight was 30% lower in comparison to the treatment receiving more water.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-4395
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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  • 18
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    Agriculture, Vol. 5, Pages 682-696: Leaf Length Variation in Perennial Forage Grasses (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-26
    Description: Leaf length is a key factor in the economic value of different grass species and cultivars in forage production. It is also important for the survival of individual plants within a sward. The objective of this paper is to discuss the basis of within-species variation in leaf length. Selection for leaf length has been highly efficient, with moderate to high narrow sense heritability. Nevertheless, the genetic regulation of leaf length is complex because it involves many genes with small individual effects. This could explain the low stability of QTL found in different studies. Leaf length has a strong response to environmental conditions. However, when significant genotype × environment interactions have been identified, their effects have been smaller than the main effects. Recent modelling-based research suggests that many of the reported environmental effects on leaf length and genotype × environment interactions could be biased. Indeed, it has been shown that leaf length is an emergent property strongly affected by the architectural state of the plant during significant periods prior to leaf emergence. This approach could lead to improved understanding of the factors affecting leaf length, as well as better estimates of the main genetic effects.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-0472
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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  • 19
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 758-780: The Segal–Bargmann Transform for Odd-Dimensional Hyperbolic Spaces (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-19
    Description: We develop isometry and inversion formulas for the Segal–Bargmann transform on odd-dimensional hyperbolic spaces that are as parallel as possible to the dual case of odd-dimensional spheres.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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  • 20
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    Climate, Vol. 3, Pages 689-696: Soil Water Potential Control of the Relationship between Moisture and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Corn-Soybean Field (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Climate
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-20
    Description: Soil water potential (Ψ) controls the dynamics of water in soils and can therefore affect greenhouse gas fluxes. We examined the relationship between soil moisture content (θ) at five different levels of water potential (Ψ = 0, −0.05, −0.1, −0.33 and −15 bar) and greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide, CO2; nitrous oxide, N2O and methane, CH4) fluxes. The study was conducted in 2011 in a silt loam soil at Freeman farm of Lincoln University. Soil samples were collected at two depths: 0–10 and 10–20 cm and their bulk densities were measured. Samples were later saturated then brought into a pressure plate for measurements of Ψ and θ. Soil air samples for greenhouse gas flux analyses were collected using static and vented chambers, 30 cm in height and 20 cm in diameter. Determination of CO2, CH4 and N2O concentrations from soil air samples were done using a Shimadzu Gas Chromatograph (GC-14). Results showed that there were significant correlations between greenhouse gas fluxes and θ held at various Ψ in the 0–10 cm depth of soil group. For instance, θ at Ψ = 0 positively correlated with measured CO2 (p = 0.0043, r = 0.49), N2O (p = 0.0020, r = 0.64) and negatively correlated with CH4 (p = 0.0125, r = −0.44) fluxes. Regression analysis showed that 24%, 41% and 19% of changes in CO2, N2O and CH4 fluxes, respectively, were due to θ at Ψ = 0 (p 〈 0.05). This study stresses the need to monitor soil water potential when monitoring greenhouse gas fluxes.
    Electronic ISSN: 2225-1154
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geosciences
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 935-956: The Influence of Bed Roughness on Turbulence: Cabras Lagoon, Sardinia, Italy (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-20
    Description: Estimates of bed roughness used for predictions of sediment transport are usually derived either from simple scalars of the physical roughness (i.e., ripple height or grain size) or from the hydrodynamic roughness length (Zo) based upon velocity gradient estimates in the benthic boundary layer. Neither parameter accounts for irregular bed features. This study re-evaluates the relation between hydrodynamic roughness and physical bed roughness using high-resolution seabed scanning in the inlet of a shallow lagoon. The statistically-robust relationship, based on a 1D statistical analysis of the seabed elevation at different locations of the Cabras lagoon. Sardinia, has been obtained between Zo and the topographical bed roughness Ks by defining Ks = 2*STD + skin friction, with STD the standard deviation of the seabed elevation variations. This correlation between Ks and Zo demonstrates that the roughness length is directly influenced by irregular bed features, and that the Reynolds number accounts for the total drag of the bed: the data points collapse on the Law of the Wall curves with a fitting factor x = 0.5. Further testing must be done in other locations and in the fully-rough domain in order to test how widely those new parameters can be applied.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 621-636: An Innovative Device to Convert Olive Mill Wastewater into a Suitable Effluent for Feeding Purple Non-Sulfur Photosynthetic Bacteria (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-20
    Description: A device (prototype) with a working volume of 200 L was used to deplete olive mill wastewater (OMW) of polyphenols. The OMW transformed into feedstock by means of the device was then used for feeding a lab-scale photobioreactor, just for testing the production of bioH2. The main novelty of this prototype consists in the combination of several adsorbent matrices and the exploitation of their synergic action. In this investigation, three matrices have been used: active carbon, Azolla and zeolite. The device was operated at an olive oil company located in the heart of the Chianti zone (Province of Florence, Italy). The efficiency of polyphenol removal obtained using the device was ≥96%. The multi-matrix effluent (MMeff) generated was then used to obtain three different culture broths containing 25%, 50% and 100% of MMeff, respectively. The diluted (with water) culture broths were suitable for hydrogen generation, with the highest hydrogen production rate (12.7 mL H2/Lculture/h) being obtained using 50% MMeff. The hydrogen yields were: 334 mL H2/L of MMeff, when feeding the photofermenter with pure effluent (100%); 1308 mL H2/L of MMeff, with the half-diluted effluent (50%, v/v); and 432 mL H2/L of MMeff, with the highest-diluted effluent (25%, v/v).
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 843-879: Chern-Simons Path Integrals in S2 × S1 (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-22
    Description: Using torus gauge fixing, Hahn in 2008 wrote down an expression for a Chern-Simons path integral to compute the Wilson Loop observable, using the Chern-Simons action \(S_{CS}^\kappa\), \(\kappa\) is some parameter. Instead of making sense of the path integral over the space of \(\mathfrak{g}\)-valued smooth 1-forms on \(S^2 \times S^1\), we use the Segal Bargmann transform to define the path integral over \(B_i\), the space of \(\mathfrak{g}\)-valued holomorphic functions over \(\mathbb{C}^2 \times \mathbb{C}^{i-1}\). This approach was first used by us in 2011. The main tool used is Abstract Wiener measure and applying analytic continuation to the Wiener integral. Using the above approach, we will show that the Chern-Simons path integral can be written as a linear functional defined on \(C(B_1^{\times^4} \times B_2^{\times^2}, \mathbb{C})\) and this linear functional is similar to the Chern-Simons linear functional defined by us in 2011, for the Chern-Simons path integral in the case of \(\mathbb{R}^3\). We will define the Wilson Loop observable using this linear functional and explicitly compute it, and the expression is dependent on the parameter \(\kappa\). The second half of the article concentrates on taking \(\kappa\) goes to infinity for the Wilson Loop observable, to obtain link invariants. As an application, we will compute the Wilson Loop observable in the case of \(SU(N)\) and \(SO(N)\). In these cases, the Wilson Loop observable reduces to a state model. We will show that the state models satisfy a Jones type skein relation in the case of \(SU(N)\) and a Conway type skein relation in the case of \(SO(N)\). By imposing quantization condition on the charge of the link \(L\), we will show that the state models are invariant under the Reidemeister Moves and hence the Wilson Loop observables indeed define a framed link invariant. This approach follows that used in an article written by us in 2012, for the case of \(\mathbb{R}^3\).
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 637-654: Drinking Water Quality and Occurrence of Giardia in Finnish Small Groundwater Supplies (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-22
    Description: The microbiological and chemical drinking water quality of 20 vulnerable Finnish small groundwater supplies was studied in relation to environmental risk factors associated with potential sources of contamination. The microbiological parameters analyzed included the following enteric pathogens: Giardia and Cryptosporidium, Campylobacter species, noroviruses, as well as indicator microbes (Escherichia coli, intestinal enterococci, coliform bacteria, Clostridium perfringens, Aeromonas spp. and heterotrophic bacteria). Chemical analyses included the determination of pH, conductivity, TOC, color, turbidity, and phosphorus, nitrate and nitrite nitrogen, iron, and manganese concentrations. Giardia intestinalis was detected from four of the water supplies, all of which had wastewater treatment activities in the neighborhood. Mesophilic Aeromonas salmonicida, coliform bacteria and E. coli were also detected. None of the samples were positive for both coliforms and Giardia. Low pH and high iron and manganese concentrations in some samples compromised the water quality. Giardia intestinalis was isolated for the first time in Finland in groundwater wells of public water works. In Europe, small water supplies are of great importance since they serve a significant sector of the population. In our study, the presence of fecal indicator bacteria, Aeromonas and Giardia revealed surface water access to the wells and health risks associated with small water supplies.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 597-620: Resource Targets in Europe and Worldwide: An Overview (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-12
    Description: For 20 years, the number of resource policy approaches with direct and indirect relations to raw materials, resource and material efficiency has grown enormously at national and international level. This discussion paper makes an inventory of different political and regulatory approaches that contain a direct or indirect reference to resources such as construction materials, industrial minerals, or metals. They are examined and evaluated regarding foci and resource priorities as well as further categories such as target lines, governance levels, indicators used, integration into wider target systems, specification, and implementation. The aim is to provide an overview of the spectrum of resource objectives in international, European, and national strategies, programs, and initiatives. The closer analysis of raw material targets embedded in the policy programs and legal approaches reveals that most goals lack a time frame and a concrete vision, thus remain at a strategic level. To complement the overview, the state of research in the field of modeling and simulation is briefly discussed. Concluding remarks concerning their relation to the objectives identified and the task of target setting complete the discussion.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 688-710: Livestock and Ecosystem Services: An Exploratory Approach to Assess Agri-Environment-Climate Payments of RDP in Trentino (2015)
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    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-14
    Description: The identification of an appropriate justification for Agri-Environment-Climate (AEC) payments is a crucial issue in the new Rural Development Programme (RDP). Given the environmental importance of grasslands in Trentino (Italy), the Management Authority in charge of the RDP decided to integrate an approach based on Ecosystem Services (ES) into the calculation of AEC payments. The paper presents the methodology used for this approach as well as the preliminary results. The first step entails building a probabilistic model for the ES, named Sustainable Fodder Production. Model outputs are then integrated with the accounting results based on the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) database (2009–2012) with the aim of calculating the additional costs and income waived due to the environmental commitments deriving from the sustainable management of permanent grassland in livestock farming. Sustainability measures imply more extensive management practices that maintain meadows in a healthy state.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 866-890: Bubble Clouds in Coastal Waters and Their Role in Air-Water Gas Exchange of CO2 (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-13
    Description: Bubbles generated by breaking waves can drive significant gas exchange between the ocean and atmosphere, but the role of bubble-mediated gas transfer in estuaries is unknown. Here, backscatter data from 41 acoustic Doppler current profiler stations was analyzed to assess subsurface bubble distributions in nine estuaries along the U.S. East and Gulf Coast. Wind speed, wind direction, and current velocity were the dominant controls on bubble entrainment, but the relative importance of these physical drivers depended on local geomorphology. Bubble entrainment in high-current or shallow, long-fetch estuaries began at wind speeds 〈5 m s−1. In deep or fetch-limited estuaries, bubble entrainment was less frequent and generally began at higher wind speeds. Data observed during several storms suggests that episodic bubble-driven gas exchange may be an important component of annual CO2 fluxes in large, shallow estuaries but would be less significant in other coastal systems.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Agriculture, Vol. 5, Pages 626-648: Estimated Fresh Produce Shrink and Food Loss in U.S. Supermarkets (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Data on fresh fruit and vegetable shrink in supermarkets is important to help understand where and how much shrink could potentially be reduced by supermarkets to increase their profitability. This study provides: (1) shrink estimates for 24 fresh fruits and 31 fresh vegetables in U.S. supermarkets in 2011 and 2012; and (2) retail-level food loss. For each covered commodity, supplier shipment data was aggregated from a sample of 2900 stores from one national and four regional supermarket retailers in the United States, and this sum was then compared with aggregated point-of-sale data from the same stores to estimate the amount of shrink by weight and shrink rates. The 2011–2012 average annual shrink rates for individual fresh vegetables varied from 2.2 percent for sweet corn to 62.9 percent for turnip greens and for individual fresh fruit ranged from 4.1 percent for bananas to 43.1 percent for papayas. When these shrink estimates were used in the Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data series, annual food loss for these commodities totaled 5.9 billion pounds of fresh fruit and 6.1 billion pounds of fresh vegetables. This study extends the literature by providing important information on where and how much shrink could potentially be reduced. Precise comparisons across studies are difficult. This information, combined with information on available and cost-effective technologies and practices, may help supermarkets target food loss reduction efforts though food loss will never be zero.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-0472
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 524-547: Geothermal Energy Potential in Low Enthalpy Areas as a Future Energy Resource: Identifying Feasible Targets, Quebec, Canada, Study Case (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Heat flow of the sedimentary succession of the Eastern Canada Sedimentary Basins varies from 40 mW/m2 close to the exposed shield in the north to high 60–70 mW/m2 in the southwest–northeast St. Lawrence corridor. As high fluid flow rates are required for a successful geothermal application, the most important targets are deep existing permeable aquifers rather than hard rock, which would need to be fracked. Unfortunately, the ten most populated Québec urban centers are in the areas where the Grenville (Canadian Shield) is exposed or at shallow depths with sedimentary cover where temperatures are 30 °C or less. The city of Drummondville will be the exception, as the basement deepens sharply southwest, and higher temperatures reaching >120 °C are expected in the deep Cambrian sedimentary aquifers near a 4–5-km depth. Deep under the area where such sediments could be occurring under Appalachian nappes, temperatures significantly higher than 140 °C are predicted. In parts of the deep basin, temperatures as high as 80 °C–120 °C exist at depths of 3–4 km, mainly southeast of the major geological boundary: the Logan line. There is a large amount of heat resource at such depths to be considered in this area for district heating.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 476-489: The Energy-Water Nexus: Spatially-Resolved Analysis of the Potential for Desalinating Brackish Groundwater by Use of Solar Energy (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: This research looks at coupling desalination with renewable energy sources to create a high-value product (treated water) from two low value resources (brackish groundwater and intermittent solar energy). Desalination of brackish groundwater is already being considered as a potential new water supply in Texas. This research uses Texas as a testbed for spatially-resolved analysis techniques while considering depth to brackish groundwater, water quality, and solar radiation across Texas to determine the locations with the best potential for integrating solar energy with brackish groundwater desalination. The framework presented herein can be useful for policymakers, regional planners, and project developers as they consider where to site desalination facilities coupled with solar photovoltaics. Results suggest that the northwestern region of Texas—with abundant sunshine and groundwater at relatively shallow depths and low salinity in areas with freshwater scarcity—has the highest potential for solar powered desalination. The range in capacity for solar photovoltaic powered reverse osmosis desalination was found to be 1.56 × 10—6 to 2.93 × 10—5 cubic meters of water per second per square meter of solar panel (m3/s/m2).
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 507-523: Analysis of Short Time Period of Operation of Horizontal Ground Heat Exchangers (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems have been proven to have higher efficiency compared to conventional air source heat pump systems for space heating and cooling applications. While vertical ground heat exchangers (GHE) are favorable in GSHP installation, this type of configuration requires higher capital costs as opposed to horizontal configuration. Numerical simulation has been used to accurately predict the thermal performance of GHE. In this paper, numerical analysis of thermal performance for slinky horizontal GHE loops in different orientations and operation modes is discussed. It was found that the loop orientation is not so important due to the little effect it has on thermal performance. While the mean heat exchange rate of copper loop increases 48% compared to HDPE loop, the analysis supports the common claim that heat exchange rate is predominantly limited by the thermal conductivity of the ground. With the same amount of circulation work, the mean heat exchange rate increases by 83%–162% when operated in parallel loops operations. The performance in these operations can be further optimized to 10%–14% increase when spacing between adjacent loops was provided. The spacing helps to minimize interference of heat flow that would penalize the overall thermal performance.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 490-506: Renewable Energy Development in Small Island Developing States of the Pacific (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) of the Pacific over the last decade have established some of the most ambitious renewable energy targets in the world. The promotion of renewable energy has been motivated by a desire to lessen dependence on fossil fuels, given the adverse economic impacts of high oil prices on these countries. Efforts to attract development assistance and to strengthen the position of Pacific SIDS in climate change negotiations have likely also played a role. This paper explores the development of renewable energy resources in the Pacific through a public policy lens. The ambitious renewable energy targets established by Pacific SIDS are argued to be appropriate in some cases, but in other cases are criticised on economic grounds. A potential trade-off is identified between the risk mitigation benefits and poverty alleviation benefits of different renewable technology investments, with questions raised about whether support for the former rather than the latter by development partners is appropriate. A number of institutional and financial challenges to the development of renewable energy resources in Pacific SIDS are also discussed.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Information, Vol. 6, Pages 454-466: Personal Identification and the Assessment of the Psychophysiological State While Writing a Signature (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-08
    Description: This article discusses the problem of user identification and psychophysiological state assessment while writing a signature using a graphics tablet. The solution of the problem includes the creation of templates containing handwriting signature features simultaneously with the hidden registration of physiological parameters of a person being tested. Heart rate variability description in the different time points is used as a physiological parameter. As a result, a signature template is automatically generated for psychophysiological states of an identified person. The problem of user identification and psychophysiological state assessment is solved depending on the registered value of a physiological parameter.
    Electronic ISSN: 2078-2489
    Topics: Computer Science
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 412-427: Genotype by Environment Interaction for Growth in Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua L.) in Four Farms of Norway (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-04
    Description: We studied genotype by environment interaction (G × E) for body weight (BW) of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) from the National cod breeding program in Norway. Records of 13,811 fish in a nucleus farm (NUC) and two test farms (PENorth, PESouth) in year-class (YC) 2007, and for 9149 fish in NUC and one test farm in YC 2010 were available. Heterogeneity of variances and heritabilities ( ) were estimated using a univariate animal model with environmental effects common to full-sibs (full-model). Genetic correlations ( ) between farms were estimated using a multivariate full-model and a reduced-model (without ) for each YC. Heterogeneity of  was observed in both YC 2007 (0.10 to 0.16) and YC 2010 (0.08 to 0.26). The estimates of  between NUC and test farms were relatively high for both models (0.81 ± 0.19 to 0.96 ± 0.17) and (0.81 ± 0.08 to 0.86 ± 0.04), suggesting low re-ranking of genotypes. Strong re-ranking of genotypes between PESouth and PENorth may be less important because most cod producers are situated close to the breeding nucleus. In conclusion, G × E between NUC and test farms were low and at present there is no need for separate breeding programs for BW in cod.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 323-357: Groundwater Quantity and Quality Issues in a Water-Rich Region: Examples from Wisconsin, USA (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-04
    Description: The State of Wisconsin is located in an unusually water-rich portion of the world in the western part of the Great Lakes region of North America. This article presents an overview of the major groundwater quantity and quality concerns for this region in a geologic context. The water quantity concerns are most prominent in the central sand plain region and portions of a Paleozoic confined sandstone aquifer in eastern Wisconsin. Water quality concerns are more varied, with significant impacts from both naturally occurring inorganic contaminants and anthropogenic sources. Naturally occurring contaminants include radium, arsenic and associated heavy metals, fluoride, strontium, and others. Anthropogenic contaminants include nitrate, bacteria, viruses, as well as endocrine disrupting compounds. Groundwater quality in the region is highly dependent upon local geology and land use, but water bearing geologic units of all ages, Precambrian through Quaternary, are impacted by at least one kind of contaminant.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Risks, Vol. 3, Pages 164-182: The Impact of Reinsurance Strategies on Capital Requirements for Premium Risk in Insurance (2015)
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    In: Risks
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-04
    Description: New risk-based solvency requirements for insurance companies across European markets have been introduced by Solvency II and will come in force from 1 January 2016. These requirements, derived by a Standard Formula or an Internal Model, will be by far more risk-sensitive than the required solvency margin provided by the current legislation. In this regard, a Partial Internal Model for Premium Risk is developed here for a multi-line Non-Life insurer. We follow a classical approach based on a Collective Risk Model properly extended in order to consider not only the volatility of aggregate claim amounts but also expense volatility. To measure the effect of risk mitigation, suitable reinsurance strategies are pursued. We analyze how naïve coverage as conventional Quota Share and Excess of Loss reinsurance may modify the exact moments of the distribution of technical results. Furthermore, we investigate how alternative choices of commission rates in proportional treaties may affect the variability of distribution. Numerical results are also figured out in the last part of the paper with evidence of different effects for small and large companies. The main reasons for these differences are pointed out.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9091
    Topics: Economics
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    Aerospace, Vol. 2, Pages 312-324: Development of UAS Design Based on Wideband Antenna Architecture (2015)
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    In: Aerospace
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-05
    Description: An Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) has been developed which is based on an aerodynamically functionalized planar wideband antenna. The antenna utilizes a planar circular dipole metallization scheme. The aerodynamic structure implements a planform similar to the Nutball flier, a hobbyist flight architecture. The resulting codesign achieved a large impedance bandwidth defined by a voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) less than 2 from 100 MHz to over 2 GHz and omnidirectional dipole-like radiation patterns at the lower frequency region and more directional patterns at higher frequencies.
    Electronic ISSN: 2226-4310
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Aerospace, Vol. 2, Pages 325-352: A Comparison of Closed-Loop Performance of Multirotor Configurations Using Non-Linear Dynamic Inversion Control (2015)
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    In: Aerospace
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-06
    Description: Multirotor is the umbrella term for the family of unmanned aircraft, which include the quadrotor, hexarotor and other vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft that employ multiple main rotors for lift and control. Development and testing of novel multirotor designs has been aided by the proliferation of 3D printing and inexpensive flight controllers and components. Different multirotor configurations exhibit specific strengths, while presenting unique challenges with regards to design and control. This article highlights the primary differences between three multirotor platforms: a quadrotor; a fully-actuated hexarotor; and an octorotor. Each platform is modelled and then controlled using non-linear dynamic inversion. The differences in dynamics, control and performance are then discussed.
    Electronic ISSN: 2226-4310
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 444-480: Sinc-Approximations of Fractional Operators: A Computing Approach (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-06
    Description: We discuss a new approach to represent fractional operators by Sinc approximation using convolution integrals. A spin off of the convolution representation is an effective inverse Laplace transform. Several examples demonstrate the application of the method to different practical problems.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Environments, Vol. 2, Pages 221-249: A Review of Applicability and Effectiveness of Low Impact Development/Green Infrastructure Practices in Arid/Semi-Arid United States (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-09
    Description: Urbanized areas of the southwestern/western United States are among the fastest growing in the nation and face multiple water resource challenges. Low impact development (LID)/green infrastructure (GI) practices are increasingly popular technologies for managing stormwater; however, LID is often not as common in the southwest/west due to the lack of regulatory and/or economic drivers. There is also a lack of performance evaluation of these practices, particularly at the field scale. This study focused on investigating the hydrologic and pollutant removal performance of field-scale LID/GI systems in arid/semi-arid climates. Nine typical practices were reviewed: rainwater harvest system, detention pond, retention pond, bioretention, media filter, porous pavement, vegetated swale/buffer/strip, green roof, and infiltration trench, as well as integrated LIDs. We evaluate these practices by a cost-effectiveness analysis and also recommend best practices for the arid/semi-arid area. The analysis provides data support and insights for future implementation of LID/GI in the southwest/west.
    Electronic ISSN: 2076-3298
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Environments, Vol. 2, Pages 200-220: Landscape Disturbance from Unconventional and Conventional Oil and Gas Development in the Marcellus Shale Region of Pennsylvania, USA (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-09
    Description: The spatial footprint of unconventional (hydraulic fracturing) and conventional oil and gas development in the Marcellus Shale region of the State of Pennsylvania was digitized from high-resolution, ortho-rectified, digital aerial photography, from 2004 to 2010. We used these data to measure the spatial extent of oil and gas development and to assess the exposure of the extant natural resources across the landscape of the watersheds in the study area. We found that either form of development: (1) occurred in ~50% of the 930 watersheds that defined the study area; (2) was closer to streams than the recommended safe distance in ~50% of the watersheds; (3) was in some places closer to impaired streams and state-defined wildland trout streams than the recommended safe distance; (4) was within 10 upstream kilometers of surface drinking water intakes in ~45% of the watersheds that had surface drinking water intakes; (5) occurred in ~10% of state-defined exceptional value watersheds; (6) occurred in ~30% of the watersheds with resident populations defined as disproportionately exposed to pollutants; (7) tended to occur at interior forest locations; and (8) had >100 residents within 3 km for ~30% of the unconventional oil and gas development sites. Further, we found that exposure to the potential effects of landscape disturbance attributable to conventional oil and gas development was more prevalent than its unconventional counterpart.
    Electronic ISSN: 2076-3298
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 475-512: Sensitivity Analysis of a Land-Use Change Model with and without Agents to Assess Land Abandonment and Long-Term Re-Forestation in a Swiss Mountain Region (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-09
    Description: Land abandonment and the subsequent re-forestation are important drivers behind the loss of ecosystem services in mountain regions. Agent-based models can help to identify global change impacts on farmland abandonment and can test policy and management options to counteract this development. Realigning the representation of human decision making with time scales of ecological processes such as reforestation presents a major challenge in this context. Models either focus on the agent-specific behavior anchored in the current generation of farmers at the expense of representing longer scale environmental processes or they emphasize the simulation of long-term economic and forest developments where representation of human behavior is simplified in time and space. In this context, we compare the representation of individual and aggregated decision-making in the same model structure and by doing so address some implications of choosing short or long term time horizons in land-use modeling. Based on survey data, we integrate dynamic agents into a comparative static economic sector supply model in a Swiss mountain region. The results from an extensive sensitivity analysis show that this agent-based land-use change model can reproduce observed data correctly and that both model versions are sensitive to the same model parameters. In particular, in both models the specification of opportunity costs determines the extent of production activities and land-use changes by restricting the output space. Our results point out that the agent-based model can capture short and medium term developments in land abandonment better than the aggregated version without losing its sensitivity to important socio-economic drivers. For comparative static approaches, extensive sensitivity analysis with respect to opportunity costs, i.e., the measure of benefits forgone due to alternative uses of labor is essential for the assessment of the impact of climate change on land abandonment and re-forestation in mountain regions.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 481-486: The Complement of Binary Klein Quadric as a Combinatorial Grassmannian (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-09
    Description: Given a hyperbolic quadric of PG(5, 2), there are 28 points off this quadric and 56 lines skew to it. It is shown that the (286; 563)-configuration formed by these points and lines is isomorphic to the combinatorial Grassmannian of type G2(8). It is also pointed out that a set of seven points of G2(8) whose labels share a mark corresponds to a Conwell heptad of PG(5, 2). Gradual removal of Conwell heptads from the (286; 563)-configuration yields a nested sequence of binomial configurations identical with part of that found to be associated with Cayley-Dickson algebras (arXiv:1405.6888).
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Chromatography, Vol. 2, Pages 502-514: Evaluation of 5 mm Superficially Porous Particles for Capillary and Microfluidic LC Columns (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Large-size (4–5 µm) superficially porous particles yield lower plate heights (e.g., the minimal reduced plate height or hmin ≈ 1.5) than fully porous particles of a similar size when packed into large-bore columns. This property allows for better chromatographic performance without the higher pressures required for smaller particles. This study explores the use of such particles in microfluidic LC columns where materials and fitting pressure limits can constrain the size of particle used. The theoretically predicted performance improvements compared to fully porous particles were not demonstrated in capillary columns (with hmin ≈ 2 for both particle types), in agreement with previous studies that examined smaller superficially porous particles. Microfluidic columns were then compared to capillary columns. Capillary columns significantly outperformed microfluidic columns due to imperfections imposed by microfluidic channel asymmetry and world-to-chip connection at the optimal flow rate; however, superficially porous particles packed in microfluidic LC columns had flatter plate height versus flow rate curves indicating potential for better performance at high reduced velocities.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9075
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 626-643: Time Automorphisms on C*-Algebras (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: Applications of fractional time derivatives in physics and engineering require the existence of nontranslational time automorphisms on the appropriate algebra of observables. The existence of time automorphisms on commutative and noncommutative C*-algebras for interacting many-body systems is investigated in this article. A mathematical framework is given to discuss local stationarity in time and the global existence of fractional and nonfractional time automorphisms. The results challenge the concept of time flow as a translation along the orbits and support a more general concept of time flow as a convolution along orbits. Implications for the distinction of reversible and irreversible dynamics are discussed. The generalized concept of time as a convolution reduces to the traditional concept of time translation in a special limit.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 653-665: Zeta Function Expression of Spin Partition Functions on Thermal AdS3 (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: We find a Selberg zeta function expression of certain one-loop spin partition functions on three-dimensional thermal anti-de Sitter space. Of particular interest is the partition function of higher spin fermionic particles. We also set up, in the presence of spin, a Patterson-type formula involving the logarithmic derivative of zeta.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 656-669: Assessment of Above-Ground Biomass of Borneo Forests through a New Data-Fusion Approach Combining Two Pan-Tropical Biomass Maps (2015)
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    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-05
    Description: This study investigates how two existing pan-tropical above-ground biomass (AGB) maps (Saatchi 2011, Baccini 2012) can be combined to derive forest ecosystem specific carbon estimates. Several data-fusion models which combine these AGB maps according to their local correlations with independent datasets such as the spectral bands of SPOT VEGETATION imagery are analyzed. Indeed these spectral bands convey information about vegetation type and structure which can be related to biomass values. Our study area is the island of Borneo. The data-fusion models are evaluated against a reference AGB map available for two forest concessions in Sabah. The highest accuracy was achieved by a model which combines the AGB maps according to the mean of the local correlation coefficients calculated over different kernel sizes. Combining the resulting AGB map with a new Borneo land cover map (whose overall accuracy has been estimated at 86.5%) leads to average AGB estimates of 279.8 t/ha and 233.1 t/ha for forests and degraded forests respectively. Lowland dipterocarp and mangrove forests have the highest and lowest AGB values (305.8 t/ha and 136.5 t/ha respectively). The AGB of all natural forests amounts to 10.8 Gt mainly stemming from lowland dipterocarp (66.4%), upper dipterocarp (10.9%) and peat swamp forests (10.2%). Degraded forests account for another 2.1 Gt of AGB. One main advantage of our approach is that, once the best fitting data-fusion model is selected, no further AGB reference dataset is required for implementing the data-fusion process. Furthermore, the local harmonization of AGB datasets leads to more spatially precise maps. This approach can easily be extended to other areas in Southeast Asia which are dominated by lowland dipterocarp forest, and can be repeated when newer or more accurate AGB maps become available.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 666-689: Evaluation of Interpolants in Their Ability to Fit Seismometric Time Series (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-08
    Description: This article is devoted to the study of the ASARCO demolition seismic data. Two different classes of modeling techniques are explored: First, mathematical interpolation methods and second statistical smoothing approaches for curve fitting. We estimate the characteristic parameters of the propagation medium for seismic waves with multiple mathematical and statistical techniques, and provide the relative advantages of each approach to address fitting of such data. We conclude that mathematical interpolation techniques and statistical curve fitting techniques complement each other and can add value to the study of one dimensional time series seismographic data: they can be use to add more data to the system in case the data set is not large enough to perform standard statistical tests.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Information, Vol. 6, Pages 467-480: Optimization of China Crude Oil Transportation Network with Genetic Ant Colony Algorithm (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-13
    Description: Taking into consideration both shipping and pipeline transport, this paper first analysed the risk factors for different modes of crude oil import transportation. Then, based on the minimum of both transportation cost and overall risk, a multi-objective programming model was established to optimize the transportation network of crude oil import, and the genetic algorithm and ant colony algorithm were employed to solve the problem. The optimized result shows that VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) is superior in long distance sea transportation, whereas pipeline transport is more secure than sea transport. Finally, this paper provides related safeguard suggestions on crude oil import transportation.
    Electronic ISSN: 2078-2489
    Topics: Computer Science
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    Information, Vol. 6, Pages 494-504: Applying the Upper Integral to the Biometric Score Fusion Problem in the Identification Model (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-15
    Description: This paper presents a new biometric score fusion approach in an identification system using the upper integral with respect to Sugeno’s fuzzy measure. First, the proposed method considers each individual matcher as a fuzzy set in order to handle uncertainty and imperfection in matching scores. Then, the corresponding fuzzy entropy estimates the reliability of the information provided by each biometric matcher. Next, the fuzzy densities are generated based on rank information and training accuracy. Finally, the results are aggregated using the upper fuzzy integral. Experimental results compared with other fusion methods demonstrate the good performance of the proposed approach.
    Electronic ISSN: 2078-2489
    Topics: Computer Science
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 670-687: Modelling Deforestation and Land Cover Transitions of Tropical Peatlands in Sumatra, Indonesia Using Remote Sensed Land Cover Data Sets (2015)
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    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-11
    Description: In Southeast Asia land use change associated with forest loss and degradation is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is of particular concern where deforestation occurs on peat soils. A business-as-usual (BAU) land change model was developed using Dinamica EGO© for a REDD+ Demonstration Activity area in south-east Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia containing Berbak National Park (NP). The model output will be used as baseline land change predictions for comparison with alternative land cover management scenarios as part of a REDD+ feasibility study. The study area is approximately 376,000 ha with approximately 50% on peat soils. The model uses published 2000 and 2010 land cover maps as input and projects land cover change for thirty years until 2040. The model predicted that under a BAU scenario the forest area, 185,000 ha in 2010, will decline by 37% by 2040. In protected forest areas, approximately 50% of the study area, forest cover will reduce by 25%. Peat swamp forest will reduce by almost 37%. The greatest land cover category increases are plantation/regrowth areas (which includes oil palm) and open areas which each increase by 30,000 ha. These results indicate that the site has great potential as an Indonesian REDD+ Demonstration Activity.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 891-905: Ocean-Atmosphere CO2 Fluxes in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre: Association with Biochemical and Physical Factors during Spring (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-14
    Description: Sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) was measured continuously in a transect of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (18.1° N, 68.5° W) and Vigo, Spain (41.9° N, 11.8° W) during spring 2011. Additional biogeochemical and physical variables measured to identify factors controlling the surface pCO2 were analyzed in discrete samples collected at 16 sites along the transect at the surface and to a depth of 200 m. Sea surface pCO2 varied between 309 and 662 μatm, and showed differences between the western and eastern subtropical gyre. The subtropical gyre acted as a net CO2 sink, with a mean flux of −5.5 ± 2.2 mmol m−2 day−1. The eastern part of the transect, close to the North Atlantic Iberian upwelling off the Galician coast, was a CO2 source with an average flux of 33.5 ± 9.0 mmol m−2 day−1. Our results highlight the importance of making more surface pCO2 observations in the area located east of the Azores Islands since air-sea CO2 fluxes there are poorly studied.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 690-726: Root Operators and “Evolution” Equations (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-14
    Description: Root-operator factorization à la Dirac provides an effective tool to deal with equations, which are not of evolution type, or are ruled by fractional differential operators, thus eventually yielding evolution-like equations although for a multicomponent vector. We will review the method along with its extension to root operators of degree higher than two. Also, we will show the results obtained by the Dirac-method as well as results from other methods, specifically in connection with evolution-like equations ruled by square-root operators, that we will address to as relativistic evolution equations.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Chromatography, Vol. 2, Pages 529-544: The Dramatic Modulatory Role of the 2'N Substitution of the Terminal Amino Hexose of Globotetraosylceramide in Determining Binding by Members of the Verotoxin Family (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-15
    Description: Although globotetraosylceramide (Gb4) is only recognized by a single member of the verotoxin family namely, the pig edema disease toxin (VT2e), removal of the acetyl group from the terminal N-acetyl hexosamine of Gb4 to generate the free amino sugar containing species (aminoGb4) results in the generation of a glycolipid preferentially recognized by all members of the verotoxin family (i.e., VT1, VT2, VT2c, and VT2e). GT3, a site-specific mutant of VT2e, in which Gb4 recognition is lost but Gb3 binding is retained, also binds aminoGb4. We have now compared the binding of VT1, VT2, VT2e, and GT3 to a series of aminoGb4 derivatives using a TLC overlay technique. DimethylaminoGb4 is bound by VT1 and VT2 but not VT2e or GT3; formylaminoGb4 binds all toxins but poorly to VT2 and preferentially VT2e; trifluoroacetylaminoGb4 binds only VT2e and GT3; isopropylaminoGb4 binds VT1 and poorly to VT2; benzylaminoGb4 binds all four toxins. Thus, there is a marked distinction between the permissible amino substitutions for VT1 and VT2e binding. GT3 is a hybrid between these in that, according to the substitution, it behaves similarly either to VT1 or to VT2e. For each species, GT3 does not however, show a hybrid binding between that of VT1 and VT2e. Analysis of the binding as a function of pH shows opposite effects for VT1 and VT2e: decreased pH increases VT1, but decreases VT2e receptor glycolipid binding.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9075
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 746-757: A Moonshine Dialogue in Mathematical Physics (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-08-15
    Description: Phys and Math are two colleagues at the University of Saçenbon (Crefan Kingdom), dialoguing about the remarkable efficiency of mathematics for physics. They talk about the notches on the Ishango bone and the various uses of psi in maths and physics; they arrive at dessins d’enfants, moonshine concepts, Rademacher sums and their significance in the quantum world. You should not miss their eccentric proposal of relating Bell’s theorem to the Baby Monster group. Their hyperbolic polygons show a considerable singularity/cusp structure that our modern age of computers is able to capture. Henri Poincaré would have been happy to see it.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 891-896: Smooth K-groups for Monoid Algebras and K-regularity (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-11
    Description: The isomorphism of Karoubi-Villamayor K-groups with smooth K-groups for monoid algebras over quasi stable locally convex algebras is established. We prove that the Quillen K-groups are isomorphic to smooth K-groups for monoid algebras over quasi-stable Frechet algebras having a properly uniformly bounded approximate unit and not necessarily m-convex. Based on these results the K-regularity property for quasi-stable Frechet algebras having a properly uniformly bounded approximate unit is established.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Risks, Vol. 3, Pages 338-364: Valuation of Index-Linked Cash Flows in a Heath–Jarrow–Morton Framework (2015)
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    In: Risks
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-11
    Description: In this paper, we study the valuation of stochastic cash flows that exhibit dependence on interest rates. We focus on insurance liability cash flows linked to an index, such as a consumer price index or wage index, where changes in the index value can be partially understood in terms of changes in the term structure of interest rates. Insurance liability cash flows that are not explicitly linked to an index may still be valued in our framework by interpreting index returns as so-called claims inflation, i.e., an increase in claims cost per sold insurance contract. We focus primarily on the case when a deep and liquid market for index-linked contracts is absent or when the market price data are unreliable. Firstly, we present an approach for assigning a monetary value to a stochastic cash flow that does not require full knowledge of the joint dynamics of the cash flow and the term structure of interest rates. Secondly, we investigate in detail model selection, estimation and validation in a Heath–Jarrow–Morton framework. Finally, we analyze the effects of model uncertainty on the valuation of the cash flows and how forecasts of cash flows and interest rates translate into model parameters and affect the valuation.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9091
    Topics: Economics
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 713-735: Modeling and Analysis of a Low-Voltage DC Distribution System (2015)
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    In: Resources
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-12
    Description: It is well known that the Low-Voltage DC (LVDC) distribution system is a promising topology as a future smart distribution system due to its high efficiency and reliability. However, there are still some challenges in the construction and implementation of an LVDC system. For practical application of the LVDC system, therefore, it is necessary to perform any simulation in advance by considering various conditions that can occur in an LVDC system. In order to provide a foundation for analyzing a DC system, this paper presents an LVDC distribution system model including essential components such as power electronic devices, Distributed Energy Resource (DER), and Energy Storage System (ESS), which can be considered for implementation in an LVDC system using Electro-Magnetic Transient Program (EMTP) software. Moreover, an analysis of the characteristic in both the steady state and the transient state is conducted in an LVDC distribution system.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Environments, Vol. 2, Pages 415-434: Using Landscape Metrics Analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process to Assess Water Harvesting Potential Sites in Jordan (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-15
    Description: Jordan is characterized as a “water scarce” country. Therefore, conserving ecosystem services such as water regulation and soil retention is challenging. In Jordan, rainwater harvesting has been adapted to meet those challenges. However, the spatial composition and configuration features of a target landscape are rarely considered when selecting a rainwater-harvesting site. This study aimed to introduce landscape spatial features into the schemes for selecting a proper water-harvesting site. Landscape metrics analysis was used to quantify 10 metrics for three potential landscapes (i.e., Watershed 104 (WS 104), Watershed 59 (WS 59), and Watershed 108 (WS 108)) located in the Jordanian Badia region. Results of the metrics analysis showed that the three non–vegetative land cover types in the three landscapes were highly suitable for serving as rainwater harvesting sites. Furthermore, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to prioritize the fitness of the three target sites by comparing their landscape metrics. Results of AHP indicate that the non-vegetative land cover in the WS 104 landscape was the most suitable site for rainwater harvesting intervention, based on its dominance, connectivity, shape, and low degree of fragmentation. Our study advances the water harvesting network design by considering its landscape spatial pattern.
    Electronic ISSN: 2076-3298
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Climate, Vol. 3, Pages 727-752: Linear and Non-Linear Approaches for Statistical Seasonal Rainfall Forecast in the Sirba Watershed Region (SAHEL) (2015)
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    In: Climate
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-15
    Description: Since the 90s, several studies were conducted to evaluate the predictability of the Sahelian rainy season and propose seasonal rainfall forecasts to help stakeholders to take the adequate decisions to adapt with the predicted situation. Unfortunately, two decades later, the forecasting skills remains low and forecasts have a limited value for decision making while the population is still suffering from rainfall interannual variability: this shows the limit of commonly used predictors and forecast approaches for this region. Thus, this paper developed and tested new predictors and new approaches to predict the upcoming seasonal rainfall amount over the Sirba watershed. Predictors selected through a linear correlation analysis were further processed using combined linear methods to identify those having high predictive power. Seasonal rainfall was forecasted using a set of linear and non-linear models. An average lag time up to eight months was obtained for all models. It is found that the combined linear methods performed better than non-linear, possibly because non-linear models require larger and better datasets for calibration. The R2, Nash and Hit rate score are respectively 0.53, 0.52, and 68% for the combined linear approach; and 0.46, 0.45, 61% for non-linear principal component analysis.
    Electronic ISSN: 2225-1154
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geosciences
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 778-806: Stakeholder Strategies for Sustainability Impact Assessment of Land Use Scenarios: Analytical Framework and Identifying Land Use Claims (2015)
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    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-15
    Description: Despite scientific progress in operationalizing sustainable development (SD), it is still hampered by methodological challenges at the regional level. We developed a framework to analyse stakeholder based, SD targets for future land use, which are characterized by different impact levels and spatial references. The framework allows for the analysis of land use demands in the context of SD. We identified societal use targets in north-eastern Germany, particularly for the area type’s lowland fens and irrigation fields, represented through strategy documents. We used frame analysis to aggregate and condense the targets into land use claims. Results present a framework for the ex-ante Sustainability Impact Assessment of land use changes at the regional level and the determination and regionalization of the future societal demand for land use functions. For future land use at the regional level, manifold land use claims exist, but on smaller scales, area-specific targets are less apparent. Six key main-use claims and 44 side-use claims were identified at the regional level and for area types. Possible trade-offs among land use claims for land use functions can be identified at each governance level. Implications of the methodological approach are discussed according to moving development targets and SD as multi-sector and multi-level governance issues.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Risks, Vol. 3, Pages 365-389: Supervising System Stress in Multiple Markets (2015)
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    In: Risks
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-15
    Description: This paper develops an extended financial stress measure that considers the supervisory objective of identifying risks to the stability of the financial system. The measure provides a continuous and bounded signal of financial stress using daily public market data. Broad coverage of material financial system markets over time is achieved by leveraging dynamic credit weights. We consider how this measure can be used to monitor, analyze, and alert financial system stress.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9091
    Topics: Economics
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 1041-1065: Coupled Wave Energy and Erosion Dynamics along a Salt Marsh Boundary, Hog Island Bay, Virginia, USA (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-16
    Description: The relationship between lateral erosion of salt marshes and wind waves is studied in Hog Island Bay, Virginia USA, with high-resolution field measurements and aerial photographs. Marsh retreat is compared to wave climate calculated in the bay using the spectral wave-model Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN). We confirm the existence of a linear relationship between long-term salt marsh erosion and wave energy, and show that wave power can serve as a good proxy for average salt-marsh erosion rates. At each site, erosion rates are consistent across several temporal scales, ranging from months to decades, and are strongly related to wave power. On the contrary, erosion rates vary in space and weakly depend on the spatial distribution of wave energy. We ascribe this variability to spatial variations in geotechnical, biological, and morphological marsh attributes. Our detailed field measurements indicate that at a small spatial scale (tens of meters), a positive feedback between salt marsh geometry and wave action causes erosion rates to increase with boundary sinuosity. However, at the scale of the entire marsh boundary (hundreds of meters), this relationship is reversed: those sites that are more rapidly eroding have a marsh boundary which is significantly smoother than the marsh boundary of sheltered and slowly eroding marshes.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Agriculture, Vol. 5, Pages 826-856: Organic Cultivation of Tomato in India with Recycled Slaughterhouse Wastes: Evaluation of Fertilizer and Fruit Safety (2015)
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-17
    Description: Environmental and health safety of recycled slaughterhouse wastes-derived fertilizer and the produce obtained through its application is not well understood. Waste bovine blood and rumen digesta were mixed, cooked and sun-dried to obtain bovine-blood-and-rumen-digesta-mixture (BBRDM, NPK 30.36:1:5.75). 1.26 ± 0.18 log CFU mL−1 fecal coliforms were recovered in BBRDM. E. coli O157:H7, Mycobacteria, Clostridium sp., Salmonella sp., Bacillus sp. and Brucella sp. were absent. No re-growth of pathogens was observed after 60 days storage in sealed bags and in the open. However, prions and viruses were not evaluated. Heavy metals (Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn, As, Ni, Mn) concentrations in BBRDM were within internationally permissible limits. BBRDM was applied for field cultivation of tomato during 2012–2013 and 2013–2014. Lycopene and nitrate contents of BBRDM-grown tomatoes were higher than Diammonium phosphate (DAP) + potash-grown tomatoes because BBRDM supplied 2.5 times more the amount of nitrogen than DAP (NPK 18:46:0) + potash (NPK 0:0:44). Heavy metals and nitrate/nitrite concentrations in tomatoes were within internationally acceptable limits. BBRDM-grown tomatoes showed no mutagenic activity in the Ames test. Sub-acute toxicity tests on Wistar rats fed with BBRDM-grown tomatoes did not show adverse clinical picture. Thus, no immediate environmental or health risks associated with BBRDM and the tomatoes produced were identified.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-0472
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Agriculture, Vol. 5, Pages 806-825: Efficacy of Chicken Litter and Wood Biochars and Their Activated Counterparts in Heavy Metal Clean up from Wastewater (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-17
    Description: It is known that properties of activated biochars are tightly associated with those of the original feedstock as well as pyrolysis and activation conditions. This study examined two feedstock types, pine wood shavings and chicken litter, to produce biochars at two different pyrolysis temperatures and subsequently activated by steam, acid or base. In order to measure activation efficiency, all materials were characterized for their properties and ability to remediate two well-known heavy metals of concern: copper and arsenic. Base activated biochars were superior in arsenic adsorption, to acid or steam activated samples, but increase in adsorption was not significant to warrant use. For wood biochars, significant increases of surface functionality as related to oxygen bearing groups and surface charge were observed upon acid activation which led to increased copper ion adsorption. However, oxygen bearing functionalities were not sufficient to explain why chicken litter biochars and steam activated biochars appeared to be significantly superior to wood shavings in positively charged metal ion adsorption. For chicken litter, functionality of respective biochars could be related to phosphate containing groups inherited from feedstock composition, favorably positioning this feedstock in metal ion remediation applications.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-0472
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Risks, Vol. 3, Pages 420-444: The Financial Stress Index: Identification of Systemic Risk Conditions (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Risks
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-17
    Description: This paper develops a financial stress measure for the United States, the Cleveland Financial Stress Index (CFSI). The index is based on publicly available data describing a six-market partition of the financial system comprising credit, funding, real estate, securitization, foreign exchange, and equity markets. This paper improves upon existing stress measures by objectively selecting between several index weighting methodologies across a variety of monitoring frequencies through comparison against a volatility-based benchmark series. The resulting measure facilitates the decomposition of stress to identify disruptions in specific markets and provides insight into historical stress regimes.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9091
    Topics: Economics
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 807-841: Model-Based Synthesis of Locally Contingent Responses to Global Market Signals (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-17
    Description: Rural livelihoods and the land systems on which they depend are increasingly influenced by distant markets through economic globalization. Place-based analyses of land and livelihood system sustainability must then consider both proximate and distant influences on local decision-making. Thus, advancing land change theory in the context of economic globalization calls for a systematic understanding of the general processes as well as local contingencies shaping local responses to global signals. Synthesis of insights from place-based case studies is a path forward for developing such systematic knowledge. This paper introduces a generalized agent-based modeling framework for model-based synthesis to investigate the relative importance of structural versus agent-level factors in driving land-use and livelihood responses to changing global market signals. Six case-study sites that differed in environmental conditions, market access and influence, and livelihood settings were analyzed. Stronger market signals generally led to intensification and/or expansion of agriculture or increased non-farm labor, while changes in agents’ risk attitudes prompted heterogeneous local responses to global market signals. These results demonstrate model-based synthesis as a promising approach to overcome many of the challenges of current synthesis methods in land change science and identify generalized as well as locally contingent responses to global market signals.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Agriculture, Vol. 5, Pages 879-900: Economic Analysis of Climate Change Best Management Practices in Vermont Agriculture (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-19
    Description: Climate change impacts local agricultural systems in detectable and distinguishable ways from large-scale shifts in water, land, and weather patterns to regionally specific distributions of weeds, pests, and diseases. Best management practices for adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change include modifications to farm production through adjusted intensity and product types and changing land use through crop siting and tillage practices. Farmer perceptions of risk and profitability of best management practices are key determinants of adoption, which traditional incentive programs like the Environmental Quality Incentive Program attempt to address by providing financial and technical support. To ensure that payments offered through these programs that maximize adoption, regional incentive payments must be based upon locally established costs. This paper focuses on the cost of implementing and maintaining climate change specific best management practices (CCBMPs) for twelve diverse farms in Vermont. Specifically, three CCBMPs for Vermont are examined: cover cropping, management intensive rotational grazing (MIRG), and riparian buffer strips. Results show the average cost for cover cropping is $129.24/acre, MIRG is $79.82/acre, and a tree based riparian buffer strip cost $807.33/acre. We conclude that existing incentive payments for cover cropping and MIRG are below costs, likely resulting in under-adoption.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-0472
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Agriculture, Vol. 5, Pages 857-878: Effects of Olive Mill Wastewater on Soil Microarthropods and Soil Chemistry in Two Different Cultivation Scenarios in Israel and Palestinian Territories (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-19
    Description: Although olive mill wastewater (OMW) is often applied onto soil and is known to be phytotoxic, its impact on soil fauna is still unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate how OMW spreading in olive orchards affects Oribatida and Collembola communities, physicochemical soil properties and their interdependency. For this, we treated plots in two study sites (Gilat, Bait Reema) with OMW. Among others, the sites differed in irrigation practice, soil type and climate. We observed that soil acidity and water repellency developed to a lower extent in Gilat than in Bait Reema. This may be explained by irrigation-induced dilution and leaching of OMW compounds in Gilat. In Bait Reema, OMW application suppressed emergence of Oribatida and induced a community shift, but the abundance of Collembola increased in OMW and water-treated plots. In Gilat, Oribatida abundance increased after OMW application. The effects of OMW application on soil biota result from an interaction between stimulation of biological activity and suppression of sensitive species by toxic compounds. Environmental and management conditions are relevant for the degree and persistence of the effects. Moreover, this study underlines the need for detailed research on the ecotoxicological effects of OMW at different application rates.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-0472
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 869-887: The Anatomy of Medium-Scale Farm Growth in Zambia: What Are the Implications for the Future of Smallholder Agriculture? (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-19
    Description: Lost in the debates about the appropriate scale of production to promote agricultural growth in Africa is the rapid expansion of medium-scale farmers. Using Zambia as a case study, this article explores the causes and consequences of this middle-tier transformation on the future of small-scale agriculture. Combining political economic analysis with household survey data, this article examines the relationships between the growth in medium-scale farmers and changing conditions of land access, inequality, and alienation for small-scale farmers. Growth of medium-scale farmers is associated with high land inequality and rapid land alienation in high potential agricultural areas. This growth is shown to be partially driven by wage earner investment in land acquisition and is leading to substantial under-utilization of agricultural land. These processes are both limiting agricultural growth potential and foreclosing future options for an inclusive agricultural development strategy.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 1093-1116: A Flood Risk Assessment of the LaHave River Watershed, Canada Using GIS Techniques and an Unstructured Grid Combined River-Coastal Hydrodynamic Model (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-23
    Description: A flexible mesh hydrodynamic model was developed to simulate flooding of the LaHave River watershed in Nova Scotia, Canada, from the combined effects of fluvial discharge and ocean tide and surge conditions. The analysis incorporated high-resolution lidar elevation data, bathymetric river and coastal chart data, and river cross-section information. These data were merged to generate a seamless digital elevation model which was used, along with river discharge and tidal elevation data, to run a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model to produce flood risk predictions for the watershed. Fine resolution topography data were integrated seamlessly with coarse resolution bathymetry using a series of GIS tools. Model simulations were carried out using DHI Mike 21 Flexible Mesh under a variety of combinations of discharge events and storm surge levels. Discharge events were simulated for events that represent a typical annual maximum runoff and extreme events, while tide and storm surge events were simulated by using the predicted tidal time series and adding 2 and 3 m storm surge events to the ocean level seaward of the mouth of the river. Model output was examined and the maximum water level for the duration of each simulation was extracted and merged into one file that was used in a GIS to map the maximum flood extent and water depth. Upstream areas were most vulnerable to fluvial discharge events, the lower estuary was most vulnerable to the effect of storm surge and sea-level rise, and the Town of Bridgewater was influenced by the combined effects of discharge and storm surge. To facilitate the use of the results for planning officials, GIS flood risk layers were intersected with critical infrastructure, identifying the roads, buildings, and municipal sewage infrastructure at risk under each flood scenario. Roads were converted to points at 10 m spacing for inundated areas and appended with the flood depth calculated from the maximum water level subtracted from the lidar digital elevation model.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 1117-1135: Wind and Wave Setup Contributions to Extreme Sea Levels at a Tropical High Island: A Stochastic Cyclone Simulation Study for Apia, Samoa (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-23
    Description: Wind-wave contributions to tropical cyclone (TC)-induced extreme sea levels are known to be significant in areas with narrow littoral zones, particularly at oceanic islands. Despite this, little information exists in many of these locations to assess the likelihood of inundation, the relative contribution of wind and wave setup to this inundation, and how it may change with sea level rise (SLR), particularly at scales relevant to coastal infrastructure. In this study, we explore TC-induced extreme sea levels at spatial scales on the order of tens of meters at Apia, the capitol of Samoa, a nation in the tropical South Pacific with typical high-island fringing reef morphology. Ensembles of stochastically generated TCs (based on historical information) are combined with numerical simulations of wind waves, storm-surge, and wave setup to develop high-resolution statistical information on extreme sea levels and local contributions of wind setup and wave setup. The results indicate that storm track and local morphological details lead to local differences in extreme sea levels on the order of 1 m at spatial scales of less than 1 km. Wave setup is the overall largest contributor at most locations; however, wind setup may exceed wave setup in some sheltered bays. When an arbitrary SLR scenario (+1 m) is introduced, overall extreme sea levels are found to modestly decrease relative to SLR, but wave energy near the shoreline greatly increases, consistent with a number of other recent studies. These differences have implications for coastal adaptation strategies.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 1066-1092: Multi-Fraction Bayesian Sediment Transport Model (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-23
    Description: A Bayesian approach to sediment transport modeling can provide a strong basis for evaluating and propagating model uncertainty, which can be useful in transport applications. Previous work in developing and applying Bayesian sediment transport models used a single grain size fraction or characterized the transport of mixed-size sediment with a single characteristic grain size. Although this approach is common in sediment transport modeling, it precludes the possibility of capturing processes that cause mixed-size sediments to sort and, thereby, alter the grain size available for transport and the transport rates themselves. This paper extends development of a Bayesian transport model from one to k fractional dimensions. The model uses an existing transport function as its deterministic core and is applied to the dataset used to originally develop the function. The Bayesian multi-fraction model is able to infer the posterior distributions for essential model parameters and replicates predictive distributions of both bulk and fractional transport. Further, the inferred posterior distributions are used to evaluate parametric and other sources of variability in relations representing mixed-size interactions in the original model. Successful OPEN ACCESS J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2015, 3 1067 development of the model demonstrates that Bayesian methods can be used to provide a robust and rigorous basis for quantifying uncertainty in mixed-size sediment transport. Such a method has heretofore been unavailable and allows for the propagation of uncertainty in sediment transport applications.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Chromatography, Vol. 2, Pages 580-593: Conductivity-Dependent Flow Field-Flow Fractionation of Fulvic and Humic Acid Aggregates (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-23
    Description: Fulvic (FAs) and humic acids (HAs) are chemically fascinating. In water, they have a strong propensity to aggregate, but this research reveals that tendency is regulated by ionic strength. In the environment, conductivity extremes occur naturally—freshwater to seawater—warranting consideration at low and high values. The flow field flow fractionation (flow FFF) of FAs and HAs is observed to be concentration dependent in low ionic strength solutions whereas the corresponding flow FFF fractograms in high ionic strength solutions are concentration independent. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) also reveals insight into the conductivity-dependent behavior of humic substances (HSs). Four particle size ranges for FAs and humic acid aggregates are examined: (1) 〈10 nm; (2) 10 nm–6 µm; (3) 6–100 µm; and (4) >100 µm. Representative components of the different size ranges are observed to dynamically coexist in solution. The character of the various aggregates observed—such as random-extended-coiled macromolecules, hydrogels, supramolecular, and micellar—as influenced by electrolytic conductivity, is discussed. The disaggregation/aggregation of HSs is proposed to be a dynamic equilibrium process for which the rate of aggregate formation is controlled by the electrolytic conductivity of the solution.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9075
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology
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    Agriculture, Vol. 5, Pages 901-917: From Pandemic Preparedness to Biofuel Production: Tobacco Finds Its Biotechnology Niche in North America (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-26
    Description: In 2012 scientists funded by the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) produced 10 million doses of influenza vaccine in tobacco in a milestone deadline of one month. Recently the experimental antibody cocktail Zmapp™, also produced in tobacco, has shown promise as an emergency intervention therapeutic against Ebola virus. These two examples showcase how collaborative efforts between government, private industry and academia are applying plant biotechnology to combat pathogenic agents. Opportunities now exist repurposing tobacco expression systems for exciting new applications in synthetic biology, biofuels production and industrial enzyme production. As plant-produced biotherapeutics become more mainstream, government funding agencies need to be cognizant of the idea that many plant-produced biologicals are often safer, cheaper, and just as efficacious as traditionally used expression systems.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-0472
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Environments, Vol. 2, Pages 435-448: Climate Change Preparedness: A Knowledge and Attitudes Study in Southern Nigeria (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-26
    Description: Global climate change is projected to adversely impact freshwater resources, and in many settings these impacts are already apparent. In Nigeria, these impacts can be especially severe because of limited adaptive capacity. Understanding the knowledge and attitudes of current and future Nigerian decision-makers is important to preparing Nigeria for climate change impacts. This paper examines the knowledge and attitudes of university students and government officials about the causes, effects, and priority given to climate change in Nigeria. Paper surveys were distributed to 379 study participants in Akwa Ibom and Lagos states of Nigeria. The findings reveal that approximately 90% of study participants believe that human activities are a significant cause of climate change, with no significant difference between ministry officials’ and students’ responses. Participants were less knowledgeable about the effects of climate change on Nigeria as a whole, but more aware of impacts relevant to Southern Nigeria, where study sites were located. Personal experience seemed to play a role in the knowledge and attitudes of respondents. Due to the varied climate of the country, campaigns to ensure comprehensive knowledge of climate change impacts to the entire country may be helpful.
    Electronic ISSN: 2076-3298
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 736-750: Influence of Reflectivity and Cloud Cover on the Optimal TiltAngle of Solar Panels (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Resources
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    Publication Date: 2015-09-30
    Description: Determining the optimum angle for a solar panel is important if tracking systems are not used and a tilt angle remains constant. This article determines the sensitivity of the optimum angle to surface reflectivity at different latitudes using a mathematical model that accounts for direct, diffuse and reflected radiation. A quadratic correlation is also developed to compute the optimal angle and maximum energy as a function of latitude and reflectivity. We also seek to determine how sensitive the optimal tilt angle is to cloud cover using the 35° latitude of the Prosperity solar facility in Albuquerque, NM.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Agriculture, Vol. 5, Pages 991-1002: Removing Gaseous NH3 Using Biochar as an Adsorbent (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-10-01
    Description: Ammonia is a major fugitive gas emitted from livestock operations and fertilization production. This study tested the potential of various biochars in removing gaseous ammonia via adsorption processes. Gaseous ammonia adsorption capacities of various biochars made from wood shaving and chicken litter with different thermal conditions and activation techniques were determined using laboratory adsorption column tests. Ammonia adsorption capacities of non-activated biochars ranged from 0.15 to 5.09 mg·N/g, which were comparable to that of other commercial activated carbon and natural zeolite. There were no significant differences in ammonia adsorption capacities of steam activated and non-activated biochars even if the surface areas of the steam activated biochars were about two orders of magnitude greater than that of non-activated biochars. In contrast, phosphoric acid activation greatly increased the biochar ammonia adsorption capacity. This suggests that the surface area of biochar did not readily control gaseous NH3 adsorption. Ammonia adsorption capacities were more or less linearly increased with acidic oxygen surface groups of non-activated and steam-activated biochars. Phosphoric acid bound to the acid activated biochars is suspected to contribute to the exceptionally high ammonia adsorption capacity. The sorption capacities of virgin and water-washed biochar samples were not different, suggesting the potential to regenerate spent biochar simply with water instead of energy- and capital-intensive steam. The results of this study suggest that non-activated biochars can successfully replace commercial activated carbon in removing gaseous ammonia and the removal efficiency will greatly increase if the biochars are activated with phosphoric acid.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-0472
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Environments, Vol. 2, Pages 565-585: Does Previous Experience of Floods Stimulate the Adoption of Coping Strategies? Evidence from Cross Sectional Surveys in Nigeria and Tanzania (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-11-21
    Description: In sub-Saharan Africa, hydro-meteorological related disasters, such as floods, account for the majority of the total number of natural disasters. Over the past century, floods have affected 38 million people, claimed several lives and caused substantial economic losses in the region. The goal of this paper is to examine how personality disposition, social network, and socio-demographic factors mitigate the complex relationship between stressful life experiences of floods and ocean surges and the adoption of coping strategies among coastal communities in Nigeria and Tanzania. Generalized linear models (GLM) were fitted to cross-sectional survey data on 1003 and 1253 individuals in three contiguous coastal areas in Nigeria and Tanzania, respectively. Marked differences in the type of coping strategies were observed across the two countries. In Tanzania, the zero-order relationships between adoption of coping strategies and age, employment and income disappeared at the multivariate level. Only experience of floods in the past year and social network resources were significant predictors of participants’ adoption of coping strategies, unlike in Nigeria, where a plethora of factors such as experience of ocean surges in the past one year, personality disposition, age, education, experience of flood in the past one year, ethnicity, income, housing quality and employment status were still statistically significant at the multivariate level. Our findings suggest that influence of previous experience on adoption of coping strategies is spatially ubiquitous. Consequently, context-specific policies aimed at encouraging the adoption of flood-related coping strategies in vulnerable locations should be designed based on local needs and orientation.
    Electronic ISSN: 2076-3298
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Agriculture, Vol. 5, Pages 1146-1171: Defoliation, Shoot Plasticity, Sward Structure and Herbage Utilization in Pasture: Review of the Underlying Ecophysiological Processes (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-11-26
    Description: Sward structure affects herbage growth, pasture species dynamics, and herbage utilization. Defoliation management has a major impact on sward structure. In particular, tiller size-tiller density compensations allow for the maintenance of herbage growth. Tiller size and tiller density are determined by several major morphogenetical components. Defoliation affects these morphogenetical components, depending on its frequency and its intensity, through several direct and indirect physiological and environmental processes. Due to the implications of leaf area removal, defoliation has a direct effect on the mobilization of C and N reserves and their supply to growing leaves. In addition, defoliation has an indirect effect on leaf and tiller morphogenesis, due to its impact on the light environment within the canopy as well as plant responses to light signals (blue light, red far red ratio). Defoliation may also in some cases have a direct negative effect on leaf growth by damaging leaf meristems. Understanding the respective role of these various physiological and environmental processes requires studies where defoliation, photosynthetic active radiation and light signals are manipulated independently. Past and recent knowledge on these direct and indirect effects of defoliation on plant morphogenesis are discussed, leading to an overall integrated view of physiological and environmental processes that lead to adaptations of sward structure in response to defoliation management. Major consequences for herbage utilization efficiency are presented.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-0472
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Climate, Vol. 3, Pages 1018-1034: Combining Climate Scenarios and Risk Management Approach—A Finnish Case Study (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Climate
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    Publication Date: 2015-11-21
    Description: Climate change impacts on nature and the environment have been widely discussed and studied. Traditionally, a company’s continuity management is based on risk analysis. There are also attempts to implement scenario-based methods in the risk management procedures of companies. For industrial decision makers, it is vital to acknowledge the impacts of climate change with regards to their adaptation strategies. However, a scenario-based approach is not always the most effective way to analyze these risks. This paper investigates the integration of scenario and risk-based methods for a company’s adaptation planning. It considers the uncertainties of the climate change scenarios and the recognized risks as well as suitable adaptation strategies. The paper presents the results of climate risk analysis prepared for two Finnish hydropower plants. The introduced method was first piloted in 2008 and then again in 2015. The update of the analysis pointed out that at the company level, the climate risks and other risks originating from governmental or political decisions form an intertwined wholeness where the origin of the risk is difficult to outline. It seems that, from the business point of view, the main adaptation strategies suggested by the integrated risk and scenarios approach are those that support buying “safety margins” in new investments and reducing decision time horizons. Both of these adaptation strategies provide an advantage in the circumstances where also political decisions and societal changes have a great effect on decision making.
    Electronic ISSN: 2225-1154
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geosciences
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    Risks, Vol. 3, Pages 515-542: The Impact of Guarantees on the Performance of Pension Saving Schemes: Insights from the Literature (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Risks
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    Publication Date: 2015-11-21
    Description: Guarantees are often seen as the key characteristics of pension saving products, but securing them can become costly and is of central relevance especially in the course of the current low interest rate environment. In this article, we deal with the question of how costly the typical types of guarantees are, in the sense that they reduce a pension saving scheme’s financial performance over time. In this context, we aim to provide a presentation of insights from selected literature studying the impact of point-to-point guarantees and cliquet-style interest rate guarantees on the performance of pension contracts. The comparative analysis emphasizes that, in most cases, guarantee costs are not negligible with regard to a contract’s financial performance, especially compared to benchmarks, and that customers knowingly opt for such guarantees (or not) is, thus, indispensable. To further investigate the willingness-to-pay for guarantees in life insurance is an area for future research, in particular for innovative contract design.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9091
    Topics: Economics
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 1138-1154: One Shared Region and Two Different Change Patterns: Land Use Change in the Binational Californian Mediterranean Region (2015)
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    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-11-26
    Description: The Californian Floristic Province, ranging from Northern California, USA, to the northwestern portion of the state of Baja California, Mexico, is a region of great biological richness that has a high risk of loss of species due to the effect of human activities. The main stressor that threatens its biodiversity is the change in land use and vegetation cover, which severely impacts the environmental and socio-economic systems’ functioning, affecting the provision of environmental services including the maintenance of biodiversity. The Tijuana River Watershed (TRW) is located within this floristic province. It has experienced rapid population growth during the last 50 years, demanding development of infrastructure in areas where native vegetation existed. As a binational watershed, it is an ideal area to study the processes involved in fragmentation and connectivity of natural environments, since both countries, while sharing the same environment, contrast greatly in their economic and social systems, which impose different pressures to these shared natural resources. Our research addresses change in vegetation cover and land use in the TRW, analyzing the changes and differences between Mexico and the United States. This analysis will be a basis to propose future management strategies for the conservation of ecological processes and biodiversity, according to the policies and actions for land management and conservation in both countries.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 1155-1181: Forest Transition in Madagascar’s Highlands: Initial Evidence and Implications (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-11-26
    Description: Madagascar is renowned for the loss of the forested habitat of lemurs and other species endemic to the island. Less well known is that in the highlands, a region often described as an environmental “basket-case” of fire-degraded, eroded grasslands, woody cover has been increasing for decades. Using information derived from publically available high- and medium-resolution satellites, this study characterizes tree cover dynamics in the highlands of Madagascar over the past two decades. Our results reveal heterogeneous patterns of increased tree cover on smallholder farms and village lands, spurred by a mix of endogenous and exogenous forces. The new trees play important roles in rural livelihoods, providing renewable supplies of firewood, charcoal, timber and other products and services, as well as defensible claims to land tenure in the context of a decline in the use of hillside commons for grazing. This study documents this nascent forest transition through Land Change Science techniques, and provides a prologue to political ecological analysis by setting these changes in their social and environmental context and interrogating the costs and benefits of the shift in rural livelihood strategies.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Resources, Vol. 4, Pages 871-902: A Comparative Analysis of Energy Usage and Energy Efficiency Behavior in Low- and High-Income Households: The Case of Kitwe, Zambia (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Resources
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-11-26
    Description: Energy efficiency has been an important topic since the latter part of the last century. This is because adoption of energy efficiency measures has been acknowledged as one of the key methods of addressing the negative impact of climate change. In Zambia, however, the need to adopt energy efficiency measures has not just been driven by the imperative to mitigate the negative effects of climate change but also by a critical shortage of energy. This research looks at households’ energy consumption behavior in low- and high-income areas of Kitwe. Recent studies on the relationship between household energy consumption and behavioral lifestyle have been descriptive, with limited emphasis on the relationships between various variables. In this study, descriptive and inferential statistics have been used to investigate relationships between the two income groups and various energy consumption-related variables such as knowledge about energy reduction measures, energy saving strategies, barriers to the use of energy saving strategies, and the motives for using energy reduction strategies. Methodologically, the study was largely quantitative in nature, with questionnaires administered to a combined total of 56 households. However, key interviews were also conducted that helped us to get a clearer understanding of some of the issues covered in the research. Key findings are that whereas the descriptive statistics show that there are behavioral differences between the two income groups, the inferential statistics show that there is no relationship between income level and the energy efficiency variables. This has been found to be consistent with results from studies done elsewhere. The key lesson is that there is low usage of energy efficiency measures in both low- and high-income areas and that the authorities need to change the way information is disseminated to consumers from the current method of advertising to social diffusion.
    Electronic ISSN: 2079-9276
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 1060-1089: Changing Livelihoods and Landscapes in the Rural Eastern Cape, South Africa: Past Influences and Future Trajectories (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Land
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-11-20
    Description: This paper seeks to understand the drivers and pathways of local livelihood change and the prospects for transformation towards a more sustainable future. Data are used from several studies, and a participatory social learning process, which formed part of a larger project in two sites in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Secondary information from a wealth of related work is used to place our results within the historic context and more general trends in the country. Findings indicate that livelihoods in the rural Eastern Cape are on new trajectories. Agricultural production has declined markedly, at a time when the need for diversification of livelihoods and food security seems to be at a premium. This decline is driven by a suite of drivers that interact with, and are influenced by, other changes and stresses affecting local livelihoods. We distil out the factors, ranging from historical processes to national policies and local dynamics, that hamper peoples’ motivation and ability to respond to locally identified vulnerabilities and, which, when taken together, could drive households into a trap. We end by considering the transformations required to help local people evade traps and progress towards a more promising future in a context of increasing uncertainty.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 1030-1059: “Nothing Is Like It Was Before”: The Dynamics between Land-Use and Land-Cover, and Livelihood Strategies in the Northern Vietnam Borderlands (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Land
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-11-19
    Description: Land uses are changing rapidly in Vietnam’s upland northern borderlands. Regional development platforms such as the Greater Mekong Subregion, state-propelled market integration and reforestation programs, and lowland entrepreneurs and migrants are all impacting this frontier landscape. Drawing on a mixed methods approach using remote sensing data from 2000 to 2009 and ethnographic fieldwork, we examine how land-use and land-cover change (LULCC) has occurred across three borderland provinces—Lai Châu, Lào Cai and Hà Giang—with high proportions of ethnic minority semi-subsistence farmers. After a broad examination of regional land-use changes, we select three case studies to further analyze the underlying relationships between specific LULCC and local livelihood diversification strategies. These include specific patterns of urban growth due to a range of political decisions in Lai Châu and Lào Cai Provinces; reforestation due to non-timber forest (NTFP) product cultivation in the west of Lào Cai Province; and a stable landscape that restricts government attempts at refashioning upland livelihoods in the east of Hà Giang. Our findings point to the difficulties of completing LULCC maps for this highly heterogeneous region and the complexity of LULCC and livelihood interactions and relationships examined on the ground.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 1110-1137: Investigating Impacts of Alternative Crop Market Scenarios on Land Use Change with an Agent-Based Model (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-11-25
    Description: We developed an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate farmers’ decisions on crop type and fertilizer application in response to commodity and biofuel crop prices. Farm profit maximization constrained by farmers’ profit expectations for land committed to biofuel crop production was used as the decision rule. Empirical parameters characterizing farmers’ profit expectations were derived from an agricultural landowners and operators survey and integrated in the ABM. The integration of crop production cost models and the survey information in the ABM is critical to producing simulations that can provide realistic insights into agricultural land use planning and policy making. Model simulations were run with historical market prices and alternative market scenarios for corn price, soybean to corn price ratio, switchgrass price, and switchgrass to corn stover ratio. The results of the comparison between simulated cropland percentage and crop rotations with satellite-based land cover data suggest that farmers may be underestimating the effects that continuous corn production has on yields. The simulation results for alternative market scenarios based on a survey of agricultural land owners and operators in the Clear Creek Watershed in eastern Iowa show that farmers see cellulosic biofuel feedstock production in the form of perennial grasses or corn stover as a more risky enterprise than their current crop production systems, likely because of market and production risks and lock in effects. As a result farmers do not follow a simple farm-profit maximization rule.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 1083-1094: The San Francisco MSM Epidemic: A Retrospective Analysis (2015)
    MDPI
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-11-25
    Description: We investigate various scenarios for ending the San Francisco MSM (men having sex with men) HIV/AIDS epidemic (1978–1984). We use our previously developed model and explore changes due to prevention strategies such as testing, treatment and reduction of the number of contacts. Here we consider a “what-if” scenario, by comparing different treatment strategies, to determine which factor has the greatest impact on reducing the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The factor determining the future of the epidemic is the reproduction number R0; if R0 〈 1, the epidemic is stopped. We show that treatment significantly reduces the total number of infected people. We also investigate the effect a reduction in the number of contacts after seven years, when the HIV/AIDS threat became known, would have had in the population. Both reduction of contacts and treatment alone, however, would not have been enough to bring R0 below one; but when combined, we show that the effective R0 becomes less than one, and therefore the epidemic would have been eradicated.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Chromatography, Vol. 2, Pages 655-668: Hyphenation of Field-Flow Fractionation and Magnetic Particle Spectroscopy (2015)
    MDPI
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-11-26
    Description: Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) exhibit unique magnetic properties making them ideally suited for a variety of biomedical applications. Depending on the desired magnetic effect, MNPs must meet special magnetic requirements which are mainly determined by their structural properties (e.g., size distribution). The hyphenation of chromatographic separation techniques with complementary detectors is capable of providing multidimensional information of submicron particles. Although various methods have already been combined for this approach, so far, no detector for the online magnetic analysis was used. Magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) has been proven a straightforward technique for specific quantification and characterization of MNPs. It combines high sensitivity with high temporal resolution; both of these are prerequisites for a successful hyphenation with chromatographic separation. We demonstrate the capability of MPS to specifically detect and characterize MNPs under usually applied asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (A4F) conditions (flow rates, MNP concentration, different MNP types). To this end MPS has been successfully integrated into an A4F multidetector platform including dynamic ligth scattering (DLS), multi-angle light scattering (MALS) and ultraviolet (UV) detection. Our system allows for rapid and comprehensive characterization of typical MNP samples for the systematic investigation of structure-dependent magnetic properties. This has been demonstrated by magnetic analysis of the commercial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent Ferucarbotran (FER) during hydrodynamic A4F fractionation.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-9075
    Topics: Chemistry and Pharmacology
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 1032-1044: A Fast O(N logN) Finite Difference Method for the One-Dimensional Space-Fractional Diffusion Equation (2015)
    MDPI
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-10-28
    Description: This paper proposes an approach for the space-fractional diffusion equation in one dimension. Since fractional differential operators are non-local, two main difficulties arise after discretization and solving using Gaussian elimination: how to handle the memory requirement of O(N2) for storing the dense or even full matrices that arise from application of numerical methods and how to manage the significant computational work count of O(N3) per time step, where N is the number of spatial grid points. In this paper, a fast iterative finite difference method is developed, which has a memory requirement of O(N) and a computational cost of O(N logN) per iteration. Finally, some numerical results are shown to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the new method.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 1001-1031: A Cohomology Theory for Commutative Monoids (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-10-28
    Description: Extending Eilenberg–Mac Lane’s cohomology of abelian groups, a cohomology theory is introduced for commutative monoids. The cohomology groups in this theory agree with the pre-existing ones by Grillet in low dimensions, but they differ beyond dimension two. A natural interpretation is given for the three-cohomology classes in terms of braided monoidal groupoids.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    Climate, Vol. 3, Pages 349-364: Statistical Seasonal Rainfall Forecast in the Neuquén River Basin (Comahue Region, Argentina) (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Climate
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    Publication Date: 2015-05-30
    Description: A detailed statistical analysis was performed at the Neuquén river basin using precipitation data for 1980–2007. The hydrological year begins in March with a maximum in June associated with rainfall and another relative maximum in October derived from snow-break. General features of the rainy season and the excess or deficits thereof are analyzed using standardized precipitation index (SPI) for a six-month period in the basin. The SPI has a significant cycle of 14.3 years; the most severe excess (SPI greater than 2) has a return period of 25 years, while the most severe droughts (SPI less than −2) have a return period of 10 years. The SPI corresponding to the rainy season (April–September) (SPI9) has no significant trend and is used to classify wet/dry years. In order to establish the previous circulation patterns associated with interannual SPI9 variability, the composite fields of wet and dry years are compared. There is a tendency for wet (dry) periods to take place during El Niño (La Niña) years, when there are positive anomalies of precipitable water over the basin, when the zonal flow over the Pacific Ocean is weakened (intensified) and/or when there are negative pressure anomalies in the southern part of the country and Antarctic sea. Some prediction schemes using multiple linear regressions were performed. One of the models derived using the forward stepwise method explained 42% of the SPI9 variance and retained two predictors related to circulation over the Pacific Ocean: one of them shows the relevance of the intensity of zonal flow in mid-latitudes, and the other is because of the influence of low pressure near the Neuquén River basin. The cross-validation used to prove model efficiency showed a correlation of 0.41 between observed and estimated SPI9; there was a probability of detection of wet (dry) years of 80% (65%) and a false alarm relation of 25% in both cases.
    Electronic ISSN: 2225-1154
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geosciences
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    Climate, Vol. 3, Pages 365-390: Sensitivity of Horn of Africa Rainfall to Regional Sea Surface Temperature Forcing (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Climate
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-05-30
    Description: The Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) version 4.4 Regional Climate Model (RegCM4) is used to investigate the rainfall response to cooler/warmer sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) forcing in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. The effect of SSTA forcing in a specific ocean basin is identified by ensemble, averaging 10 individual simulations in which a constant or linearly zonally varying SSTA is prescribed in individual basins while specifying the 1971–2000 monthly varying climatological sea surface temperature (SST) across the remaining model domain. The nonlinear rainfall response to SSTA amplitude also is investigated by separately specifying +1K, +2K, and +4K SSTA forcing in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The simulation results show that warm SSTs over the entire Indian Ocean produce drier conditions across the larger Blue Nile catchment, whereas warming ≥ +2K generates large positive rainfall anomalies exceeding 10 mm·day−1 over drought prone regions of Northeastern Ethiopia. However, the June–September rainy season tends to be wetter (drier) when the SST warming (cooling) is limited to either the Northern or Southern Indian Ocean. Wet rainy seasons generally are characterized by deepening of the monsoon trough, east of 40°E, intensification of the Mascarene high, strengthening of the Somali low level jet and the tropical easterly jet, enhanced zonal and meridional vertically integrated moisture fluxes, and steeply vertically decreasing moist static energy. The opposite conditions hold for dry monsoon seasons.
    Electronic ISSN: 2225-1154
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geosciences
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 368-381: Temperature Effects on the Growth Rates and Photosynthetic Activities of Symbiodinium Cells (2015)
    MDPI
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-06-02
    Description: Coral bleaching is caused by environmental stress and susceptibility to bleaching stress varies among types of coral. The physiological properties of the algal symbionts (Symbiodinium spp.), especially extent of damage to PSII and its repair capacity, contribute importantly to this variability in stress susceptibility. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the growth rates and photosynthetic activities of six cultured strains of Symbiodinium spp. (clades A, B, C, D, and F) at elevated temperature (33 °C). We also observed the recovery of photodamaged-PSII in the presence or absence of a chloroplast protein synthesis inhibitor (lincomycin). The growth rates and photochemical efficiencies of PSII (Fv/Fm) decreased in parallel at high temperature in thermally sensitive strains, B-K100 (clade B followed by culture name) and A-Y106, but not in a thermally tolerant strain, F-K102 and D-K111. In strains A-KB8 and C-Y103, growth declined markedly at high temperature, but Fv/Fm decreased only slightly. These strains may reallocate energy from growth to the repair of damaged photosynthetic machineries or protection pathways. Alternatively, since recoveries of photo-damaged PSII at 33 °C were modest in strains A-KB8 and C-Y103, thermal stressing of other metabolic pathways may have reduced growth rates in these two strains. This possibility should be explored in future research efforts.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Mathematics, Vol. 3, Pages 428-443: The 1st Law of Thermodynamics for the Mean Energy of a Closed Quantum System in the Aharonov-Vaidman Gauge (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-02
    Description: The Aharonov-Vaidman gauge additively transforms the mean energy of a quantum mechanical system into a weak valued system energy. In this paper, the equation of motion of this weak valued energy is used to provide a mathematical statement of an extended 1st Law of Thermodynamics that is applicable to the mean energy of a closed quantum system when the mean energy is expressed in the Aharonov-Vaidman gauge, i.e., when the system’s energy is weak valued. This is achieved by identifying the generalized heat and work exchange terms that appear in the equation of motion for weak valued energy. The complex valued contributions of the additive gauge term to these generalized exchange terms are discussed and this extended 1st Law is shown to subsume the usual 1st Law that is applicable for the mean energy of a closed quantum system. It is found that the gauge transformation introduces an additional energy uncertainty exchange term that—while it is neither a heat nor a work exchange term—is necessary for the conservation of weak valued energy. A spin-1/2 particle in a uniform magnetic field is used to illustrate aspects of the theory. It is demonstrated for this case that the extended 1st Law implies the existence of a gauge potential ω and that it generates a non-vanishing gauge field F. It is also shown for this case that the energy uncertainty exchange accumulated during the evolution of the system along a closed evolutionary cycle C in an associated parameter space is a geometric phase. This phase is equal to both the path integral of ω along C and the integral of the flux of F through the area enclosed by C.
    Electronic ISSN: 2227-7390
    Topics: Mathematics
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    JMSE, Vol. 3, Pages 356-367: Directional Storm Surge in Enclosed Seas: The Red Sea, the Adriatic, and Venice (2015)
    MDPI
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    Publication Date: 2015-05-30
    Description: Storm surge is dependent on wind direction, with maximum surge heights occurring when strong winds blow onshore. It is less obvious what happens when a port city is situated at the end of a long narrow gulf, like Venice at the northwestern end of the Adriatic Sea. Does the narrow marine approach to the port city limit the dangerous wind direction to a span of only a few degrees? This modeling study shows that the response in surge height to wind direction is a sinusoidal curve for port cities at the end of a long inlet, as well as for cities exposed along a straight coastline. Surge height depends on the cosine of the angle between the wind direction and the major axis of the narrow gulf. There is no special protection from storm surge afforded by a narrow ocean-going approach to a port city.
    Electronic ISSN: 2077-1312
    Topics: Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
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    Land, Vol. 4, Pages 454-474: Revealing Regional Deforestation Dynamics in North-Eastern Madagascar—Insights from Multi-Temporal Land Cover Change Analysis (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Land
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    Publication Date: 2015-05-30
    Description: The north-eastern escarpment of Madagascar harbours the island’s last remaining large-scale humid forest massifs surrounded by a small-scale agricultural mosaic. There is high deforestation, commonly thought to be caused by shifting cultivation practiced by local land users to produce upland rice. However, little is known about the dynamics between forest and shifting cultivation systems at a regional level. Our study presents a first attempt to quantify changes in the extent of forest and different agricultural land cover classes, and to identify the main dynamics of land cover change for two intervals, 1995–2005 and 2005–2011. Over the 16-year study period, the speed of forest loss increased, the total area of upland rice production remained almost stable, and the area of irrigated rice fields slightly increased. While our findings seem to confirm a general trend of land use intensification, deforestation through shifting cultivation is still on the rise. Deforestation mostly affects the small forest fragments interspersed in the agricultural mosaic and is slowly leading to a homogenization of the landscape. These findings have important implications for future interventions to slow forest loss in the region, as the processes of agricultural expansion through shifting cultivation versus intensified land use cannot per se be considered mutually exclusive.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-445X
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
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    Agronomy, Vol. 5, Pages 188-199: The Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Rhizophagus intraradices Reduces the Negative Effects of Arsenic on Soybean Plants (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Agronomy
    Details
    Publication Date: 2015-05-30
    Description: Arsenic (As) in soils causes several detrimental effects, including death. Arsenic toxicity in soybean plants (Glycine max L.) has been little studied. Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) increase the tolerance of host plants to abiotic stress, like As. We investigated the effects of AM fungi on soybean grown in As-contaminated soils. A pot experiment was carried out in a glasshouse, at random with five replications. We applied three levels of As (0, 25, and 50 mg As kg−1), inoculated and non-inoculated with the AM fungus Rhizophagus intraradices (N.C. Schenck & G.S. Sm.) C. Walker & A. Schüßler. Plant parameters and mycorrhizal colonization were measured. Arsenic in the substrate, roots, and leaves was quantified. Arsenic negatively affected the AM percentage of spore germination and hyphal length. As also affected soybean plants negatively: an extreme treatment caused a reduction of more than 77.47% in aerial biomass, 68.19% in plant height, 78.35% in number of leaves, and 44.96% reduction in root length, and delayed the phenological evolution. Mycorrhizal inoculation improved all of these parameters, and decreased plant As accumulation (from 7.8 mg As kg−1 to 6.0 mg As kg−1). AM inoculation showed potential to reduce As toxicity in contaminated areas. The AM fungi decreased As concentration in plants following different ways: dilution effect, less As intake by roots, and improving soybean tolerance to As.
    Electronic ISSN: 2073-4395
    Topics: Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition , Economics
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    Climate, Vol. 3, Pages 391-415: Detailed Urban Heat Island Projections for Cities Worldwide: Dynamical Downscaling CMIP5 Global Climate Models (2015)
    MDPI
    In: Climate
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    Publication Date: 2015-06-02
    Description: A new dynamical downscaling methodology to analyze the impact of global climate change on the local climate of cities worldwide is presented. The urban boundary layer climate model UrbClim is coupled to 11 global climate models contained in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 archive, conducting 20-year simulations for present (1986–2005) and future (2081–2100) climate conditions, considering the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 climate scenario. The evolution of the urban heat island of eight different cities, located on three continents, is quantified and assessed, with an unprecedented horizontal resolution of a few hundred meters. For all cities, urban and rural air temperatures are found to increase strongly, up to 7 °C. However, the urban heat island intensity in most cases increases only slightly, often even below the range of uncertainty. A potential explanation, focusing on the role of increased incoming longwave radiation, is put forth. Finally, an alternative method for generating urban climate projections is proposed, combining the ensemble temperature change statistics and the results of the present-day urban climate.
    Electronic ISSN: 2225-1154
    Topics: Energy, Environment Protection, Nuclear Power Engineering , Geosciences
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