ALBERT

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 26 May 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): M.K. Gueddouda, I. Goual, B. Benabed, S. Taibi, N. Aboubekr This paper presents a study on the valorization of local materials such as desert dune sand obtained from Laghouat region in the South Algeria and mine bentonite intended for the realization of liner base layers in the conception of insulation barriers for hazardous waste facilities. In practice, an economical mixture satisfying the hydraulic requirements is generally concerned. First, in order to get an adequate dune sand-bentonite mixture compacted to the optimum Proctor condition, an investigation on saturated hydraulic behavior is carried out in this study for different mixtures. Using oedometer test (indirect measurement), the adequate mixture of 85% dune sand and 15% bentonite satisfies the conditions of saturated hydraulic conductivity ( k 〈 10 -9 m/s). This result of the adequate mixture is also confirmed by direct measurement of saturated hydraulic conductivity using triaxial cell. Second, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of the adequate mixture is measured with an original vapor equilibrium technique (VET) used for S r 〈 30% (very high suction s > 3 MPa). This technique is conducted based on the exploitation of the water retention curve in order to establish the relationships between hydraulic conductivity, degree of saturation, and suction. It shows that the hydraulic conductivity increases with the degree of saturation and decreases with the suction. However, the hydraulic conductivity has a constant value for suctions larger than 20 MPa. The selected dune sand-bentonite mixture satisfies the regulation requirements and hence constitutes a good local and economical material for the conception of barrier base liners.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 26 May 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Murtala Umar, Khairul Anuar Kassim, Kenny Tiong, Ping Chiet The concept of using biological process in soil improvement which is known as bio-mediated soil improvement technique has shown greater potential in geotechnical engineering applications in terms of performance and environmental sustainability. This paper presents a review on the soil microorganisms responsible for this process, and factors that affect their metabolic activities and geometric compatibility with the soil particle sizes. Two mechanisms of biomineralization, i.e. biologically controlled and biologically induced mineralization, were also discussed. Environmental and other factors that may be encountered in situ during microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) and their influences on the process were identified and presented. Improvements in the engineering properties of soil such as strength/stiffness and permeability as evaluated in some studies were explored. Potential applications of the process in geotechnical engineering and the challenges of field application of the process were identified.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 26 May 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): An-Bin Huang, Chien-Chih Wang, Jui-Ting Lee, Yen-Te Ho Over the past few decades, many optical fiber sensing techniques have been developed. Among these available sensing methods, optical fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is probably the most popular one. With its unique capabilities, FBG-based geotechnical sensors can be used as a sensor array for distributive (profile) measurements, deployed under water (submersible), for localized high resolution and/or differential measurements. The authors have developed a series of FBG-based transducers that include inclination, linear displacement and gauge/differential pore pressure sensors. Techniques that involve the field deployment of FBG inclination, extension and pore-pressure sensor arrays for automated slope stability and ground subsidence monitoring have been developed. The paper provides a background of FBG and the design concepts behind the FBG-based field monitoring sensors. Cases of field monitoring using the FBG sensor arrays are presented, and their practical implications are discussed.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 21 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Jianlin Feng, Jin Wei, Yujuan Tan, Jianzeng Qin, Bangwu Huang, Ruyi Xie In this study, a classic survey adjustment computation method was used for data obtained in the Inner Mongolia and Ningxia gravimetric networks between September 2013 and April 2015 so as to investigate the variation of gravity before the Alxa Zuoqi M 5.8 earthquake. The relationship between gravity variation and the Alxa Zuoqi M 5.8 earthquake was analyzed. The results showed that: (1) the severe variation in gravity field at the test sites before the Alxa Zuoqi M 5.8 earthquake, as well as the subsequent accelerated rising, might be an earthquake precursor; (2) the Alxa Zuoqi M 5.8 earthquake occurred at the turning point where the high-gravity gradient zone changed from the NE direction to NW.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 30 June 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Iman Khajehzadeh, Brenda Vale, Fatemeh Yavari For many years central court houses have been used in parts of Iran with different climates. Though initially there appear to be many similarities, some aspects of these houses vary from one climatic zone to another. Several studies have also suggested that users of these houses moved within them as they sought for better thermal situations. This article sets out how differing sizes, forms and dimensional ratios of central courts in two climate zones of Iran (Yazd, hot and dry, and Bushehr, hot and humid) can support this behaviour. In both places these central court forms can provide good situations for human comfort on various sides and levels of the court. Consequently, residents could move within the house with the seasons to get their desired level of thermal comfort but these traditional patterns of movement differ for each climate zone.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 30 June 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Aziz. I. Abdulla, Hashim Abdul Razak, Yassen Ali Salih, Muataz Ibrahim Ali This study is an experimental investigation into the properties of adhesive before and after mixing with fine sand, and its behavior on reinforced concrete beams strengthened by CFRP to show the effects of modified adhesive on load-carrying capacity, ductility, stiffness and failure mode of the reinforced concrete beams. Compressive strength, flexural strength and the effect of high temperature on these properties were the focus of the current study in order to prove the efficiency of adding fine sand to improve adhesive properties and reduce cost. Based on the compressive and flexural tests, results indicated that the addition of sand to the adhesive improved its mechanical properties when sand is 50% of the total weight of the adhesive. However, its effect on the modulus of elasticity is minimal. Using adhesive with fine sand increased the ultimate load bearing capacity, ductility, stiffness and toughness of the reinforced concrete beams strengthened by CFRP. The ratio of the fine sand to the adhesive equal to 1 is considered the best in terms of the cost reduction, maintaining workability, as well as maintaining the mechanical properties. Lastly, the use of fine sand with adhesive ensured a significant reduction in the cost of the adhesive and increased the adhesive resistance to temperature.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 30 June 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Adil Umer, Kasun Hewage, Husnain Haider, Rehan Sadiq Growing environmental and socioeconomic concerns due to rapid urbanization, population growth and climate change impacts have motivated decision-makers to incorporate sustainable best practices for transportation infrastructure development and management. A “sustainable” transportation infrastructure implies that all the sustainability objectives (i.e., mobility, safety, resource efficiency, economy, ecological protection, environmental quality) are adequately met during the infrastructure life cycle. State-of-the-art sustainability rating tools contain the best practices for the sustainability assessment of infrastructure projects. Generally, the existing rating tools are not well equipped to handle uncertainties associated with data limitations and expert opinion and cannot effectively adapt to site specific constraints for reliable sustainability assessment. This paper presents the development of a customizable tool, called “Green Proforma” for the sustainability assessment of roadway projects under uncertainties. For evaluating how well the project meets sustainability objectives, a hierarchical framework is used to develop the sustainability objective indices by aggregating the selected indicators with the help of fuzzy synthetic evaluation technique. These indices are further aggregated to attain an overall sustainability index for a roadway project. To facilitate the decision makers, a “Roadway Project Sustainometer” has been developed to illustrate how well the roadway project is meeting its sustainability objectives. By linking the sustainability objectives to measurable indicators, the “Green Proforma” paves the way for a practical approach in sustainable planning and management of roadway projects.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 12 July 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Jnyanendra Kumar Prusty, Sanjaya Kumar Patro, S.S. Basarkar High demand of natural resources due to rapid urbanization and the disposal problem of agricultural wastes in developed countries have created opportunities for use of agro-waste in the construction industry. Many agricultural waste materials are already used in concrete as replacement alternatives for cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate and reinforcing materials. This paper reviews some of the agro-waste materials, which are used as a partial replacement of fine aggregate in concrete. Different properties of fresh and hardened concrete, their durability and thermal conductivity when admixed with agro-wastes are reviewed. Agro-waste used in self-compacting concrete and mortar are also reviewed and their properties are compared. It has been seen that the agro-waste concrete containing groundnut shell, oyster shell, cork, rice husk ash and tobacco waste showed better workability than their counterparts did. Agro-waste concrete containing bagasse ash, sawdust ash and oyster shell achieved their required strength by 20% of replacement as fine aggregate, which were maximum among all agro-waste type concrete. Close relations were predicted among compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity and elastic modulus of agro-waste concrete. Addition of bagasse ash as fine aggregate in mortar increased the resistance of chloride penetration whereas inclusion of cork in mortar showed better thermal resistance and improved cyclic performance. After the review, it is of considerable finding that more research is deserved on all fine aggregates replacing agro-waste materials, which can give more certainty on their utilization in concrete.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 5 July 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): R. Nagaraj, D. Thirugnanamurthy, Manik Murthy Rajput, B.K. Panigrahi Water and energy are two inseparable commodities that govern the lives of humanity and promote civilization. Energy can be used to produce water in case of scarcity in water. Ironically most of the places that are water stressed are also energy stressed. The cost of extending grid power may be prohibitively high in those cases. Rural/remote locations like hills and islands multiply the problem to a larger magnitude. Use of renewable sources like solar, wind, biomass and other locally available energy sources is the only solution. But these renewable sources are of intermittent nature and have poor availability. Hence, it is practically difficult to produce water with a single source of energy. Naturally, combining two or more sources of energy, known as hybrid power system, is the next available option. This paper carries out a techno-economic analysis of various sizing combinations of systems with solar photo voltaic, wind energy and stored energy in batteries for production of drinking water from a brackish water source. The system can operate the RO plant whenever the power is available, produce drinking water and store in a tank. This paper analyses the model of the entire hybrid power system in MATLAB to simulate the performance of the hybrid power system for different combinations of capacities. Results of the analysis under various input conditions are analyzed.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 26 July 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Yaxuan Hu, Ming Hao, Lingyun Ji, Shangwu Song Hainan Island is a seismic active region, where Qiongshan M 7.5 earthquake occurred in 1605 and several seismic belts appeared in recent years, especially the NS trending seismic belt (NSB) located in the northeast part of the island. Here is also a magmatic active region. The lava from about 100 volcanoes covered more than 4000 km 2 . The latest eruptions occurred on Ma'anling–Lei Huling volcanoes within 10,000 years. The neotectonic movement has been determined by geological method in the island and its adjacent areas. In the paper, the present-day 3D crustal movement is obtained by using Global Positioning System (GPS) data observed from 2009 to 2014 and leveling observations measured in 1970s and 1990s respectively. The results show the horizontal movement is mainly along SEE direction relative to the Eurasian Plate. The velocities are between 4.01 and 6.70 mm/a. The tension rate near the NSB is less than 1 mm/a. The vertical movement shows the island uplifts as a whole with respect to the reference benchmark Xiuyinggang. The average uplifting rate is 2.4 mm/a. The rates are 2–3 mm/a in the northwest and 3–5mm/a in the northwest. It shows the deformation pattern of the southwest island is upward relative to the northeast, which is different from the result inferred from the coastal change and GPS. Haikou and its adjacent region present a subsidence in a long time. The southern part of the middle segment of the Wangwu-Wenjiao fault uplifts relative to the northern. Meanwhile, the western part uplifts relative to the eastern NSB. The vertical crustal motion and the two normal faults nearly correspond to the terrain. The NSB is located along the Puqiangang-Dazhibo fault, which is assessed as a segmented fault with a dip of 80°–90°and partly exposed. The 3D deformations and other studies reveal the present activities of earthquakes, volcanoes and the faults. The small earthquakes will still occur in the NS belt and the volcanoes are not active now.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 24 March 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Yunzhi Tan, Mozhen Hu, Dianqing Li Lateritic soil with high liquid-limits is commonly used for roadbed construction. However lateritic soil has properties that are sensitive to moisture, and therefore a common method of treating the soil is by adding lime to it. However, it is difficult to mix lime with lateritic soil homogeneously in the field as lateritic soil is prone to agglomeration. Therefore, agglomeration size is important and in this study, soil agglomerates are tested for their California bearing ratio (CBR). Lime (Ca(OH) 2 ) is added to one of the groups of soil samples and the other group is left untreated. The results show that soil that has been treated with lime both hardens and softens, which is related to the agglomerate size, whereas the untreated soil just hardens. The agglomerate size that corresponds to the maximum CBR value is not consistent with that of maximum dry density. Moreover, the CBR values of soil that has been treated with lime are higher than those of the untreated soil for an agglomerate size that ranges from 0.5 mm to 2 cm. Beyond this range, the addition of lime does not improve the lateritic soil. Compaction status and water intrusion are two important influential factors on CBR values. Therefore, it is necessary to take further measures to prevent moisture infiltration and migration of water.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 25 March 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Xinlin Zhang, Shuhei Okubo, Yoshiyuki Tanaka, Hui Li The greatest earthquake in the modern history of Japan and probably the fourth greatest in the last 100 years in the world occurred on March 11, 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku. Large tsunami and ground motions caused severe damage in wide areas, particularly many towns along the Pacific coast. So far, gravity change caused by such a great earthquake has been reported for the 1964 Alaska and the 2010 Maule events. However, the spatial-temporal resolution of the gravity data for these cases is insufficient to depict a co-seismic gravity field variation in a spatial scale of a plate subduction zone. Here, we report an unequivocal co-seismic gravity change over the Japanese island, obtained from a hybrid gravity observation (combined absolute and relative gravity measurements). The time interval of the observation before and after the earthquake is within 1 year at almost all the observed sites, including 13 absolute and 16 relative measurement sites, which deduced tectonic and environmental contributions to the gravity change. The observed gravity agrees well with the result calculated by a dislocation theory based on a self-gravitating and layered spherical earth model. In this computation, a co-seismic slip distribution is determined by an inversion of Global Positioning System (GPS) data. Of particular interest is that the observed gravity change in some area is negative where a remarkable subsidence is observed by GPS, which can not be explained by simple vertical movement of the crust. This indicated that the mass redistribution in the underground affects the gravity change. This result supports the result that Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites detected a crustal dilatation due to the 2004 Sumatra earthquake by the terrestrial observation with a higher spatial and temporal resolution.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 25 March 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Lifen Zhang, Jinggang Li, Wulin Liao, Qiuliang Wang On 25 April, 2015, an M w7.9 earthquake occurred in Nepal, which caused great economic loss and casualties. However, almost no surface ruptures were observed. Therefore, in order to interpret the phenomenon, we study the rupture process of the earthquake to seek answers. Inversion of teleseismic body-wave data is applied to estimate the rupture process of the 2015 Nepal earthquake. To obtain stable solutions, smoothing and non-negative constraints are introduced. 48 teleseismic stations with good coverage are chosen. Finite fault model is established with length and width of 195 km and 150 km, and we set the initial seismic source parameters referring to CMT solutions. Inversion results indicate that the focal mechanism of this earthquake is a thrust fault type, and the strike, dip and rake angle are in accordance with CMT results. The seismic moment is 0.9195 × 10 21  Nm ( M w7.9), and source duration is about 70 s. The rupture nucleated near the hypocenter and then propagated along the dip direction to the southeast, and the maximum slip amounts to 5.2 m. Uncertainties on the amount of slip retrieved by different inversion methods still exist, the overall characteristics are inconsistent. The lack of shallow slip during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake implies future seismic hazard and this region should be paid more attention to.

Beschreibung: Publication date: June 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 6 Author(s): Haiyun Shi, Tiejian Li, Jiahua Wei, Wang Fu, Guangqian Wang Study region Three-River Headwaters (TRH) region, China. Study focus Precipitation is regarded as the basic component of the global hydrological cycle. This study investigated the spatial and temporal characteristics of precipitation over the TRH region during 1961–2014, based on the observed data of 29 meteorological stations. New hydrological insights for the region The results showed that: (1) temporally, the TRH region has experienced a significant increasing trend in the annual precipitation ( p 〈 0.1) during 1961–2014, especially in the dry season ( p 〈 0.01). (2) Spatially, the mean annual precipitation (MAP) in the TRH region showed the southeast-to-northwest decreasing trend and the annual precipitation recorded at most stations (i.e., 26 in 29) presented the increasing trends. (3) A close correlation of the MAP with elevation was found, that is, a low-to-high increasing trend below 3800 m but an inverse correlation above 3800 m; in addition, statistical equations to estimate precipitation with high R 2 values were established based on longitude, latitude and elevation. (4) Characteristics of related meteorological variables and possible impact of precipitation on runoff were analyzed and discussed. These results would be valuable for the researchers to better understand the changing characteristics of precipitation and for the managers to make better decisions in the future.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 4 April 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Long Zhang, Qiang Yang, Yaoru Liu The time-dependent behavior of the left bank abutment slope at Jinping I hydropower station has a major influence on the normal operation and long-term safety of the hydropower station. To solve this problem, a geomechanical model containing various faults and weak structural planes is established, and numerical simulation is conducted under normal water load condition using FLAC 3D , incorporating creep model proposed based on thermodynamics with internal state variables theory. The creep deformations of the left bank abutment slope are obtained, and the changes of principal stresses and deformations of the dam body are analyzed. The long-term stability of the left bank abutment slope is evaluated according to the integral curves of energy dissipation rate in domain and its derivative with respect to time, and the non-equilibrium evolution rules and the characteristic time can also be determined using these curves. Numerical results show that the left bank abutment slope tends to be stable in a global sense, and the stress concentration is released. It is also indicated that more attention should be paid to some weak regions within the slope in long-term deformation process.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 9 April 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Suinyuy Derrick Ngoran, Xiong Zhi Xue, Presley K. Wesseh We adapt the transcendental logarithmic (translog) production model to examine the role of water resources consumption on economic growth in 38 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. Labor, capital and energy are incorporated into the model to provide for omitted variable biased. Several findings have been documented from the investigation. First, the results suggest that economic growth in SSA is driven mainly by water and labor. Capital and energy were found not to significantly drive economic growth. Second, technical change in SSA is scale-biased and factor augmenting; suggesting that efficiency of water withdrawals and labor use would lead to technological progress in SSA. Third, substitution possibilities between water and labor exist indicating that restrictions on water withdrawals would lead to labor intensiveness and vice versa. Finally, a more general insight from the study is that efficient use of water resources promotes technological innovation and hence, critical for sustainable development.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 9 April 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Rosaria Ciriminna, Mario Pagliaro, Francesco Meneguzzo, Mario Pecoraino Following first attempts in the early 1980s that provided useful information on the reliability of the photovoltaic energy generation, Sicily’s remote islands share a number of pioneering achievements in the utilization of solar energy. This study aims to assess progress and the remaining gaps in the large-scale adoption of renewable energy in said numerous islands. We identify the most advantageous technologies and suggest pragmatic actions, so as to allow new stakeholder commitment for further progress in the forthcoming transition from fossil to renewable energy.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 28 December 2015 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Jin Li, WenBin Shen, Xuhua Zhou Earth's gravity model (EGM) helps people better determine the figure of Earth, which is generally represented by a global geoid. For a considerable amount of practical applications, people use quasi-geoid to approximate the geoid, thus the quasi-geoid is also treated as an important height datum. In this study we revisit the method to directly determine regional quasi-geoid using EGM and digital elevation model (DEM), on the basis of Molodensky theory. According to the method we obtain a 5′ × 5′ quasi-geoid for Mainland China and its vicinity areas, based on the EGM2008 gravitational potential model and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM model. By comparing height anomalies derived from EGM2008 with observations at 70 GPS/leveling points in areas including northwest, mid-west, mid-east and southeast of China, we find that the 5′ × 5′ EGM2008 quasi-geoid well fits the GPS/leveling results, with average deviations less than 10 cm for the selected areas in east China (with mainly plain topography) and ∼20 cm for the selected areas in west China (highland or mountainous areas). We also discuss a few technical issues for directly determining height anomalies based on EGM and DEM, under the frame of Molodensky theory.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 28 December 2015 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Youssef Timoulali, Nacer Jabour, Youssef Hahou, Mimoun Chourak This study presents the outcomes of the local earthquake tomography applied in the Moroccan Atlas domains. A seismic data collected by 36 seismic and a linearized inversion technics are used for determination of local velocity structure. The interpretation of tomography images results emphasizes a new and detailed lithosphere structure: a remaining subducted zone beneath the Souss Basin located from 20- to 45-km depth dipping to the North is detected and interpreted as a body that marks the border between the Moroccan Anti-Atlas and the Meseta-Atlas domains. A subduction zones is detected in the SW of the High Atlas, beneath the Hercynian Tichka massif from 10 to 50-km inclined away from Anti Atlas and in the eastern part of Anti Atlas, dipping northward from Jbel Ougnat at 15–40 km. The junction of the western and middle High Atlas is depicted by two high velocity blocks subducting from 10 to 50 km depth. The first is dipping SW beneath the High Atlas and the second is dipping SE beneath the Ouarzazate Basin. In the northern part of the southwestern High Atlas, a high velocity body dipping towards the north beneath the Essaouira Basin from 15 to 45 km depth. In northeastern part of the High Atlas in the Mougeur zone, a high velocity body is detected from 10 to 45 km depth, dipping to the S–E beneath the eastern High Atlas. The negative lithospheric anomalies found in the upper and in the lower crust are interpreted as a hot asthenospheric material upwelling from deep and gradually replacing the part of crust detached in the High Atlas. The occurrence magmatic activities in these regions testify the existence of a remaining subduction process. This paper argues the implication of these deep structures in the evolution of the Moroccan Atlas Mountain.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 29 December 2015 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Fuqiong Huang, Yong Chen, Ping Ji, Kexin Ren, Fuwang Gao, Lingkong Zhang The Kunlunshan Mountain M s8.1 earthquake, occurred in Nov.14, 2001, is the first event with magnitude more than 8 in the China earthquake monitoring history, specifically at the beginning of digital techniques in precursor monitoring networks. Any investigation of recorded data on this earthquake is very important for testing the operation of the digital monitoring networks and understanding the preparation, occurrence, and adjustment of stress/strain of strong continental earthquakes. In this paper we investigated the co-seismic response changes of well water level of groundwater and volume strain meter of bore hole in digital earthquake monitoring network of Capital area and its vicinity, due to the Nov.14, 2001 M s8.1 Kunlun Mountain earthquake. The responding time, shapes or manners, amplitudes, and lasting time of well water level and strain-meters to seismic wave are studied in comparison. Then we discussed the possibility that the response changes of groundwater to strong distant earthquakes can be understood as one kind of observing evidence of stress/strain changes induced by distant earthquake.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 29 December 2015 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Yankun Sun, Qi Li, Duoxing Yang, Xuehao Liu Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) geosequestration in deep saline aquifers has been currently deemed as a preferable and practicable mitigation means for reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions to the atmosphere, as deep saline aquifers can offer the greatest potential from a capacity point of view. Hence, research on core-scale CO 2 /brine multiphase migration processes is of great significance for precisely estimating storage efficiency, ensuring storage security, and predicting the long-term effects of the sequestered CO 2 in subsurface saline aquifers. This review article initially presents a brief description of the essential aspects of CO 2 subsurface transport and geological trapping mechanisms, and then outlines the state-of-the-art laboratory core flooding experimental apparatus that has been adopted for simulating CO 2 injection and migration processes in the literature over the past decade. Finally, a summary of the characteristics, components and applications of publicly reported core flooding equipment as well as major research gaps and areas in need of further study are given in relevance to laboratory-scale core flooding experiments in CO 2 geosequestration under reservoir conditions.

Beschreibung: Publication date: March 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 5 Author(s): Eric Nicolini, Karyne Rogers, Delphine Rakowski Study region Lifou Island, near the main island of New Caledonia. Study focus Stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of groundwater and rainfall were used to characterise baseline values for the main fresh water aquifer of Lifou Island and describe its recharge. Other stable isotope parameters (nitrates and DIC) were used to investigate the interaction between surface water (rainfall) and groundwater, including anthropogenic effects from human activities. New hydrological insights for the region This study represents the first baseline isotopic characterisation of Lifou Island’s groundwater aquifer composition and provides a reference for future investigative studies on groundwater quality and security. Groundwater sampled in June and October 2012 had nearly identical isotopic composition. Tap water sampled monthly between February 2012 and January 2014 also had a constant isotopic composition similar to the groundwater. Groundwater recharge was found to occur when monthly precipitation exceeded 140 mm, with the recharge cycle representing 20–30% of the annual rainfall. Relationships between HCO 3 2− content, pH, soil δ 13 C DIC and satellite photo interpretation suggests a variance of soil pCO 2 , which is explained by different vegetation cover and higher water use efficiencies in forested areas (high pCO 2 , more negative δ 13 C isotope values). The δ 15 N NO3 values for most groundwater indicate they are uncontaminated with anthropogenic nitrates, although some samples taken in October (dry season) showed a slight denitrification, possibly of natural origin.

Beschreibung: Publication date: December 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 5, Supplement 1 Author(s): Anonymous

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 7 January 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Chen Zhiyao, Lǖ Pinji, Tang Lei This work analyzes the quality of crustal tilt and strain observations during 2014, which were acquired from 269 sets of ground tiltmeters and 212 sets of strainmeters. In terms of data quality, the water tube tiltmeters presented the highest rate of excellent quality, approximately 91%, and the pendulum tiltmeters and ground strainmeters yielded rates of 81% and 78%, respectively. This means that a total of 380 sets of instruments produced high-quality observational data suitable for scientific investigations and analyses.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 10 December 2015 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Author(s): Tatsuya Utsunomiya, Masaki Hata, Ryo Sugimoto, Hisami Honda, Shiho Kobayashi, Yoji Miyata, Makoto Yamada, Osamu Tominaga, Jun Shoji, Makoto Taniguchi Study focus There have been far more studies on how the variability in surface water discharge affects production of animal communities in aquatic ecosystems while less information has been accumulated on the mechanisms of how the groundwater supply works. Study region Physical and biological surveys were conducted to test the hypothesis that high level of submarine ground water discharge enhances species richness, abundance and biomass of fishes and invertebrates in coastal waters of Obama Bay, Japan, where a high contribution of nutrients (ca. 65% of phosphorus) to total provided through all freshwater has been reported. Survey for horizontal distribution of radon-222 ( 222 Rn) concentration showed high levels of submarine groundwater discharge in the west part of survey area. Fish and invertebrate communities were compared within a relatively small spatial scale (ca. 100 m) in relation to level of submarine groundwater discharge. New hydrological insights Species richness, abundance and biomass of fishes and abundance and biomass of turban snail and hermit crab were significantly higher in the area with high 222 Rn concentration. Abundance of gammarids, the most major prey item of the fishes, was 18 times higher in the area with high 222 Rn concentration. Since the turban snail, hermit crab and gammarids feed on producers (phytoplankton and benthic microalgae), submarine groundwater are concluded to increase species richness and production of fishes and invertebrates through providing nutrients and enhancing primary production.

Beschreibung: Publication date: March 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 5 Author(s): A.C. de la Casa, G.G. Ovando Study region Changes in reference evapotranspiration (ET o ) may have important consequences for agricultural suitability in the central region of Argentina. Annual ET o variation was assessed, in terms of both territory and time, for the 7 decades between 1941 and 2010, analyzing the behavior of the 4 atmospheric variables which determine it: temperature, vapor pressure, wind speed and cloud cover. Study focus The influence of each variable on ET o was evaluated from a multiple regression model and a simple correlation analysis, using climate data from the observation network, and repeating this analysis using interpolated variables. In this grid scheme, linear relationships were determined between ET o and the different key atmospheric variables, plus precipitation (PP), and the t test was applied to establish the statistically significant sectors ( P 〈 0.1). Then, those areas with a significant trend change ( P 〈 0.1) were determined by the Mann–Kendall test. Finally, the interception of the grids was performed to establish their joint occurrence. New hydrological insights for the region Most of the region analyzed (>91%) presents a non-significant variation of ET o over time, with a mostly non-significant change of each driving variable, regarding both its relationship with ET o and its own trend of change. The beneficial change in agricultural suitability reported for this water-limited region was found to be produced almost exclusively by increasing PP. Graphical abstract

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 11 December 2015 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Author(s): Makoto Taniguchi, Naoki Masuhara, Kimberly Burnett Security measures of three resources; water, energy and food are analyzed for thirty two countries in the Asia Pacific region which are faced to Pacific Ocean, in terms of amounts of the resource, self-production, and diversity of sources of each resource. Diversity for all the three resources is also analyzed using surface water and groundwater for water sources; hydro power, geothermal power, solar, and biomass for energy; and cereals, vegetable, fruit, meat, and fish for food. We see high diversity of sources of water in the US and the Philippines, and a low diversity of sources of food in the US, Canada, and Indonesia. These security measures including water security show new hydrological insight for Asia-Pacific region.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 10 December 2015 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Author(s): Aiko Endo, Izumi Tsurita, Kimberly Burnett, Pedcris M. Orencio Study region Asia, Europe, Oceania, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. Study focus The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze the water, energy, and food nexus and regions of study, nexus keywords and stakeholders in order to understand the current state of nexus research. New hydrological insights Through selected 37 projects, four types of nexus research were identified including water–food, water–energy–food, water–energy, and climate related. Among them, six projects (16%) had a close linkage with water–food, 11 (30%) with water–energy–food, 12 (32%) with water–energy, and eight (22%) with climate. The regions were divided into Asia, Europe, Oceania, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa. North America and Oceania had a tendency to focus on a specific nexus type, water–energy (46%) and climate (43%), while Africa had less focus on water–energy (7%). Regarding keywords, out of 37 nexus projects, 16 projects listed keywords in their articles. There were 84 keywords in total, which were categorized by the author team depending on its relevance to water, food, energy, climate, and combination of water–food–energy–climate, and 40 out of 84 keywords were linked with water and only 4 were linked with climate. As for stakeholders, 77 out of 137 organizations were related to research and only two organizations had a role in media.

Beschreibung: Publication date: March 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 5 Author(s): Shilpa M. Asokan, Peter Rogberg, Arvid Bring, Jerker Jarsjö, Georgia Destouni Study region The large semi-arid Aral Region in Central Asia and the smaller tropical Mahanadi River Basin (MRB) in India. Study focus Few studies have so far evaluated the performance of the latest generation of global climate models on hydrological basin scales. We here investigate the performance and projections of the global climate models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Phase 5 (CMIP5) for freshwater fluxes and their changes in two regional hydrological basins, which are both irrigated but of different scale and with different climate. New hydrological insights for the region For precipitation in both regions, model accuracy relative to observations has remained the same or decreased in successive climate model generations until and including CMIP5. No single climate model out-performs other models across all key freshwater variables in any of the investigated basins. Scale effects are not evident from global model application directly to freshwater assessment for the two basins of widely different size. Overall, model results are less accurate and more uncertain for freshwater fluxes than for temperature, and particularly so for model-implied water storage changes. Also, the monsoon-driven runoff seasonality in MRB is not accurately reproduced. Model projections agree on evapotranspiration increase in both regions until the climatic period 2070–2099. This increase is fed by precipitation increase in MRB and by runoff water (thereby decreasing runoff) in the Aral Region.

Beschreibung: Publication date: March 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 5 Author(s): Justin A. Schulte, Raymond G. Najjar, Ming Li Study region The Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Study focus An understanding of past streamflow variability is necessary for developing future management practices that will help mitigate the impacts of extreme events such as drought or floods on agriculture and other human activities. To better understand mechanisms driving streamflow variability at all timescales, annual to multi-decadal streamflow variability of three major rivers in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States (the Susquehanna, Delaware, and Hudson Rivers) was studied in the context of climate modes using correlation and wavelet analyses. New hydrological insights for the region Results from the correlation analysis detected statistically significant relationships between climate indices and streamflow that were similar for the three rivers. The results from the wavelet analysis showed that 18- and 26-year periodicities were embedded in the streamflow time series. Decadal variability of streamflow was coherent with the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (SO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). The time series for the PDO and SO indices and precipitation were found to be synchronized to the decadal variability of a global circulation pattern consisting of a Rossby wave train emanating from the North Pacific. The SO explained 37–54% of the 1960s drought, 33–49% of the 1970s pluvial, and 19–50% of the 2000s pluvial in the three river basins.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 24 December 2015 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Matthew A. Perras, Mark S. Diederichs During the construction of an underground excavation, damage occurs in the surrounding rock mass due in large part to stress changes. While the predicted damage extent impacts profile selection and support design, the depth of damage is a critical aspect for the design of permeability sensitive excavations, such as a deep geological repository (DGR) for nuclear waste. Review of literature regarding the depth of excavation damage zones (EDZs) indicates three zones are common and typically related to stress induced damage. Based on past developments related to brittle damage prediction using continuum modelling, the depth of the EDZs has been examined numerically. One method to capture stress induced damage in conventional engineering software is the damage initiation and spalling limit (DISL) approach. The variability of depths predicted using the DISL approach has been evaluated and guidelines are suggested for determining the depth of the EDZs around circular excavations in brittle rock masses. Of the inputs evaluated, it was found that the tensile strength produces the greatest variation in the depth of the EDZs. The results were evaluated statistically to determine the best fit relation between the model inputs and the depth of the EDZs. The best correlation and least variation were found for the outer EDZ and the highly damaged zone (HDZ) showed the greatest variation. Predictive equations for different EDZs have been suggested and the maximum numerical EDZ depths, represented by the 68% prediction interval, agreed well with the empirical evidence. This suggests that the numerical limits can be used for preliminary depth prediction of the EDZs in brittle rock for circular excavations.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 29 December 2015 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Hongtao Hao, Jin Wei, Minzhang Hu, Ziwei Liu, Hui Li Using mobile gravity data from the central area of Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces, the relationship between gravity variation and earthquakes was studied based on the Ludian M s6.5 earthquake that occurred on August 3rd, 2014, and the Kangding M s6.3 earthquake that occurred on November 22nd, 2014; the mechanism of gravity variation was also explored. The results are as follows: (1) Prior to both earthquakes, gravity variation exhibited similar characteristics as those observed before both the Tangshan and Wenchuan earthquakes, in which typical precursor anomalies were positive gravity variation near the epicenter and the occurrence of a high-gravity-gradient zone across the epicenter prior to the earthquake. (2) A relatively accurate prediction of the occurrence locations of the two earthquakes was made by the Gravity Network Center of China (GNCC) based on these precursor anomalies. In the gravity study report on the 2014 earthquake trends submitted at the end of 2013, the Daofu-Shimian section at the junction of the Xianshuihe and Longmenshan fault zones was noted as an earthquake-risk region with a predicted magnitude of 6.5, which covered the epicenter of the Kangding M s6.3 earthquake. In another report on earthquake trends in southwestern China submitted in mid-2014, the Lianfeng, Zhaotong fault zone was also classified as an earthquake-risk region with a magnitude of 6.0, and the central area of this region basically overlapped with the epicenter of the Ludian M s6.5 earthquake. (3) The gravity variation characteristics are reasonably consistent with crustal movements, and deep material migration is likely the primary cause of gravity variation.

Beschreibung: Publication date: December 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 5, Supplement 1 Author(s): Anonymous

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 4 January 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Anju Pandey, Dhananjai K. Pandey Continental rifting and magmatism has been extensively studied worldwide as it is believed that continental rifting, break up of continents and associated magmatism lead to genesis of new oceanic crust. However, various regions of the world show that these processes may lead to genesis of other types of crust than the oceanic crust. Laxmi Basin in the western continental margin of the India is one such region with an enigmatic crust. Due to its extreme strategic significance for the palaeogeographic reconstruction of continents during Cretaceous continental breakup of India, this basin has attracted various workers for more than two decades. However, still the issue of nature of crust in the basin remains controversial. In this contribution, in order to identify nature of crust, mechanism of continental extension in the Laxmi Basin has been studied for the first time through newly acquired seismic data from the basin. Here, we propose a plausible mechanism of crustal extension in the Laxmi Basin which eventually constrains the nature of crust of the Laxmi Basin. We have demonstrated that the crust in the Laxmi Basin can be categorised in two zones of stretched and transitional crust. In the stretched zone several fault bounded horst and graben structures are identified which preserve syn- and post-rift sediments along with different periods of hiatus in sedimentations as unconformities. These faults are identified as listric faults in the upper crust which sole out in the detachment faults. Detachment faults decouples the upper brittle and lower ductile crust. The transitional crust is identified as heavily intruded by sills and basaltic volcanic were emplaced due to melting of subcontinental mantle (SCM) after hyper-stretching of crust and serpentinisation of the SCM. Panikkar Ridge is proposed to be one such basaltic volcanic body derived from melting of lower part of SCM.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 5 January 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Author(s): Daniel J. Hoover, Kingsley O. Odigie, Peter W. Swarzenski, Patrick Barnard Study region The study region spans coastal California, USA, and focuses on three primary sites: Arcata, Stinson Beach, and Malibu Lagoon. Study focus 1 m and 2 m sea-level rise (SLR) projections were used to assess vulnerability to SLR-driven groundwater emergence and shoaling at select low-lying, coastal sites in California. Separate and combined inundation scenarios for SLR and groundwater emergence were developed using digital elevation models of study site topography and groundwater surfaces constructed from well data or published groundwater level contours. New hydrological insights for the region SLR impacts are a serious concern in coastal California which has a long (∼1800 km) and populous coastline. Information on the possible importance of SLR-driven groundwater inundation in California is limited. In this study, the potential for SLR-driven groundwater inundation at three sites (Arcata, Stinson Beach, and Malibu Lagoon) was investigated under 1 m and 2 m SLR scenarios. These sites provide insight into the vulnerability of Northern California coastal plains, coastal developments built on beach sand or sand spits, and developed areas around coastal lagoons associated with seasonal streams and berms. Northern California coastal plains with abundant shallow groundwater likely will see significant and widespread groundwater emergence, while impacts along the much drier central and southern California coast may be less severe due to the absence of shallow groundwater in many areas. Vulnerability analysis is hampered by the lack of data on shallow coastal aquifers, which commonly are not studied because they are not suitable for domestic or agricultural use. Shallow saline aquifers may be present in many areas along coastal California, which would dramatically increase vulnerability to SLR-driven groundwater emergence and shoaling. Improved understanding of the extent and response of California coastal aquifers to SLR will help in preparing for mitigation and adaptation.

Beschreibung: Publication date: June 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 6 Author(s): Bogdan Ozga-Zielinski, Maurycy Ciupak, Jan Adamowski, Bahaa Khalil, Julien Malard Study region Narew River in Northeastern Poland. Study focus Three methods for frequency analysis of snowmelt floods were compared. Two dimensional (2D) normal distribution and copula-based 2D probability distributions were applied to statistically describe floods with two parameters (flood peak Q max,f and flood volume V f ). Two copula functions from different classes – the elliptical Gaussian copula and Archimedean 1-parameter Gumbel–Hougaard copula – were evaluated based on measurements. New hydrological insights for the region The results indicated that the 2D normal probability distribution model gives a better probabilistic description of snowmelt floods characterized by the 2-dimensional random variable ( Q max,f , V f ) compared to the elliptical Gaussian copula and Archimedean 1-parameter Gumbel–Hougaard copula models, in particular from the view point of probability of exceedance as well as complexity and time of computation. Nevertheless, the copula approach offers a new perspective in estimating the 2D probability distribution for multidimensional random variables. Results showed that the 2D model for snowmelt floods built using the Gumbel–Hougaard copula is much better than the model built using the Gaussian copula.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 24 March 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Chandrakant S. Desai, Xiao Yang

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 31 March 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Shailza Singh A Class II level field survey is conducted in five naturally ventilated multi-storied apartments in the composite climatic zone of north India. A total of 984 data-sets were collected for the whole year, involving over 82 subjects and 55 apartment units. This paper highlighted the season-wise behavioural change in the usage pattern of controls and the resultant thermal response of the subjects. It is observed that at extreme weather conditions, subjects are switching to ‘seasonal controls’(i.e. fans, A/C’s and heaters/hot blowers) as oppose to the ‘designed controls’ (i.e. windows, balcony doors and blinds) or personal controls (i.e. changing ‘clo’ and ‘met’ levels).The study concludes that if designed controls are efficiently incorporated in the building the thermal perception of the residents and the resultant energy consumption can be improved.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 1 April 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Yousef Al horr, Mohammed Arif, Martha Katafygiotou, Ahmed Mazroei, Amit Kaushik, Esam Elsarrag Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and its effect on occupant well-being and comfort is an important area of study. This paper presents a state of the art study through extensive review of the literature, by establishing links between IEQs and occupant well-being and comfort. A range of issues such as sick building syndrome, indoor air quality thermal comfort, visual comfort and acoustic comfort are considered in this paper. The complexity of the relationship between occupant comfort and well-being parameters with IEQ are further exacerbated due to relationships that these parameters have with each other as well. Based on the review of literature in these areas it is established that design of buildings needs to consider occupant well-being parameters right at the beginning. Some good practices in all these different areas have also been highlighted and documented in this paper. The knowledge established as part of this paper would be helpful for researchers, designer, engineers and facilities maintenance engineers. This paper will also be of great benefit to researchers who endeavour to undertake research in this area and could act as a good starting point for them.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 1 April 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Chandrakant S. Desai A unified constitutive modeling approach is highly desirable to characterize a wide range of engineering materials subjected simultaneously to the effect of a number of factors such as elastic, plastic and creep deformations, stress path, volume change, microcracking leading to fracture, failure and softening, stiffening, and mechanical and environmental forces. There are hardly available such unified models. The disturbed state concept (DSC) is considered to be a unified approach and is able to provide material characterization for almost all of the above factors. This paper presents a description of the DSC, and statements for determination of parameters based on triaxial, multiaxial and interface tests. Statements of DSC and validation at the specimen level and at the boundary value problem levels are also presented. An extensive list of publications by the author and others is provided at the end. The DSC is considered to be a unique and versatile procedure for modeling behaviors of engineering materials and interfaces.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 1 April 2016 Source: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Author(s): Demetris Koutsoyiannis, Günter Blöschl, András Bárdossy, Christophe Cudennec, Denis Hughes, Alberto Montanari, Insa Neuweiler, Hubert Savenije

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 4 April 2016 Source: Geodesy and Geodynamics Author(s): Ayman Hassan, Shuanggen Jin Continental water storage plays a major role in Earth's climate system. However, temporal and spatial variations of continental water are poorly known, particularly in Africa. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission provides an opportunity to estimate terrestrial water storage (TWS) variations at both continental and river-basin scales. In this paper, seasonal and secular variations of TWS within Africa for the period from January 2003 to July 2013 are assessed using monthly GRACE coefficients from three processing centers (Centre for Space Research, the German Research Centre for Geosciences, and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory). Monthly grids from Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS)-1 and from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)-3B43 models are also used in order to understand the reasons of increasing or decreasing water storage. Results from GRACE processing centers show similar TWS estimates at seasonal timescales with some differences concerning inter-annual trend variations. The largest annual signals of GRACE TWS are observed in Zambezi and Okavango River basins and in Volta River Basin. An increasing trend of 11.60 mm/a is found in Zambezi River Basin and of 9 mm/a in Volta River Basin. A phase shift is found between rainfall and GRACE TWS (GRACE TWS is preceded by rainfall) by 2–3 months in parts of south central Africa. Comparing GLDAS rainfall with TRMM model, it is found that GLDAS has a dry bias from TRMM model.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 4 April 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Suman Panthee, P.K. Singh, Ashutosh Kainthola, T.N. Singh Tunneling in complex rock mass conditions is a challenging task, especially in the Himalayan terrain, where a number of unpredicted conditions are reported. Rock joint parameters such as persistence, spacing and shear strength are the factors which significantly modify the working environments in the vicinity of the openings. Therefore, a detailed tunnel stability assessment is critically important based on the field data collection on the excavated tunnel’s face. In this context, intact as well as rock mass strength and deformation modulus is obtained from laboratory tests for each rock type encountered in the study area. Finite element method (FEM) is used for stability analysis purpose by parametrically varying rock joint persistence, spacing and shear strength parameters, until the condition of overbreak is reached. Another case of marginally stable condition is also obtained based on the same parameters. The results show that stability of tunnels is highly influenced by these parameters and the size of overbreak is controlled by joint persistence and spacing. Garnetiferous schist and slate characterized using high persistence show the development of large plastic zones but small block size, depending upon joint spacing; whereas low persistence, low spacing and low shear strength in marble and quartzite create rock block fall condition.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 5 April 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): Rennie B. Kaunda, Brian Asbury The material and elastic properties of rocks are utilized for predicting and evaluating hard rock brittleness using artificial neural networks (ANN). Herein hard rock brittleness is defined using Yagiz' method. A predictive model is developed using a comprehensive database compiled from 30 years' worth of rock tests at the Earth Mechanics Institute (EMI), Colorado School of Mines. The model is sensitive to density, elastic properties, and P- and S-wave velocities. The results show that the model is a better predictor of rock brittleness than conventional destructive strength-test based models and multiple regression techniques. While the findings have direct implications on intact rock, the methodology can be extrapolated to rock mass problems in both tunneling and underground mining where rock brittleness is an important control.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 4 April 2016 Source: Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering Author(s): C. Auvray, N. Lafrance, D. Bartier Toarcian claystone such as that of the Callovo-Oxfordian is a qualified multiphase material. The claystone samples tested in this study are composed of four main mineral phases: silicates (clay minerals, quartz, feldspars, micas) (≈86%), sulphides (pyrite) (≈3%), carbonates (calcite, dolomite) (≈10%) and organic kerogen (≈1%). Three sets of measurements of the modulus of deformability were compared as determined in (i) nano-indentation tests with a constant indentation depth of 2 μm, (ii) micro-indentation tests with a constant indentation depth of 20 μm, and (iii) meso-compression tests with a constant displacement of 200 μm. These three experimental methods have already been validated in earlier studies. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the influence of the scaling effect on the modulus of deformability of the material. Different frequency distributions of the modulus of deformability were obtained at the different sample scales: (i) in nano-indentation tests, the distribution was spread between 15 GPa and 90 GPa and contained one peak at 34 GPa and another at 51 GPa; (ii) in the micro-indentation tests, the distribution was spread between 25 GPa and 60 GPa and displayed peaks at 26 GPa and 37 GPa; and (iii) in the meso-compression tests, a narrow frequency distribution was obtained, ranging from 25 GPa to 50 GPa and with a maximum at around 35 GPa.

Beschreibung: Publication date: Available online 6 April 2016 Source: International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment Author(s): Vandna Sharma, Bhanu M Marwaha, Hemant K Vinayak Low Durability and compressive strength of adobe blocks leads to frequent maintenance problem associated with rural house wall construction. This forms the main reason of abandonment of vernacular mud housing building technology in rural areas today. Present paper presents an attempt to improve upon the low durability of adobe blocks by addition of natural reinforcement of Grewia Optiva and Pinus Roxburghii which otherwise are treated as waste material in rural areas. Experimental investigations were carried out for cylindrical and cubical stabilized and unstabilized soil samples. Durability tests conducted included Wetting and Drying Test, Water absorption and expansion test, Sponge Water absorption test, Spray Test, Total absorption test, Water Strength Coefficient tests carried out as per Indian standards and international research. Results indicated that durability of stabilized soil samples increases by 72% and 68% for fibers of Grewia Optiva and Pinus Roxburghii as compared with unstabilized soil samples. The results recommend that fibers of Grewia Optiva and Pinus Roxburghii can be advantageously added in adobe blocks for improving durability. This would propagate durable mud housing on large scale thereby reducing housing shortage especially in developing countries, economizing use of natural resources, reducing energy consumption during manufacturing of modern construction materials and most importantly provide sustainable way of living.

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 125〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ahmet Hilmi Deringöl, Esra Mete Güneyisi〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study investigates the influence of the friction pendulum bearing (FPB) isolator characteristics on the nonlinear response of the buildings under various seismic excitations. To represent a wide range of assessment, 3, 6, and 9-storey steel framed buildings with twenty seven different isolation models of FPB were studied by identifying the local and global deformations. Three important parameters such as isolation period T (as 2, 2.5, and 3 s), effective damping ratio ß (as 0.05, 0.15, 0.25), and yield strength ratio Fy/W (as 0.025, 0.05, and 0.10) were used in the modelling of FPB. Two-dimensional model of the base-isolated steel frames were created and the nonlinear time history analysis was performed through a number of earthquake ground motions. The behaviour of the isolated frames was measured by the variation of isolator displacement, roof drift ratio, relative displacement, interstorey drift ratio, absolute acceleration, base shear, base moment, hysteretic curve, and dissipated energy. The benefits obtained through the adoption of the base isolation system were discussed. It was found that the seismic response of the base-isolated frames could be estimated accurately by adjusting the proper isolation period, yield strength ratio, and effective damping ratio for the case studied structures.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 125〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jinbao Yao, Rutao Zhao, Nan Zhang, Dujuan Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉An in-filled trench barrier is usually used to reduce the damages from train-induced environmental vibrations. To find the vibration isolation effect of an in-filled trench barrier, this paper analyses the reflection coefficients and transmission coefficients of the Rayleigh wave at the interface between in-filled trenches and the soil. In our calculation formulas of ground vibrations, a single point and a single frequency excitation, as well as multi-point and multi-frequency excitation, are simultaneously derived in a soil-in-filled-trench system.〈/p〉 〈p〉Using these formulas and a numerical analysis, the effects of an in-filled trench barrier on the environmental vibrations induced by running trains are analyzed. The results show that the reflection coefficients increase, while the transmission coefficients decrease, with the density and elastic modulus of the in-filled material. The vibration isolation effect is clearly better than that without trenches. In a certain width range, the transmission coefficient and vertical acceleration levels decrease with the increase of trench width. The influences of the transmission coefficient and the vibration isolation effects are not clear with the trenches’ depth variation. The vertical vibrations of the ground pick-up point are all smaller than those without in-filled trenches.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 124〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): 〈/p〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 125〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Benshun Shao, Stephen A. Mahin, Victor Zayas〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉By interpreting the seismic responses of two seismically isolated low-rise case-study buildings probabilistically using FEMA P695 methodology, the study indicates for the design of seismically isolated structures, providing isolator capacities equal to risk-targeted maximum considered earthquake (MCE〈sub〉R〈/sub〉) demand does not achieve targeted levels of reliability specified in ASCE 7–16. To do so, isolation system capacities beyond average MCE〈sub〉R〈/sub〉 demand are required. The minimum required capacities for using three types of enhanced isolation system (isolator without displacement restraint, isolator combined with external hard-stopping mechanism, and isolator with internal stiffening behavior at large horizontal displacement) are calculated with nonlinear response history analysis following probabilistic framework for different design risk categories numerically. The results indicate that isolator displacement capacities ranging from 1.5 to 2.60 times the average MCE〈sub〉R〈/sub〉 demand and isolation system shear capacities ranging from 1.5 to 5 times the average MCE〈sub〉R〈/sub〉 demand are required, depending on seismic risk categories and isolation system types. The use of an isolator with internal stiffening behavior is an efficient option to provide the required capacities for achieving reliability goals, especially for high risk-category design.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 8 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Remote Sensing of Environment〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Julie A. Fortin, Jeffrey A. Cardille, Elijah Perez〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉The ongoing march toward freely available, highly pre-processed satellite imagery has given both researchers and the public unprecedented access to a vast and varied data stream teeming with potential. Among many sources, the multi-decade Landsat archive is certainly the best known, but legacy and current data from other sensors is available as well through the USGS data portals: these include CBERS, ASTER, and more. Though the particular band combinations or non-global missions have made their integration into analyses more challenging, these data, in conjunction with the entire Landsat record, are available to contribute to multi-decade surveys of land-cover change.〈/p〉 〈p〉With the goal of tracing forest change through time near the Roosevelt River in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, we used BULC and Google Earth Engine to fuse information from 13 space-borne imagers capturing 140 images spanning 45 years. With high accuracy, the resulting time series of classifications shows the timing and location of land-use/land-cover change—both deforestation and regrowth—at sub-annual time scales. Accuracy estimates showed that the synthesized BULC classification time series was better than nearly all of the single-day image classifications, covering the entire study area at sub-annual frequency while reducing the impact of clouds and most unwanted noise as it fused information derived from a wide array of imaging platforms. The time series improved and gradually sharpened as the density of observations increased in recent decades, when there were three or more clear, higher-resolution views of a pixel annually from any sensor combination. In addition to detailing the methodology and results of multi-source data fusion with the BULC approach, this study raises timely points about integrating information from early satellite data sources and from sensors with footprints smaller than Landsat's. There are decades of research deriving sensor-specific techniques for classifying land use and land cover from a single image in a variety of settings. The BULC approach leverages the many successes of single-sensor research and can be used as a straightforward, complementary tool for blending many good-quality mapped classifications from disparate sources into a coherent, high-quality time series.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Ultramicroscopy, Volume 206〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): P. Kükelhan, T. Hepp, S. Firoozabadi, A. Beyer, K. Volz〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) is a powerful tool for the characterization of nano-materials. Absolute composition determination for ternary III–V semiconductors by direct comparison of experiment and simulation is well established. Here, we show a method to determine the composition of quaternary III–V semiconductors with two elements on each sub lattice from the intensities of one STEM image. As an example, this is applied to (GaIn)(AsBi). The feasibility of the method is shown in a simulation study that also explores the influence of detector angles and specimen thickness. Additionally, the method is applied to an experimental STEM image of a (GaIn)(AsBi) quantum well grown by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy. The obtained concentrations are in good agreement with X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence results.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Volume 154〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): 〈/p〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Adriana Camacho, Emily Conover〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Small-scale farmers in developing countries often make production and sale decisions based on imprecise, informal, and out-of-date sources of information, such as family, neighbors, or tradition. Lack of timely and accurate information on climate and prices can lead to inefficiencies in the production, harvesting, and commercialization of agricultural products, which in turn can affect farmers’ revenues and well-being. We did a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) experiment with 500 small-scale farmers in a rural area of Colombia where there is nearly full mobile phone usage and coverage. Treated farmers received around 8 text messages per week with prices in the main markets for crops grown in the region, and customized weather forecasts. Compared to a control group, we find that treated farmers were more likely to report that text messages provide useful information for planting and selling, and more likely to always read their messages, indicating an increase in appreciation and use of this type of technology. We also found heterogeneous effects by farmer size. Smaller farmers try to make use of the intervention by planting more crops for which they have price information. Larger farmers seek new markets and increase conversations with other producers. Despite these positive effects, we do not find a significant difference in farmers reporting a price, price differential with the market price, or sale prices received. Our results indicate that farmers are amenable to learning and using new technologies, but that the introduction of these technologies do not always translate into short-run welfare improvements for them. Given the increased interest in incorporating information and communication technologies into agriculture, our findings indicate that prior to a large-scale implementation it is necessary to better understand what prevents farmers from more directly profiting from this new information.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 232〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yue Ma, Nan Xu, Jinyan Sun, Xiao Hua Wang, Fanlin Yang, Song Li〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Currently, 〈em〉in-situ〈/em〉 data and the time duration of altimeter data are limitations in calculating the water level and water volume of lakes and reservoirs from remotely sensed data. A novel method is proposed to estimate the temporal change in water levels and water volumes for lakes with only remotely sensed data. First, the surface profiles, including the ground and the underwater bottom, were extracted from the MABEL (Multiple Altimeter Beam Experimental Lidar) photon-counting lidar raw data via a new surface detecting algorithm. Second, the lake boundaries between land and water in different years were identified using a thresholding method based on the annual median Landsat composite. Third, water levels were calculated by matching the lidar surface profiles with the lake boundaries based on the nearby georeferenced coordinates. Finally, the water volumes in different years were estimated via the contours (i.e., lake boundaries) with different elevations. Lake Mead was selected as the study area, which is the largest reservoir in the United States in terms of water capacity. With only one day measuring lidar points in February 2012 and over 20 years of Landsat images (from 1987 to 2007), the water levels and water volumes in different years were estimated and compared with the 〈em〉in-situ〈/em〉 data. Our results performed well in accordance with the 〈em〉in-situ〈/em〉 measurements; the R-square of the water levels and water volumes were both over 0.99; the RMSE of the interannual variations of water levels and water volumes were 0.96 m and 0.31 km〈sup〉3〈/sup〉, respectively. The MABEL was used as a technology demonstrator for the satellite photon-counting laser altimeter and had similar data to the ICESat-2 dataset. Future ICESat-2 datasets will broaden this method to estimate water volumes for remote lakes from the 1980s, where no 〈em〉in-situ〈/em〉 data are available (such as the Tibetan Plateau and polar regions with thousands of remote and wild lakes), which could not be achieved in previous studies.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zhengrong Li, Haowei Xing, Godfried Augenbroe〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Although there have been numerous studies on the evaluation of models that estimate sky diffuse radiation on inclined surfaces, it is still difficult for investigators to select from available sky diffuse radiation models for urban microclimate and building performance simulation. This is due to the fact that results from different studies are not consistent, or even contradictive, which indicates the fact that the evaluation criterion itself has a great effect on the performance of the model.〈/p〉 〈p〉To explore the effect of different evaluation criteria on the performance rating of the models, four evaluation methods are applied in this paper: diffuse irradiance on facades with respect to sky condition, diffuse irradiance on facades with respect to orientation, diffuse irradiance distribution among sky dome with respect to sky condition and diffuse irradiance on buildings in obstructed environment. Based on a statistical test on available data, Igawa model is considered to be the most accurate and appropriate model for urban and building energy simulation. Besides, an evaluation criterion appropriate for screening sky diffuse models for urban and building energy simulation is proposed. Furthermore, potential errors that may occur in the measurement and the corresponding quality control is presented.〈/p〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jinglei Yang, Zhuang Lin, Ping Li, Zhiqun Guo, Hanbing Sun, Dongmei Yang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The partial air cushion supported catamaran (PACSCAT) is a novel surface effect ship (SES) and possesses distinctive resistance performance due to the presence of planing bottom. In this paper, the design of PACSCAT and air cushion system are described in detail. Model tests were carried out for Froude numbers ranging from 0.1 to 1.11, the focus is on the influence of air cushion system on resistance characteristics. Drag-reducing effect of air cushion system was proved by means of contrast tests in cuhionborne and non-cushionborne mode. Wave-making characteristics reflect that the PACSCAT would eventually enter planing regime, in which the air could just escape under the seals and the hull body could operate in a steady state. To acquire different air cushion pressure, air flow rate and leakage height were adjusted during tests. Experimental results show that the resistance performance in planing regime would decrease evidently as the increased air flow rate, however, the scheme with medium leakage height presents the best resistance performance in the hump region.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sarvenaz Abolghassem, Shiva Molaei, Shahrzad Javanshir〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, chitin (Ch) was extracted by an optimized method from cuttlebone of the Persian Gulf cuttlefish (Sepiidae, Cephalopoda). The extracted chitin was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) which showed that the extracted chitin was in alpha form. The degree of N-acetylation (DA) and degree of substitution (DS) of α-chitin were calculated using titration method and FTIR spectroscopy and found to be 80–82% and 19.57 respectively. The α-Chitin was used as biomolecules for the preparation of nanostructured Ch/ZnO via a hydrothermal method. The obtained nanocomposite was characterized using FT-IR, XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis. The antimicrobial aspect of Ch/ZnO nanocomposite was previously proposed. In this paper, attempt was made to add the catalytic feature to these traits. For this purpose, the nanostructured Ch/ZnO was used as reusable nanocatalyst in the green and efficient synthesis of Benzo[a]pyrano(2,3-c)phenazine derivatives thru a four components microwave aided domino reaction. Eco-friendly, easy work up and separation of the nanostructured catalyst are some of the highlighted features this protocol.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zurel S. Costa, Cristiano T. Meneses, Bruno Castro, Fabiane S. Serpa, Elton Franceschi, Gustavo R. Borges, Cláudio Dariva, Giancarlo R. Salazar-Banda〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The formation of scales in the petroleum industry, such as those composed of calcium and barium sulfates, may reduce productivity since these sediments can partially or totally obstruct the pipes. The mitigation of these inorganic precipitates can be accomplished by using scale inhibitors or by non-intrusive physical technologies. Here, we investigated the influence of magnetic field on the incrustations of barium sulfate by analyzing the concentration of barium and sulfate ions, the solution flow rate, the capillary tube geometry, and the magnetic field intensity in a homemade experimental unit supported on the monitoring of the dynamic differential pressure. The results show that the saline concentration and the flow rate of the solutions and the geometry of the capillary tube have a significant influence on the dynamics of barium sulfate incrustation. The presence of the magnetic field tends to prolong the induction time of the barium sulfate precipitation. A semi-empirical model was used to describe the effect of the studied variables on the barium sulfate incrustation behavior. The X-ray diffraction data of the precipitated particles analyzed using the Rietveld method suggest that the use of the magnetic field favor the formation of more crystalline particles and with smaller crystallite size than those formed in the absence of a magnetic field. Optical and scanning electron microscopy measurements also corroborate with these findings. The results from this study suggest that magnetic fields can be of interest in practical crystallization processes of barium sulfate and successfully applied to decrease the speed of barium sulfate incrustation in pipelines.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soils and Foundations〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Toshihiro Noda, Tomohiro Toyoda〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Most soil–water coupled analyses of saturated soil are based on the 〈strong〉〈em〉u〈/em〉〈/strong〉–〈em〉p〈/em〉 formulation, where a set of equations is reduced by assuming that the acceleration of the fluid phase relative to that of the solid phase is less than that of the solid phase. Therefore, this analysis cannot be used for a coupled analysis with dynamic water flow in highly permeable soil. This study aims to present a soil–water coupled finite deformation analysis method based on full formulation, or 〈strong〉〈em〉u〈/em〉〈/strong〉–〈strong〉〈em〉w〈/em〉〈/strong〉–〈em〉p〈/em〉 formulation. This method differs from conventional methods in the following ways: (1) the governing equations explicitly include the equation of motion for the fluid phase, (2) a relative convective term is used to describe a change in the relative configuration between the two phases, and (3) the moving/inclined discharge boundary is directly implemented to the discretized governing equations. Herein, one/two dimensional seepage and plane-strain deformation analysis results are reported. In the seepage analysis, accelerating permeation of pore water is obtained and the undrained constraint condition is verified. In the deformation analysis, dynamic migration in a high permeable soil specimen, i.e., wave propagation and rotational flow of pore water, is observed.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 24〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Johnson U. Kitheka〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Study region〈/h6〉 〈p〉This study was undertaken in the Athi-Sabaki river basin in Kenya in East Africa.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Study focus〈/h6〉 〈p〉The study focused on the determination of the influence of streamflow variability on salt fluxes. This involved monitoring of river discharge and river salinity in the period between 2012 and 2018.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉New hydrological insights〈/h6〉 〈p〉: This study demonstrates that Athi-Sabaki river discharges significant quantity of salt to the sea. There are significant seasonal and inter-annual variations in salt fluxes that are due to variations in river discharge and rainfall in the basin. The relationship between streamflow variations and variations of salinity in the river was inverse with highest salinity concentrations and fluxes occurring during low flow conditions. The river salinity and TDS concentrations decreased with an increase in river discharge due to dilution effect and flushing of salt from the river. The highly polluted sub-basins draining through the City of Nairobi exhibited relatively higher salinity and salt fluxes as compared to non-polluted ones draining rural areas. The total salt flux in the basin ranged between 29 × 10〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 and 261 × 10〈sup〉3〈/sup〉 tons year〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉. The relatively high salinity and salt fluxes were attributed to the discharge of wastewaters, seepage of groundwater and irrigation return flows. The study calls for water pollution control, sustainable irrigation and landuse practices in the basin.〈/p〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soils and Foundations〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yiqun Tang, Siqi Xiao, Yangjie Zhan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉More and more excavation projects are being performed near existing buildings and structures due to large-scale urban construction, in which the excavation unavoidably causes settlement and potential danger to the surrounding construction and buildings. For linear traffic facilities parallel to the excavation, the settlement profile parallel to the excavation, namely, the settlement along the traffic line, should also be considered. Moreover, the precise control of the differential settlement along the traffic lines also plays a very important role. Thus, it is necessary to establish a quick prediction model, which is able to consider both vertical and parallel settlement profiles, using the basic information on the excavation. Based on the large amount of field data, the characteristics of the settlement profiles are analyzed. A simplified empirical method is proposed; it is established based on the Rayleigh and Gauss distribution functions for predicting the ground settlement along railways induced by an excavation. Meanwhile, back-propagation neural networks are also used to predict the settlement behavior. A comparison between the predicted results and the monitoring data is given to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. A good agreement indicates that the proposed method can be employed to predict the settlement along railways due to an adjacent excavation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): D. Koteswara Rao, D. Chandrasekharam〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Sustainable conservation of natural resources has become a primary concern for urban cities, globally as they are centers of consumption and economy. Due to population growth, cities depend more on imports of food, energy, water, and services from all over the globe, and consume more virtual water than direct water, because of their food habits and lifestyle. Most of the imported goods are water intensive and pose challenges in tracing the source of virtual water. The goal of this research is to develop a general framework to assess the water footprint (WF) of a typical city in India using existing databases. A consumer-centric approach has been adopted for assessing WF in Hyderabad Metro Development Area (HMDA). The variation of the WF across economic classes of consumers is also analyzed. The WF is estimated based on four broad categories: 1) food consumption, 2) fossil fuels based energy, 3) electric power, and 4) direct water. Average WF of HMDA region is 1041 m〈sup〉3〈/sup〉/cap/year (2852 LPCD), in which 70% (1986 LPCD) of WF was consumed by food, 25% (744 LPCD) by electric power, only 4% (121 LPCD) is from direct water consumption and surprisingly the contribution from fossil fuel WF to total per capita WF of HMDA area is less than 1%.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shuqin Chen, Xiyong Zhang, Shen Wei, Tong Yang, Jun Guan, Wenxiao Yang, Lijuan Qu, Yunqing Xu〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Accurate grasp of district power demand is of great significance to both sizing of district power supply and its operation optimization. In this study, an index system has been established and visualized through a Geographic Information System, for revealing both temporal and spatial characteristics of district power loads caused by heating/cooling systems, including load level and fluctuation characteristics, spatial distribution of electric loads, and load coupling relationships between individual buildings and the district. Principal component analysis was applied to identify the buildings with significant impact on district load management. Using this method, the spatial-temporal characteristics of electric loads caused by heating in one university campus in China were analyzed. The results showed that building type and the operation modes had great effects on the level and volatility of the district electric load caused by heating. Buildings with high load levels and strong coupling with the peak district electric load, such as academic buildings, often had a major impact on the power demand of the district. Therefore, they were considered as key targets for energy-saving renovation and operation optimization. Buildings with large load fluctuation, such as teaching buildings, could contribute to the peak load shaving by adjusting the heating systems’ operation.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Shuo-Jun Mei, Zhiwen Luo, Fu-Yun Zhao, Han-Qing Wang〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Urban ventilation is important for building a healthy urban living environment. 2-D CFD simulation has been used widely for street canyon ventilation due to its high computational efficiency, but its applicability for a 3-D simulation has never been studied. This paper tried to answer the question: if and under what conditions, the widely-adopted 2-D CFD simulations on street canyon ventilation can represent a 3-D scenarios? 3-D simulations on street canyons with various street lengths and corresponding 2-D simulations are carried out with RNG 〈em〉k〈/em〉-〈em〉ε〈/em〉 model. Our study identified two important ventilation mechanism for controlling ventilation and dispersion in a 3-D street canyon, i.e., canyon vortex on the canyon top and the corner vortices at the street ends. The relative importance of these two driving forces will change with the street length/street width ratio (〈em〉B/W〈/em〉). For isolated street canyon, when 〈em〉B/W〈/em〉 is higher than 20 (for 〈em〉H/W〈/em〉 = 1) and 70 (〈em〉H/W〈/em〉 = 2), the street canyon ventilation will be dominated by canyon vortex, and 3-D street canyon ventilation could be simplified as a 2-D case. For multiple street canyon, the threshold of 〈em〉B/W〈/em〉 will become 20 when 〈em〉H/W〈/em〉 = 1, and 50 when 〈em〉H/W〈/em〉 = 2. The findings in this study could improve our approaches for simulating urban ventilation.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Gaofeng Gu, Dujuan Yang, Tao Feng, Harry Timmermans〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The increasing shift of individuals to use new electric mobility tools like electric cars (EV) and electric bikes has changed household energy expenditure. It may also affect households’ investments in renewable energy equipment, i.e. solar panels, heat pumps. Relatively little research has been conducted on how the decision to purchase electric vehicles affects the decision to invest in home renewable energy equipment. This paper, therefore, aims to examine the effects of mobility tools decisions on the intention to invest in solar panels and heat pumps, based on the data collected through a stated choice experiment. A mixed logit model is estimated to capture unobserved heterogeneity among individuals. Results show that mobility tools significantly influence the choice of home renewable energy equipment. Households who prefer to purchase electric vehicles have a higher probability to invest in solar panels and heat pumps than households who prefer other mobility tools. In addition, EV adopters’ intention to invest in solar panels are stronger than the intention to invest in heat pumps. This suggests that electric vehicle users are likely the early adopters of solar panels.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 50〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Heictor Correia Maioli, Raíssa Corrêa de Carvalho, Denise Dumke de Medeiros〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The increase in population concentration in large cities is a trend in the world, which brings several problems. In the context of urban mobility, bicycle sharing systems deserve special mention due to the impact and growth worldwide. The dissemination and success of these systems are also linked to aspects related to quality in their provision. Thus, this paper aims to conduct a study in the context of bicycle sharing to help managers to stimulate the use of this service and contribute to the development of sustainable cities. The SERVPERF tool was adapted and used to assess the quality of bicycle sharing service, in addition to identify which aspects impact on users’ satisfaction. This approach is innovative since there is a gap in the literature about customer satisfaction analyzes and aspects related to the quality of bicycle sharing service. In this way, this study can contribute to the dissemination of this service and to the solution of urban mobility problems by identifying the aspects considered as most important for the customers and thus improving these aspects. Therefore, the bicycle sharing system may have the increasingly use and will help to reduce urban mobility problems.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Amit Agarwal, Dominik Ziemke, Kai Nagel〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Bicycle is a sustainable low-carbon transport mode. However, insufficient or unplanned infrastructure leads to decrease in the share of bicycle in many cities of developing nations. In order to increase the bicycle share and to provide safer, faster and more direct routes, a bicycle superhighway is proposed for urban areas. This study identifies the potential of increase in the bicycle share. For maximum utilization of the new infrastructure, an algorithm is presented to identify the optimum number and locations of the connectors between proposed new infrastructure and existing network. Household income levels are incorporated into the decision making process of individual travellers for a better understanding of the modal shift. A real-world case study of Patna, India is chosen to show the application of the proposed superhighway. It is shown that for Patna, the bicycle share can escalate as high as 48% up from 32% by providing this kind of infrastructure. However, together with bicycles, allowing motorbikes on the superhighway limits the bicycle share to 44%. The increase in bicycle share is mainly a result of people switching from motorbike, public transport and walk to the bicycle. Further, to evaluate the benefits of the bicycle superhighway, this study first extends an emission modelling tool to estimate the time-dependent, vehicle-specific emissions under mixed traffic conditions. Allowing only bicyclists on the superhighway improves congested urban areas, reduces emissions, and increases accessibility. However, allowing motorbikes on the superhighway increases emissions significantly in the central part of the urban area and reduces accessibilities by bicycle mode to education facilities which are undesirable. This study elicits that a physically segregated high-quality bicycle superhighway will not only attract current non-cyclist travellers and increase the share of the bicycle mode, but will also reduce negative transport externalities significantly.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 125〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alireza Daneshyar, Mohsen Ghaemian〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉A finite element model for seismic analysis of concrete arch dams is proposed. Material inelasticity as well as joints nonlinearity is considered. A damage-plastic formulation governs nonlinear behavior of concrete. Degeneration occurring during nonlinear behavior of concrete induces anisotropy into its microstructure. This anisotropy becomes more complex in seismic simulations, in which the state of stress expeditiously changes with time. Thus, anisotropic formulation is preferred over classical isotropic models. Utilizing rate-dependent anisotropic damage-plastic model, irreversible deformations, stiffness degeneration, induced anisotropy, closing/reopening of cracks, and viscous response of concrete are attained. Non-penetration condition, frictional behavior, and adhesion resulted by grouting of contraction and peripheral joints are also modeled in a coupled and rate-dependent manner. Different combinations of material and joints nonlinearities are used to model a system of dam-foundation-reservoir. The system is excited using three components of an earthquake, and effect of different sources of nonlinearities is investigated through comparison between results. In addition, capability of the anisotropic damage-plastic model is compared against an available isotropic formulation. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to investigate the effect of properties of joints on responses. Owing to high convergence rate of material and joints constitutive models, implicit time integration is employed, which leads to stable and accurate solutions.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 125〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hongqiang Hu, Yu Huang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The spatial variability of soil properties has a significant effect on the seismic responses of sites. Considering that the probability density evolution method (PDEM), an efficient probabilistic methodology, has not been used in the probabilistic analysis with spatially variable soil properties before, the random field theory is incorporated to the traditional framework of PDEM to perform stochastic seismic response analysis of a soil profile. The stochastic seismic responses, including seismic deformation, surface ground motion, amplification factor and excess pore water pressure ratio, are obtained to quantify the effect of spatially variable soil properties. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses are also carried out to study the influence of spatial variability of different soil parameters and coefficients of variation on the ground motion in terms of probability density function. The results indicate that the random field model of shear modulus has a higher possibility of experiencing higher ground motion intensity than does friction angle.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 125〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Huiling Zhao, Yong Yuan, Zhiming Ye, Haitao Yu, Zhiming Zhang〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The stiffness distribution of an atrium subway station with zero buried depth spatially varies when columns in the first level underground are removed and lateral beams replace the middle part of the floor slabs. It is pertinent to the mechanism and effects of multidirectional ground shaking on such structures. In this paper, the response characteristics of an atrium subway station subjected to bidirectional ground motions in a shaking table test were presented. Under horizontal seismic shaking, the structure, without a soil cover, showed a non-negligible rocking mode coupled with the well-known racking of the structure. Under vertical seismic shaking, the lateral beams, without supporting columns, demonstrated an obvious bending vibration associated with an overall up and downward movement. Overall, the horizontal component contributed more to dynamic response of the structure than the vertical component.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Alwin Keil, Archisman Mitra, Amit K. Srivastava, Andrew McDonald〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Sustainable intensification (SI) approaches to agricultural development are urgently needed to meet the growing demand for crop staples while protecting ecosystem services and environmental quality. However, SI initiatives have been criticized for neglecting social welfare outcomes. A recent review found that better-off farmers benefitted disproportionately from SI and highlighted the dearth of studies assessing the equity of outcomes. In this study, we explore the social inclusiveness of zero-tillage (ZT) wheat adoption in Bihar, India. ZT is a proven SI technology for enhancing wheat productivity while boosting profitability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural machinery in the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plains. With an average landholding size of 0.39 ha, most farmers in Bihar depend on custom-hiring services to access the technology. While service provision models should foster inclusive growth by reducing financial barriers to technology adoption, early evidence suggested that smallholders remained at a disadvantage. Building on this previous research, we use a panel dataset from 961 wheat-growing households that spans a six-year period to analyze ZT adoption dynamics over time while accounting for the role of social networks and access to service provision. Using a heckprobit approach to correct for non-exposure bias, we compare determinants of ZT awareness and use in 2012 and 2015. We apply a multinomial logit model to identify determinants of early adoption, recent adoption, non-adoption, and dis-adoption. Furthermore, we explore the quality of ZT services as an additional dimension of socially-inclusive technology access. We find that the strong initial scale bias in ZT use declined substantially as awareness of the technology increased and the service economy expanded. Land fragmentation replaced total landholding size as a significant adoption determinant, which also affected the quality of ZT services received. Hence, farmers with small but contiguous landholdings appear to have gained a significant degree of access over time. We conclude that early-stage assessments of SI may be misleading, and that private sector-based service provision can contribute to socially inclusive development outcomes as markets mature.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: October 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, Volume 125〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Hector Guerrero, Vladimir Rodriguez, J. Alberto Escobar, Sergio M. Alcocer, Felipe Bennetts, Manuel Suarez〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In the reinforced concrete (RC) precast industry there is great concern about the seismic behavior of connections that emulate monolithic ones. Therefore, an experimental program was developed to examine the seismic performance of a particular RC precast connection type frequently used in industrial applications in comparison to monolithic connections. Tests were conducted on full scale. This paper presents and discusses the main results. Comparisons of a benchmark monolithic connection and six precast beam-column joints are presented. Precast connections were fabricated using different detailing, various levels of joint confinement, and post-tensioning. Test results are compared in terms of strength and deformation capacity, energy dissipation, and stiffness degradation. A relation between effective beam stiffness and inter-storey drift is found and compared to cracked stiffness modification factors recommended by design codes. Two effective stiffness models for reinforced concrete beams are proposed. Conclusions relevant to the precast construction industry have been formulated. Results show an acceptable performance of the tested precast system for seismic applications.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Chiara Ravetti, Mare Sarr, Daniel Munene, Tim Swanson〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper analyses the ways in which ethnic identity and labour institutions shape favouritism and discrimination among workers. We conduct a lab experiment in the field with South African coal miners from various ethnic groups and with different trade union membership status. Our analysis suggests that union identity and ethnic identity are two social constructs that operate in a distinct and opposite fashion. Unionization acts as a factor of workers solidarity beyond the confine of union membership. Conversely, ethnicity operates as the linchpin through which discrimination among workers is infused not only between ethnic majority and minorities, but also within the majority group itself. We find that the widespread practice of subcontracting in the mining sector exacerbates ethnic discrimination among workers both between and within ethnic groupings.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Vanesa Jordá, Miguel Niño-Zarazúa〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Despite the growing interest in global inequality, assessing inequality trends is a major challenge because individual data on income or consumption is not often available. Nevertheless, the periodic release of certain summary statistics of the income distribution has become increasingly common. Hence, grouped data in form of income shares have been conventionally used to construct inequality trends based on lower bound approximations of inequality measures. This approach introduces two potential sources of measurement error: first, these estimates are constructed under the assumption of equality of incomes within income shares; second, the highest income earners are not included in the household surveys from which grouped data is obtained. In this paper, we propose to deploy a flexible parametric model, which addresses these two issues in order to obtain a reliable representation of the income distribution and accurate estimates of inequality measures. This methodology is used to estimate the recent evolution of global interpersonal inequality from 1990 to 2015 and to examine the effect of survey under-coverage of top incomes on the level and direction of global inequality. Overall, we find that item non-response at the top of the distribution substantially biases global inequality estimates, but, more importantly, it might also affect the direction of the trends.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ben Siegelman, Nora Haenn, Xavier Basurto〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper relates how fishermen in San Evaristo on Mexico’s Baja peninsula employ fabrications to strengthen bonds of trust and navigate the complexities of common pool resource extraction. We argue this trickery complicates notions of social capital in community-based natural resource management, which emphasize communitarianism in the form of trust. Trust, defined as a mutual dependability often rooted in honesty, reliable information, or shared expectations, has long been recognized as essential to common pool resource management. Despite this, research that takes a critical approach to social capital places attention on the activities that foster social networks and their norms by arguing that social capital is a process. A critical approach illuminates San Evaristeño practices of lying and joking across social settings and contextualizes these practices within cultural values of harmony. As San Evaristeños assert somewhat paradoxically, for them “lies build trust.” Importantly, a critical approach to this case study forces consideration of gender, an overlooked topic in social capital research. San Evaristeña women are excluded from the verbal jousting through which men maintain ties supporting their primacy in fishery management. Both men’s joke-telling and San Evaristeños’ aversion to conflict have implications for conservation outcomes. As a result, we use these findings to help explain local resistance to outsiders and external management strategies including land trusts, fishing cooperatives, and marine protected areas.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Space Policy〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Bergit Uhran, Catharine Conley, J. Andy Spry〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Planetary protection, or the protection of celestial bodies from potentially harmful contamination, has been required by international law since the ratification of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space in 1967. At that time, scientists were concerned about the potential of contaminating the Moon or bringing back a life form of lunar origin when astronauts returned to Earth with samples. The evidence is that the Moon does not contain indigenous life, but other celestial bodies may. Mars is of particular concern because of its habitability and plans to carry out a robotic sample return mission and even potentially human crewed missions in the near future (next 20–30 years). This article (recognizing that other national and international tasks are ongoing with detailed studies of technical aspects of containment and sample analysis) provides an overview of the policy aspects of planetary protection and sample return, discussing the history of planetary protection, lessons learned from the Apollo missions, and a potential strategy to ensure prevention contamination if a robotic sample return mission is carried out. It is recommended that the capability performed in the 1960s by the Interagency Committee on Back Contamination be reestablished, that regulations be developed to allow quarantine of anyone exposed to the samples, that scientific and technical personnel be trained in a receiving laboratory for at least 2 years prior to sample return, and that a test protocol be established for examining the samples. This will protect our biosphere while enabling groundbreaking research into conditions on Mars and any possible signs of life.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 5 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Space Policy〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Harald Köpping Athanasopoulos〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This article discusses the Moon Village concept within the context of the increasing momentum to return human beings to the surface of the Moon. The article follows a dual objective. Firstly, the Moon Village is probably the most misunderstood among the plethora of ideas to explore the Moon scientifically and commercially. The article is therefore intended to explore what the Moon Village actually is. Secondly, the article explores the strengths and weaknesses of the Moon Village. The article is divided into three sections. The first section reviews the current Moon projects of public and private space actors, including the United States, Russia, China, SpaceX and Blue Origin. It sets the scene for the argument that the Moon Village has entered global discourse on space within a positive political environment. The second section discusses the premises of ESA chief Jan Wörner’s Moon Village concept, putting forward that the Moon Village is intended as an open concept rather than as a concrete plan. It is a process rather than a project and it is meant to initiate a global conversation on humanity’s future on the Moon. As such, the world café is an appropriate metaphor to illustrate the idea behind the Moon Village. In the third and final section a SWAT/PEST analysis is conducted to assess the feasibility of the Moon Village, highlighting that one of the major opportunities of the project is to promote international cooperation. The article concludes by supporting the institutionalist hypothesis that the Moon Village is arguably a translation of the ESA system to the global level, as participation is voluntary and as it builds on the strengths of each cooperation partner. As such, the Moon Village in indeed a new way of doing space on the global level.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 4 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Ocean Engineering and Science〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): M. Mamun Miah, Aly R. Seadawy, H.M. Shahadat Ali, M. Ali Akbar〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this study, we implement the generalized (〈em〉G〈/em〉′/〈em〉G〈/em〉)-expansion method established by Wang et al. to examine wave solutions to some nonlinear evolution equations. The method, known as the double (〈em〉G〈/em〉′/〈em〉G〈/em〉, 1/〈em〉G〈/em〉)-expansion method is used to establish abundant new and further general exact wave solutions to the (3+1)-dimensional Jimbo-Miwa equation, the (3+1)-dimensional Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation and symmetric regularized long wave equation. The solutions are extracted in terms of hyperbolic function, trigonometric function and rational function. The solitary wave solutions are constructed from the obtained traveling wave solutions if the parameters received some definite values. Graphs of the solutions are also depicted to describe the phenomena apparently and the shapes of the obtained solutions are singular periodic, anti-kink, singular soliton, singular anti-bell shape, compaction etc. This method is straightforward, compact and reliable and gives huge new closed form traveling wave solutions of nonlinear evolution equations in ocean engineering.〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Vanessa Cristina Estevam Bittencourt, Ana Maria dos Santos Moreira, Jeferson Gomes da Silva, Antônio Frederico de Freitas Gomides, Cibele Velloso-Rodrigues, Regina Gendzzelevski Kelmann, Leonardo Meneghin Mendonça, Ivana Silva Lula, Ângelo Márcio Leite Denadai〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of this work was to synthesize and characterize the inclusion compounds formed by the complexation of β-cyclodextrin (βCD) with insecticides from the class of benzoylphenylureas (BPUs), named novaluron (NOV) and diflubenzuron (DIF), beyond evaluate their larvicidal activity against 〈em〉Aedes aegypti〈/em〉 larvae. Solid state characterization by FTIR showed changes in the main peaks of BPUs and βCD, suggesting the formation of inclusion compounds in solid phase. DTA and TGA thermal analysis showed changes in temperatures of BPUs decomposition as result of molecular interactions. 〈sup〉1〈/sup〉H NMR experiments allowed to observe the occurrence of interactions in solution through changes in chemical shifts of BPUs aromatic hydrogens. However, the presence of H–H intermolecular correlations in 2D ROESY was found only for the DIF/βCD complex, suggesting different topology for each complex. Such hypothesis was corroborated by thermodynamic analysis using ITC, which showed different profile of titration curves, beyond endothermic and exothermic interactions for NOV/βCD and DIF/βCD complexes, respectively. DLS titrations of BPUs or BPUs/βCD DMSO solutions in aqueous solution demonstrated that the spontaneously formed hydrophobic nanoprecipitates (HNPs) have different profile of sizes depending on the BPU/βCD system, corroborating also with the hypothesis about the existence of different topologies for each complex. Finally, the HNPs of inclusion compounds showed to be more efficient than free BPUs, allowing proposing a new insecticide formulation.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Maiko Hayashida, Tsuyoshi Miyaoka, Keiko Tsuchie, Tomoko Araki, Muneto Izuhara, Shoko Miura, Misako Kanayama, Koji Ohtsuki, Michiharu Nagahama, Ilhamuddin Abdul Azis, Rostia Arianna Abdullah, Muhammad Alim Jaya, Ryosuke Arauchi, Sadayuki Hashioka, Rei Wake, Toshiko Tsumori, Jun Horiguchi, Arata Oh-Nishi, Masatoshi Inagaki〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉A reduction of GABAergic markers in postmortem tissue is consistently found in schizophrenia. Importantly, these alterations in GABAergic neurons are not global, which means they are more prevalent among distinct subclasses of interneurons, including those that express the calcium binding protein parvalbumin.〈/p〉 〈p〉A decreased expression of parvalbumin in the hippocampus is a consistent observation not only in postmortem human schizophrenia patients, but also in a diverse number of rodent models of the disease.〈/p〉 〈p〉Meanwhile, previously we reported that the congenital hyperbilirubinemia model rats (Gunn rats), which is a mutant of the Wistar strain, showed behavioral abnormalities, for instance, hyperlocomotor activity, deficits of prepulse inhibition, inappropriate social interaction, impaired recognition memory similar with several rodent models of schizophrenia. Several animal studies linked the importance of palvalbumin in relation to abnormal hippocampal activity and schizophrenia-like behavior.〈/p〉 〈p〉Here, we show that parvalbumin positive cell density was significantly lower in the CA1, CA3 and the total hippocampus of Gunn rats (congenital hyperbilirubinemia model rats) compared to Wistar control rats. The correlations between serum UCB levels and loss of PV expression in the hippocampus were also detected. The decreases in the PV-expression in the hippocampus might suggest an association of the behavioral abnormalities as schizophrenia-like behaviors of Gunn rats, compared to the Wistar control rats.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: Available online 3 July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Lamine Boumaiza, Ali Saeidi, Marco Quirion〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Among the methods used for evaluating the potential hydraulic erodibility of rock, the most common methods are those based on the correlation between the force of flowing water and the capacity of a rock to resist erosion, such as Annandale's and Pells' methods. The capacity of a rock to resist erosion is evaluated based on erodibility indices that are determined from specific geomechanical parameters of a rock mass. These indices include unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of rock, rock block size, joint shear strength, a block's shape and orientation relative to the direction of flow, joint openings, and the nature of the surface to be potentially eroded. However, it is difficult to determine the relevant geomechanical parameters for evaluating the hydraulic erodibility of rock. The assessment of eroded unlined spillways of dams has shown that the capacity of a rock to resist erosion is not accurately evaluated. Using more than 100 case studies, we develop a method to determine the relevant geomechanical parameters for evaluating the hydraulic erodibility of rock in unlined spillways. The UCS of rock is found not to be a relevant parameter for evaluating the hydraulic erodibility of rock. On the other hand, we find that the use of three-dimensional (3D) block volume measurements, instead of the block size factor used in Annandale's method, improves the rock block size estimation. Furthermore, the parameter representing the effect of a rock block's shape and orientation relative to the direction of flow, as considered in Pells' method, is more accurate than the parameter adopted by Annandale's method.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Geodesy and Geodynamics, Volume 10, Issue 4〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): 〈/p〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: August 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Volume 24〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Dagnachew Daniel Molla, Tenalem Ayenew Tegaye, Christopher G. Fletcher〈/p〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Study region〈/h6〉 〈p〉The volcano-tectonic lakes basin of Abaya-Chamo is part of the Main Ethiopian Rift system and exhibits large variations in geomorphology, physiography and climate between the rift floor and the plateau.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Study focus〈/h6〉 〈p〉Despite the importance of streamflow for water resources management and planning in the basin, many of the rivers there are ungauged. To make quantitative estimates of streamflow for spatially resolved water availability in such a highly heterogeneous environment, therefore, requires numerical modeling. This study is the first to quantify the surface and shallow groundwater resources in Abaya-Chamo, and to validate the physically fully distributed hydrologic model WetSpass under highly data-limited conditions, in a complex two-lake environment.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉New hydrological insights〈/h6〉 〈p〉Simulated total river flow and estimated baseflow were verified at 15 gauging stations, with a good agreement. The WetSpass model is shown to be suitable for such a complex setting with a correlation coefficient of 0.95 and 0.97 for total flow and baseflow respectively at a statistically significant level (p-value 〈 0.05). The simulated annual water budget reveals that 74.6% of the 22.1 billion lit/yr in total precipitation in the basin is lost through evapotranspiration, 15.7% through surface runoff, and only 9.7% recharges the groundwater system. The simulations also revealed the surface runoff and groundwater recharge are the most sensitive to soil textural class, while evapotranspiration depends more strongly on land use.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈h5〉Graphical abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉〈figure〉〈img src="https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S2214581818302623-ga1.jpg" width="159" alt="Graphical abstract for this article" title=""〉〈/figure〉〈/p〉〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Hydrology, Volume 576〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Valentin Haselbeck, Jannes Kordilla, Florian Krause, Martin Sauter〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Growing inorganic and expansive hydrochemical datasets and large differences in the measured concentrations require methods that are capable of compressing data without the loss of critical information and subsequently displaying it in a condensed and comprehensive way. Here we train an artificial neural network, Kohonen’s self-organizing map (SOM), to model inorganic hydrochemical clusters and associate the salinity source with the distribution of the ionic concentration spatial variation at a former potash mining site. Kohonen’s self-organizing maps are applied to project the data onto a two-dimensional grid and the geometric relationship of the projected vectors is subsequently used to perform a hierarchical cluster analysis. The SOM clustering approach succeeded in assigning the groundwater samples automatically according to their inorganic chemical composition. Five different clusters, three geogenic and two anthropogenic, were identified. The final outcome is displayed and compared with the classification from Piper plotting of the same dataset. In order to see the SOM clustering results in the large scale hydrogeological context, the distribution of the clusters is displayed spatially. This approach is a tool for the hydrogeologist to quickly analyze large datasets and present them in a clear and concise format.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: November 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 World Development, Volume 123〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sara Geenen〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉By zooming in on the concept of ‘local content’, this article speaks to the debate on extractive industries and development. It challenges two fundamental assumptions of the mainstream local content literature: that production linkages will develop if an enabling environment is created, and that local content is beneficial for local people. Based on almost 600 interviews and focus groups in four mining concessions in Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) it focuses on how local content policies are translated into concrete practices – more particularly around the granting of contracts and employment. In doing so it unravels the 〈em〉political〈/em〉 dimensions of local content policies and their 〈em〉structural embeddedness〈/em〉 in large-scale extractivist projects. It is argued that local content policies are implemented in complex political arenas, where the power holders use them as political instruments to enhance profit accumulation and control rents. Moreover they are embedded in the structural dynamics that permeate large-scale extractivist projects, producing (new) patterns of exclusion.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 79〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Saad AlQuhtani, Ardeshir Anjomani〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈p〉Dependency on the automobile in the United States has been associated with many urban problems. As a result, many American cities have seen a rebound in public transportation systems—many of whom have built modern rail transit systems. This resurgence of rail transit systems has caused apparent shifts in economic, social, and spatial aspects of neighborhoods located in proximity to rail stations.〈/p〉 〈p〉This study investigates the changes in housing value between 2000 and 2014 in 454 block groups within a one-mile buffer around rail stations located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area to determine if there is a correlation between proximity to rail stations and median housing value. This study uses two approaches to analyze the data. First, a comparison of changes in housing value within block groups located in the study area during the study period is introduced. Next, an innovative approach is employed to select the best regression model using the data on the block groups located within the study area to understand the relationships between the selected independent variables and the changes in housing value during the study period in relation to the research question.〈/p〉 〈p〉The findings demonstrate that economic development and commercial activity locations have the highest effect on housing value during the study period, and block groups that were closer to rail stations experienced lower changes in housing value compared to block groups located farther away from stations. An interesting finding contrary to some of the literature is that an increase in the percent of the black population does not have negative effects on the change in property values. The findings for Hispanic and other minorities is also the same. These findings are a useful addition to the existing literature and contribute to the field of urban planning to mitigate the effects on housing value surrounding station areas. In addition, planners and policymakers could use the implications from the findings to adopt some policies for furthering the success of rail transit systems in urban areas by sustaining station area development.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: June 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Journal of Transport Geography, Volume 78〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Benjamin K. Sovacool, Johannes Kester, Lance Noel, Gerardo Zarazua de Rubens〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Despite a potentially revolutionary shift towards electric mobility in the passenger vehicle market, the academic and policymaking communities remain wedded to a techno-economic paradigm that may not fully appreciate deeper social and geographic elements of a transition to electric vehicles. In this paper, based primarily on bivariate statistical analysis as well as a hierarchical regression analysis of a survey distributed to 〉5000 respondents across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, we analyze how perceptions and attitudes towards electric vehicles and vehicle-to-grid technologies differ by income, political affiliation, and geography. Although our findings confirm EV ownership and mobility patterns in general are related to income—those with higher incomes both own more EVs and drive more generally—they also confirm that interest in EVs is not so strongly related. Lower income groups seem to ask less from their cars, thus potentially opening up a market for cheaper low-range alternates. Political orientation is correlated to car and EV ownership, with those on the “left” more interested yet those on the “right” more able and willing to buy expensive cars. Moreover, we see variation in preferences across urban and rural subcategories, and our findings strongly suggest that EVs need not be promoted only for city or suburban areas. When controlling for variables, a multilevel regression analysis does not change the overall thrust of these associations.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: September 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Energy Policy, Volume 132〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Jeoung-Sik Min, Seul-Ye Lim, Seung-Hoon Yoo〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The combined heat and power (CHP) generation, which can produce both heat and electricity at the same time, is so efficient that it can reduce energy use and even mitigate CO〈sub〉2〈/sub〉 and air pollutants emissions. For this reason, the share of CHP generation worldwide is increasing and the optimal share of CHP generation in electric power generation is a serious concern in South Korea. This article attempts to estimate the optimal share by modeling the plausible relationship between CHP generation and national output in the Cobb-Douglas production function setting and then deriving the output-maximizing share of CHP generation. The production function is estimated for annual data from 1995 to 2017 using several quantile regressions. The optimal share is computed to be 13.8%. Therefore, it is recommended that South Korea should increase the share of CHP generation slightly, given that the share was 8.6% in 2017. If the optimal CHP share instead of the actual CHP share had been achieved in 2017, GDP in 2017 could have increased by 0.82%.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Anastasiia S. Boiko, Irina A. Mednova, Elena G. Kornetova, Arkadiy V. Semke, Nikolay A. Bokhan, Anton J.M. Loonen, Svetlana A. Ivanova〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background〈/h6〉 〈p〉Schizophrenia is associated with a lowered life expectancy due to cardiovascular disease. This is, at least in part, related to an increased vulnerability to the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients with schizophrenia. The dysregulation of apolipoproteins (Apos) may also play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia via their effect on cerebral cholesterol processing.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Aim〈/h6〉 〈p〉The aim of this study was to investigate serum Apos A1, C3, E, A2 and C2 concentration in schizophrenia patients with or without MetS in comparison to healthy donors.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉After obtaining informed consent, 53 patients with a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia according to ICD-10 criteria (F20) were included. Patients were divided into two groups with (N = 26) and without (N = 27) MetS according to the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. The control group included 20 mentally and physically healthy subjects. Serum Apos A1, A2, C2, C3 and E were measured using xMAP technology (Luminex).〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉Serum ApoA1 was significantly decreased in patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy subjects (p = 0.002); ApoA2 was lower in patients without MetS in comparison to patients with MetS (p = 0.017) and the levels of ApoC3 and ApoC2 were increased in patients with schizophrenia with MetS in comparison with the control group and also with patients without MetS. No other significant differences were established concerning the other assayed apolipoproteins.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉In line with literature data the results of our study suggest that while disturbances in ApoA1 level may play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, ApoA2, ApoC2, ApoC3 and ApoE may be primarily related to metabolic imbalance.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Sagar S. Arya, Mansi M. Sharma, Ratul K. Das, James Rookes, David Cahill, Sangram K. Lenka〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious concern in pathogenic bacteria. As a new approach to addressing AMR, we report here the green synthesis of vanillin capped gold nanoparticles (VAuNPs) using the popular flavouring molecule vanillin (C〈sub〉8〈/sub〉H〈sub〉8〈/sub〉O〈sub〉3〈/sub〉) as a reducing and capping agent. Physicochemical characterization revealed that the synthesised VAuNPs were stable and crystalline in nature. VAuNPs were non-bactericidal even at high concentration (〉2000 μg/ml). The antibiotic potentiation activity was studied in combination with seven widely used antibiotics against extremely drug resistant (XDR) 〈em〉Pseudomonas aeruginosa〈/em〉. Major reductions in minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC, 10–14-folds) of the antibiotics meropenem (10 fold) and trimethoprim (14 fold) were observed in the presence of VAuNPs (50 μg/ml). Furthermore, it was found that VAuNPs in combination with meropenem or trimethoprim provided 1.5–3-fold better potentiation effects than that of vanillin alone. Use of an ethidium bromide agar cart wheel assay indicated that VAuNPs can block the activity of efflux pumps. High reduction in the MIC of antibiotics was therefore attributed to the efflux pump repression activity of VAuNPs. Further, RT-qPCR of clinically relevant MexAB-OprM efflux pump components showed down-regulation in 〈em〉mexB〈/em〉 and 〈em〉OprM〈/em〉 transcripts in VAuNPs treated 〈em〉P. aeruginosa〈/em〉 clinical isolates. Our results reveal that VAuNPs impart susceptibility to the last line antibiotics meropenem, trimethoprim and few widely used antibiotics in XDR 〈em〉P. aeruginosa〈/em〉 clinical isolates that display resistance to these antibiotics. Therefore, this study indicate the ability of VAuNPs and vanillin to be used as antibiotic adjuvants for inhibiting bacterial efflux pumps to potentiate antibiotics for addressing AMR problem affecting human health and environment.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Emiliano Felici, Chien C. Wang, Cristian Casado, Ana Vicario, Víctor Pereyra, María R. Gómez〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉In this paper, a green analytical methodology based on fluorescence derivatization is proposed for the anti-helminthic drug monitoring ivermectin as environmental emergent contaminant. After sample clean-up, ivermectin was converted into a highly fluorescent derivative through a catalytic oxidation process followed by dehydration and tautomerization. Under optimal experimental conditions, a linear response was obtained for ivermectin within the range 0.38–600 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, with detection and quantification limits of 0.11 and 0.38 μg L〈sup〉−1〈/sup〉, both values are lower than other previously reported. This method has been applied for ivermectin determination in environmental water samples at trace levels, showing its potential for contamination monitoring.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Zemenu Bires, Sahil Raj〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This study has investigated the factors that determine the conservation of one of the major ecosystem in Ethiopia, Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve, using primarily quantitative followed by qualitative approach to provide adequate results of the problem under study. The study has employed the descriptive design and a total of 305 samples from rural households (n = 159) and tourism-related enterprises (n = 146) were selected based on a stratified random sampling technique. Samples were drawn based on their direct attachment either in their livelihood and possess a responsibility to the study area. Data were collected through questionnaires, observation, focus group discussion, unstructured interview and secondary data was consulted. Exploratory factor analysis was used to extract dimensions for environmental awareness. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze data using SPSS version 23. Ten Socio-demographic variables of samples were used as an independent variable and environmental conservation dimensions as dependent variables. The result revealed that out of the 10 variables employed in the analysis, six variables were found significant. Hence, marital status, household size, income source, household income, membership to club and resident location were found to be significant. Qualitative analysis revealed wrong reports for political consumption driven little government attention and lack of integrated natural resource management policy and plan were major factors hindering conservation. A vivid and holistic destination management policy making with enough room to stakeholders' involvement shall be a prior task for the government for better conservation of the ecosystem and sustainable development.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Yogendra Kumar, Panchanan Pramanik, Dipak Kumar Das〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Some electrodes for efficient detection of paracetamol and dopamine were developed from nano sized material of cobalt ferrite (np-CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉) and manganese ferrite (np-MnFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉). These oxides were synthesized by combustion method using cobalt nitrate, manganese acetate and ferric nitrate as precursors in the presence of sugar and ethanolamine. The crystallite size, shape and morphology of nano material were characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. The crystallite sizes of synthesized nano-particles (nps) were in the range from 10 to 12 nm (calculated using Debye-Scherrer equation) with cubic crystal system. These particles were utilized as electrode modified with graphite for simultaneous detection of paracetamol and dopamine through cyclic voltammetry and Differential pulse voltammetry techniques and was found to be superior to reported literatures. The minimum detection limit of paracetamol and dopamine at CoFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/GP electrode were 250 nM and 350 nM while at MnFe〈sub〉2〈/sub〉O〈sub〉4〈/sub〉/GP electrode it was 300 nM and 400 nM, respectively. Both the electrodes exhibited the linearity range from3 μM to 200 μM & 3 μM–160 μM for paracetamol and 3 μM–180 μM & 5 μM to 200 for dopamine, respectively. Two oxidation peaks of paracetamol and dopamine were well separated in phosphate buffer (pH = 6) in mixture with 100 mVs〈sup〉-1〈/sup〉 and 50 mVs〈sup〉-1〈/sup〉 scan rate for cyclic voltammetry and Differential pulse voltammetry, respectively. Both the electrodes demonstrated satisfactory results in real samples of paracetamol and dopamine.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Ahmed A. Abdurahman, Eshetu E. Chaka, Mohammed H. Bule, Kamal Niaz〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Background & aim〈/h6〉 〈p〉Concurrent estimates on the magnitude and evidence on the determinants of complementary feeding (CF) practices in Ethiopia are currently disparate. Hence, this systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the magnitude and determinants of CF among children age 6–23 months in Ethiopia.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉Studies from various databases published until July 2018 were identified, selected, extracted and assessed for risk of bias by two authors independently. A random-effects model was used to pool the prevalence and odds ratios (ORs).〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉26 studies with 17, 383 children were included. The pooled prevalence estimate of timely initiated CF, minimum dietary diversity (DD), minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet were 61.0%, 18.0%, 56.0%, and 10.0% respectively. The pooled prevalence of timely initiation and minimum DD were higher in Northern Ethiopia. On the other hand, except for the minimum meal frequency, all the three core indicators of CF were better in urban than rural settings. Child age, maternal and/or paternal education, paternal involvement, maternal DD, antenatal and postnatal care, and place of delivery were the main determinants that can increase appropriate CF practices.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusion〈/h6〉 〈p〉The reported estimates of the prevalence of core CF indicators in Ethiopia remained poor. Therefore, the authors would like to acknowledge the effort that has been done by the minister of health and its partners including Alive & Thrive to improving CF practices in the country, however, these programs should be done more thoroughly, and scaled up by applying and adapting tested, proven approaches and tools in contexts.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Carolina Gonzaga Carvalho, Richard Bresler, Ying Xuan Zhi, Hisham Alshaer, John T. Granton, Clodagh M. Ryan〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Objectives〈/h6〉 〈p〉Our aims were to evaluate HRV in pulmonary hypertension (WHO Group 1 and 4) compared to control subjects, and to assess whether the presence of sleep apnea in those with pulmonary hypertension would be deleterious and cause greater impairment in HRV.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Methods〈/h6〉 〈p〉This retrospective case-control study analyzed electrocardiogram segments obtained from diagnostic polysomnography.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Results〈/h6〉 〈p〉Forty-one pulmonary hypertension patients were compared to 41 age, sex and apnea-hypopnea index matched healthy controls. The pulmonary hypertension group had decreased high frequency, very low frequency, low frequency, and percentage of normal R-R intervals that differ by 〉 50 ms compared to control subjects. Moderate to severe right ventricle dysfunction on echocardiography was a predictor of lower high frequency in pulmonary hypertension patients.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈div〉 〈h6〉Conclusions〈/h6〉 〈p〉There were no differences in any HRV measures in pulmonary hypertension patients with or without sleep apnea. Impaired HRV was demonstrated in pulmonary hypertension patients however, the presence of sleep apnea did not appear to further reduce vagal modulation.〈/p〉 〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Francisco González Santa Cruz, Juan Choque Tito, Jesús Claudio Pérez-Gálvez, Miguel Jesús Medina-Viruel〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Gastronomy allows tourists to discover the cultural roots of the destination, thus being one of the motivations for its choice and even becoming a fundamental factor in the analysis of the overall satisfaction of the tourist experience. This research is focused on the analysis of the gastronomic experiences of foreign tourists who visit the city of Oruro (Bolivia). The main results of this research show a segmentation of travellers on the basis of their perceptions regarding the gastronomic experiences in this city into three different groups (survivors, enjoyers, and experiencers). Additionally, the study concludes that these gastronomic experiences are highly related to the motivations that the travellers have to discover a specific destination, and that their level of satisfaction with these experiences is highly connected to the relationship that gastronomy has with the cultural heritage of the local community.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Oluwamayowa Olalekan Iredele〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉This paper examines the quality of integrated reports of listed firms in South Africa and the associated factors. Data were obtained from a sample comprising 100 firm-year observations of 20 companies in Johannesburg Stock Exchange over the period (2013–2017). Analysis of data involves descriptive statistics, spearman rank correlation analysis and Kruskal-Wallis H test. The result shows a significant relationship between the quality and length of integrated reports. Firms vary in the level of quality of their integrated reports on the account of differences in profitability, board size, gender and firm size. No significant relationship was found between quality of integrated reports and leverage. The result of this study indicates that the length of the integrated report signals the level of quality of such report, which may be necessary in disclosing all material matters to satisfy the needs of a wide range of stakeholders.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): R. Sharma〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of angle of incident light on the performance of silicon solar cell. In this regard, numerical calculations have been performed to obtain the reflectance for double layer antireflection coating (DLARC) of Si〈sub〉3〈/sub〉N〈sub〉4〈/sub〉 at various angles of incidence (i.e.〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si1.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉15〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉30〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉45〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mo〉,〈/mo〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈mi〉a〈/mi〉〈mi〉n〈/mi〉〈mi〉d〈/mi〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉60〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉) using transfer matrix method. Reflectances obtained, are found to increases with increase in angle of incidence. Calculated reflectances have been further used in the PC1D simulator as external reflectance files to study the performance of silicon solar cell. As a result of the simulation, the conversion efficiency (and short circuit current) of solar cell is found to decrease by 1.7% (0.062 mA/cm〈sup〉2〈/sup〉) with increase in angle of incidence from 〈math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" altimg="si2.svg"〉〈mrow〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉0〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈mi〉t〈/mi〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈mspace width="0.25em"〉〈/mspace〉〈msup〉〈mrow〉〈mn〉60〈/mn〉〈/mrow〉〈mrow〉〈mi〉o〈/mi〉〈/mrow〉〈/msup〉〈/mrow〉〈/math〉.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉

Beschreibung: 〈p〉Publication date: July 2019〈/p〉 〈p〉〈b〉Source:〈/b〉 Heliyon, Volume 5, Issue 7〈/p〉 〈p〉Author(s): Saleem Ali Banihani〈/p〉 〈div xml:lang="en"〉 〈h5〉Abstract〈/h5〉 〈div〉〈p〉Testosterone is an anabolic steroid and the principal sex hormone in males. Maintaining adequate levels of testosterone throughout the life span of male is very desirable, especially it is now well-known that low levels of testosterone is associated with various aging diseases/disorders. Therefore, still, so many research studies have focused on enhancing serum levels of testosterone in males. Here, we intended to systematically discuss and present the impact of honey on serum levels of testosterone in males. This was conducted by searching PubMed, Scopus, and Embase electronic databases for research articles from May 1993 through April 2019 using the keywords “honey” and “honeybee” versus “testosterone”. Moreover, references from relevant published articles were also reviewed and cited to frame an integral discussion, conclusion, and future research needs. In conclusion, the collective evidence, which is mainly based on in vivo system studies, reveals that oral administration of honey increases serum testosterone level in males. Mechanistically, honey may increase serum level of testosterone by increasing the production of luteinizing hormone, enhancing the viability of Leydig cells, reducing oxidative damage in Leydig cells, enhancing StAR gene expression, and inhibiting aromatase activity in the testes. However, further research studies on humans, mainly clinical trials, in this specific research approach are still needed to confirm the effect of honey on testosterone.〈/p〉〈/div〉 〈/div〉