An evolutionary approach to the delineation of functional areas based on travel-to-work flows

This paper presents a new approach to the delineation of local labor markets based on evolutionary computation. The aim of the exercise is the division of a given territory into functional regions based on travel-to-work flows. Such regions are defined so that a high degree of inter-regional separation and of intra-regional integration in both cases in terms of commuting flows is guaranteed. Additional requirements include the absence of overlap between delineated regions and the exhaustive coverage of the whole territory. The procedure is based on the maximization of a fitness function that measures aggregate intra-region interaction under constraints of inter-region separation and minimum size. In the experimentation stage, two variations of the fitness function are used, and the process is also applied as a final stage for the optimization of the results from one of the most successful existing methods, which are used by the British authorities for the delineation of travel-to-work areas （TTWAs）. The empirical exercise is conducted using real data for a sufficiently large territory that is considered to be representative given the density and variety of travel-to-work patterns that it embraces. The paper includes the quantitative comparison with alternative traditional methods, the assessment of the performance of the set of operators which has been specifically designed to handle the regionalization problem and the evaluation of the convergence process. The robustness of the solutions, something crucial in a research and policy-making context, is also discussed in the paper.     

Ecological Compensation Estimation of Soil and Water Conservation Based on Cost-Benefit Analysis

Soil and water conservation ecological compensation can be simply defined as a monetary payment to offset the environmental loss. An illustration is given in this study describing the payment compensation to water resource conservation and soil losses in Erlongshan reservoir catchment, China. A semi-distributed hydrological SWAT model was applied to establish compensation standard considering six scenarios of land use changes by combined application of remote sensing and geographic information systems. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) method is applied to evaluate the function of soil and water conservation, of which marginal opportunity cost and market value methods have been explored calculate the cost and benefit of water and soil conservation ecological function from provider and beneficiaries. Finally the ecological compensation of soil and water conservation for different land-use scenarios is calculated incorporating benefit apportion coefficient. The results provide an economically evaluated and market-oriented standard for the study of eco-compensation of environmental services and will be of great benefit to the implementation of soil and water conservation at a mesoscale catchment scale.     

Short-Term Land use Planning and Optimal Subsidies

Networks and Spatial Economics - Urban planning is a complex problem which includes choosing a social objective for a city, finding the associated optimal allocation of agents and identifying...     

Preparation and characterization of novel bioactive α-Tricalcium Phosphate doped with Dicalcium Silicate ceramics

This work describes the evaluation of pure α-Tricalcium Phosphate (TCP) and silica containing TCP ceramics in the system Dicalcium Silicate–Tricalcium Phosphate (C₂S–TCP) as a potential substrate for bone tissue engineering. The ceramics were soaked in dynamic simulated body fluid (SBF) for 2 weeks and characterized by SEM-WDS, XRD, and TEM analysis, and the results indicated that a carbonated hydroxyapatite (CHA) was formed on the surface of the ceramics. In addition, cell attachment assay showed that the ceramics supported the adult mesenchymal stem cells of human origin (hMSCs-A) adhesion and spreading, and the cells established close contacts with the ceramics after 24 h of culture. Also, cellular assays have shown a greater ability of hMSCs-A to express markers of the osteoblast phenotype (ALP, Col I, OC) in the C₂S doped α-TCP ceramics, indicating osteoblastic differentiation as a result of the increased concentration of silicon in solid solution in α-TCP. These findings indicate that the C₂S doped α-TCP ceramics possess good bioactivity, and biocompatibility, and might be promising for bone implant material.     

Optimisation of maintenance strategy for rural road network using genetic algorithm

The objective of this paper is to develop an optimised maintenance strategy for the rural road network of Kerala state. This is accomplished with the development of a bi-objective deterministic optimisation model which simultaneously satisfies the objectives of both minimisation of total maintenance cost and maximisation of performance of the road network. The model is capable of planning the maintenance activities over a multi-year planning period. The performance of the road network is accounted using the composite index, namely Pavement Condition Index. The constraint-based genetic algorithm was used as the optimisation tool since it very well takes care of the combinatorial nature of the network-level pavement maintenance programming. The applicability of the model is illustrated using a case study for the rural road network of Kerala state in India. The effort made through this research work to develop a suitable Pavement Maintenance and Management System for rural road network can lead to the proper maintenance and upkeep of the rural roads, thereby triggering a positive impact on the Indian economy.     

A fuzzy regression model based on distances and random variables with crisp input and fuzzy output data: a case study in biomass production

Least-squares technique is well-known and widely used to determine the coefficients of a explanatory model from observations based on a concept of distance. Traditionally, the observations consist of pairs of numeric values. However, in many real-life problems, the independent or explanatory variable can be observed precisely (for instance, the time) and the dependent or response variable is usually described by approximate values, such as “about £300\pounds300” or “approximately $500”, instead of exact values, due to sources of uncertainty that may affect the response. In this paper, we present a new technique to obtain fuzzy regression models that consider triangular fuzzy numbers in the response variable. The procedure solves linear and non-linear problems and is easy to compute in practice and may be applied in different contexts. The usefulness of the proposed method is illustrated using simulated and real-life examples.     

Comparative study between large-scale and small-scale electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation performed on AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel

This work optimizes the application of electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation (EPR) to assess the degree of sensitization (DOS) of AISI 316L and compares the large-scale and small-scale EPR with the aim of improving the study of the different zones of AISI 316L welded joints by using an electrochemical minicell. The optimized EPR allows to discriminate better than the standardized EPR among different DOS. Small-scale EPR shows greater sensitivity to assess the DOS than large-scale EPR: (i) at lower deformation levels; (ii) for shorter sensitization times; (iii) when localized microstructural regeneration is caused by the combined effect of deformation and subsequent sensitization.     

Determination of flonicamid and its metabolites in bell pepper using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (Orbitrap)

The development and validation of a method to determine flonicamid and its metabolites as TFNA (4-trifluoromethylnicotinic acid), TFNG (N-(4-trifluoromethylnicotinoyl) glycine) and TFNA-AM (4-trifluoromethylnicotinamide) in bell pepper samples by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS) was performed. A fast and simple extraction procedure with acidified acetonitrile and salts (magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride) was used. The methodology was validated, checking for specificity, recovery, precision, limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs). The recoveries ranged from 84% to 98%, and precisions were lower than 17%. Finally, LODs ranged from 1 µg kg^–1 (flonicamid) to 6 µg kg^–1 (TFNA-AM), while LOQs ranged from 10 µg kg^–1 (flonicamid) to 30 µg kg^–1 (TFNA-AM). Bell pepper samples were analysed and concentrations up to 98 µg kg^–1 (flonicamid) were detected, although the sum of flonicamid and metabolites did not exceed the maximum residue limit (MRL) set by the European Union.     

An energy efficient middleware for an ad-hoc AAL wireless sensor network

DIA (Dispositivo Inteligente de Alarma, in Spanish) is an AAL (Ambient Assisted Living) system that allows to infer a potential dangerous action of an elderly person living alone at home. This inference is obtained by a specific sensorisation with sensor nodes (portables and fixes) and a reasoning layer embedded in a PC that learns of the users behaviour patterns and advices when actual one differs significantly of the normal patterns. In AAL systems, energy is a limited resource therefore sensor devices need to be properly managed to conserve energy. In this paper, we introduce the design and implementation of innovative and specific mechanisms at the sensory layer middleware which is capable of, first to discriminate spurious motion detections assuming that these signals do not resemble the patterns of real motion detections and, second to reduce the dynamics of messages by a sensor signal processing in order to compress the whole information in one single event. The middleware achieves power saving by modifying the raw information from sensors and adapting it to the predefined semantic of the reasoning layer. It manages the important task of data processing from sensors (raw information), and transfers the pre-processed information into the top layer of reasoning in a more energy efficient way. We also address the trade-off between reducing power consumption and reducing delay for incoming data. We present results from experiments using our implementation of these mechanisms at the middleware that comprises from node firmware to the PC driver. The number of messages of the proposed method with respect to the raw data is reduced by approximately 98.5%. The resources used in the PIR signal processing is reduced by approximately 85%. The resulting delay introduced is small (10–19 s) but system dynamics is slow enough to avoid contextualisation errors or reduction of system performance. We consider these results as very satisfactory.     

Simultaneous determination of neonicotinoid insecticides in sunflower-treated seeds (hull and kernel) by LC-MS/MS

A validated analytical method to determine seven neonicotinoids (dinotefuran, nitenpyram, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid, acetamiprid and thiacloprid) in sunflower seeds (hull and kernel) using HPLC coupled to electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is presented. Sample clean-up based on a solid–liquid extraction, and the removal of lipid fraction, in the case of kernels, is proposed and optimised. Low limits of detection and quantification were obtained, ranging from 0.3 × 10^–3 to 1.2 × 10^–3 µg g^–1 and from 1.0 × 10^–3 to 4.0 × 10^–3 µg g^–1, with good precision, and recovery values ranged from 90% to 104% for hulls and kernels. The method was applied for the analysis of five thiamethoxam-dressed sunflower seeds and four non-treated seeds, where, besides thiamethoxam, residues of the other neonicotinoid, clothianidin, were also detected and confirmed via tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Finally, the presence of residues of thiamethoxam and clothianidin in collected sunflower seeds (hulls) coming from coated seeds confirmed the translocation of these neonicotinoids through the plant up to these seeds.