Urban Air Quality Plans and Integrated Assessment Methodologies

The air quality directive （2008/50/EC （of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008）） requires European Member States to design appropriate AQPs （air quality plans） for zones and agglomerations where the air quality does not comply with the limit values and to assess possible emission reduction measures to decrease concentration levels. The Portuguese agglomeration of Porto Litoral is one of the several European Union urban areas that had to develop and implement AQPs to reduce particulate matter （PM10）. The AQPs were initially designed based on a scenario approach and using an air quality model, which was applied over the study region for the reference situation with the current PM10 emissions, and for a reduction scenario with PM10 emissions re-estimated considering the implementation of abatement measures. Aiming to cost-efficiently optimize Porto Litoral PM10 abatement measures, the assessment procedure was repeated using an optimization approach based on the RIAT ＋ （regional integrated assessment tool ＋）. Porto Litoral urban area＇s technical and non-technical measures were characterized （including associated costs） and, through the application of the air quality model to 20 emissions abatement scenarios, S-R （source-receptor） relationships were created. This paper comparatively describes the air quality plans designed to improve PM10 levels in the Porto Litoral agglomeration based on both the scenario analysis and the optimization approach.

Protein Quality Evaluation of Animal Food Proteins by <i>In-Vitro</i>Methodologies

Animal protein foods are undoubtedly among the most concentrated source of essential amino acids (AA) for the human diet. However, their high prices and diseases associated to their excessive consumption have fomented the consumption of other alternative sources of animal proteins such as those from marine or aquatic species. Sonora is a well recognized producer of animal foods in Mexico, both terrestrial and aquatic. In this study, the protein quality evaluation of these animal food sources, highly produced and consumed in Sonora, is proposed, using in-vitro methodologies. Four different species, from each aquatic and terrestrial origin, were selected. Samples of lean muscle were used in all cases. Various in-vitro methodologies for protein quality evaluation were selected, alternatives to the animal bioassays: % digestibility, Total amino acid analyses (HPLC), PDCAAS, computerized PER calculations (C-PER and DC-PER) and total collagen contents. % in-vitro digestibility presented significant differences among samples from terrestrial species, but muscle from aquatic species did not showed significant differences. All sources of proteins, both aquatic and terrestrial proved to be rich sources of essential amino acids. PDCAAS was unable to establish significant differences in protein quality among sources of protein from different origin. Both methods C-PER and DC-PER were more exact in their results and were able to detect significant differences among samples of different origin. An important finding was the great difference in the total collagen content between aquatic and terrestrial sources of proteins, where terrestrial muscle proteins had almost 10-time more collagen than aquatic protein sources. However, these collagen contents did not seem to have a significant influence in the protein quality of these animal proteins. These muscle proteins, from both aquatic and terrestrial species, confirmed to have a high protein quality and some of the in-vitro methodologies used in this study represent a valuable alternative to the animal bioassays.

Transitional methodologies of the second language grammar teaching in middle schools

Grammar teaching recently faces lots of problems not only in the teaching methods but also in its position it deserves. Through analyzing the importance and the confronting problems of grammar teaching in middle schools, the paper will do the further research on the methodologies in the transitional time and will surely conclude the theories that can direct teaching process.

Paradigms and Methodologies for Knowledge Building

A diversity of methodologies can be utilized for knowledge building in social sciences, particularly in education. Nevertheless, in order to give meaning to the research findings and progressively create theories, an awareness of the epistemological framework appears to be necessary. The aim of this article is to present the main epistemological paradigms and their coherent correspondence with respective ontologies and corresponding methodologies. This article supports and describes four paradigms or epistemological traditions: logic empiricism, constructivism, conceptualism or Aristotelian tradition, and phenomenology. Understanding the diverse possible epistemologies as well as the coherence with methodologies is a necessary step for presenting well-informed research. Knowledge building requires comparison, replication, generalization or integration of results in theories, and all these processes need the critical instance of the epistemological and methodological coherence. Additionally some concrete examples of methodologies have been detailed to illustrate the diversity of available ways of knowledge building in education. The Review of Educational Theory, as a new journal that aims to create a scientific community, will increase the research quality by enhancing the epistemological and methodological awareness of their pieces of research.

Development Methodologies for Network Softwarization: A Comparison of DevOps, NetOps, and Verification

This white paper explores three popular development methodologies for network softwarization: DevOps, NetOps, and Verification. The paper compares and contrasts the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and provides recommendations for organizations looking to adopt network softwarization.

Research on the Prevention Methodologies and Environmental Protection Countermeasures for Oil Pollution based on Latest Techniques from China and Abroad

In this paper, we conduct research on the prevention methodologies and environmental protection countermeasures for oil pollution based on latest techniques from China and abroad. Petroleum and petrochemical industry will also be able to have serious water pollution. Against oil pollution increasingly serious phenomenon, about how to control oil pollution has also carried on the thorough research and accumulated in the process of specific management experiences and lessons. We conduct theoretical analysis between the state-of-the-art methods of environmental protection countermeasures with examples, We firmly believe that more advances will occur in the future.

Review on microbial metabolomics of probiotics and pathogens:Methodologies and applications

In recent years,microbial metabolomics,a new field that has attracted wide attention,provides a map of metabolic pathways and clarifies the interaction mechanism between microorganisms and hosts.Many microorganisms are found in the human intestine,oral cavity,vagina,etc.Probiotics could maintain the good health of the host,while pathogens and an imbalance of bacterial flora lead to a series of diseases of the body and mind.Metabolomics is a science for qualitative and quantitative analysis of all metabolites in an organism or biological system,which could provide key information to understand the related metabolic pathways and associated changes.This approach analyzes the final products of cellular regulatory processes,the level of which can be regarded as the ultimate response of the biological system to genetic or environmental changes.Microbial metabolomics has been widely used in different research fields,such as microbial phenotypic classification,mutant screening,metabolic pathways,microbial metabolic engineering,fermentation engineering monitoring and optimization,microbial environmental pollution,and so on.However,there are only a few reviews on microbial metabolomics of probiotics and pathogens.This review summarizes the main methodologies,including sample preparation,identification of metabolites,data processing,and analysis.Recent applications in microbial metabolomics of probiotics and pathogens are also described.This paper first summarized the research progress and application of microbial metabolomics from two aspects:probiotics and pathogenic bacteria.Probiotics and pathogenic bacteria do not exist independently most of the time;hence,these were reviewed in the research field of coexistence of probiotics and pathogenic bacteria,which was subdivided into important microbial research fields closely related to human health,including the human gut,oral cavity,food,and nutrition-related microorganisms.Then,the main problems and trends associated with microbial metabolomics are discussed.

Methodologies of Biophysical Wound Healing Therapies

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of methodological variation of biophysical therapies on wound healing outcomes, as a preliminary study to develop a composite wound healing device. Methods: A literature search was focused on the variable devices, sys-tem configurations, input parameters, and treatment durations of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), electrical stimulation (ES), and low-level light therapy (LLLT) from 2011 to July 2016. Results: In NPWT, lower vacuum pressures of ?50 and ?80 mmHg achieved similar tissue perfusion outcomes as earlier recommendations of ?125 mmHg, while there is no established regimen with respect to continuous, square wave, or triangular NP waveform due to inconsistent results. Use of wound filler may contribute to improved tissue granulation when compared to topical NP. An ES configuration of high-voltage pulsed current with the stimulation electrode placed in the wound bed best resembles the endogenous skin current, which guides cellular migration. However, no studies have established optimal stimulation parameters. For LLLT, laser and LED proved similarly effective. Although red light has been almost exclusively used in human pressure ulcer treatment, studies comparing blue, green, and red wavelengths more consistently show biological effects using green light. Conclu-sions: Variation in the application of mechanical, electrical, and radiant energies may be used to modulate wound healing pathways. To 2012, no studies have examined use of these biophysical modalities in combination. Further methodological studies with a systems approach would help define optimal treatment protocols for improved wound healing outcomes in clinical practice.

Research on Active Safety Methodologies for Intelligent Railway Systems

Safety is essential when building a strong transportation system.As a key development direction in the global railway system,the intelligent railway has safety at its core,making safety a top priority while pursuing the goals of efficiency,convenience,economy,and environmental friendliness.This paper describes the state of the art and proposes a system architecture for intelligent railway systems.It also focuses on the development of railway safety technology at home and abroad,and proposes the active safety method and technology system based on advanced theoretical methods such as the in-depth integration of cyber–physical systems(CPS),data-driven models,and intelligent computing.Finally,several typical applications are demonstrated to verify the advancement and feasibility of active safety technology in intelligent railway systems.

Agile Software Development Methodologies: Survey of Surveys

Agile software design and development methodologies have been gaining rigorous attention in the software engineering research community since their early introduction in the mid-nineties in addition to being highly adopted by the software development industry. In the last 15 years, an excessive number of research studies have been conducted on agile methods, a great number of notable methods have been proposed and various surveys have been presented by many researchers. In this study, the authors intend to conduct a literature survey study of the surveys of the different agile methodologies ranging from January 2000 to December 2015 using an intuitive research methodology called “Compare and Review” (CR). Furthermore, these survey papers were classified into four major categories according to their area of study. Additionally, the newly proposed agile methodologies that have not been addressed yet in any other literature review were reviewed and compared in terms of where the changes that they proposed lay on the SDLC.

Biological Methodologies on SDHI Fungicides to Assess Reductions of Sensitivity and Activity on <i>Venturia inaequalis</i>and Cross-Resistance Tests

Biological methodologies (in vitro and in vivo) were tested on Venturia inaequalis to assay sensitivity of populations treated with the SDHI penthiopyrad, fluxapyroxad and fluopyram that showed a field poor control in an experimental Centre. In comparison, sensible populations were tested. In vitro trials, the poorly controlled populations presented moderate increases of EC50 and RF values in all three years in which tests were carried out. The in vivo trials in glasshouse showed that the activity of SDHI fungicides on field poorly controlled populations was highly reduced. These populations can be defined as “resistant” as the high loss of sensitivity and activity were repeatedly assessed in field and glasshouse. Trials showed that these reductions were manifested by curative applications and not by preventive ones, as already ascertained for V. inaequalis populations resistant to AP and DMI fungicides. The cross-resistance of resistant populations to the three SDHIs was highly positive among them. In bibliography, there are only researches of cross-resistance among SDHIs starting from isolates resistant to boscalid, with results of different sensitivities and cross-resistance. These results with populations of V. inaequalis resistant to the three SDHI offer practical evaluations in cross-resistance.

Contrastive study on Chinese and Western teaching methodologies

This paper is to reiterate the importance of culture acquisition in learning English by comparing such four language teaching methodologies as curriculum, teaching materials, teaching approaches and assessment between China and Western countries. Then it points out that EFL education reform in China, in the sense of culture teaching, has a long way to go. The paper finds that the real application for English teaching is how to practice the culture infusion in English teaching.

Research on the Progress of Environmental Remediation Methodologies under the Conditions of Oil and Heavy Metal Pollution

In this paper, we conduct research on the progress of environmental remediation methodologies under the conditions of oil and heavy metal pollution. The main repair contaminated soil measures include chemical, physical and chemical measures, biological repair measures and agricultural ecological measures, engineering measures, etc. Selection principle is to adjust measures to local conditions, at the same time, take the technical, economic and effects of factors such as accessibility. After comparing the mentioned techniques, we conclude that the bioremediation method holds the best effectiveness for us to make contribution to the environmental protection. In final part, we give the conclusion and sct up the prospect.

Design Methodologies in Interdisciplinary Teaching: Integrating Art and Education

Interest in integrating design methodologies within interdisciplinary teaching has emerged as a strong method for increasing student learning and creativity, especially in integrating art and education. This study discusses the theoretical underpinnings of design-based teaching methodology and its practical applications in interdisciplinary settings. It discusses current practices and emerging trends in how design thinking principles bridge the gap between artistic expression and educational pedagogy. The results highlight the importance of a collaborative learning environment, an iterative process, and project-based approaches that allow the development of skills related to creativity besides the analytical ones. The main strategies in implementing methodologies for such purposes and their impact on student engagement in learning are discussed.

Superhydrophobic modification of cellulose and cotton textiles:Methodologies and applications

Superhydrophobic cellulose-based products have immense potential in many industries where plastics and other polymers with hydrophobic properties are used.Superhydrophobic cellulose-based plastic is inherently biodegradable,renewable and non-toxic.Finding a suitable replace-ment of plastics is highly desired since plastics has become an environmental concern.Despite its inherent hydrophilicity,cellulose has unparalleled advantages as a substrate for the produc-tion of superhydrophobic materials which has been widely used in self-cleaning,self-healing,oil and water separation,electromagnetic interference shielding,etc.This review includes a compre-hensive survey of the progress achieved so far in the production of super-hydrophobic materials based on cellulose and fiber networks.The methodologies and applications of superhydrophobic-modified cellulose and fiber networks are emphasized.Overall,presented herein is targeting on summarizing some of the aspects that are critical to advance this evolving field of science which may provide new ideas for the developing and exploring of superhydrophobic and green-based materials.

Unmodified methodologies in target discovery for small molecule drugs:A rising star

Target discovery,involving target identification and validation,is the prerequisite for drug discovery and screening.Novel methodologies and technologies for the precise discovery and confirmation of drug targets are powerful tools in understanding the disease,looking for a drug and elucidating the mechanism of drug treatment.Among the common target identification and confirmation methods,the modified method is time-consuming and laborious,which may reduce or change the activity of natural products.The unmodified methods developed in recent years without chemical modification have gradually become an important means of studying drug targets.A wide range of unmodified approaches have been reported,introducing and analyzing the recent emerging methodologies and technologies.This review highlights the advantages and limitations of these methods for the application of drug target discovery and presents an overview of their contributions to the target discovery of small molecule drugs.The application and future development trends of methodologies in target discovery are also prospected to provide a reference for drug target research.

Review of research methodologies for tigers:Telemetry

Over the past half century,wildlife research has relied on technological advances to gain additional insight into the secretive lives of animals.This revolution started in the 1960s with the development of radio telemetry and continues today with the use of Global Positioning System(GPS)-based research techniques.In the present paper we review the history of radio telemetry from its origins with grizzly bears in Yellowstone to its early applications in tiger research and conservation in Asia.We address the different types of data that are available using radio telemetry as opposed to using other research techniques,such as behavioral observations,camera trapping,DNA analysis and scat analysis.In the late 1990s,the rapid development of GPS collar technology revolutionized wildlife research.This new technology has enabled researchers to dramatically improve their ability to gather data on animal movements and ecology.Despite the ecological and conservation benefits of radio telemetry,there have been few telemetry studies of tigers in the wild,and most have been on the Bengal or Amur subspecies.We close with an assessment of the current tiger conservation efforts using GPS technology and discuss how this new information can help to preserve tigers for future generations.

Efficient Visual Recognition:A Survey on Recent Advances and Brain-inspired Methodologies

Visual recognition is currently one of the most important and active research areas in computer vision,pattern recognition,and even the general field of artificial intelligence.It has great fundamental importance and strong industrial needs,particularly the modern deep neural networks(DNNs)and some brain-inspired methodologies,have largely boosted the recognition performance on many concrete tasks,with the help of large amounts of training data and new powerful computation resources.Although recognition accuracy is usually the first concern for new progresses,efficiency is actually rather important and sometimes critical for both academic research and industrial applications.Moreover,insightful views on the opportunities and challenges of efficiency are also highly required for the entire community.While general surveys on the efficiency issue have been done from various perspectives,as far as we are aware,scarcely any of them focused on visual recognition systematically,and thus it is unclear which progresses are applicable to it and what else should be concerned.In this survey,we present the review of recent advances with our suggestions on the new possible directions towards improving the efficiency of DNN-related and brain-inspired visual recognition approaches,including efficient network compression and dynamic brain-inspired networks.We investigate not only from the model but also from the data point of view(which is not the case in existing surveys)and focus on four typical data types(images,video,points,and events).This survey attempts to provide a systematic summary via a comprehensive survey that can serve as a valuable reference and inspire both researchers and practitioners working on visual recognition problems.

A Perspective of Urban Forestry Policy and Management Methodologies in China

Urban forestry provides the way to resolve the ecological and environmental problems of urbanization. Recently, how to make appropriate urban forestry policy and implement the corresponding management methodologies has become one of hot topics in the research of urban forestry. In this paper, Chinese urban forestry policies were introduced, the common themes of urban forestry planning, for example, Green Structure Planning had been identified, different urban forestry management strategies were suggested primarily in China under the guidance of European urban forestry management methodologies. Additionally, partnership and public involvement, as the main working methods of urban forestry, were analyzed in detail. The aims of this paper is to examine current practices related to urban forestry policy and management, to improve the urban forestry sustainable management ability for policy makers, managers, beneficiaries, user-groups, communities, and to improve the ecological and environmental quality in urban and suburban areas in China.