Integrity Measurement Research Articles

Organic farming practices in rainfed lowland rice in hill zone of Karnataka, India

A large-scale field trial was conducted at Agricultural Research Station (Paddy), Sirsi of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Sirsi, Karnataka, India, during 2004–15 on a fixed site, to study the effect of different organic farming practices on productivity of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under inorganic and integrated nutrient-management practices. The trial consisted of 5 treatments, viz. T1 , Organic [75% N through organic manures + 100% organic plant protection (PP) measures]; T2, organic [100% N through organic manure + 100% organic plant protection (PP) measures]; T3 , integrated nutrient management [50% N through organic manures + 50% RDF + integrated PP measures]; T4 , inorganic treatment [recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) alone + inorganic PP measures]; and T5 , recommended practice (RDF + FYM 10 t/ha + integrated PP measures). The rice variety ‘Abilash’ was grown during the rainy (kharif) season with these treatments. At the end of 12th year, i.e. during 2015, the grain yield recorded in treatment T2 (6.418 t/ha) was the maximum and was found on a par with T5 (6.328 t/ha). How-ever, the straw yield was the maximum in T5 (7.577 t/ha), being at par with T2 (7.494 t/ha). The net returns realized were significantly highest with treatment T2 (`41,045/ha) compared to all the other treatments. The soil organic carbon (0.77%), available major (221.2, 22.0 and 67.0 kg/ha of N, P and K, respectively) and micro-nutrients (515.5, 100.8, 5.6 ppm of calcium, magnesium and zinc, respectively and 7.6 kg/ha of sulphur) were also higher with treatment T2 .

Research on the Measurement and Improvement Strategy of Integration of Agriculture, Culture and Tourism in Hebei Province Under the Strategy of Rural Revitalization

Research on the Measurement and Improvement Strategy of Integration of Agriculture, Culture and Tourism in Hebei Province Under the Strategy of Rural Revitalization

Association of social integration with cognitive function trajectories among Chinese older adults: evidence from the China health and retirement longitudinal study (CHARLS).

The prevalence of cognitive impairment among older adults remains high. It has been proven that social integration is related to cognitive function. However, limited research has examined the association of social integration and its different dimensions with cognitive function trajectories of older adults. The data were from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) spanning 2013 (T1) to 2018 (T3). A total of 3,977 older adults were included in the final analysis. Cognitive function was measured with items from an adapted Chinese version of the Mini-Mini-Mental Mental State Examination (MMSE), while the measurement of social integration included three dimensions: economic integration, relational integration and community integration. A group-based trajectory model (GBTM) was used to identify cognitive trajectory groups among participants and an unordered multinomial logistic regression was employed to explore the association of baseline social integration and its three dimensions with cognitive function trajectories. Three cognitive function trajectory groups were identified: low-decline group (24.1%), medium-decline group (44.2%) and high-stable group (31.7%). Comparing to the medium-decline trajectory group, older adults with higher social integration scores were more likely to be in the high-stable trajectory group (OR = 1.087, 95%CI: 1.007 ~ 1.174), while less likely to be in the low-decline group (OR = 0.806, 95%CI: 0.736 ~ 0.882). Among the different dimensions of social integration, older adults with higher community integration scores were more likely to be in the high-stable trajectory group (OR = 1.222, 95%CI: 1.026 ~ 1.456); Older adults with higher relational integration scores were less likely to be in the low-decline trajectory group (OR = 0.816, 95%CI: 0.734 ~ 0.906). The economic integration was not found to correlate with the cognitive function trajectories. Stratified analyses revealed that the association between community integration and cognitive trajectories was only significant among older adults aged 60 to 69, and the association between relational integration and cognitive trajectories was only significant among older adults who was agricultural household registration. The developmental trajectories of cognitive function among Chinese older adults are heterogeneous. Social integration is significantly related to the trajectories of cognitive function in Chinese older adults. Measures should be taken to promote social integration of Chinese older adults to reduce the decline of cognitive function.

Group-based trajectory models of integrated vaccine delivery and equity in low- and middle-income countries

BackgroundIntegrated vaccine delivery – the linkage of routine vaccination with provision of other essential health services – is a hallmark of robust primary care systems that has been linked to equitable improvements in population health outcomes.MethodsWe gathered longitudinal data relating to routine immunization coverage and vaccination equity in 78 low- and middle-income countries that have ever received support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, using multiple imputation to handle missing values. We then estimated several group-based trajectory models to describe the relationship between integrated vaccine delivery and vaccination equity in these countries. Finally, we used multinomial logistic regression to identify predictors of group membership.ResultsWe identified five distinct trajectories of geographic vaccination equity across both the imputed and non-imputed datasets, along with two and four trajectories of socioeconomic vaccination equity in the imputed and non-imputed datasets, respectively. Integration was associated with reductions in the slope index of inequality of measles vaccination in the countries analyzed. Integration was also associated with an increase in the percentage of districts reporting high measles vaccination coverage.ConclusionsIntegrated vaccine delivery is most strongly associated with improvements in vaccination equity in settings with high baseline levels of inequity. Continued scholarship is needed to further characterize the relationship between integration and health equity, as well as to improve measurement of vaccination coverage and integration.

Integrative measurement method for tensile test based on DIC using modified second-order shape function

Conventional tensile tests still require significant manual intervention for assessment. Therefore, the digital image correlation (DIC) technique is introduced into the field of conventional tensile test. Flexible chain, chain subset-based DIC (C-DIC) technique and modified second-order shape function (MSSF) are proposed for methodology and implementation. Tensile tests of several standard metal specimens were carried out to validate estimation accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method. Various material properties (e.g. necking effect, elastic modulus, ultimate elongation and necking stress–strain curve) have been automatically measured by the proposed method. The relative errors of different material properties measured by the proposed method are generally less than 3% compared to that of conventional methods. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method, validated by experiments, demonstrate its capability to achieve automatic measurements for tensile tests. These results suggest that the method has the potential for widespread industrial adoption in the field of tensile testing.

Spatial patterns of historical crop yields reveal soil health attributes in US Midwest fields

Attaining high crop yields and increasing carbon storage in agricultural soils, while avoiding negative environmental impacts on water quality, soil erosion, and biodiversity, requires accurate and precise management of crop inputs and management practices. The long-term analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of crop yields provides insights on how yields vary in a field, with parts of field constantly producing either high yields or low yields and other parts that fluctuate from one year to the next. The concept of yield stability has shown to be informative on how plants translate the effects of environmental conditions (e.g., soil, climate, topography) across the field and over the years in the final yield, and as a valuable layer in developing prescription maps of variable fertilizer rate inputs. Using known relationships between soil health and crop yields, we hypothesize that areas with measured constantly low yield will return low carbon to the soil affecting its heath. On this premises, yield stability zones (YSZ) provide an effective and practical integrative measure of the small-scale variability of soil health on a field relative basis. We tested this hypothesis by measuring various metrics of soil health from commercial farmers’ fields in the north central Midwest of the USA in samples replicated across YSZ, using a soil test suite commonly used by producers and stakeholders active in agricultural carbon credits markets. We found that the use of YSZ allowed us to successfully partition field-relative soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil health metrics into statistically distinct regions. Low and stable (LS) yield zones were statistically lower in normalized SOC when compared to high and stable (HS) and unstable (US) yield zones. The drivers of the yield differences within a field are a series of factors ranging from climate, topography and soil. LS zones occur in areas of compacted soil layers or shallow soils (edge of the field) on steeper slopes. The US zones occurring with high water flow accumulation, were more dependent on topography and rainfall. The differences in the components of the overall soil health score (SHS) between these YSZ increased with sample depth suggesting a deeper topsoil in the US and HS zones, driven by the accumulation of water, nutrients, and carbon downslope. Comparison of the field management provided initial evidence that zero tillage reduces the magnitude of the variance in SOC and soil health metrics between the YSZ.

A novel simple disposition index (SPINA-DI) from fasting insulin and glucose concentration as a robust measure of carbohydrate homeostasis.

The widely used dynamic disposition index, derived from oral glucose tolerance testing, is an integrative measure of the homeostatic performance of the insulin-glucose feedback control. Its collection is, however, time consuming and expensive. We, therefore, pursued the question if such a measure can be calculated at baseline/fasting conditions using plasma concentrations of insulin and glucose. A new fasting-based disposition index (structure parameter inference approach-disposition index [SPINA-DI]) was calculated as the product of the reconstructed insulin receptor gain (SPINA-GR) times the secretory capacity of pancreatic beta cells (SPINA-GBeta). The novel index was evaluated in computer simulations and in three independent, multiethnic cohorts. The objectives were distribution in various populations, diagnostic performance, reliability and correlation to established physiological biomarkers of carbohydrate metabolism. Mathematical and in-silico analysis demonstrated SPINA-DI to mirror the hyperbolic relationship between insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function and to represent an optimum of the homeostatic control. It significantly correlates to the oral glucose tolerance test based disposition index and other important physiological parameters. Furthermore, it revealed higher discriminatory power for the diagnosis of (pre)diabetes and superior retest reliability than other static and dynamic function tests of glucose homeostasis. SPINA-DI is a novel simple reliable and inexpensive marker of insulin-glucose homeostasis suitable for screening purposes and a wider clinical application.

Urinary mutagenicity and bladder cancer risk in northern New England.

The etiology of bladder cancer among never smokers without occupational or environmental exposure to established urothelial carcinogens remains unclear. Urinary mutagenicity is an integrative measure that reflects recent exposure to genotoxic agents. Here, we investigated its potential association with bladder cancer in rural northern New England. We analyzed 156 bladder cancer cases and 247 cancer-free controls from a large population-based case-control study conducted in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Overnight urine samples were deconjugated enzymatically and the extracted organics were assessed for mutagenicity using the plate-incorporation Ames assay with the Salmonella frameshift strain YG1041 + S9. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of bladder cancer in relation to having mutagenic versus nonmutagenic urine, adjusted for age, sex, and state, and stratified by smoking status (never, former, and current). We found evidence for an association between having mutagenic urine and increased bladder cancer risk among never smokers (OR = 3.8, 95% CI: 1.3-11.2) but not among former or current smokers. Risk could not be estimated among current smokers because nearly all cases and controls had mutagenic urine. Urinary mutagenicity among never-smoking controls could not be explained by recent exposure to established occupational and environmental mutagenic bladder carcinogens evaluated in our study. Our findings suggest that among never smokers, urinary mutagenicity potentially reflects genotoxic exposure profiles relevant to bladder carcinogenesis. Future studies are needed to replicate our findings and identify compounds and their sources that influence bladder cancer risk.

Flexibility as a performance measurement of supplier innovativeness and supply chain integration in the hotel industry

Flexibility as a performance measurement of supplier innovativeness and supply chain integration in the hotel industry

SDG-Embeddedness in Business School Operations: State-of-the-Art Literature, Ground Realities, and Measurement Parameters

Business schools (B-schools) are vital to achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda by creating awareness of sustainability among the next generation of leaders. Mindful of their responsibility, schools around the world have initiated efforts to integrate the SDGs into different aspects of their operations. However, the pace has been slow, with schools in some parts of the world lagging in even initiating the process, indicating that additional efforts are required to enhance their commitment. The academic literature in the area has also been growing but is in a very nascent stage, requiring fresh inputs and renewed focus for momentum. This article responds by invigorating theory and practice using a multimethod approach that includes 1) a review of the extant literature to present the state-of-the-art literature and identify research gaps that suggest future research directions, 2) a qualitative study assessing the current state of SDG integration, and 3) an evaluation of the relevant parts of the reports on principles of responsible management education by signatory schools to develop a set of parameters for the measurement of SDG integration. The findings of this article offer important implications for both internal and external stakeholders. For internal stakeholders, i.e., the B-school management, we offer a set of five broad parameters broken down into 39 indicators to benchmark and calibrate the related outcomes. For external stakeholders, i.e., the regulatory bodies, we offer insights for policy intervention and formulation of systematic sustainability-reporting protocols to guide B-schools.

Flexibility as a performance measurement of supplier innovativeness and supply chain integration in the hotel industry

Flexibility as a performance measurement of supplier innovativeness and supply chain integration in the hotel industry

Impact of Human Activities on Woody Vegetation in Gallery Forests in the Mandara Mountains (Far North, Cameroon).

This study was conducted in the Mandara Mountains in Cameroon and aimed to assess the effects of human activities on woody vegetation in gallery forests, based on floristic inventories and observations made by the government. Firstly, the inventories were carried out in 150 plots of 1000 m2 each, installed on the banks of watercourses following the band of plant formations. In each plot, woody species were counted and those showing at least one sign of degradation were noted. Secondly, the survey was conducted in 18 administrative structures made up of delegations (MINFOF, MINADER, MINEPDED, and MINEPIA) and town halls. One hundred woody species, grouped into 63 genera and 30 families, have been inventoried, in which 45 species showed at least one sign of damage caused by human being. The species most affected are Anogeissus leiocarpus (67 stems), Azadirachta indica (46 stems), Diospyros mespiliformis (43 stems), Acacia albida (42 stems), Andira inermis (30 stems), Acacia sieberiana (23 stems), Khaya senegalensis (19 stems), Ficus sycomorus (13 stems), and Acacia polyacantha (10 stems). The most recurrent activity in the gallery forests is pruning (212 stems), followed by cutting (93 stumps), then picking (71 individuals). However, there are fewer debarked trees (11) and trees with fire trail (6). According to the responses provided, logging (77.78%), agriculture (72.22%), population growth (44.44%), grazing (33.33%), and bush fires (33.33%) are the main causes of the degradation of plant formations in the Mandara Mountains. These main factors could have a negative impact on biodiversity if appropriate integrated management measures are not taken. To maintain these vital ecosystems, an integrated management plan must be put in place, limiting human activities to a minimum.

Decarbonising mobility in port cities

Ports play an important role in the European transport decarbonisation agenda. Due to the complex characteristics of ports, coordinated and holistic approaches between port authorities and municipalities are of utmost relevance to tackle greenhouse gas emissions reduction. This paper analyses the mobility challenges of a port city and associated carbon dioxide CO2 emissions. The specific objectives of this research are: firstly, to study the implementation of integrated mobility measures in ports to reduce the carbon footprint by promoting an efficient use of transport infrastructure and smart mobility strategies to/from/in the port; secondly, to define and implement electric mobility and digitalization solutions for transport in ports (including the connection between the city and the port). The traffic modelling software PTV VISSIM and the Vehicle Specific Power methodology were used to estimate the emissions of the vehicles present in the road network of a study area. The methodology was applied to the case study of Aveiro, Portugal, which has a port located 8 km from the city centre. The baseline scenario and three alternative scenarios: implementation of electric mobility; digitalization of work patterns through remote work; and mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) were defined. Results showed a reduction in pollutant emissions in all tested scenarios in comparison with the baseline scenario.

Influence of different light intensities during the day on the motor activity in adolescents

This study investigates the impact of varying light intensities throughout the day on motor activity levels in adolescent girls aged between 14-16, who are students at a boarding school. The study lasted for three weeks, with each week consisting of four days. During this period, participants experienced three different lighting conditions from 07:00 to 18:00. These conditions included: standard light intensity in real-life settings, wearing blue-blocking glasses, and spending at least 1.5 hours outdoors daily for natural light exposure. The aim was to understand how modern lighting sources can replace natural lighting and to assess the influence of the lighting spectrum on the daily rhythms of motor activity. Restriction of blue light led to an increase in the average daily level (MESOR) of the intensity of movements denoted by HPIM (High Proportional Integrative Measures), as well as a decrease in the amplitude of the circadian rhythm ZCM (Zero Crossing Mode). This confirms the important role of blue light during the daytime as a Zeitgeber of the circadian rhythm. When adolescents spent at least 1.5 hours outside, mostly in the afternoon, the acrophases of ZCM’s 24-hour rhythm shifted half an hour later.

Fecal thyroid hormone metabolites in wild ungulates: a mini-review.

This review aims to analyse the fluctuations of fecal thyroid hormone metabolites (FTMs) related to environmental and individual variables in different species of wild ungulates and provide a collection of assay methods. The great advantage of fecal sampling is being completely non-invasive. A systemic search was conducted from 2019 to 2024, using data sources PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and the World Wide Web, and ten studies were found on this topic. Three studies used the radioimmunoassay method for FTMs analysis, while the others used a less expensive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Most of these papers validated the method for the species-specific matrix. Related to the studied variables, some authors analysed FTM fluctuations only concerning individual variables, and others in response to both. Temperature and fecal cortisol metabolites (FCMs) were the most studied environmental and individual variables, respectively. Since FTMs are an integrative measure of plasma thyroid hormones, the information obtained from a non-invasive-assay method regarding wild ungulate physiology is becoming of great interest to the scientific community.

Attitude Determination of Photovoltaic Device by Means of Differential Absorption Imaging

Future wireless power transmission will cover power levels up to kilowatts or more and transmission distances up to the scale of kilometers. With its narrow beam divergence angle, optical wireless power transmission (OWPT) is a promising candidate for such system implementations. In the operation of OWPT, it is necessary to estimate the position, direction (azimuth, elevation), and attitude of the target photovoltaic device before the power supply. The authors have proposed the detection of targets using differential absorption imaging and positioning with a combination of stereo imagery. In the positioning by stereo imagery, a condition regarding the consistency of the left and right images can be defined. This corresponds to the certain value of the exposure time of the image sensor, and this depends on the target’s attitude angle. In this paper, we discuss target attitude estimation using this minimum exposure time at which the integrity measure converges. A physical model was derived under general conditions of target position and experimental configuration. Target attitudes were estimated within an error range of 10 to 15 degrees in approximately 60 degrees range. On the other hand, there is an attitude estimation method based on the apparent size of the target. When using this method to estimate the attitude angle, errors are significantly large for specular and diffuse mixed targets like the PV. The method proposed in this paper is a robust attitude estimation method for the photovoltaic device in OWPT.

Numerical recovery of a time-dependent potential in subdiffusion *

In this work we investigate an inverse problem of recovering a time-dependent potential in a semilinear subdiffusion model from an integral measurement of the solution over the domain. The model involves the Djrbashian–Caputo fractional derivative in time. Theoretically, we prove a novel conditional Lipschitz stability result, and numerically, we develop an easy-to-implement fixed point iteration for recovering the unknown coefficient. In addition, we establish rigorous error bounds on the discrete approximation. These results are obtained by crucially using smoothing properties of the solution operators and suitable choice of a weighted Lp(0,T) norm. The efficiency and accuracy of the scheme are showcased on several numerical experiments in one- and two-dimensions.

A computer code for optimizing the neutronics model parameters based on results of reactor physics experiments

The paper describes in brief the functional capabilities of a computer code for optimizing the neutronics model parameters (neutron data, technological parameters, and their covariance matrices) based on results of reactor physics experiments using conditional nonlinear multi-parameter optimization algorithms. The code’s application scope includes adjustment of neutron constants, technological parameters and their covariance matrices based on integral measurement results, formulation of requiremen117198ts with respect to the neutron data uncertainties for achieving the target accuracies in calculation of the reactor functionals, and estimation of the reactor performance prediction accuracy, as well as the informativity and similarity metrics of reactor physics experiments with respect to each other and in relation to the target reactor system. The paper also considers some examples of using the code to refine the neutronics models of nuclear reactor and fuel cycle systems based on results of reactor physics experiments.

Ecological water diversion activity changes the fate of carbon in a eutrophic lake

Lake eutrophication mitigation measures have been implemented by ecological water diversion, however, the responses of carbon cycle to the human-derived hydrologic process still remains unclear. With a famous river-to-lake water diversion activity at eutrophic Lake Taihu, we attempted to fill the knowledge gap with integrative field measurements (2011–2017) of gas carbon (CO2 and CH4) flux, including CO2-equivalent, and dissolved carbon (DOC and DIC) at water-receiving zone and reference zone. Overall, results showed the artificial water diversion activity increased gas carbon emissions. At water-receiving zone, total gas carbon (expressed as CO2-equivalent) emissions increased significantly due to the occurring of water diversion, with CO2 flux increasing from 9.31 ± 16.28 to 18.16 ± 12.96 mmol C m−2 d−1. Meanwhile, CH4 emissions at water-receiving zone (0.06 ± 0.05 mmol C m−2 d−1) was double of that at reference zone. Water diversion decreased DOC but increased DIC especially at inflowing river mouth. Temporal variability of carbon emissions and dissolved carbon were linked to water temperature, chlorophyll a, and nutrient, but less or negligible dependency on these environment variables were found with diversion occurring. Water diversion may increase gas carbon production via stimulating DOC mineralization with nutrient enrichment, which potentially contribute to increasing carbon emissions and decreasing DOC at the same time and the significant correlation between CO2 flux and CH4 flux. Our study provided new insights into carbon biogeochemical processes, which may help to predict carbon fate under hydrologic changes of lakes.

SABDTM: Security-first architecture-based dynamic trusted measurement scheme for operating system of the virtual computing node

In the cloud environment, the virtual computing node has become the dominant form of cloud services used by users. Hence, it is increasingly critical to guarantee the trusted operation of the virtual computing node's operating system (VCNOS). However, previous schemes suffer a lot, such as insufficient consideration of the comprehensive of the measured objects, ignoring the dynamic of trusted, and the trusted measurement mechanisms rarely consider their security. Thus, a three-dimensional dynamic trusted measurement model SABDTM, which integrates the integrity measurement of kernel static data, trusted evaluation of operating system behavior (OSB), and the feedback trust of interacting nodes, is proposed. First, SABDTM divided OSB into multiple atomic behaviors and introduced the Bayesian decision theory to predict trusted expectations of OSBs. Second, the feedback trust of interacting nodes is considered to improve the comprehensiveness of the trusted measurement and evaluate its value based on the Euclidean distance function to reduce the impact of inaccurate feedback from malicious nodes. Subsequently, we set the appropriate weight for trusted measurement values of different moments based on Induced Ordered Weighted Averaging to accurately portray the actual state of VCNOS. Moreover, we designed a lightweight and independent subsystem to perform the trusted measurement, which guarantees the security of the measurement service. The security of our model is proved rigorously based on the non-interference theory. Finally, the experiments and comparative analysis demonstrated our model has better functionality and superiority.