Exploring Carsharing Diffusion Challenges through Systems Thinking and Causal Loop Diagrams

The diffusion of carsharing in cities can potentially support the transition towards a sustainable mobility system and help build a circular economy. Since urban transportation is a complex system due to the involvement of various stakeholders, including travelers, suppliers, manufacturers, and the government, a holistic approach based on systems thinking is essential to capture this complexity and its causalities. In this regard, the current research aims at identifying cause-and-effect relationships in the diffusion of carsharing services within the urban transport systems. To do so, a causal loop diagram (CLD) is developed to identify and capture the causalities of carsharing adoption. On this basis, the main four players within the carsharing domain in urban transportation were scrutinized and their causes and effects were visualized, including (i) the characteristics, behavior, and dynamics of the society population; (ii) transportation system and urban planning; (iii) the car manufacturing industry; and (iv) environmental pollution. The developed CLD can support decision-makers in the field of urban transport to gain a holistic and systemic approach to analyzing the issues within the transport sector due to their complexity. Moreover, they can help regulators and policymakers in intensifying the diffusion of more sustainable modes of transport by highlighting the role of population, car manufacturing, the transportation system, and environmental pollution

A big data approach to map the service quality of short-stay accommodation sharing

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to map the service quality (SQ) of Airbnb, to provide additional insight for such top player of short-stay accommodation in the sharing economy context. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed-method approach is used in two phases. In the qualitative phase, 112,138 online review comments of Airbnb guests were analyzed to generate the service attributes. In the quantitative phase, an online survey (n = 814) was conducted to calculate the performance and importance values of extracted attributes to plot them in an Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) matrix. Findings: A holistic image of the Airbnb extracted service attributes was presented through the IPA plot. Four types of SQ strategies were proposed, considering the actions priority. “Price reasonability” was the most important service attribute of Airbnb for guests, whereas “Check-in flexibility” was the best performed one. Practical implications: The results shed light on the most relevant SQ attributes of Airbnb and proposed suitable strategies that can prioritize relevant stakeholders’ actions and decisions. The study significantly contributes to all decision makers involved in the short-stay accommodation sharing industry to further understand and develop SQ. Originality/value: This research, using a comprehensive hybrid method, opens a lens to see more clearly the positioning of different attributes of Airbnb service from importance and performance viewpoints. As a contribution, the SQ of Airbnb was mapped by conducting an IPA for the first time in the literature

Allelic polymorphism of 'Makoei' sheep myostatin gene identified by polymerase chain reaction and single strand conformation polymorphism

Myostatin, a transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-) super family member, has been well documented as a negative regulator of muscle growth and development. Myostatin with 376 amino acids is synthesized as a precursor protein. In this study, polymorphism of myostatin gene in Iranian 'Makoei' sheep breeds was investigated by polymerase chain reaction and single strand conformation polymorphism technique (PCR–SSCP). Genomic DNA was isolated from the blood of 92 sheep. A 417 bp myostatin intron 1 segment was amplified by standard PCR, using the locus specific primers. Four different SSCP patterns, representing four different genotypes, were identified. The frequencies of the observed genotypes were , 0.293, 0.130, and 0.163 for AD, AC, AE, and BC, respectively. Allele frequencies were 0.4185, 0.0815, 0.2283, 0.2065 and 0.0652 for A, B, C, D and E. Observed heterozygosity (Hobs) value was 0.7192. The chi-square test showed significant (P<0.05) deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for this locus in studied population.Key words: Myostatin gene, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), single strand conformation polymorphism technique (SSCP), Ovis aries

Promising Developments in Bio-Based Products as Alternatives to Conventional Plastics to Enable Circular Economy in Ukraine

Transforming the plastic industry toward producing more sustainable alternatives than conventional plastics, as an essential enabler of the bio-based circular economy (CE), requires reinforcing initiatives to drive solutions from the lab to the market. In this regard, startups and ideation and innovation events can potentially play significant roles in consolidating efforts and investments by academia and industry to foster bio-based and biodegradable plastic-related developments. This study aimed to present the current trends and challenges of bioplastics and bio-based materials as sustainable alternatives for plastics. On this basis, having conducted a systematic literature review, the seminal research themes of the bio-based materials and bioplastics literature were unfolded and discussed. Then, the most recent developments of bio-based sustainable products in Ukraine, as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, that have gained publicity through local startup programs and hackathons were presented. The findings shed light on the potential of the bio-based sector to facilitate the CE transition through (i) rendering innovative solutions most of which have been less noticed in academia before; (ii) enhancing academic debate and bridging the gap between developers, scholars, and practitioners within the plastic industry toward creating circularity across the supply chain; (iii) identifying the main challenges and future perspectives for further investigations in the future

Staphylococcus aureus infections in children in an Iranian referral pediatric Hospital

Introduction. Staphylococcus aureus is associated with various infections ranging from skin and soft tissues such as surgical site infections and abscesses to lower respiratory tracts and blood- stream. The aim of this study was to evaluate underlying condi- tion of patients with S. aureus infections in an Iranian referral pediatric Hospital. Material and methods. Information was extracted retrospec- tively from the medical records of patients who were diagnosed with S. aureus infections. Data obtained about the study subjects included basic demographics, reason for admission, culture site, length of hospital stay, and methicillin susceptibility. Results. The underlyning condition of of patients with S.aureus infection during November 2011 and March 2013 were included in the study. The most frequent diagnosis in patients with S. aureus infection was jaundice (12%), abscess (10%), cellulitis (10%), wound infection (8%), septic arthritis (7%) and sezeire (5%). Wound was the most common infection sites among all subjects 34/98 (35%) following by blood (20/98, 20%) as well as skin and soft tissue (19/98, 19%). The proportion of MRSA infections among all S. aureus isolates was 79% (77/98) during the study period. In addition, 58/74 (78%) met the definition of Hospital-Associated Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus (HA- MRSA) infections and the rest; 20/24 patients (83%), were classified as Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus (CA- MRSA). Conclusion. In our study, the high frequency of MRSA was found not only in HA S. aureus but also in CA S. aureus isolates; there- fore, the strategic goals to optimize antimicrobial use includin

Digital speech watermarking for anti-spoofing attack in speaker recognition

This paper presents new method for improving the security of speaker recognition in case of spoofing attack. In the proposed technique, digital speech watermarking has been applied on speech signal to increase robustness. To achieve this purpose, watermark is embedded in claimed signal at transmission side and then it is sent through the unsecure channel. In receiver side, watermark is extracted as proof of authentication. The results shows that digital speech watermarking can successfully apply for anti-spoofing attack purposes because the quality of the speech signal is not significantly degraded by watermark

Interacting video information via speech watermarking for mobile second screen in Android smartphone

Video identification as an interesting App in Android smartphone has three main aims including: user friendly, identification accuracy and copyright protection. This paper proposes a technique to meet the aims by applying Second Screen Technique. For this reason, the video information is embedded and transmitted within the audio part, and is extracted at destination. The experimental results show that the recognition rate of new technique is very high if no serious noise contaminates the recorded signal. It can be integrated to other mobile communication systems. Moreover, watermarking could be applied for sender/receiver during interaction for improving the security. By marketing this app, selling and advertising revenue increases 30 %