Automatic classification of climate change effects on marine species distributions in 2050 using the AquaMaps model

Environmental and Ecological Statistics - Habitat modifications driven by human impact and climate change may influence species distribution, particularly in aquatic environments. Niche-based...     

不同认知风格大学生艾宾浩斯错觉的实验研究

文章以34名大学生为被试,采用2(150%,50%)×2(场独立,场依存)被试间实验设计探讨了不同认知风格大学生艾宾浩斯错觉的眼动特点。结果表明:(1)不同的认知风格对艾宾浩斯错觉判断正确量有影响,并且在眼动指标上存在差异;(2)测验成分和诱导成分之间的大小比例对艾宾浩斯错觉正确量有影响,并且在眼动指标上存在差异;(3)诱导成分和测验成分之间距离不同时对艾宾浩斯错觉正确量无显著影响,并且在眼动指标上也不存在显著差异。     

The impact of an efficient collection sites location on the zoning phase in municipal solid waste management

In this paper, we study two decisional problems arising when planning the collection of solid waste, namely the location of collection sites (together with bin allocation) and the zoning of the service territory, and we assess the potential impact that an efficient location has on the subsequent zoning phase. We first propose both an exact and a heuristic approach to locate the unsorted waste collection bins in a residential town, and to decide the capacities and characteristics of the bins to be located at each collection site. A peculiar aspect we consider is that of taking into account the compatibility between the different types of bins when allocating them to collection areas. Moreover, we propose a fast and effective heuristic approach to identify homogeneous zones that can be served by a single collection vehicle. Computational results on data related to a real-life instance show that an efficient location is fundamental in achieving consistent monetary savings, as well as a reduced environmental impact. These reductions are the result of one vehicle less needed to perform the waste collection operations, and an overall traveled distance reduced by about 25% on the average.     

Simultaneous personnel and vehicle shift scheduling in the waste management sector

Urban waste management is becoming an increasingly complex task, absorbing a huge amount of resources, and having a major environmental impact. The design of a waste management system consists in various activities, and one of these is related to the definition of shift schedules for both personnel and vehicles. This activity has a great incidence on the tactical and operational cost for companies. In this paper, we propose an integer programming model to find an optimal solution to the integrated problem. The aim is to determine optimal schedules at minimum cost. Moreover, we design a fast and effective heuristic to face large-size problems. Both approaches are tested on data from a real-world case in Southern Italy and compared to the current practice utilized by the company managing the service, showing that simultaneously solving these problems can lead to significant monetary savings.     

Capacitated location of collection sites in an urban waste management system

Urban waste management is becoming an increasingly complex task, absorbing a huge amount of resources, and having a major environmental impact. The design of a waste management system consists in various activities, and one of these is related to the location of waste collection sites. In this paper, we propose an integer programming model that helps decision makers in choosing the sites where to locate the unsorted waste collection bins in a residential town, as well as the capacities of the bins to be located at each collection site. This model helps in assessing tactical decisions through constraints that force each collection area to be capacitated enough to fit the expected waste to be directed to that area, while taking into account Quality of Service constraints from the citizens' point of view. Moreover, we propose an effective constructive heuristic approach whose aim is to provide a good solution quality in an extremely reduced computational time. Computational results on data related to the city of Nardò, in the south of Italy, show that both exact and heuristic approaches provide consistently better solutions than that currently implemented, resulting in a lower number of activated collection sites, and a lower number of bins to be used.     

COVID-19 pandemic: impacts on bees,beekeeping, and potential role of bee products as antiviral agents and immune enhancers

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - COVID-19 pandemic has passed to the front all the contradictions of the beekeeping sector: the valuable role of bee products as immune enhancers and...