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AbstractShape analysis has special importance in the detection of manipulated redistricting, which is called gerrymandering. In most of the US states, this process is made by non-independent actors and often causes debates about partisan manipulation. The somewhat ambiguous concept of compactness is a standard criterion for legislative districts. In the literature, circularity is widely used as a measure of compactness, since it is a natural requirement for a district to be as circular as possible. In this paper, we introduce a novel and parameter-free circularity measure that is based on Hu moment invariants. This new measure provides a powerful tool to detect districts with abnormal shapes. We examined some districts of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and Utah over several consecutive periods and redistricting plans, and also compared the results with classical circularity indexes. We found that the fall of the average circularity value of the new measure indicates potential gerrymandering.

In the context of urban policies, the circular economy can represent a virtuous model of sustainable and efficient management of resources and services for citizens, generating value for the community. Local policymakers play a central role in accelerating the circular economy transition, given that they organize and manage services that can significantly contribute to urban resilience. For policies to be properly designed, tools aimed at supporting territorial planning are needed to direct local policy towards choices that favor the circular economy and the resilience of cities. Among these urban planning tools, it is particularly important to have dashboards of comparative data on the degree of implementation of the circular economy. This paper provides a circularity mapping framework to map the degree of circularity and identify cities' strengths and weaknesses to design policies accordingly using a data-driven approach. Using a circular economy model based on 5 circular economy pillars, we identified 28 variables and assigned them to each of the pillars according to the variable's scope: sustainable inputs, social sharing, Product as a service, environmental policies, and resource efficiency. Both partial scores based on the five circular economy pillars, and a circularity index are provided for benchmarking and positioning analysis. Since urban life's environmental, economic, and social aspects are intertwined, only an integrated strategy can result in successful urban sustainable development. The paper supports policymakers in creating the conditions for efficient production and consumption markets and resource management systems while designing incentives and communications to citizens to support bottom-up initiatives and encourage virtuous behavior.

Climate change and anthropogenic pollution have put limited water resources under pressure. Lack of basic sanitation services as well as the discharge of improperly treated effluent from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) result in the deposition of large amounts of organic matter and nutrients, which have major detrimental effects on health. Wastewater treatment (WWT) can reduce water pollution but at the cost of increasing energy consumption and the corresponding atmosphere and climate problems. Sustainable WWT management is a global challenge to preserve fresh water and decrease energy consumption. Nowadays it becomes obvious that existing WWTP operation model, based on the linear "take-make-dispose" pattern, is no longer sustainable. Furthermore, disposal of a product in landfill means that all residual energy is lost. The adoption of circular economy (CE) practices with its 3R principles of reducing, reusing and recycling material appears as a timely, relevant and practical option to meet the goals of sustainable development. WWTP is a critical element in CE implementation policy and to measure the degree of "circularity" there is a need for indicators. This study considers the holistic overview of measuring the progress of CE implementation at WWTP under 3R principles using life cycle analysis (LCA) and material flow analysis (MFA) frameworks. The paper presents the principles of CE indicators set construction using managerial approach. The proposed set of indicators and integral circularity index are studied under three scenarios, based on real performance of northern and southern WWTP in Ekaterinburg, Russia. This study provides an efficient assessment tool of CE progress, which is rather simple for calculation and interpretation and suitable for the use of wide range of stakeholders. © 2019 WIT Press. ; № 02.A03.21.0006 ; This research was supported by Act 211 Government of the Russian Federation, contract № 02.A03.21.0006.

The circular economy can be promoted as a solution to support the sustainability market position of renewable energy systems. To design a circular and sustainable system, a structured approach is needed. The present study develops a methodology framework for sustainable circular system design (SCSD), aiming to assess thermal energy storage (TES) technologies from a sustainable perspective. To this end, a composite indicator, namely, environmental sustainability and circularity indicator (ESC) is provided. This indicator combines the environmental impacts of the TES system via the conduction of a life cycle assessment and its circulatory performance using the product-level material circularity indicator (MCI). The developed methodology is applied to a case study of high-temperature TES using molten salts as a part of a concentrated solar power plant. The SCSD embraces the analysis for the most relevant processes through proposing different ecological scenarios including, increasing the recycling rates (Modest Scenario), increasing the reuse rates (Medium Scenario), and a combination of both (Optimistic scenario). The circularity analysis showed that for the Modest, Medium and optimistic scenarios, the MCI moves from 20.6% for the current situation to 30.3%, 38.6%, and 46.4%, respectively. Accordingly, the optimistic scenario showed the most environmentally sustainable and circular scenario with ESC of 7.89%, whereas the Modest and Medium scenarios exhibited ESCs of 1.20% and 2.16%, respectively. A major obstacle for substantial improvement of the circulatory and ESC is the high share of unrecyclable molten salts in the system and therefore, any effort to improve the circulatory and the environmental benefits of this system can be reached by using more environmentally friendly alternative materials. The study concludes that the integration of reusing and recycling at the initial design should be sought in order to achieve a more environmentally sustainable and circular outcome. ; The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness RTI2018-093849-B-C31 and RTI2018-093849-B-C33 (MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE), and thank the Catalan Government (2019 FI-B-00762). The authors would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to their research group (GREiA - 2017 SGR 1537, AGACAPE - 2017 SGR 1409 and 2019 FI-B-00762). GREiA is a certified agent TECNIO in the category of technology developers from the Government of Catalonia. This work is partially supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme. This work is partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades – Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) (RED2018-102431-T). This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 713679 and from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV).

In this study, we propose to investigate whether the geometric model and vegetation cover of restinga remnants influences the diversity of ants on the Northern Coast of Bahia. Using Winkler extractors and baits of honey and sardines, the ants were collected from five restinga remnants. Correlations were made between the percentage of soil with vegetation cover, circularity and fractal dimension index and the diversity and richness of ants. Lastly, Kendall correlations and Theil-Kendall regression were performed. The diversity index of ants was not associated with the percentage of soil with vegetation cover. The diversity and richness of terrestrial ants were negatively influenced by the circularity index and positively by the fractal dimension index. The circularity index was inversely proportional, while the fractal dimension index was equivalent to the ant diversity index. The similarity dendrogram showed that areas with less fragmentation had similar myrmecofauna composition. The vegetation cover of the soil does not influence the diversity of ants, but the fragmentation of the areas and the geometric model measured by the fractal dimension index have an influence, being possible that the type of soil, in general, prevents the nesting of a larger volume of species and mask the possibility of finding a closer relationship between these variables.

Abstract Forest remnants are essential in the provision of ecosystem services in cities. However, adequate ecological parameters are still needed to assess them. Because of this, the present work proposes a methodology for assessing the potential of providing ecosystem services by forest remnants in urban watershed based on the application and interpretation of landscape spatial metrics used in Landscape Ecology studies. For that, the environmental indicators (area, central area, circularity index, distance from the nearest neighbor, water springs, land use, and occupation in the surroundings) were evaluated in GIS software and to them, the Hierarchical Process Analysis Method (AHP) was applied to identify the importance of each parameter in the provision of ecosystem services and the priority in each remainder. The study was carried out in a watershed in Campinas/ SP, in which it was found that forest remnants develop, primarily, ecosystem support or habitat services, regulation services, and cultural services.

The Araguaia Plain has extensive areas of savannah scattered forest fragments similar to circular depressions. These features, in addition to serving as corridors, could be associated with important features such as karsts, closed-water connection structures and ecological-type formations. To identify this relationship and contribute to the understanding of its genesis, this study has as its main objective the morphometric analysis of doliniform functions in the Araguaia Plain. Through the geoenvironmental characterization of the study area; digital facility models – SRTM; interpretation of Sentinel 2-A satellite images from 2019 to 2020; and calculation of morphometric variables: area, perimeters, activity, altitude, length and density, Kernel circularity index. A total of 24,023 doliniform features associated with green/healthy vegetation were identified in a Coverage Area of 114,900 km², Concentrated Majoritariate in the Brazilian municipalities of Lagoa da Confusão -Tocantins; Pium-Tocantins and Cocalinho-Mato Grosso. The features showed circular superiority areas up to 10 km², circular activity indexes at 0.5 and up to 1 and 1.5, indicating a predominance of circular shapes on slopes of 3% in the NE orientation. Based on the results, it can be verified that these features present sinkholes, as they may be under the influence of patterns associated with some processes, denoting in some processes the existence of a covered karst.

Commercially mass-polymerized acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) polymers, pristine or modified by stabilization systems, have been injection molded and repeatedly exposed to ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation, mechanical recycling, and extra injection molding steps to study the impact of such treatments on the physicochemical, mechanical, colorimetric, and thermal-oxidative characteristics. The work focus on mimicking the effect of solar radiation behind a window glass as relevant during the lifetime of ABS polymers incorporated in electrical and electronic equipment, and interior automotive parts by using UVA technique. The accelerated aging promotes degradation and embrittlement of the surface exposed to radiation and causes physical aging, deteriorating mechanical properties, with an expressive reduction of impact strength (unnotched: up to 900%; notched: up to 250%) and strain at break (>1000%), as well as an increase in the yellowing index (e.g., 600%). UV-exposition promotes a slight increase in the tensile modulus (e.g., 10%). The addition of antioxidants (AOs) leads to a limited stabilization during the first UVA aging, although the proper AO formulation increases the thermal-oxidative resistance during all the cycles. Mechanical recycling promotes an increase in strain at break and unnotched impact strength alongside a slight decrease in tensile modulus, due to disruption of the brittle surface and elimination of the physical aging. ; This research was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program, grant number 730308.

Contents -- List of Abbreviations -- Introduction: Kant and Cognitive Constructivism -- 1. Kant, Idealism, and Cognitive Constructivism -- 2. Reinhold, Maimon, and Schulze -- 3. Fichte's Transcendental Philosophy, the Subject, and Circularity -- 4. Schelling, the Philosophy of Nature, and Constructivism -- 5. Hegel, Identity, and Constructivism -- 6. Cognitive Constructivism after German Idealism -- Notes -- Index

Cover -- Contents -- Introduction: Excess, a History -- 1. Origins: Philology and the Study of Indian Sex Life -- 2. Repetition: Law and the Sociology of Deviant Female Sexuality -- 3. Circularity: Forensics, Abortion, and the Evidence of Deviant Female Sexuality -- 4. Evolution: Ethnology and the Primitivity of Deviant Female Sexuality -- 5. Veracity: Life Stories and the Revelation of Social Life -- Afterword -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Image Credits -- Index.

Cover -- Half Title -- Series Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- PART 1 Nature of Desert -- 1 Nature -- PART 2 Ground of Desert -- 2 Ground -- 3 Circularity -- 4 Responsibility -- PART 3 General Desert -- 5 Geometry -- 6 Mathematics -- PART 4 Specific Desert -- 7 Animals -- 8 Contribution -- PART 5 Desert Literature -- 9 Desert-Literature Failures -- PART 6 Conclusion -- 10 Conclusion -- PART 7 Appendices -- Appendix One: Time -- Appendix Two: Amount of Responsibility -- Bibliography -- Index.

Cover -- Tilte Page -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface -- Part One. No Morality: "Modern Moral Philosophy" (1958) -- 1. Virtue Ethics, Eudaimonism, and the Greeks -- 2. The Invention of "Morality" and the Possibility of Consequentialism -- 3. The Misguided Project of Vindicating Morality -- 4. The Futility of Seeking the Extension of a Word with No Intension -- 5. What's Really Wrong with the Vocabulary of Morality? -- 6. Assessing "Modern Moral Philosophy" -- Part Two. No Self: "The First Person" (1975) -- 7. The Circularity Problem for Accounts of "I" as a Device of Self-Reference -- 8. Is the Fundamental Reference Rule for "I" the Key to Explaining First-Person Self-Reference? -- 9. Rumfitt's Solution to the Circularity Problem -- 10. Can We Make Sense of a Nonreferential Account of "I"? -- 11. Strategies for Saving "I" as a Singular Term: Domesticating FP and Deflating Reference -- Epilogue: The Anti-Cartesian Basis of Anscombe's Skepticism -- Appendix A. Aquinas and Natural Law -- Appendix B. Stoic Ethics: A Law Conception without Commandments? -- Notes -- References -- Acknowledgments -- Index

The goal of the present study was to assess the effect of drying on the physical properties of adzuki bean (Vigna angularis Willd.). Adzuki beans with moisture content of 47.9% were dried in a oven with forced air ventilation at temperatures of 40, 60 and 80 °C and relative humidity of 18.5, 8.6, and 3.8%, respectively, until the moisture content reached 12.9%. We used 15 adzuki beans individualised in aluminium capsules. The orthogonal axes of the beans (length, width, and thickness) were measured at intervals of five percentage points during the reduction of moisture content. The parameters determined were: sphericity; circularity; volume of beans; volumetric contraction index; volume contraction percentage; surface area; projected area; and surface-volume ratio. The drying conditions altered the physical properties of adzuki bean. As a result of moisture content reduction, there was increased sphericity and surface-volume ratio, and decreased volume, unitary volumetric contraction, surface area, and projected area. Circularity was not influenced by the drying temperatures within the range of moisture content analysed.

Introduction -- Circular industrial economy -- Circular economy innovation and design: setting the scene -- Framing circularity at an organisational level -- Circular economy policy -- Why Asia matters: circular economy in Japan, China and Taiwan -- Circular businesses: benefits, approaches and challenges -- Circular thinking in design: reflections over 25 years' experience -- Business models for a circular economy -- Designing product service systems for a circular economy -- Key issues when designing solutions for a circular economy -- Laser printing and the circular economy: Kyocera challenges the status quo -- Circularity thinking: systems thinking for circular product and business model (re)design: identifying waste flows and redirecting them for value creation and capture -- Design for product integrity in a circular economy -- Thinking life cycle in a circular economy -- Design for resource value -- Circular textile design: old myths and new models -- Circular economy and design for remanufacturing -- Repair cafés: potential implications for product design and development -- Dislocated temporalities: valuing difference and working together -- Design for a circular economy in industry 4.0 -- 3D printing: revolutionising the way we repair things -- Exploring circular design opportunities for wearable technology -- Makerspaces as free experimental zones -- Repair cafés: circular and social innovation -- Delivering a more circular economy for electrical goods in retail in the UK -- Accelerating the circular economy @ HP -- iFixit: a case study in repair -- Lessons learned from practice when developing a circular business model -- Interface: net-works -- lessons learnt turning nets into carpet -- 'Who is mining the Anthropocene?' -- Reversible building design -- Design and the circular economy in the UK blinds and shutter industry -- Circularity information management for buildings: the example of materials passports -- Index.