bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mapping of Agricultural Subsurface Drainage Systems Using a Frequency-Domain Ground Penetrating Radar and Evaluating Its Performance Using a Single-Frequency Multi-Receiver Electromagnetic Induction Instrument
Authors: Koganti Triven , Van De Vijver Ellen , Allred Barry J. , Greve Mogens H. , Ringgaard Jørgen , Iversen Bo V.
Published: July 2020

Subsurface drainage systems are commonly used to remove surplus water from the soil profile of a poorly drained farmland. Traditional methods for drainage mapping involve the use of tile probes and trenching equipment that are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and invasive, thereby entailing an inherent risk of damaging the drainpipes. Effective and efficient methods are needed in order to map the buried drain lines: (1) to comprehend the processes of leaching and offsite release of nutrients and pesticides and (2) for the installation of a new set of drain lines between the old ones to enhance the soil water removal. Non-invasive geophysical soil sensors provide a potential alternative solution. Previous research has mainly showcased the use of time-domain ground penetrating radar, with variable success, depending on local soil and hydrological conditions and the central frequency of the specific equipment used. The objectives of this study were: (1) to test the use of a stepped-frequency continuous wave three-dimensional ground penetrating radar (3D-GPR) with a wide antenna array for subsurface drainage mapping and (2) to evaluate its performance with the use of a single-frequency multi-receiver electromagnetic induction (EMI) sensor in-combination. This sensor combination was evaluated on twelve different study sites with various soil types with textures ranging from sand to clay till. While the 3D-GPR showed a high success rate in finding the drainpipes at five sites (sandy, sandy loam, loamy sand, and organic topsoils), the results at the other seven sites were less successful due to the limited penetration depth of the 3D-GPR signal. The results suggest that the electrical conductivity estimates produced by the inversion of apparent electrical conductivity data measured by the EMI sensor could be a useful proxy for explaining the success achieved by the 3D-GPR in finding the drain lines.
Blockchain for the Internet of Vehicles: A Decentralized IoT Solution for Vehicles Communication Using Ethereum
Authors: Jabbar Rateb , Kharbeche Mohamed , Al-Khalifa Khalifa , Krichen Moez , Barkaoui Kamel
Published: July 2020

The concept of smart cities has become prominent in modern metropolises due to the emergence of embedded and connected smart devices, systems, and technologies. They have enabled the connection of every “thing” to the Internet. Therefore, in the upcoming era of the Internet of Things, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) will play a crucial role in newly developed smart cities. The IoV has the potential to solve various traffic and road safety problems effectively in order to prevent fatal crashes. However, a particular challenge in the IoV, especially in Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications, is to ensure fast, secure transmission and accurate recording of the data. In order to overcome these challenges, this work is adapting Blockchain technology for real time application (RTA) to solve Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications problems. Therefore, the main novelty of this paper is to develop a Blockchain-based IoT system in order to establish secure communication and create an entirely decentralized cloud computing platform. Moreover, the authors qualitatively tested the performance and resilience of the proposed system against common security attacks. Computational tests showed that the proposed solution solved the main challenges of Vehicle-to-X (V2X) communications such as security, centralization, and lack of privacy. In addition, it guaranteed an easy data exchange between different actors of intelligent transportation systems.
Enhancing the Sensing Performance of Zigzag Graphene Nanoribbon to Detect NO, NO2, and NH3 Gases
Authors: Salih Ehab , Ayesh Ahmad I.
Published: July 2020

In this article, a zigzag graphene nanoribbon (ZGNR)-based sensor was built utilizing the Atomistic ToolKit Virtual NanoLab (ATK-VNL), and used to detect nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ammonia (NH3). The successful adsorption of these gases on the surface of the ZGNR was investigated using adsorption energy (Eads), adsorption distance (D), charge transfer (∆Q), density of states (DOS), and band structure. Among the three gases, the ZGNR showed the highest adsorption energy for NO with −0.273 eV, the smallest adsorption distance with 2.88 Å, and the highest charge transfer with −0.104 e. Moreover, the DOS results reflected a significant increase of the density at the Fermi level due to the improvement of ZGNR conductivity as a result of gas adsorption. The surface of ZGNR was then modified with an epoxy group (-O-) once, then with a hydroxyl group (-OH), and finally with both (-O-) and (-OH) groups in order to improve the adsorption capacity of ZGNR. The adsorption parameters of ZGNR were improved significantly after the modification. The highest adsorption energy was found for the case of ZGNR-O-OH-NO2 with −0.953 eV, while the highest charge transfer was found for the case of ZGNR-OH-NO with −0.146 e. Consequently, ZGNR-OH and ZGNR-O-OH can be considered as promising gas sensors for NO and NO2, respectively.
Indoor Large-Scale MIMO-Based RSSI Localization with Low-Complexity RFID Infrastructure
Authors: El-Absi Mohammed , Zheng Feng , Abuelhaija Ashraf , Al-haj Abbas Ali , Solbach Klaus , Kaiser Thomas
Published: July 2020

Indoor localization based on unsynchronized, low-complexity, passive radio frequency identification (RFID) using the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) has a wide potential for a variety of internet of things (IoTs) applications due to their energy-harvesting capabilities and low complexity. However, conventional RSSI-based algorithms present inaccurate ranging, especially in indoor environments, mainly because of the multipath randomness effect. In this work, we propose RSSI-based localization with low-complexity, passive RFID infrastructure utilizing the potential benefits of large-scale MIMO technology operated in the millimeter-wave band, which offers channel hardening, in order to alleviate the effect of small-scale fading. Particularly, by investigating an indoor environment equipped with extremely simple dielectric resonator (DR) tags, we propose an efficient localization algorithm that enables a smart object equipped with large-scale MIMO exploiting the RSSI measurements obtained from the reference DR tags in order to improve the localization accuracy. In this context, we also derive Cramer–Rao lower bound of the proposed technique. Numerical results evidence the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms considering various arbitrary network topologies, and results are compared with an existing algorithm, where the proposed algorithms not only produce higher localization accuracy but also achieve a greater robustness against inaccuracies in channel modeling.
A Review of Technologies and Techniques for Indoor Navigation Systems for the Visually Impaired
Authors: Simões Walter C. S. S. , Machado Guido S. , Sales André M. A. , de Lucena Mateus M. , Jazdi Nasser , de Lucena Vicente F.
Published: July 2020

Technologies and techniques of location and navigation are advancing, allowing greater precision in locating people in complex and challenging conditions. These advances have attracted growing interest from the scientific community in using indoor positioning systems (IPSs) with a higher degree of precision and fast delivery time, for groups of people such as the visually impaired, to some extent improving their quality of life. Much research brings together various works that deal with the physical and logical approaches of IPSs to give the reader a more general view of the models. These surveys, however, need to be continuously revisited to update the literature on the features described. This paper presents an expansion of the range of technologies and methodologies for assisting the visually impaired in previous works, providing readers and researchers with a more recent version of what was done and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach to guide reviews and discussions about these topics. Finally, we discuss a series of considerations and future trends for the construction of indoor navigation and location systems for the visually impaired.
Real-Time Person Identification in a Hospital Setting: A Systematic Review
Authors: Essink Heleen M. , Knops Armelle , Liqui Lung Amber M.A. , van der Meulen C. Nienke , Wouters Nino L. , van der Molen Aart J. , Veldkamp Wouter J.H. , Termaat M. Frank
Published: July 2020

In the critical setting of a trauma team activation, team composition is crucial information that should be accessible at a glance. This calls for a technological solution, which are widely available, that allows access to the whereabouts of personnel. This diversity presents decision makers and users with many choices and considerations. The aim of this review is to give a comprehensive overview of available real-time person identification techniques and their respective characteristics. A systematic literature review was performed to create an overview of identification techniques that have been tested in medical settings or already have been implemented in clinical practice. These techniques have been investigated on a total of seven characteristics: costs, usability, accuracy, response time, hygiene, privacy, and user safety. The search was performed on 11 May 2020 in PubMed and the Web of Science Core Collection. PubMed and Web of Science yielded a total n = 265 and n = 228 records, respectively. The review process resulted in n = 23 included records. A total of seven techniques were identified: (a) active and (b) passive Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) based systems, (c) fingerprint, (d) iris, and (e) facial identification systems and infrared (IR) (f) and ultrasound (US) (g) based systems. Active RFID was largely documented in the included literature. Only a few could be found about the passive systems. Biometric (c, d, and e) technologies were described in a variety of applications. IR and US techniques appeared to be a niche, as they were only spoken of in few (n = 3) studies.
A Grey Model and Mixture Gaussian Residual Analysis-Based Position Estimator in an Indoor Environment
Authors: Wang Yan , Ren Wenjia , Cheng Long , Zou Jijun
Published: July 2020

As the progress of electronics and information processing technology continues, indoor localization has become a research hotspot in wireless sensor networks (WSN). The adverse non-line of sight (NLOS) propagation usually causes large measurement errors in complex indoor environments. It could decrease the localization accuracy seriously. A traditional grey model considers the motion characteristics but does not take the NLOS propagation into account. A robust interacting multiple model (R-IMM) could effectively mitigate NLOS errors but the clipping point is hard to choose. In order to easily cope with NLOS errors, we present a novel filter framework: mixture Gaussian fitting-based grey Kalman filter structure (MGF-GKFS). Firstly, grey Kalman filter (GKF) is proposed to pre-process the measured distance, which can mitigate the process noise and alleviate NLOS errors. Secondly, we calculate the residual which is the difference between the filtered distance of GKF and the measured distance. Thirdly, a soft decision method based on mixture Gaussian fitting (MGF) is proposed to identify the propagation condition through residual value and give the degree of membership. Fourthly, weak NLOS noise is further processed by unscented Kalman filter (UKF). The filtered results of GKF and UKF are weighted using the degree of membership. Finally, a maximum likelihood (ML) algorithm is applied to get the coordinate of the target. MGF-GKFS is not supported by any of the priori knowledge. Full-scale simulations and an experiment are conducted to compare the localization accuracy and robustness with the state-of-the-art algorithms, including robust interacting multiple model (R-IMM), unscented Kalman filter (UKF) and interacting multiple model (IMM). The results show that MGF-GKFS could achieve significant improvement compared to R-IMM, UKF and IMM algorithms.
Investigation of Radiation Effects on FD-SOI Hall Sensors by TCAD Simulations
Authors: Fan Linjie , Bi Jinshun , Xi Kai , Yan Gangping
Published: July 2020

This work investigates the responses of the fully-depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) Hall sensors to the three main types of irradiation ionization effects, including the total ionizing dose (TID), transient dose rate (TDR), and single event transient (SET) effects. Via 3D technology computer aided design (TCAD) simulations with insulator fixed charge, radiation, heavy ion, and galvanomagnetic transport models, the performances of the transient current, Hall voltage, sensitivity, efficiency, and offset voltage have been evaluated. For the TID effect, the Hall voltage and sensitivity of the sensor increase after irradiation, while the efficiency and offset voltage decrease. As for TDR and SET effects, when the energy deposited on the sensor during a nuclear explosion or heavy ion injection is small, the transient Hall voltage of the off-state sensor first decreases and then returns to the initial value. However, if the energy deposition is large, the transient Hall voltage first decreases, then increases to a peak value and decreases to a fixed value. The physical mechanisms that produce different trends in the transient Hall voltage have been analyzed in detail.
A Method of Multiple Dynamic Objects Identification and Localization Based on Laser and RFID
Authors: Fu Wenpeng , Liu Ran , Wang Heng , Ali Rashid , He Yongping , Cao Zhiqiang , Qin Zhenghong
Published: July 2020

In an indoor environment, object identification and localization are paramount for human-object interaction. Visual or laser-based sensors can achieve the identification and localization of the object based on its appearance, but these approaches are computationally expensive and not robust against the environment with obstacles. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has a unique tag ID to identify the object, but it cannot accurately locate it. Therefore, in this paper, the data of RFID and laser range finder are fused for the better identification and localization of multiple dynamic objects in an indoor environment. The main method is to use the laser range finder to estimate the radial velocities of objects in a certain environment, and match them with the object’s radial velocities estimated by the RFID phase. The method also uses a fixed time series as “sliding time window” to find the cluster with the highest similarity of each RFID tag in each window. Moreover, the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) is used in the update stage of the particle filter (PF) to estimate the moving path of each cluster in order to improve the accuracy in a complex environment with obstacles. The experiments were verified by a SCITOS G5 robot. The results show that this method can achieve an matching rate of 90.18% and a localization accuracy of 0.33m in an environment with the presence of obstacles. This method effectively improves the matching rate and localization accuracy of multiple objects in indoor scenes when compared to the Bray-Curtis (BC) similarity matching-based approach as well as the particle filter-based approach.
Review of Non-Destructive Civil Infrastructure Evaluation for Bridges: State-of-the-Art Robotic Platforms, Sensors and Algorithms
Authors: Ahmed Habib , La Hung Manh , Gucunski Nenad
Published: July 2020

The non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of civil infrastructure has been an active area of research in recent decades. The traditional inspection of civil infrastructure mostly relies on visual inspection using human inspectors. To facilitate this process, different sensors for data collection and techniques for data analyses have been used to effectively carry out this task in an automated fashion. This review-based study will examine some of the recent developments in the field of autonomous robotic platforms for NDE and the structural health monitoring (SHM) of bridges. Some of the salient features of this review-based study will be discussed in the light of the existing surveys and reviews that have been published in the recent past, which will enable the clarification regarding the novelty of the present review-based study. The review methodology will be discussed in sufficient depth, which will provide insights regarding some of the primary aspects of the review methodology followed by this review-based study. In order to provide an in-depth examination of the state-of-the-art, the current research will examine the three major research streams. The first stream relates to technological robotic platforms developed for NDE of bridges. The second stream of literature examines myriad sensors used for the development of robotic platforms for the NDE of bridges. The third stream of literature highlights different algorithms for the surface- and sub-surface-level analysis of bridges that have been developed by studies in the past. A number of challenges towards the development of robotic platforms have also been discussed.
Estimating the Growing Stem Volume of the Planted Forest Using the General Linear Model and Time Series Quad-Polarimetric SAR Images
Authors: Long Jiangping , Lin Hui , Wang Guangxing , Sun Hua , Yan Enping
Published: July 2020

Increasing the area of planted forests is rather important for compensation the loss of natural forests and slowing down the global warming. Forest growing stem volume (GSV) is a key indicator for monitoring and evaluating the quality of planted forest. To improve the accuracy of planted forest GSV located in south China, four L-band ALOS PALSAR-2 quad-polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images were acquired from June to September with short intervals. Polarimetric characteristics (un-fused and fused) derived by the Yamaguchi decomposition from time series SAR images with different intervals were considered as independent variables for the GSV estimation. Then, the general linear model (GLM) obeyed the exponential distribution were proposed to retrieve the stand-level GSV in plantation. The results show that the un-fused power of double bounce scatters and four fused variables derived from single SAR image is highly sensitive to the GSV, and these polarimeric characteristics derived from the time series images more significantly contribute to improved estimation of GSV. Moreover, compared with the estimated GSV using the semi-exponential model, the employed GLM model with less limitations and simple algorithm has a higher saturation level (nearly to 300 m3/ha) and higher sensitivity to high forest GSV values than the semi-exponential model. Furthermore, by reducing the external disturbance with the help of time average, the accuracy of estimated GSV is improved using fused polarimeric characteristics, and the estimation accuracy of forest GSV was improved as the images increase. Using the fused polarimetric characteristics (Dbl×Vol/Odd) and the GLM, the minimum RRMSE was reduced from 33.87% from single SAR image to 24.42% from the time series SAR images. It is implied that the GLM is more suitable for polarimetric characteristics derived from the time series SAR images and has more potential to improve the planted forest GSV.
Playability and Player Experience in Digital Games for Elderly: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Rienzo Antonio , Cubillos Claudio
Published: July 2020

A higher number of people increasingly uses digital games. This growing interest in games, with different objectives, justifies the investigation of some aspects and concepts involved, such as product quality (game), usability, playability, and user or player experience, topics investigated by the multidisciplinary area called Human–Computer Interaction (HCI). Although the majority of users of these games are children and young people, an increasing number of older adults join technology and use different types of digital games. Several studies establish the increase in learning, socialization and exercise promotion, and cognitive and psychomotor skills improvement, all within the context of active and healthy aging. The objective of this work is to carry out a systematic literature review investigating the player experience of the elderly in digital games. The work allowed answering five research questions that were formulated. The evolution and maturity level of the research area are studied together with the research methods used. The factors that motivate adults to play were also analyzed; what are the recommended technical characteristics for games and some tools and metrics with which games are evaluated for older adults? Research gaps were detected in the area; there are not many specific studies on playability and player experience applied to the older adult, nor are there proven tools and metrics to evaluate them. Particular techniques for assessing and designing games focused on older adults are lacking, and quantitative studies that better identify the factors that affect the playability and experience of older adults in digital games.
Impacts of Residual Stress on Micro Vibratory Platform Used for Inertial Sensor Calibration
Authors: Hao Rui , Yu Huijun , Peng Bei , Zhan Haixiang , Zhou Wu
Published: July 2020

A micro vibratory platform driven by converse piezoelectric effects is a promising in-situ recalibration platform to eliminate the influence of bias and scale factor drift caused by long-term storage of micro-electro–mechanical system (MEMS) inertial sensors. The calibration accuracy is critically determined by the stable and repeatable vibration of platform, and it is unavoidably impacted by the residual stress of micro structures and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) hysteresis. The abnormal phenomenon of the observed displacement response in experiments was investigated analytically using the stiffness model of beams and hysteresis model of piezoelectric material. Rather than the hysteresis, the initial deflection formed by the residual stress of the beam was identified as the main cause of the response error around the zero position. This conclusion provides guidelines to improve the performance and control of micro vibratory platforms.
Using a Rotating 3D LiDAR on a Mobile Robot for Estimation of Person’s Body Angle and Gender
Authors: Brščić Dražen , Evans Rhys Wyn , Rehm Matthias , Kanda Takayuki
Published: July 2020

We studied the use of a rotating multi-layer 3D Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) sensor (specifically the Velodyne HDL-32E) mounted on a social robot for the estimation of features of people around the robot. While LiDARs are often used for robot self-localization and people tracking, we were interested in the possibility of using them to estimate the people’s features (states or attributes), which are important in human–robot interaction. In particular, we tested the estimation of the person’s body orientation and their gender. As collecting data in the real world and labeling them is laborious and time consuming, we also looked into other ways for obtaining data for training the estimators: using simulations, or using LiDAR data collected in the lab. We trained convolutional neural network-based estimators and tested their performance on actual LiDAR measurements of people in a public space. The results show that with a rotating 3D LiDAR a usable estimate of the body angle can indeed be achieved (mean absolute error 33.5 ° ), and that using simulated data for training the estimators is effective. For estimating gender, the results are satisfactory (accuracy above 80%) when the person is close enough; however, simulated data do not work well and training needs to be done on actual people measurements.
Soil Carbon Change Due to Land Conversion to Grassland in a Semi-Arid Environment
Authors: Yellajosula Gayatri , Cihacek Larry , Faller Tim , Schauer Christopher
Published: July 2020

A 5-year study evaluated the change in the quantity of soil total C (STC), soil organic C (SOC), and soil inorganic C (SIC) stored in the surface 60 cm of the soil profile on two adjacent blocks of land with a long-term history of cropping (CH) or undisturbed grassland (NH) on similar soil types between 1999 and 2004. The NH area was tilled and a grass-legume species mix was seeded into plots on both the NH and the CH areas. Selected plots of restored grass were established so they could be grazed (GG) by livestock while other plots were left ungrazed (UG). Original undisturbed (and ungrazed) grassland plots within the NH area were used as a control treatment. Initially, STC and SOC in CH were lower than NH when compared under the semi-arid environmental conditions found in southwestern North Dakota. Over the study period, the undisturbed grass control plots had increases in STC and SOC levels in the soil profile of 3.90 kg·m−2 and 3.34 kg·m−2, respectively. Restored grass on the NH area with grazing showed increases in STC and SOC values of 2.11 and 1.26 kg·m−2, respectively, while without grazing, profile STC and SOC had values of 3.80 and 3.28 kg·m−2, respectively. Restored grass on the CH area showed increases in profile STC and SOC values of 0.55 and 1.96 kg·m−2, respectively, for the grazed plots and 0.78 and 2.11 kg·m−2, respectively, when left ungrazed. Soil inorganic C, though present in the soils, did not significantly change during the study. The lower C accumulation in the CH plots may be due to a lag time in the establishment of mycorrhizal associations with the seeded species, the inoculums of which were already present in the NH soils. Changes in STC were likely due to changes in water relationships in the soil profile where management changes affected water infiltration and its movement causing leaching of SIC below the 60 cm depth evaluated. Soils under undisturbed grassland continue to accumulate carbon while soils of the disturbed grassland or cropped prior to re-establishing grass showed losses that occurred due to either accumulating C at a lower rate or perhaps to C loss during the initial establishment period (1–2 years).
Sustainability of Forest-Based Bioenergy—A Case Study of Students Surveyed at a University in Finland
Authors: Ranta Tapio , Karhunen Antti , Laihanen Mika
Published: July 2020

With the increasing use of forest biomass, concerns about negative impacts have been raised in the debate. The aim of this study was to find out the attitude of university students towards the energy use of forest-based biomass and how different areas of sustainable forest operations were addressed. The survey was conducted over two years (2018–2019) with both full-time students at university and distance learning students who study alongside their work. Background information such as gender, nationality and field of study was collected from students. Most of the students currently considered the energy use of forest biomass to be sustainable. Many replies stressed that the situation could change if the use of forests is increased from the present circumstances. The main factors mentioned that led to forest-based bioenergy being sustainable were positive felling balance, compliance with forest certification, use of waste fractions and implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) directive, while the loss of biodiversity, over-exploitation of forests, C debt and the cascading principle were factors that led to forest-based bioenergy being unsustainable. Student background variables had no effect on responses except for the field of study.
Does Audit Improve the Quality of ESG Scores? Evidence from Corporate Misconduct
Authors: Del Giudice Alfonso , Rigamonti Silvia
Published: July 2020

One of the main controversial aspects of sustainability metrics relies on the accuracy, transparency, and reliability of the information at the basis of environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores. This paper investigates whether firms that have their ESG reporting audited by independent firms exhibit a higher quality of ESG scores. We performed an analysis investigating the change in ESG scores following the unveiling of a corporate misconduct. We documented that, overall, no significant ESG score adjustment occurs after the scandal becomes public, thus, implying that rating agencies provide an accurate interpretation of the firm’s sustainability. However, our results differed when we distinguished between audited and unaudited reports. Firms whose reports are audited by third parties did not exhibit significant changes in their scores after a scandal, whereas for companies whose reports are not audited, we detected a worsening of the ESG scores that are statistically significant. Our findings were also confirmed in a multivariate analysis. Overall, our results suggest that the reliability of ESG scores can benefit from the auditing of sustainability reporting by third parties, which has an assurance effect on the quality of the company’s ESG information.
Complementary Currencies: An Analysis of the Creation Process Based on Sustainable Local Development Principles
Authors: García-Corral Francisco Javier , de Pablo-Valenciano Jaime de , Milán-García Juan , Cordero-García José Antonio
Published: July 2020

Complementary currencies are a reality and are being applied both globally and locally. The aim of this article is to explain the viability of this type of currency and its application in local development, in this case, in a rural mountain municipality in the province of Almería (Spain) called Almócita. The Plus, Minus, Interesting (PMI); “Flying Balloon”; and Strength, Weakness, Opportunity (SWOT) analysis methodologies will be used to carry out the study. Finally, a ranking of success factors will be carried out with a brainstorming exercise. As to the results, there are, a priori, more advantages than disadvantages of implementing these currencies, but the local population has clarified that their main concern is depopulation along with a lack of varied work. As a counterpart to this and strengths or advantages, almost all the participants mention the support from the Almócita city council and the initiatives that are constantly being promoted.
The Influence of Inter-Enterprise Knowledge Heterogeneity on Exploratory and Exploitative Innovation Performance: The Moderating Role of Trust and Contract
Authors: Tao Chen , Qu Yiying , Ren Hao , Guo Zhuopin
Published: July 2020

Improving enterprise innovation performance is key for enterprises to obtain sustainable competitiveness. With the increasingly fierce market competition of technological and product innovation, acquiring external heterogeneous knowledge of alliance enterprises becomes core to improving innovation performance. In this paper, we constructed a theoretical model to present the effect of inter-enterprise knowledge heterogeneity and alliance network governance mechanisms on enterprise innovation performance. We selected high-tech enterprises as the research object for empirical research and reached the following conclusions: (1) Inter-enterprise knowledge heterogeneity has a positive effect on exploratory and exploitative innovation performance, and (2) trust and contract have a moderating effect on the relationship between inter-enterprise knowledge heterogeneity and enterprise innovation performance.
Investigation on High-Value Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Properties of Blackberries and Their Fractions Obtained by Home-Scale Juice Processing
Authors: Metzner Ungureanu Cristina-Ramona , Lupitu Andreea Ioana , Moisa Cristian , Rivis Adrian , Copolovici Lucian Octav , Poiana Mariana-Atena
Published: July 2020

Blackberry pomace represents a valuable but underused byproduct of juice manufacturing. Its further applicability in various food systems is facilitated by detailed knowledge of its own bioactive potential. This study was focused on the investigation of the polyphenolic compound profile, total phenolic and ascorbic acid content, as well as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of blackberries (Rubus fruticosus L.) coming from spontaneous flora of two different areas of Romania, Paltinis (Sibiu County) and Zugau (Arad County) and their fractions, juice and pomace, resulting from home-scale processing. To ensure a satisfactory shelf life, the blackberry pomace was subjected to convective drying (60 °C for 12 hours) and the impact of this treatment on the antioxidant properties was evaluated. No significant differences in the investigated characteristics according to the place of origin were recorded. However, a slight increase in the antioxidant properties of fruits and fractions from the Zugau region, characterized by higher temperatures and a lower precipitation regime, was noticed compared with samples derived from the Paltinis area. The drying of blackberry byproducts led to losses of 10–23% in the content of the investigated bioactive compounds and DPPH radical scavenging activity. A significant correlation between DPPH radical scavenging activity and the total phenolic content has been recorded. Our findings are of interest in blackberry selection to enhance the level of bioactive compounds in the targeted products. The obtained results confirm that the blackberry processing byproducts may be regarded as a promising source of high-quality bioactive compounds and a proven radical scavenging capacity, representing a starting point for further analyses. This study responds to a global issue regarding fruit byproduct management in order to ensure the sustainable development of a circular economy.
Cocirculation of Swine H1N1 Influenza A Virus Lineages in Germany
Authors: Zell Roland , Groth Marco , Krumbholz Andi , Lange Jeannette , Philipps Anja , Dürrwald Ralf
Published: July 2020

The genome analysis of 328 H1N1 swine influenza virus isolates collected in a 13-year long-term swine influenza surveillance in Germany is reported. Viral genomes were sequenced with the Illumina next-generation sequencing technique and conventional Sanger methods. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted with Bayesian tree inference. The results indicate continued prevalence of Eurasian avian swine H1N1 but also emergence of a novel H1N1 reassortant, named Schneiderkrug/2013-like swine H1N1, with human-like hemagglutinin and avian-like neuraminidase and internal genes. Additionally, the evolution of an antigenic drift variant of A (H1N1) pdm09 was observed, named Wachtum/2014-like swine H1N1. Both variants were first isolated in northwest Germany, spread to neighboring German states and reached greater proportions of the H1N1 isolates of 2014 and 2015. The upsurge of Wachtum/2014-like swine H1N1 is of interest as this is the first documented persistent swine-to-swine spread of A (H1N1) pdm09 in Germany associated with antigenic variation. Present enzootic swine influenza viruses in Germany now include two or more co-circulating, antigenically variant viruses of each of the subtypes, H1N1 and H1N2.
Exosomes: Biological Carriers and Promising Tools for Cancer Immunotherapy
Authors: Saleh Reem , Elkord Eyad
Published: July 2020

Exosomes are recognized as new therapeutic targets for cancer biomedicine and cancer immunotherapy [...]
SURVEI PENDAHULUAN PENTINGNYA AHLI YANG DITUNJUK OLEH PENGADILAN DALAM PEMBUKTIAN PERKARA PERDATA LINGKUNGAN HIDUP
Authors: Isis Ikhwansyah Cecep Aminudin, Efa Laela Fakhriah, Ida Nurlinda,
Published: July 2020

Peranan ahli seringkali dibutuhkan dalam penyelesaian sengketa perdata lingkungan hidup di pengadilan. Namun akses terhadap ahli dianggap sebagai salah satu kendala. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk lebih memahami pandangan ahli terhadap bantuan ilmu pengetahuan dalam proses pengambilan keputusan hukum dalam perkara perdata lingkungan hidup di pengadilan dikaitkan dengan hukum acara di pengadilan. Penelitian merupakan penelitian hukum empiris dalam bentuk survei di mana responden ditentukan secara purposif dan data dianalisis secara kuantitatif maupun kualitatif. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian diketahui tidak semua ahli yang layak menjadi ahli sesuai bidang keahliannya bersedia untuk menjadi ahli dalam perkara perdata lingkungan hidup di pengadilan dengan alasan karena kurang nyaman dengan suasana pengadilan, khawatir tidak dapat memberikan keterangan yang objektif, tidak ingin terlibat dalam konflik, belum tahu caranya atau belum pernah serta kendala waktu. Namun demikian, tidak sedikit yang bersedia untuk menjadi ahli sesuai bidang keahliannya dalam perkara perdata lingkungan hidup di pengadilan dengan alasan sebagai bentuk tugas dan pengabdian pada masyarakat, membantu pengadilan agar dapat membuat keputusan yang baik serta membantu para pihak yang bersengketa yang meminta bantuan dalam penyelesaian sengketa di pengadilan. Bantuan ilmu pengetahuan dalam bentuk keterangan ahli lebih cenderung diminati agar yang meminta bantuan adalah pengadilan atau hakim termasuk dengan kesepakatan para pihak yang bersengketa agar ahli lebih dapat bersikap objektif dan netral dalam memberikan pendapat sesuai keahliannya. Ahli yang ditunjuk pengadilan juga mungkin bisa mengatasi kendala ketidakseimbangan akses terhadap ahli diantara para pihak. Meskipun demikian, hal tersebut tidak menutup kemungkinan para pihak yang bersengketa untuk meminta bantuan ahli sesuai dengan kebutuhan kondisi kasus lingkungan hidup.
Are Populist Leaders Creating the Conditions for the Spread of COVID-19? Comment on "A Scoping Review of Populist Radical Right Parties’ Influence on Welfare Policy and its Implications for Population Health in Europe"
Authors: McKee Martin , Gugushvili Alexi , Koltai Jonathan , Stuckler David
Published: July 2020

Do populist leaders contribute to the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)? While all governments have struggled to respond to the pandemic, it is now becoming clear that some political leaders have performed much better than others. Among the worst performing are those that have risen to power on populist agendas, such as in the United States, Brazil, Russia, India, and the United Kingdom. Populist leaders have tended to: blame "others" for the pandemic, such as immigrants and the Chinese government; deny evidence and show contempt for institutions that generate it; and portray themselves as the voice of the common people against an out-of-touch ‘elite.’ In our short commentary, focusing on those countries with the most cases, we find that populist leaders appear to be undermining an effective response to COVID-19. Perversely, they may also gain politically from doing so, as historically populist leaders benefit from suffering and ill health. Clearly more research is needed on the curious correlation of populism and public health. Notwithstanding gaps in the evidence, health professionals have a duty to speak out against these practices to prevent avoidable loss of life.
Land Suitability and Crop Pattern Model using Integrated Pollination Intelligence Algorithm and Remote Sensing
Authors: Akinsunmade A. E. , Ejieji C. N.
Published: July 2020

A mathematical model for crop pattern coupled with economic and environmental factors of agricultural production constructed with remote sensing and metaheuristic based algorithm is considered in this work. The model is expected to serve as a support system for farm managers' decision making process. Geographic data showing soil properties of major cities in Benue State, Nigeria using remote sensing, was integrated to the model to obtain analyzed suitability information for selected crops. A class of modern optimization algorithms was thereafter used to find optimum cropland pattern. A net production value of $1,592,107,000.00$ was obtained by using the model compared to an initial production value of $1,364,460,000.00$ recorded in the study area. The study suggests that soil properties must be considered along side with economic factors before choosing the types of crop to be planted on a piece of land. This study has shown the efficacy of optimization tools which should be dully employed by farmers in decision making process. The data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article.
Enhancing resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A thematic analysis and evaluation of the warr;or21 program
Authors: Thompson Jeff
Published: July 2020

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has negatively impacted the world in a variety of ways. Thousands have died, many more have fallen ill, and it continues to have a disastrous impact on the global economy. The virus has also significantly impacted people’s well-being and their mental health, where the effects are expected to continue long after businesses begin to re-open. Promoting resilience and positive mental health coping strategies are, therefore, vital to assisting people as this pandemic continues and long after a sense of “normalcy” returns. This paper, a program analysis of warr;or21, a resilience program, utilizes qualitative research methods to share the insights of participants who completed the program during the COVID-19 pandemic. The warr;or21 program was designed initially to enhance resilience in law enforcement and other first responders and has since been adapted for the general public. The data reveals that, from the perspective of the participants, warr;or21 has helped many of them cope and manage positively, specifically amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the warr;or21 program has the potential to help enhance people’s resilience and mental health during future adverse events as well as to be used proactively to further develop a person’s overall mental health and resilience.
EARNINGS MANAGEMENT AND POLITICAL CONNECTION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
Authors: Sriram Roopini A/P , Yusoff Wan Sallha
Published: July 2020

This paper aims to perform a systematic review of prior literature, with the focus being on earnings management and the influence of political connection towards this practice. This systematic review was made on a total of twenty-five (25) journals that firstly has a clear definition of political connection, and secondly has studied earnings management in politically connected companies. There have been multiple definitions of political connection, whereby the most common proxy is if any of the company’s board of directors is or was a Member of Parliament, or is or was holding any Minister position, or is closely related to any politician or political party. Furthermore, this systematic review will display the mixed results from prior literature, in which some studies showed a positive influence of political connection on earnings management, and on the other hand, overall more studies showed a negative impact of political connection on earnings management.
ACCESSING EMPLOYEES’ READINESS TO ADOPT INDUSTRY REVOLUTION 4.0 (IR 4.0)
Authors: Hud Nur Farahanna , Adam Sabrinah , Yus Kelana Beni Widarman
Published: July 2020

This research to identify the level of employees’ readiness with the adoption of Industry 4.0 in the expressway organization and to recommend a solution that can equip the employee with the relevant knowledge and skill with the adoption of Industry 4.0. For this research, the data collection used qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative using interview approach. The interview will be involved with 3 - 4 participants. The quantitative will be conducted to focus group which consists of 80 respondents. Both participants and respondents from toll tellers and supervisors. The data collection will be pre and post-test. The cross-sectional time horizon being used due to the limited time to conduct the data collection and data analysis. The data analysis will be using a manual transcript and SPSS respectively. The implementation of the intervention will contribute to enhancing the employees’ readiness. Besides, to equip and prepared the employees with the relevant knowledge and skills to adopt Industry 4.0. This research also can be one of the references for future researchers to explore more profoundly on the same topic.
ASPERLABS: OPEN SOURCE VIRTUAL LABORATORIES FOR STEM EDUCATION
Authors: Mohammad Latif Muhammad Alif , Hafidzuddin Mohd Ezad Hafidz , Mohd Top@Mohd Tah Marina , Md Arifin Norihan
Published: July 2020

The main challenge in the development of scientific education in Malaysia is the lack of interest in science among students. One of the reasons for this discrepancy lies in the fact that these fields often require laboratory exercises to provide effective skill acquisition and hands-on experience. Physical experiments increase the costs due to their required equipment, space, and maintenance staff. A virtual laboratory can provide a cost-efficient way to organize high-quality laboratory work for many students. It is a damage resistance laboratory, thus opening the possibility to learn from mistakes. In Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, virtual laboratories can offer effective scientific exploration at a low cost. The objective of this research is to develop a platform for open-source virtual laboratories for STEM education inside and outside of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). The virtual laboratory initiative is known as “AsperLabs”. This web-based interface offers several open-source virtual experiments for three subjects including physics, chemistry, and biology. Asperlabs have been utilized at Foundation level in UPM and STEM programs at local secondary schools. It has received positive feedback from students on both levels and will be included in the course materials for Foundation Program at UPM in the near future.
UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF POLICY TRANSFER: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW APPROACH
Authors: Mokhtar Khairiah Salwa , Abdul Rahman Nurulhasanah
Published: July 2020

Policy transfer is not a new concept in public policy or political science research. However, there are many misconceptions about policy transfer from past scholars which fragmented policy understanding among political scientists and researchers. Hence, this paper aims to shed light on the basic concept of policy transfer and add value to the current literature especially in an academic context. This paper employed secondary data from the past ten years (2010-2020) derived from selected published resources of reputable databases specifically Scopus and ScienceDirect. There are four main stages in Systematic Literature Review (SLR) namely; (1) Pre-SLR, (2) Identification, (3) Screening, and (4) Eligibility. After considering the relevant articles from prior searching activities, 15 articles were reviewed systematically. Accordingly, five themes emerged to conclude the concept of policy transfer based on thematic analysis. This paper concludes with a summary of policy transfer discussion for future research and implications for policymakers were presented.