bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Physiologically Based Biopharmaceutics Modeling of Food Effect for Basmisanil: A Retrospective Case Study of the Utility for Formulation Bridging
Authors: Belubbi Tejashree , Bassani Davide , Stillhart Cordula , Parrott Neil
Published: January 2023

Basmisanil, is a lipophilic drug substance, exhibiting poor solubility and good permeability (BCS class 2). A validated physiologically based biopharmaceutics model (PBBM) has been previously described for tablets dosed in the fed state. The PBBM captured the less than proportional increases in exposure at higher doses well and indicated that absorption was dissolution rate-limited below 200 mg while solubility was limiting for higher doses. In this study, a model for dosing in the fasted state is described and is verified for simulation of the food effect where exposures were ~1.5 fold higher when a 660 mg tablet was given with food. The model is then applied to simulate the food effect for a granules formulation given at a lower dose (120 mg). The food effect at the lower dose was reasonably simulated with a ratio of simulated/observed food effect of 1.35 for Cmax and 0.83 for AUC. Sensitivity analysis was carried out for uncertain model parameters to confirm that the model could predict the magnitude of the positive food effect with moderate to high confidence. This study suggests that a verified PBBM can provide a useful alternative to a repeat food effect study when formulation changes are minor. However, there is need for further evaluation of the approach and a definition of what formulation changes are minor in this context. In addition, this work highlights some uncertainties in the handling of solubility in PBBM, in particular around temperature dependency of solubility and the parameterization of bile salt solubilization using measurements in biorelevant media.
The Effect of the Varietal Type, Ripening Stage, and Growing Conditions on the Content and Profile of Sugars and Capsaicinoids in Capsicum Peppers
Authors: Guijarro-Real Carla , Adalid-Martínez Ana M. , Pires Cherrine K. , Ribes-Moya Ana M. , Fita Ana , Rodríguez-Burruezo Adrián
Published: January 2023

Peppers (Capsicum sp.) are used both as vegetables and/or spice and their fruits are used in a plethora of recipes, contributing to their flavor and aroma. Among flavor-related traits, pungency (capsaicinoids) and lately volatiles have been considered the most important factors. However, the knowledge of sugars is low, probably due to the fact peppers were historically considered tasteless. Here, using HPLC, we studied the content and profile of major sugars and capsaicinoids in a comprehensive collection of varietal types (genotype, G), grown under different growing systems (environment, E) in two years (Y) and considered the two main ripening stages (R). We found a major contribution to the ripening stage and the genotype in total and individual sugars and capsaicinoids. The year was also significant in most cases, as well as the G × E and G × Y interactions, while the growing system was low or nil. Ripening increased considerably in sugars (from 19.6 to 36.1 g kg−1 on average) and capsaicinoids (from 97 to 142 mg kg−1 on average), with remarkable differences among varieties. Moreover, sugars in fully ripe fruits ranged between 7.5 and 38.5 g kg−1 in glucose and between 5.2 and 34.3 g kg−1 in fructose, and several accessions reached total sugars between 40 and 70 g kg−1, similar to tomatoes. The results reveal the importance of the genotype and the ripening for these traits, particularly sugars, which should be considered key for the improvement of taste and flavor in peppers.
Biological Control of Aspergillus flavus by the Yeast Aureobasidium pullulans In Vitro and on Tomato Fruit
Authors: Podgórska-Kryszczuk Izabela
Published: January 2023

Aspergillus flavus is an important pathogenic fungus affecting many crops and is one of the main sources of their aflatoxin contamination. The primary method of limiting this pathogen is using chemical fungicides, but researchers focus on searching for other effective agents for its control due to many disadvantages and limitations of these agrochemicals. The results obtained in the present study indicate the high potential of two yeast strains, Aureobasidium pullulans PP4 and A. pullulans ZD1, in the biological control of A. flavus. Under in vitro conditions, mycelial growth was reduced by 53.61% and 63.05%, and spore germination was inhibited by 68.97% and 79.66% by ZD1 and PP4 strains, respectively. Both strains produced the lytic enzymes chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase after 5 days of cultivation with cell wall preparations (CWP) of A. flavus in the medium as a carbon source. In addition, the tested yeasts showed the ability to grow over a wide range of temperatures (4–30 °C), pH (4–11), and salinity (0–12%) and showed tolerance to fungicides at concentrations corresponding to field conditions. Both isolates tested were highly tolerant to cupric oxychloride, showing biomass gains of 85.84% (ZD1) and 87.25% (PP4). Biomass growth in the presence of fungicides azoxystrobin was 78.71% (ZD1) and 82.65% (PP4), while in the presence of difenoconazole, it was 70.09% (ZD1) and 75.25% (PP4). The yeast strains were also tested for antagonistic effects against A. flavus directly on tomato fruit. Both isolates acted effectively by reducing lesion diameter from 29.13 mm (control) to 8.04 mm (PP4) and 8.83 mm (ZD1).
Blending of Low-Density Polyethylene and Poly(Butylene Succinate) (LDPE/PBS) with Polyethylene–Graft–Maleic Anhydride (PE–g–MA) as a Compatibilizer on the Phase Morphology, Mechanical and Thermal Properties
Authors: Arman Alim Aina Aqila , Baharum Azizah , Mohammad Shirajuddin Siti Salwa , Anuar Farah Hannan
Published: January 2023

It is of significant concern that the buildup of non-biodegradable plastic waste in the environment may result in long-term issues with the environment, the economy and waste management. In this study, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was compounded with different contents of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) at 10–50 wt.%, to evaluate the potential of replacing commercial plastics with a biodegradable renewable polymer, PBS for packaging applications. The morphological, mechanical and thermal properties of the LDPE/PBS blends were examined in relation to the effect of polyethylene–graft–maleic anhydride (PE–g–MA) as a compatibilizer. LDPE/PBS/PE–g–MA blends were fabricated via the melt blending method using an internal mixer and then were compression molded into test samples. The presence of LDPE, PBS and PE–g–MA individually in the matrix for each blend presented physical interaction between the constituents, as shown by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphology of LDPE/PBS/PE–g–MA blends showed improved compatibility and homogeneity between the LDPE matrix and PBS phase. Compatibilized LDPE/PBS blends showed an improvement in the tensile strength, with 5 phr of compatibilizer providing the optimal content. The thermal stability of LDPE/PBS blends decreased with higher PBS content and the thermal stability of compatibilized blends was higher in contrast to the uncompatibilized blends. Therefore, our research demonstrated that the partial substitution of LDPE with a biodegradable PBS and the incorporation of the PE–g–MA compatibilizer could develop an innovative blend with improved structural, mechanical and thermal properties.
Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) as Multi-Target Multifunctional Frameworks
Authors: Bukhari Syed Nasir Abbas , Ahmed Naveed , Amjad Muhammad Wahab , Hussain Muhammad Ajaz , Elsherif Mervat A. , Ejaz Hasan , Alotaibi Nasser H.
Published: January 2023

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), synthesized from organic monomers, are porous crystalline polymers. Monomers get attached through strong covalent bonds to form 2D and 3D structures. The adjustable pore size, high stability (chemical and thermal), and metal-free nature of COFs make their applications wider. This review article briefly elaborates the synthesis, types, and applications (catalysis, environmental Remediation, sensors) of COFs. Furthermore, the applications of COFs as biomaterials are comprehensively discussed. There are several reported COFs having good results in anti-cancer and anti-bacterial treatments. At the end, some newly reported COFs having anti-viral and wound healing properties are also discussed.
RETRACTED: The Effect of Intrinsic Mechanical Properties on Reducing the Friction-Induced Ripples of Hard-Filler-Modified HDPE
Authors: Liu Chuanbo , Yuan Chengqing , Liu Shutian
Published: January 2023

Ripple deformations induced by friction on polymeric materials have negative effects on the entire stability of operating machineries. These deformations are formed as a response to contacting mechanics, caused by the intrinsic mechanical properties. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) with varying silicon nitride (Si3N4) contents is used to investigate different ripple deformation responses by conducting single-asperity scratch tests. The relationship between the intrinsic mechanical properties and the ripple deformations caused by filler modifications is analyzed in this paper. The results show the coupling of the inherent mechanical properties, and the stick-slip motion of HDPE creates ripple deformations during scratching. The addition of the Si3N4 filler changes the frictional response; the filler weakens the ripples and almost smoothens the scratch, particularly at 4 wt.%, but the continued increase in the Si3N4 content produces noticeable ripples and fluctuations. These notable differences can be attributed to the yield and post-yield responses; the high yield stress and strain-hardening at 4 wt.% provide good friction resistance and stress distribution, thus a smooth scratch is observed. In contrast, increasing the filler content weakens both the yield and post-yield responses, leading to deformation. The results herein reveal the mechanism behind the initial ripple deformation, thus providing fundamental insights into universally derived friction-induced ripples.
Porous Scaffolds Based on Polydopamine/Chondroitin Sulfate/Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite Hydrogels
Authors: Tang Zuwu , Yu Meiqiong , Mondal Ajoy Kanti , Lin Xinxing
Published: January 2023

In this paper, porous scaffolds based on composite hydrogels were fabricated using polydopamine (PDA), chondroitin sulfate (CS), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) via the freezing/thawing method. Different characteristics of the prepared composite hydrogels, including the pore sizes, compression strength, lap shear strength, mass loss, and cytocompatibility were investigated. Scanning electron microscope images (SEM) displayed the hydrogel pore sizes, ranging from 20 to 100 μm. The composite hydrogel exhibited excellent porosity of 95.1%, compression strength of 5.2 MPa, lap shear strength of 21 kPa on porcine skin, and mass loss of 16.0%. In addition, the composite hydrogel possessed good relative cell activity of 97%. The PDA/CS/PVA hydrogel is cytocompatible as a starting point, and it can be further investigated in tissue engineering.
Colloidal Solutions as Advanced Coatings for Active Packaging Development: Focus on PLA Systems
Authors: John Athira , Črešnar Klementina Pušnik , Bikiaris Dimitrios N. , Zemljič Lidija Fras
Published: January 2023

Due to rising consumer demand the food packaging industry is turning increasingly to packaging materials that offer active functions. This is achieved by incorporating active compounds into the basic packaging materials. However, it is currently believed that adding active compounds as a coating over the base packaging material is more beneficial than adding them in bulk or in pouches, as this helps to maintain the physicochemical properties of the base material along with higher efficiency at the interface with the food. Colloidal systems have the potential to be used as active coatings, while the application of coatings in the form of colloidal dispersions allows for prolonged and controlled release of the active ingredient and uniform distribution, due to their colloidal/nano size and large surface area ratio. The objective of this review is to analyse some of the different colloidal solutions previously used in the literature as coatings for active food packaging and their advantages. The focus is on natural bio-based substances and packaging materials such as PLA, due to consumer awareness and environmental and regulatory issues. The antiviral concept through the surface is also discussed briefly, as it is an important strategy in the context of the current pandemic crisis and cross-infection prevention.
Design of Multifunctional and Efficient Water-Based Annulus Protection Fluid for HTHP Sour Gas Wells
Authors: Liu Qilin , Han Xue , Cao Jian , Du Lang , Jia Ning , Zheng Rong , Chen Wen , Zeng Dezhi
Published: January 2023

In order to solve the corrosion problem of production string in the process of acidizing for the purpose of production, a new water-based annular protective fluid suitable for HTHP acid gas, including H2S-CO2 wells, was developed. Firstly, an appropriate deoxidizer, bactericide, and corrosion inhibitor shall be selected according to the production string of acid gas. In addition, the synergism between additives is evaluated. Then, by designing the additive ratio, the optimal formulation of the water-based annular protective fluid is determined. Finally, a high-temperature autoclave was used to evaluate the protective performance of the water-based annular protective liquid. The results showed that it is recommended to use water-based annular protective liquids prepared with clear water that comes easily from nature (rivers, etc.), which consist of a corrosion inhibitor, CT2-19C (30,000 ppm), BN-45 bactericide (2 g/L), and anhydrous sodium sulfite (3 g/L). The density of the water-based annulus protection liquid is 1.02 g/cm3, and the freezing point is −2.01 °C. The dissolved oxygen content of water-based annulus protection fluids prepared with clear water in formation water shall be controlled within 0.3 ppm. The corrosion inhibition rate of water-based annular protective fluid in the liquid phase is higher than 90%, and the corrosion rate of P110SS steel in the gas–liquid phase is lower than the oilfield corrosion control index (0.076 mm/y).
A Global-Information-Constrained Deep Learning Network for Digital Elevation Model Super-Resolution
Authors: Han Xiaoyi , Ma Xiaochuan , Li Houpu , Chen Zhanlong
Published: January 2023

High-resolution DEMs can provide accurate geographic information and can be widely used in hydrological analysis, path planning, and urban design. As the main complementary means of producing high-resolution DEMs, the DEM super-resolution (SR) method based on deep learning has reached a bottleneck. The reason for this phenomenon is that the DEM super-resolution method based on deep learning lacks a part of the global information it requires. Specifically, the multilevel aggregation process of deep learning has difficulty sufficiently capturing the low-level features with dependencies, which leads to a lack of global relationships with high-level information. To address this problem, we propose a global-information-constrained deep learning network for DEM SR (GISR). Specifically, our proposed GISR method consists of a global information supplement module and a local feature generation module. The former uses the Kriging method to supplement global information, considering the spatial autocorrelation rule. The latter includes a residual module and the PixelShuffle module, which is used to restore the detailed features of the terrain. Compared with the bicubic, Kriging, SRCNN, SRResNet, and TfaSR methods, the experimental results of our method show a better ability to retain terrain features, and the generation effect is more consistent with the ground truth DEM. Meanwhile, compared with the deep learning method, the RMSE of our results is improved by 20.5% to 68.8%.
Tectonic Implications for the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains, East Antarctica, from Airborne Gravity and Magnetic Data
Authors: Wu Guochao , Ferraccioli Fausto , Zhou Wenna , Yuan Yuan , Gao Jinyao , Tian Gang
Published: January 2023

The Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains (GSMs) in the interior East Antarctic Craton are entirely buried under the massive East Antarctic ice sheet, with a ~50–60 km thick crust and ~200 km thick lithosphere, but little is known of the crustal structure and uplift mechanism. Here, we use airborne gravity and aeromagnetic anomalies for characteristic analysis and inverse calculations. The gravity and magnetic images show three distinct geophysical domains. Based on the gravity anomalies, a dense lower crustal root is modelled to underlie the GSMs, which may have formed by underplating during the continental collision of Antarctica and India. The high frequency linear magnetic characteristics parallel to the suture zone suggest that the upper crustal architecture is dominated by thrusts, consisting of a large transpressional fault system with a trailing contractional imbricate fan. A 2D model along the seismic profile is created to investigate the crustal architecture of the GSMs with the aid of depth to magnetic source estimates. Combined with the calculated crustal geometry and physical properties and the geological background of East Antarctica, a new evolutionary model is proposed, suggesting that the GSMs are underlain by part of a Pan-African age advancing accretionary orogen superimposed on Precambrian basement.
Lightweight SAR: A Two-Bit Strategy
Authors: Liu Shiqi , Zhao Bo , Huang Lei , Li Bing , Bao Weimin
Published: January 2023

By benefiting from one-bit sampling, the system deployment of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) can be greatly simplified. However, it usually requires a high oversampling rate to avoid the apparent degradation in imagery, which counteracts the storage-saving advantages. In this paper, a two-bit lightweight SAR imaging strategy is proposed to take the advantage of one-bit quantization in simplification but get rid of the requirement of sampling at a high rate. Specifically, based on one-bit quantization, an extra bit after an appropriate phase shifting is introduced to suppress the harmonics resulting from the nonlinear effect of quantization. In this way, the awkward nonlinearity in conventional one-bit schemes can be tackled by the nonlinearity generated with the newly introduced bit. Hence, this improves the imaging quality. In addition, the proposed method does not rely on fast sampling. The harmonic suppression effect is retained under low-sampling-rate conditions. Therefore, the amount of data acquired will decrease dramatically. This will benefit the whole process of imaging and, consequently, lighten the system burden and cost. The theoretical analysis and experimental results showcase the superiority of the proposed method.
Salt Constructs in Paleo-Lake Basins as High-Priority Astrobiology Targets
Authors: Phillips Michael S. , McInenly Michael , Hofmann Michael H. , Hinman Nancy W. , Warren-Rhodes Kimberley , Rivera-Valentín Edgard G. , Cabrol Nathalie A.
Published: January 2023

In extreme environments, microbial organisms reside in pockets with locally habitable conditions. Micro-climates conducive to the persistence of life in an otherwise inhospitable environment—“refugia”—are spatially restricted and can be micro- to centimeters in extent. If martian microbes are preserved in fossil refugia, this presents a double-edged sword for biosignature exploration: these locations will be specific and targetable but small and difficult to find. To better understand what types of features could be refugia in martian salt-encrusted basins, we explore a case study of two terrestrial habitats in salt-encrusted paleo-lake basins (salars): Salar Grande (SG) in the Atacama Desert and Salar de Pajonales (SdP) in the Altiplano Puna plateau of Chile. We review the formation of salt constructs within SG and SdP, which are the features that serve as refugia in those salars, and we explore the connection between the formation of salt constructs at the local scale with the larger-scale geologic phenomena that enable their formation. Our evaluation of terrestrial salars informs an assessment of which chloride basins on Mars might have had a high potential to form life-hosting salt constructs and may preserve biosignatures, or even host extant life. Our survey of martian salars identifies 102 salars in regions with a geographic context conducive to the formation of salt constructs, of which 17 have HiRISE coverage. We investigate these 17 martian salars with HiRISE coverage and locate the presence of possible salt constructs in 16 of them. Salt constructs are features that have may have been continuously habitable for the past ~3.8 Byr, have exceptional preservation potential, and are accessible by robotic exploration. Future work could explore in detail the mechanisms involved in the formation of the topographic features we identified in salt-encrusted basins on Mars to test the hypothesis that they are salt constructs.
ADAfinder Tool Applied to EGMS Data for the Structural Health Monitoring of Urban Settlements
Authors: Mele Annalisa , Crosetto Michele , Miano Andrea , Prota Andrea
Published: January 2023

The new European Ground Motion Service (EGMS) opens a new prospect in the study of the ground deformation phenomena influencing structures and infrastructures, at regional scale, exploiting the huge archives of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images acquired from Sentinel-1 satellites. The research is currently oriented toward developing new methodologies to exploit this great volume of data, the management of which is difficult and onerous in terms of time. A new methodology for the monitoring of the deformations of urban settlements, based on the application of the ADAfinder tool to EGMS measure points, is proposed in this work. It targets the semi-automatic extraction of active deformation areas (ADA), given in the form of maps, with the goal to identify the buildings affected by displacements above a given threshold among all the buildings included in the investigated area. This allows a smart selection of the buildings needing insights about their condition through on-site monitoring or inspections, providing real support for the management of the urban areas. The proposed methodology is applied to two different case study areas in the city of Barcelona (Spain): the Eixample, in the heart of the city, and the Zona Franca, an industrial area near to the harbor.
A Synthetic Data Generation Technique for Enhancement of Prediction Accuracy of Electric Vehicles Demand
Authors: Chatterjee Subhajit , Byun Yung-Cheol
Published: January 2023

In terms of electric vehicles (EVs), electric kickboards are crucial elements of smart transportation networks for short-distance travel that is risk-free, economical, and environmentally friendly. Forecasting the daily demand can improve the local service provider’s access to information and help them manage their short-term supply more effectively. This study developed the forecasting model using real-time data and weather information from Jeju Island, South Korea. Cluster analysis under the rental pattern of the electric kickboard is a component of the forecasting processes. We cannot achieve noticeable results at first because of the low amount of training data. We require a lot of data to produce a solid prediction result. For the sake of the subsequent experimental procedure, we created synthetic time-series data using a generative adversarial networks (GAN) approach and combined the synthetic data with the original data. The outcomes have shown how the GAN-based synthetic data generation approach has the potential to enhance prediction accuracy. We employ an ensemble model to improve prediction results that cannot be achieved using a single regressor model. It is a weighted combination of several base regression models to one meta-regressor. To anticipate the daily demand in this study, we create an ensemble model by merging three separate base machine learning algorithms, namely CatBoost, Random Forest (RF), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). The effectiveness of the suggested strategies was assessed using some evaluation indicators. The forecasting outcomes demonstrate that mixing synthetic data with original data improves the robustness of daily demand forecasting and outperforms other models by generating more agreeable values for suggested assessment measures. The outcomes further show that applying ensemble techniques can reasonably increase the forecasting model’s accuracy for daily electric kickboard demand.
A Flower Pollination Optimization Algorithm Based on Cosine Cross-Generation Differential Evolution
Authors: Jia Yunjian , Wang Shankun , Liang Liang , Wei Yaxing , Wu Yanfei
Published: January 2023

The flower pollination algorithm (FPA) is a novel heuristic optimization algorithm inspired by the pollination behavior of flowers in nature. However, the global and local search processes of the FPA are sensitive to the search direction and parameters. To solve this issue, an improved flower pollination algorithm based on cosine cross-generation differential evolution (FPA-CCDE) is proposed. The algorithm uses cross-generation differential evolution to guide the local search process, so that the optimal solution is achieved and sets cosine inertia weights to increase the search convergence speed. At the same time, the external archiving mechanism and the adaptive adjustment of parameters realize the dynamic update of scaling factor and crossover probability to enhance the population richness as well as reduce the number of local solutions. Then, it combines the cross-generation roulette wheel selection mechanism to reduce the probability of falling into the local optimal solution. In comparing to the FPA-CCDE with five state-of-the-art optimization algorithms in benchmark functions, we can observe the superiority of the FPA-CCDE in terms of stability and optimization features. Additionally, we further apply the FPA-CCDE to solve the robot path planning issue. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has low cost, high efficiency, and attack resistance in path planning, and it can be applied to a variety of intelligent scenarios.
Anxious Brains: A Combined Data Fusion Machine Learning Approach to Predict Trait Anxiety from Morphometric Features
Authors: Baggio Teresa , Grecucci Alessandro , Meconi Federica , Messina Irene
Published: January 2023

Trait anxiety relates to the steady propensity to experience and report negative emotions and thoughts such as fear and worries across different situations, along with a stable perception of the environment as characterized by threatening stimuli. Previous studies have tried to investigate neuroanatomical features related to anxiety mostly using univariate analyses and thus giving rise to contrasting results. The aim of this study is to build a predictive model of individual differences in trait anxiety from brain morphometric features, by taking advantage of a combined data fusion machine learning approach to allow generalization to new cases. Additionally, we aimed to perform a network analysis to test the hypothesis that anxiety-related networks have a central role in modulating other networks not strictly associated with anxiety. Finally, we wanted to test the hypothesis that trait anxiety was associated with specific cognitive emotion regulation strategies, and whether anxiety may decrease with ageing. Structural brain images of 158 participants were first decomposed into independent covarying gray and white matter networks with a data fusion unsupervised machine learning approach (Parallel ICA). Then, supervised machine learning (decision tree) and backward regression were used to extract and test the generalizability of a predictive model of trait anxiety. Two covarying gray and white matter independent networks successfully predicted trait anxiety. The first network included mainly parietal and temporal regions such as the postcentral gyrus, the precuneus, and the middle and superior temporal gyrus, while the second network included frontal and parietal regions such as the superior and middle temporal gyrus, the anterior cingulate, and the precuneus. We also found that trait anxiety was positively associated with catastrophizing, rumination, other- and self-blame, and negatively associated with positive refocusing and reappraisal. Moreover, trait anxiety was negatively associated with age. This paper provides new insights regarding the prediction of individual differences in trait anxiety from brain and psychological features and can pave the way for future diagnostic predictive models of anxiety.
Feasibility of Electrodermal Activity and Photoplethysmography Data Acquisition at the Foot Using a Sock Form Factor
Authors: Ferreira Afonso Fortes , da Silva Hugo Plácido , Alves Helena , Marques Nuno , Fred Ana
Published: January 2023

Wearable devices have been shown to play an important role in disease prevention and health management, through the multimodal acquisition of peripheral biosignals. However, many of these wearables are exposed, limiting their long-term acceptability by some user groups. To overcome this, a wearable smart sock integrating a PPG sensor and an EDA sensor with textile electrodes was developed. Using the smart sock, EDA and PPG measurements at the foot/ankle were performed in test populations of 19 and 15 subjects, respectively. Both measurements were validated by simultaneously recording the same signals with a standard device at the hand. For the EDA measurements, Pearson correlations of up to 0.95 were obtained for the SCL component, and a mean consensus of 69% for peaks detected in the two locations was obtained. As for the PPG measurements, after fine-tuning the automatic detection of systolic peaks, the index finger and ankle, accuracies of 99.46% and 87.85% were obtained, respectively. Moreover, an HR estimation error of 17.40±14.80 Beats-Per-Minute (BPM) was obtained. Overall, the results support the feasibility of this wearable form factor for unobtrusive EDA and PPG monitoring.
Temperature Measurements by Wavelength Modulation Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy with Logarithmic Conversion and 1f Signal Detection
Authors: Liger Vladimir , Mironenko Vladimir , Kuritsyn Yury , Bolshov Mikhail
Published: January 2023

A new version of a sensor for temperature measurements in the case of strong laser intensity fluctuation was developed. It was based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) with wavelength modulation, logarithmic conversion of the absorption signal, and detection of the first harmonic of the modulation frequency. The efficiency of the technique was demonstrated under experimental conditions with excess multiplicative noise. Temperature was evaluated from the ratio of integrated absorbance of two lines of the water molecule with different lower energy levels. Two algorithms of data processing were tested, simultaneous fitting of two spectral ranges with selected absorption lines and independent fitting of two absorption lines profiles. The correctness of the gas temperature evaluation was verified by simultaneous measurements with a commercial thermocouple. An error in temperature evaluation of less than 40 at 1000 K was achieved even when processing a single scan of the diode lasers.
Development of a Low-Cost Electronic Nose with an Open Sensor Chamber: Application to Detection of Ciboria batschiana
Authors: Borowik Piotr , Grzywacz Tomasz , Tarakowski Rafał , Tkaczyk Miłosz , Ślusarski Sławomir , Dyshko Valentyna , Oszako Tomasz
Published: January 2023

In the construction of electronic nose devices, two groups of measurement setups could be distinguished when we take into account the design of electronic nose chambers. The simpler one consists of placing the sensors directly in the environment of the measured gas, which has an important advantage, in that the composition of the gas is not changed as the gas is not diluted. However, that has an important drawback in that it is difficult to clean sensors between measurement cycles. The second, more advanced construction, contains a pneumatic system transporting the gas inside a specially designed sensor chamber. A new design of an electronic nose gas sensor chamber is proposed, which consists of a sensor chamber with a sliding chamber shutter, equipped with a simple pneumatic system for cleaning the air. The proposal combines the advantages of both approaches to the sensor chamber designs. The sensors can be effectively cleared by the flow of clean air, while the measurements are performed in the open state when the sensors are directly exposed to the measured gas. Airflow simulations were performed to confirm the efficiency of clean air transport used for sensors’ cleaning. The demonstrated electronic nose applies eight Figaro Co. MOS TGS series sensors, in which a transient response caused by a change of the exposition to measured gas, and change of heater voltage, was collected. The new electronic nose was tested as applied to the differentiation between the samples of Ciboria batschiana fungi, which is one of the most harmful pathogens of stored acorns. The samples with various coverage, thus various concentrations of the studied odor, were measured. The tested device demonstrated low noise and a good level of repetition of the measurements, with stable results during several hours of repetitive measurements during an experiment lasting five consecutive days. The obtained data allowed complete differentiation between healthy and infected samples.
Effects of Motor Task Difficulty on Postural Control Complexity during Dual Tasks in Young Adults: A Nonlinear Approach
Authors: Saraiva Marina , Vilas-Boas João Paulo , Fernandes Orlando J. , Castro Maria António
Published: January 2023

Few studies have evaluated the effect of a secondary motor task on the standing posture based on nonlinear analysis. However, it is helpful to extract information related to the complexity, stability, and adaptability to the environment of the human postural system. This study aimed to analyze the effect of two motor tasks with different difficulty levels in motor performance complexity on the static standing posture in healthy young adults. Thirty-five healthy participants (23.08 ± 3.92 years) performed a postural single task (ST: keep a quiet standing posture) and two motor dual tasks (DT). i.e., mot-DT(A)—perform the ST while performing simultaneously an easy motor task (taking a smartphone out of a bag, bringing it to the ear, and putting it back in the bag)—and mot-DT(T)—perform the ST while performing a concurrent difficult motor task (typing on the smartphone keyboard). The approximate entropy (ApEn), Lyapunov exponent (LyE), correlation dimension (CoDim), and fractal dimension (detrending fluctuation analysis, DFA) for the mediolateral (ML) and anterior-posterior (AP) center-of-pressure (CoP) displacement were measured with a force plate while performing the tasks. A significant difference was found between the two motor dual tasks in ApEn, DFA, and CoDim-AP (p < 0.05). For the ML CoP direction, all nonlinear variables in the study were significantly different (p < 0.05) between ST and mot-DT(T), showing impairment in postural control during mot-DT(T) compared to ST. Differences were found across ST and mot-DT(A) in ApEn-AP and DFA (p < 0.05). The mot-DT(T) was associated with less effectiveness in postural control, a lower number of degrees of freedom, less complexity and adaptability of the dynamic system than the postural single task and the mot-DT(A).
Development of Inclusive Education Learning Design in the Era of Society 5.0
Authors: Mansur Hamsi , Utama Agus Hadi , Mohd Yasin Mohd Hanafi , Sari Nina Permata , Jamaludin Khairul Azhar , Pinandhita Fitra
Published: January 2023

Era of Society 5.0 has had a significant impact on the implementation of education for students in Indonesia, which presents opportunities and challenges for educators in each education unit. One of the education units that feels this impact is inclusive education. Inclusive education learning designs in which there are special assistant teachers have a more dominant social constructivist tendency than those with regular education teachers. The development of the right inclusive education learning design will help children with special needs in achieving their optimal potential development according to their conditions and needs in the community. This study aims to propose inclusive education learning designs that are relevant to Era of Society 5.0 based on national education standards including standard processes, standards for educators, and standards for infrastructure. This study employs a descriptive qualitative study, and. the primary data collection instruments were in the form of observations and interviews, as well as documentation as a secondary data collection instrument. Participants were selected using a purposive sampling technique and they were from five inclusive schools in the province of South Kalimantan. The data analysis technique uses content analysis. The results of the study show that Era of Society 5.0 is in line with the development of inclusive education learning designs and is relevant to the Indonesian national education system which includes standard processes, standards for educators, and standards for infrastructure.
The Effect of Human Resource Director (HRD) Competency on the Performance of Exponential Organizations—Analysis of the Continuous Mediating Effect Based on Organizational Identity, Self-Efficacy, and the Moderating Effect of Organizational Politics
Authors: Zhang Xuming , Qing Lingli , Wang Shilong , Chun Dongphil
Published: January 2023

Academic institutions and companies generally consider HRD competency to be an essential indicator of whether HR can play its role effectively and has a close relationship with organizational performance. Based on this, this paper explores the impact of HRD competency on the performance of exponential organizations. The relationship between HRD competency and exponential organization performance was examined using structural equation modeling with five scales to evaluate 570 HRDs in exponential organizations: competency, organizational identity, self-efficacy, organizational politics perception, and exponential organization performance. Our findings suggest that HRD competency influences exponential organizational performance and that organizational identity and self-efficacy play continuous mediating roles. In addition, organizational politics negatively moderates the relationship between HRD competency and organizational identity. Our findings enrich and extend the research on the impact of HRD competency on the performance of exponential organizations and provide a theoretical basis and empirical support to understand and help organizations with their strategic decisions.
Investigation on the Gas Drainage Effectiveness from Coal Seams by Parallel Boreholes
Authors: Li Chuantian , Sun Yingfeng , Wu Shiyue , Sun Xiaoyuan
Published: January 2023

Gas drainage is an important technology to prevent coal and gas outburst, and the drained gas is a kind of clean energy. The gas pressure can characterize gas drainage effectiveness. In this paper, we investigated the effectiveness of gas drainage by gas pressure. Determined by the space shape of the gas flow field, the gas flow state surrounding the drainage boreholes is radial flow. According to the basic equations of radial flow, discrete equations were achieved by the implicit difference scheme, and then we obtained the gas pressure surrounding the drainage boreholes. Results showed that the midpoint between two holes presents the highest gas pressure, and gas pressure declined from the midpoint of two boreholes to both sides. The midpoint gas pressure of the two holes reflects gas drainage effectiveness in a certain degree. Gas pressure declined with segmented characteristics in the first period decline curve in the form of a cubic curve, and the second period decline curve in the form of a straight line. When the drainage pressure reaches a certain value, the decline rate of gas pressure had little relationship with the drainage negative pressure, mainly influenced by the permeability coefficient. To improve the drainage effectiveness, anti-reflection measures are feasible, instead of increasing the drainage negative pressure. Moreover, the conclusion was verified by field data.
Participatory Stakeholder Assessment for Drivers of Mangrove Loss to Prioritize Evidence-Based Conservation and Restoration in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi Delta, India
Authors: Dhyani Shalini , Shukla Jayshree , Kadaverugu Rakesh , Dasgupta Rajarshi , Panda Muktipada , Kundu Sudip Kumar , Santhanam Harini , Pujari Paras R. , Kumar Pankaj , Hashimoto Shizuka
Published: January 2023

In recent times, environmental stewardship of mangroves has provided the impetus to protect and restore these ecosystems for their inherent ability to protect coastal regions from climate change, sequester carbon dioxide as rich blue carbon, and support human well-being through a multitude of ecosystem services. Participatory stakeholder assessment, as a part of the present study, integrated local stakeholder perspectives in assessing drivers of mangrove loss in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi delta, Odisha, providing empirical evidence through a mixed-method approach. The use of a Likert scale provided the methodology to develop a single composite variable as the best measure of central tendency. In total, 27.5% of the respondents were locals and were living close to the study area for generations, whereas the other 72.5% represented researchers, academics, and forest department officials. Stakeholder responses at the ground level indicated that Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi delta were facing increased frequency of extreme climatic events followed, by aquaculture and other land-use changes, which can be considered potential drivers causing mangrove loss. Co-development of future scenarios by integrating concerns of all the stakeholders emerged as a potential solution to effectively address the trade-offs arising from local anthropogenic interferences, as well as large-scale developmental activities. This study highlights the need for convergence of multi-disciplinary knowledge from diverse stakeholder groups, including traditional and indigenous knowledge, for the purpose of developing accurate plausible alternative scenarios. Interactive governance and incentivization approaches, along with alternative livelihood opportunities, are proposed as the means to improve conservation and restoration in the region based on the present study. Understanding of the coupled socio-ecological system and its relevance is found to be critical to improve bi-directional linkages of ecosystem health and human well-being.
A Bibliometric Analysis and Disruptive Innovation Evaluation for the Field of Energy Security
Authors: Jiang Yuyan , Liu Xueli
Published: January 2023

The field of energy security is an important, complex and evolving field with important implications at the international, national and regional levels. Considering that no scholars have conducted bibliometric studies on the current energy security field, the authors of this study chose to use a bibliometric approach to conduct a search on the Web of Science using “energy security” as the keyword, and they conducted a systematic review of 5236 papers published between 2005 and 2022 to determine the current status and development of research in the field of energy security by addressing the following six questions: (1) What are the characteristics of the types of literature in the field of energy security? (2) What are the annual publication and citation frequency trends in the field of energy security? (3) What is the distribution of source journals, countries/regions, institutions, scholars and topics in the field of energy security? (4) What are the research hotspots in the field of energy security in the recent development history? (5) What are the most influential studies and the most disruptive studies in the field of energy security? (6) What are the characteristics of the different levels of cooperation networks in the field of energy security? Finally, we concluded the following: (1) In terms of publication dynamics, the number of annual publications and the citation frequency in the field of energy security maintain an upward trend, with a large number of source journals and a wide range of topics. The number of countries, institutions and scholars involved in research in the field of energy security keeps increasing, but the cooperation is fragmented and geopolitical. (2) From the perspective of research themes, research in the field of energy security has both strong technical characteristics and is associated with social science research themes. The contradictions between energy security and social, economic, environmental, land and climate issues, the interplay between energy supply systems and complex geopolitical and international relations issues and the important role of renewable energy and related technologies in maintaining national/regional energy security are the main issues of concern to researchers. (3) In terms of research centers, although the UK and the US still retain a first-mover advantage in this field, China has gradually overtaken and has become the country with the largest output of literature in recent years. The center of research in the field has also gradually shifted from Europe and the US to the East and South Asia regions. Overall, the governance of energy security issues still requires a combination of policy, economic and technological aspects. The results will help scholars systematically understand the current status of research, research frontiers and future trends in the field of energy security.
An Introduction to Human Resources for Development and Innovation, Science Transformation into Industry Infrastructure by China’s New Universities: A Case Study of Green Materials
Authors: Qin Shengyang , Duan Xinxing , Khandan A. S. , Abdollahi Somayeh
Published: January 2023

The connection of universities with new knowledge in various sciences leads to entrepreneurship and the progress of the economic development of universities. Countries with higher education institutions, in the shadow of practical research and development, are trying to strengthen the economic structure and entrepreneurship, and conduct basic research. Besides, higher education institutions are building science parks and implementing high-tech projects jointly with industry. New materials such as PVC and concrete have been created through scientific evolution between innovators and industry workers, which can be used as one of the most useful building materials. Among the advantages of these materials, we can point out their low cost compared to the high volume of their use, which has attracted the attention of most engineers, designers, employers, innovators and entrepreneurs. In this regard, the construction industry is also a huge consumer of natural resources and at the same time a waste producer, which is solved by this number of graduate students. In this article, we intend to investigate the engineering properties and environmental effects of green materials prepared with PVC waste powder using designers, innovators and entrepreneurial ideas. Many studies have been conducted on the chemical decomposition of PVC to transform PVC into other products, so investigating the possibility of recycling PVC and reusing it in the production cycle is an important issue in the discussion of waste. One of the proposed ways is to replace river sand with PVC waste to prepare concrete, which can be considered one of the environmentally friendly activities of employers, innovators and entrepreneurs. The obtained results show that there is a great demand for the production of natural materials as non-renewable materials with better support for the economy of countries such as China or with high waste.