bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Numerical Analysis of Supersonic Impinging Jet Flows of Particle-Gas Two Phases
Authors: Zhang Guang , Ma Guang Fei , Kim Heuy Dong , Lin Zhe
Published: February 2020

Supersonic impinging jet flows always occur when aircrafts start short takeoff and vertical landing from the ground. Supersonic flows with residues produced by chemical reaction of fuel mixture have the potential of reducing aircraft performance and landing ground. The adverse flow conditions such as impinging force, high noise spectrum, and high shear stress always take place. Due to rare data on particle-gas impinging jet flows to date, three-dimensional numerical simulations were carried out to investigate supersonic impinging jet flows of particle-gas two phases in the present studies. A convergent sonic nozzle and a convergent-divergent supersonic nozzle were used to induce supersonic impinging jet flows. Discrete phase model (DPM), where interaction with continuous phase and two-way turbulence coupling model were considered, was used to simulate particle-gas flows. Effects of different particle diameter and Stokes number were investigated. Particle mass loading of 10% were considered for all simulations. Gas and particle velocity contours, wall shear stress, and impinging force on the ground surface were obtained to describe different phenomena inside impinging and wall jet flows of single gas phase and gas-particle two phases.
Techno-Economic Analysis of Bio-Based Lactic Acid Production Utilizing Corn Grain as Feedstock
Authors: Manandhar Ashish , Shah Ajay
Published: February 2020

Lactic acid is an important chemical with numerous commercial applications that can be fermentatively produced from biological feedstocks. Producing lactic acid from corn grain could complement the use of already existing infrastructure for corn grain-based ethanol production with a higher value product. The objective of this study was to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of producing 100,000 metric tons (t) of lactic acid annually from corn grain in a biorefinery. The study estimated the resources (equipment, raw materials, energy, and labor) requirements and costs to produce lactic acid from bacteria, fungi and yeast-based fermentation pathways. Lactic acid production costs were $1181, $1251 and $844, for bacteria, fungi and yeast, respectively. Genetically engineered yeast strains capable of producing lactic acid at low pH support significantly cheaper processes because they do not require simultaneous neutralization and recovery of lactic acid, resulting in lower requirements for chemical, equipment, and utilities. Lactic acid production costs were highly sensitive to sugar-to-lactic-acid conversion rates, grain price, plant size, annual operation hours, and potential use of gypsum. Improvements in process efficiencies and lower equipment and chemical costs would further reduce the cost of lactic acid production from corn grain.
Extraction of Cobalt and Iron from Refractory Co-Bearing Sulfur Concentrate
Authors: Xiao Junhui , Zhang Yushu
Published: February 2020

In this study, oxidizing roasting, segregation roasting, and magnetic separation are used to extract cobalt and iron from refractory Co-bearing sulfur concentrate. The Co-bearing sulfur concentrate containing 0.68% Co, 33.26% Fe, and 36.58% S was obtained from V-Ti magnetite in the Panxi area of China by flotation. Cobalt pyrite and linneite were the Co-bearing minerals, and the gangue minerals were mica, chlorite, feldspar, and calcite in Co-bearing sulfur concentrate. The results show that cobalt is transformed from Co-pyrite and linneite to a Co2FeO4-dominated new cobalt mineral phase, and iron is transformed from pyrite to Fe2O3 and an Fe3O4-dominated new iron mineral phase after oxidizing roasting. Cobalt changed from CoFe2O4 to a new cobalt mineral phase dominated by [Co] Fe solid solution, and iron changed from Fe2O3 to a new iron mineral phase dominated by metal Fe and Fe3O4 after segregation roasting. Cobalt concentrate with a cobalt grade of 15.15%, iron content of 71.22%, and cobalt recovery of 90.81% as well as iron concentrate with iron grade of 60.06%, cobalt content of 0.11%, and iron recovery of 76.23% are obtained. The main minerals in the cobalt concentrate are Fe, [Co]Fe, Fe3O4, and SiO2, and the main minerals in the iron concentrate are Fe3O4, FeO, Ca2Si2O4, and Ca2Al2O4.
The Potentiality of Rice Husk-Derived Activated Carbon: From Synthesis to Application
Authors: Alam Md Masruck , Hossain Md Ashraf , Hossain Md Delowar , Johir M.A.H. , Hossen Jewel , Rahman Md Saifur , Zhou John L. , Hasan A.T.M. Kamrul , Karmakar Aneek Krishna , Ahmed Mohammad Boshir
Published: February 2020

Activated carbon (AC) has been extensively utilized as an adsorbent over the past few decades. AC has widespread applications, including the removal of different contaminants from water and wastewater, and it is also being used in capacitors, battery electrodes, catalytic supports, and gas storage materials because of its specific characteristics e.g., high surface area with electrical properties. The production of AC from naturally occurring precursors (e.g., coal, biomass, coconut shell, sugarcane bagasse, and so on) is highly interesting in terms of the material applications in chemistry; however, recently much focus has been placed on the use of agricultural wastes (e.g., rice husk) to produce AC. Rice husk (RH) is an abundant as well as cheap material which can be converted into AC for various applications. Various pollutants such as textile dyes, organic contaminants, inorganic anions, pesticides, and heavy metals can be effectively removed by RH-derived AC. In addition, RH-derived AC has been applied in supercapacitors, electrodes for Li-ion batteries, catalytic support, and energy storage, among other uses. Cost-effective synthesis of AC can be an alternative for AC production. Therefore, this review mainly covers different synthetic routes and applications of AC produced from RH precursors. Different environmental, catalytic, and energy applications have been pinpointed. Furthermore, AC regeneration, desorption, and relevant environmental concerns have also been covered. Future scopes for further research and development activities are also discussed. Overall, it was found that RH-derived AC has great potential for different applications which can be further explored at real scales, i.e., for industrial applications in the future.
Correction: Koşucu, M.M., et al. Hydrodynamic and Hydrographic Modeling of Istanbul Strait. Processes 2019, 7, 710
Authors: Koşucu Mehmet , Demirel Mehmet , Kirca V.S. , Özger Mehmet
Published: February 2020

We were not aware of an error made in the proofreading phase; therefore, we wish to make the following correction to Figure 1b from this paper [...]
Change in Format, Register and Narration Style in the Biomedical Literature: A 1948 Example
Authors: Galli Carlo , Guizzardi Stefano
Published: February 2020

Scientific communication has evolved over time and the formats of scientific writing, including its stylistic modules, have changed accordingly. Research articles from the past fit a research world that had not been taken over by the internet, electronic searches, the new media and even the science mass production of today and reflect a reality where scientific publications were designed to be read and appreciated by actual readers. It is therefore useful to have a look back to what science looked like in the past and examine the biomedical literature from older archives because several features of those publications may actually harbor vital insights for today’s communication. Maintaining a vivid awareness of the evolution of science language and modalities of communication may ensure a better and steadfast progression and ameliorate academic writing in the years to come. With this goal in mind, the present commentary set out to review a 1948 scientific report by I.L. Bennett Jr, entitled “A study on the relationship between the fevers caused by bacterial pyrogens and by the intravenous injection of the sterile exudates of acute inflammation”, which appeared in the Journal of Experimental Medicine in September 1948.
Interactions of Single Particle with Organic Matters: A Facile Bottom-Up Approach to Low Dimensional Nanostructures
Authors: Sakaguchi Shugo , Kamiya Koshi , Sakurai Tsuneaki , Seki Shu
Published: February 2020

A particle induces a pack of chemical reactions in nanospace: chemical reactions confined into extremely small space provide an ultimate technique for the nanofabrication of organic matter with a variety of functions. Since the discovery of particle accelerators, an extremely high energy density can be deposited, even by a single isolated particle with MeV-ordered kinetic energy. However, this was considered to cause severe damages to organic molecules due to its relatively small bond energies, and lack of ability to control the reactions precisely to form the structures while retaining physico-chemical molecular functionalities. Practically, the severely damaged area along a particle trajectory: a core of a particle track has been simply visualized for the detection/dosimetry of an incident particle to the matters, or been removed to lead nanopores and functionalized by refilling/grafting of fresh organic/inorganic materials. The use of intra-track reactions in the so-called “penumbra” or “halo” area of functional organic materials has been realized and provided us with novel and facile protocols to provide low dimensional nano-materials with perfect size controllability in the 21st century. These protocols are now referred to as single particle nanofabrication technique (SPNT) and/or single particle triggered linear polymerization technique (STLiP), paving the way towards a new approach for nanomaterials with desired functionalities from original molecules. Herein, we report on the extremely wide applicability of SPNT/STLiP protocols for the future development of materials for opto-electronic, catalytic, and biological applications among others.
Portfolio Optimization under Correlation Constraint
Authors: Maheshwari Aditya , Pirvu Traian A.
Published: February 2020

We consider the problem of portfolio optimization with a correlation constraint. The framework is the multi-period stochastic financial market setting with one tradable stock, stochastic income, and a non-tradable index. The correlation constraint is imposed on the portfolio and the non-tradable index at some benchmark time horizon. The goal is to maximize a portofolio’s expected exponential utility subject to the correlation constraint. Two types of optimal portfolio strategies are considered: the subgame perfect and the precommitment ones. We find analytical expressions for the constrained subgame perfect (CSGP) and the constrained precommitment (CPC) portfolio strategies. Both these portfolio strategies yield significantly lower risk when compared to the unconstrained setting, at the cost of a small utility loss. The performance of the CSGP and CPC portfolio strategies is similar.
Three Dimensional Radiative Effects in Passive Millimeter/Sub-Millimeter All-sky Observations
Authors: Barlakas Vasileios , Eriksson Patrick
Published: February 2020

This study was conducted to quantify the errors prompted by neglecting three-dimensional (3D) effects, i.e., beam-filling and horizontal photon transport effects, at millimeter/sub-millimeter wavelengths. This paper gives an overview of the 3D effects that impact ice cloud retrievals of both current and proposed (Ice Cloud Imager) satellite instruments operating at frequencies of ≈186.3 and ≈668 GHz. The 3D synthetic scenes were generated from two-dimensional (2D) CloudSat (Cloud Satellite) observations over the tropics and mid-latitudes using a stochastic approach. By means of the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Simulator (ARTS), three radiative transfer simulations were carried out: one 3D, one independent beam approximation (IBA), and one-dimensional (1D). The comparison between the 3D and IBA simulations revealed a small horizontal photon transport effect, with IBA simulations introducing mostly random errors and a slight overestimation (below 1 K). However, performing 1D radiative transfer simulations results in a significant beam-filling effect that increases primarily with frequency, and secondly, with footprint size. For a sensor footprint size of 15 km, the errors induced by neglecting domain heterogeneities yield root mean square errors of up to ≈4 K and ≈13 K at 186.3 GHz and 668 GHz, respectively. However, an instrument operating at the same frequencies, but with a much smaller footprint size, i.e., 6 km, is subject to smaller uncertainties, with a root mean square error of ≈2 K at 186.3 GHz and ≈7.1 K at 668 GHz. When designing future satellite instruments, this effect of footprint size on modeling uncertainties should be considered in the overall error budget. The smallest possible footprint size should be a priority for future sub-millimeter observations in light of these results.
Supervised Detection of Façade Openings in 3D Point Clouds with Thermal Attributes
Authors: Jarząbek-Rychard Małgorzata , Lin Dong , Maas Hans-Gerd
Published: February 2020

Targeted energy management and control is becoming an increasing concern in the building sector. Automatic analyses of thermal data, which minimize the subjectivity of the assessment and allow for large-scale inspections, are therefore of high interest. In this study, we propose an approach for a supervised extraction of façade openings (windows and doors) from photogrammetric 3D point clouds attributed to RGB and thermal infrared (TIR) information. The novelty of the proposed approach is in the combination of thermal information with other available characteristics of data for a classification performed directly in 3D space. Images acquired in visible and thermal infrared spectra serve as input data for the camera pose estimation and the reconstruction of 3D scene geometry. To investigate the relevance of different information types to the classification performance, a Random Forest algorithm is applied to various sets of computed features. The best feature combination is then used as an input for a Conditional Random Field that enables us to incorporate contextual information and consider the interaction between the points. The evaluation executed on a per-point level shows that the fusion of all available information types together with context consideration allows us to extract objects with 90% completeness and 95% correctness. A respective assessment executed on a per-object level shows 97% completeness and 88% accuracy.
Editorial for Special Issue: “Remote Sensing based Building Extraction”
Authors: Awrangjeb Mohammad , Hu Xiangyun , Yang Bisheng , Tian Jiaojiao
Published: February 2020

Building extraction from remote sensing data plays an important role in urban planning, disaster management, navigation, updating geographic databases, and several other geospatial applications [...]
Design and Evaluation of a Permanently Installed Plane-Based Calibration Field for Mobile Laser Scanning Systems
Authors: Heinz Erik , Holst Christoph , Kuhlmann Heiner , Klingbeil Lasse
Published: February 2020

Mobile laser scanning has become an established measuring technique that is used for many applications in the fields of mapping, inventory, and monitoring. Due to the increasing operationality of such systems, quality control w.r.t. calibration and evaluation of the systems becomes more and more important and is subject to on-going research. This paper contributes to this topic by using tools from geodetic configuration analysis in order to design and evaluate a plane-based calibration field for determining the lever arm and boresight angles of a 2D laser scanner w.r.t. a GNSS/IMU unit (Global Navigation Satellite System, Inertial Measurement Unit). In this regard, the impact of random, systematic, and gross observation errors on the calibration is analyzed leading to a plane setup that provides accurate and controlled calibration parameters. The designed plane setup is realized in the form of a permanently installed calibration field. The applicability of the calibration field is tested with a real mobile laser scanning system by frequently repeating the calibration. Empirical standard deviations of <1 ... 1.5 mm for the lever arm and <0.005 ∘ for the boresight angles are obtained, which was priorly defined to be the goal of the calibration. In order to independently evaluate the mobile laser scanning system after calibration, an evaluation environment is realized consisting of a network of control points as well as TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanning) reference point clouds. Based on the control points, both the horizontal and vertical accuracy of the system is found to be < 10 mm (root mean square error). This is confirmed by comparisons to the TLS reference point clouds indicating a well calibrated system. Both the calibration field and the evaluation environment are permanently installed and can be used for arbitrary mobile laser scanning systems.
Modelling Remote Sensing Reflectance to Detect Dispersed Oil at Sea
Authors: Baszanowska Emilia , Otremba Zbigniew , Piskozub Jacek
Published: February 2020

This paper presents a model of upwelling radiation above the seawater surface in the event of a threat of dispersed oil. The Monte Carlo method was used to simulate a large number of solar photons in the water, eventually obtaining values of remote sensing reflectance (Rrs). Analyses were performed for the optical properties of seawater characteristic for the Gulf of Gdańsk (southern Baltic Sea). The case of seawater contaminated by dispersed oil at a concentration of 10 ppm was also discussed for different wind speeds. Two types of oils with extremely different optical properties (refraction and absorption coefficients) were taken into account for consideration. The optical properties (absorption and scattering coefficients and angular light scattering distribution) of the oil-in-water dispersion system were determined using the Mie theory. The spectral index for oil detection in seawater for different wind conditions was determined based on the results obtained for reflectance at selected wavelengths in the range 412–676 nm. The determined spectral index for seawater free of oil achieves higher values for seawater contaminated by oil. The analysis of the values of the spectral indices calculated for 28 combinations of wavelengths was used to identify the most universal spectral index of Rrs for 555 nm/440 nm for dispersed oil detection using any optical parameters.
Automatic Fabric Defect Detection Using Cascaded Mixed Feature Pyramid with Guided Localization
Authors: Wu You , Zhang Xiaodong , Fang Fengzhou
Published: February 2020

Generic object detection algorithms for natural images have been proven to have excellent performance. In this paper, fabric defect detection on optical image datasets is systematically studied. In contrast to generic datasets, defect images are multi-scale, noise-filled, and blurred. Back-light intensity would also be sensitive for visual perception. Large-scale fabric defect datasets are collected, selected, and employed to fulfill the requirements of detection in industrial practice in order to address these imbalanced issues. An improved two-stage defect detector is constructed for achieving better generalization. Stacked feature pyramid networks are set up to aggregate cross-scale defect patterns on interpolating mixed depth-wise block in stage one. By sharing feature maps, center-ness and shape branches merges cascaded modules with deformable convolution to filter and refine the proposed guided anchors. After balanced sampling, the proposals are down-sampled by position-sensitive pooling for region of interest, in order to characterize interactions among fabric defect images in stage two. The experiments show that the end-to-end architecture improves the occluded defect performance of region-based object detectors as compared with the current detectors.
Improved Deep CNN with Parameter Initialization for Data Analysis of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Sensors
Authors: Wang Di , Tian Fengchun , Yang Simon X. , Zhu Zhiqin , Jiang Daiyu , Cai Bin
Published: February 2020

Near-infrared (NIR) spectral sensors can deliver the spectral response of light absorbed by materials. Data analysis technology based on NIR sensors has been a useful tool for quality identification. In this paper, an improved deep convolutional neural network (CNN) with batch normalization and MSRA (Microsoft Research Asia) initialization is proposed to discriminate the tobacco cultivation regions using data collected from NIR sensors. The network structure is created with six convolutional layers and three full connection layers, and the learning rate is controlled by exponential attenuation method. One-dimensional kernel is applied as the convolution kernel to extract features. Meanwhile, the methods of L2 regularization and dropout are used to avoid the overfitting problem, which improve the generalization ability of the network. Experimental results show that the proposed deep network structure can effectively extract the complex characteristics inside the spectrum, which proves that it has excellent recognition performance on tobacco cultivation region discrimination, and it also demonstrates that the deep CNN is more suitable for information mining and analysis of big data.
Measurement of Particle Size of Loose Accumulation Based on Alpha Shapes (AS) and Hill Climbing-Region Growing (HC-RG) Algorithms
Authors: Ge Yunfeng , Lin Zishan , Tang Huiming , Zhong Peng , Cao Bei
Published: February 2020

The loose accumulation CAUSED by landslide, collapse, debris flow, and mine blasting, exerts considerable negative influence to human activities. Besides, it can easily trigger secondary disaster under inner and outer geological conditions. Extraction and measurement of the particle of loose accumulation is of importance for prediction of slope stability and mine blasting. In this paper, the 3D laser scanning is utilized to collect the point clouds of granular materials in physical model (three types of materials) and landslide accumulation in field, respectively. Then, the alpha shapes (AS) and hill climbing-region growing (HC-RG) algorithms are introduced for identifying particles and finding their dimensions (e.g., particle number and radii). Comparison between the recognition results and reality shows that both algorithms can provide a good performance in laboratory physical model, and acceptable results can be obtained when applying two algorithm to field survey. AS algorithm needs less time to process data than HC-GR algorithm; however, the recognition from HC-RG algorithm is more accurate than that by AS algorithm.
Enrichment-Free Rapid Detection of Phthalates in Chinese Liquor with Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy
Authors: Jiang Xinyue , Xie Yuqun , Wan Duanji , Zheng Fuping , Wang Jun
Published: February 2020

A non-invasive real-time detection technique for phthalates in Chinese liquor is proposed in this paper. This method is based on the measurement of Faradaic impedance in the presence of a redox probe, [Fe(CN)6]3−/4−, upon the absorption of phthalates to the graphene electrode surface. This absorption activity is according to the π–π stacking interactions between phthalates and the graphene working electrode which allows direct sampling and analyte preconcentration. The absorption of phthalates retards the interfacial electron-transfer kinetics and increases the charge-transfer resistance (Rct). Numerical values of Rct were extracted from a simulation of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) spectra with the corresponding equivalent circuit. Cathodic polarization was employed prior to EIS measurements to effectively eliminate the metal ion interference. The results yielded a detection limit of 0.024 ng/L for diethyl phthalate (DEP) with a linear range from 2.22 ng to 1.11 µg. These results indicate a possibility of developing a household sensor for phthalate determination in Chinese liquor.
Sorption of Cd2+ and Pb2+ on Aragonite Synthesized from Eggshell
Authors: Habte Lulit , Shiferaw Natnael , Khan Mohd Danish , Thriveni Thenepalli , Ahn Ji Whan
Published: February 2020

In the present work, waste eggshells were used as a precursor for the synthesis of aragonite crystals through the wet carbonation method. Cadmium (Cd2+) and lead (Pb2+) were removed by the synthesized aragonite from synthetic wastewater. The influence of initial solution pH, contact time, Cd2+ and Pb2+ concentration, and sorbent dosage were evaluated. The major sorption was observed in the first 100 mins and 360 mins for Pb2+and Cd2+ respectively reaching sorption equilibrium at 720 mins (12 hr). The sorption capacity toward Pb2+ was much higher than toward Cd2+. Both heavy metals displayed high sorption capacities at initial pH 6. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model fits well with the experimental data with a higher correlation coefficient R2. Two isotherm models were also evaluated for the best fit with the experimental data obtained. Langmuir isotherm best fits the sorption of the metals on aragonite synthesized from eggshells. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results of sorbent after sorption showed that the mechanism of sorption was dominated by surface precipitation. Therefore, aragonite crystals synthesized from waste eggshells can be a potential substitute source for the removal of Cd2+ and Pb2+ from contaminated water.
A Preparation for Reuse Trial of Washing Machines in Ireland
Authors: Johnson Michael , McMahon Kathleen , Fitzpatrick Colin
Published: February 2020

This paper presents the results of a “preparation for reuse” trial of washing machines in Ireland. For the trial, a methodology for the quantitative assessment of potentially reusable appliances in the waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) stream is developed and applied to a statistically significant sample allowing the study to quantify a theoretical potential for the “preparation for reuse” of washing machines in the WEEE stream in Ireland under current collection conditions. For a statistically significant sample size, data on preparation for re-use trials conducted on B2C (Business-to-Consumer) WEEE was collected and reviewed. From the 23,129 appliances which were accepted into the trial, the study found that 327 of these washing machines were successfully prepared for reuse and sold back into the Irish market, leading to an overall reuse rate of 1.5%. A quantitative analysis of the trial data is presented with a complimentary qualitative evaluation which provides insights into the causes for this low reuse figure, the occurrence of specific repairs and recommended actions to address these.
Sustainable Governance of the Sharing Economy: The Chinese Bike-Sharing Industry
Authors: Choi Yongrok , Choi Eun Jin
Published: February 2020

Socialist countries, such as China, have stressed the importance of an equitable society where citizens work together. Thus, the sharing economy (e.g., the bike-sharing industry) could be one of the challenges determining the future of China, as the initial bubble of the bike-sharing industry collapsed in 2017, with many problems stemming from the users’ deposits that were lost and the depletion of the investment funds, resulting in numerous malfunctioning bikes every day. This paper evaluates the bike-sharing industry in terms of sustainable governance in the future and identifies its factors. Therefore, we use the structural equation model based on survey questionnaires and find that most of the input variables of the perceived rational (PRV) and emotional values (PEV), perceived risk (PR), and externalities (EXT) are not very successful in promoting the sustainable governance of the bike-sharing industry. However, using the bootstrapping simulation approach, we find that the role of modulators such as satisfaction and sustainable management factors are statistically significant. The modulating effect of a user’s satisfaction on the intention of continuous use based on all four inputs of PRV (0.304), PEV (0.298), PR (−0.156), and EXT (0.263), as well as the other indirect variables of sustainable management, such as environmental factors (0.284), is shown to be statistically significant. Based on these modulating effects, we conclude that the sharing economy, represented by the bike-sharing industry, could be one of the most important business cases for the future of China, but only if it is strongly supported by the public. Therefore, to help the industry get out of its current slump, we propose that the bike-sharing companies put in more diverse efforts to employ multi-use types of innovation with practical benefits such as coupons for the nearest shops, and social functions that enhance the quality of life such as mileage contribution from bike sharing for disabled people. Evidently, the Chinese government should eliminate “the over-supply issues” through appropriate market governance and increase its efforts toward a better public–private partnership (PPP), as the sharing economy should be based on the harmonization of all interest groups to eventually create value.
Real Estate Market Dynamics in the City of Naples: An Integration of a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and Geographical Information System
Authors: De Toro Pasquale , Nocca Francesca , Renna Andrea , Sepe Luigi
Published: February 2020

Urban development and regeneration projects produce multidimensional impacts on the city, on its environmental, economic, and social systems. An aspect that can be considerably affected by urban dynamics is linked to the real estate market. So, analysing real estate dynamics is useful to support decision-makers in the elaboration of urban regeneration plans and projects, and thus orient their choices. Focusing attention on the city of Naples (Italy), the purpose of this paper is to analyse in detail the real estate dynamics in this city through the integration of a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method and Geographical Information System (GIS). This integration allowed us to map and analyse the territory, linking a specific issue (the real estate dynamics) to the territory itself, and to analyse it according to specific criteria. This aims for a better understanding and interpretation of real estate dynamics, representing a useful tool for orienting and supporting urban planning strategies.
Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings: A Step toward the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Authors: Munguia Nora , Esquer Javier , Guzman Hector , Herrera Janim , Gutierrez-Ruelas Jesus , Velazquez Luis
Published: February 2020

Within the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the Agenda 2030, this article aims to explain and understand the usefulness of energy audits and their potential to reveal energy efficiency opportunities in a small public building located in northwestern Mexico. The methodological structure was adopted from the Cleaner Production–Energy Efficiency Manual published by the United Nations Program for the Environment. A case study approach was employed to examine how energy audits might potentially increase energy efficiency opportunities in the participating building. Amongst the findings, the primary source of energy wastage was occupants’ behaviors. Furthermore, this study showed that energy audits could be useful to establish a baseline in situations where previous data were not available, to allow comparisons as well as to identify opportunities in old buildings for the purpose of increasing their energy efficiency performance. As a practical implication of this research, the Sonora government can be in a better position to assist the Mexico federal government in reaching some of the country’s General Law on Climate Change objectives, particularly the one related on cutting down greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2020, and 50% by the year 2050, compared to those registered in 2000.
Economic Effects of Climate Change-Induced Loss of Agricultural Production by 2050: A Case Study of Pakistan
Authors: Khan Muhammad Aamir , Tahir Alishba , Khurshid Nabila , Husnain Muhammad Iftikhar ul , Ahmed Mukhtar , Boughanmi Houcine
Published: February 2020

This research combined global climate, crop and economic models to examine the economic impact of climate change-induced loss of agricultural productivity in Pakistan. Previous studies conducted systematic model inter-comparisons, but results varied widely due to differences in model approaches, research scenarios and input data. This paper extends that analysis in the case of Pakistan by taking yield decline output of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) for CERES-Wheat, CERES-Rice and Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) crop models as an input in the global economic model to evaluate the economic effects of climate change-induced loss of crop production by 2050. Results showed that climate change-induced loss of wheat and rice crop production by 2050 is 19.5 billion dollars on Pakistan’s Real Gross Domestic Product coupled with an increase in commodity prices followed by a notable decrease in domestic private consumption. However, the decline in the crops’ production not only affects the economic agents involved in the agriculture sector of the country, but it also has a multiplier effect on industrial and business sectors. A huge rise in commodity prices will create a great challenge for the livelihood of the whole country, especially for urban households. It is recommended that the government should have a sound agricultural policy that can play a role in influencing its ability to adapt successfully to climate change as adaption is necessary for high production and net returns of the farm output.
A Matching Pursuit Algorithm for Backtracking Regularization Based on Energy Sorting
Authors: Zhang Hanfei , Xiao Shungen , Zhou Ping
Published: February 2020

The signal reconstruction quality has become a critical factor in compressed sensing at present. This paper proposes a matching pursuit algorithm for backtracking regularization based on energy sorting. This algorithm uses energy sorting for secondary atom screening to delete individual wrong atoms through the regularized orthogonal matching pursuit (ROMP) algorithm backtracking. The support set is continuously updated and expanded during each iteration. While the signal energy distribution is not uniform, or the energy distribution is in an extreme state, the reconstructive performance of the ROMP algorithm becomes unstable if the maximum energy is still taken as the selection criterion. The proposed method for the regularized orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm can be adopted to improve those drawbacks in signal reconstruction due to its high reconstruction efficiency. The experimental results show that the algorithm has a proper reconstruction.
Thermal Abuse Behavior of the LIR2450 Micro Coin Cell Battery Having Capacity of 120 mAh with Internal Short Circuit by Penetrating Element
Authors: Lee Moo-Yeon , Kim Namwon , Seo Jae-Hyeong , Patil Mahesh Suresh
Published: February 2020

Internal short circuit in lithium-ion battery by penetrating element leads to exothermic behavior due to accumulated heat. In the present study, investigations are conducted on the thermal behavior of the LIR2450 micro coin cell haivng capacity of 120 mAh, with internal short circuit by penetrating element. The experimental coin cell discharge study was conducted and validated with numerical study within ±5.0%. The effect of penetrating element size, location of penetrating element, state of charge, discharge rate, short-circuit resistance, and heat transfer co-efficient on maximum coin cell temperature and heat generation rate are analyzed. The penetrating element diameters of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 mm are considered. The effect of initial state of charge (SOC) is considered with 100%, 80%, 60%, and 40%. Three locations for penetrating element are considered with the center, the middle of the radius, and on the edge of the coin cell radius. The different discharge rates of 1C, 2C, 3C, and 4C are considered. The higher-penetrating element size of 3.5 mm with location at the center of the coin cell with 100% SOC showed maximum heat generation rate and maximum temperature of the coin cell. In addition, the optimum value of the dimensionless heat generation rate is obtained at dimensionless short-circuit resistance. The study provides comprehensive insights on the thermal behavior of the lithium-ion cell during thermal abuse condition with internal short circuit by penetrating element.
Improved PSO Algorithm Based on Exponential Center Symmetric Inertia Weight Function and Its Application in Infrared Image Enhancement
Authors: Qin Chaoxuan , Gu Xiaohui
Published: February 2020

In this paper, an improved PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) algorithm is proposed and applied to the infrared image enhancement. The contrast of infrared image is enhanced while the image details are preserved. A new exponential center symmetry inertia weight function is constructed and the local optimal solution jumping mechanism is introduced to make the algorithm consider both global search and local search. A new image enhancement method is proposed based on the advantages of bi-histogram equalization algorithm and dual-domain image decomposition algorithm. The fitness function is constructed by using five kinds of image quality evaluation factors, and the parameters are optimized by the proposed PSO algorithm, so that the parameters are determined to enhance the image. Experiments showed that the proposed PSO algorithm has good performance, and the proposed image enhancement method can not only improve the contrast of the image, but also preserve the details of the image, which has a good visual effect.
Core Stability and Symmetry of Youth Female Volleyball Players: A Pilot Study on Anthropometric and Physiological Correlates
Authors: Papadopoulou Sophia D. , Zorzou Amalia , Drikos Sotirios , Stavropoulos Nikolaos , Knechtle Beat , Nikolaidis Pantelis T.
Published: February 2020

The aim of the present study was to examine the variation in core stability and symmetry of youth female volleyball players by age, and its relationship with anthropometric characteristics, the 30 s Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT), and the 30 s Bosco test. Female volleyball players (n = 24, age 13.9 ± 1.9 years, mean ± standard deviation) performed a series of anthropometric, core stability tests (isometric muscle endurance of torso flexors, extensors, and right and left lateral bridge), WAnT (peak power, mean power, Pmean, and fatigue index, FI) and Bosco test (Pmean). Flexors-to-extensors ratio and right-to-left lateral bridge ratio were also calculated. Participants were grouped into younger (n = 12, 12.3 ± 1.2 years) or older than 14 years (n = 12, 15.4 ± 1.0 years), and into normal (flexors-to-extensors ratio < 1; n = 17) or abnormal flexors-to-extensors ratio (≥1; n = 7). The older age group was heavier (+11.3 kg, mean difference; 95% CI, 2.0, 20.6) and with higher body mass index (+2.8 kg m−2; 95% CI, 0.4, 5.1) than the younger age group. The group with abnormal flexors/extensors had larger flexors muscle endurance (+77.4 s; 95% CI, 41.8, 113.0) and higher flexors/extensors ratio (+0.85; 95% CI, 0.61, 1.10) than the normal group. Body fat percentage (BF) correlated moderately-to-largely with flexors (r = −0.44, p = 0.033), extensors (r = −0.51, p = 0.011), and left lateral bridge (r = −0.45, p = 0.027); WAnT Pmean moderately-to-largely with right (r = 0.46, p = 0.027) and left lateral bridge (r = 0.55, p = 0.006); FI moderately-to-largely with right (r = −0.45, p = 0.031) and left lateral bridge (r = −0.67, p < 0.001), and right/left ratio (r = 0.42, p = 0.046); Bosco Pmean correlated moderately-to-largely with right (r = 0.48, p = 0.020) and left lateral bridge (r = 0.67, p = 0.001). A stepwise regression analysis indicated FI and BF as the most frequent predictors of core stability. The findings of the present study suggested that increased core stability was related to decreased BF and increased anaerobic capacity. A potential misbalance between torso flexors and extensors might be attributed to bidirectional variations (either high or low scores) of flexors muscle endurance rather than decreased extensors muscle endurance.
Exponential Cosmological Solutions with Three Different Hubble-Like Parameters in (1 + 3 + k1 + k2)-Dimensional EGB Model with a Λ-Term
Authors: Ernazarov K. K. , Ivashchuk V. D.
Published: February 2020

A D-dimensional Einstein–Gauss–Bonnet model with a cosmological term Λ , governed by two non-zero constants: α 1 and α 2 , is considered. By restricting the metrics to diagonal ones, we study a class of solutions with the exponential time dependence of three scale factors, governed by three non-coinciding Hubble-like parameters: H > 0 , h 1 , and h 2 , obeying 3 H + k 1 h 1 + k 2 h 2 ≠ 0 and corresponding to factor spaces of dimensions: 3, k 1 > 1 , and k 2 > 1 , respectively, with D = 4 + k 1 + k 2 . The internal flat factor spaces of dimensions k 1 and k 2 have non-trivial symmetry groups, which depend on the number of compactified dimensions. Two cases: (i) 3 < k 1 < k 2 and (ii) 1 < k 1 = k 2 = k , k ≠ 3 , are analyzed. It is shown that in both cases, the solutions exist if α = α 2 / α 1 > 0 and α Λ > 0 obey certain restrictions, e.g., upper and lower bounds. In Case (ii), explicit relations for exact solutions are found. In both cases, the subclasses of stable and non-stable solutions are singled out. Case (i) contains a subclass of solutions describing an exponential expansion of 3 d subspace with Hubble parameter H > 0 and zero variation of the effective gravitational constant G.
Stability and Convergence Analysis of a Biomagnetic Fluid Flow Over a Stretching Sheet in the Presence of a Magnetic Field
Authors: Murtaza Md. Ghulam , Tzirtzilakis Efstratios Emmanouil , Ferdows Mohammad
Published: February 2020

This investigated the time-dependent, two-dimensional biomagnetic fluid (blood) flow (BFD) over a stretching sheet under the action of a strong magnetic field. Blood is considered a homogeneous and Newtonian fluid, which behaves as an electrically conducting magnetic fluid that also exhibits magnetization. Thus, a full BFD formulation was considered by combining both the principles of magnetization and the Lorentz force, which arise in magnetohydrodynamics and ferrohydrodynamics. The non-linear governing equations were transformed by using the usual non-dimensional variables. The resulting system of partial differential equations was discretized by applying a basic explicit finite differences scheme. Moreover, the stability and convergence analysis were performed to obtain restrictions that were especially for the magnetic parameters, which are of crucial importance for this problem. The acquired results are shown graphically and were examined for several values of the dimensionless parameters. The flow and temperature distributions were increased as the values of the magnetic parameters were increased. With the progression in time, the flow profile and temperature distribution were also increased. It is hoped that the results of this problem will be used for high targeting efficiency toward determining the maximum values of magnetic field for which accurate flow predictions could be made using a very simple numerical scheme.
Identifying Age Cohorts Responsible for Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus Transmission among Sheep, Goats, and Cattle in Northern Tanzania
Authors: Herzog Catherine , de Glanville William , Willett Brian , Cattadori Isabella , Kapur Vivek , Hudson Peter , Buza Joram , Swai Emmanuel , Cleaveland Sarah , Bjørnstad Ottar
Published: February 2020

Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) causes a contagious disease of high morbidity and mortality in global sheep and goat populations. To better control this disease and inform eradication strategies, an improved understanding of how PPRV transmission risk varies by age is needed. Our study used a piece-wise catalytic model to estimate the age-specific force of infection (FOI, per capita infection rate of susceptible hosts) among sheep, goats, and cattle from a cross-sectional serosurvey dataset collected in 2016 in Tanzania. Apparent seroprevalence increased with age, reaching 53.6%, 46.8%, and 11.6% (true seroprevalence: 52.7%, 52.8%, 39.2%) for sheep, goats, and cattle, respectively. Seroprevalence was significantly higher among pastoral animals than agropastoral animals across all ages, with pastoral sheep and goat seroprevalence approaching 70% and 80%, respectively, suggesting pastoral endemicity. The best fitting piece-wise catalytic models merged age groups: two for sheep, three for goats, and four for cattle. The signal of these age heterogeneities were weak, except for a significant FOI peak among 2.5–3.5-year-old pastoral cattle. The subtle age-specific heterogeneities identified in this study suggest that targeting control efforts by age may not be as effective as targeting by other risk factors, such as production system type. Further research should investigate how specific husbandry practices affect PPRV transmission.
Fontes para a história ambiental
Authors: Jorge Janes , Raffaini Patricia
Published: February 2020

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Filosofia seiscentista: a descoberta da subjetividade?
Authors: Chauí Marilena
Published: February 2020

Que a filosofia do Século XVII afirma a autonomia da razão é inegável. Ao liberá-la da Revelação e dos dados imediatos da sensibilidade, afirma que o pensamento precisa e deve encontrar em si mesmo o caminho do verdadeiro, ou seja, instituir um método de investigação da verdade que assegure a marcha contínua e correta do pensar. No entanto, seguindo posição de Merleau-Ponty de que a subjetividade só é descoberta quando a consciência reflexiva se torna a forma canônica do Ser, não poderemos falar de filosofia da subjetividade para determinar o núcleo da filosofia do Século XVII. A descoberta do conceito de subjetividade é um feito do idealismo alemão, de Kant.
A experiência literária em O caminhão, de Marguerite Duras: questões sobre a cultura e a arte
Authors: Silva Lara Rodrigues
Published: February 2020

Segundo Maurice Blanchot, as conjunturas históricas influenciam os movimentos artísticos e acabam por lhes darem forma. O autor observa que a literatura (as artes em geral) caminha rumo ao seu desaparecimento. Segundo o escritor, o que verdadeiramente importa na arte é a experiência: o exercício de buscar a obra e, por esse meio, torná-la possível como uma paixão inútil fora da excelência de um poder e de um objeto de uso, numa contemplação que se basta, direcionada, unicamente, ao seu próprio fim. À vista disso, Marguerite Duras escreve, produz e dirige, em 1977, a obra, livro e filme (ou livro/filme) O caminhão, que atravessa a experiência noturna própria da arte, possibilitando, desse modo, pensar em questões pertinentes às relações entre a cultura e a arte.
Injustiça estética
Authors: Dalaqua Gustavo Hessmann
Published: February 2020

O artigo apresenta o conceito de injustiça estética, que designa qualquer dano cometido a um sujeito no que diz respeito à sua capacidade estética. A primeira seção reconstrói a noção de mentalidade colonial teorizada por Amílcar Cabral para mostrar como a injustiça estética é experimentada de maneira diferente pelos opressores e oprimidos. A segunda engaja criticamente com A estética do oprimido de Augusto Boal e destaca a mútua influência existente entre injustiça estética e injustiça epistêmica. A terceira indica como ambos tipos de injustiça podem ser resistidos por meio de uma análise de outras duas obras de Boal: Teatro do oprimido e O arco-íris do desejo. A quarta seção conclui argumentando que a injustiça epistêmica é infensa à democracia e explicando por que um regime democrático requer justiça estética, conceito normativo segundo o qual todos os cidadãos são igualmente aptos a ter seus modos de ver e sentir os temas públicos levados em conta na deliberação política.