bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Vehicle Trajectory Prediction and Collision Warning via Fusion of Multisensors and Wireless Vehicular Communications
Authors: Baek Minjin , Jeong Donggi , Choi Dongho , Lee Sangsun
Published: January 2020

Driver inattention is one of the leading causes of traffic crashes worldwide. Providing the driver with an early warning prior to a potential collision can significantly reduce the fatalities and level of injuries associated with vehicle collisions. In order to monitor the vehicle surroundings and predict collisions, on-board sensors such as radar, lidar, and cameras are often used. However, the driving environment perception based on these sensors can be adversely affected by a number of factors such as weather and solar irradiance. In addition, potential dangers cannot be detected if the target is located outside the limited field-of-view of the sensors, or if the line of sight to the target is occluded. In this paper, we propose an approach for designing a vehicle collision warning system based on fusion of multisensors and wireless vehicular communications. A high-level fusion of radar, lidar, camera, and wireless vehicular communication data was performed to predict the trajectories of remote targets and generate an appropriate warning to the driver prior to a possible collision. We implemented and evaluated the proposed vehicle collision system in virtual driving environments, which consisted of a vehicle–vehicle collision scenario and a vehicle–pedestrian collision scenario.
Low-Cost GNSS Solution for Continuous Monitoring of Slope Instabilities Applied to Madonna Del Sasso Sanctuary (NW Italy)
Authors: Notti Davide , Cina Alberto , Manzino Ambrogio , Colombo Alessio , Bendea Iosif Horea , Mollo Paolo , Giordan Daniele
Published: January 2020

In recent years, the development of low-cost GNSS sensors allowed monitoring in a continuous way movement related to natural processes like landslides with increasing accuracy and limited efforts. In this work, we present the first results of an experimental low-cost GNSS continuous monitoring applied to an unstable slope affecting the Madonna del Sasso Sanctuary (NW Italy). The courtyard of Sanctuary is built on two unstable blocks delimited by a high cliff. Previous studies and non-continuous monitoring showed that blocks suffer a seasonal cycle of thermal expansion and a long-term trend to downslope a few millimeters (2/3) per year. The presence of a continuous monitoring solution could be an essential help to better understand the kinematics of unstable slope. Continuous monitoring could help to forecast a possible paroxysm phase that could end with a failure of the unstable area. The first year of experimental measurements shows a millimetric accuracy of low-cost GNSS, and the long-term trend is in agreement with other monitoring data. We also propose a methodological approach that considers the use of semi-automatized procedures for the identification of anomalous trends and a risk communication strategy. Pro and cons of the proposed methodology are also discussed.
The Necessity of LED to Ambient Light Ratio Optimization for Vehicular Optical Camera Communication
Authors: Do Trong-Hop , Yoo Myungsik
Published: January 2020

In vehicular optical camera communication (VOCC) systems, LED panels are used to transmit visible light signals which are captured by cameras. The logic bits 1 and 0 are represented by the On and Off status of the LEDs in the panel. The bit error rate (BER) of the system is directly proportional to the distinguishability of the On and Off LEDs in the received LED panel images. The signal quality is commonly believed in telecommunications to improve with a higher transmitted power. Therefore, one might expect to get a lower BER in VOCC systems by simply using more powerful LED lights. However, this is not the case with VOCC systems. This paper shows that the LED distinguishability is simultaneously determined by two factors: The LED extinction ratio and LED interference. The former needs to be kept high and the latter kept low for better LED distinguishability. The problem is that both the extinction ratio and interference increase with the ratio of LED light to ambient light (L2A). Consequently, an optimal L2A ratio exists to achieve the optimal balance between the positive impact of the extinction ratio and the negative impact of the interference. This can bring about the lowest BER without changing the system’s data rate. In addition, this paper shows that the optimal L2A ratio varies according to the interval between the LEDs in a panel. We analyze the effect of the L2A ratio and LED interval on LED distinguishability. We then formulate a constrained optimization problem to find the optimal L2A ratios corresponding to different LED intervals. The simulation results verify the necessity of LED to ambient light ratio optimization as it can bring about the lowest BER without scarifying other aspects of the VOCC system.
Automatic Indoor as-Built Building Information Models Generation by Using Low-Cost RGB-D Sensors
Authors: Li Yaxin , Li Wenbin , Tang Shengjun , Darwish Walid , Hu Yuling , Chen Wu
Published: January 2020

To generate indoor as-built building information models (AB BIMs) automatically and economically is a great technological challenge. Many approaches have been developed to address this problem in recent years, but it is far from being settled, particularly for the point cloud segmentation and the extraction of the relationship among different elements due to the complicated indoor environment. This is even more difficult for the low-quality point cloud generated by low-cost scanning equipment. This paper proposes an automatic as-built BIMs generation framework that transforms the noisy 3D point cloud produced by a low-cost RGB-D sensor (about 708 USD for data collection equipment, 379 USD for the Structure sensor and 329 USD for iPad) to the as-built BIMs, without any manual intervention. The experiment results show that the proposed method has competitive robustness and accuracy, compared to the high-quality Terrestrial Lidar System (TLS), with the element extraction accuracy of 100%, mean dimension reconstruction accuracy of 98.6% and mean area reconstruction accuracy of 93.6%. Also, the proposed framework makes the BIM generation workflows more efficient in both data collection and data processing. In the experiments, the time consumption of data collection for a typical room, with an area of 45–67 m 2 , is reduced to 4–6 min with an RGB-D sensor from 50–60 min with TLS. The processing time to generate BIM models is about half minutes automatically, from around 10 min with a conventional semi-manual method.
Influence of Electrostatic Forces on the Vibrational Characteristics of Resonators for Coriolis Vibratory Gyroscopes
Authors: Xiao Pengbo , Qiu Zhinan , Pan Yao , Li Shaoliang , Qu Tianliang , Tan Zhongqi , Liu Jianping , Yang Kaiyong , Zhao Wanliang , Luo Hui , Qin Shiqiao
Published: January 2020

The Coriolis Vibratory Gyroscopes are a type of sensors that measure angular velocities through the Coriolis effect. The resonator is the critical component of the CVGs, the vibrational characteristics of which, including the resonant frequency, frequency mismatch, Q factor, and Q factor asymmetry, have a great influence on the performance of CVG. The frequency mismatch and Q factor of the resonator, in particular, directly determine the precision and drift characteristics of the gyroscope. Although the frequency mismatch and Q factor are natural properties of the resonator, they can change with external conditions, such as temperature, pressure, and external forces. In this paper, the influence of electrostatic forces on the vibrational characteristics of the fused silica cylindrical resonator is investigated. Experiments were performed on a fused silica cylindrical resonator coated with Cr/Au films. It was shown that the resonant frequency, frequency mismatch, and the decay time slightly decreased with electrostatic forces, while the decay time split increased. Lower capacitive gaps and larger applied voltages resulted in lower frequency mismatch and lower decay time. This phenomenon was theoretically analyzed, and the variation trends of results were consistent with the theoretical analysis. This study indicates that, for fused silica cylindrical resonator with electrostatic transduction, the electrostatic influence on the Q factor and frequency, although small, should be considered when designing the capacitive gap and choosing bias voltages.
Towards Mixed-Initiative Human–Robot Interaction: Assessment of Discriminative Physiological and Behavioral Features for Performance Prediction
Authors: Chanel Caroline P. C. , Roy Raphaëlle N. , Dehais Frédéric , Drougard Nicolas
Published: January 2020

The design of human–robot interactions is a key challenge to optimize operational performance. A promising approach is to consider mixed-initiative interactions in which the tasks and authority of each human and artificial agents are dynamically defined according to their current abilities. An important issue for the implementation of mixed-initiative systems is to monitor human performance to dynamically drive task allocation between human and artificial agents (i.e., robots). We, therefore, designed an experimental scenario involving missions whereby participants had to cooperate with a robot to fight fires while facing hazards. Two levels of robot automation (manual vs. autonomous) were randomly manipulated to assess their impact on the participants’ performance across missions. Cardiac activity, eye-tracking, and participants’ actions on the user interface were collected. The participants performed differently to an extent that we could identify high and low score mission groups that also exhibited different behavioral, cardiac and ocular patterns. More specifically, our findings indicated that the higher level of automation could be beneficial to low-scoring participants but detrimental to high-scoring ones, and vice versa. In addition, inter-subject single-trial classification results showed that the studied behavioral and physiological features were relevant to predict mission performance. The highest average balanced accuracy (74%) was reached using the features extracted from all input devices. These results suggest that an adaptive HRI driving system, that would aim at maximizing performance, would be capable of analyzing such physiological and behavior markers online to further change the level of automation when it is relevant for the mission purpose.
Study of Metal–Semiconductor–Metal CH3NH3PbBr3 Perovskite Photodetectors Prepared by Inverse Temperature Crystallization Method
Authors: Chen Lung-Chien , Lee Kuan-Lin , Lee Kun-Yi , Huang Yi-Wen , Lin Ray-Ming
Published: January 2020

Numerous studies have addressed the use of perovskite materials for fabricating a wide range of optoelectronic devices. This study employs the deposition of an electron transport layer of C60 and an Ag electrode on CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite crystals to complete a photodetector structure, which exhibits a metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) type structure. First, CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite crystals were grown by inverse temperature crystallization (ITC) in a pre-heated circulator oven. This oven was able to supply uniform heat for facilitating the growth of high-quality and large-area crystals. Second, the different growth temperatures for CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite crystals were investigated. The electrical, optical, and morphological characteristics of the perovskite crystals were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL). Finally, the CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite crystals were observed to form a contact with the Ag/C60 as the photodetector, which revealed a responsivity of 24.5 A/W.
Comparative Study on Noise Reduction Effect of Fiber Optic Hydrophone Based on LMS and NLMS Algorithm
Authors: Yu Zhihua , Cai Yunfei , Mo Daili
Published: January 2020

Adaptive filtering has the advantages of real-time processing, small computational complexity, and good adaptability and robustness. It has been widely used in communication, navigation, signal processing, optical fiber sensing, and other fields. In this paper, by adding an interferometer with the same parameters as the signal interferometer as the reference channel, the sensing signal of the interferometric fiber-optic hydrophone is denoised by two adaptive filtering schemes based on the least mean square (LMS) algorithm and the normalized least mean square (NLMS) algorithm respectively. The results show that the LMS algorithm is superior to the NLMS algorithm in reducing total harmonic distortion, improving the signal-to-noise ratio and filtering effect.
Robust Sparse Bayesian Learning-Based Off-Grid DOA Estimation Method for Vehicle Localization
Authors: Ling Yun , Gao Huotao , Zhou Sang , Yang Lijuan , Ren Fangyu
Published: January 2020

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles have been receiving more and more attention because they own many advantages compared with traditional vehicles. A robust and accurate vehicle localization system is critical to the safety and the efficiency of autonomous vehicles. The global positioning system (GPS) has been widely applied to the vehicle localization systems. However, the accuracy and the reliability of GPS have suffered in some scenarios. In this paper, we present a robust and accurate vehicle localization system consisting of a bistatic passive radar, in which the performance of localization is solely dependent on the accuracy of the proposed off-grid direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithm. Under the framework of sparse Bayesian learning (SBL), the source powers and the noise variance are estimated by a fast evidence maximization method, and the off-grid gap is effectively handled by an advanced grid refining strategy. Simulation results show that the proposed method exhibits better performance than the existing sparse signal representation-based algorithms, and performs well in the vehicle localization system.
Machine Learning Methodology in a System Applying the Adaptive Strategy for Teaching Human Motions
Authors: Wójcik Krzysztof , Piekarczyk Marcin
Published: January 2020

The teaching of motion activities in rehabilitation, sports, and professional work has great social significance. However, the automatic teaching of these activities, particularly those involving fast motions, requires the use of an adaptive system that can adequately react to the changing stages and conditions of the teaching process. This paper describes a prototype of an automatic system that utilizes the online classification of motion signals to select the proper teaching algorithm. The knowledge necessary to perform the classification process is acquired from experts by the use of the machine learning methodology. The system utilizes multidimensional motion signals that are captured using MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) sensors. Moreover, an array of vibrotactile actuators is used to provide feedback to the learner. The main goal of the presented article is to prove that the effectiveness of the described teaching system is higher than the system that controls the learning process without the use of signal classification. Statistical tests carried out by the use of a prototype system confirmed that thesis. This is the main outcome of the presented study. An important contribution is also a proposal to standardize the system structure. The standardization facilitates the system configuration and implementation of individual, specialized teaching algorithms.
Enhanced Human Activity Recognition Based on Smartphone Sensor Data Using Hybrid Feature Selection Model
Authors: Ahmed Nadeem , Rafiq Jahir Ibna , Islam Md Rashedul
Published: January 2020

Human activity recognition (HAR) techniques are playing a significant role in monitoring the daily activities of human life such as elderly care, investigation activities, healthcare, sports, and smart homes. Smartphones incorporated with varieties of motion sensors like accelerometers and gyroscopes are widely used inertial sensors that can identify different physical conditions of human. In recent research, many works have been done regarding human activity recognition. Sensor data of smartphone produces high dimensional feature vectors for identifying human activities. However, all the vectors are not contributing equally for identification process. Including all feature vectors create a phenomenon known as ‘curse of dimensionality’. This research has proposed a hybrid method feature selection process, which includes a filter and wrapper method. The process uses a sequential floating forward search (SFFS) to extract desired features for better activity recognition. Features are then fed to a multiclass support vector machine (SVM) to create nonlinear classifiers by adopting the kernel trick for training and testing purpose. We validated our model with a benchmark dataset. Our proposed system works efficiently with limited hardware resource and provides satisfactory activity identification.
A Comparative Analysis of Machine/Deep Learning Models for Parking Space Availability Prediction
Authors: Awan Faraz Malik , Saleem Yasir , Minerva Roberto , Crespi Noel
Published: January 2020

Machine/Deep Learning (ML/DL) techniques have been applied to large data sets in order to extract relevant information and for making predictions. The performance and the outcomes of different ML/DL algorithms may vary depending upon the data sets being used, as well as on the suitability of algorithms to the data and the application domain under consideration. Hence, determining which ML/DL algorithm is most suitable for a specific application domain and its related data sets would be a key advantage. To respond to this need, a comparative analysis of well-known ML/DL techniques, including Multilayer Perceptron, K-Nearest Neighbors, Decision Tree, Random Forest, and Voting Classifier (or the Ensemble Learning Approach) for the prediction of parking space availability has been conducted. This comparison utilized Santander’s parking data set, initiated while working on the H2020 WISE-IoT project. The data set was used in order to evaluate the considered algorithms and to determine the one offering the best prediction. The results of this analysis show that, regardless of the data set size, the less complex algorithms like Decision Tree, Random Forest, and KNN outperform complex algorithms such as Multilayer Perceptron, in terms of higher prediction accuracy, while providing comparable information for the prediction of parking space availability. In addition, in this paper, we are providing Top-K parking space recommendations on the basis of distance between current position of vehicles and free parking spots.
Lane Detection Method with Impulse Radio Ultra-Wideband Radar and Metal Lane Reflectors
Authors: Kim Dae-Hyun
Published: January 2020

An advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS), based on lane detection technology, detects dangerous situations through various sensors and either warns the driver or takes over direct control of the vehicle. At present, cameras are commonly used for lane detection; however, their performance varies widely depending on the lighting conditions. Consequently, many studies have focused on using radar for lane detection. However, when using radar, it is difficult to distinguish between the plain road surface and painted lane markers, necessitating the use of radar reflectors for guidance. Previous studies have used long-range radars which may receive interference signals from various objects, including other vehicles, pedestrians, and buildings, thereby hampering lane detection. Therefore, we propose a lane detection method that uses an impulse radio ultra-wideband radar with high-range resolution and metal lane markers installed at regular intervals on the road. Lane detection and departure is realized upon using the periodically reflected signals as well as vehicle speed data as inputs. For verification, a field test was conducted by attaching radar to a vehicle and installing metal lane markers on the road. Experimental scenarios were established by varying the position and movement of the vehicle, and it was demonstrated that the proposed method enables lane detection based on the data measured.
Optimization of Saliva Collection and Immunochromatographic Detection of Salivary Pepsin for Point-of-Care Testing of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
Authors: Lee Young Ju , Kwon Jiyoon , Shin Sanggyeong , Eun Young-Gyu , Shin Jae Ho , Lee Gi-Ja
Published: January 2020

Salivary pepsin is a promising marker for the non-invasive diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). For reliable results regarding pepsin in saliva, it is critical to standardize the collection, storage, and pre-processing methods. In this study, we optimized the saliva collection protocols, including storage conditions, i.e., solution, temperature, and time, and the pre-processing filter for pepsin. Moreover, we prepared a simple immunochromatographic strip for the rapid detection of pepsin and evaluated its sensing performance. As a result, we selected a polypropylene (PP) filter as the pre-processing filter for salivary pepsin in low resource settings, such as those where point of care testing (POCT) is conducted. This filter showed a similar efficiency to the centrifuge (standard method). Finally, we detected the pepsin using gold nanoparticles conjugated with monoclonal pepsin antibody. Under optimized conditions, the lower limit of detection for pepsin test strips was determined as 0.01 μg/mL. Furthermore, we successfully detected the salivary pepsin in real saliva samples of LPR patients, which were pre-processed by the PP filter. Therefore, we expect that our saliva collection protocol and pepsin immunochromatographic strip can be utilized as useful tools for a non-invasive diagnosis/screening of LPR in POCT.
Are Valuable and Representative Natural Habitats Sufficiently Protected? Application of Marxan model in the Czech Republic
Authors: Cudlín Ondřej , Pechanec Vilém , Purkyt Jan , Chobot Karel , Salvati Luca , Cudlín Pavel
Published: January 2020

The joint impact of human activities and climate change on natural resources lead to biodiversity loss. Therefore, it is important to select protected areas through systematic conservation planning. The present study assessed how representative natural habitats are protected under the nature conservation network, and to identify new—but so far insufficiently—protected areas containing these habitats for sustainable management. We used the Marxan model to select the most valuable insufficiently protected natural habitats in the Czech Republic as a representative example for a conservation strategy for Central–Eastern European environments. We set three conservation targets (25%, 50%, and 75%), defining how much percent area of valuable representative natural habitats should be added to the area of the habitats already included in the Nature Protection Network. To implement these conservation targets it is necessary to preserve 22,932 ha, 72,429, ha and 124,363 ha respectively of the conservation targets occurring in the insufficiently protected areas, and 17,255 ha, 51,620 ha, and 84,993 ha respectively of the conservation features in the areas without protection status. Marxan was revealed to be an appropriate tool to select the most valuable and insufficiently protected natural habitats for sustainable management.
Eco-Social Divides in Europe: Public Attitudes towards Welfare and Climate Change Policies
Authors: Otto Adeline , Gugushvili Dimitri
Published: January 2020

In the face of accelerating global warming and attendant natural disasters, it is clear that governments all over the world eventually have to take measures to mitigate the most adverse consequences of climate change. However, the costs of these measures are likely to force governments to reconsider some of their tax and spending priorities, of which social spending is the largest expenditure item in developed welfare states. Unless carried out in a way that is considered as fair by most citizens, such trade-off is likely to add a new, ecological dimension to the existing social cleavages in people’s preferences for public provision. Whether or not the possible tensions between the two sets of policies have already resulted in the emergence of a new, eco-social divide in Europe is an open question. In this paper, we hypothesise that there are four distinct attitude groups in relation to welfare and climate change policies, and that the probability of belonging to any of these groups is influenced by individuals’ socioeconomic and ideological characteristics, as well as the country context in which they live. We test our hypotheses using data from the eighth round of the European Social Survey conducted in 2016/17 in multinomial regression models. Results suggest that across Europe people are considerably divided in their support of public welfare and climate policies, but that support for both dimensions is highest in the Nordic countries. At the micro level, we find political ideology and trust in public institutions to be the most important drivers of a newly emerging eco-social divide.
The Temporal Analysis of Regional Cultivated Land Productivity with GPP Based on 2000–2018 MODIS Data
Authors: Ma Jiani , Zhang Chao , Yun Wenju , Lv Yahui , Chen Wanling , Zhu Dehai
Published: January 2020

The spatiotemporal change characteristics of Cultivated Land Productivity (CLP) are imperative for ensuring regional food security, especially given recent global warming, social development and population growth. Based on the hypothesis that the Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) is a proxy of land productivity, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data with 500-m spatial resolution and 8-day temporal resolution was employed by the Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM) to calculate GPP in Jilin Province, China. We explored the level of CLP using the GPP mean from 2000 to 2018, and analyzed the changing trend and amplitude of CLP in the whole study period using both Theil–Sen median trend analysis and the Mann–Kendall (MK) test, and forecasted the sustainability of CLP with the Hurst exponent. The trend result and the Hurst exponent were integrated to acquire the future direction of change. The results revealed that: (1) The CLP level was generally high in the southeast and low in the northwest in cultivated land in Jilin, China. The area with the lowest productivity, located in the northwest of Jilin, accounted for 15.56%. (2) The majority (84.77%) of the area showed an increasing trend in 2000–2018, which was larger than the area that was decreasing, which accounted for 3.97%. (3) The overall change amplitude was dominated by a slightly increasing trend, which accounted for 51.48%. (4) The area with sustainability accounted for 33.45% and was mainly distributed in the northwest of Jilin. The area with anti-sustainability accounted for 26.78% and was mainly distributed in the northwest and central Jilin. (5) The Hurst exponent result showed that uncertain variation of CLP is likely to occur in the future over the entire region, and the central region is prone to display degeneration. Therefore, the results of this study indicated that quality improvement policy could be implemented for the middle-to-low yield fields in northwest Jilin, and dynamic monitoring and protection measures could be implemented for the areas with uncertain future changes and decreasing sustainability.
Sustainable Supply Chain of Enterprises: Value Analysis
Authors: Oniszczuk-Jastrząbek Aneta , Czermański Ernest , Cirella Giuseppe T.
Published: January 2020

An enterprise carrying out operations according to the sustainable development (SD) concept should maximize its business goals without affecting interest groups. It requires not only a rethinking, but also a partial allocation of profit to social goals—used to contribute to and create a positive image of the enterprise and improve its competitiveness—over the long-term. Operations should result in an increase in profit—indirectly—by way of demand. This paper explores the sustainable supply chain (SSC) concept and the interplay of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within business objectives. The concept of SSC-compliant CSR is primarily stressed as an executive, top-down centric role. Businesses and societies at large that foster an SD continuum are considered healthy economies. The SD of enterprises and CSR in business are explored in relation to social investment and considered a viable long-term strategy for doing business. A pilot case study of Poland is carried out as a value analysis of the SSCs of enterprises. The key findings illustrate the benefits and problems of SSCs applied at the enterprise level. The problems of applying the principles of SSC within the enterprise and the connection between its levels of strategy and social value in terms of CSR and entrepreneurial operations are examined. Comparative studies indicate a number of overlapping trends in which positive SSC is cross-functional toward business partners, suppliers, customers, investors, and local communities.
Does Fashionization Impede Luxury Brands’ CSR Image?
Authors: Parguel Béatrice , Delécolle Thierry , Mimouni Chaabane Aïda
Published: January 2020

To sustain their growth worldwide, luxury brands are increasingly adopting the codes of fast fashion. They continually introduce new designs that move quickly from the catwalk to stores to stay on-trend, resulting in short and constantly renewed collections. But does this fashionization impede luxury brands’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) image? This article investigates this question building on the ephemerality–scarcity dual-route model. Findings from a first experiment involving a fictitious luxury brand show that fashionization increases both perceptions of ephemerality (negative route) and scarcity (positive route), with opposing resulting effects on the brand’s CSR image. Extending these results to a real-life luxury setting, findings from a second experiment show that the influence of fashionization on the brand’s CSR image is only mediated by the positive scarcity route. This study provides a number of noteworthy theoretical insights and relevant managerial implications for luxury managers involved in CSR communication.
Quantitative Analysis and Multi-Index Evaluation of the Green Building Envelope Performance in the Cold Area of China
Authors: Lu Shilei , Wang Zichen , Zhang Tianshuai
Published: January 2020

In China, relevant standards about building energy efficiency and green buildings have resulted in corresponding requirements for the envelope thermal performance. However, improvement of the thermal performance of the envelope is accompanied by an increase of the environmental impact and cost. This study quantitatively analyzed the thermal performance, environmental impact, and cost of the green building envelope in cold areas and established a common practice database, as well as a multi-index evaluation model. The results show that the best thermal performance improvements are 40% in residential buildings and 30% in public buildings, respectively, based on the relevant standards. The exterior walls and windows have the greatest impact on building heat consumption. There is no significant correlation between the heat consumption and the comprehensive heat transfer coefficient of 10 green buildings. Therefore, the comprehensive heat loss coefficient is corrected. The verification results show that all errors except project 10 are within 15%. Additionally, the projects with balanced thermal performance improvement of exterior walls and windows showed a better performance. Finally, the best combination of residential building envelopes in the cold area was selected, using the evaluation model and quantitative database to calculate the comprehensive score.
Modelling of Material Removal in Abrasive Belt Grinding Process: A Regression Approach
Authors: Pandiyan Vigneashwara , Caesarendra Wahyu , Glowacz Adam , Tjahjowidodo Tegoeh
Published: January 2020

This article explores the effects of parameters such as cutting speed, force, polymer wheel hardness, feed, and grit size in the abrasive belt grinding process to model material removal. The process has high uncertainty during the interaction between the abrasives and the underneath surface, therefore the theoretical material removal models developed in belt grinding involve assumptions. A conclusive material removal model can be developed in such a dynamic process involving multiple parameters using statistical regression techniques. Six different regression modelling methodologies, namely multiple linear regression, stepwise regression, artificial neural network (ANN), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), support vector regression (SVR) and random forests (RF) have been applied to the experimental data determined using the Taguchi design of experiments (DoE). The results obtained by the six models have been assessed and compared. All five models, except multiple linear regression, demonstrated a relatively low prediction error. Regarding the influence of the examined belt grinding parameters on the material removal, inference from some statistical models shows that the grit size has the most substantial effect. The proposed regression models can likely be applied for achieving desired material removal by defining process parameter levels without the need to conduct physical belt grinding experiments.
A Feasible Temporal Links Prediction Framework Combining with Improved Gravity Model
Authors: Huang Xinyu , Chen Dongming , Ren Tao
Published: January 2020

Social network analysis is a multidisciplinary study covering informatics, mathematics, sociology, management, psychology, etc. Link prediction, as one of the fundamental studies with a variety of applications, has attracted increasing focus from scientific society. Traditional research based on graph theory has made numerous achievements, whereas suffering from incapability of dealing with dynamic behaviors and low predicting accuracy. Aiming at addressing the problem, this paper employs a diagonally symmetrical supra-adjacency matrix to represent the dynamic social networks, and proposes a temporal links prediction framework combining with an improved gravity model. Extensive experiments on several real-world datasets verified the superiority on competitors, which benefits recommending friends in social networks. It is of remarkable significance in revealing the evolutions in temporal networks and promoting considerable commercial interest for social applications.
Asymmetric Electrophilic Reactions in Phosphorus Chemistry
Authors: Kolodiazhna Anastasy O. , Kolodiazhnyi Oleg I.
Published: January 2020

This review is devoted to the theoretic and synthetic aspects of asymmetric electrophilic substitution reactions at the stereogenic phosphorus center. The stereochemistry and mechanisms of electrophilic reactions are discussed—the substitution, addition and addition-elimination of many important reactions. The reactions of bimolecular electrophilic substitution SE2(P) proceed stereospecifically with the retention of absolute configuration at the phosphorus center, in contrast to the reactions of bimolecular nucleophilic substitution SN2(P), proceeding with inversion of absolute configuration. This conclusion was made based on stereochemical analysis of a wide range of trivalent phosphorus reactions with typical electrophiles and investigation of examples of a sizeable number of diverse compounds. The combination of stereospecific electrophilic reactions and stereoselective nucleophilic reactions is useful and promising for the further development of organophosphorus chemistry. The study of phosphoryl group transfer reactions is important for biological and molecular chemistry, as well as in studying mechanisms of chemical processes involving organophosphorus compounds. New versions of asymmetric electrophilic reactions applicable for the synthesis of enantiopure P-chiral secondary and tertiary phosphines are discussed.
The Expression of Potato Expansin A3 (StEXPA3) and Extensin4 (StEXT4) Genes with Distribution of StEXPAs and HRGPs-Extensin Changes as an Effect of Cell Wall Rebuilding in Two Types of PVYNTN–Solanum tuberosum Interactions
Authors: Otulak-Kozieł Katarzyna , Kozieł Edmund , Lockhart Benham E. L. , Bujarski Józef J.
Published: January 2020

The plant cell wall acts not only as a physical barrier, but also as a complex and dynamic structure that actively changes under different biotic and abiotic stress conditions. The question is, how are the different cell wall compounds modified during different interactions with exogenous stimuli such as pathogens? Plants exposed to viral pathogens respond to unfavorable conditions on multiple levels. One challenge that plants face under viral stress is the number of processes required for differential cell wall remodeling. The key players in these conditions are the cell wall genes and proteins, which can be regulated in specific ways during the interactions and have direct influences on the rebuilding of the cell wall structure. The cell wall modifications occurring in plants during viral infection remain poorly described. Therefore, this study focuses on cell wall dynamics as an effect of incompatible interactions between the potato virus Y (PVYNTN) and resistant potatoes (hypersensitive plant), as well as compatible (susceptible plant) interactions. Our analysis describes, for the first time, the expression of the potato expansin A3 (StEXPA3) and potato extensin 4 (StEXT4) genes in PVYNTN-susceptible and -resistant potato plant interactions. The results indicated a statistically significant induction of the StEXPA3 gene during a susceptible response. By contrast, we demonstrated the predominantly gradual activation of the StEXT4 gene during the hypersensitive response to PVYNTN inoculation. Moreover, the in situ distributions of expansins (StEXPAs), which are essential cell wall-associated proteins, and the hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein (HRGP) extensin were investigated in two types of interactions. Furthermore, cell wall loosening was accompanied by an increase in StEXPA deposition in a PVYNTN-susceptible potato, whereas the HRGP content dynamically increased during the hypersensitive response, when the cell wall was reinforced. Ultrastructural localization and quantification revealed that the HRGP extensin was preferably located in the apoplast, but deposition in the symplast was also observed in resistant plants. Interestingly, during the hypersensitive response, StEXPA proteins were mainly located in the symplast area, in contrast to the susceptible potato where StEXPA proteins were mainly observed in the cell wall. These findings revealed that changes in the intracellular distribution and abundance of StEXPAs and HRGPs can be differentially regulated, depending on different types of PVYNTN–potato plant interactions, and confirmed the involvement of apoplast and symplast activation as a defense response mechanism.
Toxoplasma gondii ADSL Knockout Provides Excellent Immune Protection against a Variety of Strains
Authors: Wang Luyao , Tang Ding , Yang Chenghang , Yang Jing , Fang Rui
Published: January 2020

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite, occurring worldwide, endangers human health and causes enormous economic losses to the Ministry of Agriculture. A safe and effective vaccination is needed to handle these problems. In addition, ideal vaccine production is a challenge in the future. In this study, we knocked out the adenylosuccinate lyase (ADSL) gene and found that the gene reduces the growth rate of T. gondii tachyzoites in vitro under standard growth conditions by plaque or replication experiments. Furthermore, mice that were immunized with tachyzoites of the ME49ΔADSL strain induced 100% protection efficacy against challenge with the type 1 strain RH, type 2 strain ME49 and type 3 strain VEG. All mice that were immunized with ME49ΔADSL had a survival rate of 100% when they were reinfected with wild-type strains, either 30 days or 70 days after immunization, and immunization was also protective against homologous infection with 50 T. gondii ME49 tissue cysts. In addition, the level of Toxoplasma-specific IgG was significantly elevated at 30 and 70 days after immunization. ME49ΔADSL induced high levels of Th1 cytokines (interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-12) at 4 weeks after immunization and spleen cell cultures from mice vaccinated for 150 days were able to produce robust INF-γ and IL-12 levels in the supernatant. The results of the present study showed that ΔADSL vaccination induced a T. gondii-specific cellular immune response against further infections. These results suggest that the ADSL-deficient vaccine can induce anti-Toxoplasma gondii humoral and cellular immune responses and has 100% immune protection against post-challenge by the type 1 strain RH, type 2 strain ME49 and type 3 strain VEG. It will be used as an excellent candidate for live vaccines and may contribute in a positive meaning to control human toxoplasmosis.
Natural Treatment of High-Strength Reverse Osmosis Concentrate by Constructed Wetlands for Reclaimed Water Use
Authors: Chakraborti Rajat K. , Bays James S.
Published: January 2020

A pilot study using natural treatment methods such as a horizontal subsurface flow in constructed wetlands to treat the reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) was conducted to manage nutrient and metals to reclaim the product water for the coastal wetlands and agriculture use. ROC had a significantly greater concentration of constituents than concentrations typically found in effluent of secondary treated wastewater. During the six-month wetland pilot study, the removal of nutrients from the ROC was monitored. Bulrush (Schoenoplectus californicus), a common wetland plant, tolerated high total dissolved solids (11,000–12,700 mg/L) and provided significant mass removal of nutrients in the concentrate (61% removal of nitrogen and 21% removal of phosphorus) under two hydraulic residence times (HRT1 = 2.5 days and HRT2 = 5 days). Concentration-based reductions of oxidized nitrogen, ammonia-nitrogen, orthophosphate were 63%, 23%, and 23% during HRT1 and 55%, 24%, and 11% during HRT2, respectively. Nutrient mass balance estimates of this microbially dominated wetland system and analysis of mass transformation pathways were also performed. Because of evaporative water loss, mass removal efficiencies were significant. Key processes included denitrification for nitrogen removal, possibly supplemented with Annamox reduction of NO3-N; labile carbon assimilation supporting oxidized nitrogen reduction; and phosphate-P uptake and precipitation within the gravel substrate. The results indicated that engineered wetland treatment offers useful benefits to the management of ROC produced from secondary treated effluent of wastewater through reduction in volume through evapotranspiration and reduction in concentration through biological transformations for beneficial reuse.
Nodulação de bactérias em cultivos de crotalária-juncea (Crotalaria juncea L., fabaceae) e de feijão-guandu (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp., fabaceae) com diferentes fontes de matéria orgânica
Authors: Araujo Ana Luiza Silva de , PINHEIRO Rodrigo Almeida , SILVA Allãn Marcos da , ARAUJO Alverlan da Silva , COSTA Marília Layse Alves da , BARROS Rubens Pessoa de
Published: January 2020

O método tradicional da agricultura brasileira possui a característica de acelerar a degradação dos solos, reduzindo assim a produtividade a cada novo cultivo. Nos últimos tempos foram observadas tentativas de reverter esse processo e recuperar a fertilidade desses solos, por meio de práticas que utilizam processos naturais, a fim de reintroduzir nutrientes e elementos importantes ao solo. A associação, entre o pré-plantio de plantas da família Fabaceae e a utilização de estercos, vem sendo muito visada entre os agricultores que procuram por meios mais sustentáveis e econômicos de revigorar solos carentes em nitrogênio e matéria orgânica. Nesse sentido, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo identificar qual a fonte de matéria orgânica de origem animal que potencializará ao máximo a nodulação de bactérias em cultivos de Crotalaria juncea L. e Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. A área da pesquisa ocorreu na casa de vegetação da Universidade Estadual de Alagoas, Campus Arapiraca. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado com quatro tratamentos (solo sem esterco (controle), esterco bovino, esterco caprino, e esterco de aviário), com cinco repetições. Os dados foram submetidos a análise de variância por comparação de médias através do teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade pelo programa SISVAR. As variáveis analisadas foram altura, número de folhas, diâmetro do caule e número de nódulos. A aplicação de estercos não influenciou significativamente nas variáveis da Crotalaria juncea L. Os estercos bovino e caprino influenciaram de forma significativa nas variáveis da Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.
La chapelle romane Saint-Paul à Arnave (Ariège)
Authors: Puech Dominique
Published: January 2020

Aislada sobre una colina que domina el pueblo de Arnave, la ermita de San Pablo resulta sorprendente : sus grandes dimensiones para ser un edificio aislado, los capiteles decorados en el santuario, las bóvedas de piedra, un gran y sorprendente campanario para la región en la que se halla y un plano que evoca el llamado periodo prerrománico. Dicho edificio fue estudiado en el marco de un trabajo de fin de máster de la Universidad de Toulouse Jean-Jaurès, tanto desde el punto de vista arqueológico como histórico para responder, en la medida de lo posible, a las preguntas relativas a quien fue su mecenas, a su función, a sus diferentes fases de construcción y a la estimación de las dataciones. Tras una visita al lugar en noviembre de 2015, se informó de la creciente inestabilidad del edificio, hecho que dio lugar a una consolidación de emergencia en febrero de 2016. Dado que las obras se llevaron a cabo a partir de esa fecha, el trabajo de fin de máster constituye, de hecho, un informe previo a las restauraciones realizadas.
L’approche régionale du fait religieux. Retour sur un itinéraire de recherche
Authors: Cholvy Gérard
Published: January 2020

Depuis ses premiers travaux sur le diocèse de Montpellier jusqu’à ses biographies récentes sur le cardinal de Cabrières ou Frère Exupérien (Adrien Mas), Gérard Cholvy a maintenu son intérêt intellectuel pour le Midi languedocien tout en renouvelant ses questionnements historiques. Sa démarche d’historien démontre la valeur de l’optique régionale en histoire religieuse. Au-delà du simple tropisme méridional, cette production scientifique vaut par la réflexion sur la variable régionale ellemême. Marqué dans ses jeunes années par la carte religieuse de la France rurale due au chanoine Boulard (1947), G. Cholvy n’a eu de cesse d’affiner et de nuancer des jugements souvent expéditifs sur le thème favori de l’histoire religieuse de l’époque contemporaine, à savoir la déchristianisation. Son travail a contribué à légitimer l’approche régionale et donc à souligner les limites d’une histoire simplificatrice procédant par généralisation à partir de quelques cas, surtout parisiens.