bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comparative Evaluation of Peripheral Blood Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio, Serum Albumin to Globulin Ratio and Serum C-Reactive Protein to Albumin Ratio in Dogs with Inflammatory Protein-Losing Enteropathy and Healthy Dogs
Authors: Cagnasso Federica , Borrelli Antonio , Bottero Enrico , Benvenuti Elena , Ferriani Riccardo , Marchetti Veronica , Ruggiero Piero , Bruno Barbara , Maurella Cristiana , Gianella Paola
Published: January 2023

Few routinely available biomarkers are clinically useful in assessing dogs with inflammatory protein-losing enteropathy caused by immunosuppressive-responsive enteropathy (IRE-PLE). Only the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has been studied, while no information exists on the use of the albumin to globulin ratio (AGR) and C-reactive protein to albumin ratio (CRP/ALB). We aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of the NLR, AGR and CRP/ALB in a population of dogs with IRE-PLE. The medical records of 53 IRE-PLE dogs were reviewed at the time of diagnosis (T0) and 1 month after the initiation of immunosuppressants (T1). A control group of 68 healthy dogs was used for comparison. At T0, the median values of the NLR and AGR of sick dogs were significantly higher and lower than those of healthy dogs, respectively. With the increase in the chronic enteropathy activity index, AGR and CRP/ALB significantly decreased and increased, respectively. At T1, NLR and AGR significantly increased, while CRP/ALB significantly decreased. NLR, AGR and CRP/ALB did not differ significantly between dogs classified as responders and nonresponders according to the chronic enteropathy activity index. Further studies are needed to provide more information on this subject.
Host Dependent-Transposon for a Plasmid Found in Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida That Bears a catB3 Gene for Chloramphenicol Resistance
Authors: Marcoux Pierre-Étienne , Attéré Sabrina A. , Paquet Valérie E. , Paquet Maude F. , Girard Sarah B. , Farley Judith , Frenette Michel , Vincent Antony T. , Charette Steve J.
Published: January 2023

Plasmids that carry antibiotic resistance genes occur frequently in Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida, an aquatic pathogen with severe consequences in salmonid farming. Here, we describe a 67 kb plasmid found in the A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida Strain SHY15-2939 from Quebec, Canada. This new plasmid, named pAsa-2939 and identified by high throughput sequencing, displays features never found before in this bacterial species. It contains a transposon related to the Tn21 family, but with an unusual organization. This transposon bears a catB3 gene (chloramphenicol resistance) that has not been detected yet in A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida. The plasmid is transferable by conjugation into Aeromonas hydrophila, but not into Escherichia coli. Based on PCR analysis and genomic sequencing (Illumina and PacBio), we determined that the transposon is unstable in A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida Strain SHY15-2939, but it is stable in A. hydrophila trans-conjugants, which explains the chloramphenicol resistance variability observed in SHY15-2939. These results suggest that this bacterium is likely not the most appropriate host for this plasmid. The presence of pAsa-2939 in A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida also strengthens the reservoir role of this bacterium for antibiotic resistance genes, even those that resist antibiotics not used in aquaculture in Québec, such as chloramphenicol.
Facial Affect Recognition in Depression Using Human Avatars
Authors: Monferrer Marta , García Arturo S. , Ricarte Jorge J. , Montes María J. , Fernández-Sotos Patricia , Fernández-Caballero Antonio
Published: January 2023

This research assesses facial emotion recognition in depressed patients using a novel dynamic virtual face (DVF) collection. The participant sample comprised 54 stable depressed patients against 54 healthy controls. The experiment entailed a non-immersive virtual reality task of recognizing emotions with DVFs representing the six basic emotions. Depressed patients exhibited a deficit in facial affect recognition in comparison to healthy controls. The average recognition score for healthy controls was 88.19%, while the score was 75.17% for the depression group. Gender and educational level showed no influence on the recognition rates in depressed patients. As for age, the worst results were found in older patients as compared to other cohorts. The average recognition rate for the younger group was 84.18%, 78.63% for the middle-aged group, and 61.97% for the older group, with average reaction times of 4.00 s, 4.07 s, and 6.04 s, respectively.
The Use of Vacuum Impregnation of Barley Grain in the Production of Malt for Wort
Authors: Rydzak Leszek , Różyło Renata , Guz Tomasz , Natoniewski Marcin , Vasiukov Kostiantyn
Published: January 2023

In this study, the process of the vacuum impregnation of Kangoo barley grain, at the stage of soaking, was used in the production of light malt. The influence of vacuum impregnation on the speed of the water uptake by the barley, at temperatures of 12, 14, 16 and 18 °C, was also analyzed. At this stage of the research, the grain was soaked in water to obtain a moisture content of approximately 42%. The samples for the moisture content tests were taken every 2 h. The grain intended for malt was soaked in an air–water system and was kept submerged in water for 6 h. It was then removed from the water and kept for 18 h. The grain was aerated during the soaking process. The malting and soaking lasted eight days at temperatures of 12, 14, 16 and 18 °C. The samples for further testing were taken daily. Then, each of the samples was dried, following the same procedure. The sprouts were removed immediately after the dried samples contained approximately 4% moisture. Following a 3-month maturation process, the congress wort was produced from the malt. The pH and the extract content in the wort were tested. It was found that the process of vacuum impregnation significantly accelerates the uptake of water by the grain. In almost all cases, the influence of the tested factors on the pH of the wort and the extract content was also observed.
Augmented Reality in Surgical Navigation: A Review of Evaluation and Validation Metrics
Authors: Malhotra Shivali , Halabi Osama , Dakua Sarada Prasad , Padhan Jhasketan , Paul Santu , Palliyali Waseem
Published: January 2023

Pre-operative imaging has been used earlier to guide traditional surgical navigation systems. There has been a lot of effort in the last decade to integrate augmented reality into the operating room to help surgeons intra-operatively. An augmented reality (AR) based navigation system provides a clear three-dimensional picture of the interested areas over the patient to aid surgical navigation and operations, which is a promising approach. The goal of this study is to review the application of AR technology in various fields of surgery and how the technology is used for its performance in each field. Assessment of the available AR assisted navigation systems being used for surgery is reviewed in this paper. Furthermore, a discussion about the required evaluation and validation metric for these systems is also presented. The paper comprehensively reviews the literature since the year 2008 for providing relevant information on applying the AR technology for training, planning and surgical navigation. It also describes the limitations which need to be addressed before one can completely rely on this technology for surgery. Thus, additional research is desirable in this emerging field, particularly to evaluate and validate the use of AR technology for surgical navigation.
Email Campaign Evaluation Based on User and Mail Server Response
Authors: Szpyrka Marcin , Suszalski Piotr , Obara Sebastian , Nalepa Grzegorz J.
Published: January 2023

The goal of an email service provider company is to send out a large number of emails to help its clients realise successful email marketing activities. Thousands of emails sent every minute need to be analysed in real time to reduce spam or phishing. The paper describes a method that uses real-time tracking of key campaign metrics such as the opens count, clicks count, hard bounces count, etc., to identify campaigns that should be stopped because they can be classified as spam or phishing. The key point of this solution is that we do not analyse email content. Nevertheless, the proposed neural networks are highly effective—the F1-score is above 0.95 for any used sample. Furthermore, the approach allows us to use the same model regardless of the language of an email. The method was developed and verified in collaboration with Freshmail, a leading provider of email marketing services in Poland. Validation of the method on real data provided by the company confirmed its high effectiveness.
Research on the Calculation and Analysis of Ski-Track Areas Based on Laser Point Clouds
Authors: Wang Wenxin , Zhao Changming , Zhang Haiyang
Published: January 2023

To address the long-term statistical problem of ski-track area in the construction and operation of ski resorts, we propose a new ski-track point cloud boundary extraction method that improves the accuracy of boundary extraction and minimizes the offset of the area error. In this method, all point clouds are first projected onto the fitting plane using the random sample consensus (RANSAC) method. An improved point cloud boundary extraction algorithm is used to triangulate and extract the high-precision ski-track boundary. A discrete Green formula is then used to calculate and count the ski track’s exact area. It is demonstrated through five sets of test experiments that the error offset of the method proposed in this paper is smaller than that of other classical methods, which confirms its benefits and feasibility.
Hilbert–Huang-Transform-Based Seismic Intensity Measures for Rocking Response Assessment
Authors: Bantilas Kosmas E. , Kavvadias Ioannis E. , Tyrtaiou Magdalini , Elenas Anaxagoras
Published: January 2023

Structures that can uplift and rock under severe seismic excitations present remarkable stability without exhibiting damage. As such, rocking-response-based structural systems constitute a promising design practice. Due to the high nonlinearity of the rocking response, the seismic performance of this class of structures should be evaluated probabilistically. From this point of view, in the present study, the performance of 12 novel HHT-based intensity measures (IMs) in describing the seismic behavior of typical rocking viaducts was assessed based on optimal IM selection criteria. To this end, a comparative evaluation of the performance between the proposed and 26 well-known conventional IMs was presented. Moreover, bivariate IMs were also considered, and seismic fragilities were provided. Finally, the classification of the seismic response was conducted using discriminant analysis, resulting in a reliable and rapid estimation of the maximum seismic demand. Based on the results, it is evident that HHT-based IMs result in an enhanced estimation of the seismic performance of the examined structural system.
Distribution Law of the Initial Temperature Field in a Railway Tunnel with High Rock Temperature: A Model Test and Numerical Analysis
Authors: Sun Shoubang , Yan Songhong , Cao Xiaoping , Zhang Wei
Published: January 2023

The distribution of the initial temperature field of a high-rock-temperature tunnel is critical for determining the tunnel line and the construction scheme. This study used model testing, numerical analysis, and field measurement to investigate the initial temperature field distribution of a tunnel with high rock temperatures. A model test system was developed, and the experimental results show that the boundary conditions set by the model are reasonable. The results show that the temperature along the tunnel line is high in the middle and low at both ends. Obviously, the periodic boundary conditions have a significant influence on the temperature field distribution. Then, the corresponding two-dimensional unsteady numerical model is established, and the numerical model is verified by the model test. Next, the numerical model is applied to the actual Jiwoxiga tunnel, which is a high-rock-temperature tunnel. The results show that the maximum ground temperature in the direction of the Jiwoxiga tunnel line is 52.5 °C, the tunnel lengths with ground temperatures above 28 °C account for 96.25% of the total tunnel length, and the tunnel length with a ground temperature above 45 °C comes to nearly 1200 m. In addition, this result is also verified by the field drilling data and field-measured data after excavation. The effectiveness and accuracy of the numerical model are fully demonstrated. This study provides theoretical support for the design and construction of high rock temperature tunnels.
Research on Image Measurement Method of Flat Parts Based on the Adaptive Chord Inclination Angle Algorithm
Authors: Liu Tao , Lv Xingchen , Jin Min
Published: January 2023

To accurately measure the critical dimensions of flat parts using machine vision, an inspection method based on the adaptive chord inclination angle progressively screening the segmentation points of graphic elements was proposed in this study. The method doubled the size of the part image using bicubic interpolation, extracted the single-pixel contour with more detailed information, and designed an adaptive step size to obtain the front and back chord inclination angles of the contour. The method of complementing the front and back chord inclination angles was employed to avoid the negative effects of contour jaggedness, thereby obtaining the contour segmentation points after the initial screening. The segmentation points obtained in the initial sieving were divided into different point clusters according to the distance, and the contour, which was segmented by two segmentation points in different point clusters, was fitted using the least squares. The fitting results were evaluated, and all the fitting results were selected using the improved non-maximum suppression (NMS) algorithm to obtain the precisely selected segmentation points of the graphic elements. Consequently, the segmented individual graphic elements were fitted with the segmentation points as constraints to obtain the key dimensions of the closed part. The developed method could accurately find the contour segmentation points, and the relative error was less than 0.6%.
Solid Waste Management in Peru’s Cities: A Clustering Approach for an Andean District
Authors: Quispe Katherine , Martínez Mayra , da Costa Kleyton , Romero Giron Hilario , Via y Rada Vittes Jose Francisco , Mantari Mincami Lizet Doriela , Hadi Mohamed Mohamed Mehdi , Huamán De La Cruz Alex Rubén , López-Gonzales Javier Linkolk
Published: January 2023

There is a great deficiency in the collection and disposal of solid waste, with a considerable amount disposed of in dumps instead of in landfills. In this sense, the objective of this research is to propose a solid waste mitigation plan through recovery in the District of Santa Rosa, Ayacucho. For this, a solid waste characterization plan was executed in eight days, and through ANOVA it was shown that there is a significant difference in means between business pairs except between a bakery and a hotel. Through clustering, zones A and B are highly correlated, reflecting that the amount of organic waste was greater than inorganic waste. In the organic waste valorization plan, the results through ANOVA indicate a significant difference for monthly and daily averages, and the clustering shows the different behavior of each month, drawing attention to August, concluding that the valorization pilot plan is viable due to the contribution of a large amount of organic solid waste to the valorization plant.
Modelling, Simulation and Performance Validation of the Pneumatic Actuation System of a Rehabilitation Device of the Human Hand Joints
Authors: Filip Ovidiu , Deaconescu Andrea , Deaconescu Tudor
Published: January 2023

The passive mobilization of the hand joints by means of dedicated equipment accelerates patient recovery and decreases significantly the costs of therapy. For this reason, research and development of such equipment is essential. Important reductions in the development cycle duration of such equipment can be achieved by means of a specific technique known as Model-Based Design. Starting from these considerations, this paper puts forward a Model-Based Design approach to the study of a new concept of rehabilitation equipment of the hand joints actuated by a pneumatic muscle. The originality of the paper consists in the MATLAB-based rendering of the functional model of the rehabilitation equipment actuation system and in the presented simulation results. The purpose of this research was to obtain information concerning the behavior of the proposed system and to predict its performance prior to it being built physically. After simulation, the results are compared to the operational performance of the experimental model. The conclusion shows that the proposed operational model describes accurately the actual behavior of the system and can be used for future optimization of the rehabilitation equipment.
Review of Soft Actuators Controlled with Electrical Stimuli: IPMC, DEAP, and MRE
Authors: Bernat Jakub , Gajewski Piotr , Kołota Jakub , Marcinkowska Agnieszka
Published: January 2023

Soft actuators have been developed for a variety of applications, including soft grippers, artificial muscles, wearables, tactile devices, and medical devices. In this review, we will discuss a group of chemical materials and their robotic applications in soft actuators controlled with electrical stimuli. Soft actuators provide a deformable body and allow interaction with the environment to achieve the desired actuation pattern. We will also discuss the principles of operation and functionality and focus on important real-life applications of three groups of soft actuators: ionic polymer–metal composites (IPMCs), dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAPs), and magnetorheological elastomers (MREs). This review article aims to provide researchers interested in the field of soft robotics with a guide to various state-of-the-art chemistry methods used in electrically activated soft actuators, as well as the application areas for such devices.
Automatic Classification of the Severity of Knee Osteoarthritis Using Enhanced Image Sharpening and CNN
Authors: M Ganesh Kumar , Goswami Agam Das
Published: January 2023

Knee osteoarthritis is a significant cause of physical inactivity and disability. Early detection and treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) degeneration can decrease its course. Physicians’ scores may differ significantly amongst interpreters and are greatly influenced by personal experience based solely on visual assessment. Deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) in conjunction with the Kellgren–Lawrence (KL) grading system are used to assess the severity of OA in the knee. Recent research applied for knee osteoarthritis using machine learning and deep learning results are not encouraging. One of the major reasons for this was that the images taken are not pre-processed in the correct way. Hence, feature extraction using deep learning was not great, thus impacting the overall performance of the model. Image sharpening, a type of image filtering, was required to improve image clarity due to noise in knee X-ray images. The assessment used baseline X-ray images from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI). On enhanced images acquired utilizing the image sharpening process, we achieved a mean accuracy of 91.03%, an improvement of 19.03% over the earlier accuracy of 72% by using the original knee X-ray images for the detection of OA with five gradings. The image sharpening method is used to advance knee joint recognition and knee KL grading.
Multi-Hypergraph Neural Networks for Emotion Recognition in Multi-Party Conversations
Authors: Xu Haojie , Zheng Cheng , Zhao Zhuoer , Sun Xiao
Published: January 2023

Emotion recognition in multi-party conversations (ERMC) is becoming increasingly popular as an emerging research topic in natural language processing. Recently, many approaches have been devoted to exploiting inter-dependency and self-dependency among participants. However, these approaches remain inadequate in terms of inter-dependency due to the fact that the effects among speakers are not individually captured. In this paper, we design two hypergraphs to deal with inter-dependency and self-dependency, respectively. To this end, we design a multi-hypergraph neural network for ERMC. In particular, we combine average aggregation and attention aggregation to generate hyperedge features, which can allow utterance information to be better utilized. The experimental results show that our method outperforms multiple baselines, indicating that further exploitation of inter-dependency is of great value for ERMC. In addition, we also achieved good results on the emotional shift issue.
Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Flexural Properties and Damage Behavior of CFRTP/Al Laminates with Different Stacking Sequence
Authors: Gao Shiyi , Hou Wenbin , Xing Jianing , Sang Lin
Published: January 2023

Fiber Metal Laminates (FMLs) are hybrid materials that combine metal components with fiber-reinforced composites. The properties and failure modes of CArbon fiber Reinforced composites/Aluminum Laminates (CARALLs) composed of T700/PA6 unidirectional prepreg and 6061 aluminum alloy were studied using experimental and numerical simulation analysis. Through three-point bending experiments, the bending behavior of CARALLs with different composite/metal layer methods was examined. It was found that FMLs in the 2/1 patch form (one layer of aluminum and two layers of T700/PA6 unidirectional prepreg) show the highest bending modulus and strength compared with other stacking sequences. With the metal volume fraction increased, the bending properties of CARALLs decreased, suggesting the important role of the carbon fiber composite layer in the load-bearing capacity. Lastly, the Linde and Hashin failure criteria were employed to analyze the bending behavior and damage mechanism of CARALLs with different stacking sequences. The simulation results were in good agreement with the experimental results, which provides more insight into the prediction of the bending behavior of CARALLs hybrids.
Influence of Perfluorooctanoic Acid on Structural, Morphological, and Optical Properties of Hybrid Silica Coatings on Glass Substrates
Authors: Purcar Violeta , Rădiţoiu Valentin , Raduly Florentina Monica , Rădiţoiu Alina , Căprărescu Simona , Frone Adriana Nicoleta , Şomoghi Raluca , Anastasescu Mihai , Stroescu Hermine , Nicolae Cristian-Andi
Published: January 2023

In recent years, various coatings based on fluorinated materials, used in a commercial application, have been created through many preparation routes. However, the techniques utilized to realize these coatings required either expensive and complex equipment, imply multiple manufacturing steps, or are time- or cost-consuming. In this paper, the major target was to develop fluorinated hybrid coatings presenting sustainable hydrophobicity and good transparency simultaneously. The sol–gel method was proposed to obtain these fluorinated hybrid coatings because it does not require expensive equipment, or the existence of stabilizing agents that reduce the storage period, it consumes less energy, and it is easy to implement. The influence of perfluorooctanoic acid, utilized in the sol–gel processing of hybrid silica materials, on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of coatings deposited on glass substrates, was evaluated. Different silane precursors (tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), triethoxymethylsilane (MTES), and trimethoxyhexadecylsilane (HDTMES)) were utilized to synthesize hybrid silica materials. The properties of the obtained materials were characterized by FTIR, UV–Vis, TEM, TGA, AFM, Ellipsometry, and Contact Angle analyses. FTIR spectroscopy shows the formation of a silica network tailored with organofunctional and fluoroalkyl groups. The fluorinated silica coatings presented smooth surfaces and good transparency, with a transmittance of ~90% in the visible range. It was found that the fluorinated silica materials improved the coating’s hydrophobicity (~110° in contact angle with water). These fluorinated silica materials can create multifunctional structures with antireflective and hydrophobic coatings for possible optical devices.
Paper Tissue Softness Rating by Acoustic Emission Analysis
Authors: Kraljevski Ivan , Duckhorn Frank , Tschöpe Constanze , Schubert Frank , Wolff Matthias
Published: January 2023

Softness is one of the essential properties of hygiene tissue products. Reliably measuring it is of utmost importance to ensure the balance between customer expectations and cost-effective tissue production. This study presents a method for assessing softness by analyzing acoustic emissions produced while tearing a tissue specimen. The aim was to train neural network models using the corrected results of human panel tests as the ground truth labels and to predict the tissue softness in two- and three-class recognition tasks. We also investigate the possibility of predicting some production parameters related to the softness property. The results proved that tissue softness and production parameters could be reliably estimated only by the tearing noise.
First Theoretical Realization of a Stable Two-Dimensional Boron Fullerene Network
Authors: Mortazavi Bohayra
Published: January 2023

Successful experimental realizations of two-dimensional (2D) C60 fullerene networks have been among the most exciting latest advances in the rapidly growing field of 2D materials. In this short communication, on the basis of the experimentally synthesized full boron B40 fullerene lattice, and by structural minimizations of extensive atomic configurations via density functional theory calculations, we could, for the first time, predict a stable B40 fullerene 2D network, which shows an isotropic structure. Acquired results confirm that the herein predicted B40 fullerene network is energetically and dynamically stable and also exhibits an appealing thermal stability. The elastic modulus and tensile strength are estimated to be 125 and 7.8 N/m, respectively, revealing strong bonding interactions in the predicted nanoporous nanosheet. Electronic structure calculations reveal metallic character and the possibility of a narrow and direct band gap opening by applying the uniaxial loading. This study introduces the first boron fullerene 2D nanoporous network with an isotropic lattice, remarkable stability, and a bright prospect for the experimental realization.
Research on Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Sensorless Control System Based on Integral Backstepping Controller and Enhanced Linear Extended State Observer
Authors: Shao Lihuan , Zheng Changfeng , Zhang Yan , Xie Guanling , Hao Xiyu , Zheng Xiaolong
Published: January 2023

The traditional sensorless control system of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) has the problems of low estimation accuracy and poor anti-interference ability. Moreover, the position estimation performance is subjected to position harmonic ripples caused by inverter nonlinearities and flux spatial harmonics. To optimize the dynamic performance of the PMSM sensorless control system, this paper proposes a sensorless control scheme that combines integral backstepping control with enhanced linear extended state observer (ELESO). The ELESO consists of two linear extended state observers (LESOs), which estimate the internal and external disturbances of the system, to improve the estimation accuracy of rotor position. Then, the integral backstepping controller processes the estimated rotor position and speed information to obtain d and q-axis voltages. The sensorless control scheme is implemented in the Matlab/Simulink and verified by experiments. The simulation and experiment show that the scheme can effectively suppress load interference and improve control accuracy.
A Review of the High-Mix, Low-Volume Manufacturing Industry
Authors: Gan Zhi Lon , Musa Siti Nurmaya , Yap Hwa Jen
Published: January 2023

The high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) industry has seen growth in the need for product customisation with research to increase manufacturers’ flexibility for the variation in market demands. This paper reviews 152 documents from 2000 to October 2022, discussing work related to HMLV production. From an industrial perspective, this paper analyses the industries with HMLV, revealing production sectors and research areas, categorising the developed work, type of validation, and applications. The results show that most work is not industry-specific, with production planning as the central aspect of the research. While other parts of the production processes and value chain received less attention, the semiconductor and electronics industries are the two most researched with substantial validation, leaving gaps in other industries. Earlier work primarily focused on the theoretical development of production planning; however, the development of Industry 4.0 technologies advocates decision support systems for reactive production planning. This period sees the rise in robotics and automation, with improved robotics capability and human—robot collaboration. Assembly assistance systems were developed for manual production to aid operators in managing the variety of information. This paper serves as a reference for the HMLV manufacturing industry in a structured manner while identifying potential for future research in this field.
Study on Energy Evolution and Damage Constitutive Model of Sandstone under Cyclic Loading and Unloading
Authors: Luo Ji’an , Wang Liangliang
Published: January 2023

In order to strengthen disaster prevention control under deep resource development and space utilization, it is necessary to construct a damage intrinsic model under complex stress states to predict the mechanical behavior of deep-rock mass under cyclic loading. An indoor uniaxial cyclic loading test on sandstone was carried out in this paper. By analyzing the mechanical properties and energy transformation of the failure process, it was assumed that the failure of rock micro-units follows a Weibull density function, and the damage intrinsic relationship was constructed using the Mogi–Coulomb strength criterion. The constitutive rationality was verified via the nonlinear fitting of the experimental curve and theoretical curve, and the model parameters were analyzed. This study indicates that the cyclic loading procedure has a strengthening effect on the elastic modulus. The brittleness of the rock increases with the cycle amplitude, the axial strain accumulates continuously, and the hysteresis loop area increases gradually and moves to the right. The energy conversion of the loading process is mainly split into the energy storage phase before the damage and the release phase at the time of damage, and the dissipation energy percentage curve shows the groove evolution law. The damage intrinsic model based on the Mogi–Coulomb strength criterion accurately reflects the ontological relationship of sandstone under cyclic loading, and the model parameters have clear physical significance. This study has important theoretical and engineering meaning for predicting the deformation and destruction of rocks.
A Corpus-Based Word Classification Method for Detecting Difficulty Level of English Proficiency Tests
Authors: Chen Liang-Ching , Chang Kuei-Hu , Yang Shu-Ching , Chen Shin-Chi
Published: January 2023

Many education systems globally adopt an English proficiency test (EPT) as an effective mechanism to evaluate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) speakers’ comprehension levels. Similarly, Taiwan’s military academy also developed the Military Online English Proficiency Test (MOEPT) to assess EFL cadets’ English comprehension levels. However, the difficulty level of MOEPT has not been detected to help facilitate future updates of its test banks and improve EFL pedagogy and learning. Moreover, it is almost impossible to carry out any investigation effectively using previous corpus-based approaches. Hence, based on the lexical threshold theory, this research adopts a corpus-based approach to detect the difficulty level of MOEPT. The function word list and Taiwan College Entrance Examination Center (TCEEC) word list (which includes Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) A2 and B1 level word lists) are adopted as the word classification criteria to classify the lexical items. The results show that the difficulty level of MOEPT is mainly the English for General Purposes (EGP) type of CEFR A2 level (lexical coverage = 74.46%). The findings presented in this paper offer implications for the academy management or faculty to regulate the difficulty and contents of MOEPT in the future, to effectively develop suitable EFL curriculums and learning materials, and to conduct remedial teaching for cadets who cannot pass MOEPT. By doing so, it is expected the overall English comprehension level of EFL cadets is expected to improve.
Inter-Session Repeatability of Marker-Less Motion Capture of Treadmill Running Gait
Authors: Moran Matthew F. , Rogler Isabella C. , Wager Justin C.
Published: January 2023

Twenty-one experienced runners completed three treadmill running sessions on different days. Each session consisted of three consecutive 2 min trials at self-selected speeds (RPE = 3, 5, and 7). An eight-camera marker-less motion capture system and instrumented pressure treadmill (TM) collected data over the final ~25 s at each speed. Lower extremity joint angles (ankle, knee, and hip) and segmental angles (pelvis and trunk) were computed for each trial with foot contact and toe off being kinematically determined. Spatiotemporal metrics (ground contact time, step length, and cadence) were measured via TM and compared to their kinematically derived counterparts. All spatiotemporal metrics demonstrated excellent agreement (ICCs > 0.98). Both intra-trial and inter-session variability, averaged across the entire running cycle, for all lower extremity joint angles in all planes were low (intra-trial: sagittal = 2.0°, frontal = 1.2°, and transverse = 1.9°; inter-session: sagittal = 1.4°, frontal = 0.8°, and transverse = 1.3°). Discrete measures of lower extremity joint and segmental angles were evaluated for inter-session reliability at foot contact, toe off, and peak value during the stance phase. On average, discrete measures demonstrated good reliability (ICCsagittal = 0.85, ICCfrontal = 0.83, and ICCtransverse = 0.77) with average standard error of measurement < 1°. Marker-less motion capture reliably measured treadmill running kinematics in a group of runners demonstrating heterogenous foot strike patterns (13 rearfoot strike and 8 non-rearfoot strike) across a range of speeds (2.67–4.44 m/s).
Numerical Study of the Flow of Pollutants during Air Purification, Taking into Account the Use of Eco-Friendly Material for the Filter—Mycelium
Authors: Vaišis Vaidotas , Chlebnikovas Aleksandras , Jasevičius Raimondas
Published: January 2023

To improve air quality, it is customary to apply technological measures to isolate or retain pollutants by influencing the polluted stream in various ways to effectively remove the pollutants. One of the most commonly used measures is a filter, in which the air flow passes through a porous aggregate. A variety of filter materials allows very selective and precise cleaning of the air flow in non-standard or even aggressive microclimate conditions. In this paper, the environmental aspect of the used materials is discussed, and a theoretical model of an adapted mycelium is proposed as an alternative to the use of filter materials to predict air flow purification. In the created numerical model of an idealized filter, several cases are considered when the pore size of the mycelial fillers reaches 1.0, 0.5 and 0.1 mm, and the feed flow velocity reaches 1–5 m/s. Moreover, in the mycelium itself, the flow velocity can decrease and approach the wall to a value of 0.3 m/s, which is estimated for additional numerical studies of interaction with the surface. These preliminary studies are aimed at establishing indicative theoretical parameters for favorable air flow movement in the structure of the mycelium.
Extended State Observer-Based Adaptive Neural Networks Backstepping Control for Pneumatic Active Suspension with Prescribed Performance Constraint
Authors: Ho Cong Minh , Ahn Kyoung Kwan
Published: January 2023

Pneumatic actuator is one of the key technologies in the field of active suspension due to its low cost, cleanliness, and high power-to-weight ratio characteristics. However, the dynamic models and control strategies of the pneumatic suspension have not been well demonstrated because they are nonlinear systems. Besides, the vertical displacement stability of sprung mass is very important for ensuring ride comfort, but accurate control is still a challenging problem in the presence of parametric uncertainties. In this study, an adaptive neural networks backstepping scheme is designed for the stability control of the pneumatic suspension. Firstly, a mathematical model of the pneumatic system is studied to investigate the dynamic system behavior and to obtain the control algorithm. Secondly, an extended state observer is applied to estimate uncertain parameters, unmodeled dynamics, and external disturbances. Thirdly, unknown masses of various load passengers are approximated by using radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs). To enhance the system stability, a proposed control with a prescribed performance function (PPF) is designed to guarantee the vertical displacement of the chassis. Adaptive backstepping control with PPF is developed to stabilize the perturbed system and guarantee tracking performance. Finally, the simulation examples for the pneumatic suspension are employed to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Prediction of Pre- and Post-Breakage Behavior of Laminated Glass Using a Phase-Field Damage Model
Authors: Schmidt Jaroslav , Janda Tomáš , Šejnoha Michal
Published: January 2023

Laminated glass composed of several layers of glass plies bonded to a polymer interlayer enjoys ever growing interest in modern architecture. Being often used in impact protection designs requires understanding of both pre- and post-breakage behavior of these structures. This paper contributes to this subject by examining an application of an explicit phase field dynamic model to the description of fracture in a laminated glass subjected to a low velocity impact. The achieved results indicate the ability of the proposed model to successfully describe the onset of damage and subsequent crack propagation. It has, however, been observed that a relatively fine mesh is needed to interpolate a sharp discontinuity accurately, which makes this approach computationally demanding. The model is first validated against experimental results obtained for a single-layer float glass. Next, the usability of the phase-field damage model as a crack predictor in individual layers of the composite is investigated. The dependence of the results on residual stiffness, element type, and initial tensile strength is examined and discussed.
T-Splines for Isogeometric Analysis of the Large Deformation of Elastoplastic Kirchhoff–Love Shells
Authors: Guo Mayi , Wang Wei , Zhao Gang , Du Xiaoxiao , Zhang Ran , Yang Jiaming
Published: January 2023

In this paper, we develop a T-spline-based isogeometric method for the large deformation of Kirchhoff–Love shells considering highly nonlinear elastoplastic materials. The adaptive refinement is implemented, and some relatively complex models are considered by utilizing the superiorities of T-splines. A classical finite strain plastic model combining von Mises yield criteria and the principle of maximum plastic dissipation is carefully explored in the derivation of discrete isogeometric formulations under the total Lagrangian framework. The Bézier extraction scheme is embedded into a unified framework converting T-spline or NURBS models into Bézier meshes for isogeometric analysis. An a posteriori error estimator is established and used to guide the local refinement of T-spline models. Both standard T-splines with T-junctions and unstructured T-splines with extraordinary points are investigated in the examples. The obtained results are compared with existing solutions and those of ABAQUS. The numerical results confirm that the adaptive refinement strategy with T-splines could improve the convergence behaviors when compared with the uniform refinement strategy.
Adaptive Multi-Channel Residual Shrinkage Networks for the Diagnosis of Multi-Fault Gearbox
Authors: Chen Wenxian , Sun Kuangchi , Li Xinxin , Xiao Yanan , Xiang Jiangshu , Mao Hanling
Published: January 2023

Intelligent fault diagnosis is a hot research topic in machinery and equipment health monitoring. However, most intelligent fault diagnosis models have good performance in single fault mode, but poor performance in multiple fault modes. In real industrial scenarios, the interference of noise also makes it difficult for intelligent diagnostic models to extract fault features. To solve these problems, an adaptive multi-channel residual shrinkage network (AMC-RSN) is proposed in this paper. First, a channel attention mechanism module is constructed in the residual block and a soft thresholding function is introduced for noise reduction. Then, an adaptive multi-channel network is constructed to fuse the feature information of each channel in order to extract as many features as possible. Finally, the Meta-ACON activation function is used before the fully connected layer to decide whether to activate the neurons by the model outputs. The method was implemented in gearbox fault diagnosis, and the experimental results show that AMC-RSN has better diagnostic results than other networks under various faults and strong noises.
Neutronics Assessment of the Spatial Distributions of the Nuclear Loads on the DEMO Divertor ITER-like Targets: Comparison between the WCLL and HCPB Blanket
Authors: Noce Simone , Flammini Davide , Gaudio Pasqualino , Gelfusa Michela , Mazzone Giuseppe , Moro Fabio , Romanelli Francesco , Villari Rosaria , You Jeong-Ha
Published: January 2023

The Plasma Facing Components (PFCs) of the divertor target contribute to the fundamental functions of heat removal and particle exhaust during fusion operation, being subjected to a very hostile and complex loading environment characterized by intense particles bombardment, high heat fluxes (HHF), varying stresses loads and a significant neutron irradiation. The development of a well-designed divertor target, which represents a crucial step in the realization of DEMO, needs the assessment of all these loads as accurately as possible, to provide pivotal data and indications for the design and structural performance prediction of the PFCs. In a particular way, this study is fully devoted to the comprehension of the distributions on the divertor target of the main nuclear loads due to neutron irradiation, performed for the first time using an extremely detailed approach. This work has been carried-out considering the latest configuration of the DEMO reactor, including the updated design of the divertor and ITER-Like PFCs geometry, varying the blanket layout (Water Cooled Lithium Lead—WCLL and Helium Cooled Pebble Bed—HCPB), thus evaluating the impact of the different blanket concept on the above-mentioned distributions. Neutronics analyses have been performed with MCNP5 Monte Carlo code and JEFF3.3 nuclear data libraries. 3D DEMO MCNP models have been created, focusing in particular on a thorough representation of the divertor and PFCs, allowing for the assessment of the distributions of the main nuclear loads: radiation damage (dpa/FPY), He-production rate (appm/FPY) and nuclear heating density (W/cm3) and total nuclear power deposition (MW). These results are presented by means of 2D maps and plots for each PFCs sub-component both for WCLL and HCPB blanket case: W-monoblocks, Cu-interlayers\CuCrZr-pipe and PFC-CB (Cassette Body) supports made of Eurofer steel.
Robust Design of Deep Drawing Process through In-Line Feedback Control of the Draw-In
Authors: Tricarico Luigi , Palmieri Maria Emanuela
Published: January 2023

In the deep drawing process, the scatter of the friction coefficient between blank and tool interfaces as well as of the material properties between blank positions in the coil or between different coils significantly influences the part quality. These uncontrollable fluctuations increase the risk of waste. To avoid this problem, currently, the new era of Industry 4.0 aims at developing control algorithms able to in-line adjust process parameters and always meet the part quality requirements. Starting from this context, in this study a method for process control during the punch stroke is proposed. It assumes the blank draw-in in specific points as the control variable, while the blank holder force is adopted as an in-line adjustable process parameter. The approach was implemented for the deep drawing of a T-shaped component, using a blank in DC05 steel with a thickness of 0.75 mm. The results show that the measurement of blank draw-in is a representative index of the component quality, which in this study is evaluated in terms of formability (thinning) and cosmetic (surface deflections) defects. Once the optimal condition and the corresponding blank draw-in were identified, the feedback control algorithm was able to increase or reduce the blank holder force according to whether the recorded draw-in was higher or lower than the optimal one.
Modelling and Managing “Station-Sequence” Parts Feeding in the I4.0 Era: A Simulation Approach for In-Plant Logistics
Authors: Faccio Maurizio , Granata Irene , Maretto Leonardo
Published: January 2023

Parts feeding is a complex logistic problem that is further complicated by the market demand for more product variety, which forces companies and manufacturers to adopt the mixed model approach in their assembly systems. Among the parts feeding policies for mixed-model assembly systems, there is the so-called “station-sequence” policy, where stationary kits are prepared using sequences of parts that follow the sequence of the production models. This policy can reduce stocks at the assembly stations but can also lead to potential production stops due to its low robustness. The aim of this paper is to study the station-sequence parts feeding policy, focusing on its dynamic time dependence and analyzing the effects of time and model mix perturbations on the performance of the assembly system. The study was conducted through a simulation model and a statistical analysis. The final discussion also provides a set of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) enabled solutions that are able to address the negative effect of variability on the performance of the system.