bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Emitter Location Using Frequency Difference of Arrival Measurements Only
Authors: Khalaf-Allah Mohamed
Published: December 2022

It is desirable to enable emitter location using frequency difference of arrival (FDoA) measurements only, since many signals are characterized by coarse range resolution and fine Doppler resolution. For instance, while using the cross-ambiguity function (CAF) to measure the time difference of arrival (TDoA) and the FDoA of a narrowband signal, it is difficult to obtain accurate TDoA measurements because the Doppler resolution is higher than the range resolution. Grid-based and sample-based algorithms are developed to solve the two-dimensional (2D) emitter location problem, where the solution space is approximated, respectively, by generating deterministic and random emitter location candidates. Simulation results corroborate the viability of both non-iterative algorithms to estimate the emitter location using a single-time snapshot of FDoA measurements only, without any prior location information or any knowledge about the distribution of measurement errors. The achieved accuracies are sufficient for early warning purposes, preparing defenses, and cueing more accurate location sensors by directing additional surveillance resources.
Unsupervised Monocular Visual Odometry for Fast-Moving Scenes Based on Optical Flow Network with Feature Point Matching Constraint
Authors: Zhuang Yuji , Jiang Xiaoyan , Gao Yongbin , Fang Zhijun , Fujita Hamido
Published: December 2022

Robust and accurate visual feature tracking is essential for good pose estimation in visual odometry. However, in fast-moving scenes, feature point extraction and matching are unstable because of blurred images and large image disparity. In this paper, we propose an unsupervised monocular visual odometry framework based on a fusion of features extracted from two sources, that is, the optical flow network and the traditional point feature extractor. In the training process, point features are generated for scene images and the outliers of matched point pairs are filtered by FlannMatch. Meanwhile, the optical flow network constrained by the principle of forward–backward flow consistency is used to select another group of corresponding point pairs. The Euclidean distance between the matching points found by FlannMatch and the corresponding point pairs by the flow network is added to the loss function of the flow network. Compared with SURF, the trained flow network shows more robust performance in complicated fast-motion scenarios. Furthermore, we propose the AvgFlow estimation module, which selects one group of the matched point pairs generated by the two methods according to the scene motion. The camera pose is then recovered by Perspective-n-Point (PnP) or the epipolar geometry. Experiments conducted on the KITTI Odometry dataset verify the effectiveness of the trajectory estimation of our approach, especially in fast-moving scenarios.
Cooperative Power-Domain NOMA Systems: An Overview
Authors: Ghous Mujtaba , Hassan Ahmad Kamal , Abbas Ziaul Haq , Abbas Ghulam , Hussien Aseel , Baker Thar
Published: December 2022

Interference has been a key roadblock against the effectively deployment of applications for end-users in wireless networks including fifth-generation (5G) and beyond fifth-generation (B5G) networks. Protocols and standards for various communication types have been established and utilised by the community in the last few years. However, interference remains a key challenge, preventing end-users from receiving the quality of service (QoS) expected for many 5G applications. The increased need for better data rates and more exposure to multimedia information lead to a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme that aims to enhance spectral efficiency and link additional applications employing successive interference cancellation and superposition coding mechanisms. Recent work suggests that the NOMA scheme performs better when combined with suitable wireless technologies specifically by incorporating antenna diversity including massive multiple-input multiple-output architecture, data rate fairness, energy efficiency, cooperative relaying, beamforming and equalization, network coding, and space–time coding. In this paper, we discuss several cooperative NOMA systems operating under the decode-and-forward and amplify-and-forward protocols. The paper provides an overview of power-domain NOMA-based cooperative communication, and also provides an outlook of future research directions of this area.
Dynamic Sub-Swarm Approach of PSO Algorithms for Text Document Clustering
Authors: Selvaraj Suganya , Choi Eunmi
Published: December 2022

Text document clustering is one of the data mining techniques used in many real-world applications such as information retrieval from IoT Sensors data, duplicate content detection, and document organization. Swarm intelligence (SI) algorithms are suitable for solving complex text document clustering problems compared to traditional clustering algorithms. The previous studies show that in SI algorithms, particle swarm optimization (PSO) provides an effective solution to text document clustering problems. This PSO still needs to be improved to avoid the problems such as premature convergence to local optima. In this paper, an approach called dynamic sub-swarm of PSO (subswarm-PSO) is proposed to improve the results of PSO for text document clustering problems and avoid the local optimum by improving the global search capabilities of PSO. The results of this proposed approach were compared with the standard PSO algorithm and K-means algorithm. As for performance assurance, the evaluation metric purity is used with six benchmark data sets. The experimental results of this study show that our proposed subswarm-PSO algorithm performs best with high purity comparing the standard PSO and K-means traditional algorithms and also the execution time of subswarm-PSO comparatively takes a little less than the standard PSO algorithm.
Single-Channel Blind Signal Separation of the MHD Linear Vibration Sensor Based on Singular Spectrum Analysis and Fast Independent Component Analysis
Authors: Xu Mengjie , Wang Jianhan , Mo Jiahui , Li Xingfei , Yang Lei , Ji Feng
Published: December 2022

An MHD vibration sensor, as a new type of sensor used for vibration measurements, meets the technical requirements for the low-noisy measurement of acceleration, velocity, and micro-vibration in spacecraft during their development, launch, and orbit operations. A linear vibration sensor with a runway type based on MHD was independently developed by a laboratory. In a practical test, its output signal was mixed with a large amount of noise, in which the continuous narrowband interference was particularly prominent, resulting in the inability to efficiently carry out the real-time detection of micro-vibration. Considering the high interference of narrowband noise in linear vibration signals, a single-channel blind signal separation method based on SSA and FastICA is proposed in this study, which provides a new strategy for linear vibration signals. Firstly, the singular spectrum of the linear vibration signal with noise was analyzed to suppress the narrowband interference in the collected signal. Then, a FastICA algorithm was used to separate the independent signal source. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively separate the useful linear vibration signals from the collected signals with low SNR, which is suitable for the separation of the MHD linear vibration sensor and other vibration measurement sensors. Compared with EEMD, VMD, and wavelet threshold denoising, the SNR of the separated signal is increased by 10 times on average. Through the verification of the actual acquisition of the linear vibration signal, this method has a good denoising effect.
Medium- and High-Pressure Integrated Chromatographic Strategies for the Isolation and Purification of Free Radical Inhibitors from Dracocephalum heterophyllum
Authors: Lv Yue , Wang Ze , Wang Qilan , Dang Jun
Published: December 2022

Dracocephalum heterophyllum has been reported as a traditional Tibetan medicine with diverse therapeutic benefits for the effective treatment of various diseases. However, only a few reports on its free radical inhibitors are limited due to its complex chemical composition and difficult isolation and purification processes. In this study, five free radical inhibitors are isolated by an integrated chromatographic method from Dracocephalum heterophyllum, followed by an investigation of the in vitro antioxidant activity utilizing 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Medium-pressure liquid chromatography was used for the pretreatment of the crude extract of Dracocephalum heterophyllum and targeted separation and purification of the free radical inhibitors using high-pressure liquid chromatography; the antioxidant peaks are recognized by the separation and purification process in combination with an online HPLC-DPPH system. Five free radical inhibitors with purity higher than 95% were obtained, namely xanthotoxol, 5-hydroxy-8-methoxypsoralen, luteolin, methyl rosmarinate, and ethyl rosmarinate. Finally, DPPH assays are performed, and their IC50 values for isolated compounds are 250.39 ± 13.32 μM, 26.91 ± 1.93 μM, 66.87 ± 14.33 μM, 21.99 ± 3.17 μM, and 36.96 ± 1.72 μM, respectively. This method is effective in isolating free radical inhibitors from Dracocephalum heterophyllum, and it has the potential to be adopted for the isolation of antioxidants from other plants of medicinal value as well.
Microbial Community Investigation of Wild Brambles with Root Nodulation from a Calcareous Nitrogen-Deficient Soil
Authors: Farda Beatrice , Mattedi Alessandro , Djebaili Rihab , Pace Loretta , Del Gallo Maddalena , Pellegrini Marika
Published: December 2022

This study examines culturable diazotrophs and non-culturable bacteria found in the rhizospheres and root pseudonodules of wild blackberry plants (Rubus ulmifolius) that dwell on an unmanaged calcareous nitrogen-deficient soil. The DNA was extracted from the nodules and rhizospheres, and 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding was carried out. The metagenome functions were predicted with bioinformatic approaches. The soil samples were analyzed for the physico-chemical properties. The culturable diazotrophs were isolated and evaluated for the biochemical and plant growth-promoting properties. The soil was classified as nutrient-depleted calcareous soil. The microbial communities of the nodules and rhizospheres showed marked differences. The Pseudomonadota was the nodules’ dominant phyla (90%), while the Actinobacteriota was the most abundant (63%) in the rhizospheres. Stenotrophomonas was the dominant genus (55%) in the nodules, while the Streptomyces genus was widely present (39%) in the rhizospheres. The differences among the nodule and rhizosphere microbial communities were also highlighted by the metagenome function predictions. The gene copies (KOs) revealed the most interesting findings. Similar KOs involved in the nitrogen fixation were found to be similar in terms of the nodules and rhizospheres. However, the nitrate reduction was higher in the rhizosphere, while the denitrification was more prominent in the nodules. Nine diazotrophs were isolated from the nodules and rhizospheres. The plant growth promoting traits’ characterization has shown the interesting potential of the isolates in improving the acquisition of nutrients in plants, promoting their growth, and tolerating stress. Based on interesting biochemical and plant growth-promoting traits, the isolate N2A was further characterized and identified as Pantoea agglomerans.
Single and Especially Multisport Participation May Increase Physical Fitness in Younger Americans
Authors: Linker Jenny , Strand Bradford , Deutsch Joe , Kang Seungmin , Slater Kelsey , Driscoll Alaina , McGrath Ryan
Published: December 2022

Background: We sought to examine the associations between sports participation and physical fitness in younger Americans. Methods: The analytic sample included 1108 Americans aged 6–15 years. Muscular fitness assessments included handgrip strength, leg extension strength, and plank position. Cardiorespiratory fitness was examined with graded treadmill tests. Results: Youth participating in any sports had increased physical fitness performance for each marker: 1.63 kg (CI: 0.91–2.35) for handgrip strength, 6.23 kg (CI: 3.15–9.32) for leg extension strength, 9.41 lbs. (CI: 4.51–14.31) for plank position held, and 3.02 mL/kg/min (CI: 1.23–4.80) for estimated maximal oxygen uptake. Participants engaging in a single sport had increased performance for most fitness markers: 1.52 kg (CI: 0.67–2.38) for handgrip strength, 5.16 kg (CI: 1.50–8.82) for leg extension strength, 5.98 s (CI: 0.17–11.78) for plank position held, and 2.67 mL/kg/min (CI: 0.58–4.77) for estimated maximal oxygen uptake. Youth engaging in multiple sports exhibited even steeper trends: 1.77 kg (CI: 0.83–2.70) for handgrip strength, 7.63 kg (CI: 3.62–11.65) for leg extension strength, 13.89 s (CI: 7.52–20.27) for plank position held, and 3.50 mL/kg/min (CI: 1.15–5.85) for estimated maximal oxygen uptake. Conclusions: Any sports participation, including single and multiple sports, is linked to increased physical fitness in American youth.
Mechanisms of Stress Tolerance in Cyanobacteria under Extreme Conditions
Authors: Yadav Priya , Singh Rahul Prasad , Rana Shashank , Joshi Diksha , Kumar Dharmendra , Bhardwaj Nikunj , Gupta Rajan Kumar , Kumar Ajay
Published: December 2022

Cyanobacteria are oxygen-evolving photoautotrophs with worldwide distribution in every possible habitat, and they account for half of the global primary productivity. Because of their ability to thrive in a hostile environment, cyanobacteria are categorized as “extremophiles”. They have evolved a fascinating repository of distinct secondary metabolites and biomolecules to promote their development and survival in various habitats, including severe conditions. However, developing new proteins/enzymes and metabolites is mostly directed by an appropriate gene regulation system that results in stress adaptations. However, only few proteins have been characterized to date that have the potential to improve resistance against abiotic stresses. As a result, studying environmental stress responses to post-genomic analysis, such as proteome changes using latest structural proteomics and synthetic biology techniques, is critical. In this regard, scientists working on these topics will benefit greatly from the stress of proteomics research. Progress in these disciplines will aid in understanding cyanobacteria’s physiology, biochemical, and metabolic systems. This review summarizes the most recent key findings of cyanobacterial proteome study under various abiotic stresses and the application of secondary metabolites formed during different abiotic conditions.
What Prevents Sustainable Last-Mile Delivery in Industry 4.0? An Analysis and Decision Framework
Authors: Sharma Vijay Prakash , Prakash Surya , Singh Ranbir
Published: December 2022

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) has revolutionized every sector in the last decade. A huge demand has been created in the supply chain for doorstep delivery services. However, many barriers are hindering the progression of I4.0 implementation to last-mile delivery (LMD) operations. In this study, these hindrances need investigation for improving customer satisfaction levels in LMD. The present research is focused on analyzing barriers to adopting I4.0 technologies for sustainable smart supply chains with a special focus on LMD operations. The published literature is critically investigated to determine the crucial factors which are acting as barriers to I4.0 implementation in LMD. The interpretive structure modeling (ISM) approach is adopted to evaluate different levels with their hierarchal order for analyzing the I4.0 barriers to digitalized logistic networks. Delivery capacity emerged as the major barrier to LMD operational networks due to insufficient technological and hardware support for I4.0 cyber-physical systems in logistics. Infrastructure for I4.0 emerged as the most basic requirement for the smart logistics management criteria for efficient LMD. The need to adopt I4.0 technologies for developing inventory hubs and warehouse management has evolved recently. There is scope for customized and specific case studies for the supply chain to achieve a higher level of sustainability. A conceptual framework for a smart and sustainable supply chain is presented and future directions for sustainable LMD are discussed.
Improvement of Emergency Situation Management through an Integrated System Using Mobile Alerts
Authors: Repanovici Raluca Maria , Nedelcu Șerban , Tarbă Lucian Alexandru , Busuioceanu Steliana
Published: December 2022

The capacity to act as quickly as possible in the event of an emergency is a major concern for all those involved in providing first aid. Responses in due time are crucial for efficient alarm and event management. Currently, in most systems, notifications regarding alarms and events are sent to a list of recipients. The recipients can be operators, workstations, and/or formations. For a more effective response, it would be advantageous for an alarm or event to be announced to the operators, workstations, and/or the mobile formations closest to the location where the alarm or event occurred. The authors present an innovative solution—an integrated system consisting of a mobile application intended for users and a web application for dispatchers—which aims to reduce the response time and to facilitate the identification of the emergency situation. The proposed applications are validated through usability tests, the results of which demonstrate the ease of use and acceptance of the application by users and dispatchers. It is shown that this tool can have benefits at a large scale, but depends on the involvement of governmental decision-makers for implementation.
The Distribution of Metallic Elements among Humus Substances in Soil from Volcanic Rocks
Authors: Feszterová Melánia , Hudec Michal
Published: December 2022

The ability of humus substances to form stable complexes with inorganic and organic soil constituents plays a vital role in the generation of environmental pollution, migration, and pollutants transformation. This paper deals with the study of the sorption of metallic elements (Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Mg, Zn) in Andosols, Cambisols, and Planosols on Slovak soil types based on the detection of the quality and quantity of humus substances and soil textural properties. Five soil profiles from two areas in the central part of the Western Carpathians on volcanic rocks in Slovakia were investigated. HS values increased with Al, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, and Mg. Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, K, Mn, Cu, and Zn increased with the FA fraction. Al, Ca, Fe, K, and Mg were increasing with increasing HA values. In the HA fraction, a very tight relationship was among K and Fe contents (r = 0.902). In the FA fraction, we found with increasing Cu content, Ca content also increased (r = 0.959). The HS values were positively correlated with the silt and negatively correlated with the clay and the sand fraction. Only the elements Mn and Zn in Planosol were below the detection limit. High concentrations of metallic elements were in Andosol.
An Energy Management System for PV Sources in Standalone and Connected DC Networks Considering Economic, Technical, and Environmental Indices
Authors: Grisales-Noreña Luis Fernando , Ocampo-Toro Jauder Alexander , Rosales-Muñoz Andrés Alfonso , Cortes-Caicedo Brandon , Montoya Oscar Danilo
Published: December 2022

This research proposes an efficient energy management system for standalone and grid-connected direct current (DC) distribution networks that consider photovoltaic (PV) generation sources. A complete nonlinear programming model is formulated to represent the efficient PV dispatch problem while taking three different objective functions into account. The first objective function corresponds to the minimization of the operational costs with respect to the energy purchasing costs at terminals of the substation, including the maintenance costs of the PV sources. The second objective function is the reduction of the expected daily energy losses regarding all resistive effects of the distribution lines. The third objective function concerns the minimization of the total emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere by the substation bus or its equivalent (diesel generator). These objective functions are minimized using a single-objective optimization approach through the application of the Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA), which is combined with a matrix hourly power flow formulation that works by using a leader–follower operation scheme. Two test feeders composed of 27 and 33 nodes set for standalone and grid-connected operation are used in the numerical validations. The standalone grid corresponds to an adaptation of the generation and demand curves for the municipality of Capurganá, and the grid-connected system is adapted to the operating conditions in the metropolitan area of Medellín, i.e., a rural area and a major city in Colombia. A numerical comparison with three additional combinatorial optimizers (i.e., particle swarm optimization (PSO), the multiverse optimizer (MVO), and the crow search algorithm (CSA)) demonstrates the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed leader–follower optimization approach to the optimal management of PV generation sources in DC grids while considering different objective function indices.
Architectural History and Sustainable Architectural Heritage Education: Digitalisation of Heritage in New Zealand
Authors: Jadresin Milic Renata , McPherson Peter , McConchie Graeme , Reutlinger Thomas , Singh Sian
Published: December 2022

Over the last few decades, a significant amount of literature on the preservation and adaptive reuse of historical buildings has been published. More recently, the use of digital technologies in heritage projects and academic research has become increasingly topical worldwide. However, the topic of architectural education and the teaching of architectural history in relation to heritage is less discussed. This paper contributes to this relevant and necessary topic that has not received much attention in academia so far, and presents a case study—a real-life heritage project to teach architectural history in higher education. The methodology applied in this case study is based on the digital methods of heritage surveying. The paper explains the methodology process and illustrates the key tasks across three project phases of a Scan to BIM/Capture to CAD methodology: methods and activities developed with the students, from building survey, data processing, development of BIM models, etc. The aim of the paper is to analyse the positive contribution for the teaching curriculum and the benefits for community and industry. The paper is a reflective narrative piece and seeks to share useful tools and strategies to make educational use of a heritage building and its resources as one way of teaching architectural history and heritage today.
China’s Policy Environment’s Development and Path from the Perspective of Policy Sustainability: A Visual Analysis Based on CNKI and WOS
Authors: Li Junjie , Ma Wenbo , Dai Xin , Qi Meng , Liu Bangfan
Published: December 2022

In this paper, we examine China’s policy environment from the perspective of policy sustainability. Through our use of the CiteSpace and NVivo software, the literature on the policy environment is visualized using a knowledge graph analysis and a content analysis of highly cited papers. The analysis shows that: the number of published papers on “policy environment” is on the rise, and the research prospect is broad. There is a lack of communication and cooperation between domestic authors and a close relationship between international authors. The main research countries included the USA, Switzerland, Finland, Ireland, and Austria, etc. Domestic research focuses on vehicles for high-quality economic and social development, while international research focuses on theoretical model discussion. The domestic optimization path focuses on the transformation from “Sending blood” (“ShuXieShi”) to “Making blood” (“ZaoXieShi”), while the international research focuses on the main line of “public health and environmental protection”. Domestic research focuses on fostering a sound business environment, while international research focuses on the public, political and professional aspects of health and medical policy environment. On the whole, in the future, we should improve the adaptability of the policy environment, optimize the policy implementation environment, and establish the interaction mechanism of policy environment optimization to achieve policy optimization.
Capital Factors Influencing Rural, Regional and Remote Women’s Entrepreneurship Development: An Australian Perspective
Authors: Kille Tarryn , Wiesner Retha , Lee Seung-Yong , Johnson Morgan Melissa , Summers Jane , Davoodian Daniel
Published: December 2022

Insight into the challenges for women entrepreneurship engagement is significantly lacking in the context of Rural, Regional and Remote (RRR) communities. Evidence suggests that a deeper understanding of the role of capital in entrepreneurship engagement for RRR women may shed light on some of the complex issues in this sphere. This paper investigates the impact of economic, social, and cultural capital on RRR women’s entrepreneurship activities. The study surveyed 188 women entrepreneurs located in RRR locations in Queensland, Australia and confirmed the importance of economic, social, and cultural capital, in facilitating and enabling RRR women to engage in entrepreneurial activities. The results further highlighted that regardless of the volume of objectified and institutionalised cultural capital accumulated by these women, accumulation of social capital remained a strong driver for engagement preferences and success indicators. We suggest that this is due to the deeply entrenched values and behaviours relating to the critical formation and maintenance of networks as a survival mechanism when living in RRR locations in Australia. The results of this study provide a deeper understanding of the entrepreneurial practices, circumstances and attitudes of RRR women. Further, the novel application of Bourdieu’s theory of capital in this quantitative study exploring the role of capital factors for RRR women provides a platform for engaging discourse amongst entrepreneurial researchers. The findings will aid governments and policy makers in the development of programs designed to stimulate entrepreneurial engagement for women in rural, regional and remote contexts.
Multi-Criteria Relationship Analysis of Knowledge, Perception, and Attitude of Stakeholders for Engagement towards Maritime Pollution at Sea, Beach, and Coastal Environments
Authors: Rehman Wajih Ur , Iqbal Kanwar Muhammad Javed , Khan Muhammad Irfan , Ullah Wahid , Shah Ashfaq Ahmad , Tariq Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman
Published: December 2022

The external influence due to the severe repercussions of unprecedented and un-attended pollution has put vulnerable marine ecosystems at high risk of irreversible damage. This business-as-usual scenario could render them unfit to offer sustenance along with innumerable ecosystem services. Since the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment 1972, there have been global efforts to raise awareness, build capacity, and govern the pollution issue for a sustainable solution. However, there is a growing concern about the adequacy of the desired level of mobilization and readiness so far achieved at the level of various stakeholders to respond to the issue of maritime pollution. In this context, the present study was aimed at assessing the relationship between knowledge, perception, and attitude of the stakeholders regarding their engagement towards maritime pollution at sea, beach, and coastal environments, by incorporating multi-criteria quantitative analysis method for a case study of Karachi area in Pakistan. The structured questionnaire incorporates Knowledge, Perception, and Attitude as three key variables for three principles; four standardized criteria each, with eighteen indicators transformed into queries by applying MCDA’s Simple Multi Attribute Rating (SMART) technique for scoring to quantify the feedback of 304 respondents through a ratio scale having nominal qualifiable classes. The analysis has offered insight into the ways the stakeholders are perpetrating pollution and how their respective actions are important in the abatement of marine pollution. One-tailed Pearson Correlation analysis reveals insignificant relationship between the variables, indicating that the level of understanding of the stakeholders has not developed opinions to an extent that would enable an appropriate behavioral approach toward the abatement of the pollution. It suggests inducing awareness, mobilization, and reforms to encourage collective action by all actors.
Submodule Fault-Tolerant Strategy for Modular Multilevel Converter with Scalable Control Structure
Authors: Alharbi Mohammed , Isik Semih , Bhattacharya Subhashish
Published: December 2022

Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) topology is considered a good candidate for high-voltage applications. One of the reasons is that an MMC can quickly generate a higher voltage with an excellent sine wave with the series connection of many power blocks, called Sub-Modules (SMs). In such applications, the control system of an MMC can be challenging, and the possibility of an SM failure increases. As a result, the reliability and availability of the application reduce over time. To reduce the effects of SM failure, an MMC is usually equipped with Redundant SMs (RSMs). The RSMs are added into MMC arms as regular SMs to increase the application’s reliability and reduce downtime. This paper proposes a unique decentralized SM fault-tolerant control model for RSMs to participate in any SM sets. In an MMC arm, a dedicated controller is assigned to RSMs, while the group of SMs has their local controllers. The controller of the RSMs continually monitors the voltage of all the SM sets in the arm. If there is any failure, the controller of the RSMs activates a requested number of SMs to help local controllers to generate the desired voltage level. The proposed control system significantly reduces local controllers’ computational and communication requirements compared to conventional redundant controllers. The proposed control system is based on a distributed structure, so it does not limit hardware flexibility, such as the scalability and modularity of an MMC system. Besides, the separate controller for the RSMs significantly helps increase the reliability of an MMC application.
Wind Power Generation Scheduling Accuracy in Europe: An Overview of ENTSO-E Countries
Authors: Zsiborács Henrik , Pintér Gábor , Vincze András , Baranyai Nóra Hegedűsné
Published: December 2022

Despite the rapid spread of the use of wind energy to generate electricity, harnessing this energy source remains a great challenge due to its stochastic nature. One way of dealing with this is to prepare accurate wind power forecasts. This paper explored the accuracy of day-ahead and intraday scheduling of energy generation of the onshore and offshore wind farms of the member countries of the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) in the period from 2013 to 2021. The precision of the scheduling activities showed a varying picture: the onshore wind farms of Germany, Spain, France, and Sweden produced more precise forecasts than others, with annual downward and upward regulatory needs between 0.8% and 14.4%, and from 0.8% to 6.5%, of the yearly energy generation, respectively. In certain countries, however, the forecasts were less accurate, with discrepancies exceeding 41% for downward and 132% for upward regulation. As for offshore wind farms, the annual downward and upward regulatory needs ranged between 0.9% and 61.7%, and from 1.3% to 44.1%, respectively, with Germany and Denmark producing the most accurate schedules. The innovative novelty and practical contributions of this study are that it determines and presents information related to the accuracy of the day-ahead and intraday wind power generation forecasting of the ENTSO-E countries, which is of practical relevance to the transmission system operators (TSOs), the main actors in the energy market and the decision-makers, too. This information may also help investors who invest in onshore and offshore wind farms with the economic aspects, and it may also greatly contribute to the market-related development of the management systems of energy storage solutions related to these technologies.
Internal Marketability, External Marketability, and Career Resilience: The Mediating Role of Learning Agility
Authors: Park Yoonhee , Lim Doo Hun , Lee Jae Young
Published: December 2022

This study investigated the relationships between perceived internal and external marketability, learning agility, and career resilience. We constructed a model proposing that learning agility mediates the perceived marketability and career resilience relationship. Structural equation modeling was conducted on survey data from 259 Korean employees from three organizations. The results indicated that perceived internal marketability was positively related to career resilience. Conversely, perceived external marketability was negatively and not significantly associated with career resilience. Also confirmed by our results was that learning agility was mediating between perceived internal marketability and career resilience but not between perceived external marketability and career resilience.
Study on Terrestrial Wild Vertebrate Diversity and Geographical Fauna in Qinghai Area of Qilian Mountain National Park, China
Authors: Xu Shiyu , Rong Zhanlei , Ma Hu , Xie Jiaan , Wang Fang
Published: December 2022

To gain an in-depth understanding of the resource status of terrestrial wild vertebrates in the Qinghai Area of Qilian Mountain National Park, a total of 10 field surveys were conducted in the reserve from May 2019 to May 2022, and the diversity and geographical fauna of terrestrial wild vertebrates in the study area were studied combined with literature. The results show that in the Qinghai Area of the Qilian Mountain National Park, there are 265 species of terrestrial vertebrates in 4 classes, 30 orders, 71 families and 167 genera. Among them, Amphibia has 1 order, 2 families, 2 genera and 3 species; Reptilia has 2 orders, 4 families, 5 genera and 5 species; Aves has 21 orders, 51 families, 131 genera and 214 species; Mammalia has 6 orders, 15 families, 29 genera and 43 species. The composition of terrestrial wild vertebrate species in the study area shows that Aves account for 80.75%, Mammalia account for 16.23%; Reptilia account for 1.89% and Amphibia account for only 1.13%. The geographical fauna is dominated by Cosmopolitan species (218), followed by Palaearctic species (48) and a few Oriental species (3). Data from the G-F analysis shows that birds are more diverse at both family and genus levels, followed by mammals, with amphibians lower and reptiles lowest.
Smart Water Quality Prediction Using Atom Search Optimization with Fuzzy Deep Convolutional Network
Authors: Al Duhayyim Mesfer , Mengash Hanan Abdullah , Aljebreen Mohammed , K Nour Mohamed , M. Salem Nermin , Zamani Abu Sarwar , Abdelmageed Amgad Atta , Eldesouki Mohamed I.
Published: December 2022

Smart solutions for monitoring water pollution are becoming increasingly prominent nowadays with the advance in the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, and communication technologies. IoT enables connections among different devices with the capability to gather and exchange information. Additionally, IoT extends its ability to address environmental issues along with the automation industry. As water is essential for human survival, it is necessary to integrate some mechanisms for monitoring water quality. Water quality monitoring (WQM) is an efficient and cost-effective system intended to monitor the quality of drinking water that exploits IoT techniques. Therefore, this study developed a new smart water quality prediction using atom search optimization with the fuzzy deep convolution network (WQP-ASOFDCN) technique in the IoT environment. The WQP-ASOFDCN technique seamlessly monitors the water quality parameters using IoT devices for data collection purposes. Data pre-processing is carried out at the initial stage to make the input data compatible for further processing. For water quality prediction, the F-DCN model was utilized in this study. Furthermore, the prediction performance of the F-DCN approach was improved by using the ASO algorithm for the optimal hyperparameter tuning process. A sequence of simulations was applied to validate the enhanced water quality prediction outcomes of the WQP-ASOFDCN method. The experimental values denote the better performance of the WQP-ASOFDCN approach over other approaches in terms of different measures.
A Subgroup Method of Projecting Future Vulnerability and Adaptation to Extreme Heat
Authors: Lee Jae Young
Published: December 2022

This study presents a new method, a subgroup method, of predicting future vulnerabilities to high temperatures. In this method, the total population is divided into subgroups based on characteristics such as age. The adaptation trends are extracted for each subgroup, and they are combined based on the demographic structure of the future population to obtain the overall future relative risk of mortality to heat. The subgroup method is better than a simple extrapolation method because it can consider any demographic and socio-economic changes in the population. This study predicts the future temperature-related vulnerability of South Korea until 2100 based on the subgroup method. South Korea is one of the fastest aging countries, where the portion of mortality for older population aged 75 and more in 2005 (center of the baseline period) was 42.9%, whereas the portion becomes 96.5% in 2100, dominating the total mortality. This study found that the older population aged 75 and more can adapt to extreme temperatures like 40 °C 4.5 times slower than the younger population aged under 75. In addition, this study found that the conventional simple extrapolation method assumed a constant demographic structure and overestimated the future adaptation rate by 7.1 times faster than the subgroup method, which considered the demographic change and estimated the overall future vulnerability to extreme heat accordingly. The finding in this study shows that it is very important to consider demographic changes in the future temperature-related vulnerability projection, particularly in a fast-aging country like South Korea.
Factors Affecting the Benefits for Households Participating in Tourism Activities in Phong Dien Tourist Village, Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Mai-Uyen , Li Yi-Min , Nguyen Ngoc Anh , Ho Ping-Tsan
Published: December 2022

Tourism is recognized as one of the world’s most significant cultural and economic forces and an essential strategy for enhancing local communities. The Phong Dien tourist village, for example, has experienced tremendous development in serving tourism activities for domestic and international tourists. However, despite the rapid growth in this industry, their benefits also have been affected. Therefore, a study on the Phong Dien tourist village, Vietnam, was conducted to explore and identify factors that affected the usefulness of households that participated in tourism activities. A household survey based on stratified random sampling was conducted in Phong Dien, and 125 questionnaires were completed. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and linear regression analysis were carried out to identify the factors that influenced the advantages of households engaging in tourism-related activities in the Phong Dien tourist village. Findings from the data analysis identified three factors that represented 66.5% of the explained variance extracted from 23 variables: (1) natural environment, (2) government support, (3) social environment, and (4) household participation. Finally, we suggest some solutions to enhance the households’ benefits.
Indigenous Peoples’ Perceptions of Their Food System in the Context of Climate Change: A Case Study of Shawi Men in the Peruvian Amazon
Authors: Arotoma-Rojas Ingrid , Berrang-Ford Lea , Zavaleta-Cortijo Carol , Ford James D. , Cooke Paul
Published: December 2022

Biodiversity and ecosystem conservation in the Amazon play a critical role in climate-change mitigation. However, institutional responses have had conflicted and complex relations with Indigenous peoples. There is a growing need for meaningful engagement with—and recognition of—the centrality of Indigenous peoples’ perceptions and understanding of the changes they are experiencing to inform successful and effective place-based adaptation strategies. To fill this gap, this study focuses on the value-based perspectives and pragmatic decision-making of Shawi Indigenous men in the Peruvian Amazon. We are specifically interested in their perceptions of how their food system is changing, why it is changing, its consequences, and how/whether they are coping with and responding to this change. Our results highlight that Shawi men’s agency and conscious envisioning of their future food system intersect with the effects of government policy. Shawi men perceive that the main driver of their food-system changes, i.e., less forest food, is self-driven population growth, leading to emotions of guilt and shame. During our study, they articulated a conscious belief that future generations must transition from forest-based to agricultural foods, emphasising education as central to this transition. Additionally, results suggest that the Peruvian government is indirectly promoting Shawi population growth through policies linking population size to improved service delivery, particularly education. Despite intentional Shawi moves to transition to agriculture, this results in a loss of men’s cultural identity and has mental-health implications, creating new vulnerabilities due to increasing climatic extremes, such as flooding and higher temperatures.
Autonomous Navigation and Obstacle Avoidance for Small VTOL UAV in Unknown Environments
Authors: Chen Cheng , Wang Zian , Gong Zheng , Cai Pengcheng , Zhang Chengxi , Li Yi
Published: December 2022

This paper takes autonomous exploration in unknown environments on a small co-axial twin-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform as the task. The study of the fully autonomous positioning in unknown environments and navigation system without global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and other auxiliary positioning means is carried out. Algorithms that are based on the machine vision/proximity detection/inertial measurement unit, namely the combined navigation algorithm and indoor simultaneous location and mapping (SLAM) algorithm, are not only designed theoretically but also realized and verified in real surroundings. Additionally, obstacle detection, the decision-making of avoidance motion and motion planning methods such as Octree are also proposed, which are characterized by randomness and symmetry. The demonstration of the positioning and navigation system in the unknown environment and the verification of the indoor obstacle-avoidance flight were both completed through building an autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance simulation system.
Novel Hybrid MPSI–MARA Decision-Making Model for Support System Selection in an Underground Mine
Authors: Gligorić Miloš , Gligorić Zoran , Lutovac Suzana , Negovanović Milanka , Langović Zlatko
Published: December 2022

An underground mine is a very complex production system within the mining industry. Building up the underground mine development system is closely related to the installation of support needed to provide the stability of mine openings. The selection of the type of support system is recognized as a very hard problem and multi-criteria decision making can be a very useful tool to solve it. In this paper we developed a methodology that helps mining engineers to select the appropriate support system with respect to geological conditions and technological requirements. Accordingly, we present a novel hybrid model that integrates the two following decision-making components. First, this study suggests a new approach for calculating the weights of criteria in an objective way named the Modified Preference Selection Index (MPSI) method. Second, the Magnitude of the Area for the Ranking of Alternatives (MARA) method is proposed as a novel multi-criteria decision-making technique for establishing the final rank of alternatives. The model is tested on a hypothetical example. Comparative analysis confirms that the new proposed MPSI–MARA model is a very useful and effective tool for solving different MCDM problems.
Diagnostic Accuracy and Reliability of Noncontrast Computed Tomography Markers for Acute Hematoma Expansion among Radiologists
Authors: Almubarak Hawra , Elsayed Sarah , Mazzacane Federico , Schlunk Frieder , Cao Haoyin , Vu Ly Huong , Vogt Estelle , Dell Orco Andrea , Desser Dmitriy , Böhmer Maik F. H. , Akkurt Burak Han , Sporns Peter B. , Penzkofer Tobias , Hanning Uta , Morotti Andrea , Nawabi Jawed
Published: December 2022

Background: Noncontrast Computed Tomography (NCCT) features are promising markers for acute hematoma expansion (HE) in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). It remains unclear whether accurate identification of these markers is also reliable in raters with different levels of experience. Methods: Patients with acute spontaneous ICH admitted at four tertiary centers in Germany and Italy were retrospectively included from January 2017 to June 2020. In total, nine NCCT markers were rated by one radiology resident, one radiology fellow, and one neuroradiology fellow with different levels experience in ICH imaging. Interrater reliabilities of the resident and radiology fellow were evaluated by calculated Cohen’s kappa (κ) statistics in reference to the neuroradiology fellow who was referred as the gold standard. Gold-standard ratings were evaluated by calculated interrater κ statistics. Global interrater reliabilities were evaluated by calculated Fleiss kappa statistics across all three readers. A comparison of receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) was used to evaluate differences in the diagnostic accuracy for predicting acute hematoma expansion (HE) among the raters. Results: Substantial-to-almost-perfect interrater concordance was found for the resident with interrater Cohen’s kappa from 0.70 (95% CI 0.65–0.81) to 0.96 (95% CI 0.94–0.98). The interrater Cohen’s kappa for the radiology fellow was moderate to almost perfect and ranged from 0.58 (95% CI 0.52–0.65) to 94 (95% CI 92–0.97). The intrarater gold-standard Cohen’s kappa was almost perfect and ranged from 0.79 (95% CI 0.78–0.90) to 0.98 (95% CI 0.78–0.90). The global interrater Fleiss kappa ranged from 0.62 (95%CI 0.57–0.66) to 0.93 (95%CI 0.89–0.97). The diagnostic accuracy for the prediction of acute hematoma expansion (HE) was different for the island sign and fluid sign, with p-values < 0.05. Conclusion: The NCCT markers had a substantial-to-almost-perfect interrater agreement among raters with different levels of experience. Differences in the diagnostic accuracy for the prediction of acute HE were found in two out of nine NCCT markers. The study highlights the promising utility of NCCT markers for acute HE prediction.