bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Resolution of Inflammation after Skeletal Muscle Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury: A Focus on the Lipid Mediators Lipoxins, Resolvins, Protectins and Maresins
Authors: Barnig Cindy , Lutzweiler Gaetan , Giannini Margherita , Lejay Anne , Charles Anne-Laure , Meyer Alain , Geny Bernard
Published: June 2022

Skeletal muscle ischemia reperfusion is very frequent in humans and results not only in muscle destruction but also in multi-organ failure and death via systemic effects related to inflammation and oxidative stress. In addition to overabundance of pro-inflammatory stimuli, excessive and uncontrolled inflammation can also result from defects in resolution signaling. Importantly, the resolution of inflammation is an active process also based on specific lipid mediators including lipoxins, resolvins and maresins that orchestrate the potential return to tissue homeostasis. Thus, lipid mediators have received growing attention since they dampen deleterious effects related to ischemia–reperfusion. For instance, the treatment of skeletal muscles with resolvins prior to ischemia decreases polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) infiltration. Additionally, remote alterations in lungs or kidneys are reduced when enhancing lipid mediators’ functions. Accordingly, lipoxins prevented oxidative-stress-mediated tissue injuries, macrophage polarization was modified and in mice lacking DRV2 receptors, ischemia/reperfusion resulted in excessive leukocyte accumulation. In this review, we first aimed to describe the inflammatory response during ischemia and reperfusion in skeletal muscle and then discuss recent discoveries in resolution pathways. We focused on the role of specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their potential therapeutic applications.
Charge Management of Electric Vehicles from Undesired Dynamics in Solar Photovoltaic Generation
Authors: Aguirre Ivania , Dávila-Sacoto Miguel , González L. G. , Hernández-Callejo Luis , Duque-Pérez Óscar , Zorita-Lamadrid Ángel Luis , Espinoza Juan L.
Published: June 2022

Power generation from photovoltaic solar systems contributes to mitigate the problem of climate change. However, the intermittency of solar radiation affects power quality and causes instability in power grids connected to these systems. This paper evaluates the dynamic behavior of solar radiation in an Andean city, which presents rapid power variations that can reach an average of 7.20 kW/min and a variability coefficient of 32.09%. The study applies the ramp-rate control technique to reduce power fluctuations at the point of common coupling (PCC), with the incorporation of an energy storage system. Electric vehicle batteries were used as the storage system due to their high storage capacity and contribution to power system flexibility. The application of the control strategy shows that, with a minimum of five electric vehicle charging stations at the PCC, the rate of change of the photovoltaic can be reduced by 14%.
Autonomous Driving Assistance with Dynamic Objects Using Traffic Surveillance Cameras
Authors: Cho Kuk , Cho Dooyong
Published: June 2022

This paper describes a method that precisely estimates the position of images of traffic surveillance camera objects. We suggest a projection method with multiple traffic surveillance cameras through a local coordinate system into a global coordinate system. The transformation of coordinates uses detected objects, parameters of the camera and the geometric information of high- definition (HD) maps. Traffic surveillance cameras that pursue traffic safety and convenience use various sensors to generate traffic information. We suggest a transformation method with images of the camera and HD maps and an evaluation method. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the sensor-related technology to increase the efficiency and reliability of the traffic information. Recently, the role of the camera in collecting video information has become more important due to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The objects projected from the traffic surveillance camera domain to the HD domain are helpful to identify imperceptible zones, such as blind spots, on roads for autonomous driving assistance. In this study, we proposed to identify and track dynamic objects (vehicles, pedestrian, etc.) with traffic surveillance cameras, and to analyze and provide information about them in various environments. To this end, we conducted the identification of dynamic objects using the Yolov4 and DeepSort algorithms, established real-time multi-user support servers based on Kafka, defined transformation matrices between images and spatial coordinate systems, and implemented map-based dynamic object visualization. In addition, a positional consistency evaluation was performed to confirm its usefulness. Through the proposed scheme, we confirmed that multiple traffic surveillance cameras can serve as important sensors to provide relevant information by analyzing road conditions in real-time in terms of road infrastructure beyond a simple monitoring role.
Regional Analysis of Dust Day Duration in Central Iran
Authors: Mesbahzadeh Tayyebeh , Miglietta Mario Marcello , Sardoo Farshad Soleimani , Krakauer Nir , Hasheminejad Mohammad
Published: June 2022

The duration of dust days (DDD) is one of the most important parameters that may worsen the effects of the presence of dust in the affected areas. Persistent pollution over consecutive dusty days can have particularly negative effects on the human respiratory system. The present analysis was conducted in Central Iran, where the phenomenon of dust is one of the most important problems. In this study, using dust codes recorded at 35 synoptic stations, the homogeneity of DDD across the region was investigated using the L-moments method. Then, characteristics of DDD over the period 1999–2018 were calculated. The results showed that the region is statistically homogeneous. Furthermore, Zabol and Zahdan are the stations worst affected, with the longest durations of 22 and 21 days in 2014. Additionally, the values of DDD with return periods of 5, 10, 25, and 50 years were calculated using fitted statistical distributions and kriging and mapped. Finally, using the K nearest neighbor method the most important factor affecting DDD of the spatial characteristics, including longitude, latitude, elevation, average daily temperature (tm), dew point (td), wind altitude (u), maximum wind speed (ffmax), and direction of the fastest wind (ddmax), was determined. It was found that the southeastern parts of the study area are affected by the longest dust storm duration in all return periods; over longer return periods, long dust storms are also found in the central parts, especially the central desert of Iran. Therefore, these areas should be given priority in fighting and controlling wind erosion. Furthermore, the results showed that the maximum wind speed has the greatest effect on DDD.
Computational Intelligence with Wild Horse Optimization Based Object Recognition and Classification Model for Autonomous Driving Systems
Authors: Alabdulkreem Eatedal , Alzahrani Jaber , Nemri Nadhem , Alharbi Olayan , Mohamed Abdullah , Marzouk Radwa , Hilal Anwer
Published: June 2022

Presently, autonomous systems have gained considerable attention in several fields such as transportation, healthcare, autonomous driving, logistics, etc. It is highly needed to ensure the safe operations of the autonomous system before launching it to the general public. Since the design of a completely autonomous system is a challenging process, perception and decision-making act as vital parts. The effective detection of objects on the road under varying scenarios can considerably enhance the safety of autonomous driving. The recently developed computational intelligence (CI) and deep learning models help to effectively design the object detection algorithms for environment perception depending upon the camera system that exists in the autonomous driving systems. With this motivation, this study designed a novel computational intelligence with a wild horse optimization-based object recognition and classification (CIWHO-ORC) model for autonomous driving systems. The proposed CIWHO-ORC technique intends to effectively identify the presence of multiple static and dynamic objects such as vehicles, pedestrians, signboards, etc. Additionally, the CIWHO-ORC technique involves the design of a krill herd (KH) algorithm with a multi-scale Faster RCNN model for the detection of objects. In addition, a wild horse optimizer (WHO) with an online sequential ridge regression (OSRR) model was applied for the classification of recognized objects. The experimental analysis of the CIWHO-ORC technique is validated using benchmark datasets, and the obtained results demonstrate the promising outcome of the CIWHO-ORC technique in terms of several measures.
On the Study of Advanced Nanostructured Semiconductor-Based Metamaterial
Authors: Gric Tatjana , Rafailov Edik
Published: June 2022

Tunable metamaterials belonging to the class of different reconfigurable optical devices have proved to be an excellent candidate for dynamic and efficient light control. However, due to the consistent optical response of metals, there are some limitations aiming to directly engineer electromagnetic resonances of widespread metal-based composites. The former is accomplished by altering the features or structures of substrates around the resonant unit cells only. In this regard, the adjusting of metallic composites has considerably weak performance. Herein, we make a step forward by providing deep insight into a direct tuning approach for semiconductor-based composites. The resonance behavior of their properties can be dramatically affected by manipulating the distribution of free carriers in unit cells under an applied voltage. The mentioned approach has been demonstrated in the case of semiconductor metamaterials by comparing the enhanced propagation of surface plasmon polaritons with a conventional semiconductor/air case. Theoretically, the presented approach provides a fertile ground to simplify the configuration of engineerable composites and provides a fertile ground for applications in ultrathin, linearly tunable, and on-chip integrated optical components. These include reconfigurable ultrathin lenses, nanoscale spatial light modulators, and optical cavities with switchable resonance modes.
Susceptibility to Expansive Reactions of a Greener UHPC: Micro to Macro-Scale Study
Authors: Matos Ana Mafalda
Published: June 2022

Nowadays, in Europe, several infrastructures, such as bridges, viaducts, and maritime structures, are in an advanced state of degradation. Therefore, novel repair/rehabilitation techniques are sought. Recent advances in ultra-high-performance fibre-reinforced cement-based composites (UHPFRC) represent a significant step towards resilient structures. In addition to their remarkable mechanical properties (compressive strength > 150 MPa), they present extremely low permeability and, as a premise, very high durability. Despite their relatively high cost, UHPFRC can be a competitive solution for rehabilitation/strengthening applications where smaller volumes are needed. UHPFRC applied in thin layers (with or without reinforcement) can replace carbonated and/or cracked concrete acting as a protective watertight and/or strengthening layer. The structural capacity increases (stiffness, ultimate strength), and the durability is expected to improve significantly while keeping cross-sectional dimensions. Additional advantages are expected, such as reduced intervention time, fewer maintenance routines, reduced life-cycle cost, and longer service life. Although much of the focus on UHPFRC has centred on mechanical and/or structural performance, durability is inevitably linked with mechanical properties. The current work evaluated the durability of non-property and greener UHPC concerning expansive reactions, alkali-silica reactions and expansion due to external sulphates, by macro and micro-scale integrative study. Linear expansion tests were performed in UHPC specimens according to ASTM C 1260 and LNEC E−364. At the macro level, no deleterious expansion due to ASR or external sulphate occured. Expansion due to ASR was 0.0018% after 14 days of immersion in an alkali-rich environment, and no expansion was recorded regarding sulphate attack. However, SEM analysis reveals reactive products of ASR and sulphate attack, namely, ASR gel and ettringite, respectively, in UHPC specimens.
GNSS Signal Acquisition Algorithm Based on Two-Stage Compression of Code-Frequency Domain
Authors: Zhou Fangming , Zhao Lulu , Li Limin , Hu Yifei , Jiang Xinglong , Yu Jinpei , Liang Guang
Published: June 2022

The recently-emerging compressed sensing (CS) theory makes GNSS signal processing at a sub-Nyquist rate possible if it has a sparse representation in certain domain. The previously proposed code-domain compression acquisition algorithms have high computational complexity and low acquisition accuracy under high dynamic conditions. In this paper, a GNSS signal acquisition algorithm based on two-stage compression of the code-frequency domain is proposed. The algorithm maps the incoming signal of the same interval to multiple carrier frequency bins and overlaps the mapped signal that belongs to the same code phase. Meanwhile, the code domain compression is introduced to the preprocessed signal, replacing circular correlation with compressed reconstruction to obtain Doppler frequency and code phase. Theoretical analyses and simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the frequency search accuracy and reduce the computational complexity by about 50% in high dynamics.
Temporal Evolution of Refractive Index Induced by Short Laser Pulses Accounting for Both Photoacoustic and Photothermal Effects
Authors: Xia Zhiying , Ni Bin , Hou Ruijie , Zhang Yang , Hou Lianping , Hou Jamie Jiangmin , Marsh John H. , Liu Xuefeng , Xiong Jichuan
Published: June 2022

Materials such as silicon, copper, gold, and aluminum exhibit strong absorption and scattering characterization under short-pulsed laser irradiation. Due to the photoelastic effect and thermoelastic relaxation, the focal area may induce a local modulation in the refractive index, which can be detected with the intensity reflection coefficient perturbation. Normally, the thermal effect causes a weak refractive index change and is negligible, compared with the pressure-induced effect in most photoacoustic analytical systems. In this study, we present a theoretical model with the whole process of absorbed energy conversion analysis for the refractive index perturbation induced by both thermal effect and photoacoustic pressure. In this model, data analysis was carried out on the transformation of the energy absorbed by the sample into heat and stress. To prove the feasibility of this model, numerical simulation was performed for the photothermal and photoacoustic effects under different incident intensities using the finite element method. Experiment results on silicon and carbon fiber verified that the refractive index change induced by the photothermal effect can be detected and be incorporated with pressure-induced refractive index change. The simulation results showed very good agreement with the results of the experiments. The main aim of this study was to further understand the absorption and conversion process of short-pulsed light energy and the resulting photothermal and photoacoustic effects.
Smart Factory Using Virtual Reality and Online Multi-User: Towards a Metaverse for Experimental Frameworks
Authors: Alpala Luis Omar , Quiroga-Parra Darío J. , Torres Juan Carlos , Peluffo-Ordóñez Diego H.
Published: June 2022

Virtual reality (VR) has been brought closer to the general public over the past decade as it has become increasingly available for desktop and mobile platforms. As a result, consumer-grade VR may redefine how people learn by creating an engaging “hands-on” training experience. Today, VR applications leverage rich interactivity in a virtual environment without real-world consequences to optimize training programs in companies and educational institutions. Therefore, the main objective of this article was to improve the collaboration and communication practices in 3D virtual worlds with VR and metaverse focused on the educational and productive sector in smart factory. A key premise of our work is that the characteristics of the real environment can be replicated in a virtual world through digital twins, wherein new, configurable, innovative, and valuable ways of working and learning collaboratively can be created using avatar models. To do so, we present a proposal for the development of an experimental framework that constitutes a crucial first step in the process of formalizing collaboration in virtual environments through VR-powered metaverses. The VR system includes functional components, object-oriented configurations, advanced core, interfaces, and an online multi-user system. We present the study of the first application case of the framework with VR in a metaverse, focused on the smart factory, that shows the most relevant technologies of Industry 4.0. Functionality tests were carried out and evaluated with users through usability metrics that showed the satisfactory results of its potential educational and commercial use. Finally, the experimental results show that a commercial software framework for VR games can accelerate the development of experiments in the metaverse to connect users from different parts of the world in real time.
Assessment of Communication Quality through Work Authorization between Dentists and Dental Technicians in Fixed and Removable Prosthodontics
Authors: Afzal Hadiqa , Ahmed Naseer , Lal Abhishek , Al-Aali Khulud A. , Alrabiah Mohammed , Alhamdan Mai M. , Albahaqi Ahmed , Sharaf Abdulaziz , Vohra Fahim , Abduljabbar Tariq
Published: June 2022

Fabrication of a clinically successful dental prosthesis requires clear and effective communication between dentists and dental technicians. Adequate completion of work authorization by dentists provides a means for increased professional quality assurance and satisfaction in dental prosthesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of communication between dentists and dental technicians via work authorization for fixed and removable dental prosthesis in Pakistan. This cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of 6 months to assess the quality of communication between dentists and dental technicians. A well-constructed questionnaire regarding work authorization of removable and fixed prostheses was used as a tool to collect data from 453 dentists. A linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship of the independent and dependent variables. A p value of ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. It was observed that 92.1% of the dentists leave removable partial denture design to the dental technicians. About 56.5% of the dentists indicated information about base retention of partial dentures in work authorization. The majority of the dentists (56.5%) mentioned the material to be used for the construction of casting partial dentures. Nearly 66% of the dentists indicated the design of margins, and 44.6% of the dentists did not select the shade for fixed prostheses. Nearly 43% of the dentists did not draw the design of restoration, 21.9% chose to draw the design on paper, and 32.2% of the dentists drew the design on the cast. Meanwhile, 76.8% of the participants chose to directly communicate with their dental technicians personally. Nearly 41% of the dentists were satisfied with the restoration design, and 13.5% of the participants were not satisfied with the designs. Poor communication between dentists and technicians was observed, as the majority of the design decisions were left to the dental technicians. Therefore, communication between dentists and dental technicians should be improved by conducting combined workshops for the successful construction of dental prostheses.
Designing Personalized Persuasive Game Elements for Older Adults in Health Apps
Authors: Guo Yongyan , Yuan Tongyao , Yue Siyu
Published: June 2022

The use of gamification elements in health apps has been shown to promote healthy behaviors. However, one-size-fits-all gamification strategy does not have the best persuasive effect. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to determine how to select personalized game elements for older adults and use them in health education app design. Firstly, based on the DMC model, the Kano model was used to identify the demand attributes of game mechanisms, and three gamification mechanisms (winning, feedback and reward) preferred by the elderly were selected. Secondly, the corresponding gamification elements were selected by the focus group method, and nine virtual products were generated. Thirdly, the virtual products were rated and conjointly analyzed to obtain the relative importance of gamification mechanisms and the utility values of gamification elements, and a comparative analysis was conducted on four characteristics of older adults: age, gender, personal income, and education. The results obtained the best combination of gamification elements chosen by the elderly under different classifications. Finally, design guidelines on persuasive gamification elements were developed based on the characteristics of older adults, and a modified gamification model was proposed. The results of this study provide suggestions and guidelines for the design of persuasive gamification in health education apps, which will help improve the satisfaction of older adults with health apps.
Explanation of What Time in Kinematics Is and Dispelling Myths Allegedly Stemming from the Special Theory of Relativity
Authors: Szostek Roman
Published: June 2022

One of the biggest unsolved problems in physics is explaining what time is. The paper explains what time is in kinematics theories. It has been proved that in the kinematics of Special Theory of Relativity (STR) and Special Theory of Ether (STE) time is measured by the light clock. Therefore, all properties of time in kinematics result from the properties of a signal clock. The paper explains the time dilation phenomenon on the basis of STE. The presented explanation is not only a classic description of time dilation but is based on the construction of an innovative technical model of this phenomenon. Time dilation is due to the properties of the light clock. It is a natural property of this clock. The article shows that the claim that the speed of light in a vacuum is the maximum speed in the real world has no theoretical basis. In modern physics, such a doctrine has been adopted as a result of an overinterpretation of the mathematics on which the Special Theory of Relativity is based. The presented model shows how, using atomic clocks, it may be possible to determine the movement in relation to the universal frame of reference in which electromagnetic signals propagate. This article contains only original research.
Application of Sensitivity Analysis to Progressive Collapse Resistance of Planar Truss Structures
Authors: Ke Changren , Liu Qian
Published: June 2022

The conventional sensitivity analysis method unanimously takes all remaining elements except the damaged ones as statistical objects, and element importance is evaluated by the mean value of the sensitive indices of statistical objects. However, from the perspective of resisting progressive collapse, the method is not sufficiently targeted, and the evaluation results have some mistakes. The shortcomings of the traditional sensitivity analysis method in element importance evaluation were analyzed and compared through finite element investigations of two types of planar trusses. Based on the anti-progressive collapse mechanism of the planar truss, the sensitivity analysis method with lower chords as statistical objects was proposed to evaluate the importance of planar truss structural elements. This method is conceptually straightforward, and the assessment results are beyond-compare regarding accuracy via comparison against the results of other evaluation methods. Furthermore, based on identifying important elements, the structure’s bearing capacity can be improved by targeted anti-progressive collapse design.
Two-Phase Anaerobic Digestion of Corn Steep Liquor in Pilot Scale Biogas Plant with Automatic Control System with Simultaneous Hydrogen and Methane Production
Authors: Chorukova Elena , Hubenov Venelin , Gocheva Yana , Simeonov Ivan
Published: June 2022

Experimental studies of two-phase anaerobic digestion of corn steep liquor in semi-continuous automatic and semi-automatic modes of operation of a cascade of two anaerobic bioreactors with monitoring and control systems were performed. Corn steep liquor—a waste product from the process of treating corn grain for starch extraction—was used as a substrate in the process of anaerobic digestion with simultaneous hydrogen and methane production. The daily yields of biohydrogen in bioreactor 1 of the cascade (with a working volume of 8 dm3) are variable. In good operation, they are in the range of 0.7 to 1.0 L of biogas from a 1 dm3 working volume of the bioreactor, and the optimal pH is in the range of 5.0–5.5. The concentration of hydrogen in the biogas from the hydrogen bioreactor 1 is in the range of 14–34.7%. The daily yields of biomethane in bioreactor 2 of the cascade (with a working volume of 80 dm3) vary in the range 0.4 to 0.85 L of biogas from a 1 dm3 working volume of the bioreactor, and the concentration of methane in the biogas from bioreactor 2 is high and remains practically constant (in the range 65–69%). At a dilution rate of 0.4 day−1 and an organic loading rate of 20 gL for bioreactor 1, respectively, and a dilution rate of 0.05 day−1 for bioreactor 2, the best results were obtained. The computer control system is presented. Some energetical considerations were discussed.
Vanadium and Cobalt Occurrence in the Fe-Ti-V Oxide Deposits Related to Mesoproterozoic AMCG Complex in NE Poland
Authors: Mikulski Stanisław Z. , Sadłowska Katarzyna , Wiszniewska Janina , Małek Rafał
Published: June 2022

On the basis of geochemical whole-rock and mineralogical point analyses, the concentrations of V and Co were determined in magnetite-ilmenite oxide ores, associated with sulphides, at the Krzemianka and Udryn deposits in the Mesoproterozoic Suwałki Anorthosite Massif (SAM) in NE Poland. EPMA analyses showed that the main carrier of vanadium was magnetite (mean = 0.42 wt%) and, to a lesser extent, ilmenite (mean = 0.14 wt%) and minor Al-spinels (mean = 0.04 wt%). In turn, cobalt was found mainly in the form of isomorphic substitutions in magmatic sulphides such as pentlandite (mean = 4.41 wt% Co), pyrrhotite (mean = 0.16 wt%), and chalcopyrite (mean = 0.11 wt%). Moreover, Co-enrichments were also recognized in the secondary sulphides, such as pyrite and bravoite, replacing pyrrhotite (means = 1.6 and 2.7 wt% Co, respectively), and in the form of different thiospinels ((Fe, Ni) (Co, Ni)2S4), mainly siegenite (mean = 22.0 wt% Co), replacing pyrrhotite and pentlandite. Vanadium cations were substituted in Fe, Ti oxide minerals in place of Fe+3 cations, and in the case of cobalt, Fe+2 cations were substituted in sulphides and thiospinels. Vanadium and cobalt showed high Person’s correlation coefficients (r = 0.70), indicating their close spatial coexistence and a common source, which was parental anorthosite-norite magma of the SAM suites. The common magma genesis of magnetite-ilmenite and sulphide mineralization was also confirmed by the very similar shapes of the curves of REE content in the oxide-sulphide ores in relation to chondrite, in which negative Eu anomalies and positive Sm anomalies are clearly visible. Although the average contents of vanadium and cobalt were low (arithmetic means = 960 ppm, and 122 ppm, respectively), the resources of these metals were estimated to be large due to the enormous reserves of magnetite-ilmenite ores hosted by the SAM. However, the Fe-Ti-V ores associated with Fe, Ni, Co, and Cu sulphides were considered to be sub-economic because of their depth of occurrence (mainly 1.0 km below the surface level); their metal contents, which were usually too low; and additionally the fact that the location is in a highly environmentally protected landscape and lake area.
Heuristic Approach for a Combined Transfer Line Balancing and Buffer Allocation Problem Considering Uncertain Demand
Authors: Shao Huan , Moroni Giovanni , Li Aiping , Xu Liyun
Published: June 2022

In this paper, we refer to a real case study of an industrial partner recently committed to its project on the design of a multi-unit and multi-product manufacturing system. Although the considered problem refers to an actual complex manufacturing system, it can be theoretically classified as a union of two key problems that need to be solved during the transfer line design stage: the transfer line balancing problem (TLBP) and the buffer allocation problem (BAP). As two closely related problems, TLBP and BAP usually have similar optimizing directions and share the same purpose: finding a balance between the performance of the transfer line system as well as minimizing investment costs. These problems are usually solved sequentially, but this leads to solutions close to a local optimum in the solution space and not to the global optimum of the overall problem. This paper presents a multi-objective optimization for concurrently solving transfer line balancing and buffer allocation problems. The new approach is based on a combination of evolutionary and heuristic-based algorithms and takes into account the uncertainty of market demand. To validate the proposed approach, an industrial case study in a multi-unit manufacturing system producing multiple products (four engine blocks) is discussed.
Load-Settlement Behaviour Analysis Based on the Characteristics of the Vertical Loads under a Pile Group
Authors: Liu Haijun , Xiao Zhaoran , Lee Kinman
Published: June 2022

The nonlinear load-settlement behaviours of vertically loaded pile groups containing various numbers of piles (up to a few hundred piles in a group) are analysed using the method proposed by Lee and Xiao. This back-analysis method assumes the “local shear displacement” of a thin layer of disturbed soil along the pile–soil interface and the soil outside the interface is assumed to be linear elastic. Parametric studies are conducted to examine the load-displacement behaviours of the rigidly capped pile groups. Factors such as the number of piles in a group, pile slenderness (L/D), and pile spacing (S/D) are examined to study the effects on the performance of pile groups up to the failure state. Some phenomenological features of large pile groups under nonlinear conditions, which are difficult to obtain through an elastic analysis, are revealed in the present analysis.
Deep Learning for Video Application in Cooperative Vehicle-Infrastructure System: A Comprehensive Survey
Authors: Su Beipo , Ju Yongfeng , Dai Liang
Published: June 2022

Video application is a research hotspot in cooperative vehicle-infrastructure systems (CVIS) which is greatly related to traffic safety and the quality of user experience. Dealing with large datasets of feedback from complex environments is a challenge when using traditional video application approaches. However, the in-depth structure of deep learning has the ability to deal with high-dimensional data sets, which shows better performance in video application problems. Therefore, the research value and significance of video applications over CVIS can be better reflected through deep learning. Firstly, the research status of traditional video application methods and deep learning methods over CVIS were introduced; the existing video application methods based on deep learning were classified according to generative and discriminative deep architecture. Then, we summarized the main methods of deep learning and deep reinforcement learning algorithms for video applications over CVIS, and made a comparative study of their performances. Finally, the challenges and development trends of deep learning in the field were explored and discussed.
An Extended Functional Design Approach Based on Working Principle and Property and Its Application
Authors: Li Song , Li Wenqiang , Li Yan
Published: June 2022

(1) Background: Functional design is an activity that is part of conceptual design; it aims to clarify customer needs and develop the functional architecture and solution concepts for a product or system under development. The existing functional design approaches mainly focus on assisting designers in searching for design solutions to desired functions, which rely too much on established design knowledge. This type of approach is usually characterized by the relevant design analogy, especially case analogy, or structure analogy. However, this cannot help to generate new design solutions if there is little established design knowledge. (2) Methods: To overcome this limitation, working principle and property are designated as intermediate transformation variables. The corresponding mapping relationships, from function to working principle, and from working principle to property, are comprehensively discussed. Then, an extended functional design approach is proposed, which is characterized by the function (F)–working principle (WP)–property (P)–structure (S) mapping process. The conceptual design of a self-adaptive luggage transfer device is taken as an example to illustrate the proposed approach. (3) Conclusions: Based on the working principle and the desired property, how to generate a possible structure solution according to an expected function is clarified explicitly. The proposed approach could be regarded as a complement to the existing functional design approach.
Investigation of the Effect of Capillary Barrier on Water–Oil Movement in Water Flooding
Authors: Hu Bingtao , Gu Zhaolin , Zhou Chenxing , Wang Le , Huang Chuanqing , Su Junwei
Published: June 2022

Water flooding technology is widely used to improve oil recovery efficiency in oilfields. The capillary barrier effect induced by the complex pore structures in the reservoir rocks is a crucial reason for the trapping of a great deal of residual oil in oil reservoirs after water flooding. However, the formation condition along with the effect on the recovery rate of the capillary barrier under different wettability conditions should be investigated further. To bridge the gap between the microscopic mechanism of the capillary barrier effect and the macroscopic mechanism of oil displacement efficiency, a simple conceptual capillary model is constructed to obtain the formation conditions of the capillary barrier using the analysis method, and its influence on macroscopic oil displacement efficiency in the porous media model with an opening angle of 45° is systematically investigated in this study using direct numerical simulations (DNS) coupled with the volume of fluid method. The results showed that the capillary barrier effect plays a significant role in the formation of the residual oil in the reservoir rock and the contact angle and the opening angle are the primary factors for the formation of the capillary barrier. The capillary force is the driving force when the oil–water interface advances in the throat channel under water-wet conditions, while the capillary force hinders the movement of oil–water movement when the liquid flows out of the throat channel and when θ + β > 90o. Furthermore, the highest oil displacement efficiency is achieved at the intermediate capillary number and in the case that the minimum conditions of occurrence of the capillary barrier phenomenon are satisfied. This is of great significance for controlling the optimized contact angle to further enhance the oil recovery rate of current oil reservoirs using waterflooding technology.
Analysis of Cavity Corner Geometry Effect on Recirculation Zone Structure
Authors: Šereika Justas , Vilkinis Paulius , Pedišius Nerijus
Published: June 2022

A numerical investigation of flow topology in open-type cavities with length-to-depth ratio L/h1 = 4 was performed in the Reynolds number range of 10–1000. Cavities with differently rounded corners were chosen for simulation. Three-dimensional numerical simulations were performed to analyse flow topology in different planes. A series of experiments was performed to ensure the validity of numerical simulations. Both numerical simulations and physical experiments were conducted with water as the working fluid. Since the results agreed acceptably, further simulations were performed. The main goal of this study was to investigate and highlight the influence of rounded cavity corners on the topology and stability of flow. Analysis revealed that fully rounded upper cavity corners decrease pressure loss compared to other investigated cases; therefore, the velocity of the main flow is increased. Additionally, fully rounded upper corners form a notably smaller recirculation zone compared to other investigated cases. Flow stability analysis showed that fully rounded cavity bottom corners negatively impact flow stability by increasing the intensity of turbulence.
A Comparative Study of Two Martensitic Alloy Systems in Endodontic Files Carried out by Unskilled Hands
Authors: Algar Juan , Loring-Castillo Alejandra , Pérez-Alfayate Ruth , Martín Carreras-Presas Carmen , Suárez Ana
Published: June 2022

The aim of this study was to compare the behavior of two heat-treated file systems on resin blocks in unskilled hands. For this purpose, an in vitro, randomized, cross-sectional study was conducted to compare ProTaper Gold (PTG) with BlueShaper (BS) files. A total of 81 resin blocks were used and analyzed photographically to assess the amount of material removed during instrumentation. PTG removed more material on the outside of the curve in the coronal and apical third, while BS removed more material on the inner part of the curve in the middle third. The procedural errors observed in the total sample were apical transportation (33.8%), blockages (4.9%), ledges (3.7%), and canal perforation. PTG produced more apical transportation, and there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the formation of ledges, canal perforations, or blockages. No file fractures were recorded during the study. Within the limitations of this study, we can affirm that neither file excessively deformed the artificial canals, and the PTG file produced more apical transportation.
Characterization of 75 Cultivars of Four Capsicum Species in Terms of Fruit Morphology, Capsaicinoids, Fatty Acids, and Pigments
Authors: Li Pingping , Zhang Xiang , Liu Yuting , Xie Zhihe , Zhang Ruihao , Zhao Kai , Lv Junheng , Wen Jinfen , Deng Minghua
Published: June 2022

Fruit quality has long been well known as an important prerequisite for evaluating pepper resources. In the study, 75 cultivars belonging to four Capsicum species were investigated on the bases of fruit morphology and concentrations of fruit secondary metabolites. The results showed that C. annuum had a greater variation than C. chinense and C. frutescens in terms of fruit weight, size and contents of carotenoids, anthocyanidins, and capsaicinoids. Moreover, there were significant differences in the concentrations of total phenol, total soluble sugar, total soluble solids, titratable acid, and total soluble protein of all samples. Capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin were the most important capsaicinoids components in pepper fruits, of which C. chinense both had the highest levels, whereas some accessions of C. annuum were not detected. Eighteen fatty acids were detected in pepper fruits, and the dominant member was linoleic acid (a polyunsaturated fatty acid) therein. We integrated a set of methods for metabolites, and the results indicated that there was a positive correlation between concentrations of capsaicinoids and fatty acids. Four accessions had the highest contents of quality-related compounds, two of which belonged to C. chinense (S23 and S24) and possessed high levels of capsaicin. However, S67 had a high level of β-carotene and S68 contained higher contents of total fatty acid and ascorbic acid, and both of them belonged to C. annuum. This work could provide a valid experimental basis for the potential application value of the four accessions mentioned above.
Improvements in the Robustness of Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Models against Chemical Interferences: Application to Monitoring of Anaerobic Digestion Processes
Authors: Zeaiter Magida , Latrille Éric , Gras Pascal , Steyer Jean-Philippe , Bellon-Maurel Véronique , Roger Jean-Michel
Published: June 2022

The monitoring and control of bioprocesses rely on the measurement of the main metabolite concentrations. To this end, infrared spectroscopy (IR) is a good candidate with which to perform rapid and non-destructive measurements. However, IR-based measurements rely on a calibration step linking the measured spectra to the concentrations of the compounds of interest. This calibration may suffer with problems of robustness when the measuring conditions change, such as when some chemicals not present in the calibration spectra are added when using the IR sensor. In this study, a method based on orthogonal projection, dynamic orthogonal projection (DOP), was tested for its ability to cope with the robustness problem caused by the addition of ammonia in a pilot-scale anaerobic digester, whose volatile fatty acid concentrations were monitored by mid-IR spectrometry. The results demonstrate that DOP has significant potential as a form of process analytical technology.
Multitask Learning Based on Improved Uncertainty Weighted Loss for Multi-Parameter Meteorological Data Prediction
Authors: Wang Junkai , Lin Lianlei , Teng Zaiming , Zhang Yu
Published: June 2022

With the exponential growth in the amount of available data, traditional meteorological data processing algorithms have become overwhelmed. The application of artificial intelligence in simultaneous prediction of multi-parameter meteorological data has attracted much attention. However, existing single-task network models are generally limited by the data correlation dependence problem. In this paper, we use a priori knowledge for network design and propose a multitask model based on an asymmetric sharing mechanism, which effectively solves the correlation dependence problem in multi-parameter meteorological data prediction and achieves simultaneous prediction of multiple meteorological parameters with complex correlations for the first time. The performance of the multitask model depends largely on the relative weights among the task losses, and manually adjusting these weights is a difficult and expensive process, which makes it difficult for multitask learning to achieve the expected results in practice. In this paper, we propose an improved multitask loss processing method based on the assumptions of homoscedasticity uncertainty and the Laplace loss distribution and validate it using the German Jena dataset. The results show that the method can automatically balance the losses of each subtask and has better performance and robustness.
Characterizing Atmospheric Brown Carbon and Its Emission Sources during Wintertime in Shanghai, China
Authors: Zhang Linyuan , Son Jung Hyun , Bai Zhe , Zhang Wei , Li Ling , Wang Lina , Chen Jianmin
Published: June 2022

Atmospheric brown carbon (BrC) is a kind of organic aerosol that efficiently absorbs ultraviolet-visible light and has an impact on climate forcing. We conducted an in-depth field study on ambient aerosols at a monitoring point in Shanghai, China, aiming to investigate the potential emission sources, molecular structures, and the contributions to light absorptions of ambient BrC chromophores. The results indicated that nine molecules were identified as nitroaromatic compounds, five of which (4-nitrophenol, 4-nitrocatechol, 2-nitro-1-naphthol, 3-methyl-4-nitrocatechol, and 2-methyl-4-nitrophenol) usually came from biomass burning or were produced from the photo-oxidation of anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (e.g., toluene, benzene) under high-NOx conditions. 4-nitrophenol was the strongest BrC chromophore and accounted for 13% of the total aerosol light absorption at λ = 365 nm. The estimated light absorption of black carbon was approximately three times the value of methanol-soluble BrC at λ = 365 nm. The ratios of K+/OC and K+/EC, and the correlations with WSOC, OC, HULIS-C and K+, and MAE values of methanol extracts also indicated that the primary emissions from biomass burning contributed more aerosol light absorption compared to the secondary formation during the wintertime in Shanghai. Therefore, biomass burning control is still the most urgent strategy for reducing BrC in Shanghai.
Long-Term Variations of Meteorological and Precursor Influences on Ground Ozone Concentrations in Jinan, North China Plain, from 2010 to 2020
Authors: Sun Jing , Duan Shixin , Wang Baolin , Sun Lei , Zhu Chuanyong , Fan Guolan , Sun Xiaoyan , Xia Zhiyong , Lv Bo , Yang Jiaying , Wang Chen
Published: June 2022

Ground-level ozone (O3) pollution in the North China Plain has become a serious environmental problem over the last few decades. The influence of anthropogenic emissions and meteorological conditions on ozone trends have become the focus of widespread research. We studied the long-term ozone trends at urban and suburban sites in a typical city in North China and quantified the contributions of anthropogenic and meteorological factors. The results show that urban O3 increased and suburban O3 decreased from 2010 to 2020. The annual 90th percentile of the maximum daily 8-h average of ozone in urban areas increased by 3.01 μgm−3year−1 and, in suburban areas, it decreased by 3.74 μgm−3year−1. In contrast to the meteorological contributions, anthropogenic impacts are the decisive reason for the different ozone trends in urban and suburban areas. The rapid decline in nitrogen oxides (NOX) in urban and suburban areas has had various effects. In urban areas, this leads to a weaker titration of NOX and enhanced O3 formation, while in suburban areas, this weakens the photochemical production of O3. Sensitivity analysis shows that the O3 formation regime is in a transition state in both the urban and suburban areas. However, this tends to be limited to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban areas and to NOX in suburban areas. One reasonable approach to controlling ozone pollution should be to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions while strengthening the control of VOCs.