bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rare-Earth-Metal (Nd3+, Ce3+ and Gd3+)-Doped CaF2: Nanoparticles for Multimodal Imaging in Biomedical Applications
Authors: Yu Zhenfeng , He Yuanyuan , Schomann Timo , Wu Kefan , Hao Yang , Suidgeest Ernst , Zhang Hong , Eich Christina , Cruz Luis J.
Published: December 2022

Here, we describe the synthesis of a novel type of rare-earth-doped nanoparticles (NPs) for multimodal imaging, by combining the rare-earth elements Ce, Gd and Nd in a crystalline host lattice consisting of CaF2 (CaF2: Ce, Gd, Nd). CaF2: Ce, Gd, Nd NPs are small (15–20 nm), of uniform shape and size distribution, and show good biocompatibility and low immunogenicity in vitro. In addition, CaF2: Ce, Gd, Nd NPs possess excellent optical properties. CaF2: Ce, Gd, Nd NPs produce downconversion emissions in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000–1700 nm) under 808 nm excitation, with a strong emission peak at 1056 nm. Excitation in the first near- infrared window (NIR-I, 700–900 nm) has the advantage of deeper tissue penetration power and reduced autofluorescence, compared to visible light. Thus, CaF2: Ce, Gd, Nd NPs are ideally suited for in vivo fluorescence imaging. In addition, the presence of Gd3+ makes the NPs intrinsically monitorable by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Moreover, next to fluorescence and MR imaging, our results show that CaF2: Ce, Gd, Nd NPs can be used as imaging probes for photoacoustic imaging (PAI) in vitro. Therefore, due to their biocompatibility and suitability as multimodal imaging probes, CaF2: Ce, Gd, Nd NPs exhibit great potential as a traceable imaging agent in biomedical applications.
Bioprinted Membranes for Corneal Tissue Engineering: A Review
Authors: Orash Mahmoud Salehi Amin , Heidari-Keshel Saeed , Poursamar Seyed Ali , Zarrabi Ali , Sefat Farshid , Mamidi Narsimha , Behrouz Mahmoud Jabbarvand , Rafienia Mohammad
Published: December 2022

Corneal transplantation is considered a convenient strategy for various types of corneal disease needs. Even though it has been applied as a suitable solution for most corneal disorders, patients still face several issues due to a lack of healthy donor corneas, and rejection is another unknown risk of corneal transplant tissue. Corneal tissue engineering (CTE) has gained significant consideration as an efficient approach to developing tissue-engineered scaffolds for corneal healing and regeneration. Several approaches are tested to develop a substrate with equal transmittance and mechanical properties to improve the regeneration of cornea tissue. In this regard, bioprinted scaffolds have recently received sufficient attention in simulating corneal structure, owing to their spectacular spatial control which produces a three-cell-loaded-dimensional corneal structure. In this review, the anatomy and function of different layers of corneal tissue are highlighted, and then the potential of the 3D bioprinting technique for promoting corneal regeneration is also discussed.
Thermo and Photoresponsive Emulgel Loaded with Copaifera reticulata Ducke and Chlorophylls: Rheological, Mechanical, Photodynamic and Drug Delivery Properties in Human Skin
Authors: Campanholi Katieli da Silva Souza , Junior Ranulfo Combuca da Silva , Jaski Jonas Marcelo , Silva Jéssica Bassi da , Oliveira Mariana Carla de , Santos Rafaela Said dos , Pozza Magali Soares dos Santos , Castro-Hoshino Lidiane Vizioli de , Baesso Mauro Luciano , Cardozo-Filho Lucio , Bruschi Marcos Luciano , Caetano Wilker
Published: December 2022

Recently, the number of new cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis has been of concern among health agencies. Research that offers new therapeutic alternatives is advantageous, especially those that develop innovative drugs. Therefore, this paper presents the incorporation of Copaifera reticulata Ducke and chlorophyll extract into Pluronic®® F127 and Carbopol gels, under optimized polymer quantities. The chlorophyll extract (rich in photosensitizing compounds) was obtained by continuous-flow pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), a clean, environmentally friendly method. The system aims to act as as a leishmanicidal, cicatrizant, and antibiotic agent, with reinforcement of the photodynamic therapy (PDT) action. Rheological and mechanical analyses, permeation studies and bioadhesiveness analyses on human skin, and PDT-mediated activation of Staphylococcus aureus were performed. The emulgels showed gelation between 13° and 15 °C, besides pseudoplastic and viscoelastic properties. Furthermore, the systems showed transdermal potential, by releasing chlorophylls and C. reticulata Ducke into the deep layers of human skin, with good bioadhesive performance. The application of PDT reduced three logarithmic colony-forming units of S. aureus bacteria. The results support the potential of the natural drug for future clinical trials in treating wounds and cutaneous leishmania.
Simulation on Secondary Electron Multiplication Behavior of the Microchannel Plate under DC Mode
Authors: Li Fengyan , Jiang Dongyu , Jiao Peng , Sun Yong , Huang Yonggang
Published: December 2022

In this study, a three-dimensional microchannel model of a single hollow-core glass fiber was constructed and the Finite Integral Technique and Monte Carlo method were combined to comprehensively simulate the electron multiplication process in a single channel under DC mode. The electron dynamic trajectory in DC electron emission mode was achieved. The effects of different structural parameters and applied bias voltage on the electron gain and the most probable exit energy at the output end of MCP were investigated. The results show that the electrons with a certain initial current can be continuously and stably multiplied in the channel under DC mode and eventually reach a stable value because of the space charge effect; additionally, the electron gain increases with the increase in the bias angle and DC bias voltage and decreases with the increase in the penetration depth of the MCP output electrode. The electron gain at the output end of the MCP increases with the length-to-diameter ratio under the normalized voltage but shows a maximum value under the constant voltage. The simulation results are consistent with the reported experimental trend and theoretical analyses. The method provides data support for the optimal structural design of the microchannel plate.
Exploring the Influence of the Illumination and Painting Tone of Art Galleries on Visual Comfort
Authors: Feng Yue , Wang Zhisheng , Zhang Manqun , Qin Xinjing , Liu Ting
Published: December 2022

Because of the increase in green lighting in recent years, scholars have been trying to find more comfortable lighting methods in various fields to meet people’s lighting needs. In previous studies, we found that most museum lighting was conducted in the form of subjective questionnaires, but in this study, we tried to introduce a new way to explore the impact of the lighting environment on comfort, namely eye tracking technology. This paper aims to explore the influences when viewing paintings in cold, warm, and middle tones under illumination of 50 lx, 150 lx, and 300 lx, respectively, on the visual comfort of viewers, and the use visual fatigue as the evaluation index to find the most appropriate illumination value for different painting systems in the art museum. By collecting eye movement data under different illuminance and color combination of different paintings and subjective evaluation from the subjects, this paper studies the impact of different illuminances and colors on the subjects’ visual fatigue. By considering the illumination intensity of the light environment and the tone of the painting, it can be found that the warm tone painting was more suitable for 150 lx, the cold tone painting was more suitable for 50 lx, and the middle tone painting was more suitable for 300 lx.
A Tissue Paper/Hydrogel Composite Light-Responsive Biomimetic Actuator Fabricated by In Situ Polymerization
Authors: Wu Qijun , Ma Chao , Chen Lian , Sun Ye , Wei Xianshuo , Ma Chunxin , Zhao Hongliang , Yang Xiuling , Ma Xiaofan , Zhang Chunmei , Duan Gaigai
Published: December 2022

Stimulus-responsive hydrogels are an important member of smart materials owing to their reversibility, soft/wet properties, and biocompatibility, which have a wide range of applications in the field of intelligent actuations. However, poor mechanical property and complicated fabrication process limit their further applications. Herein, we report a light-responsive tissue paper/hydrogel composite actuator which was developed by combining inkjet-printed tissue paper with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogel through simple in situ polymerization. Due to the high strength of natural tissue paper and the strong interaction within the interface of the bilayer structure, the mechanical property of the composite actuator was highly enhanced, reaching 1.2 MPa of tensile strength. Furthermore, the light-responsive actuation of remote manipulation can be achieved because of the stamping graphite with high efficiency of photothermal conversion. Most importantly, we also made a few remotely controlled biomimetic actuating devices based on the near-infrared (NIR) light response of this composite actuator. This work provides a simple strategy for the construction of biomimetic anisotropic actuators and will inspire the exploration of new intelligent materials.
A Study on Aqueous Dispersing of Carbon Black Nanoparticles Surface-Coated with Styrene Maleic Acid (SMA) Copolymer
Authors: Lee Jaeseon , Bae Jihyun , Kim Woonjung , Lee Seungho
Published: December 2022

Carbon black (CB) particles tend to aggregate in aqueous solutions, and finding an optimum dispersing condition (e.g., selection of the type of dispersant) is one of the important tasks in related industries. In the present study, three types of styrene maleic acid (SMA) copolymer dispersants were synthesized, labeled respectively ‘SMA-1000’, ‘SMA-2000’, and ‘SMA-3000’, which have 1, 2, and 3 styrene groups in their repeating units. Then, asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation (AsFlFFF) was employed to measure the particle size distributions of the aqueous CB dispersions. For the particle size analysis of the CB dispersions, dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed relatively lower reproducibility than AsFlFFF. AsFlFFF showed that the use of SMA-3000 yielded a CB dispersion with the most uniform particle size distribution. When the SMA-3000 dispersant was used, the particle size tended to increase after 1 h of milling as the milling time increased, probably due to the re-agglomeration of the particles by excessive milling. The particle size distributions from AsFlFFF were consistent with the colorimetric observations. With the SMA-3000 dispersant, the lowest L∗ value was observed after 1 h of milling. The AsFlFFF and colorimetric analyses suggest that a stable CB dispersion can be obtained by either 3-h of milling with the SMA-2000 or 1-h of milling with the SMA-3000.
Antimicrobial Bilayer Film Based on Chitosan/Electrospun Zein Fiber Loaded with Jaboticaba Peel Extract for Food Packaging Applications
Authors: Avila Luisa Bataglin , Pinto Diana , Silva Luis F. O. , de Farias Bruna Silva , Moraes Caroline Costa , Da Rosa Gabriela Silveira , Dotto Guilherme Luiz
Published: December 2022

This work focused on developing an active bilayer film based on natural extract. Thus, the jaboticaba peel extract (JPE) was produced and characterized and showed promising application as a natural additive in biopolymeric materials. The zein fiber and bilayer films were produced using a chitosan film (casting) and zein fiber (electrospinning), with and without JPE. All samples were evaluated according to thickness, solubility in water, water vapor permeability, and main diameter, and for these, zein fiber, chitosan/zein fiber, and chitosan/zein fiber + 3% JPE showed values of 0.19, 0.51, and 0.50 mm, 36.50, 12.96, and 27.38%, 4.48 × 10−9, 1.6 × 10−10, and 1.58 × 10−10 (g m−1 Pa−1 s−1), and 6.094, 4.685, and 3.620 μm, respectively. These results showed that the addition of a second layer improved the barrier properties of the material when compared to the monolayer zein fiber. The thermal stability analysis proved that the addition of JPE also improved this parameter and the interactions between the components of the zein fiber and bilayer films; additionally, the effective presence of JPE was shown through FTIR spectra. In the end, the active potential of the material was confirmed by antimicrobial analysis since the bilayer film with JPE showed inhibition halos against E. coli and S. aureus.
Preparation of Copper Ion Adsorbed Modified Montmorillonite/Cellulose Acetate Porous Composite Fiber Membrane by Centrifugal Spinning
Authors: Zhang Hongjing , Mu Qingyuan , Yu Xiaotian , Zhou Ke , Chen Xu , Hao Haitao , Li Yongqiang
Published: December 2022

The natural adsorption material montmorillonite (MMT) was selected, and cellulose acetate (CA) was used as the loading substrate to design and prepare a kind of green and environment-friendly recyclable porous composite fiber membrane with good heavy metal ion adsorption performance. Acetic acid modified montmorillonite (HCl-MMT), sodium dodecyl sulfonate modified montmorillonite (SDS-MMT), and chitosan modified montmorillonite (CTS-MMT) were prepared by inorganic modification and organic modification, and the porous MMT/CA composite fiber membrane was constructed by centrifugal spinning equipment. The morphological and structural changes of MMT before and after modification and their effects on porous composite fiber membranes were investigated. The morphology, structure, and adsorption properties of the composite fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic absorption spectrometry (ASS). The experimental results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of Cu2+ on the prepared 5 wt% CTS-MMT composite fiber membrane was 60.272 mg/g after 10 h static adsorption. The adsorption of Cu2+ by a porous composite fiber membrane conforms to the quasi-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isothermal adsorption model. The main factor of the Cu2+ adsorption rate is chemical adsorption, and the adsorption mechanism is mainly monolayer adsorption.
Preparation and Characterization of Modified Polysulfone with Crosslinked Chitosan–Glutaraldehyde MWCNT Nanofiltration Membranes, and Evaluation of Their Capability for Salt Rejection
Authors: Alshahrani Ahmed A. , El-Habeeb Abeer A. , Alotaibi Noor H. , Shaman Anfal A. , Almutairi Wajd F. , Alotaibi Samar M. , Hassan Hassan M. , Alsohaimi Ibrahim Hotan
Published: December 2022

Nanofiltration membranes were successfully created using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and MWCNTs modified with amine (MWCNT-NH2) and carboxylic groups (MWCNT-COOH). Chitosan (CHIT) and chitosan–glutaraldehyde (CHIT-G) were utilized as dispersants. Sonication, SEM, and contact angle were used to characterize the as-prepared membranes. The results revealed that the type of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT, MWCNT-COOH and MWCNT-NH2) used as the top layer had a significant impact on membrane characteristics. The lowest contact angle was 38.6 ± 8.5 for the chitosan-G/MWCNT-COOH membrane. The surface morphology of membranes changed when carbon with carboxylic or amine groups was introduced. In addition, water permeability was greater for CHIT-G/MWCNT-COOH and CHIT-G/MWCNT-NH2 membranes. The CHIT-G/MWCNT-COOH membrane had the highest water permeability (5.64 ± 0.27 L m−2 h−1 bar−1). The findings also revealed that for all membranes, the rejection of inorganic salts was in the order R(NaCl) > R(MgSO4).
The Effect of Stacking on the Accuracy of 3D-Printed Full-Arch Dental Models
Authors: Hartley Olan , Shanbhag Tanvi , Smith Derek , Grimm Antonio , Salameh Ziad , Tadakamadla Santosh K. , Alifui-Segbaya Frank , Ahmed Khaled E.
Published: December 2022

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of stacking on the dimensional and full-arch accuracy of 3D-printed models, utilising a standardised assessment methodology. A previously validated methodology involving a standard tessellation language image (STL) reference model, comprising seven spheres on a horseshoe base resembling a dental arch, was used. Six 3D-designed STL models were prepared, optimised, and stacked horizontally using 3D Sprint software. The stacking file was transferred to the NextDent 5100 printer to build the physical models. To assess accuracy, a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) measured the diameter of the spheres n=210, and twenty-one vectors extended between the centres of each of the seven spheres (n = 630). When compared to the reference model, significant differences were observed for dimensional (p = 0.006) and full-arch accuracy (p = 0.006) for all stacked models. Additionally, significant differences were observed between the stacked models for the dimensional accuracy between the posterior (p = 0.015), left posterior (p = 0.005) and anteroposterior (p = 0.002). The maximum contraction was observed in the fourth stacked model, which demonstrated the highest median deviation and least precision within the full-arch (MD = 666 μm, IQR = 55 μm), left posterior (MD = 136 μm, IQR = 12 μm), posterior (MD = 177 μm, IQR = 14 μm) and anteroposterior (MD = 179 μm, IQR = 16 μm) arch segments. In general, the anterior and left posterior arch segments recorded the highest contractions with a median deviation of 34 μm and 29 μm, and precision of 32 μm and 22 μm, respectively. Statistically significant differences were observed between the stacked models in terms of dimensional accuracy that were within clinically acceptable thresholds. The greatest contraction was noted in the fourth model, displaying the least full-arch accuracy compared to the other models. Stacked, additively manufactured, full arch models are a viable alternative for diagnostic, orthodontic, and single-unit prosthodontic applications. In contrast, caution should be exercised when utilising stacked models for full arch high accuracy prosthodontic applications. Further research is needed to assess the impact of additional variables including different printers and resins.
Effectiveness of Polymer Additives in Concrete for 3D Concrete Printing Using Fly Ash
Authors: Dvorkin Leonid , Konkol Janusz , Marchuk Vitaliy , Huts Andriy
Published: December 2022

The article shows the effectiveness of the use of polymer additives for the production of fine-grained concrete mixtures and concretes based on using coal fly ash, which can be used as working mixtures for a 3D printer. Using mathematical planning of experiments, a set of experimental–statistical models was obtained that describes the influence of mixture composition factors including copolymer additive on the most important properties of ash-containing concrete mixtures and concretes for 3D concrete printing in the presence of a hardening accelerator additive. It is shown that when the dry mixture is mixed in water, the redispersed polymer powders are converted into an adhesive polymer dispersion, which, when the solution cures, creates “rubber bridges” in its pores and at the border with the base. They have high tensile strength and elastically reinforce the cement stone; in addition, they are also capable of not only significantly increasing the adhesion between the layers of the extruded mixture, but also significantly smoothing out such shortcomings of the cement stone as increased brittleness, low ultimate elongation, and a tendency to cracking.
Corona Resistance Mechanism of Nano-Modified Polyimide
Authors: Chen Hao , Li Lin , Zhao Wei , Zhang Xiao-Rui , Weng Ling
Published: December 2022

In this paper, the effect of field strength on the corona-resistant lifespan of a composite film and the effect of doping on the dielectric properties of the composite film were studied. The method for predicting corona-resistant lifespan under working electric field strength is discussed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the morphology and the structure of the composite film near the breakdown point after corona formation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to characterize the imidiated film, and a conductivity current test was used to calculate the electrical aging threshold of the film. The results showed that the introduction of nano-SiO2 particles could greatly improve the corona-resistant lifespan of the material. At 155 °C, when the applied external electric field strength was extrapolated to 20 kV/mm, the corona-resistant lifespan of the PI/nano-SiO2 three-layer composite film with 10 wt% nano-particle doping was 7472.61 h.
Preparation and Applications of Green Thermoplastic and Thermosetting Nanocomposites Based on Nanolignin
Authors: Puglia Debora , Luzi Francesca , Torre Luigi
Published: December 2022

The development of bio-based materials is of great importance in the present environmental circumstances; hence, research has greatly advanced in the valorization of lignin from lignocellulosic wastes. Lignin is a natural polymer with a crosslinked structure, valuable antiradical activity, unique thermal- and UV-absorption properties, and biodegradability, which justify its use in several prospective and useful application sectors. The active functionalities of lignin promote its use as a valuable material to be adopted in the composite and nanocomposites arenas, being useful and suitable for consideration both for the synthesis of matrices and as a nanofiller. The aim of this review is to summarize, after a brief introduction on the need for alternative green solutions to petroleum-based plastics, the synthesis methods for bio-based and/or biodegradable thermoplastic and thermosetting nanocomposites, along with the application of lignin nanoparticles in all green polymeric matrices, thus generating responsiveness towards the sustainable use of this valuable product in the environment.
Microporous Polymelamine Framework Functionalized with Re(I) Tricarbonyl Complexes for CO2 Absorption and Reduction
Authors: Zappia Stefania , Perju Elena , Bejan Andrei , Coroaba Adina , Bossola Filippo , Zeng Juqin , Sassone Daniele , Marin Luminita , Destri Silvia , Porzio William
Published: December 2022

A mixture of polymeric complexes based on the reaction between Re(CO)5Cl and the porous polymeric network coming from the coupling of melamine and benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxaldehyde was obtained and characterized by FTIR, NMR, SEM, XPS, ICP, XRD, and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The formed rhenium-based porous hybrid material reveals a noticeable capability of CO2 absorption. The gas absorption amount measured at 295 K was close to 44 cm3/g at 1 atm. An interesting catalytic activity for CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is observed, resulting in a turn over-number (TON) close to 6.3 under 80 min of test at −1.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl in a TBAPF6 0.1 M ACN solution. A possible use as filler in membranes or columns can be envisaged.
Development of Sustainable High Performance Epoxy Thermosets for Aerospace and Space Applications
Authors: Dinu Roxana , Lafont Ugo , Damiano Olivier , Mija Alice
Published: December 2022

There is an imperative need to find sustainable ways to produce bisphenol A free, high performance thermosets for specific applications such as the space or aerospace areas. In this study, an aromatic tris epoxide, the tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane triglycidyl ether (THPMTGE), was selected to generate high crosslinked networks by its copolymerization with anhydrides. Indeed, the prepared thermosets show a gel content (GC) ~99.9% and glass transition values ranged between 167–196 °C. The thermo-mechanical properties examined by DMA analyses reveal the development of very hard materials with E′ ~3–3.5 GPa. The thermosets’ rigidity was confirmed by Young’s moduli values which ranged between 1.25–1.31 GPa, an elongation at break of about 4–5%, and a tensile stress of ~35–45 MPa. The TGA analyses highlight a very good thermal stability, superior to 340 °C. The Limit Oxygen Index (LOI) parameter was also evaluated, showing the development of new materials with good flame retardancy properties.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Biochar Production from a Circular Economy Perspective
Authors: Carvalho Joana , Nascimento Lucas , Soares Margarida , Valério Nádia , Ribeiro André , Faria Luciana , Silva André , Pacheco Nuno , Araújo Jorge , Vilarinho Cândida
Published: December 2022

Climate change and environmental sustainability are among the most prominent issues of today. It is increasingly fundamental and urgent to develop a sustainable economy, capable of change the linear paradigm, actively promoting the efficient use of resources, highlighting product, component and material reuse. Among the many approaches to circular economy and zero-waste concepts, biochar is a great example and might be a way to push the economy to neutralize carbon balance. Biochar is a solid material produced during thermochemical decomposition of biomass in an oxygen-limited environment. Several authors have used life cycle assessment (LCA) method to evaluate the environmental impact of biochar production. Based on these studies, this work intends to critically analyze the LCA of biochar production from different sources using different technologies. Although these studies reveal differences in the contexts and characteristics of production, preventing direct comparison of results, a clear trend appears. It was proven, through combining life cycle assessment and circular economy modelling, that the application of biochar is a very promising way of contributing to carbon-efficient resource circulation, mitigation of climate change, and economic sustainability.
Blockchain Technology for Oil and Gas: Implications and Adoption Framework Using Agile and Lean Supply Chains
Authors: Aslam Javed , Saleem Aqeela , Khan Nokhaiz , Kim Yun
Published: December 2022

Oil and gas (O&G) supply chain management (SCM) is complex because it deals with different geographic locations to manage demand and supply, transportation, inventory, and distribution. Blockchain technology has created an interesting research gap in the SCM domain, and this study is designed to describe the relevancy of blockchain technology for O&G SCM. SCM is based on agile and lean supply chains (SCs). Agile SC focuses on increasing flexibility and responsiveness to gain competitive advantages, and lean SC is based on eliminating waste and processes to improve firm performance. This study is an initial effort to propose a framework that suggests the implication of blockchain for O&G by providing an overview of O&G SCM. Data were collected from SC managers of O&G companies, and we analyzed the impact of agile and lean SCs on firm performance. The results indicate that agile SC is highly important for O&G industries in comparison to lean SC. This study proposes the key requirements of agile SC and how blockchain can uplift agile SC technology with state-of-the-art properties such as data-driven management, information sharing, data privacy, cyber-security, transparency, smart contracts, visibility, traceability, and reliability, which boost SC agility as well as firm performance.
ZIF for CO2 Capture: Structure, Mechanism, Optimization, and Modeling
Authors: Kalauni Kishor , Vedrtnam Ajitanshu , Wdowin Magdalena , Chaturvedi Shashikant
Published: December 2022

The requirement to counter carbon emissions is becoming urgent. Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks (ZIFs) have been extensively investigated recently for storing and separating gases, especially carbon dioxide. The present review aims to summarise the state of the art of ZIFs for carbon dioxide capture focusing on the structure, mechanism, optimisation, and modelling. The methods utilised for carbon capture are briefly summarized. The morphology of ZIFs with different topologies, N2-CO2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, X-ray diffraction patterns, thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) results are discussed to give insights into the textural properties, structure-activity relationship and structural-thermal stability of ZIFs. Finally, the experimental optimisation techniques, modelling and simulation studies for improving CO2 capture by ZIFs are discussed. This review should provide a comprehensive and quick understanding of this research area. It is timely to summarize and review ongoing developments in this growing field to accelerate the research in the right direction.
Citizen Science in Europe—Challenges in Conducting Citizen Science Activities in Cooperation of University and Public Libraries
Authors: Martek Alisa , Mučnjak Dorja , Mumelaš Dolores
Published: December 2022

Citizen science has many definitions but it is commonly known as collaboration between professional scientists and the rest of society. Although there have been cases of its implementation in the past, the term became globally known in 2012. Citizen science activities cover a wide range of academic disciplines and vary widely in what is required of the activity participants in terms of knowledge, time commitment, travel, and the use of technology). For the past ten years, libraries have often introduced citizen science in order to encourage greater interaction between science and society as a form of their services or specially organized activities. The types of libraries that often conduct citizen science are academic, public, and research libraries. Each of these library types has a specific user population; academic libraries have students and scientific and teaching staff; public libraries have the local community; and research libraries have researchers. However, libraries usually carry out CS activities separately, and very rarely in cooperation with other types of libraries. Some collaboration challenges are related to its complexity, the uncertainty regarding research cocreation, and participant retention strategies. Such cooperation is one of the aspects explored by the LIBER project CeOS_SE Project—Citizen-Enhanced Open Science in Southeastern Europe Higher Education Knowledge Hubs. The main goal of the project is to raise awareness of mainstream Open Science and CS practices in Southeastern (SE) Europe. As a project partner, the National and University Library in Zagreb, in cooperation with the University Library of Southern Denmark, conducted a survey that included other European countries in addition to SE Europe to examine and collect good practices of civil engagement in university libraries.
Marian Devotion on the Camino de Santiago during the Middle Ages
Authors: Roszak Piotr , Tanco Lerga Jesus
Published: December 2022

This article presents the theological basis of Marian devotion on the medieval Camino de Santiago and its manifestation in the form of Marian advocacies (Virgen Peregrina, Virgen del Camino). The presence of the cult of the Virgin Mary on the pilgrimage route to Compostela, closely linked to the Jacobean tradition from the very beginning, grows out of the main Mariological trend in the Middle Ages, expressed in the synthesis of Thomas Aquinas. However, a special relationship must be sought in the Mariology of the Hispanic–Mozarabic rite, which created the spiritual climate for the Compostela pilgrimages in the first centuries of their existence.
Groundwater Management in an Uncommon and Artificial Aquifer Based on Kc Approach and MODIS ET Products for Irrigation Assessment in a Subtropical Island
Authors: Yang Zhenglun , Tang Changyuan , Bagan Hasi , Satake Shunichi , Orimo Madoka , Fukumoto Koichiro , Wang Guangwei
Published: December 2022

Groundwater is a critical resource in remote and isolated islands where rainfall hardly provides a continuous and even water supply. In this paper, in a very rare and uncommonly found artificial aquifer on Miyako Island, far away from the main continent of Japan, with limited experimental results of evaluations of crop water requirement, MODIS ET together with crop ETc estimated from Kc coefficient from the nearest island were compared to determine the reliability of the MODIS ET and FAO-56-based ETc value. The testified Kc approach for sugarcane ET was used to assess the risk of irrigation water shortages using historical metrological data and to predict the future risk of irrigation agriculture under different scenarios of GCM models. It was shown that FAO-56-based ETc and MOD16A2 were both applicable for crop evapotranspiration on the island. Then, the response of groundwater storage to gross irrigation water requirement was analyzed to clarify the effect of irrigation on groundwater storage and the risk of groundwater depletion under current and future climatic conditions. Results showed that the construction of the dam efficiently secured the irrigation of sugarcane. Using historical climatic data (1951–2021), the influence of estimated irrigation water requirements on groundwater showed that in 296 out of 852 months, irrigation was heavily required. Over a 71 year period, there was absolutely no water for irrigation four times, or nearly once every 18 years. Under the future projected climate from four bias-corrected GCM models with two emission scenarios (2022–2100), the risk of groundwater depletion both in terms of frequency and duration will increase. Therefore, there is a need for either improvement of irrigation water management or additional construction of artificial aquifers on the island. The study proved the value of ET derived from remote sensing in areas lacking the support of experimental results. The methodology developed in the study can be potentially used to evaluate long-term irrigation demand and groundwater management over dry periods for engineering design or dam construction globally.
A Multi-Scale Feature Pyramid Network for Detection and Instance Segmentation of Marine Ships in SAR Images
Authors: Sun Zequn , Meng Chunning , Cheng Jierong , Zhang Zhiqing , Chang Shengjiang
Published: December 2022

In the remote sensing field, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a type of active microwave imaging sensor working in all-weather and all-day conditions, providing high-resolution SAR images of objects such as marine ships. Detection and instance segmentation of marine ships in SAR images has become an important question in remote sensing, but current deep learning models cannot accurately quantify marine ships because of the multi-scale property of marine ships in SAR images. In this paper, we propose a multi-scale feature pyramid network (MS-FPN) to achieve the simultaneous detection and instance segmentation of marine ships in SAR images. The proposed MS-FPN model uses a pyramid structure, and it is mainly composed of two proposed modules, namely the atrous convolutional pyramid (ACP) module and the multi-scale attention mechanism (MSAM) module. The ACP module is designed to extract both the shallow and deep feature maps, and these multi-scale feature maps are crucial for the description of multi-scale marine ships, especially the small ones. The MSAM module is designed to adaptively learn and select important feature maps obtained from different scales, leading to improved detection and segmentation accuracy. Quantitative comparison of the proposed MS-FPN model with several classical and recently developed deep learning models, using the high-resolution SAR images dataset (HRSID) that contains multi-scale marine ship SAR images, demonstrated the superior performance of MS-FPN over other models.
Explaining Ionospheric Ion Upflow in the Subauroral Polarization Streams
Authors: Li Shuhan , Liu Jing , Li Qiaoling
Published: December 2022

Ionospheric ion upflow is an important process for magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling via O+ source for the magnetosphere. This process occurs frequently in the subauroral polarization stream (SAPS) region where the SAPS-enhanced ion-neutral frictional heating tends to push ions upward because of enhanced upward pressure gradient force. However, the SAPS-induced neutral wind transport by ion-neutral friction may also play an important role in triggering ion upflow, which has been rarely studied. In this work, the thermosphere-ionosphere-electrodynamics general circulation model (TIEGCM) with/without an empirical SAPS model has been employed to investigate the impacts of SAPS on ion upflow in the topside ionosphere. Our results separate different transport processes in the ion continuity equation, showing that SAPS can accelerate upward ambipolar diffusion along its channel because of ion-neutral frictional heating, but SAPS-induced horizontal neutral wind may have a comparable or even larger contribution to vertical ion drift when SAPS are fully developed. In addition, the neutral wind can induce both upward and downward ion drift in the SAPS region, depending on the direction of the neutral wind and the local geomagnetic declination and inclination.
Estimation of the Key Water Quality Parameters in the Surface Water, Middle of Northeast China, Based on Gaussian Process Regression
Authors: Liu Xingpeng , Al-Shaibah Bazel , Zhao Chunli , Tong Zhijun , Bian Hongfeng , Zhang Feng , Zhang Jiquan , Pei Xiangjun
Published: December 2022

To estimate the key water quality parameters on a large scale, based on Pearson’s correlation analysis and band ratio, this study first obtains multiple sensitive band combinations (R ≥ 0.30, p < 0.01) for three key water quality parameters: dissolved oxygen (DO), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). Then, principal component analysis is used to reduce the dimensions and analyze multiple optimal combinations, and the first three principal components (PCs) of the optimal combinations are selected to analyze the water quality parameters. Finally, the water quality parameter models of DO, TN, and TP are proposed and compared based on spectral analysis and field measured water quality data respectively using Gaussian process regression and PCs for each parameter. Through model verification and by comparing the performance of the three models, it is found that the TP model performed well (R = 0.9824, p < 0.01), and TP grade accuracy rate is up to 94.97%. Through the error analysis of TN and DO, it is found that 93.0% of error samples occurs when TP < 0.1 mg/L in the water quality. These results would provide a scientific basis for water quality monitoring and water environment management in the study area and could also be used as a reference for water quality monitoring in other basins.
China’s Greening Modulated the Reallocation of the Evapotranspiration Components during 2001–2020
Authors: Chen Jilong , Gao Xue , Ji Yongyue , Luo Yixia , Yan Lingyun , Fan Yuanchao , Tan Daming
Published: December 2022

Increasing numbers of observations and research studies have detected widespread vegetation greening across China since the 1980s. The dynamics of vegetation can influence the process of terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET) and its components (vegetation transpiration (Ec), soil evaporation (Es), and intercepted precipitation evaporation (Ei)). However, it is still not clear how the ET components responded to China’s greening. This work investigated the characteristics and dynamics of ET components for different climate zones and moisture regions and the dominant ecosystems over China using PML ET products during 2001–2020. The results showed that ET increased by 9%, Ec and Ec/ET increased by 18.7% and 4.4%, respectively, contributing to more than 90% of the ET increment across China. The increment in Ec generally increased from north to south with the most obvious change of Ec/ET having occurred in the temperate zone and semi-humid regions. Es increased in arid, semi-arid and plateau climate regions but decreased in the remaining climate zones. As a result, Es only decreased by 2.7% on average, while Es/ET decreased by 5.7%. Ei increased by 26.6% across China, while Ei/ET changed slightly due to the little contribution of Ei to ET. The agricultural ecosystem presented the most obvious change of Ec and Es among the dominant ecosystems, and the most obvious change of Ei occurred in the forest ecosystem. Vegetation greening altered biophysical factors that govern heat and vapor exchange in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, thus modulating the reallocation of ET components.
Depression Detection Based on Hybrid Deep Learning SSCL Framework Using Self-Attention Mechanism: An Application to Social Networking Data
Authors: Nadeem Aleena , Naveed Muhammad , Islam Satti Muhammad , Afzal Hammad , Ahmad Tanveer , Kim Ki-Il
Published: December 2022

In today’s world, mental health diseases have become highly prevalent, and depression is one of the mental health problems that has become widespread. According to WHO reports, depression is the second-leading cause of the global burden of diseases. In the proliferation of such issues, social media has proven to be a great platform for people to express themselves. Thus, a user’s social media can speak a great deal about his/her emotional state and mental health. Considering the high pervasiveness of the disease, this paper presents a novel framework for depression detection from textual data, employing Natural Language Processing and deep learning techniques. For this purpose, a dataset consisting of tweets was created, which were then manually annotated by the domain experts to capture the implicit and explicit depression context. Two variations of the dataset were created, on having binary and one ternary labels, respectively. Ultimately, a deep-learning-based hybrid Sequence, Semantic, Context Learning (SSCL) classification framework with a self-attention mechanism is proposed that utilizes GloVe (pre-trained word embeddings) for feature extraction; LSTM and CNN were used to capture the sequence and semantics of tweets; finally, the GRUs and self-attention mechanism were used, which focus on contextual and implicit information in the tweets. The framework outperformed the existing techniques in detecting the explicit and implicit context, with an accuracy of 97.4 for binary labeled data and 82.9 for ternary labeled data. We further tested our proposed SSCL framework on unseen data (random tweets), for which an F1-score of 94.4 was achieved. Furthermore, in order to showcase the strengths of the proposed framework, we validated it on the “News Headline Data set” for sarcasm detection, considering a dataset from a different domain. It also outmatched the performance of existing techniques in cross-domain validation.
Enhancement and Restoration of Scratched Murals Based on Hyperspectral Imaging—A Case Study of Murals in the Baoguang Hall of Qutan Temple, Qinghai, China
Authors: Sun Pengyu , Hou Miaole , Lyu Shuqiang , Wang Wanfu , Li Shuyang , Mao Jincheng , Li Songnian
Published: December 2022

Environmental changes and human activities have caused serious degradation of murals around the world. Scratches are one of the most common issues in these damaged murals. We propose a new method for virtually enhancing and removing scratches from murals; which can provide an auxiliary reference and support for actual restoration. First, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the hyperspectral data of a mural after reflectance correction, and high-pass filtering was performed on the selected first principal component image. Principal component fusion was used to replace the original first principal component with a high-pass filtered first principal component image, which was then inverse PCA transformed with the other original principal component images to obtain an enhanced hyperspectral image. The linear information in the mural was therefore enhanced, and the differences between the scratches and background improved. Second, the enhanced hyperspectral image of the mural was synthesized as a true colour image and converted to the HSV colour space. The light brightness component of the image was estimated using the multi-scale Gaussian function and corrected with a 2D gamma function, thus solving the problem of localised darkness in the murals. Finally, the enhanced mural images were applied as input to the triplet domain translation network pretrained model. The local branches in the translation network perform overall noise smoothing and colour recovery of the mural, while the partial nonlocal block is used to extract the information from the scratches. The mapping process was learned in the hidden space for virtual removal of the scratches. In addition, we added a Butterworth high-pass filter at the end of the network to generate the final restoration result of the mural with a clearer visual effect and richer high-frequency information. We verified and validated these methods for murals in the Baoguang Hall of Qutan Temple. The results show that the proposed method outperforms the restoration results of the total variation (TV) model, curvature-driven diffusion (CDD) model, and Criminisi algorithm. Moreover, the proposed combined method produces better recovery results and improves the visual richness, readability, and artistic expression of the murals compared with direct recovery using a triple domain translation network.
Multi-UAV Path Planning Algorithm Based on BINN-HHO
Authors: Li Sen , Zhang Ran , Ding Yuanming , Qin Xutong , Han Yajun , Zhang Huiting
Published: December 2022

Multi-UAV (multiple unmanned aerial vehicles) flying in three-dimensional (3D) mountain environments suffer from low stability, long-planned path, and low dynamic obstacle avoidance efficiency. Spurred by these constraints, this paper proposes a multi-UAV path planning algorithm that consists of a bioinspired neural network and improved Harris hawks optimization with a periodic energy decline regulation mechanism (BINN-HHO) to solve the multi-UAV path planning problem in a 3D space. Specifically, in the procession of global path planning, an energy cycle decline mechanism is introduced into HHO and embed it into the energy function, which balances the algorithm’s multi-round dynamic iteration between global exploration and local search. Additionally, when the onboard sensors detect a dynamic obstacle during the flight, the improved BINN algorithm conducts a local path replanning for dynamic obstacle avoidance. Once the dynamic obstacles in the sensor detection area disappear, the local path planning is completed, and the UAV returns to the trajectory determined by the global planning. The simulation results show that the proposed Harris hawks algorithm has apparent superiorities in path planning and dynamic obstacle avoidance efficiency compared with the basic Harris hawks optimization, particle swarm optimization (PSO), and the sparrow search algorithm (SSA).
Energy and Environment-Aware Path Planning in Wireless Sensor Networks with Mobile Sink
Authors: El-Fouly Fatma H. , Altamimi Ahmed B. , Ramadan Rabie A.
Published: December 2022

With the advances in sensing technologies, sensor networks became the core of several different networks, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and drone networks. This led to the use of sensor networks in many critical applications including military, health care, and commercial applications. In addition, sensors might be mobile or stationary. Stationary sensors, once deployed, will not move; however, mobile nodes can move from one place to another. In most current applications, mobile sensors are used to collect data from stationary sensors. This raises many energy consumption challenges, including sensor networks’ energy consumption, urgent messages transfer for real-time analysis, and path planning. Moreover, sensors in sensor networks are usually exposed to environmental parameters and left unattended. These issues, up to our knowledge, are not deeply covered in the current research. This paper develops a complete framework to solve these challenges. It introduces novel path planning techniques considering areas’ priority, environmental parameters, and urgent messages. Consequently, a novel energy-efficient and reliable clustering algorithm is proposed considering the residual energy of the sensor nodes, the quality of wireless links, and the distance parameter representing the average intra-cluster distance. Moreover, it proposes a real-time, energy-efficient, reliable and environment-aware routing, taking into account the environmental data, link quality, delay, hop count, nodes’ residual energy, and load balancing. Furthermore, for the benefit of the sensor networks research community, all proposed algorithms are formed in integer linear programming (ILP) for optimal solutions. All proposed techniques are evaluated and compared to six recent algorithms. The results showed that the proposed framework outperforms the recent algorithms.