bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Towards a Monitoring Approach for Understanding Permafrost Degradation and Linked Subsidence in Arctic Peatlands
Authors: de la Barreda-Bautista Betsabe , Boyd Doreen S. , Ledger Martha , Siewert Matthias B. , Chandler Chris , Bradley Andrew V. , Gee David , Large David J. , Olofsson Johan , Sowter Andrew , Sjögersten Sofie
Published: January 2022

Permafrost thaw resulting from climate warming is threatening to release carbon from high latitude peatlands. The aim of this research was to determine subsidence rates linked to permafrost thaw in sub-Arctic peatlands in Sweden using historical orthophotographic (orthophotos), Unoccupied Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data. The orthophotos showed that the permafrost palsa on the study sites have been contracting in their areal extent, with the greatest rates of loss between 2002 and 2008. The surface motion estimated from differential digital elevation models from the UAV data showed high levels of subsidence (maximum of −25 cm between 2017 and 2020) around the edges of the raised palsa plateaus. The InSAR data analysis showed that raised palsa areas had the greatest subsidence rates, with maximum subsidence rates of 1.5 cm between 2017 and 2020; however, all wetland vegetation types showed subsidence. We suggest that the difference in spatial units associated with each sensor explains parts of the variation in the subsidence levels recorded. We conclude that InSAR was able to identify the areas most at risk of subsidence and that it can be used to investigate subsidence over large spatial extents, whereas UAV data can be used to better understand the dynamics of permafrost degradation at a local level. These findings underpin a monitoring approach for these peatlands.
Performance Testing of Optical Flow Time Series Analyses Based on a Fast, High-Alpine Landslide
Authors: Hermle Doris , Gaeta Michele , Krautblatter Michael , Mazzanti Paolo , Keuschnig Markus
Published: January 2022

Accurate remote analyses of high-alpine landslides are a key requirement for future alpine safety. In critical stages of alpine landslide evolution, UAS (unmanned aerial system) data can be employed using image registration to derive ground motion with high temporal and spatial resolution. However, classical area-based algorithms suffer from dynamic surface alterations and their limited velocity range restricts detection, resulting in noise from decorrelation and hindering their application to fast landslides. Here, to reduce these limitations we apply for the first time the optical flow-time series to landslides for the analysis of one of the fastest and most critical debris flow source zones in Austria. The benchmark site Sattelkar (2130–2730 m asl), a steep, high-alpine cirque in Austria, is highly sensitive to rainfall and melt-water events, which led to a 70,000 m³ debris slide event after two days of heavy precipitation in summer 2014. We use a UAS data set of five acquisitions (2018–2020) over a temporal range of three years with 0.16 m spatial resolution. Our new methodology is to employ optical flow for landslide monitoring, which, along with phase correlation, is incorporated into the software IRIS. For performance testing, we compared the two algorithms by applying them to the UAS image stacks to calculate time-series displacement curves and ground motion maps. These maps allow the exact identification of compartments of the complex landslide body and reveal different displacement patterns, with displacement curves reflecting an increased acceleration. Visually traceable boulders in the UAS orthophotos provide independent validation of the methodology applied. Here, we demonstrate that UAS optical flow time series analysis generates a better signal extraction, and thus less noise and a wider observable velocity range—highlighting its applicability for the acceleration of a fast, high-alpine landslide.
Stance Phase Detection by Inertial Measurement Unit Placed on the Metacarpus of Horses Trotting on Hard and Soft Straight Lines and Circles
Authors: Hatrisse Chloé , Macaire Claire , Sapone Marie , Hebert Camille , Hanne-Poujade Sandrine , De Azevedo Emeline , Marin Frederic , Martin Pauline , Chateau Henry
Published: January 2022

The development of on-board technologies has enabled the development of quantification systems to monitor equine locomotion parameters. Their relevance among others relies on their ability to determine specific locomotor events such as foot-on and heel-off events. The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of different methods for an automatic gait events detection from inertial measurement units (IMUs). IMUs were positioned on the cannon bone, hooves, and withers of seven horses trotting on hard and soft straight lines and circles. Longitudinal acceleration and angular velocity around the latero-medial axis of the cannon bone, and withers dorso-ventral displacement data were identified to tag the foot-on and a heel-off events. The results were compared with a reference method based on hoof-mounted-IMU data. The developed method showed bias less than 1.79%, 1.46%, 3.45% and −1.94% of stride duration, respectively, for forelimb foot-on and heel-off, and for hindlimb foot-on and heel-off detection, compared to our reference method. The results of this study showed that the developed gait-events detection method had a similar accuracy to other methods developed for straight line analysis and extended this validation to other types of exercise (circles) and ground surface (soft surface).
Neural Network-Based Strong Motion Prediction for On-Site Earthquake Early Warning
Authors: Chiang You-Jing , Chin Tai-Lin , Chen Da-Yi
Published: January 2022

Developing on-site earthquake early warning systems has been a challenging problem because of time limitations and the amount of information that can be collected before the warning needs to be issued. A potential solution that could prevent severe disasters is to predict the potential strong motion using the initial P-wave signal and provide warnings before serious ground shaking starts. In practice, the accuracy of prediction is the most critical issue for earthquake early warning systems. Traditional methods use certain criteria, selected through intuition or experience, to make the prediction. However, the criteria thresholds are difficult to select and may significantly affect the prediction accuracy. This paper investigates methods based on artificial intelligence for predicting the greatest earthquake ground motion early, when the P-wave arrives at seismograph stations. A neural network model is built to make the predictions using a small window of the initial P-wave acceleration signal. The model is trained by seismic waves collected from 1991 to 2019 in Taiwan and is evaluated by events in 2020 and 2021. From these evaluations, the proposed scheme significantly outperforms the threshold-based method in terms of its accuracy and average leading time.
Progress on Infrared Imaging Technology in Animal Production: A Review
Authors: Zheng Shuailong , Zhou Changfan , Jiang Xunping , Huang Jingshu , Xu Dequan
Published: January 2022

Infrared thermography (IRT) imaging technology, as a convenient, efficient, and contactless temperature measurement technology, has been widely applied to animal production. In this review, we systematically summarized the principles and influencing parameters of IRT imaging technology. In addition, we also summed up recent advances of IRT imaging technology in monitoring the temperature of animal surfaces and core anatomical areas, diagnosing early disease and inflammation, monitoring animal stress levels, identifying estrus and ovulation, and diagnosing pregnancy and animal welfare. Finally, we made prospective forecast for future research directions, offering more theoretical references for related research in this field.
Sound Localization and Speech Enhancement Algorithm Based on Dual-Microphone
Authors: Tao Tao , Zheng Hong , Yang Jianfeng , Guo Zhongyuan , Zhang Yiyang , Ao Jiahui , Chen Yuao , Lin Weiting , Tan Xiao
Published: January 2022

In order to simplify the complexity and reduce the cost of the microphone array, this paper proposes a dual-microphone based sound localization and speech enhancement algorithm. Based on the time delay estimation of the signal received by the dual microphones, this paper combines energy difference estimation and controllable beam response power to realize the 3D coordinate calculation of the acoustic source and dual-microphone sound localization. Based on the azimuth angle of the acoustic source and the analysis of the independent quantity of the speech signal, the separation of the speaker signal of the acoustic source is realized. On this basis, post-wiener filtering is used to amplify and suppress the voice signal of the speaker, which can help to achieve speech enhancement. Experimental results show that the dual-microphone sound localization algorithm proposed in this paper can accurately identify the sound location, and the speech enhancement algorithm is more robust and adaptable than the original algorithm.
A Comprehensive Survey on Nanophotonic Neural Networks: Architectures, Training Methods, Optimization, and Activations Functions
Authors: Demertzis Konstantinos , Papadopoulos Georgios D. , Iliadis Lazaros , Magafas Lykourgos
Published: January 2022

In the last years, materializations of neuromorphic circuits based on nanophotonic arrangements have been proposed, which contain complete optical circuits, laser, photodetectors, photonic crystals, optical fibers, flat waveguides and other passive optical elements of nanostructured materials, which eliminate the time of simultaneous processing of big groups of data, taking advantage of the quantum perspective, and thus highly increasing the potentials of contemporary intelligent computational systems. This article is an effort to record and study the research that has been conducted concerning the methods of development and materialization of neuromorphic circuits of neural networks of nanophotonic arrangements. In particular, an investigative study of the methods of developing nanophotonic neuromorphic processors, their originality in neuronic architectural structure, their training methods and their optimization was realized along with the study of special issues such as optical activation functions and cost functions. The main contribution of this research work is that it is the first time in the literature that the most well-known architectures, training methods, optimization and activations functions of the nanophotonic networks are presented in a single paper. This study also includes an extensive detailed meta-review analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of nanophotonic networks.
Harmonic Components Analysis of Emitted Ultraviolet Signals of Aged Transmission Line Insulators under Different Surface Discharge Intensities
Authors: Suhaimi Saiful Mohammad Iezham , Muhamad Nor Asiah , Bashir Nouruddeen , Mohd Jamil Mohamad Kamarol , Abdul Rahman Mohd Nazri
Published: January 2022

Flashover on transmission line insulators is one of the major causes of line outages due to contamination from the environment or ageing. Power utility companies practicing predictive maintenance are currently exploring novel non-contact methods to monitor insulator surface discharge activities to prevent flashover. This paper presents an investigation on the UV pulse signals detected using UV pulse sensor due to the discharges on the insulator surfaces under varying contamination levels and insulator ages. Unaged and naturally aged insulators (0 to >20 years) were artificially contaminated (none, light to heavy contamination). The electrical stresses on the insulator surfaces were varied to generate varying discharge intensity levels on the surfaces of the insulator. The DC and harmonic components of UV pulse signals detected during surface discharges were recorded and analysed. Results show a positive correlation between the discharge intensity level of contaminated and aged transmission insulators with the DC and harmonic components of the UV pulse signals. Furthermore, the study revealed that under dry insulator surface conditions, insulator ageing has a more profound effect during discharges than contamination level. The findings from this study suggest that the use of UV pulse sensors to monitor UV pulse signals emitted during insulator surface discharges can be another novel non-contact method of monitoring transmission line insulator surface conditions.
High-Resolution Permanent Magnet Drive Using Separated Observers for Acceleration Estimation and Control
Authors: Lin Yi-Jen , Chou Po-Huan , Yang Shih-Chin
Published: January 2022

This paper proposes a high-resolution permanent magnet (PM) motor drive based on acceleration estimation and control. The PM motor is widely implemented in the printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing process. To achieve the demanded 1 μm drilling resolution, a sine/cosine incremental encoder is usually installed for motion control. In this paper, several improvements are developed to increase the motion control steady-state accuracy balancing transient response. First, the interpolation of every two encoder counts is proposed to increase the position sensing resolution. In this case, the transient response is improved through the high-resolution position feedback. Second, a closed-loop observer with two independent bandwidths is proposed for acceleration estimation. By using the interpolated position for acceleration estimation, the vibration-reflected high-frequency torque harmonics can be compensated through the acceleration closed-loop control. It reduces the steady-state error under the same sensing hardware. According to experimental results, both transient response and steady-state error can be improved on a PM motor using the proposed position interpolation and acceleration control.
fNIRS-Based Upper Limb Motion Intention Recognition Using an Artificial Neural Network for Transhumeral Amputees
Authors: Sattar Neelum Yousaf , Kausar Zareena , Usama Syed Ali , Farooq Umer , Shah Muhammad Faizan , Muhammad Shaheer , Khan Razaullah , Badran Mohamed
Published: January 2022

Prosthetic arms are designed to assist amputated individuals in the performance of the activities of daily life. Brain machine interfaces are currently employed to enhance the accuracy as well as number of control commands for upper limb prostheses. However, the motion prediction for prosthetic arms and the rehabilitation of amputees suffering from transhumeral amputations is limited. In this paper, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based approach for the recognition of human intention for six upper limb motions is proposed. The data were extracted from the study of fifteen healthy subjects and three transhumeral amputees for elbow extension, elbow flexion, wrist pronation, wrist supination, hand open, and hand close. The fNIRS signals were acquired from the motor cortex region of the brain by the commercial NIRSport device. The acquired data samples were filtered using finite impulse response (FIR) filter. Furthermore, signal mean, signal peak and minimum values were computed as feature set. An artificial neural network (ANN) was applied to these data samples. The results show the likelihood of classifying the six arm actions with an accuracy of 78%. The attained results have not yet been reported in any identical study. These achieved fNIRS results for intention detection are promising and suggest that they can be applied for the real-time control of the transhumeral prosthesis.
The Relationship between the Integration of CSR and Sustainable Business Performance: Perceptions of SMEs in the South African Construction Industry
Authors: Wentzel Lance , Fapohunda Julius Ayodeji , Haldenwang Rainer
Published: January 2022

Although studies relative to redirecting the unsustainable trajectory of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the South African construction industry (SACI) have been extensively conducted, current statistics show that 70–80% of construction SMEs in the SACI fail within their first five years of existence, raising concerns regarding their sustainability. This paper attempts to address the negative trajectory by exploring the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR), investigating the organisational perceptions of SMEs in the SACI relative to the relationship between the integration of CSR and sustainable business performance (SBP). Existing literature was used to provide an overview of this relationship taking into consideration the views of SMEs in both developed and developing countries. The empirical study was conducted utilising a quantitative research approach in the form of an online questionnaire survey. The research data was analysed using both descriptive (mean, standard deviation, etc.) and inferential (Analysis of Variance ANOVA) statistics. Based on the research approach and data analysis, the findings revealed that SMEs in the SACI similarly perceive the relationship between the integration of CSR and SBP to be a positive one, implying that the practice of CSR within construction businesses should lead to SBP, and serve as a meaningful guide in addressing the unsustainable trajectory of SMEs in the SACI. The findings could guide government agencies such as the construction industry development board (cidb) to embed CSR education within contractor development programs, linking the adoption of CSR to the contractor grading system.
Strengthening Collaborative Food Waste Prevention in Peru: Towards Responsible Consumption and Production
Authors: Cordova-Buiza Franklin , Paucar-Caceres Alberto , Quispe-Prieto Silvia Cristina , Rivera-Garré Andrea Pierina , Huerta-Tantalean Lucero Nicole , Valle-Paucar Jesús Enrique , Ponce de León-Panduro Carla Vanessa , Burrowes-Cromwell Toni
Published: January 2022

Inefficient management and handling of organic waste generated by the food service sector is a big global challenge. In addition to the negative environmental impacts of food waste, the effect of the amount of food that is wasted when it is not handled properly is even more alarming. This is particularly when we witness the millions of people who suffer from lack of food and malnutrition. The objective of this research is to examine the situation of organic waste management in food services in the cities of Lima and Tacna in Peru. Using a quantitative methodological approach to waste management, a questionnaire was administered to a sample of 67 restaurants in both cities. The survey results suggest that the restaurants do not carry out the separation or reuse of organic waste. Furthermore, the main methods of disposal include providing surpluses to the staff and sending organic waste to the sanitary landfill and slaughterhouses. There is also a lack of awareness and training about the importance of organic waste management. From the restaurants interviewed, although around 60% claimed to segregate them, only 28% measured organic waste using a manual control and 18% indicated that they weighed the waste for management purposes. As a corrective measure for this deficiency, the production of an awareness video was created to improve decision-making and support change.
Agricultural Eco-Efficiency: Challenges and Progress
Authors: Wang Guofeng , Shi Rui , Mi Lingchen , Hu Jinmiao
Published: January 2022

The research on agricultural eco-efficiency has become an important point to deeply understand the interaction between ecological and environmental conditions and socio-economic factors as well as realize the coordinated development of agricultural economic development and environmental protection. (1) Background: This paper attempts to provide scientific support for the healthy and stable development of the agricultural economy and the sustainable development of ecological agriculture. (2) Methods: From a comprehensive perspective, this paper systematically analyze the overall situation, development trend, key fields, and hot fields of agricultural eco-efficiency in the past two decades. It consists of two complementary parts, including systematic quantitative literature review (based on CiteSpace) and traditional literature review. (3) Results: Agricultural eco-efficiency has evolved significantly with the popularization of agricultural machinery and the wide application of science and technology in the field of agricultural ecology. Its future development relies on the advances in our knowledge on theories and hypothesis, evaluation methods, impact on “socio-economic ecological” system, and drivers and regulation of agricultural eco-efficiency. For each of these fields, we find that challenges still exist. At present, the quantitative methods and index selection are not unified. We should deeply analyze the internal and external driving force of the development and change of ecological efficiency by constructing a complete theoretical framework for the research of agricultural ecological efficiency. At the same time, new technologies and methods are needed to evaluate agricultural eco-efficiency, and a balanced consensus between the improvement of agricultural eco-efficiency and the improvement of the ecological environment should be formed through empirical research.
Comparative Investigations into Environment-Friendly Production Methods for Railway Prestressed Concrete Sleepers and Bearers
Authors: You Ruilin , Wang Jijun , Kaewunruen Sakdirat , Wang Meng , Ning Na
Published: January 2022

Prestressed concrete sleeper is a safety-critical track component widely used in ballasted railway tracks. The performance, endurance and quality of prestressed concrete sleepers can detrimentally affect the serviceability and durability of a railway track. An optimal production method is an important criterion underpinning quality and durability over the entire service life of prestressed concrete sleepers. At present, the research work of the sleeper mainly focuses on the dynamic load, bearing capacity and structural design method, etc. However, there exists a lack of research on the specific advantages and disadvantages of the sleeper production process and the improvement of the sleeper process research. This study is the world’s first to collect and analyse the technical data and characteristics of modern production methods of prestressed concrete sleepers, including the long-line system method, pre-tensioned long-mould flow method, pre-tensioned short-mould flow method, post-tensioned short-mould flow method and instant-demoulded short-mould flow method. The precautions for these prestressed concrete sleepers are highlighted in the paper as well. The research results show that the long-line system method, pre-tensioned short-mould flow method, post-tensioned short-mould flow method and instant-demoulded short-mould flow method have a higher automation level and lower efficiency than the pre-tensioned long-mould flow method. The production method of the pre-tensioned long-mould flow method has high efficiency and low cost of equipment, but more workers are needed. Through a comparative analysis, this paper also determines the environmental impacts and provide new references and suggestions for the development and progress of sleeper production technologies.
3D-Printed Blocks: Thermal Performance Analysis and Opportunities for Insulating Materials
Authors: de Rubeis Tullio
Published: January 2022

The building energy balance is strongly influenced by the heat transmission losses through the envelope. This justifies the growing effort to search for innovative and high-performance insulating materials. The 3D printing process, also known as additive manufacturing, is already used in various industrial applications thanks to its ability to realize complex structures with high accuracy. It also represents an emerging and still poorly explored field in the world of “building physics”. The aim of this work is to present the design, realization, and analysis phases of a 3D-printed thermal insulating block. The performance analysis of the block was performed via theoretical and experimental approaches. The testing phase was conducted using a Hot Box specially built for this purpose, which allowed to have known, repeatable, and steady thermal conditions. The experimental phase, based on the infrared thermography technique and heat flow meter method, allowed a preliminary evaluation of the 3D-printed block performance. Moreover, to implement the concept of circular economy, the internal cavities of the block were filled with different recovered waste materials: polystyrene and wool. The results obtained have shown, although preliminarily, the potential of additive manufacturing in the field of insulating materials.
Feasibility Investigation for Residential Battery Sizing Considering EV Charging Demand
Authors: Shabbir Noman , Kütt Lauri , Daniel Kamran , Astapov Victor , Raja Hadi Ashraf , Iqbal Muhammad Naveed , Husev Oleksandr
Published: January 2022

Photovoltaic (PV) systems along with battery energy storage systems (BESS) are an increasing trend for residential users due to the increasing cost of energy and environmental factors. Future sustainable grids will also have electric vehicles (EVs) integrated into these residential microgrids. However, this large-scale deployment of EVs and PV systems could mean several problems in terms of power quality, hosting capacity and as well economic implications. This paper aims to provide input to more optimal design and management of domestic PV and BESS for residential users with EVs. In this work, a measurement-based data set from a low-voltage distribution network in a rural area has been used. Investigation sees different household and PV-EV penetration levels to propose the BESS capacity and use cases. An economic analysis has been performed to check the feasibility of the proposed systems. The payback period is found to be between 13 to 15 years of the proposed systems.
Environmental Regulation and Firm Exports: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China
Authors: Zhang Li , Liu Yuhai , Hu Jin-Li , Liu Tiebin , Liao Sainan
Published: January 2022

This research studies the impact of a unique environmental regulatory policy called mandatory Cleaner Production Audit on firm exports from China using matched firm-level data. Employing the difference-in-differences approach to examine this effect shows that firms subject to the mandatory Cleaner Production Audit suffer a relative decline in exports, and this negative effect is stronger when the implementation of mandatory Cleaner Production Audit was substantially improved in the later stage. Heterogeneity analyses present that the stringent environmental regulations barely affect state-owned firms, whereas they are a strong influence on private firms located in the eastern region of China, and have a much larger negative effect on exports of small-size firms relative to large-size firms. Mechanism discussions show that there are both the compliance costs effect and the innovation offsets effect, but the benefits from the innovation offsets effect do not appear to be large enough to outweigh the compliance costs effect for the regulated firms.
Evaluation Expediency of Eco-Friendly Advertising Formats for Different Generation Based on Spanish Advertising Experts
Authors: Palomo-Domínguez Isabel , Zemlickienė Vaida
Published: January 2022

The advertising industry is also responsible for promoting a sustainable future for our planet. Besides launching messages of environmental respect, it is essential to choose and use advertising tools that will leave the lightest footprint in the environment. While environmental issues are indeed relevant, in any way, the need remains to spread the word about the products/services and make rational decisions that will maximize the reach of potential consumers. In other words, support measures are needed to reach the target market more effectively. Based on the above considerations, the article presents the research results of evaluating the expediency of eco-friendly advertising formats to different generational cohorts in the Spanish media scene. The MCDM method defined the structure of the research and was used to summarize the results of the expert study. This method’s choice is based on motive related to the purpose of the evaluation and the applicability of the research results in practice. Research results are helpful guidelines for decision-makers of advertising agencies or their clients in the campaign planning process. They show that generational differences are a determining factor for reaching the target market.
Evaluation of Pool-Type Fish Passage with Labyrinth Weirs
Authors: Li Shicheng , Yang James , Ansell Anders
Published: January 2022

Due to the construction of dams and sluices, habitat fragmentation of riverine species is an issue of concern in hydropower projects. An artificial fishway aims to restore flow connectivity and facilitate migration. As an alternative to the conventional layout with straight walls, labyrinth layouts are introduced, consisting of either triangular, trapezoidal, or rectangular weirs. Three-dimensional CFD simulations are performed to examine their influences on the fishway hydraulics. The labyrinth layouts exhibit an appreciable three-dimensional flow structure in a pool, featuring flow fluctuations in both cross- and along-channel directions, which is indicative of the potential for multiple species with distinct swimming preferences. The streamwise reduction in mean flow velocity is correlated with the Froude number, with the labyrinth weirs leading to a somewhat lower reduction than the conventional one. The dimensionless pool water depth declines with specific flow discharge. The turbulence kinetic energy is the lowest in the triangular layout and the vorticity in the conventional one. Among the labyrinth layouts, the differences in volumetric power dissipation are small. An equation is developed for dissipation estimation. All the labyrinth layouts generate higher energy loss than the conventional one. With optional weir configurations, the findings provide reference for engineering design.
Influence of Friction on the Behavior and Performance of Prefabricated Timber–Bearing Glass Composite Systems
Authors: Rajčić Vlatka , Perković Nikola , Damjanović Domagoj , Barbalić Jure
Published: January 2022

The basic concept of seismic building design is to ensure the ductility and sufficient energy dissipation of the entire system. The combination of wood and bearing glass represents a design in which each material transmits the load, and with the mutual and simultaneous interaction of the constituent elements, it is also earthquake resistant. Such a system has been developed so that the glass directly relies on the wooden frame, which allows the load to be transferred by contact and the friction force between the two of materials. Within the seismic load, friction between glass and wood is an important factor that affects both the behavior and performance of a wood–glass composite system. The set-up system consists of a single specimen of laminated or insulating glass embedded between two CLT elements. The friction force was determined at the CLT–glass contact surface for a certain lateral pressure, i.e., normal force. Friction depends on the way the elements (especially glass) are processed, as well as on the lateral load introduced into the system. Conducted experimental research was accompanied by numerical analyses. Experimental research was confirmed by numerical simulations.
On Aspects of Gradient Elasticity: Green’s Functions and Concentrated Forces
Authors: Andrianov Igor V. , Koblik Steve G. , Starushenko Galina A. , Kudaibergenov Askat K.
Published: January 2022

In the first part of our review paper, we consider the problem of approximating the Green’s function of the Lagrange chain by continuous analogs. It is shown that the use of continuous equations based on the two-point Padé approximants gives good results. In the second part of the paper, the problem of singularities arising in the classical theory of elasticity with affecting concentrated loadings is considered. To overcome this problem, instead of a transition to the gradient theory of elasticity, it is proposed to change the concept of concentrated effort. Namely, the Dirac delta function is replaced by the Whittaker–Shannon–Kotel’nikov interpolating function. The only additional parameter that characterizes the microheterogeneity of the medium is used. An analog of the Flamant problem is considered as an example. The found solution does not contain singularities and tends to the classical one when the microheterogeneity parameter approaches zero. The derived formulas have a simpler form compared to those obtained by the gradient theory of elasticity.
A Review of Efficient Real-Time Decision Making in the Internet of Things
Authors: Kang Kyoung-Don
Published: January 2022

Emerging applications of IoT (the Internet of Things), such as smart transportation, health, and energy, are envisioned to greatly enhance the societal infrastructure and quality of life of individuals. In such innovative IoT applications, cost-efficient real-time decision-making is critical to facilitate, for example, effective transportation management and healthcare. In this paper, we formally define real-time decision tasks in IoT, review cutting-edge approaches that aim to efficiently schedule real-time decision tasks to meet their timing and data freshness constraints, review state-of-the-art approaches for efficient sensor data analytics in IoT, and discuss future research directions.
Versatile SARS-CoV-2 Reverse-Genetics Systems for the Study of Antiviral Resistance and Replication
Authors: Fahnøe Ulrik , Pham Long V. , Fernandez-Antunez Carlota , Costa Rui , Rivera-Rangel Lizandro René , Galli Andrea , Feng Shan , Mikkelsen Lotte S. , Gottwein Judith M. , Scheel Troels K. H. , Ramirez Santseharay , Bukh Jens
Published: January 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten healthcare systems worldwide due to the limited access to vaccines, suboptimal treatment options, and the continuous emergence of new and more transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants. Reverse-genetics studies of viral genes and mutations have proven highly valuable in advancing basic virus research, leading to the development of therapeutics. We developed a functional and highly versatile full-length SARS-CoV-2 infectious system by cloning the sequence of a COVID-19 associated virus isolate (DK-AHH1) into a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). Viruses recovered after RNA-transfection of in vitro transcripts into Vero E6 cells showed growth kinetics and remdesivir susceptibility similar to the DK-AHH1 virus isolate. Insertion of reporter genes, green fluorescent protein, and nanoluciferase into the ORF7 genomic region led to high levels of reporter activity, which facilitated high throughput treatment experiments. We found that putative coronavirus remdesivir resistance-associated substitutions F480L and V570L—and naturally found polymorphisms A97V, P323L, and N491S, all in nsp12—did not decrease SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility to remdesivir. A nanoluciferase reporter clone with deletion of spike (S), envelope (E), and membrane (M) proteins exhibited high levels of transient replication, was inhibited by remdesivir, and therefore could function as an efficient non-infectious subgenomic replicon system. The developed SARS-CoV-2 reverse-genetics systems, including recombinants to modify infectious viruses and non-infectious subgenomic replicons with autonomous genomic RNA replication, will permit high-throughput cell culture studies—providing fundamental understanding of basic biology of this coronavirus. We have proven the utility of the systems in rapidly introducing mutations in nsp12 and studying their effect on the efficacy of remdesivir, which is used worldwide for the treatment of COVID-19. Our system provides a platform to effectively test the antiviral activity of drugs and the phenotype of SARS-CoV-2 mutants.
Molecular Epidemiology of Norovirus (NoV) Infection in Mie Prefecture: The Kinetics of Norovirus Antigenemia in Pediatric Patients
Authors: Amexo Jennifer X. , Negoro Manami , Kuurdor Elijah Deku-Mwin , Lartey Belinda L. , Sokejima Shigeru , Sugata Ken , Tonto Prince Baffour , Taniguchi Kiyosu
Published: January 2022

Few studies have shown the presence of norovirus (NoV) RNA in blood circulation but there is no data on norovirus antigenemia. We examined both antigenemia and RNAemia from the sera of children with NoV infections and studied whether norovirus antigenemia is correlated with the levels of norovirus-specific antibodies and clinical severity of gastroenteritis. Both stool and serum samples were collected from 63 children admitted to Mie National Hospital with acute NoV gastroenteritis. Norovirus antigen and RNA were detected in sera by ELISA and real-time RT-PCR, respectively. NoV antigenemia was found in 54.8% (34/62) and RNAemia in 14.3% (9/63) of sera samples. Antigenemia was more common in the younger age group (0–2 years) than in the older age groups, and most patients were male. There was no correlation between stool viral load and norovirus antigen (NoV-Ag) levels (rs = −0.063; Cl −0.3150 to 0.1967; p = 0.6251). Higher levels of acute norovirus-specific IgG serum antibodies resulted in a lower antigenemia OD value (n = 61; r = −0.4258; CI −0.62 to −0.19; p = 0.0006). Norovirus antigenemia occurred more commonly in children under 2 years of age with NoV-associated acute gastroenteritis. The occurrence of antigenemia was not correlated with stool viral load or disease severity.
Auricular Non-Epithelial Tumors with Solar Elastosis in Cats: A Possible UV-Induced Pathogenesis
Authors: Millanta Francesca , Parisi Francesca , Poli Alessandro , Sorelli Virginia , Abramo Francesca
Published: January 2022

The photoinduced etiopathology of actinic keratosis and squamous cell carcinoma in feline species is well known. This etiology has also been reported for non-epithelial cutaneous tumors in other species. To date, no cases of auricular non-epithelial cutaneous neoplasms erased in a contest of actinic keratosis in cats have been reported. The aim of this study was to describe feline auricular non-epithelial cutaneous neoplasms associated with typical UV-induced cutaneous lesions and solar elastosis. The study was conducted on five feline cases diagnosed with auricular non-epithelial cutaneous tumors (two fibrosarcomas, one mixosarcoma, one epithelioid melanoma and one hemangiosarcoma), selected from the Tumor Registry of the Department of Veterinary Sciences of the University of Pisa (1998–2018). Ten and six feline auricular biopsies of normal skin and skin with actinic keratosis, respectively, were used as controls. Orcein stain was used to investigate solar elastosis. Histological changes related to chronic solar irradiation were documented in the skin adjacent to the neoplastic lesions in the five cats. Considering the anatomical localization and the results of histopathology, this study suggests that non-epithelial cutaneous neoplasms may have a UV-induced etiopathogenesis in the feline species.
Assessment of Aquatic Ecosystem Health with Indices of Biotic Integrity (IBIs) in the Ganjiang River System, China
Authors: Huang Xueyan , Xu Jing , Liu Bo , Guan Xiao , Li Junsheng
Published: January 2022

Indices of biotic integrity (IBIs) are widely used to assess aquatic ecosystem health. However, there are few studies on their relationships. Based on fish, macroinvertebrate and plankton survey data collected in the Ganjiang River system from 2016 to 2017, redundancy analysis (RDA) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) were used to analyze how the community structures of these organisms respond to environmental variables. The fish IBI (F-IBI), benthic macroinvertebrate IBI (B-IBI), and phytoplankton IBI (P-IBI) were applied to evaluate the health status of the aquatic ecosystem. A Kruskal–Wallis test (p < 0.05) and Spearman’s correlation coefficient analysis were performed to evaluate the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the results. Our results suggested that the F-IBI-, B-IBI-, and P-IBI-based assessments indicated good, fair, and healthy Ganjiang River system ecosystem health statuses, respectively, and significant differences existed among these indices (p < 0.05). The main environmental factors affecting F-IBI, B-IBI, and P-IBI were different. At the temporal scale, the F-IBI and B-IBI were stable, while the P-IBI fluctuated obviously. The consistency between the F-IBI and B-IBI results was better than that between each of these indices and the P-IBI results, and the consistency was better on a larger scale. These research results show that comprehensive assessments based on multiple groups rather than a single group can better characterize the impacts of environmental pressures on water ecosystems.
Real-Time Fire Detection Method for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Based on Machine Vision
Authors: Zhang Shiyu , Yang Qing , Gao Yuchen , Gao Dexin
Published: January 2022

During the charging process of electric vehicles (EV), the circuit inside the charger plug is connected in series, the charger input voltage does not match the rated input voltage, the temperature caused by the severe heating of the charging time is too high for too long, and other factors are very likely to trigger a fire in the vehicle charging pile. In this paper, an improved You Only Look Once v4 (YOLOv4) real-time target detection algorithm based on machine vision is proposed to monitor the site based on existing monitoring equipment, transmit live video information in real-time, expand the monitoring range, and significantly reduce the cost of use. During the experiment, the improved neural network model was trained by a homemade fire video image dataset, and a K-means clustering algorithm iwasintroduced to recalculate the anchor frame size for the specific object of flame; the existing dataset was used to perform multiple divisions by using a tenfold cross-validation algorithm, thus avoiding the selection of chance hyperparameters and models that do not have generalization ability because of special divisions. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm is fast and accurate in detecting large-size flames in real-time and small-size flames at the beginning of a fire, with a detection speed of 43 fps/s, mAP value of 91.53%, and F1 value of 0.91. Compared with YOLOv3 and YOLOv4 models, the improved model is sensitive to detecting different sizes of flames. It can suppress false alarms well in a variety of complex lighting environments. The prediction frame size fits the area where the target is located, the detection accuracy remains stable, and the comprehensive performance of the network model is significantly improved to meet the demand of real-time monitoring. It is significant for developing the EV industry and enhancing emergency response capability.
Russian language in the strategy of national and global security
Authors:   Institute of Problems of Informatics, Federal Research Center ", Kolin Konstantin Konstantinovich ,   Informatics and Management",   of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Center for Strategic Humanitarian Studies, Institute of Fundamental and Applied Research, Moscow University for the Humanities
Published: January 2022

The analysis of the state and main trends in the use of the Russian language in Russia and the CIS and non-CIS countries is carried out. It is shown that the Russian language has a great cognitive potential, which can and should be used more effectively in the context of a new scientific and technological revolution and the formation of a knowledge society. The modern threats to the Russian language in the post-Soviet space, in the non-CIS countries and in Russia are consistently considered. Their causes and possible consequences are shown. The list of priority tasks that must be solved in Russia and in the CIS and non-CIS countries for the preservation of the Russian language as the most important factor of Russian culture and the intellectual potential of the individual is presented.
Female imagery in mass culture at the beginning of the 20th century and its representation in literature, media, posters, and cinema
Authors:   Department of Philosophy, Sociology and Cultural Studies, ANO HE Moscow University for the Humanities, Khloponina Olga Olegovna
Published: January 2022

The turn of the 19th – 20th centuries is considered to be the beginning of the formation of the phenomenon that will be called "mass culture". The general crisis, population migration, the collapse of the aristocracy and common attitudes and values of Orthodoxy led to a radical change in social institutions, social strata and customary classes. Industrialization led to a reduction in working hours, manual labor began to be replaced by machine labor; therefore, a clear boundary arose between the two spheres of life of the urban working mass, i.e. work and leisure. In a traditional society, free time was spent with family, professional community, or neighbors - one way or another, in a team. In the divided and variegated mass of the city, people found themselves on their own. The leisure of the atomized mass subjects demanded satisfaction of the need to rest, to escape from the stupefying, "alienated", monotonous labor. The response to this need is the entertainment industry of mass culture, whose values are in the form of a commodity. There is a huge, massive demand for products and services that meet the needs of leisure: books, magazines, records, films. The article shows that mass culture at the average level consolidates the popular stereotypes of female images in the mass consciousness in accordance with their functional purpose. Positive female images of mothers (traditional type) and sisters of mercy (high incarnation of the fatal type) dominate in social advertising appealing to universal values and spirituality. Commercial advertisements that appeal to seduction and recognition represent an idealized femme fatale. The art of cinematography addresses deeply rooted motives of fall and rise, physical desecration and moral cleansing (the dominant type of the fatal heroine). The material of the article can be useful in the preparation of courses on the history of Russian culture and history of art.
Medical services in the context of the development of civil society
Authors:   SAEI HE N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (RNRMU), Fursov Valentin Vladimirovich , Moshkov Vladimir Valerievich ,   FSBEI HE Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, Fursov Ivan Valentinovich ,   Department of Neuro- and Pathopsychology, FSBEI HE M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (Lomonosov MSU)
Published: January 2022

The article is devoted to the issue of aiming the activities of the healthcare system to meet the needs of society. The role of civil society institutions as consolidated customers of medical services is considered. The function of healthcare as a social institution responsible for the citizens’ well-being and health is described. The article focuses on the problem of introducing the practice and tools of public-state monitoring assessment into the healthcare organization system at the federal, regional, municipal levels and the levels of individual medical organizations. The article may be of interest to a wide range of readers, including employees of healthcare authorities, scientists and specialists in the field of philosophy, sociology, education, and law, medical workers, scientific and pedagogical workers of higher and secondary professional medical education, representatives of public organizations.