bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Assessing Yield and Yield Stability of Hevea Clones in the Southern and Central Regions of Malaysia
Authors: Ali Muhammad Fadzli , Abdul Aziz Ammar , Williams Alwyn
Published: May 2020

Increased volatility in global rubber prices has led to declining Malaysian rubber production and smallholder income. Identifying rubber clones that can produce a consistently high yield in various environments is one of the potential measures to alleviate the impact of price fluctuations and improve smallholder livelihoods. In this study, we assessed rubber yields and yield stability of 37 rubber tree clones at two major production regions in Malaysia: Kota Tinggi (Southern region) and Sungai Buloh (Central region). In addition, we assessed relationships between climate data with rubber yields. Rubber yield and stability differed widely by clone, but showed relatively consistent trends across regions. Clones RRIM 2007, PB 260, and RRIM 2012 were high yielding in both regions and had high stability. Conversely, clone RRII 308 had the lowest mean yield across both regions and low stability. Mean annual yields showed a negative relationship with rising minimum temperatures, declining by ~3 g per tapping per tree (g t−1 t−1) per 1 °C rise in minimum temperature. Our findings highlight clones capable of achieving stable high yields. This information may be useful for breeders and agronomists in identifying germplasm and traits for further development. Further, this information can be used to assist clone recommendations to smallholders in these regions to mitigate the dual impacts of climate change and market volatility.
Agronomic and Economic Evaluation of Autumn Planted Sugarcane under Different Planting Patterns with Lentil Intercropping
Authors: Nadeem Mubashar , Tanveer Asif , Sandhu Hardev , Javed Saba , Safdar Muhammad Ehsan , Ibrahim Muhammad , Shabir Muhammad Atif , Sarwar Muhammad , Arshad Usman
Published: May 2020

Proper sowing orientation and spacing are important factors for best crop growth. A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different planting patterns with and without lentil intercropping on sugarcane growth and yield and farm economics. Each of these treatments were planted as sole crop and intercropped with lentil. Data were collected on plant cane and first ratoon crop. The maximum stripped cane yields (154.36 t/ha and 130.28 t/ha in plant and ratoon crop, respectively) were obtained from sugarcane planted at 120 cm trench planting both as sole as well as lentil intercropped. This treatment also attained 61% and 43% higher total sugar yields compared to traditional 60 cm single rows planting in plant and ratoon crops, respectively. Lentil intercropping did not have any significant effect on sugarcane yield, but trench planting at 120 cm with lentil intercropping had the highest lentil seed yield (598.0 in 2013–2014 and 629.8 kg ha−1 in 2014–2015) along with maximum land equivalent ratio (1.40 and 1.37), net return (Rs.321254/ha), net field benefit (Rs.491703/ha) and benefit cost ratio (2.01). Sugarcane at 120 cm trench planting with lentil intercropping also outperformed other planting patterns in improving economic returns.
Assessment of Algerian Maize Populations for Saccharification and Nutritive Value
Authors: López-Malvar Ana , Djemel Abderahmane , Gomez Leonardo , Santiago Rogelio , Revilla Pedro
Published: May 2020

Maize (Zea mays L.) from the Algerian Sahara was adapted to arid conditions and has been used for food and feed. The objective of this work was to assess the potential value of Saharan maize for saccharification and nutritive value under drought conditions. Eighteen maize populations from the Algerian Sahara were evaluated under drought and control conditions and representative samples of those populations were taken for nutrients and saccharification analyses. The evaluation of saccharification was made in one Spanish trial under drought and control conditions. Differences among Algerian populations for nutritive value were significant for starch and ash, but not for lipids and proteins. Drought-reduced saccharification yield and differences among populations were significant for saccharification potential under drought conditions, and for saccharification yield under both drought and control conditions. The Algerian populations PI527465 and PI542689 had high grain starch and low ash, PI527469 and PI527474 had a balanced nutritional value, and PI527475 and PI542683 had low grain starch and moderately high ash. Besides high nutritional value, the drought-tolerant population PI542683 had high saccharification under drought conditions. Most agronomic traits had no significant effects on saccharification, and some grain nutrients affected saccharification and agronomic performance. Therefore, improving the nutritive value of grain and saccharification of stover, while maintaining agronomic performance, could be feasible, attending to the weak interactions between them.
The Trilogy of Wild Crops, Traditional Agronomic Practices, and UN-Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Singh Ajeet , Dubey Rama Kant , Bundela Amit Kumar , Abhilash Purushothaman C.
Published: May 2020

The world population is projected to become 10 billion by the end of this century. This growing population exerts tremendous pressure on our finite food resources. Unfortunately, the lion-share of the global calorie intake is reliant upon a handful of plant species like rice, wheat, maize, soybean and potato. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to expand our dietary reliance to nutritionally rich but neglected, underutilized and yet-to-be-used wild plants. Many wild plants are also having ethnomedicinal and biocultural significance. Owing to their ecosystem plasticity, they are adapted to diverse habitats including marginal, degraded and other disturbed soil systems. Due to these resilient attributes, they can be considered for large-scale cultivation. However, proper biotechnological interventions are important for (i) removing the negative traits (e.g., low yield, slow growth, antinutritional factors, etc.), (ii) improving the positive traits (e.g., nutritional quality, stress tolerance, etc.), as well as (iii) standardizing the mass multiplication and cultivation strategies of such species for various agro-climatic regions. Besides, learning the biocultural knowledge and traditional cultivation practices employed by the local people is also crucial for their exploitation. The Special Issue “Wild Crop Relatives and Associated Biocultural and Traditional Agronomic Practices for Food and Nutritional Security” was intended to showcase the potential wild crop varieties of nutritional significance and associated biocultural knowledge from the diverse agroecological regions of the world and also to formulate suitable policy frameworks for food and nutritional security. The novel recommendations brought by this Special Issue would serve as a stepping stone for utilizing wild and neglected crops as a supplemental food. Nevertheless, long-term cultivation trials under various agro-climatic conditions are utmost important for unlocking the real potential of these species.
Physiological and Biochemical Responses to Salt Stress in Cultivated Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) and in S. insanum L., a Close Wild Relative
Authors: Brenes Marco , Solana Andrea , Boscaiu Monica , Fita Ana , Vicente Oscar , Calatayud Ángeles , Prohens Jaime , Plazas Mariola
Published: May 2020

Eggplant (Solanum melongena) has been described as moderately sensitive to salinity. We characterised the responses to salt stress of eggplant and S. insanum, its putative wild ancestor. Young plants of two accessions of both species were watered for 25 days with an irrigation solution containing NaCl at concentrations of 0 (control), 50, 100, 200, and 300 mM. Plant growth, photosynthetic activity, concentrations of photosynthetic pigments, K+, Na+, and Cl− ions, proline, total soluble sugars, malondialdehyde, total phenolics, and total flavonoids, as well as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione reductase specific activities, were quantified. Salt stress-induced reduction of growth was greater in S. melongena than in S. insanum. The photosynthetic activity decreased in both species, except for substomatal CO2 concentration (Ci) in S. insanum, although the photosynthetic pigments were not degraded in the presence of NaCl. The levels of Na+ and Cl− increased in roots and leaves with increasing NaCl doses, but leaf K+ concentrations were maintained, indicating a relative stress tolerance in the two accessions, which also did not seem to suffer a remarkable degree of salt-induced oxidative stress. Our results suggest that the higher salt tolerance of S. insanum mostly lies in its ability to accumulate higher concentrations of proline and, to a lesser extent, Na+ and Cl−. The results obtained indicate that S. insanum is a good candidate for improving salt tolerance in eggplant through breeding and introgression programmes.
Profitability of Artificial Pollination in ‘Manzanillo’ Olive Orchards
Authors: Sánchez-Estrada Alberto , Cuevas Julián
Published: May 2020

The fruit set in monovarietal ‘Manzanillo’ olive orchards is significantly increased under cross-pollination. This response lead to pollination designs including pollinizer selection, the number of pollinizer trees per hectare and their distribution in the orchard. However, the assignment of a substantial area to pollinizers of lesser commercial value might decrease profits. The strong influence of variable climates on the overlap of the blooming phenology of ‘Manzanillo’ and its pollinizer, and on pollen production and dispersal, are also notable risks. Artificial pollination is a feasible alternative to pollination designs, especially for wind-pollination crops such as olives. Here, we present the effects of treatments with different number (zero, one, two or four) of mechanical applications of ‘Barouni’ pollen on fruit set, size, yield, and cost–benefit ratios in heavy- and light-flowering trees of ‘Manzanillo’ trees situated in monovarietal orchards in Sonora, Mexico. Our results showed that, in “on” years (seasons where most trees display abundant flowering), a larger number of cross-pollen artificial applications increased more the final fruit set, yield and, hence, the profits. Fruit size was scarcely affected by the number of applications, although treatments with lower fruit sets had a higher proportion of large-sized fruit and less fruit of petite size. Despite its higher costs, the higher increase in yield made it more profitable to apply cross-pollination four times throughout the blooming period. On the other hand, no significant differences were observed among treatments, regardless of the number of pollinations, in the “off” season (the season in which most trees had a light flowering level).
Preliminary Study of Somatic Variants of Palomino Fino (Vitis vinifera L.) Grown in a Warm Climate Region (Andalusia, Spain)
Authors: Sancho-Galán Pau , Amores-Arrocha Antonio , Palacios Víctor , Jiménez-Cantizano Ana
Published: May 2020

Vegetative propagation of Vitis vinifera cultivars over hundreds of years has led to the accumulation of a large number of somatic variants of the same grapevine variety. These variants are now considered a working tool to cope with changing environmental conditions as a result of, among others, global warming. In this work, three somatic variants of the major grapevine variety of the South West (SW) of Andalusia (Spain), Palomino Fino, have been genetically and morphologically characterized, as well as their grape musts from two different vintages. The genetic analysis at 22 microsatellite loci confirmed the identity of the three somatic variants that presented the same genotype as Palomino Fino, while the morphological study showed differences between the three somatic variants and Palomino Fino, highlighting the somatic variant Palomino Pelusón. Regarding the physicochemical analysis of its musts, differences were also observed between the somatic variants and Palomino Fino. As a result of all of the above, the use of grapes from somatic variants can be a viable and natural alternative for the production of quality wines in warm climate areas. On the other hand, promoting the cultivation of the somatic variants could contribute to preventing the loss of Palomino Fino intraspecific variability.
Testing the Antimicrobial Characteristics of Wood Materials: A Review of Methods
Authors: Munir Muhammad Tanveer , Pailhories Hélène , Eveillard Matthieu , Irle Mark , Aviat Florence , Dubreil Laurence , Federighi Michel , Belloncle Christophe
Published: May 2020

Some wood species have antimicrobial properties, making them a better choice over inert surfaces in certain circumstances. However, the organic and porous nature of wood raises questions regarding the use of this material in hygienically important places. Therefore, it is reasonable to investigate the microbial survival and the antimicrobial potential of wood via a variety of methods. Based on the available literature, this review classifies previously used methods into two broad categories: one category tests wood material by direct bacterial contact, and the other tests the action of molecules previously extracted from wood on bacteria and fungi. This article discusses the suitability of these methods to wood materials and exposes knowledge gaps that can be used to guide future research. This information is intended to help the researchers and field experts to select suitable methods for testing the hygienic safety and antimicrobial properties of wood materials.
Chemotherapeutic Potential of Carthamus Oxycantha Root Extract as Antidiarrheal and In Vitro Antibacterial Activities
Authors: Ikram Muhammad , Magdy Beshbishy Amany , Kifayatullah Muhammad , Olukanni Adedayo , Zahoor Muhammad , Naeem Muhammad , Amin Muhammad , Shah Masood , Abdelaziz Ahmed S. , Ullah Riaz , Mothana Ramzi A. , Siddiqui Nasir A. , Batiha Gaber El-Saber
Published: May 2020

Our research work was designed to investigate the curative and preventive effects of Carthamus oxycantha root extract against diarrhea and microorganisms. For the antibacterial experiment, the agar well diffusion method was used against standard bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, and Salmonella typhi, while for the assessment of antidiarrheal activity, castor oil and the magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhea method was used on albino, laboratory-bred (BALB/c) mice at a dose rate of 200 and 400 mg/kg (body weight, b.w) orally. The methanol extract of C. oxycantha significantly (p < 0.001) decreased the frequency of defecation, and wet stools in a dose depended on the manner of after receiving magnesium sulfate (2 g/kg (b.w)) and castor oil (1.0 mL/mice). Furthermore, the extract of C. oxycantha showed concentration-dependent antimicrobial properties against S. aureus followed by S. typhi, E. coli, and P. aeroginosa bacterial strains, with inhibitions ranging from 10.5–15 mm. These findings show significant results that C. oxycantha is effective as an antidiarrheal and antibacterial agent. However, further works are needed to establish its mode of action.
High Primary Antibiotic Resistance of Helicobacter pylori Strains Isolated from Pediatric and Adult Patients in Poland during 2016–2018
Authors: Krzyżek Paweł , Pawełka Dorota , Iwańczak Barbara , Kempiński Radosław , Leśniakowski Konrad , Mégraud Francis , Łaczmański Łukasz , Biernat Monika , Gościniak Grażyna
Published: May 2020

Monitoring the antibiotic resistance of H. pylori is an important step in the effective treatment of this bacterium, thus the aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance of H. pylori strains isolated from pediatric and adult patients with primary infections in 2016–2018. Antral biopsies from 334 treatment-naïve patients (126 children and 208 adults) were obtained. A total of 71 clinical H. pylori strains (22 from children and 49 from adults) were isolated and examined for amoxicillin (AMX), clarithromycin (CLR), metronidazole (MTZ), tetracycline (TET), and levofloxacin (LEV) susceptibility. The activity of the antibiotics was measured by E-tests. Strains were considered as resistant to antibiotics with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) equal to ≥0.125 μg/mL (AMX), ≥0.5 μg/mL (CLR), ≥8 μg/mL (MTZ), and ≥1 μg/mL (TET and LEV). The highest prevalence of antibiotic resistance in H. pylori strains was observed for CLR and MTZ, at frequencies of 54.5% and 31.8% vs. 30.6% and 46.9% for children and adults, respectively. A much lower frequency of isolation of resistant strains was demonstrated for LEV and TET, this being 9.1% and 4.5% vs. 18.4% and 4.1% for pediatric and adult patients, respectively. The presence of AMX-resistant strains was not observed. The H. pylori strains isolated from Polish patients with primary infections showed a high level of antibiotic resistance to CLR and MTZ (>30%).
The Double-Faced Role of Nitric Oxide and Reactive Oxygen Species in Solid Tumors
Authors: Mijatović Sanja , Savić-Radojević Ana , Plješa-Ercegovac Marija , Simić Tatjana , Nicoletti Ferdinando , Maksimović-Ivanić Danijela
Published: May 2020

Disturbed redox homeostasis represents a hallmark of cancer phenotypes, affecting cellular metabolism and redox signaling. Since reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) are involved in regulation of proliferation and apoptosis, they may play a double-faced role in cancer, entailing protumorigenic and tumor-suppressing effects in early and later stages, respectively. In addition, ROS and RNS impact the activity and communication of all tumor constituents, mediating their reprogramming from anti- to protumorigenic phenotypes, and vice versa. An important role in this dichotomic action is played by the variable amounts of O2 in the tumor microenvironment, which dictates the ultimate outcome of the influence of ROS/RNS on carcinogenesis. Moreover, ROS/RNS levels remarkably influence the cancer response to therapy. The relevance of ROS/RNS signaling in solid tumors is witnessed by the emergence of novel targeted treatments of solid tumors with compounds that target ROS/RNS action and production, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, which might contribute to the complexity of redox regulation in cancer. Prospectively, the dual role of ROS/RNS in the different stages of tumorigenesis through different impact on oxidation and nitrosylation may also allow development of tailored diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
Aralia continentalis kitagawa Extract Attenuates the Fatigue Induced by Exhaustive Exercise through Inhibition of Oxidative Stress
Authors: Yang Dong Kwon , Lee Sei-Jin , Adam Gareeballah Osman , Kim Shang-Jin
Published: May 2020

The present study aimed to evaluate the anti-fatigue effects of Aralia continentalis kitagawa (AC) extract during exhaustive exercise of rats by forced swimming. Rats were subjected to forced swimming until exhausted after pre-treatment with AC extract for 21 days. Exhaustion time significantly increased in rats treated with AC extract. AC treatment also preserved blood homeostasis during fatigue due to exhaustive exercise. For fatigue-related serum biomarkers, AC extract significantly fail to decrease glucose and triglyceride (TG), but ameliorated increased lactate levels compared with levels in control rats. Metabolic acidosis, a major cause of fatigue, was effectively attenuated by AC extract, according to metabolic acidosis-related blood parameters. AC extract suppressed muscle injury and attenuated gastrocnemius muscle apoptotic responses due to exhaustive exercise. To investigate the mechanisms behind the AC extract anti-fatigue effect, we evaluated its effect on oxidative stress-related fatigue. We showed that pro-oxidants were inhibited, while antioxidants were preserved by AC extract treatment. Therefore, the anti-fatigue effect of AC extract was mediated by suppression of oxidative stress. Overall, the study demonstrated that AC extract effectively attenuates fatigue from exhaustive exercise through oxidative stress inhibition. AC extract, as an antioxidant, could be utilized as a therapeutic or preventive strategy against exhaustive exercise fatigue.
Machine-Learning Based Hybrid-Feature Analysis for Liver Cancer Classification Using Fused (MR and CT) Images
Authors: Naeem Samreen , Ali Aqib , Qadri Salman , Khan Mashwani Wali , Tairan Nasser , Shah Habib , Fayaz Muhammad , Jamal Farrukh , Chesneau Christophe , Anam Sania
Published: May 2020

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the ability of machine-learning (ML) methods for liver cancer classification using a fused dataset of two-dimensional (2D) computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Datasets of benign (hepatocellular adenoma, hemangioma, cyst) and malignant (hepatocellular carcinoma, hepatoblastoma, metastasis) liver cancer were acquired at Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH), Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The final dataset was generated by fusion of 1200 (100 × 6 × 2) MR and CT-scan images, 200 (100 MRI and 100 CT-scan) images size 512 × 512 for each class of cancer. The acquired dataset was preprocessed by employing the Gabor filters to reduce the noise and taking an automated region of interest (ROIs) using an Otsu thresholding-based segmentation approach. The preprocessed dataset was used to acquire 254 hybrid-feature data for each ROI, which is the combination of the histogram, wavelet, co-occurrence, and run-length features, while 10 optimized hybrid features were selected by employing (probability of error plus average correlation) feature selection technique. For classification, we deployed this optimized hybrid-feature dataset to four ML classifiers: multilayer perceptron (MLP), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and J48, using a ten fold cross-validation method. MLP showed an overall accuracy of (95.78% on MRI and 97.44% on CT). Unfortunately, the obtained results were not promising, and there were some limitations due to the different modalities of the dataset. Thereafter, a fusion of MRI and CT-scan datasets generated the fused optimized hybrid-feature dataset. The MLP has shown a promising accuracy of 99% among all the deployed classifiers.
Application of Solution Strategies for Numerical Estimation of Thermodynamic Equilibrium Parameters for an Acetone–Butanol Mixture
Authors: Meramo-Hurtado Samir , Puello Plinio , Rodriguez Julio
Published: May 2020

The development of reliable numerical estimation of thermodynamic parameters is a crucial aspect in the ongoing research about process engineering and design. The consideration of these concepts lets to design more precise processing units and separations stages based on the predicted nature of substances. Therefore, this study presents an application of different solution methods for the estimation of thermodynamic equilibrium parameters of an acetone–butanol mixture. This dissolution is a non-ideal system, so, the non-ideal Raoult’s Law and Wilson’s equation were used to model the liquid–vapor equilibrium. Otherwise, the solution of this system required the application of nonlinear least squares (NLS) for determination of adjustable parameters. As the above step transformed Wilson’s equation into a system of nonlinear equations, solution algorithms such as; Newton–Raphson method (NRM), Broyden’s method (BM) and Levenberg–Marquardt method (LMM) were applied. All algorithms converged towards the same solution ( Λ 12 = 0.689 and Λ 21 = 0.798 ), but Newton’s and Broyden’s methods employed fewer computational time and number of iterations compared to performance showed by the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm.
Optimisation of Energy Transfer in Reluctance Coil Guns: Application to Soccer Ball Launchers
Authors: Gies Valentin , Soriano Thierry , Marzetti Sebastian , Barchasz Valentin , Barthelemy Herve , Glotin Herve , Hugel Vincent
Published: May 2020

Reluctance coil guns are electromagnetic launchers having a good ratio of energy transmitted to actuator volume, making them a good choice for propelling objects with a limited actuator space. In this paper, we focus on an application, which is launching real size soccer balls with a size constrained robot. As the size of the actuator cannot be increased, kicking strength can only be improved by enhancing electrical to mechanical energy conversion, compared to existing systems. For this, we propose to modify its inner structure, splitting the coil and the energy storage capacitor into several ones, and triggering the coils successively for propagating the magnetic force in order to improve efficiency. This article first presents a model of reluctance electromagnetic coil guns using a coupled electromagnetic, electrical and mechanical models. Four different coil gun structures are then simulated, concluding that splitting the kicking coil into two half size ones is the best trade-off for optimizing energy transfer, while maintaining an acceptable system complexity and controllability. This optimization results in robust enhancement and leads to an increase by 104 % of the energy conversion compared to a reference launcher used. This result has been validated experimentally on our RoboCup robots. This paper also proves that splitting the coil into a higher number of coils is not an interesting trade-off. Beyond results on the chosen case study, this paper presents an optimization technique based on mixed mechanic, electric and electromagnetic modelling that can be applied to any reluctance coil gun.
Practical Approach for Developing Lateral Motion Control of Autonomous Lane Change System
Authors: Baek Jaemin , Kang Changmook , Kim Wonhee
Published: May 2020

In this paper, we present a practical approach to address the vehicle lateral control problem. The proposed method can overcome practical problems associated with vehicle lane changes on highways. The vehicle state with respect to the road, which is called lateral offset, jumps in camera vision sensors when the vehicle changes lanes. Thus, in this study, we solve the state jump problem by translating it into a new domain called the cylinder domain. In addition, we proposed the design of a parameter-varying controller to overcome the nonlinear term of vehicle dynamics by considering it as a varying parameter. The proposed method does not consider the lateral offset jump when changing lanes. Furthermore, its significant advantage in terms of computation time makes it suitable for implementation in low-cost electronic control units (ECUs). The proposed algorithm is validated using MATLAB/Simulink with the vehicle dynamics analysis program CarSim.
Toward Business Integrity Modeling and Analysis Framework for Risk Measurement and Analysis
Authors: Chang Victor , Valverde Raul , Ramachandran Muthu , Li Chung-Sheng
Published: May 2020

Financialization has contributed to economic growth but has caused scandals, misselling, rogue trading, tax evasion, and market speculation. To a certain extent, it has also created problems in social and economic instability. It is an important aspect of Enterprise Security, Privacy, and Risk (ESPR), particularly in risk research and analysis. In order to minimize the damaging impacts caused by the lack of regulatory compliance, governance, ethical responsibilities, and trust, we propose a Business Integrity Modeling and Analysis (BIMA) framework to unify business integrity with performance using big data predictive analytics and business intelligence. Comprehensive services include modeling risk and asset prices, and consequently, aligning them with business strategies, making our services, according to market trend analysis, both transparent and fair. The BIMA framework uses Monte Carlo simulation, the Black–Scholes–Merton model, and the Heston model for performing financial, operational, and liquidity risk analysis and present outputs in the form of analytics and visualization. Our results and analysis demonstrate supplier bankruptcy modeling, risk pricing, high-frequency pricing simulations, London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) rate simulation, and speculation detection results to provide a variety of critical risk analysis. Our approaches to tackle problems caused by financial services and the operational risk clearly demonstrate that the BIMA framework, as the outputs of our data analytics research, can effectively combine integrity and risk analysis together with overall business performance and can contribute to operational risk research.
Rendering Mortars with Low Sand and Cement Content. Incorporation of Sanitary Ware Waste and Forest Biomass Ashes
Authors: Brazão Farinha Catarina , de Brito Jorge , Veiga Rosário
Published: May 2020

The incorporation of wastes in new materials and products is an emerging trend, reducing virgin materials’ consumption and landfill deposition and the associated environmental impacts. Cement-based mortars can encapsulate some wastes, with the benefits stated above. In three previous researches, it was found that forest biomass bottom ashes (up to 15% by volume of cement), powder of sanitary ware (up to 20% by volume of sand) and sanitary ware particles above 2 mm (100% by volume of sand) can be incorporated in rendering mortars, replacing cement or sand. Several tests were performed, and it was found that each waste’s incorporation presents advantages and limitations, when compared with a reference mortar. In this research, the aim was to take advantage of the best features of each waste, combining them in order to optimize the new mortars’ characteristics. Therefore, mortars with one, two and three wastes were analysed in this research. The ternary mix mortar had a volume of wastes equal to 83%, resulting in a mortar with 15% less cement (by volume) and without any natural aggregate (all replaced with the sanitary ware wastes). The fresh, water and mechanical behaviour of the mortars with and without wastes are presented in this research. It was concluded that it is possible to take advantage of the best features of each waste and achieve mortars simultaneously with high volume of wastes and a better performance than the reference mortar (without wastes).
Performance Evaluation of Enhanced Bioretention Systems in Removing Dissolved Nutrients in Stormwater Runoff
Authors: Luo Hui , Guan Lin , Jing Zhaoqian , He BaoJie , Cao Xinyue , Zhang Zeyu , Tao Mengni
Published: May 2020

Bioretention has great potential in managing and purifying urban stormwater runoff. However, information regarding the removal of nutrients in bioretention systems with the use of media, plants, and saturated areas is still limited. In this study, three devices of control, conventional bioretention (DS), and strengthened bioretention (SZ) were investigated to enhance the simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus. The experimental column SZ showed the best performance for total phosphorus (TP), ammonia (NH4+-N) and total nitrogen (TN) removal (85.6–92.4%, 83.1–92.7%, 57.1–74.1%, respectively), whereas DS columns performed poorly for NH4+-N removal (43.6–81.2%) under different conditions. For the removal of nitrate, the columns of Control and DS exhibited negative performance (−14.3% and −8.2%) in a typical event. Further evaluation of water quality revealed that in the early stages of rainfall, the effluent of the SZ column was able to reach quality standards of Grade IV for surface water in China. Moreover, although the ion-exchange and phosphate precipitation occurred on the surface of the media, which were placed in the saturation zone, it did not change the surface crystal structure.
Detection of Non-Technical Losses Using SOSTLink and Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit to Secure Smart Meters
Authors: Gul Hira , Javaid Nadeem , Ullah Ibrar , Qamar Ali Mustafa , Afzal Muhammad Khalil , Joshi Gyanendra Prasad
Published: May 2020

Energy consumption is increasing exponentially with the increase in electronic gadgets. Losses occur during generation, transmission, and distribution. The energy demand leads to increase in electricity theft (ET) in distribution side. Data analysis is the process of assessing the data using different analytical and statistical tools to extract useful information. Fluctuation in energy consumption patterns indicates electricity theft. Utilities bear losses of millions of dollar every year. Hardware-based solutions are considered to be the best; however, the deployment cost of these solutions is high. Software-based solutions are data-driven and cost-effective. We need big data for analysis and artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. Several solutions have been proposed in existing studies; however, low detection performance and high false positive rate are the major issues. In this paper, we first time employ bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit for ET detection for classification using real time-series data. We also propose a new scheme, which is a combination of oversampling technique Synthetic Minority Oversampling TEchnique (SMOTE) and undersampling technique Tomek Link: “Smote Over Sampling Tomik Link (SOSTLink) sampling technique”. The Kernel Principal Component Analysis is used for feature extraction. In order to evaluate the proposed model’s performance, five performance metrics are used, including precision, recall, F1-score, Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and receiver operating characteristic curve. Experiments show that our proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art techniques: logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, support vector machine, convolutional neural network, long short-term memory, hybrid of multilayer perceptron and convolutional neural network.
Heavy Metal Extraction under Environmentally Relevant Conditions Using 3-Hydroxy-2-Naphthoate- Based Ionic Liquids: Extraction Capabilities vs. Acute Algal Toxicity
Authors: Pirkwieser Philip , López-López José A. , Schagerl Michael , Kandioller Wolfgang , Keppler Bernhard K. , Moreno Carlos , Jirsa Franz
Published: May 2020

We investigated the applicability of three task-specific ionic liquids (ILs) as heavy metal extracting agents by contrasting extraction capabilities with algal toxicity. The compounds tested were trihexyltetradecylphosphonium-, methyltrioctylphosphonium- and methyltrioctylammonium 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoates. Experiments were performed to assess if these ILs can provide environmentally safe residual concentrations of the target metals after extraction. Both pure water and natural mineral water samples were spiked with 20 µg L−1 of Cu, Ag, Cd, Hg and Pb, respectively. Quantitative extraction (> 99%) of Hg and Ag was achieved. Cu and Hg were below the respective no-observed-effect-concentrations (NOECs) after extraction and Ag below 0.03 µg L−1. Acute toxicity assays were conducted using two freshwater green algae Raphidocelis subcapitata and Tetradesmus obliquus. Growth inhibition and maximum photochemical quantum yield of photosystem II after 72 h were assessed. ILs were less toxic than similar compounds, but still must be classified as acute toxicants for algae. An inhibiting effect on both growth and chlorophyll fluorescence was observed. The leaching of the ILs into the samples remains a limitation regarding their environmental-friendly applicability. Nonetheless, the extremely efficient removal of Cu, Ag and Hg under environmentally relevant conditions calls for further research, which should focus on the immobilization of the ILs.
Relationship between Color and Redox Potential (Eh) in Beef Meat Juice. Validation on Beef Meat
Authors: Cucci Paolo , N’Gatta Aimeric C. K. , Sanguansuk Supakakul , Lebert André , Audonnet Fabrice
Published: May 2020

In France, around 3.5 million cattle are slaughtered each year, which represents 1.3 million tons of beef carcasses. However, waste due essentially to organoleptic defects is estimated at 3.4% of the production or 45,000 tons of beef carcasses. Microbiological contamination and color are the two major causes of defect. In order to prevent color defect, a study was performed to develop a new method for measuring rapidly and instantly the redox potential as an indicator of color changes in carcasses without slowing down the slaughter line. This measurement would allow to classify them upstream according to their time of colors changes in order to sort them and to avoid food waste in the future. Meat juice has been shown to be a good mimetic medium for the study of color changes. The effect of different parameters was studied in order to fix experimental conditions. Color change is faster in the juice than in the meat and faster at 20 °C than at 4 °C. Redox potential allows following color changes and a symmetry has been highlighted between this thermodynamic measure and color changes.
Rational Design of Spinel Oxide Nanocomposites with Tailored Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution and Reduction Reactions for ZincAir Batteries
Authors: Janani Gnanaprakasam , Chae Yujin , Surendran Subramani , Sim Yelyn , Park Woosung , Kim Jung Kyu , Sim Uk
Published: May 2020

The unique physical and chemical properties of spinels have made them highly suitable electrocatalysts in oxygen evolution reaction and oxygen reduction reaction (OER & ORR). Zinc–air batteries (ZABs), which are safer and more cost-effective power sources than commercial lithium-ion batteries, hinge on ORR and OER. The slow kinetics of the air electrode reduce its high theoretical energy density and specific capacity, which limits its practical applications. Thus, tuning the performance of the electrocatalyst and cathode architecture is vital for improving the performance of ZABs, which calls for exploring spinel, a material that delivers improved performance. However, the structure–activity relationship of spinel is still unclear because there is a lack of extensive information about it. This study was performed to address the promising potential of spinel as the bifunctional electrocatalyst in ZABs based on an in-depth understanding of spinel structure and active sites at the atomic level.
Reliability Analysis of an Air Traffic Network: From Network Structure to Transport Function
Authors: Li Shanmei , Zhang Zhaoyue , Cheng Xiaochun
Published: May 2020

To scientifically evaluate the reliability of air traffic networks, a definition of air traffic network reliability is proposed in this paper. Calculation models of the connectivity reliability, travel-time reliability, and capacity reliability of the air traffic network are constructed based on collected historical data, considering the current status and the predicted future evolution trends. Considering the randomness and fuzziness of factors affecting reliability, a comprehensive evaluation model of air traffic networks based on the uncertainty transformation model is established. Finally, the reliability of the US air traffic network is analyzed based on data published by the Transportation Statistics Bureau of the US Department of Transportation. The results show that the connectivity reliability is 0.4073, the capacity reliability is 0.8300, the travel-time reliability is 0.9180, and the overall reliability evaluated is “relatively reliable”. This indicates that although the US structural reliability is relatively low, the US air traffic management is very efficient, and the overall reliability is strong. The reliability in nonpeak hours is much higher than that in peak hours. The method can identify air traffic network reliability efficiently. The main factors affecting reliability can be found in the calculation process, and are beneficial for air traffic planning and management. The empirical analysis also reflects that the evaluation model based on the uncertainty transformation model can transform the quantitative data of network structure and traffic function into the qualitative language of reliability.
Vermiremediation of Biomixtures from Biobed Systems Contaminated with Pesticides
Authors: Delgado-Moreno Laura , Nogales Rogelio , Romero Esperanza
Published: May 2020

Biobeds bioremediation systems are effectively used for minimizing pesticide point-source contamination. For keeping the biobed effectiveness, its biomixture needs to be replaced every so often. The exhausted biomixtures can contain pesticide residues and so they require a special treatment before being discharged into the environment. In this study, we explore the potential of vermiremediation for cleaning up biobed biomixtures contaminated with pesticides. Two biomixtures composed of soil:peat:straw (P) and soil:vermicompost of wet olive cake: olive tree pruning (O), contaminated with high loads of four pesticides, were used. Vermicomposting was carried out by Eisenia fetida earthworms for 12 weeks. Results showed that 50% and 70% of the earthworms colonized the contaminated P and O biomixtures, respectively, but the number of alive earthworms decreased with time just as their weight. The colonization of biomixtures did not significantly affect the dissipation of imidacloprid and tebuconazole, but increased 1.4 fold the dissipation of oxyfluorfen in both biomixtures and that of diuron in biomixture P. Although the presence of high loads of pesticides and the composition of the biomixtures limited the vermiremediation, satisfactory results were obtained for diuron and oxyfluorfen. Complementing vermiremediation with other remediation practices could improve the efficiency of this technology.
Evaluation of the Coordination of Structural Layers in the Design of Asphalt Pavement
Authors: Li Hao , Fang Naren , Wang Xuancang , Wu Chuanhai , Fang Yang
Published: May 2020

The purpose of asphalt pavement structural design is to get a materially-coordinated and structurally-durable product, and a pavement structure with good road performance by combining the structural layer materials reasonably. However, due to lack of a rational evaluation index on the parameter combinations of structural layer materials, the structural layer materials are poor in terms of coordination, have low efficiency, and the actual use period is much lower than the designed working life. Therefore, it is very important to conduct research evaluating the coordination of the structural layer materials. In this study, the sensitivity of mechanical parameters and equivalent envelope area are proposed as new indexes to evaluate the coordination of material design of asphalt pavement structure layers. Software is developed to calculate the equivalent envelope area that can quantitatively evaluate the coordination among different layers and visualize the mechanical transfer behavior of each structural layer. Based on the equivalent envelope area index, this study incorporates two new steps in the design of pavements, namely the structural form comparison and optimization, and proposes a new structural design process. Finally, the rationality and reliability of the equivalent envelope area index are verified by presenting fatigue life calculation and field verification in a test road. The results propose a clear evaluation index of the coordination of material design of each structural layer, which makes the structural design of the asphalt pavement more scientific and reasonable.
Motion Planning for Autonomous Vehicles Considering Longitudinal and Lateral Dynamics Coupling
Authors: Dang Dongfang , Gao Feng , Hu Qiuxia
Published: May 2020

Vehicles are highly coupled and multi-degree nonlinear systems. The establishment of an appropriate vehicle dynamical model is the basis of motion planning for autonomous vehicles. With the development of autonomous vehicles from L2 to L3 and beyond, the automatic driving system is required to make decisions and plans in a wide range of speeds and on bends with large curvature. In order to make precise and high-quality control maneuvers, it is important to account for the effects of dynamical coupling in these working conditions. In this paper, a new single-coupled dynamical model (SDM) is proposed to deal with the various dynamical coupling effects by identifying and simplifying the complicated one. An autonomous vehicle motion planning problem is then formulated using the nonlinear model predictive control theory (NMPC) with the SDM constraint (NMPC-SDM). We validated the NMPC-SDM with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) experiments to evaluate improvements to control performance by comparing with the planners original design, using the kinematic and single-track models. The comparative results show the superiority of the proposed motion planning algorithm in improving the maneuverability and tracking performance.
Removal of Chromium from Synthetic Wastewater Using Modified Maghemite Nanoparticles
Authors: Behera Shishir Kumar , Sahni Srijan , Tiwari Gunjan , Rai Aditi , Mahanty Biswanath , Vinati Ayi , Rene Eldon R. , Pugazhendhi Arivalagan
Published: May 2020

The main aim of this study was to ascertain the removal of chromium ions from synthetic wastewater using modified maghemite nanoparticles (MNPs). Commercially available maghemite nanoparticles (NPs) (< 50 nm) were modified using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The MNPs were characterized using a powder X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR). Statistically designed batch experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of various parameters, namely the pH of the solution, initial chromium concentration, and adsorbent dose, on the chromium removal efficiency (RE). The results from this study showed that the adsorbent dose had a synergistic effect on chromium RE, while pH and initial chromium concentration had antagonistic effects on the RE. An optimal chromium RE of 95.8% was obtained at pH = 2.6, adsorbent dose = 5 g/L, and initial chromium concentration = 20 mg/L. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) results showed that the model was significant, with high F value (F = 80.07) and low P value (P = < 0.001). Based on the results obtained from the experiments, the MNPs could be exploited as an efficient adsorbent for chromium removal from wastewater.
ArkaeVision VR Game: User Experience Research between Real and Virtual Paestum
Authors: Pagano Alfonsina , Palombini Augusto , Bozzelli Guido , De Nino Maurizio , Cerato Ivana , Ricciardi Stefano
Published: May 2020

The design of a virtual reality (VR) cultural application is aimed at supporting the steps of the learning process-like concrete experimentation, reflection and abstraction—which are generally difficult to induce when looking at ruins and artifacts that bring back to the past. With the use of virtual technologies (e.g., holographic surfaces, head-mounted displays, motion—cation sensors) those steps are surely supported thanks to the immersiveness and natural interaction granted by such devices. VR can indeed help to symbolically recreate the context of life of cultural objects, presenting them in their original place of belonging, while they were used for example, increasing awareness and understanding of history. The ArkaeVision VR application takes advantages of storytelling and user experience design to tell the story of artifacts and sites of an important cultural heritage site of Italy, Paestum, creating a dramaturgy around them and relying upon historical and artistic content revised by experts. Visitors will virtually travel into the temple dedicated to Hera II of Paestum, in the first half of the fifth century BC, wearing an immersive viewer–HTC Vive; here, they will interact with the priestess Ariadne, a digital actor, who will guide them on a virtual tour presenting the beliefs, the values and habits of an ancient population of the Magna Graecia city. In the immersive VR application, the memory is indeed influenced by the visitors’ ability to proceed with the exploratory activity. Two evaluation sessions were planned and conducted to understand the effectiveness of the immersive experience, usability of the virtual device and the learnability of the digital storytelling. Results revealed that certainly the realism of the virtual reconstructions, the atmosphere and the “sense of the past” that pervades the whole VR cultural experience, characterize the positive feedback of visitors, their emotional engagement and their interest to proceed with the exploration.