bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dialogue between Confucianism and Holmes Rolston, III—Its Significance for Theology in the Planetary Climate Crisis
Authors: Zhang Haoran
Published: July 2023

Holmes Rolston, III examined the significance of Asian thought for Western evaluations of nature and questioned if Asian Romanticism can inform the realistic decision making required for practice. However, Rolston’s general evaluation of Asian thought ignored Confucianism. This study launches a dialogue between Rolston and contemporary Confucianism on environmental philosophy and highlights the following points in response to Rolston: First, Confucianism is grounded on an “anthropocosmic” worldview and bases its environmental ethics on its affirmation of the “virtue of life and growth” and the related vision of “unity of heaven and human beings”; it is thus an objective environmental virtue ethics with the characteristics of sacred humanism that avoids anthropocentrism. Second, Confucian ethics is built on the premise of “one principle with various manifestations” and advocates for practicing benevolence through “love with gradations”, which avoids an excessively idealistic ecocentrism. Furthermore, Confucianism may adopt Rolston’s recommendation for Asian thought concerning the incorporation of evolutionary biology into Asian traditions to facilitate their own transformation and thus contribute to environmental philosophy. Upon an exploration of the compatibility and possible reciprocal illumination between Confucianism and Rolston, this paper points out the implications of the above dialogue for theology in the planetary climate crisis.
Nominatissima urbs Granate: The Cultural Clash between Islam and Christianity after the Capitulation of the Nasrid Kingdom and Its Repercussions on the Arts
Authors: Folgado García Jesús R.
Published: July 2023

This essay offers a general overview of some of the main artistic, liturgical and musical works inspired by the Capitulation of Granada in favor of the Catholic Monarchs and related to the patronage of Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza, Cardinal Bernardino López de Carvajal, Archbishop Fray Hernando de Talavera and his circle. Particular attention is paid to the composition of the well-known Oficios de la Toma de Granada (Offices of the Capitulation of Granada). Granada is conceived therein as a New Jerusalem, the center of a mono-religious but multicultural providentialist discourse identified with the Crown of Castile. Such convergent discourses in music, liturgy and the arts, both at the peninsular and European levels, helped turn the nominatissima urbs Granate after the fall of the Nasrid Kingdom in 1492 into an enduring symbol of Hispanic culture.
Global Patterns and Dynamics of Burned Area and Burn Severity
Authors: Fernández-García Víctor , Alonso-González Esteban
Published: July 2023

It is a widespread assumption that burned area and severity are increasing worldwide due to climate change. This issue has motivated former analysis based on satellite imagery, revealing a decreasing trend in global burned areas. However, few studies have addressed burn severity trends, rarely relating them to climate variables, and none of them at the global scale. Within this context, we characterized the spatiotemporal patterns of burned area and severity by biomes and continents and we analyzed their relationships with climate over 17 years. African flooded and non-flooded grasslands and savannas were the most fire-prone biomes on Earth, whereas taiga and tundra exhibited the highest burn severity. Our temporal analysis updated the evidence of a decreasing trend in the global burned area (−1.50% year−1; p < 0.01) and revealed increases in the fraction of burned area affected by high severity (0.95% year−1; p < 0.05). Likewise, the regions with significant increases in mean burn severity, and burned areas at high severity outnumbered those with significant decreases. Among them, increases in severely burned areas in the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of South America and tropical moist broadleaf forests of Australia were particularly intense. Although the spatial patterns of burned area and severity are clearly driven by climate, we did not find climate warming to increase burned area and burn severity over time, suggesting other factors as the primary drivers of current shifts in fire regimes at the planetary scale.
Cloud-Free Global Maps of Essential Vegetation Traits Processed from the TOA Sentinel-3 Catalogue in Google Earth Engine
Authors: Kovács Dávid D. , Reyes-Muñoz Pablo , Salinero-Delgado Matías , Mészáros Viktor Ixion , Berger Katja , Verrelst Jochem
Published: July 2023

Global mapping of essential vegetation traits (EVTs) through data acquired by Earth-observing satellites provides a spatially explicit way to analyze the current vegetation states and dynamics of our planet. Although significant efforts have been made, there is still a lack of global and consistently derived multi-temporal trait maps that are cloud-free. Here we present the processing chain for the spatiotemporally continuous production of four EVTs at a global scale: (1) fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), (2) leaf area index (LAI), (3) fractional vegetation cover (FVC), and (4) leaf chlorophyll content (LCC). The proposed workflow presents a scalable processing approach to the global cloud-free mapping of the EVTs. Hybrid retrieval models, named S3-TOA-GPR-1.0-WS, were implemented into Google Earth Engine (GEE) using Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OLCI) Level-1B for the mapping of the four EVTs along with associated uncertainty estimates. We used the Whittaker smoother (WS) for the temporal reconstruction of the four EVTs, which led to continuous data streams, here applied to the year 2019. Cloud-free maps were produced at 5 km spatial resolution at 10-day time intervals. The consistency and plausibility of the EVT estimates for the resulting annual profiles were evaluated by per-pixel intra-annually correlating against corresponding vegetation products of both MODIS and Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS). The most consistent results were obtained for LAI, which showed intra-annual correlations with an average Pearson correlation coefficient (R) of 0.57 against the CGLS LAI product. Globally, the EVT products showed consistent results, specifically obtaining higher correlation than R> 0.5 with reference products between 30 and 60° latitude in the Northern Hemisphere. Additionally, intra-annual goodness-of-fit statistics were also calculated locally against reference products over four distinct vegetated land covers. As a general trend, vegetated land covers with pronounced phenological dynamics led to high correlations between the different products. However, sparsely vegetated fields as well as areas near the equator linked to smaller seasonality led to lower correlations. We conclude that the global gap-free mapping of the four EVTs was overall consistent. Thanks to GEE, the entire OLCI L1B catalogue can be processed efficiently into the EVT products on a global scale and made cloud-free with the WS temporal reconstruction method. Additionally, GEE facilitates the workflow to be operationally applicable and easily accessible to the broader community.
Scale Effect of Land Cover Classification from Multi-Resolution Satellite Remote Sensing Data
Authors: Li Runxiang , Gao Xiaohong , Shi Feifei , Zhang Hao
Published: July 2023

Land cover data are important basic data for earth system science and other fields. Multi-source remote sensing images have become the main data source for land cover classification. There are still many uncertainties in the scale effect of image spatial resolution on land cover classification. Since it is difficult to obtain multiple spatial resolution remote sensing images of the same area at the same time, the main current method to study the scale effect of land cover classification is to use the same image resampled to different resolutions, however errors in the resampling process lead to uncertainty in the accuracy of land cover classification. To study the land cover classification scale effect of different spatial resolutions of multi-source remote sensing data, we selected 1 m and 4 m of GF-2, 6 m of SPOT-6, 10 m of Sentinel-2, and 30 m of Landsat-8 multi-sensor data, and explored the scale effect of image spatial resolution on land cover classification from two aspects of mixed image element decomposition and spatial heterogeneity. For the study area, we compared the classification obtained from GF-2, SPOT-6, Sentinel-2, and Landsat-8 images at different spatial resolutions based on GBDT and RF. The results show that (1) GF-2 and SPOT-6 had the best classification results, and the optimal scale based on this classification accuracy was 4–6 m; (2) the optimal scale based on linear decomposition depended on the study area; (3) the optimal scale of land cover was related to spatial heterogeneity, i.e., the more fragmented and complex was the space, the smaller the scale needed; and (4) the resampled images were not sensitive to scale and increased the uncertainty of the classification. These findings have implications for land cover classification and optimal scale selection, scale effects, and landscape ecology uncertainty studies.
MEMS Resonant Cantilevers for High-Performance Thermogravimetric Analysis of Chemical Decomposition
Authors: Cao Zhi , Jia Hao , Zhou Yufan , Li Ming , Xu Pengcheng , Li Xinxin , Zheng Dan
Published: July 2023

We investigate the MEMS resonant cantilevers for high-performance thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of chemical decomposition, featuring high accuracy and minimized thermal lag. Each resonant cantilever is integrated with a microheater for sample heating near the free end, which is thermally isolated from the resonance excitation and readout elements at the fixed end. Combining finite element modeling and experiments, we demonstrate that the sample loading region can stabilize within ~11.2 milliseconds in response to a step heating of 500 °C, suggesting a very fast thermal response of the MEMS resonant cantilevers of more than 104 °C/s. Benefiting from such a fast thermal response, we perform high-performance TG measurements on basic copper carbonate (Cu2(OH)2CO3) and calcium oxalate monohydrate (CaC2O4·H2O). The measured weight losses better agree with the theoretical values with 5–10 times smaller thermal lags at the same heating rate, compared with those measured by using conventional TGA. The MEMS resonant cantilevers hold promise for highly accurate and efficient TG characterization of materials in various fields.
A Rigorous and Integrated On-Water Monitoring System for Performance and Technique Improvement in Rowing
Authors: Mpimis Thanassis , Gikas Vassilis , Gourgoulis Vassilios
Published: July 2023

This paper presents a prototype, on-water rowing monitoring system and its testing results for a single scull boat. The proposed system aims at recording critical kinetic (athlete biomechanics and oar/seat movements) and kinematic (boat position, velocity, acceleration, and attitude) parameters for sport performance evaluation and rowing technique improvement. The data acquisition unit is organized in two parts: the first part aims at logging boat kinematics based on GNSS/INS filtering, while the second one facilitates kinetics data recording using a series of analog sensors (potentiometers, strain gauges) installed on the athlete’s body and the boat seat and oars. Both parts are connected to a central unit featuring analog voltage digitizers and a micro-PC for device handling and data storing. In order to test the performance of the system a series of field trials were undertaken featuring different observation scenarios as well as intentionally induced errors in the rowing technique. Analysis revealed the high performance of the system in terms of sensor completeness and setup procedures as well as operational efficiency. Moreover, system performance evaluation exercised through studying raw data recordings and resultant parameters at stroke cycle and average (standardized) stroke cycle level confirmed the fruitfulness of the proposed approach and system and its potential for implementation on a broad scale. Finally, the data acquired from the proposed system were used to compute the adopted input parameters and performance indicators to characterize the system in terms of functionality and operational efficiency.
Competing Historical Narratives: Memory Politics, Identity, and Democracy in Germany and Poland
Authors: Schmidtke Oliver
Published: July 2023

This article considers the growing rift between Western and Eastern Europe regarding the commemoration of Europe’s recent past and related historical narratives of nationhood that shape contemporary political preferences. More specifically, it investigates the connections between collective memory, national identities, and democratic cultures as they manifest themselves in Germany and Poland. With the help of an interpretative analysis focused on the discourse of political elites in both countries, the article identifies competing ways of interpreting 20th-century history and providing it with meaning for contemporary audiences. The national case studies of Germany and Poland present a contrasting logic in this respect: the promise of freedom and democracy in Poland is primarily narrated as the liberation from foreign rule and the desire for national independence. This narration is significantly built around a notion of popular sovereignty in which dissenting views of the heroic national past tend to be discredited and largely banned from public debate. In contrast, in Germany, the memory of fascism and the Holocaust has established a stronger rights-based approach to democracy in the liberal tradition and an openness to contesting historical narratives in the public domain.
Crafting a Foucauldian Archaeology Method: A Critical Analysis of Occupational Therapy Curriculum-as-Discourse, South Africa
Authors: van der Merwe Tania Rauch , Ramugondo Elelwani L. , Keet André
Published: July 2023

South Africa has a colonial and apartheid past of social injustice, epistemological oppression, and exclusion. These mechanisms are historically inscribed in the designs, practices, and content of higher education—including in occupational therapy curriculum. If these historical markers are not consciously interrogated, patterns of reproduction are reified along the fault lines that already exist in society. The focus of this article is to demonstrate how an archaeological Foucauldian method was crafted from foundational Foucauldian archaeology analytics and existing approaches of Foucauldian discourse analysis to unearth the rules of the formation of the occupational therapy profession. These rules pertain to the formation of (a) the ‘ideal occupational therapist’; (b) who had a say about the profession; (c) the ways of preferred reasoning; and (d) underlying theoretical themes and perspectives about the future. Data sources for this archaeology analytics included commemorative documents of universities on the origin of their programmes; historical regulatory documents; and the South African Journal of Occupational Therapy archive from the period 1953–1994. The analysis rendered two subthemes for each of the rules of formation including ‘white exceptionalism’, white male national, and international, regulatory bodies, the profession’s know-how practical knowledge, and its need for recognition within a bio-medical paradigm. Unearthing the historical markers of a curriculum and viewing it as discourse may enable a conscious reconfiguration thereof.
Journeying through Time: Exploring the 19th Century Old Transportation Legacy of Weld Quay, Malaysia
Authors: Lim Chen-Kim , Idris Muhammad Zaffwan , Chan Yi-Chee , Tan Kian-Lam , Farid Ahmed Minhaz , Mokhtar Mazlin Bin
Published: July 2023

Cultural heritage is an extensive body of knowledge that encapsulates the historical and cultural context of a site’s creation and its present actualisation. While existing studies have defined traditional transportation, they have also recognised its importance as both tangible and intangible heritage, leading international organisations to advocate for its preservation. The tangible aspects pertain to the physical artefacts of the transportation vehicles, and intangible aspects refer to the cultural and historical context in which the transportation artefacts were used. In this study, we aim to explore the anthropological aspects of digitally preserving the historical and cultural context of significant transportation in a multi-cultural trading port. Primary sources were gathered through narrative interviews with individuals who have knowledge of the old transportation situations in Weld Quay, a cultural heritage centre from the 19th century. Secondary sources, including relevant and appropriate visual materials, were also analysed to discover information on the transportation situations. The findings of this study were synthesised through photorealistic visualisations of the artefacts’ forms to effectively convey information based on the comparative, textual, and visual data collected. Our research demonstrates the importance of transportation heritage and its potential to raise awareness among Penang communities of their living heritage. Our conclusion highlights the significance of digitally preserving transportation heritage to ensure its preservation for future generations.
Tripartite Evolutionary Game of Power Generation Enterprises’ Green Transformation under the Responsibility Assessment of Renewable Energy Consumption in China
Authors: Liu Qiongzhi , Sun Jingjing
Published: July 2023

Under the requirements of a low carbon economy, promoting the transition of energy consumption of power generation enterprises from fossil energy to renewable energy is essential in practicing carbon emission reduction. Taking China as an example, this study investigates the impact of the interactive behavior of central and local governments in fulfilling their green obligations on the green transformation of power generation enterprises by constructing a tripartite evolutionary game model. The main findings of this paper are as follows: (i) Under the trend of reducing subsidies for renewable electricity, if local governments fail to fulfill their regulatory obligations for renewable energy consumption on time, it will discourage power generation enterprises from using renewable electricity; in the short term, it will cause power generation enterprises to turn their backs on green power strategy and choose thermal power strategy. (ii) If the central government releases a strong signal of a considerable amount of renewable energy power subsidy, the local government’s enthusiasm for fulfilling the renewable energy consumption supervision obligations will be hurt. (iii) The practical implementation of the responsibility assessment system of renewable energy consumption requires mobilizing all relevant stakeholders in the renewable energy market. It is essential to motivate local governments to fulfill their renewable energy consumption regulation obligation. This study provides a policy analysis for the green transformation of Chinese power generation enterprises and a reference for the green transformation of enterprises in other developing countries.
Evaluating the Impact of Statistical Bias Correction on Climate Change Signal and Extreme Indices in the Jemma Sub-Basin of Blue Nile Basin
Authors: Tefera Gebrekidan Worku , Dile Yihun Taddele , Ray Ram Lakhan
Published: July 2023

This study evaluates the effect of the statistical bias correction techniques of distribution mapping and linear scaling on climate change signals and extreme rainfall indices under different climate change scenarios in the Jemma sub-basin of the Upper Blue Nile Basin. The mean, cumulative distribution function (CDF), mean absolute error (MAE), probability of wet days (Prwet (%)), and 90th percentile (X90 (mm)) of observed rainfall and the regional climate model (RCM) simulations of rainfall with and without statistical bias correction were compared with the historical climate (1981–2005). For future (2071–2100) climate scenarios, the change in climate signal and extreme rainfall indices in the RCM simulations with and without bias correction were also evaluated using different statistical metrics. The result showed that the statistical bias correction techniques effectively adjusted the mean annual and monthly RCM simulations of rainfall to the observed rainfall. However, distribution mapping is effective and better than linear scaling for adjusting the probability of wet days and the 90th percentile of RCM simulations. In future climate scenarios, RCM simulations showed an increase in rainfall. However, the statistically bias-adjusted RCM outputs revealed a decrease in rainfall, which indicated that the statistical bias correction techniques triggered a change in climate signal. Statistical bias correction methods also result in changes in the extreme rainfall indices, such as frequency of wet days (R1mm), number of heavy precipitation days (R10mm), number of very heavy rainfall days (R20mm), and other intensity and frequency indices.
Evolution in the Impact of Pro-Poor Policies on Farmers’ Confidence: Based on Age-Period-Cohort Analysis Perspective
Authors: Wang Zheng , Yang Mingwei , Guo Kailu , Zhang Zhiyong , Shi Ying
Published: July 2023

The Age-Period-Cohort Model is used in this paper to examine how farmers’ confidence has changed in response to various measures for reducing poverty, based on data from 13,559 household tracking surveys, with a view to inform rural poverty reduction policies within Targeted Poverty Reduction Strategy (TPRS). The findings indicate that: (1) Farmers who get monetary grants have significantly lower levels of confidence than farmers who do not. The difference between the ages of 18 and 70, where this issue is more noticeable, grew between 2013 and 2018. (2) Between 2010 and 2018, transfer employment was more likely than monetary handouts to increase farmers’ confidence, and this difference was particularly obvious among young people (18–45 years old) and elderly individuals (65+). (3) The confidence gap between farmers with and without medical insurance has widened over time. Farmers with medical insurance have significantly higher confidence than farmers without it. Lessons for TPRS suggest that to reduce poverty among poor groups in a way that is both stable and sustainable, poverty alleviation strategies should take psychological factors into account when evaluating their efficacy. They should also concentrate on how employment boosts self-confidence.
The Role of Country Governance in Achieving the Banking Sector’s Sustainability in Vulnerable Environments: New Insight from Emerging Economies
Authors: Athari Seyed Alireza , Saliba Chafic , Khalife Danielle , Salameh-Ayanian Madonna
Published: July 2023

Extant literature suggests that the banking sector’s sustainability is achievable by minimizing the risk factors, in particular, credit risk (CR). Despite prior studies, there are fewer attempts to considerably probe the role of country governance settings in managing CR and ultimately achieving sustainability. Therefore, this study aims to test this nexus for the banking sector operating in BRICS developing economies. Specifically, this research attempts to explore whether country governance has a moderator role between CR and the exposure of environments to risk factors. To achieve these objectives, we conduct panel data analysis using the quantile (QR) and fixed effects (FE) estimation methods. The results show that increasing liquidity, profitability, capital requirements, and income diversification lead to decreasing CR, whereas increasing inefficiency causes an increase in CR. In addition, the results reveal that a country’s increasing vulnerability to a specific financial risk index (FRI), economic risk index (ERI), and political risk index (PRI); developing capital markets; increasing lending interest rates; and weakening country governance quality is significantly linked to increasing CR. Remarkably, the results underscore that country governance has a significant moderator role, and by enhancing the quality of country governance, the impact of country-specific FRI, ERI, and PRI on CR could be attenuated.
Analysis of Influence Factors of Anti-Slide Pile with Prestressed Anchor Cable Based on Bearing and Deformation Characteristics of Pile Body
Authors: Zhang Sifeng , Yang Zhe , Liu Qian , Fan Wei , Zhang Guojian , Zhang Xinyu
Published: July 2023

In order to deeply study the mechanism of prestressed anchor anti-slide pile, an indoor model experimental device was developed, and a finite difference and particle flow numerical analysis model of slope anchor cable anti-slide pile was established based on the reinforcement project of prestressed anchor cable anti-slide pile in a mountain road slope. Based on the analysis of the force and displacement characteristics of the anti-slide pile, the influence of the prestress of the anchor cable, the inclination angle of the anchor cable, the width and column spacing of the anti-slide pile and the inclination angle of the landslide, the height and nature of the filling soil on the force and deformation characteristics of the pile are discussed, and some design parameters are optimized. Results show that the larger the prestress of the anchor cable, the smaller the displacement of the pile body, but the excessive stress is not conducive to the safety of the pile body. The optimal tension should be 50–70% of the designed tension of the anchor cable. With the increase in the inclination angle of the anchor cable, the displacement of the pile decreases first and then increases, and there is an optimal inclination angle of the anchor cable. In the double row piles, with the increase in pile spacing, the front row piles gradually change from supporting the soil between the double row piles to supporting the sliding body with the back row piles, and the double row piles are plum-shaped. When the pile spacing is 2.5 times the pile diameter, the force of the front and rear piles is the most reasonable. In the process of soil arching evolution, the influence of cohesion on the soil arching effect is greater than that of the internal friction angle.
Innovation and the Sustainable Competitive Advantage of Young Firms: A Strategy Implementation Approach
Authors: Thi Uyen Nguyen , Van Manh Hoang , Mahmud Imran , Thuy Linh Vu Thi
Published: July 2023

This study examines the impact of innovation at the strategy level on innovation at the process and system levels, which are considered to be forms of function-level innovation, based on the strategy implantation approach. The study also reveals the effect of process and system innovation on the sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) of young firms in Vietnam. The research used primary data from a survey of 289 young firms’ leaders in Vietnam. PLS-SEM using SmartPLS software was employed to assess the ability of the measurement model and structural model to test hypotheses. The findings indicated that the four hypotheses about the effects of strategy innovation on process and system innovation and the effects of process and system innovation on the SCA of young firms in Vietnam were all confirmed. These crucial results fill the research gap of innovation in young firms, especially the gap in the context of developing countries. The current study addresses an important implication for the use of innovation practices in young firms to sustain the firm’s SCA. Accordingly, young firms are able to significantly strengthen their sustainable competitive advantage through innovation practices at both strategy and function levels.
Retailer-Led Low-Carbon Supply Chain Coordination Considering Sales Effort
Authors: Zhang Shuiwang , Ding Jingcheng , Ding Qianlan
Published: July 2023

This paper develops a Stackelberg game model for a retailer-led secondary low-carbon supply chain (L-CSC) comprising a manufacturer and a retailer. Then, a two-part pricing contract is designed to investigate the product pricing, carbon reduction, and sales effort decision problems, and relevant management insights are obtained through numerical analysis. The study shows an efficiency loss in decentralized decision making compared to centralized decision making. Considering the sales effort improves the efficiency of the supply chain, retail price, carbon emission reduction (CER), sales effort level, and supply chain profit positively relate to product low carbon preference and sales sensitivity coefficients. The designed two-part pricing contract can increase the profit of the entire L-CSC and optimize the decision level under centralized decision making.
Crop Cultivation Efficiency and GHG Emission: SBM-DEA Model with Undesirable Output Approach
Authors: Żyłowski Tomasz , Kozyra Jerzy
Published: July 2023

Crop production relies on the use of natural resources and is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The present study uses survey data from 250 Polish farms to investigate the eco-efficiency of three main crops: winter wheat, winter triticale, and winter oilseed rape. First, the slack-based Data Envelopment Analysis (SBM-DEA) model with undesirable output (GHG emissions) was applied. In the next step, the Generalized Additive Model for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) was used to explain the efficiency scores. The calculated GHG emissions per hectare of crop were 1.9 tCO2e, 3.2 tCO2e, and 4.3 tCO2e for winter triticale, wheat, and oilseed rape, respectively. Fully efficient farms used significantly less fertilizer (13.6–29.3%) and fuel (16.6–25.3%) while achieving higher yields (14.4–23.2%) and lower GHG emissions per hectare (10.8–17.7%). In practice, this means that efficient farms had a 20–32% lower carbon footprint per kilogram of yield than inefficient farms, depending on the crop. It was also shown that increasing the size of the cultivated area contributed to improving efficiency scores, while no conclusive evidence was found for an influence of economic size or farm type on their performance. Weather conditions had a significant impact on the efficiency score. In general, higher temperatures and precipitation in spring had a positive effect on efficiency, while an opposite relationship was observed in summer.
Power and Frequency Band Allocation Mechanisms for WPT System with Logarithmic-Based Nonlinear Energy Harvesting Model
Authors: Han Jaeseob , Jeon Seung-Hyun , Lee Gyeong-Ho , Park Sangdon , Choi Jun-Kyun
Published: July 2023

Wireless power transmission (WPT) is expected to play a crucial role in supporting the perpetual operations of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, thereby contributing significantly to IoT services. However, the development of efficient power allocation algorithms has remained a longstanding challenge. This paper addresses the aforementioned challenge by proposing a novel strategy, called energy poverty-based device selection (EPDS), in conjunction with energy beamforming, where orthogonal frequency bands are allocated to energy harvesting IoT devices (EHIs). To solve two power allocation problems, a logarithmic-based nonlinear energy harvesting model (NEHM) is introduced. The first problem tackled is the total received power maximization (TRPM), which is initially presented and, then, solved optimally in closed-form by incorporating Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) conditions with the modified water-filling algorithm. The second problem formulated is the common received power maximization (CRPM), which takes into account energy fairness considerations. To assess the proposed algorithms and gain insights into the effects of mobility, the mobility of EHIs is modeled as a one-dimensional random walk. Extensive numerical results are provided to validate the advantages of the proposed algorithms. Both the TRPM and CRPM algorithms exhibit exceptional performance in terms of total and minimum received energy, respectively. Furthermore, in comparison to round-robin scheduling, the EPDS demonstrates superior performance in terms of minimum received energy. This paper highlights the impact of the proposed energy harvesting (EH) model, demonstrating 12.68% and 3.69% higher values than the linear model for the minimum and total received energy, respectively.
Study on Emission Control of Berthing Vessels-Based on Non-Cooperative Game Theory
Authors: Wang Qin , Jiang Minhang
Published: July 2023

To accomplish IMO’s emission reduction targets, the Chinese government has established emission control areas and implemented strict sulfur limitation policies. Faced with a downturn in the shipping industry and the challenge of an insufficient supply of compliant fuel, Hong Kong and Shenzhen in China have implemented different low-sulfur fuel oil subsidy policies. It is particularly important to study non-cooperative games between two ports considering low-sulfur fuel oil subsidies. In this paper, first, non-cooperative game models considering low-sulfur fuel oil subsidies are constructed. Second, the mechanisms of various factors affecting port pricing, throughput and profit are analyzed. Then, a case study is conducted using AIS data of container ships in Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan ports. The study reveals that in both sequential and simultaneous games, the gross tonnage of a ship has an impact on the optimal service price, throughput and profit of the port. The subsidy rate has a positive impact on the profitability of the port itself, to the detriment of competitor ports. In conclusion, a low-sulfur fuel oil subsidy policy has a significant positive impact on the step-by-step implementation of more stringent air pollution reduction policies in port waters.
Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Conflict Areas: Application to Palestine
Authors: Jafar Hanan A. , Shahrour Isam , Mroueh Hussein
Published: July 2023

This paper aims to investigate greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) in conflict areas, emphasising Palestine. This estimation faces several difficulties, particularly in data collection. The paper first presents the geopolitical context of Palestine and its consequences for the analysis of GHGEs. Then, it presents the estimation of the GHGEs related to energy, which constitutes the major contributor to GHGEs in Palestine. The emissions were estimated according to Tier 1 in the 2006 IPCC guidelines. For the first time in Palestine, (i) the International Energy Agency methodology for calculating emission factors from electricity consumption is used to estimate the emission factors of GHG at the final point of consumption, and (ii) the scope 2 emissions from imported electricity are accounted for in the total emissions. The GHGEs from the Palestinian electricity generation (excluding imported electricity) were 446,471 tons of CO2eq in 2019, representing 11% of the total emissions from the energy sector. The total GHGEs from electricity final consumption (including imported electricity) in all sectors were 3,929,829 tons of CO2eq. More than 60% (2,316,465 tons of CO2eq) of these emissions were attributed to the consumption of electricity by the households. Emissions from fuel consumption in 2019 were about 3,912,566 tons of CO2eq. Transport was found to be the main emitter of GHGs, with more than half of the total emissions (2,207,834 tons of CO2eq). Considering imported electricity in estimating the total GHGEs from the energy sector doubled the emissions. It increased the share of household emissions in the total GHGEs from the energy sector to become the most significant contributor to the total emissions.
Nutrient Management Influences Root Characteristics and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in the Vegetable-Based Agroecosystem in the Northwestern Himalayas
Authors: Sharma Archana , Sharma Jagjeet Chand , Shukla Yog Raj , Verma Manohar Lal , Singh Upender , Spehia Ranjit Singh , Sharma Deeksha , Gautam Krishan Lal , Dogra Rushal , Tecimen Huseyin Baris , Kumar Munesh , Kumar Amit
Published: July 2023

Imbalanced nutrient fertilization adversely affects root growth and alters the nutrient use efficiency of a crop. This study aimed to understand the influence of integrated nutrient management on root characteristics and nitrogen use efficiency in the vegetable-based agroecosystem. The field trial was conducted at the Department of Soil Science and Water Management of Dr. Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni, Solan (HP) India in 2019 and 2020. There were nine treatments viz. T1- control, T2-100% farmyard manure (FYM; N equivalent basis), T3-100% N, T4-100% NP, T5-100% NK, T6-100% PK, T7-100% NPK, T8-100% NPK + FYM (recommended practice), and T9-150% NPK + FYM on root densities (mass, volume, and length) and N use efficiency of cauliflower and capsicum. The results observed that different treatments exert significant effects on measured as well as derivative parameters. In detail, the application of 150% NPK + FYM recorded significantly higher root-mass density (0.72 and 1.71 g m−3 × 10−3), root-volume density (4.49 and 2.52 m3 m−3 × 10−3), and root-length density (1.21 and 0.81 cm m−3 × 10−4) in cauliflower and capsicum, respectively, which was statistically at par with treatment T9 (100% NPK + FYM). Similarly, this treatment (150% NPK + FYM) resulted in a maximum positive N (774.6 kg ha−1), P (650.4 kg ha−1), and K (334.9 kg ha−1) balance of soil after the complete harvest of two cropping-sequence cycles. However, maximum agronomic N use efficiency (59.9 and 67.9 kg kg−1) and apparent recovery of N (39.3 and 59.7%) were recorded under 100% FYM (N equivalence) in cauliflower and capsicum, respectively, but this treatment produced the negative N balance (−91.7 kg ha−1) and K (−340.3 kg ha−1) in soil, whereas significant improvement in agronomic use efficiency, apparent recovery of applied N, as well as in soil, and the NPK balance was recorded under 100% NPK + FYM over the other treatment. This study recommended an integrated nutrient module that is the application of 100% NPK + FYM to ensure better root growth and positive nutrient balance in the soil.
Do Team Boundary-Spanning Activities Affect Innovation Performance?
Authors: Zhang Hongkun , Tan Xin , Liu Chuanhao , Chen Ming
Published: July 2023

In order to reveal the impact of boundary-spanning activities of cooperative innovation teams on team innovation performance, this paper takes the panel data of 71 cooperative innovation teams from January to November 2022 as the research sample. It introduces intermediary variables (teamwork crafting and individual work crafting) to analyze the impact mechanism of boundary-spanning activities of teams on innovation performance, 71 teams were divided into 41 experimental groups and 30 control groups, and a quasi-natural experiment was conducted on the innovation performance of team boundary-spanning activities using the Double Difference Model (DID). Research has shown that boundary-spanning activities of collaborative innovation teams can promote team innovation performance. Team job crafting has a mediating effect on team innovation performance in boundary-spanning activities of collaborative innovation teams. Team job crafting and individual job crafting mediate between the boundary-spanning activities of collaborative innovation teams and team innovation performance. Further analysis using the double difference model found that compared to teams without boundary-spanning activities, teams with boundary-spanning activities can directly improve team innovation performance. When team reflection is vital and task interdependence is high, it will promote team innovation performance. This research enriches the research on the effects of boundary-spanning activities of collaborative innovation teams, explores solutions based on quasi-nature, and provides a reference for improving the team innovation performance of collaborative innovation teams.
Evaluation of Future Trends Based on the Characteristics of Net Primary Production (NPP) Changes over 21 Years in the Yangtze River Basin in China
Authors: Zhang Yuzhou , Gong Jian , Yang Jianxin , Peng Jin
Published: July 2023

As the third largest river basin in the world, the Yangtze River basin in China has vegetation ecosystems in its plain, mountain, and alpine regions. Studying the change characteristics of the vegetation’s net primary productivity (NPP) and its relationship with natural factors and human activities can aid with understanding, to a certain extent, the response of the ecosystem to global climate change. Based on a total of 21 years of MOD17A3 data products from 2000 to 2020, this paper analyzed the spatial variation characteristics and future trends of the NPP in this region by using the coefficient of variation (CV), trend analysis (β), and Hurst index (H) methods. Meanwhile, correlation analysis was used to explore the influence of natural factors and human activities on the NPP. The results show the following: (1) the total amount of the NPP in the Yangtze River Basin was relatively high, and the overall change trend is rising, while the inter-annual fluctuation is evident. The total amount of NPP ranges from 0.786 PgC (2000) to 1.024 PgC (2020), and the annual average was 0.932 PgC. This increase was mainly caused by the increase in the average NPP of forest land, cultivated land, and construction land. (2) The mean value of the NPP in the different regions of the Yangtze River Basin ranged from 0 (construction land) to 1902.89 gC/m2·a. The mean value of the NPP in the Yangtze River Basin was high in the south and low in the north, as well as high in the middle and low in the east and west. The main high-value areas were located in the Hengduan Mountains and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The coefficient of variation (CV) was 0.0009–0.9980, and the mean CV was only 0.1126. Regarding the future development trend, 77.90% and 22.10% of the regions showed an increase, 22.10% showed a decrease, and 75.25% showed an anti-sustainable state. (3) The effect of human activities on the NPP was generally negative, and the loss of NPP due to land use change in 2020 was around 9.85 TgC when compared with the same in 2000. (4) The rainfall and temperature in the Yangtze River basin both showed a non-significant increase, and the correlation coefficient between the NPP and rainfall was between −0.874 and 0.910. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient of the temperature ranged from −0.928 to 0.929, with a positive correlation overall and a negative correlation locally, and the NPP changes were more susceptible to the influence of temperature than rainfall.
Email Security Issues, Tools, and Techniques Used in Investigation
Authors: Altulaihan Esra , Alismail Abrar , Hafizur Rahman M. M. , Ibrahim Adamu A.
Published: July 2023

The email system is a globally distributed communication infrastructure service that involves multiple actors playing different roles to ensure end-to-end mail delivery. It is an indispensable method of communicating that is changing how people share data and information. As a result, it facilitates effective and efficient communication, especially in business, as well as convenience, accessibility, and replication. Today, email can send more than just text files; it can also send audio, video, photos, and other files with extensions. With email becoming ubiquitous in all aspects of our lives, enhancing its security, operating procedures, and forensic investigation has become essential. The purpose of this paper is to review some real email forensic incidents and the tools and techniques that have been proposed. A discussion of the major threats to email as well as techniques to mitigate them will also be provided. A comparison study was made of several techniques and analysis tools used in email forensics. In addition, this paper compares the available software tools for email forensics based on factors such as language interface, user interface, programming language, creation of image files, calculation of hash value, cost, and advantages.
Study on Soil Parameter Evolution during Ultra-Large Caisson Sinking Based on Artificial Neural Network Back Analysis
Authors: Li Zhongwei , Liang Jinda , Zhang Xinghui , Dai Guoliang , Cao Shuning
Published: July 2023

The determination of soil parameters in geotechnical engineering and their variations during the construction process have long been a focal point for engineering designers. While the artificial neural network (ANN) has been employed for back analysis of soil parameters, its application to caisson sinking processes remains limited. This study focuses on the Nanjing Longtan Yangtze River Bridge project, specifically the south anchoring of an ultra-large rectangular caisson. A comprehensive analysis of the sinking process was conducted using 400 finite element method (FEM) models to obtain the structural stress and earth pressure at key locations. Multiple combinations of soil parameters were considered, resulting in a diverse set of simulation results. These results were then utilized as training samples to develop a back-propagating artificial neural network (BP ANN), which utilized the structural stress and earth pressure as input sets and the soil parameters as output sets. The BP ANN was individually trained for each stage of the sinking process. Subsequently, the trained ANN was employed to predict the soil parameters under different working conditions based on actual monitoring data from engineering projects. The obtained soil parameter variations were further analyzed, leading to the following conclusions: (1) The soil parameters estimated by the ANN exhibited strong agreement with the original values from the geological survey report, validating their reliability; (2) The surrounding soil during the caisson sinking exhibited three distinct states: a stable state prior to the arrival of the cutting edges, a strengthened state upon the arrival of the cutting edges, and a disturbed state after the passage of the cutting edges; (3) In the stable state, the soil parameters closely resembled the original values, whereas in the strengthened state, the soil strength and stiffness significantly increased, while the Poisson’s ratio decreased. In the disturbed state, the soil strength and stiffness were slightly lower than the original values. This study represents a valuable exploration of back analysis for caisson engineering. The findings provide important insights for similar engineering design and construction projects.
Some Fixed-Point Results for the KF-Iteration Process in Hyperbolic Metric Spaces
Authors: Şahin Aynur , Öztürk Emre , Aggarwal Gaurav
Published: July 2023

In this paper, we modify the KF-iteration process into hyperbolic metric spaces where the symmetry condition is satisfied and establish the weak w2-stability and data dependence results for contraction mappings. We also prove some Δ-convergence and strong convergence theorems for generalized (α,β)-nonexpansive type 1 mappings. Finally, we offer a numerical example of generalized (α,β)-nonexpansive type 1 mappings and show that the KF-iteration process is more effective than some other iterations. Our results generalize and improve several relevant results in the literature.