bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improvement in Acid Resistance of Polyimide Membranes: A Sustainable Cross-Linking Approach via Green-Solvent-Based Fenton Reaction
Authors: Ravi Srinath , Kang Woo-Seok , Lee Hyung-Kae , Park You-In , Park Hosik , Kim In-Chul , Kwon Young-Nam
Published: January 2023

In this study, we present a facile surface modification method using green solvents for a commercial polyimide (PI) nanofiltration membrane to exhibit good acid stability. To enhance acid stability, the PI organic solvent nanofiltration membrane was modified using Fenton’s reaction, an oxidative cross-linking process, using environmentally friendly solvents: water and ethanol. The surface properties of the pristine and modified PI membranes were investigated and compared using various analytical tools. We studied the surface morphology using scanning electron microscopy, performed elemental analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, investigated chemical bonds using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and studied thermal stability using thermogravimetric analysis. The acid resistances of the pristine and modified membranes were confirmed through performance tests. The pristine PI nanofiltration membrane exposed to a 50 w/v% sulfuric acid for 4 h showed an increase in the normalized water flux to 205% and a decrease in the MgSO4 normalized rejection to 44%, revealing damage to the membrane. The membrane modified by the Fenton reaction exhibited a decline in flux and improved rejection, which are typical performance changes after surface modification. However, the Fenton-modified membrane exposed to 50 w/v% sulfuric acid for 4 h showed a flux increase of 7% and a rejection increase of 4%, indicating improved acid resistance. Furthermore, the Fenton post-treatment enhanced the thermal stability and organic solvent resistance of the PI membrane. This study shows that the acid resistance of PI membranes can be successfully improved by a novel and facile Fenton reaction using green solvents.
Ketorolac-Loaded PLGA-/PLA-Based Microparticles Stabilized by Hyaluronic Acid: Effects of Formulation Composition and Emulsification Technique on Particle Characteristics and Drug Release Behaviors
Authors: Wongrakpanich Amaraporn , Khunkitchai Nichakan , Achayawat Yanisa , Suksiriworapong Jiraphong
Published: January 2023

This study aimed to develop ketorolac microparticles stabilized by hyaluronic acid based on poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), poly(lactide) (PLA), and their blend for further application in osteoarthritis. The polymer blend may provide tailored drug release and improved physicochemical characteristics. The microparticles were prepared by water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) double emulsion solvent evaporation using two emulsification techniques, probe sonication (PS) and high-speed stirring (HSS), to obtain the microparticles in different size ranges. The results revealed that the polymer composition and emulsification technique influenced the ketorolac microparticle characteristics. The PS technique provided significantly at least 20 times smaller average size (1.3–2.2 µm) and broader size distribution (1.5–8.5) than HSS (45.5–67.4 µm and 1.0–1.4, respectively). The encapsulation efficiency was influenced by the polymer composition and the emulsification technique, especially in the PLA microparticles. The DSC and XRD results suggested that the drug was compatible with and molecularly dissolved in the polymer matrix. Furthermore, most of the drug molecules existed in an amorphous form, and some in any crystalline form. All of the microparticles had biphasic drug release composed of the burst release within the first 2 h and the sustained release over 35 days. The obtained microparticles showed promise for further use in the treatment of osteoarthritis.
Development, Characterization, and Evaluation as Food Active Packaging of Low-Density-Polyethylene-Based Films Incorporated with Rich in Thymol Halloysite Nanohybrid for Fresh “Scaloppini” Type Pork Meat Fillets Preservation
Authors: Giannakas Aris E. , Salmas Constantinos E. , Moschovas Dimitrios , Karabagias Vassilios K. , Karabagias Ioannis K. , Baikousi Maria , Georgopoulos Stavros , Leontiou Areti , Katerinopoulou Katerina , Zafeiropoulos Nikolaos E. , Avgeropoulos Apostolos
Published: January 2023

A new era is rising in food packaging and preservation, with a consequent focus on transition to “greener” and environmentally friendly techniques. The environmental problems that are emerging nowadays impose use of natural materials for food packaging applications, replacement of chemical preservatives with natural organic extractions, such as essential oils, and targeting of new achievements, such as further extension of food shelf-life. According to this new philosophy, most of the used materials for food packaging should be recyclable, natural or bio-based, and/or edible. The aim of this work was to investigate use and efficiency of a novel food packaging developed based on commercial LDPE polymer incorporated with natural material halloysite impregnated with natural extract of thyme oil. Moreover, a direct correlation between the stiff TBARS method and the easiest heme iron measurements method was scanned to test food lesions easier and faster. The result of this study was development of the LDPE/10TO@HNT film, which contains the optimum amount of a hybrid nanostructure and is capable to be used as an efficient active food packaging film. Furthermore, a linear correlation seems to connect the TBARS and heme iron measurements.
3D Printing Multi-Channel Large Volume Microchannel Reactor for Enhanced Removal of Low-Concentration NOx Flue Gas
Authors: Han Kai , Ju Shaohua , Zhou Yu , Zhang Jingxi , Wan Xiaoxi , Li Na , Gu Yongwan
Published: January 2023

Compared with conventional reactors that are designed by traditional micromachining technology, the use of 3D-printing technology to manufacture multichannel large-volume microchannel reactors as reaction equipment to remove low-concentration NOX by the wet method is simple and convenient, and the processing cost is low. The results showed that when the concentration of NO was 400 ppm, the mixed solution of (NH2)2CO mass fraction of 3% and H2O2 concentration of 0.5 mol/L was used, and the flow rates of gas and liquid were 100 mL/min, respectively, under the experimental conditions of pH = 11, solution temperature of 20 °C and 500 mL solution recycling for 20 min, the best removal effect of NOX was achieved, and the removal efficiency was 100%. When the O2 content in the flue gas was increased and the number and length of microchannels were increased, the NOX removal efficiency increased accordingly, which was conducive to the rapid and efficient reaction. The application of the microchannel reactor presents a new method for improving the air quality and reducing environmental pollution in the future.
Why Search for Alternative GPCR Agonists?
Authors: Boutin Jean A. , Leprince Jérôme
Published: January 2023

Intuitively, it is easy to understand why we search for G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) antagonists. It is obviously to block a functionality of a specific receptor potentially linked to some aspects of disease. Whether by focused research or by serendipity, many drugs were discovered in the last century that function as antagonist at a precise receptor. A current idea is that at least half of the drugs on the market are antagonist ligands of GPCRs. Then, why are we searching for alternative receptor agonists while the endogenous activating molecule is known? In the present commentary we try to rationalize these fields of research, since they proved to be very successful over the years, with receptor pharmacology populated with dozens of alternative agonists, particularly to bioaminergic receptors, and to a lesser extent to peptidergic ones. However, the action of such compounds is not well-characterized: are they surrogates to the endogenous agonist, and if yes in which context and for which purpose? The present essay is a reflection on this subject that leads to fundamental interrogations of our understanding of GPCR roles and functions.
Development and Evaluation of Sustainable Bituminous Paver Blocks
Authors: Radhakrishnan Padmakumar , Dhurai Vignesh
Published: January 2023

Most road surfaces globally are constructed using bituminous materials. The construction of new roads and the maintenance of existing ones demand a huge amount of virgin natural aggregates. Depletion of resources that takes place during the construction of the road has an impact on cost and also on the environment. Hence, there is a need to reduce virgin aggregate use for bituminous pavement construction. This can be achieved by utilizing sustainable materials such as marble waste and reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in hot mix asphalt (HMA)-type road construction. This research work is focused on sustainable development goal (SDG) 12, exclusively on the target number 12.5 which describes the recycling and reuse of materials. However, no investigations were seen to be reported on the integrated utilization of sustainable materials and RAP in bituminous paver blocks. The bituminous mixes were evaluated based on strength and compared with the control mix in this study. Bituminous paver blocks were then cast using sustainable materials and tested in the laboratory to assess the performance of the blocks through a compression test, Cantabro loss test, and wheel rut test. The test results gave satisfactory values; hence, these bituminous blocks can be used for service maintenance of the pavement structures. The study indicates that using sustainable material along with RAP in blocks can provide an eco-friendly, easily maintainable pavement system which makes it a key approach to SDG 9 as well, in terms of innovative infrastructure solutions.
The Clinical Utility of Spirituality and Religion in Meaning-Making Theory for Suicide Loss Survivors: A Scoping Review
Authors: Post Emily , Vis Jo-Ann , Boynton Heather
Published: January 2023

In the case of violent/traumatic loss due to a completed suicide, there can be an overwhelming and complicated grief reaction followed by a spiritual need for the process of sense making and finding meaning. Some emerging literature on suicide loss survivors (SLSs) denotes that suicide loss is more similar to other forms of bereavement but is uniquely characterized by high levels of shame, guilt, self-blame, and stigma. This article examines themes within the current literature on the bereavement process, meaning-making theory, religion, and spirituality. The aim of this scoping review was to consider the question concerning the clinical utility of accompanying meaning-making interventions with a spiritually informed approach for SLS. The research was conducted through a scoping review. Records were identified through database searches of ProQuest (N = 93); OMNI (N = 184); and EBSCO (N = 63). Through a process involving identification, screening, and eligibility guided by inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 25 (N = 25) articles were used. These articles were analyzed in-depth for commonalities. Grief experiences, religious and spiritual experiences and meaning-making were three themes that emerged from the literature. In conclusion, this review elevates the importance of an integrated clinical counselling approach that encourages meaning-making within the context of spirituality to promote positive psychotherapy outcomes and growth for SLSs.
Personality Traits and the Spiritual and Moral Intelligence of Early Adulthood in Poland: Research Reports
Authors: Dacka Monika , Rydz Elżbieta
Published: January 2023

Spiritual and moral intelligence have recently become popular research questions in studies. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between spiritual and moral intelligence. It was also intended to link spiritual and moral intelligence with personality traits among people in early adulthood (aged 18 to 35) in Poland. In addition, in order to better understand the group, it was also planned to investigate the association of spiritual and moral intelligence with age. The theoretical framework for our study is the concept of spiritual intelligence as consisting of four dimensions: critical existential thinking, personal meaning-making, transcendental awareness and conscious state expansion. Measurements were based on the concept of moral intelligence as consisting of the four main dimensions of integrity, responsibility, compassion and forgiveness, and subcategories (competencies) including integrity, honesty, courage, confidentiality, commitment, personal responsibility, accountability for decisions, self-control, helping others, caring for others (compassion), understanding others’ feelings (altruism) and understanding their emotional needs (faith, belief). A total of 160 individuals aged 18 to 35 years from Poland were surveyed using the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory, the Moral Intelligence Scale, the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. The article reports on the results of this study.
Regulating Robo-Advisors in Insurance Distribution: Lessons from the Insurance Distribution Directive and the AI Act
Authors: Marano Pierpaolo , Li Shu
Published: January 2023

Insurance distributors are increasingly using robo-advisors for a variety of tasks, ranging from facilitating communication with customers to providing substantive advice. Like many other AI-empowered applications, robo-advisors have the potential to pose substantial risks that should be regulated and corrected by legal instruments. In this article, we attempt to discuss the regulation of robo-advisors from the perspective of the Insurance Distribution Directive and the draft AI Act. We ask two questions for each. (1) From a positive legal perspective, what obligations are imposed on insurance distributors by the legislation when they deploy robo-advisors in their business? (2) From a normative perspective, are the incumbent provisions within that legislation effective at ensuring the ethical and responsible use of robo-advisors? Our results show that neither the Insurance Distribution Directive nor the AI Act adequately address the emerging risks associated with robo-advisors. The rules implicated by them regarding the use of robo-advisors for insurance distribution are inconsistent, disproportionate, and implicit. Legislators shall further address these issues, and authorities such as EIOPA and national competent authorities must also participate by providing concrete guidelines.
Nocturnal Boundary Layer Height Uncertainty in Particulate Matter Simulations during the KORUS-AQ Campaign
Authors: Lee Hyo-Jung , Jo Hyun-Young , Kim Jong-Min , Bak Juseon , Park Moon-Soo , Kim Jung-Kwon , Jo Yu-Jin , Kim Cheol-Hee
Published: January 2023

Vertical mixing in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) is an important factor in the prediction of particulate matter (PM) concentrations; however, PBL height (PBLH) in the stable atmosphere remains poorly understood. In particular, the assessment of uncertainties related to nocturnal PBLH (nPBLH) is challenging due to the absence of stable atmosphere observations. In this study, we explored nPBLH–PM2.5 interactions by comparing model results and observations during the Korea–United States Air Quality Study (KORUS-AQ) campaign (1–31 May 2016). Remote sensing measurements (e.g., aerosol and wind Doppler lidar) and on-line WRF-Chem modeling results were used by applying three different PBL parameterizations: Yonsei University (YSU), Mellor–Yamada–Janjic (MYJ), and Asymmetrical Convective Model v2 (ACM2). Our results indicated that the uncertainties of PBLH–PM interactions were not large in daytime, whereas the uncertainties of nPBLH–PM2.5 interactions were significant. All WRF-Chem experiments showed a clear tendency to underestimate nighttime nPBLH by a factor of ~3 compared with observations, and shallow nPBLH clearly led to extremely high PM2.5 peaks during the night. These uncertainties associated with nPBLH and nPBLH–PM2.5 simulations suggest that PM2.5 peaks predicted from nighttime or next-morning nPBLH simulations should be interpreted with caution. Additionally, we discuss uncertainties among PBL parameterization schemes in relation to PM2.5 simulations.
Detection of Damaged Buildings Using Temporal SAR Data with Different Observation Modes
Authors: Kim Minhwa , Park Sang-Eun , Lee Seung-Jae
Published: January 2023

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing has been widely used as one of the most effective tools for responding to earthquake disasters. In general, damaged-building detection with SAR data has been conducted based on change detection using temporal SAR data acquired in the same observation mode. However, it is not always possible to use SAR data obtained with the appropriate observation mode in unexpected events such as natural disasters. This study aims to detect earthquake-induced damaged buildings using temporal SAR data having different observation modes. We presented a contextual change analysis method to map damaged buildings based on novel textural features. This study was conducted using the bi-temporal Komapsat-5 data obtained in different polarization modes. Experimental results for the area severely damaged by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake showed that the proposed textural analysis can improve detectability in building-damaged areas while maintaining low false alarm rates in agricultural areas. According to the grid-based accuracy analysis, the proposed method can successfully detect the damaged areas with a detection rate of about 72.5% and false alarms of about 6.8% even on challenging data sets.
Irrigation Mapping at Different Spatial Scales: Areal Change with Resolution Explained by Landscape Metrics
Authors: Meier Jonas , Mauser Wolfram
Published: January 2023

The monitoring of irrigated areas still represents a complex and laborious challenge in land use classification. The extent and location of irrigated areas vary in both methodology and scale. One major reason for discrepancies is the choice of spatial resolution. This study evaluates the influence of spatial resolution on the mapped extent and spatial patterns of irrigation using an NDVI threshold approach with Sentinel-2 and operational PROBA-V data. The influence of resolution on irrigation mapping was analyzed in the USA, China and Sudan to cover a broad range of agricultural systems by comparing results from original 10 m Sentinel-2 data with mapped coarser results at 20 m, 40 m, 60 m, 100 m, 300 m, 600 m and 1000 m and with results from PROBA-V. While the mapped irrigated area in China is constant independent of resolution, it decreases in Sudan (−29%) and the USA (−48%). The differences in the mapping result can largely be explained by the spatial arrangement of the irrigated pixels at a fine resolution. The calculation of landscape metrics in the three regions shows that the Landscape Shape Index (LSI) can explain the loss of irrigated area from 10 m to 300 m (r > 0.9).
Monitoring Shoreline Changes along the Southwestern Coast of South Africa from 1937 to 2020 Using Varied Remote Sensing Data and Approaches
Authors: Murray Jennifer , Adam Elhadi , Woodborne Stephan , Miller Duncan , Xulu Sifiso , Evans Mary
Published: January 2023

Shoreline analysis in response to the rapid erosion of sandy beaches has evolved along with geospatial and computer technology; it remains an essential task for sustainable coastal management. This severe and rapid erosion has been reported at several sandy beaches worldwide, including Yzerfontein beaches, on the southwest coast of South Africa. We determined this vulnerability from 1937 to 2020 and predicted its change by 2040 by manually delineating shoreline positions from 1937, 1960, and 1977 from aerial photographs and Landsat products between 1985 and 2020 in an automated fashion using the CoastSat toolkit and Google Earth Engine. We then integrated these datasets to calculate the extent of shoreline dynamics over the past eight decades using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS). Our results show that the coastline changed dynamically between 1937 and 2020, culminating in an average net erosion of 38 m, with the most extensive erosion occurring between 2015 and 2020. However, coastal projections indicate a slight change in shoreline position over the next two decades. Further studies should integrate additional high resolution remote sensing data and non-remote sensing data (e.g., field surveys) to improve our results and provide a more thorough understanding of the coastal environment and overcome some of remotely-sensed data underlying uncertainties.
Fast Full-Resolution Target-Adaptive CNN-Based Pansharpening Framework
Authors: Ciotola Matteo , Scarpa Giuseppe
Published: January 2023

In the last few years, there has been a renewed interest in data fusion techniques, and, in particular, in pansharpening due to a paradigm shift from model-based to data-driven approaches, supported by the recent advances in deep learning. Although a plethora of convolutional neural networks (CNN) for pansharpening have been devised, some fundamental issues still wait for answers. Among these, cross-scale and cross-datasets generalization capabilities are probably the most urgent ones since most of the current networks are trained at a different scale (reduced-resolution), and, in general, they are well-fitted on some datasets but fail on others. A recent attempt to address both these issues leverages on a target-adaptive inference scheme operating with a suitable full-resolution loss. On the downside, such an approach pays an additional computational overhead due to the adaptation phase. In this work, we propose a variant of this method with an effective target-adaptation scheme that allows for the reduction in inference time by a factor of ten, on average, without accuracy loss. A wide set of experiments carried out on three different datasets, GeoEye-1, WorldView-2 and WorldView-3, prove the computational gain obtained while keeping top accuracy scores compared to state-of-the-art methods, both model-based and deep-learning ones. The generality of the proposed solution has also been validated, applying the new adaptation framework to different CNN models.
A Procedure for the Quantitative Comparison of Rainfall and DInSAR-Based Surface Displacement Time Series in Slow-Moving Landslides: A Case Study in Southern Italy
Authors: Ardizzone Francesca , Gariano Stefano Luigi , Volpe Evelina , Antronico Loredana , Coscarelli Roberto , Manunta Michele , Mondini Alessandro Cesare
Published: January 2023

Earth observation data are useful to analyze the impact of climate-related variables on geomorphological processes. This work aims at evaluating the impact of rainfall on slow-moving landslides, by means of a quantitative procedure for identifying satellite-based displacement clusters, comparing them with rainfall series, and applying statistical tests to evaluate their relationships at the regional scale. The chosen study area is the Basento catchment in the Basilicata region (southern Italy). Rainfall series are gathered from rain gauges and are analyzed to evaluate the presence of temporal trends. Ground displacements are obtained by applying the P-SBAS (Parallel Small BAseline Subset) to three datasets of Sentinel-1 images: T146 ascending orbit, and T51 and T124 descending orbits, for the period 2015–2020. The displacement series of the pixels located in areas mapped as landslides by the Italian Landslide Inventory and sited within rain gauge influence regions (defined as 10 km circular buffers) are studied. Those displacement series are analyzed and compared to the rainfall series to search for correlations, by employing statistical and non-parametric tests. In particular, two landslides are selected and investigated in detail. Significant results were obtained for the T124 descending orbit for both landslides, for a 3-day cumulative rainfall and a 7-day delay of the slope response. Challenges in the whole procedure are highlighted and possible solutions to overcome the raised problems are proposed. Given the replicability of the proposed quantitative procedure it might be applied to any study area.
Fast Tailings Pond Mapping Exploiting Large Scene Remote Sensing Images by Coupling Scene Classification and Sematic Segmentation Models
Authors: Wang Pan , Zhao Hengqian , Yang Zihan , Jin Qian , Wu Yanhua , Xia Pengjiu , Meng Lingxuan
Published: January 2023

In the process of extracting tailings ponds from large scene remote sensing images, semantic segmentation models usually perform calculations on all small-size remote sensing images segmented by the sliding window method. However, some of these small-size remote sensing images do not have tailings ponds, and their calculations not only affect the model accuracy, but also affect the model speed. For this problem, we proposed a fast tailings pond extraction method (Scene-Classification-Sematic-Segmentation, SC-SS) that couples scene classification and semantic segmentation models. The method can map tailings ponds rapidly and accurately in large scene remote sensing images. There were two parts in the method: a scene classification model, and a semantic segmentation model. Among them, the scene classification model adopted the lightweight network MobileNetv2. With the help of this network, the scenes containing tailings ponds can be quickly screened out from the large scene remote sensing images, and the interference of scenes without tailings ponds can be reduced. The semantic segmentation model used the U-Net model to finely segment objects from the tailings pond scenes. In addition, the encoder of the U-Net model was replaced by the VGG16 network with stronger feature extraction ability, which improves the model’s accuracy. In this paper, the Google Earth images of Luanping County were used to create the tailings pond scene classification dataset and tailings pond semantic segmentation dataset, and based on these datasets, the training and testing of models were completed. According to the experimental results, the extraction accuracy (Intersection Over Union, IOU) of the SC-SS model was 93.48%. The extraction accuracy of IOU was 15.12% higher than the U-Net model, while the extraction time was shortened by 35.72%. This research is of great importance to the remote sensing dynamic observation of tailings ponds on a large scale.
Development and Application of Green or Sustainable Strategies in Analytical Chemistry
Authors: Naccarato Attilio
Published: January 2023

Analytical chemistry is bound to face growing challenges in the near future, especially for the quantification of trace analytes in complex matrices [...]
New Parking Lot Selection Approach Based on the Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) Methods: Health Criteria
Authors: Amari Aroua , Moussaid Laila , Tallal Saadia
Published: January 2023

To find a parking space, valet parking drivers have to travel a lot, which leads to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In order to reduce these emissions, it is essential to understand a user’s needs and criteria when searching for a parking space. Several selection criteria are considered when allocating a parking space. Recent research on parking space management mentions several parameters that have an impact on the choice of a parking space: namely, the traffic situation, the availability of each parking lot in question, and the cost of parking, etc. In this article, we discuss a new criterion: the physical condition of the driver in the management of parking spaces; the identification of the driver’s bodily fragility. We also propose MCDM as a parking space allocation model that best meets the cost–benefit convention. This reflection leads us to evaluate MCDM methods in the field of intelligent parking management. Therefore, we conducted a comparison between the most recent multi-criteria decision making methods used by researchers, namely, CODA, EDAS, TOPSIS, and WASPAS. The CRITIC method was used in this paper to objectively determine the weight of each criterion. A new approach is proposed to evaluate and select the best MCDM method. Indeed, we propose a method that computes the “average inter-item correlation SW”, a combination of the “average inter-item correlation” and the SW coefficient. This approach allows us to efficiently compute the correlation between a method and the set of methods while favoring the cells with the best ranking. A case study is presented to illustrate the MCDM approach to parking space allocation and evaluation. The proposed system provides drivers with services such as intelligent parking decisions, taking into account the human aspect while reducing energy consumption, driving time, and traffic congestion caused by searching for available parking spaces.
Robust Nonlinear Adaptive Control for Power Quality Enhancement of PMSG Wind Turbine: Experimental Control Validation
Authors: Salime Hassna , Bossoufi Badre , El Mourabit Youness , Motahhir Saad
Published: January 2023

Due to the intense penetration of wind energy into the power grid, grid quality and stability have become a crucial necessity in this type of power generation. It is in this context that this article has just designed an Adaptive Nonlinear Control strategy applied to the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) of 1.5 MW power, in order to generate good quality and cleanly usable energy. Interestingly, this robust control algorithm mainly uses the Lyapunov stability theory, which ensures the stability of the Wind Energy Conversion System (WECS), and therefore offers excellent results in the presence of system parametric uncertainties and changes in the elements of the external environment. To this end, the methodology followed in this in-depth study focuses on the application of the Adaptive Backstepping Control algorithm for WECS by exploiting the MATLAB/Simulink toolbox. The theoretical study and simulation of the WECS was supported by the Processor-in-the-Loop (PIL) implantation of the control in the dSPACE DS1104 embedded board to approve the effect of the control in terms of robustness against different wind profiles and parametric changes. ST-LINK communication is used to connect the embedded board and the host computer. The results obtained revealed a fast response of the different signals, a practically low ripple rate of the order of 0.1% and minor overshoots for the different electrical quantities. Operation with a unity power factor is well ensured via this control strategy. Therefore, the adaptive control applied to the WECS has verified the high performance offered and benefits from additional robustness properties.
Comparison of the Technical Efficiency of Construction Industries—A Case Study of Taiwan and Mainland China
Authors: Chen Wei Tong , Kiani Adiqa Kausar , Wu Ming-Tsung , Merrett Hew Cameron , Wang Chih-Hsing
Published: January 2023

A strong construction industry is critical to any country’s economic and infrastructural development. Facing declining business prospects in the domestic market, Taiwanese construction firms have sought new opportunities overseas, particularly in the mainland Chinese market. Without an adequate understanding of the market, making such investments involves significant risks. To better understand the differences in the markets, this study investigates the technical efficiency (TE) of the Taiwanese construction industry compared to mainland China. The focus was on TE values of construction companies across the two markets as well as the strengths and weaknesses to help inform the decision-making process. The TE evaluation was completed using the stochastic frontier approach (SFA) with a subinput efficiency model to evaluate three inputs (assets, costs, and labor) of 123 construction companies with 59 companies in mainland China and 64 companies in Taiwan. Results show that for the key asset investment factors in Taiwan’s construction industry, TE is lower than that in mainland China. However, Taiwan’s construction industry was found to have higher labor efficiency than mainland China. Relative to mainland Chinese companies, Taiwanese companies have advantages in both labor inputs and revenue outputs but are disadvantaged in terms of the firm and market size. This study shows that Taiwanese construction firms are positioned to pursue expansion into mainland China, ideally by establishing cooperative alliances. Results also show that government policy needs to ensure construction companies are supported by increased economic freedom and reduced restrictions, as these positively correlate with the revenue of local construction companies.
Consumers’ Continued Intention to Use Online-to-Offline (O2O) Services in Omnichannel Retail: Differences between To-Shop and To-Home Models
Authors: Yao Pinyi , Sabri Mohamad Fazli , Osman Syuhaily , Zainudin Norzalina , Li Yezheng
Published: January 2023

Online-to-offline (O2O) commerce is a specific form of omnichannel retailing, wherein consumers search and purchase online and then consume offline. There are many different O2O models, and new O2O businesses are emerging during the COVID-19 pandemic; they can be categorized into two types of O2O services: to-shop and to-home. However, few studies have focused on consumer behavior in a comprehensive O2O scenario, and no study has attempted to compare the differences between to-shop and to-home consumers. Therefore, this study aimed to propose a universal model to predict consumers’ continued intention to use O2O services and to compare the differences between to-shop and to-home O2O in terms of factors influencing consumer behavior. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, and the PLS-SEM was used for data analysis. The basic SEM results indicated that habit, performance expectancy, confirmation, and offline facilitating conditions are the main predictors. The multigroup analysis showed differences between to-shop and to-home consumers regarding hedonic motivation, price value, and perceived risk. The study suggests that marketers and designers in various O2O scenarios can use the framework to build their business plans and develop different marketing strategies or sub-platforms for to-shop and to-home consumers.
Spatial Analysis of Local Competitiveness: Relationship of Economic Dynamism of Cities and Municipalities in Major Regional Metropolitan Areas in the Philippines
Authors: Encarnacion Ronnie H. , Magnaye Dina C. , Castro Annlouise Genevieve M.
Published: January 2023

The measurement of cities and municipalities competitiveness in the Philippines has been put in place by the Department of Trade and Industry since 2013. However, its use as a spatial planning parameter is lacking in the literature. This paper reviewed the factors that drive competitiveness. The research revealed that “economic dynamism” appeared at the top of the factors that contribute to competitiveness and influence regional development. Given urban and regional planning theories, metropolitan areas were chosen as the most appropriate case study sites that exhibit economic dynamism. The study revealed that the “Economic Dynamism Index”, or EDi, of cities and municipalities are spatially correlated, indicative of their clustering pattern in the economic space. The clustering pattern was determined by treating the EDi as a spatial attribute in the major metropolitan case study areas. Using Moran’s I global spatial autocorrelation analysis, the clustering pattern of cities and municipalities observed through the GIS map was validated by the 99% significance in the spatial statistics of the EDi dataset. This suggests that “complementation” among cities and municipalities exists rather than competition. Thus, sustainable regional spatial/economic development strategies can be reformulated, given the spatial interactions of areas with higher EDi with the less endowed cities/municipalities at the periphery.
Studying Users’ Perceptions of COVID-19 Mobile Applications in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Alghareeb Mashael , Albesher Abdulmohsen Saud , Asif Amna
Published: January 2023

In Saudi Arabia, several mitigating measures were implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the creation of COVID-19 mobile applications (apps) for public use. The Saudi government has made the use of these apps mandatory for its citizens and residents. However, it is essential to explore the perception that common users have regarding using these apps in terms of usability and user experience. Therefore, this paper assesses user experience in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction with the usability of the Saudi COVID-19 apps. The reviews of five mobile apps launched by the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and the Ministry of Health in the Apple Store were extracted using an online tool and analyzed using the content analysis method. The number of collected reviews was 29 for Sehha, 406 for Sehhaty, 442 for Mawid, 107 for Tabaud, and 1338 for Tawakkalna. The results of the study showed that Mawid (82%) and Tabaud (81%) had the highest usability of all the apps studied. Sehha (−138%) and Sehhaty (−107%) received the lowest usability scores, followed by Tawakkalna (−22%). Based on these results, we identified several usability issues with each app. Some of the main problems reported by users were increased battery drain, lack of privacy, and technical issues.
Knowledge-Mapping Analysis of Urban Sustainable Transportation Using CiteSpace
Authors: Bi Lehua , Zhou Shaorui , Ke Jianjie , Song Xiaoming
Published: January 2023

With the accelerating process of global urbanization, environmental protection has become a hot issue for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers, with such questions as how to make urban transportation markedly sustainable to meet the pace of sustainable economic and social growth. This study visualizes and quantifies the extant publications on urban sustainable transportation research on Web of Science using CiteSpace for a wide range of research topics, including the intellectual structure, development, and evolution of urban sustainable transportation. First, this study presents the characteristics of a number of published papers in relevant fields and time stages, including publication in journals, co-occurrence of keywords, co-occurrence of disciplines and fields, and co-occurrence of the literature through network analysis. This study identifies the basic research contents and high-frequency knowledge contents of urban sustainable transportation. Second, this research analyzes the authors’ cooperation, national cooperation, and research institute cooperation networks. This study identifies the most influential authors, research institutions, and countries. Lastly, this study identifies the research frontiers and trend themes from 1991 to 30 September 2022 through co-citation clustering and research on burst detection, a combination of bibliometric methods, and a systematic review. Accordingly, this study demonstrates the research progress in this field from the perspectives of multiple themes, such as land development and utilization, sustainable transportation systems, low-carbon paths, public transport, electric vehicles, sharing modes, traveler behavior, and smart cities. These aspects provide readers with a preliminary understanding of the development of urban sustainable transportation, indicating that multidisciplinary, multiprofessional, and multiangle cooperation and analysis will become the dominant trend in this field.
Rethinking Estuary Urbanism—Preparing Australian Estuary Cities for Changes to Come in the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency
Authors: Perez Lopez Irene , Martin Daniel Jan
Published: January 2023

This research investigates the challenges and opportunities of urban estuaries exposed to spatial, urban, and environmental shifts exacerbated by climate change, ecological disturbances, and population growth, taking the cities of Perth, Western Australia and Newcastle, New South Wales, as case studies. Approaching the design of estuary cities in the Climate Century demands a form of estuary urbanism and new paradigms in design, which embrace the constant presence of water. Water becomes the instrument of change to re-think the design of the city and its relationship with the non-built environment since the climate crisis is also a water crisis. Adaptation and mitigation strategies are still emerging fields in design and planning disciplines. Design disciplines can strongly contribute to generating site-specific climate-adaptative responses while re-establishing the connection between built and natural environments, improving ecological balance and spatial quality, and promoting well-being and cultural values. The methodology involves both analytical and projective-explorative methods promoting a site-specific approach, working across scales and disciplines to understand urban estuaries within larger catchments and as complex hydrological and ecological systems. A fundamental goal is the creation of site-specific design strategies to operate in low to medium-density precincts, leveraging water and nature as design tools to improve urban resilience and liveability. There is capacity here to establish design methods and principles that inform future practices through urbanism responding to dynamic ecological and water systems and the unpredictability effects of climate change.
The Coupling and Coordination of Agricultural Carbon Emissions Efficiency and Economic Growth in the Yellow River Basin, China
Authors: Qing Yun , Zhao Bingjian , Wen Chuanhao
Published: January 2023

The balanced ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin (YRB) has become a major national strategy in China in which low-carbon agricultural development in the region is crucial. In this context, studying the coupling and coordination between agricultural carbon emissions efficiency and economic growth in the YRB is of great significance to promote low-carbon, green, and sustainable agricultural development. Therefore, based on the data of 30 cities in the YRB from 2010 to 2020, the super-efficient slacks-based measure (SBM) model with non-expected output was employed to effectively measure the agricultural carbon emissions efficiency in the YRB. Subsequently, the coupling and coordination degree of agricultural carbon emissions efficiency and economic growth in the YRB was further calculated. Finally, the Dagum Gini coefficient and kernel density estimation methods were adopted in order to comprehensively examine the spatial differences, as well as the dynamic evolution pattern of the coupled coordination in the YRB. The results demonstrate that there is a significant spatial non-equilibrium in the coupling and coordination degree of agricultural carbon emission efficiency and economic growth in the YRB, in addition to the decreasing trend of coupling coordination during the sample observation period. As such, there is still considerable room for improvement of the efficiency of agricultural carbon emissions and the degree of coupling and coordination in the YRB. This study may serve as a reference for improving the low-carbon development of agriculture and economy in the YRB, providing theoretical guidance for solving the contradiction between ecological protection and economic development in this region.
Methodology for Resilience Assessment of Oil Pipeline Network System Exposed to Earthquake
Authors: Ma Jiajun , Chen Guohua , Zeng Tao , Zhou Lixing , Zhao Jie , Zhao Yuanfei
Published: January 2023

The oil pipeline network system (OPNS) is an essential part of the critical infrastructure networks (CINs), and is vulnerable to earthquakes. Assessing and enhancing the resilience of the OPNS can improve its capability to cope with earthquakes or to recover the system’s performance quickly after the disturbance. This study defines the concept of OPNS resilience in the resistive ability, the adaptive ability, and the recovery ability. Then, the quantitative resilience assessment model is established considering the earthquake intensities, the role of safety barriers, the time-variant reliability, and the importance coefficient of each subsystem via a Monte Carlo simulation. Combining the model with GIS technology, a new methodology to evaluate OPNS resilience is proposed, and the resilience partition technology platform is developed, which can visualize the results of the resilience assessment. Finally, a case study is implemented to demonstrate the developed methodology, and a discussion is provided to identify the sensitive variables. The proposed resilience methodology can provide a framework for the probabilistic resilience assessment of OPNS, and could be expanded to other lifeline network systems.
The Future of Agriculture: Obstacles and Improvement Measures for Chinese Cooperatives to Achieve Sustainable Development
Authors: Qu Yi , Zhang Jing , Wang Zhenning , Ma Xinning , Wei Guangcheng , Kong Xiangzhi
Published: January 2023

The Chinese government pays close attention to sustainable development and takes an active approach to strengthening and standardizing such development. As the organizational vehicle for China’s large population, cooperatives can organize 230 million small farmers to promote sustainable development. However, some scholars have raised concerns about Chinese cooperatives and questioned their role in promoting sustainable development. Based on a review of China’s government support policy, this study summarizes the development characteristics of nine cooperatives and summarizes issues from opposite aspects. Furthermore, this study also analyzes the basic situation of the Chinese government’s quality improvement pilot county initiative and draws conclusions about the best ways to achieve sustainable development. We also make some policy proposals on achieving the sustainable development of Chinese cooperatives.
Employee Engagement Management in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Andrlić Berislav , Priyashantha Kankanamge Gayan , De Alwis Adambarage Chamaru
Published: January 2023

The COVID-19 outbreak resulted in protracted lockdowns, causing businesses to reconsider keeping their operations running smoothly without interruption. Employee engagement has played a critical role in achieving this. This research aimed to see what strategies business organizations use to keep their employees significantly engaged during the pandemic. A systematic review of empirical studies conducted between 2020 and 2022 is synthesized. The review revealed that offering mental relief care and resilience were the most preferred approaches to enhance employee engagement. Competency building, demonstrating employee empathy, and directing expectations helped in job engagement. The review offers insight and implications for organizations and policymakers on strategizing engagement policies and maintaining the well-being of their employees in tough times. Finally, the review established a call for future research agenda.