bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Soil Moisture Regulation under Mulched Drip Irrigation Influences the Soil Salt Distribution and Growth of Cotton in Southern Xinjiang, China
Authors: He Pingru , Li Jingang , Yu Shuang’en , Ma Tao , Ding Jihui , Zhang Fucang , Chen Kaiwen , Guo Shuaishuai , Peng Suhan
Published: February 2023

Water deficiency, together with soil salinization, has been seriously restricting sustainable agriculture around the globe for a long time. Optimal soil moisture regulation contributes to the amelioration of soil water and salinity for crops, which is favorable for plant production. A field experiment with five soil water lower limit levels (T1: 85% FC, T2: 75% FC, T3: 65% FC, T4: 55% FC, and T5: 45% FC, where FC is the field capacity) was conducted in southern Xinjiang in 2018 to investigate the responses of soil water–salt dynamics and cotton performance to soil moisture regulation strategies. The results indicated that in the horizontal direction, the farther away the drip irrigation belt, the lower the soil moisture content and the greater the soil salinity. In the vertical direction, the soil moisture and soil salinity increased first and then decreased with an increase in soil depth after irrigation, and the distribution was similar to an ellipse. Moreover, the humid perimeter of soil water and the leaching range of soil salt increased with a decrease in the soil moisture lower limit. Though more soil salt was leached out for the T5 treatment at the flowering stage due to the higher single irrigation amount, soil salinity increased again at the boll setting stage owing to the long irrigation interval. After the cotton was harvested, soil salt accumulated in the 0–100 cm layer and the accumulation amount followed T3 > T5 > T1 > T2 > T4. Moreover, with a decline of soil moisture lower limit, both plant height and nitrogen uptake decreased significantly while the shoot–root ratio increased. Compared with the yield (7233.2 kg·hm−2) and water use efficiency (WUE, 1.27 kg·m−3) of the T1 treatment, the yield for the T2 treatment only decreased by 1.21%, while the WUE increased by 10.24%. Synthetically, considering the cotton yield, water–nitrogen use efficiency, and soil salt accumulation, the soil moisture lower limit of 75% FC is recommended for cotton cultivation in southern Xinjiang, China.
Phytochemical Profile and In Vitro Bioactivities of Plant-Based By-Products in View of a Potential Reuse and Valorization
Authors: Chiocchio Ilaria , Mandrone Manuela , Tacchini Massimo , Guerrini Alessandra , Poli Ferruccio
Published: February 2023

Wastes and by-products of plant origin are of particular interest to develop a circular economy approach, which attempts to turn them into resources. In this work, thirty-seven neglected plant matrices, including agricultural residues, pest plants, and by-products from the herbal and food industry were extracted and tested for their in vitro anti-tyrosinase, antioxidant, and antibacterial activity against the phytopathogens Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae ATCC 19310 and Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskense ATCC 27822. Antioxidant activity ranged from 0.3 to 5 mg of Tr. eq/mL of plant extract, and extract of Castanea sativa pericarp (Csp), Rosa damascena buds (post-distillation) (Rod), and Prunus amygdalus exocarp and mesocarp (Pam) were the most powerful ones. Csp was also capable of inhibiting tyrosinase (IC50 = 16.5 µg/mL), as well as three distillation by-products, namely: Cupressus sempervirens (Css) (IC50 = 95.5 µg/mL), Salvia officinalis (Sco) (IC50 = 87.6 µg/mL), and Helichrysum italicum (Hei) (IC50 = 90.1 µg/mL). Five residues from distillation showed antibacterial activity against C. michiganensis (MICs ranging from 0.125 to 1 mg/mL), namely: Salvia sclarea L. (Sas), Salvia rosmarinus Schleid (Sar), Sco, Hei, and Css. The 1H NMR fingerprinting of the bioactive matrices was acquired, detecting primary and secondary metabolites (rosmarinic acid, shikimic acid, sclareol, and hydroxycinnamic acids).
Influence of Different Precursors on Content of Polyphenols in Camellia sinensis In Vitro Callus Culture
Authors: Aksenova Maria A. , Nechaeva Tatiana L. , Zubova Maria Y. , Goncharuk Evgenia A. , Kazantseva Varvara V. , Katanskaya Vera M. , Lapshin Petr V. , Zagoskina Natalia V.
Published: February 2023

Plant tissue cultures are considered as potential producers of biologically active plant metabolites, which include various phenolic compounds that can be used to maintain human health. Moreover, in most cases, their accumulation is lower than in the original explants, which requires the search for factors and influences for the intensification of this process. In this case, it is very promising to use the precursors of their biosynthesis as potential “regulators” of the various metabolites’ formation. The purpose of our research was to study the effect of L-phenylalanine (PhA, 3 mM), trans-cinnamic acid (CA, 1 mM) and naringenin (NG, 0.5 mM), as components of various stages of phenolic metabolism, on accumulation of various phenolic compound classes, including phenylpropanoids, flavans and proanthocyanidins, as well as the content of malondialdehyde in in vitro callus culture of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.). According to the data obtained, the precursors’ influence did not lead to changes in the morphology and water content of the cultures. At the same time, an increase in the total content of phenolic compounds, as well as phenylpropanoids, flavans and proanthocyanidins, was noted in tea callus cultures. Effectiveness of precursor action depends on its characteristics and the exposure duration, and was more pronounced in the treatments with PhA. This compound can be considered as the most effective precursor regulating phenolic metabolism, contributing to a twofold increase in the total content of phenolic compounds, flavanes and proanthocyanidins, and a fourfold increase in phenylpropanoids in tea callus cultures.
Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils
Authors: Garzoli Stefania
Published: February 2023

This Special Issue entitled “Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils” focuses on the chemical characterization of essential oils (EOs) through analytical techniques that are necessary for the identification and quantification of individual compounds [...]
Polydioxanone Membrane Compared with Collagen Membrane for Bone Regeneration
Authors: Quirino Lilian Caldas , de Azambuja Carvalho Pedro Henrique , Neto Renato Torres Augusto , Comachio Cássio Amaro , Monteiro Naara Gabriela , Ervolino-Silva Ana Cláudia , Okamoto Roberta , Pereira-Filho Valfrido
Published: February 2023

Guided bone regeneration (GBR) is an approach that induces osteopromotion through the regenerative membranes. These barriers exhibit bioactive behavior and mechanical function. Polydioxanone is a synthetic option, already used in medicine and dentistry, with good results in bone regeneration. This study aimed to evaluate bone repair in critical defects in rat calvaria using a polydioxanone membrane (Plenum® Guide) compared with a commercially available collagen-based membrane (Bio-Gide®). The bone defects were filled with Plenum® Osshp, a synthetic bone graft, hydroxyapatite:β-tricalcium phosphate, 70:30%, Group PG (Plenum® Guide + Plenum® Osshp), and Group BG (Geistlich Bio-Gide® + Plenum® Osshp). The specimens were submitted to immunohistochemical (RUNX2 and OPN), gene expression (RUNX2, IBSP, and VEGF), histometric, and microtomography analyses after 07, 15, 30, and 60 days postoperative. PG group showed greater immunolabeling area for RUNX2 and OPN, higher gene expression of VEGF (3.15 ± 0.85), and IBSP (24.9 ± 0.59). However, there was no statistical difference between groups in the histometric analysis regarding the percentage of connective tissue PG (0.83 ± 0.45), BG (0.70 ± 0.34), neoformed bone PG (0.60 ± 0.4), BG (0.65 ± 0.51), and remaining biomaterial PG (0.84 ± 0.31), BG (0.91 ± 0.33). In addition, there was no statistical difference between groups by micro-CT analysis. The absorbable-synthetic membrane, Plenum® Guide, is an effective membrane for guided bone regeneration.
Prussian Blue Sensor for Bacteria Detection in Personal Protection Clothing
Authors: Leite Liliana , Pais Vânia , Bessa João , Cunha Fernando , Relvas Cátia , Ferreira Noel , Fangueiro Raul
Published: February 2023

Biological hazards can be defined as substances that endanger the life of any living organism, most notably humans, and are often referred to as biohazards. Along with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), early detection of contact is essential for the correct management and resolution of a biological threat, as well as lower mortality rates of those exposed. Herein, Prussian blue (PB) was evaluated as a functional compound applied on polyester knits to act as an on-site sensor for bacteria detection. In order to study the best compound concentration for the intended application, polymeric solutions of 0.5, 1 and 2 g/L were developed. The three conditions tested displayed high abrasion resistance (>2000 cycles). The bacterial sensing capacity of the coated knits was assessed in liquid and solid medium, with the functionalised substrates exhibiting the capability of detecting both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and changing colours from blue to white. Evaluation of water repellence and chemical penetration resistance and repellence was also performed in polyester functionalised with PB 0.5 and 1 g/L. Both knits showed a hydrophobic behaviour and a capacity to resist to penetration of chemicals and level 3 repellence effect for both acid and base chemicals.
The Therapy of Desire in Times of Crisis: Lessons Learned from Buddhism and Stoicism
Authors: Ding Xiaojun , Ma Yueyao , Yu Feng , Abadal Lily M.
Published: February 2023

Desire is an important philosophical topic that deeply impacts everyday life. Philosophical practice is an emerging trend that uses philosophical theories and methods as a guide to living a eudaimonic life. In this paper, we define desire philosophically and compare different theories of desire in specific Eastern and Western traditions. Based on the Lacanian conceptual–terminological triad of “Need-Demand-Desire”, the research of desire is further divided into three dimensions, namely, the subject of desire, the object of desire, and the desire itself. The concept of desire is then analyzed from this triad and these three dimensions through different philosophical theories. This paper selects Buddhism as the representative of Eastern tradition, and Stoicism as the representative of the West, paying special attention to Stoicism’s “spiritual exercises” following Pierre Hadot. By exploring and comparing the Buddhist paths to liberation from suffering (i.e., the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path) and the two theoretical pillars in Stoicism (i.e., the notions of “living according to nature” and “the dichotomy of control”), practical guidance is then provided for understanding and regulating desire in times of crisis. This understanding and regulation of desire constitutes a philosophical therapy for today’s troubles, particularly those caused by excessive or irrational desires.
The Process Theology of John Elof Boodin
Authors: Flannery Michael A.
Published: February 2023

Despite his impeccable academic pedigree, a protégé of Josiah Royce and a friend and student of William James, John Elof Boodin is nearly forgotten today among American philosophers; hence, an essential aspect of his thought lost to history is his contribution to process theology. The leading features of process thought demonstrate Boodin’s connections to this unique theology and show it to have been established early on, as early as 1900 and 1904. This places Boodin’s writing on process philosophy/theology well before Alfred North Whitehead, the putative pioneer in modern process metaphysics, by more than twenty years, and co-extensive with Henri Bergson, who influenced Whitehead. Nevertheless, when Boodin is discussed today, it is usually as an early pragmatist rather than as a process philosopher. The central claim of this essay argues that Boodin is best understood as a pragmatically influenced process theist, one of the first in a modern context. This historiographical revision will permit a better portrayal of process thought by revealing a more nuanced and pluralistic theological landscape beyond the standard Bergsonian/Whiteheadian/Hartshornian triumvirate.
Research on the Performance of an Active Rotating Tropospheric and Stratospheric Doppler Wind Lidar Transmitter and Receiver
Authors: Chen Jianfeng , Xie Chenbo , Zhao Ming , Ji Jie , Wang Bangxin , Xing Kunming
Published: February 2023

This paper investigates the transmitter and receiver performance of an active rotating tropospheric stratospheric Doppler wind Lidar. A 532 nm laser was determined as the detection wavelength based on transmission and scattering aspects. A ten-fold Galileo beam expander consisting of spherical and aspherical mirrors was designed and produced to compress the outgoing laser’s divergence angle using ZEMAX simulation optimization and optical-mechanical mounting means. The structure and support of the 800 mm Cassegrain telescope was redesigned. Additionally, the structure of the receiver was optimized, and the size was reduced. Meanwhile, the detectors and fiber mountings were changed to improve the stability of the received optical path. A single-channel atmospheric echo signal test was used to select the best-performing photomultiplier tube (PMT). Finally, the atmospheric wind field detection results of the original and upgraded systems were compared. The results show that after optimizing the transmitter and receiver, the detection altitude of the system is increased to about 47 km, and the wind speed and wind direction profiles match better with radiosonde measurements.
An Assessment of the Lancaster Sound Polynya Using Satellite Data 1979 to 2022
Authors: Vincent R.F.
Published: February 2023

Situated between Devon Island and Baffin Island, Lancaster Sound is part of Tallurutiup Imanga, which is in the process of becoming the largest marine conservation area in Canada. The cultural and ecological significance of the region is due, in part, to a recurring polynya in Lancaster Sound. The polynya is demarcated by an ice arch that generally forms in mid-winter and collapses in late spring or early summer. Advanced Very High Resolution imagery from 1979 to 2022 was analyzed to determine the position, formation and collapse of the Lancaster Sound ice arch. The location of the ice arch demonstrates high interannual variability, with 512 km between the eastern and western extremes, resulting in a polynya area that can fluctuate between 6000 km2 and 40,000 km2. The timing of the seasonal ice arch formation and collapse has implications with respect to ice transport through Lancaster Sound and the navigability of the Northwest Passage. The date of both the formation and collapse of the ice arch is variable from season to season, with the formation observed between November and April and collapse usually occurring in June or July. A linear trend from 1979 to 2022 indicates that seasonal ice arch duration has declined from 150 to 102 days. The reduction in ice arch duration is a result of earlier collapse dates over the study period and later formation dates, particularly from 1979 to 2000. Lancaster Sound normally freezes west to east each season until the ice arch is established, but there is no statistical relationship between the ice arch location and duration. Satellite surface temperature mapping of the region indicates that the polynya is characterized by sub-resolution leads during winter.
The Efficiency of Geodetic and Low-Cost GNSS Devices in Urban Kinematic Terrestrial Positioning in Terms of the Trajectory Generated by MMS
Authors: Viler Filip , Cefalo Raffaela , Sluga Tatiana , Snider Paolo , Pavlovčič-Prešeren Polona
Published: February 2023

The quality of geospatial data collection depends, among other things, on the reliability and efficiency of the GNSS receivers or even better integrated GNSS/INS systems used for positioning. High-precision positioning is currently not only the domain of professional receivers but can also be achieved by using simple devices, including smartphones. This research focused on the quality of 2D and 3D kinematic positioning of different geodetic and low-cost GNSS devices, using the professional mobile mapping system (MMS) as a reference. Kinematic positioning was performed simultaneously with a geodetic Septentrio AsteRx-U receiver, two u-blox receivers—ZED-F9P and ZED-F9R—and a Xiaomi Mi 8 smartphone and then compared with an Applanix Corporation GPS/INS MMS reference trajectory. The field tests were conducted in urban and non-urban environments with and without obstacles, on road sections with large manoeuvres and curves, and under overpasses and tunnels. Some general conclusions can be drawn from the analysis of the different scenarios. As expected, some results in GNSS positioning are subject to position losses, large outliers and multipath effects; however, after removing them, they are quite promising, even for the Xiaomi Mi8 smartphone. From the comparison of the GPS and GNSS solutions, as expected, GNSS processing achieved many more solutions for position determination and allowed a relevant higher number of fixed ambiguities, even if this was not true in general for the Septentrio AsteRx-U, in particular in a surveyed non-urban area with curves and serpentines characterised by a reduced signal acquisition. In GNSS mode, the Xiaomi Mi8 smartphone performed well in situations with a threshold of less than 1 m, with the percentages varying from 50% for the urban areas to 80% for the non-urban areas, which offers potential in view of future improvements for applications in terrestrial navigation.
Coupling of SWAT and DSAS Models for Assessment of Retrospective and Prospective Transformations of River Deltaic Estuaries
Authors: Acharyya Rituparna , Mukhopadhyay Anirban , Habel Michał
Published: February 2023

River deltaic estuaries are dynamic ecosystems characterised by linkages between tidal currents, river water discharge, and sediment from the basin. The present study is based on the application of remote data: multispectral satellite images, DEM, LULC (Land use and land cover), lithology, and hydroclimatic factors. The standardised methodology was based on the adoption of a coupled modelling approach for this work, involving the semi-distributed catchment scale hydrological Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and the statistical Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) for (1) identifying environmental drivers of sediment transport changes of the estuarine reach; (2) analysis of retrospective changes in shoreline configuration; (3) assessing discharge and sediment dynamics of the estuarine section, and (4) generating future projection scenarios for the estuary’s state to take action for its long-term ecological stability. Our study employs a coupled modelling framework to fill the research gap for Subarnarekha deltaic estuary. Integrating outputs derived from DSAS and SWAT, a comprehensive understanding of the changes in watershed hydrology, water diversions, and damming of rivers have altered the magnitude and temporal patterns of freshwater flow and sediment, which potentially contributed to the receding of the Digha Coast shoreline.
Maize Ear Height and Ear–Plant Height Ratio Estimation with LiDAR Data and Vertical Leaf Area Profile
Authors: Wang Han , Zhang Wangfei , Yang Guijun , Lei Lei , Han Shaoyu , Xu Weimeng , Chen Riqiang , Zhang Chengjian , Yang Hao
Published: February 2023

Ear height (EH) and ear–plant height ratio (ER) are important agronomic traits in maize that directly affect nutrient utilization efficiency and lodging resistance and ultimately relate to maize yield. However, challenges in executing large-scale EH and ER measurements severely limit maize breeding programs. In this paper, we propose a novel, simple method for field monitoring of EH and ER based on the relationship between ear position and vertical leaf area profile. The vertical leaf area profile was estimated from Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) and Drone Laser Scanner (DLS) data by applying the voxel-based point cloud method. The method was validated using two years of data collected from 128 field plots. The main factors affecting the accuracy were investigated, including the LiDAR platform, voxel size, and point cloud density. The EH using TLS data yielded R2 = 0.59 and RMSE = 16.90 cm for 2019, R2 = 0.39 and RMSE = 18.40 cm for 2021. In contrast, the EH using DLS data had an R2 = 0.54 and RMSE = 18.00 cm for 2019, R2 = 0.46 and RMSE = 26.50 cm for 2021 when the planting density was 67,500 plants/ha and below. The ER estimated using 2019 TLS data has R2 = 0.45 and RMSE = 0.06. In summary, this paper proposed a simple method for measuring maize EH and ER in the field, the results will also offer insights into the structure-related traits of maize cultivars, further aiding selection in molecular breeding.
Tie Point Matching between Terrestrial and Aerial Images Based on Patch Variational Refinement
Authors: Liu Jianchen , Yin Haoxuan , Liu Baohua , Lu Pingshe
Published: February 2023

To produce highly detailed 3D models of architectural scenes, both aerial and terrestrial images are usually captured. However, due to the different viewpoints of each set of images, visual entities in cross-view images show dramatic changes. The perspective distortion makes it difficult to obtain correspondences between aerial–terrestrial image pairs. To solve this problem, a tie point matching method based on variational patch refinement is proposed. First, aero triangulation is performed on aerial images and terrestrial images, respectively; then, patches are created based on sparse point clouds. Second, the patches are optimized to be close to the surface of the object by variational patch refinement. The perspective distortion and scale difference of the terrestrial and aerial images projected onto the patches are reduced. Finally, tie points between aerial and terrestrial images can be obtained through patch-based matching. Experimental evaluations using four datasets from the ISPRS benchmark datasets and Shandong University of Science and Technology datasets reveal the satisfactory performance of the proposed method in terrestrial–aerial image matching. However, matching time is increased, because point clouds need to be generated. Occlusion in an image, such as that caused by a tree, can influence the generation of point clouds. Therefore, future research directions include the optimization of time complexity and the processing of occluded images.
Monitoring Land Degradation through Vegetation Dynamics Mathematical Modeling: Case of Jornada Basin (in the U.S.)
Authors: Chen Zheng , Liu Jieyu , Qian Zhonghua , Li Li , Zhang Zhiseng , Feng Guolin , Ruan Shigui , Sun Guiquan
Published: February 2023

Arid ecosystems are known to be sensitive to climate change. The Jornada Basin in the USA, as one representative of arid land, has suffered from land degradation in recent decades. In order to disentangle the climate–vegetation feedback, we analyzed the vegetation dynamics under the effects of climate change via a mathematical model based on the reaction–diffusion mechanism. Using this model, we conducted a sensitive analysis of climate factors and concluded that the ecosystem might experience a catastrophic shift with the climatic deterioration. We considered the non-local interaction term to explain the competition among plants. Additionally, the PLR (power law range) metric was used to quantify the extent of the degradation and to compare the results of the vegetation patterns from the remote sensing data and the simulations. From the results, this model could simulate the trends of land degradation in this area. We found that the land degradation could be mainly attributed to climate changes in recent years. This approach suggests that vegetation patterns can provide hints as to whether the ecosystem is approaching desertification. These results can help with mapping vulnerable arid areas around the world through model simulation and satellite images.
Vortex-Induced Vibrations of an Elastic Micro-Beam with Gas Modeled by DSMC
Authors: Shterev Kiril , Manoach Emil , Doneva Simona
Published: February 2023

The fluid–structure interaction is one of the most important coupled problems in mechanics. The topic is crucial for many high-technology areas. This work considers the interaction between an elastic obstacle and rarefied gas flow, seeking specific problems that arise during this interaction. The Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method was used to model the rarefied gas flow and the linear Euler–Bernoulli beam theory was used to describe the motion of the elastic obstacle. It turned out that the vibrations caused by the gas flow could provoke a resonance-like phenomenon when the frequency of vortex shedding of the flow was close to the natural frequency of the beam. This phenomenon could be useful in certain high-technology applications.
Mobility Analysis of the Lumbar Spine with a Dynamic Spine-Correction Device
Authors: Kaczmarek Wojciech , Pulik Łukasz , Łęgosz Paweł , Mucha Krzysztof
Published: February 2023

According to data, 60–70% of the world’s population experience low-back pain (LBP) at least once during their lifetime, often at a young or middle age. Those affected are at risk of having worse quality of life, more missed days at work, and higher medical care costs. We present a new rehabilitation method that helps collect and analyze data on an ongoing basis and offers a more personalized therapeutic approach. This method involves assessing lumbar spine rotation (L1–L5) during torso movement using an innovative dynamic spine correction (DSC) device designed for postural neuromuscular reeducation in LBP. Spinal mobility was tested in 54 patients (aged 18 to 40 years) without LBP. Measurements were made with 12-bit rotary position sensors (AS5304) of the DSC device. During exercise, the mean lumbar spine rotation to the right was greater (4.78° ± 2.24°) than that to the left (2.99° ± 1.44°; p < 0.001). Similarly, the maximum rotation to the right was greater (11.35° ± 3.33°) than that to the left (7.42° ± 1.44°; p < 0.0001). The measurements obtained in the study can serve as a reference for future therapeutic use of the device.
FEM Simulation-Based Adversarial Domain Adaptation for Fatigue Crack Detection Using Lamb Wave
Authors: Wang Li , Liu Guoqiang , Zhang Chao , Yang Yu , Qiu Jinhao
Published: February 2023

Lamb wave-based damage detection technology shows great potential for structural integrity assessment. However, conventional damage features based damage detection methods and data-driven intelligent damage detection methods highly rely on expert knowledge and sufficient labeled data for training, for which collecting is usually expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, this paper proposes an automated fatigue crack detection method using Lamb wave based on finite element method (FEM) and adversarial domain adaptation. FEM-simulation was used to obtain simulated response signals under various conditions to solve the problem of the insufficient labeled data in practice. Due to the distribution discrepancy between simulated signals and experimental signals, the detection performance of classifier just trained with simulated signals will drop sharply on the experimental signals. Then, Domain-adversarial neural network (DANN) with maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) was used to achieve discriminative and domain-invariant feature extraction between simulation source domain and experiment target domain, and the unlabeled experimental signals samples will be accurately classified. The proposed method is validated by fatigue tests on center-hole metal specimens. The results show that the proposed method presents superior detection ability compared to other methods and can be used as an effective tool for cross-domain damage detection.
Observer-Based Optimal Control of a Quadplane with Active Wind Disturbance and Actuator Fault Rejection
Authors: Zyadat Zaidan , Horri Nadjim , Innocente Mauro , Statheros Thomas
Published: February 2023

Hybrid aircraft configurations with combined cruise and vertical flight capabilities are increasingly being considered for unmanned aircraft and urban air mobility missions. To ensure the safety and autonomy of such missions, control challenges including fault tolerance and windy conditions must be addressed. This paper presents an observer-based optimal control approach for the active combined fault and wind disturbance rejection, with application to a quadplane unmanned aerial vehicle. The quadplane model is linearised for the longitudinal plane, vertical takeoff and landing and transition modes. Wind gusts are modelled using a Dryden turbulence model. An unknown input observer is first developed for the estimation of wind disturbance by defining an auxiliary variable that emulates body referenced accelerations. The approach is then extended to simultaneous rejection of intermittent elevator faults and wind disturbance velocities. Estimation error is mathematically proven to converge to zero, assuming a piecewise constant disturbance. A numerical simulation analysis demonstrates that for a typical quadplane flight profile at 100 m altitude, the observer-based wind gust and fault correction significantly enhances trajectory tracking accuracy compared to a linear quadratic regulator and to a H-infinity controller, which are both taken, without loss of generality, as benchmark controllers to be enhanced. This is done by adding wind and fault compensation terms to the controller with admissible control effort. The proposed observer is also shown to enhance accuracy and observer-based rejection of disturbances and faults compared to three alternative observers, based on output error integration, acceleration feedback and a sliding mode observer, respectively. The proposed approach is particularly efficient for the active rejection of actuator faults under windy conditions.
Laparoscopic Video Analysis Using Temporal, Attention, and Multi-Feature Fusion Based-Approaches
Authors: Jalal Nour Aldeen , Alshirbaji Tamer Abdulbaki , Docherty Paul David , Arabian Herag , Laufer Bernhard , Krueger-Ziolek Sabine , Neumuth Thomas , Moeller Knut
Published: February 2023

Adapting intelligent context-aware systems (CAS) to future operating rooms (OR) aims to improve situational awareness and provide surgical decision support systems to medical teams. CAS analyzes data streams from available devices during surgery and communicates real-time knowledge to clinicians. Indeed, recent advances in computer vision and machine learning, particularly deep learning, paved the way for extensive research to develop CAS. In this work, a deep learning approach for analyzing laparoscopic videos for surgical phase recognition, tool classification, and weakly-supervised tool localization in laparoscopic videos was proposed. The ResNet-50 convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture was adapted by adding attention modules and fusing features from multiple stages to generate better-focused, generalized, and well-representative features. Then, a multi-map convolutional layer followed by tool-wise and spatial pooling operations was utilized to perform tool localization and generate tool presence confidences. Finally, the long short-term memory (LSTM) network was employed to model temporal information and perform tool classification and phase recognition. The proposed approach was evaluated on the Cholec80 dataset. The experimental results (i.e., 88.5% and 89.0% mean precision and recall for phase recognition, respectively, 95.6% mean average precision for tool presence detection, and a 70.1% F1-score for tool localization) demonstrated the ability of the model to learn discriminative features for all tasks. The performances revealed the importance of integrating attention modules and multi-stage feature fusion for more robust and precise detection of surgical phases and tools.
Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in Pain Research: Understanding the Role of Electrodermal Activity for Automated Pain Recognition
Authors: Gouverneur Philip , Li Frédéric , Shirahama Kimiaki , Luebke Luisa , Adamczyk Wacław M. , Szikszay Tibor M. , Luedtke Kerstin , Grzegorzek Marcin
Published: February 2023

Artificial intelligence and especially deep learning methods have achieved outstanding results for various applications in the past few years. Pain recognition is one of them, as various models have been proposed to replace the previous gold standard with an automated and objective assessment. While the accuracy of such models could be increased incrementally, the understandability and transparency of these systems have not been the main focus of the research community thus far. Thus, in this work, several outcomes and insights of explainable artificial intelligence applied to the electrodermal activity sensor data of the PainMonit and BioVid Heat Pain Database are presented. For this purpose, the importance of hand-crafted features is evaluated using recursive feature elimination based on impurity scores in Random Forest (RF) models. Additionally, Gradient-weighted class activation mapping is applied to highlight the most impactful features learned by deep learning models. Our studies highlight the following insights: (1) Very simple hand-crafted features can yield comparative performances to deep learning models for pain recognition, especially when properly selected with recursive feature elimination. Thus, the use of complex neural networks should be questioned in pain recognition, especially considering their computational costs; and (2) both traditional feature engineering and deep feature learning approaches rely on simple characteristics of the input time-series data to make their decision in the context of automated pain recognition.
The Influence of Stride Selection on Gait Parameters Collected with Inertial Sensors
Authors: Ensink Carmen J. , Smulders Katrijn , Warnar Jolien J. E. , Keijsers Noël L. W.
Published: February 2023

Different methods exist to select strides that represent preferred, steady-state gait. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of different stride-selection methods on spatiotemporal gait parameters to analyze steady-state gait. A total of 191 patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis (aged 38–85) wearing inertial sensors walked back and forth over 10 m for two minutes. After the removal of strides in turns, five stride-selection methods were compared: (ALL) include all strides, others removed (REFERENCE) two strides around turns, (ONE) one stride around turns, (LENGTH) strides <63% of median stride length, and (SPEED) strides that fall outside the 95% confidence interval of gait speed over the strides included in REFERENCE. Means and SDs of gait parameters were compared for each trial against the most conservative definition (REFERENCE). ONE and SPEED definitions resulted in similar means and SDs compared to REFERENCE, while ALL and LENGTH definitions resulted in substantially higher SDs of all gait parameters. An in-depth analysis of individual strides showed that the first two strides after and last two strides before a turn were significantly different from steady-state walking. Therefore, it is suggested to exclude the first two strides around turns to assess steady-state gait.
Hydraulic Vehicle Damper Controlled by Piezoelectric Valve
Authors: Knap Lech , Makowski Michał , Siczek Krzysztof , Kubiak Przemysław , Mrowicki Adam
Published: February 2023

In this paper, an original construction of a vehicle vibration damper controlled by means of a valve based on piezoelectric actuator is presented and investigated. The presented valve allows us to control dissipation characteristics of the damper faster than in other solutions adjusting the size of the gap through which the oil flows between the chambers of the damper. The article also presents the results of the experimental investigation of the above-mentioned damper showing the possibility of changing the value of the damping force five times in about 10 ms by changing the voltage supplying the piezoelectric actuator. Based on these results, dissipative characteristics were determined which enabled the identification of the parameters of the damper numerical model. The article also presents the results of numerical investigations a vehicle model equipped with the developed dampers. The results showed that the developed damper controlled by the use of the piezoelectric actuator can significantly affect vehicle traffic safety by reducing the variation of vertical forces acting on the wheels. The results obtained are so promising that the authors undertook preparations to conduct road tests of a vehicle equipped with the developed dampers.
The Design of a Glycerol Concentration Sensor Based on an LRSPP Hybrid Photonic Biosensor
Authors: de Araújo Magno M. , da Silva José P.
Published: February 2023

A refractive index sensor based on an on-chip silicon nitride (Si3N4) ridge waveguide long-range surface plasmon polariton (LRSPP) is theoretically designed. The waveguide sensor consists of a gold film to enable the plasmonic resonance on top of a Cytop polymer layer. A proper finite element method was used to design and optimize the geometric parameters at the optical wavelength of 633 nm. In addition, the spectral performance was evaluated using the transfer matrix method from 580 to 680 nm. The redshifted interference spectrum results from an increasing analyte refractive index. The sensitivities of 6313 dB/cm/RIU and 251.82 nm/RIU can be obtained with a 400 nm wide and 25 nm thick Au layer. The proposed sensor has the potential for point-of-care applications considering its compactness and simplicity of construction.
Privacy and Security Concerns in the Smart City
Authors: Fabrègue Brian F. G. , Bogoni Andrea
Published: February 2023

This article will highlight negative personal privacy and informational security outcomes that may arise from development programs currently pursued in smart cities. It aims to illustrate the ways in which the remedies proposed so far appear insufficient from a legal or practical standpoint, and to set forth a number of tactical approaches that could be used to improve them. Cities require spatial efficiency to address rising complexities, which can only be attained through an adequately efficient exchange of information among its citizens and administrators. Unprecedented volumes of private, public, and business data can now be collected, processed, and transmitted thanks to present technology. According to the authors’ analysis of current trends in technology, data collection, legislation, and the related public acceptance in Italy and Switzerland, governments, corporations, employers, and individuals will increasingly experience hazard and damage given the ease at which tracking technologies can be abused. The study clarifies how significant data privacy and information protection are in the making of a successful smart urban community and provides insights on local Italian and Swiss policy makers’ interest about digital innovation tied to the development of data protection.
Propulsion Phase Characteristics of Loaded Jump Variations in Resistance-Trained Women
Authors: Suchomel Timothy J. , McKeever Shana M. , Sijuwade Olusegun , Carpenter Logan
Published: February 2023

The purpose of this study was to compare the propulsion phase characteristics of the jump squat (JS), hexagonal barbell jump (HEXJ), and jump shrug (JShrug) performed across a spectrum of relative loads. Thirteen resistance-trained women (18–23 years old) performed JS, HEXJ, and JShrug repetitions at body mass (BM) or with 20, 40, 60, 80, or 100% BM during three separate testing sessions. Propulsion mean force (MF), duration (Dur), peak power output (PP), force at PP (FPP), and velocity at PP (VPP) were compared between exercises and loads using a series of 3 × 6 repeated measures ANOVA and Hedge’s g effect sizes. There were no significant differences in MF or Dur between exercises. While load-averaged HEXJ and JShrug PP were significantly greater than the JS, there were no significant differences between exercises at any individual load. The JShrug produced significantly greater FPP than the JS and HEXJ at loads ranging from BM–60% BM, but not at 80 or 100% BM. Load-averaged VPP produced during the JS and HEXJ was significantly greater than the JShrug; however, there were no significant differences between exercises at any individual load. Practically meaningful differences between exercises indicated that the JShrug produced greater magnitudes of force during shorter durations compared to the JS and HEXJ at light loads (BM–40%). The JS and HEXJ may be classified as more velocity-dominant exercises while the JShrug may be more force-dominant. Thus, it is important to consider the context in which each exercise is prescribed for resistance-trained women to provide an effective training stimulus.
Sustainable Innovation Management in the Shrimp Sector of the Municipality of Guasave, State of Sinaloa, Mexico
Authors: Beltrán-Lugo Lizbeth , Izaguirre-Díaz de León Fridzia , Peinado-Guevara Víctor , Peinado-Guevara Héctor , Herrera-Barrientos Jaime , Cuadras-Berrelleza Aldo Alan , Montoya-Leyva Miguel Ángel
Published: February 2023

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing productive sectors in recent years, so much so that it has surpassed traditional fishing. The aim is to make its production processes sustainable, mainly economically and environmentally, through continuous innovation. Hence, the objective is to determine the relevance of sustainable innovation management in the shrimp sector in the municipality of Guasave, state of Sinaloa, Mexico, as a determining factor in the search for social and environmental well-being in this region of the Mexican Pacific. With this in mind, the present research was designed as an exploratory–explanatory study, under a qualitative approach with a multiple case study strategy using the Likert scale. To this purpose, 24 surveys were applied to the owners and managers of six farms specializing in shrimp production, with a continuous production of 10 years and a minimum of 100 hectares cultivated in recent years. Each survey consisted of seven themes and a total of 37 items to analyze eight indicators which influence the sustainable innovative management of the shrimp sector. The survey results indicate that the perception of entrepreneurs toward the relevance of sustainable innovation management is favorable, with 96% agreeing to encourage innovation, 83% agreeing to invest in new equipment and methods, and 83% in favor of their participation in markets. Moreover, the correlation between the indicators to determine the influence of sustainable innovation management is significant at 0.69 and 0.86.
Developing a Sustainable Environment Based on Augmented Reality to Educate Adolescents about the Dangers of Electronic Gaming Addiction
Authors: Najmi Ali , Alhalafawy Waleed , Zaki Marwa
Published: February 2023

The expansion of the use of electronic games has led to a surge in the rates of gaming addiction among adolescents. Electronic games addiction (EGA) presents, of course, psychological, hygienic, social, educational, and moral dangers. Therefore, it is very important to educate adolescents and enhance their awareness of the dangers of electronic games addiction (DEGA). Given the unique characteristics of augmented reality technology, the present study aims to develop a sustainable environment based on augmented reality (SEBAR) within educational institutions to educate adolescents about the DEGA. The SEBAR in the present study is based on the possibility of using the applications of augmented reality (AR) technology to generate digital objects of some images and barcodes projected on the school walls, classroom doors, school yards, and computer labs, in addition to specially developed missions to educate adolescents on the DEGA. In the present study, the embedded design as one of the mixed research methods was used to examine the effect of AR on adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. Research treatments were applied to seventy-five high school students in two different schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The experimental processing was carried out in a school where it was possible to develop a sustainable environment while the other schools were assigned to the control group. For comparing the experimental group that used the SEBAR and the control group that used the normal environment based on a set of articles and tasks without any link to AR, the quasi-experimental approach was used. In addition, to gain a deep understanding of the effects of AR on the awareness of the DEGA, the phenomenological approach was used. Furthermore, an electronic gaming addiction scale (EGAS) and an awareness test for the DEGA were developed as study instruments. The findings showed an increase in the adolescents’ knowledge and awareness regarding the DEGA in the experimental group that used the SEBAR in comparison with the awareness of their peers in the control group.
COVID-19 and Behavioral Factors of e-Payment Use: Evidence from Serbia
Authors: Milosavljević Miloš , Okanović Milan , Cicvarić Kostić Slavica , Jovanović Marija , Radonić Milenko
Published: February 2023

Banknotes and coins are some of the most frequently traded items in the world. Their current use, however, is unsustainable, and many countries are trying to digitalize their payment systems. The recent pandemic has accelerated this transition. Building on the Theory of Unintended Consequences, the aim of this article is to examine the influence of some pandemic-specific factors (in specific, hand sanitization, conspiracy theory mentality, and financial acumen) on the current and prospective use of e-payment. A particular aim of the study is to analyze these relationships in Serbia (as an example of a cash-centric society). The study is based on primary data gathered via a questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed for the purpose of this study. In total, the study examined N = 474 examinees. The results of this study confirm that the pandemic-induced variables are statistically significant predictors of e-payment use. In particular, hand sanitization, conspiracy mentality (reversely), and financial acumen positively affect current and prospective e-payment use.
Thermal Environment Control at Deep Intelligent Coal Mines in China Based on Human Factors
Authors: Han Qiaoyun , Lin Debo , Yang Xiaojie , Li Kongqing , Yin Wei
Published: February 2023

Mechanical cooling of the entire mining tunnel, widely used in deep coal mines, has a significant energy-intensive consumption, particularly for intelligent mining tunnels. Therefore, localized cooling would benefit the intelligent mining industry. Current studies on the temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity under localized cooling for working protection are still unclear. A modified predicted heat strain model that is appropriate for warm and humid conditions is presented in this article and calculated using MATLAB. Results reveal that air temperature was the primary factor affecting underground miners’ safety. Increasing air velocity would improve the working environment when the thermal humidity index is lower than 32. Reducing total working time and wet bulb temperature would benefit underground miners’ security. For the cooling of intelligent mining tunnels, the recommended air velocity would be 2 m/s, and the maximum wet bulb temperature would be 28 °C for the 6-h working period and 26 °C for the 8-h working period. Results would be beneficial to the cooling of intelligent mining in China.