bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Oviposition and Development of Tribolium Castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on Different Types of Flour
Authors: Gerken Alison R. , Campbell James F.
Published: October 2020

The commercial availability of low-gluten or gluten-free flours has been increasing due to consumer demands, which raises new challenges for the management of stored product insects since little is known about the susceptibility of these flours to infestation. Here we measured oviposition and development of Tribolium castaneum, the red flour beetle, a major pest of wheat and rice mills, on 18 different commercially available flours (almond, amaranth, barley, buckwheat, cassava, coconut, corn, garbanzo, millet, oat, potato, quinoa, rice, rye, sorghum, spelt, teff, and wheat) to assess the level of risk. The average number of eggs laid was highest for teff flour, with wheat, rice, buckwheat, sorghum, barley, rye, and spelt flour also having high oviposition. The lowest oviposition was for potato, quinoa, amaranth and cassava. Holding the eggs laid in these flours and evaluating the ability to develop to the adult stage demonstrated that the average number of adult progeny was highest for teff and wheat, followed by buckwheat, rye, oat, spelt, and millet. In an experiment where single eggs were placed directly in flour, the highest percentage development was in barley, buckwheat, sorghum, spelt, teff, and wheat. Time for 50% of single eggs to develop to adults was quickest for sorghum, spelt, teff, and wheat, while sorghum, buckwheat, corn, spelt, and barley had the quickest development of 90% of eggs to reach adults. There was substantial variation among the different flours which indicates variation in risk of insect infestation. As consumer interest in these flours continues to grow and these alternative flours become more prevalent in food facilities, understanding what diets insects successfully infest is critical to developing management tools.
Filling Gaps on Stability Data: Development, Validation and Application of a Multianalyte UHPLC-DAD Method to Determine the Stability of Commonly Administered Drugs in Different Carrier Solutions Used in Palliative Care
Authors: Steuer Christian , Müller Ursina , Haller Fiona , Wiedemeier Peter
Published: October 2020

In palliative care, continuous subcutaneous infusion (CSCI) is common practice for drug administration when oral application of drugs is not feasible or not reliable anymore. However, use of CSCI is limited to chemical stability of drugs and their combination in carrier solution. To determine the stability of different mixtures of commonly used drugs in palliative care, a multi-analyte UHPLC-DAD method controlled by an internal standard was successfully developed. The method was validated in terms of specificity, accuracy, precision, and linearity across the calibration range. Seven analytes could be separated within 10 min by C18-reversed phase chromatography. The method was successfully applied to close gaps in stability data and complete missing data for decision makers in health care units. Our results indicated the stability of binary mixtures and one ternary mixture in 0.9% saline and 5% glucose as carrier solutions. The obtained data will support pharmacists in palliative care for the preparation of parenteral drug solutions in the future.
Punishment to Support: The Need to Align Animal Control Enforcement with the Human Social Justice Movement
Authors: Hawes Sloane M. , Hupe Tess , Morris Kevin N.
Published: October 2020

Due to inherent and systemic biases, animal control policies in the US are over-enforced in low-income communities and communities of color, resulting in worse health outcomes for the pets in these communities. These outcomes are exemplified by higher confiscation, relinquishment, and euthanasia rates, lower return to owner rates, and extended lengths of stay in animal shelters. The Humane Communities framework operationalizes One Health and One Welfare concepts to comprehensively address issues of inequity at both the individual and structural levels to improve animal control policy and outcomes. Person-centered and culturally competent policies and programs that focus resources on addressing root causes of pet health and welfare issues as opposed to an emphasis on code enforcement can create more positive, scalable, and sustainable improvements in human, other animal, and environmental health and welfare outcomes. This shift from punishment-oriented approaches to support-based models of animal control aligns the animal welfare field with the modern human social justice movement.
Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Bangladesh: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Kundu Shoumik , Marzan Mahfuza , Gan Siew Hua , Islam Md Asiful
Published: October 2020

Resistance to anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) antibiotics is a major public health concern for many high-TB burden countries in Asia, including Bangladesh. Therefore, to represent the overall drug-resistance pattern against TB in Bangladesh, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted. Databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched to identify studies related to antibiotic-resistant TB. A total of 24 studies covering 13,336 patients with TB were secured and included. The random-effects model was used to calculate the summary estimates. The pooled prevalence of any, mono, multi, poly, and extensive anti-TB antibiotic-resistances were 45.3% [95% CI: 33.5–57.1], 14.3% [95% CI: 11.4–17.2], 22.2% [95% CI: 18.8–25.7], 7.7% [95% CI: 5.6–9.7], and 0.3% [95% CI: 0.0–1.0], respectively. Among any first and second-line anti-TB drugs, isoniazid (35.0%) and cycloserine (44.6%) resistances were the highest, followed by ethambutol (16.2%) and gatifloxacin (0.2%). Any, multi, and poly drug-resistances were higher in retreatment cases compared to the newly diagnosed cases, although mono drug-resistance tended to be higher in newly diagnosed cases (15.7%) than that in retreatment cases (12.5%). The majority (82.6%) of the included studies were of high quality, with most not exhibiting publication bias. Sensitivity analyses confirmed that all outcomes are robust and reliable. It is concluded that resistance to anti-TB drugs in Bangladesh is rampant and fast growing. Therefore, the implementation of a nationwide surveillance system to detect suspected and drug-resistant TB cases, as well as to ensure a more encompassing treatment management by national TB control program, is highly recommended.
Antibacterial Use of Macroalgae Compounds against Foodborne Pathogens
Authors: Silva Aurora , Silva Sofia A. , Lourenço-Lopes C. , Jimenez-Lopez C. , Carpena M. , Gullón P. , Fraga-Corral M. , Domingues V. F. , Barroso M. Fátima , Simal-Gandara J. , Prieto M. A.
Published: October 2020

The search for food resources is a constant in human history. Nowadays, the search for natural and safe food supplies is of foremost importance. Accordingly, there is a renewed interest in eco-friendly and natural products for substitution of synthetic additives. In addition, microbial contamination of food products during their obtaining and distribution processes is still a sanitary issue, and an important target for the food industry is to avoid food contamination and its related foodborne illnesses. These diseases are fundamentally caused by certain microorganisms listed in this review and classified according to their Gram negative or positive character. Algae have proven to possess high nutritional value and a wide variety of biological properties due to their content in active compounds. Among these capabilities, macroalgae are recognized for having antimicrobial properties. Thus, the present paper revises the actual knowledge of microbial contaminants in the food industry and proposes antimicrobial algal compounds against those pathogenic bacteria responsible for food contamination as valuable molecules for its growth inhibition. The capacity of algae extracts to inhibit some major food pathogen growth was assessed. Moreover, the main applications of these compounds in the food industry were discussed while considering their favorable effects in terms of food safety and quality control.
The Protective Role of Bioactive Quinones in Stress-induced Senescence Phenotype of Endothelial Cells Exposed to Cigarette Smoke Extract
Authors: Cirilli Ilenia , Orlando Patrick , Marcheggiani Fabio , Dludla Phiwayinkosi V. , Silvestri Sonia , Damiani Elisabetta , Tiano Luca
Published: October 2020

Endothelial dysfunction represents the initial stage in atherosclerotic lesion development which occurs physiologically during aging, but external factors like diet, sedentary lifestyle, smoking accelerate it. Since cigarette smoking promotes oxidative stress and cell damage, we developed an in vitro model of endothelial dysfunction using vascular cells exposed to chemicals present in cigarette smoke, to help elucidate the protective effects of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents, such as ubiquinol and vitamin K, that play a fundamental role in vascular health. Treatment of both young and senescent Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) for 24 h with cigarette smoke extract (CSE) decreased cellular viability, induced apoptosis via reactive oxygen species (ROS) imbalance and mitochondrial dysfunction and promoted an inflammatory response. Moreover, the senescence marker SA-β-galactosidase was observed in both young CSE-exposed and in senescent HUVECs suggesting that CSE exposure accelerates aging in endothelial cells. Supplementation with 10 µM ubiquinol and menaquinone-7 (MK7) counteracted oxidative stress and inflammation, resulting in improved viability, decreased apoptosis and reduced SA-β-galactosidase, but were ineffective against CSE-induced mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening. Other K vitamins tested like menaquinone-4 (MK4) and menaquinone-1 (K1) were less protective. In conclusion, CSE exposure was able to promote a stress-induced senescent phenotype in young endothelial cells likely contributing to endothelial dysfunction in vivo. Furthermore, the molecular changes encountered could be offset by ubiquinol and menaquinone-7 supplementation, the latter resulting the most bioactive K vitamin in counteracting CSE-induced damage.
Conservation of Native Wild Ivory-White Olives from the MEDES Islands Natural Reserve to Maintain Virgin Olive Oil Diversity
Authors: López-Yerena Anallely , Ninot Antònia , Lozano-Castellón Julián , Escribano-Ferrer Elvira , Romero-Aroca Agustí J. , Belaj Angjelina , Vallverdú-Queralt Anna , Lamuela-Raventós Rosa M.
Published: October 2020

Food diversity, and in particular genetic diversity, is being lost at an alarming rate. Protection of natural areas is crucial to safeguard the world’s threatened species. The Medes Islands (MI), located in the northwest Mediterranean Sea, are a protected natural reserve. Wild olive trees also known as oleasters make up part of the vegetation of the Meda Gran island. Among them, in 2012, a wild albino ivory-white olive tree with fruit was identified. Fruits were collected from this tree and their seeds were first sown in a greenhouse and then planted in an orchard for purposes of ex situ preservation. Seven out of the 78 seedling trees obtained (12%) produced ivory-white fruits. In autumn 2018, fruits from these trees were sampled. Although the fruits had low oil content, virgin olive oil with unique sensory, physicochemical, and stability characteristics was produced. With respect to the polyphenols content, oleacein was the main compound identified (373.29 ± 72.02 mg/kg) and the oleocanthal was the second most abundant phenolic compound (204.84 ± 52.58 mg/kg). Regarding pigments, samples were characterized by an intense yellow color, with 12.5 ± 4.6 mg/kg of chlorophyll and 9.2 ± 3.3 mg/kg of carotenoids. Finally, oleic acid was the main fatty acid identified. This study explored the resources of the natural habitat of the MI as a means of enrichment of olive oil diversity and authenticity of this traditional Mediterranean food
Fabrication of Alumina-Doped Optical Fiber Preforms by an MCVD-Metal Chelate Doping Method
Authors: Sharif K. A. Mat , Omar N. Y. M. , Zulkifli M. I. , Yassin S. Z. Muhamad , Abdul-Rashid H. A.
Published: October 2020

This paper reports on the fabrication of alumina-doped preforms using a modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD)-vapor phase chelate delivery system with Al(acac)3 as the precursor. The objectives of this work are to study the deposition process, the efficiency of the fabrication process, and the quality of the fabricated fiber preforms. Two parameters are studied, the Al(acac)3 sublimator temperature (TAl °C) and the deposition direction (i.e., downstream and upstream). Other parameters such as the oxygen flow and deposition temperature are fixed. The results show that high uniformity of the refractive index difference (%RSD < 2%) and core size (%RSD < 2.4%) was obtained along the preform length using downstream deposition, while for the combined upstream and downstream deposition, the uniformity deteriorated. The process efficiency was found to be about 21% for TAl °C of 185 °C and downstream deposition. From the EDX elemental analysis, the refractive index was found to increase by 0.0025 per mole percent of alumina.
Automated Bone Age Assessment with Image Registration Using Hand X-ray Images
Authors: Zulkifley Mohd Asyraf , Abdani Siti Raihanah , Zulkifley Nuraisyah Hani
Published: October 2020

One of the methods for identifying growth disorder is by assessing the skeletal bone age. A child with a healthy growth rate will have approximately the same chronological and bone ages. It is important to detect any growth disorder as early as possible, so that mitigation treatment can be administered with less negative consequences. Recently, the most popular approach in assessing the discrepancy between bone and chronological ages is through the subjective protocol of Tanner–Whitehouse that assesses selected regions in the hand X-ray images. This approach relies heavily on the medical personnel experience, which produces a high intra-observer bias. Therefore, an automated bone age prediction system with image registration using hand X-ray images is proposed in order to complement the inexperienced doctors by providing the second opinion. The system relies on an optimized regression network using a novel residual separable convolution model. The regressor network requires an input image to be 299 × 299 pixels, which will be mapped to the predicted bone age through three modules of the Xception network. Moreover, the images will be pre-processed or registered first to a standardized and normalized pose using separable convolutional neural networks. Three steps image registration are performed by segmenting the hand regions, which will be rotated using angle calculated from four keypoints of interest, before positional alignment is applied to ensure the region of interest is located in the middle. The hand segmentation is based on DeepLab V3 plus architecture, while keypoints regressor for angle alignment is based on MobileNet V1 architecture, where both of them use separable convolution as the core operators. To avoid the pitfall of underfitting, synthetic data are generated while using various rotation angles, zooming factors, and shearing images in order to augment the training dataset. The experimental results show that the proposed method returns the lowest mean absolute error and mean squared error of 8.200 months and 121.902 months2, respectively. Hence, an error of less than one year is acceptable in predicting the bone age, which can serve as a good supplement tool for providing the second expert opinion. This work does not consider gender information, which is crucial in making a better prediction, as the male and female bone structures are naturally different.
An Off-Axis Differential Method for Improvement of a Femtosecond Laser Differential Chromatic Confocal Probe
Authors: Chen Chong , Shimizu Yuki , Sato Ryo , Matsukuma Hiraku , Gao Wei
Published: October 2020

This paper presents an off-axis differential method for the improvement of a femtosecond laser differential chromatic confocal probe having a dual-detector configuration. In the proposed off-axis differential method employing a pair of single-mode fiber detectors, a major modification is made to the conventional differential setup in such a way that the fiber detector in the reference detector is located at the focal plane of a collecting lens but with a certain amount of off-axis detector shift, while the fiber detector in the measurement detector is located on the rear focal plane without the off-axis detector shift; this setup is different from the conventional one where the difference between the two confocal detectors is provided by giving a defocus to one of the fiber detectors. The newly proposed off-axis differential method enables the differential chromatic confocal setup to obtain the normalized chromatic confocal output with a better signal-to-noise ratio and approaches a Z-directional measurement range of approximately 46 μm, as well as a measurement resolution of 20 nm, while simplifying the optical alignments in the differential chromatic confocal setup, as well as the signal processing through eliminating the complicated arithmetic operations in the determination of the peak wavelength. Numerical calculations based on a theoretical equation and experiments are carried out to verify the feasibility of the proposed off-axis differential method for the differential chromatic confocal probe with a mode-locked femtosecond laser source.
Temperature Prediction Model in the Main Ventilation System of an Underground Mine
Authors: Bascompta Marc , Rossell Josep M. , Sanmiquel Lluís , Anticoi Hernán
Published: October 2020

A model to forecast the underground temperature in a mine ventilation circuit was developed on the basis of a case study and actual data describing temperature, airflow, and drift length collected over several years. A mathematical model featuring seven variables with interactions provided reliable predicted temperatures, achieving a correlation of R2 = 0.933 with an estimation error of ±2 °C. Its soundness was proven using both the node-to-node analysis and the multi-node approach. The multi-node approach was shown to be an interesting option to model underground mining environments. This model can be very useful to predict the temperature evolution along the main ventilation system, determine the best workplace conditions in terms of temperature, and analyze different planning scenarios of the mine. Moreover, some recommendations are presented for obtaining reliable data when using temperature sensors and the model in a U-shaped ventilation system.
Quantum Eigenstates of Curved and Varying Cross-Sectional Waveguides
Authors: Gravesen Jens , Willatzen Morten
Published: October 2020

A simple one-dimensional differential equation in the centerline coordinate of an arbitrarily curved quantum waveguide with a varying cross section is derived using a combination of differential geometry and perturbation theory. The model can tackle curved quantum waveguides with a cross-sectional shape and dimensions that vary along the axis. The present analysis generalizes previous models that are restricted to either straight waveguides with a varying cross-section or curved waveguides, where the shape and dimensions of the cross section are fixed. We carry out full 2D wave simulations on a number of complex waveguide geometries and demonstrate excellent agreement with the eigenstates and energies obtained using our present 1D model. It is shown that the computational benefit in using the present 1D model to calculate both 2D and 3D wave solutions is significant and allows for the fast optimization of complex quantum waveguide design. The derived 1D model renders direct access as to how quantum waveguide eigenstates depend on varying cross-sectional dimensions, the waveguide curvature, and rotation of the cross-sectional frame. In particular, a gauge transformation reveals that the individual effects of curvature, thickness variation, and frame rotation correspond to separate terms in a geometric potential only. Generalization of the present formalism to electromagnetics and acoustics, accounting appropriately for the relevant boundary conditions, is anticipated.
Nanoparticle Deposition of Fluoropolymer CYTOP via Holographic Femtosecond Laser Processing and Its Biochip Application
Authors: Ozaki Ryo , Ishida Kotaro , Morita Eiji , Hanada Yasutaka
Published: October 2020

The fundamental characteristics of nanoparticle (NP) deposition of the fluoropolymer CYTOP using a femtosecond (fs) laser were investigated. In previous studies, we have demonstrated the microfluidic fabrication of CYTOP, which enables clear microscopic observation of the fluid boundary because of its low refractive index, as well as that of water. In the present work, we generated CYTOP NPs using holographic fs laser processing with a spatial light modulator to demonstrate the capabilities of this functional polymer. We established a deposition technique via five-dot parallel fs laser beam irradiation for fibrous network and monolayer structures composed of CYTOP NPs on the surface of glass slides by manipulating the various fundamental laser processing parameters. The network structure on the glass surface exhibits superhydrophobic behavior, while the monolayer structure performs almost the same wettability as that of CYTOP thin film. After an investigation of the surface features of the NPs deposited onto the glass, the combination of the holographic fs laser deposition and the removal of CYTOP NPs was used to selectively pattern CYTOP NPs on the glass slide for HeLa cell culturing. Consequently, cells were selectively cultured on the glass surface where the laser removal of deposited NPs was carried out.
Improving Ant Collaborative Filtering on Sparsity via Dimension Reduction
Authors: Liao Xiaofeng , Li Xiangjun , Xu Qingyong , Wu Hu , Wang Yongji
Published: October 2020

Recommender systems should be able to handle highly sparse training data that continues to change over time. Among the many solutions, Ant Colony Optimization, as a kind of optimization algorithm modeled on the actions of an ant colony, enjoys the favorable characteristic of being optimal, which has not been easily achieved by other kinds of algorithms. A recent work adopting genetic optimization proposes a collaborative filtering scheme: Ant Collaborative Filtering (ACF), which models the pheromone of ants for a recommender system in two ways: (1) use the pheromone exchange to model the ratings given by users with respect to items; (2) use the evaporation of existing pheromone to model the evolution of users’ preference change over time. This mechanism helps to identify the users and the items most related, even in the case of sparsity, and can capture the drift of user preferences over time. However, it reveals that many users share the same preference over items, which means it is not necessary to initialize each user with a unique type of pheromone, as was done with the ACF. Regarding the sparsity problem, this work takes one step further to improve the Ant Collaborative Filtering’s performance by adding a clustering step in the initialization phase to reduce the dimension of the rate matrix, which leads to the results that K<<#users, where K is the number of clusters, which stands for the maximum number of types of pheromone carried by all users. We call this revised version the Improved Ant Collaborative Filtering (IACF). Experiments are conducted on larger datasets, compared with the previous work, based on three typical recommender systems: (1) movie recommendations, (2) music recommendations, and (3) book recommendations. For movie recommendation, a larger dataset, MoviesLens 10M, was used, instead of MoviesLens 1M. For book recommendation and music recommendation, we used a new dataset that has a much larger size of samples from Douban and NetEase. The results illustrate that our IACF algorithm can better deal with practical recommendation scenarios that handle sparse dataset.
Defragmenting Research Areas with Knowledge Visualization and Visual Text Analytics
Authors: Benito-Santos Alejandro , Therón Sánchez Roberto
Published: October 2020

The increasing specialization of science is motivating the fragmentation of traditional and well-established research areas into interdisciplinary communities of practice that focus on cooperation between experts to solve problems in a wide range of domains. This is the case of problem-driven visualization research (PDVR), in which groups of scholars use visualization techniques in different application domains such as the digital humanities, bioinformatics, sports science, or computer security. In this paper, we employ the findings obtained during the development of a novel visual text analytics tool we built in previous studies, GlassViz, to automatically detect interesting knowledge associations and groups of common interests between these communities of practice. Our proposed method relies on the statistical modeling of author-assigned keywords to make its findings, which are demonstrated in two use cases. The results show that it is possible to propose interactive, semisupervised visual approaches that aim at defragmenting a body of research using text-based, automatic literature analysis methods.
Electrochemical Properties of NdCl3 and CeCl3 in Molten LiCl-KCl Eutectic Salt
Authors: Kim Seunghyun , Lee Sang-hwan
Published: October 2020

NdCl3 and CeCl3 are characterized by the very close proximity of their standard reduction potentials. Thus, they represent the most challenging salt mixtures with respect to decoupling electrochemical responses and calculating concentrations. The goals of this study include the determination of the apparent standard potentials of both Nd3+/Nd2+ and Ce3+/Ce in LiCl-KCl-CeCl3 or NdCl3 mixtures. Matrix and concentration effects on fundamental electrochemical properties are of particular interest, as these thermodynamic properties will impact the ability to use voltammetry to measure concentrations in unknown samples. Several LiCl-KCl-CeCl3 or NdCl3 mixtures with NdCl3/CeCl3 concentrations ranging from 4 to 10 wt% at 753 to 793 K have been explored. For apparent standard potential values of CeCl3, a good agreement was obtained with the literature data, except above 773 K.
In Silico-Enhanced Treatment and Rehabilitation Planning for Patients with Musculoskeletal Disorders: Can Musculoskeletal Modelling and Dynamic Simulations Really Impact Current Clinical Practice?
Authors: Killen Bryce A , Falisse Antoine , De Groote Friedl , Jonkers Ilse
Published: October 2020

Over the past decades, the use of computational physics-based models representative of the musculoskeletal (MSK) system has become increasingly popular in many fields of clinically driven research, locomotor rehabilitation in particular. These models have been applied to various functional impairments given their ability to estimate parameters which cannot be readily measured in vivo but are of interest to clinicians. The use of MSK modelling and simulations allows analysis of relevant MSK biomarkers such as muscle and joint contact loading at a number of different stages in the clinical treatment pathway in order to benefit patient functional outcome. Applications of these methods include optimisation of rehabilitation programs, patient stratification, disease characterisation, surgical pre-planning, and assistive device and exoskeleton design and optimisation. This review provides an overview of current approaches, the components of standard MSK models, applications, limitations, and assumptions of these modelling and simulation methods, and finally proposes a future direction.
Reducing Dynamic Power Consumption in Mixed-Critical Real-Time Systems
Authors: Ali Ijaz , Jo Yong-Il , Lee Seonah , Lee Wan Yeon , Kim Kyong Hoon
Published: October 2020

In this paper, we study energy minimization consumption of a mixed criticality real-time system on uni-core. Our focus is on a new scheduling scheme to decrease the frequency level in order to conserve power. Since many systems are equipped with dynamic power and frequency level memory, power can be saved by decreasing the system frequency. In this paper, we provide new dynamic energy minimization consumption in mixed-criticality real-time systems. Recent research has been done on low-criticality mode for power reduction. Thus, the proposed scheme can reduce the energy both in high-criticality and low-criticality modes. The effectiveness of our proposed scheme in energy reduction is clearly shown through simulations results.
Experimental Study on Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Gurney Flap on a Wind Turbine Airfoil under High Turbulent Flow Condition
Authors: Yang Junwei , Yang Hua , Zhu Weijun , Li Nailu , Yuan Yiping
Published: October 2020

The objective of the current work is to experimentally investigate the effect of turbulent flow on an airfoil with a Gurney flap. The wind tunnel experiments were performed for the DTU-LN221 airfoil under different turbulence level (T.I. of 0.2%, 10.5% and 19.0%) and various flap configurations. The height of the Gurney flaps varies from 1% to 2% of the chord length; the thickness of the Gurney flaps varies from 0.25% to 0.75% of the chord length. The Gurney flap was vertical fixed on the pressure side of the airfoil at nearly 100% measured from the leading edge. By replacing the turbulence grille in the wind tunnel, measured data indicated a stall delay phenomenon while increasing the inflow turbulence level. By further changing the height and the thickness of the Gurney flap, it was found that the height of the Gurney flap is a very important parameter whereas the thickness parameter has little influence. Besides, velocity in the near wake zone was measured by hot-wire anemometry, showing the mechanisms of lift enhancement. The results demonstrate that under low turbulent inflow condition, the maximum lift coefficient of the airfoil with flaps increased by 8.47% to 13.50% (i.e., thickness of 0.75%), and the Gurney flap became less effective after stall angle. The Gurney flap with different heights increased the lift-to-drag ratio from 2.74% to 14.35% under 10.5% of turbulence intensity (i.e., thickness of 0.75%). However, under much a larger turbulence environment (19.0%), the benefit to the aerodynamic performance was negligible.
Tunable Dual Broadband Terahertz Metamaterial Absorber Based on Vanadium Dioxide
Authors: Jiao Xiao-Fei , Zhang Zi-Heng , Li Tong , Xu Yun , Song Guo-Feng
Published: October 2020

With the rapid development of terahertz technology, tunable high-efficiency broadband functional devices have become a research trend. In this research, a dynamically tunable dual broadband terahertz absorber based on the metamaterial structure of vanadium dioxide (VO2) is proposed and analyzed. The metamaterial is composed of patterned VO2 on the top layer, gold on the bottom layer and silicon dioxide (SiO2) as the middle dielectric layer. Simulation results show that two bandwidths of 90% absorption reach as wide as 2.32 THz from 1.87 to 4.19 THz and 2.03 THz from 8.70 to 10.73 THz under normal incidence. By changing the conductivity of VO2, the absorptance dynamically tuned from 2% to 94%. Moreover, it is verified that absorptance is insensitive to the polarization angle. The physical origin of this absorber is revealed through interference theory and matching impedance theory. We further investigate the physical mechanism of dual broadband absorption through electric field analysis. This design has potential applications in imaging, modulation and stealth technology.
Optimal Robust LQI Controller Design for Z-Source Inverters
Authors: Ahmadi Amirhossein , Mohammadi-Ivatloo Behnam , Anvari-Moghaddam Amjad , Marzband Mousa
Published: October 2020

This paper investigates the linear quadratic integral (LQI)-based control of Z-source inverters in the presence of uncertainties such as parameter perturbation, unmodeled dynamics, and load disturbances. These uncertainties, which are naturally available in any power system, have a profound impact on the performance of power inverters and may lead to a performance degradation or even an instability of the system. A novel robust LQI-based design procedure is presented to preserve the performance of the inverter against uncertainties while a proper level of disturbance rejection is satisfied. The stability robustness of the system is also studied on the basis of the maximum sensitivity specification. Moreover, the bat algorithm is adopted to optimize the weighting matrices. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed controller in terms of performance and robustness.
Analyzing the Performance of the Multiple-Searching Genetic Algorithm to Generate Test Cases
Authors: Khamprapai Wanida , Tsai Cheng-Fa , Wang Paohsi
Published: October 2020

Software testing using traditional genetic algorithms (GAs) minimizes the required number of test cases and reduces the execution time. Currently, GAs are adapted to enhance performance when finding optimal solutions. The multiple-searching genetic algorithm (MSGA) has improved upon current GAs and is used to find the optimal multicast routing in network systems. This paper presents an analysis of the optimization of test case generations using the MSGA by defining suitable values of MSGA parameters, including population size, crossover operator, and mutation operator. Moreover, in this study, we compare the performance of the MSGA with a traditional GA and hybrid GA (HGA). The experimental results demonstrate that MSGA reaches the maximum executed branch statements in the lowest execution time and the smallest number of test cases compared to the GA and HGA.
Key Aroma Compounds in Two Bavarian Gins
Authors: Buck Nina , Goblirsch Tina , Beauchamp Jonathan , Ortner Eva
Published: October 2020

The characteristic, dominant flavor of gin is juniper, often within a complex aroma of other botanicals. The present study examined two gins from a distillery in the German state of Bavaria; one produced with 50 individual botanicals, the other with 15. The study focused on characterizing the aroma profiles and identifying the key aroma-active compounds of the gins. Comparative sensory evaluations of the gins revealed marked differences in their aroma profiles, with the botanical-rich gin exhibiting more citrusy, orangey and fruity notes than the gin containing fewer botanicals. Instrumental analyses by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry/olfactometry (GC-MS/O) using aroma extract dilution assays (AEDA) identified terpenes as the dominant key aroma compounds, specifically limonene, 1,8-cineole, linalool, estragole and trans-anethole, with additional contributions from aldehydes, such as nonanal, and phenylpropanoids, such as eugenol and estragole. Selected compounds were quantified using stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) and stabile isotope dilution analysis (SIDA) with GC-MS analysis. Further, odor thresholds and corresponding odor activity values (OAVs) of these compounds were calculated, with linalool exhibiting the highest OAV in both gins. The present analyses revealed how different botanicals alter the concentrations of key aroma compound constituents and elicit a shift in the overall aroma profile of the final spirit.
Effects of Supply Angle on Thermal Environment of Residential Space with Hybrid Desiccant Cooling System for Multi-Room Control
Authors: Ahn Joon , Choi Ho Yup
Published: October 2020

In this study, local measurement and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were employed to evaluate the thermal comfort in a residential environment where desiccant cooling is performed in an outdoor air condition, which is the typical summer weather in Korea. The desiccant cooling system in the present study has been developed for multi-room control with a hybrid air distribution, whereby mixing and displacement ventilation occur simultaneously. Due to this distribution of air flow, the thermal comfort was changed, and the thermal comfort indicators conflicted. The evaluation indicators included the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) comfort zone, predicted mean vote (PMV), and effective draft temperature (EDT). The dry-bulb temperature displayed a distribution of 26.2–26.8 °C in the cooling spaces, i.e., living room, kitchen, and dining room. When determined based on the standard ASHRAE comfort zone, the space where desiccant cooling takes place entered the comfort zone for summer. Due to the influence of solar radiation, the globe temperature was more than 2 °C higher than the dry-bulb temperature at the window. A difference of up to 6% in humidity was observed locally in the cooling space. In the dining room located along the outlet of the desiccant cooling device, the PMV entered the comfort zone, but was slightly above 1 in the rest of the space. Conversely, as for the EDT, its value was lower than −1.7 in the dining room, but was included in the comfort zone in the rest of the space. By adjusting the discharge angle upward, the PMV and EDT were expected to be more uniform in the cooling space. In particular, the optimum discharge angle obtained was 40° upward from the discharge surface.
A Deep Learning-Based Solution for Large-Scale Extraction of the Secondary Road Network from High-Resolution Aerial Orthoimagery
Authors: Cira Calimanut-Ionut , Alcarria Ramón , Manso-Callejo Miguel-Ángel , Serradilla Francisco
Published: October 2020

Secondary roads represent the largest part of the road network. However, due to the absence of clearly defined edges, presence of occlusions, and differences in widths, monitoring and mapping them represents a great effort for public administration. We believe that recent advancements in machine vision allow the extraction of these types of roads from high-resolution remotely sensed imagery and can enable the automation of the mapping operation. In this work, we leverage these advances and propose a deep learning-based solution capable of efficiently extracting the surface area of secondary roads at a large scale. The solution is based on hybrid segmentation models trained with high-resolution remote sensing imagery divided in tiles of 256 × 256 pixels and their correspondent segmentation masks, resulting in increases in performance metrics of 2.7–3.5% when compared to the original architectures. The best performing model achieved Intersection over Union and F1 scores of maximum 0.5790 and 0.7120, respectively, with a minimum loss of 0.4985 and was integrated on a web platform which handles the evaluation of large areas, the association of the semantic predictions with geographical coordinates, the conversion of the tiles’ format and the generation of geotiff results compatible with geospatial databases.
Vision-Based Distance Measurement in Advanced Driving Assistance Systems
Authors: Ding Meng , Zhang Zhenzhen , Jiang Xinyan , Cao Yunfeng
Published: October 2020

As the forward-looking depth information plays a considerable role in advanced driving assistance systems, in this paper, we first propose a method of depth map estimation based on semi-supervised learning, which uses the left and right views of binocular vision and sparse depth values as inputs to train a deep learning network with an encoding–decoding structure. Compared with unsupervised networks without sparse depth labels, the proposed semi-supervised network improves the estimation accuracy of depth maps. Secondly, this paper combines the estimated depth map with the results of instance segmentation to measure the distance between the subject vehicle and the target vehicle or pedestrian. Specifically, for measuring the distance between the subject vehicle and a pedestrian, this paper proposes a depth histogram-based method that calculates the average depth values of all pixels whose depth values are in the peak range of the depth histogram of this pedestrian. To measure the distance between the subject vehicle and the target vehicle, this paper proposes a method that first fits a 3-D plane based on the locations of target points in the camera body coordinate using RANSAC (RANdom SAmple Consensus), it then projects all the pixels of the target to this plane, and finally uses the minimum depth value of these projected points to calculate the distance to the target vehicle. The results of the quantitative and qualitative comparisons on the KITTI dataset show that the proposed method can effectively estimate depth maps. The experimental results in real road scenarios and the KITTI dataset confirm the accuracy of the proposed distance measurement methods.
Comparison of Environmental Impact of Three Different Slab Systems for Life Cycle Assessment of a Commercial Building in South Korea
Authors: Paik Inkwan , Na Seunguk
Published: October 2020

The environmental impacts of the construction stage should be considered since a large amount of building materials are used to construct a building at this stage. Studies on the improvement of construction techniques or the application of newly developed construction methods for reducing the environmental impacts are relatively scant compared to other topics of studies. This study aimed to assess and compare the environmental impacts of the ordinary solid slab, the flat plate slab and the voided slab system during the construction phase. A process-based quantitative model was adopted to evaluate the environmental impacts and the comparative results were analysed to demonstrate the significant characteristics of the environmental impacts of the construction of slab in a building. The assessment results show that the environmental impacts from the ordinary solid slab are the highest and the voided slab system is the lowest among three slab systems. As the slab system of the studied building was replaced, it was shown that the environmental impact indicators showed the decreased tendency. Based on the results of environmental impact reduction from the ordinary solid slab, the flat plate slab and the voided slab system, the voided slab system would have the least environmental impact in all indicators.
The Application of Seabed Silt in the Preparation of Artificial Algal Reefs
Authors: Jiang Zhaoyang , Zhang Jiating , Nie Zhaoyi , Guo Zhansheng , Zhu Lixin , Cong Wei , Chen Yuan , Liang Zhenlin
Published: October 2020

Large amounts of silt have been deposited on the seabed in China’s coastal areas due to intensive coastal development and marine raft aquaculture, which are the main causes of local marine environmental disasters. In this study, seabed silt was tested as a potential raw material for artificial reefs. The silt was mixed with cement in four proportions to create concrete specimens for use in silt artificial reefs (SARs). The compressive strength development and nutrient dissolution were examined in the SAR specimens. The hydration products of the SAR paste were investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning election microscope (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. The results showed that the compression strength of the SAR specimens was inversely proportional to their seabed silt content. The SAR specimens were able to continuously dissolve nitrogen-containing nutrients. The presence of Ca(OH)2, commonly found in traditional concrete, was not detected, which may help improve the seaweed adhesion and biological effects of artificial reefs. The effective utilization of seabed silt could serve to restore and improve the marine ecological environment.
Evaluation of Gasoline Evaporative Emissions from Fuel-Cap Removal after a Real-World Driving Event
Authors: Hata Hiroo , Tanaka Syun-ya , Noumura Genta , Yamada Hiroyuki , Tonokura Kenichi
Published: October 2020

This study evaluated gasoline evaporative emissions from fuel-cap removal during the refueling process (or “puff loss”) for one gasoline vehicle in the Japanese market. Specifically, the puff loss emissions were measured after a real-world driving event in urban Tokyo, Japan for different seasons and gasoline types. The experimental results indicated higher puff loss emissions during summer than in winter and spring despite using low vapor pressure gasoline during summer. These higher puff loss emissions accounted maximally for more than 4 g of the emissions from the tested vehicle. The irregular emission trends could be attributed to the complex relationships between physical parameters such as fuel-tank filling, ambient temperature, ambient pressure, and gasoline vapor pressure. Furthermore, an estimation model was developed based on the theory of thermodynamics to determine puff loss emissions under arbitrary environmental conditions. The estimation model included no fitting parameter and was in good agreement with the measured puff loss emissions. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to elucidate the effects of three physical parameters, i.e., fuel tank-filling, ambient pressure, and gasoline type, on puff loss emissions. The results indicated that fuel tank-filling was the most important parameter affecting the quantity of puff loss emissions. Further, the proposed puff loss estimation model is likely to aid the evaluation of future volatile organic compound emission inventories.
Real-Time Prediction of Areas Susceptible to Flash Drought Development
Authors: Chen L. Gwen , Hartman Adam , Pugh Brad , Gottschalck Jon , Miskus David
Published: October 2020

Flash drought is a type of drought that develops quickly (usually within 2–4 weeks) in contrast to conventional, slowly evolving drought. Due to its sudden onset, flash drought is more difficult to predict and can cause major agricultural losses if it is not forecasted in a timely manner. To improve our ability to predict flash drought, we develop a subseasonal tool to predict areas susceptible to flash drought development using the Phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2) data. The tool calculates the rapid change index (RCI) using 7-day mean evapotranspiration anomalies. RCI is the accumulated magnitude of moisture stress changes (standardized differences) occurring over multiple weeks, and drought is likely to develop when RCI is negative. Since RCI changes with time, like all drought variables, it is difficult to capture drought development signals by monitoring RCI maps. In order to create an intuitive drought prediction map that directly depicts drought tendency, we use a threshold method to identify grid points with large decreases of 7-day mean evapotranspiration anomaly (i.e., RCI less than −0.5) in the last 30 days and under the condition that 3-month standardized precipitation index is less than −0.4. The real-time tool started running on 1 April 2018 at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and has been used to support CPC’s Monthly Drought Outlook efforts. The performance of the tool is evaluated using both retrospective and real-time predictions. The assessment shows promising results in predicting potential flash drought development, and the interplay between precipitation and high temperatures appears to be a challenge for flash drought prediction.