bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An AI-Inspired Spatio-Temporal Neural Network for EEG-Based Emotional Status
Authors: Alotaibi Fahad Mazaed , Fawad
Published: January 2023

The accurate identification of the human emotional status is crucial for an efficient human–robot interaction (HRI). As such, we have witnessed extensive research efforts made in developing robust and accurate brain–computer interfacing models based on diverse biosignals. In particular, previous research has shown that an Electroencephalogram (EEG) can provide deep insight into the state of emotion. Recently, various handcrafted and deep neural network (DNN) models were proposed by researchers for extracting emotion-relevant features, which offer limited robustness to noise that leads to reduced precision and increased computational complexity. The DNN models developed to date were shown to be efficient in extracting robust features relevant to emotion classification; however, their massive feature dimensionality problem leads to a high computational load. In this paper, we propose a bag-of-hybrid-deep-features (BoHDF) extraction model for classifying EEG signals into their respective emotion class. The invariance and robustness of the BoHDF is further enhanced by transforming EEG signals into 2D spectrograms before the feature extraction stage. Such a time-frequency representation fits well with the time-varying behavior of EEG patterns. Here, we propose to combine the deep features from the GoogLeNet fully connected layer (one of the simplest DNN models) together with the OMTLBP_SMC texture-based features, which we recently developed, followed by a K-nearest neighbor (KNN) clustering algorithm. The proposed model, when evaluated on the DEAP and SEED databases, achieves a 93.83 and 96.95% recognition accuracy, respectively. The experimental results using the proposed BoHDF-based algorithm show an improved performance in comparison to previously reported works with similar setups.
Effectiveness of Platelet-Rich Plasma in the Treatment of Androgenic Alopecia Compared to Placebo and Topical Minoxidil: A Systematic Review
Authors: Borowiecka Julia Maria , Dalewski Bartosz , Pałka Łukasz
Published: January 2023

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has become an increasingly popular alternative or additional method in treating androgenic alopecia (AGA). AGA is a multifactorial disease, in which testosterone plays a significant role in influencing hair growth. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PRP treatment in AGA affecting men and women. The research was performed using the following databases: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library. The effects were measured with a TrichoScan by comparing the initial and final hair density. A significant difference was observed between the areas of the scalp where PRP injections were made and those where saline was administered. Compared to conventional minoxidil 5% topical PRP, PRP is more effective in treating alopecia. A beneficial outcome of combined therapy with PRP and minoxidil 5% was observed. Therefore, PRP is not only an excellent alternative for patients in whom the minoxidil 5% topical monotherapy did not bring the expected effects or who experienced unacceptable side effects, but can also be used as a complementary therapy.
A Compendium of the Principal Stationary Phases Used in Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography: Where Have We Arrived?
Authors: Guarducci Maria A. , Fochetti Andrea , Ciogli Alessia , Mazzoccanti Giulia
Published: January 2023

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) today is a well-known and largely applied technique to analyse polar compounds such as pharmaceuticals, metabolites, proteins, peptides, amino acids, oligonucleotides, and carbohydrates. Due to the large number of stationary phases employed for HILIC applications, this review aims to help the reader in choosing a proper stationary phase, which often represents the critical point for the success of a separation. A great offer is present for achiral applications in contrast to the chiral phases developed for HILIC enantioseparations. In the last case, up-to-date solutions are presented.
Direction for a Transition toward Smart Sustainable Cities based on the Diagnosis of Smart City Plans
Authors: Choi Hee-Sun , Song Seul-Ki
Published: January 2023

Achieving urban sustainability through smart cities is necessary to manage urban environmental problems that threaten human survival. Smart city policy emphasizes the environmental aspects of urban areas while embracing the social and economic sectors, allowing for the development of practical plans for urban sustainability. This study suggests smart sustainable city policy directions that can improve the transition to smart cities. It defines concepts such as smart sustainable cities, developing frameworks, and indicators. In this research, a smart sustainable city facilitated sustainable development by incorporating smart technologies into urban activities and services. In this study, indicators for smart sustainable city evaluation and diagnosis were derived. These were applied to selected case areas, such as Incheon Metropolitan City and Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do in the Republic of Korea. These indicators play an important role in assisting policymakers in making decisions, simplifying a wide range of complex information and providing integrated perspectives on existing situations. The results of this study suggest transition directions for a smart sustainable city and application strategies for related plans and policies.
Analysis of Profiles of Family Educational Situations during COVID-19 Lockdown in the Valencian Community (Spain)
Authors: Jornet-Meliá Jesús Miguel , Sancho-Álvarez Carlos , Bakieva-Karimova Margarita
Published: January 2023

Due to the pandemic (COVID-19), the education system in Spain was forced to close for three months, creating an unprecedented situation: improvised distance schooling. Family characteristics and their life situations with Information and Communication Technology use would be aspects to be studied as educational conditioning factors. This paper presents the ways in which a representative sample of families in the Valencian Community (Spain) assumed the education of their children during the lockdown. Mixed methods (quantitative -surveys-/qualitative -focus groups-) are used. Multivariate profiles are studied (k-means cluster) that summarise the life circumstances, represented by composite indicators resulting from the families’ responses to specific items describing their way of life and educational performance. Associated variables, such as demographic or life situation characteristics, are analyzed for each profile. Some gaps (described by indicators that synthesize the functioning of the families) are observed due to life circumstances that correspond not only to vulnerable groups but also to upper-middle-level families.
Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events in the Education of the Citizens of the Twenty-First Century: The Perception of Secondary Education Students
Authors: Sánchez-Almodóvar Esther , Gómez-Trigueros Isabel María , Olcina-Cantos Jorge
Published: January 2023

Within the current context of climate emergency, the topic of climate change has become more prominent in secondary education in Spain. However, in general, conceptual confusions arise which should be clarified due to the social importance of climate issues. The objectives of this study, focused on third and fourth year students of ESO (Obligatory Secondary Education) in state schools in a town in the province of Alicante (Region of Valencia, Spain), seek to reveal the perception of the students regarding climate change and extreme weather events, in accordance with the subject in which these contents are taught; and to analyse whether the students have acquired a basic knowledge of the topic at the end of their secondary education. In order to fulfil these objectives, a non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional and survey-based correlational study has been conducted. The sample was made up of 784 students, surveyed during the academic year 2021–2022. The results indicate that the principal subject in which climate change is taught is Geography and History. The students consider that climate change is a threat to human beings and believe that anthropogenic action is the principal cause. They also perceive an increase in extreme weather events, although it is necessary to qualify this aspect. Therefore, this study defends the need to address this topic in the third and fourth years of ESO, as it is one of the major challenges faced by society and one in which students should be educated within the framework of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Gender Stereotypes Make Women Invisible: The Presence of Female Scientists in the Media
Authors: Eizmendi-Iraola Maider , Peña-Fernández Simón
Published: January 2023

Interest in the situation of women scientists has increased in recent years. Scientific institutions and governmental authorities have launched initiatives to promote science as a vocation among women. Within this context, the effort made by the media in disseminating role models is of vital importance. The aim of this research is to analyse the presence of women scientists in the media, and to conduct an appraisal of the status granted to them and the image conveyed about them. To this end, we analysed the content published on the websites of the regional newspapers Berria, Gara, El Correo and Diario de Navarra between 2014 and 2019 citing women scientists and researchers (N = 2362). The results indicate that presence is greater in quantitative terms, as is the prominence given to them in headlines. However, the disciplines in which they practise and the stereotypes which are conveyed shape their image, which in the case of STEM areas emphasise their role as carers and their singularity in the scientific field.
Intercultural Experiences Comparison between France and Singapore—Introducing the Proximal Zone of Intercultural Development (PZID)
Authors: Oulahal Rachid
Published: January 2023

This article presents results from a comparative analysis of intercultural experiences between French and Singaporean participants. France and Singapore were chosen as research fields because of their singularities in terms of cultural difference management: a universalist cultural model for France and a pluralist cultural model for Singapore. Based on an online questionnaire addressing the intercultural experiences, a quantitative analysis allows us to identify differences between the French and Singaporean participants. A particularity of the Singaporean context leads us to think about the proximal zone of intercultural development concept (PZID) that we will develop in this article.
An ϵ-Greedy Multiarmed Bandit Approach to Markov Decision Processes
Authors: Muqattash Isa , Hu Jiaqiao
Published: January 2023

We present REGA, a new adaptive-sampling-based algorithm for the control of finite-horizon Markov decision processes (MDPs) with very large state spaces and small action spaces. We apply a variant of the ϵ-greedy multiarmed bandit algorithm to each stage of the MDP in a recursive manner, thus computing an estimation of the “reward-to-go” value at each stage of the MDP. We provide a finite-time analysis of REGA. In particular, we provide a bound on the probability that the approximation error exceeds a given threshold, where the bound is given in terms of the number of samples collected at each stage of the MDP. We empirically compare REGA against another sampling-based algorithm called RASA by running simulations against the SysAdmin benchmark problem with 210 states. The results show that REGA and RASA achieved similar performance. Moreover, REGA and RASA empirically outperformed an implementation of the algorithm that uses the “original” ϵ-greedy algorithm that commonly appears in the literature.
Cotton Spinning Waste as a Microporous Activated Carbon: Application to Remove Sulfur Compounds in a Tunisian Refinery Company
Authors: Wannassi Bechir , Kanan Mohammad , Hariz Ichrak Ben , Assaf Ramiz , Abusaq Zaher , Ben Hassen Mohamed , Aljazzar Salem , Zahran Siraj , Khouj Mohammed T. , Barham Ahmad S.
Published: January 2023

The petroleum industry plays a vital role in the economies of developing countries. Refinery wastewater pollution has increased in recent years due to the increase in the industrial and urban use of petroleum products. The present work demonstrates how textile waste can be modified into a material that can effectively remove sulfur pollutants from refinery wastewater. An economic activated carbon (AC) material was developed by using cotton spinning waste from a textile company. The chemical activation was carried out using nitric acid (HNO3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and potassium hydroxide (KOH). The characterization of the obtained activated carbons was performed using the SEM, BET, and FTIR techniques. The effect of the experimental adsorption condition was investigated using both bed and batch isotherms. The results show that effluent flow has the highest effect on sulfur compound adsorption. The greatest adsorption capacity of the sulfur compounds was found to be around 168.4 mg·g−1. The equilibrium data were investigated using the Freundlich, Langmuir, Dubinin–Radushkevich, Tóth, and Sips isotherm models. The Langmuir model exhibited the best fit (R² = 0.98) for the sulfur compounds’ adsorption, which implies that their adsorption onto the synthesized AC was homogeneous. The kinetic data were tested with pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticular diffusion equations. The pseudo-second-order equation described the kinetic data well (R² = 0.99), indicating that this adsorption may be restricted by the chemisorption process. These properties under optimal conditions make the obtained ACs suitable for use in refinery wastewater treatment.
Toward Green Farming Technologies: A Case Study of Oyster Shell Application in Fruit and Vegetable Production in Xiamen
Authors: Wang Yan , Ji Mengya , Wu Min , Weng Ling , Wang Yongming , Hu Lingyi , Cao Min-Jie
Published: January 2023

In recent decades, due to the intensification of human production and living activities, the process of soil acidification in China has been greatly accelerated, which has become an important factor limiting the sustainable development of agriculture. In this paper, an oyster shell soil conditioner prepared from discarded oyster shells was applied to the field and Shixia longan and chives were used as experimental objects for field experiments. Each crop was comprised of two groups. The application amount of longan in the control group was 0 kg/tree, and that in the experimental group was 8 kg/tree. The distribution of chives applied in the control group was 0 kg/m2, while that in the experimental group was 0.65 kg/m2. The results showed that, after the application of oyster shell soil conditioner, the soil pH value in Shixia longan experimental field increased by 1.30 units, and the content of soil organic matter, alkali hydrolyzed nitrogen and exchangeable calcium increased by 57.63%, 71.98%, and 49.13%. At the same time, the single fruit weight of Shixia longan increased by 6.37%, the soluble sugar content increased by 16.18%, and the titratable acid of the fruit decreased by 10.95%. Compared with the control group, the soil pH value of chives increased by 1.03 units, its yield increased by 57.8%, and various morphological indicators were improved. The results showed that the application of oyster shell soil conditioner could significantly improve the soil acidification of Shixia longan and chives, improve soil fertility, and effectively improve the yield and quality of fruits and vegetables.
Numerical Simulation of Mudstone Shield Tunnel Excavation with ABAQUS Seepage–Stress Coupling: A Case Study
Authors: Li Changchang , Wang Zhengzhong , Liu Quanhong
Published: January 2023

To explore the influence of shield construction on the stress of tunnels surrounding rock and linings in deep, high groundwater and low-permeability soft rock strata, a 3D coupled hydro-mechanical model of a low permeability mudstone tunnel was established with ABAQUS, based on the effective stress principle and the Mohr–Coulomb elastoplastic constitutive model, taking the Bailuyuan Tunnel of the Hanjiang to Weihe River Valley Water Diversion Project Phase II in China as an example. The tunnel shield construction was simulated, and the spatial-temporal variation in the pore water pressure and the internal forces of the lining were studied. The results show that the central pore water pressure of the low-permeability mudstone face presents a V-shaped variation with the tunnel excavation. When the face was approximately 15 m from the representative section, the pore pressure on the linings basically varied between 192.7 and 182.5 m. The bending moment and axial force of the lining increased by 7.4% and 12.8%, respectively, with shield tunnelling. When the tunnel diameter was constant, the axial force and bending moment of the lining decreased quadratically as the lining thickness increased. The influence of shield construction decreased as the lining thickness increased. The research results provide a reference for the safe and optimal construction of the Hanjiang to Weihe River Valley Water Diversion Project.
An Empirical Investigation of Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes as the Correlates of Environmental Identity among Pre-Service Biology Teachers in Tanzania
Authors: Nkaizirwa Josephat Paul , Aurah Catherine Musalagani , Nsanganwimana Florien
Published: January 2023

Despite the extant literature that discusses the potentiality of environmental identity in shaping people’s engagement with nature, there is little evidence of which specific domains of environmental attitudes and knowledge are connected with environmental identity. The present article reports on the results from two studies that were conducted within the framework of the Solomon four-group design, in four randomly selected teacher colleges (TCs) in Tanzania. Specifically, study one was an intervention with pre- and post-measurements that involved indoor and outdoor environmental programs among pre-service biology teachers in two TCs. Moreover, study two was conducted in two other selected TCs, with a post-test only. The two-Major Environmental Values (2-MEV) and a Competence Model for Environmental Education were used for measuring environmental attitudes and knowledge, respectively. Finally, environmental identity was measured using the environmental identity (EID) scale. The results revealed that preservation was positively correlated with domains of identity, while other variables demonstrated overlapping relationships in different measurement points. Moreover, notable correlations between social desirability responding with some domains of attitudes and identity were evident, whereas the age of respondents had limited associations with other variables. The article concludes by proposing the need to promote environmental attitudes (EA) and knowledge as important strategies in fostering environmental stewardship.
FVM-RANS Modeling of Air Pollutants Dispersion and Traffic Emission in Dhaka City on a Suburb Scale
Authors: Ali Md. Eabad , Hasan Md Farhad , Siddiqa Sadia , Molla Md. Mamun , Nasrin Akhter Most.
Published: January 2023

The present study aims to investigate the impact of air pollutants dispersion from traffic emission under the influence of wind velocity and direction considering the seasonal cycle in two major areas of Dhaka city: namely, Tejgaon and Gazipur. Carbon monoxide (CO) mass fraction has been considered as a representative element of traffic-exhausted pollutants, and the distribution of pollutants has been investigated in five different street geometries: namely, single regular and irregular, double regular and irregular, and finally, multiple irregular streets. After the grid independence test confirmation as well as numerical validation, a series of case studies has been presented to analyze the air pollutants dispersion, which mostly exists due to the traffic emission. The popular Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) approach has been considered, and the finite volume method (FVM) has been applied by ANSYS FluentTM. The k−ϵ turbulence model has been integrated from the RANS approach. It was found that the wind velocity as well as wind direction and the fluid flow fields can play a potential role on pollution dispersion in the Dhaka city street canyons and suburbs. Inhabitants residing near the single regular streets are exposed to more traffic emission than those of single irregular streets due to fewer obstacles being created by the buildings. Double regular streets have been found to be a better solution to disperse pollutants, but city dwellers in the east region of double irregular streets are exposed to a greater concentration of pollutants due to the change of wind directions and seasonal cycles. Multiple irregular streets limit the mobility of the pollutants due to the increased number of buildings, yet the inhabitants near the multi-irregular streets are likely to experience approximately 11.25% more pollutants than other dwellers living far from the main street. The key findings of this study will provide insights on improving the urbanization plan where different geometries of streets are present and city dwellers could have less exposure to traffic-exhausted pollutants. The case studies will also provide a template layout to map pollutant exposure to identify the alarming zone and stop incessant building construction within those regions by creating real-time air quality monitoring to safeguard public safety.
Object Detection for Construction Waste Based on an Improved YOLOv5 Model
Authors: Zhou Qinghui , Liu Haoshi , Qiu Yuhang , Zheng Wuchao
Published: January 2023

An object detection method based on an improved YOLOv5 model was proposed to enhance the accuracy of sorting construction waste. A construction waste image sample set was established by collecting construction waste images on site. These construction waste images were preprocessed using the random brightness method. A YOLOv5 object detection model was improved in terms of the convolutional block attention module (CBAM), simplified SPPF (SimSPPF) and multi-scale detection. Then, the improved YOLOv5 model was trained, validated and tested using the established construction waste image dataset and compared with other conventional models such as Faster-RCNN, YOLOv3, YOLOv4, and YOLOv7. The results show that: based on the improved YOLOv5 model, the mean average precision (mAP) on the test dataset can reach 0.9480. The overall performance of this model is better than that of other conventional models in object detection, which verifies the accuracy and availability of the proposed method.
Impact of Residents’ Demographics on Their Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards Waste Management at the Household Level in the United Arab Emirates
Authors: Abushammala Hatem , Ghulam Salma Taqi
Published: January 2023

Sustainability in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a critical issue due to the steady rises in population and regional economic growth. Therefore, an urgent need arises each passing time on ensuring efficient resource utilization and waste management in all sectors; industrial, agricultural, and residential. In the residential sector, residents’ greenness with a focus on their waste-management knowledge and practices could be impacted by their socio-demographics such as age, gender, educational level, and income. Several studies investigated this impact but reported varying outcomes about its degree. Therefore, this work aims to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of UAE residents towards waste management in their households and how impacted their KAPs are by their demographics. For this goal, a questionnaire was distributed among 400 UAE residents of different genders, ages, and educational levels, and the collected responses were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using ANOVA and the t-test. The results showed that the sampled UAE residents were fairly knowledgeable about the three Rs of waste management (reduce, reuse, and recycle) and the impact of waste management on the environment. They were also fairly aware of the impact of their consumption style on waste generation. The results also showed that around two thirds of the residents believed that segregating waste and reducing its generation are their main roles in waste management. Furthermore, one third of the residents considered the lack of environmental awareness among the public as the most common reason for inefficient waste management at the household level, followed by the lack of infrastructure. Regarding the most effective motivator for the residents to manage waste in their households, one third of the participants chose economic incentives, while ethical motivations and awareness campaigns were the second choices. Surprisingly, only 15% of the residents believed that governmental regulations and enforcement would be effective to improve residents’ waste management attitudes and practices. Finally, the results showed that the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of UAE residents were influenced to varying degrees by their age, gender, and educational level. These outcomes may provide insight into how the UAE government can address underlying challenges toward efficient waste management at the household level.
Assessment of CMIP6 Multi-Model Projections Worldwide: Which Regions Are Getting Warmer and Are Going through a Drought in Africa and Morocco? What Changes from CMIP5 to CMIP6?
Authors: Bouramdane Ayat-Allah
Published: January 2023

Although climate change is an inherently global issue, its impacts will not be felt equally across Earth’s pressure belts and continental-scale regions. This study seeks to examine which areas are becoming warmer and experiencing drought, with a particular focus on Africa, in light of its low historical emissions but poor economic capacity for mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and Morocco, whose conditional goal, which will be achieved with foreign assistance, is rated as “almost sufficient” but is not yet in compliance with the Paris Agreement’s goal. We also explore the consistency and sources of uncertainty in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models and analyze what changes from CMIP5—whose projections are based on the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)—to Shared Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs)-based scenarios for CMIP6. We find that strong forcing, with no additional climate policies, is projected to raise the mean annual temperature over Morocco for the long-term period by 6.25 °C. All CMIP6 models agree that warming (resp. drought) will be greater over land masses and poles (resp. tropical and coastal regions) than over oceans and equatorial regions (resp. high latitudes, equatorial, and monsoon zones), but less so on the intensity of changes.
Does Government Positively Support the Spatial Distribution of ICH? Evidence of Data from the Yangtze Delta Region of China
Authors: Chang Jie , Long Cheng , Lu Song , Han Rui
Published: January 2023

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is humanity’s mutual treasure; the history and civilization of humans are preserved in ICH. In particular, the protection of national ICH has become a principal focus of the Chinese government’s current active promotion of digital protection and innovative ICH development. Since ancient times, the Yangtze Delta region in China has been known as the “country of honey and milk”, and it remains home to many priceless historical and cultural artifacts. This paper combines the Geodetector tool and GIS spatial analysis in order to study as an example the spatial distribution pattern of national ICH in the Yangtze Delta region. The study demonstrates that the quantity and type of structures of national ICH in various provinces and cities differ from one another in terms of spatial distribution characteristics. In general, the spatial agglomeration of ICH is significant, and the spatial divergence between regions is obvious, showing a pattern of spatial distribution characterized by agglomeration in the southeast of the Yangtze Delta region and dispersion in the northwest, presenting different degrees and scales of distribution into groups and bands across each province and city. The indicators of different dimensions were discretized in ArcGIS, then entered into the Geodetector software. The results show that government support is the leading force in promoting the development of ICH, with scores of 0.630 and 0.597 for the secondary indexes. Social humanity serves as an important condition for the development of ICH, and the scores for the relevant secondary indexes were 0.461 and 0.146. Economic development provides the material basis for the further development of ICH, and the scores for these secondary indexes were 0.175 and 0.266. The natural environment determines the basic pattern of the spatial distribution of ICH, and the scores of the relevant secondary indexes in this case were 0.196 and 0.081. The results prove our hypothesis that government support is a core element. Interactions among the factors enhanced their influence on the spatial distribution of ICH. In addition, based on the exploration of the spatial structure of ICH, this research also provides several suggestions for the inheritance and development of ICH in the Yangtze Delta region and puts forward proposals for a future research agenda.
Fashion Market Niches for Organic Agroforestry Cotton: Market Potential for Promoting Sustainable Supply Chains
Authors: Silva Rhyllary Coelho e , de Siqueira Camargo Ricardo , Medina Gabriel da Silva , Gatti Mariana , Sevigne-Itoiz Eva , Lucia Lorenzo Di , Mwabonje Onesmus N.
Published: January 2023

We hypothesize that Fashion brands’ demand for organic agroforestry cotton (OAC) may foster more sustainable supply chains in the cotton industry. However, to realize the potential of the OAC market, a better understanding of the market demand for OAC, as well as the quality and production standards under which the brands operate, the institutional frameworks, and the market mechanisms that underpin its commercialization, is needed. We evaluated the existing organic markets in Brazil using an interview-based methodology with key stakeholders throughout the organic cotton supply chain in 2022. Our study revealed that some brands are willing to pay prices ranging from USD$ 2.57 to USD$ 4.61 per kg of cotton lint depending on the brand. These brands require suppliers to meet quality specifications for the cotton fiber; for example, they require average to long fibers and specify harvesting practices that influence fiber quality. There are also social and environmental criteria that prioritize vulnerable communities of family farmers and women groups planting cotton based on established sustainable practices. The institutional framework includes different stakeholders throughout the organic cotton supply chain, which is fundamentally driven by private demand for cotton, counts on the support of agents connecting brands to farmers, and is indirectly supported by public policies. Existing markets for organic cotton are established via contracts that provide farmers with guarantees to invest in planting cotton and have different certification systems used by the brands that monitor and verify adherence to the standards. Market demand for OAC may, therefore, potentially lead to new markets that promote sustainable supply chains and farming practices. However, existing markets for organic cotton reveal complex requirements that must be addressed, such as the need for supporting agents connecting brands to farmers, and market mechanisms, such as complex contracts and certification.
A Methodology to Estimate Functional Vulnerability Using Floating Car Data
Authors: Karagulian Federico , Valenti Gaetano , Liberto Carlo , Corazza Matteo
Published: January 2023

In this work, a new methodology to estimate the functional vulnerability of the road network of the city of Catania (Italy) is developed with the purpose to improve the resilience of urban transport during critical events. While the traditional approach for the estimation of vulnerability is based on topological data, the proposed methodology is based on spatial-temporal mobility profiles obtained with floating car data (FCD). The algorithm developed for the estimation of vulnerability combines topological properties of the road network with mobility patterns obtained from FCD to evaluate the consequences of failure events on trajectories and their associated travel times. The core operation of the algorithm is based on the computation of all possible travel paths within their assigned geographical zone every time a road link is disrupted. The procedure may prove useful to evaluate wide failure events and to facilitate emergency plans.
Impact of Cognition and Social Trust on Forest-Based Health Tourism Intention during COVID-19
Authors: Li Ying , Wen Ting
Published: January 2023

Forest-based health tourism is an important part of health tourism, which has gradually become the internal demand of urban residents for a healthy life. However, few studies have explored the factors influencing the willingness of forest-based health tourism in the period of epidemic prevention and control. From the perspective of cognition and social trust, this study explored the impact of cognition and social trust on the forest-based health tourism intention of urban residents during COVID-19, and proposed feasible suggestions for revitalizing the development of forest-based health tourism under the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on online questionnaire data collected from 383 Chinese respondents, a binary Logistic regression model was constructed for analysis. The results showed the following. (1) Cognition of health preservation had a significant positive effect on the forest-based health tourism intention of urban residents, while epidemic prevention cognition had no significant effect. (2) Social trust played a significant role in promoting the behavioral decision of wellness tourism in forest among urban residents. Public trust and interpersonal trust had significant positive effects on the forest-based health tourism intention of urban residents. (3) Educational level and health status were the demographic factors that affected the forest-based health tourism intention of urban residents. These findings provide theoretical references for policy makers to attract tourists and realize the sustainable development of forest-based health tourism, and provide important implications for tourism marketing and destination management under the COVID-19 pandemic.
Examining Predictors and Outcomes of Decent Work among Chinese Female Pre-Service Primary School Teachers
Authors: Wen Ya , Chen Huaruo , Wei Xindong , Li Kai , Liu Fei , Liu Xia
Published: January 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the future decent work perceptions in the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT) based on a sample of female primary pre-service teachers in higher education. A cross-sectional design was used for this research. 368 pre-service female teachers were recruited from a university in eastern China for the current study. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that the PWT model applied to Chinese pre-service female primary school teachers. In particular, subjective social status was positively related to future decent work perceptions, disadvantaged mindset was negatively related to future decent work perceptions, and future decent work perceptions were positively related to academic satisfaction. Overall, all the proposed direct pathways in this study were significant. This is the first empirical study to apply the PWT framework among Chinese pre-service female teachers in primary school. With this examination, we were able to comprehensively examine the relationship between variables such as subjective social status and disadvantaged mindset, and future decent work perceptions, helping to improve students’ academic satisfaction and providing suggestions for future career development for this group.
Drought Analysis Based on Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index and Standardized Precipitation Index in Sarawak, Malaysia
Authors: Isia Ismallianto , Hadibarata Tony , Jusoh Muhammad Noor Hazwan , Bhattacharjya Rajib Kumar , Shahedan Noor Fifinatasha , Bouaissi Aissa , Fitriyani Norma Latif , Syafrudin Muhammad
Published: January 2023

Drought analysis via the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) is necessary for effective water resource management in Sarawak, Malaysia. Rainfall is the best indicator of a drought, but the temperature is also significant because it controls evaporation and condensation. This study examined drought periods in the state of Sarawak using the SPI and SPEI based on monthly precipitation and temperature data from thirty-three rainfall stations during a forty-year period (1981–2020). This analysis of drought conditions revealed that both the SPI and SPEI were able to detect drought temporal variations with distinct time scales (3, 6, 9, and 12 months). Taking precipitation and evapotranspiration data into account, the SPEI was able to identify more severe-to-extreme drought in the study area over longer time periods and moderate droughts over shorter time periods than the standard drought index. According to Pearson correlation coefficients, a substantial association existed between the SPI and SPEI during hydrological dryness. Based on the results, the temperature is a decisive factor in drought classification, and the SPI should only be used in the absence of temperature data.
A Hierarchical Porous Cellulose Sponge Modified with Chlorogenic Acid as a Antibacterial Material for Water Disinfection
Authors: Liu En-Jiang , Huang Jia-Xing , Hu Run-Ze , Yao Xiao-Hui , Zhao Wei-Guo , Zhang Dong-Yang , Chen Tao
Published: January 2023

Water contaminated by microorganisms will seriously endanger public safety, as many diseases are caused by microorganisms, and water disinfection materials offer an effective method to solve this problem. In this work, a hierarchical porous structure cellulose sponge (CS) was constructed as the water disinfection filter substrate, where “long−chain” cellulose served as the skeleton to construct major pores, and “short−chain” cellulose filled the gaps between “long−chain” cellulose to construct minor pores. After CS was covalently modified by chlorogenic acid (CGA) to fabricate cellulose–chlorogenic acid sponge (C−CGAS), a hierarchical porous structure was retained. Due to the hierarchical porous structure, C−CGAS showed good mechanical stability (2.84% unrecoverable strain after 1000 compression cycles). Furthermore, C−CGAS also showed good antibacterial and antifungal abilities due to the antimicrobial ability and high water flux, and C−CGAS could eliminate 95% of E. coli within 0.5 h in the water disinfection test. Due to the stable covalent modification of CGA and its mechanical stability, C−CGAS showed no breakage, and even after nine consecutive use cycles, the antibacterial properties were almost unchanged. Thus, C−CGAS is a reusable and highly efficient water disinfection material. This study provides a new approach for the preparation of recyclable, safe, and efficient water disinfection materials.
Violations of CSR Practices in the Australian Financial Industry: How Is the Decision-Making Power of Australian Women Implicated?
Authors: Sharma Abhishek , Hewege Chandana , Perera Chamila
Published: January 2023

Financial institutions have made significant efforts in recent decades to integrate CSR activities into their core business approaches; however, several studies have shown that CSR violations have increased in the Australian financial industry, with financial institutions engaging in unethical practices and deceptive strategies to benefit their organizational profits over consumer interests. So far, research has shed light on how financial institutions have used CSR violation and manipulative strategies to bias consumer decision making, but there has been little investigation into how these manipulative techniques bias an individual’s rational, emotional, and decision-making powers when purchasing financial products. As a result, this study employs the theoretical notions of the emotion-imbued choice model (EIC) to investigate on how rational decision making, along with moderating effects of emotions (such as anxiety) and behavioural traits (such self-efficacy), influence the decision-making powers of Australian women when making financial product purchase decisions. It employs an online survey with 357 usable responses from Australian women, where several complex products and services are offered, and contentious claims of financial misconducts are reported. Data analysis is carried out through SPSS where regression analysis is performed along with double moderation performed through Hayes Process Model 2, with anxiety and self-efficacy chosen as moderators. Results reveal that anxiety significantly affects decision-making power of Australian women whereas moderating effects of self-efficacy was found to be insignificant. In addition, the regression results also showed that in the face of CSR violations, rational decision making has the greater influence on decision-making power of Australian women as compared to anxiety and self-efficacy. This study will be useful to a wide range of stakeholders, including the government, regulators, marketers, CSR activists, consumer watchdogs as they provide a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between rationality, emotions, and behavioural traits and how they affect the decision making of Australian women when making financial product purchase decisions.
Recent Development of Smart Field Deployment for Mature Waterflood Reservoirs
Authors: Jia Deli , Zhang Jiqun , Li Yanchun , Wu Li , Qiao Meixia
Published: January 2023

In the petroleum industry, artificial intelligence has been applied in seismic and logging interpretation, accurate modeling, optimized drilling operations, well dynamics prediction, safety warning, etc. However, field-scale application and deployment remain a challenge due to the lack of sufficiently powerful algorithms for the integration of multi-granularity data in the time and space domain, for the construction of a deep-learning network able to represent the evolution of well and reservoir dynamics, and finally the lack of investment in surveillance data acquisition. This paper offers a concise review of smart field deployment for mature waterflood reservoirs, including the current status of data foundation construction, and the research progress for applied AI algorithms, as well as application scenarios and overall deployment. With respect to data, the domestic and international oil and gas industry has completed or at least started the large-scale construction and deployment of lake data. However, the data isolation phenomenon is serious in China. Preparation for the integration of new monitoring data for the overall research of reservoirs is insufficient. With respect to algorithms, data-based and model-based AI algorithms have been emerging recently, but the development of the overall proxy model for rapid prediction and automatic model calibration is still in the preliminary period. For application scenarios, relatively simple and independent applications related to geophysical interpretation and production engineering are continuing to emerge, while large-scale reservoir and field application require substantial investment in data acquisition, game-changing algorithms with cloud-based computing architecture, and top-down deployment.
Fishmeal Replacement by Full-Fat and Defatted Hermetia illucens Prepupae Meal in the Diet of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata)
Authors: Karapanagiotidis Ioannis T. , Neofytou Marina C. , Asimaki Adamantia , Daskalopoulou Evanthia , Psofakis Pier , Mente Eleni , Rumbos Christos I. , Athanassiou Christos G.
Published: January 2023

Insect proteins are considered as suitable low environmental impact alternatives to fishmeal for sustainable aquafeeds. Among the different insect species, Hermetia illucens has attracted research and industrial interest due to its ability to grow well on organic side streams, its high protein content and favorable amino acid profiles. Its lipid content although high is characterized by a lack of EPA and DHA that are essential to fish nutrition and thus a defatted form of Hermetia meal might be of better use in fish diets. Hence, two feeding trials were conducted to investigate the effects of the partial fishmeal replacement by increasing levels of a full-fat (up to 276 g/kg) and a defatted (up to 174 g/kg) H. illucens meal on feed intake, growth, feed utilization and nutrient compositions of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata). Results showed that both the fat content and the inclusion level of H. illucens meal are critical for the success of fishmeal replacement in the diets of S. aurata as they strongly affect feed consumption. A lower palatability of H. illucens meal was observed when included at high dietary levels with the defatted form being more readily accepted by fish. The defatted H. illucens meal is more suitable than the full-fat type to replace fishmeal, with a dietary level of about 81–104 g/kg supporting the highest feed consumption, the highest growth, an unaffected proximate composition and a better feed utilization by S. aurata.
The Influence of Introversion–Extroversion on Service Quality Dimensions: A Trait Activation Theory Study
Authors: Hatipoglu Sercan , Koc Erdogan
Published: January 2023

Personality characteristics influence individuals’ perceptions, evaluations, and behaviors toward external stimuli. This study aims to investigate the influence of the extroversion–introversion personality characteristics of hospitality customers on the amount of value they attached to the different service quality dimensions. The influence of customers’ personality characteristics on the amount of value attached to the different service quality dimensions has not been previously studied by researchers. The data were obtained from 508 Turkish tourists staying at five-star hotels in holiday resorts located on the Aegean coast of Turkey. Partial least-squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. At the measurement model stage, the scales were subjected to reliability and validity tests. It was seen that all the variables in the measurement model met the reliability and validity criteria. The structural model and the hypotheses were tested to examine the relationships between the latent variables. The results show that while introvert customers tend to attach more value to the tangibles dimension of service quality, extrovert customers tend to attach more value to the empathy dimension of service quality.
Analysis of a Squeezing Flow of a Casson Nanofluid between Two Parallel Disks in the Presence of a Variable Magnetic Field
Authors: Gupta Reshu , Selvam Janani , Vajravelu Ashok , Nagapan Sasitharan
Published: January 2023

The present article deals with the MHD flow of a Casson nanofluid between two disks. The lower disk was fixed as well as permeable. The upper disk was not permeable, but it could move perpendicularly up and down toward the lower disk. Titanium dioxide was selected as nanoparticles and water as a base fluid. The governing higher-order nonlinear partial differential equations were transformed into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations by using similarity transformation. The differential transform method (DTM) was applied to solve the nonlinear ODEs. The nature of the velocity profiles for the different values of the suction injection parameter, the squeeze number, the Casson fluid parameter, and the volume fraction parameter of the nanofluid are pictorially discussed in this paper. The coefficient of skin friction was tabulated for the novelty of the research. The comparison of the results was determined by the DTM and the numerical methods. The profile values were also compared with the literature work and found to agree. This comparative study proves the accuracy and efficiency of the method. It is concluded from this research that the flow properties behave oppositely for all parameters during suction and injection.