bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Botanical Ingredients Addition on the Bioactive Compounds and Quality of Non-Alcoholic and Craft Beer
Authors: Borșa Andrei , Muntean Mircea Valentin , Salanță Liana Claudia , Tofană Maria , Socaci Sonia Ancuța , Mudura Elena , Pop Anamaria , Pop Carmen Rodica
Published: July 2022

Special beers, known as artisanal, are progressively gaining consumer preference, opening up competition, and acquiring more space in the market. Considering that, exploration for new formulations is justified and plants represent a source of novel compounds with promising antioxidant activity for this beer segment. This paper aims to evaluate the current knowledge on the role of botanical ingredients on the final yield of bioactive compounds in special beer, and how these molecules generally affect the sensory profile. Furthermore, the estimated difficulties of implementation, taking into account the new processes and the relative cost, are discussed. The addition of plants to beer could serve the interests of both the industry and consumers, on one hand, by improving the functional properties and offering a unique flavor, and on the other hand by adding variety to the craft beer landscape. This paper provides guidance and future directions for the development of new products to boost the brewing industry. Brewing processes might affect the valuable compounds, especially the phenolic content. Consequently, future studies need to identify new methods for protecting the level of bioactive compounds in special beer and increasing the bio-accessibility, along with optimization of the sensory and technological properties.
Synchronization of a Passive Oscillator and a Liquid Crystal Elastomer Self-Oscillator Powered by Steady Illumination
Authors: Li Kai , Gan Fenghui , Du Changshen , Cai Guojun , Liu Junxiu
Published: July 2022

Self-oscillators have the advantages of actively harvesting energy from external steady environment, autonomy, and portability, and can be adopted as an engine to drive additional working equipment. The synchronous behavior of self-oscillators and passive oscillators may have an important impact on their functions. In this paper, we construct a self-oscillating system composed of a passive oscillator and an active liquid crystal elastomer self-oscillator powered by steady illumination, and theoretically investigate the synchronization of two coupled oscillators. There exist three synchronous regimes of the two coupled oscillators: static, in-phase, and anti-phase. The mechanisms of self-oscillations in in-phase and anti-phase synchronous regimes are elucidated in detail by calculating several key physical parameters. In addition, the effects of spring constant, initial velocity, contraction coefficient, light intensity, and damping coefficient on the self-oscillations of two coupled oscillators are further investigated, and the critical conditions for triggering self-oscillations are obtained. Numerical calculations show that the synchronous regime of self-oscillations is mainly determined by the spring constant, and the amplitudes of self-oscillations of two oscillators increase with increasing contraction coefficient, light intensity, and spring constant, while decrease with increasing damping coefficient. This study deepens the understanding of synchronization between coupled oscillators and may provide new design ideas for energy harvesters, soft robotics, signal detection, active motors, and self-sustained machinery.
Effect of Mixed Particulate Emulsifiers on Spray-Dried Avocado Oil-in-Water Pickering Emulsions
Authors: Espinosa-Solis Vicente , García-Tejeda Yunia Verónica , Portilla-Rivera Oscar Manuel , Chávez-Murillo Carolina Estefania , Barrera-Figueroa Víctor
Published: July 2022

Avocado oil is a very valuable agro-industrial product which can be perishable in a short time if it is not stored in the right conditions. The encapsulation of the oils through the spray drying technique protects them from oxidation and facilitates their incorporation into different pharmaceutical products and food matrices; however, the selection of environmentally friendly emulsifiers is a great challenge. Four formulations of the following solid particles: Gum Arabic, HI-CAP®100 starch, and phosphorylated waxy maize starch, were selected to prepare avocado oil Pickering emulsions. Two of the formulations have the same composition, but one of them was emulsified by rotor-stator homogenization. The rest of the emulsions were emulsified by combining rotor-stator plus ultrasound methods. The protective effect of mixed particle emulsifiers in avocado oil encapsulated by spray drying was based on the efficiency of encapsulation. The best results were achieved when avocado oil was emulsified with a mixture of phosphorylated starch/HI-CAP®100, where it presented the highest encapsulation efficiency.
Textiles Functionalized with Copper Oxides: A Sustainable Option for Prevention of COVID-19
Authors: Román Luz Esmeralda , Villalva Cleny , Uribe Carmen , Paraguay-Delgado Francisco , Sousa José , Vigo Johnny , Vera Concepción Mercedes , Gómez Mónica Marcela , Solís José Luis
Published: July 2022

COVID-19 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent severe problems in health centers and public areas. Polyester/cotton (PES/CO) blend fabrics have been functionalized with copper oxides on an industrial scale. For functionalization, the impregnation dyeing technique was applied. The functionalized samples were tested virologically against SARS-CoV-2 and human coronavirus (229E) according to ISO 18184-2019 and microbiologically against Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) bacteria according to ASTM E2149-2013. The results show that the fabric functionalized with copper oxides inactivated both viruses after 30 min of exposure, presenting excellent virucidal activity against 229E and SARS-CoV-2, respectively. Furthermore, its inactivation efficiency for SARS-CoV-2 was 99.93% and 99.96% in 30 min and 60 min exposure, respectively. The fabric inhibited bacterial growth by more than 99% before and after 10 and 20 washes. In conclusion, 265 m of PES/CO fabric (wide 1.7 m) was functionalized in situ on an industrial scale with copper oxide nanoparticles. The functionalized fabric presented virucidal and bactericidal properties against SARS-CoV-2 and Escherichia coli.
Approaching the Study of Corruption and Natural Resources through Qualitative System Dynamics
Authors: Gisladottir Johanna , Sigurgeirsdottir Sigurbjörg , Stjernquist Ingrid , Ragnarsdottir Kristin Vala
Published: July 2022

The complexity and scale of the challenges posed by the climate crisis demand knowledge sharing and collaboration between a variety of academic disciplines to address them. In that regard, the way in which natural resources are used matters, and more information is needed on which regulatory framework and policy instruments foster their sustainable management. There is consensus that corruption can seriously obstruct social, economic, and political development. However, research on corruption has tended to be fragmented and investigating the concept itself is a challenging endeavor. Due to the complexity of corruption as a research subject, we argue that in seeking to explore and understand corruption, researchers would benefit from using a framework that facilitates an interdisciplinary and process-oriented approach. This paper suggests that the method of system dynamics can be applied to advance the academic discourse on corruption in relation to natural resources, since it seeks to improve understanding and learning in complex systems in an illustrative manner. More specifically, it offers a platform to explore feedback processes between the different social, economic, and ecological dimensions which ultimately produce undesirable behavior or patterns. The paper outlines how corruption has been approached previously in the academic discourse. It then offers a tool to bridge knowledge from different fields on natural resources, in a way that allows for research from different fields to be integrated, and thus gaps are better identified. A process-oriented approach to exploring corruption in natural resource systems based on qualitative system dynamics methods can inform new questions and thus improve understanding about the conditions under which corruption occurs or corrupt behavior thrives.
A Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis of Research Progress and Trends in Rice Remote Sensing over the Past 42 Years (1980–2021)
Authors: Xu Tianyue , Wang Fumin , Yi Qiuxiang , Xie Lili , Yao Xiaoping
Published: July 2022

Rice is one of the most important food crops around the world. Remote sensing technology, as an effective and rapidly developing method, has been widely applied to precise rice management. To observe the current research status in the field of rice remote sensing (RRS), a bibliometric analysis was carried out based on 2680 papers of RRS published during 1980–2021, which were collected from the core collection of the Web of Science database. Quantitative analysis of the number of publications, top countries and institutions, popular keywords, etc. was conducted through the knowledge mapping software CiteSpace, and comprehensive discussions were carried out from the aspects of specific research objects, methods, spectral variables, and sensor platforms. The results revealed that an increasing number of countries and institutions have conducted research on RRS and a great number of articles have been published annually, among which, China, the United States of America, and Japan were the top three and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhejiang University, and Nanjing Agricultural University were the first three research institutions with the largest publications. Abundant interest was paid to “reflectance”, followed by “vegetation index” and “yield” and the specific objects mainly focused on growth, yield, area, stress, and quality. From the perspective of spectral variables, reflectance, vegetation index, and back-scattering coefficient appeared the most frequently in the frontiers. In addition to satellite remote sensing data and empirical models, unmanned air vehicle (UAV) platforms and artificial intelligence models have gradually become hot topics. This study enriches the readers’ understanding and highlights the potential future research directions in RRS.
Performance of GEDI Space-Borne LiDAR for Quantifying Structural Variation in the Temperate Forests of South-Eastern Australia
Authors: Dhargay Sonam , Lyell Christopher S. , Brown Tegan P. , Inbar Assaf , Sheridan Gary J. , Lane Patrick N. J.
Published: July 2022

Monitoring forest structural properties is critical for a range of applications because structure is key to understanding and quantifying forest biophysical functioning, including stand dynamics, evapotranspiration, habitat, and recovery from disturbances. Monitoring of forest structural properties at desirable frequencies and cost globally is enabled by space-borne LiDAR missions such as the global ecosystem dynamics investigation (GEDI) mission. This study assessed the accuracy of GEDI estimates for canopy height, total plant area index (PAI), and vertical profile of plant area volume density (PAVD) and elevation over a gradient of canopy height and terrain slope, compared to estimates derived from airborne laser scanning (ALS) across two forest age-classes in the Central Highlands region of south-eastern Australia. ALS was used as a reference dataset for validation of GEDI (Version 2) dataset. Canopy height and total PAI analyses were carried out at the landscape level to understand the influence of beam-type, height of the canopy, and terrain slope. An assessment of GEDI’s terrain elevation accuracy was also carried out at the landscape level. The PAVD profile evaluation was carried out using footprints grouped into two forest age-classes, based on the areas of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forest burnt in the Central Highlands during the 1939 and 2009 wildfires. The results indicate that although GEDI is found to significantly under-estimate the total PAI and slightly over-estimate the canopy height, the GEDI estimates of canopy height and the vertical PAVD profile (above 25 m) show a good level of accuracy. Both beam-types had comparable accuracies, with increasing slope having a slightly detrimental effect on accuracy. The elevation accuracy of GEDI found the RMSE to be 10.58 m and bias to be 1.28 m, with an R2 of 1.00. The results showed GEDI is suitable for canopy densities and height in complex forests of south-eastern Australia.
Object Detection Based on Adaptive Feature-Aware Method in Optical Remote Sensing Images
Authors: Wang Jiaqi , Gong Zhihui , Liu Xiangyun , Guo Haitao , Yu Donghang , Ding Lei
Published: July 2022

Object detection is used widely in remote sensing image interpretation. Although most models used for object detection have achieved high detection accuracy, computational complexity and low detection speeds limit their application in real-time detection tasks. This study developed an adaptive feature-aware method of object detection in remote sensing images based on the single-shot detector architecture called adaptive feature-aware detector (AFADet). Self-attention is used to extract high-level semantic information derived from deep feature maps for spatial localization of objects and the model is improved in localizing objects. The adaptive feature-aware module is used to perform adaptive cross-scale depth fusion of different-scale feature maps to improve the learning ability of the model and reduce the influence of complex backgrounds in remote sensing images. The focal loss is used during training to address the positive and negative sample imbalance problem, reduce the influence of the loss value dominated by easily classified samples, and enhance the stability of model training. Experiments are conducted on three object detection datasets, and the results are compared with those of the classical and recent object detection algorithms. The mean average precision(mAP) values are 66.12%, 95.54%, and 86.44% for three datasets, which suggests that AFADet can detect remote sensing images in real-time with high accuracy and can effectively balance detection accuracy and speed.
Government Agencies’ Readiness Evaluation towards Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 in Indonesia
Authors: Kadarisman Muh , Wijayanto Arie Wahyu , Sakti Anjar Dimara
Published: July 2022

The introduction of the Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 concepts has been undoubtedly challenging, and the readiness towards them could be fundamentally enhanced by strategic management and entrepreneurial governance. Bureaucracy in the majority of developing countries, including Indonesia, is an impediment due to the delays in bureaucratic reform and weak patterns of communication and coordination between their institutions. This study aims to analyze the readiness towards the era of Industry 4.0, and Society 5.0 in Indonesia from the perspectives of strategic management of the bureaucracy and entrepreneurial government. We undertake a case study on the organization of the Deputy for Human Resources of the Indonesian Ministry of Empowerment of the State Apparatus and Bureaucratic Reform and use a mixed method that simultaneously combines quantitative and qualitative methods. The resulted data from observations, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions were then analyzed using path analysis, descriptive methods, and qualitative approaches. Our results finding shows that there is a strategic value in data-based policies, and the ownership of data from various perspectives is strategically used as a direction for policymakers. One of the impacts of the Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 concepts is that the world has become increasingly connected. Hence, there are no boundaries between systems. Bureaucratic strategic management and entrepreneurial government have a significant effect on the readiness towards the Industry 4.0, and Society 5.0 concepts, in Indonesia, either partially or simultaneously.
Barriers and Enablers to Health-Seeking for People Affected by Severe Stigmatising Skin Diseases (SSSDs): A Scoping Review
Authors: McCollum Rosalind , Berrian Hannah , Theobald Sally , Zaizay Zeela , Kollie Karsor , Dean Laura
Published: July 2022

People affected by severe stigmatising skin diseases (SSSDs) often live in the poorest communities, within the poorest countries, and experience a range of barriers to seeking timely, quality care. This scoping review analyses the available literature on health-seeking for patients affected by SSSDs, to identify enablers and barriers to health-seeking. We searched MEDLINE complete, CINAHL, Global Health databases for suitable articles published between 2010 and 2020. Search strings were compiled for health-seeking, SSSDs and lower middle-income countries (LMIC). Our search returned 1004 studies from across three databases. Of these, 136 potentially relevant studies were identified and full texts were reviewed for eligibility against the inclusion criteria, leading to the inclusion of 55 studies. Thematic narrative analysis was used, with results framed around the Levesque framework to analyse barriers and enablers to health-seeking along the continuum of the patient pathway. This scoping review has revealed barriers across the patient pathway, from both supply and demand aspects of health services. Spiritual beliefs emerged strongly relating to care-seeking and underlying stigma. Curative care was a focus for the majority of studies, but few papers emphasised holistic care (such as physical rehabilitation and psychosocial support). From our analysis, greater community engagement is needed to reduce barriers along the patient-care pathway.
Inequalities and Asymmetries in the Development of Angola’s Provinces: The Impact of Colonialism and Civil War
Authors: Catoto Capitango João Adolfo , Garat de Marin Mirtha Silvana , Soriano Flores Emmanuel , Rojo Gutiérrez Marco Antonio , Gracia Villar Mónica , Durántez Prados Frigdiano Álvaro
Published: July 2022

Angola, as with many countries on the African continent, has great inequalities or asymmetries between its provinces. At the economic, financial, and technological level, there is a great disparity between them, where it is observed that the province of Luanda is the largest financial business center to the detriment of others, such as Moxico, Zaire, and Cabinda. In the latter, despite the advantages of high oil production, from a regional point of view, they remain almost stagnant in time, in a social dysfunction where the population lives on extractivism and artisanal fishing. This article analyzes the most important events in contemporary regional history, the Portuguese occupation that was the Portuguese colonial rule over Angola (1890–1930) and the civil war that was a struggle between Angolans for control of the country (1975–2002), in the consolidation of the asymmetries between provinces. For this work, a theoretical-reflective study was conducted based on the reading of books, articles, and previous investigations on the phenomenon studied. Considering the interpretation and analysis of the theoretical content obtained through the bibliographic research conducted, this theoretical construction approaches the qualitative approach. We conclude that the deep inequalities between regions and within them, between the provinces studied, originated historically in the form of exploitation of the regions and from the consequences of the war. The asymmetries, observed through the variables studied show that the provinces historically explored and considered object regions present a lower growth compared to those that were considered subject regions in which the applied geopolitical strategy, as they are centers of primary production flows, was different. We also observe that, due to the conflicts of the civil war in the less developed regions, the inequalities have deepened, contributing seriously to a higher level of poverty and a lower development of the provinces where these conflicts took place.
A Sustainable Green Inventory System with Novel Eco-Friendly Demand Incorporating Partial Backlogging under Fuzziness
Authors: Bhavani G. Durga , Meidute-Kavaliauskiene Ieva , Mahapatra Ghanshaym S. , Činčikaitė Renata
Published: July 2022

Environmentally friendly goods are market-oriented goods that create less environmental damage. Their manufacture is related to a product development process designed to consider the environmental consequences that might develop throughout their life cycle. In reality, the global demand for herbal goods is expanding since herbal products are manufactured from plant extracts such as leaves, roots, flowers, and seeds, among others, and cause less environmental destruction. This study introduces a novel, eco-friendly demand determined by the usage of herbal and chemical substances in products. In this context, companies producing these products are encouraged. Firms are interested in producing eco-friendly products while keeping an eye on carbon emissions. This paper presents a sustainable inventory model of non-instantaneous decaying items that follow this eco-friendly demand under partially backlogged shortages. In this study, emission releases due to inventory setup, degradation, and holding were estimated, as were carbon emissions under cap and tax policies. This approach invests in green and preservation technologies to reduce carbon emissions and deterioration. To address the imprecision of the model’s cost parameters, we converted them to Pythagorean fuzzy numbers. The optimum profit of the inventory model with carbon emissions is estimated by considering the time that the inventory level takes to reach zero and the replenishment time as decision variables. Numerical examples and a sensitivity analysis of significant parameters have been conducted to examine the effect of variation in the optimal inventory policy.
Corporate Carbon Information Disclosure and Financing Costs: The Moderating Effect of Sustainable Development
Authors: Wang Guangyang , Lou Xinxuan , Shen Jianfei , Dan Erli , Zheng Xinyuan , Shao Jiaxin , Li Jingjie
Published: July 2022

With the Global Reporting Initiative (a provider of the global best practice for impact reporting) systematically helping parties to understand and exchange issues such as climate change and formulating authoritative sustainability reporting guidelines, corporate sustainable development is becoming more and more critical for companies. Moreover, corporate carbon information disclosure has the potential to promote corporate financing after the Green Climate Fund has been playing their part in climate finance. Previous studies focused more on the cost of equity. Considering the volatility of the capital market, the cost of equity financing is more unstable and complex. This study limited the financing cost to the cost of debt, took Chinese listed companies from 2009 to 2021 as a research sample, and explored the relationship between corporate carbon information disclosure, sustainable development, and financing costs. This study adopted fixed-effects (within) regression or random-effects GLS regression (defined through the Breusch and Pagan Lagrange multiplier test for random effects and the Hausman test) as estimation methods to control individual effects and endogenous problems brought by time. At the same time, the model was modified when there was heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation accordingly. The results show that the more carbon information disclosure, the lower the financing cost; sustainable development weakens the inhibitory effect of carbon information disclosure on financing costs. This study affirms the financing value of reducing information asymmetry, and found that sustainable development (internal growth capacity) may increase the cost of debt. The stronger the sustainable development is, the more financing needs may be, thus raising the cost of debt. This study not only implies that creditors may attach importance to the value of carbon information disclosure at the time of borrowing, but also provides theoretical evidence for the government or securities regulators to speed up the mandatory carbon information disclosure.
A Systems Thinking Approach towards Single-Use Plastics Reduction in Food Delivery Business in Thailand
Authors: Wongprapinkul Boonchanit , Vassanadumrongdee Sujitra
Published: July 2022

Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) is largely influenced by dynamics in the market system. Hence, this study adopts the systems thinking approach as a tool to understand the non-linearity and complexity of sustainable practices. The food delivery business has accelerated the plastic waste problem, especially during COVID-19 where restaurant dine-in was limited. This study aims to identify high leverage points, which contribute to system intervention strategies to improve Thailand’s single-use plastics (SUP) waste situation caused by the food delivery sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with relevant stakeholders (n = 14). A qualitative system dynamics model analysis and thematic analysis suggest that the key leverage points include (1) benefit alignment among all stakeholders, (2) cost minimization and profit maximization, (3) laws and regulations, (4) postconsumption waste management systems, and (5) research and development. In addition, to stimulate policy initiatives, this study suggests that system intervention strategies should include behavioral instruments (setting default and eco-labelling), market-based instruments (green-packaging procurement and subsidies), and system and infrastructure provision (waste management systems and deposit return models). Partnerships, research and development, and laws and regulations are proposed as supporting measures.
Dietary Catering: The Perfect Solution for Rational Food Management in Households
Authors: Zborowski Marek , Mikulec Anna
Published: July 2022

The problem of food waste is a global phenomenon. Food waste occurs at all stages of the food chain. Households, especially in developed countries, produce the most food waste. In order to effectively prevent consumers from throwing food away, it is important to understand the factors that determine these behaviors in the household. The aim of this study was to define the goal of using dietary catering in Polish society as a form of consumption of wholesome meals with a specific calorific value and distribution of macronutrients in the aspect of reducing losses related to food waste. The research was carried out online in the years 2020–2022 among the clients of a catering company. The survey respondents were residents of the Małopolskie Voivodeship in Poland. The research tool was an original anonymous questionnaire in the form of a shortened nutritional interview. On the basis of the obtained results, it can be concluded that factors such as age and gender influence consumer behavior. The reasons for the decision to choose dietary catering were mainly indicated as wasting and throwing away food, as well as inadequate management of food supplies and preparing too large portions of meals.
Correction: Sharma et al. Successive Cyclones Attacked the World’s Largest Mangrove Forest Located in the Bay of Bengal under Pandemic. Sustainability 2022, 14, 5130
Authors: Sharma Sahadev , Suwa Rempei , Ray Raghab , Mandal Mohammad Shamim Hasan
Published: July 2022

The authors would like to make the following corrections about the published paper [...]
Multidimensional Perspectives for Energy Poverty Sustainable Mitigation
Authors: Gouveia João Pedro , Barbosa Ricardo
Published: July 2022

Energy poverty is a growing societal issue that puts the welfare of many citizens on both sides of the global north-south divide at risk [...]
A New Perspective of Sustainable Perception: Research on the Smellscape of Urban Block Space
Authors: Gao Ya-Juan , Wang Chiung-Ling , Huang Min-Ling , Guo Wei
Published: July 2022

The smell of space is inseparable from the sustainable development of the living environment. The research on olfactory perception and smell landscape has a positive effect on landscape design and urban planning and contributes to the formation and design optimization of unique urban memory. This study combines urban smell tracking experiments with Internet social media data analysis to classify smells in the old city center of Guangzhou, China, and analyzes the study within the inner ring and six historic districts. Based on the research results, the smell map was drawn, and the reliability of the smell map was tested through social data and semantic analysis. The emotional score heat map of smell and emotion in six regions was constructed, highlighting the impact of smell in key neighborhoods on the environment. In the conclusion to the study, the thematic routes of green urban design are proposed: sightseeing routes, cultural routes, and food routes, as well as improvement strategies to promote the integration of smell and urban operation activities and the sustainable development of urban regional characteristics.
Stimulating the Influence of Teaching Effectiveness and Students’ Learning Motivation by Using the Hierarchical Linear Model
Authors: Chen Dyi-Cheng , Lai Bo-Yan , Chen Chin-Pin
Published: July 2022

In the context of school learning and teaching, teachers are leaders who stimulate students’ learning outcomes through leadership styles. The teacher efficacy of this study is discussed by using multiple teaching and class management strategies. Because the situation of each school is different, the contingency theory is used to design the research structure. This study changed the original leadership style to the new leadership style; effectiveness to teacher effectiveness; and context to school context, and set them as moderators. Since the unit of analysis is teachers, it is difficult to find factors such as differences in regression coefficients in the school context. Therefore, the HLM hierarchical linear analysis is used, and the school context is set as the second level, and then statistical analysis is performed. Teachers’ leadership styles have significant differences in multiple teaching strategies for teacher effectiveness. Moral leadership and charismatic leadership have a moderating effect on the multiple teaching strategies of teacher effectiveness. The multiple teaching strategies of teacher effectiveness have a significant effect in middle school situations with lower moral leadership. On the other hand, charismatic leadership is more pronounced in middle school situations than in high school situations. Teachers’ leadership styles have a significant impact on classroom management of teacher effectiveness. Under the situational control of schools, moral leadership, charismatic leadership, and supportive leadership have moderating effects on classroom management of teacher effectiveness. When the classroom management of teacher effectiveness is in the middle school situation, low moral leadership is more significant; in the high school situation, charismatic leadership will reduce the effectiveness of the class management; in the moderate or high situation, the higher the support of the leader, the greater the effect of class management.
Damage Simulation Analysis of Canal Concrete Lining Plates Based on Temperature-Stress-Water Load Coupling
Authors: Li Qingfu , Wu Binghui , Zhou Huade
Published: July 2022

Forming an important component of water conservation infrastructure, canal concrete linings are often subjected to damage to different degrees under the combined action of many factors (temperature, stress, water load, etc.) during construction or later operation. Here we explore the temperature and stress changes in the lining plate under different temperatures and water loads and determine the most unfavorable position (where the stress is more concentrated or the stress value is the largest) of the whole canal lining plate to provide guidance for the subsequent design, construction, and maintenance of canal linings. This paper takes a large irrigation district canal lining project in Henan Province, China as an example and uses ABAQUS finite element software to simulate the temperature and stress fields of the canal concrete lining plate under the combined actions of temperature, stress and water load. The results show that under both conditions of no water or water load, the temperature distribution is more uniform in the middle area of the canal bottom slab, and the temperature of the sunny side slope is higher than that of the shady side slope. The stress values of the lining plate and the bottom plate at the slope foot of the canal are large. Under the action of water load, the maximum stress of the right slope foot of the canal concrete lining plate reaches 2.38 MPa. Furthermore, the validity of the model is verified by comparing the error values, and parameters such as the elastic modulus and Poisson’s ratio were found to have a large influence on the sensitivity of the model. The results can be used as a reference for further research on canal concrete lining construction quality control.
Supply Chain Relationship Quality and Corporate Technological Innovations: A Multimethod Study
Authors: Dai Xulong
Published: July 2022

In practice, technological innovation has increasingly become an important means for enterprises to cope with global competition and obtain sustainable development. An increasing number of companies are relying on supply chain resources in the technology development process. Based on the framework of knowledge resource orchestration and the survey data of Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers in China’s automotive industry, this study comprehensively analyzed the influencing factors of technological innovations in supply chain enterprises. The analysis of the research by the Bootstrapping method found that supply chain relationship quality (SCRQ) positively impacts corporate technological innovations, in which knowledge sharing and knowledge integration play a dual mediating role. The investigation of the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) revealed that individual elements do not constitute a necessary condition for high-tech innovations in supply chain firms. Mutual commitment among supply chain members plays a more pervasive role in generating high-tech innovations. The two results corroborate each other and further illustrate the vital role of the intersection of SCRQ and knowledge management for corporate technological innovations.
Development and Evaluation of a Prototype Self-Propelled Crop Sprayer for Agricultural Sustainability in Small Farms
Authors: Ghafoor Abdul , Khan Fraz Ahmad , Khorsandi Farzaneh , Khan Muhammad Azam , Nauman Hafiz Muhammad , Farid Muhammad Usman
Published: July 2022

In most Asian countries, farmers have smallholdings ranging from one to two hectares. The tractor-mounted boom sprayers cannot practically be used in small size farms with divided plots and complex terrain. To cope with these issues, a prototype self-propelled crop sprayer was developed, including a 20-hp engine, 300 L liquid tank, and hydraulically-controlled spray boom with eight hollow cone nozzles. The spray symmetry of the hollow cone nozzle was evaluated under four pressures (2.5, 3, 3.5, and 4 bar) in the laboratory. The operating parameters of the sprayer, such as forward speed (4, 6, and 8 km h−1), spray height (40, 55, and 70 cm), and pressure (3, 5, and 7 bar) were optimized by measuring three spray characteristics including droplet density, coverage percentage, and Volume Median Diameter (VMD) in the cotton field. The results revealed that the nozzle spray was symmetrical at 2.5 and 3 bar pressure as the R2 value was higher than 0.96. The field test result showed that in all treatments, treatments T14 (6 km h−1, 55 cm, 5 bar) and T22 (8 km h−1, 55 cm, 3 bar) were suitable for spraying medium-to-low concentration solution (post-emergence herbicides and fungicides) and high concentration solution (insecticides and pre-emergence herbicides), respectively. The spray characteristics at treatments T14 and T22 were 64.7 droplets cm−2, 26.7%, 230 µm, and 39 droplets cm−2, 14.9%, and 219.8 µm respectively. The field efficiency of the sprayer was 61%. The spraying cost per unit area was 55–64% less compared to manual labor cost. In conclusion, a prototype self-propelled crop sprayer is an efficient and environment-friendly technology for small farms. Operating the sprayer at the optimal parameters also saves operational costs and time.
Using Digital Storytelling to Improve Pupils’ Speaking Skills in the Age of COVID 19
Authors: Nair Viknesh , Md Yunus Melor
Published: July 2022

Speaking in English is one of the most important skills that students must learn in school, and it is a pertinent tool for communicating in the real world. However, pupils in rural schools often faced difficulty in conversing in the English language, as they did not have adequate opportunities or an engaging environment to practice the language, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was observed though School-Based Assessment (SBA) that pupils had limited levels of fluency, accuracy, and pronunciation. Hence, this quasi-experimental study aims to investigate the use of Toontastic 3D, a digital storytelling app, to improve pupils’ speaking skills. In this study, a pre- and post-test and a questionnaire were used as methods for data collection. The findings revealed that the potential benefits of digital storytelling had a beneficial impact on pupils’ speaking skills. The findings also demonstrated that digital storytelling engaged students in the story’s content not just by encouraging motivation and curiosity but also by instilling confidence in their ability to speak in English. The results from the questionnaire indicate that digital storytelling facilitates 21st-century learning by allowing interactive and collaborative learning that encourages pupils to speak English. Moreover, pupils were more engaged, confident, and motivated to converse in English. Hence, digital storytelling, especially in the age of COVID 19, can be utilised as an effective teaching repertoire to create a dynamic learning environment that stimulates students to participate actively during speaking classes.
Sustainable Retrofitting and Moment Evaluation of Damaged RC Beams Using Ferrocement Composites for Vulnerable Structures
Authors: Soundararajan Muthumani , Balaji Shanmugam , Sridhar Jayaprakash , Ravindran Gobinath
Published: July 2022

Ferrocement composites have uniform distribution and high surface area to volume ratio of reinforcement, which identifies them as a good strengthening material for use in structural applications. Because of these properties, they are considered as a substitution for some conventional structural strengthening methods. In this study, ten reinforced concrete (RC) beams of size 1220 mm × 100 mm × 150 mm were strengthened with ferrocement composites using a galvanized square weld, having volume fractions of 1.76% and 2.35%. For this study, ferrocement composites with mortar 1:2, w/c 0.4, and steel slag, with a 30% weight fraction of fine aggregate, are considered. The experimental results showed that the first crack load and the ultimate load are higher for RC beams strengthened with ferrocement having a volume fraction of 2.35% (Vr) and a steel slag replacement of 30%. Theoretical predictions were made based on the elastic moment approach; the ratio between the prediction to experimental moment capacity ranges between 0.99 and 1.04. The outcomes show that ferrocement is an effective strengthening technique for deficient reinforced concrete members
The Impact of Refugees on Income Inequality in Developing Countries by Using Quantile Regression, ANN, Fixed and Random Effect
Authors: Ozyilmaz Ayfer , Bayraktar Yuksel , Isik Esme , Toprak Metin , Olgun Mehmet Firat , Aydin Serdar , Guloglu Tuncay
Published: July 2022

Refugees affect the hosting countries both politically and economically, but the size of impact differs among these societies. While this effect emerges mostly in the form of cultural cohesion, security, and racist discourses in developed societies, it mostly stands out with its economic dimension such as unemployment, growth, and inflation in developing countries. Although different reflections exist in different societies, the reaction is expected to be higher if it affects social welfare negatively. Accordingly, one of the parameters that should be addressed is the effect of refugees on income distribution since the socio-economic impact is multifaceted. In this study, the effect of refugees on income inequality is analyzed by using quantile regression with fixed effects and Driscoll–Kraay Fixed Effect (FE)/Random Effect (RE) methods for the period of 1991 to 2020 in the 25 largest refugee-hosting developing countries. According to the findings of the study, the functional form of the relationship between refugees and income inequality in the countries is N-shaped. Accordingly, refugees first increase income inequality, decrease it after reaching a certain level, and then start increasing it, albeit at a low level.
Experimental Location of the Vertical Handrail to Improve the Accessibility of Wheelchair Passengers Boarding and Alighting at Metro Stations—A Pilot Study
Authors: Seriani Sebastian , Fernandes Vicente Aprigliano , Moraga Paola , Cortes Fabian
Published: July 2022

Acknowledging the possible impacts of the location of a vertical handrail on the accessibility of wheelchair passengers, this study explores different dimensions of the vertical handrail and elements of the internal space of a metro carriage and how they can impact the behaviour of passengers. For this purpose, simulation scenarios have been developed with different configurations of the location of the vertical handrail, which includes variables such as the number of passengers boarding and alighting and the type of relationship that exists between them. In this way, participants have been recruited for the simulation in a controlled environment, using a mock-up with characteristics and dimensions representing the space inside a metro carriage. The results show that the current location, that is, in the centre of the carriage, affects the accessibility of wheelchair users. Similarly, it has been observed that placing the handrail on one side of the train has positive effects on the accessibility of these users since the boarding time is considerably reduced. In addition, it has been shown that the relationship between passengers who hold on to the vertical handrail has an impact on the accessibility of wheelchair users. If passengers holding the handrail know each other, they will use less space inside the metro, and therefore, the boarding time is reduced. Finally, a series of recommendations have been proposed for future research, for example, carrying out new simulations with a more significant number of passengers, considering other types of disabilities.
Spatiotemporal Change of Eco-Environmental Quality in the Oasis City and Its Correlation with Urbanization Based on RSEI: A Case Study of Urumqi, China
Authors: Zhang Jingjing , Zhou Qian , Cao Min , Liu Hong
Published: July 2022

As an important node city of “The Belt and Road” strategy, Urumqi has a non-negligible impact on the ecological environment in the process of rapid development. It is of great significance to understand the coupling and coordination between urbanization and the ecological environment for regional sustainable development. However, previous studies on the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model of urbanization and ecological environment are limited, and they ignore the endogenous relationship between the two. Therefore, this study aims to introduce an econometric model, the panel vector autoregression model (PVAR), to further explore the relationship between them and the influencing mechanism. Firstly, urbanization and ecological environment were evaluated objectively by the comprehensive nighttime light index (CNLI) and remote sensing ecological index (RSEI), respectively. Then, the coupling coordination degree of urbanization and the ecological environment were evaluated comprehensively by a typical coupling coordination degree model. Finally, the PVAR model is used to analyze the interaction between the two systems and the mechanism of action. The results showed that: (1) in the recent 25 years, the mean value of RSEI in Urumqi decreased gradually, and the overall ecological environment deteriorated, but the differences among districts and counties were still significant; (2) the urbanization level of Urumqi is on the rise, while UC, DBC(B), and MD have the highest increase in CNLI although they are at a low level; and (3) in the interactive relationship between urbanization and the ecological environment, the development of Urumqi’s ecological environment is mainly affected by its development inertia, and the development of urbanization is limited by the ecological environment. This study fills the gap in the study of the interaction mechanism between urbanization and the ecological environment and provides a new perspective for the study of sustainable urban development worldwide.
Spatial Differences and Influencing Factors of Industrial Green Total Factor Productivity in Chinese Industries
Authors: Xiao Suyang , Wang Susu , Zeng Fanhua , Huang Wei-Chiao
Published: July 2022

Based on the perspective of energy and carbon emission constraints, this paper measures and decomposes the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of China’s industries from 2003 to 2018. By applying the GTWR model, this paper also identifies the factors driving GTFP and spatial and temporal heterogeneity. The results show that (1) China’s industrial GTFP exhibits a dynamic “growth-steady-growth-decline” trend. The growth rate in eastern China is much higher than that in other regions. Technological progress is found to be the main factor contributing to GTFP growth. (2) The regional differences in GTFP are widening over time. The Gini coefficient of industrial GTFP increased year by year in the eastern and western regions, while the difference between the central and western regions showed a narrowing trend. The difference between the northeast region and other regions showed a tremendous variation. (3) We explore the spatial and temporal differences in the factors influencing the growth of industrial GTFP in China in four dimensions: factor inputs, technological progress, structural factors, and market environment. Innovation investment, urbanization level, and FDI have strong promotion effects on GTFP growth in the eastern, central, and western regions. The marginal impact of environmental governance to promote GTFP growth weakens gradually. Industrial enterprise clustering, patent application, and technology introduction exert inhibiting effects on industrial GTFP in the eastern, central, and western regions. GTFP growth in the northeast region mainly relies on capital investment and the dividend of market-oriented reform. The impact of financial support on industrial GTFP in each region turned from positive to negative after 2014. Finally, based on the spatial and temporal differences in the growth of industrial GTFP, this paper proposes some specific strategies and paths to promote the coordinated development of regional industries.