bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Microalgal Density Estimation by Using LASSO and Image Texture Features
Authors: Nguyen Linh , Nguyen Dung K. , Nguyen Thang , Nguyen Binh , Nghiem Truong X.
Published: February 2023

Monitoring and estimating the density of microalgae in a closed cultivation system is a critical task in culturing algae since it allows growers to optimally control both nutrients and cultivating conditions. Among the estimation techniques proposed so far, image-based methods, which are less invasive, nondestructive, and more biosecure, are practically preferred. Nevertheless, the premise behind most of those approaches is simply averaging the pixel values of images as inputs of a regression model to predict density values, which may not provide rich information of the microalgae presenting in the images. In this work, we propose to exploit more advanced texture features extracted from captured images, including confidence intervals of means of pixel values, powers of spatial frequencies presenting in images, and entropies accounting for pixel distribution. These diverse features can provide more information of microalgae, which can lead to more accurate estimation results. More importantly, we propose to use the texture features as inputs of a data-driven model based on L1 regularization, called least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), where their coefficients are optimized in a manner that prioritizes more informative features. The LASSO model was then employed to efficiently estimate the density of microalgae presenting in a new image. The proposed approach was validated in real-world experiments monitoring the Chlorella vulgaris microalgae strain, where the obtained results demonstrate its outperformance compared with other methods. More specifically, the average error in the estimation obtained by the proposed approach is 1.54, whereas those obtained by the Gaussian process and gray-scale-based methods are 2.16 and 3.68, respectively
Multi-Attention Segmentation Networks Combined with the Sobel Operator for Medical Images
Authors: Lu Fangfang , Tang Chi , Liu Tianxiang , Zhang Zhihao , Li Leida
Published: February 2023

Medical images are used as an important basis for diagnosing diseases, among which CT images are seen as an important tool for diagnosing lung lesions. However, manual segmentation of infected areas in CT images is time-consuming and laborious. With its excellent feature extraction capabilities, a deep learning-based method has been widely used for automatic lesion segmentation of COVID-19 CT images. However, the segmentation accuracy of these methods is still limited. To effectively quantify the severity of lung infections, we propose a Sobel operator combined with multi-attention networks for COVID-19 lesion segmentation (SMA-Net). In our SMA-Net method, an edge feature fusion module uses the Sobel operator to add edge detail information to the input image. To guide the network to focus on key regions, SMA-Net introduces a self-attentive channel attention mechanism and a spatial linear attention mechanism. In addition, the Tversky loss function is adopted for the segmentation network for small lesions. Comparative experiments on COVID-19 public datasets show that the average Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and joint intersection over union (IOU) of the proposed SMA-Net model are 86.1% and 77.8%, respectively, which are better than those in most existing segmentation networks.
A Comprehensive Investigation on Multi-User Interference Effects in Vehicular Visible Light Communications
Authors: Plascencia Emmanuel , Guan Hongyu , Chassagne Luc , Barrois Olivier , Shagdar Oyunchimeg , Căilean Alin-Mihai
Published: February 2023

Vehicular visible light communications (VLC) are considered a suitable technology for vehicular platooning applications. Nevertheless, this domain imposes strict performance requirements. Although numerous works have shown that VLC technology is compatible with platooning applications, existing studies are mainly focused on the physical layer performances, mostly ignoring the disruptive effects generated by neighboring vehicular VLC links. Nevertheless, the 5.9 GHz Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) experience has shown that mutual interference can significantly affect the packed delivery ratio, pointing out that these effects should be analyzed for vehicular VLC networks as well. In this context, this article provides a comprehensive investigation focused on the effects of mutual interference generated by neighboring vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) VLC links. Therefore, this work provides an intensive analytical investigation based on simulation and also on experimental results that demonstrate that although ignored, the influence of mutual interference is highly disruptive in vehicular VLC applications. Hence, it has been shown that without preventive measures, the Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR) can decrease below the imposed 90% limit for almost the entire service area. The results have also shown that although less aggressive, multi-user interference affects V2V links even in short-distance conditions. Therefore, this article has the merit of emphasizing a new challenge for vehicular VLC links and points out the importance of multiple-access techniques integration.
Using a Smartwatch to Record Precordial Electrocardiograms: A Validation Study
Authors: van der Zande Joske , Strik Marc , Dubois Rémi , Ploux Sylvain , Alrub Saer Abu , Caillol Théo , Nasarre Mathieu , Donker Dirk W. , Oppersma Eline , Bordachar Pierre
Published: February 2023

Smartwatches that support the recording of a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) are increasingly being used beyond the wrist, by placement on the ankle and on the chest. However, the reliability of frontal and precordial ECGs other than lead I is unknown. This clinical validation study assessed the reliability of an Apple Watch (AW) to obtain conventional frontal and precordial leads as compared to standard 12-lead ECGs in both subjects without known cardiac anomalies and patients with underlying heart disease. In 200 subjects (67% with ECG anomalies), a standard 12-lead ECG was performed, followed by AW recordings of the standard Einthoven leads (leads I, II, and III) and precordial leads V1, V3, and V6. Seven parameters (P, QRS, ST, and T-wave amplitudes, PR, QRS, and QT intervals) were compared through a Bland–Altman analysis, including the bias, absolute offset, and 95% limits of agreement. AW-ECGs recorded on the wrist but also beyond the wrist had similar durations and amplitudes compared to standard 12-lead ECGs. Significantly greater amplitudes were measured by the AW for R-waves in precordial leads V1, V3, and V6 (+0.094 mV, +0.149 mV, +0.129 mV, respectively, all p < 0.001), indicating a positive bias for the AW. AW can be used to record frontal, and precordial ECG leads, paving the way for broader clinical applications.
Electronic Beam Steering Metamaterial Antenna with Dual-Tuned Mode of Liquid Crystal Material
Authors: Ma Shuang , Li Xue-Nan , Li Zhan-Dong , Ding Jun-Jun
Published: February 2023

In this study, a dual-tuned mode of liquid crystal (LC) material was proposed and adopted on reconfigurable metamaterial antennas to expand the fixed-frequency beam-steering range. The novel dual-tuned mode of the LC is composed of double LC layers combined with composite right/left-handed (CRLH) transmission line theory. Through a multi-separated metal layer, the double LC layers can be loaded with controllable bias voltage independently. Therefore, the LC material exhibits four extreme states, among which the permittivity of LC can be varied linearly. On the strength of the dual-tuned mode of LC, a CRLH unit cell is elaborately designed on three-layer substrates with balanced dispersion values under arbitrary LC state. Then five CRLH unit cells are cascaded to form an electronically controlled beam-steering CRLH metamaterial antenna on a downlink Ku satellite communication band with dual-tuned characteristics. The simulated results demonstrate that the metamaterial antenna features’ continuous electronic beam-steering capacity from broadside to −35° at 14.4 GHz. Furthermore, the beam-steering properties are implemented in a broad frequency band from 13.8 GHz to 17 GHz, with good impedance matching. The proposed dual-tuned mode can make the regulation of LC material more flexible and enlarge the beam-steering range simultaneously.
Innovative Photonic Sensors for Safety and Security, Part I: Fundamentals, Infrastructural and Ground Transportations
Authors: Minardo Aldo , Bernini Romeo , Berruti Gaia Maria , Breglio Giovanni , Bruno Francesco Antonio , Buontempo Salvatore , Campopiano Stefania , Catalano Ester , Consales Marco , Coscetta Agnese , Cusano Andrea , Cutolo Maria Alessandra , Di Palma Pasquale , Esposito Flavio , Fienga Francesco , Giordano Michele , Iele Antonio , Iadicicco Agostino , Irace Andrea , Janneh Mohammed , Laudati Armando , Leone Marco , Maresca Luca , Marrazzo Vincenzo Romano , Pisco Marco , Quero Giuseppe , Riccio Michele , Srivastava Anubhav , Vaiano Patrizio , Zeni Luigi , Cutolo Antonello
Published: February 2023

Our group, involving researchers from different universities in Campania, Italy, has been working for the last twenty years in the field of photonic sensors for safety and security in healthcare, industrial and environment applications. This is the first in a series of three companion papers. In this paper, we introduce the main concepts of the technologies employed for the realization of our photonic sensors. Then, we review our main results concerning the innovative applications for infrastructural and transportation monitoring.
Exact and Heuristic Multi-Robot Dubins Coverage Path Planning for Known Environments
Authors: Li Lin , Shi Dianxi , Jin Songchang , Yang Shaowu , Zhou Chenlei , Lian Yaoning , Liu Hengzhu
Published: February 2023

Coverage path planning (CPP) of multiple Dubins robots has been extensively applied in aerial monitoring, marine exploration, and search and rescue. Existing multi-robot coverage path planning (MCPP) research use exact or heuristic algorithms to address coverage applications. However, several exact algorithms always provide precise area division rather than coverage paths, and heuristic methods face the challenge of balancing accuracy and complexity. This paper focuses on the Dubins MCPP problem of known environments. Firstly, we present an exact Dubins multi-robot coverage path planning (EDM) algorithm based on mixed linear integer programming (MILP). The EDM algorithm searches the entire solution space to obtain the shortest Dubins coverage path. Secondly, a heuristic approximate credit-based Dubins multi-robot coverage path planning (CDM) algorithm is presented, which utilizes the credit model to balance tasks among robots and a tree partition strategy to reduce complexity. Comparison experiments with other exact and approximate algorithms demonstrate that EDM provides the least coverage time in small scenes, and CDM produces a shorter coverage time and less computation time in large scenes. Feasibility experiments demonstrate the applicability of EDM and CDM to a high-fidelity fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) model.
An Efficient Deep Learning-Based High-Definition Image Compressed Sensing Framework for Large-Scene Construction Site Monitoring
Authors: Zeng Tuocheng , Wang Jiajun , Wang Xiaoling , Zhang Yunuo , Ren Bingyu
Published: February 2023

High-definition images covering entire large-scene construction sites are increasingly used for monitoring management. However, the transmission of high-definition images is a huge challenge for construction sites with harsh network conditions and scarce computing resources. Thus, an effective compressed sensing and reconstruction method for high-definition monitoring images is urgently needed. Although current deep learning-based image compressed sensing methods exhibit superior performance in recovering images from a reduced number of measurements, they still face difficulties in achieving efficient and accurate high-definition image compressed sensing with less memory usage and computational cost at large-scene construction sites. This paper investigated an efficient deep learning-based high-definition image compressed sensing framework (EHDCS-Net) for large-scene construction site monitoring, which consists of four parts, namely the sampling, initial recovery, deep recovery body, and recovery head subnets. This framework was exquisitely designed by rational organization of the convolutional, downsampling, and pixelshuffle layers based on the procedures of block-based compressed sensing. To effectively reduce memory occupation and computational cost, the framework utilized nonlinear transformations on downscaled feature maps in reconstructing images. Moreover, the efficient channel attention (ECA) module was introduced to further increase the nonlinear reconstruction capability on downscaled feature maps. The framework was tested on large-scene monitoring images from a real hydraulic engineering megaproject. Extensive experiments showed that the proposed EHDCS-Net framework not only used less memory and floating point operations (FLOPs), but it also achieved better reconstruction accuracy with faster recovery speed than other state-of-the-art deep learning-based image compressed sensing methods.
Reduction of Doppler and Range Ambiguity Using AES-192 Encryption-Based Pulse Coding
Authors: Kamrath Luke , Baginski Michael , Martin Scott
Published: February 2023

This research investigates the use of a Binary Phase Shift Key (BPSK) sequence derived from the 192-bit key Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-192) algorithm for radar signal modulation to mitigate Doppler and range ambiguities. The AES-192 BPSK sequence has a non-periodic nature resulting in a single large and narrow main lobe in the matched filter response but also produces undesired periodic side lobes that can be mitigated through the use of a CLEAN algorithm. The performance of the AES-192 BPSK sequence is compared to an Ipatov–Barker Hybrid BPSK code, which effectively extends the maximum unambiguous range but has some limitations in terms of signal processing requirements. The AES-192 based BPSK sequence has the advantage of having no maximum unambiguous range limit, and when the pulse location within the Pulse Repetition Interval (PRI) is randomized, the upper limit on the maximum unambiguous Doppler frequency shift is greatly extended.
Bistatic Radar Cooperative Imaging Based on Complementary Random Waveform
Authors: Li Xin , Hu Jiemin , Zou Bo , Zhu Yongfeng , Song Zhiyong
Published: February 2023

The cooperative imaging of the bistatic radar is an important research topic for missile-borne radar detection. The existing missile-borne radar detection system is mainly based on the target plot information separately extracted by each radar for data level fusion, without considering the gain brought by the cooperative processing of the radar target echo signal. In this paper, a random frequency-hopping waveform is designed for the bistatic radar to achieve efficient motion compensation. A coherent processing algorithm for bistatic echo signals is designed to achieve band fusion and improve the signal quality and range resolution of the radar. Simulation and high-frequency electromagnetic calculation data were used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Non-Intrusive Privacy-Preserving Approach for Presence Monitoring Based on WiFi Probe Requests
Authors: Simončič Aleš , Mohorčič Miha , Mohorčič Mihael , Hrovat Andrej
Published: February 2023

Monitoring the presence and movements of individuals or crowds in a given area can provide valuable insight into actual behavior patterns and hidden trends. Therefore, it is crucial in areas such as public safety, transportation, urban planning, disaster and crisis management, and mass events organization, both for the adoption of appropriate policies and measures and for the development of advanced services and applications. In this paper, we propose a non-intrusive privacy-preserving detection of people’s presence and movement patterns by tracking their carried WiFi-enabled personal devices, using the network management messages transmitted by these devices for their association with the available networks. However, due to privacy regulations, various randomization schemes have been implemented in network management messages to prevent easy discrimination between devices based on their addresses, sequence numbers of messages, data fields, and the amount of data contained in the messages. To this end, we proposed a novel de-randomization method that detects individual devices by grouping similar network management messages and corresponding radio channel characteristics using a novel clustering and matching procedure. The proposed method was first calibrated using a labeled publicly available dataset, which was validated by measurements in a controlled rural and a semi-controlled indoor environment, and finally tested in terms of scalability and accuracy in an uncontrolled crowded urban environment. The results show that the proposed de-randomization method is able to correctly detect more than 96% of the devices from the rural and indoor datasets when validated separately for each device. When the devices are grouped, the accuracy of the method decreases but is still above 70% for rural environments and 80% for indoor environments. The final verification of the non-intrusive, low-cost solution for analyzing the presence and movement patterns of people, which also provides information on clustered data that can be used to analyze the movements of individuals, in an urban environment confirmed the accuracy, scalability and robustness of the method. However, it also revealed some drawbacks in terms of exponential computational complexity and determination and fine-tuning of method parameters, which require further optimization and automation.
Generation of Mixed-OAM-Carrying Waves Using Huygens’ Metasurface for Mm-Wave Applications
Authors: Naseri Hassan , PourMohammadi Peyman , Melouki Nouredddine , Ahmed Fahad , Iqbal Amjad , Denidni Tayeb A.
Published: February 2023

Antennas that generate orbital angular momentum (OAM) have the potential to significantly enhance the channel capacity of upcoming wireless systems. This is because different OAM modes that are excited from a shared aperture are orthogonal, which means that each mode can carry a distinct stream of data. As a result, it is possible to transmit multiple data streams at the same time and frequency using a single OAM antenna system. To achieve this, there is a need to develop antennas that can create several OAM modes. This study employs an ultrathin dual-polarized Huygens’ metasurface to design a transmit array (TA) that can generate mixed-OAM modes. Two concentrically-embedded TAs are used to excite the desired modes by achieving the required phase difference according to the coordinate position of each unit cell. The prototype of the TA, which operates at 28 GHz and has a size of 11 × 11 cm 2, generates mixed OAM modes of −1 and −2 using dual-band Huygens’ metasurfaces. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that such a low-profile and dual-polarized OAM carrying mixed vortex beams has been designed using TAs. The maximum gain of the structure is 16 dBi.
TQM and SDGs for Erasmus+ Programme—Quality Education, Reducing Inequalities, Climate Change, Peace and Justice
Authors: Nogueiro Teresa , Saraiva Margarida
Published: February 2023

Any element that enables higher education institutions (HEIs) to set themselves apart in a positive and superior way in terms of their performance would be advantageous given the competitive climate in which they operate. The Erasmus+ Programme provides HEIs with yet another option to become more competitive and to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via the improvement of educational quality (SDG 4), reducing inequalities (SDG 10), climate action (SDG 13), and peace and justice (SDG 16). The goal of this work was to explore the potential relationships and synergies between HE sustainability and Total Quality Management (TQM) issues through the SDGs. The methodological approach was concentrated on the qualitative study of academic papers on TQM, sustainability, and the SDGs in HE as well as on the analysis of Regulation (EU) 2021/817, which established Erasmus+. We concluded that TQM and sustainability have synergies related to the SDGs, and the Erasmus+ Programme can support the sustainability of HEIs by promoting these SDGs. Leadership; education and training; the participation of staff members; measurement, evaluation, and control; and other stakeholders are essential factors for the effective implementation of TQM and sustainability in HEIs.
Determinants of Social Entrepreneurship Intention: A Longitudinal Study among Youth in Higher Learning Institutions
Authors: Zulkifle Atikah Mohd , Aziz Kamarulzaman Ab.
Published: February 2023

Social entrepreneurship had been acknowledged as an important solution to highlight various social issues, which many are compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Locally, the Malaysian government launched the first Social Entrepreneurship policy framework in 2015 with an allocation of RM 20 million to produce 1000 social enterprises by 2018. However, as of June 2022, the reported number of social enterprises in Malaysia was only 414. This raised questions on the viability of the agenda. Nevertheless, in April 2022, the government expressed continued political will by launching the Malaysian Social Entrepreneurship Action Plan 2030 (SEMy2030). To ensure success, it is important to understand the determinants of social entrepreneurship intention, especially among youth, the leaders of tomorrow. A previous study on another emerging economy observed changes to the social entrepreneurship dynamics due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the analysis for this study was performed following a longitudinal design on a sample of 486 respondents before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings found Social Awareness, Self-Efficacy, Prior Entrepreneurship Experience, and Cosmopolitanism consistently to be significant determinants of Social Entrepreneurship Intention both pre- and post-pandemic. Meanwhile, Perceived Social Support became significant post-pandemic. Furthermore, gender was found to have a moderating role in several relationships. These insights can lead to the formulation of effective policies and programs to encourage, as well as enable, new generations of social entrepreneurs.
Dinner Table Experience in the Flyover Provinces: A Bricolage of Rural Deaf and Disabled Artistry in Saskatchewan
Authors: Jones Chelsea Temple , Weber Joanne , Atwal Abneet , Pridmore Helen
Published: February 2023

“Dinner table experience” describes the uniquely crip affect evoked by deaf and disabled people’s childhood memories of sitting at the dinner table, witnessing conversations unfolding around them, but without them. Drawing on 11 prairie-based deaf and/or disabled artists’ dinner table experiences, four researcher-artivist authors map a critical bricolage of prairie-based deaf and disabled art from the viewpoint of a metaphorical dinner table set up beneath the wide-skyed “flyover province” of Saskatchewan. Drawing on a non-linear, associative-thinking-based timespan that begins with Tracy Latimer’s murder and includes a contemporary telethon, this article charts the settler colonial logics of normalcy and struggles over keeping up with urban counterparts that make prairie-based deaf and disability arts unique. In upholding an affirmative, becoming-to-know prairie-based crip art and cultural ethos using place-based orientations, the authors point to the political possibilities of artmaking and (re)worlding in the space and place of the overlooked.
How Often Are We in the Here and Now?
Authors: Procheş Şerban
Published: February 2023

There is a conflict between humans’ need to focus on the present circumstances and their ability to plan and reminisce, which often results in mind wandering. Contemporary techniques with ancient roots, such as mindfulness, are useful in solving some of the problems associated with excessive mind wandering but largely fail to recognize the importance of planning and reminiscing. This lack of recognition means that research has by and large ignored the need for a balanced approach, incorporating a focus on both the present local circumstances and elsewhere. Here, I scrutinize time use data to classify contemporary human activities, with an emphasis on leisure but also relevant in a work context. I classify activities according to their temporal and spatial profiles, while also noting any social components involved, which may further remove the activity focus from the self. A visual summary of this classification indicates that our activities, whether societally imposed on us or performed by choice, cover the full range of time-and-place focus profiles available to the human mind more or less evenly. This contradicts the prevalent paradigm, suggesting a dichotomy between present time-and-place focus and mind wandering. I suggest that individual differences in temporal and spatial focus profiles require both broad and in-depth study, such differences having the potential to help optimize not only individual well-being but also the functioning of society, and that mind wandering may be (at least partly) unnecessarily vilified.
Do Microplastics and Nanoplastics Pose Risks to Biota in Agricultural Ecosystems?
Authors: Maddela Naga Raju , Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian , Kadiyala Tanvi , Venkateswarlu Kadiyala , Megharaj Mallavarapu
Published: February 2023

The presence of microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs) in soils is becoming pervasive in most agroecosystems. The recent estimates suggest that the soil burden of MNPs in the agroecosystems is more than 0.5 megatons (Mt) annually. In all the agroecosystems, the transformation, migration, and transferring of MNPs, along with other contaminants, and the trophic transfer of MNPs can threaten the food web. MPs can exhibit negative and positive effects, or none, on the physical/chemical properties of soil, soil microbiota, invertebrates, and plant systems, depending on the polymer compositions, additives, and exposure time. Difficulties in comparing the studies on the effects of MNPs, as well as the discrepancies among them, are mostly due to variations in the methods followed for sampling, detection, quantification, and the categorization of particles, abundance, and exposure time. Since agricultural soils are important environmental reservoirs for diverse chemicals and contaminants, they provide milieus for several types of interactions of MNPs with soil biota. The present review critically examines the sources and transformation of MNPs in agricultural soils, the release and fate of additives, as well as their role as vectors of other potential contaminants and influence on soil physical/chemical properties, toxicities to soil biota (i.e., microorganisms, invertebrates, and plants), current regulatory guidelines for the mitigation of MNPs, and future research directions.
Comparison between an Innovative Solarization System and Dazomet-Based Fumigation
Authors: Rippa Massimo , Yan Changrong , Liu Qin , Tucci Elia , Mormile Pasquale
Published: February 2023

An innovative soil solarization system based on biochar was recently proposed. The difference with traditional solarization lies in the use, after soil irrigation, of a biodegradable black liquid sprayed on the soil surface in order to obtain a black body capable of drastically increasing the absorption of incident radiation and, as a consequence, increasing temperatures at different depths. Due to these higher temperatures, it is possible to eliminate pathogens in shorter times than with traditional solarization. In recent years, this practice has been tested in various contexts by comparing traditional solarization with this innovative new practice through temperature measurement at different soil depths for two months. The experimental data confirm the validity of this new approach for soil treatment: higher temperatures were registered with the innovative system, up to 10 °C more than the traditional method. In this work, we report a comparison between the new solarization system and a fumigation method. Our experimental results demonstrate that it is possible to obtain a satisfying soil treatment with a natural and sustainable practice based on solar energy, overcoming the major limitation of traditional solarization: application time. The black layer on the soil allows for the attainment of temperatures as high as necessary to eliminate most pathogens in a shorter time (just 30 days) than traditional solarization (2 months).
Understanding Corporate Sustainability Disclosures from the Securities Exchange Commission Filings
Authors: Raghupathi Wullianallur , Wu Sarah Jinhui , Raghupathi Viju
Published: February 2023

As sustainability becomes fundamental to companies, voluntary and mandatory disclosures or corporate sustainability practices have become a key source of information for various stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, environmental watchdogs, nonprofits and NGOs, investors, shareholders, and the public at large. Understanding sustainability practices by analyzing a large volume of disclosures poses major challenges, given that the information is mostly in the form of text. Applying machine learning and text analytic methods, we analyzed approximately 25,428 disclosure reports for the period of 2011 to 2020, extracted from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and made available at the Ceres website via application programming interfaces (APIs). Our study identified six industry clusters from the K-means and six main topics from the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) method that related to the disclosure of climate-change-related environmental concerns. Both methods produced overlapping results that further reinforce and enhance our understanding of climate-change-related disclosure at various levels, such as sector, industry, and topic. Our analysis shows that companies are concerned primarily with the topics of gas emission, carbon risk, climate change, loss and damage, renewable energy, and financial impact when disclosing climate-change-related issues to the government. The study has implications for corporate sustainability practices, the communication and dissemination of such practices to stakeholders at large and furthering our understanding of sustainability in general.
Effects of Green Human Resource Management on Innovation Performance through Green Innovation: Evidence from Northern Cyprus on Small Island Universities
Authors: Bahmani Sirous , Farmanesh Panteha , Khademolomoom Amir Hossein
Published: February 2023

The education sector has been severely affected by the global pandemic of COVID-19, and the need for improvement in its aftermath became a challenge for scholars and practitioners alike. The current research focuses on the role of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) initiatives as an independent variable that is innovation-centric, and improved innovation performance of education sector employees as the dependent variable. GHRM in the current context is described as focusing on environmental aspects within the processes and functions of work in a comprehensive manner that incorporates both resource/waste management and areas of development, as well as green behavior among members. Moreover, the mediating effect of green innovation on the aforementioned relationship and enhancing the role of environmental leadership are examined through a quantitative approach using purposive and convenience sampling techniques. Data from several universities across Northern Cyprus have been gathered with regard to the design, aims, and context of this study. With a total of 187 teachers and administrators from three different universities and using PLS-SEM for analysis, the results show that human resource departments in universities can play a major role in determining the extent of innovation performance within the organization. Green innovation as a mediator can improve the workplace environment, which can be significantly enhanced through an adequate leadership that supports such initiatives (i.e., environmental leadership). The current results can be beneficial for scholars (organizational psychology, innovation, and sustainable HRM), as well as decision-makers in the universities in Northern Cyprus as a small island.
The Impact of Aging on Housing Market: Evidence from China
Authors: Fu Rong , Deng Dong , Liu Tao
Published: February 2023

In recent years, the Chinese government has gradually introduced the multi-child policy to control the aging phenomenon. The aging of the Chinese population has aroused international attention. How the aging of the Chinese population will affect housing prices makes this study focus on the question. This study fitted the housing demand curve using the CGSS database and found that the housing demand will continue to rise as residents enter middle age. After residents enter old age, housing demand shows a slow decline. Then, this study establishes the spatial Dubin model to analyze the influence mechanism of population aging on housing prices in China, and finds that aging has a positive impact on housing prices. However, with the intensification of the aging phenomenon in China, the benefits brought by the welfare housing distribution system to the elderly will be gradually consumed, and the insufficient supply of social labor force and the stagnation of total output, its positive impact on housing prices will gradually weaken or even become negative.
Zero Waste Management: Investigation of Green Technology, the Green Supply Chain, and the Moderating Role of CSR Intentions
Authors: Nassani Abdelmohsen A. , Hussain Hadi , Condrea Elena , Grigorescu Adriana , Yousaf Zahid , Haffar Mohamed
Published: February 2023

The conservation of natural resources, reduction in waste, and minimization of energy consumption are now the primary focuses of zero waste management. Thus, this study examined the direct impact of green technology on zero waste management. We also explored the significant mediation role of the green supply chain (GSC) in links between green technology and zero waste management. Moreover, we investigated how corporate social responsibility (CSR) intentions moderate the relationship between green technology and zero waste management. For the data collection, a quantitative method and random sampling technique were used. The data were collected from 450 questionnaires conducted in the energy sector. The results demonstrate that green technology has a valuable role in the accomplishment of zero waste management in enterprises. Our findings also show that the green supply chain mediates, and the CSR intentions moderate, the links between green technology and zero waste management. The current research contributes to the development of a deeper understanding of management by demonstrating that green technology and the green supply chain play considerable roles in the achievement of zero waste management.
Exploring the Impact of Winter Storm Uri on Power Outage, Air Quality, and Water Systems in Texas, USA
Authors: Melaku Nigus Demelash , Fares Ali , Awal Ripendra
Published: February 2023

Texas was hit by a record-setting cold snap from the 14–17 February 2021 after three decades that resulted in power outages, disruption of the public water systems, and other cascading effects. This study investigates the unprecedented impact of winter storm Uri on power outages, air quality, and water systems in Texas, USA. Analysis of the Parameter Regression of Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) gridded climate data showed that the average daily freezing temperature range was 0–−19 °C on 14 February 2021, with severe levels (−17–−19 °C) occurring in the Texas High Plains. Our results showed that the extreme freezing temperature persisted from 14–17 February 2021, significantly affecting power operation and reliability, and creating power outages across Texas. Uri impacted the public water systems and air quality on time scales ranging from a few minutes to several days, resulting in 322 boiling notices. The air quality index level exceeded the standard limit by 51.7%, 61.7%, 50.8%, and 60% in Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston–Galveston, Austin, and Lubbock regions. The level of the pollutants exceeded the EPA NAAQS standard allowable limits during winter storm Uri. In general, this study gives information on the government’s future preparedness, policies, communication, and response to storm impacts on vulnerable regions and communities.
Fuzzy-Logic Approach to Estimating the Fleet Efficiency of a Road Transport Company: A Case Study of Agricultural Products Deliveries in Kazakhstan
Authors: Taran Igor , Karsybayeva Asem , Naumov Vitalii , Murzabekova Kenzhegul , Chazhabayeva Marzhan
Published: February 2023

The estimation of the efficiency of road transport vehicles remains a significant problem for contemporary transport companies, as numerous stochastic impacts, such as demand stochasticity, road conditions uncertainty, transport market fluctuations, etc., influence the technological process. A fuzzy-logic approach is proposed to consider the uncertainty relating to estimating vehicle fleet efficiency. According to the developed approach, vehicle efficiency is described based on a membership function, whereas the efficiency of the whole vehicle fleet is evaluated as a fuzzy set. To demonstrate the developed approach, a case study is depicted for using cargo vehicles to deliver agricultural products in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The numeric results are presented for the selected models of vehicles that a transport company uses to service a set of clients located in Northern Kazakhstan: the transport services provided for each of the clients are characterized by numeric demand parameters—the consignment weight and the delivery distance. The completed calculations allowed us to obtain the membership functions for the alternative vehicle models and to present the transport company’s vehicle fleet as a fuzzy set.
Crisis Management Strategy for Recovery of Small and Medium Hotels after the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand
Authors: Promnil Niramol , Polnyotee Maythawin
Published: February 2023

The COVID-19 crisis has created serious and complex challenges for the hospitality industry. A body of literature has identified crisis management practices in the hotel industry at different phases of the crisis. However, the existing literature mainly includes research on large and leading hotels, and knowledge of crisis management practices for small and medium-sized (SME) hotels, particularly at the recovery stage of the crisis, is limited. This paper explores the post-COVID recovery strategies of 386 SME hotels in the upper northern part of Thailand. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed hypothesis. The results indicate that customer relations (CR)-related and service provision (SV)-related strategies significantly affect SME hotel recovery. Meanwhile, cost-saving (CS) and revenue management (RM) strategies do not have a direct effect but are associated with CR and SV in facilitating SME hotel recovery. This paper provides useful information to assist SME hotel owners and managers in managing how to recover from the pandemic.
Sustainable Ring-Opening Reactions of Epoxidized Linseed Oil in Heterogeneous Catalysis
Authors: Slabu Andrei Iulian , Banu Ionut , Pavel Octavian Dumitru , Teodorescu Florina , Stan Raluca
Published: February 2023

In this study, renewable products with potentially interesting properties and applications were synthesized by functionalizing linseed oil via epoxidation and epoxy ring-opening with carboxylic acids and anhydrides. LDHs (Layered Double Hydroxides), a well-known class of materials used for a wide range of reactions, are the catalysts used in this study, with the overall advantages of facile separation and reusability. In our study, different types of carboxylic acids and anhydrides were employed as reactants with the advantage of leading to sustainable products that can replace petrochemical compounds. Following the optimization of the reaction conditions, including the basicity of the catalyst, at 170 °C a quasi-total conversion of the epoxy groups was achieved for all the ring-opening reagents.
Assessing Hydrological Performances of Bioretention Cells to Meet the LID Goals
Authors: Sun Yanwei , Li Qingyun , Yu Furong , Ma Mingwei , Xu Cundong
Published: February 2023

BRCs (bioretention cells), one of many low-impact development (LID) practices, are increasingly utilized to lessen the amount of runoff while simultaneously improving the runoff quality. Because the goal of BRCs and LID designs, in general, is to mimic or replicate the pre-development hydrology, it is critical to evaluate the hydrologic and ecologic performances of the BRC facility from the perspective of replicating the pre-development hydrology. The metrics developed in this study were intended to represent the hydrologic regime including the runoff volume control metrics, peak flow frequency exceedance curve, and flow duration curve. We also used a hydrological indicator of T0.5, the fraction of a multi-year period in which the flow exceeds the 0.5-year return period storm to represent the performances regarding downstream ecology. The indicators were compared to their pre-development values to determine how closely they reflected and replicated the pre-development state. A long-term stormwater management model (SWMM) model was developed to examine conditions before and after development and water movement in BRCs. When the BRCs facilities areas are 5% of the entire impervious study area, key findings show that: (1) BRCs have significant runoff volume control performances. (2) The peak flow frequency exceedance curve with BRCs could fully match the pre-development scenario for minor rainfall events compared to the 0.1-year storm. Flow duration curves with BRCs showed that, the frequency, magnitude, and duration of small flows that occurred for more than 90% of the total time closely matched those of pre-development hydrology. (3) T0.5 with BRCs showed significant improvement compared with the value of the area with no BRCs and was close to the pre-development T0.5. The findings presented in this study indicated the significant performance of BRCs in improving downstream ecology.
Perceptions of the Institutional and Support Environment amongst Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs in Laos
Authors: Thephavanh Manithaythip , Philp Joshua Neil Monty , Nuberg Ian , Denton Matthew , Larson Silva
Published: February 2023

Efforts to achieve inclusive and sustainable agricultural-sector growth in developing economies will benefit from agricultural entrepreneurship (agripreneurship) by young farmers. However, challenges that hinder transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture remain. A better understanding of enablers and constraints that young farmers experience can facilitate the development of an enabling environment for sustainably transitioning from subsistence into commercial agriculture. We interviewed 74 young agricultural entrepreneurs (agripreneurs) in Laos, a country with a young and highly rural population, to explore their perceptions of institutions and support functions that enable or limit agripreneurship. Respondents reported that institutions and support functions have generally improved to make agripreneurship easier than before, with infrastructure, logistics, and new platforms for information sharing, banking, marketing, and delivery identified as specific improvements. However, agripreneurs identified weaknesses in the nature, scope, and quality of agricultural information and extension services that limit their performance; difficulties in accessing loans with favorable conditions, which discourages investment; opaque and costly payments and red tape processes that frustrate business establishment, operations, and regulatory compliance; and a lack of targeted policy actions towards enabling youth agripreneurship, which leaves youth feeling unsupported. Improvements in infrastructure, promotion of agri-careers, and more transparency of taxation, registration, and administration fees/systems are recommended.
Sustainable Urban Competitiveness from a Financial Development Perspective: An Empirical Study of China
Authors: Zhang Haojue , Sun Yifu , Meng Changyu
Published: February 2023

The development of the financial industry directly affects the sustainable competitiveness of a city and even an economic region, and the development of urban finance helps to enhance the sustainable competitiveness of a city. This paper firstly reviews the relevant theories of sustainable urban competitiveness and explains the impact mechanism of financial development on sustainable urban competitiveness in developing regions. It then draws on the data of 17 prefecture-level cities in Central China from 2006 to 2020. It uses quantitative research methods, such as principal component analysis and regression analysis, to analyse and study the factors of financial development that influence sustainable urban competitiveness, thus realising the research purpose of enhancing sustainable urban competitiveness. After an in-depth analysis, the paper draws the following conclusions: (1) financial development is conducive to improving the sustainable competitiveness of a city in developing regions; and (2) the local government should focus not only on expanding the scale of financial development, but also on the quality of financial development, adjusting the financial structure, improving financial efficiency, and actively promoting the opening of financial markets and innovation of financial products.
Transboundary Waters and Their Status in Today’s Water-Scarce World
Authors: Gökçekuş Hüseyin , Bolouri Farhad
Published: February 2023

Approximately 40% of the world’s population lives in transboundary river and lake basins, accounting for an estimated 60% of global freshwater flow. These shared water resources support the livelihoods of more than 3 billion people. Today, with the decrease in the amount of water in the world, the dispute over transboundary waters has increased. In this research, using library studies (including articles, books, reliable reports from the United Nations and other relevant organizations, etc.), problems of the most important transboundary waters have been investigated. Because transboundary water problems are widespread all over the world, solutions by researchers, relevant organizations such as UN sub-organizations, and politicians have been suggested. In this research, emphasizing the cases of diplomacy and hydro-hegemony, risk, water–energy–food nexus, and 5P, this issue is investigated. Finally, by examining the most important problems of transboundary waters all over the world, as well as the most critical cases and using successful experiences in the world in solving transboundary water crises, peaceful proposals to solve such problems and reach sustainable solutions in order to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been proposed depending on the regional and country conditions of each of these basins.