bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Aurora A and AKT Kinase Signaling Associated with Primary Cilia
Authors: Nishimura Yuhei , Yamakawa Daishi , Shiromizu Takashi , Inagaki Masaki
Published: December 2021

Dysregulation of kinase signaling is associated with various pathological conditions, including cancer, inflammation, and autoimmunity; consequently, the kinases involved have become major therapeutic targets. While kinase signaling pathways play crucial roles in multiple cellular processes, the precise manner in which their dysregulation contributes to disease is dependent on the context; for example, the cell/tissue type or subcellular localization of the kinase or substrate. Thus, context-selective targeting of dysregulated kinases may serve to increase the therapeutic specificity while reducing off-target adverse effects. Primary cilia are antenna-like structures that extend from the plasma membrane and function by detecting extracellular cues and transducing signals into the cell. Cilia formation and signaling are dynamically regulated through context-dependent mechanisms; as such, dysregulation of primary cilia contributes to disease in a variety of ways. Here, we review the involvement of primary cilia-associated signaling through aurora A and AKT kinases with respect to cancer, obesity, and other ciliopathies.
Metabolic Reprogramming of Liver Fibrosis
Authors: Delgado M. Eugenia , Cárdenas Beatriz I. , Farran Núria , Fernandez Mercedes
Published: December 2021

Liver fibrosis is an excessive and imbalanced deposition of fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) that is associated with the hepatic wound-healing response. It is also the common mechanism that contributes to the impairment of the liver function that is observed in many chronic liver diseases (CLD). Despite the efforts, no effective therapy against fibrosis exists yet. Worryingly, due to the growing obesity pandemic, fibrosis incidence is on the rise. Here, we aim to summarize the main components and mechanisms involved in the progression of liver fibrosis, with special focus on the metabolic regulation of key effectors of fibrogenesis, hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and their role in the disease progression. Hepatic cells that undergo metabolic reprogramming require a tightly controlled, fine-tuned cellular response, allowing them to meet their energetic demands without affecting cellular integrity. Here, we aim to discuss the role of ribonucleic acid (RNA)-binding proteins (RBPs), whose dynamic nature being context- and stimuli-dependent make them very suitable for the fibrotic situation. Thus, we will not only summarize the up-to-date literature on the metabolic regulation of HSCs in liver fibrosis, but also on the RBP-dependent post-transcriptional regulation of this metabolic switch that results in such important consequences for the progression of fibrosis and CLD.
Evaluation of Selected Parameters of the Specific Immune Response against Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains
Authors: Dzik Michał , Aebisher David , Olender Alina , Tabarkiewicz Jacek
Published: December 2021

The immune response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains could be influenced by differences in antibiotic resistance and virulence. At the present time, it is unclear which type of immune responses enables uncontrolled invasion of opportunistic pathogens. The conditional pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa served as an inspiration to begin a study on this bacterium. The aim of this study was to gain insight into selected parameters describing immune responses with regards to the adaptable agents of this pathogen. For the analysis of the specific immune response, the potential of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to stimulate lymphocytes, including Th17 lymphocytes, dendritic cells and other components of the adaptive immune response, was examined. The highest percentage of CD83+CD1a-HLA-DR++ cells was found after stimulation with lysates of strains isolated from the patients with severe systemic infection. We found statistically significant differences in percentages of HLA-DR+ PBMCs and MFI of HLA-DR between groups of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from the patients with different clinical courses of infection. Our results suggest that the clinical course and outcomes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections are not associated with impairment of the specific immune response.
Long Noncoding RNAs Regulate the Inflammatory Responses of Macrophages
Authors: Zhao Qing , Pang Gaozong , Yang Lin , Chen Shu , Xu Ruiyao , Shao Wei
Published: December 2021

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are defined as transcripts with more than 200 nucleotides that have little or no coding potential. In recent years, due to the development of next-generation sequencing (NGS), a large number of studies have revealed that lncRNAs function as key regulators to maintain immune balance and participate in diverse physiological and pathological processes in the human body. Notably, overwhelming evidence suggests that lncRNAs can regulate innate immune responses, the differentiation and development of immune cells, inflammatory autoimmune diseases, and many other immunological processes with distinct regulatory mechanisms. In this review, we summarized the emerging roles of lncRNAs in macrophage development and polarization. In addition, the potential value of lncRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of aberrant immune responses and inflammatory diseases are discussed.
Hydrogen as a Clean and Sustainable Energy Vector for Global Transition from Fossil-Based to Zero-Carbon
Authors: Guilbert Damien , Vitale Gianpaolo
Published: December 2021

Hydrogen is recognized as a promising and attractive energy carrier to decarbonize the sectors responsible for global warming, such as electricity production, industry, and transportation. However, although hydrogen releases only water as a result of its reaction with oxygen through a fuel cell, the hydrogen production pathway is currently a challenging issue since hydrogen is produced mainly from thermochemical processes (natural gas reforming, coal gasification). On the other hand, hydrogen production through water electrolysis has attracted a lot of attention as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using low-carbon sources such as renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro) and nuclear energy. In this context, by providing an environmentally-friendly fuel instead of the currently-used fuels (unleaded petrol, gasoline, kerosene), hydrogen can be used in various applications such as transportation (aircraft, boat, vehicle, and train), energy storage, industry, medicine, and power-to-gas. This article aims to provide an overview of the main hydrogen applications (including present and future) while examining funding and barriers to building a prosperous future for the nation by addressing all the critical challenges met in all energy sectors.
Effect of Reversed Austenite on Mechanical Properties of ZG06Cr13Ni4Mo Repair Welded Joint
Authors: Su Yunhai , Wei Zuyong , Li Gang , Zhang Xiangwen , Ci Hedi , Zhi Ying
Published: December 2021

In this work, gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) was used to repair ZG06Cr13Ni4Mo martensitic stainless steel. Repair welding occurred either once or twice. The changes in the microstructure and properties of the repair welded joints were characterized by optical microscope (OM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD), tensile and impact tests. The effects of reversed austenite in repair welded joints on microstructure and mechanical properties were studied. The results show that the microstructure of the welded joint after repair welding consists of a large amount of martensite (M) and a small amount of reversed austenite (A), and the reversed austenite is distributed at the boundary of martensite lath in fine strips. With the increase in the number of welding repairs, the content of reversed austenite in the welded joint increases. The microstructure in the repair welded joints is gradually refined, the microstructure in the once and twice repaired joints is 45.2% and 65.1% finer than that in the casting base metal, respectively. The reversed austenite presented in the repair welded joints decreases the tensile strength by 4.8% and 6.7%, increases the yield strength by 21.3% and 26.4%, and increases the elongation by 25% and 56%, respectively, compared with the casting base metal. In addition, the reversed austenite mainly nucleates and grows at the boundary of lath martensite. The refinement of the martensite structure was due to the generation of reversed austenite and the refinement of original austenite grain by the welding thermal cycle. After repair welding, the reverse austenite appeared in the repair welded joints and the tensile strength decreased slightly, but the plastic toughness was significantly improved, which was conducive to the subsequent service process.
Thermodynamic Modeling and Mechanical Properties of Mg-Zn-{Y, Ce} Alloys: Review
Authors: Aljarrah Mohammad , Alnahas Jasim , Alhartomi Mohammed
Published: December 2021

Magnesium alloys are a strong candidate for various applications in automobile and aerospace industries due to their low density and specific strength. Micro-alloying magnesium with zinc, yttrium, and cerium enhances mechanical properties of magnesium through grain refinement and precipitation hardening. In this work, a critical review of magnesium-based binary systems including Mg-Zn, Mg-Y, Mg-Ce, Zn-Y, and Zn-Ce is presented. Based on the CALPHAD approach and first-principles calculations, thermodynamic modeling of Mg-Zn-Y and Mg-Zn-Ce ternary phase diagrams have been summarized. The influence of micro-alloying (yttrium and cerium) on the mechanical properties of magnesium is discussed. A comparison between mechanical properties of magnesium commercial alloys and magnesium–zinc–{yttrium and cerium} have been summarized in tables.
Phase Stability, Elastic Modulus and Elastic Anisotropy of X Doped (X = Zn, Zr and Ag) Al3Li: Insight from First-Principles Calculations
Authors: Tian Jinzhong , Zhao Yuhong , Ma Shengjie , Hou Hua
Published: December 2021

In present work, the effects of alloying elements X (X = Zn, Zr and Ag) doping on the phase stability, elastic properties, anisotropy and Debye temperature of Al3Li were studied by the first-principles method. Results showed that pure and doped Al3Li can exist and be stable at 0 K. Zn and Ag elements preferentially occupy the Al sites and Zr elements tend to occupy the Li sites. All the Cij obey the mechanical stability criteria, indicating the mechanical stability of these compounds. The overall anisotropy decreases in the following order: Al23Li8Ag > Al3Li > Al23Li8Zn > Al24Li7Zr, which shows that the addition of Zn and Zr has a positive effect on reducing the anisotropy of Al3Li. The shear anisotropic factors for Zn and Zr doped Al3Li are very close to one, meaning that elastic moduli do not strongly depend on different shear planes. For pure and doped Al3Li phase, the transverse sound velocities νt1 and νt2 among the three directions are smaller than the longitudinal sound velocity νl. Moreover, only the addition of Zn is beneficial to increasing the ΘD of Al3Li among the three elements.
Toward Precise n-Type Doping Control in MOVPE-Grown β-Ga2O3 Thin Films by Deep-Learning Approach
Authors: Chou Ta-Shun , Bin Anooz Saud , Grüneberg Raimund , Irmscher Klaus , Dropka Natasha , Rehm Jana , Tran Thi Thuy Vi , Miller Wolfram , Seyidov Palvan , Albrecht Martin , Popp Andreas
Published: December 2021

In this work, we train a hybrid deep-learning model (fDNN, Forest Deep Neural Network) to predict the doping level measured from the Hall Effect measurement at room temperature and to investigate the doping behavior of Si dopant in both (100) and (010) β-Ga2O3 thin film grown by the metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). The model reveals that a hidden parameter, the Si supplied per nm (mol/nm), has a dominant influence on the doping process compared with other process parameters. An empirical relation is concluded from this model to estimate the doping level of the grown film with the Si supplied per nm (mol/nm) as the primary variable for both (100) and (010) β-Ga2O3 thin film. The outcome of the work indicates the similarity between the doping behavior of (100) and (010) β-Ga2O3 thin film via MOVPE and the generality of the results to different deposition systems.
Phase Ib Study of Atezolizumab Plus Interferon-α with or without Bevacizumab in Patients with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma and Other Solid Tumors
Authors: Blank Christian U. , Wong Deborah J. , Ho Thai H. , Bauer Todd M. , Lee Carrie B. , Bene-Tchaleu Fabiola , Zhu Jing , Zhang Xiaosong , Cha Edward , Sznol Mario
Published: December 2021

This Phase Ib study combined programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitor, atezolizumab, with other immunomodulatory agents in locally advanced and metastatic solid tumors. Arms B-D evaluated atezolizumab plus interferon-α, with/without vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor, bevacizumab, in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and other solid tumors. Arm B predominantly recruited patients with previously treated RCC or melanoma to receive atezolizumab plus interferon α-2b. Arm C investigated atezolizumab plus polyethylene glycol (PEG)-interferon α-2a in previously treated RCC. Arm D evaluated atezolizumab plus PEG-interferon α-2a and bevacizumab. Primary objectives were safety and tolerability; secondary objectives included clinical activity. Combination therapy was well tolerated, with safety profiles consistent with known risks of individual agents. The most frequent treatment-related toxicities were fatigue, chills, and pyrexia. The objective response rate (ORR) in arm B was 20.0% overall and 17.8% in patients with previously treated checkpoint inhibitor–naive RCC (n = 45). No responses were reported in arm C. The highest ORR in arm D was 46.7% in patients with treatment-naive RCC (n = 15). Data showed preliminary clinical activity and acceptable tolerability of atezolizumab plus interferon α-2b in patients with previously treated checkpoint inhibitor–naive RCC and of atezolizumab plus PEG-interferon α-2a and bevacizumab in patients with treatment-naive RCC.
Recent Advances in Diagnosis and Therapy of Angioimmunoblastic T Cell Lymphoma
Authors: Mohammed Saleh Mostafa F. , Kotb Ahmed , Abdallah Ghada E. M. , Muhsen Ibrahim N. , El Fakih Riad , Aljurf Mahmoud
Published: December 2021

Angioimmunoblastic T cell lymphoma (AITL) is a common subtype of mature peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTCL). As per the 2016 World Health Organization classification, AITL is now considered as a subtype of nodal T cell lymphoma with follicular helper T cells. The diagnosis is challenging and requires a constellation of clinical, laboratory and histopathological findings. Significant progress in the molecular pathophysiology of AITL has been achieved in the past two decades. Characteristic genomic features have been recognized that could provide a potential platform for better diagnosis and future prognostic models. Frontline therapy for AITL was mainly depending on chemotherapy and the management of relapsed or refractory AITL is still unsatisfactory with a very poor prognosis. Upfront transplantation offers better survival. Novel agents have been introduced recently with promising outcomes. Several clinical trials of combinations using novel agents are underway. Herein, we briefly review recent advances in AITL diagnosis and the evolving treatment landscape.
The Correlation between Play Behavior, Serum Cortisol and Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Welfare Assessment of Dairy Calves within the First Month of Life
Authors: Ogi Asahi , Campera Marco , Ienco Sara , Bonelli Francesca , Mariti Chiara , Gazzano Angelo
Published: December 2021

Welfare assessment of dairy calves is commonly conducted through the observation of their behavior and the analysis of physiological parameters. Despite the large number of studies on this topic, there is a lack of research on the possible correlation between the physiological parameters and behavior at basal level in dairy calves. For this reason, the present study aimed to investigate the possible correlations between serum cortisol, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (N/L) and locomotor play behavior in 21 Friesian dairy calves within their first month of life. Every week, an arena test after blood collection was performed. A significant positive correlation between serum cortisol levels and N/L (rrm = 0.381; 95% CI = 0.083, 0.617; p = 0.012) and a negative correlation between time spent running and N/L (rrm = −0.351; 95% CI = −0.575, −0.077; p = 0.012) were found. On the contrary, no significant correlation between time spent running and cortisol levels was detected. Cortisol levels and N/L were higher in the newborn and had a constant decrease until reaching a stable value after the 24th day of life. These findings suggest a better predictivity of N/L, compared to serum cortisol, on locomotor play behavior.
Species-Specific Responses of Bird Song Output in the Presence of Drones
Authors: Wilson Andrew M. , Boyle Kenneth S. , Gilmore Jennifer L. , Kiefer Cody J. , Walker Matthew F.
Published: December 2021

Drones are now widely used to study wildlife, but their application in the study of bioacoustics is limited. Drones can be used to collect data on bird vocalizations, but an ongoing concern is that noise from drones could change bird vocalization behavior. To test for behavioral impact, we conducted an experiment using 30 sound localization arrays to track the song output of 7 songbird species before, during, and after a 3 min flight of a small quadcopter drone hovering 48 m above ground level. We analyzed 8303 song bouts, of which 2285, from 184 individual birds were within 50 m of the array centers. We used linear mixed effect models to assess whether patterns in bird song output could be attributed to the drone’s presence. We found no evidence of any effect of the drone on five species: American Robin Turdus migratorius, Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas, Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla, Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia, and Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea. However, we found a substantial decrease in Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia song detections during the 3 min drone hover; there was an 81% drop in detections in the third minute (Wald test, p < 0.001) compared with before the drone’s introduction. By contrast, the number of singing Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis increased when the drone was overhead and remained almost five-fold higher for 4 min after the drone departed (p < 0.001). Further, we found an increase in cardinal contact/alarm calls when the drone was overhead, with the elevated calling rate lasting for 2 min after the drone departed (p < 0.001). Our study suggests that the responses of songbirds to drones may be species-specific, an important consideration when proposing the use of drones in avian studies. We note that recent advances in drone technology have resulted in much quieter drones, which makes us hopeful that the impact that we detected could be greatly reduced.
Sentiment-Target Word Pair Extraction Model Using Statistical Analysis of Sentence Structures
Authors: Jo Jaechoon , Kim Gyeongmin , Park Kinam
Published: December 2021

Product information has been propagated online via forums and social media. Lots of merchandise are recommended via an expert system method and is considered for purchase by online comments or product reviews. For predicting people’s opinions on products, studying people’s thoughts via extracting information in documents is referred to as sentiment analysis. Finding sentiment-target word pairs is an important sentiment mining research issue. With the Korean language, as the predicate appears at the very end, it is not easy to find the exact word pairs without first identifying the syntactic structure of the sentence. In this study, we propose a model that parses sentence structures and extracts sentiment-target word pairs from the parse tree. The proposed model extracts the sentiment-target word pairs that appear in the sentence by using parsing and statistical methods. For extracting sentiment-target word pairs, this model uses a sentiment word extractor and a target word extractor. After testing data from 4000 movie reviews, the applicable model showed high performance in both accuracy 93.25 (+14.45) and F1-score 82.29 (+3.31) compared with others. However, improvements in the recall rate (−0.35) are needed and computational costs must be reduced.
Robust Pedestrian Detection Based on Multi-Spectral Image Fusion and Convolutional Neural Networks
Authors: Chen Xu , Liu Lei , Tan Xin
Published: December 2021

Nowadays, pedestrian detection is widely used in fields such as driving assistance and video surveillance with the progression of technology. However, although the research of single-modal visible pedestrian detection has been very mature, it is still not enough to meet the demand of pedestrian detection at all times. Thus, a multi-spectral pedestrian detection method via image fusion and convolutional neural networks is proposed in this paper. The infrared intensity distribution and visible appearance features are retained with a total variation model based on local structure transfer, and pedestrian detection is realized with the multi-spectral fusion results and the target detection network YOLOv3. The detection performance of the proposed method is evaluated and compared with the detection methods based on the other four pixel-level fusion algorithms and two fusion network architectures. The results attest that our method has superior detection performance, which can detect pedestrian targets robustly even in the case of harsh illumination conditions and cluttered backgrounds.
Blockchain-Enabled Energy Demand Side Management Cap and Trade Model
Authors: Aoun Alain , Ibrahim Hussein , Ghandour Mazen , Ilinca Adrian
Published: December 2021

Global economic growth, demographic explosion, digitization, increased mobility, and greater demand for heating and cooling due to climate change in different world areas are the main drivers for the surge in energy demand. The increase in energy demand is the basis of economic challenges for power companies alongside several socio-economic problems in communities, such as energy poverty, defined as the insufficient coverage of energy needs, especially in the residential sector. Two main strategies are considered to meet this increased demand. The first strategy focuses on new sustainable and eco-friendly modes of power generation, such as renewable energy resources and distributed energy resources. The second strategy is demand-side oriented rather than the supply side. Demand-side management, demand response (DR), and energy efficiency (EE) programs fall under this category. On the other hand, the decentralization and digitization of the energy sector convoyed by the emersion of new technologies such as blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI), opened the door to new solutions for the energy demand dilemma. Among these technologies, blockchain has proved itself as a decentralized trading platform between untrusted peers without the involvement of a trusted third party. This newly introduced Peer-to-Peer (P2P) trading model can be used to create a new demand load control model. In this article, the concept of an energy cap and trade demand-side management (DSM) model is introduced and simulated. The introduced DSM model is based on the concept of capping consumers’ monthly energy consumption and rewarding consumers who do not exceed this cap with energy tradeable credits that can be traded using blockchain-based Peer-to-Peer (P2P) energy trading. A model based on 200 households is used to simulate the proposed DSM model and prove that this model can be beneficial to both energy companies and consumers.
Simulation and Techno-Economic Analysis of a Power-to-Hydrogen Process for Oxyfuel Glass Melting
Authors: Gärtner Sebastian , Rank Daniel , Heberl Michael , Gaderer Matthias , Dawoud Belal , Haumer Anton , Sterner Michael
Published: December 2021

As an energy-intensive industry sector, the glass industry is strongly affected by the increasingly stringent climate protection targets. As established combustion-based production systems ensure high process stability and glass quality, an immediate switch to low greenhouse gas emission processes is difficult. To approach these challenges, this work investigates a step-by-step integration of a Power-to-Hydrogen concept into established oxyfuel glass melting processes using a simulation approach. This is complemented by a case study for economic analysis on a selected German glass industry site by simulating the power production of a nearby renewable energy park and subsequent optimization of the power-to-hydrogen plant performance and capacities. The results of this study indicate, that the proposed system can reduce specific carbon dioxide emissions by up to 60%, while increasing specific energy demand by a maximum of 25%. Investigations of the impact of altered combustion and furnace properties like adiabatic flame temperature (+25 °C), temperature efficiency (Δξ = −0.003) and heat capacity flow ratio (ΔzHL = −0.009) as a function of H2 content in the fuel mixture and resulting furnace efficiencyindicate that pure hydrogen-oxygen combustion has less impact on melting properties than assumed so far. Within the case study, high CO2 abatement costs of 295 €/t CO2-eq. were determined. This is mainly due to the insufficient performance of renewable energy sources. The correlations between process scaling and economic parameters presented in this study show promising potential for further economic optimization of the proposed energy system in the future.
Influence of Injection Well Location on CO2 Geological Storage Efficiency
Authors: Luboń Katarzyna
Published: December 2021

An analysis of the influence of injection well location on CO2 storage efficiency was carried out for three well-known geological structures (traps) in deep aquifers of the Lower Jurassic Polish Lowlands. Geological models of the structures were used to simulate CO2 injection at fifty different injection well locations. A computer simulation showed that the dynamic CO2 storage capacity varies depending on the injection well location. It was found that the CO2 storage efficiency for structures with good reservoir properties increases with increasing distance of the injection well from the top of the structure and with increasing depth difference to the top of the structure. The opposite is true for a structure with poor reservoir properties. As the quality of the petrophysical reservoir parameters (porosity and permeability) improves, the location of the injection well becomes more important when assessing the CO2 storage efficiency. Maps of dynamic CO2 storage capacity and CO2 storage efficiency are interesting tools to determine the best location of a carbon dioxide injection well in terms of gas storage capacity.
Bio-Char Characterization Produced from Walnut Shell Biomass through Slow Pyrolysis: Sustainable for Soil Amendment and an Alternate Bio-Fuel
Authors: Alfattani Rami , Shah Mudasir Akbar , Siddiqui Md Irfanul Haque , Ali Masood Ashraf , Alnaser Ibrahim A.
Published: December 2021

Bio-char has the ability to isolate carbon in soils and concurrently improve plant growth and soil quality, high energy density and also it can be used as an adsorbent for water treatment. In the current work, the characteristics of four different types of bio-chars, obtained from slow pyrolysis at 375 °C, produced from hard-, medium-, thin- and paper-shelled walnut residues have been studied. Bio-char properties such as proximate, ultimate analysis, heating values, surface area, pH values, thermal degradation behavior, morphological and crystalline nature and functional characterization using FTIR were determined. The pyrolytic behavior of bio-char is studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in an oxidizing atmosphere. SEM analysis confirmed morphological change and showed heterogeneous and rough texture structure. Crystalline nature of the bio-chars is established by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) analysis. The maximum higher heating values (HHV), high fixed carbon content and surface area obtained for walnut shells (WS) samples are found as ~ 18.4 MJ kg−1, >80% and 58 m2/g, respectively. Improvement in HHV and decrease of O/C and H/C ratios lead the bio-char samples to fall into the category of coal and confirmed their hydrophobic, carbonized and aromatized nature. From the Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), it is observed that there is alteration in functional groups with increase in temperature, and illustrated higher aromaticity. This showed that bio-chars have high potential to be used as solid fuel either for direct combustion or for thermal conversion processes in boilers, kilns and furnace. Further, from surface area and pH analysis of bio-chars, it is found that WS bio-chars have similar characteristics of adsorbents used for water purifications, retention of essential elements in soil and carbon sequestration.
Energy from the Waves: Integration of a HESS to a Wave Energy Converter in a DC Bus Electrical Architecture to Enhance Grid Power Quality
Authors: Barelli Linda , Cardelli Ermanno , Pelosi Dario , Ciupageanu Dana Alexandra , Ottaviano Panfilo Andrea , Longo Michela , Zaninelli Dario
Published: December 2021

The need for environmental protection is pushing to a massive introduction of energy production from renewables. Although wind and solar energy present the most mature technologies for energy generation, wave energy has a huge annual energy potential not exploited yet. Indeed, no leading device for wave energy conversion has already been developed. Hence, the future exploitation of wave energy will be strictly related to a specific infrastructure for power distribution and transmission that has to satisfy high requirements to guarantee grid safety and stability, because of the stochastic nature of this source. To this end, an electrical architecture model, based on a common DC bus topology and including a Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) composed by Li-ion battery and flywheel coupled to a wave energy converter, is here presented. In detail, this research work wants to investigate the beneficial effects in terms of voltage and current waveforms frequency and transient behavior at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC) introduced by HESS under specific stressful production conditions. Specifically, in the defined simulation scenarios it is demonstrated that the peak value of the voltage wave frequency at the PCC is reduced by 64% to 80% with a faster stabilization in the case of HESS with respect to storage absence, reaching the set value (50 Hz) in a shorter time (by −10% to −42%). Therefore, HESS integration in wave energy converters can strongly reduce safety and stability issues of the main grid relating to intermittent and fluctuating wave production, significantly increasing the tolerance to the expected increasing share of electricity from renewable energy sources.
Main Trends and Criteria Adopted in Economic Feasibility Studies of Offshore Wind Energy: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Pires Arthur Leandro Guerra , Rotella Junior Paulo , Morioka Sandra Naomi , Rocha Luiz Célio Souza , Bolis Ivan
Published: December 2021

Offshore wind energy has been identified as one of the most promising and increasingly attractive sources of energy. This technology offers a long-term power-generation source, less environmental impact, and fewer physical restrictions. However, given the complexity of this technology, economic feasibility studies are essential. Thus, this study aims to identify the main trends and criteria or the methods used in the economic feasibility studies of offshore wind energy, providing a review of the state of the art in this literature. For this, a Systematic Literature Review was carried out. The article shows the growing interest in offshore wind power generation and highlights how recently the interest in the studies that assess the technical–economic feasibility of this source has grown; it presents the main milestones of the topic. Based on a structured literature review, this article identifies the main trends in this topic: (i) wind farms, (ii) risk, (iii) floating offshore wind farms, (iv) decommissioning and repowering, (v) net present value, (vi) life cycle cost, and (vii) multi-criteria decision-making; it provides a broad view of the methodological possibilities and specificities for investors and researchers interested in conducting studies on the economic feasibility of offshore wind generation. In addition, finally, a research agenda is proposed.
GIS and Remote Sensing for Renewable Energy Assessment and Maps
Authors: Nastasi Benedetto , Majidi Nezhad Meysam
Published: December 2021

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques are of great interest for the renewable energy field [...]
Promoting the Solar Industry in Ghana through Effective Public-Private Partnership (PPP): Some Lessons from South Africa and Morocco
Authors: Awuku Samuel Amo , Bennadji Amar , Muhammad-Sukki Firdaus , Sellami Nazmi
Published: December 2021

Over the past decades, solar energy has gained much attention in Ghana, especially after the 2012–2016 power crisis. The government through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) has attempted to increase the shares of solar generation to augment its efforts in reducing the energy deficit of the country, especially in remote and off-grid communities. However, the extent to which PPP has been utilized as a viable tool for solar sector development in Ghana is questionable. This study discusses the current state of PPPs in Ghana’s solar industry and compares how it has been efficiently used as a tool to promote the solar industry in South Africa and Morocco. Fundamental theories such as Altruism, Game, Principal-agent, and Pareto Optimality (PO) were used as analytical tools to examine how PPPs are handled in the selected cases. The study ascertains that the Game and PO are applicable theories that have guided SA and Morocco’s solar infrastructural development. This study discovered that PPP has been efficiently used in SA and Morocco to push its solar industry to be among the best in the world and Ghana can perfectly emulate it. The study further reveals that the Principal-agent analogy and altruistic intent of the Ghanaian government tend to discourage Private sector participation in the solar industry. It further suggests the Pareto Optimality, Game approach, and a win-win transparent attitude towards PPPs. This study recommends a well-developed PPP structure and law for Ghana. It encourages transparency and discourages partisan preferentialism to increase PPPs in Ghana’s solar industry.
Comprehensive Study of the Action of Corrosion Inhibitors Based on Quaternary Ammonium Compounds in Solutions of Hydrochloric and Sulfamic Acids
Authors: Mikhail Silin , Lyubov Magadova , Lucia Davletshina , Kira Poteshkina , Viktoriia Kotekhova , Alexandra Galkina
Published: December 2021

Acid treatments are one of the methods for intensifying oil and gas production. Corrosion is a significant factor affecting the performance of oilfield equipment. There are many different methods of preventing corrosion, but corrosion inhibitors are most commonly used in industry. The protective effect of the inhibitor is directly determined by the effective adsorption of surfactants on the metal surface. For an indirect assessment of the adsorption of the inhibitor, a comprehensive research method is proposed based on the determination of the interfacial tension of acid compositions and steel plates’ contact angle of wetting after corrosion tests. It was found that in hydrochloric acid the adsorption of the inhibitor IC-1 reaches a maximum after 6 h, an increase in the acid concentration in the range of 5–15% wt. has a negative effect on the activity of the inhibitor. For sulfamic acid, the maximum adsorption of the IC-2 inhibitor is observed after 24 h, an increase in acid concentration has a positive effect on surfactants.
Variation of Soil Organic Carbon Density with Plantation Age and Initial Vegetation Types in the Liupan Mountains Areas of Northwest China
Authors: Zhang Ziyou , Guo Jianbin , Wang Yanhui , Yu Pengtao , Wang Xiao
Published: December 2021

Carbon sequestration of plantations formed by three kinds of forestation (natural forest to plantation (NP), grassland to plantation (GP), and cropland to plantation (CP)) greatly depends on the change of soil organic carbon density (SOCD) compared with its initial SOCD before forestation. However, this dependence was rarely studied, especially in semi-humid/arid regions with strong site variation. This limits the precise assessment and management of SOCD. Therefore, the SOCD variations of 0–100 cm soil layers in these three kinds of plantations were studied in the semi-humid/arid Liupan Mountains in northwestern China. The NP with high initial SOCD showed firstly a decrease and then an increase of SOCD up to 293.2 t·ha−1 at 40 years. The CP and GP with low and relatively high initial SOCD showed negligible and slight SOCD decrease after forestation, but then an increase up to 154.5 and 266.5 t·ha−1 at 40 years. After detecting the main factors influencing SOCD for each forestation mode, statistic relationships were fitted for predicting SOCD variation. This study indicates that besides forest age and biomass growth, the effects of initial vegetation, site-dependent initial SOCD, and SOCD capacity, also precipitation and air temperature in some cases, should be considered for more precise assessment and management of SOCD of plantations.
Identification of Oil Tea (Camellia oleifera C.Abel) Cultivars Using EfficientNet-B4 CNN Model with Attention Mechanism
Authors: Zhu Xueyan , Zhang Xinwei , Sun Zhao , Zheng Yili , Su Shuchai , Chen Fengjun
Published: December 2021

Cultivar identification is a basic task in oil tea (Camellia oleifera C.Abel) breeding, quality analysis, and an adjustment in the industrial structure. However, because the differences in texture, shape, and color under different cultivars of oil tea are usually inconspicuous and subtle, the identification of oil tea cultivars can be a significant challenge. The main goal of this study is to propose an automatic and accurate method for identifying oil tea cultivars. In this study, a new deep learning model is built, called EfficientNet-B4-CBAM, to identify oil tea cultivars. First, 4725 images containing four cultivars were collected to build an oil tea cultivar identification dataset. EfficientNet-B4 was selected as the basic model of oil tea cultivar identification, and the Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) was integrated into EfficientNet-B4 to build EfficientNet-B4-CBAM, thereby improving the focusing ability of the fruit areas and the information expression capability of the fruit areas. Finally, the cultivar identification capability of EfficientNet-B4-CBAM was tested on the testing dataset and compared with InceptionV3, VGG16, ResNet50, EfficientNet-B4, and EfficientNet-B4-SE. The experiment results showed that the EfficientNet-B4-CBAM model achieves an overall accuracy of 97.02% and a kappa coefficient of 0.96, which is higher than that of other methods used in comparative experiments. In addition, gradient-weighted class activation mapping network visualization also showed that EfficientNet-B4-CBAM can pay more attention to the fruit areas that play a key role in cultivar identification. This study provides new effective strategies and a theoretical basis for the application of deep learning technology in the identification of oil tea cultivars and provides technical support for the automatic identification and non-destructive testing of oil tea cultivars.
Environmental Dynamics of the Ribbon-Like Pine Forests in the Parklands of North Kazakhstan
Authors: Zhumadina Sholpan , Chlachula Jiri , Zhaglovskaya-Faurat Alina , Czerniawska Jolanta , Satybaldieva Gulmira , Nurbayeva Nailya , Mapitov Nariman , Myrzagaliyeva Anar , Boribay Elmira
Published: December 2021

The ribbon-like pine forests of North Kazakhstan represent the principal territorial intrazonal and azonal biotopes. Integrated bio-geographic studies of the pine forests’ status were performed in the Beskaragai and Chaldai Nature Reserves in the Pri-Irtysh River basin within, at present, the climate–change most susceptible transitional parkland-steppe zone of Central Asia, adjoining the West Siberian Lowland. The investigations followed the regional topographic gradient with a series of mapped sites characterizing the spatial relief patterns of the pristine forest distribution and the associated phytocenoses. The results revealed marked natural arboreal cover restoration differences between the geographically close upland and lowland forest ecosystems. The regional tree growth dynamics show the varying intensity of the pine seedlings’ succession, the tree stands’ biomass productivity and the environmental stability, weakened by the extreme continentality and progressing aridification along with adverse anthropogenic ecological impacts. The specific geomorphic, soil and hydrological conditions are the principal determining factors. The more vital plain and lowland pine forests host the floristically richer fescue-dominated communities compared to the more fragile and precipitation-poorer upland pine settings. The latter forest ecosystems display a higher vulnerability to the current climate change, generating tree drying, forest fires, and to modern human activities such as logging, herding and recreation. The research conclusions provide new insights on the natural ribbon-like pine forests’ sustainability and adaptation to the ongoing continental warming triggering fundamental environmental transformations in Central Asia’s parklands.
Composites from Recycled and Modified Woods—Technology, Properties, Application
Authors: Reinprecht Ladislav , Iždinský Ján
Published: December 2021

The intention of efficient processing and use of less valuable wood species, bio-damaged logs, sawmill residues, cuttings, chips, sawdust, recycled wooden products, and other lignocellulosic raw materials in the production of wood composites is the focus of several scientific research institutes in the world [...]
The Properties of Black Locust Robinia pseudoacacia L. to Selectively Accumulate Chemical Elements from Soils of Ecologically Transformed Areas
Authors: Środek Dorota , Rahmonov Oimahmad
Published: December 2021

The black locust Robinia pseudoacacia L. is a common species that originated from North America. In Europe, it is an invasive and introduced plant. Due to its low habitat requirements and ecological plasticity, this species colonizes new anthropogenically transformed areas quickly. This study investigated the chemical composition of selected tissues of Robinia pseudoacacia L. in five various habitats with different levels of anthropopression conditions in southern Poland. The presented research aimed to compare the chemical composition of black locust parts tissues (leaves, branches, and seeds) and the soil under its canopy. To determine the heavy metal contamination and enrichment in soil, the geoaccumulation index, enrichment factor, contamination factor, pollution load index, and potential ecological risk index were calculated. The results showed that all examined soils are considerably or very highly contaminated and the main heavy metals, which pollute the studied samples, are cadmium (1.3–3.91 ppm), lead (78.17–157.99 ppm), and zinc (129.77–543.97 ppm). Conducted research indicates that R. pseudoacacia leaves are the primary carrier of potentially toxic elements. Due to low bioaccumulation factor (BAF) values, it is clear that black locusts do not accumulate contaminants in such amounts that it would pose risk to its use in degraded area reclamation. The obtained results showed that R. pseudoacacia is able to grow in a wide range of habitats and could be applied for greening urban habitats and disturbed ecosystems caused by industry.
An Implicit Numerical Approach for 2D Rayleigh Stokes Problem for a Heated Generalized Second Grade Fluid with Fractional Derivative
Authors: Naz Anam , Ali Umair , Elfasakhany Ashraf , Ismail Khadiga Ahmed , Al-Sehemi Abdullah G. , Al-Ghamdi Ahmed A.
Published: December 2021

In this research work, our aim is to use the fast algorithm to solve the Rayleigh–Stokes problem for heated generalized second-grade fluid (RSP-HGSGF) involving Riemann–Liouville time fractional derivative. We suggest the modified implicit scheme formulated in the Riemann–Liouville integral sense and the scheme can be applied to the fractional RSP-HGSGF. Numerical experiments will be conducted, to show that the scheme is stress-free to implement, and the outcomes reveal the ideal execution of the suggested technique. The Fourier series will be used to examine the proposed scheme stability and convergence. The technique is stable, and the approximation solution converges to the exact result. To demonstrate the applicability and viability of the suggested strategy, a numerical demonstration will be provided.
Local Testimony and the (Un)Silencing of Sexual Violence in Lithuania under German Occupation during WWII
Authors: Davoliūtė Violeta
Published: December 2021

The memory of sexual violence in Eastern Europe under German occupation during WWII has long been silenced by the opacity of local events to outside observers, a conspiracy of silence on the issue of collaboration, and conventions on how the Holocaust should be represented. Since the collapse of the USSR, the opening of archives has stimulated the production of a large and growing literature on the nature and causes of communal violence, but with relatively limited attention to sexual violence as an aspect of genocide. Based on a qualitative analysis of select audio-visual testimonies collected from non-Jewish Lithuanians since the 1990s, this paper demonstrates that local knowledge of sexual violence has persisted for decades in the post-genocidal space. However, these testimonies have been overshadowed by politicized narratives of national martyrology, and neglected by local and international researchers alike, despite their importance to the process of historical reckoning.
Inhibitory Effects of CaCl2 and Pectin Methylesterase on Fruit Softening of Raspberry during Cold Storage
Authors: Yan Ran , Han Cong , Fu Maorun , Jiao Wenxiao , Wang Weihao
Published: December 2021

Quality of raspberry fruit experiences a rapid decline after harvest due to its vulnerable texture and high moisture content. Application of calcium chloride (CaCl2) combined with pectin methylesterase (PME) is efficient in delaying fruit softening. In this study, the effects of exogenous CaCl2 alone or in combination with PME on the structure of the cell wall, the molecular properties of pectin, and the amount of free water of raspberry during postharvest storage were investigated. The results showed that CaCl2 combined with PME treatment could maintain fruit firmness and inhibit weight loss. The treatment of CaCl2+PME maintained the cell wall structure via sustaining middle lamella integrity and reducing the activities of cell wall-degrading enzymes, such as polygalacturonase, pectin methylesterase, β-galactosidase, α-L-arabinofuranosidase, and β-xylosidase. In addition, CaCl2+PME treatment could effectively increase the content of chelate-soluble pectin (CSP) and develop a cross-linked structure between Ca2+ and CSP. Moreover, CaCl2+PME treatment was of benefit in maintaining free water content. CaCl2 in combination with PME treatment could be a promising method for inhibiting softening and maintaining the quality of postharvest raspberry during cold storage.