bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Action Recognition Using a Spatial-Temporal Network for Wild Felines
Authors: Feng Liqi , Zhao Yaqin , Sun Yichao , Zhao Wenxuan , Tang Jiaxi
Published: February 2021

Behavior analysis of wild felines has significance for the protection of a grassland ecological environment. Compared with human action recognition, fewer researchers have focused on feline behavior analysis. This paper proposes a novel two-stream architecture that incorporates spatial and temporal networks for wild feline action recognition. The spatial portion outlines the object region extracted by Mask region-based convolutional neural network (R-CNN) and builds a Tiny Visual Geometry Group (VGG) network for static action recognition. Compared with VGG16, the Tiny VGG network can reduce the number of network parameters and avoid overfitting. The temporal part presents a novel skeleton-based action recognition model based on the bending angle fluctuation amplitude of the knee joints in a video clip. Due to its temporal features, the model can effectively distinguish between different upright actions, such as standing, ambling, and galloping, particularly when the felines are occluded by objects such as plants, fallen trees, and so on. The experimental results showed that the proposed two-stream network model can effectively outline the wild feline targets in captured images and can significantly improve the performance of wild feline action recognition due to its spatial and temporal features.
A Study of EEG Feature Complexity in Epileptic Seizure Prediction
Authors: Jemal Imene , Mitiche Amar , Mezghani Neila
Published: February 2021

The purpose of this study is (1) to provide EEG feature complexity analysis in seizure prediction by inter-ictal and pre-ital data classification and, (2) to assess the between-subject variability of the considered features. In the past several decades, there has been a sustained interest in predicting epilepsy seizure using EEG data. Most methods classify features extracted from EEG, which they assume are characteristic of the presence of an epilepsy episode, for instance, by distinguishing a pre-ictal interval of data (which is in a given window just before the onset of a seizure) from inter-ictal (which is in preceding windows following the seizure). To evaluate the difficulty of this classification problem independently of the classification model, we investigate the complexity of an exhaustive list of 88 features using various complexity metrics, i.e., the Fisher discriminant ratio, the volume of overlap, and the individual feature efficiency. Complexity measurements on real and synthetic data testbeds reveal that that seizure prediction by pre-ictal/inter-ictal feature distinction is a problem of significant complexity. It shows that several features are clearly useful, without decidedly identifying an optimal set.
Efficient Detection of Robot Kidnapping in Range Finder-Based Indoor Localization Using Quasi-Standardized 2D Dynamic Time Warping
Authors: Ismail Zool H. , Bukhori Iksan
Published: February 2021

This paper proposes an augmented online approach to detect kidnapping events within range-finder-based indoor localization. The method is specifically designed for an Internet of Things (IoT)-Aided Robotics Platform that enables the system to detect kidnapping across all time instances of an indoor mobile robotic operation with high accuracy and maintain a high accuracy in the face of relocalization failures. The approach is based on similarity degree of geometry shape of the environment obtained from range scan data between two consecutive time instances. The proposed approach named Quasi-Standardized Two-Dimensional Dynamic Time Warping (QS-2DDTW) is based on the Multidimensional Dynamic Time Warping (MD-DTW) with homogeneity variance test imbued in it. A series of simulations are preformed against maximum current weight, measurement entropy, and the four metrics in metric based detector. The result shows that the proposed method yields high performance in terms of its ability to distinguish kidnapping condition from normal condition and that it has low dependency towards relocalization process, thus ensures the accuracy of detection is not disturbed by relocalization.
Analyses of the Key Technologies and Development Trends of Optical Networks from the Perspective of Standard Essential Patents
Authors: Chang Shu-Hao
Published: February 2021

Because of the advancement of 5G, mobile devices, and broadband, the development of optical network technologies has received increased research attention. However, studies have mostly focused on the technical or market aspects rather than employing a macroscopic perspective to reveal the technology distribution of optical networks and the development trends in their key fields. Given that technologies disclosed by standard essential patents (SEPs) are the key technologies that determine the standards in relevant industries, we used SEPs optical networks as the basis of analyses and constructed a technology network. Therefore, the contribution of this study lies in bridging the research gap between two studies, using the perspective of SEPs to observe the key technologies in leading industry standard-setting. In addition to the aspects of technologies and markets addressed in existing studies, this study primarily discusses technology distribution and trends in optical networks. The results reveal that transmission of digital information, wireless communication networks and multiple communication are the key technical fields in developing optical networks, with wireless communication devices and digital information transmission being the main focus in recent years. Considering the gradual standardization of future optical network technologies and the fierce competition between manufacturers in SEP applications, relevant industries and universities should cooperate in key technical fields for research and development as well as in talent cultivation to facilitate the development of key technologies and industrial standards in optical networks. The current results may serve as a reference for both industry and academia with regard to research and development resource allocation.
Editorial on Special Issue “Modern Applications in Optics and Photonics: From Sensing and Analytics to Communication”
Authors: Alwis Lourdes S. M. , Bremer Kort , Roth Bernhard
Published: February 2021

Optics and photonics are among the key technologies of the 21st century and offer the potential for novel applications in areas as diverse as sensing and spectroscopy, analytics, monitoring, biomedical imaging and diagnostics, as well as optical communication technology, among others [...]
Numerical Study on the Route of Flame-Induced Thermoacoustic Instability in a Rijke Burner
Authors: Dang Nannan , Zhang Jiazhong , Deguchi Yoshihiro
Published: February 2021

The self-excited thermoacoustic instability in a two-dimensional Rijke-type burner with a center-stabilized premixed methane–air flame is numerically studied. The simulation considers the reacting flow, flame dynamics, and radiation model to investigate the important physical processes. A finite volume-based approach is used to simulate reacting flows under both laminar and turbulent flow conditions. Chemical reaction modeling is conducted via the finite-rate/eddy dissipation model with one-step reaction mechanisms, and the radiation heat flux and turbulent flow characteristics are determined by using the P-1 model and the standard k-ε model, respectively. The steady-state reacting flow is first simulated for model verification. Then, the dynamic pressure, velocity, and reaction heat evolutions are determined to show the onset and growth rate of self-excited instability in the burner. Using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method, the frequency of the limit cycle oscillation is obtained, which agrees well with the theoretical prediction. The dynamic pressure and velocity along the tube axis provide the acoustic oscillation mode and amplitude, also agreeing well with the prediction. Finally, the unsteady flow field at different times in a limit cycle shows that flame-induced vortices occur inside the combustor, and the temperature distribution indicates that the back-and-forth velocity changes in the tube vary the distance between the flame and honeycomb in turn, forming a forward feedback loop in the tube. The results reveal the route of flame-induced thermoacoustic instability in the Rijke-type burner and indicate periodical vortex formation and breakdown in the Rijke burner, which should be considered turbulent flow under thermoacoustic instability.
A Study of Multilayer Perceptron Networks Applied to Classification of Ceramic Insulators Using Ultrasound
Authors: Sopelsa Neto Nemesio Fava , Stefenon Stéfano Frizzo , Meyer Luiz Henrique , Bruns Rafael , Nied Ademir , Seman Laio Oriel , Gonzalez Gabriel Villarrubia , Leithardt Valderi Reis Quietinho , Yow Kin-Choong
Published: February 2021

Interruptions in the supply of electricity cause numerous losses to consumers, whether residential or industrial and may result in fines being imposed on the regulatory agency’s concessionaire. In Brazil, the electrical transmission and distribution systems cover a large territorial area, and because they are usually outdoors, they are exposed to environmental variations. In this context, periodic inspections are carried out on the electrical networks, and ultrasound equipment is widely used, due to non-destructive analysis characteristics. Ultrasonic inspection allows the identification of defective insulators based on the signal interpreted by an operator. This task fundamentally depends on the operator’s experience in this interpretation. In this way, it is intended to test machine learning applications to interpret ultrasound signals obtained from electrical grid insulators, distribution, class 25 kV. Currently, research in the area uses several models of artificial intelligence for various types of evaluation. This paper studies Multilayer Perceptron networks’ application to the classification of the different conditions of ceramic insulators based on a restricted database of ultrasonic signals recorded in the laboratory.
An Estimator for the Kinematic Behaviour of a Mobile Robot Subject to Large Lateral Slip
Authors: Botta Andrea , Cavallone Paride , Tagliavini Luigi , Carbonari Luca , Visconte Carmen , Quaglia Giuseppe
Published: February 2021

In this paper, the effects of wheel slip compensation in trajectory planning for mobile tractor-trailer robot applications are investigated. Firstly, a kinematic model of the proposed robot architecture is marked out, then an experimental campaign is done to identify if it is possible to kinematically compensate trajectories that otherwise would be subject to large lateral slip. Due to the close connection to the experimental data, the results shown are valid only for Epi.q, the prototype that is the main object of this manuscript. Nonetheless, the base concept can be usefully applied to any mobile robot subject to large lateral slip.
Hepatic Reirradiation for Patients with Recurrent Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Huang Yaoru , Chen Po-Yung , Cheng Tzu-Yen , Chiou Jeng-Fong
Published: February 2021

For treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), local therapies and surgery, including liver transplant, are the first line treatment options; however, several contraindications limit their clinical use. The improvement of radiotherapy (RT) established RT in treating HCC contraindicated against local therapies, including transarterial chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation. For HCC that recurs after RT and still contradicts against local therapies, there is a need to investigate the use of reirradiation. This study recruited patients receiving two courses of RT for recurrent HCC between January 2007 and December 2019. The result suggested that patients who experienced tumor regression after reirradiation had better survival over those with a stable form of the disease, with the mean overall survival (OS) as 30.0 and 4.0 months, respectively (p < 0.001). The analysis also revealed that systemic therapy had no benefit on both the OS and controlling distant metastasis; the result was limited to a small study number and diversity of drugs. Considering systemic therapy and portal vein tumor thrombosis, which are commonly viewed to affect prognosis, multivariate analysis suggested that the Child–Pugh score and local control were the only two independent factors for the OS, with p = 0.017 and p = 0.028, respectively. Our findings suggested that reirradiation could be the choice for treating recurrent HCC.
Case Study of Underground Shield Tunnels in Interchange Piles Foundation Underpinning Construction
Authors: Zhang Chengran , Zhao Yujia , Zhang Zhen , Zhu Bing
Published: February 2021

Technology of shield tunneling has been widely used in modern city subway system building, however, due to the limit of urban construction land resources, it is inevitable for the new building structures conflicted with existing one. Thus, it is essential to taking correct measures to guarantee the safety of existing structure. In this case, a typical case of metro shield tunnel crossing through city overpass bridge piles underpinning construction project is studied by the numerical method and site field monitoring. According to the existing overpass bridge structure, geological conditions and site operation environment, a suitable construction method of piles foundation underpinning plan for this project is adopted. In order to ensure the structure safety of the existed overpass bridge during the pile foundation underpinning construction, a numerical simulation model is established which takes the whole foundation underpinning structure and construction steps into consideration. The numerical simulation result shows that the stress and the settlement of the piles foundation underpinning structure is reasonable. After the comparing of the site monitoring data with the numerical model simulation results, it is found that the site settlement and stress results are highly consistent with the calculated results, and it proves the feasibility of the piles foundation underpinning construction scheme. Eventually, the site gauging settlement data of the overpass pier and the pile cap indicate that the original overpass structure is barely affected by the shield tunnel construction, the construction method can provide reference and experience for the future similar projects.
DynamiChain: Development of Medical Blockchain Ecosystem Based on Dynamic Consent System
Authors: Kim Tong Min , Lee Seo-Joon , Chang Dong-Jin , Koo Jawook , Kim Taenam , Yoon Kun-Ho , Choi In-Young
Published: February 2021

Although blockchain is acknowledged as one of the most important technologies to lead the fourth industrial revolution, major technical challenges regarding security breach and privacy issues remain. This issue is particularly sensitive in applied medical fields where personal health information is handled within the network. In addition, contemporary blockchain-converged solutions do not consider restricted medical data regulations that are still obstacles in many countries worldwide. This implies a crucial need for a system or solution that is suitable for the healthcare sector. Therefore, this article proposes the development of a dynamic consent medical blockchain system called DynamiChain, based on a ruleset management algorithm for handling health examination data. Moreover, medical blockchain-related studies were systematically reviewed to prove the novelty of DynamiChain. The proposed system was implemented in a scenario where the exercise management healthcare company provided health management services based on data obtained from the data provider’s hospital. The proposed research is envisioned to provide a widely compatible blockchain medical system that could be applied in future healthcare fields.
Mining Pool Selection under Block WithHolding Attack
Authors: Fujita Kentaro , Zhang Yuanyu , Sasabe Masahiro , Kasahara Shoji
Published: February 2021

In current Proof-of-Work (PoW) blockchain systems, miners usually form mining pools to compete with other pools/miners in the mining competition. Forming pools can give miners steady revenues but will introduce two critical issues. One is mining pool selection, where miners select the pools to join in order to maximize their revenues. The other is a Block WithHolding (BWH) attack, where pools can inject part of their hash/mining power into other pools to obtain additional revenues without contributing to the mining process of the attacked pools. Reasoning that the BWH attack will have significant impacts on the pool selection, we therefore investigate the mining pool selection issue in the presence of a BWH attack in this paper. In particular, we model the pool selection process of miners as an evolutionary game and find the Evolutionarily Stable States (ESSs) of the game (i.e., stable pool population states) as the solutions. Previous studies investigated this problem from the perspective of pool managers and neglected the revenues from attacked pools (attacking revenues), leading to less accurate and insightful findings. This paper, however, focuses on the payoffs of miners and carefully takes the attacking revenues into consideration. To demonstrate how the problem is solved, we consider the scenario with two mining pools and further investigate the case where one pool attacks the other and the case where the two pools attack each other. The results in this paper show that pools can attract more miners to join by launching a BWH attack and the attack power significantly affects the stable pool populations.
Characterization of Aluminum Alloy–Silicon Carbide Functionally Graded Materials Developed by Centrifugal Casting Process
Authors: Milosan Ioan , Bedő Tibor , Gabor Camelia , Munteanu Daniel , Pop Mihai Alin , Catana Dorin , Cosnita Mihaela , Varga Béla
Published: February 2021

The continuous development of modern industries rises the necessity for functionally graded materials. This research starts from the consideration that the incorporation of SiC particles in the molten aluminum alloy can be difficult due to the very low wettability of SiC particles. In order to increase their wettability, SiC particles were covered with a layer of metallic copper. The incorporation of SiC particles into the aluminum alloy mass was performed by centrifugal casting. The secondary hypoeutectic Al-Si alloy used in this study was elaborated within the crucible of a resistors heated furnace. The metallic coating of SiC particles, in addition to the effect of increasing their wettability by molten metal, also has a role in preventing the formation of aluminum carbide in case of heating above 700 °C. A great amount of attention was paid to the parameters used during the centrifugal casting process. The results showed that adjusting the proportion of SiC particles within the composite allows us to obtain values of the thermal expansion coefficient within previously established limits. The present work demonstrates that the coating of SiC particles covered with a thin layer of metallic Cu creates the conditions to easily incorporate them into the molten Al mass, thus obtaining FGMs with controlled properties.
Assessment of the Pressure Level over Lentic Waterbodies through the Estimation of Land Uses in the Catchment and Hydro-Morphological Alterations: The LUPLES Method
Authors: Morant Daniel , Perennou Christian , Camacho Antonio
Published: February 2021

The features of lentic waterbodies largely depend on the surrounding environment. Mediterranean coastal lagoons have been historically altered, with their catchment being highly modified for agricultural, livestock, or urban uses. Changes in land uses induce pressures that impact the waterbodies and alter their ecological status. The objectives of this paper were: to develop a methodological approach (LUPLES: Land Uses for estimating Pressure Levels to approach the Ecological Status), to quantify the main pressures on the waterbodies and to forecast the possible impacts of these pressures on their ecological status. Corine-Land Cover maps and Geographic Information System technics were used to delineate and identify land uses in the catchments. Specific algorithms were created to quantify the main pressures from land uses in the catchment and hydro-morphological alterations in the immediate basin. The values of the estimated pressure levels were correlated with ecological status indicators using metrics developed for the European Water Framework Directive. Data were obtained from European and River Basin Authorities databases. Results showed statistically significant correlations between the pressure levels quantified by the LUPLES method and the impact level detected by biological, physical and chemical metrics. This method provides a useful approach to estimate the pressure levels affecting lentic waterbodies and could be applied to approach how they could affect their ecological status.
Effect of Blood Circulation in the Upper Limb after Flossing Strategy
Authors: Pavlů Dagmar , Pánek David , Kuncová Eliška , Thung Jin Seng
Published: February 2021

A very popular method in the field of prevention, sports, and therapy is flossing, working with an elastic band. A number of effects have been reported with this approach, but there are so far only a few studies to objectivize the declared effects. The aim of our study was to determine the change in the blood supply to the musculus biceps brachii during and after the flossing method applied to the upper limb in the area of the shoulder joint. The study recruited 27 healthy respondents (23.3 ± 2.8 years old). Measurement of the blood flow was performed on a Précisé 8008 (Ulrichstein, Germany) a device for measuring transcutaneous oxygen (tcpO2) before, during the 2-min compression therapy applied in the area of the shoulder joint, and after. We noted that both upper limbs, the limb where the application was performed and the opposite limb reached significant changes in the blood flow in musculus biceps brachii. Due to the significant depression of perfusion after only 2 min of flossing, great caution is required when performing the flossing method. The “sponge effect,” which means that after the occlusion is removed, the perfusion increases rapidly, was not confirmed by our study.
Multi-Purpose Ontology-Based Visualization of Spatio-Temporal Data: A Case Study on Silk Heritage
Authors: Sevilla Javier , Casanova-Salas Pablo , Casas-Yrurzum Sergio , Portalés Cristina
Published: February 2021

Due to the increasing use of data analytics, information visualization is getting more and more important. However, as data get more complex, so does visualization, often leading to ad hoc and cumbersome solutions. A recent alternative is the use of the so-called knowledge-assisted visualization tools. In this paper, we present STMaps (Spatio-Temporal Maps), a multipurpose knowledge-assisted ontology-based visualization tool of spatio-temporal data. STMaps has been (originally) designed to show, by means of an interactive map, the content of the SILKNOW project, a European research project on silk heritage. It is entirely based on ontology support, as it gets the source data from an ontology and uses also another ontology to define how data should be visualized. STMaps provides some unique features. First, it is a multi-platform application. It can work embedded in an HTML page and can also work as a standalone application over several computer architectures. Second, it can be used for multiple purposes by just changing its configuration files and/or the ontologies on which it works. As STMaps relies on visualizing spatio-temporal data provided by an ontology, the tool could be used to visualize the results of any domain (in other cultural and non-cultural contexts), provided that its datasets contain spatio-temporal information. The visualization mechanisms can also be changed by changing the visualization ontology. Third, it provides different solutions to show spatio-temporal data, and also deals with uncertain and missing information. STMaps has been tested to browse silk-related objects, discovering some interesting relationships between different objects, showing the versatility and power of the different visualization tools proposed in this paper. To the best of our knowledge, this is also the first ontology-based visualization tool applied to silk-related heritage.
Synthesize and Segment: Towards Improved Catheter Segmentation via Adversarial Augmentation
Authors: Ullah Ihsan , Chikontwe Philip , Choi Hongsoo , Yoon Chang Hwan , Park Sang Hyun
Published: February 2021

Automatic catheter and guidewire segmentation plays an important role in robot-assisted interventions that are guided by fluoroscopy. Existing learning based methods addressing the task of segmentation or tracking are often limited by the scarcity of annotated samples and difficulty in data collection. In the case of deep learning based methods, the demand for large amounts of labeled data further impedes successful application. We propose a synthesize and segment approach with plug in possibilities for segmentation to address this. We show that an adversarially learned image-to-image translation network can synthesize catheters in X-ray fluoroscopy enabling data augmentation in order to alleviate a low data regime. To make realistic synthesized images, we train the translation network via a perceptual loss coupled with similarity constraints. Then existing segmentation networks are used to learn accurate localization of catheters in a semi-supervised setting with the generated images. The empirical results on collected medical datasets show the value of our approach with significant improvements over existing translation baseline methods.
Wind-Induced Phenomena in Long-Span Cable-Supported Bridges: A Comparative Review of Wind Tunnel Tests and Computational Fluid Dynamics Modelling
Authors: Zhang Yuxiang , Cardiff Philip , Keenahan Jennifer
Published: February 2021

Engineers, architects, planners and designers must carefully consider the effects of wind in their work. Due to their slender and flexible nature, long-span bridges can often experience vibrations due to the wind, and so the careful analysis of wind effects is paramount. Traditionally, wind tunnel tests have been the preferred method of conducting bridge wind analysis. In recent times, owing to improved computational power, computational fluid dynamics simulations are coming to the fore as viable means of analysing wind effects on bridges. The focus of this paper is on long-span cable-supported bridges. Wind issues in long-span cable-supported bridges can include flutter, vortex-induced vibrations and rain–wind-induced vibrations. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of research on the use of wind tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamics modelling of these wind issues on long-span bridges.
Relationship between the Difference in Oxygenated Hemoglobin Concentration Changes in the Left and Right Prefrontal Cortex and Cognitive Function during Moderate-Intensity Aerobic Exercise
Authors: Qin Weixiang , Kojima Sho , Yamazaki Yudai , Morishita Shinichiro , Hotta Kazuki , Inoue Tatsuro , Tsubaki Atsuhiro
Published: February 2021

Previous studies have indicated that changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (O2Hb) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are associated with changes in cognitive function. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the effect of differences in O2Hb levels in the left and right PFC (L-PFC and R-PFC, respectively) on cognitive function after exercise. This study included 12 healthy male college students. The exercise regimen consisted of 4 min of warm-up and rest each, followed by 20 min of moderate-intensity exercise and 20 min of post-exercise rest. Participants underwent the 2-back cognitive test thrice (pre-exercise, post-exercise, and after the 20 min post-exercise rest period), and their reaction times were recorded. O2Hb levels in the PFC were monitored using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. We analyzed the correlations between changes in post-exercise reaction times and differences in peak O2Hb levels (L-PFC minus R-PFC), area under the curve for O2Hb changes, and increases in the O2Hb slope during exercise. Peak O2Hb, area under the curve (AUC) for O2Hb change, and increase in the slope of O2Hb were significantly correlated with changes in reaction time. These findings provide insight into the mechanism by which O2Hb differences between the L-PFC and R-PFC affect cognitive function.
Integrated Tolerance and Fixture Layout Design for Compliant Sheet Metal Assemblies
Authors: Rezaei Aderiani Abolfazl , Hallmann Martin , Wärmefjord Kristina , Schleich Benjamin , Söderberg Rikard , Wartzack Sandro
Published: February 2021

Part tolerances and fixture layouts are two pivotal factors in the geometrical quality of a compliant assembly. The independent design and optimization of these factors for compliant assemblies have been thoroughly studied. However, this paper presents the dependency of these factors and, consequently, the demand for an integrated design of them. A method is developed in order to address this issue by utilizing compliant variation simulation tools and evolutionary optimization algorithms. Thereby, integrated and non-integrated optimization of the tolerances and fixture layouts are conducted for an industrial sample case. The objective of this optimization is defined as minimizing the production cost while fulfilling the geometrical requirements. The results evidence the superiority of the integrated approach to the non-integrated in terms of the production cost and geometrical quality of the assemblies.
Data-Efficient Neural Network for Track Profile Modelling in Cold Spray Additive Manufacturing
Authors: Ikeuchi Daiki , Vargas-Uscategui Alejandro , Wu Xiaofeng , King Peter
Published: February 2021

Cold spray is emerging as an additive manufacturing technique, particularly advantageous when high production rate and large build sizes are in demand. To further accelerate technology’s industrial maturity, the problem of geometric control must be improved, and a neural network model has emerged to predict additively manufactured geometry. However, limited data on the effect of deposition conditions on geometry growth is often problematic. Therefore, this study presents data-efficient neural network modelling of a single-track profile in cold spray additive manufacturing. Two modelling techniques harnessing prior knowledge or existing model were proposed, and both were found to be effective in achieving the data-efficient development of a neural network model. We also showed that the proposed data-efficient neural network model provided better predictive performance than the previously proposed Gaussian function model and purely data-driven neural network. The results indicate that a neural network model can outperform a widely used mathematical model with data-efficient modelling techniques and be better suited to improving geometric control in cold spray additive manufacturing.
Evaluating the Early-Age Crack Induction in Advanced Reinforced Concrete Pavement Using Partial Surface Saw-Cuts
Authors: Kashif Muhammad , Naseem Ahsan , Iqbal Nouman , De Winne Pieter , De Backer Hans
Published: February 2021

The technological innovation of continuously reinforced concrete pavement (CRCP) that contains a significantly reduced amount of reinforcement and the same fundamental behavior as CRCP is called advanced reinforced concrete pavement (ARCP). This new concept of a rigid pavement structure is developed to eliminate unnecessary continuous longitudinal steel bars of CRCP by using partial length steel bars at predetermined crack locations. In Belgium, partial surface saw-cuts are used as the most effective crack induction method to eliminate the randomness in early-age crack patterns by inducing cracks at the predetermined locations of CRCP. The reinforcement layout of ARCP is designed based on the distribution of steel stress in continuous longitudinal steel bar in CRCP and the effectiveness of partial surface saw-cuts as a crack induction method. The 3D finite element (FE) model is developed to evaluate the behavior of ARCP with partial surface saw-cuts. The early-age crack characteristics in terms of crack initiation and crack propagation obtained from the FE simulation are validated with the field observations of cracking characteristics of the CRCP sections in Belgium. The finding indicates that there is fundamentally no difference in the steel stress distribution in the partial length steel bar of ARCP and continuous steel bar of CRCP. Moreover, ARCP exhibits the same cracking characteristics as CRCP even with a significantly reduced amount of continuous reinforcement.
A Comparison of Fuzzy-Based Energy Management Systems Adjusted by Nature-Inspired Algorithms
Authors: Arcos-Aviles Diego , Pacheco Diego , Pereira Daniela , Garcia-Gutierrez Gabriel , Carrera Enrique V. , Ibarra Alexander , Ayala Paúl , Martínez Wilmar , Guinjoan Francesc
Published: February 2021

The growing energy demand around the world has increased the usage of renewable energy sources (RES) such as photovoltaic and wind energies. The combination of traditional power systems and RESs has generated diverse problems due especially to the stochastic nature of RESs. Microgrids (MG) arise to address these types of problems and to increase the penetration of RES to the utility network. A microgrid includes an energy management system (EMS) to operate its components and energy sources efficiently. The objectives pursued by the EMS are usually economically related to minimizing the operating costs of the MG or maximizing its income. However, due to new regulations of the network operators, a new objective related to the minimization of power peaks and fluctuations in the power profile exchanged with the utility network has taken great interest in recent years. In this regard, EMSs based on off-line trained fuzzy logic control (FLC) have been proposed as an alternative approach to those based on on-line optimization mixed-integer linear (or nonlinear) programming to reduce computational efforts. However, the procedure to adjust the FLC parameters has been barely addressed. This parameter adjustment is an optimization problem itself that can be formulated in terms of a cost/objective function and is susceptible to being solved by metaheuristic nature-inspired algorithms. In particular, this paper evaluates a methodology for adjusting the FLC parameters of the EMS of a residential microgrid that aims to minimize the power peaks and fluctuations on the power profile exchanged with the utility network through two nature-inspired algorithms, namely particle swarm optimization and differential evolution. The methodology is based on the definition of a cost function to be optimized. Numerical simulations on a specific microgrid example are presented to compare and evaluate the performances of these algorithms, also including a comparison with other ones addressed in previous works such as the Cuckoo search approach. These simulations are further used to extract useful conclusions for the FLC parameters adjustment for off-line-trained EMS based designs.
Trends of Aerosol Optical Thickness Using VIIRS S-NPP during Fog Episodes in Pakistan and India
Authors: Umar Muhammad , Atif Salman , Hildebrandt Mark L. , Tahir Ali , Azmat Muhammad , Zeeshan Muhammad
Published: February 2021

Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) is one of the important parameters for assessing regional and global level of climate change. Fog episodes have considerably increased in south Asia because of environmental factors, and the burning of agricultural residue leads to major social and economic problems. In present study, Mann-Kendall trend analysis of AOT and active fire events was done, and their significance were assessed using long-term (October 2012–February 2020) remote sensing data derived smog maps. Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite National Polar Partnership (VIIRS N-PP) was used to map AOT episodes over the northern region of Pakistan and India. Results reveal that AOT displays a significantly decreasing trend over the northern and eastern region of Pakistan and a similar decreasing trend from the Western to Eastern region of India. Furthermore, active fire events have a significantly increasing trend at the Northern region of Pakistan. However, fire events have a significantly decreasing trend over the southern and southeastern region of India. Additionally, statistically significant decreasing trends were observed for AOT over Chakwal (p-value = 0.2, Z_MK = −2.3) and Patiala (p-value = 0.15, Z_MK = −3.2). Fire events have a significantly increasing trend for Dera Ismail Khan (p-value = 0.01, Z_MK = 1.9), Jhang (p-value = 0.01, Z_MK = 1.9), and Chakwal (p-value = 0.01, Z_MK = 1.8), while they are significantly decreasing trend near New Delhi (p-value = 0.2, Z_MK = −0.9), Aligarh (p-value = 0.15, Z_MK = −0.9) and Patiala (p-value = 0.2, Z_MK = −0.8).
Application of a Common Methodology to Select in Situ CO2 Observations Representative of the Atmospheric Background to an Italian Collaborative Network
Authors: Trisolino Pamela , di Sarra Alcide , Sferlazzo Damiano , Piacentino Salvatore , Monteleone Francesco , Di Iorio Tatiana , Apadula Francesco , Heltai Daniela , Lanza Andrea , Vocino Antonio , Caracciolo di Torchiarolo Luigi , Bonasoni Paolo , Calzolari Francescopiero , Busetto Maurizio , Cristofanelli Paolo
Published: February 2021

We describe and implement a data selection algorithm aimed at identifying background atmospheric CO2 observations from in situ continuous measurements. Several selection criteria for detecting the background data have been developed and are currently used: the main objective of this work was to define a common methodology to extract the atmospheric background signal minimizing heterogeneities due to the use of different selection algorithms. The algorithm used in this study, (BaDS, Background Data Selection) was tested and optimized using data (from 2014 to 2018) from four Italian stations characterized by markedly different environmental conditions (i.e., mountain, coastal and marine): Plateau Rosa (PRS), Mt. Cimone (CMN), Capo Granitola (CGR) and Lampedusa (LMP). Their locations extend from the Alps to the central Mediterranean. The adopted algorithm proved to be effective in separating the local/regional from the background signal in the CO2 time series. About 6% of the data at LMP, 11% at PRS, 20–38% at CMN and 65% at CGR were identified as non-background. LMP and PRS can be used as reference sites for the central Mediterranean, while CMN and CGR were more impacted by regional sources and sinks. Finally, we discuss a possible application of BaDS screened data.
Model Uncertainty in the Projected Indian Summer Monsoon Precipitation Change under Low-Emission Scenarios
Authors: Long Shang-Min , Li Gen
Published: February 2021

The projected ISM precipitation changes under low-emission scenarios, Representative Concentration Pathway 2.6 (RCP2.6) and Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 1-2.6 (SSP1-2.6), are investigated by outputs from models participating in phases 5 and 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5 and CMIP6). Based on the high-emission scenarios like RCP8.5, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report suggests a wetter Indian summer monsoon (ISM) by the end of 21st century. Although the multi-model ensemble mean (MME) ISM precipitation under RCP2.6 and SSP1-2.6 is still projected to increase over 2050–2099 referenced to 1900–1949, the intermodel spread of the ISM precipitation change is tremendous in both CMIPs. Indeed, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of ISM precipitation change, defined as the MME divided by its intermodel standard deviation, is even below 1 under the low-emission scenarios. This casts doubts on a future wetter ISM in a warmer climate. Moisture budget analyses further show that most of the model uncertainty in ISM precipitation change is caused by its dynamical component from the atmospheric circulation change. As expected, the interhemispheric surface warming contrast is essential in causing the intermodel differences in ISM circulation and precipitation changes under low-emission scenarios. In addition, the projected wetter ISM is prominently enhanced from CMIP5 to CMIP6, along with reduced model uncertainty. However, the resultant increased SNR in CMIP6 is still low in most ISM regions. The results imply that ISM precipitation change is highly uncertain under low-emission scenarios, which greatly challenges the decisions-making in adaptation policies for the densely populated South Asian countries.
Antimicrobial Properties of the Ag, Cu Nanoparticle System
Authors: Fan Xinzhen , Yahia L’Hocine , Sacher Edward
Published: February 2021

Microbes, including bacteria and fungi, easily form stable biofilms on many surfaces. Such biofilms have high resistance to antibiotics, and cause nosocomial and postoperative infections. The antimicrobial and antiviral behaviors of Ag and Cu nanoparticles (NPs) are well known, and possible mechanisms for their actions, such as released ions, reactive oxygen species (ROS), contact killing, the immunostimulatory effect, and others have been proposed. Ag and Cu NPs, and their derivative NPs, have different antimicrobial capacities and cytotoxicities. Factors, such as size, shape and surface treatment, influence their antimicrobial activities. The biomedical application of antimicrobial Ag and Cu NPs involves coating onto substrates, including textiles, polymers, ceramics, and metals. Because Ag and Cu are immiscible, synthetic AgCu nanoalloys have different microstructures, which impact their antimicrobial effects. When mixed, the combination of Ag and Cu NPs act synergistically, offering substantially enhanced antimicrobial behavior. However, when alloyed in Ag–Cu NPs, the antimicrobial behavior is even more enhanced. The reason for this enhancement is unclear. Here, we discuss these results and the possible behavior mechanisms that underlie them.
Cytochalasin B-Induced Membrane Vesicles from Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Overexpressing IL2 Are Able to Stimulate CD8+ T-Killers to Kill Human Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells
Authors: Chulpanova Daria S. , Gilazieva Zarema E. , Kletukhina Sevindzh K. , Aimaletdinov Aleksandr M. , Garanina Ekaterina E. , James Victoria , Rizvanov Albert A. , Solovyeva Valeriya V.
Published: February 2021

Interleukin 2 (IL2) was one of the first cytokines used for cancer treatment due to its ability to stimulate anti-cancer immunity. However, recombinant IL2-based therapy is associated with high systemic toxicity and activation of regulatory T-cells, which are associated with the pro-tumor immune response. One of the current trends for the delivery of anticancer agents is the use of extracellular vesicles (EVs), which can carry and transfer biologically active cargos into cells. The use of EVs can increase the efficacy of IL2-based anti-tumor therapy whilst reducing systemic toxicity. In this study, human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs) were transduced with lentivirus encoding IL2 (hADSCs-IL2). Membrane vesicles were isolated from hADSCs-IL2 using cytochalasin B (CIMVs-IL2). The effect of hADSCs-IL2 and CIMVs-IL2 on the activation and proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) as well as the cytotoxicity of activated PBMCs against human triple negative cancer MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436 cells were evaluated. The effect of CIMVs-IL2 on murine PBMCs was also evaluated in vivo. CIMVs-IL2 failed to suppress the proliferation of human PBMCs as opposed to hADSCs-IL2. However, CIMVs-IL2 were able to activate human CD8+ T-killers, which in turn, killed MDA-MB-231 cells more effectively than hADSCs-IL2-activated CD8+ T-killers. This immunomodulating effect of CIMVs-IL2 appears specific to human CD8+ T-killer cells, as the same effect was not observed on murine CD8+ T-cells. In conclusion, the use of CIMVs-IL2 has the potential to provide a more effective anti-cancer therapy. This compelling evidence supports further studies to evaluate CIMVs-IL2 effectiveness, using cancer mouse models with a reconstituted human immune system.
A Shorter Equilibration Period Improves Post-Warming Outcomes after Vitrification and in Straw Dilution of In Vitro-Produced Bovine Embryos
Authors: Martínez-Rodero Iris , García-Martínez Tania , Ordóñez-León Erika Alina , Vendrell-Flotats Meritxell , Olegario Hidalgo Carlos , Esmoris Joseba , Mendibil Xabier , Azcarate Sabino , López-Béjar Manel , Yeste Marc , Mogas Teresa
Published: February 2021

This study was designed to the optimize vitrification and in-straw warming protocol of in vitro-produced bovine embryos by comparing two different equilibration periods, short equilibrium (SE: 3 min) and long equilibrium (LE: 12 min). Outcomes recorded in vitrified day seven (D7) and day eight (D8) expanded blastocysts were survival and hatching rates, cell counts, apoptosis rate, and gene expression. While survival rates at 3 and 24 h post-warming were reduced (p < 0.05) after vitrification, the hatching rates of D7 embryos vitrified after SE were similar to the rates recorded in fresh non-vitrified blastocysts. The hatching rates of vitrified D8 blastocysts were lower (p < 0.05) than of fresh controls regardless of treatment. Total cell count, and inner cell mass and trophectoderm cell counts were similar in hatched D7 blastocysts vitrified after SE and fresh blastocysts, while vitrified D8 blastocysts yielded lower values regardless of treatment. The apoptosis rate was significantly higher in both treatment groups compared to fresh controls, although rates were lower for SE than LE. No differences emerged in BAX, AQP3, CX43, and IFNτ gene expression between the treatments, whereas a significantly greater abundance of BCL2L1 and SOD1 transcripts was observed in blastocysts vitrified after SE. A shorter equilibration vitrification protocol was found to improve post-warming outcomes and time efficiency after in-straw warming/dilution.
Quantitative Assessment of 3D Printed Model Accuracy in Delineating Congenital Heart Disease
Authors: Lee Shenyuan , Squelch Andrew , Sun Zhonghua
Published: February 2021

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) printing is promising in medical applications, especially presurgical planning and the simulation of congenital heart disease (CHD). Thus, it is clinically important to generate highly accurate 3D-printed models in replicating cardiac anatomy and defects. The present study aimed to investigate the accuracy of the 3D-printed CHD model by comparing them with computed tomography (CT) images and standard tessellation language (STL) files. Methods: Three models were printed, comprising different CHD pathologies, including the tetralogy of Fallot (ToF), ventricular septal defect (VSD) and double-outlet right-ventricle (DORV). The ten anatomical locations were measured in each comparison. Pearson’s correlation coefficient, Bland–Altman analysis and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) determined the model accuracy. Results: All measurements with three printed models showed a strong correlation (r = 0.99) and excellent reliability (ICC = 0.97) when compared to original CT images, CT images of the 3D-printed models, STL files and 3D-printed CHD models. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the high accuracy of 3D-printed heart models with excellent correlation and reliability when compared to multiple source data. Further investigation into 3D printing in CHD should focus on the clinical value and the benefits to patients.