bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Poincaré Plot Nonextensive Distribution Entropy: A New Method for Electroencephalography (EEG) Time Series
Authors: Chen Xiaobi , Xu Guanghua , Du Chenghang , Zhang Sicong , Zhang Xun , Teng Zhicheng
Published: August 2022

As a novel form of visual analysis technique, the Poincaré plot has been used to identify correlation patterns in time series that cannot be detected using traditional analysis methods. In this work, based on the nonextensive of EEG, Poincaré plot nonextensive distribution entropy (NDE) is proposed to solve the problem of insufficient discrimination ability of Poincaré plot distribution entropy (DE) in analyzing fractional Brownian motion time series with different Hurst indices. More specifically, firstly, the reasons for the failure of Poincaré plot DE in the analysis of fractional Brownian motion are analyzed; secondly, in view of the nonextensive of EEG, a nonextensive parameter, the distance between sector ring subintervals from the original point, is introduced to highlight the different roles of each sector ring subinterval in the system. To demonstrate the usefulness of this method, the simulated time series of the fractional Brownian motion with different Hurst indices were analyzed using Poincaré plot NDE, and the process of determining the relevant parameters was further explained. Furthermore, the published sleep EEG dataset was analyzed, and the results showed that the Poincaré plot NDE can effectively reflect different sleep stages. The obtained results for the two classes of time series demonstrate that the Poincaré plot NDE provides a prospective tool for single-channel EEG time series analysis.
Quantum Key Distribution: Modeling and Simulation through BB84 Protocol Using Python3
Authors: Adu-Kyere Akwasi , Nigussie Ethiopia , Isoaho Jouni
Published: August 2022

Autonomous “Things” is becoming the future trend as the role, and responsibility of IoT keep diversifying. Its applicability and deployment need to re-stand technological advancement. The versatile security interaction between IoTs in human-to-machine and machine-to-machine must also endure mathematical and computational cryptographic attack intricacies. Quantum cryptography uses the laws of quantum mechanics to generate a secure key by manipulating light properties for secure end-to-end communication. We present a proof-of-principle via a communication architecture model and implementation to simulate these laws of nature. The model relies on the BB84 quantum key distribution (QKD) protocol with two scenarios, without and with the presence of an eavesdropper via the interception-resend attack model from a theoretical, methodological, and practical perspective. The proposed simulation initiates communication over a quantum channel for polarized photon transmission after a pre-agreed configuration over a Classic Channel with parameters. Simulation implementation results confirm that the presence of an eavesdropper is detectable during key generation due to Heisenberg’s uncertainty and no-cloning principles. An eavesdropper has a 0.5 probability of guessing transmission qubit and 0.25 for the polarization state. During simulation re-iterations, a base-mismatch process discarded about 50 percent of the total initial key bits with an Error threshold of 0.11 percent.
Contactless Fall Detection by Means of Multiple Bioradars and Transfer Learning
Authors: Lobanova Vera , Slizov Valeriy , Anishchenko Lesya
Published: August 2022

Fall detection in humans is critical in the prevention of life-threatening conditions. This is especially important for elderly people who are living alone. Therefore, automatic fall detection is one of the most relevant problems in geriatrics. Bioradiolocation-based methods have already shown their efficiency in contactless fall detection. However, there is still a wide range of areas to improve the precision of fall recognition based on view-independent concepts. In particular, in this paper, we propose an approach based on a more complex multi-channel system (three or four bioradars) in combination with the wavelet transform and transfer learning. In the experiments, we have used several radar configurations for recording different movement types. Then, for the binary classification task, a pre-trained convolutional neural network AlexNet has been fine-tuned using scalograms. The proposed systems have shown a noticeable improvement in the fall recognition performance in comparison with the previously used two-bioradar system. The accuracy and Cohen’s kappa of the two-bioradar system are 0.92 and 0.86 respectively, whereas the accuracy and Cohen’s kappa of the four-bioradar system are 0.99 and 0.99 respectively. The three-bioradar system’s performance turned out to be in between two of the aforementioned systems and its calculated accuracy and Cohen’s kappa are 0.98 and 0.97 respectively. These results may be potentially used in the design of a contactless multi-bioradar fall detection system.
Living Tree Moisture Content Detection Method Based on Intelligent UHF RFID Sensors and OS-PELM
Authors: Wu Yin , Zhang Chengwu , Liu Wenbo
Published: August 2022

Moisture content (MC) detection plays a vital role in the monitoring and management of living trees. Its measurement accuracy is of great significance to the progress of the forestry informatization industry. Targeting the drawbacks of high energy consumption, low practicability, and poor sustainability in the current field of living tree MC detection, this work designs and implements an ultra-high-frequency radio frequency identification (UHF RFID) sensor system based on a deep learning model, with the main goals of non-destructive testing and high-efficiency recognition. The proposed MC diagnostic system includes two passive tags which should be mounted on the trunk and one remote data processing terminal. First, the UHF reader collects information from the living trees in the forest; then, an improved online sequential parallel extreme learning machine algorithm (OS-PELM) is proposed and trained to establish a specific MC prediction model. This mechanism could self-adjust its neuron network structure according to the features of the data input. The experimental results show that, for the entire living tree dataset, the MC prediction model based on the OS-PELM algorithm can identify the MC level with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of no more than 0.055 within a measurement range of 1.2 m. Compared with the results predicted by other algorithms, the mean absolute error (MAE) and RMSE are 0.0225 and 0.0254, respectively, which are better than the ELM and OS-ELM algorithms. Comparisons also prove that the prediction model has the advantages of high precision, strong robustness, and broad applicability. Therefore, the designed MC detection system fully meets the demand of forestry Artificial Intelligence of Things.
Integration of Multi-Head Self-Attention and Convolution for Person Re-Identification
Authors: Zhou Yalei , Liu Peng , Cui Yue , Liu Chunguang , Duan Wenli
Published: August 2022

Person re-identification is essential to intelligent video analytics, whose results affect downstream tasks such as behavior and event analysis. However, most existing models only consider the accuracy, rather than the computational complexity, which is also an aspect to consider in practical deployment. We note that self-attention is a powerful technique for representation learning. It can work with convolution to learn more discriminative feature representations for re-identification. We propose an improved multi-scale feature learning structure, DM-OSNet, with better performance than the original OSNet. Our DM-OSNet replaces the 9×9 convolutional stream in OSNet with multi-head self-attention. To maintain model efficiency, we use double-layer multi-head self-attention to reduce the computational complexity of the original multi-head self-attention. The computational complexity is reduced from the original O((H×W)2) to O(H×W×G2). To further improve the model performance, we use SpCL to perform unsupervised pre-training on the large-scale unlabeled pedestrian dataset LUPerson. Finally, our DM-OSNet achieves an mAP of 87.36%, 78.26%, 72.96%, and 57.13% on the Market1501, DukeMTMC-reID, CUHK03, and MSMT17 datasets.
A Low Complexity Sensing Algorithm for Non-Sparse Wideband Spectrum
Authors: Ren Shiyu , Chen Wantong , Wu Hailong , Li Dongxia , Hu Zhongwei
Published: August 2022

The vast majority of existing sub-Nyquist sampling wideband spectrum sensing (WSS) methods default to a sparse spectrum. However, research data suggests that in the near future, the wideband spectrum will no longer be sparse. This article proposes a sub-Nyquist sampling WSS algorithm that can adapt well to non-sparse spectrum scenarios. The algorithm continues to implement the idea of our previously proposed “no reconstruction (NoR) of spectrum” algorithm, thus having low computational complexity. The new one is actually an advanced version of the NoR algorithm, so it is called AdNoR. The key to its advancement lies in the establishment of a folded time-frequency (TF) spectrum model with the same special structure as in the fold spectrum model of the NoR algorithm. For this purpose, we have designed a comprehensive sampling technique which consists of multicoset sampling, digital fractional delay, and TF transform. It is verified by simulation that the AdNoR algorithm maintains a good sensing performance with low computational complexity in the non-sparse scenario.
Characterization of Tensile Stress-Dependent Directional Magnetic Incremental Permeability in Iron-Cobalt Magnetic Sheet: Towards Internal Stress Estimation through Non-Destructive Testing
Authors: Toutsop Borel , Ducharne Benjamin , Lallart Mickael , Morel Laurent , Tsafack Pierre
Published: August 2022

Iron-Cobalt ferromagnetic alloys are promoted for electrical energy conversion in aeronautic applications, but their high magnetostrictive coefficients may result in undesired behaviors. Internal stresses can be tuned to limit magnetostriction but must be adequately assessed in a non-destructive way during production. For this, directional magnetic incremental permeability is proposed in this work. For academic purposes, internal stresses have been replaced by homogenous external stress, which is easier to control using traction/compression testbench and results in similar effects. Tests have been limited to tensile stress stimuli, the worst-case scenario for magnetic stress observation on positive magnetostriction coefficient materials. Hysteresis cycles have been reconstructed from the incremental permeability measurement for stability and reproducibility of the measured quantities. The directionality of the sensor provides an additional degree of freedom in the magnetic response observation. The study reveals that an angle of π/2 between the DC (Hsurf DC) and the AC (Hsurf AC) magnetic excitations with a flux density Ba at HsurfDC = 10 kA·m−1 constitute the ideal experimental situation and the highest correlated parameter to a homogeneous imposed tensile stress. Magnetic incremental permeability is linked to the magnetic domain wall bulging magnetization mechanism; this study thus provides insights for understanding such a mechanism.
Authenticated Timing Protocol Based on Galileo ACAS
Authors: Ardizzon Francesco , Crosara Laura , Laurenti Nicola , Tomasin Stefano , Montini Nicola
Published: August 2022

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) provide accurate positioning and timing services in a large gamut of sectors, including financial institutions, Industry 4.0, and Internet of things (IoT). Any industrial system involving multiple devices interacting and/or coordinating their functionalities needs accurate, dependable, and trustworthy time synchronization, which can be obtained by using authenticated GNSS signals. However, GNSS vulnerabilities to time-spoofing attacks may cause security issues for their applications. Galileo is currently developing new services aimed at providing increased security and robustness against attacks, such as the open service navigation message authentication (OS-NMA) and commercial authentication service (CAS). In this paper, we propose a robust and secure timing protocol that is independent of external time sources, and solely relies on assisted commercial authentication service (ACAS) and OS-NMA features. We analyze the performance of the proposed timing protocol and discuss its security level in relation to malicious attacks. Lastly, experimental tests were conducted to validate the proposed protocol.
Study of the Steady-State Operation of a Dual-Longitudinal-Mode and Self-Biasing Laser Gyroscope
Authors: Liu Jianning , Weng Jun , Jiang Junbiao , Liu Yujie , Jiao Mingxing , Zhao Kai , Zheng Yi
Published: August 2022

In order to stabilize the self-biasing state of a laser gyroscope, a dual-longitudinal-mode asymmetric frequency stabilization technique was studied. The special frequency stabilization is based on the accurate control of the intensity tuning curve in the prism ring laser. In this study, the effects of the ratio of the Ne isotopes, the inflation pressure, and the frequencies coupling on the intensity tuning curve in a laser gyro were examined. The profiles of the intensity tuning curve were simulated under the mixing ratios of Ne20 and Ne22 of 1:1 and 7:3, and the inflation pressures were 350 Pa, 400 Pa, and 450 Pa. The mixing ratio of Ne20 and Ne27 was dealt with similarly. The method for precisely adjusting the profiles of the intensity tuning curve was analyzed. The profiles were verified by experiments under different isotope ratios and pressures. Finally, based on a prism ring laser with an optical length of 0.47 m, the proposed frequency stabilization method was preliminarily verified.
Special Issue on Cost–Benefit Analysis for Economic Sustainability in Supply Chains
Authors: Afonso Paulo , Zanin Antonio , Durán Orlando
Published: August 2022

In the actual competitive arena, competition occurs among supply chains, which must be globally resilient and sustainable [...]
How Smart Are V4 Cities? Evidence from the Multidimensional Analysis
Authors: Janusz Marcin , Kowalczyk Marcin
Published: August 2022

The article presents findings from the multidimensional comparative study focusing on the implementation of the Smart City concept in selected cities of the Visegrad Group (V4). V4 has been established by its member states (Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary) in a joint effort to break from the communist past and develop the common democratic values of the European Community. Aforementioned efforts involved meeting other important goals, such as socio-economic convergence processes including reaching better living conditions for V4 citizens. At present, strategies that aim to improve the wellbeing of citizens are manifested by Smart City concepts and are being implemented in V4 cities. The main research task in this article is to answer the question regarding regional (state) divergence in Smart City implementation in selected cities. The results of the study show that the best Smart City implementation scores are shared by Czech Republic towns. Polish cities (Kielce, Rzeszów, Lublin) located in the eastern regions of the country (which are also eastern border regions of the European Union) have the worst Smart City implementation scores, according to the value of the synthetic measure.
Sustainable Building Standards, Codes and Certification Systems: The Status Quo and Future Directions in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Jamoussi Bassem , Abu-Rizaiza Asad , AL-Haij Ali
Published: August 2022

Sustainable building practices are a response to environmental issues. Businesses and industries are assessing how their activities affect the environment. The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries have significant impacts on the environment and economy, while the industry is considered one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has, therefore, been highlighted by researchers as a key area of intervention with a great potential to reduce environmental impacts. This paper critically reviews and evaluates the current state of sustainable building certification systems with the purpose of having a good understanding of the status quo and possibilities for future directions in Saudi Arabia. It reviews the academic literature on Saudi Arabia’s green/sustainable building codes, standards, certification systems, methods and tools. It starts by addressing sustainability in the broadest sense. Then, it investigates sustainability strategies and evaluates the building certification systems in Saudi Arabia, followed by an introduction to the new practice of sustainable healthcare building assessment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and building information modelling (BIM) techniques have also been investigated. The paper introduces the updated Saudi Building Code (SBC) with further evaluation of the Saudi Green Building Code (SBC 1001-CR). Finally, the paper clearly highlights the key role of sustainable building practices and the need to develop a certification system that considers the new trends and the local context.
Coupled Hydrogeochemical Approach and Sustainable Technologies for the Remediation of a Chlorinated Solvent Plume in an Urban Area
Authors: Ciampi Paolo , Esposito Carlo , Bartsch Ernst , Alesi Eduard J. , Nielsen Christian , Ledda Laura , Lorini Laura , Petrangeli Papini Marco
Published: August 2022

The presence of chlorinated solvents polluting groundwater in urbanized areas poses a significant environmental issue. This paper details a thoughtful approach to remediate a tetrachloroethylene (PCE) plume in a district that is characterized by a complex hydrological context with a limited accessibility. Through a geodatabase-driven and coupled hydrogeochemical approach, two distinct remediation technologies were chosen for the management of a contaminant plume. On one hand, coaxial groundwater circulation (CGC) wells coupled with air sparging (AS) aspire to promote the in-situ transfer of PCE from the contaminated matrices into a gaseous stream that is then treated above ground. On the other hand, reagent injection has the goal of enhancing chemical reduction combined with in situ adsorption, creating contaminant adsorbent zones, and stimulating dechlorinating biological activity. The development of an integrated conceptual site model (CSM) harmonizing geological, hydrochemical, and membrane interface probe (MIP) data captures site-specific hydrogeochemical peculiarities to support decision-making. The hydrochemical monitoring reveals contamination dynamics and decontamination mechanisms in response to treatment, quantifying the performance of the adopted strategies and investigating possible rebound effects. The estimation of masses extracted by the CGC-AS system validates the effectiveness of a new and sustainable technique to abate chlorinated solvents in groundwater.
Review and Analysis of Ecodesign Directive Implementing Measures: Product Regulations Shifting from Energy Efficiency towards a Circular Economy
Authors: Barkhausen Robin , Durand Antoine , Fick Katharina
Published: August 2022

The EU Ecodesign Directive was introduced as a framework to improve the environmental impact of energy-using and later energy-related products. From the beginning, the directive offered the possibility to consider not only the energy consumption of a product during its use phase, but a wider range of environmental aspects throughout the life cycle of a product, including circular economy aspects. We developed a circular economy taxonomy and analysed the coverage of functional and informational circular economy requirements in the 27 product groups regulated by ecodesign implementing measures from 2008 until 2021 by performing a content and keyword analysis of the legislative texts of 30 implementing measures and 16 amendments or repeals. We found circular economy requirements in 75% of currently regulated product groups and an increase in circular economy requirements over time and in particular in the legislations published in 2019. We found lighting products to be outliers, with many circular economy requirements early on and a focus on durability. For white goods, the focus was found to be on repairability requirements.
Development of a Protocol for a Sustainable Blue Economy in the Coastal Zone: Case Study and Preliminary Results in a Coastal Industrial Area in the Eastern Mediterranean
Authors: Pournara Anthi , Sakellariadou Fani
Published: August 2022

During the last decade, growing demand has prevailed for environmental protection and the application of sustainability principles toward the coastal environment. As the coastal zone constitutes one of the first recipients of the impacts of climate change due to the rise in sea level, integrated coastal zone management arises as a significant tool for the study of vulnerable coastal ecosystems. In combination with ICZM, the use of indicators and ecosystem services analysis couples all of the information, leading to an integrated approach and opportunities for a sustainable blue economy in coastal ecosystems. The aim of the present study is to form a protocol for a sustainable blue economy in the coastal zone, which will investigate and define the current capacity and the boundaries of a coastal ecosystem with specific characteristics of industrial activity, cultural heritage, and a protected natural environment. The case study for this research is the Gulf of Elefsis, a special sea basin in the eastern Mediterranean, located a short distance from the Athens metropolitan area. The Gulf of Elefsis is characterized by a developed coastal zone, which includes intense industrial activity, the ancient historical sights of Elefsis, the environmentally protected wetland of lake Koumoundourou, the town of Elefsis, a trade port, and growing shipbuilding activity.
A Study on Safety Evaluation of Pedestrian Flows Based on Partial Impact Dynamics by Real-Time Data in Subway Stations
Authors: Wang Xianing , Zhang Zhan , Wang Ying , Yang Jun , Lu Linjun
Published: August 2022

With the rapid development of urban rail transit, the scientific assurance of pedestrian safety has become an important issue. Orderly behavior is a crucial factor affecting pedestrian safety. Therefore, in-depth research into pedestrian behavior is needed. This study carries out an evaluation of safety in pedestrian flows by establishing a new force model based on real-time data. In this model, we consider the microscopic characteristics of pedestrians and define four force influence mechanisms for simulating pedestrian behavior. Compared with existing models, this model incorporates partial impact dynamics to make it applicable to the particular environment of subway stations. Through the validation of real-world data, it is demonstrated that the model can accurately describe pedestrian behavior and better reproduce the characteristics of pedestrians. The influence of pedestrians and of environmental factors on the model are also discussed. Using our model, we propose a risk evaluation system based on pedestrian volatility. By using real-time pedestrian information from subway stations, the potential risk to pedestrians can be discerned and assessed in advance. This research advances the management of pedestrian safety and provides a framework for studying behavior models and for safety evaluation.
Research on Gob-Side Entry Retaining Mining of Fully Mechanized Working Face in Steeply Inclined Coal Seam: A Case in Xinqiang Coal Mine
Authors: Zhou Xuming , Li Haotian , Li Xuelong , Wang Jianwei , Meng Jingjing , Li Mingze , Mei Chengwei
Published: August 2022

As a kind of non-coal pillar roadway support technique, gob-side entry retaining is of great significance to improve the production efficiency of a fully mechanized working face. However, the construction of the roadway is often subject to the surrounding rock conditions, the application is mainly concentrated in the nearly horizontal and gently inclined coal seam conditions, and the application in the steeply inclined coal seam conditions is relatively less. This paper is based on the gob-side entry retaining roadway construction of the 58# upper right 3# working face in the fifth district of Xinqiang Coal Mine, and describes the investigation in which we measured the advanced abutment stress, mining stress, and roof stress and analyzed the moving rule of roof. On this basis, in this work, we determined the filling parameters and process and investigated the filling effect from the perspective of the deformation of the filling body and the surrounding rock. The results show that the influence range of the advanced abutment stress in the working face is about 20~25 m, the stress in the upper part is intense, and stress in the middle and lower parts are relaxed. The setting load, the cycle-end resistance, and the time-weighted mean resistance at the upper end of working face along the direction of length are the largest, followed by the middle part, and the lower end is the minimum. When exploiting the steep inclined coal seam, the upper part of the working face is more active than the lower part, and the damaging range of overlaying strata is mainly in the upper part of the goaf. With this research, we established the filling mining process in steeply inclined coal seams and determined the relevant parameters. The gangue cement mortar filling can ensure the deformation of the filling body, the surrounding rock of the roadway is small in the process of roadway retention, and the stress of the filling body is also small, which ensure the successful retention of the roadway. This study verifies the possibility of repair-less exploitation and provides a reference for the popularization and application of the gob-side entry retaining technique in steep inclined coal seam.
Promoting STEAM Education in Primary School through Cooperative Teaching: A Design-Based Research Study
Authors: Li Jie , Luo Heng , Zhao Leilei , Zhu Min , Ma Lin , Liao Xiaofang
Published: August 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of students’ information literacy, computer skills, and research competencies for self-regulated learning and problem solving. STEAM education, with interdisciplinary knowledge building and higher-order thinking development as its main purpose, is considered essential for students’ sustainable development in the post-pandemic era. However, STEAM education in China’s K-12 schools is facing several problems, such as insufficient qualified teachers, unsustainable development, and difficulty in achieving meaningful discipline integration. To address these problems, this study proposes an innovative STEAM education model supported by cooperative teaching and theories of project-based learning and collaborative learning. After two iterations of design, evaluation, and revision, the proposed STEAM education model and a set of instructional design principles were validated. The resulting model features a multi-teacher cooperative strategy, detailed and diverse scaffolding, familiar themes for students, the integration of STEAM education into formal curricula, and extended instruction hours. The study results suggest that cooperative teaching can facilitate meaningful discipline integration and can alleviate the STEAM faculty shortage. This study produced five proven instructional design principles for conducting STEAM education supported by cooperative teaching in primary schools.
The Quality of Fair Revaluation of Fixed Assets and Additional Calculations Aimed at Facilitating Prospective Investors’ Decisions
Authors: Hussain Sarfraz , Hoque Mohammad Enamul , Susanto Perengki , Watto Waqas Ahmad , Haque Samina , Mishra Pradeep
Published: August 2022

The main objective of this study is to find out why sugar companies’ revaluation of their fixed assets has no direct financial impact. The purpose of this financial statement analysis of the sugar sector is to help potential investors make better decisions. It can also be used to address information asymmetries and alert investors. Fixed assets form a major part of a company’s value. During 2013–2018, 19 selected enterprises of Pakistan’s sugar sector adopted the International Accounting Standards Board’s international accounting standard 16 for fixed assets. Ordinary least squares, fixed effects, and random effects methods were used as a static panel, a panel-corrected standard errors method was used for the robust standard error and the system generalized method of moments was used as a dynamic panel. The surplus had a negative impact on operative income on revaluation of fixed assets in sugar businesses. As expected, revaluation by fixed asset firms resulted in changes in potential outcomes, as measured by cash in operating income and revenue, both of which were extremely negative. The return on assets was also linked to revaluation balance. The debt over the proportion of assets resulted in a strong correlation between revaluations, which meant that motivation affected how the volatility in asset value reflected the revaluation. Relationships were generally worse and more uncertain for listed companies at a time of strong economic volatility. Investors should not consider such accounting justice. The price-earnings ratio had a beneficial effect on operative income. The statistics support the idea that external concerns help the revaluation of assets.
Dynamic Response Mechanism of Silt Ground under Vibration Load
Authors: Gu Zhanfei , Wei Hailong , Liu Zhikui , Zhang Mingfei
Published: August 2022

The frequent vibration loads during the operation of trains can cause vibration deformation of the tunnel structure and surrounding weak strata, thereby endangering the safe operation of trains. The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamic response of surrounding soil layers caused by train vibrations through the finite difference method with FLAC3D. Based on existing research, we studied the artificially deterministic exciting force function. Then, we simulated the tunnel working conditions of a train with a 3D model, and applied the artificially deterministic exciting force function to the tunnel model. To study the vibration caused by trains in silty soil, we divided the trains into two cases, one-way and two-way. We compared the displacement–time curves of one-way and two-way trains. When the horizontal distance between the monitoring point and the vibration source increases, the peak value of the displacement–time curve decreases. As the speed of the train increases, the peak value of the displacement–time curve increases. The vertical displacement of the ground under the dynamic load of the two-way train is greater than that of the one-way train. In the acceleration–time curve, there is a lag in the ground acceleration response. The faster the speed of the subway train, the greater the peak value of the acceleration–time curve. This study can provide a guide for the evaluation and prevention of ground vibration subsidence and uneven subsidence of strata in the silt area of the Yellow River Region.
Evaluating Nature-Based Solution for Flood Reduction in Spercheios River Basin Part 2: Early Experimental Evidence
Authors: Spyrou Christos , Loupis Michael , Charizopoulos Nikos , Arvanitis Panagiotis , Mentzafou Angeliki , Dimitriou Elias , Debele Sisay E. , Sahani Jeetendra , Kumar Prashant
Published: August 2022

A number of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) are being used around the world in order to address various hydrometeorological hazards as a more environmentally friendly alternative to hard structures. Such a solution has been created in the Spercheios river basin in Central Greece, which is susceptible to heavy rainfall and river bank overflow due to flood water from upstream, in order to mitigate flood and drought impacts under current and future climate conditions. Here a first attempt is made to use actual measurements taken from various sources in the river, including in-situ and satellite data, in order to establish early experimental evidence of the NBS efficiency in the area. The measurements include data from automated hydrological stations from the OpenHi network, satellite remote sensing data and field measurements performed along the Spercheios River basin. For each measurement used, different analysis has been performed based on data availability and pertinence to the NBS efficiency. Preliminary results presented here show that the NBS functions as designed and provides protection against flooding in the area, and can potentially diminish the risk of drought. The results are in agreement with the numerical outputs already presented in our previous work.
Upgrading Island Tourism Value from the Perspective of the Tourist Experience—A Case Study of Tianheng Island, China
Authors: Yan Wenwen , Gu Dongqi , Wang Guanxun , Zhang Zhiwei , Zhou Yuke , Yu Jing , Ming Jie , Hou Jie , Pan Jingyu
Published: August 2022

Although island tourism is vital to the economy of developing countries, many islands with great potential for tourism development do not plan for it adequately. The objective of this paper is to establish an island tourism value mining and promotion model from the tourist perspective by selecting the status value indicators of basic conditions, vacation tourism resources, and sightseeing tourism resources, as well as the promotion indicators of five types of recreational fisheries, including beach activities, recreational fishing, marine sports, rock climbing, and sightseeing platforms. Then, we evaluate the whole island and develop suitable areas by using an analytic hierarchy process. This study took Tianheng Island as an example and divided the study area into grids and land use types. The results indicate that the basic conditions and tourism resources of Tianheng Island are in a general level, and the vacation tourism resources are in high quality, while there is further room to improve them. We identified that the island has four areas which are suitable for scenic development, two sandy beaches, two recreation fishing areas, one marine sports area, and one island rock climbing area. Our findings are consistent with the actual situation in Tianheng Island, demonstrating that the model is practical and can provide an essential reference for the scientific protection and utilization of island tourism resources.
Introducing Rhythmology in Mobility Studies
Authors: Kaufmann Vincent , Drevon Guillaume
Published: August 2022

After a period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which profoundly transformed the rhythms of daily life, we are at an exciting moment in dealing with mobility, especially since the major social science research traditions on mobility still struggle to think of time and space together in a single non-deterministic and dynamic approach [...]
The Impact of Sustainable Development of Cold Chain Logistics on China’s COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Li Xia , Liu Yifang , Wang Huijuan
Published: August 2022

Currently, there are multiple COVID-19 outbreaks in China’s imported cold chain product logistics. Cold chain logistics (CCL) have become an important source and weak link of China’s epidemic risk. This article discusses the differential effect of CCL on COVID-19 epidemic risk in different regions of China from an econometric analysis perspective. By comparing the development level of China and foreign countries, it can be observed that the sustainability of CCL may be a key factor affecting the risks of the epidemic. This article confirms the inverse correlation between the level of sustainability of CCL and the risk of epidemics from both mechanism analysis and empirical tests. Developing sustainability is not only beneficial to the development of the CCL industry itself but also an effective way to mitigate the risk of epidemics.
Impacts of Climate and Land Use/Cover Change on Water Yield Services in the Upper Yellow River Basin in Maqu County
Authors: Che Xichen , Jiao Liang , Qin Huijun , Wu Jingjing
Published: August 2022

The upper Yellow River Basin is an important ecological security barrier and a water conservation area in northwest China. The sustainability of its water yield services has generated much concern and debate. Spatial and temporal patterns of water yield factors are considered to be important scientific data. Therefore, the climate and land data of the upper Yellow River Basin in Maqu County are studied. Water yield for the period 1990–2020 was estimated using the water yield module in the InVEST model. Impacts and contribution weights of climate and land use/cover change on regional water yield were also quantified under 12 scenarios. The results indicate that (1) the average water yield in Maqu County has fluctuated and increased in the past 30 years. The increase in rainfall was more pronounced than the increase in potential evapotranspiration. Grassland areas continue to increase and unutilized land areas continue to decrease. (2) The average water yield for different types of land use during this period also varied. It showed grassland > unutilized land > forest > construction land > waterbody > cropland. (3) Climate change has a greater impact on water yield in Maqu County and further increases its contribution to regional water yield. The impact of land use/cover change was smaller and the contribution was smaller.
Iron-Marine Algal Interactions and Impacts: Decreasing Global Warming by Increasing Algal Biomass
Authors: El Semary Nermin A.
Published: August 2022

Iron limitation in vast water bodies has been linked to decreased algal productivity, despite different iron-acquiring mechanisms, and the presence of ferritin in many algal species that act as an iron internal reservoir. Therefore, iron fertilization has been proposed to increase algal biomass and photosynthesis. This, in turn, will reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increase oxygen, thereby decreasing global warming, and achieving ecological balance. In addition, algal proliferation will hopefully lead to enhancement in biodiversity, Biological pump, fish productivity and, subsequently marine food industry. Many climate geoengineering experiments in the form of ocean iron fertilization have been conducted globally in order to achieve such a purpose. However, reservations remain as the outcomes are not as promising as were previously expected. As the temporal and spatial scales of iron fertilization experiments are limited, the effects on fish productivity remain speculative. On the other hand, side effects were also recorded. The main purpose of iron fertilization, for carbon dioxide sequestration and global warming mitigation, still remains to be fully realized and verified. Several improvements and future modifications are suggested, and legal issues are discussed in this review.
Does Agroforestry Adoption Affect Subjective Well-Being? Empirical Evidence from Smallholder Farmers in East Java, Indonesia
Authors: Wijayanto Hari Wahyu , Lo Kai-An , Toiba Hery , Rahman Moh Shadiqur
Published: August 2022

Agroforestry has an essential role in reducing global poverty and maintaining environmental sustainability. However, little is known about the association between agroforestry and farmers’ welfare. This study aims to estimate the factors affecting agroforestry adoption and its impact on smallholder farmers’ welfare. The cross-sectional data were collected from 301 potato farmers in East Java, Indonesia. The factors affecting farmers’ decision to adopt agroforestry were estimated using probit regression analysis. The subjective well-being was proxied by life satisfaction and happiness. The effect of agroforestry adoption on subjective well-being was measured by propensity score matching (PSM). The findings indicated that agroforestry adoption was positively and significantly affected by whether the land is terraced, farmers’ age and education level, and farmers’ participation in social activities, cooperatives, and farmers’ groups. The PSM analysis shows that agroforestry adoption has a significant and positive impact on both subjective well-being indicators. Farmers who adopted agroforestry were happier and more satisfied than those who did not. The findings imply that farmers should implement agroforestry in the long term to improve their well-being.
Study on Interface Interaction between Uniaxial Geogrid Reinforcement and Soil Based on Tensile and Pull-Out Tests
Authors: Cai Xiaoguang , Feng Jiayu , Li Sihan , Xu Honglu , Liu Weiwei , Huang Xin
Published: August 2022

The interaction between reinforcement and soil is a key problem in the application of geosynthetics as reinforcement in geotechnical engineering. In this study, tensile and pull-out tests on a uniaxial geogrid were carried out using self-designed tensile and pull-out test equipment. The tensile test evaluated the tensile load–strain characteristics of a geogrid. Under the condition of lateral confinement, the tensile force and secant tensile stiffness of the geogrid increased with an increase in the normal stress when the strain was constant, and the secant tensile stiffness decreased with a decrease in the tensile rate. The stiffness coefficient was used to quantitatively describe the change in the stiffness of the reinforcement. Using the pull-out test, the variation laws of the pull-out force of the geogrid under different normal stresses and different longitudinal rib percentages were obtained. When the geogrid was broken, the pull-out force of the same type of geogrid was not significantly different under different normal stresses. With an increase in the longitudinal rib percentage, the pull-out force of the geogrid under the same normal stress gradually increased, and the apparent friction coefficient was obtained by analysis. The results of the apparent friction coefficient obtained by the analytical method in accordance with French specifications (NF P94-270-2020) are relatively safe compared to the experimental values.
Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Water Conservation Service of Ecosystems in the Zhejiang Greater Bay Area and Its Impact Factors Analysis
Authors: Zhang Lixue , Yang Fan
Published: August 2022

The Zhejiang Greater Bay Area (ZGBA) is the main functional area of water conservation in Zhejiang Province, China. It has 44.2% of the ecological red line area of Zhejiang Province. There are many mountains, plains, water systems, and tidal flat resources. It is an essential ecological barrier in the water supply area of the Hang-Jia-Hu area and the northern Zhejiang area. This paper aimed to clarify the water conservation services and influencing factors in the ZGBA, so as to provide reference and policy inspiration for local improvement of water resources. Based on the improved water balance method, the temporal and spatial dynamic changes of water conservation in the ZGBA from 2000 to 2019 were estimated, the impact of climate and land use and land cover change on water conservation was assessed, and geographic detectors were employed to explore the main influencing factors of water conservation. The following results can be summarized from this research: (1) The water conservation level of the ZGBA is relatively high and the water conservation amount showed a phased upward trend from 2000 to 2019; (2) The main reason for the significant increase in the level of water conservation from 2010 to 2019 was the increase in precipitation by 11% in the next 10 years compared with the previous 10 years, and land use exerted a low negative impact on water conservation; (3) Precipitation and evapotranspiration were the main single-factor influencing factors on water conservation, and the interactions between precipitation and vegetation/terrain were the main multi-factor influencing factors on water conservation.
Items and Constructs of Blockchain Adoption in Software Development Industry: Experts Perspective
Authors: AL-Ashmori Ammar , Dominic P. D. D. , Singh Narinderjit Singh Sawaran
Published: August 2022

The use of Blockchain is becoming a matter of increasing importance, yet the software development industry has not given Blockchain adoption enough consideration. As a result of their inability to modify their software process within the project life cycle, many software development companies struggle to [adopt Blockchain technology. This is because Blockchain Oriented Software (BOS) and its projects have distinctive characteristics that are distinct from traditional software and projects. The constructs and their items to adopt Blockchain in Software development industry have not been identified or investigated. This study aimed to identify technological, organizational, and environmental constructs and their items to adopt Blockchain. Utilizing a quantitative validation approach, 10 interviews and 25 assessment questionnaires were analyzed. The results reveal the identified technological, organizational, and environmental constructs and their items to adopt Blockchain. Experts unanimously agreed with Content Validity Ratio (CVR) results. According to most evaluation questionnaire forms and interview transcripts, the top technological construct was “Trialability” and the top organizational construct was “Cost” while the top environmental construct was “Market Dynamics.” All other constructs and their items were applicable, as indicated by most evaluation questionnaire forms and interview transcripts. This research gives a comprehensive list of technological, organizational, and environmental constructs and their items that demand the attention of Blockchain adoption researchers and industry players in the software development sector.
Correction: Munir et al. Perceptions of Glacier Grafting: An Indigenous Technique of Water Conservation for Food Security in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5208
Authors: Munir Ramsha , Bano Tehzeeb , Adil Iftikhar Hussain , Khayyam Umer
Published: August 2022

The authors would like to make the following corrections about in published paper [...]
Correction: Dirksen, J.; Alkire, S. Children and Multidimensional Poverty: Four Measurement Strategies. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9108
Authors: Dirksen Jakob , Alkire Sabina
Published: August 2022

In the original publication [...]
Discovery and Characterization of a Novel Umbravirus from Paederia scandens Plants Showing Leaf Chlorosis and Yellowing Symptoms
Authors: Zheng Lianshun , Fu Shuai , Xie Yi , Han Yang , Zhou Xueping , Wu Jianxiang
Published: August 2022

Umbraviruses are a special class of plant viruses that do not encode any viral structural proteins. Here, a novel umbravirus that has been tentatively named Paederia scandens chlorosis yellow virus (PSCYV) was discovered through RNA-seq in Paederia scandens plants showing leaf chlorosis and yellowing symptoms. The PSCYV genome is a 4301 nt positive-sense, single strand RNA that contains four open reading frames (ORFs), i.e., ORF1–4, that encode P1–P4 proteins, respectively. Together, ORF1 and ORF2 are predicted to encode an additional protein, RdRp, through a −1 frameshift mechanism. The P3 protein encoded by ORF3 was predicted to be the viral long-distance movement protein. P4 was determined to function as the viral cell-to-cell movement protein (MP) and transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) suppressor. Both P1 and RdRp function as weak post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) suppressors of PSCYV. The PVX-expression system indicated that all viral proteins may be symptom determinants of PSCYV. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that PSCYV is evolutionarily related to members of the genus Umbravirus in the family Tombusviridae. Furthermore, a cDNA infectious clone of PSCYV was successfully constructed and used to prove that PSCYV can infect both Paederia scandens and Nicotiana benthamiana plants through mechanical inoculation, causing leaf chlorosis and yellowing symptoms. These findings have broadened our understanding of umbraviruses and their host range.