bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
High-Glass-Transition Polyesters Produced with Phthalic Anhydride and Epoxides by Ring-Opening Copolymerization (ROCOP)
Authors: Silvano Selena , Proverbio Matteo , Vignali Adriano , Bertini Fabio , Boggioni Laura
Published: June 2023

Polyesters with a high glass transition temperature above 130 °C were obtained from limonene oxide (LO) or vinylcyclohexene oxide (VCHO) and phthalic anhydride (PA) in the presence of commercial salen-type complexes with different metals—Cr, Al, and Mn—as catalysts in combination with 4-(dimethylamino) pyridine (DMAP), bis-(triphenylphosphorydine) ammonium chloride (PPNCl), and bis-(triphenylphosphoranylidene)ammonium azide (PPNN3) as cocatalysts via alternating ring-opening copolymerization (ROCOP). The effects of the time of precontact between the catalyst and cocatalyst and the polymerization time on the productivity, molar mass (Mw), and glass transition temperature (Tg) were evaluated. The polyesters were characterized by a molar mass (Mw) of up to 14.0 kg/mol, a narrow dispersity Tg of up to 136 °C, and low (<3 mol%) polyether units. For poly(LO-alt-PA) copolymers, biodegradation tests were performed according to ISO 14851 using the respirometric biochemical oxygen demand method. Moreover, the vinyl double bond present in the poly(LO-alt-PA) copolymer chain was functionalized using three different thiols, methyl-3-mercaptopropionate, isooctyl-3-mercaptopropionate, and butyl-3-mercaptopropionate, via a click chemistry reaction. The thermal properties of poly(LO-alt-PA), poly(VCHO-alt-PA) and thiol-modified poly(LO-alt-PA) copolymers were extensively studied by DSC and TGA. Some preliminary compression molding tests were also conducted.
Eco-Friendly Epoxy-Terminated Polyurethane-Modified Epoxy Resin with Efficient Enhancement in Toughness
Authors: Zhang Kun , Huang Jinrui , Wang Yigang , Li Wenbin , Nie Xiaoan
Published: June 2023

Polyurethane is widely used to toughen epoxy resins due to its excellent comprehensive properties and compatibility. However, some demerits of polyurethanes limit their applications, such as the harsh storage condition of isocyanate-terminated polyurethane (ITPU), the limited amount of ITPU in epoxy resin, and using solvents during the preparation of polyurethane-modified epoxy resins. To address these issues, in this study, we reported a facile and green approach for preparing epoxy-terminated polyurethane (EPU)-modified epoxy resins with different EPU contents. It was found that the toughness of the epoxy resin was significantly improved after the addition of EPU. When the EPU content was 30 wt%, the elongation at break and toughness were improved by 358.36% and 73.56%, respectively. In comparison, the toughening effect of EPU outperformed that of ITPU. Moreover, the high content of EPU did not significantly decrease the glass transition temperature and had little effect on the thermal stability of the epoxy resin.
Fabrication and Applications of Potentiometric Membrane Sensors Based on γ-Cyclodextrin and Calixarene as Ionophores for the Determination of a Histamine H1-Receptor Antagonist: Fexofenadine
Authors: Alrabiah Haitham , Ali Essam A. , Alsalahi Rashad A. , Attwa Mohamed W. , Mostafa Gamal A. E.
Published: June 2023

Supramolecular fexofenadine sensors have been constructed. Although noncovalent intermolecular and intramolecular interactions, which are far weaker than covalent contacts, are the main focus of supramolecular chemistry, they can be used to create sensors with an exceptional affinity for a target analyte. The objective of the current research study is to adapt two PVC membrane sensors into an electrochemical approach for the dosage form determination of histamine H1-receptor antagonists: fexofenadine. The general performance characteristics of two new modified potentiometric membrane sensors responsive to fexofenadine hydrochloride were established. The technique was based on the employment of γ-cyclodextrin (CD) (sensor 1), 4-tert-butylcalix[8]arene (calixarene) (sensor 2) as an ionophore, potassium tetrakis (4-chlorophenyl) borate (KTpClPB) as an ion additive, and (o-NPOE) as a plasticizer for sensors 1 and 2. The sensors showed fast responses over a wide fexofenadine concentration range (1 × 10−2 to 4.5 (4.7) × 10−6 M), with detection limits of 1.3 × 10−6 M and 1.4 × 10−6 M for sensors 1 and 2, respectively, in the pH range of 2–8. The tested sensors exhibit the fexofenadine near-Nernstian cationic response at 56 and 58 mV/decade for sensors 1 and 2, respectively. The sensors exhibit good stability, fast response times, accuracy, precision, and longer life for fexofenadine. Throughout the day and between days, the sensors exhibit good recovery and low relative standard deviations. Fexofenadine in its pure, dose form has been identified with success using the modified sensors. The sensors were employed as end-point indications for the titration of fexofenadine with NaTPB.
Physicochemical Properties of Chitosan from Green Mussel Shells (Perna viridis): A Comparative Study
Authors: Kaewprachu Pimonpan , Jaisan Chalalai
Published: June 2023

Green mussel shells (Perna viridis) are generated in huge amounts and discarded as waste materials. Such waste may be used to produce biopolymer materials such as chitosan. The physicochemical properties of chitosan prepared from different sizes of green mussel shells (small size (CHS): ≤5.00 cm in length and big size (CHB): >5.01 cm in length) were characterized and compared with commercial chitosan (CH). Furthermore, the mechanical and physicochemical properties of the blended films were also investigated. The results of the physicochemical properties showed that CHS and CHB were quite different from CH. The degree of deacetylation of CHS, CHB, and CH was found to be 32.71%, 52.56%, and 70.42%, respectively (p < 0.05). The water- and fat-binding capacities of CH were higher than those of CHS and CHB. Structural differences between CHS, CHB, and CH were studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Significant increases in thickness, water vapor permeability, and strength of the blended films were found when the extracted chitosan was added (p < 0.05). However, further study is needed to improve the chitosan extraction process, which can enhance the physicochemical properties of the obtained chitosan and be widely used in many industries.
Design and Implementation of a Crowdsensing-Based Air Quality Monitoring Open and FAIR Data Infrastructure
Authors: Diviacco Paolo , Iurcev Massimiliano , Carbajales Rodrigo José , Viola Alberto , Potleca Nikolas
Published: June 2023

This work reports on the development of a real-time vehicle sensor network (VSN) system and infrastructure devised to monitor particulate matter (PM) in urban areas within a participatory paradigm. The approach is based on the use of multiple vehicles where sensors, acquisition and transmission devices are installed. PM values are measured and transmitted using standard mobile phone networks. Given the large number of acquisition platforms needed in crowdsensing, sensors need to be low-cost (LCS). This sets limitations in the precision and accuracy of measurements that can be mitigated using statistical methods on redundant data. Once data are received, they are automatically quality controlled, processed and mapped geographically to produce easy-to-understand visualizations that are made available in almost real time through a dedicated web portal. There, end users can access current and historic data and data products. The system has been operational since 2021 and has collected over 50 billion measurements, highlighting several hotspots and trends of air pollution in the city of Trieste (north-east Italy). The study concludes that (i) this perspective allows for drastically reduced costs and considerably improves the coverage of measurements; (ii) for an urban area of approximately 100,000 square meters and 200,000 inhabitants, a large quantity of measurements can be obtained with a relatively low number (5) of public buses; (iii) a small number of private cars, although less easy to organize, can be very important to provide infills in areas where buses are not available; (iv) appropriate corrections for LCS limitations in accuracy can be calculated and applied using reference measurements taken with high-quality standardized devices and methods; and that (v) analyzing the dispersion of measurements in the designated area, it is possible to highlight trends of air pollution and possibly associate them with traffic directions. Crowdsensing and open access to air quality data can provide very useful data to the scientific community but also have great potential in fostering environmental awareness and the adoption of correct practices by the general public.
Fe3O4 Core–Shell Nanostructures with Anticancer and Antibacterial Properties: A Mini-Review
Authors: Ioța Miruna-Adriana , Cursaru Laura-Mădălina , Șchiopu Adriana-Gabriela , Tudor Ioan Albert , Motoc Adrian-Mihail , Piticescu Roxana Mioara
Published: June 2023

Core–shell nanoparticles are functional materials with tailored properties, able to improve the requirements of various applications. Both core and shell components can be inorganic or organic, and there are numerous studies in this field regarding their synthesis methods, properties, and applications. This review aims to study core–shell nanostructures with Fe3O4 cores and different shell types, observing their antibacterial and anticancer properties. By the type of coating, Fe3O4 core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) are classified into four categories: metal-coated NPs, metal-organic framework (MOF) coated NPs, metal oxide coated NPs, and polymer-coated NPs. Each category is briefly presented, emphasizing anticancer or antibacterial properties and specific applications (cancer diagnosis or therapy, drug carrier). Moreover, synthesis methods and particle size for both core and shell nanostructures, as well as the magnetic properties of the final core–shell material, are summarized in this review. Most of the consulted papers discussed sphere-like core–shell nanoparticles obtained by chemical methods such as coprecipitation, hydrothermal, and green synthesis methods using plant extract. These types of core–shell nanoparticles could be used as drug nanocarriers for tumor-targeted drug delivery, hyperthermia treatment, or contrast agents. Further work needs to be conducted to understand nanoparticles’ interaction with living cells and their traceability in the human body.
Impact of a Sonochemical Approach to the Structural and Antioxidant Activity of Brown Algae (Fucoidan) Using the Box–Behnken Design Method
Authors: Bagale Uday , Kadi Ammar , Malinin Artem , Anjum Varisha , Potoroko Irina , Sonawane Shirish H.
Published: June 2023

A fucoidan discovered in the plant Fucus vesiculosus, which lowered the molecular weight of fucoidan, was ideal for its application in the pharmaceutical and food sectors. The aim was to study the impact of ultrasound process parameters on the molecular weight, structure, and antioxidant activity of fucoidan. For optimization of sonochemical process parameters such as temperature, sonication time, and power (intensity), Box–Behnken design (BBD) through the response surface method (RSM) at fixed fucoidan concentrations was compared with a normal process. The outcomes demonstrated that sonochemical treatment significantly decreased molecular weight (Mw) to 318 kDa compared to the control process (815 kDa). Antioxidant activity tests revealed that the sonication treatment significantly increased antioxidant activity (88.9% compared to 65.3% with the control process). Through use of the BBD model, we found that the ideal conditions for degradation of fucoidan were a temperature of 33 °C, sonication time of 40 min, and sonication power of 102.5 W/cm2. Under these conditions, the quadratic model was fitted and the experimental values for Mw and antioxidant activity (318 kDa and 87.4%) were close to the predicated values (316 kDa and 87.9%). According to the findings, sonication treatment is a useful method for lowering fucoidan levels with no observable changes in the monosaccharide units of fucoidan through scanning electron microscope, X-Ray diffraction, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis.
Simultaneous Analysis of Flumethasone Pivalate and Clioquinol in the Presence of Phenoxyethanol Preservative in Their Pharmaceuticals Using TLC and UHPLC Methods
Authors: Algethami Faisal K. , AlSalem Huda Salem , Gamal Mohammed , Nabil Nada , Zaazaa Hala E. , Ibrahim Mohamed A. , Mandour Asmaa A.
Published: June 2023

Two novel separation methods have been presented for the concurrent assessment of flumethasone pivalate (FP) and clioquinol (CL) in their combinations in ear drop formulations or in the presence of phenoxyethanol preservative (PEP) in their cream formulations. The first method is an innovative thin-layer chromatographic (TLC) method. The optimal separation was accomplished via silica gel aluminum plates F254, with a mixture of benzene, ethyl acetate and formic acid (5:5:0.2, in volumes) as the mobile system. In Method II, a new ultra-high-performance liquid chromatographic method (UHPLC) with a photodiode array detector (PDA) was presented. A reversed-phase inertsil ODS 5 µm C 18 packed column (100 Å, 4.6 mm internal diameter (I.D.) × 50 mm) at 30 °C was employed. Elution was completed in 3 min. Unfortunately, greener solvents were tested as a mobile phase, but an asymmetric peak for CL was noted. In addition, the new UHPLC method has a priority over the old HPLC one by Sayed et al., 2014, in terms of quickness and avoiding interference from the PEP preservative. Concerning the TLC method, the novel TLC method has the advantage of preventing the interference of PEP. This paper represents the first analytical approach for the concurrent assay of FP and CL in the presence of the preservative phenoxyethanol in the cream formulation.
Enhancing Lipid Production of Chlorella sp. by Mixotrophic Cultivation Optimization
Authors: Yu Hao-Cheng , Lay Chyi-How , Abdul Peer Mohamed , Wu Jane-Yii
Published: June 2023

Mixotrophic microalgal cultivation can utilize CO2 and organic carbon sources. This study optimized the cultivation nitrogen source (peptone, urea, yeast extract, NH4Cl, (NH4)2SO4, NH4NO3, NaNO3 and KNO3), carbon combination (glucose, glycerol, sucrose), (NH4)2SO4 nitrogen source and pH (6–11) in a local microalgae species with three characteristics (high pH-resistant, high growth rate and high lipid content). Chlorella sp. G3H3-1-2 biomass production and lipid accumulation were estimated using the fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) concentration. The Chlorella sp. G3H3-1-2 FAME content was strongly influenced by the carbon, nitrogen sources and pH variations. The pH ranged from 6.0 to 8.0, which produced the highest specific growth rate of 1.22 day−1 for Chlorella sp. G3H3-1-2 while using glucose as the single carbon source. However, the highest total FAMEs content of 59% in the Chlorella sp. G3H3-1-2 biomass of 1.75 g/L was obtained while using the combination of 1 g-glucose/L as the carbon source and 0.2 g-(NH4)2SO4/L as the nitrogen source at the high pH value of 10.
To Promote the Catalytic Ozonation of Typical VOCs by Modifying NiO with Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide
Authors: An Chenguang , Jiang Xinxin , Hong Wei , Sun Ye , Zhu Tianle
Published: June 2023

A series of mesoporous NiO catalysts with high specific surface area were prepared by a simple hydrothermal method and modified by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the crystal structure directing regent. The characterization with SEM, XRD, BET, and H2-TPR results demonstrated that the introduction of CTAB effectively improved the dispersion, specific surface area, and pore volume and redox ability of NiO, and thus exposed more active sites. Meanwhile, the NiO catalyst with a CTAB/NiSO4·6H2O molar ratio of 2/3 exhibited the better catalytic ozonation performance of toluene, formaldehyde, methanol, and ethyl acetate than NiO. The in-situ DRIFTS elucidated the reaction path of catalytic ozonation of toluene and indicated that the introduction of CTAB facilitated the complete oxidation of by-products into CO2 and H2O.
CFD Validation of Moment Balancing Method on Drag-Dominant Tidal Turbines (DDTTs)
Authors: Zhang Yixiao , Mittal Shivansh , Ng Eddie Yin-Kwee
Published: June 2023

Current performance analysis processes for drag-dominant tidal turbines are unsuitable as disk actuator theory lacks support for varying swept blockage area, bypass flow downstream interaction, and parasitic rotor drag, whereas blade element momentum theory is computably effective for three-blade lift-dominated aerofoil. This study proposes a novel technique to calculate the optimal turbine tip speed ratio (TSR) with a cost-effective and user-friendly moment balancing algorithm. A reliable dynamic TSR matrix was developed with varying rotational speeds and fluid velocities, unlike previous works simulated at a fixed fluid velocity. Thrust and idle moments are introduced as functions of inlet fluid velocity and rotational speed, respectively. The quadratic relationships are verified through regression analysis, and net moment equations are established. Rotational speed was a reliable predictor for Pinwheel’s idle moment, while inlet velocity was a reliable predictor for thrust moment for both models. The optimal (Cp, TSR) values for Pinwheel and Savonius turbines were (0.223, 2.37) and (0.63, 0.29), respectively, within an acceptable error range for experimental validation. This study aims to improve prevailing industry practices by enhancing an engineer’s understanding of optimal blade design by adjusting the rotor speed to suit the inlet flow case compared to ‘trial and error’ with cost-intensive simulations.
Efficient Utilization of Carbon Dioxide in Power-to-Gas and Power-to-Liquid Processes: A Vital Path to Carbon Neutrality
Authors: Tang Zongyue , Zhang Leiyu , Gao Ruxing , Wang Lei , Li Xianqiang , Zhang Chundong
Published: June 2023

A large number of CO2 emissions caused a serious greenhouse effect, aggravating global warming and climate change. Therefore, CO2 utilization has been a research hotspot, especially after the Paris Agreement, and among the various CO2 utilization technologies, the power-to-gas (PTG) and power-to-liquid (PTL) processes have recently attracted significant attention because they can transform CO2 into fuels and/or chemicals. Considering the lack of detailed information in the literature with regard to process design and economic analysis, we have critically and comprehensively summarized the recent research progresses concerning the PTG and PTL processes. Herein, we mainly focus on the power-to-methane in the case of PTG and the power-to-syncrude, power-to-methanol, and power-to-ethers in the case of PTL. From the technical point of view, the bottleneck problem of PTG and PTL processes is the low system efficiency, which can be improved by heat integration and/or process integration. Meanwhile, from the economic point of view, the production cost of PTG and PTL processes needs to be further reduced by the following measures, such as by increasing the carbon tax, lowering the electricity price, improving the electrolysis efficiency, reducing the capital expenditure of the electrolytic cell, and formulating sustainable incentive policies. The main purpose of the paper is to present a comprehensive updated review of CO2 utilization in PTG and PTL processes from process system integration, the techno-economic aspects, such as, state-of-the-art synthesis technologies, process system integration and the production cost, and provide useful information and reliable suggestions for the future development trends of the PTG and PTL processes.
A New ODE-Based Julia Implementation of the Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 Greatly Outperforms Existing DAE-Based Java and Python Implementations
Authors: Allen Courtney , Mazanko Alexandra , Abdehagh Niloofar , Eberl Hermann J.
Published: June 2023

The Anaerobic Digestion Model 1 is the quasi-industry standard for modelling anaerobic digestion, and it has seen several new implementations in recent years. It is assumed that these implementations would give the same results; however, a thorough comparison of these implementations has never been reported. This paper considers four different implementations of ADM1: one in Julia, one in Java, and two in Python. The Julia code is a de novo implementation of the ODE formulation of ADM1 that is reported here for the first time. The existing Java and Python codes implement the more common DAE formulation. Therefore, this paper also examines how DAE implementations compare to ODE implementations in terms of computational speed as well as solutions returned. As expected, the ODE and DAE forms both return comparable solutions. However, contrary to popular belief, the Julia ODE implementation is faster than the DAE implementations, namely by one to three orders of magnitude of compute time, depending on the simulation scenario and the reference implementation used for comparison.
Effects of High-Intensity Ultrasound Pretreatment on the Exopolysaccharide Concentration and Biomass Increase in Cheese Whey Kefir
Authors: Encinas-Vazquez Ismael A. , Carrillo-Pérez Esther , Mártin-García Abraham R. , Del-Toro-Sánchez Carmen L. , Márquez-Ríos Enrique , Bastarrachea Luis J. , Rodríguez-Figueroa José C.
Published: June 2023

Cheese whey (CW) is the liquid by-product of cheese and yogurt making. This potential pollutant has high-quality nutrients exploitable through fermentation processes. Using high-intensity ultrasound on dairy products has shown several technological advantages for bioprocesses. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of high-intensity ultrasound (HIUS) on kefir grains biomass increase and specific metabolites in CW kefir. Fresh CW was ultrasonicated at 9.0 ± 2.7 and 18.0 ± 3.0 W/cm2 for 30 and 180 s, inoculated with kefir grains, and fermented for 40 h. Total exopolysaccharide production, kefir grains biomass increase, titratable acidity, pH, and soluble solids were analyzed every 8 h. CW pretreated with 18.0 ± 3.0 W/cm2 for 180 s and fermented for 16 h had significantly higher (p < 0.05) total exopolysaccharide concentration than the control: 212.7 ± 0.0 and 186.6 ± 0.0 mg/L, respectively. Ultrasonicated CW at 18 W/cm2 for 30 and 180 s at 24 h fermentation time had significantly higher kefir grains biomass (p < 0.05) than the control: 44.2 ± 0.8 and 43.6 ± 0.9 g/L, and 40.5 ± 0.4 g/L, respectively. Fresh CW pretreated with HIUS enhanced the biosynthesis of kefir beverage total exopolysaccharides concentration and kefir grains biomass.
Study on Slurry Flow Characteristics and Diffusion Law of Superfine Cement-Based Composite Grouting Material
Authors: Xiao Tongqiang , Yu Zihao , Liu Fayi , Dai Xiaoliang , Sun Jianwei
Published: June 2023

The soft surrounding rock of deep roadways is in the state of “micro-fracture and low permeability”. In order to solve the problem of grouting reinforcement of micro-fractures surrounding rock in deep roadways, the influence characteristics of auxiliary materials and additives on slurry flow were analyzed, and the composition and proportion of superfine cement-based composite grouting materials were determined: superfine cement accounted for 89.4%, superfine coal ash accounted for 5%, ultrafine mineral powder accounted for 5%, naphthalene water reducing agent accounted for 3~5‰, and lignin sulfonate calcium accounted for 1~3‰. The effects of water–cement ratio and water reducer content on slurry viscosity and water bleeding rate were tested by laboratory experiments. Based on the fracture characteristics of surrounding rock and the “Liu Jiacai Formula”, the influence law of fracture opening, grouting pressure and slurry viscosity on the slurry diffusion radius was analyzed. The results show that the slurry viscosity decreases with the increase of water–cement ratio and water reducer content, but the bleeding rate increases obviously with the increase of the two factors; when the water–cement ratio is 1.0 and the water reducer content is 3‰, the slurry has the advantages of “strong permeability, strong flow and low water bleeding rate”; the smaller the fracture opening is, the greater the required grouting pressure and the lower the required slurry viscosity. Aiming at the “micro-fracture zone” of surrounding rock in deep roadways, when the dynamic viscosity of the slurry is 2.0 mPa·s, the reasonable grouting pressure should be 12 MPa to meet the needs of grouting reinforcement engineering. The high-pressure grouting test of surrounding rock in the “micro-fracture zone” was successfully carried out by using the superfine cement-based composite grouting material.
Surface Runoff and Diffuse Nitrogen Loss Dynamics in a Mixed Land Use Watershed with a Subtropical Monsoon Climate
Authors: Hou Congyu , Yang Zhifeng , Ouyang Wei
Published: June 2023

The surface hydrology and diffuse pollution loading is hypothesized based on the unique characteristics under different rainfall types in watersheds with a subtropical monsoon climate. This study evaluated the effects of different rainfall event intensity on surface runoff and diffuse nitrogen loss in a subtropical watershed located in the latitude range between 22.5° north and 25° north in southern China by adapting the hydrological model SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool). The rainfall events were classified into four categories including light rainfall (LR), moderate rainfall (MR), intense rainfall (IR), and extreme rainfall (ER). Our results showed that the ER events had the lowest occurrences of 7 days per year, but they contributed the most to total surface runoff (54.29%) and TN losses (57.63%) in the subtropical watershed researched. Although forests and pastures had a better effect on reducing diffuse pollution, their surface runoff and nitrogen loss were still proved to be serious under ER events. As for the nitrogen loss form, water-soluble nitrogen oxides nitrogen (ON-N) loss was the dominant form of total nitrogen (TN) loss, which accounted for 90% of the total loss in the simulated watershed in the subtropical monsoon climate region. Under LR events, however, nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) accounted for 74.54% and 55.59% of TN losses from paddy fields and dry lands, respectively. The effects of antecedent soil water content (ASW) on surface runoff and TN loss were higher under ER events. The surface runoff and TN loss in the high-ASW condition were 1.17–3.86 times and 1.34–1.76 times higher, respectively, than in the low-ASW condition. These findings highlighted the important influence of ER events on diffuse pollution and have significant implications for controlling diffuse pollution under different rainfall types. This conclusion proved that extra attention and efforts are required in handling non-point-source pollution in subtropical monsoon watersheds than the watersheds in cooler regions because the natural systems including forest and pastures are no longer effective enough in controlling surface runoff and TN loss during ER.
Chemical Characterization of an ARDUINO® Board and Its Surface Mount Devices for the Evaluation of Their Intrinsic Economic Value
Authors: Romano Pietro , Ippolito Nicolò Maria , Vegliò Francesco
Published: June 2023

The remarkable technological development observed in recent decades has led to an exponential increase in the production of electrical and electronic devices. Regardless of their field of application or the type of device, electronic boards are a common feature of all these devices. For this reason, electronic boards represent a constant in electrical and electronic equipment waste. Knowing their composition and intrinsic economic value is essential for identifying sustainable disposal and valorization processes. In the literature, several articles report typical compositions of electronic boards, but it is rare to find a component-by-component characterization. This procedure is important to determine the components that need to be removed to increase the recovery yields of materials or to identify components with high concentrations of hazardous substances. For this reason, in this scientific article, we propose to examine the chemical composition of all the components of the Arduino® electronic board using advanced chemical analysis techniques. Arduino is a popular electronic board mainly used to prototype electronic projects rapidly. The chemical composition of the Arduino board has yet to be entirely determined to date. The decision to use the Arduino board is due to the fact that this board is widespread globally and could represent a reference study.
Influence of the Adsorption Bed Composition on the Low-Pressure Fluidization
Authors: Kulakowska Anna , Zylka Anna , Krzywanski Jaroslaw , Skrobek Dorian , Grabowska Karolina , Sosnowski Marcin , Nowak Wojciech
Published: June 2023

The paper presents an innovative concept of the fluidization of an adsorption bed carried out under low-pressure conditions. Additionally, different bed mixes were used to test the effects of the bed composition on fluidization. Fluidization was caused by the pressure difference and the velocity of the flowing water vapor. These features make the research presented in this article significantly different from other studies known in the literature and constitute the main novelty of the paper. Silica gel with a particle diameter of 200–250 µm (Geldart group B) with aluminum and carbon nanotube additives was fluidized under reduced pressure (10–25 mbar). The pressure difference results in the flow of water vapor and, consequently, induces fluidization. The pressure in the evaporator was approx. 10 mbar, while in the reaction chamber it was approx. 25 mbar. The pressure difference of about 10–15 mbar allows for a flow of water vapor between the evaporator and the reaction chamber. During the tests, the pressures, temperatures and mass were measured. The pressure drop in the bed was closely related to the mass change in the fluidized bed.
Valve Stiction Detection Method Based on Dynamic Slow Feature Analysis and Hurst Exponent
Authors: Shang Linyuan , Zhang Yuyu , Zhang Hanyuan
Published: June 2023

Valve stiction is the most common root of oscillation faults in process control systems, and it can cause the severe deterioration of control performance and system instability, ultimately impacting product quality and process safety. A new method for detecting valve stiction, based on dynamic slow feature analysis (DSFA) and the Hurst exponent, is proposed in this paper. The proposed method first utilizes DSFA to extract slow features (SFs) from the preprocessed and reconstructed data of the controller output and the controlled process variable; then, it calculates the Hurst exponent of the slowest SF to quantify its long-term correlation; and, finally, it defines a new valve detection index to identify valve stiction. The results obtained from simulations and actual process case studies demonstrate that the proposed method, based on a DSFA–Hurst exponent, can effectively detect valve stiction in control loops.
Establishing Genealogies of Born Digital Content: The Suitability of Revision Identifier (RSID) Numbers in MS Word for Forensic Enquiry
Authors: Spennemann Dirk H. R. , Spennemann Rudolf J.
Published: June 2023

Born-digital content is rapidly becoming the norm for literary works, professional reports, academic journal articles, and formal corporate correspondence. From the perspective of digital forensics, there is a need to understand the origin of a document and its entire creation process, from outlining and drafting to editing the final version of the text. Revision save identifier (RSID) numbers embedded in MS Word documents have been used to examine the nature and extent of individual edits within a document. These RSIDs remain logged in the metadata even if the text with which they were associated has been removed. As copies of such files retain the original’s RSIDs, this metadata can be used to determine the order in which documents were cloned from each other. As a proof-of-concept, this paper examined over 400 template files generated by a single publisher for manuscript submissions to its journals. The study can show that it is possible to establish genealogies and thus relative chronologies of born digital content by first identifying those documents that share a document (root) RSID and then seriating those RSIDs that are shared between two or more documents.
Phenomenology of Quranic Corporeality and Affect: A Concrete Sense of Being Muslim in the World
Authors: Gonzalez Valerie
Published: June 2023

It is a matter to ponder that, among the three Abrahamic monotheisms, Islam places the greatest ontotheological distance between the human and the divine. While God is the ground of being Muslim, Islam excludes theophany and prohibits any tangible association between the divine and anything in the material world. God’s mode of manifesting Himself to His creatures has consisted of the most fleeting and discorporate of all means of communication, namely, sound. His words gathered in the Qur’an thus form a non-solid verbal bridge crossing over that unfathomable distance. One could then think that the relationship between the unique Creator and His creatures relies only on the strength of a blind faith founded on a dry, discursive pact. Arguing his “idea of an anthropology of Islam”, Talal Asad did posit that this religion and its culture form “a discursive tradition”. Exclusively focused on the mental modes of knowledge acquisition, this cognitivist verbalist characterization has become a certitude in Islamic studies at large. Yet, it is only a half-truth, for it overlooks the emphatic involvement, in the definition of this tradition of Islam, of the non-linguistic phenomenality of experience that implicates the pre-logical non-cognitive double agency of affect and sensation in the pursuit of divine knowledge. This article expounds this phenomenology of the Qur’an in using an innovative combination of philosophical and literary conceptualities, and in addressing some hermeneutical problems posed by the established Quranic studies.
A Biocultural Dialogue between Thoreau and Taoist Thought: Rethinking Environmental Ethics, Nature, Spirituality and Place
Authors: Thompson Michael , Xu Li
Published: June 2023

A fundamental question of the 21st century centers around the role and place of humans in their environment. Given the great acceleration of consumptive practices engaged in the 20th century, humans stand on the brink of a 6th extinction event. In order to determine our place and role in our global environment, we need to reflect on where we are and what the future will be—we need to focus on the habits of our “co-inhabitation” of the planet. Given the positive and negative impacts of international and global activities, intercultural dialogues are necessary for the care of the ecology of the planet, and one of the most prescient dialogues is between Eastern and Western world views. While much comparative research has been conducted regarding the connection between American Transcendentalism and Chinese ancient philosophy, relatively little philosophical work has been conducted to demonstrate the connectivity between Henry David Thoreau and Taoism. Yet there are, in fact, profound similarities between the American naturalist and Chinese philosophy, in particular Taoism. This paper aimed to discover and manifest the connection and similarities between the philosophy of Thoreau and the ancient worldview of Taoism. Through this comparative study and intercultural dialogue, we seek to trace historical precedents and intercultural dialogue between American Transcendentalism and ancient Chinese philosophy in order to explore the groundwork for a new vision of environmental awareness in order to promote a better future with a community of co-inhabitants and emphasis on the well-being of all.
Computational Systems Design of Low-Cost Lightweight Robots
Authors: Sathuluri Akhil , Sureshbabu Anand Vazhapilli , Frank Jintin , Amm Maximilian , Zimmermann Markus
Published: June 2023

With the increased demand for customisation, developing task-specific robots for industrial and personal applications has become essential. Collaborative robots are often preferred over conventional industrial robots in human-centred production environments. However, fixed architecture robots lack the ability to adapt to changing user demands, while modular, reconfigurable robots provide a quick and affordable alternative. Standardised robot modules often derive their characteristics from conventional industrial robots, making them expensive and bulky and potentially limiting their wider adoption. To address this issue, the current work proposes a top-down multidisciplinary computational design strategy emphasising the low cost and lightweight attributes of modular robots within two consecutive optimisation problems. The first step employs an informed search strategy to explore the design space of robot modules to identify a low-cost robot architecture and controller. The second step employs dynamics-informed structural optimisation to reduce the robot’s net weight. The proposed methodology is demonstrated on a set of example requirements, illustrating that (1) the robot modules allow exploring non-intuitive robot architectures, (2) the structural mass of the resulting robot is 16 % lower compared to a robot designed using conventional aluminium tubes, and (3) the designed modules ensure the physical feasibility of the robots produced.
Coexistence of a Marginal Mountain Community with Large-Scale and Low Kinematic Landslide: The Intensive Monitoring Approach
Authors: Godone Danilo , Allasia Paolo , Notti Davide , Baldo Marco , Poggi Flavio , Faccini Francesco
Published: June 2023

Mountain territories affected by natural hazards are vulnerable areas for settlements and inhabitants. Additionally, those areas are characterized by socio-economic marginality, further favoring their abandonment. The study area is located in Liguria (Italy), and a large, slow-moving phenomenon endangers the settlements in the region. Monitoring such phenomena requires the use of instruments capable of detecting yearly, millimetric displacements and, due to their size, the use of remote techniques which can provide deformation measurement of the entire extent of the phenomenon. The methodology proposed here couples long-term interferometric remote sensing data analysis with intensive in situ monitoring (inclinometer, piezometers and global navigation satellite systems). Furthermore, the inclinometric measurements were carried out with an experimental, robotized inclinometer. The aim is to frame the overall context of ground deformation, assure information for inhabitants, stakeholders and land-planners, and secure coexistence with the phenomenon. Remote sensing provided a time series of 28 years of deformation measurements while in situ instrumentations allowed, in the last years, a better understanding of the surficial and deep behavior of the phenomenon, confirming the satellite data. Additionally, the high-frequency monitoring allowed us to record acceleration after precipitation peaks. The proposed approach, including the experimental instruments, proved its viability and can be replicated in similar mountain contexts.
A Coarse-to-Fine Feature Match Network Using Transformers for Remote Sensing Image Registration
Authors: Liang Chenbin , Dong Yunyun , Zhao Changjun , Sun Zengguo
Published: June 2023

Feature matching is a core step in multi-source remote sensing image registration approaches based on feature. However, for existing methods, whether traditional classical SIFT algorithm or deep learning-based methods, they essentially rely on generating descriptors from local regions of feature points, which can lead to low matching success rates due to various challenges, including gray-scale changes, content changes, local similarity, and occlusions between images. Inspired by the human approach of finding rough corresponding regions globally and then carefully comparing local regions, and the excellent global attention property of transformers, the proposed feature matching network adopts a coarse-to-fine matching strategy that utilizes both global and local information between images to predict corresponding feature points. Importantly, the network has great flexibility of matching corresponding points for any feature points and can be effectively trained without strong supervised signals of corresponding feature points and only require the true geometric transformation between images. The qualitative experiment illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed network by matching feature points extracted by SIFT or sampled uniformly. In the quantitative experiments, we used feature points extracted by SIFT, SuperPoint, and LoFTR as the keypoints to be matched. We then calculated the mean match success ratio (MSR) and mean reprojection error (MRE) of each method at different thresholds in the test dataset. Additionally, boxplot graphs were plotted to visualize the distributions. By comparing the MSR and MRE values as well as their distributions with other methods, we can conclude that the proposed method consistently outperforms the comparison methods in terms of MSR at different thresholds. Moreover, the MSR of the proposed method remains within a reasonable range compared to the MRE of other methods.
Identifying Potential Landslides in Steep Mountainous Areas Based on Improved Seasonal Interferometry Stacking-InSAR
Authors: Li Zhiyu , Dai Keren , Deng Jin , Liu Chen , Shi Xianlin , Tang Guangmin , Yin Tao
Published: June 2023

Landslides are a major concern in the mountainous regions of southwest China, leading to significant loss of life and property damage. Therefore, it is crucial to identify potential landslides for early warning and mitigation. stacking-InSAR, a technique used for landslide identification in a wide area, has been found to be faster than conventional time-series InSAR. However, the dense vegetation in southwest China mountains has an adverse impact on the coherence of stacking-InSAR, resulting in more noise and inaccuracies in landslide identification. To address this problem, this paper proposes an improved seasonal interferometry stacking-InSAR method. It uses Sentinel-1 satellite data from 2017 to 2022. The study area is the river valley section of the G213 road from Wenchuan County to Mao County. The study reveals the characteristics of seasonal decoherence in the steep mountainous region, and identifies a total of 21 potential landslides using the improved method. Additionally, optical satellite imagery and LiDAR data were used to assist in the identification of potential landslides. The results of the conventional stacking-InSAR method and the improved seasonal interferometry stacking-InSAR method are compared, showing that the latter is more effective in noise suppression caused by low coherence. Their standard deviations were reduced by 46%, 22%, 10%, and 14%, respectively, using the quantitative statistics for the four tested areas. The proposed method provides an efficient and effective approach for detecting potential landslides in the mountainous regions of southwest China. It can serve as a valuable technical reference for future landslide identification studies in this area.
The Effects of mmW and THz Radiation on Dry Eyes: A Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) Computational Simulation Using XFdtd
Authors: Foroughimehr Negin , Vilagosh Zoltan , Yavari Ali , Wood Andrew
Published: June 2023

The importance of investigating the health effects of RF radiation on the cornea cannot be overstated. This study aimed to address this need by utilizing a mathematical simulation to examine the absorption of millimeter wave (mmW) and terahertz (THz) waves by the cornea, considering both normal and pathological conditions. The simulation incorporated variations in tear film thickness and hydration levels, as these factors play a crucial role in corneal health. To assess the impact of RF radiation on the cornea, the study calculated temperature rises, which indicate heating effects for both dry and normal eyes. XFdtd, a widely used commercial software based on the Finite-Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method, was employed to evaluate the radiation absorption and resulting temperature changes. The outcomes of this study demonstrated a crucial finding, i.e., that changes in the water ratio and thickness of the tear film, which are associated with an increased risk of dry eye syndrome, directly impact the absorption of mmW and THz waves by the cornea. This insight provides valuable evidence supporting the interconnection between tear film properties and the vulnerability of the cornea to RF radiation.
Node-Loss Detection Methods for CZ Silicon Single Crystal Based on Multimodal Data Fusion
Authors: Jiang Lei , Xue Rui , Liu Ding
Published: June 2023

Monocrystalline silicon is an important raw material in the semiconductor and photovoltaic industries. In the Czochralski (CZ) method of growing monocrystalline silicon, various factors may cause node loss and lead to the failure of crystal growth. Currently, there is no efficient method to detect the node loss of monocrystalline silicon at industrial sites. Therefore, this paper proposed a monocrystalline silicon node-loss detection method based on multimodal data fusion. The aim was to explore a new data-driven approach for the study of monocrystalline silicon growth. This article first collected the diameter, temperature, and pulling speed signals as well as two-dimensional images of the meniscus. Later, the continuous wavelet transform was used to preprocess the one-dimensional signals. Finally, convolutional neural networks and attention mechanisms were used to analyze and recognize the features of multimodal data. In the article, a convolutional neural network based on an improved channel attention mechanism (ICAM-CNN) for one-dimensional signal fusion as well as a multimodal fusion network (MMFN) for multimodal data fusion was proposed, which could automatically detect node loss in the CZ silicon single-crystal growth process. The experimental results showed that the proposed methods effectively detected node-loss defects in the growth process of monocrystalline silicon with high accuracy, robustness, and real-time performance. The methods could provide effective technical support to improve efficiency and quality control in the CZ silicon single-crystal growth process.
Realization of a Test Tool for Diagnosis of Contact Resistance and Measurement of Selected Types of Conductive Materials
Authors: Kacor Petr , Bernat Petr , Mlcak Tomas , Hrabovsky Leopold
Published: June 2023

Contact connections in electrical machines and apparatus are important elements in the whole power supply network and a high level of reliability is expected there. Contact resistance is a fundamental criterion in the design of an electrical contact or contact system. The contact resistance should be as low as possible to minimize losses due to the current passage and the related heating of the contact connection. The value of the contact resistance depends on the material used, the value of the applied force, the type of contact, and, last but not least, the quality of the surface and chemical layers. In this paper, an initial diagnosis of the contact material is performed based on the determination of the sample’s specific resistivity by the four-wire method and the evaluation of the measurement uncertainty. The work is followed by the design of a testing device that uses crossed bars to measure the change in contact resistance as a function of the magnitude of the applied force. An analysis of the sample mounting method is performed here using FEM simulations of the current field and shows the interaction between the holder and the sample in terms of current line transfer. The proposed system is then used for experimental measurements of the material-dependent coefficient KC for verification of existing or newly developed materials in electrical engineering, where the values of the KC coefficient are not known. Finally, the paper also deals with the measurement of fritting voltage for individual contact pairs having surface quality corresponding to brushing.