bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Temperature-Dependent Functional Response of Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) on the Eggs of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Laboratory
Authors: Islam Yasir , Shah Farhan Mahmood , Shah M. Abas , Musa Khan Muhammad , Rasheed Muhammad Asim , Ur Rehman Shakeel , Ali Shahzaib , Zhou Xingmiao
Published: September 2020

Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a major pest of several economically important crops with worldwide distribution. Use of insecticides is the principal strategy for its management, which has subsequently led to insecticide resistance and control failures. Functional response of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) at larval and adult stages was evaluated in this study, using S. litura eggs as the prey at various temperatures varying between 15 and 35 °C. Based on logistic model findings, linear parameters of various predatory stages of H. axyridis at various temperatures were significantly negative, which indicate a type II functional response. The theoretical maximum number (T/Th) of eggs consumed increased with increasing temperature across all predatory stages. According to the random predator equation, the coefficients of attack rate increased and that of handling time decreased as the temperature increased. The 4th instar and adult stages were superior candidates for biocontrol of the target prey, typically at higher temperatures. The maximum attack rate (0.546 ± 0.058 h−1) and lowest handling time (0.189 ± 0.004 h) were exhibited by the females at 30 and 35 °C, respectively, whereas these parameters were inferior for early instars. These findings clearly depict that the 4th instar and adult predators are efficient egg consumers and can serve as potential suppressors of S. litura field populations. The limitations of the predictions formulated by functional response trials are also discussed.
Phytoplankton Biomass Dynamics in Tropical Coastal Waters of Jakarta Bay, Indonesia in the Period between 2001 and 2019
Authors: Damar Ario , Colijn Franciscus , Hesse Karl-Juergen , Adrianto Luky , Yonvitner  , Fahrudin Achmad , Kurniawan Fery , Prismayanti Ageng Dwi , Rahayu Siti Mira , Rudianto Bambang Yudho , Ramli Agus
Published: September 2020

A study of nutrients, underwater light dynamics, and their correlation with phytoplankton biomass was conducted in the tropical estuary of Jakarta Bay, Indonesia, in the dry season during the period from 2001 to 2019. This study analyzed the spatial and temporal dynamics of phytoplankton biomass and its correlation with phytoplankton biomass. There was significant increase in nutrient concentration in Jakarta Bay, with annual means of 27.97 µM dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and 11.31 µM phosphates in 2001, increasing to 88.99 µM DIN and 25.92 µM phosphates in 2019. Increased mean nutrient concentrations were accompanied by increased mean phytoplankton biomass, from 15.81 µg Chl-a L−1 in 2001 to 21.31 µg Chl-a L−1 in 2019. The eutrophication status of Jakarta Bay waters was calculated using the Tropical Index for Marine Systems eutrophication index, which showed increased areas of hyper-eutrophic and eutrophic zones, while the mesotrophic area decreased. The hyper-eutrophic zone dominated the areas around river mouths and the inner part of the bay, while eutrophic status was observed in the middle part of the bay and mesotrophic status was found in the outer part of the bay. The area of hyper-eutrophic water increased 1.5-fold, from 75.1 km2 in 2001 to 114.0 km2 in 2019. Increasing eutrophication of the bay has had negative ecological consequences including algal blooms, hypoxic conditions, and mass mortality of marine biota, and it urgently requires remediation.
A Polyethylene Base Moisture Activating Oxygen Scavenging Film Co-Extruded with Tea Polyphenols-β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complex
Authors: Pan Liao , Zhang Meiying , Lu Lixin , Ou Bingxian , Chen Xi
Published: September 2020

Antioxidant packaging is an effective method to protect oxygen-sensitive food from oxidation. In order to concurrently obtain a storage stability and excellent oxygen scavenging of antioxidant film for the high moisture food, a moisture activating oxygen scavenging film was prepared by using tea polyphenols as the oxygen scavenger. The moisture activating function was achieved by introducing the β-cyclodextrin embedding technology, and the tea polyphenols–β-cyclodextrin inclusion complex was co-extruded with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) to improve the storage stability. The results indicate that the tea polyphenols is well embedded by β-cyclodextrin according to the Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), and a relatively homogeneous dispersion of oxygen scavenger is observed while the oxygen scavenger content is less than 5%. The oxygen scavenging increases with the increase of oxygen scavenger from 1% to 5%, and a maximal oxygen absorption of 0.0150 mol/m2 is exhibited at oxygen scavenger content value of 5%. Then, the oxygen scavenging significantly decrease under the oxygen scavenger content of 7% and 10%. Moreover, the oxygen scavenging amount sharply increase after steeping in water or storage in extremely high humidity of RH 84% while the oxygen scavenging is restrained under RH 32–75%, indicating that the moisture activating oxygen scavenging is functioning. The oxygen scavenging is obvious restrained under low temperature of 4 °C while the oxygen scavenging is activated at 23 °C and 50 °C with similar oxygen scavenging amount. Besides, both of the tensile and heat-sealing strength deteriorative with the increase of oxygen scavenger content, while they are acceptable at oxygen scavenger content of 5%. Finally, the prepared oxygen scavenging film was used for packaging orange juice and received a good antioxidant effect. Thus, the acquired moisture activating oxygen scavenging film has a good stability under regular storage condition, and shows a potentially application for oxygen-sensitive food with high moisture content.
The Potential of CEB Reinforced Masonry Technology for (Re)construction in the Context of Disasters
Authors: Di Gregorio Leandro , Guimarães Gustavo , Tenório Marina , Lima Daniel , Haddad Assed , Danziger Fernando , Jannuzzi Graziella , Santos Sergio , Lima Silvio
Published: September 2020

More than 226 million people are affected by some type of disaster every year in various dimensions of human life, both in the short and long term. In this context, housing provision plays a leading role when it comes to basic needs and the choice of construction technologies and materials are determinant for a well-succeeded housing provision process. This work aims to analyze the viability of reinforced masonry technology with cement-stabilized compressed earth blocks as an alternative for the (re)construction process in situations that involve disaster risk reduction (DRR). To address this issue, a discussion from the literature and the main results obtained during the investigations carried out within the scope of the Simple Housing Solution (SHS) Project are presented. In the sequence, analyses are performed under United Nations Development Program/International Recovery Platform sustainability recommendations: environmental, technical, financial and socio-organizational aspects. It is concluded that the technology of Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) reinforced structural masonry has a high potential to be successfully applied in DRR situations, especially when associated with the community construction system in a joint effort.
Riemannian Structures on

Z
2
n

-Manifolds
Authors: Bruce Andrew James , Grabowski Janusz
Published: September 2020

Very loosely, Z2n-manifolds are ‘manifolds’ with Z2n-graded coordinates and their sign rule is determined by the scalar product of their Z2n-degrees. A little more carefully, such objects can be understood within a sheaf-theoretical framework, just as supermanifolds can, but with subtle differences. In this paper, we examine the notion of a Riemannian Z2n-manifold, i.e., a Z2n-manifold equipped with a Riemannian metric that may carry non-zero Z2n-degree. We show that the basic notions and tenets of Riemannian geometry directly generalize to the setting of Z2n-geometry. For example, the Fundamental Theorem holds in this higher graded setting. We point out the similarities and differences with Riemannian supergeometry.
Effects of Entropy Generation, Thermal Radiation and Moving-Wall Direction on Mixed Convective Flow of Nanofluid in an Enclosure
Authors: Sivanandam Sivasankaran , Chamkha Ali J. , M. Mallawi Fouad O. , Alghamdi Metib S. , Alqahtani Aisha M.
Published: September 2020

A numeric investigation is executed to understand the impact of moving-wall direction, thermal radiation, entropy generation and nanofluid volume fraction on combined convection and energy transfer of nanoliquids in a differential heated box. The top wall of the enclosed box is assumed to move either to the left or the right direction which affects the stream inside the box. The horizontal barriers are engaged to be adiabatic. The derived mathematical model is solved by the control volume technique. The results are presented graphically to know the impact of the dissimilar ways of moving wall, Richardson number, Bejan number, thermal radiation, cup mixing and average temperatures. It is concluded that the stream and the thermal distribution are intensely affected by the moving-wall direction. It is established that the thermal radiation enhances the convection energy transport inside the enclosure.
Cauchy Problem for a Linear System of Ordinary Differential Equations of the Fractional Order
Authors: Mamchuev Murat
Published: September 2020

We investigate the initial problem for a linear system of ordinary differential equations with constant coefficients and with the Dzhrbashyan–Nersesyan fractional differentiation operator. The existence and uniqueness theorems of the solution of the boundary value problem under the study are proved. The solution is constructed explicitly in terms of the Mittag–Leffler function of the matrix argument. The Dzhrbashyan–Nersesyan operator is a generalization of the Riemann–Liouville, Caputo and Miller–Ross fractional differentiation operators. The obtained results as particular cases contain the results related to the study of initial problems for the systems of ordinary differential equations with Riemann–Liouville, Caputo and Miller–Ross derivatives and the investigated initial problem that generalizes them.
Simultaneous Optimal Estimation of Roughness and Minor Loss Coefficients in a Pipeline
Authors: Santos-Ruiz Ildeberto , López-Estrada Francisco-Ronay , Puig Vicenç , Valencia-Palomo Guillermo
Published: September 2020

This paper presents a proposal to estimate simultaneously, through nonlinear optimization, the roughness and head loss coefficients in a non-straight pipeline. With the proposed technique, the calculation of friction is optimized by minimizing the fitting error in the Colebrook–White equation for an operating interval of the pipeline from the flow and pressure measurements at the pipe ends. The proposed method has been implemented in MATLAB and validated in a serpentine-shaped experimental pipeline by contrasting the theoretical friction for the estimated coefficients obtained from the Darcy–Weisbach equation for a set of steady-state measurements.
Effects of Equine-Assisted Therapies or Horse-Riding Simulators on Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Collado-Mateo Daniel , Lavín-Pérez Ana Myriam , Fuentes García Juan Pedro , García-Gordillo Miguel Ángel , Villafaina Santos
Published: September 2020

Background and objectives: Chronic pain is a complex global public health problem that affects the health status, quality of life, activities of daily living, and different work-related variables. Riding a horse may lead to some benefits in chronic pain patients through the improvement of postural control and other biopsychosocial processes. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of horse riding (with real or simulated horses) on chronic pain. Materials and methods: A systematic literature search was carried out in accordance with PRISMA guidelines in Web of Science (WOS) and PubMed (Medline) electronic databases. Eleven articles (seven randomized controlled trials) were selected to be included in the review. Due to some risk of bias concerns, two meta-analyses (using postintervention or change-from-baseline measures) were conducted utilizing Review Manager Software (RevMan 5.3). Results: Horse-riding simulators significantly reduced the pain levels of patients with low back pain (p = 0.03, with a SMD of −1.14 and a 95% CI from −2.16 to −0.11) using change-from-baseline measures. However, the p-value in the meta-analysis with the postintervention measures was 0.06. Regarding interventions with real horses, it was not possible to conduct a meta-analysis due to the low number of studies. Conclusion: Horse riding could be a useful exercise to reduce pain, but more studies are needed to make evidence-based recommendations and to compare the effects of horse-riding with real and simulated horses.
Hospital-Acquired Dysmagnesemia and In-Hospital Mortality
Authors: Cheungpasitporn Wisit , Thongprayoon Charat , Chewcharat Api , Petnak Tananchai , Mao Michael A. , Davis Paul W. , Bathini Tarun , Vallabhajosyula Saraschandra , Qureshi Fawad , Erickson Stephen B.
Published: September 2020

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to report the incidence of hospital-acquired dysmagnesemia and its association with in-hospital mortality in adult general hospitalized patients. Materials and Methods: We studied 26,020 adult hospitalized patients from 2009 to 2013 who had normal admission serum magnesium levels and at least two serum magnesium measurements during hospitalization. The normal range of serum magnesium was 1.7–2.3 mg/dL. We categorized in-hospital serum magnesium levels based on the occurrence of hospital-acquired hypomagnesemia and/or hypermagnesemia. We assessed the association between hospital-acquired dysmagnesemia and in-hospital mortality using multivariable logistic regression. Results: 28% of patients developed hospital-acquired dysmagnesemia. Fifteen per cent had hospital-acquired hypomagnesemia only, 10% had hospital-acquired hypermagnesemia only, and 3% had both hospital-acquired hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia. Compared with patients with persistently normal serum magnesium levels in hospital, those with hospital-acquired hypomagnesemia only (OR 1.77; p < 0.001), hospital-acquired hypermagnesemia only (OR 2.31; p < 0.001), and both hospital-acquired hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia (OR 2.14; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with higher in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: Hospital-acquired dysmagnesemia affected approximately one-fourth of hospitalized patients. Hospital-acquired hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesemia were significantly associated with increased in-hospital mortality.
Performance of rGO/TiO2 Photocatalytic Membranes for Hydrogen Production
Authors: Corredor Juan , Perez-Peña Eduardo , Rivero Maria J. , Ortiz Inmaculada
Published: September 2020

Although there are promising environmental and energy characteristics for the photocatalytic production of hydrogen, two main drawbacks must be overcome before the large- scale deployment of the technology becomes a reality, (i) the low efficiency reported by state of the art photocatalysts and, (ii) the short life time and difficult recovery of the photocatalyst, issues that need research and development for new high performance catalysts. In this work 2% rGO/TiO2 composite photocatalysts were supported over Nafion membranes and the performance of the photocatalytic membrane was tested for hydrogen production from a 20% vol. methanol solution. Immobilization of the composite on Nafion membranes followed three different simple methods which preserve the photocatalyst structure: solvent-casting (SC), spraying (SP), and dip-coating (DP). The photocatalyst was included in the matrix membrane using the SC method, while it was located on the membrane surface in the SP and DP membranes showing less mass transfer limitations. The performance of the synthesized photocatalytic membranes for hydrogen production under UVA light irradiation was compared. Leaching of the catalytic membranes was tested by measuring the turbidity of the solution. With respect to catalyst leaching, both the SC and SP membranes provided very good results, the leaching being lower with the SC membrane. The best results in terms of initial hydrogen production rate (HPR) were obtained with the SP and DP membrane. The SP was selected as the most suitable method for photocatalytic hydrogen production due to the high HPR and the negligible photocatalyst leaching. Moreover, the stability of this membrane was studied for longer operation times. This work helps to improve the knowledge on the application of photocatalytic membranes for hydrogen production and contributes in facilitating the large-scale application of this process.
Tailoring and Remotely Switching Performance of Ultrafiltration Membranes by Magnetically Responsive Polymer Chains
Authors: Vu Anh , Sengupta Arijit , Freeman Emily , Qian Xianghong , Ulbricht Mathias , Wickramasinghe S.
Published: September 2020

Magnetically responsive ultrafiltration membranes were prepared by grafting poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) chains from the outer surface of 100-kDa regenerated cellulose ultrafiltration membranes. Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization was used to graft the polymer chains. Grafting from the internal pore surface was suppressed by using glycerol as a pore-filling solvent during initiator immobilization at varied densities. Glycerol suppresses the initiator attachment to the pore surface. Polymerization times of up to four hours were investigated. Superparamagnetic nanoparticles were covalently attached to the chain end. Membrane performance was determined using bovine serum albumin and dextran as model solutes. Increasing the grafted polymer chain density and length led to a decrease in the permeate flux and an increase in the apparent rejection coefficient. In an oscillating magnetic field, movement of the grafted polymer chains led to a decrease in the permeate flux, as well as an increase in the apparent rejection coefficient of the model solutes.
Targeted Metabolomics Analysis on Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients after Multilevel Sleep Surgery
Authors: Alterki Abdulmohsen , Joseph Shibu , Thanaraj Thangavel Alphonse , Al-Khairi Irina , Cherian Preethi , Channanath Arshad , Sriraman Devarajan , Ebrahim Mahmoud A. K. , Ibrahim Alaaeldin , Tiss Ali , Al-Mulla Fahd , Rahman Anas M. Abdel , Abubaker Jehad , Abu-Farha Mohamed
Published: September 2020

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by partial or complete obstruction of the upper airways. Corrective surgeries aim at removing obstructions in the nasopharynx, oropharynx, and hypopharynx. OSA is associated with an increased risk of various metabolic diseases. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of surgery on the plasma metabolome. Methods: This study included 39 OSA patients who underwent Multilevel Sleep Surgery (MLS). Clinical and anthropometric measures were taken at baseline and five months after surgery. Results: The mean Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) significantly dropped from 22.0 ± 18.5 events/hour to 8.97 ± 9.57 events/hour (p-Value < 0.001). Epworth’s sleepiness Score (ESS) dropped from 12.8 ± 6.23 to 2.95 ± 2.40 (p-Value < 0.001), indicating the success of the surgery in treating OSA. Plasma levels of metabolites, phosphocholines (PC) PC.41.5, PC.42.3, ceremide (Cer) Cer.44.0, and triglyceride (TG) TG.53.6, TG.55.6 and TG.56.8 were decreased (p-Value < 0.05), whereas lysophosphatidylcholines (LPC) 20.0 and PC.39.3 were increased (p-Value < 0.05) after surgery. Conclusion: This study highlights the success of MLS in treating OSA. Treatment of OSA resulted in an improvement of the metabolic status that was characterized by decreased TG, PCs, and Cer metabolites after surgery, indicating that the success of the surgery positively impacted the metabolic status of these patients.
Measuring Trust with Psychophysiological Signals: A Systematic Mapping Study of Approaches Used
Authors: Ajenaghughrure Ighoyota Ben. , Sousa Sonia Da Costa , Lamas David
Published: September 2020

Trust plays an essential role in all human relationships. However, measuring trust remains a challenge for researchers exploring psychophysiological signals. Therefore, this article aims to systematically map the approaches used in studies assessing trust with psychophysiological signals. In particular, we examine the numbers and frequency of combined psychophysiological signals, the primary outcomes of previous studies, and the types and most commonly used data analysis techniques for analyzing psychophysiological data to infer a trust state. For this purpose, we employ a systematic mapping review method, through which we analyze 51 carefully selected articles (studies focused on trust using psychophysiology). Two significant findings are as follows: (1) Psychophysiological signals from EEG(electroencephalogram) and ECG(electrocardiogram) for monitoring peripheral and central nervous systems are the most frequently used to measure trust, while audio and EOG(electro-oculography) psychophysiological signals are the least commonly used. Moreover, the maximum number of psychophysiological signals ever combined so far is three (2). Most of which are peripheral nervous system monitoring psychophysiological signals that are low in spatial resolution. (3) Regarding outcomes: there is only one tool proposed for assessing trust in an interpersonal context, excluding trust in a technology context. Moreover, there are no stable and accurate ensemble models that have been developed to assess trust; all prior attempts led to unstable but fairly accurate models or did not satisfy the conditions for combining several algorithms (ensemble). In conclusion, the extent to which trust can be assessed using psychophysiological measures during user interactions (real-time) remains unknown, as there several issues, such as the lack of a stable and accurate ensemble trust classifier model, among others, that require urgent research attention. Although this topic is relatively new, much work has been done. However, more remains to be done to provide clarity on this topic.
Broadened Angle-Insensitive Near-Perfect Absorber Based on Mie Resonances in Amorphous Silicon Metasurface
Authors: Si Jiangnan , Liu Shuang , Yang Weiji , Yu Xuanyi , Zhang Jialin , Deng Xiaoxu
Published: September 2020

A broadband near-perfect absorber is analyzed by an amorphous silicon (a-Si) hook shaped nanostructure metasurface. The transmission and reflection coefficients of the metasurface are investigated in the point electric and magnetic dipole approximation. By combining square and semicircle nanostructures, the effective polarizabilities of the a-Si metasurface calculated based on discrete dipole approximation (DDA) exhibit broadened peaks of electric dipole (ED) and magnetic dipole (MD) Mie resonances. The optical spectra of the metasurface are simulated with different periods, in which suppressed transmission are shifted spectrally to overlap with each other, leading to broadened enhanced absorption induced by interference of ED and MD Mie resonances. The angle insensitive absorption of the metasurface arrives 95% in simulation and 85% in experiment in spectral range from 564 nm to 584 nm, which provides potential applicability in nano-photonic fields of energy harvesting and energy collection.
Animal, Plant, Collagen and Blended Dietary Proteins: Effects on Musculoskeletal Outcomes
Authors: Deane Colleen , Bass Joseph , Crossland Hannah , Phillips Bethan , Atherton Philip
Published: September 2020

Dietary protein is critical for the maintenance of musculoskeletal health, where appropriate intake (i.e., source, dose, timing) can mitigate declines in muscle and bone mass and/or function. Animal-derived protein is a potent anabolic source due to rapid digestion and absorption kinetics stimulating robust increases in muscle protein synthesis and promoting bone accretion and maintenance. However, global concerns surrounding environmental sustainability has led to an increasing interest in plant- and collagen-derived protein as alternative or adjunct dietary sources. This is despite the lower anabolic profile of plant and collagen protein due to the inferior essential amino acid profile (e.g., lower leucine content) and subordinate digestibility (versus animal). This review evaluates the efficacy of animal-, plant- and collagen-derived proteins in isolation, and as protein blends, for augmenting muscle and bone metabolism and health in the context of ageing, exercise and energy restriction.
Contemporary Natural Philosophy and Contemporary Idola Mentis
Authors: Schroeder Marcin J.
Published: September 2020

Contemporary Natural Philosophy is understood here as a project of the pursuit of the integrated description of reality distinguished by the precisely formulated criteria of objectivity, and by the assumption that the statements of this description can be assessed only as true or false according to clearly specified verification procedures established with the exclusive goal of the discrimination between these two logical values, but not with respect to any other norms or values established by the preferences of human collectives or by the individual choices. This distinction assumes only logical consistency, but not completeness. Completeness (i.e., the feasibility to assign true or false value to all possible statements) is desirable, but may be impossible. This paper is not intended as a comprehensive program for the development of the Contemporary Natural Philosophy but rather as a preparation for such program advocating some necessary revisions and extensions of the methodology currently considered as the scientific method. This is the actual focus of the paper and the reason for the reference to Baconian idola mentis. Francis Bacon wrote in Novum Organum about the fallacies obstructing progress of science. The present paper is an attempt to remove obstacles for the Contemporary Natural Philosophy project to which we have assigned the names of the Idols of the Number, the Idols of the Common Sense, and the Idols of the Elephant.
A Fluorescent Polyurethane with Covalently Cross-Linked Rhodamine Derivatives
Authors: Tian Saiqi , Chen Yinyan , Zhu Yifan , Fan Haojun
Published: September 2020

Rhodamine derivatives (RDs) with three reactive hydrogens were synthesized and well characterized by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) and electrospray ionization mass spectra (ESI mass). Then, the obtained RD was covalently cross-linked into polyurethane (PU) matrix through chemical linkages to fabricate a network structure, and the fluorescent properties, mechanical properties, thermal stability, and emulsion particle size were systematically investigated. Results demonstrate that PU-RD maintains initial fluorescent properties and emits desirable yellow fluorescence under ultraviolet irradiation. Moreover, compared with linear PU without fluorescers, PU-RD shows clearly improved mechanical properties and thermal stability, on account of the formed network structures.
Surface-Response Analysis for the Optimization of a Carbon Dioxide Absorption Process Using [hmim][Tf2N]
Authors: Leonzio Grazia , Zondervan Edwin
Published: September 2020

The [hmim][Tf2N] ionic liquid is considered in this work to develop a model in Aspen Plus® capturing carbon dioxide from shifted flue gas through physical absorption. Ionic liquids are innovative and promising green solvents for the capture of carbon dioxide. As an important aspect of this research, optimization is carried out for the carbon capture system through a central composite design: simulation and statistical analysis are combined together. This leads to important results such as the identification of significant factors and their combinations. Surface plots and mathematical models are developed for capital costs, operating costs and removal of carbon dioxide. These models can be used to find optimal operating conditions maximizing the amount of captured carbon dioxide and minimizing total costs: the percentage of carbon dioxide removal is 93.7%, operating costs are 0.66 million €/tonCO2 captured (due to the high costs of ionic liquid), and capital costs are 52.2 €/tonCO2 captured.
Assessing Supply Chain Performance from the Perspective of Pakistan’s Manufacturing Industry Through Social Sustainability
Authors: Khokhar Maryam , Iqbal Wasim , Hou Yumei , Abbas Majed , Fatima Arooj
Published: September 2020

The industry is gradually forced to integrate socially sustainable development practices and cross-social issues. Although researchers and practitioners emphasize environmental and economic sustainability in supply chain management (SCM). This is unfortunate because not only social sustainable development plays an important role in promoting other sustainable development programs, but social injustice at one level in the supply chain may also cause significant losses to companies throughout the chain. This article aimed to consolidate the literature on the responsibilities of suppliers, manufacturers, and customers and to adopt sustainable supply chain management (SSSCM) practices in the Pakistani industry to identify all possible aspects of sustainable social development in the supply chain by investigating the relationship between survey variables and structure. This work went beyond the limits of regulations and showed the status of maintaining sustainable social issues. Based on semi-structured interviews, a comprehensive questionnaire was developed. The data was collected through a survey of the head of the supply chain in Karachi, Pakistan. The results of this paper showed that organizational learning was the most important dimension of supplier social sustainability with a value of 40.5% as compared to the effectiveness of the supply chain and the supplier performance with values 37.7 and 9.6%, respectively. In terms of the manufacturer’s social responsibility, the highest score for operational performance was 47%, while productivity was 20%, and corporate social demonstration was 20%. Finally, for the customers’ social sustainability, two dimensions were determined, namely, customer satisfaction and customer commitment with scores of 47 and 40%, respectively. We also solved sustainable social problems from the perspective of suppliers, manufacturers, and customers. The study would help professionals anywhere to emphasize their considerations and would improve the management of social sustainability in their supply chain.
Thermostable α-Glucan Phosphorylase-Catalyzed Enzymatic Copolymerization to Produce Partially 2-Deoxygenated Amyloses
Authors: Kadokawa Jun-ichi , Nakamura Shota , Yamamoto Kazuya
Published: September 2020

α-Glucan phosphorylase catalyzes the enzymatic polymerization of α-d-glucose 1-phosphate (Glc-1-P) monomers from a maltooligosaccharide primer to produce α(1→4)-glucan—i.e., amylose. In this study, by exploiting the weak specificity for the substrate recognition of a thermostable α-glucan phosphorylase (from Aquifex aeolicus VF5), we investigated the enzymatic copolymerization of 2-deoxy-α-d-glucose 1-phosphate (dGlc-1-P), which was produced in situ from d-glucal, with Glc-1-P to obtain non-natural heteropolysaccharides composed of α(1→4)-linked dGlc/Glc units—i.e., partially 2-deoxygenated amylose. The reactions were carried out at different monomer feed ratios using a maltotriose primer at 40 °C for 24 h. The products were precipitated from the reaction medium, isolated by centrifugation, and subjected to 1H NMR spectroscopic and powder X-ray diffraction measurements to evaluate their chemical and crystalline structures, respectively. Owing to its amorphous nature, the partially 2-deoxygenated amylose with adapted unit ratios formed a film when subjected to a casting method.
Temporal-Spatial Neighborhood Enhanced Sparse Autoencoder for Nonlinear Dynamic Process Monitoring
Authors: Li Nanxi , Shi Hongbo , Song Bing , Tao Yang
Published: September 2020

Data-based process monitoring methods have received tremendous attention in recent years, and modern industrial process data often exhibit dynamic and nonlinear characteristics. Traditional autoencoders, such as stacked denoising autoencoders (SDAEs), have excellent nonlinear feature extraction capabilities, but they ignore the dynamic correlation between sample data. Feature extraction based on manifold learning using spatial or temporal neighbors has been widely used in dynamic process monitoring in recent years, but most of them use linear features and do not take into account the complex nonlinearities of industrial processes. Therefore, a fault detection scheme based on temporal-spatial neighborhood enhanced sparse autoencoder is proposed in this paper. Firstly, it selects the temporal neighborhood and spatial neighborhood of the sample at the current time within the time window with a certain length, the spatial similarity and time serial correlation are used for weighted reconstruction, and the reconstruction combines the current sample as the input of the sparse stack autoencoder (SSAE) to extract the correlation features between the current sample and the neighborhood information. Two statistics are constructed for fault detection. Considering that both types of neighborhood information contain spatial-temporal structural features, Bayesian fusion strategy is used to integrate the two parts of the detection results. Finally, the superiority of the method in this paper is illustrated by a numerical example and the Tennessee Eastman process.
Impact of Fermentation Processes on the Bioactive Profile and Health-Promoting Properties of Bee Bread, Mead and Honey Vinegar
Authors: Mărgăoan Rodica , Cornea-Cipcigan Mihaiela , Topal Erkan , Kösoğlu Mustafa
Published: September 2020

Recently, an increasing interest is paid to bee products obtained as a result of the fermentation process. Some of them can be consumed directly (bee-collected pollen, honey, bee bread etc.), while others are the result of lactic and/or acid fermentation (honey vinegar and honey wine). Bee bread is the result of pollens’ lactic fermentation, whereas mead is obtained by honeys’ lactic fermentation. Moreover, as a result of honey acetic acid fermentation, honey vinegar is obtained. Sensory characteristics and aroma composition have been scarcely studied, which may depend on the starter culture and fermentation process. Along with the medicinal properties they are a vital resource for future researches as they are of particular importance in the food market. In this review, we discuss the aroma-active compounds, taste, and sensorial characteristics of fermented bee products along with the approaches that can be developed for the flavor improvement based on existing technologies. Furthermore, the beneficial effects on human health are also described, with special attention that should be attributed to finding the use of probiotics in these fermented products as health-promoting effects.
A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Distance Driven on the Probability of Car Accidents
Authors: Boucher Jean-Philippe , Turcotte Roxane
Published: September 2020

Using telematics data, we study the relationship between claim frequency and distance driven through different models by observing smooth functions. We used Generalized Additive Models (GAM) for a Poisson distribution, and Generalized Additive Models for Location, Scale, and Shape (GAMLSS) that we generalize for panel count data. To correctly observe the relationship between distance driven and claim frequency, we show that a Poisson distribution with fixed effects should be used because it removes residual heterogeneity that was incorrectly captured by previous models based on GAM and GAMLSS theory. We show that an approximately linear relationship between distance driven and claim frequency can be derived. We argue that this approach can be used to compute the premium surcharge for additional kilometers the insured wants to drive, or as the basis to construct Pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) insurance for self-service vehicles. All models are illustrated using data from a major Canadian insurance company.
Validation of Sentinel-3A Based Lake Level over US and Canada
Authors: Nielsen Karina , Andersen Ole Baltazar , Ranndal Heidi
Published: September 2020

Satellite altimetry is an important contributor for measuring the water level of continental water bodies. The technique has been applied for almost three decades. In this period the data quality has increased and the applications have evolved from the study of a few large lakes and rivers, to near global applications at various scales. Products from current satellite altimetry missions should be validated to continuously improve the measurements. Sentinel-3A has been operating since 2016 and is the first mission operating in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode globally. Here we evaluate its performance in capturing lake level variations based on a physical and an empirical retracker provided in the official level 2 product. The validation is performed for more than 100 lakes in the United States and Canada where the altimetry based water levels are compared with in situ data. As validation measures we consider the root mean squared error, the Pearson correlation, and the percentage of outliers. For the US sites the median of the RMSE value is 25 cm and 19 cm and the median of the Pearson correlations are 0.86 and 0.93 for the physical and empirical retracker, respectively. The percentage of outliers (median) is 11% for both retrackers. The validations measures are slightly poorer for the Canadian sites; the median RMSE is approximately 5 cm larger, the Pearson correlation 0.1 lower, and the percentage of outliers 5% larger. The poorer performance for the Canadian sites is mainly related to the presence of lake ice in the winter period where the surface elevations are not able to map the surface correctly. The validation measures improve considerably when evaluated for summer data only. For both areas we show that the reconstruction of the water level variations based on the empirical retracker is significantly better compared to that of the physical retracker in terms of the RMSE and the Pearson correlation.
Vision Measurement of Tunnel Structures with Robust Modelling and Deep Learning Algorithms
Authors: Xu Xiangyang , Yang Hao
Published: September 2020

The health monitoring of tunnel structures is vital to the safe operation of railway transportation systems. With the increasing mileage of tunnels, regular inspection and health monitoring are urgently demanded for the tunnel structures, especially for information regarding deformation and damage. However, traditional methods of tunnel inspection are time-consuming, expensive and highly dependent on human subjectivity. In this paper, an automatic tunnel monitoring method is investigated based on image data which is collected through the moving vision measurement unit consisting of camera array. Furthermore, geometric modelling and crack inspection algorithms are proposed where a robust three-dimensional tunnel model is reconstructed utilizing a B-spline method and crack identification is conducted by means of a Mask R-CNN network. The innovation of this investigation is that we combine the robust modelling which could be applied for the deformation analysis and the crack detection where a deep learning method is employed to recognize the tunnel cracks intelligently based on image sensors. In this study, experiments were conducted on a subway tunnel structure several kilometers long, and a robust three-dimensional model is generated and the cracks are identified automatically with the image data. The superiority of this proposal is that the comprehensive information of geometry deformation and crack damage can ensure the reliability and improve the accuracy of health monitoring.
Comparison of Time Domain and Frequency-Wavenumber Domain Ultrasonic Array Imaging Algorithms for Non-Destructive Evaluation
Authors: Zhuang Zeyu , Zhang Jie , Lian Guoxuan , Drinkwater Bruce W.
Published: September 2020

Ultrasonic array imaging algorithms have been widely developed and used for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) in the last two decades. In this paper two widely used time domain algorithms are compared with two emerging frequency domain algorithms in terms of imaging performance and computational speed. The time domain algorithms explored here are the total focusing method (TFM) and plane wave imaging (PWI) and the frequency domain algorithms are the wavenumber algorithm and Lu’s frequency-wavenumber domain implementation of PWI. In order to make a fair comparison, each algorithm was first investigated to choose imaging parameters leading to overall good imaging resolution and signal-to-noise-ratio. To reflect the diversity of samples encountered in NDE, the comparison is made using both a low noise material (aluminium) and a high noise material (copper). It is shown that whilst wavenumber and frequency domain PWI imaging algorithms can lead to fast imaging, they require careful selection of imaging parameters.
Detection of Focal and Non-Focal Electroencephalogram Signals Using Fast Walsh-Hadamard Transform and Artificial Neural Network
Authors: J. Prasanna , Subathra M. S. P. , Mohammed Mazin Abed , Maashi Mashael S. , Garcia-Zapirain Begonya , Sairamya N. J. , George S. Thomas
Published: September 2020

The discrimination of non-focal class (NFC) and focal class (FC), is vital in localizing the epileptogenic zone (EZ) during neurosurgery. In the conventional diagnosis method, the neurologist has to visually examine the long hour electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, which consumes time and is prone to error. Hence, in this present work, automated diagnosis of FC EEG signals from NFC EEG signals is developed using the Fast Walsh–Hadamard Transform (FWHT) method, entropies, and artificial neural network (ANN). The FWHT analyzes the EEG signals in the frequency domain and decomposes it into the Hadamard coefficients. Five different nonlinear features, namely approximate entropy (ApEn), log-energy entropy (LogEn), fuzzy entropy (FuzzyEn), sample entropy (SampEn), and permutation entropy (PermEn) are extracted from the decomposed Hadamard coefficients. The extracted features detail the nonlinearity in the NFC and the FC EEG signals. The judicious entropy features are supplied to the ANN classifier, with a 10-fold cross-validation method to classify the NFC and FC classes. Two publicly available datasets such as the University of Bonn and Bern-Barcelona dataset are used to evaluate the proposed approach. A maximum sensitivity of 99.70%, the accuracy of 99.50%, and specificity of 99.30% with the 3750 pairs of NFC and FC signal are achieved using the Bern-Barcelona dataset, while the accuracy of 92.80%, the sensitivity of 91%, and specificity of 94.60% is achieved using University of Bonn dataset. Compared to the existing technique, the proposed approach attained a maximum classification performance in both the dataset.
Complexity in the Built Environment: Wayfinding Difficulties in the Modular Design of Qatar University’s Most Iconic Building
Authors: Major Mark David , Tannous Heba O. , Elsaman Doha , Al-Mohannadi Lolwa , Al-Khulifi Meera , Al-Thani Shaikha
Published: September 2020

Constructed in the 1980s, the BCR Corridors complex is the most iconic building at Qatar University (QU). However, it is also notorious for way-finding difficulties. The problem appears to derive from the repetitive similarity of individual parts in its modular design. Elevators, stairwells, screens, and temporary installations also create impediments to user readability and visibility. Collectively, this tends to complicate its relationship to the immediate context of the university campus. Recently, researchers at QU conducted a post-occupancy evaluation (PoE) of the BCR Corridors. It included (1) direct observation of movement flows and static occupation of space in common areas, (2) room use and photographic surveys, and (3) computer modeling of the spatial layout using space syntax. Space syntax is an international research program of academics and practitioners studying the role of built space in society from the single building to entire cities. The purpose of the PoE study was to understand observed patterns of movement and space use with reference to the problems for way-finding in the BCR Corridors. Based on this, researchers developed proposals for design alterations to enable easier use of the complex. The findings of the study support the above hypothesis about navigation problems in the building.
Associations between Motor Competence, Physical Self-Perception and Autonomous Motivation for Physical Activity in Children
Authors: Ensrud-Skraastad Ole Kristian , Haga Monika
Published: September 2020

Research indicates that children and adolescents gradually participate less in physical activity with age. Several factors are associated with children’s physical activity levels, such as motor performance, self-perception of athletic competence and motivation to physical activity. To gain a better understanding of the factors of importance for behavior related to an active lifestyle, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between motor competence, physical self-perception and autonomous motivation and to examine to what extent this association may vary by sex. The sample consisted of 101 children, whose average age was 11.7 years (SD = 0.57), 53 boys and 48 girls. All subjects were measured on motor competence, physical self-perception and autonomous motivation for physical activity. The results indicate a low positive relationship between motor competence and physical self-perception for the entire sample and among girls. There is also a significant correlation between autonomous motivation and physical self-perception. No significant correlations were found between autonomous motivation and motor competence. The association between physical self-perception and autonomous motivation suggests that psychological factors play an important role in children’s participation in physical activity.
Geometric Case Based Reasoning for Stock Market Prediction
Authors: Chun Se-Hak , Ko Young-Woong
Published: September 2020

Case based reasoning is a knowledge discovery technique that uses similar past problems to solve current new problems. It has been applied to many tasks, including the prediction of temporal variables as well as learning techniques such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, decision trees, etc. This paper presents a geometric criterion for selecting similar cases that serve as an exemplar for the target. The proposed technique, called geometric Case Based Reasoning, uses a shape distance method that uses the number of sign changes of features for the target case, especially when extracting nearest neighbors. Thus, this method overcomes the limitation of conventional case-based reasoning in that it uses Euclidean distance and does not consider how nearest neighbors are similar to the target case in terms of changes between previous and current features in a time series. These concepts are investigated against the backdrop of a practical application involving the prediction of a stock market index. The results show that the proposed technique is significantly better than the random walk model at p < 0.01. However, it was not significantly better than the conventional CBR model in the hit rate measure and did not surpass the conventional CBR in the mean absolute percentage error.