bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recent Studies and Technologies in the Separation of Polyvinyl Chloride for Resources Recycling: A Systematic Review
Authors: Phengsaart Theerayut , Julapong Pongsiri , Manositchaikul Chaiwat , Srichonphaisarn Palot , Rawangphai Monthicha , Juntarasakul Onchanok , Aikawa Kosei , Jeon Sanghee , Park Ilhwan , Tabelin Carlito Baltazar , Ito Mayumi
Published: September 2023

Material recycling and thermal treatment are the two most common recycling methods employed for plastic waste management. Thermal treatment for energy recovery is more widely applied compared with material recycling because the latter requires a high efficiency of separation and a high purity of products. Unfortunately, certain plastics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are unsuitable for thermal treatment because they contain additives like chloride (Cl−) that have adverse effects on refractory materials used in boilers. As a result of this, mixed plastic wastes containing PVC generally end up in landfills. PVC-bearing mixed plastics, however, remain valuable resources as championed by the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs): Goal 12 “Responsible production and consumption”, and their recycling after the removal of PVC is important. In this paper, recent studies (2012–2021) related to the separation of PVC from other types of plastics were systematically reviewed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 66 articles were selected, reviewed, and summarized. The results showed that various separation technologies conventionally applied to mineral processing—selective comminution, gravity separation, magnetic separation, electrical separation, and flotation—have been studied for PVC separation, and the majority of these works (>60%) focused on flotation. In addition, more advanced technologies including sorting and density-surface-based separation were introduced between 2019 and 2021.
A Collaborative Approach for Triggering Environmental Awareness: The 3Rs for Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Ulaanbaatar (3R4UB)
Authors: Esposito De Vita Gabriella , Visconti Cristina , Ganbat Gantuya , Rigillo Marina
Published: September 2023

Current environmental challenges invite us to deeply revise policies, governance models, and resource management toolkits towards a circular approach, in order to meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requirements. In this framework, circular waste management is one of the pillars of responsible and foresighted planning for territorial sustainability. The “3Rs for a sustainable use of natural resources in Ulaanbaatar” (3R4UB) project aims at transferring a sustainable approach to urban solid waste management, especially focusing on providing effective opportunities for developing circular supply chains locally. In this framework, an integrated approach has been developed in order to adapt the communication/exploitation plan of sustainable waste management within a SWITCH-Asia Country (EU Program) by combining engagement tools and participatory processes for the collaborative design of a waste management masterplan. This paper explores the spatialization of resources/waste flows in the formal and informal settlements, while also considering cultural traditions, social structures, and community habits, in terms of a purposely designed combination of spatial planning, governance modeling, and capacity building activities. Starting from a preliminary communication plan, this paper sets the frame for discussing the role of community engagement tools and protocols in producing an effective and generalizable collaborative waste management masterplan.
Machine Learning Assessment of Damage Grade for Post-Earthquake Buildings: A Three-Stage Approach Directly Handling Categorical Features
Authors: Li Yutao , Jia Chuanguo , Chen Hong , Su Hongchen , Chen Jiahao , Wang Duoduo
Published: September 2023

The rapid assessment of post-earthquake building damage for rescue and reconstruction is a crucial strategy to reduce the enormous number of human casualties and economic losses caused by earthquakes. Conventional machine learning (ML) approaches for this problem usually employ one-hot encoding to cope with categorical features, and their overall procedure is neither sufficient nor comprehensive. Therefore, this study proposed a three-stage approach, which can directly handle categorical features and enhance the entire methodology of ML applications. In stage I, an integrated data preprocessing framework involving subjective–objective feature selection was proposed and performed on a dataset of buildings after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. In stage II, four machine learning models, KNN, XGBoost, CatBoost, and LightGBM, were trained and tested on the dataset. The best model was judged by comprehensive metrics, including the proposed risk coefficient. In stage III, the feature importance, the relationships between the features and the model’s output, and the feature interaction effects were investigated by Shapley additive explanations. The results indicate that the LightGBM model has the best overall performance with the highest accuracy of 0.897, the lowest risk coefficient of 0.042, and the shortest training time of 12.68 s due to its relevant algorithms for directly tackling categorical features. As for its interpretability, the most important features are determined, and information on these features’ impacts and interactions is obtained to improve the reliability of and promote practical engineering applications for the ML models. The proposed three-stage approach can provide a reference for the overall ML implementation process on raw datasets for similar problems.
Influencing the Variable Selection and Prediction of Carbon Emissions in China
Authors: Chang Zhiyong , Jiao Yunmeng , Wang Xiaojing
Published: September 2023

In order to study the changing rule of carbon dioxide emissions in China, this paper systematically focused on their current situation, influencing factors, and future trends. Firstly, the current situations of global carbon dioxide emissions and China’s carbon dioxide emissions were presented via a visualization method and their characteristics were analyzed; secondly, the random forest regression model was used to screen the main factors affecting China’s carbon emissions. Considering the different aspects of carbon emissions, 29 influencing factors were determined and 6 main influencing factors were determined according to the results of the random forest regression model. Then, a prediction model for carbon emissions in China was established. The BP neural network model, multi-factor LSTM time series model, and CNN-LSTM model were compared on the test set and all of them passed the test. However, the goodness of fit of the CNN-LSTM model was about 0.01~0.02 higher than the other two models and the MAE and RMSE of the CNN-LSTM model were about 0.01~0.03 lower than those of the other two models. Thus, it was selected to predict China’s carbon dioxide emissions. The predicted results showed that the peak of China’s carbon emissions will be around 2027 and the peak of these emissions will be between 12.9 billion tons and 13.2 billion tons. Overall, the paper puts forward reasonable suggestions for China’s low-carbon development and provides a reference for an adjustment plan of energy structure.
The Social Equity of Urban Parks in High-Density Urban Areas: A Case Study in the Core Area of Beijing
Authors: Wang Chang , Wang Siyuan , Cao Yilun , Yan Haojun , Li Yunyuan
Published: September 2023

Urban parks beautify the environment and promote urban public health, and their spatial allocation is significant in maintaining environmental justice. However, the current allocation of urban parks focuses on quantity fairness and pays insufficient attention to accessibility and quality fairness. This study investigated the core area of Beijing and analyzed the fairness of urban park allocation based on park accessibility, area, and quality. We used big data crawling, the two-step floating catchment area method, comprehensive equity evaluation of parks, spatial autocorrelation, and non-parametric tests. The results showed inequality in terms of accessibility, area, and quality, with high spatial distribution in the north and low spatial distribution in the south. The accessibility, shortest distance, and total area of urban parks in high-income residential areas were 3.0, 2.1, and 1.8 times higher, respectively, than those of the low-income residential areas. This indicates that high-income groups have better accessibility, live closer to, and have access to larger urban parks. Middle-income and above groups had access to green space, whereas medium-to-low-income residential areas had poor access to parks, particularly high-quality parks. These findings provide decision-making and planning references for the optimal allocation and rational planning of urban parks.
The Influence of Pyrolysis Time and Temperature on the Composition and Properties of Bio-Oil Prepared from Tanjong Leaves (Mimusops elengi)
Authors: Maulinda Leni , Husin Husni , Arahman Nasrul , Rosnelly Cut Meurah , Syukri Muhammad , Nurhazanah  , Nasution Fahrizal , Ahmadi
Published: September 2023

This research aims to evaluate the influence of pyrolysis time and temperature on the composition and properties of bio-oil derived from Mimusops elengi. Experiments were conducted by varying the pyrolysis temperature and time from 400 to 600 °C and 30 to 120 min, respectively. Both pyrolysis temperature and time were found to significantly influence the bio-oil composition. At enhanced pyrolysis temperatures, the bio-oil yield increased while the ash and gas yields decreased. In addition, extended pyrolysis time produced a greater bio-oil yield, indicating that higher temperatures and longer durations promote additional decomposition of biomass. Functional groupings, including alcohols, phenols, ketones, esters, and aromatic compounds in the bio-oil, were identified via FT-IR analysis, indicating that the bio-oil’s diversified chemical properties make it a potential alternative feedstock. GC-MS analysis identified 26 chemical compounds in the bio-oil, of which phenol was the most abundant. However, a high phenol content can diminish bio-oil quality by enhancing acidity, decreasing heating value, and encouraging engine corrosion. Temperature and pyrolysis time are crucial factors in producing bio-oil with the desired chemical composition and physical properties. The maximum yield, 34.13%, was attained after 90 min of operation at 500 °C. The characteristics of the Mimusops elengi bio-oil produced, namely density, viscosity, pH, and HHV were 1.15 g/cm3, 1.60 cSt, 4.41, and 19.91 MJ/kg, respectively, in accordance with ASTM D7544. Using Mimusops elengi as a pyrolysis feedstock demonstrates its potential as an environmentally friendly energy source for a variety of industrial and environmental applications. The yield of bio-oil produced is not optimal due to the formation of tar, which results in the blockage of the output flow during the pyrolysis process.
Water-Richness Zoning Technology of Karst Aquifers at in the Roofs of Deep Phosphate Mines Based on Random Forest Model
Authors: Li Xin , Li Bo , Luo Ye , Li Tao , Han Hang , Zhang Wenjie , Zhang Beibei
Published: September 2023

The development of fractures and conduits in karst aquifers and the strength of their water richness are key factors in determining whether a water intrusion will occur in a mine. In the phosphorus mining process, if the mining of water-rich areas is carried out, sudden water disasters can easily occur. Therefore, water-richness zoning of the karst aquifer on the roof of the phosphate mine is very important to protect against the incidence of water disasters in the mine. This paper proposes a random-forest-based partitioning model of the water richness of phosphate mine roofs in karst areas based on the random forest intelligence algorithm in machine learning. Taking a productive phosphate mine in southern China as a typical case, seven main assessment indicators affecting the water richness of the phosphate mine roof aquifer were determined. The proposed random forest model was utilized to determine the weight of each evaluation index, and the water richness of the karst aquifer on the roof of this phosphate mine was studied by zoning. The whole structure of the mine is highly water-rich, with strongly water-rich areas mainly concentrated in the central and northeastern part of the mine. The water-richness fitting rates (WFP) introduced for validation were all in agreement with the evaluation results, and the constructed model met the accuracy requirements. The study’s findings can serve as a guide for mine design and water-disaster warnings in karst regions.
Variations in Water and Deposited Sediment Qualities in the Tidal River Basins of Bangladesh and Their Implications for TRM Success
Authors: Hafiz Nureza , Biswas Subir , Mondal M. Shahjahan , Islam Md. Atikul , Khan M. Shah Alam
Published: September 2023

The tidal river management (TRM) in coastal areas of Bangladesh has been successful in varying degrees. Though there are many studies on the social, institutional, hydrological and hydraulic factors in relation to TRM, there is no study that investigated the relationship between the water and soil qualities and the TRM success. This paper investigates the variations of water and deposited sediment qualities vis-à-vis the TRM success in selected tidal basins in the southwest coastal delta of Bangladesh. The basins were selected based on the level of success in TRM operation: Beel Bhaina (a successful TRM), East Beel Khuksia (a partially successful TRM), and Beel Pakhimara (an unsuccessful TRM). The level of success in TRM was decided from the local community’s perception and how the TRM operation reduced the drainage congestion and increased the sedimentation depth inside a tidal basin. Fifteen water quality parameters with seven indices and eight soil quality parameters were analyzed to evaluate their suitability for agricultural purposes. The analysis reveals that the water of Beel Bhaina and East Beel Khuksia has high salinity, TDS, TSS, SAR and Na% than that of Beel Pakhimara due to the presence of an active tidal current. The most dominant cation is Na+ in almost all the water samples due to the seawater influence. The most dominant anion is Cl− in Beel Bhaina and East Beel Khuksia, and HCO3− in Beel Pakhimara. The deposited sediment quality parameters are worse in the dry season than in the monsoon, except for organic matter. The soil EC of Beel Bhaina and East Beel Khuksia is low, which may be one of the reasons for good yield in these basins. The average yields of boro rice were 7.2, 7.7 and 6.4 ton/ha in Beel Bhaina, East Beel Khuksia and Beel Pakhimara, respectively, which might be related to the quality of the deposited sediment in the tidal basins and also to the level of TRM success.
Scaled-Invariant Extended Quasi-Lindley Model: Properties, Estimation, and Application
Authors: Kayid Mohamed , Abouammoh Abdulrahman , Alomani Ghadah
Published: September 2023

In many research fields, statistical probability models are often used to analyze real-world data. However, data from many fields, such as the environment, economics, and health care, do not necessarily fit traditional models. New empirical models need to be developed to improve the fit. In this study, we investigated a further extension of the quasi-Lindley model. This extension was asymmetrically distributed on the positive real number line. Maximum likelihood, least square error, Anderson–Darling, and expectation maximization algorithms were used to estimate the parameters studied. All techniques provided accurate and reliable estimates of the parameters. However, the mean square error of the expectation-maximization approach was lower. The usefulness of the proposed model was demonstrated by analyzing a reliability data set, and the analysis showed that it outperformed all other alternative models.
Controlling of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles Using the Dynamic Planning of Symmetric Trajectory Based on Machine Learning for Marine Resources Exploration
Authors: Kozhubaev Yuriy , Belyaev Victor , Murashov Yuriy , Prokofev Oleg
Published: September 2023

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) are widely used tools in ocean development, which can be applied in areas such as marine scientific research, ocean resources exploration, and ocean security. However, as ocean exploration advances, UUVs face increasingly challenging operational environments with weaker communication signals. Consequently, autonomous obstacle avoidance planning for UUVs becomes increasingly important. With the deepening of ocean exploration, the operational environment of UUVs has become increasingly difficult to access, and the communication signals in the environment have become weaker. Therefore, autonomous obstacle avoidance planning of UUVs has become increasingly important. Traditional dynamic programming methods face challenges in terms of accuracy and real-time performance, requiring the design of auxiliary strategies to achieve ideal avoidance and requiring cumbersome perception equipment to support them. Therefore, exploring an efficient and easy-to-implement dynamic programming method has significant theoretical and practical value. In this study, an LSTM-RNN network structure suitable for UUVs was designed to learn the dynamic programming mode of UUVs in an unknown environment. The research was divided into three main aspects: collecting the required sample dataset for training deep networks, designing the LSTM-RNN network structure, and utilizing LSTM-RNN to achieve dynamic programming. Experimental results demonstrated that LSTM-RNN can learn planning patterns in unknown environments without the need for constructing an environment model or complex perception devices, thus providing significant theoretical and practical value. Consequently, this approach offers an effective solution for autonomous obstacle avoidance planning for UUVs.
Take-Over Safety Evaluation of Conditionally Automated Vehicles under Typical Highway Segments
Authors: Li Yi , Xuan Zhaoze
Published: September 2023

Highways are one of the most suitable scenarios for automated driving technology. For conditionally automated driving, drivers are required to take over the vehicle when the system reaches its boundary. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the driver’s takeover performance and take-over safety differences under typical segments of highways. The experiment was conducted in a driving simulator. Three typical highway segments were constructed: a long straight segment, a merging segment and a diverging segment. Under each segment, a 2 × 2 factorial design was adopted, including two traffic densities (high density and low density) and two kinds of time budget (5 s and 7 s). The results showed that time budget and traffic density affected drivers’ take-over performance and safety. As the time budget decreased, the driver’s reaction time decreased and the braking amplitude increased. As traffic density increased, the lateral deviation rate increased. The maximum steering angle and steering wheel reversal rate in general tended to increase with scenario urgency. Meanwhile, drivers paid more attention to the longitudinal control on the long straight segment, which was reflected in the maximum braking amplitude and directional reversal rate. However, drivers paid more attention to the lateral control on the diverging segment, which was reflected in the maximum lateral deviation rate and the minimum steering wheel reversal rate. The study will contribute to the safety assessment of take-over behavior in highway avoidance scenarios and provide a theoretical basis for the design of a human–machine interaction system.
A Blockchain-Based Framework to Make the Rice Crop Supply Chain Transparent and Reliable in Agriculture
Authors: Farooq Muhammad Shoaib , Riaz Shamyla , Rehman Ibtesam Ur , Khan Muhammad Asad , Hassan Bilal
Published: September 2023

Rice is one of the major food crops across the globe, and its quality and safety highly influence human health. It is the basis of many different products, including rice flour, rice bread, noodles, rice vinegar, and others. Therefore, the rice supply chain has garnered increasing attention due to the high demand for food safety. Furthermore, malpractices in the rice supply chain can impact farmers by generating low revenues despite their great efforts in rice cultivation. In addition, they would cause governments to suffer significant economic losses due to the high cost of importing rice crops from other countries during the off-season. These issues derive from the lack of reliability, trust, transparency, traceability, and security in the rice supply chain. In this research, we propose a secure, trusted, reliable, and transparent framework based on a Blockchain for rice crop supply chain’s traceability from farm to fork. A new crypto token, the Rice Coin (RC), is introduced to keep a record of all transactions between the stakeholders of the rice supply chain. Moreover, the proposed framework includes an economic model and a crypto wallet and introduces an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) for the RC. Based on smart contracts, a transaction processing system was developed for the transparency and traceability of rice crops, including the conversion of the RC to fiat currency. Furthermore, the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is proposed in this research to store encrypted data of companies, retailers, and farmers, so to increase data security, transparency, and availability. In the end, the experimental results showed a better performance of the proposed framework compared to already available supply chain solutions in terms of transaction verification time, transaction average gas cost, and new block latency.
PDSCM: Packet Delivery Assured Secure Channel Selection for Multicast Routing in Wireless Mesh Networks
Authors: S Seetha , Daniel Esther , Durga S , Eunice R Jennifer , J Andrew
Published: September 2023

The academic and research communities are showing significant interest in the modern and highly promising technology of wireless mesh networks (WMNs) due to their low-cost deployment, self-configuration, self-organization, robustness, scalability, and reliable service coverage. Multicasting is a broadcast technique in which the communication is started by an individual user and is shared by one or multiple groups of destinations concurrently as one-to-many allotments. The multicasting protocols are focused on building accurate paths with proper channel optimization techniques. The forwarder nodes of the multicast protocol may behave with certain malicious characteristics, such as dropping packets, and delayed transmissions that cause heavy packet loss in the network. This leads to a reduced packet delivery ratio and throughput of the network. Hence, the forwarder node validation is critical for building a secure network. This research paper presents a secure forwarder selection between a sender and the batch of receivers by utilizing the node’s communication behavior. The parameters of the malicious nodes are analyzed using orthogonal projection and statistical methods to distinguish malicious node behaviors from normal node behaviors based on node actions. The protocol then validates the malicious behaviors and subsequently eliminates them from the forwarder selection process using secure path finding strategies, which lead to dynamic and scalable multicast mesh networks for communication.
Detection of Transmission State of Multiple Wireless Sources: A Statistical Mechanics Approach
Authors: Evangelatos Spyridon , Moustakas Aris L.
Published: September 2023

Consider a random network of static primary wireless sources and a co-located network of secondary wireless devices. The channel coefficients between the two networks are assumed to be known to the secondary users (SUs), e.g., using radio environment maps (REM). However, the operational state of the sources is unknown due to intermittency. In this paper, we study the performance of primary source detection by SUs using a message-passing algorithm. Additionally, we employ methods from statistical mechanics, in particular, the Replica approach, to obtain analytic results for the performance of such networks in the large system-size limit. We test the results through a large-scale simulation analysis, obtaining good agreement. The proposed method provides a simple way to evaluate the performance of the system and assess how it depends on the macroscopic parameters that characterize it, such as the average density of SUs and sources and the signal-to-noise ratio. The main contribution of this paper is the application of an algorithm that quantitatively predicts the parameter value region for which accurate and reliable detection of the operational state of the primary sources can be achieved in a fast and decentralized manner.
Biochar Decreases Cr Toxicity and Accumulation in Sunflower Grown in Cr(VI)-Polluted Soil
Authors: Li Shuai , Xie Yiming , Jiang Shuguang , Yang Mingda , Lei Hongxia , Cui Wenzhi , Wang Fayuan
Published: September 2023

Biochar is preferentially recommended for the remediation of heavy metal-polluted soils. Sunflower is an important high-biomass oil crop with a promising potential for phytoremediation of Cr(VI)-polluted soil. However, how biochar affects sunflower growth and Cr accumulation in Cr(VI)-polluted soil needs to be elucidated. Here, a pot culture experiment was conducted to study whether soil amendment with biochar (0, 0.1%, 1%, and 5%, w/w) can mitigate Cr toxicity and accumulation in sunflower seedlings grown in soils artificially polluted with different levels of Cr(VI) (0, 50, and 250 mg Cr(VI)/kg soil). The addition of Cr(VI) exhibited significant phytotoxicity, as evidenced by inhibited plant growth and even the death of seedlings at 250 mg/kg Cr(VI). Overall, biochar amendment showed positive effects on plant growth and Cr immobilization, dependent on both the biochar dose and Cr addition level. When 50 mg/kg Cr(VI) was added, 1% biochar showed positive effects similar to 5% biochar on improving plant growth and mineral nutrition (particularly K), reducing Cr content in shoots and roots, and decreasing Cr availability and Cr(VI) content in the soil. In comparison with non-amendment, 1% and 5% biochar caused 85% and 100% increase in shoot dry weights, and 75% and 86% reduction in shoot Cr concentrations, respectively. When 250 mg/kg Cr(VI) was added, a 5% dose produced much better benefits than 1%, while a 0.1% dose did not help plants to survive. Overall, an appropriate dose of biochar enhanced Cr(VI) immobilization and subsequently decreased its toxicity and accumulation in sunflower seedlings. Our findings confirm that biochar can be used as an efficient amendment for the remediation of Cr(VI)-polluted soils and cleaner production of sunflower oil and biomass.
The Role of Mycotoxins in Interactions between Fusarium graminearum and F. verticillioides Growing in Saprophytic Cultures and Co-Infecting Maize Plants
Authors: Sherif Mohammed , Kirsch Nadine , Splivallo Richard , Pfohl Katharina , Karlovsky Petr
Published: September 2023

Fusarium graminearum (FG) and Fusarium verticillioides (FV) co-occur in infected plants and plant residues. In maize ears, the growth of FV is stimulated while FG is suppressed. To elucidate the role of mycotoxins in these effects, we used FG mutants with disrupted synthesis of nivalenol (NIV) and deoxynivalenol (DON) and a FV mutant with disrupted synthesis of fumonisins to monitor fungal growth in mixed cultures in vitro and in co-infected plants by real-time PCR. In autoclaved grains as well as in maize ears, the growth of FV was stimulated by FG regardless of the production of DON or NIV by the latter, whereas the growth of FG was suppressed. In autoclaved grains, fumonisin-producing FV suppressed FG more strongly than a fumonisin-nonproducing strain, indicating that fumonisins act as interference competition agents. In co-infected maize ears, FG suppression was independent of fumonisin production by FV, likely due to heterogeneous infection and a lower level of fumonisins in planta. We conclude that (i) fumonisins are agents of interference competition of FV, and (ii) trichothecenes play no role in the interaction between FG and FV. We hypothesize the following: (i) In vitro, FG stimulates the FV growth by secreting hydrolases that mobilize nutrients. In planta, suppression of plant defense by FG may additionally play a role. (ii) The biological function of fumonisin production in planta is to protect kernels shed on the ground by accumulating protective metabolites before competitors become established. Therefore, to decipher the biological function of mycotoxins, the entire life history of mycotoxin producers must be considered.
Stratification and Adaptation of Malaria Control Interventions in Chad
Authors: Djaskano Mahamat Idriss , Cissoko Mady , Diar Mahamat Saleh Issakha , Israel Demba Kodindo , Clément Kerah Hinzoumbé , Ali Aicha Mohamed , Dormbaye Makido , Souleymane Issa Mahamat , Batrane Adam , Sagara Issaka
Published: September 2023

Malaria remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Chad. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that endemic countries stratify malaria to guide interventions. Thus, the Republic of Chad has initiated a stratification process based on malaria incidence with the aim of defining transmission risk and proposing interventions. We collected routine malaria data from health facilities from 2017–2021, the national survey on malaria indicators, the entomological data of NMCP operational research, the demographic and health surveys, and remote sensing of environmental data. Stratification was based on the adjusted incidence of malaria to guide interventions. The adjusted incidence of malaria was, on average, 374 cases per 1000 people in the country. However, it varied according to health districts. Health districts were stratified into very low malaria incidence (n = 25), low malaria incidence (n = 20), moderate malaria incidence (n = 46) and high malaria incidence (n = 38). Micro-stratification in health districts with very low incidence was carried out to identify districts with incidence <10 cases per 1000 person with a view to a malaria pre-elimination programme. Appropriate malaria control interventions were proposed based on the strata identified. Stratification enables the country to target interventions to accelerate the reduction of the burden caused by malaria with a pre-elimination goal.
Efficiency of NHEJ-CRISPR/Cas9 and Cre-LoxP Engineered Recombinant Turkey Herpesvirus Expressing Pasteurella multocida OmpH Protein for Fowl Cholera Prevention in Ducks
Authors: Apinda Nisachon , Yao Yongxiu , Zhang Yaoyao , Muenthaisong Anucha , Sangkakam Kanokwan , Nambooppha Boondarika , Rittipornlertrak Amarin , Koonyosying Pongpisid , Nair Venugopal , Sthitmatee Nattawooti
Published: September 2023

Fowl cholera is caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida, a highly transmissible avian ailment with significant global implications, leading to substantial economic repercussions. The control of fowl cholera outbreaks primarily relies on vaccination using traditional vaccines that are still in use today despite their many limitations. In this research, we describe the development of a genetically engineered herpesvirus of turkeys (HVT) that carries the OmpH gene from P. multocida integrated into UL 45/46 intergenic region using CRISPR/Cas9-NHEJ and Cre-Lox system editing. The integration and expression of the foreign cassettes were confirmed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), indirect immunofluorescence assays, and Western blot assays. The novel recombinant virus (rHVT-OmpH) demonstrated stable integration of the OmpH gene even after 15 consecutive in vitro passages, along with similar in vitro growth kinetics as the parent HVT virus. The protective efficacy of the rHVT-OmpH vaccine was evaluated in vaccinated ducks by examining the levels of P. multocida OmpH-specific antibodies in serum samples using ELISA. Groups of ducks that received the rHVT-OmpH vaccine or the rOmpH protein with Montanide™ (SEPPIC, Paris, France) adjuvant exhibited high levels of antibodies, in contrast to the negative control groups that received the parental HVT or PBS. The recombinant rHVT-OmpH vaccine also provided complete protection against exposure to virulent P. multocida X-73 seven days post-vaccination. This outcome not only demonstrates that the HVT vector possesses many characteristics of an ideal recombinant viral vaccine vector for protecting non-chicken hosts, such as ducks, but also represents significant research progress in identifying a modern, effective vaccine candidate for combatting ancient infectious diseases.
Development of a Novel Canine Parvovirus Vaccine Capable of Stimulating Protective Immunity in Four-Week-Old Puppies in the Face of High Levels of Maternal Antibodies
Authors: Pearce Jacqueline , Spibey Norman , Sutton David , Tarpey Ian
Published: September 2023

Many highly effective vaccines have been developed to protect dogs against disease caused by canine parvovirus, but despite this vaccine interference by maternally derived antibodies continues to cause immunisation failure. To help overcome this limitation we have developed a novel, recombinant canine parvovirus type 2c vaccine strain, based on the structural and non-structural elements of an established type 2 vaccine. This novel CPV-2c vaccine strain has unique efficacy in the field, it is able to induce sterilising immunity in naïve animals 3 days after vaccination and is able to overcome very high levels of maternally derived antibodies from 4 weeks of age—thus closing the immunity gap to canine parvovirus infection in young puppies. The vaccine strain, named 630a, has been combined with an established canine distemper virus Onderstepoort vaccine strain to produce a new bivalent vaccine (Nobivac DP PLUS), intended to immunise very young puppies in the face of high levels of maternally derived antibody. Here, we describe the onset of immunity and maternal antibody interference studies that support the unique efficacy of the strain, and present overdose studies in both dogs and cats that demonstrate the vaccine to be safe.
An Illusory Motion in Stationary Stimuli Alters Their Perceived Duration
Authors: Contemori Giulio , Meneghini Giulia , Battaglini Luca
Published: September 2023

Despite having equal duration, stimuli in physical motion are perceived to last longer than static ones. Here, we investigate whether illusory motion stimuli produce a time-dilation effect similar to physical motion. Participants performed a duration discrimination task that compared the perceived duration of static stimuli with and without illusory motion to a reference stimulus. In the first experiment, we observed a 4% increase in the number of “longer” responses for the illusory motion images than static stimuli with equal duration. The time-dilation effect, quantified as a shift in the Point of Subjective Equality (PSE), was approximately 55 ms for a 2-second stimulus. Although small, the effect was replicated in a second experiment in which the total number of standard-duration repetitions was reduced from 73 to 19. In the third experiment, we found a positive linear trend between the strength of the illusory motion and the magnitude of the time-dilation effect. These results demonstrate that, similar to physical motion stimuli, illusory motion stimuli are perceived to last longer than static stimuli. Furthermore, the strength of the illusion influences the extent of the lengthening of perceived duration.
Prediction of the Soil–Water Retention Curve of Loess Using the Pore Data from the Mercury Intrusion Technique
Authors: Hou Xiaokun
Published: September 2023

The soil–water characteristic curve (SWCC) is a crucial input parameter for describing the distribution of soil moisture and water movement in various environmental and geotechnical challenges. It is widely recognized that the SWCC is controlled by the soil’s pore structure. Attempts to estimate the SWCC using pore data obtained through the mercury intrusion porosity (MIP) technique have been conducted. However, the performance of MIP estimation remains uncertain and requires further validation with experimental data. In this study, the accuracy of MIP estimation is validated using intact and compacted loess samples prepared at different water contents, specifically dry of optimum (8%), optimum (17%), and wet of optimum (19%). The results reveal that intact and dry of optimum specimens exhibit relatively good pore connectivity, with more point-to-point contacts between particles. Conversely, specimens compacted under optimum and wet of optimum conditions exhibit poor pore connectivity, with more isolated pores, particularly in the wet-of-optimum specimen. The SWCC predictions based on MIP data are accurate for intact and dry-of-optimum compacted specimens, but significant errors occur for the optimum and wet-of-optimum specimens. Prediction accuracy using MIP data is closely linked to the soil’s pore connectivity. Despite a tenuous theoretical basis in the high suction range where adsorption forces dominate, a strong consistency between predictions and measured data across a wide suction range (e.g., 10–104 kPa) instills a high level of confidence in using MIP data to predict the wetting SWCC. The contact angle required for the prediction is suggested as a fitting parameter.
Environmental Assessment of Soil and Groundwater Pollution by BTEX Leaching in Valencia Region (Spain)
Authors: Rodrigo-Ilarri Javier , Rodrigo-Clavero María-Elena , Capilla José E. , Romero-Ballesteros Luis
Published: September 2023

The impact of hydrocarbon spills in the unsaturated zone is a significant environmental concern, particularly in locations where contamination arises from leaks in underground fuel storage tanks (USTs). This paper presents the outcomes achieved through the utilization of VLEACH, a finite-difference numerical model, to assess the concentrations of organic contaminants in the solid, liquid, and gas phases within the vadose zone. Additionally, it evaluates the mass transfer of pollutants to the aquifer as part of an environmental assessment for the placement of a forthcoming service station. The study encompasses an analysis of 18 scenarios under realistic conditions based on actual field data. These scenarios were constructed, taking into account various factors, including the nature of the leak (one-time or permanent), the depth of the phreatic level, and the soil conditions and properties. The results highlight the potential environmental consequences of a permanent leak as compared to those resulting from a specific accident. The findings further emphasize the substantial influence of soil moisture on transport phenomena within the vadose zone. Variations in soil moisture significantly alter hydraulic conductivity, impact magnitudes, transport velocities, and even the predominant transport mechanism. Consequently, precise delineation of soil moisture becomes a crucial parameter in such simulations. Additionally, it has been observed that each component of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) experiences varying transport velocities through the vadose zone. Benzene, having a greater propensity to concentrate in the liquid and gas phases, exhibits the swiftest movement through the vadose zone. The detection of benzene in aquifers can serve as an indicator of the potential future arrival of the remaining BTEX compounds.
Urban Water-Related Problems
Authors: Kawamura Akira , Nakagawa Kei
Published: September 2023

Urban areas are considered to be the most vulnerable to water-related problems, which involve a lack or excess of water problems from the perspectives of quantity and quality [...]
Quantitative Analysis of the Uncertainty of Drought Process Simulation Based on Atmospheric–Hydrological Coupling in Different Climate Zones
Authors: Xu Huating , Wu Zhiyong , He Hai , Chen Ruifang , Wu Xiaotao
Published: September 2023

Droughts can lead to drought disasters, which have become one of the main natural disasters affecting the development of social economies and ecological environments around the world. Timely and effective drought process simulation and prediction based on atmospheric–hydrological coupling is crucial for drought prevention and resistance. The initial condition (IC) is one source causing uncertainty in drought process simulation and prediction, and the impacts are different with drought duration, basin size and region. Therefore, a quantitative method that measures the uncertainty caused by ICs on the drought process simulation in different climate zones is proposed in this study. In this study, the VIC (Variable Infiltration Capacity) model at a resolution of 0.05°, which is proven as an ideal model to reflect drought processes, was used as the hydrological model to obtain soil moisture. By analyzing the Soil Moisture Anomaly Percentage Index (SMAPI) error characteristics that were simulated based on different ICs, an uncertainty index for drought process simulation was constructed in different climate zones. It was found that with the development of a drought process, the uncertainty converges, and it decreases to within 10% after a drought occurs for 5 to 6 months, while it is less than 5% in the particular basin in a humid region. In climate transition zones, both the uncertainty and its decrease rate are greater than those in humid regions. Climate characteristics, as well as soil types and vegetation types, are fundamental factors that cause differences in drought process simulation and uncertainty changes. The precipitation and temperature distribution more obviously vary spatially and temporally, a greater uncertainty is caused by ICs. This quantitative method reveals the impact of ICs on drought process simulation in different climate regions and provides a basis for the further improvement of drought simulation and prediction based on atmospheric–hydrological coupling.
Preliminary Design of the Fuel Cells Based Energy Systems for a Cruise Ship
Authors: De Lorenzo Giuseppe , Ruffo Rosario Marzio , Fragiacomo Petronilla
Published: September 2023

Over the years, attention to climate change has meant that international agreements have been drawn up and increasingly stringent regulations aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the marine sector have been issued. A possible alternative technology to the conventional and polluting diesel internal combustion engines is represented by the Fuel Cells. In the present article, the preliminary design of two energy systems based on Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) fed by bio-methane was carried out for a particular cruise ship. The SOFC systems were sized to separately supply the electric energies required for the ship propulsion and to power the other ship electrical utilities. The SOFC systems operate in nominal conditions at constant load and other electrical storage systems (batteries) cover the fluctuations in the electrical energy demand. Furthermore, the heat produced by the SOFCs is exploited for co-/tri-generation purposes, to satisfy the ship thermal energy needs. The preliminary design of the new energy systems was made using electronic spreadsheets. The new energy system has obtained the primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions reductions of 12.74% and 40.23% compared to the conventional energy system. Furthermore, if bio-methane is used, a reduction of 95.50% could be obtained in net CO2 emissions.
Recreational Female Athletes’ Understanding of and Perceived Impact of the Menstrual Cycle on Physical Performance, Mood, and Sleeping Behaviour
Authors: Michelekaki Eleni Anna , Michaelides Marcos , Govindasamy Karuppasamy , Parpa Koulla
Published: September 2023

This study aimed to examine female recreational (FRC) athletes’ knowledge of the menstrual cycle and their perception of how each phase affects their performance, mood, and sleep. One hundred and sixty-four (n = 164) FRC athletes completed an online survey. The questionnaire employed was based on previously validated questionnaires and consisted of three different sections: (a) knowledge about the menstrual cycle, (b) menstrual cycle symptoms, and (c) menstrual cycle and performance. The results indicated that 70.1% of the surveyed FRC athletes were not knowledgeable regarding the phases of the menstrual cycle, with 55.5% being ignorant of the specific hormones released during the cycle. Furthermore, 37.8% perceived that their performance was sometimes affected during the early follicular phase, with the main symptoms being physical fatigue (17.9%) and a more irritable mood (25.9%). In addition, 19.5% of the FRC athletes reported sleeping disturbances, and 20.4% described changes in sleep quality during menstruation. Lastly, 11.9% of the FRC athletes reported suffering from a combination of mood swings, sleeping problems, bloating or stomach issues, breast tenderness, headaches, and fatigue prior to menstruation. The results of this study provide valuable insights into how FRC athletes experience the menstrual cycle, which can help RC athletes and trainers better understand their needs and support them in achieving optimal performance.
El impacto de la inflación y su repercusión en la canasta básica mediante el Índice de Precios de Consumo en Ecuador
Authors: Zamora Baque Jennifer Jahaira , Arteaga García Maria Elizabeth
Published: September 2023

La subida de los precios, provoca afectación en las economías familiares al perder capacidad adquisitiva en un margen de tiempo corto, de ahí surge, el objetivo del presente estudio, que es analizar el impacto ocasionado por la inflación en la canasta básica familiar medido a través del índice de precios al consumidor, la inflación afecta el poder de compra de las personas de la clase social más vulnerable, incidiendo en su calidad de vida. La metodología se basó en un estudio cuantitativo, aplicando el método descriptivo y revisión bibliográfica, con carácter descriptivo, sustentada en búsqueda de información y datos, para analizar el tema de estudio durante 2019-2021. La población seleccionada corresponde a Letamendi-Guayaquil, con 101.000 habitantes, tomando la información del Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos. Se aplicó la formula finita para el cálculo de la muestra obteniéndose un resultado de 383 personas. Entre los resultados tenemos que el 82% señala que la inflación afecta la adquisición de la canasta básica familiar, el 77% está totalmente de acuerdo en que el gobierno debe establecer un salario digno, se concluye que la especulación y el sobreprecio incide en los alimentos de la canasta básica, así también, la mayoría coincide en que el ingreso no cubre las necesidades básicas, existiendo una relación inversa entre la inflación y la capacidad de compra de los habitantes.
Green products in the insurance market
Authors: Klapkiv Lyubov , Ülgen Faruk
Published: September 2023

The decarbonization of economy and, more specifically, the widespread deployment of systems that produce energy from renewable sources require substantial insurance cover, as such a transition process contains the seeds of new individual and systemic risks. The new regulations in Europe, aimed at creating incentives for transition to green economy, with the changes in consumer preferences, support the demand for insurance products tied to the sector of renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable mobility. They are seeking at building up an appropriate institutional environment to push the demand for green insurance products. Faced with this challenge, the purpose of this article is to present green insurance products, review the legislative foundations and summarize the weaknesses that have emerged in the creation and management of such innovative products.