bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Green Synthesis of Ge1−xSnx Alloy Nanoparticles for Optoelectronic Applications
Authors: Attar Gopal Singh , Liu Mimi , Lai Cheng-Yu , Radu Daniela R.
Published: October 2021

Compositionally controlled, light-emitting, group IV semiconductor nanomaterials have potential to enable on-chip data communications and infrared (IR) imaging devices compatible with the complementary metal−oxide−semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The recent demonstration of a direct band gap laser in Ge-Sn alloys opens avenues to the expansion of Si-photonics. Ge-Sn alloys showed improved effective carrier mobility as well as direct band gap behavior at Sn composition above 6–11%. In this work, Ge1−xSnx alloy nanoparticles with varying Sn compositions from x = 0.124 to 0.178 were prepared via colloidal synthesis using sodium borohydride (NaBH4), a mild and non-hazardous reducing reagent. Successful removal of the synthesized long-alkyl-chain ligands present on nanoparticles’ surfaces, along with the passivation of the Ge-Sn nanoparticle surface, was achieved using aqueous (NH4)2S. The highly reactive surface of the nanoparticles prior to ligand exchange often leads to the formation of germanium oxide (GeO2). This work demonstrates that the (NH4)2S further acts as an etching reagent to remove the oxide layer from the particles’ surfaces. The compositional control and long-term stability will enable the future use of these easily prepared Ge1−xSnx nanoalloys in optoelectronic devices.
Dielectric Response of KTaO3 Single Crystals Weakly Co-Doped with Li and Mn
Authors: Tkach Alexander , Zlotnik Sebastian , Vilarinho Paula M.
Published: October 2021

Alkali tantalates are encouraging functional materials with versatile properties that make them potential players in microelectronics, photocatalytic processes or medicine. Here, KTaO3 single crystals with 0.27% Li and 0.15% or 0.31% Mn contents determined by inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy analysis are studied at low temperatures using dielectric spectroscopy in a frequency range of 102–106 Hz. Both Li and Mn doping are found to induce separate low-frequency dielectric relaxations of comparable strength in KTaO3. The relaxation dynamics follow the Arrhenius law with activation energy values of ~77 and 107 meV, attributing the relaxation origin to the dipoles formed by off-centre Li+K and Mn2+K ions, respectively.
Importance of Local Studies of Vascular Plant Communities in Conservation and Management: A Case Study in Susticacán, Zacatecas, Mexico
Authors: Hurtado-Reveles Leopoldo , Burgos-Hernández Mireya , López-Acosta Juan Carlos , Vázquez-Sánchez Monserrat
Published: October 2021

Some parts of the globe have a deficient vegetation coverage survey causing localized plant community qualities generalized from larger scales, hindering their particular configuration. This process is emphasized in megadiverse countries such as Mexico by transformation and loss of land cover. This can be reflected in the municipality of Susticacán, Zacatecas, settled in a mountainous, scarcely explored area, the Sierra de los Cardos. This study aimed to characterize its plant communities, produce a fine-scale map and compare them to other descriptions. Oak forests, pine forests, grasslands, nopaleras, chaparral, and rock outcrop vegetation were detected through satellite image analysis, sampled, statistically evaluated, and their descriptions supported by the literature. The first two presented a high diversity and endemism, despite a small surface. The chaparral occupied the largest area, and its structure and composition suggest its secondary vegetation in expansion. The presence of exotic–invasive species and human activities threaten the native flora. This study is the first to provide detailed information on the plant communities in Susticacán and is a model for the study of local-scale regions. It highlights the importance of describing and mapping them as a contribution to delineate conservation and management efforts.
The Association between Mechanical Power and Mortality in Patients with Pneumonia Using Pressure-Targeted Ventilation
Authors: Wu Huang-Pin , Chu Chien-Ming , Chuang Li-Pang , Lin Shih-Wei , Leu Shaw-Woei , Chang Ko-Wei , Chiu Li-Chung , Liu Pi-Hua , Kao Kuo-Chin
Published: October 2021

Recent studies have reported that mechanical power (MP) is associated with increased mortality in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We aimed to investigate the association between 28-day mortality and MP in patients with severe pneumonia. In total, the data of 313 patients with severe pneumonia were used for analysis. Serial MP was calculated daily for either 21 days or until ventilator support was no longer required. Compared with the non-ARDS group, the ARDS group (106 patients) demonstrated lower age, a higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, lower history of diabetes mellitus, elevated incidences of shock and jaundice, higher MP and driving pressure on Day 1, and more deaths within 28 days. Regression analysis revealed that MP was an independent factor associated with 28-day mortality (odds ratio, 1.048; 95% confidence interval, 1.020–1.077). MP was persistently high in non-survivors and low in survivors among the ARDS group, the non-ARDS group, and all patients. These findings indicate that MP is associated with the 28-day mortality in ventilated patients with severe pneumonia, both in the ARDS and non-ARDS groups. MP had a better predicted value for the 28-day mortality than the driving pressure.
Dome-Shaped Macula versus Ridge-Shaped Macula Eyes in High Myopia Based on the 12-line Radial Optical Coherence Tomography Scan Pattern. Differences in Clinical Features
Authors: García-Zamora María , Flores-Moreno Ignacio , Ruiz-Medrano Jorge , Vega-González Rocío , Puertas Mariluz , Almazán-Alonso Elena , González-Buendía Lucía , Ruiz-Moreno José M.
Published: October 2021

Purpose: To study clinical features in patients with ridge-shaped macula (RSM) compared with those with dome-shaped macula (DSM) having been previously classified by the number of swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) radial scans affected. Methods: Retrospective observational study including 49 highly myopic eyes from 31 patients who underwent SS-OCT. DSM eyes were defined as those that showed a complete round inward convexity in all their axes, presenting an inward convexity ≥50 µm in the 12-line radial OCT scans. Eyes that did not meet this criterion and had at least one flat radial scan were grouped into the RSM group, defined as a macular inward convexity in some meridians across the fovea, whereas the opposite perpendicularly oriented meridians were flat. Age, spherical equivalent, axial length (AL), and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were collected. Height of the bulge, scleral and choroidal thicknesses, Bruch´s membrane defects, and presence of perforating scleral vessels were recorded. Results: Thirty-seven (75.5%) eyes were classified into the RSM group and 12 (24.5%) into the DSM group. Twenty-six (53.0%) eyes showed macular elevation only in the horizontal direction. Mean AL showed statistically significant differences (28.8 ± 2.7 vs. 30.5 ± 1.5 mm in the RMS vs. DSM group, respectively) and the presence of Bruch´s membrane defects was more frequently seen in DSM (p < 0.001). Mean age, spherical equivalent, BCVA, height of the inward convexity, retinal foveal thickness, foveal scleral thickness, subfoveal choroidal thickness, and the presence of perforating scleral vessels did not show significant differences between groups. Conclusion: This study shows the reliability of using the 12 equal radial OCT scans as an objective method to define and differentiate DSM versus RSM. Patients with RSM showed differences in AL compared with those with DSM, being longer in DSM, and regarding the presence of Bruch´s membrane defects, being more common in DSM. This may contribute to identifying those patients that, in daily clinical practice, have a higher risk of developing complications due to their myopia.
Interpretation of Thoracic Radiography Shows Large Discrepancies Depending on the Qualification of the Physician—Quantitative Evaluation of Interobserver Agreement in a Representative Emergency Department Scenario
Authors: Rudolph Jan , Fink Nicola , Dinkel Julien , Koliogiannis Vanessa , Schwarze Vincent , Goller Sophia , Erber Bernd , Geyer Thomas , Hoppe Boj Friedrich , Fischer Maximilian , Ben Khaled Najib , Jörgens Maximilian , Ricke Jens , Rueckel Johannes , Sabel Bastian Oliver
Published: October 2021

(1) Background: Chest radiography (CXR) is still a key diagnostic component in the emergency department (ED). Correct interpretation is essential since some pathologies require urgent treatment. This study quantifies potential discrepancies in CXR analysis between radiologists and non-radiology physicians in training with ED experience. (2) Methods: Nine differently qualified physicians (three board-certified radiologists [BCR], three radiology residents [RR], and three non-radiology residents involved in ED [NRR]) evaluated a series of 563 posterior-anterior CXR images by quantifying suspicion for four relevant pathologies: pleural effusion, pneumothorax, pneumonia, and pulmonary nodules. Reading results were noted separately for each hemithorax on a Likert scale (0–4; 0: no suspicion of pathology, 4: safe existence of pathology) adding up to a total of 40,536 reported pathology suspicions. Interrater reliability/correlation and Kruskal–Wallis tests were performed for statistical analysis. (3) Results: While interrater reliability was good among radiologists, major discrepancies between radiologists’ and non-radiologists’ reading results could be observed in all pathologies. Highest overall interrater agreement was found for pneumothorax detection and lowest agreement in raising suspicion for malignancy suspicious nodules. Pleural effusion and pneumonia were often suspected with indifferent choices (1–3). In terms of pneumothorax detection, all readers mainly decided for a clear option (0 or 4). Interrater reliability was usually higher when evaluating the right hemithorax (all pathologies except pneumothorax). (4) Conclusions: Quantified CXR interrater reliability analysis displays a general uncertainty and strongly depends on medical training. NRR can benefit from radiology reporting in terms of time efficiency and diagnostic accuracy. CXR evaluation of long-time trained ED specialists has not been tested.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Dental Education: An Online Survey of Students’ Perceptions and Attitudes
Authors: Badovinac Ana , Par Matej , Plančak Laura , Balić Marcela Daria , Vražić Domagoj , Božić Darko , Musić Larisa
Published: October 2021

Purpose: Dental education institutions worldwide experienced disruptive changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a rapid switch to the online learning format. Thus, this study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on dental education and evaluates the perceptions and attitudes of students towards the introduction of online learning in the School of Dental Medicine in Zagreb, Croatia. Methods: A survey was conducted on a population of undergraduate students. It was comprised of perceptions and attitudes of students on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their psychoemotional status, changes introduced in the educational system, and online learning in particular. Results: Of the 352 students that completed the survey, 66.2% of students reported being psychoemotionally affected by the lockdown. The most significant impact of the switch from in-person to online learning was observed in terms of missing contact with lecturers (60.3%) and peers (90.3%) and loss of practical courses, regarding which 65% of students agreed that they could not be compensated. While only 36.1% reported that online teaching fully met their expectations, the majority of the students (61.9%) agreed that online lectures were as valuable as in-person lectures and that the theoretical courses could be carried out online in the future as well (69.9%). Conclusions: Students reported relative satisfaction with changes in the learning format and a positive attitude towards online learning; however, several challenges and obstacles were identified.
Constraints on Non-Flat Starobinsky f(R) Dark Energy Model
Authors: Geng Chao-Qiang , Hsu Yan-Ting , Lu Jhih-Rong
Published: October 2021

We study the viable Starobinsky f(R) dark energy model in spatially non-flat FLRW backgrounds, where f(R)=R−λRch[1−(1+R2/Rch2)−1] with Rch and λ representing the characteristic curvature scale and model parameter, respectively. We modify CAMB and CosmoMC packages with the recent observational data to constrain Starobinsky f(R) gravity and the density parameter of curvature ΩK. In particular, we find the model and density parameters to be λ−1<0.283 at 68% C.L. and ΩK=−0.00099−0.0042+0.0044 at 95% C.L., respectively. The best χ2 fitting result shows that χf(R)2≲χΛCDM2, indicating that the viable f(R) gravity model is consistent with ΛCDM when ΩK is set as a free parameter. We also evaluate the values of AIC, BIC and DIC for the best fitting results of f(R) and ΛCDM models in the non-flat universe.
Declared and Real Level of Digital Skills of Future Teaching Staff
Authors: Tomczyk Łukasz
Published: October 2021

Digital competence is undoubtedly one of the key skills that teaching staff should possess. Currently, there are many theoretical frameworks and ways to measure skills and knowledge related to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). This article is an attempt to show the real and declared level of digital skills among future teaching staff. The research was conducted in Poland among 128 students of pedagogical faculties (first-year undergraduate studies). The research used a triangulation of research methods and techniques: diagnostic survey and competency tests related to the use of word processors and spreadsheets, and the level of knowledge about the use of ICT. Competency tests were in accordance with the European Computer Skills Certificate (ECDL) standard. The collected data showed the following: (1) more than half of the students rate their own skills in the use of word processors and spreadsheets, and their overall theoretical knowledge as high or very high; (2) in the case of the real assessment of digital competence, only less than 20% reached the passing threshold in the areas of word processors and theoretical knowledge, with only 1.6% passing in the area of spreadsheets; (3) the declared and actual levels of digital competence were moderately related in the surveyed group; (4) attitudes towards new media, self-assessment of digital skills, and previous learning experience in handling ICT are not predictive factors for ECDL test results.
The Impact of the Performance Appraisal Process on Job Satisfaction of the Academic Staff in Higher Educational Institutions
Authors: Dasanayaka Chamila H. , Abeykoon Chamil , Ranaweera R. A. A. S. , Koswatte Isuru
Published: October 2021

Performance appraisal is one of the key management tools which identifies employees’ strengths and weaknesses. Usually, this is the major mechanism of gathering information for rewarding/training employees based on their performance, and hence a key to achieve organisational goals by creating a satisfied workforce. Therefore, this study was aimed at examining the effects of the Performance Appraisal Process on job satisfaction of the university academic staff. The information collected within one of the largest universities in the UK via questionnaires and semi-structured interviews showed that the existing appraisal process majorly aligned with the requirements of the research-excellence-framework of the UK, which is greatly concerned with research rather than teaching. Furthermore, it was found that there is no clear link between promotions, salary increments, and rewards, etc. with staff performance within the current appraisal process. Eventually, it was realised that the majority of the academic staff of the source university were dissatisfied with the current performance appraisal process, and this could be the situation in the majority of universities in the UK. Therefore, further research in this area is highly recommended to explore extensive information to create a favourable work/study environment for both staff and students within the universities.
Single-Sensor EMI Source Localization Using Time Reversal: An Experimental Validation
Authors: Karami Hamidreza , Azadifar Mohammad , Wang Zhaoyang , Rubinstein Marcos , Rachidi Farhad
Published: October 2021

The localization of electromagnetic interference (EMI) sources is of high importance in electromagnetic compatibility applications. Recently, a novel localization technique based on the time-reversal cavity (TRC) concept was proposed using only one sensor, and its application to localize EMI sources was validated numerically. In this paper, we present a validation of the proposed time-reversal process in which the forward step of the time-reversal process is performed experimentally and the backward step is carried out via numerical simulations, a realistic scenario which is applicable to practical source localization problems. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first implementation of a three-dimensional electromagnetic time-reversal process in which the forward signal is provided experimentally while the backward propagation step is carried out numerically. The considered experimental setup is formed by a partially open cavity and two monopole antennas to emulate the EMI source and the sensor (receiving antenna), respectively. Assuming that the location of the source is the feed point of the monopole antenna, the resulting three-dimensional location error in the experimental validation was only 1.49 cm, which is about one-third the length of the monopole antenna, corresponding to about λmin/2 (diffraction limit).
A TaOx-Based RRAM with Improved Uniformity and Excellent Analog Characteristics by Local Dopant Engineering
Authors: Qin Yabo , Wang Zongwei , Ling Yaotian , Cai Yimao , Huang Ru
Published: October 2021

Resistive random-access memory (RRAM) with the ability to store and process information has been considered to be one of the most promising emerging devices to emulate synaptic behavior and accelerate the computation of intelligent algorithms. However, variation and limited resistance levels impede RRAM as a synapse for weight storage in neural network mapping. In this work, we investigate a TaOx-based RRAM with Al ion local doping. Compared with a device without doping, the device with locally doped Al ion exhibits excellent uniformity and analog characteristics. The operating voltage and resistance states show tighter distributions. Over 150 adjustable resistance states can be achieved through tuning compliance current (CC) and reset stop voltage. Moreover, incremental resistance switching is available under optimized identical pulses. The improved uniformity and analog characteristics can be attributed to the collective effects of reduced oxygen vacancy (Vo) formation energy and weak conductive filaments induced by the local Al ion dopants.
Parametric Analysis of Linear Periodic Arrays Generating Flat-Top Beams
Authors: Angeletti Piero , Buttazzoni Giulia , Toso Giovanni , Vescovo Roberto
Published: October 2021

Several synthesis techniques are available to optimize amplitude and phase excitations of periodic linear arrays to generate flat-top beams. Clearly, the optimal tapering depends on design parameters such as the array length, the number of array elements, the beam flatness, the beam width, the side lobe levels, and others. In this paper, in order to derive useful guidelines and rule of thumb for the synthesis of periodic array antennas, relations between these parameters are derived employing linear programming techniques, which guarantee optimality of the solutions. Such relations are then plotted and used in some design examples.
Using Hybrid Deep Learning Models of Sentiment Analysis and Item Genres in Recommender Systems for Streaming Services
Authors: Dang Cach N. , Moreno-García María N. , De la Prieta Fernando
Published: October 2021

Recommender systems are being used in streaming service platforms to provide users with personalized suggestions to increase user satisfaction. These recommendations are primarily based on data about the interaction of users with the system; however, other information from the large amounts of media data can be exploited to improve their reliability. In the case of media social data, sentiment analysis of the opinions expressed by users, together with properties of the items they consume, can help gain a better understanding of their preferences. In this study, we present a recommendation approach that integrates sentiment analysis and genre-based similarity in collaborative filtering methods. The proposal involves the use of BERT for genre preprocessing and feature extraction, as well as hybrid deep learning models, for sentiment analysis of user reviews. The approach was evaluated on popular public movie datasets. The experimental results show that the proposed approach significantly improves the recommender system performance.
DCT Domain Detail Image Enhancement for More Resolved Images
Authors: Bang Seongbae , Kim Wonha
Published: October 2021

This paper develops a detail image signal enhancement that makes images perceived as being clearer and more resolved and so more effective for higher resolution displays. We observe that the local variant signal enhancement makes images more vivid, and the more revealed granular signals harmonically embedded on the local variant signals make images more resolved. Based on this observation, we develop a method that not only emphasizes the local variant signals by scaling up the frequency energy in accordance with human visual perception, but also strengthens the granular signals by embedding the alpha-rooting enhanced frequency components. The proposed energy scaling method emphasizes the detail signals in texture images and rarely boosts noisy signals in plain images. In addition, to avoid the local ringing artifact, the proposed method adjusts the enhancement direction to be parallel to the underlying image signal direction. It was verified through subjective and objective quality evaluations that the developed method makes images perceived as clearer and highly resolved.
Non-Interactive and Secure Data Aggregation Scheme for Internet of Things
Authors: Fu Yanxia , Ren Yanli , Feng Guorui , Zhang Xinpeng , Qin Chuan
Published: October 2021

The popularity of mobile devices in Internet of Things has brought great convenience to the lives of the people. Massive data generated in the IoT are outsourced and stored on cloud platforms so that data aggregation and analysis can be performed on the massive data. However, these data often contain sensitive information of mobile devices, so effective protection of mobile user privacy is the primary condition for further development of IoT. Most of the current data aggregation schemes require a lot of interactions between users, and thus this paper designs a non-interactive secure multidimensional data aggregation scheme. This scheme adopts an additive secret sharing technique to mask the shared data and send it to two non-colluding servers, and then the servers aggregate the ciphertext respectively. Different from the existing schemes, our proposed scheme achieves non-interaction between users, and the aggregation result is kept confidential to the server and supports mobile users offline. Finally, we perform an experimental evaluation which proves the effectiveness of our scheme.
The Decision-Making Process and the Construction of Online Sociality through the Digital Storytelling Methodology
Authors: Limone Pierpaolo , Toto Giusi Antonia , Cafarelli Barbara
Published: October 2021

Digital storytelling (DST) is a teaching methodology (and tool) that is very widespread in different types of training: formal and informal, professional, and for adults. Presently, education is evolving and moving towards digital storytelling, starting from the models of Lambert and Olher. Today, although DST is usually used in the training that students receive for narrative learning, experimentation on the psychological and social consequences of this online teaching practice is still scarce. The literature acknowledges the widespread use of DST online, from psychology to communication and from marketing to training, providing Lambert’s and Olher’s models as references. Thus, the purpose of experimentation in this subject has been to try to mix these two models by selecting the phases of the model that focus most on creativity and narrative writing. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the experimentation conducted in the initial training of teachers to monitor the processes of negotiating content, making decisions and building a group atmosphere through the use of a narrative technique in an educational context. The sample was offered comprehension activities on narrative categories, creativity and autobiographical writing. The process in the group choice phase (negotiation) of the story was monitored through a questionnaire that includes three scales (the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire, Organisational Attitude, and Negotiations Self-Assessment Inventory). The study concluded that the standardised planning of activities that, to a greater degree of depth, promote participation and emotional involvement allows the creation of strong group thinking and affects the decision-making and negotiation processes of the activities being carried out by the participants.
Automatic Melody Harmonization via Reinforcement Learning by Exploring Structured Representations for Melody Sequences
Authors: Zeng Te , Lau Francis C. M.
Published: October 2021

We present a novel reinforcement learning architecture that learns a structured representation for use in symbolic melody harmonization. Probabilistic models are predominant in melody harmonization tasks, most of which only treat melody notes as independent observations and do not take note of substructures in the melodic sequence. To fill this gap, we add substructure discovery as a crucial step in automatic chord generation. The proposed method consists of a structured representation module that generates hierarchical structures for the symbolic melodies, a policy module that learns to break a melody into segments (whose boundaries concur with chord changes) and phrases (the subunits in segments) and a harmonization module that generates chord sequences for each segment. We formulate the structure discovery process as a sequential decision problem with a policy gradient RL method selecting the boundary of each segment or phrase to obtain an optimized structure. We conduct experiments on our preprocessed HookTheory Lead Sheet Dataset, which has 17,979 melody/chord pairs. The results demonstrate that our proposed method can learn task-specific representations and, thus, yield competitive results compared with state-of-the-art baselines.
CNN Variants for Computer Vision: History, Architecture, Application, Challenges and Future Scope
Authors: Bhatt Dulari , Patel Chirag , Talsania Hardik , Patel Jigar , Vaghela Rasmika , Pandya Sharnil , Modi Kirit , Ghayvat Hemant
Published: October 2021

Computer vision is becoming an increasingly trendy word in the area of image processing. With the emergence of computer vision applications, there is a significant demand to recognize objects automatically. Deep CNN (convolution neural network) has benefited the computer vision community by producing excellent results in video processing, object recognition, picture classification and segmentation, natural language processing, speech recognition, and many other fields. Furthermore, the introduction of large amounts of data and readily available hardware has opened new avenues for CNN study. Several inspirational concepts for the progress of CNN have been investigated, including alternative activation functions, regularization, parameter optimization, and architectural advances. Furthermore, achieving innovations in architecture results in a tremendous enhancement in the capacity of the deep CNN. Significant emphasis has been given to leveraging channel and spatial information, with a depth of architecture and information processing via multi-path. This survey paper focuses mainly on the primary taxonomy and newly released deep CNN architectures, and it divides numerous recent developments in CNN architectures into eight groups. Spatial exploitation, multi-path, depth, breadth, dimension, channel boosting, feature-map exploitation, and attention-based CNN are the eight categories. The main contribution of this manuscript is in comparing various architectural evolutions in CNN by its architectural change, strengths, and weaknesses. Besides, it also includes an explanation of the CNN’s components, the strengths and weaknesses of various CNN variants, research gap or open challenges, CNN applications, and the future research direction.
Dynamic Spillovers and Asymmetric Spillover Effect between the Carbon Emission Trading Market, Fossil Energy Market, and New Energy Stock Market in China
Authors: Nie Dan , Li Yanbin , Li Xiyu
Published: October 2021

In 2020, China proposed the goal of achieving carbon emission peaks by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. For China, whose energy consumption structure has long been dominated by fossil energy, carbon trading and new energy are crucial for the realization of the emission target. By establishing a connectedness network model, this paper studies the static and dynamic spillovers between the Hubei carbon trading market, new energy stock market, crude oil market, coal market, and natural gas market in China, and draws the following conclusions: (1) the static spillover index of the carbon–energy–stock system is 3.57% and the dynamic spillover index fluctuates between 7.67% and 22.62%, indicating that the spillover effect of the system is low; (2) for the whole system, whether from a static or dynamic perspective, the carbon market always plays the role of net information receiver, while new energy is the net information transmitter; (3) the new energy stock market and the coal market always act as net information transmitters to the carbon market; and (4) the spillover effect of the system is asymmetric, wherein the system is more sensitive to negative information about price returns, and this asymmetry is much greater when the system is active.
Research on Heat Exchange Law and Structural Design Optimization of Deep Buried Pipe Energy Piles
Authors: Chen Zhi , Wang Bo , Zheng Lifei , Xiao Henglin , Wang Jingquan
Published: October 2021

A deeply buried pipe energy pile (DBP-EP) combines the advantages of a ground source heat pump (GSHP) and an inside buried pipe energy pile (IBP-EP) and is an efficient, clean, and energy-saving technology. Based on field tests and numerical simulations, this paper explores the temperature distribution and heat exchange effects of DBP-EP under different influencing factors. The results show that when the pile-to-well ratio is approximately 0.3–0.4, the heat exchange of the energy pile obtains the best benefit; the inlet water temperature is the most significant factor affecting the heat exchange effect of the energy pile, and when combined with a reasonable pile-to-well ratio, the energy pile obtains the best heat exchange effect; the flow rate has a significant impact on the heat exchange effect of the energy pile, but needs to be set reasonably according to the pile-to-well ratio; the influence of inlet water temperature, well depth, flow rate, and pile length on the heat exchange efficiency of the energy pile is gradually weakened. The research results of this paper provide a theoretical basis for the structural design optimization of DBP-EP and promote the popularization and application of energy pile technology.
Roof Color-Based Warm Roof Evaluation in Cold Regions Using a UAV Mounted Thermal Infrared Imaging Camera
Authors: Lee Kirim , Park Jinhwan , Jung Sejung , Lee Wonhee
Published: October 2021

Existing studies on reducing urban heat island phenomenon and building temperature have been actively conducted; however, studies on investigating the warm roof phenomenon to in-crease the temperature of buildings are insufficient. A cool roof is required in a high-temperature region, while a warm roof is needed in a low-temperature or cold region. Therefore, a warm roof evaluation was conducted in this study using the roof color (black, blue, green, gray, and white), which is relatively easier to install and maintain compared to conventional insulation materials and double walls. A remote sensing method via an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-mounted thermal infrared (TIR) camera was employed. For warm roof evaluation, the accuracy of the TIR camera was verified by comparing it with a laser thermometer, and the correlation between the surface temperature and the room temperature was also confirmed using Pearson correlation. The results showed significant surface temperature differences ranging from 8 °C to 28 °C between the black-colored roof and the other colored roofs and indoor temperature differences from 1 °C to 7 °C. Through this study, it was possible to know the most effective color for a warm roof according to the color differences. This study gave us an idea of which color would work best for a warm roof, as well as the temperature differences from other colors. We believe that the results of this study will be helpful in heating load research, providing an objective basis for determining whether a warm roof is applied.
Flagellar Cooperativity and Collective Motion in Sperm
Authors: Simons Julie , Rosenberger Alexandra
Published: October 2021

Sperm have thin structures known as flagella whose motion must be regulated in order to reach the egg for fertilization. Large numbers of sperm are typically needed in this process and some species have sperm that exhibit collective or aggregate motion when swimming in groups. The purpose of this study is to model planar motion of flagella in groups to explore how collective motion may arise in three-dimensional fluid environments. We use the method of regularized Stokeslets and a three-dimensional preferred curvature model to simulate groups of undulating flagella, where flagellar waveforms are modulated via hydrodynamic coupling with other flagella and surfaces. We find that collective motion of free-swimming flagella is an unstable phenomenon in long-term simulations unless there is an external mechanism to keep flagella near each other. However, there is evidence that collective swimming can result in significant gains in velocity and efficiency. With the addition of an ability for sperm to attach and swim together as a group, velocities and efficiencies can be increased even further, which may indicate why some species have evolved mechanisms that enable collective swimming and cooperative behavior in sperm.
A Power Sequence Interaction Function for Liquid Phase Particles
Authors: Piringer Otto G.
Published: October 2021

In this manuscript, a function is derived that allows the interactions between the atoms/molecules in nanoparticles, nanodrops, and macroscopic liquid phases to be modeled. One goal of molecular theories is the development of expressions to predict specific physical properties of liquids for which no experimental data are available. A big limitation of reliable applications of known expressions is that they are based on the interactions between pairs of molecules. There is no reason to suppose that the energy of interaction of three or more molecules is the sum of the pairwise interaction energies alone. Here, an interaction function with the limit value w = e2π/e is presented, which allows for the derivation of the atomic mass unit and acts as a bridge between properties of elementary particles and emergent properties of macroscopic systems. The following properties of liquids are presented using the introduced interaction function: melting temperatures of n-alkanes, nanocrystals of polyethylene, melting temperatures of metal nanoparticles, solid–liquid phase transition temperatures for water in nanopores, critical temperatures and critical pressures of n-alkanes, vapor pressures in liquids and liquid droplets, self-diffusion coefficients of compounds in liquids, binary liquid diffusion coefficients, diffusion coefficients in liquids at infinite dilution, diffusion in polymers, and viscosities in liquids.
Full-Size Experimental Assessment of the Aerodynamic Sealing of Low Velocity Air Curtains
Authors: Viegas João Carlos Godinho , Carrasco Levi , Pinto Luis , Morais João , Morais Paulo , Aelenei Daniel
Published: October 2021

Vertical air curtains are often used to separate two different zones to reduce contaminant transfer or even to provide aerodynamic sealing from one zone to the other. In this isothermal full-size experimental research work, the contaminant transfer between zones is reduced using an air extraction from the “contaminated” compartment and an air curtain. This work correlates the minimum exhaust air flow rate required to reach the aerodynamic sealing at the opening connecting two different zones with the jet nozzle velocity for small nozzle thicknesses (5 mm, 10 mm and 16 mm), particularly for Reynolds numbers below 3800. Following the experimental study, a general physical law that relates the jet parameters (angle, nozzle thickness and jet velocity at the nozzle) with the average velocity through the opening (for the condition of acceptable contaminant tightness) was obtained. The results showed that the average velocity of the flow across a door protected by an air curtain required to keep the aerodynamic sealing varies linearly with Re. The slope, however, is different below and above Re = 3820.
Ecology or Health—How to Successfully Promote Palm Oil Free Products: A Comparison between Spain and Poland
Authors: Adamczyk Dominika , Maison Dominika
Published: October 2021

Palm oil, widely used in the food industry, is causing some concern due to its negative impact on the environment and human health. The goal of the conducted research was to answer the question of what would be a better strategy for the marketing communication of palm oil substitutes, its health benefits or its environmental friendliness? This article presents a research project exploring the potential of chocolate bread spread based on a saturated fat and palm oil substitute. The research was conducted on two samples of Spanish (n = 675) and Polish (n = 661) bread spread consumers. In the experimental study, consumers were presented with a description of a new chocolate spread entering the market, with references to (a) its health benefits or (b) its environmental benefits resulting from the absence of palm oil in the product. The results showed that ecology references in food-related marketing communication in Spain have a stronger influence on the consumer decision-making process than health references. In Poland, the effect of communication was moderated by an evaluation of a person’s eating style and the individual level of eco-friendly behavior of the consumer.
Ethanol-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Alcohol Metabolism Regulation by GABA-Enriched Fermented Smilax china Root Extract in Rats
Authors: Boby Naila , Lee Eon-Bee , Abbas Muhammad Aleem , Park Na-Hye , Lee Sam-Pin , Ali Md. Sekendar , Lee Seung-Jin , Park Seung-Chun
Published: October 2021

Chronic alcohol consumption can cause hepatic injury and alcohol-induced toxicities. Extracts from Smilax china root have been widely used in traditional medicine and for their potential pharmacological benefits. We aimed to determine if fermented Smilax china extract (FSC) regulates alcoholic fatty liver and liver injury using two in vivo experiments. Sprague-Dawley rats were administered ethanol (3 g/kg b.w.; po) with or without FSC pretreatment to induce an acute hangover. In another experiment, rats were fed either a normal or Lieber-DeCarli ethanol (6.7%) diet with or without FSC pretreatment (125, 250, and 500 mg/kg b.w.; po) for 28 days. Serum biomarkers, liver histopathology, and the mRNA levels of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, lipogenic, and lipolytic genes were analyzed. FSC pretreatment significantly reduced blood alcohol and acetaldehyde concentrations, upregulated the mRNA expression of alcohol dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase, and superoxide dismutase, and decreased the activities of liver enzymes in a dose-dependent manner. It also downregulated SERBP-1c and upregulated PPAR-α and reduced the gene expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 in the liver. The final extract after fermentation had increased GABA content. Furthermore, FSC was found to be safe with no acute oral toxicity in female rats. Thus, FSC increases alcohol metabolism and exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects to induce hepatoprotection against alcohol-induced damage. It may be used as a functional food ingredient after excess alcohol consumption.
Investigating Transcriptomic Induction of Resistance and/or Virulence in Listeria monocytogenes Cells Surviving Sublethal Antimicrobial Exposure
Authors: Kokkoni Eleni-Anna , Andritsos Nikolaos , Sakarikou Christina , Michailidou Sofia , Argiriou Anagnostis , Giaouris Efstathios
Published: October 2021

The potential transcriptomic induction of resistance and/or virulence in two L. monocytogenes strains belonging to the most frequent listeriosis-associated serovars (i.e., 1/2a and 4b), following their sublethal antimicrobial exposure, was studied through qPCR determination of the relative expression of 10 selected related genes (i.e., groEL, hly, iap, inlA, inlB, lisK, mdrD, mdrL, prfA, and sigB). To induce sublethal stress, three common antimicrobials (i.e., benzalkonium chloride, thymol, and ampicillin) were individually applied for 2 h at 37 °C against stationary phase cells of each strain, each at a sublethal concentration. In general, the expression of most of the studied genes remained either stable or was significantly downregulated following the antimicrobial exposure, with some strain-specific differences to be yet recorded. Thymol provoked downregulation of most of the studied genes, significantly limiting the expression of 6/10 and 4/10 genes in the strains of ser. 1/2a and ser. 4b, respectively, including those coding for the master regulators of stress response and virulence (SigB and PrfA, respectively), in both strains. At the same time, the two genes coding for the invasion internalin proteins (InlA and InlB), with crucial role in the onset of L. monocytogenes pathogenesis, were both importantly upregulated in ser. 4b strain. The results obtained increase our knowledge of the stress physiology of L. monocytogenes under certain sublethal antimicrobial conditions that could be encountered within the food chain and in clinical settings, and may assist in better and more effective mitigation strategies.
Antibacterial Properties of Coaxial Spinning Membrane of Methyl ferulate/zein and Its Preservation Effect on Sea Bass
Authors: Li Tingting , Shen Yue , Chen Haitao , Xu Yuchen , Wang Dangfeng , Cui Fangchao , Han Yujuan , Li Jianrong
Published: October 2021

Methyl ferulate is a new natural antibacterial agent with strong activity and low toxicity. It has good application prospects in food preservation. In this paper, the antibacterial activity of methyl ferulate against Shigella putrefaciens was verified, and it was embedded into zein by electrospinning technology to prepare fiber membranes. The addition of methyl ferulate could improve the tensile strength of zein fiber membrane and decrease the crystallinity of the membrane, which was mainly a physical combination. The fiber membrane improved the thermal stability of methyl ferulate. The water contact angle (WCA) decreased to 54.85°. The results showed that methyl ferulate in fiber membrane could be released slowly, gradually exerting its antibacterial activity. After coating perch with methyl ferulate/zein fiber membrane, the growth of microorganisms in perch meat was inhibited, and the pH value and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N)content were effectively increased. In a word, methyl ferulate had antibacterial activity in the fiber film, which was able to achieve a sustained release effect in the process of fish packaging, prolonging its antibacterial activity, and having preservation effect on sea bass; thus, it could be used in food packaging.
A Year Following the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Existing Challenges and Ways the Food Industry Has Been Impacted
Authors: Vargas-Ramella Márcio , Lorenzo José M. , Bohrer Benjamin M. , Pateiro Mirian , Cantalapiedra Jesús J. , Franco Daniel
Published: October 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant impacts for nearly all industrial and societal sectors in the world. As closures and social distancing mandates were implemented to help control the spread of the novel coronavirus designated as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the food industry was immensely affected. This review explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the food supply chain from a multi-disciplinary viewpoint and provides perspectives on the consequences on food safety and food security, a risk assessment on human–animal interactions, and considers logistical/protocol adjustments required for the food industry. While foodborne transmission of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is not a significant factor for food safety as direct transmission of the virus through food products is not evident, food security has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic threatens food accessibility, especially for vulnerable populations of people, through its effects on food cost and infrastructure, food distribution and public transit access, and social inequities. Currently, global interest for COVID-19 is focused on human health and rightfully so, but adverse effects on the food supply chain are already evident and will likely continue to occur for several years after the pandemic is over, let alone if other global health pandemics of this magnitude surface in upcoming years. Uncertainties over the novel coronavirus have interrupted global trade and supply chains. The pandemic has underlined the importance of a robust and resilient food system, which presents an unprecedented challenge for competent authorities in upcoming years.
Determination of the Personal Nutritional Status of Elderly Populations Based on Basic Foodomics Elements
Authors: Uršulin-Trstenjak Natalija , Dodlek Šarkanj Ivana , Sajko Melita , Vitez David , Živoder Ivana
Published: October 2021

Nutritional status is a series of related parameters collected using different available methods. In order to determine the nutritional status of elderly populations and ensure nutritional support based on an individual approach, the implementation of the increasingly used foodomics approach is available; this approach plays a key role in personalized diets and in the optimization of diets for a population group, such as an elderly population. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) method and the Nottingham Screening Tool (NST) form were used on 50 users in a home for the elderly in northwest Croatia. A loss of body mass (BM) was statistically significantly higher for those who had the following: decreased food intake in the last week and users who had complete and partial feeding autonomy. Additionally, the obtained data on drug intake, fluid, individual nutrients, and physical activity are based on an individual approach. The available documentation provides insight into nutritional values and food preparation in an attempt to satisfy a holistic approach in the evaluation of exposure while trying to achieve as many elements of foodomics as possible.