bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Potential of Using Amazon Natural Fibers to Reinforce Cementitious Composites: A Review
Authors: de Lima Thuany , de Azevedo Afonso , Marvila Markssuel , Candido Verônica , Fediuk Roman , Monteiro Sergio
Published: February 2022

The engineering application of natural lignocellulosic fibers (NLFs) has been intensifying all over the world due to their low cost and abundance, as well as their being eco-friendly and presenting favorable technological properties in polymeric and cementitious composites. Brazil, especially the Amazon region, owing to its climate and geographic position, has an abundant variety of NLFs that are still unexplored with great potential for use in various composite materials and applications such as civil construction, automobile parts and armor. Therefore, this review aims to establish a parallel between the technological properties of cementitious composites reinforced with Amazon NLFs, both in fresh and hardened states, and to analyze, compare results and contribute to a better understanding of the similarities and differences between the types of reinforcements. A relevant contribution of this review is the possibility of improving knowledge about Amazon NLFs, showing their potential for application in eco-friendly materials, in addition to contributing to studies with new NLFs not yet applied in composite. For this, it was necessary to carry out a literature survey on the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of cementitious composites reinforced with NLFs, in addition to analyzing case studies involving fibers such as curaua, açai, bamboo, jute and sisal. It can be concluded that the physical and chemical characteristics of the Amazon NLFs directly influence the technological properties of cementitious compounds, such as mechanical strength and water absorption. However, there might be a need for surface treatment aimed at improving adhesion and durability of the cementitious composite. Finally, some suggestions for future research work are highlighted in order to show the need to continue investigations on the application of Amazon NLFs in cementitious composites.
Dielectric Properties of Fluorinated Aromatic Polyimide Films with Rigid Polymer Backbones
Authors: He Jian-Jun , Yang Hai-Xia , Zheng Feng , Yang Shi-Yong
Published: February 2022

Fluorinated aromatic polyimide (FAPI) films with rigid polymer backbones have been prepared by chemical imidization approach. The polyimide films exhibited excellent mechanical properties including elastic modulus of up to 8.4 GPa and tensile strength of up to 326.7 MPa, and outstanding thermal stability including glass transition temperature (Tg) of 346.3–351.6 °C and thermal decomposition temperature in air (Td5) of 544.1–612.3 °C, as well as high colorless transmittance of >81.2% at 500 nm. Moreover, the polyimide films showed stable dielectric constant and low dielectric loss at 10–60 GHz, attributed to the close packing of rigid polymer backbones that limited the deflection of the dipole in the electric field. Molecular dynamics simulation was also established to describe the relationship of molecular structure and dielectric loss.
High-Performance IGZO Nanowire-Based Field-Effect Transistors with Random-Network Channels by Electrospun PVP Nanofiber Template Transfer
Authors: Park Ki-Woong , Cho Won-Ju
Published: February 2022

A random network of indium–gallium–zinc oxide (IGZO) nanowires was fabricated by electrospun-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-nanofiber template transfer. Conventional electrospun nanofibers have been extensively studied owing to their flexibility and inherently high surface-to-volume ratio. However, solution-based IGZO nanofibers have critical issues such as poor electrical properties, reliability, and uniformity. Furthermore, high-temperature calcination, which is essential for vaporizing the polymer matrix, hinders their applications for flexible electronics. Therefore, sputter-based IGZO nanowires were obtained in this study using electrospun PVP nanofibers as an etching mask to overcome the limitations of conventional electrospun IGZO nanofibers. Field-effect transistors (FETs) were fabricated using two types of channels, that is, the nanofiber template-transferred IGZO nanowires and electrospun IGZO nanofibers. A comparison of the transmittance, adhesion, electrical properties, reliability, and uniformity of these two channels in operation revealed that the nanofiber template-transferred IGZO nanowire FETs demonstrated higher transmittance, stronger substrate adhesion, superior electrical performance, and operational reliability and uniformity compared to the electrospun IGZO nanofiber FETs. The proposed IGZO nanowires fabricated by PVP nanofiber template transfer are expected to be a promising channel structure that overcomes the limitations of conventional electrospun IGZO nanofibers.
Optimization of Repair Process Parameters for Open-Arc Surfacing Welding of Grinding Rolls Based on the Response Surface Method
Authors: Wang Jin , Wei Min , He Jimiao , Wang Yuqi , Ren Changrong
Published: February 2022

The dilution rate of surfacing layers and the quality of weld forming are important factors affecting the quality of surfacing layers in open-arc surfacing. They are determined by the interaction of various surfacing parameters. In this paper, the response surface method is used to optimize the process parameters of open-arc surfacing welding. Mathematical models of the surfacing current, surfacing voltage, surfacing speed, dilution rate and weld residual height were established, and the reliability of the models was verified by variance analysis. By performing an analysis of the perturbation diagram and response surface diagram, the influence law of each influencing factor on the response value was obtained. The parameters of surfacing welding were optimized by setting optimization targets, and the experimental results of optimized parameters were compared with the predicted results. The optimized surfacing parameters were tested by grinding roller surfacing repair. The experimental results show that the quality of the grinding roller can meet the repair requirements. This shows that the model can be used to guide the surface repair of rollers and is of great significance to ensure the surface-repair quality of rollers.
Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Dehydration of Ca(OH)2 at Low Steam Pressures
Authors: Risthaus Kai , Bürger Inga , Lutz Michael , Funayama Shigehiko , Kato Yukitaka , Linder Marc , Schmidt Matthias
Published: February 2022

The CaO/Ca(OH)2 system can be the basis for cost-efficient long-term energy storage, as the chemically stored energy is not affected by heat losses, and the raw material is cheap and abundantly available. While the hydration (thermal discharge) has already been addressed by several studies, for the dehydration (thermal charge) at low partial steam pressures, there is a lack of numerical studies validated at different conditions and operation modes. However, the operation at low steam pressures is important, as it decreases the dehydration temperature, which can enable the use of waste heat. Even if higher charging temperatures are available, for example by incorporating electrical energy, the reaction rate can be increased by lowering the steam pressure. At low pressures and temperatures, the limiting steps in a reactor might change compared to previous studies. In particular, the reaction kinetics might become limiting due to a decreased reaction rate at lower temperatures, or the reduced steam density at low pressures could result in high velocities, causing a gas transport limitation. Therefore, we conducted new measurements with a thermogravimetric analyzer only for the specific steam partial pressure range between 0.8 and 5.5 kPa. Based on these measurements, we derived a new mathematical fit for the reaction rate for the temperature range between 375 and 440 °C. Additionally, we performed experiments in an indirectly heated fixed bed reactor with two different operation modes in a pressure range between 2.8 and 4.8 kPa and set up a numerical model. The numerical results show that the model appropriately describes the reactor behavior and is validated within the measurement uncertainty. Moreover, our study revealed an important impact of the operation condition itself: the permeability of the reactive bulk is significantly increased if the dehydration is initiated by a rapid pressure reduction compared to an isobaric dehydration by a temperature increase. We conclude that the pressure reduction leads to structural changes in the bulk, such as channeling, which enhances the gas transport. This finding could reduce the complexity of future reactor designs. Finally, the presented model can assist the design of thermochemical reactors in the validated pressure and temperature range.
Network-Based Approach to Repurpose Approved Drugs for COVID-19 by Integrating GWAS and Text Mining Data
Authors: Liang Shuang , Liu Hui-Min , Liu Dan-Yang , Lv Wan-Qiang , Wang Sheng-Ran , Liu Jia-Chen , Greenbaum Jonathan , Shen Hui , Xiao Hong-Mei , Deng Hong-Wen
Published: February 2022

The coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has a rapidly increasing prevalence and has caused significant morbidity/mortality. Despite the availability of many vaccines that can offer widespread immunization, it is also important to reach effective treatment for COVID-19 patients. However, the development of novel drug therapeutics is usually a time-consuming and costly process, and therefore, repositioning drugs that were previously approved for other purposes could have a major impact on the fight against COVID-19. Here, we first identified lung-specific gene regulatory/interaction subnetworks (COVID-19-related genes modules) enriched for COVID-19-associated genes obtained from GWAS and text mining. We then screened the targets of 220 approved drugs from DrugBank, obtained their drug-induced gene expression profiles in the LINCS database, and constructed lung-specific drug-related gene modules. By applying an integrated network-based approach to quantify the interactions of the COVID-19-related gene modules and drug-related gene modules, we prioritized 13 approved drugs (e.g., alitretinoin, clocortolone, terazosin, doconexent, and pergolide) that could potentially be repurposed for the treatment of COVID-19. These findings provide important and timely insights into alternative therapeutic options that should be further explored as COVID-19 continues to spread.
Bovine Peripheral Blood Derived Lymphocyte Proteome and Secretome Show Divergent Reaction of Bovine Immune Phenotypes after Stimulation with Pokeweed Mitogen
Authors: Kleinwort Kristina J. H. , Degroote Roxane L. , Hirmer Sieglinde , Korbonits Lucia , Lorenz Lea , Scholz Armin M. , Hauck Stefanie M. , Deeg Cornelia A.
Published: February 2022

We recently identified a deviant bovine immune phenotype characterized by hyperproliferation of lymphocytes after polyclonal stimulation. This phenotype was first discovered in dams that responded to PregSure BVD vaccination by producing pathological antibodies, triggering the fatal disease “bovine neonatal pancytopenia” in calves. The aim of the study was to gain deeper insights into molecular processes occurring in lymphocytes of immune phenotypes and the effect on their secretome after immune stimulation. Two discovery proteomic experiments were performed with unstimulated and Pokeweed Mitogen (PWM) stimulated lymphocytes, using label-free LC-MS/MS. In lymphocytes, 2447 proteins were quantified, and 1204 proteins were quantified in the secretome. Quantitative proteome analysis of immune deviant and control samples after PWM stimulation revealed clear differences. The increase in abundance of IL17A, IL17F, IL8, CCL5, LRRC59, and CLIC4 was higher in controls through mitogenic stimulation. In contrast, the abundance of IFNγ, IL2, IL2RA, CD83, and CD200 increased significantly more in immune deviant lymphocytes. Additional pathway enrichment analysis of differentially secreted proteins also yielded fundamental differences between the immune phenotypes. Our study provides a comprehensive dataset, which gives novel insights into proteome changes of lymphocytes from different bovine immune phenotypes. These differences point to the development of diverse immune responses of bovine immune phenotypes after immune stimulation.
Investigation of Turbulent Tidal Flow in a Coral Reef Channel Using Multi-Look WorldView-2 Satellite Imagery
Authors: Marmorino George
Published: February 2022

The general topic here is the application of high-resolution satellite imagery to the study of ocean phenomena having horizontal length scales of several meters to a few kilometers. The present study investigates whether multiple images acquired quite closely in time can be used to derive a spatial map of the surface current in situations where the near-surface hydrodynamics are dominated by bed-generated turbulence and associated wave–current interaction. The approach is illustrated using imagery of turbulent tidal flow in a channel through the outer part of the Great Barrier Reef. The main result is that currents derived from the imagery are found to reach speeds of nearly 4 m/s during a flooding tide—three times larger than published values for other parts of the Reef. These new findings may have some impact on our understanding of the transport of tracers and particles over the shelf.
Wildfire Dynamics along a North-Central Siberian Latitudinal Transect Assessed Using Landsat Imagery
Authors: Dvornikov Yury , Novenko Elena , Korets Mikhail , Olchev Alexander
Published: February 2022

The history of wildfires along a latitudinal transect from forest–tundra to middle taiga in North-Central Siberia was reconstructed for the period from 1985 to 2020 using Landsat imagery. The transect passed through four key regions (75 × 75 km2) with different climate and landscape conditions that allowed us to evaluate regional wildfire dynamics as well as estimate differences in post-fire forest recovery. The Level-2A Landsat data (TM, ETM+, and OLI) were used to derive: (i) burned area (BA) locations, (ii) timing of wildfire occurrence (date, month, or season), (iii) fire severity, and (iv) trends in post-fire vegetation recovery. We used pre-selected and pre-processed scenes suitable for BA mapping taken within four consecutive time intervals covering the entire period of data analysis (1985–2020). Pre- and post-fire dynamics of forest vegetation were described using spectral indices, i.e., NBR and NDVI. We found that during the last three decades, the maximum BA occurred in the southernmost Vanavara region where ≈58% of the area burned. Total BA gradually decreased to the northwest with a minimum in the Igarka region (≈1%). Nearly half of these BAs appeared between summer 2013 and autumn 2020 due to higher frequency of hot and dry weather. The most severe wildfires were detected in the most northeastern Tura region. Analysis of NDVI and NBR dynamics showed that the mean period of post-fire vegetation recovery ranged between 20 and 25 years. The time of vegetation recovery at BAs with repeat wildfires and high severity was significantly longer.
Soil Moisture Estimation for Winter-Wheat Waterlogging Monitoring by Assimilating Remote Sensing Inversion Data into the Distributed Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model
Authors: Zhang Xiaochun , Yuan Xu , Liu Hairuo , Gao Hongsi , Wang Xiugui
Published: February 2022

Waterlogging crop disasters are caused by continuous and excessive soil water in the upper layer of soil. In order to enable waterlogging monitoring, it is important to collect continuous and accurate soil moisture data. The distributed hydrology soil vegetation model (DHSVM) is selected as the basic hydrological model for soil moisture estimation and winter-wheat waterlogging monitoring. To handle the error accumulation of the DHSVM and the poor continuity of remote sensing (RS) inversion data, an agro-hydrological model that assimilates RS inversion data into the DHSVM is used for winter-wheat waterlogging monitoring. The soil moisture content maps retrieved from satellite images are assimilated into the DHSVM by the successive correction method. Moreover, in order to reduce the modeling error accumulation, monthly and real-time RS inversion maps that truly reflect local soil moisture distributions are regularly assimilated into the agro-hydrological modeling process each month. The results show that the root mean square errors (RMSEs) of the simulated soil moisture value at two in situ experiment points were 0.02077 and 0.02383, respectively, which were 9.96% and 12.02% of the measured value. From the accurate and continuous soil moisture results based on the agro-hydrological assimilation model, the waterlogging-damaged ratio and grade distribution information for winter-wheat waterlogging were extracted. The results indicate that there were almost no high-damaged-ratio and severe waterlogging damage areas in Lixin County, which was consistent with the local field investigation.
A Maritime Cloud-Detection Method Using Visible and Near-Infrared Bands over the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea
Authors: Choi Yun-Jeong , Ban Hyun-Ju , Han Hee-Jeong , Hong Sungwook
Published: February 2022

Accurate cloud-masking procedures to distinguish cloud-free pixels from cloudy pixels are essential for optical satellite remote sensing. Many studies on satellite-based cloud-detection have been performed using the spectral characteristics of clouds in terms of reflectance and temperature. This study proposes a cloud-detection method using reflectance in four bands: 0.56 μm, 0.86 μm, 1.38 μm, and 1.61 μm. Methodologically, we present a conversion relationship between the normalized difference water index (NDWI) and the green band in the visible spectrum for thick cloud detection using moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations. NDWI consists of reflectance at the 0.56 and 0.86 μm bands. For thin cloud detection, the 1.38 and 1.61 μm bands were applied with empirically determined threshold values. Case study analyses for the four seasons from 2000 to 2019 were performed for the sea surface area of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. In the case studies, the comparison of the proposed cloud-detection method with the MODIS cloud mask (CM) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation data indicated a probability of detection of 0.933, a false-alarm ratio of 0.086, and a Heidke Skill Score of 0.753. Our method demonstrated an additional important benefit in distinguishing clouds from sea ice or yellow dust, compared to the MODIS CM products, which usually misidentify the latter as clouds. Consequently, our cloud-detection method could be applied to a variety of low-orbit and geostationary satellites with 0.56, 0.86, 1.38, and 1.61 μm bands.
Remotely Sensed Winter Habitat Indices Improve the Explanation of Broad-Scale Patterns of Mammal and Bird Species Richness in China
Authors: Zhu Likai , Guo Yuanyuan
Published: February 2022

Climate change is transforming winter environmental conditions rapidly. Shifts in snow regimes and freeze/thaw cycles that are unique to the harsh winter season can strongly influence ecological processes and biodiversity patterns of mammals and birds. However, the role of the winter environment in structuring a species richness pattern is generally downplayed, especially in temperate regions. Here we developed a suite of winter habitat indices at 500 m spatial resolution by fusing MODIS snow products and NASA MEaSUREs daily freeze/thaw records from passive microwave sensors and tested how these indices could improve the explanation of species richness patterns across China. We found that the winter habitat indices provided unique and mutually complementary environmental information compared to the commonly used Dynamic Habitat Indices (DHIs). Winter habitat indices significantly increased the explanatory power for species richness of all mammal and bird groups. Particularly, winter habitat indices contributed more to the explanation of bird species than mammals. Regarding the independent contribution, winter season length made the largest contributions to the explained variance of winter birds (30%), resident birds (27%), and mammals (18%), while the frequency of snow-free frozen ground contributed the most to the explanation of species richness for summer birds (23%). Our research provides new insights into the interpretation of broad-scale species diversity, which has great implications for biodiversity assessment and conservation.
Spatio-Temporal Quality Indicators for Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Data
Authors: Wassie Yismaw , Mirmazloumi S. Mohammad , Crosetto Michele , Palamà Riccardo , Monserrat Oriol , Crippa Bruno
Published: February 2022

Satellite-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is an invaluable technique in the detection and monitoring of changes on the surface of the earth. Its high spatial coverage, weather friendly and remote nature are among the advantages of the tool. The multi-temporal differential InSAR (DInSAR) methods in particular estimate the spatio-temporal evolution of deformation by incorporating information from multiple SAR images. Moreover, opportunities from the DInSAR techniques are accompanied by challenges that affect the final outputs. Resolving the inherent ambiguities of interferometric phases, especially in areas with a high spatio-temporal deformation gradient, represents the main challenge. This brings the necessity of quality indices as important DInSAR data processing tools in achieving ultimate processing outcomes. Often such indices are not provided with the deformation products. In this work, we propose four scores associated with (i) measurement points, (ii) dates of time series, (iii) interferograms and (iv) images involved in the processing. These scores are derived from a redundant set of interferograms and are calculated based on the consistency of the unwrapped interferometric phases in the frame of a least-squares adjustment. The scores reflect the occurrence of phase unwrapping errors and represent valuable input for the analysis and exploitation of the DInSAR results. The proposed tools were tested on 432,311 points, 1795 interferograms and 263 Sentinel-1 single look complex images by employing the small baseline technique in the PSI processing chain, PSIG of the geomatics division of the Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC). The results illustrate the importance of the scores—mainly in the interpretation of the DInSAR outputs.
Retrieving Freeze/Thaw Cycles Using Sentinel-1 Data in Eastern Nunavik (Québec, Canada)
Authors: Chen Yueli , Wang Lingxiao , Bernier Monique , Ludwig Ralf
Published: February 2022

In the terrestrial cryosphere, freeze/thaw (FT) state transitions play an important and measurable role in climatic, hydrological, ecological, and biogeochemical processes in permafrost landscapes. Active and passive microwave remote sensing has shown a principal capacity to provide effective monitoring of landscape FT dynamics. The study presents a seasonal threshold approach, which examines the timeseries progression of remote sensing measurements relative to signatures acquired during seasonal frozen and thawed reference states. This is used to estimate the FT state from the Sentinel-1 database and applied and evaluated for the region of Eastern Nunavik (Québec, Canada). An optimization process of the threshold is included. In situ measurements from the meteorological station network were used for the validation process. Overall, acceptable estimation accuracy (>70%) was achieved in most tests; on the best-performing sites, an accuracy higher than 90% was reached. The performance of the seasonal threshold approach over the study region was further discussed with consideration of land cover, spatial heterogeneity, and soil depth. This work is dedicated to providing more accurate data to capture the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of freeze/thaw transitions and to improving our understanding of related processes in permafrost landscapes.
A Voxel-Based Individual Tree Stem Detection Method Using Airborne LiDAR in Mature Northeastern U.S. Forests
Authors: Hershey Jeff L. , McDill Marc E. , Miller Douglas A. , Holderman Brennan , Michael Judd H.
Published: February 2022

This paper describes a new method for detecting individual tree stems that was designed to perform well in the challenging hardwood-dominated, mixed-species forests common to the northeastern U.S., where canopy height-based methods have proven unreliable. Most prior research in individual tree detection has been performed in homogenous coniferous or conifer-dominated forests with limited hardwood presence. The study area in central Pennsylvania, United States, includes 17+ tree species and contains over 90% hardwoods. Existing methods have shown reduced performance as the proportion of hardwood species increases, due in large part to the crown-focused approaches they have employed. Top-down approaches are not reliable in deciduous stands due to the inherent complexity of the canopy and tree crowns in such stands. This complexity makes it difficult to segment trees and accurately predict tree stem locations based on detected crown segments. The proposed voxel column-based approach has advantages over both traditional canopy height model-based methods and computationally demanding point-based solutions. The method was tested on 1125 reference trees, ≥10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH), and it detected 68% of all reference trees and 87% of medium and large (sawtimber-sized) trees ≥28 cm DBH. Significantly, the commission rate (false predictions) was negligible as most raw false positives were confirmed in follow-up field visits to be either small trees below the threshold for recording or trees that were otherwise missed during the initial ground survey. Minimizing false positives was a priority in tuning the method. Follow-up in-situ evaluation of individual omission and commission instances was facilitated by the high spatial accuracy of predicted tree locations generated by the method. The mean and maximum predicted-to-reference tree distances were 0.59 m and 2.99 m, respectively, with over 80% of matches within <1 m. A new tree-matching method utilizing linear integer programming is presented that enables rigorous, repeatable matching of predicted and reference trees and performance evaluation. Results indicate this new tree detection method has potential to be operationalized for both traditional forest management activities and in providing the more frequent and scalable inventories required by a growing forest carbon offsets industry.
A Consortium Blockchain-Based Secure and Trusted Electronic Portfolio Management Scheme
Authors: Merlec Mpyana Mwamba , Islam Md. Mainul , Lee Youn Kyu , In Hoh Peter
Published: February 2022

In recent times, electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) are being increasingly used by students and lifelong learners as digital online multimedia résumés that showcase their skill sets and achievements. E-portfolios require secure, reliable, and privacy-preserving credential issuance and verification mechanisms to prove learning achievements. However, existing systems provide private institution-wide centralized solutions that primarily rely on trusted third parties to issue and verify credentials. Furthermore, they do not enable learners to own, control, and share their e-portfolio information across organizations, which increases the risk of forged and fraudulent credentials. Therefore, we propose a consortium blockchain-based e-portfolio management scheme that is decentralized, secure, and trustworthy. Smart contracts are leveraged to enable learners to completely own, publish, and manage their e-portfolios, and also enable potential employers to verify e-portfolio credentials and artifacts without relying on trusted third parties. Blockchain is used as an immutable distributed ledger that records all transactions and logs for tamper-proof trusted data provenance, accountability, and traceability. This system guarantees the authenticity and integrity of user credentials and e-portfolio data. Decentralized identifiers and verifiable credentials are used for user profile identification, authentication, and authorization, whereas verifiable claims are used for e-portfolio credential proof authentication and verification. We have designed and implemented a prototype of the proposed scheme using a Quorum consortium blockchain network. Based on the evaluations, our solution is feasible, secure, and privacy-preserving. It offers excellent performance.
A Novel Bike-Mounted Sensing Device with Cloud Connectivity for Dynamic Air-Quality Monitoring by Urban Cyclists
Authors: Gómez-Suárez Jaime , Arroyo Patricia , Alfonso Raimundo , Suárez José Ignacio , Pinilla-Gil Eduardo , Lozano Jesús
Published: February 2022

We present a device based on low-cost electrochemical and optical sensors, designed to be attached to bicycle handlebars, with the aim of monitoring the air quality in urban environments. The system has three electrochemical sensors for measuring NO2 and O3 and an optical particle-matter (PM) sensor for PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. The electronic instrumentation was home-developed for this application. To ensure a constant air flow, the input fan of the particle sensor is used as an air supply pump to the rest of the sensors. Eight identical devices were built; two were collocated in parallel with a reference urban-air-quality-monitoring station and calibrated using a neural network (R2 > 0.83). Several bicycle routes were carried out throughout the city of Badajoz (Spain) to allow the device to be tested in real field conditions. An air-quality index was calculated to facilitate the user’s understanding. The results show that this index provides data on the spatiotemporal variability of pollutants between the central and peripheral areas, including changes between weekdays and weekends and between different times of the day, thus providing valuable information for citizens through a dedicated cloud-based data platform.
On Quadratic Interpolation of Image Cross-Correlation for Subpixel Motion Extraction
Authors: Xiong Bian , Zhang Qinghua , Baltazart Vincent
Published: February 2022

Digital image correlation techniques are well known for motion extraction from video images. Following a two-stage approach, the pixel-level displacement is first estimated by maximizing the cross-correlation between two images, then the estimation is refined in the vicinity of the cross-correlation peak. Among existing subpixel refinement methods, quadratic surface fitting (QSF) provides good performances in terms of accuracy and computational burden. It estimates subpixel displacement by interpolating cross-correlation values with a quadratic surface. The purpose of this paper is to analytically investigate the QSF method. By means of counterexamples, it is first shown in this paper that, contrary to a widespread intuition, the quadratic surface fitted to the pixel-level cross-correlation values in the neighborhood of the cross-correlation peak does not always have a maximum. The main contribution of this paper then consists in establishing the mathematical conditions ensuring the existence of a maximum of this fitted quadratic surface, based on a rigorous analysis. Algorithm modifications for handling the failure cases of the QSF method are also proposed in this paper, in order to consolidate it for subpixel motion extraction. Experimental results based on two typical types of images are also reported.
A Simple Yet Effective Preanalytical Strategy Enabling the Application of Aptamer-Conjugated Gold Nanoparticles for the Colorimetric Detection of Antibiotic Residues in Raw Milk
Authors: Díaz-García Víctor , Contreras-Trigo Braulio , Rodríguez Camila , Coelho Pablo , Oyarzún Patricio
Published: February 2022

The misuse of antibiotics in the cattle sector can lead to milk contamination, with concomitant effects on the dairy industry and human health. Biosensors can be applied in this field; however, the influence of the milk matrix on their activity has been poorly studied in light of the preanalytical process. Herein, aptamer-conjugated gold nanoparticles (nanoaptasensors) were investigated for the colorimetric detection in raw milk of four antibiotics used in cattle. The effect of milk components on the colorimetric response of the nanoaptasensors was analyzed by following the selective aggregation of the nanoparticles, using the absorption ratio A520/A720. A preanalytical strategy was developed to apply the nanoaptasensors to antibiotic-contaminated raw milk samples, which involves a clarification step with Carrez reagents followed by the removal of cations through dilution, chelation (EDTA) or precipitation (NaHCO3). The colorimetric signals were detected in spiked samples at concentrations of antibiotics as low as 0.25-fold the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for kanamycin (37.5 μg/L), oxytetracycline (25 μg/L), sulfadimethoxine (6.25 μg/L) and ampicillin (1 μg/L), according to European and Chilean legislation. Overall, we conclude that this methodology holds potential for the semiquantitative analysis of antibiotic residues in raw milk obtained directly from dairy farms.
Acknowledgment to Reviewers of Safety in 2021
Authors:   Safety Editorial Office
Published: February 2022

Rigorous peer-reviews are the basis of high-quality academic publishing [...]
Research of Attitudes toward Implementation of Green Accounting in Tourism Industry in Montenegro-Practices, and Challenges
Authors: Novovic Buric Milijana , Jaksic Stojanovic Andjela , Lalevic Filipovic Ana , Kascelan Ljiljana
Published: February 2022

The transition to green economies is considered to be a key driver of sustainable economic development. Growing awareness of environmental costs and their integration into corporate performance reporting has led to the development of a new environmental dimension of accounting. Although it is a modern concept, its integration into the tourist business community is important, especially because tourism is recognized as energy and emission intensive. As preserving the environment can create an optimal framework that is in the function of the development of sustainable tourism in Montenegro, this paper discusses and analyzes the degree of knowledge of tourism companies on the application of the green concept, especially through the prism of socially responsible business. The research study was conducted by applying the classification Decision tree model (DT) on the data obtained by surveying employees and owners of Montenegrin tourism companies. The DT method has shown that socio-demographic factors have a significant impact on understanding the importance of green accounting in the tourism sector of Montenegro and that most tourism companies include corporate social responsibility in their business strategy and policy. The fact that the same or similar research on this topic has not been done in Montenegro, but also in neighboring countries, indicates an important contribution that this paper may have for the scientific and professional community, primarily in the form of incentives to create and publish reports on environmental protection.
Accessible Tourism in Protected Natural Areas: An Empirical Study in the Lazio Region
Authors: Pasca Maria Giovina , Elmo Grazia Chiara , Arcese Gabriella , Cappelletti Giulio Mario , Martucci Olimpia
Published: February 2022

The article aims to analyze the state of the art on services provided by protected natural areas in the Lazio region. The paper highlights the strengths and the aspects to improve in these protected natural areas to promote and incentivize accessible and inclusive tourism. An empirical investigation involving the region of Lazio (Italy) was performed, adopting a quantitative research design. First, the authors collected secondary data on the protected natural areas in the region and on the services available. Then, a questionnaire was used to quantitatively investigate the services provided to meet the needs of tourists with disabilities. The findings show that the structures provide essential services, such as marked paths, equipped bathrooms, various aids to overcome obstacles along the visit route and flooring that allows accessible transit. However, there is a need to invest in staff training and continuously update information on the websites. It is important to address the lack of information on the needs and expectations of disabled individuals.
Analysis of Environmental Factors on Intersection Accidents
Authors: Lin Da-Jie , Yang Jia-Rong , Liu Hsin-Hsien , Chiang Hsiu-Sen , Wang Lin-Yao
Published: February 2022

In recent years, the number of fatal traffic accidents has been on the rise in Taiwan, with a total of 2865 fatalities in 2019, representing a 3% increase from the previous year, and indicating an urgent need for the improvement of Taiwan’s traffic conditions. This research focuses on the three-way intersections on provincial roads. In Taiwan, such three-way intersections account for more than 70% of all intersections on provincial roads. From 2018 to 2019, there were 41,137 accidents at three-way intersections, accounting for about 50% of the traffic accidents in Taiwan. Relevant research in Taiwan has been mostly focused on driver characteristics and other factors were less addressed. In this study, we looked into the environmental factors, conducted analysis and the results were proposed for future roadway safety improvements. This study uses a regression model for analysis, in which the dependent variable is the number of traffic accidents at each intersection. However, for 68% of the three-way intersections surveyed, the number of traffic accidents recorded during the observation period was zero. Therefore, this study uses zero-inflated models to construct a model to identify important variables that affect the severity of traffic accidents at three-way intersections. The research results show that two types of factors are related to the risk of traffic accidents at three-way intersections. The first type includes the width of the provincial road, the width of the shoulder, the width of the dividing line and the number of lanes, while the second type relates to the presence of convenience stores, gas stations, supermarkets, and other attractions, such as public retail markets at the intersection.
Co-Selection of Heavy Metal and Antibiotic Resistance in Soil Bacteria from Agricultural Soils in New Zealand
Authors: Heydari Ali , Kim Nick D. , Horswell Jacqui , Gielen Gerty , Siggins Alma , Taylor Matthew , Bromhead Collette , Palmer Barry R.
Published: February 2022

Accumulation of trace elements (including heavy metals) in soil from usage of superphosphate fertilisers induces resistance of soil bacteria to trace elements of environmental concern (TEoEC) and may co-select for resistance to antibiotics (Ab). This study aimed to investigate selection of co-resistance of soil bacteria to Cd, Zn and Hg, and Ab in soils with varied management histories. Genetic diversity of these bacteria and horizontal transfer of Cd resistance genes (cadA and czcA) were also investigated. Soils with either pastoral and arable management histories and either high levels of Cd and Zn, or indigenous bush with background levels of these TEoEC from the Waikato region, New Zealand were sampled. Plate culturing with a range of TEoEC and Ab concentrations, Pollution Induced Community Tolerance (PICT) assay, antibiotic sensitivity, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) analyses were employed to investigate co-selection of TEoEC and Ab resistance. Higher levels of bacterial resistance to TEoEC and Ab correlated with higher levels of TEoEC in soil. Bacterial community structures were altered in soils with high TEoEC levels. Cd resistance genes were transferred from donor bacterial isolates, to recipients and the transconjugants also had resistance to Zn and/or Hg and a range of Ab.
Predicting Online Complaining Behavior in the Hospitality Industry: Application of Big Data Analytics to Online Reviews
Authors: Sann Raksmey , Lai Pei-Chun , Liaw Shu-Yi , Chen Chi-Ting
Published: February 2022

Purpose: This study aims to enrich the published literature on hospitality and tourism by applying big data analytics and data mining algorithms to predict travelers’ online complaint attributions to significantly different hotel classes (i.e., higher star-rating and lower star-rating). Design/methodology/approach: First, 1992 valid online complaints were manually obtained from over 350 hotels located in the UK. The textual data were converted into structured data by utilizing content analysis. Ten complaint attributes and 52 items were identified. Second, a two-step analysis approach was applied via data-mining algorithms. For this study, sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify the most important online complaint attributes, then decision tree models (i.e., the CHAID algorithm) were implemented to discover potential relationships that might exist between complaint attributes in the online complaining behavior of guests from different hotel classes. Findings: Sensitivity analysis revealed that Hotel Size is the most important online complaint attribute, while Service Encounter and Room Space emerged as the second and third most important factors in each of the four decision tree models. The CHAID analysis findings also revealed that guests at higher-star-rating hotels are most likely to leave online complaints about (i) Service Encounter, when staying at large hotels; (ii) Value for Money and Service Encounter, when staying at medium-sized hotels; (iii) Room Space and Service Encounter, when staying at small hotels. Additionally, the guests of lower-star-rating hotels are most likely to write online complaints about Cleanliness, but not Value for Money, Room Space, or Service Encounter, and to stay at small hotels. Practical implications: By utilizing new data-mining algorithms, more profound findings can be discovered and utilized to reinforce the strengths of hotel operations to meet the expectations and needs of their target guests. Originality/value: The study’s main contribution lies in the utilization of data-mining algorithms to predict online complaining behavior between different classes of hotel guests.
China’s New Silk Road and Central and Eastern Europe—A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Maró Zalán Márk , Török Áron
Published: February 2022

The ancient Silk Road was created to promote trade between China and Europe; however, at the end of the fifteenth century, the Silk Road and China’s dominant role began to decline, mostly due to the geographical discoveries. At the same time, today’s globalization and the development of rail technologies have once again put the creation of a New Silk Road (NSR) in the crosshairs of China. The aim of this study is twofold: on the one hand, to present the NSR Initiative launched by China and its various important elements. On the other hand, it seeks to map Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), focusing on the 17+1 Mechanism and the Visegrad Group (V4 countries), for the potential impacts of this initiative on these countries. To achieve a wide-ranging overview of the New Silk Road concepts, a comprehensive systematic literature review was conducted. The NSR could benefit most CEE countries and result in more and cheaper products due to the increase in delivery speed and the decrease in delivery time. The initiative’s success depends mainly on the stability and willingness to participate of CEE countries, especially the V4 countries, thus becoming logistics hubs in the region.
Traditional and Authentic Food of Ethnic Groups of Vojvodina (Northern Serbia)—Preservation and Potential for Tourism Development
Authors: Grubor Biljana , Kalenjuk Pivarski Bojana , Đerčan Bojan , Tešanović Dragan , Banjac Maja , Lukić Tamara , Živković Milka Bubalo , Udovičić Dragana Ilić , Šmugović Stefan , Ivanović Velibor , Ćirić Miloš , Ćirić Ivana
Published: February 2022

The subject of this paper is the tourist potential of the gastronomic heritage of ethnic minorities inhabiting Vojvodina (Northern Serbia). The task of the paper is to examine the state of authenticity and potential for placement in the tourism market. The goal of the research was to obtain data about the authenticity and representation of authentic and traditional dishes in homes and hospitality facilities and their positioning in tourism. The research was conducted from October 2020 to May 2021 among residents of the region belonging to minority groups (Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Roma). The survey was conducted electronically through cultural, art, and educational institutions that maintain the culture and tradition of the studied ethnic groups. The number of respondents who participated in the research was 619. The obtained data were statistically processed using descriptive statistics, as well as by using t-tests and ANOVA (LSD post hoc), and the reliability of the psychometric scales was assessed by the use of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Research has shown that Vojvodina, with its ethnic structure and gastronomic heritage, has the potential to attract tourists motivated by authentic food. Tourism potential of gastronomic heritage are proportionate to the share of ethnic groups; hence, the representation and preservation of the Hungarian, Slovakian, and Croatian cuisines are predominant. The respondents have shown awareness of the activities that would contribute to a better positioning of gastronomic heritage in tourism through implementation in different tourism manifestations and extra marketing activities.
Fostering Resilience and Adaptation to Drought in the Southern High Plains: Using Participatory Methods for More Robust Citizen Science
Authors: Vadjunec Jacqueline , Colston Nicole , Fagin Todd , Boardman Austin , Birchler Brian
Published: February 2022

Citizen science holds the potential and capacity to change the role of science in the face of current and impending environmental sustainability challenges. However, the sustainability science community must also address the ethical challenges inherent in the nature and outcomes of citizen participation and inclusion. In this article, we provide a brief history of Participatory Action Research (PAR), long popular in the social sciences, and explain how participatory methods can inform the process and products of citizen science to meet the dueling ideals of ethically engaging communities and producing more robust science. Our decade of human-environment research on drought resilience and adaptation in the Southern High Plains of the United States illustrates how PAR complements formal science and can contribute to community resilience and adaptation efforts. Synthesized into 10 entry points for more ethical and participatory science, our semi-chronological narrative offers concrete strategies informed by PAR principles and values, at various stages of research, and highlights the place-based, ethical, and methodological contexts for applying each strategy.