bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chemical Structural Coherence Principle on Polymers for Better Adhesion
Authors: Krapivko Alena L. , Ryabkov Yegor D. , Drozdov Fedor V. , Yashtulov Nikolay A. , Zaitsev Nikolay K. , Muzafarov Aziz M.
Published: July 2022

Composite materials are the most variative type of materials employed in almost every task imaginable. In the present study, a synthesis of a novel perfluoroalkyltriethoxysilane is reported to be used in creating composites with polyhexafluoropropylene—one of the most indifferent and adhesion-lacking polymers existing. The mechanism of adhesion of hexafluoropropylene is proved to be due to chemical structural coherence of perfluoroalkyltriethoxysilane to a link of polyhexafluoropropylene chain. The ability of perfluoroalkyltriethoxysilane to attach to surfaces was studied by FT-IR spectroscopy of modified glass microspheres. Although the perfluoroalkyltriethoxysilane surface modifier allowed partial adhesion of polyhexafluoropropylene, some detachment took place; therefore, the surface nanostructuring was used to increase its specific area by aluminum foil anodizing. An anodized aluminum surface was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The resulting composite consisting of anodized aluminum, perfluoroalkyl surface modifier, and polyhexafluoropropylene layer was proved to be stable, showed no signs of detachment, and is a promising material for usage in harsh environments.
Overview of Different Modes and Applications of Liquid Phase-Based Microextraction Techniques
Authors: Câmara José S. , Perestrelo Rosa , Olayanju Basit , Berenguer Cristina V. , Kabir Abuzar , Pereira Jorge A. M.
Published: July 2022

Liquid phase-based microextraction techniques (LPµETs) have attracted great attention from the scientific community since their invention and implementation mainly due to their high efficiency, low solvent and sample amount, enhanced selectivity and precision, and good reproducibility for a wide range of analytes. This review explores the different possibilities and applications of LPμETs including dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) and single-drop microextraction (SDME), highlighting its two main approaches, direct immersion-SDME and headspace-SDME, hollow-fiber liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) in its two- and three-phase device modes using the donor–acceptor interactions, and electro membrane extraction (EME). Currently, these LPμETs are used in very different areas of interest, from the environment to food and beverages, pharmaceutical, clinical, and forensic analysis. Several important potential applications of each technique will be reported, highlighting its advantages and drawbacks. Moreover, the use of alternative and efficient “green” extraction solvents including nanostructured supramolecular solvents (SUPRASs, deep eutectic solvents (DES), and ionic liquids (ILs)) will be discussed.
The Design and the Development of a Biped Robot Cooperation System
Authors: Chang Chia-Wen , Tao Chin-Wang
Published: July 2022

The aim of this paper is to design a fuzzy motion control algorithm for a developed monocular vision system based on a cooperative transportation system of two humanoid robots. The control strategies of the cooperation transportation system contain three stages, including object searching, walking toward the transported object, and cooperatively moving the transported object. To have different moving speeds, the gait step size was pre-planned as two different modes, i.e., one of the gaits is selected to let the HR have large variations of motion and another gait is to make the HR with small variations. The fuzzy motion control algorithm is utilized to select the appropriate mode of gait. Both humanoid robots can actively search and move to the front of the target object, then cooperatively lift the target and carry it to the platform. The task of synchronous movement is controlled with fuzzy techniques through the control terminal. From the experimental results, it can be seen that both robots can distinguish the orientation of the target, move to the appropriate position, and then successfully raise the target together.
Flesh, Vital Energy and Illness: A Comparative Phenomenological Study of Human–Nature Relations Inspired by the Contexts of Later Merleau-Ponty and the Zhuangzi
Authors: Liu Zheng
Published: July 2022

The main aim of this paper is to illustrate human–nature relations from a comparative study of the contexts of later Merleau-Ponty and the Zhuangzi. I argue that the Zhuangzi has its own phenomenology of the natural world, which is worth comparing to Merleau-Pontian later phenomenology. To compare the arguments on human–nature relations in the contexts of later Merleau-Ponty and the Zhuangzi in detail, first, I briefly compare the cultural philosophies of nature in ancient Greece and China and their possible influences on our contemporary understanding of nature. Second, I compare the concept of “flesh” of Merleau-Ponty with the concept of “vital energy” in the Zhuangzi and point out the main roles of these concepts in their respective theories of the natural world. Third, I use the “reversibility thesis” created by Merleau-Ponty to analyze the ontological significance of illness in the arguments of Merleau-Ponty and the Zhuangzi. Fourth, inspired by Merleau-Pontian and Zhuangzian ideas about language and expression, I expound on a view of illness as a primordial language of nature and its possible role in mediating human–nature relations. Ultimately, I conclude that the comparative study of thoughts on human–nature relations in the literatures of later Merleau-Ponty and the Zhuangzi can help us reconsider and readjust our main attitudes toward nature, illness and nonhuman beings in the contemporary postpandemic era.
Assessing the Spatiotemporal Variability of SMAP Soil Moisture Accuracy in a Deciduous Forest Region
Authors: Abdelkader Mohamed , Temimi Marouane , Colliander Andreas , Cosh Michael H. , Kelly Vicky R. , Lakhankar Tarendra , Fares Ali
Published: July 2022

The goal of this study is to assess the temporal variability of the performance of the Soil Moisture Active Passive, SMAP, soil moisture retrievals throughout the seasons as surface conditions change. In-situ soil moisture observations from a network deployed in Millbrook, New York, between 2019 and 2021 are used. The network comprises 25 stations distributed across a 33-km SMAP pixel with a predominantly forest land cover. The in-situ soil moisture observations were collected between 6 and 7 a.m., local time. This article covers the assessment of the temporal accuracy of SMAP soil moisture by incorporating various upscaling methods. Four upscaling methods are used in this study: arithmetic average, Voronoi diagram, topographic wetness index, and land cover weighted average. The agreement between SMAP soil moisture and the upscaled in-situ measurements was gauged using the root-mean-squared difference, the mean difference, and the unbiased root-mean-squared difference. The consistency of the temporal variability of SMAP soil moisture data resulting from the four upscaling methods was analyzed. The results revealed that SMAP retrievals (soil moisture data) are systematically higher than in situ observations during the different seasons. The results indicate that the highest performance of SMAP soil moisture retrievals is in September with an ubRMSD value of 0.03 m3.m−3 for the morning and evening overpasses, which can be attributed to a lower vegetation density during the seasonal transition. The agreement with in-situ observations degrades during March–April with ubRMSD values above 0.04 m3.m−3, reaching ~0.06 m3.m−3 in April, which can be attributed to the non-reliability of in-situ measurements due to freeze\thaw transition and the challenging determination of the soil effective temperature. The ubRMSD is also higher than 0.04 m3.m−3 in the months of May–June, which could be due to the introduced vegetation effect during the growth season. These findings are consistent across all the upscaling methods. The average ubRMSD over the study period is 0.055 m3.m−3, which falls short of meeting the mission’s performance target. This study proves the need to enhance SMAP retrieval over forest sites.
On-Orbit Characterization of TanSat Instrument Line Shape Using Observed Solar Spectra
Authors: Cai Zhaonan , Sun Kang , Yang Dongxu , Liu Yi , Yao Lu , Lin Chao , Liu Xiong
Published: July 2022

The Chinese carbon dioxide measurement satellite (TanSat) has collected a large number of measurements in the solar calibration mode. To improve the accuracy of XCO2 retrieval, the Instrument Line Shape (ILS, also known as the slit function) must be accurately determined. In this study, we characterized the on-orbit ILS of TanSat by fitting measured solar irradiance from 2017 to 2018 with a well-calibrated high-spectral-resolution solar reference spectrum. We used various advanced analytical functions and the stretch/sharpen of the tabulated preflight ILS to represent the ILS for each wavelength window, footprint, and band. Using super Gaussian+P7 and the stretch/sharpen functions substantially reduced the fitting residual in O2 A-band and weak CO2 band compared with using the preflight ILS. We found that the difference between the derived ILS width and on-ground preflight ILS was up to −3.5% in the weak CO2 band, depending on footprint and wavelength. The large amplitude of the ILS wings, depending on the wavelength, footprint, and bands, indicated possible uncorrected stray light. Broadening ILS wings will cause additive offset (filling-in) on the deep absorption lines of the spectra, which we confirmed using offline bias correction of the solar-induced fluorescence retrieval. We estimated errors due to the imperfect ILS using simulated TanSat spectra. The results of the simulations showed that XCO2 retrieval is sensitive to errors in the ILS, and 4% uncertainty in the full width of half maximum (FWHM) or 20% uncertainty in the ILS wings can induce an error of up to 1 ppm in the XCO2 retrieval.
Aerosol Characteristics during the COVID-19 Lockdown in China: Optical Properties, Vertical Distribution, and Potential Source
Authors: Jin Yinbao , Ma Yingying , Zhang Ming , Liu Yiming , Lu Xiao , Liu Boming , Jin Shikuan , Shen Ao , Zhang Juan , Fan Qi
Published: July 2022

The concentration changes of aerosols have attracted wide-ranging attention during the COVID-19 lockdown (CLD) period, but the studies involving aerosol optical properties (AOPs) are relatively insufficient, mainly AOD (fine-mode AOD (AODf) and coarse-mode AOD (AODc)), aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD), and aerosol extinction coefficient (AEC). Here, the remote-sensing observations, Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) products, backward-trajectory, and potential-source-contribution models are used to assess the impact of AOPs, vertical distribution, and possible sources on the atmosphere environment in North China Plain (NCP), Central China (CC), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Pearl River Delta (PRD), and Sichuan Basin (SB) during the CLD period. The results demonstrate that both AOD (MODIS) and near-surface AEC (CALIPSO, <2 km) decreased in most areas of China. Compared with previous years (average 2017–2019), the AOD (AEC) of NCP, CC, YRD, PRD, and SB reduced by 3.33% (10.76%), 14.36% (32.48%), 10.80% (29.64%), 31.44% (22.68%), and 15.50% (8.44%), respectively. In addition, MODIS (AODc) and MERRA-2 (AODc) decreased in the five study areas compared with previous years, so the reduction in dust activities also contributed to improving regional air quality during the epidemic. Despite the reduction of anthropogenic emissions (AODf) in most areas of China during the CLD periods, severe haze events (AODf > 0.6) still occurred in some areas. Compared to previous years, there were increases in BC, OC (MERRA-2), and national raw coal consumption during CLD. Therefore, emissions from some key sectors (raw coal heating, thermal power generation, and residential coal) did not decrease, and this may have increased AODf during the CLD. Based on backward -rajectory and potential source contribution models, the study area was mainly influenced by local anthropogenic emissions, but some areas were also influenced by northwestern dust, Southeast Asian biomass burning, and marine aerosol transport. This paper underscores the importance of emissions from the residential sector and thermal power plants for atmospheric pollution in China and suggests that these sources must be taken into account in developing pollution-mitigation plans.
The Response of Vegetation to Regional Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau Based on Remote Sensing Products and the Dynamic Global Vegetation Model
Authors: Deng Mingshan , Meng Xianhong , Lu Yaqiong , Li Zhaoguo , Zhao Lin , Niu Hanlin , Chen Hao , Shang Lunyu , Wang Shaoying , Sheng Danrui
Published: July 2022

Changes in vegetation dynamics play a critical role in terrestrial ecosystems and environments. Remote sensing products and dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) are useful for studying vegetation dynamics. In this study, we revised the Community Land Surface Biogeochemical Dynamic Vegetation Model (referred to as the BGCDV_CTL experiment) and validated it for the Tibetan Plateau (TP) by comparing vegetation distribution and carbon flux simulations against observations. Then, seasonal–deciduous phenology parameterization was adopted according to the observed parameters (referred to as the BGCDV_NEW experiment). Compared to the observed parameters, monthly variations in gross primary productivity (GPP) showed that the BGCDV_NEW experiment had the best performance against the in situ observations on the TP. The climatology from the remote sensing and simulated GPPs showed similar patterns, with GPP increasing from northwest to southeast, although the BGCDV_NEW experiment overestimated GPP in the semi-arid and arid regions of the TP. The results show that temperature warming was the dominant factor resulting in the increase in GPP based on the remote sensing products, while precipitation enhancement was the reason for the GPP increase in the model simulation.
RBFA-Net: A Rotated Balanced Feature-Aligned Network for Rotated SAR Ship Detection and Classification
Authors: Shao Zikang , Zhang Xiaoling , Zhang Tianwen , Xu Xiaowo , Zeng Tianjiao
Published: July 2022

Ship detection with rotated bounding boxes in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is now a hot spot. However, there are still some obstacles, such as multi-scale ships, misalignment between rotated anchors and features, and the opposite requirements for spatial sensitivity of regression tasks and classification tasks. In order to solve these problems, we propose a rotated balanced feature-aligned network (RBFA-Net) where three targeted networks are designed. They are, respectively, a balanced attention feature pyramid network (BAFPN), an anchor-guided feature alignment network (AFAN) and a rotational detection network (RDN). BAFPN is an improved FPN, with attention module for fusing and enhancing multi-level features, by which we can decrease the negative impact of multi-scale ship feature differences. In AFAN, we adopt an alignment convolution layer to adaptively align the convolution features according to rotated anchor boxes for solving the misalignment problem. In RDN, we propose a task decoupling module (TDM) to adjust the feature maps, respectively, for solving the conflict between the regression task and classification task. In addition, we adopt a balanced L1 loss to balance the classification loss and regression loss. Based on the SAR rotation ship detection dataset, we conduct extensive ablation experiments and compare our RBFA-Net with eight other state-of-the-art rotated detection networks. The experiment results show that among the eight state-of-the-art rotated detection networks, RBFA-Net makes a 7.19% improvement with mean average precision compared to the second-best network.
Ship Detection in Visible Remote Sensing Image Based on Saliency Extraction and Modified Channel Features
Authors: Tian Yang , Liu Jinghong , Zhu Shengjie , Xu Fang , Bai Guanbing , Liu Chenglong
Published: July 2022

Ship detection in visible remote sensing (VRS) images has been widely used in the military and civil fields. However, the various backgrounds and the variable scale and orientation bring great difficulties to effective detection. In this paper, we propose a novel ship target detection scheme based on small training samples. The scheme contains two main stages: candidate region extraction and ship identification. In the first stage, we propose a visual saliency detection model based on the difference in covariance statistical characteristics to quickly locate potential ships. Moreover, the multi-scale fusion for the saliency model is designed to overcome the problem of scale variation. In the second stage, we propose a three-channel aggregate feature, which combines a rotation-invariant histogram of oriented gradient and the circular frequency feature. The feature can identify the ship target well by avoiding the impact of its rotation and shift. Finally, we propose the VRS ship dataset that contains more realistic scenes. The results on the VRS ship dataset demonstrate that the saliency model achieves the best AUC value with 0.9476, and the overall detection achieves a better performance of 65.37% in terms of AP@0.5:0.95, which basically meets the need of the detection tasks.
The Influence of Family Social Status on Farmer Entrepreneurship: Empirical Analysis Based on Thousand Villages Survey in China
Authors: Yang Chan , He Xiaogang , Wang Xiaoyan , Nie Jinjun
Published: July 2022

Researchers in the fields of psychology and sociology have demonstrated the profound influence of social status on people’s behavior. Although existing studies show that social status matters, scholars have devoted little attention to how family social status affects individuals’ risk-taking entrepreneurial behavior. In Chinese rural areas, where the idea of “family” is deeply embedded, how family social status affects farmers’ entrepreneurial behavior is still an unsolved question. In this paper, we analyze the impact of family social status on farmer entrepreneurship and investigate the moderating effects of external institutional factors, such as regional policy uncertainty and local family culture. Our findings show that family social status has an important impact on farmers’ risk preferences, therefore affecting their motivation to undertake entrepreneurial behaviors. By inspecting the role of social status at the family level, our study offers important implications for social class and entrepreneurial theorizing.
Research on Energy Efficiency Evaluation of Provinces along the Belt and Road under Carbon Emission Constraints: Based on Super-Efficient SBM and Malmquist Index Model
Authors: Yan Yuxin , Chen Yubao , Han Minghua , Zhen Hui
Published: July 2022

About 50% of China’s total energy consumption is generated by the Belt and Road regions, which mainly involves 18 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. To complement each other, the focus on total factor energy efficiency in key regions cannot be ignored. This paper selects the key domestic areas of the Belt and Road as the research object, follows the research ideas of static measurement and dynamic decomposition, and considers the constraints of carbon emissions. The super-efficiency SBM model can measure the energy efficiency statically and include all factors of each province and city from 2015 to 2019, and the Malmquist productivity index model is able to decompose the variation in total factor energy efficiency. The research results show that (1) there are apparent differences in energy efficiency among the provinces along the Belt and Road for the average total factor energy efficiency of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road region is 1.03, which is significantly higher than that of the 12 provinces along the Silk Road Economic Belt; (2) from the perspective of time, the provinces along the Belt and Road’s total factor energy efficiency shows a fluctuating upward trend, which is deeply affected by technological progress; (3) from the perspective of index decomposition, the main reason for the low energy efficiency of the provinces in the Silk Road Economic Belt region is low technical efficiency, and the main factor supporting the improvement of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road region energy efficiency is technological progress.
Higher Running Speed and Cardiovascular Endurance Are Associated with Greater Level of Academic Achievement in Urban Catalan Primary School Children
Authors: Arboix-Alió Jordi , Buscà Bernat , Solà Josep , Peralta-Geis Mariona , Arboix Adrià , Fort-Vanmeerhaeghe Azahara
Published: July 2022

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement in a sample of primary-school children. Data of 116 sixth-grade primary-school students (68 girls, 48 boys) from Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) with a mean (SD) age of 11.4 years (0.4) was analyzed. To determine academic achievement, proficiency scores in the subjects Catalan language, Spanish language, English language, and Maths were derived from the Test de Compètencies Bàsiques. Physical fitness was assessed using the Cooper test (aerobic capacity), 20-m sprint test (linear velocity), and 4 × 10-m test (agility). The results showed that participants with a higher performance in the Cooper and 20-m sprint tests had significantly better academic achievement in the assessed subjects (p < 0.05; d range = 0.93 to −2.98). The findings of this investigation are interesting from a curricular perspective since a positive association between academic achievement and physical fitness indicates a strong reason to raise the physical education status in educational systems, a subject that has traditionally been considered less important by the educational community.
Study on Damage Characteristics of Water-Bearing Coal Samples under Cyclic Loading–Unloading
Authors: Xie Hongxin , Yao Qiangling , Yu Liqiang , Shan Changhao
Published: July 2022

For underground water reservoirs in coal mines, the complex water-rich environment and changing overburden stress can damage coal pillar dams. In this paper, the coal samples from coal seam 22 of Shangwan coal mine were taken as research objects and the damage mechanism and characteristics of coal samples with different moisture content and wetting-drying cycles under cyclic loading were investigated. The results show that as the moisture content and wetting-drying cycles increase, the post-peak stage of the coal samples under cyclic stress becomes obvious, and the hysteresis loop changes from dense to sparse. Compared to the uniaxial compression experiment, when w = 5.28% (the critical water content), mechanical parameters such as peak strength and modulus of elasticity decrease the most. Under cyclic loading, the damage mode of both sets of coal samples was tensile damage, but the increase in wetting-drying cycles promotes the development of shear fractures. For evaluating fracture types, the RA-AF density map is more applicable to wetting-drying cycle coal samples, whereas for the coal samples with different moisture contents this should be carried out with caution. This study can provide some theoretical basis for the stability evaluation of coal pillar dams in underground water reservoirs.
Investigation into Influence of Wall Roughness on the Hydraulic Characteristics of an Axial Flow Pump as Turbine
Authors: Kan Kan , Zhang Qingying , Zheng Yuan , Xu Hui , Xu Zhe , Zhai Jianwei , Muhirwa Alexis
Published: July 2022

Pump as turbine (PAT) is a factual alternative for electricity generation in rural and remote areas where insufficient or inconsistent water flows pose a threat to local energy demand satisfaction. Recent studies on PAT hydrodynamics have shown that its continuous operations lead to a progressive deterioration of inner surface smoothness, serving the source of near-wall turbulence build-up, which itself depends on the level of roughness. The associated boundary layer flow incites significant friction losses that eventually deteriorate the performance. In order to study the influence of wall roughness on PAT hydraulic performance under different working conditions, CFD simulation of the water flow through an axial-flow PAT has been performed with a RNG k-ε turbulence model. Study results have shown that wall roughness gradually decreases PAT’s head, efficiency, and shaft power. Nevertheless, the least wall roughness effect on PAT hydraulic performance was experienced under best efficiency point conditions. Wall roughness increase resulted in the decrease of axial velocity distribution uniformity and the increase of velocity-weighted average swirl angle. This led to a disorderly distribution of streamlines and backflow zones formation at the conduit outlet. Furthermore, the wall roughness impact on energy losses is due to the static pressure drop on the blade pressure surface and the increase of turbulent kinetic energy near the blade. Further studies on the roughness influence over wider range of PAT operating conditions are recommended, as they will lead to quicker equipment refurbishment.
Analysis of the Causes of Traffic Accidents and Identification of Accident-Prone Points in Long Downhill Tunnel of Mountain Expressways Based on Data Mining
Authors: Wang Fu , Wang Jing , Zhang Xianfeng , Gu Dengjun , Yang Yang , Zhu Hongbin
Published: July 2022

China has a large vehicle base, uneven road conditions, and the highest rate of traffic accidents in the world. Particularly on the long downhill sections of expressway tunnels in mountainous areas with harsh geographical conditions, traffic accidents are densely distributed, and once a traffic accident occurs, the consequences are serious, which poses a large threat to people’s lives and property. This paper mined and analyzed the traffic accident data collected by the project on the Baoding section of Zhangshi Expressway. SPSS software was used to analyze the traffic accident data characteristics of the long downhill tunnel of the mountain expressways. The time, space, accident form, vehicle type, and road alignment distribution characteristics of the traffic accident in the long downhill tunnel section of mountain expressways were obtained. The decision tree algorithm was used to construct the cause analysis model of traffic accidents in the long downhill tunnel of mountain expressways, and the five primary influencing factors were obtained: horizontal curve radius, week, slope length, time, and cart ratio. The improved cumulative frequency curve method was used to study the accident-prone points of mountain expressways, and the accident-prone points and potential accident-prone points were obtained.
The Evaluation of Technology Startup Role on Indonesian SMEs Industry 4.0 Adoption Using CLD-ABM Integrated Model
Authors: Tama Ishardita Pambudi , Nugroho Willy Satrio , Mahmudy Wayan Firdaus , Purnami Purnami
Published: July 2022

The role of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the regional socioeconomic stabilizer is inseparable from endogenous multisector collaboration. Indonesian SMEs struggled with Industry 4.0 adoption due to the lower digital infrastructure (DI) and digital literacy (DL) index. This study aims to develop a provisional model to explore the role of technology startups (TS) in covering the DI and DL of SMEs. The evaluation was through a simulation model of Indonesian SMEs’ collaboration with the government and TS. The developed model is a concurrent real-time integration of an agent-based model (ABM) with a causal loop diagram (CLD). The simulation results imply that SMEs’ collaboration with TS leads to the early adoption of Industry 4.0 that balances the business competition environment. The model also shows that exponentially rising government aid can help the SMEs into late adoption of Industry 4.0. However, SMEs are still unable to sustain the business competition. Thus, the integrative simulation model is a state-action planning model with each state result bounded to the previous state result. The initial input parameters determine the model behavior. Thus, the model is a good resiliency planner for SMEs’ Industry 4.0 adoption.
Employee Empowerment in Remote Work in Case of Lithuanian Companies
Authors: Staniulienė Sonata , Zaveckis Arūnas
Published: July 2022

This paper analyses the empowerment of remotely working employees in the case of Lithuanian companies. Research methods were scientific literature review and a quantitative method of questionnaire survey. It revealed that an employee is psychologically empowered when working remotely when they feel the meaning, enthusiasm, and competency related to the job, while structural empowerment manifests itself as the opportunities, information, resources, and support that exist in the organization and are available to the employee. The manifestation of remote work empowerment is sufficient in all groups of both psychological and structural empowerment dimensions. The results for the fully and hybrid remotely working employees’ empowerment differed little. The study found that all the dimensions of remote work are interlinked, so that only when they are sufficiently fulfilled in corpore, could a higher manifestation of employee empowerment be achieved.
Do the Main Developers of Electrical and Electronic Equipment Comply with the Precepts of the Circular Economy Concepts? A Patent-Based Approach
Authors: Juchneski Nichele Cristina de Freitas , Antunes Adelaide Maria de Souza
Published: July 2022

The unceasing demand for electronic equipment has led to numerous problems, such as environmental damage and raw material shortages. The adoption of circular production chains and the precepts of the circular economy when designing electronic equipment could minimize these problems by fostering the reuse of resources without loss of quality or value. The scientific literature has many studies on the importance of circular production, but there are no data to demonstrate whether the scientific information produced on the circular economy and circular production is being taken up by industry. This study analyzes whether patent applications for inventions applicable to the production of electronic equipment meet the precepts of the circular economy. To this end, a study of patent documents was conducted. A total of 3638 documents were retrieved. Their analysis revealed that the technologies developed by the leading patent applicants and manufacturers are mainly from the first link in the production chain, materials, and components. The solutions proposed tend to be geared toward equipment efficiency and reduced energy consumption, which may indirectly increase the equipment’s useful life and save energy. Despite the existence of laws and research highlighting the importance of feeding used materials back into the production process, the developers of electronic equipment have not yet turned their attention to the recycling and retrieval of materials for their use as inputs for new components.
Effects of Erosion Micro-Topographies on Plant Colonization on Weathered Gangue Dumps in Northeast China
Authors: Wang Dongli , Qiao Jingting , Zhang Ye , Wu Tong , Li Jia , Wang Dong , Zhao Xiaoliang , Shen Haiou , Zou Junliang
Published: July 2022

Micro-topography has been proved to be beneficial for plant colonization in severe environments. There are numerous micro-topographies caused by erosion of gangue dumps in the Northeast China, which can make plant colonization difficult. To determine how these micro-topographies affect plant colonization, the environment conditions, regeneration characteristics, vegetation characteristics of different erosion micro-topographies, such as bare slope, rill, ephemeral gully and deposit body were studied, and their relationships analyzed. The results showed that the content of particles with a size < 2 mm in the deposit body and bare slope was 33.7% and 7.8% higher than that in the ephemeral gully, respectively (p < 0.05), while the content of particles with a size > 20 mm in the ephemeral gully was 2.24 times higher than that in the deposit body. Except for the substrate water content, the substrate temperature and the surface humidity and temperature of the ephemeral gully were significantly different from those of the deposit body (p < 0.05); the surface temperature was the highest (54.6 °C) while the surface humidity and the substrate water content were the lowest among the erosion micro-topographies. The vegetation coverage, the plant and seedling density of the deposit body were significantly higher than those of the ephemeral gully (p < 0.05), with differences of 5.26, 35.9 and 16.8 times, respectively. The vegetation characteristics (Vdc) were more affected by the regeneration characteristics (Rc) as well as surface humidity and temperature (Sht), while Rc was significantly affected by Sht, which was extremely significantly affected by the soil physical properties and substrate water and temperature (p < 0.01). Different plant species had different responses to the environmental conditions of the erosion micro-topographies. In conclusion, the deposit body and rill are likely to promote plant colonization, which is driven mainly by the seed supply and comfortable growing conditions. The ephemeral gully is not suited to plant colonization because of its unhealthy mechanical composition and strong runoff scouring, and because it is prone to drought, high temperature, and a lack of seeds.
Cooperative Organization and Its Characteristics in Economic and Social Development (1995 to 2020)
Authors: Ribas Walter Perpétuo , Pedroso Bruno , Vargas Leandro Martinez , Picinin Claudia Tania , Freitas Júnior Miguel Archanjo de
Published: July 2022

Proceeding from the idea that it is possible to correlate economic with social development, this research focus on cooperatives and their management systems. Based on studies and publications on cooperative management practices in several countries, this study seeks to acquire sufficient knowledge about cooperatives to understand them as efficient and proactive organizations. They seek an alignment between economic and social development of their members sharing a common goal of prosperity. This study pursues the following question: “Does the competence of the operational management of cooperatives make it possible for cooperative members to overcome the obstacles that prevent their social and economic development?” To answer this question, it was proposed to carry out a bibliometric analysis of the cooperative systems in several countries between 1995 and 2020, with the focus on the economic and social development of their members. As for the methodology employed in this study, a collection of publications on cooperatives in the world and a systematic review was organized. As a result, the characteristics of cooperatives could be identified, allowing an overview of the organizations’ qualifications as promoters of social and economic development.
Is Digital Economy a Good Samaritan to Developing Countries?
Authors: Lazović Vujica , Jovović Milorad , Backović Tamara , Djuričković Tamara , Rondović Biljana
Published: July 2022

It is no surprise that the digital economy (DE) has raised expectations and it is still raising them. The aim of this study is to implement testing which will indicate how much the digital economy can help the less developed countries to overcome the economic lag. In order to come up with an answer, the study is based on provocative hypotheses which will elaborate on the development paradox by which the digital economy cannot help the less developed countries. The argument that supports the main hypothesis of this study declares that GDP growth is not equivalent to the growth of investment in DE infrastructure and, therefore, DE is contributing to the increase in inequality instead of reducing it. The paradox is confirmed with the implementation of the SEM modelling on high-income countries (HIC) and middle-income countries (MIC). Moreover, the study measured, i.e., determined, the relative importance and impact of each DE component on the economic growth in HIC and MIC countries. According to the results of this research, in MIC the most significant DE factor which has an impact on GDP growth is the investment in education, whereas in HIC countries infrastructure has the leading part when it comes to economic growth. The final part of this study includes a proposition of a set of guidelines relating to the direction of public policy development in order to make the most of DE’s impact on the creation of a fairer and better system and society. Due to the comprehensive range of questions that come from this study, several topics for future research have been recommended.
Causal Link between Technological Innovation and Inequality Moderated by Public Spending, Manufacturing, Agricultural Employment, and Export Diversification
Authors: Tang Tao , Cuesta Lizeth , Tillaguango Brayan , Alvarado Rafael , Rehman Abdul , Bravo-Benavides Diana , Zárate Natalia
Published: July 2022

Sustainable Development Goal 10 (SDG10) proposes the reduction of inequalities. This research highlights the importance of considering short- and long-term mechanisms for designing and applying policies to reduce income inequality. Specifically, we test for the causal link between technological innovation and income inequality using a balanced panel data sample from 73 countries worldwide. The inequality–technological innovation relationship is moderated by public spending, manufacturing, employment in agriculture, and export diversification. We use quantile regression techniques to test the impact of technological innovation on income inequality. The results offer robust empirical evidence that in most quantiles, the impact of technological innovation on inequality is positive. This result suggests that the dark side of technological innovation is that it increases income inequality. Furthermore, we find that government spending reduces inequality across all quantiles, while the effect of employment in agriculture and export diversification is inconclusive. Those responsible for social policy towards the achievement of SDG10 must include the advantages of public spending to reduce social disparities and promote social cohesion within countries.
The Impact of Road Geometric Formation on Traffic Crash and Its Severity Level
Authors: Jima Debela , Sipos Tibor
Published: July 2022

Road infrastructure has an impact on the occurrence of road traffic crashes. The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of road geometric formation on road traffic crashes. Based on the nature, convenience, and availability of data, the study used Budapest city road traffic crash data from 2017 to 2021. For organizing, analysis, and modeling, the study used Microsoft-Excel, the Statistical Package for Social Science, and Quantum Geographic Information System. Relative frequency distribution, Multinomial Logistic Regression, Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network, and Severity Index were used for the analysis. Both inferential and descriptive statistics are used to describe and summarize the study outcome. Multicollinearity tests, p-value, overdispersion, percent of incorrect error, and other statistical model testes were undertaken to analyze the significance of the data and variable for modeling and analysis. A large number of crashes were observed in straight and one-lane road geometric formationsr890. However, the severity level was high at the horizontal curve and in all three lanes of the road. The regression model indicated that light conditions, collision type, road geometry, and speed had a significant effect on traffic accidents at a p-value of 0.05. A collision between the vehicle (rear end collision), and a vehicle with a pedestrian was the probable cause of the crash. The Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Network indicated that horizontally curved geometry has a positive and strong relationship with road traffic fatalities. The primary reasons for the occurrences of a road traffic crash at an intersection, horizontal curve, and straight road geometric formation were the improper use of road traffic signs, road pavement condition, and stopping sight distance problems, respectively. The hourly distribution showed that from 16:01 to 17:00 time interval was a peak hour for the occurrences of road traffic crashes. Whereas, driver plays vital role and responsible body for the occurrences of crashes at all geometric formations.
Outdoor Recreation Habits of People in Latvia: General Trends, and Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Authors: Jūrmalis Edgars , Lībiete Zane , Bārdule Arta
Published: July 2022

Outdoor recreation opportunities are crucial for sustaining people’s physical and mental health, and forests are important recreational venues in Europe, especially in its northern part. Our study sought to characterise outdoor recreation patterns and their changes in Latvia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a representative population survey with public participatory GIS elements that allowed the respondents to map their favoured recreation destinations. Our results revealed increased visitor numbers to nature areas during COVID-19. The main stated psychosocial factors behind the increased frequency of nature visits are health benefits and lower perceived risks in the context of the pandemic. Forests as areas simultaneously providing multiple ecosystem services have significant importance in providing space for outdoor recreation. Outdoor recreation hotspots concentrate around major urban areas and in some of the largest and most popular nature areas.
Geotechnical Investigations and Support Design for an Underground Powerhouse of Pumped-Storage Power Station: A Case Study in Chongqing, China
Authors: Zhang Qiang , Zheng Yanni
Published: July 2022

This study assesses the efficiency of the empirically recommended supported design of the underground powerhouse of the Panlong pumped-storage power station in Chongqing, China by using 3D distinct element code (3DEC). Field and laboratory tests were conducted to investigate the geological properties of intact rock and rock mass. The results showed that the stability of the large powerhouse may be controlled by the soft rock (mudstone) layers. The rock mass was classified in terms of the Q classification system, basic quality (BQ) method, and hydropower classification (HC) method, and then the supported system was put forward. The efficiency of the designed supported was checked based on the numerical simulation results of deformation and plastic zone. The results showed that the installed support reduces the radius of the plastic zones and the maximum deformation significantly.
Namares—A Surface Inventory and Intervention Assessment Model for Urban Resource Management
Authors: Naber Elias , Volk Rebekka , Mörmann Kai , Boehnke Denise , Lützkendorf Thomas , Schultmann Frank
Published: July 2022

Densely built-up areas are challenged by reduced biodiversity, high volumes of runoff water, reduced evaporation, and heat accumulation. Such phenomena are associated with imperviousness and low, unsustainable utilisation of land and exterior building surfaces. Local authorities have multiple objectives when (re-)developing future-proof districts. Hence, exploiting local potentials to mitigate adverse anthropogenic effects and managing the resource of urban land/surfaces have become key priorities. Accordingly, a five-level hierarchy for a land-sensitive urban development strategy was derived. To support the operationalisation of the hierarchy, we present the model Namares, a highly resolved GIS-based approach to enable spatially explicit identification and techno-economic and environmental assessment of intervention measures for advantageous utilisation of available surfaces per land parcel. It uses existing data and covers the management of economic, natural, and technical resources. Nine intervention measures are implemented to identify potentials, estimate investments and annual costs, and assess the appeal of existing subsidies. The approach was applied to a case study redevelopment area in a large city in Germany. The results provide spatially explicit information on greening potentials, estimated investments, subsidy demand, and other quantified benefits. The case study results show the limited potential for additional unsealing of impervious surfaces by transforming ca. 10% of sealed ground surface area into new urban gardens. At the same time, up to 47% of roof and 30% of facade surfaces could be utilised for greening and energy harvesting. The approach enables a comprehensive localisation and quantitative assessment of intervention potentials to enhance decision support in land-sensitive urban development strategies.
Multi-Hazard Emergency Response for Geological Hazards Amid the Evolving COVID-19 Pandemic: Good Practices and Lessons Learned from Earthquake Disaster Management in Greece
Authors: Mavroulis Spyridon , Mavrouli Maria , Kourou Asimina , Thoma Thekla , Lekkas Efthymis
Published: July 2022

Since the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented global disruption with considerable impact on human activities. However, natural hazards and related disasters do not wait for SARS-CoV-2 to vanish, resulting in the emergence of many conflicting issues between earthquake emergency response actions and pandemic mitigation measures. In this study, these conflicting issues are highlighted through the cases of four earthquakes that struck Greece at different phases of the pandemic. The earthquake effects on the local population and on the natural environment and building stock form ideal conditions for local COVID-19 outbreaks in earthquake-affected communities. However, the implementation of response actions and mitigation measures in light of a multi-hazard approach to disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management has led not only to the maintenance of pre-existing low viral load in the earthquake-affected areas, but in some cases even to their reduction. This fact suggests that the applied measures are good practice and an important lesson for improving disaster management in the future. Taking into account the aforementioned, a series of actions are proposed for the effective management of the impact of a geological hazard in the midst of an evolving biological hazard with epidemiological characteristics similar to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exploring Factors Affecting Consumer Behavioral Intentions toward Online Food Ordering in Thailand
Authors: Inthong Chidchanok , Champahom Thanapong , Jomnonkwao Sajjakaj , Chatpattananan Vuttichai , Ratanavaraha Vatanavongs
Published: July 2022

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, ordering food online has become very popular. This study used a structural equation model to analyze the indicators that influence the decision to order food through a food-delivery platform. The theory of planned behavior and the technology acceptance model were both used, along with a new factor, the task–technology fit (TTF) model, to study platform suitability. Data were collected using a questionnaire given to a group of 1320 consumers. The results showed that attitudes toward on-line delivery most significantly affected the behavioral intentions of the consumers, followed by subjective norms. Among attitudes, perceived ease of use was the most significant, followed by perceived usefulness and trust. The study’s results revealed that TTF had the most significant impact on perceived ease of use, followed by perceived usefulness. This means that, if a food-ordering platform is deemed appropriate, consumers will continue to use it, and business sustainability will be enhanced.