bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification and Quantification of Stilbenes (Piceatannol and Resveratrol) in Passiflora edulis By-Products
Authors: Krambeck Karolline , Oliveira Ana , Santos Delfim , Pintado Maria Manuela , Baptista Silva João , Sousa Lobo José Manuel , Amaral Maria Helena
Published: April 2020

Recently, studies on the by-products from the food industry, such as passion fruit seeds, have significantly increased, as these can have an added value, due to their properties, such as potential antioxidant activity. This study was conducted to determine the presence of piceatannol and resveratrol in various extracts of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) seeds from Madeira Island and a commercial passion fruit oil was used as reference. The commercial oil and the extracts that were obtained by traditional Soxhlet method with ethanol and acetone did not reveal the presence of the two stilbenes, piceatannol and resveratrol. However, the extracts that were obtained by the ultrasound method showed significant amounts of piceatannol and resveratrol when compared with the commercial oil. The presence of these compounds indicates that this oil could have potential application in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, due to their proven antioxidant and anti-aging properties.
Multi-Methodological Quantitative Taste Assessment of Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs to Support the Development of Palatable Paediatric Dosage Forms
Authors: Keating Alison V. , Soto Jessica , Forbes Claire , Zhao Min , Craig Duncan Q. M. , Tuleu Catherine
Published: April 2020

The unpalatability of antituberculosis drugs is often cited as a major cause of non-adherence in children, yet limited quantitative taste assessment data are available. The aim of this research was to quantify the bitterness of isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol dihydrochloride using two in vivo (a human taste panel and a rat brief-access taste aversion (BATA) model) and one in vitro (sensor) method. The response of the Insent TS-5000Z electronic tongue was compared to the in vivo drug concentration found to elicit and suppress half the maximum taste response (EC50 in human and IC50 in rats). Using dose-relevant concentrations, an overarching rank order of bitterness was derived (rifampicin > ethambutol > pyrazinamid~isoniazid). In vitro, only ethambutol exhibited a linear response for all sensors/concentrations. Based on the EC50/IC50 generated, a ‘taste index’ was proposed to allow for anticipation of the likelihood of taste issues in practice, taking in account the saturability in the saliva and therapeutic doses; ethambutol and isoniazid were found to be the worst tasting using this measure. The study presents the first quantitative taste analysis of these life-saving drugs and has allowed for a comparison of three methods of obtaining such data. Such information allows the operator to identify and prioritise the drugs requiring taste masking to produce palatable formulations.
Comparing Two Methods of Tablet Manipulation to Adjust the Warfarin Dose in Paediatric Care
Authors: Brustugun Jørgen , Birkedal Aas Elisabeth , Tho Ingunn , Bjerknes Kathrin
Published: April 2020

Tablets containing prescribed doses are not always available, and this is of particular importance in paediatric care where suitable age-appropriate formulations are generally lacking. To obtain a child-adjusted dose, tablets are manipulated in several ways; e.g., they may be dispersed in water before a fraction is extracted, or they may be split before the resulting fragment is dispersed. In this study, the accuracy attained through these manipulation methods was investigated for two generic tablets containing the anticoagulant warfarin. Tablets were dispersed in water (10 mL) before a fraction (10%) was withdrawn, alternatively tablets were split in half or quarter fragments before the fragments were dispersed in water. To investigate the contribution of variability from the different steps in the manipulation processes, the amount of warfarin recovered from the various dispersions was determined, as was the accuracy of the splitting. A validated UHPLC-method was used for quantitative determination of warfarin. Splitting of the tablets could result in deviation >30% from the ideal, theoretical weight. The amount of drug substance extracted as a fraction from the dispersed tablets deviated no more than 10% from the intended amount. To obtain the most accurate child-adjusted fraction dose of warfarin, the tablets investigated in this study should be dispersed and the desired proportion extracted. Practices that involve splitting tablets are likely to increase the variation, and should be avoided.
i-Soc: An Info-Sociological Approach to Structural–Agent Causal Symmetry
Authors: Yam Shing-Chung Jonathan
Published: April 2020

In this article, I discuss the sociality of information flow by investigating a momentous yet often-neglected side of it—the reinforcing info-causal loops between habitus and structures. I treat habitus as a principled agent and explain how structure sustains itself (under the framework of Fiske and Pinker et al.) by upholding principles as goals or reducing them into subroutines (goal subjugation). At the structural level, four dominant categorical schemes—game theory, network analysis, systems functionalism, and field theory—are investigated for the characteristic information flow that they can capture. The result is an info-sociological approach that acknowledges causal symmetry between structure and agents.
Insights into the Root Invasion by the Plant Pathogenic Bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum
Authors: Xue Hao , Lozano-Durán Rosa , Macho Alberto P.
Published: April 2020

The plant pathogenic bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum, causal agent of the devastating bacterial wilt disease, is a soil-borne microbe that infects host plants through their roots. The initial mutual recognition between host plants and bacteria and the ensuing invasion of root tissues by R. solanacearum are critical steps in the establishment of the infection, and can determine the outcome of the interaction between plant and pathogen. In this minireview, we will focus on the early stages of the bacterial invasion, offering an overview of the defence mechanisms deployed by the host plants, the manipulation exerted by the pathogen in order to promote virulence, and the alterations in root development concomitant to bacterial colonization.
Enhancing Cadmium Tolerance and Pea Plant Health through Enterobacter sp. MN17 Inoculation Together with Biochar and Gravel Sand
Authors: Naveed Muhammad , Mustafa Adnan , Majeed Samar , Naseem Zainab , Saeed Qudsia , Khan Abdulhameed , Nawaz Ahmad , Baig Khurram Shehzad , Chen Jen-Tsung
Published: April 2020

Contamination of soils with heavy metals, particularly cadmium (Cd), is an increasingly alarming environmental issue around the world. Application of organic and inorganic immobilizing amendments such as biochar and gravel sand in combination with metal-tolerant microbes has the potential to minimize the bioavailability of Cd to plants. The present study was designed to identify the possible additive effects of the application of Enterobacter sp. MN17 as well as biochar and gravel sand on the reduction of Cd stress in plants and improvement of growth and nutritional quality of pea (Pisum sativum) plants through the reduction of Cd uptake. Pea seeds were surface sterilized then non-inoculated seeds and seeds inoculated with Enterobacter sp. MN17 were planted in artificially Cd-polluted soil, amended with the immobilizing agents biochar and gravel sand. Application of biochar and gravel sand alone and in combination not only improved the growth and nutritional quality of pea plants by in situ immobilization but also reduced the uptake of Cd by plant roots and its transport to shoots. However, microbial inoculation further enhanced the overall plant health as well as alleviated the toxic effects of Cd on the pea plants. These soil treatments also improved rates of photosynthesis and transpiration. The combined use of biochar and gravel sand with bacterial inoculation resulted in an increase in plant height (47%), shoot dry weight (42%), root dry weight (57%), and 100 seeds weight (49%) as compared to control plants in Cd contaminated soil. Likewise, biochemical constituents of pea seeds (protein, fat, fiber, and ash) were significantly increased up to 41%, 74%, 32%, and 72%, respectively, with the combined use of these immobilizing agents and bacterium. Overall, this study demonstrated that the combined application of biochar and gravel sand, particularly in combination with Enterobacter sp. MN17, could be an efficient strategy for the remediation of Cd contaminated soil. It could support better growth and nutritional quality of pea plants.
A Sacrificial PLA Block Mediated Route to Injectable and Degradable PNIPAAm-Based Hydrogels
Authors: Tebong Mbah Vernon , Pertici Vincent , Lacroix Céline , Verrier Bernard , Stipa Pierluigi , Gigmes Didier , Trimaille Thomas
Published: April 2020

Thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)-based injectable hydrogels represent highly attractive materials in tissue engineering and drug/vaccine delivery but face the problem of long-term bioaccumulation due to non-degradability. In this context, we developed an amphiphilic poly(D,L-lactide)-b-poly(NIPAAm-co-polyethylene glycol methacrylate) (PLA-b-P(NIPAAm-co-PEGMA)) copolymer architecture, through a combination of ring-opening and nitroxide-mediated polymerizations, undergoing gelation in aqueous solution near 30 °C. Complete hydrogel mass loss was observed under physiological conditions after few days upon PLA hydrolysis. This was due to the inability of the resulting P(NIPAAm-co-PEGMA) segment, that contains sufficiently high PEG content, to gel. The copolymer was shown to be non-toxic on dendritic cells. These results thus provide a new way to engineer safe PNIPAAm-based injectable hydrogels with PNIPAAm-reduced content and a degradable feature.
Reduced Graphene Oxide/Polymer Monolithic Materials for Selective CO2 Capture
Authors: Politakos Nikolaos , Barbarin Iranzu , Cordero-Lanzac Tomás , Gonzalez Alba , Zangi Ronen , Tomovska Radmila
Published: April 2020

Polymer composite materials with hierarchical porous structure have been advancing in many different application fields due to excellent physico-chemical properties. However, their synthesis continues to be a highly energy-demanding and environmentally unfriendly process. This work reports a unique water based synthesis of monolithic 3D reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite structures reinforced with poly(methyl methacrylate) polymer nanoparticles functionalized with epoxy functional groups. The method is based on reduction-induced self-assembly process performed at mild conditions. The textural properties and the surface chemistry of the monoliths were varied by changing the reaction conditions and quantity of added polymer to the structure. Moreover, the incorporation of the polymer into the structures improves the solvent resistance of the composites due to the formation of crosslinks between the polymer and the rGO. The monolithic composites were evaluated for selective capture of CO2. A balance between the specific surface area and the level of functionalization was found to be critical for obtaining high CO2 capacity and CO2/N2 selectivity. The polymer quantity affects the textural properties, thus lowering its amount the specific surface area and the amount of functional groups are higher. This affects positively the capacity for CO2 capture, thus, the maximum achieved was in the range 3.56–3.85 mmol/g at 1 atm and 25 °C.
On the Relationship between Mechanical Properties and Crystallisation of Chemically Post-Processed Additive Manufactured Polylactic Acid Pieces
Authors: Valerga A.P. , Fernandez-Vidal S.R. , Girot F. , Gamez A.J.
Published: April 2020

Nowadays, improvement of the surface finish of parts manufactured by fused deposition modelling is a well-studied topic. Chemical post-treatments have proven to be the best technique in terms of time consumption and smoothness improvement. However, these treatments modify the structure of the material and, consequently, its mechanical properties. This relationship was studied in this work. In this case, on the basis of a previous study on crystallisation, polylactic acid pieces were subjected to different post-treatments to evaluate their effects on the sample’s mechanical properties, i.e., tensile strength and hardness. Models were obtained according to their percentage of crystallisation, which was related to the different treatments, as well as immersion time. Dramatic changes were obtained within a wide range of material behaviour with some treatments. Specifically, changes were obtained in the maximum stress (from 55 to 20 MPa), in elongation (from 3% to 260%), and in the hardness scale (Shore D to A).
Effect of Ultrasonic Vibration on Adhesive Bonding of CFRP/Al Alloy Joints Grafted with Silane Coupling Agent
Authors: Wu Min , Tong Xuetong , Wang Hui , Hua Lin , Chen Yizhe
Published: April 2020

Adhesive bonding is widely used in the joining of metals and carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRPs). Ultrasonic vibration was used to improve adhesive bonding of CFRP/Al alloy joints grafted with silane coupling agent, and the effect of the ultrasound on the bonding was studied. The surface of Al alloy was treated with a silane coupling agent, and then the ultrasonic vibration was applied on the adherend during the adhesive bonding process. The shear strength was tested, and the mechanism was analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). It is found that the ultrasonic assisting can further promote the bonding of the Al alloy and the adhesive. For the test joins, the shear strength was increased by 267.50% using the silanization treatment plus the ultrasonic assisting. The ultrasonic assisting promoted the grafted epoxy group to react with the adhesive more sufficiently at the Al/adhesive interface by causing micro-mixing and intensified molecule collision, and thus more chemical bond was formed. Under the ultrasonic action, the interface and the adhesive layer became tighter owing to the impact contact at the interface and the oscillating flow in the adhesive layer. The ultrasonic vibration assisting increased the bonding strength by promoting the chemical bond and improving physical morphology.
Reversible Nonlinear I-V Behavior of ZnO-Decorated Graphene Nanoplatelets/Epoxy Resin Composites
Authors: Yuan Yang , Qu Zhaoming , Wang Qingguo , Sun Xiaoning , Cheng Erwei
Published: April 2020

With the more serious threats from complex electromagnetic environments, composites composed of conductive or semiconductive fillers and polymeric matrices could exhibit excellent nonlinear I-V characteristics, and have drawn significant attention in the field of overvoltage protection. In this research, graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) are decorated by ZnO and mixed into an epoxy resin (ER) matrix via solution blending to prepare composites. A characterization analysis and the I-V measurement results of the GNPs/ER composites indicate that ZnO nanoparticles are well bonded with GNPs and exhibit obvious nonlinear I-V behavior under proper applied voltage with high nonlinear coefficients. The switching threshold voltage and nonlinear coefficients could be controlled by adjusting the weight ratio of GNPs and ZnO of the filler. Moreover, compared with the poor recoverability of pure GNP-filled ER in previous research, the GNP-ZnO/ER composites exhibited excellent reversibility of nonlinear I-V behavior under multiple repetitive I-V measurements. And compared with different composites, the sample with a 1:8 weight ratio of GO to Zn(Ac)2 presents the smallest variation of switching threshold voltage at 158 V, with a standard deviation of 1.27% from among 20 measurements, which indicates the best reversibility. Finally, the conducting mechanism of the reversible nonlinear I-V characteristic is investigated and analyzed.
Study on Adsorption and Aggregation in the Mixed System of Polyacrylamide, Cu(II) Ions and Innovative Carbon–Silica Composite
Authors: Szewczuk-Karpisz Katarzyna , Bogatyrov Viktor M. , Galaburda Mariia , Sokołowska Zofia
Published: April 2020

The paper presents an original study on adsorption and aggregation phenomena in a mixed system consisting of a macromolecular compound, heavy metal ions and an innovative adsorbent. The authors used ionic polyacrylamides (PAM), Cu(II) ions and carbon–silica composite (C-SiO2) in the experiments. Such a system has not yet been described in the literature and therefore, the article is of significant novelty and great importance. The composite was prepared by mixing phenol–formaldehyde resin with silica and pyrolysis at 800 °C. The adsorbed amounts of Cu(II) ions and PAM were determined spectrophotometrically. C-SiO2 was characterized using potentiometric titration, microelecrophoresis and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. In turn, the C-SiO2 aggregation was established turbidimetrically as well as using a particle size analyzer. The obtained results indicated that both Cu(II) ions and ionic polyacrylamide were adsorbed on the composite surface at pH 6. The highest noted adsorbed amounts were 9.8 mg/g for Cu(II) and 35.72 mg/g for CT PAM-25%. Cu(II) ions increased the anionic PAM adsorbed and reduced the cationic PAM one. The adsorption of anionic PAM (50 ppm) stimulated the solid aggregation significantly. What is more, Cu(II) ions enhanced this process. The size of particles/aggregates formed without additives equaled 0.44 μm, whereas in the mixed Cu(II)/AN PAM system, they were even at 1.04 μm.
Facile Preparation of a Superhydrophobic iPP Microporous Membrane with Micron-Submicron Hierarchical Structures for Membrane Distillation
Authors: Hu Cuicui , Yang Zhensheng , Sun Qichao , Ni Zhihua , Yan Guofei , Wang Zhiying
Published: April 2020

A facile method combining micro-molding with thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS) to prepare superhydrophobic isotacticpolypropylene (iPP) microporous membranes with micron-submicron hierarchical structures is proposed in this paper. In this study, the hydrophobicity of the membrane was controlled by changing the size of micro-structures on the micro-structured mold and the temperature of the cooling bath. The best superhydrophobicity was achieved with a high water contact angle (WCA) of 161° and roll-off angle of 2°, which was similar to the lotus effect. The permeability of the membrane was greatly improved and the mechanical properties were maintained. The membrane prepared by the new method and subjected to 60h vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) was compared with a conventional iPP membrane prepared via the TIPS process. The flux of the former membrane was 31.2 kg/m2·h, and salt rejection was always higher than 99.95%, which was obviously higher than that of the latter membrane. The deposition of surface fouling on the former membrane was less and loose, and that of the latter membrane was greater and steady, which was attributed to the micron-submicron hierarchical structure of the former and the single submicron-structure of the latter. Additionally, the new method is expected to become a feasible and economical method for producing an ideal membrane for membrane distillation (MD) on a large scale.
Application of Evolutionary Game Theory in Safety Management of Chemical Production
Authors: Song Qiusheng , Jiang Peng , Zheng Song
Published: April 2020

The chemical industry is essential in the social economy, and the issue of production safety has aroused widespread concern. Chemical safety incidents occupy the headlines from time to time, and chemical production safety management is particularly important. This paper presents an application model based on evolutionary game theory in the assessment and analysis of chemical production safety management. The model uses evolutionary game theory to construct a strategic interactive payoff matrix between the management department of a chemical plant and the chemical plant using a replicated dynamic equation to analyze their strategic interaction and to reveal the evolution of behavioral strategy selection. The evolution results were verified and simulated. The application of this model provides an effective safety management basis and recommendations for the management of chemical plants, providing a foundation for the safe production and healthy development of chemical plants.
Investigation and Analysis of a Hazardous Chemical Accident in the Process Industry: Triggers, Roots, and Lessons Learned
Authors: Wang Jianhao , Fu Gui , Yan Mingwei
Published: April 2020

This paper performs an in-depth investigation and analysis on a catastrophic hazardous chemical accident involving domino effects in China based on an emerging accident causation model—the 24Model. The triggers and roots of the incident from the individual and organizational levels have been identified and several useful lessons have been summarized to avoid similar mistakes. This accident began with a leak of vinyl chloride caused by the failure of the gas holder’s bell housing and the operators’ mishandling. Leaked vinyl chloride was ignited by a high-temperature device in the process of diffusion and the fire quickly spread to the illegally parked vehicles. Several organizations were involved in this accident, and the chemical company should bear the main responsibility for it, and shall establish and implement an effective safety management system in its organizational structure and staffing, facilities management, hazards identification, emergency disposal, etc., to improve safety performance in a systematic way. Enterprises in the chemical industry park shall enhance the communication to clarify major hazard installations in their domains, and conduct regular safety evaluation for the plant as the external environment changed. Government agencies shall plan the layout of the chemical industry park scientifically and ensure safety starts with the design stage. The case study provides a practical procedure for accident investigation and analysis, and thus, preventive measures can be made according to the various causations at different levels.
A Geometric Observer-Assisted Approach to Tailor State Estimation in a Bioreactor for Ethanol Production
Authors: Lisci Silvia , Grosso Massimiliano , Tronci Stefania
Published: April 2020

In this work, a systematic approach based on the geometric observer is proposed to design a model-based soft sensor, which allows the estimation of quality indexes in a bioreactor. The study is focused on the structure design problem where the set of innovated states has to be chosen. On the basis of robust exponential estimability arguments, it is found that it is possible to distinguish all the unmeasured states if temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration measurements are combined with substrate concentrations. The proposed estimator structure is then validated through numerical simulation considering two different measurement processor algorithms: the geometric observer and the extended Kalman filter.
Public Perception of Solid Waste Management Practices in Nigeria: Ogun State Experience
Authors: Olukanni David O. , Pius-Imue Favour B. , Joseph Sunday O.
Published: April 2020

The effects of poor solid waste management practices in many developing countries have been identified in the literature. This study focuses on understanding the public perception and attitudes of people towards local waste management practices. Five Local Government Areas in Ogun State, Nigeria, were selected based on population, landmass, spatial location, and distribution. The study used a survey that looked into the socio-demographics, household characteristics, and standard solid waste disposal practices at the household and municipal levels. Factors such as frequency of waste collection, presence of environmental task force/protection agency, and level of effectiveness of such task force/agency were all investigated. The study verified the impact of people’s attitudes towards waste management, as well as the effects of monitoring and control on the management of waste. The results showed that significant factors such as age, income, and education levels affect the perceptions, practices, and attitudes of the people towards solid waste management. An average of 36.6% of the people in the selected local governments dispose of their solid wastes at open dumps, with the majority of the residents (54.4%) still with the opinion that sanitation services are too costly and should be the prerogative of the local and state governments to carry out. These outcomes resonate that more efforts by the government and relevant stakeholders should be put into proper enforcement of environmental laws, as well as creating awareness on proper solid waste management practices in schools and public places.
Crusaders in Reverse? The Emergence of Political Islam in the Middle East and the Reactions of British Foreign Policy, 1978–1990
Authors: Shabana Ihab
Published: April 2020

British foreign policy in the Middle East has been well researched. However, there are still aspects of Britain’s approach towards the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that have yet to be researched. One such aspect is Britain’s encounter with the rise of political Islam in MENA and the way(s) in which this phenomenon was deciphered. Even though political Islam dates back to the late 19th and early 20th century, our study focuses on the period between the turbulent years of the outburst of the Iranian Revolution in 1978–1979 and its widely-felt influence until 1990. Our methodological tools include Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) archival material that addresses the phenomenon of political Islam and its implications for British interests and international relations in general. We choose the concept of political Islam and its adherents that are widely acknowledged as political, comparatively to those of da’wa and Jihadi Islamism. We argue that British officials were widely influenced by the intellectual debates of the period under consideration and that they mainly adopted four analytical schemas which focused firstly on the rise of sectarian politics in MENA, secondly on the gradual accommodation of non-state actors and organizations in political analysis, thirdly on the worrisome prospect of an alliance between Islamist and communist forces, and lastly on the prevalence of the idea of Islamic solidarity and Islamic exceptionalism in exerting international politics. Our findings suggest that, at times, the FCO approaches the issue of political Islam with a reassuring mindset, focusing on its divisions and weaknesses, while at other times it analyzes it with a grave concern over stability and Britain’s critical interests.
The Pronunciation of the Words “mor” and “yabolet” in a Cairo Genizah Fragment of Bavli Eruvin 102b–104a
Authors: Zur Uri
Published: April 2020

This article refers to a Cairo Genizah fragment related to Bavli, Tractate Eruvin 102b-104a, identified as Cambridge, UL T-S F2 (2) 23. FGP No. C 98948. In the fragment, there are two words, “mor” and “yabolet”, which were written as vocalized by the scribe or copyist. Their pronunciation differs from that customary today, i.e., “mar” and “yabelet”. The purpose of this paper is to explain how this pronunciation was generated, the evolvement and development of this pronunciation as it appears in the fragment, and to examine whether there are additional words in other sources that were pronounced similarly. This paper begins with a description of the Genizah fragment and continues with a reproduction of the fragment itself.
Application of the Kano Model and DEMATEL Technique to Explore Sustainable Promotion Strategies for Thai-Chinese Temples as Tourist Attractions
Authors: Zhu Bo-Wei , Huang Zheng , Xiong Lei
Published: April 2020

With the development of the modern social economy, temple tourism has become a lucrative industry. Because of their distinct architecture, rituals, and history, temples have become an important part of the sustainable development of temple economies. Thailand, a tourism-rich country in Southeast Asia, has many Chinese temples, most of which have developed into well-known tourist attractions. However, little research has explored attraction factor categories of Thai-Chinese temples as cultural tourist attractions, and also the relationships among these factor categories. This knowledge is important for assessing and developing improvement strategies of Thai-Chinese temples for achieving a sustainable temple economy. Thus, this study aims to identify appropriate ways to identify the constituent attraction factor categories of Thai-Chinese temples as cultural tourist attractions and how they are prioritized, considering the complex interaction relationships among them. The research findings show that 12 main factor categories under the three dimensions, three attributive classifications with different priorities to which the 12 categories belong, and the complex interaction relationships among factor categories are identified. Combining the priorities on attributive classifications and the priorities on interaction relationships, the sustainable improvement strategies of Thai-Chinese temples are established. This paper extends previous research on Chinese temples, offers insights into the theoretical investigation of Thai-Chinese temples as tourist attractions, and provides decision makers with an integrated and practical way to establish priorities of multiple attraction factor categories, in order to make sustainable improvement strategies of Thai-Chinese temples under the consideration of rational allocation of resources.
The Problem of Interreligious Peacemaking in the Works of Ramon Llull
Authors: Giles Ryan D.
Published: April 2020

The purpose of this essay is to examine depictions of interior peace, as well as exterior peacemaking in the world, in representative works by Ramon Llull, written during the later thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. I will show how Llull’s goal of ending conflict involved interreligious dialogue and an attitude of intellectual openness, but at the same time advocated problematic efforts to proselytize religious others that were to be backed up by military force. While the writer’s conceptualization of inner, spiritual combat and peacemaking draws on a number of Christian conventions, we will see how it can also be fruitfully compared to Islamic traditions.
CFAR Strategy Formulation and Evaluation Based on Fox’s H-function in Positive Alpha-Stable Sea Clutter
Authors: Liu Xu , Xu Shuwen , Tang Shiyang
Published: April 2020

The problem of target detection in impulsive non-Gaussian sea clutter has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. The positive alpha-stable (PαS) distribution has been validated as a suitable model for the impulsive non-Gaussian sea clutter. Since the probability density function (PDF) of the PαS variable cannot be expressed as a closed-form expression, the research into constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detectors in PαS distributed sea clutter is limited. This paper formulates and evaluates some CFAR detectors, such as Greatest Of-CFAR (GO-CFAR), Smallest Of-CFAR (SO-CFAR), Order Statistic-CFAR (OS-CFAR) and censored mean level (CML) detectors, in PαS distributed sea clutter. Firstly, the Fox’s H-function is adopted to express the PDF of the PαS variable, and the cumulative density function based on Fox’s H-function is derived in this paper. Then, by use of the properties of the H-function and PαS distribution, exact expressions of the probabilities of false alarm and detection for CFAR detectors in the PαS background are derived. Some CFAR properties of these detectors in the PαS background are also explored. Numerical results based on derived expressions are given and verified by Monte Carlo simulation. Some analyses of detection performance from a practical perspective are also given.
Remote Sensing Image Denoising via Low-Rank Tensor Approximation and Robust Noise Modeling
Authors: Ma Tian-Hui , Xu Zongben , Meng Deyu
Published: April 2020

Noise removal is a fundamental problem in remote sensing image processing. Most existing methods, however, have not yet attained sufficient robustness in practice, due to more or less neglecting the intrinsic structures of remote sensing images and/or underestimating the complexity of realistic noise. In this paper, we propose a new remote sensing image denoising method by integrating intrinsic image characterization and robust noise modeling. Specifically, we use low-Tucker-rank tensor approximation to capture the global multi-factor correlation within the underlying image, and adopt a non-identical and non-independent distributed mixture of Gaussians (non-i.i.d. MoG) assumption to encode the statistical configurations of the embedded noise. Then, we incorporate the proposed image and noise priors into a full Bayesian generative model and design an efficient variational Bayesian algorithm to infer all involved variables by closed-form equations. Moreover, adaptive strategies for the selection of hyperparameters are further developed to make our algorithm free from burdensome hyperparameter-tuning. Extensive experiments on both simulated and real multispectral/hyperspectral images demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over the compared state-of-the-art ones.
Tree Crown Delineation Algorithm Based on a Convolutional Neural Network
Authors: G. Braga José R. , Peripato Vinícius , Dalagnol Ricardo , P. Ferreira Matheus , Tarabalka Yuliya , O. C. Aragão Luiz E. , F. de Campos Velho Haroldo , Shiguemori Elcio H. , Wagner Fabien H.
Published: April 2020

Tropical forests concentrate the largest diversity of species on the planet and play a key role in maintaining environmental processes. Due to the importance of those forests, there is growing interest in mapping their components and getting information at an individual tree level to conduct reliable satellite-based forest inventory for biomass and species distribution qualification. Individual tree crown information could be manually gathered from high resolution satellite images; however, to achieve this task at large-scale, an algorithm to identify and delineate each tree crown individually, with high accuracy, is a prerequisite. In this study, we propose the application of a convolutional neural network—Mask R-CNN algorithm—to perform the tree crown detection and delineation. The algorithm uses very high-resolution satellite images from tropical forests. The results obtained are promising—the R e c a l l , P r e c i s i o n , and F 1 score values obtained were were 0.81 , 0.91 , and 0.86 , respectively. In the study site, the total of tree crowns delineated was 59,062 . These results suggest that this algorithm can be used to assist the planning and conduction of forest inventories. As the algorithm is based on a Deep Learning approach, it can be systematically trained and used for other regions.
Radiometrically Consistent Climate Fingerprinting Using CrIS and AIRS Hyperspectral Observations
Authors: Wu Wan , Liu Xu , Yang Qiguang , Zhou Daniel K. , Larar Allen M.
Published: April 2020

We introduce a novel spectral fingerprinting scheme that can be used to derive long-term atmospheric temperature and water vapor anomalies from hyperspectral infrared sounders such as Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS). It is a challenging task to derive climate trends from real satellite observations due to the difficulty of carrying out accurate cloudy radiance simulations and constructing radiometrically consistent radiative kernels. To address these issues, we use a principal component based radiative transfer model (PCRTM) to perform multiple scattering calculations of clouds and a PCRTM-based physical retrieval algorithm to derive radiometrically consistent radiative kernels from real satellite observations. The capability of including the cloud scattering calculations in the retrieval process allows the establishment of a rigorous radiometric fitting to satellite-observed radiances under all-sky conditions. The fingerprinting solution is directly obtained via an inverse relationship between the atmospheric anomalies and the corresponding spatiotemporally averaged radiance anomalies. Since there is no need to perform Level 2 retrievals on each individual satellite footprint for the fingerprinting approach, it is much more computationally efficient than the traditional way of producing climate data records from spatiotemporally averaged Level 2 products. We have applied the spectral fingerprinting method to six years of CrIS and 16 years of AIRS data to derive long-term anomaly time series for atmospheric temperature and water vapor profiles. The CrIS and AIRS temperature and water vapor anomalies derived from our spectral fingerprinting method have been validated using results from the PCRTM-based physical retrieval algorithm and the AIRS operational retrieval algorithm, respectively.
A New Soil Moisture Retrieval Algorithm from the L-Band Passive Microwave Brightness Temperature Based on the Change Detection Principle
Authors: Zheng Xingming , Feng Zhuangzhuang , Xu Hongxin , Sun Yanlong , Li Lei , Li Bingze , Jiang Tao , Li Xiaojie , Li Xiaofeng
Published: April 2020

The launch of the SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) and SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) satellites has led to the development of a series of L-band soil moisture retrieval algorithms. In these algorithms, many input parameters (such as leaf area index and soil texture) and empirical coefficients (such as roughness coefficient (hP, NRP) and crop structure parameter (bP, ttP)) are needed to calculate surface soil moisture (SSM) from microwave brightness temperature. Many previous studies have focused on how to determine the value of these coefficients and input parameters. Nevertheless, it can be difficult to obtain their ‘real’ values with low uncertainty across large spatial scales. To avoid this problem, a passive microwave remote sensing SSM inversion algorithm based on the principle of change detection was proposed and tested using theoretical simulation and a field SSM dataset for an agricultural area in northeastern China. This algorithm was initially used to estimate SSM for radar remote sensing. First, theoretical simulation results were used to confirm the linear relationship between the change rates for SSM and surface emissivity, for both H and V polarization. This demonstrated the reliability of the change detection algorithm. Second, minimum emissivity (or the difference between maximum emissivity and minimum emissivity) was modeled with a linear relationship between vegetation water content, derived from a three-year (2016–2018) SMAP L3 SSM dataset. Third, SSM values estimated by the change detection algorithm were in good agreement with SMAP L3 SSM and field SSM, with RMSE values ranging from 0.015~0.031 cm3/cm3 and 0.038~0.051 cm3/cm3, respectively. The V polarization SSM accuracy was higher than H polarization and combined H and V polarization accuracy. The retrieved SSM error from the change detection algorithm was similar to SMAP SSM due to errors inherited from the training dataset. The SSM algorithm proposed here is simple in form, has fewer input parameters, and avoids the uncertainty of input parameters. It is very suitable for global applications and will provide a new algorithm option for SSM estimation from microwave brightness temperature.
A Survey to Assess the Quality of the Data Obtained by Radio-Frequency Technologies and Microelectromechanical Systems to Measure External Workload and Collective Behavior Variables in Team Sports
Authors: Rico-González Markel , Los Arcos Asier , Rojas-Valverde Daniel , Clemente Filipe M. , Pino-Ortega José
Published: April 2020

Electronic performance and tracking systems (EPTS) and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) allow the measurement of training load (TL) and collective behavior in team sports so that match performance can be optimized. Despite the frequent use of radio-frequency (RF) technology (i.e., global positioning navigation systems (GNSS/global positioning systems (GPS)) and, local position systems (LPS)) and MEMS in sports research, there is no protocol that must be followed, nor are there any set guidelines for evaluating the quality of the data collection process in studies. Thus, this study aims to suggest a survey based on previously used protocols to evaluate the quality of data recorded by RF technology and MEMS in team sports. A quality check sheet was proposed considering 13 general criteria items. Four additional items for GNSS/GPS, eight additional items for LPS, and five items for MEMS were suggested. This information for evaluating the quality of the data collection process should be reported in the methods sections of future studies.
Ultrasonic Propagation in Highly Attenuating Insulation Materials
Authors: Hutchins David A. , Watson Richard L. , Davis Lee A.J. , Akanji Lolu , Billson Duncan R. , Burrascano Pietro , Laureti Stefano , Ricci Marco
Published: April 2020

Experiments have been performed to demonstrate that ultrasound in the 100–400 kHz frequency range can be used to propagate signals through various types of industrial insulation. This is despite the fact that they are highly attenuating to ultrasonic signals due to scattering and viscoelastic effects. The experiments used a combination of piezocomposite transducers and pulse compression processing. This combination allowed signal-to-noise levels to be enhanced so that signals reflected from the surface of an insulated and cladded steel pipe could be obtained.
Assessment of Centre National d’Études Spatiales Real-Time Ionosphere Maps in Instantaneous Precise Real-Time Kinematic Positioning over Medium and Long Baselines
Authors: Tomaszewski Dariusz , Wielgosz Paweł , Rapiński Jacek , Krypiak-Gregorczyk Anna , Kaźmierczak Rafał , Hernández-Pajares Manuel , Yang Heng , OrúsPérez Raul
Published: April 2020

Precise real-time kinematic (RTK) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning requires fixing integer ambiguities after a short initialization time. Originally, it was assumed that it was only possible at a relatively short distance from a reference station (<10 km), because otherwise the atmospheric effects prevent effective ambiguity fixing. Nowadays, through the use of VRS, MAC, or FKP corrections, the distances to the closest reference station have been increased to around 35 km. However, the baselines resolved in real time are not as far as in the case of static positioning. Further extension of the baseline requires the use of an ionosphere-weighted model with ionospheric delay corrections available in real time. This solution is now possible thanks to the Radio Technical Commission for Maritime (RTCM) stream of SSR corrections from, for example, Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), the first analysis center to provide it in the context of the International GNSS Service. Then, ionospheric delays are treated as pseudo-observations that have a priori values from the CLK RTCM stream. Additionally, satellite orbit and clock errors are properly considered using space-state representation (SSR) real-time radial, along-track, and cross-track corrections. The following paper presents the initial results of such RTK positioning. Measurements were performed in various field conditions reflecting realistic scenarios that could have been experienced by actual RTK users. We have shown that the assumed methodology was suitable for single-epoch RTK positioning with up to 82 km baseline in solar minimum (30 March 2019) mid and high latitude (Olsztyn, Poland) conditions. We also confirmed that it is possible to obtain a rover position at the level of a few centimeters of precision. Finally, the possibility of using other newer experimental IGS RT Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs), from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) among CNES, is discussed in terms of their recent performance in the ionospheric delay domain.
IoT-RECSM—Resource-Constrained Smart Service Migration Framework for IoT Edge Computing Environment
Authors: Zhai Zhongyi , Xiang Ke , Zhao Lingzhong , Cheng Bo , Qian Junyan , Wu Jinsong
Published: April 2020

The edge-based computing paradigm (ECP) becomes one of the most innovative modes of processing distributed Interneit of Things (IoT) sensor data. However, the edge nodes in ECP are usually resource-constrained. When more services are executed on an edge node, the resources required by these services may exceed the edge node’s, so as to fail to maintain the normal running of the edge node. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a resource-constrained smart service migration framework for edge computing environment in IoT (IoT-RECSM) and a dynamic edge service migration algorithm. Based on this algorithm, the framework can dynamically migrate services of resource-critical edge nodes to resource-rich nodes. In the framework, four abstract models are presented to quantificationally evaluate the resource usage of edge nodes and the resource consumption of edge service in real-time. Finally, an edge smart services migration prototype system is implemented to simulate the edge service migration in IoT environment. Based on the system, an IoT case including 10 edge nodes is simulated to evaluate the proposed approach. According to the experiment results, service migration among edge nodes not only maintains the stability of service execution on edge nodes, but also reduces the sensor data traffic between edge nodes and cloud center.
Detecting Pattern Changes in Individual Travel Behavior from Vehicle GPS/GNSS Data
Authors: Lou Jingfeng , Cheng Aiguo
Published: April 2020

Although stable in the short term, individual travel behavior generally tends to change over the long term. The ability to detect such changes is important for product and service providers in continuously changing environments. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology that detects changes in the patterns of individual travel behavior from vehicle global positioning system (GPS)/global navigation satellite system (GNSS) data. For this purpose, we first define individual travel behavior patterns in two dimensions: a spatial pattern and a frequency pattern. Then, we develop a method that can detect such patterns from GPS/GNSS data using a clustering algorithm. Finally, we define three basic pattern-change scenarios for individual travel behavior and introduce a pattern-matching metric for detecting these changes. The proposed methodology is tested using GPS datasets from three randomly selected anonymous users, collected by a Chinese automotive manufacturer. The results show that our methodology can successfully identify significant changes in individual travel behavior patterns.
Speech Emotion Recognition Based on Selective Interpolation Synthetic Minority Over-Sampling Technique in Small Sample Environment
Authors: Liu Zhen-Tao , Wu Bao-Han , Li Dan-Yun , Xiao Peng , Mao Jun-Wei
Published: April 2020

Speech emotion recognition often encounters the problems of data imbalance and redundant features in different application scenarios. Researchers usually design different recognition models for different sample conditions. In this study, a speech emotion recognition model for a small sample environment is proposed. A data imbalance processing method based on selective interpolation synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SISMOTE) is proposed to reduce the impact of sample imbalance on emotion recognition results. In addition, feature selection method based on variance analysis and gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) is introduced, which can exclude the redundant features that possess poor emotional representation. Results of experiments of speech emotion recognition on three databases (i.e., CASIA, Emo-DB, SAVEE) show that our method obtains average recognition accuracy of 90.28% (CASIA), 75.00% (SAVEE) and 85.82% (Emo-DB) for speaker-dependent speech emotion recognition which is superior to some state-of-the-arts works.