bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Orbital Atmospheric Density from QQ-Satellite Precision Orbits Based on GNSS Observations
Authors: Sun Yueqiang , Wang Bowen , Meng Xiangguang , Tang Xinchun , Yan Feng , Zhang Xianguo , Bai Weihua , Du Qifei , Wang Xianyi , Cai Yuerong , Guo Bibo , Wei Shilong , Qiao Hao , Hu Peng , Li Yongping , Wang Xinyue
Published: August 2022

Atmospheric drag provides an indirect approach for evaluating atmospheric mass density, which can be derived from the Precise Orbit Determination (POD) of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. A method was developed to estimate nongravitational acceleration, which includes the drag acceleration of the thermospheric density model and empirical force acceleration in the velocity direction from the centimeter-level reduced-dynamic POD. The main research achievements include the study of atmospheric responses to geomagnetic storms, especially after the launch of the spherical Qiu Qiu (QQ)-Satellite (QQ-Satellite) with the global navigation system satellite (GNSS) receiver onboard tracking the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Beidou System (BDS) data. Using this derivation method, the high-accuracy POD atmospheric density was determined from these data, resulting in better agreement among the QQ-Satellite-derived densities and the NRLMSISE-00 model densities. In addition, the POD-derived density exhibited a more sensitive response to magnetic storms. Improved accuracy of short-term orbit predictions using derived density was one of the aims of this study. Preliminary experiments using densities derived from the QQ-Satellite showed promising and encouraging results in reducing orbit propagation errors within 24 h, especially during periods of geomagnetic activity.
Sensors and Pattern Recognition Methods for Security and Industrial Applications
Authors: Choraś Michał , Kozik Rafał , Pawlicki Marek
Published: August 2022

Contemporary cyberthreats continue to evolve, powering the neverending development arms race [...]
Novel Method for Speeding Up Time Series Processing in Smart City Applications
Authors: Bawaneh Mohammad , Simon Vilmos
Published: August 2022

The huge amount of daily generated data in smart cities has called for more effective data storage, processing, and analysis technologies. A significant part of this data are streaming data (i.e., time series data). Time series similarity or dissimilarity measuring represents an essential and critical task for several data mining and machine learning algorithms. Consequently, a similarity or distance measure that can extract the similarities and differences among the time series in a precise way can highly increase the efficiency of mining and learning processes. This paper proposes a novel elastic distance measure to measure how much a time series is dissimilar from another. The proposed measure is based on the Adaptive Simulated Annealing Representation (ASAR) approach and is called the Adaptive Simulated Annealing Representation Based Distance Measure (ASAR-Distance). ASAR-Distance adapts the ASAR approach to include more information about the time series shape by including additional information about the slopes of the local trends. This slope information, together with the magnitude information, is used to calculate the distance by a new definition that combines the Manhattan, Cosine, and Dynamic Time Warping distance measures. The experimental results have shown that the ASAR-Distance is able to overcome the limitations of handling the local time-shifting, reading the local trends information precisely, and the inherited high computational complexity of the traditional elastic distance measures.
Evaluation of the Environmental Effect of Automated Vehicles Based on IVIULWG Operator Development
Authors: Kan Shuang , Lyu Wei , Zhao Shiyu
Published: August 2022

The automated vehicle (AV) industry is a new growing industry of great interest. The environmental friendliness of AVs represents a core characteristic of their leap-forward development. The environmental effect of AVs, including its evaluation framework and algorithm, is a leading research area for continued technological innovation and market development in this field. This study focuses on three environmental aspects: the energy effect of AVs, the traffic effect of AVs on ground space, and the air effect of AVs on three-dimensional atmospheric space. First, an environmental effect evaluation indicator system that includes nine indices for AVs is constructed to be the basis for management decision making. Second, the interval-valued intuitionistic uncertain fuzzy (IVIUF) evaluation variable is used to solve the problem of data features that incorporate “crisp numbers” and “fuzzy numbers”. Moreover, geometric weights are added based on the generalized correlation aggregation operator. Then, the IVIUL-weighted geometric (IVIULWG) operator is developed, which includes the objective and subjective information of “crisp numbers” and “fuzzy numbers” and makes the mathematical characteristics more scientific and accurate. Finally, an evaluation example is used to validate the effectiveness and practicability of the algorithm.
Effects of Façades on Urban Acoustic Environment and Soundscape: A Systematic Review
Authors: Balderrama Alvaro , Kang Jian , Prieto Alejandro , Luna-Navarro Alessandra , Arztmann Daniel , Knaack Ulrich
Published: August 2022

Façades cover a significant amount of surfaces in cities and are in constant interaction with the acoustic environment. Noise pollution is one of the most concerning burdens for public health and wellbeing; however, façade acoustic performance is generally not considered in outdoor spaces, in contrast to indoor spaces. This study presents a systematic literature review examining 40 peer-reviewed papers regarding the effects of façades on the urban acoustic environment and the soundscape. Façades affect sound pressure levels and reverberation time in urban spaces and can affect people’s perception of the acoustic environment. The effects are classified into three groups: Effects of façades on the urban acoustic environment, including sound-reflecting, sound-absorbing and sound-producing effects; Effects of façades on the urban soundscape, including auditory and non-auditory effects; Effects of the context on the acoustic environment around façades, including boundary effects and atmospheric effects.
Evaluating the Effects of COVID-19 and Vaccination on Employment Behaviour: A Panel Data Analysis Acrossthe World
Authors: Mosbah Ezzeddine Belgacem , Dharmapala Parakramaweera Sunil
Published: August 2022

COVID-19 is a fast-invading virus that quickly invaded the human body and made no human activity immune to its infections. The purpose of this study is to simulate the effects of COVID-19 on employment behaviour and vaccination’s weight in the recovery process. Based on quarterly panel data from 43 nations from 2018 to 2020, we built an adaptive employment model. The major findings demonstrate that COVID-19 has negative and large net and second effects, with parameters of −7049 and −15,768 employees each quarter for 100,000 infected people, respectively. While immunization has a positive net effect of 10,900 employees every quarter, it has a negative second effect of −29,817 employees. This last result may look strange, but it is rational and demonstrates that immunizations modify employees’ behaviour toward prevention measures, leading to actions such as resuming mobility, reopening, cancelling confinement, and so on, even though COVID-19 continues to spread. Demand, the labour force, the short-term multiplier, and immunization appear to have a positive and large impact on employment behaviour, while average labour productivity appears to have a negative impact.
Vision Transformer for Detecting Critical Situations and Extracting Functional Scenario for Automated Vehicle Safety Assessment
Authors: Kang Minhee , Lee Wooseop , Hwang Keeyeon , Yoon Young
Published: August 2022

Automated Vehicles (AVs) are attracting attention as a safer mobility option thanks to the recent advancement of various sensing technologies that realize a much quicker Perception–Reaction Time than Human-Driven Vehicles (HVs). However, AVs are not entirely free from the risk of accidents, and we currently lack a systematic and reliable method to improve AV safety functions. The manual composition of accident scenarios does not scale. Simulation-based methods do not fully cover the peculiar AV accident patterns that can occur in the real world. Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques are employed to identify the moments of accidents from ego-vehicle videos. However, most AI-based approaches fall short in accounting for the probable causes of the accidents. Neither of these AI-driven methods offer details for authoring accident scenarios used for AV safety testing. In this paper, we present a customized Vision Transformer (named ViT-TA) that accurately classifies the critical situations around traffic accidents and automatically points out the objects as probable causes based on an Attention map. Using 24,740 frames from Dashcam Accident Dataset (DAD) as training data, ViT-TA detected critical moments at Time-To-Collision (TTC) ≤ 1 s with 34.92 higher accuracy than the state-of-the-art approach. ViT-TA’s Attention map highlighting the critical objects helped us understand how the situations unfold to put the hypothetical ego vehicles with AV functions at risk. Based on the ViT-TA-assisted interpretation, we systematized the composition of Functional scenarios conceptualized by the PEGASUS project for describing a high-level plan to improve AVs’ capability of evading critical situations. We propose a novel framework for automatically deriving Logical and Concrete scenarios specified with 6-Layer situational variables defined by the PEGASUS project. We believe our work is vital towards systematically generating highly reliable and trustworthy safety improvement plans for AVs in a scalable manner.
Optimizing Leaching of Rare Earth Elements from Red Mud and Spent Fluorescent Lamp Phosphors Using Levulinic Acid
Authors: Jiang Tao , Singh Sarabjot , Dunn Kathleen A. , Liang Yanna
Published: August 2022

Although various hydrometallurgical and solvometallurgical efforts have been made to extract REEs from end-of-life (EoL) products and waste, a systematic and statistical analysis of the impacts of leaching parameters to optimize the leaching process using organic acids is necessary, but lacking in the literature. This study employed the response surface methodology to develop mathematical models for optimal leaching by levulinic acid (LevA) of REEs in two waste materials, namely red mud and spent fluorescent lamp phosphors. The established models exhibited excellent statistical properties, in terms of significance, fitting, prediction, and error distribution. For red mud, the optimal conditions of liquid-to-solid ratio (L/S; v/w) of 40, temperature of 70 °C, and duration of 60 h led to 100% leaching of REEs excluding Sc. At the same L/S and temperature, >98.7% of REEs were leached from fluorescent phosphors after 96 h. The SEM–EDS analysis of the waste materials revealed and confirmed morphological and compositional changes after leaching under the optimal conditions.
Encouraging a Modal Shift to Passenger Railway Transportation: A Case Study in Adaptable Rolling Stock Interior Design
Authors: Moerman Jan-jaap , van Heusden Seppe , Matheussen Brigitte , Martinetti Alberto
Published: August 2022

Continued urbanization continues to pose one of the greatest challenges to the environmental, economic and social sustainability of society. The modal split between transport modes has remained relatively unchanged in recent decades. This suggests that the level of private car use will lead to even more congestion in urban areas. Therefore, a modal shift from private to public transport should be further encouraged. One of the decisive quality characteristics for preferring public transport over private car use, such as passenger railway transportation, is the level of comfort. However, one of the main challenges for railway operators is the change in demand for capacity during peak hours and the demand for comfort during off-peak hours. The purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of adaptable design in rolling stock interior to facilitate adaptations using case study research. The proposed design concept was evaluated and compared with current coach interior configurations using grey relational analysis. The case results showed that the design concept was adaptive by providing more options to meet the different needs of comfort and capacity. In addition, three new guidelines were identified that can generally serve as functional guidelines in the development of more adaptable assets in use to further encourage a modal shift.
The Impact of Flashing on the Efficacy of Variable Message Signs: A Vehicle-by-Vehicle Approach
Authors: Basso Franco , Maldonado Pedro , Pezoa Raúl , Szoloch Nicolás , Varas Mauricio
Published: August 2022

A great deal of research has examined the efficacy of variable message signs (VMS) to induce driver behavior changes, improve safety conditions, and decongest the traffic network. However, there is little literature regarding the most effective ways to display this information on VMS. Furthermore, none of the previous contributions have concentrated on analyzing what impact flashing VMS have on drivers by using real traffic data. This article seeks to bridge this gap, analyzing the effect of incorporating intermittent light stimulation to messages on drivers’ behavior on a Chilean highway, using vehicle-by-vehicle data obtained in a non-intrusive way. In order to do so, an experiment was carried out to measure the responses of drivers when faced with two types of messages: (1) those intended to induce a speed reduction and (2) those aimed at generating lane changes. From the statistical models we obtained several insights. Our results show that flashing messages may increase the effectiveness of VMS depending on environmental and traffic conditions. In particular, for speed moderation messages, we found 12 significant effects, showing, for example, that a flashing message is most effective in the hours of darkness, with low congestion, small spacing, and low average speeds. Additionally, it has a more significant impact on experienced drivers. On the other hand, for lane change messages, we found five significant effects, showing that flashing messaging reduces its effectiveness in situations where a high cognitive load is required, such as in high flow and high average speeds. No particular effects were identified in either case for specific vehicle types.
Development and Evaluation of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) as a Preliminary Diagnostic Tool for Brown Root Rot Disease Caused by Phellinus noxius (Corner) G. H. Cunningham in Hong Kong Urban Tree Management
Authors: Zhang Hao , Ng Tze Kwun , Lee Kai Chun , Leung Zoen Wing , Yau Wai Fu , Wong Wai Shing
Published: August 2022

Brown Root Rot Disease (BRRD) is one of the most devastating urban tree diseases in tropical and subtropical areas, including Hong Kong. It can result in tree death in a few months and is difficult to detect in the early stages of development. Fungal isolation and PCR methods are currently the most widely adopted methods to diagnose the disease. However, they are both time and technically demanding. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a superior molecular-based diagnostic method with great specificity, accessibility, and effectivity. In this study, 15 BRRD-positive and 15 BRRD-negative trees were sampled from 19 roadside slopes in Hong Kong from the end of 2020 to the middle of 2021. The wood tissues were isolated and cultivated in PN3 and PDA agars for the disease diagnosis. The mycelium samples in PDA were directly conducted in LAMP kits (mLAMP) to substitute the purified DNA materials. Wood tissues were also used in LAMP kits (wLAMP) as impurified and highly contaminated samples. The results of mLAMP and wLAMP were compared with the results of isolation to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of LAMP method. The results showed that mLAMP had 100% sensitivity and 73.3% specificity. For wLAMP, both the sensitivity and specificity were 73.3%. For symptomless trees, 85.7% and 64.3% congruencies were found in mLAMP and wLAMP, respectively. Based on the results of this study, the co-application of LAMP in the current tree management work was also discussed. We envisaged LAMP is a sensitive, prompt, and user-friendly method to diagnose BRRD and it could favor the BRRD diagnosis in fields by accelerating and promoting large-scale screening.
The Influence of Knowledge on Managing Risk for the Success in Complex Construction Projects: The IPMA Approach
Authors: Cerezo-Narváez Alberto , Pastor-Fernández Andrés , Otero-Mateo Manuel , Ballesteros-Pérez Pablo
Published: August 2022

Organizations undertaking construction projects often deal with uncertainty and complexity. Risks include a wide range of occurrences that can lead to project failure. However, these difficulties may be minimized if risks are properly managed. In addition, knowledge management may emerge as a key element in facing unforeseen events and detecting the actions that are working well in other projects. In this context, this study intends to demonstrate the influence of managing organizational knowledge on risk management and the impact of both on the success of projects and associated businesses. To this end, a questionnaire was distributed among construction technicians, practitioners and managers in order to assess the importance of factors managing knowledge and risk and of success criteria. Thanks to the participation of almost four hundred respondents, cause-and-effect relationships are characterized by means of structural equation modeling, statistically confirming them. The specific links between the knowledge-management projects and the skills and abilities to face risks provided by the International Project Management Association (IPMA) standards, with a relation of 0.892 out of 1, justify the 75.1% of the success of the venture. These findings prove that the application of IPMA proposals enhances the required knowledge that leads to improved completion and delivery of complex construction projects in risky environments.
Medium-Term No-Tillage, Additional Compaction, and Chiseling as Affecting Clayey Subtropical Soil Physical Properties and Yield of Corn, Soybean and Wheat Crops
Authors: Suzuki Luis Eduardo Akiyoshi Sanches , Reinert Dalvan José , Alves Marlene Cristina , Reichert José Miguel
Published: August 2022

Understanding the soil-plant relationship is important to determine critical limits of soil properties that influence crop growth and yield. The objectives were to quantify the influence of soil compaction levels on physical properties and crop growth and yield in a clayey Oxisol. An experiment was performed having in the main plots, levels of soil compaction (NT: no-tillage during six years, NTC: NT + four passes of a 10 Mg machine in the agricultural year 2003/2004, and Chisel: NT + chiseling and harrowing in the agricultural year 2003/2004), and in the sub-plots, the summer crops soybean and corn, and wheat in the winter season. We measured soil physical and mechanical properties, along with yield of corn, soybean and wheat, and root growth of that last two crops. After four passes of a 10 Mg machine, the soil resistance to penetration increased to a 0.12 m depth, while Chisel disrupted the 0–0.20 m soil layer, with the effects persisting for at least nine months. Soil compaction in no-tillage concentrated in the 0.05–0.15 m layer. Corn yield was similar among the treatments, soybean yield was highest in NT, and the highest yield of wheat was in the sequence with soybean under NT.
An Empirical Study of the Factors Influencing User Behavior of Fitness Software in College Students Based on UTAUT
Authors: Wang Chao , Wu Gencheng , Zhou Xinyi , Lv Yiman
Published: August 2022

Only one decade since the emergence of the first sports-related mobile app, although there is a large amount of fitness software, the quality is uneven, and some people still have concerns about whether to use fitness software. College students account for a large proportion of the number of people using fitness software; through empirical research on the factors affecting the use of fitness software, it is of great significance to further promote people’s healthy behavior. This study investigates the factors that influence the user behavior of fitness software in college students and then addresses the promotion of better health behaviors among college students. Using a Likert scale, 994 college students (51.3% male, 48.7% female) in five universities (each university accounted for about 20% of students) were given questionnaires. Based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), assumptions were proposed, and a structural equation model (SEM) was constructed. The maximum likelihood method was used to analyze data and verify hypotheses. The results of the study show that social influence, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy significantly affect college students’ behavioral intention. Behavioral intention and gender have a significant positive effect and a moderating effect on user behavior. The development of fitness software should consider the factors mentioned above to enhance the health levels of college students.
Assessing Barriers in Humanitarian Supply Chains for Cyclone in Coastal Areas of Bangladesh: An Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) Approach
Authors: Rahman Md. Mostafizur , Tasnim Farah , Mukta Mahmuda Zaman , Abedin Ayesha , Aryal Komal Raj
Published: August 2022

Bangladesh has frequently been affected by natural hazards, notably, cyclones in coastal areas. Humanitarian organizations are always active in helping affected communities through effective humanitarian supply-chain management by providing humanitarian goods and services, which is crucial to aiding vulnerable people after a natural catastrophe. However, some factors cause significant difficulties in achieving feasible humanitarian supply-chain (HSC) management that eventually ends up as a disfunctional and ineffective system to support to the community in need. Therefore, a lack of standard logistics support complicates horizontal cooperation between humanitarian organizations at various stages, along with relief aid. The motive of the paper is to identify and understand the barriers of HSC during the disaster preparedness and immediate response phase, particularly for cyclones in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Through an extensive literature review and consultation with experts from different humanitarian organizations, 10 barriers were identified. To illustrate the structural relationships among the selected barriers, an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) approach with additional MICMAC (Matriced’ Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée á unClassement) analysis is used for data analysis. This aids in evaluating relative dependencies and driving power among the selected barriers. Findings show that a lack of an integrated approach and coordination among government and other humanitarian stakeholders, the inefficacy of multilateral information sharing among them, and a shortage of experienced logisticians are the barriers with the highest driving powers in HSC. The findings of this study will help humanitarian experts, aid agencies who distribute humanitarian aid, and organizations, to set up a good supply chain for helping people in the coastal area of Bangladesh following cyclones.
Augmented Reality in K–12 Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Literature from 2000 to 2020
Authors: Zhang Jiakai , Li Gege , Huang Qinglin , Feng Qinna , Luo Heng
Published: August 2022

With its capacity to support student-centered learning through digital transformation and shared experience, augmented reality (AR) has received increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners as an emerging technology to achieve innovative and sustainable education. Therefore, this study systematically reviewed the literature on the application of augmented reality in K–12 education settings between 2000 and 2020. After two stages of screening, 129 articles were selected, and the key research results were analyzed and integrated by adopting a coding scheme including basic information, instruction contexts, technical features, instructional design, and research results. The results revealed interesting findings regarding the augmented reality literature in terms of publication patterns, application fields, technological affordances, instructional designs, and methods. Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effectiveness of augmented reality-based instruction, and the results showed a large overall effect size (g = 0.919) with three significant moderators. Finally, the practical significance of AR-based instruction and a future research agenda are discussed.
The Multi-Type Demands Oriented Framework for Flex-Route Transit Design
Authors: Li Jiayi , He Zhaocheng , Zhong Jiaming
Published: August 2022

Flex-route transit is regarded as the feasible solution to provide flexible service for various demands. To improve the service of flex-route transit, this paper proposes a design framework with the input of multi-type demands. Firstly, according to the multi-feature-based classification method, static stations and dynamic stations are divided by hierarchical clustering algorithm based on historical demands. Secondly, in the two-stage planning method, an offline plan is generated by multi-route design model and route-design-oriented genetic algorithm based on the classified stations and the flexible combination of reserved demands and regular travel patterns. Then, an online plan is adjusted by route modification model and greedy algorithm based on the offline plan and real-time demands. Numerical experiments demonstrate the applicability of flex-route transit in the realistic road network and show that flex-route transit can transport demands more effectively and save nearly 40% of cost compared with traditional transit.
Editorial on Environmental Planning and Modeling
Authors: Madu Christian N.
Published: August 2022

The aim of this Special Issue is to facilitate environmental decision making by considering the natural environment, as well as social, political, economic, and governance issues [...]
The Cross-Spillover Effects of Online Prosocial Behavior on Subjective Well-Being: Daily Diary Evidence from Chinese Adolescents
Authors: Zhang Weida , Yu Guoliang , Fu Wangqian
Published: August 2022

This study investigated the effects of online prosocial behavior on the subjective well-being of adolescents and its spillover and crossover effects. By convenience sampling, this paper adopted a diary survey method to collect the daily online prosocial behavior and subjective well-being data of 120 first-grade junior high school students and their parents for 5 consecutive days during their winter vacation in China. The online prosocial behaviors of adolescents during the day can significantly positively predict their subjective well-being during the day and at night, which indicates that adolescents’ subjective well-being has a spillover effect from online to offline. In addition, online prosocial behavior and the subjective well-being of adolescents in the daytime are significantly positively correlated with their parents’ subjective well-being at night, indicating that there is a crossover effect between online prosocial behavior and the subjective well-being of adolescents in the daytime and their parents’ subjective well-being at night. It is important to create a good online environment for adolescents and promote the benign spillover and crossover effect of online prosocial behavior on subjective well-being.
Design and Implementation of Novel Fault Ride through Circuitry and Control for Grid-Connected PV System
Authors: Kim Donghwi , Ramadhan Umar Fitra , Islam Saif Ul , Jung Seungmin , Yoon Minhan
Published: August 2022

This paper provides a comparison of a designed method of a fault ride through (FRT) circuit, i.e., switch-type fault current limiter (STFCL) and bridge-type fault current limiter (BFCL), to optimize the electrical parameters of grid-connected solar systems (PVSs) under asymmetric single line-to-ground fault and symmetric three-phase fault. The main differences between switch- and bridge-type fault current limiters is the electric component devices such as the bridge rectifier, snubber capacitor, energy absorption bypass and current-limiting inductors. In addition, the designed FRT performance with the inverter control are analyzed in-depth, e.g., a well-adjusted proportional integral (PI) and proposed steepest descent (SD) controller are compared in the fault condition. To compare the proposed method with the conventional method, the AC power and voltage on a common coupling point (PCC) and DC link voltage of the PV system are analyzed with a MATLAB/Simulink model of a 100 kW three-phase grid-connected photovoltaic system. The simulation results of the proposed FRT circuit and SD controller verify the stability improvement and vibration-free and fast and robust responses of electrical parameters on both PV grid sides during asymmetric disturbances.
Identification and Classification of the Dissolved Substances from Sludge Biochar and Their Effects on the Activity of Acid Phosphomonoesterase
Authors: Zhang Junyuan , Liu Yang , Li Bowen , Tan Chunling , Zhou Dandan , Vijver Martina G. , Peijnenburg Willie J. G. M.
Published: August 2022

Soil extra-cellular enzymes are the main driving force for microbial and biochemical processes, which makes them sensitive indicators for soil health and quality. Returning large amounts of sludge or its biochar to farmland may introduce exogenous substances into soil and have a significant impact on soil enzymatic activity. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of substances dissolved from sludge biomass and its biochar added at different amounts and produced at various temperatures (200 °C, 300 °C, and 450 °C) on the activity of acid phosphomonoesterase. Results showed that the activity of acid phosphomonoesterase was significantly inhibited by these dissolved substances from biochar pyrolyzed at different temperatures, especially at high concentrations of 50 mgC L−1 and upon the exposure to DBC200. The conformation of acid phosphomonoesterase became loose and flexible after exposure to dissolved organic matter (DOM) extracted from biochar in terms of reduced α-Helix contents and increased β-Turn contents as deduced from circular dichroism spectra. According to the results of multiple linear regression, it can be concluded that the increased contents of arsenic as well as protein-like components within dissolved substances may be responsible for the inhibited enzymatic activities and the altered enzymatic conformation. Our findings provide evidence that the pyrolysis of sludge at a higher temperature would be helpful to reduce its negative impacts on the soil ecosystem.
Evolution of Logistics Industry Carbon Emissions in Heilongjiang Province, China
Authors: Chen Zhili , Wu Jinzhuo
Published: August 2022

This paper analysed the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics and impact mechanism of the logistics carbon emissions in China’s Heilongjiang Province. Different levels of logistics carbon emissions during 2000–2020 were calculated using an energy-based emission factor method, and the Tapio decoupling model was used to analyse the decoupling effect between carbon emissions and economics. Then, a hotspot analysis and a spatial autocorrection analysis were used to study the spatial-temporal patterns of logistics carbon emissions. Finally, the influencing factors were analysed by using the logarithmic mean divisia index. Results showed that logistics carbon emissions in Heilongjiang increased from 1.66 million tons in 2000 to 6.21 million tons in 2020. The overall decoupling state was expansion negative decoupling, and it turned into strong decoupling in the last five years. The hotspots of logistics carbon emissions were mainly concentrated in developed cities in the south, and the coldspots were mainly in undeveloped regions in the north. Economic development was the main factor driving the increase of logistics carbon emissions, and logistics development was the main factor inhibiting the growth of logistics carbon emissions. The study results can provide references for formulation region-specific carbon reduction measures, which are beneficial to the low-carbon sustainable development of the logistics industry in this region.
A New Assessment Method for the Redevelopment of Closed Coal Mine—A Case Study in Shanxi Province in China
Authors: Liu Hanbin , Yang Yujing , Jiao Wenting , Wang Shaobin , Cheng Fangqin
Published: August 2022

It is recognized that a closed mine is a three-dimensional resource that has great potential for redevelopment and/or reutilization. The first and most important step for the redevelopment of a closed coal mine is to perform an evaluation and to select the best strategy/approach for each closed coal mine. Currently, there is no standard assessment method, and different countries use different assessment methods of evaluation. In this study, a five-factor weight analysis method was developed and used for a closed coal mine assessment in Shanxi, China. The case study using this method provides the useful information for the redevelopment of the closed coal mine. The results suggested that the best and or most suitable strategy for the mine is the extraction of coalbed methane (CBM) in the goaf, mine water reuse, and storage for coal solid wastes. The study also suggested that the closed coal mine can be considered for use in culture tourism/education or as space for storage. For some particular closed coal mines, they have potential use for CO2 sequestration, oil/gas storage, and bauxite resource development.
Predicting Frost Depth of Soils in South Korea Using Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Choi Hyun-Jun , Kim Sewon , Kim YoungSeok , Won Jongmuk
Published: August 2022

Predicting the frost depth of soils in pavement design is critical to the sustainability of the pavement because of its mechanical vulnerability to frozen-thawed soil. The reliable prediction of frost depth can be challenging due to the high uncertainty of frost depth and the unavailability of geotechnical properties needed to use the available empirical- and analytical-based equations in literature. Therefore, this study proposed a new framework to predict the frost depth of soil below the pavement using eight machine learning (ML) algorithms (five single ML algorithms and three ensemble learning algorithms) without geotechnical properties. Among eight ML models, the hyperparameter-tuned gradient boosting model showed the best performance with the coefficient of determination (R2) = 0.919. Furthermore, it was also shown that the developed ML model can be utilized in the prediction of several levels of frost depth and assessing the sensitivity of pavement-related predictors for predicting the frost depth of soils.
Trend Analysis Using Long-Term Monitoring Data of Water Quality at Churyeongcheon and Yocheon Basins
Authors: Ha Don-Woo , Jung Kang-Young , Baek Jonghun , Lee Gi-Soon , Lee Youngjea , Shin Dong Seok , Na Eun Hye
Published: August 2022

In this study, we investigated the interrelationships between organic matter and water quality indices in the total maximum daily load basins, namely, Churyeongcheon and Yocheon of the Seomjin River system, and identified trends. Churyeong A and Yocheon B, the basins being analyzed, have high proportions of nonpoint pollution sources and pollutant loads from terrestrial sources. During the study period, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) decreased in both basins, whereas chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC) increased in Churyeong A and decreased in Yocheon B. The increase in organic matter in Churyeong A correlated with the flow rate, whereas organic matter in Yocheon B showed little correlation with flow rate. Variations in organic matter (BOD, COD, and TOC) in Churyeong A exhibited seasonality under the influence of increased flow rate. Organic matter in Yocheon B was affected by increased flow rate, wherein with time, BOD decreased and COD and TOC increased. This study provides basic data that can be used as a reference to facilitate continuous water management and appropriate strategy implementation by analyzing the influencing factors and trends of organic matter using long-term measurement data.
Engineering Characteristics Prioritization in Quality Function Deployment Using an Improved ORESTE Method with Double Hierarchy Hesitant Linguistic Information
Authors: Shi Hua , Mao Ling-Xiang , Li Ke , Wang Xiang-Hu , Liu Hu-Chen
Published: August 2022

Quality function deployment (QFD) is a customer-driven product development technique widely utilized to translating customer requirements into engineering characteristics for maximum customer satisfaction. Nonetheless, when used in real situations, the traditional QFD method has been criticized to have many deficiencies, e.g., in expressing experts’ uncertain assessments and prioritizing engineering characteristics. In this study, we propose a new engineering characteristics prioritization approach based on double hierarchy hesitant linguistic term sets (DHHLTSs) and the ORESTE (organísation, rangement et Synthèse de données relarionnelles, in French) method to overcome the shortcomings of the traditional QFD. Specifically, the main contributions of this study to the literature are that the DHHLTSs are utilized to describe the hesitant relationship assessments between customer requirements and engineering characteristics provided by experts, and the ORESTE method is modified and used to determine the importance ranking orders of engineering characteristics. Finally, a case study and a comparison analysis are presented to illustrate the feasibility and practicability of the proposed QFD approach. The advantages of the new approach being proposed are higher flexibility in handling experts’ intricate and hesitant relationship evaluation information and effective in providing a reasonable prioritization of engineering characteristics in the practical QFD analysis.
Inclined Layer Method-Based Theoretical Calculation of Active Earth Pressure of a Finite-Width Soil for a Rotating-Base Retaining Wall
Authors: Wang Zeyue , Liu Xinxi , Wang Weiwei , Tao Ziyu , Li Song
Published: August 2022

In this study, we evaluated the active earth pressure on a retaining wall with a narrow cohesive fill under the rotation about the base mode. Under these conditions, Rankine’s and Coulomb’s earth pressure theories are not strictly effective. To improve the traditional earth pressure calculation methods (Rankine and Coulomb methods) and deduce the active earth pressure under the rotation about the base mode, here, we propose a new calculation method that incorporates the effects of wall displacement, soil arching and soil cohesion using inclined thin-layer elements. The calculation results are in good agreement with the model test data. Based on the parameter analysis, a critical aspect ratio of B/H = cotβ is determined along with a detailed elucidation of the various influencing factors (such as aspect ratio, cohesion and friction angle). The paper presents several solutions to improve the stability and lower the costs of retaining walls.
Impact of Transformer Topology on Short-Circuit Analysis in Distribution Systems with Inverter-Based Distributed Generations
Authors: Cho Namhun , Yoon Myungseok , Choi Sungyun
Published: August 2022

Distributed energy resources (DERs), recently introduced into distribution systems, are mainly inverter-based distributed generations (IBDGs), which have different short-circuit behaviors from conventional synchronous-based distributed generations (SBDGs). Hence, this study presents a comprehensive analysis of the short-circuit behaviors of distribution systems with IBDGs, based on sequence networks and superposition, from the perspectives of interconnected transformers, and observes the flow of zero-sequence fault currents with different transformer topologies. Moreover, two- and three-winding transformers with various bank connection types and groundings are investigated. It was concluded that the transformer topology and its grounding influence the fault current contribution in zero-sequence networks, and the high penetration of IBDGs alters the fault current magnitude and phase angles.
Large-Scale Automated Additive Construction: Overview, Robotic Solutions, Sustainability, and Future Prospect
Authors: Khosravani Mohammad Reza , Haghighi Azadeh
Published: August 2022

Additive manufacturing has drawn significant attention in both academia and industry due to its capabilities and promising potential in various sectors. However, the adoption of this technology in large-scale construction is still limited due to the numerous existing challenges. In this work, a comprehensive review of large-scale automated additive construction, its challenges, and emerging advances with a focus on robotic solutions and environmental sustainability is presented. The potential interrelations of the two topics are also discussed. A new classification scheme of available and emerging robotic solutions in automated additive construction is presented. Moreover, the vision of environmental sustainability is explored through three lenses: process, material, and printed large-scale structures/buildings. Finally, the current challenges and potential future directions are highlighted. The provided state of the art and challenges can be used as a guideline for future research on large-scale automated additive construction.
Sustainable Communication; Perceived Motivation and Nature of the Commitment
Authors: Dincer Banu , Dincer Caner
Published: August 2022

The aim of this study is to examine the overlap between sustainable communication and business, as well as its impact on the consumer’s perception and the nature of the motivation. We attempted to create a synthesis of prior research based on a literature review to understand how consumers comprehend corporate sustainability communications. The selection of the articles and related works is based on the presence of the keywords in the Science Direct database. The results provided us with 15 results for the research papers with “sustainable communication” in the title and 46 results with the keyword “sustainable communication” in the title, abstract or author-specified keywords since the year 2000. We synthesized these works and major works in the field according to our model, based on the attribution theory frame. We have emphasized the effect of sustainable communication fit with the company on the consumer’s perception of internal motivation by mobilizing the attribution and congruence theories, while highlighting the importance of the company’s perceived effort and the moderating role of other situational variables.
The Illustrative Understanding on the Informal Sector and Its Influence in Firm Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Evidence from Cameroon
Authors: Elvis Nguepi Tsafack , Cheng Hua , Providence Buregeya Ingabire
Published: August 2022

As globalization continues, textiles and clothing firms have many opportunities around the world. Using survey data, we evaluate the determinativeness of the informal sector and its impact on firm productivity by applying the Hicks–Moorsteen index and Data Employment Analysis (DEA) methods. Specifically, this study estimates factors driving total factor productivity (TFP) and its constituents for Cameroon’s companies from 2005 to 2014. As a result, the input levels of informal textile companies are the significant drivers of TFP with a mean in productivity of 47.06% for textile and 56.69% for clothing (I). Regarding formal textile companies, technical efficiency and technological progress fluctuate throughout the period of study (II). Firm size, technology adoption and primary resources (raw material) are important stages of a firm’s decision to innovate (III). Therefore, employing this approach could be reliable in analyzing firm productivity in other SSA countries.
Utilization of Waste Dust from Asphalt Concrete Manufacturing as a Sustainable Subbase Course Material in Pavement Structures
Authors: Chaiyaput Salisa , Sertsoongnern Pimchanok , Ayawanna Jiratchaya
Published: August 2022

High calcium waste dust from asphalt concrete manufacturing was utilized to stabilize low-quality lateritic soil as a subbase course material in road structures. Asphalt waste dust up to 30 percent by weight (wt%) was incorporated into the solely lateritic soil and the mixture of lateritic soil containing 5 wt% Portland cement. The asphalt waste dust was successfully used as a subbase course material in road structures according to the standard specifications of pavement materials issued by the Thailand Department of Highways. The minimum 20 wt% asphalt waste dust induced a sufficiently high California bearing ratio, optimized plastic index, liquid limit, and swelling index of soil above the minimum standard requirements for a subbase course material. The fine particles of asphalt waste dust showed filler-like properties to reduce the voids and generated a very dense surface in the stabilized lateritic soil samples. With the small content of cement mixes, a decrease in the calcite phase in the soil stabilized with asphalt waste dust indicated a partial promotion of CaCO3 from the asphalt waste dust in the cement hydration reaction. The very high strength (CBR > 250%) of these stabilized soil samples approached the standard for base course material (CBR ≥ 80%), which was beyond the expectation for the subbase material (CBR ≥ 25%). Thus, recycling-waste dust from asphalt concrete manufacturing can be used as an effectively sustainable subbase course and base course materials in further generation for road construction purposes.
InVEST Soil Carbon Stock Modelling of Agricultural Landscapes as an Ecosystem Service Indicator
Authors: Nel Lyndré , Boeni Ana Flávia , Prohászka Viola Judit , Szilágyi Alfréd , Tormáné Kovács Eszter , Pásztor László , Centeri Csaba
Published: August 2022

Soil carbon storage results from interactions between ecological processes and contributes to the global chemical regulation of the atmosphere, a vital ecosystem service. Within the ecosystem services approach, measuring soil carbon stock is used as an indicator of landscapes that function as terrestrial carbon sinks and sources. Soil carbon stock models of agricultural landscapes use national carbon stock data and are used to determine environmental benchmarks and develop land-use management strategies for improved landscape-scale carbon sequestration. The InVEST Carbon Storage model has been used as a tool to map carbon stock based on these data. However, the accuracy of the national carbon inventories of Hungary is unknown. In this study, the InVEST soil carbon stock models of two agricultural landscapes in Hungary were produced based on national soil carbon stock data and in-field collected soil sample carbon stock data. Carbon stock inventories were collated and used as InVEST carbon model inputs, and the models were mapped, compared, and evaluated to determine their usefulness in the planning of maximizing soil carbon storage in sustainable land-use management and policy development. Five InVEST soil carbon stock spatial models were produced for both agricultural landscapes, which showed great variation based on the data used to develop it. Aggregate carbon stock potentially stored in the landscape-scale study areas also varied between datasets used. Integrating soil sample data along with national carbon stock data shows prospective applicability in assessing contextual landscape-scale potential soil carbon stock storage.