bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Frequency Characteristic of Resonant Micro Fluidic Chip for Oil Detection Based on Resistance Parameter
Authors: Yu Zilei , Zeng Lin , Zhang Hongpeng , Yang Guogang , Wang Wenqi , Zhang Wanheng
Published: July 2018

Monitoring the working condition of hydraulic equipment is significance in industrial fields. The abnormal wear of the hydraulic system can be revealed by detecting the variety and size of micro metal debris in the hydraulic oil. We thus present the design and implementation of a micro detection system of hydraulic oil metal debris based on inductor capacitor (LC) resonant circuit in this paper. By changing the resonant frequency of the micro fluidic chip, we can detect the metal debris of hydraulic oil and analyze the sensitivity of the micro fluidic chip at different resonant frequencies. We then obtained the most suitable resonant frequency. The chip would generate a positive resistance pulse when the iron particles pass through the detection area and the sensitivity of the chip decreased with resonant frequency. The chip would generate a negative resistance pulse when the copper particles pass through the detection area and the sensitivity of the chip increased with resonant frequency. The experimental results show that the change of resonant frequency has a great effect on the copper particles and little on the iron particles. Thus, a relatively big resonant frequency can be selected for chip designing and testing. In practice, we can choose a relatively big resonant frequency in this micro fluidic chip designing. The resonant micro fluidic chip is capable of detecting 20–30 μm iron particles and 70–80 μm copper particles at 0.9 MHz resonant frequency.
Glycomimetics: Design, Synthesis, and Therapeutic Applications
Authors: Compain Philippe
Published: July 2018

n/a
Opportunities and Challenges of Bodily Interaction for Geometry Learning to Inform Technology Design
Authors: Price Sara , Duffy Sam
Published: July 2018

An increasing body of work provides evidence of the importance of bodily experience for cognition and the learning of mathematics. Sensor-based technologies have potential for guiding sensori-motor engagement with challenging mathematical ideas in new ways. Yet, designing environments that promote an appropriate sensori-motoric interaction that effectively supports salient foundations of mathematical concepts is challenging and requires understanding of opportunities and challenges that bodily interaction offers. This study aimed to better understand how young children can, and do, use their bodies to explore geometrical concepts of angle and shape, and what contribution the different sensori-motor experiences make to the comprehension of mathematical ideas. Twenty-nine students aged 6–10 years participated in an exploratory study, with paired and group activities designed to elicit intuitive bodily enactment of angles and shape. Our analysis, focusing on moment-by-moment bodily interactions, attended to gesture, action, facial expression, body posture and talk, illustrated the ‘realms of possibilities’ of bodily interaction, and highlighted challenges around ‘felt’ experience and egocentric vs. allocentric perception of the body during collaborative bodily enactment. These findings inform digital designs for sensory interaction to foreground salient geometric features and effectively support relevant forms of enactment to enhance the learning experience, supporting challenging aspects of interaction and exploiting the opportunities of the body.
Greatly Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance of Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells via Metal Oxide
Authors: Zhou Lingling , Xiao Lufei , Yang Hai , Liu Jie , Yu Xibin
Published: July 2018

Band-gap alignment engineering has now been extensively studied due to its high potential for application. Here we demonstrate a simple route to synthesize two metal oxide layers and align them together according to their bandgaps on the surface of crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. The metal oxide layers not only extend absorption spectrum to generate extra carriers but also more efficiently separate electron–hole pairs. As a consequence, the photovoltaic performance of SnO2/CdO/Si double-layer solar cell (DLSC) is highly improved compared to the controlled Si solar cell, CdO/Si and SnO2/Si single-layer solar cells (SLSCs). Via alignment engineering, the SnO2/CdO/Si DLSC produces a short circuit photocurrent (Jsc) of 38.20 mA/cm2, an open circuit photovoltage (Voc) of 0.575 V and a fill factor (FF) of 68.7%, a conversion efficiency (η) of 15.09% under AM1.5 illumination.
Colloidal Synthesis of CsX Nanocrystals (X = Cl, Br, I)
Authors: Shaw Peter J. , Meyns Michaela , Zuo Yong , Grau-Carbonell Albert , Lagoudakis Pavlos G. , Charlton Martin D. B. , Martí-Sánchez Sara , Arbiol Jordi , Cabot Andreu , Kanaras Antonios G.
Published: July 2018

A facile colloidal synthesis of highly ionic cesium halide nanocrystals is reported. Colloidal nanocrystals of CsI, CsCl and CsBr with unprecedentedly small dimensions are obtained using oleylammonium halides and cesium oleate as precursors. The ease and adaptability of our method enables its universalization for the formation of other highly ionic nanocrystals.
Quantum Efficiency Enhancement of a GaN-Based Green Light-Emitting Diode by a Graded Indium Composition p-Type InGaN Layer
Authors: Zhou Quanbin , Wang Hong , Xu Mingsheng , Zhang Xi-Chun
Published: July 2018

We propose a graded indium composition p-type InGaN (p-InGaN) conduction layer to replace the p-type AlGaN electron blocking layer and a p-GaN layer in order to enhance the light output power of a GaN-based green light-emitting diode (LED). The indium composition of the p-InGaN layer decreased from 10.4% to 0% along the growth direction. The light intensity of the LED with a graded indium composition p-InGaN layer is 13.7% higher than that of conventional LEDs according to the experimental result. The calculated data further confirmed that the graded indium composition p-InGaN layer can effectively improve the light power of green LEDs. According to the simulation, the increase in light output power of green LEDs with a graded indium composition p-InGaN layer was mainly attributed to the enhancement of hole injection and the improvement of the radiative recombination rate.
Chrysin Inhibits Advanced Glycation End Products-Induced Kidney Fibrosis in Renal Mesangial Cells and Diabetic Kidneys
Authors: Lee Eun-Jung , Kang Min-Kyung , Kim Dong , Kim Yun-Ho , Oh Hyeongjoo , Kang Young-Hee
Published: July 2018

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) play a causative role in the development of diabetic nephropathy via induction of matrix protein deposition in kidneys. This study investigated inhibitory effects of chrysin, present in bee propolis and herbs, on glomerulosclerosis in db/db mice and AGEs-exposed renal mesangial cells. The in vivo study explored the demoting effects of 10 mg/kg chrysin on glomerular fibrosis in a type 2 diabetic model. Oral supplementation of chrysin inhibited the collagen fiber accumulation and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) induction in periodic acid schiff-positive renal tissues of db/db mice. Moreover, treating db/db mice with chrysin diminished the level of AGEs increased in diabetic glomeruli. The in vitro study employed human mesangial cells exposed to 100 μg/mL AGE-BSA for 72 h in the presence of 1–20 μM chrysin. Glucose increased mesangial AGE production via induction of receptor for AGEs. Chrysin suppressed the induction of collagens, α-SMA, fibroblast-specific protein-1 and matrix metalloproteinases enhanced by AGE-bovine serum albumin. Furthermore, chrysin blunted transforming growth factor-β1 induction and Smad 2/3 activation in AGEs-exposed mesangial cells. These results demonstrate that chrysin attenuated accumulation of myofibroblast-like cells and matrix proteins in AGEs-laden diabetic glomeruli. Therefore, chrysin may be a potential renoprotective agent targeting glucose-mediated AGEs-associated glomerulosclerosis and fibrosis.
Fabrication of Composite Beads Based on Calcium Alginate and Tetraethylenepentamine-Functionalized MIL-101 for Adsorption of Pb(II) from Aqueous Solutions
Authors: Wang Nan , Yang Li-Ye , Wang Yang-guang , Ouyang Xiao-kun
Published: July 2018

In this work, a tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA)-grafted metal-organic framework material (MIL-101) was synthesized. The introduction of TEPA increased the abundance of functional groups on the MIL-101. As a powdery adsorbent, MIL-101-TEPA can be difficult to separate. In order to solve this problem, we combined MIL-101-TEPA with sodium alginate (SA) and injected the mixture into a CaCl2 solution to solidify the powder into beads with a particle size of 3 mm. The easily recovered adsorbent was applied to the adsorption of Pb(II) from water. The structure and characterization of the adsorbent were investigated through scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). We also optimized the adsorption conditions. The results of the study showed that the adsorption process was chemisorptive and endothermic in nature. The maximum adsorption capacity of the composite beads was 558.6 mg/g. Meanwhile MIL-101-TEPA@CA showed good repeatable utilization.
Structural Manipulation of the Conjugated Phenyl Moiety in 3-Phenylbenzofulvene Monomers: Effects on Spontaneous Polymerization
Authors: Paolino Marco , Grisci Giorgio , Reale Annalisa , Razzano Vincenzo , Giuliani Germano , Donati Alessandro , Mendichi Raniero , Piovani Daniele , Boccia Antonella C. , Grillo Alessandro , Giorgi Gianluca , Cappelli Andrea
Published: July 2018

Spontaneous polymerization is an intriguing phenomenon in which pure monomers begin their polymerization without initiators or catalysts. Previously, 3-phenylbenzofulvene monomers were found to polymerize spontaneously after solvent removal. Here, eight new 3-substituted benzofulvene monomers 1a–h were synthesized in order to investigate the effects of differently substituted aromatic rings in position 3 of the benzofulvene scaffold on spontaneous polymerization. The newly synthesized monomers maintained the tendency toward spontaneous polymerization. However, monomer 1a, bearing an ortho-methoxy substituted phenyl, polymerized hardly, thus producing low polymerization yields, inhomogeneous structure, and low molecular weight of the obtained polymeric material. This result suggested the importance of the presence of hydrogen atoms in the 2′-position to achieve productive interactions among the monomers in the recognition step preluding the spontaneous polymerization and among the monomeric units in the polybenzofulvene backbones. Moreover, this study paves the way to modify the pendant rings in position 3 of the indene scaffold to synthesize new polybenzofulvene derivatives variously decorated.
Applied Research for a Safer Future: Exploring Recent Job Accidents in Agriculture, Italy (2012–2017)
Authors: Zambon Ilaria , Piergentili Andrea , Salvati Luca , Monarca Danilo , Matyjas-Łysakowska Paulina , Colantoni Andrea
Published: July 2018

The issue of “safe working” has received increasing concern in recent years worldwide, especially in Europe. Several European countries developed specific strategies to ensure the safety of operators and the awareness on the potential risks that can emerge from a vast set of activities, including field activity in agriculture. Earlier investigations have lately investigated this topic, proposing quali-quantitative analysis applied to specific economic sectors. The present study focused on the working accidents occurred in agriculture over the last 6 years (2012–2017) in Italy. By exploring where and when injuries occurred, the socio-demographic profile of involved persons (including age, gender, nationality) and correlating these episodes to agricultural practices, the present paper reveals intrinsic patterns of safe (or unsafe) working conditions at a quite detailed spatial scale (administrative provinces) in Italy. Based on these results, training/educational programs should be planned to increase awareness of risks involving workers in agriculture. Future scenarios can be explored based on specific information dealing with risk factors and operating conditions at various working sites with the final objective to establish suitable technical, legislative and operational measures to reduce job accidents.
Religious Liberty in Prisons under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act following Holt v Hobbs: An Empirical Analysis
Authors: Wasserman Lewis M. , Connolly John P. , Kerley Kent R.
Published: July 2018

Religion in the United States remains a consistent source of conflict not only because of the breadth and depth of personal religious commitment, but also because of guarantees from the United States Constitution. The First Amendment protects religious Free Exercise but also constrains federal, state, and local governments from establishing official government religions, endorsing religions or religion itself. Despite the risk of potential conflicts with the constitution’s text, Congress has supported laws that expand religious liberty. One such example is the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (2000), which significantly enhanced prisoners’ right to religious exercise above the minimum provided by the First Amendment. In the 2015 case of Holt v. Hobbs, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Muslim prisoner who had been denied his request for religious accommodations under RLUIPA because the prison failed to satisfy the act’s strict scrutiny standard before it denied accommodations to a prisoner to practice his faith. Via an analysis of case law since Holt v. Hobbs was decided in January 2015 until March 2018, we investigate the extent to which Holt has affected judicial voting in RLUIPA cases and how such voting may have been influenced by judges’ ideological dispositions.
Estimating Biomass and Nitrogen Amount of Barley and Grass Using UAV and Aircraft Based Spectral and Photogrammetric 3D Features
Authors: Näsi Roope , Viljanen Niko , Kaivosoja Jere , Alhonoja Katja , Hakala Teemu , Markelin Lauri , Honkavaara Eija
Published: July 2018

The timely estimation of crop biomass and nitrogen content is a crucial step in various tasks in precision agriculture, for example in fertilization optimization. Remote sensing using drones and aircrafts offers a feasible tool to carry out this task. Our objective was to develop and assess a methodology for crop biomass and nitrogen estimation, integrating spectral and 3D features that can be extracted using airborne miniaturized multispectral, hyperspectral and colour (RGB) cameras. We used the Random Forest (RF) as the estimator, and in addition Simple Linear Regression (SLR) was used to validate the consistency of the RF results. The method was assessed with empirical datasets captured of a barley field and a grass silage trial site using a hyperspectral camera based on the Fabry-Pérot interferometer (FPI) and a regular RGB camera onboard a drone and an aircraft. Agricultural reference measurements included fresh yield (FY), dry matter yield (DMY) and amount of nitrogen. In DMY estimation of barley, the Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) and the normalized Root Mean Square Error (RMSE%) were at best 0.95% and 33.2%, respectively; and in the grass DMY estimation, the best results were 0.79% and 1.9%, respectively. In the nitrogen amount estimations of barley, the PCC and RMSE% were at best 0.97% and 21.6%, respectively. In the biomass estimation, the best results were obtained when integrating hyperspectral and 3D features, but the integration of RGB images and 3D features also provided results that were almost as good. In nitrogen content estimation, the hyperspectral camera gave the best results. We concluded that the integration of spectral and high spatial resolution 3D features and radiometric calibration was necessary to optimize the accuracy.
BeiDou Code Pseudorange Precision Estimation and Time Correlation Analysis from Trimble Net-R9 and ComNav 708 Receivers
Authors: Hu Hong , Jin Shuanggen , Kang Ruihong , Cao Xinyun
Published: July 2018

Stochastic models describe the observation precisions and their correlations with each other and play an important role in reliable global navigation satellite system ambiguity resolution and precise positioning. However, the characteristics of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) observations are still not clear at present. In general, the stochastic model used for BDS is based on empirical models from global positioning system (GPS) knowledge in most cases. In this paper, the zero-baseline dual-frequency GPS and BDS data with different sampling intervals are used to evaluate the precision and time correlation of the BDS code pseudorange observations. The results show that the precisions of BDS and GPS code measurements are almost of the same magnitude. However, the standard deviations of BDS measurements are larger than those of GPS measurements. Inclined geostationary orbit observations suffer from periodic error, which has been confirmed to be unaffected by multipath error in this paper. Traditional elevation-dependent models cannot work well for precise positioning for either GPS or BDS because the elevation dependencies of the two carrier frequencies’ pseudorange observations are not the same. Moreover, BDS observations have a significant time correlation, especially for geostationary orbit satellites. The time correlation coefficients are maintained at ~0.63–0.75 for different receiver types. Consequently, the BDS positioning residuals are significantly larger than those of GPS even if the observations have similar precision.
Remote Sensing Intertidal Flats with TerraSAR-X. A SAR Perspective of the Structural Elements of a Tidal Basin for Monitoring the Wadden Sea
Authors: Adolph Winny , Farke Hubert , Lehner Susanne , Ehlers Manfred
Published: July 2018

Spatial distribution and dynamics of intertidal habitats are integral elements of the Wadden Sea ecosystem, essential for the preservation of ecosystem functions and interlocked with geomorphological processes. Protection and monitoring of the Wadden Sea is mandatory and remote sensing is required to survey the extensive, often inaccessible tidal area. Mainly airborne techniques are carried out for decades. High-resolution satellite-borne sensors now enable new possibilities with satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) offering high availability of acquisitions during low water time due to independence from daylight and cloud cover. More than 100 TerraSAR-X images from 2009 to 2016 were used to examine the reproduction of intertidal habitats and macrostructures from the flats south of the island of Norderney and comparative areas in the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea. As a non-specific, generic approach to distinguish various and variable surface types continuously influenced by tidal dynamics, visual analysis was chosen which was supported by extensive in situ data. This technically unsophisticated access enabled us to identify mussel beds, fields of shell-detritus, gully structures, mud fields, and bedforms, the latter detected in the upper flats of every East Frisian island. Based on the high frequency of TerraSAR-X recordings for the Norderney area, a bedform shift was observed in a time-series from 2009 to 2015. For the same period, the development of a mud field with an adjoining depression was traced. Beside seasonal variations of the mud field, the formation of a mussel bed settling in the depression was imaged over the years. This study exemplifies the relevance of TerraSAR-X imagery for Wadden Sea remote sensing. Further development of classification methods for current SAR data together with open access availability should contribute to large-scale surveys of intertidal surface structures of geomorphic or biogenic origin and improve monitoring and long-term ecological research in the Wadden Sea and related tidal areas.
Earthquake/Tsunami Damage Assessment for Urban Areas Using Post-Event PolSAR Data
Authors: Ji Yaqi , Sri Sumantyo Josaphat Tetuko , Chua Ming Yam , Waqar Mirza Muhammad
Published: July 2018

Analyses of single-post-event polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) data permit fast and convenient post-disaster damage assessment work. By analyzing valid features, damaged and undamaged buildings can be quickly classified. However, the presence of oriented buildings in the disaster area makes the classification work more challenging. Many previous works extract the damage information of the disaster area by considering oriented buildings and undamaged parallel buildings as survived buildings. However, after-effect debris may create structures with random orientation angles. In our study on the Tohoku earthquake/tsunami disaster event, we found that some damaged buildings with large building orientation angles (with respect to the satellite flight path) are grouped as oriented buildings (undamaged buildings). In this paper, we propose a new earthquake/tsunami damage assessment method, particularly for urban areas, that takes this complex situation into consideration. The proposed method solves the problems of both urban-area extraction and damaged-building identification. For urban-area extraction, the proposed combined thresholding and majority voting method can accurately discriminate between urban and foreshortening mountain areas. Meanwhile, for damaged-building identification, the proposed new unsupervised damage assessment method classifies the buildings in a disaster area according to four conditions, and it outperforms the techniques used in existing works. The analysis results and the comparison with the supervised support vector machine (SVM) classification technique show that our proposed method can produce more accurate results for damage assessment using single-post-event PolSAR data.
Assessment of SM2RAIN-Derived and State-of-the-Art Satellite Rainfall Products over Northeastern Brazil
Authors: Paredes-Trejo Franklin , Barbosa Humberto Alves , Rossato Spatafora Luciana
Published: July 2018

Microwave-based satellite rainfall products offer an opportunity to assess rainfall-related events for regions where rain-gauge stations are sparse, such as in Northeast Brazil (NEB). Accurate measurement of rainfall is vital for water resource managers in this semiarid region. In this work, the SM2RAIN-CCI rainfall data obtained from the inversion of the microwave-based satellite soil moisture (SM) observations derived from the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI), and ones from three state-of-the-art rainfall products (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS), Climate Prediction Center Morphing Technique (CMORPH), and Multi-SourceWeighted-Ensemble Precipitation (MSWEP)) were evaluated against in situ rainfall observations under different bioclimatic conditions at the NEB (e.g., AMZ, Amazônia; CER, Cerrado; MAT, Mata Atlântica; and CAAT, Caatinga). Comparisons were made at daily, 5-day, and 0.25° scales, during the time-span of 1998 to 2015. It was found that 5-day SM2RAIN-CCI has a reasonably good performance in terms of the correlation coefficient over the CER biome (R median: 0.75). In terms of the root mean square error (RMSE), it exhibits better performance in the CAAT biome (RMSE median: 12.57 mm). In terms of bias (B), the MSWEP, SM2RAIN-CCI, and CHIRPS datasets show the best performance in MAT (B median: −8.50%), AMZ (B median: −0.65%), and CER (B median: 0.30%), respectively. Conversely, CMORPH poorly represents the rainfall variability in all biomes, particularly in the MAT biome (R median: 0.43; B median: −67.50%). In terms of detection of rainfall events, all products show good performance (Probability of detection (POD) median > 0.90). The performance of SM2RAIN-CCI suggests that the SM2RAIN algorithm fails to estimate the amount of rainfall under very dry or very wet conditions. Overall, results highlight the feasibility of SM2RAIN-CCI in those poorly gauged regions in the semiarid region of NEB.
Development and Performance Assessment of a Low-Cost UAV Laser Scanner System (LasUAV)
Authors: Torresan Chiara , Berton Andrea , Carotenuto Federico , Chiavetta Ugo , Miglietta Franco , Zaldei Alessandro , Gioli Beniamino
Published: July 2018

This study reports on a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-borne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system called LasUAV, from hardware selection and integration to the generation of three-dimensional point clouds, and an assessment of its performance. Measurement uncertainties were estimated in angular static, angular dynamic, and real flight conditions. The results of these experiments indicate that the point cloud elevation accuracy in the case of angular static acquisition was 3.8 cm, and increased to 3.9 cm in angular dynamic acquisition. In-flight data were acquired over a target surveyed by nine single passages in different flight directions and platform orientations. In this case, the uncertainty of elevation ranged between 5.1 cm and 9.8 cm for each single passage. The combined elevation uncertainty in the case of multiple passages (i.e., the combination of one to nine passages from the set of nine passages) ranged between 5 cm (one passage) and 16 cm (nine passages). The study demonstrates that the positioning device, i.e., the Global Navigation Satellite System real-time kinematic (GNSS RTK) receiver, is the sensor that mostly influences the system performance, followed by the attitude measurement device and the laser sensor. Consequently, strong efforts and greater economic investment should be devoted to GNSS RTK receivers in low-cost custom integrated systems.
An Outlier Detection Method Based on Mahalanobis Distance for Source Localization
Authors: Yan Qingli , Chen Jianfeng , De Strycker Lieven
Published: July 2018

This paper addresses the problem of localization accuracy degradation caused by outliers of the angle of arrival (AOA). The problem of outlier detection of the AOA is converted into the detection of the estimated source position sets, which are obtained by the proposed division and greedy replacement method. The Mahalanobis distance based on robust mean and covariance matrix estimation method is then introduced to identify the outliers from the position sets. Finally, the weighted least squares method based on the reliable probabilities and distances is proposed for source localization. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms representative methods when unreliable AOAs are present.
Determination of Intensity-Based Stochastic Models for Terrestrial Laser Scanners Utilising 3D-Point Clouds
Authors: Wujanz Daniel , Burger Mathias , Tschirschwitz Felix , Nietzschmann Tassilo , Neitzel Frank , Kersten Thomas
Published: July 2018

Recent advances in stochastic modelling of reflectorless rangefinders revealed an inherent relationship among raw intensity values and the corresponding precision of observed distances. In order to derive the stochastic properties of a terrestrial laser scanner’s (TLS) rangefinder, distances have to be observed repeatedly. For this, the TLS of interest has to be operated in the so-called 1D-mode—a functionality which is offered only by a few manufacturers due to laser safety regulations. The article at hand proposes two methodologies to compute intensity-based stochastic models based on capturing geometric primitives in form of planar shapes utilising 3D-point clouds. At first the procedures are applied to a phase-based Zoller + Fröhlich IMAGER 5006h. The generated results are then evaluated by comparing the outcome to the parameters of a stochastic model which has been derived by means of measurements captured in 1D-mode. Another open research question is if intensity-based stochastic models are applicable for other rangefinder types. Therefore, one of the suggested procedures is applied to a Riegl VZ-400i impulse scanner, as well as a Leica ScanStation P40 TLS that deploys a hybrid rangefinder technology. The generated results successfully demonstrate alternative methods for the computation of intensity-based stochastic models as well as their transferability to other rangefinder technologies.
A Dynamic Estimation of Service Level Based on Fuzzy Logic for Robustness in the Internet of Things
Authors: Jia Bing , Hao Lifei , Zhang Chuxuan , Chen Dong
Published: July 2018

The Internet of things (IoT) technology is developing rapidly, and the IoT services are penetrating broadly into every aspect of people’s lives. As the large amount of services grows dramatically, how to discover and select the best services dynamically to satisfy the actual needs of users in the IoT service set, the elements of which have the same function, is an unavoidable issue. Therefore, for the robustness of the IoT system, evaluating the quality level of the IoT service to provide a reference for the users choosing the most appropriate service has become a hot topic. Most of the current methods just use some static data to evaluate the quality of the service and ignore the dynamic changing trend of the service performance. In this paper, an estimation mechanism for the quality level of the IoT service based on fuzzy logic is conducted to grade the quality of the service. Specifically, the comprehensive factors are taken into account according to the defined level changing rules and the effect of the service in the previous execution process, so that it can provide users with an effective reference. Experiments are carried out by using a simulated service set. It is shown that the proposed algorithm can estimate the quality level of the service more comprehensively and reasonably, which is evidently superior to the other two common methods, i.e., the estimating method by a Randomization Test (RT) and the estimating method by a Single Test in Steps (STS).
Investigation of A Slow-Light Enhanced Near-Infrared Absorption Spectroscopic Gas Sensor, Based on Hollow-Core Photonic Band-Gap Fiber
Authors: Wu Zhi-Fa , Zheng Chuan-Tao , Liu Zhi-Wei , Yao Dan , Zheng Wen-Xue , Wang Yi-Ding , Wang Fei , Zhang Da-Ming
Published: July 2018

Generic modeling and analysis of a slow-light enhanced absorption spectroscopic gas sensor was proposed, using a mode-tuned, hollow-core, photonic band-gap fiber (HC-PBF) as an absorption gas cell. Mode characteristics of the un-infiltrated and infiltrated HC-PBF and gas absorption enhancement of the infiltrated HC-PBF were analyzed. A general rule of microfluidic parameters for targeting different gas species in the near-infrared was obtained. Ammonia (NH3) was used as an example to explore the effects of slow light on gas detection. The second harmonic (2f) signal and Allan deviation were theoretically investigated based on the derived formulations.
Integration of Low-Cost GNSS and Monocular Cameras for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping
Authors: Chen Xiao , Hu Weidong , Zhang Lefeng , Shi Zhiguang , Li Maisi
Published: July 2018

Low-cost Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers and monocular cameras are widely used in daily activities. The complementary nature of these two devices is ideal for outdoor navigation. In this paper, we investigate the integration of GNSS and monocular camera measurements in a simultaneous localization and mapping system. The proposed system first aligns the coordinates between two sensors. Subsequently, the measurements are fused by an optimization-based scheme. Our system can function in real-time and obtain the absolute position, scale, and attitude of the vehicle. It achieves a high accuracy without a preset map and also has the capability to work with a preset map. The system can easily be extended to create other forms of maps or for other types of cameras. Experimental results on a popular public dataset are presented to validate the performance of the proposed system.
Selective Monitoring of Oxyanion Mixtures by a Flow System with Raman Detection
Authors: Zapata Félix , Ortega-Ojeda Fernando , García-Ruiz Carmen , González-Herráez Miguel
Published: July 2018

Raman spectroscopy is a selective detection system scarcely applied for the flow analysis of solutions with the aim of detecting several compounds at once without a previous separation step. This work explores the potential of a portable Raman system in a flow system for the selective detection of a mixture of seven oxyanions (carbonate, sulphate, nitrate, phosphate, chlorate, perchlorate, and thiosulphate). The specific bands of these compounds (symmetric stretching Raman active vibrations of carbonate at 1068 cm−1, nitrate at 1049 cm−1, thiosulphate at 998 cm−1, phosphate at 989 cm−1, sulphate at 982 cm−1, perchlorate at 935 cm−1, and chlorate at 932 cm−1) enabled their simultaneous detection in mixtures. Although the oxyanions’ limit of detection (LOD) was rather poor (in the millimolar range), this extremely simple system is very useful for the single-measurement detection of most of the oxyanions in mixtures, without requiring a previous separation step. In addition, quantitative determination of the desired oxyanion can be performed by means of the corresponding calibration line. These are important advantages for controlling in-line processes in industries like those manufacturing fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, or food, among others.
Decimeter-Level Geolocation Accuracy Updated by a Parametric Tropospheric Model with GF-3
Authors: Wang Wentao , Liu Jiayin , Qiu Xiaolan
Published: July 2018

GaoFen-3 (GF-3) is a multi-polarization C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite in China with a resolution of up to 1 m. Up to now, the geolocation accuracy of GF-3 could be improved to 3 m. According to the current study, there still exist meter-level geolocation residuals caused by atmospheric path delay after compensating with a static tropospheric model. In this paper, we compensate the residuals with the sophisticated tropospheric model based on real meteorological data. The experimental results show that the tropospheric model has an accuracy on the millimeter level, which can increase GF-3’s geolocation accuracy to several decimeters compared with the static tropospheric model.
Gendered Analysis of Fatal Crashes among Young Drivers in Alabama, USA
Authors: Adanu Emmanuel Kofi , Penmetsa Praveena , Jones Steven , Smith Randy
Published: July 2018

As part of broader research efforts to understand the factors contributing to crashes involving younger drivers, it is important to characterize the crash contributing factors of the at-fault younger drivers. This study applied latent class analysis (LCA) to identify subgroups with statistically distinct patterns in the contributing factors of fatal crashes involving young male and female drivers in Alabama. Model estimation results reveal that crashes on rural roads are a serious issue in Alabama. It was also observed that a high proportion of the young driver fatal crashes occurred on weekends and closer to the driver’s place of residence. Interestingly, the proportion of crashes involving speeding increased with age for males and decreased with age for females. In general, younger female drivers (15–18 years) were more likely to be involved in speed and aggressive driving related fatal crashes than their male counterparts. Also, fatal crashes involving driving under influence (DUI) increase with age for both male and female drivers, with a significant increase for drivers between 19 and 21 years of age. These study findings suggest that specific attention should be focused towards younger drivers in rural communities and communities with lower socioeconomic opportunities. Targeted education and outreach campaigns, combined with appropriate enforcement efforts could meaningfully change the attitudes and behaviors related to road safety.
Relation between Urban Volume and Land Surface Temperature: A Comparative Study of Planned and Traditional Cities in Japan
Authors: Ranagalage Manjula , Estoque Ronald C. , Handayani Hepi H. , Zhang Xinmin , Morimoto Takehiro , Tadono Takeo , Murayama Yuji
Published: July 2018

The horizontal two-dimensional (2D) urban land use approach is not sufficient to trace rapid changes in urban environment. Hence, a three-dimensional (3D) approach that is different from the traditional geographical method is necessary to understand the mechanism of compound urban diversity. Using remote sensing data captured in 2010/2011 and geospatial tools and techniques, we quantified the urban volume (UV, consisting of urban built volume (UBV) and urban green volume (UGV)) and retrieved and mapped the land surface temperature (LST) of two cities in Japan (Tsukuba, a planned city, and Tsuchiura, a traditional city). We compared these two cities in terms of (1) UBV and UGV and their relationships with mean LST; and (2) the relationship of the UGV–UBV ratio with mean LST. Tsukuba had a total UBV of 74 million m3, while Tsuchiura had a total of 89 million m3. In terms of UGV, Tsukuba had a total of 52 million m3, while Tsuchiura had a total of 29 million m3. In both cities, UBV had a positive relationship with mean LST (Tsukuba: R2 = 0.31, p < 0.001; Tsuchiura: R2 = 0.42, p < 0.001), and UGV had a negative relationship with mean LST (Tsukuba: R2 = 0.53, p < 0.001; Tsuchiura: R2 = 0.19, p < 0.001). Tsukuba also had a higher UGV–UBV ratio of 54.9% in comparison with Tsuchiura, with 28.7%. Overall, the results indicate that mean LST was more intense in the traditional city (Tsuchiura). This could have been due to the difference in urban spatial structure. As a planned city, Tsukuba is still a relatively young city that has more dispersed green spaces and a well-spread (so far) built-up area.
Carbon Footprint of Packaging Films Made from LDPE, PLA, and PLA/PBAT Blends in South Korea
Authors: Choi Bulim , Yoo Seungwoo , Park Su-il
Published: July 2018

Bio-plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) have been investigated as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. In this study, the carbon footprint of packaging films made from LDPE, PLA, and PLA/PBAT blends was measured with three different waste scenarios based on the database of South Korea using life cycle assessment (LCA). The LCA followed ISO standards, and was a cradle-to-grave analysis. The functional unit was defined as 400,000 pieces of a film of 300 × 250 mm with thickness of 0.06 mm for packaging bag manufacturing. The waste treatments considered were incineration, landfill, and recycling applied with the present conditions of South Korea. Under the present analysis conditions, the PLA film with landfill was the most effective for reducing carbon emission. The PLA/PBAT with incineration was the worst case among the packaging films tested. Incineration was the worst choice of waste treatment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. Generally, landfill may not be the best option in terms of sustainability but landfill was a better option for waste treatment than incineration. In addition, before bio-plastics are blended with other material, the blending material should first be evaluated for its environmental impact. The blended bio-plastics with PLA, such as PLA/PBAT, can be more inimical to the environment in terms of carbon dioxide emissions than existing materials, such as LDPE.
Trust and Distress Prediction in Modal Shift Potential of Long-Distance Road Freight in Containers: Modeling Approach in Transport Services for Sustainability
Authors: Szaruga Elżbieta , Skąpska Elżbieta , Załoga Elżbieta , Matwiejczuk Wiesław
Published: July 2018

Confidence in intermodal transport has not yet been defined. There are many different approaches to the concept of trust. However, the authors have integrated them with the paradigm shift in light of the challenges of sustainability. The objective of this article is to indicate the directions and criteria for that indicate the implementation of the paradigm shift, relative to the idea of sustainable transport. The auxiliary objective is to predict which countries in a given year will have the TRUST status, i.e., implement the paradigm shift, and which ones will not implement it (DISTRESS). The study used taxonometric techniques and built a model using General Discriminant Analysis. On these bases, the utility function was approximated, including the directions of implementation of the paradigm shift, depending on the scale of the environmental load of transport. Over the course of this research, an original and innovative econometric model was constructed, pointing to three variables which have the greatest impact on trust. Thanks to the cognitive value of the model, it is possible to identify individuals who deserve trust (i.e., it will implement the paradigm shift) with 93% probability. In the future, it is worth expanding the research by programing models for each country.
A Novel Two-Stage Integrated Model for Supplier Selection of Green Fresh Product
Authors: Liu Aijun , Xiao Yaxuan , Ji Xiaohui , Wang Kai , Tsai Sang-Bing , Lu Hui , Cheng Jinshi , Lai Xinjun , Wang Jiangtao
Published: July 2018

The selection of fresh product suppliers is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem with great significant and application value. This requires trade-offs between multiple criteria to prove its ambiguity and uncertainty. Therefore, a novel two-stage fuzzy integrated MCDM method to select suitable suppliers is employed. In the first stage, two collective relationship matrixes are constructed by quality function development (QFD), and relationships among customer requirements (CRs), company strategies (CSs) as well as selection criteria are considered separately in the two matrixes. Subjective criteria weights are obtained by fuzzy best-worst method (BWM) appropriately. In the second stage, the objective criteria weights are obtained using Shannon’s entropy method, and the fuzzy multi-objective optimization by ratio analysis plus the full multiplicative form (MULTIMOORA) is applied to rank suppliers. Finally, an application case is applied to prove the feasibility of the proposed method. These conclusions can help companies improve their CSs and increase their market competitiveness.
Usage Behaviour of Public Spaces Associated with Sport and Recreational Activities
Authors: Chacón-Borrego Fátima , Corral-Pernía Juan Antonio , Martínez-Martínez Asunción , Castañeda-Vázquez Carolina
Published: July 2018

Public spaces (PS) encourage personal interaction and promote behaviours such as doing sport and recreational activities. This study analysed the characteristics of sport and recreational activities among the adult population of Seville associated with and/or determining the use of a PS for the activity. We adopted a cross sectional survey design with 1002 subjects (18+) from the municipality of Seville using a questionnaire on habits of sport and recreational activities. We then performed a descriptive, correlational and binary logistical regression analysis of the data. Results showed that the characteristics of sport and recreational activities associated with and determining the use of PS are age and gender as sociodemographic variables and the type of activity performed, high frequency and duration, on any day of the week and throughout the year.
Nexus among Energy Consumption, Economic Growth, Urbanization and Carbon Emissions: Heterogeneous Panel Evidence Considering China’s Regional Differences
Authors: Sun Jingqi , Shi Jing , Shen Boyang , Li Shuqing , Wang Yuwei
Published: July 2018

This article examines the relation among carbon emissions, energy consumption, economic growth and urbanization in four panels: national level, developed areas, medium developed areas, and underdeveloped areas, which fully considers the differences across Chinese provinces. Due to the heterogeneity among Chinese provincial panels, the heterogeneous panel analysis technique is used, which includes heterogeneous panel estimation based on dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and fully modified least squares (FMOLS), and the heterogeneous panel Granger test based on Dumitrescu and Hurlin is also used. The empirical results indicate that there are long-term equilibrium relationships between carbon emissions, GDP, energy consumption structure and urbanization rate in the four panels. GDP and energy consumption structure had obvious impacts on carbon emissions in all panels, but the urbanization rate significantly affected carbon emissions only in the national and medium developed areas. The heterogeneous Granger causality test reveals that the relationship between carbon emissions and various influencing factors in different regions varies. Finally, according to the empirical research results, policy implications of reducing carbon emissions in different regions were proposed.
Impacts of Carbon Pricing on Brazilian Industry: Domestic Vulnerability and International Trade Exposure
Authors: Santos Luan , Garaffa Rafael , Lucena André F. P. , Szklo Alexandre
Published: July 2018

After COP 21, with the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015, the outlook for carbon pricing policies has been widened. While the agreement does not directly establish a global carbon pricing, the provisions accounted for in Article 6 have the potential to increase international cooperation in favor of greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation through market mechanisms. The Brazilian Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) considers the use of such mechanisms, though the configuration of the Brazilian climate policy does not specify the economic instruments for carbon pricing. When examining the recent evolution of GHG emissions in Brazil, the already achieved reduction in deforestation sheds light on the need to address GHG mitigation in other sectors, such as industry. Therefore, this paper analyzes the impacts of carbon pricing on the Brazilian industry in terms of sectorial value added (VA), emissions intensity, international trade exposure, and the risk of carbon leakage. Results indicate that, considering a price of carbon of US$10/tCO2, the cost of reducing emissions from 35% to 45% (same range of the Brazilian NDC) could represent an impact of 0.3% to 3.7% on sectorial VA. However, results for emissions intensity and international trade reveal medium to high carbon leakage risks for all analyzed industrial sectors.
Denoising of Magnetocardiography Based on Improved Variational Mode Decomposition and Interval Thresholding Method
Authors: Liao Yanping , He Congcong , Guo Qiang
Published: July 2018

Recently, magnetocardiography (MCG) has attracted increasing attention as a non-invasive and non-contact technique for detecting electrocardioelectric functions. However, the severe background noise makes it difficult to extract information. Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD), which is an entirely non-recursive model, is used to decompose the non-stationary signal into the intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Traditional VMD algorithms cannot control the bandwidth of each IMF, whose quadratic penalty lacks adaptivity. As a result, baseline drift noise is still present or medical information is lost. In this paper, to overcome the unadaptable quadratic penalty problem, an improved VMD model via correlation coefficient and new update formulas are proposed to decompose MCG signals. To improve the denoising precision, this algorithm is combined with the interval threshold algorithm. First, the correlation coefficient is calculated, to determine quadratic penalty, in order to extract the first IMF made up of baseline drift. Then, the new update formulas derived from the variance that describes the noise level are used, to perform decomposition on the rest signal. Finally, the Interval thresholding algorithm is performed on each IMF. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that this algorithm can effectively improve the output signal-to-noise ratio and has superior performance.