bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Obtaining Gradients of XCO2 in Atmosphere Using the Constrained Linear Least-Squares Technique and Multi-Wavelength IPDA LiDAR
Authors: Han Ge , Shi Tianqi , Ma Xin , Xu Hao , Zhang Miao , Liu Qi , Gong Wei
Published: July 2020

Integrated-path differential absorption (IPDA) LiDAR is a promising means of measuring the global distributions of the column weighted xCO2 (dry-air mixing ratio of CO2) with adequate accuracy and precision. Most IPDA LiDARs are incapable of discerning the vertical information of CO2 diffusion, which is of great significance for studies on the carbon cycle and climate change. Hence, we developed an inversion method using the constrained linear least-squares technique for a pulsed direct-detection multi-wavelength IPDA LiDAR to obtain sliced xCO2. In the proposed inversion method, the atmosphere is sliced into three different layers, and the xCO2 of those layers is then retrieved using the constrained linear least-squares technique. Assuming complete knowledge of the water vapor content, the accuracy of the retrieved sliced xCO2 could be as high as 99.85% when the signal-to-noise ratio of central wavelength retrievals is higher than 25 (with a log scale). Further experiments demonstrated that different carbon characteristics can be identified by the sign of the carbon gradient of the retrieved xCO2 between the ABL (atmospheric boundary layer) and FT (free troposphere). These results highlight the potential applications of multiple wavelength IPDA LiDAR.
Building Extraction Using Orthophotos and Dense Point Cloud Derived from Visual Band Aerial Imagery Based on Machine Learning and Segmentation
Authors: Schlosser Aletta Dóra , Szabó Gergely , Bertalan László , Varga Zsolt , Enyedi Péter , Szabó Szilárd
Published: July 2020

Urban sprawl related increase of built-in areas requires reliable monitoring methods and remote sensing can be an efficient technique. Aerial surveys, with high spatial resolution, provide detailed data for building monitoring, but archive images usually have only visible bands. We aimed to reveal the efficiency of visible orthophotographs and photogrammetric dense point clouds in building detection with segmentation-based machine learning (with five algorithms) using visible bands, texture information, and spectral and morphometric indices in different variable sets. Usually random forest (RF) had the best (99.8%) and partial least squares the worst overall accuracy (~60%). We found that >95% accuracy can be gained even in class level. Recursive feature elimination (RFE) was an efficient variable selection tool, its result with six variables was like when we applied all the available 31 variables. Morphometric indices had 82% producer’s and 85% user’s Accuracy (PA and UA, respectively) and combining them with spectral and texture indices, it had the largest contribution in the improvement. However, morphometric indices are not always available but by adding texture and spectral indices to red-green-blue (RGB) bands the PA improved with 12% and the UA with 6%. Building extraction from visual aerial surveys can be accurate, and archive images can be involved in the time series of a monitoring.
Deep Vibro-Tactile Perception for Simultaneous Texture Identification, Slip Detection, and Speed Estimation
Authors: Massalim Yerkebulan , Kappassov Zhanat , Varol Huseyin Atakan
Published: July 2020

Autonomous dexterous manipulation relies on the ability to recognize an object and detect its slippage. Dynamic tactile signals are important for object recognition and slip detection. An object can be identified based on the acquired signals generated at contact points during tactile interaction. The use of vibrotactile sensors can increase the accuracy of texture recognition and preempt the slippage of a grasped object. In this work, we present a Deep Learning (DL) based method for the simultaneous texture recognition and slip detection. The method detects non-slip and slip events, the velocity, and discriminate textures—all within 17 ms. We evaluate the method for three objects grasped using an industrial gripper with accelerometers installed on its fingertips. A comparative analysis of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), feed-forward neural networks, and long short-term memory networks confirmed that deep CNNs have a higher generalization accuracy. We also evaluated the performance of the highest accuracy method for different signal bandwidths, which showed that a bandwidth of 125 Hz is enough to classify textures with 80% accuracy.
A 1 V 92 dB SNDR 10 kHz Bandwidth Second-Order Asynchronous Delta-Sigma Modulator for Biomedical Signal Processing
Authors: Kledrowetz Vilém , Fujcik Lukáš , Prokop Roman , Háze Jiří
Published: July 2020

In this paper, a second-order asynchronous delta-sigma modulator (ADSM) is proposed based on the active-RCintegrators. The ADSM is implemented in the 0.18 μ m CMOS Logic or Mixed-Signal/RF, General Purpose process from the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company with a center frequency of 848 kHz at a supply voltage of 1 V with a 92 dB peak signal-to-noise and distortion ratio ( S N D R ), which corresponds to 15 bit resolution. These parameters were achieved in all the endogenous bioelectric signals bandwidth of 10 kHz. The ADSM dissipated 295 μ W and had an area of 0.54 mm 2 . The proposed ADSM with a high resolution, wide bandwidth, and rail-to-rail input voltage range provides the universal solution for endogenous bioelectric signal processing.
Vibration Characterization of the Human Knee Joint in Audible Frequencies
Authors: Safaei Mohsen , Bolus Nicholas B. , Erturk Alper , Inan Omer T.
Published: July 2020

Injuries and disorders affecting the knee joint are very common in athletes and older individuals. Passive and active vibration methods, such as acoustic emissions and modal analysis, are extensively used in both industry and the medical field to diagnose structural faults and disorders. To maximize the diagnostic potential of such vibration methods for knee injuries and disorders, a better understanding of the vibroacoustic characteristics of the knee must be developed. In this study, the linearity and vibration transmissibility of the human knee were investigated based on measurements collected on healthy subjects. Different subjects exhibit a substantially different transmissibility behavior due to variances in subject-specific knee structures. Moreover, the vibration behaviors of various subjects’ knees at different leg positions were compared. Variation in sagittal-plane knee angle alters the transmissibility of the joint, while the overall shape of the transmissibility diagrams remains similar. The results demonstrate that an adjusted stimulation signal at frequencies higher than 3 kHz has the potential to be employed in diagnostic applications that are related to knee joint health. This work can pave the way for future studies aimed at employing acoustic emission and modal analysis approaches for knee health monitoring outside of clinical settings, such as for field-deployable diagnostics.
A New Approach for Testing Fetal Heart Rate Monitors
Authors: Bibbo Daniele , Klinkovsky Tomas , Penhaker Marek , Kudrna Petr , Peter Lukas , Augustynek Martin , Kašík Vladimír , Kubicek Jan , Selamat Ali , Cerny Martin , Bielcik Daniel
Published: July 2020

In this paper, a new approach for the periodical testing and the functionality evaluation of a fetal heart rate monitor device based on ultrasound principle is proposed. The design and realization of the device are presented, together with the description of its features and functioning tests. In the designed device, a relay element, driven by an electric signal that allows switching at two specific frequencies, is used to simulate the fetus and the mother’s heartbeat. The simulator was designed to be compliant with the standard requirements for accurate assessment and measurement of medical devices. The accuracy of the simulated signals was evaluated, and it resulted to be stable and reliable. The generated frequencies show an error of about 0.5% with respect to the nominal one while the accuracy of the test equipment was within ±3% of the test signal set frequency. This value complies with the technical standard for the accuracy of fetal heart rate monitor devices. Moreover, the performed tests and measurements show the correct functionality of the developed simulator. The proposed equipment and testing respect the technical requirements for medical devices. The features of the proposed device make it simple and quick in testing a fetal heart rate monitor, thus providing an efficient way to evaluate and test the correlation capabilities of commercial apparatuses.
Development of an Inverted Epifluorescence Microscope for Long-Term Monitoring of Bacteria in Multiplexed Microfluidic Devices
Authors: Torres-Simón Amaro , Marino María Henar , Gómez-Cruz Clara , Cañadas Marina , Marco Miguel , Ripoll Jorge , Vaquero Juan José , Muñoz-Barrutia Arrate
Published: July 2020

Developing more efficient methods for antibiotic susceptibility testing is a pressing issue in novel drug development as bacterial resistance to antibiotics becomes increasingly common. Microfluidic devices have been demonstrated to be powerful platforms that allow researchers to perform multiplexed antibiotic testing. However, the level of multiplexing within microdevices is limited, evidencing the need of creating simple, low-cost and high-resolution imaging systems that can be integrated in antibiotic development pipelines. This paper describes the design and development of an epifluorescence inverted microscope that enables long-term monitoring of bacteria inside multiplexed microfluidic devices. The goal of this work is to provide a simple microscope powerful enough to allow single-cell analysis of bacteria at a reduced cost. This facilitates increasing the number of microscopes that are simultaneously used for antibiotic testing. We prove that the designed system is able to accurately detect fluorescent beads of 100 nm, demonstrating comparable features to high-end commercial microscopes and effectively achieving the resolution required for single-cell analysis of bacteria. The proposed microscope could thus increase the efficiency in antibiotic testing while reducing cost, size, weight, and power requirements, contributing to the successful development of new antibiotic drugs.
SLUA-WSN: Secure and Lightweight Three-Factor-Based User Authentication Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Yu SungJin , Park YoungHo
Published: July 2020

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are composed of multiple sensor nodes with limited storage, computation, power, and communication capabilities and are widely used in various fields such as banks, hospitals, institutes to national defense, research, and so on. However, useful services are susceptible to security threats because sensitive data in various fields are exchanged via a public channel. Thus, secure authentication protocols are indispensable to provide various services in WSN. In 2019, Mo and Chen presented a lightweight secure user authentication scheme in WSN. We discover that Mo and Chen’s scheme suffers from various security flaws, such as session key exposure and masquerade attacks, and does not provide anonymity, untraceability, and mutual authentication. To resolve the security weaknesses of Mo and Chen’s scheme, we propose a secure and lightweight three-factor-based user authentication protocol for WSN, called SLUA-WSN. The proposed SLUA-WSN can prevent security threats and ensure anonymity, untraceability, and mutual authentication. We analyze the security of SLUA-WSN through the informal and formal analysis, including Burrows–Abadi–Needham (BAN) logic, Real-or-Random (ROR) model, and Automated Verification of Internet Security Protocols and Applications (AVISPA) simulation. Moreover, we compare the performance of SLUA-WSN with some existing schemes. The proposed SLUA-WSN better ensures the security and efficiency than previous proposed scheme and is suitable for practical WSN applications.
Performance of CuAl-LDH/Gr Nanocomposite-Based Electrochemical Sensor with Regard to Trace Glyphosate Detection in Water
Authors: Zhang Chuxuan , Liang Xinqiang , Lu Yuanyuan , Li Hua , Xu Xiangyang
Published: July 2020

Glyphosate, which has been widely reported to be a toxic pollutant, is often present at trace amounts in the environment. In this study, a novel copper-aluminum metal hydroxide doped graphene nanoprobe (labeled as CuAl–LDH/Gr NC) was first developed to construct a non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor for detection trace glyphosate. The characterization results showed that the synthesized CuAl–LDH had a high-crystallinity flowered structure, abundant metallic bands and an intercalated functional group. After mixed with Gr, the nanocomposites provided a larger surface area and better conductivity. The as-prepared CuAl–LDH/Gr NC dramatically improved the enrichment capability for glyphosate to realize the stripping voltammetry detection. The logarithmic linear detection range of the sensor was found to be 2.96 × 10−9–1.18 × 10−6 mol L−1 with the detection limit of 1 × 10−9 mol L−1 with excellent repeatability, good stability and anti-interference ability. Further, the sensor achieved satisfactory recovery rates in spiked surface water, ranging from 97.64% to 108.08%, demonstrating great accuracy and practicality.
Graphene-Based and Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Monitoring the Physio-Chemical Response of Thermophilic Bacterial Spores to Low Temperatures Exposure
Authors: Camerlingo Carlo , Di Meo Giuseppe , Lepore Maria , Lisitskiy Mikhail , Poli Annarita , Portaccio Marianna , Romano Ida , Di Donato Paola
Published: July 2020

Monitoring the spore life cycle is one of the main issues in several fields including environmental control, sustainable ecosystems, food security, and healthcare systems. In this framework, the study of the living organism resistance to extreme conditions like those mimicking space environments is particularly interesting. The assessment of the local change of the pH level can be extremely useful for this purpose. An optical physiometer method based on the Raman response of the graphene, which is able to locally sense pH of a fluid on a micrometric scale, has been recently proposed. Due to the presence of π -bonds at the surface, the electronic doping of graphene is determined by the external conditions and can be electrochemically controlled or altered by the contact with an acid or alkaline fluid. The doping level affects the vibrational energies of the graphene that can be monitored by conventional Raman spectroscopy. In addition, Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) can give direct information on the biochemical changes occurring in spore components. In this work, we propose the joint use of Graphene-Based Raman Spectroscopy (GbRS) and SERS for the monitoring of the response of spores to exposure to low temperatures down to 100 K. The spores of the thermophilic bacterium Parageobacillus thermantarcticus isolated from an active volcano of Antarctica (Mt. Melbourne) were investigated. These spores are particularly resistant to several stressing stimuli and able to adapt to extreme conditions like low temperatures, UV irradiation, and γ -rays exposure. The results obtained showed that the joint use of GbRS and SERS represents a valuable tool for monitoring the physio-chemical response of bacterial spores upon exposure to stressing stimuli.
Influence and Compensation of Temperature Effects for Damage Detection and Localization in Aerospace Composites
Authors: Azuara Guillermo , Barrera Eduardo
Published: July 2020

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) has become, recently, in a promising methodology for the field of Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI), specially based on Ultrasonic Guided Waves (UGW), particularly Lamb waves using Piezoelectric Transducers (PZT). However, the Environmental and Operational Conditions (EOC) perform an important role on the physical characteristics of the waves, mainly the temperature. Some of these effects are phase shifting, amplitude changes and time of flight (ToF) variations. In this paper, a compensation method for evaluating and compensating the effects of the temperature is carried out, performing a data-driven methodology to calculate the features from a dataset of typical temperature values obtained from a thermoset matrix pristine plate, with a transducer network attached. In addition, the methodology is tested on the same sample after an impact damage is carried out on it, using RAPID (Reconstruction Algorithm for Probabilistic Inspection of Damage) and its geometrical variant (RAPID-G) to calculate the location of the damage.
Spectral Analysis and Mutual Information Estimation of Left and Right Intracardiac Electrograms during Ventricular Fibrillation
Authors: Pérez-Gutiérrez Milton Fabricio , Sánchez-Muñoz Juan José , Erazo-Rodas Mayra , Guerrero-Curieses Alicia , Everss Estrella , Quesada-Dorador Aurelio , Ruiz-Granell Ricardo , Ibáñez-Criado Alicia , Bellver-Navarro Alex , Rojo-Álvarez José Luis , García-Alberola Arcadi
Published: July 2020

Ventricular fibrillation (VF) signals are characterized by highly volatile and erratic electrical impulses, the analysis of which is difficult given the complex behavior of the heart rhythms in the left (LV) and right ventricles (RV), as sometimes shown in intracardiac recorded Electrograms (EGM). However, there are few studies that analyze VF in humans according to the simultaneous behavior of heart signals in the two ventricles. The objective of this work was to perform a spectral and a non-linear analysis of the recordings of 22 patients with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and clinical indication for a cardiac resynchronization device, simultaneously obtained in LV and RV during induced VF in patients with a Biventricular Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (BICD) Contak Renewal IVTM (Boston Sci.). The Fourier Transform was used to identify the spectral content of the first six seconds of signals recorded in the RV and LV simultaneously. In addition, measurements that were based on Information Theory were scrutinized, including Entropy and Mutual Information. The results showed that in most patients the spectral envelopes of the EGM sources of RV and LV were complex, different, and with several frequency peaks. In addition, the Dominant Frequency (DF) in the LV was higher than in the RV, while the Organization Index (OI) had the opposite trend. The entropy measurements were more regular in the RV than in the LV, thus supporting the spectral findings. We can conclude that basic stochastic processing techniques should be scrutinized with caution and from basic to elaborated techniques, but they can provide us with useful information on the biosignals from both ventricles during VF.
Distributed Model-Free Bipartite Consensus Tracking for Unknown Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Systems with Switching Topology
Authors: Zhao Huarong , Peng Li , Yu Hongnian
Published: July 2020

This paper proposes a distributed model-free adaptive bipartite consensus tracking (DMFABCT) scheme. The proposed scheme is independent of a precise mathematical model, but can achieve both bipartite time-invariant and time-varying trajectory tracking for unknown dynamic discrete-time heterogeneous multi-agent systems (MASs) with switching topology and coopetition networks. The main innovation of this algorithm is to estimate an equivalent dynamic linearization data model by the pseudo partial derivative (PPD) approach, where only the input–output (I/O) data of each agent is required, and the cooperative interactions among agents are investigated. The rigorous proof of the convergent property is given for DMFABCT, which reveals that the trajectories error can be reduced. Finally, three simulations results show that the novel DMFABCT scheme is effective and robust for unknown heterogeneous discrete-time MASs with switching topologies to complete bipartite consensus tracking tasks.
Wireless Ultrasound Surgical System with Enhanced Power and Amplitude Performances
Authors: Kim Jungsuk , You Kiheum , Choe Sun-Ho , Choi Hojong
Published: July 2020

A wireless ultrasound surgical system (WUSS) with battery modules requires efficient power consumption with appropriate cutting effects during surgical operations. Effective cutting performances of the ultrasound transducer (UT) should be produced for ultrasound surgical knives for effective hemostasis performance and efficient dissection time. Therefore, we implemented a custom-made UT with piezoelectric material and re-poling process, which is applied to enhance the battery power consumption and output amplitude performances of the WUSS. After the re-poling process of the UT, the quality factor increased from 1231.1 to 2418 to minimize the unwanted heat generation. To support this UT, we also developed a custom-made generator with a transformer and developed 2nd harmonic termination circuit, control microcontroller with an advanced reduced instruction set computer machine (ARM) controller, and battery management system modules to produce effective WUSS performances. The generator with a matching circuit in the WUSS showed a peak-to-peak output voltage and current amplitude of 166 V and 1.12 A, respectively, at the resonant frequency. The performance with non-contact optical vibrators was also measured. In the experimental data, the developed WUSS reduced power consumption by 3.6% and increased the amplitude by 20% compared to those of the commercial WUSS. Therefore, the improved WUSS performances could be beneficial for hemostatic performance and dissection time during surgical operation because of the developed UT with a piezoelectric material and re-poling process.
The Response of Water and Nutrient Dynamics and of Crop Yield to Conservation Agriculture in the Ethiopian Highlands
Authors: Belay Sisay A. , Assefa Tewodros T. , Prasad P. V. Vara , Schmitter Petra , Worqlul Abeyou W. , Steenhuis Tammo S. , Reyes Manuel R. , Tilahun Seifu A.
Published: July 2020

Smallholder agriculture constitutes the main source of livelihood for the Ethiopian rural community. However, soil degradation and uneven distribution of rainfall have threatened agriculture at present. This study is aimed at investigating the impacts of conservation agriculture on irrigation water use, nutrient availability in the root zone, and crop yield under supplementary irrigation. In this study, conservation agriculture (CA), which includes minimum soil disturbance, grass mulch cover, and crop rotation, was practiced and compared with conventional tillage (CT). We used two years’ (2018 and 2019) experimental data under paired-t design in the production of a local variety green pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). The results showed that CA practices significantly (α = 0.05) reduced irrigation water use (13% to 29%) and runoff (29% to 51%) while it increased percolated water in the root zone (27% to 50%) when compared with CT practices under the supplementary irrigation phase. In addition, CA significantly decreased NO3-N in the leachate (14% to 44%) and in the runoff (about 100%), while PO4-P significantly decreased in the leachate (33% to 50%) and in the runoff (16%) when compared with CT. Similarly, CA decreased the NO3-N load in the leachate and in the runoff, while the PO4-P load increased in the leachate but decreased in the runoff. The yield return that was achieved under CA treatment was 30% higher in 2018 and 10% higher in 2019 when compared with the CT. This research improves our understanding of water and nutrient dynamics in green pepper grown under CA and CT. Use of CA provides opportunities to optimize water use by decreasing irrigation water requirements and optimize nutrient use by decreasing nutrient losses through the runoff and leaching.
Multi-Physics Analysis for Rubber-Cement Applications in Building and Architectural Fields: A Preliminary Analysis
Authors: Valente Marco , Sambucci Matteo , Sibai Abbas , Musacchi Ettore
Published: July 2020

Generally, in most countries, there are no strict regulations regarding tire disposal. Hence, tires end up thrown in seas and lands as well as being burnt, harming the living beings, and are therefore considered a very dangerous pollution source for the environment. Over the past few years, several researchers have worked on incorporating shredded/powdered rubber tires into cement-based material. This strategy shows a dual functionality: Economic–environmental benefits and technological functionalization of the building material. Rubber-modified cement materials show interesting engineering and architectural properties due to the physical-chemical nature of the tire rubber aggregates. However, the abovementioned performances are affected by type, size, and content of polymer particles used in the cement-based mixtures production. Whereas an increase in the rubber content in the cement mix will negatively affect the mechanical properties of the material as a decrease in its compression strength. This aspect is crucial for the use of the material in building applications, where proper structural integrity must be guaranteed. In this context, the development of innovative manufacturing technologies and the use of multi-physics simulation software represent useful approaches for the study of shapes and geometries designed to maximize the technological properties of the material. After an overview on the performances of 3D printable rubber-cement mixtures developed in our research laboratory, a preliminary experimental Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis will be described. The modeling work aims to highlight how the topology optimization allows maximizing of the physical-mechanical performances of a standard rubber-cement component for building-architectural applications.
Development and Diagnosis of a Teaching Experience Using Participatory Methods: Towards an Ecosystemic Learning in Higher Education
Authors: Pedrosa Beatriz , Peña Paz , Pina Violeta
Published: July 2020

The redefinition of the objectives of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) generates novelty in the teaching design developed by universities. The constructivist perspective encourages the use of methods that promote teamwork, an interest for information searching, autonomy and an increased motivation for learning, among others. Currently, the acquisition of the established curricular content receives feedback thanks to information and communication technologies (ICTs). This research describes the implementation of an experience related to the use of teaching/learning participatory methods with first- and second-year students in Early Childhood Education and Primary Education bachelor’s degrees. This experience is based on flipped classrooms and role-playing and is supported by ICTs. A questionnaire was delivered to a total of 100 individuals on their perception of participatory methods and their assessment of the methods used for the described experience. After performing the analysis, the conclusions showed that higher education students considered that classroom implementation of emerging methods helped them at a theoretical, practical and professional level as well as motivated them, which allows us to advance towards the goals of the EHEA.
Sustainable Political Social Media Marketing: Effects of Structural Features in Plain Text Messages
Authors: Park Byungho , Kang Moon Young , Lee Jiwon
Published: July 2020

The success of Barack Obama’s 2008 U.S. presidential campaign led politicians and voters all over the world to pay attention to social media. Including Donald Trump for his upcoming 2020 re-election, many politicians around the world have used social media for their political campaigns. While some social media can deliver information in various forms (i.e., video, audio, and interactive content), some popular ones, such as Twitter, are still focused mostly on plain text messaging. With political marketing using simple text messages via social media, there is a need to examine ways of creating messages that ultimately help shape voters’ perception of politicians and eventually win the election. Based on communication science, this study attempts to test the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing by examining whether this model can be applied to the simplest form of mediated message, which is plain text. In order to do so, structural features of text messages exchanged on social media engaged in political campaigns, namely linguistic formality and network-mediated human interactivity, are manipulated in an experiment. Findings suggest that linguistic formality and human interaction in plain text messages influence perceived friendliness, truthfulness, and dependability of the message source (politicians), as well as the receivers’ (constituents’) behavioral intent to vote for the message source in an upcoming election. This implies that politicians should pay more attention on sustainable political marketing through appropriate manipulation of structural features in social media messages.
Managing Multiple Projects in Uncertain Contexts: A Case Study on the Application of a New Approach Based on the Critical Chain Method
Authors: Apaolaza Unai , Lizarralde Aitor
Published: July 2020

Uncertainty and change are two features of modern project management. They strongly influence the project management needs to operate in such contexts. This is the case when a complete and accurate definition of the scope of a project is not available. Those situations require a project management approach capable of dealing with the special conditions that characterise said contexts. This study focuses on the application of the progressive elaboration approach and the Critical Chain method. We analysed the implementation process of the new procedure in a company that produces capital goods for the automotive industry. The work’s main focus is on the effect of this change from the multi-project perspective. We found that the change had a larger impact than was expected by the company. Firstly, we found that the new approach provided an opportunity to improve the performance of the company. Besides, the new approach uncovered significant problems that previously were ignored, as well as problems and obstacles to the change. Based on the results and findings of this work, we conclude that shifting to this kind of approach requires a global managerial perspective, and strong support from the management.
A Structural Analysis for the Categorization of the Negative Externalities of Transport and the Hierarchical Organization of Sustainable Mobility’s Strategies
Authors: Chatziioannou Ioannis , Alvarez-Icaza Luis , Bakogiannis Efthimios , Kyriakidis Charalampos , Chias-Becerril Luis
Published: July 2020

Transport systems are capable of contributing to the economic robustness of a geographic area and the well-being of its inhabitants via the supply of the necessary assets for the mobility of people and goods. However, transport projects have the capacity to produce several negative externalities such as water pollution, air pollution, barrier effects, noise, and ecological impact, which affect the quality of people’s life. Considering these facts, the main purpose of this study is to indicate methodologically how the negative externalities of transport are interlinked, so that to promote sustainable mobility development. This paper reveals via the method of structural analysis, the interrelations between the negative externalities of transport, firstly to organize them hierarchically and secondly to evaluate the potential of sustainable mobility strategies concerning the co-benefits generated by their implementation for society. The results show that the negative externalities of transport are not isolated phenomena; on the contrary, they are interlinked and can be organised hierarchically according to the relationships between them so that certain public policies can be prioritized and the negative impacts of transport can be tackled more effectively. The most critical negative externalities are the invasion of public space for the construction of more roads, along with road accidents, congestion, and local air pollution. On the other hand, the most important group of strategies for sustainable mobility are the ones oriented to urban design, and more specifically to transit-oriented development.
International Soft Laws against IUU Fishing for Sustainable Marine Resources: Adoption of the Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance and Challenges for Taiwan
Authors: Tai Tsung-Han , Kao Shih-Ming , Ho Wan-Chun
Published: July 2020

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has become a key issue of increasing concern in the world. Led by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), recent developments focused on the role of port states as the principal actor against IUU fishing. However, the FAO adopted the Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance (the Guidelines) in 2013, implying that the principal role against IUU fishing still corresponds to flag states. As one of the leading distant-water fishing nations, Taiwan has adopted many domestic regulations in accordance with these international instruments voluntarily, regardless of its statehood debate. Although the adoption of the Guidelines is “a real breakthrough” against IUU fishing, the instrument is “soft law” in nature, meaning the implementation of the Guidelines may depend on the political will of states, and the effectiveness and efficiency of the Guidelines are thus highly questionable. Furthermore, the consensus among states to adopt a legally binding agreement on flag state performance in the near future, akin to the development of the Port States Measures Agreement that successfully evolved from a “soft law” to a “hard law” basis, is not yet clear.
Eco-Friendly Cellulose Nanofiber Extraction from Sugarcane Bagasse and Film Fabrication
Authors: Shahi Naresh , Min Byungjin , Sapkota Bedanga , Rangari Vijaya K.
Published: July 2020

The development of cost-effective cellulose fibers by utilizing agricultural residues have been attracted by the scientific community in the past few years; however, a facile production route along with minimal processing steps and a significant reduction in harsh chemical use is still lacking. Here, we report a straightforward ultrasound-assisted method to extract cellulose nanofiber (CNF) from fibrous waste sugarcane bagasse. X-ray diffraction-based crystallinity calculation showed 25% increase in the crystallinity of the extracted CNF (61.1%) as compared to raw sugarcane bagasse (35.1%), which is coherent with Raman studies. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images revealed thread-like CNF structures. Furthermore, we prepared thin films of the CNF using hot press and solution casting method and compared their mechanical properties. Our experiments demonstrated that hot press is a more effective way to produce high strength CNF films; Young’s modulus of the thin films prepared from the hot press was ten times higher than the solution casting method. Our results suggest that a combination of ultrasound-based extraction and hot press-based film preparation is an efficient route of producing high strength CNF films.
Impact of Pricing Practice Management on Performance and Sustainability of Supermarkets in the Urban Area of Enugu State, Nigeria
Authors: Agbaeze Emmanuel , Chiemeke Maureen Ngozichukwu , Ogbo Ann , Ukpere Wilfred I.
Published: July 2020

Consumer shopping behavior is becoming increasingly polarized, which has an impact on price decisions, and the performance and sustainability of supermarkets. This study sets out to empirically determine the impact that pricing practice management has on the performance and sustainability of supermarkets in the urban area of Enugu State, Nigeria. The study explicitly attempts to ascertain the impact of value-informed pricing practice, competition-informed pricing practice, and cost-informed pricing practice on supermarkets’ performance and sustainability in urban Enugu. The paper also examines the impact of adopting three different pricing practices when the relative product advantage and/or competitive intensity are/is moderating variable(s). With a population of 100 supermarkets, 48 responded to the questionnaire. A multiple regression analysis was utilized to test the hypothesis formulated for the study. The study found that the adoption of a value-informed pricing practice, competition-informed pricing practice, and cost-informed pricing practice by management has no significant impact, negatively significant impact, and positively significant impact, respectively, on supermarkets’ performance and sustainability in urban Enugu. The study also found that the impact of the three pricing practices on performance and sustainability of supermarkets in the urban area of Enugu State, changes significantly when relative product advantage and/or competitive intensity are/is moderating variable(s). Amongst others, this study recommends that the management of supermarkets should carry out an internal and external environmental assessment of a product before deciding on the appropriate pricing practice to adopt for that product. Critical consideration should be given to the relative product advantage and the competitive intensity of the product. Moreover, the adopted pricing practice must be situated within the overall performance objective of the firm in such a way that resources are optimized, and the maximum value attained.
Competitive Advantage Evaluation Model of Sustainable Housing Design
Authors: Wang Pen-Kai , Shih Shen-Guan , Perng Yeng-Horng
Published: July 2020

Owing to the housing design’s booming development and fierce competition among industry players, there have been many sensational designs that have not met the requirements of sustainable living, resulting in a serious waste of resources. Therefore, finding the critical factors of sustainable housing design with competitive advantages, and establishing an effective evaluation model along with helping operators make adequate decisions is the imperative topic at present. This study aimed to develop an evaluative model of such competitive advantages focusing on sustainable housing design, with 15 evaluation factors found through literature analysis, delivering 500 questionnaires of the Analytical Hierarchy Process development for housing design customers. A total of 390 were retrieved for a response rate of 78% and 327 are valid questionnaires. The factors listed in sequence are Cost Effectiveness, Tender Reputation and Word of Mouth, Green Materials, Culture and Folk Beliefs, Energy Saving, Energy Recovery, Easy Maintenance, Service Accessibility, Optimal Housing for Preserving Health, Customer Participating Experience, Schedule Control for Design and Engineering, Regulation Compliance, Core Competencies, Identity Representation, Low Operation Cost. Utility theory was then employed to develop a customer-oriented assessment model. Finally, four case studies of housing design were examined with different locations, environments, human qualities, and budgets. The results found that the benefit of the location in a favorable environment was the highest, while the location near the river and the tomb area was the lowest. As mentioned above, the designer needs to create a solution for the influences of Culture and Folk Beliefs, as well as the uneasy maintenance problems caused by the high humidity near the river. Accordingly, there are different responses made for different conditions of houses from designers. Furthermore, the evaluation model can serve as a tool, supporting decision-making related to sustainable housing designers.
An Explicit Hybrid Method for the Nonlocal Allen–Cahn Equation
Authors: Lee Chaeyoung , Yoon Sungha , Park Jintae , Kim Junseok
Published: July 2020

We extend the explicit hybrid numerical method for solving the Allen–Cahn (AC) equation to the scheme for the nonlocal AC equation with isotropically symmetric interfacial energy. The proposed method combines the previous explicit hybrid method with a space-time dependent Lagrange multiplier which enforces conservation of mass. We perform numerical tests for the area-preserving mean curvature flow, which is the basic property of the nonlocal AC equation. The numerical results show good agreement with the theoretical solutions. Furthermore, to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method, we perform a cell growth simulation in a complex domain. Because the proposed numerical scheme is explicit, it is remarkably simple to implement the numerical solution algorithm on complex discrete domains.
Investigation of the Effect of Hydrothermal Waters on Radionuclide Activity Concentrations in Natural Marble with Multivariate Statistical Analysis
Authors: Yalcin Fusun , Unal Sezer , Yalcin Mustafa Gurhan , Akturk Ozgur , Ocak Sema Bilge , Ozmen Suleyman Fatih
Published: July 2020

The study aims to investigate the effects of Burdur (Turkey) marble on human health by interpreting their radioactivity concentration (226Ra, 232Th, and 40K), radiological hazard parameters, chemical concentration, physical properties, and all data related to these features by using multivariate statistical methods. Chemical and radionuclide analyses were performed on marble samples. The data were interpreted by statistical analysis. According to the regression model, an increase in the concentration of vanadium carried to the environment by hydrothermal waters causes a 4.452-fold higher concentration of 226Ra. The R2 value of the model was 0.64 and it was statistically significant. The maximum concentration of 226Ra in Isparta Davraz Beige sample (M7) exceeded the values of some countries’ standards. Except for M7, the analyzed sorts of marble can be used safely in dwellings and public buildings.
Optimizing Minimum Headway Time and Its Corresponding Train Timetable for a Line on a Sparse Railway Network
Authors: Hao Weining , Meng Lingyun , Tan Yuyan
Published: July 2020

In western China, railway lines are sparse, and there is a large fluctuation in transport demand under different transportation scenarios, which yields severe difficulties in setting up a signaling system and making a train timetable. To meet the fluctuating transport demand effectively and provide efficient train services in the changing multimodal transportation market, a new Chinese train control system based on flexible minimum headway time (FCTCS) is introduced and going to be implemented. Considering that the cost of implementing signaling systems corresponding to different minimum headway times varies significantly, it is necessary to find an optimal minimum headway time and design its corresponding train timetable. In this paper, we propose a mixed integer linear programming model for selecting an optimal minimum headway time, with which a satisfactory train timetable is generated with the consideration of symmetry transport demand. The objective function is to maximize the total profit of train operation. We further develop genetic algorithm with an integer and binary coding method for searching for the solution. Finally, a set of numerical tests based on a railway line in a sparse railway network in western China is used to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed model.
An Integrated Approach of Analytic Hierarchy Process and Triangular Fuzzy Sets for Analyzing the Park-and-Ride Facility Location Problem
Authors: Ortega Jairo , Tóth János , Moslem Sarbast , Péter Tamás , Duleba Szabolcs
Published: July 2020

A park and ride (P&R) system is a set of facilities where private vehicle users can transfer to public transport to complete their journey. The main advantage of the system is reducing the congestions problem in the central business district (CBD). Thus, the notion of symmetry is particularly important in multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA) because they are basic characteristics of the binary relationships used in modelling the preferences of decision-makers. The focal point of this study is evaluating the P&R facility system location problem from the experts’ point of view. For this aim, an integrated multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methodology is proposed to evaluate the location of the facilities of the P&R system. The questionnaire survey was designed and estimated by 10 transport experts in the related field. The famous analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was adopted in a fuzzy environment, where the fuzzy sets have an efficient ability to manage the vague concepts in a specific way; moreover, it can mitigate the evaluator reasoning during decision-making. The hierarchical structure of the problem was established to evaluate a real-life problem in Cuenca city, Ecuador. The outcomes highlighted the “accessibility of public transport” as the most significant issue in the P&R facility location problem. The obtained results provide more flexible facilities than the pure AHP method.
Using Fuzzy Sets and Markov Chain Method to Carry out Inventory Strategies with Different Recovery Levels
Authors: Ho Tseng-Fung , Lin Chi-Chung , Lin Chih-Ling
Published: July 2020

In this study, we first analyze the usability of recycling products, and use the fuzzy set method to determine the main impact on recycling items and their corresponding weights by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to identify various impact recycling levels. The Group Decision Supporting System (GDSS) determines the test standards for the recycling rating. It provides a convenient way for recyclers or manufacturers to classify their own products and use fuzzy numbers to select a set of test standards. It can deduce the recovery rate and remanufacturing rate of different recycling processing levels through the Markov chain model to find out the inventory model and total cost. In the numerical analysis, we found that a recycling rate of more than 90% is probably a necessary decision. Since the processing cost of the 100% recovery rate is doubled, the inventory level and total cost will increase with it. Therefore, this study was combined with the reverse logistics method to find the appropriate decision-making strategy and plan, such as the optimal inventory level and recovery rate.
The Fifth Coefficient of Bazilevič Functions
Authors: Kwon Oh Sang , Thomas Derek Keith , Sim Young Jae
Published: July 2020

Let f∈A, the class of normalized analytic functions defined in the unit disk D, and be given by f(z)=z+∑n=2∞anzn for z∈D. This paper presents a new approach to finding bounds for |an|. As an application, we find the sharp bound for |a5| for the class B1(α) of Bazilevič functions when α≥1.
Match Feature U-Net: Dynamic Receptive Field Networks for Biomedical Image Segmentation
Authors: Qin Xiaofei , Wu Chengzi , Chang Hang , Lu Hao , Zhang Xuedian
Published: July 2020

Medical image segmentation is a fundamental task in medical image analysis. Dynamic receptive field is very helpful for accurate medical image segmentation, which needs to be further studied and utilized. In this paper, we propose Match Feature U-Net, a novel, symmetric encoder– decoder architecture with dynamic receptive field for medical image segmentation. We modify the Selective Kernel convolution (a module proposed in Selective Kernel Networks) by inserting a newly proposed Match operation, which makes similar features in different convolution branches have corresponding positions, and then we replace the U-Net’s convolution with the redesigned Selective Kernel convolution. This network is a combination of U-Net and improved Selective Kernel convolution. It inherits the advantages of simple structure and low parameter complexity of U-Net, and enhances the efficiency of dynamic receptive field in Selective Kernel convolution, making it an ideal model for medical image segmentation tasks which often have small training data and large changes in targets size. Compared with state-of-the-art segmentation methods, the number of parameters in Match Feature U-Net (2.65 M) is 34% of U-Net (7.76 M), 29% of UNet++ (9.04 M), and 9.1% of CE-Net (29 M). We evaluated the proposed architecture in four medical image segmentation tasks: nuclei segmentation in microscopy images, breast cancer cell segmentation, gland segmentation in colon histology images, and disc/cup segmentation. Our experimental results show that Match Feature U-Net achieves an average Mean Intersection over Union (MIoU) gain of 1.8, 1.45, and 2.82 points over U-Net, UNet++, and CE-Net, respectively.