bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Universal Pharmacological-Based List of Drugs with Anticholinergic Activity
Authors: Lavrador Marta , Cabral Ana C. , Veríssimo Manuel T. , Fernandez-Llimos Fernando , Figueiredo Isabel V. , Castel-Branco M. Margarida
Published: January 2023

Anticholinergic burden tools have relevant pharmacological gaps that may explain their limited predictive ability for clinical outcomes. The aim of this study was to provide a universal pharmacological-based list of drugs with their documented affinity for muscarinic receptors. A comprehensive literature review was performed to identify the anticholinergic burden tools. Drugs included in these instruments were searched in four pharmacological databases, and the investigation was supplemented with PubMed. The evidence regarding the potential antagonism of the five muscarinic receptors of each drug was assessed. The proportion of drugs included in the tools with an affinity for muscarinic receptors was evaluated. A universal list of drugs with anticholinergic activity was developed based on their documented affinity for the different subtypes of muscarinic receptors and their ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. A total of 23 tools were identified, including 304 different drugs. Only 48.68%, 47.70%, 48.03%, 43.75%, and 42.76% of the drugs had an affinity to the M1, M2, M3, M4, and M5 receptor, respectively, reported in any pharmacological database. The proportion of drugs with confirmed antagonism varied among the tools (36.8% to 100%). A universal pharmacological-based list of 133 drugs is presented. It should be further validated in different clinical settings.
1.55 μm Narrow-Linewidth Pulsed Laser Based on MgO:PPLN
Authors: Yang Yaling , Lv Guorui , Guo Lei , Xu Haiping , Kong Hui , Wen Jiaqi , Bian Jintian , Ye Qing , Yang Kejian , He Jingliang
Published: January 2023

A high-power narrow-linewidth 1.55 μm pulsed laser, based on MgO:PPLN OPO, has been achieved using a F–P etalon. The pump source is a 1064 nm acousto-optical (AO) Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a repetition rate of 10 kHz. Under the maximum pump power of 18 W, the signal output power of 2.57 W is demonstrated at 1551.1 nm with a linewidth of 0.07 nm, corresponding to a slope efficiency of 16.1%. Different from traditional inversion lasers, the narrow-linewidth wavelength tunability of approximately 1.55 μm can be realized by changing the temperature.
Self-Oscillating Curling of a Liquid Crystal Elastomer Beam under Steady Light
Authors: Liu Junxiu , Zhao Junjie , Wu Haiyang , Dai Yuntong , Li Kai
Published: January 2023

Self-oscillation absorbs energy from a steady environment to maintain its own continuous motion, eliminating the need to carry a power supply and controller, which will make the system more lightweight and promising for applications in energy harvesting, soft robotics, and microdevices. In this paper, we present a self-oscillating curling liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) beam-mass system, which is placed on a table and can self-oscillate under steady light. Unlike other self-sustaining systems, the contact surface of the LCE beam with the tabletop exhibits a continuous change in size during self-sustaining curling, resulting in a dynamic boundary problem. Based on the dynamic LCE model, we establish a nonlinear dynamic model of the self-oscillating curling LCE beam considering the dynamic boundary conditions, and numerically calculate its dynamic behavior using the Runge-Kutta method. The existence of two motion patterns in the LCE beam-mass system under steady light are proven by numerical calculation, namely self-curling pattern and stationary pattern. When the energy input to the system exceeds the energy dissipated by air damping, the LCE beam undergoes self-oscillating curling. Furthermore, we investigate the effects of different dimensionless parameters on the critical conditions, the amplitude and the period of the self-curling of LCE beam. Results demonstrate that the light source height, curvature coefficient, light intensity, elastic modulus, damping factor, and gravitational acceleration can modulate the self-curling amplitude and period. The self-curling LCE beam system proposed in this study can be applied to autonomous robots, energy harvesters, and micro-instruments.
Polypropylene Post-Consumer Recyclate Compounds for Thermoforming Packaging Applications
Authors: Freudenthaler Paul J. , Fischer Joerg , Liu Yi , Lang Reinhold W.
Published: January 2023

Polypropylene (PP) plastic packaging waste consists of a variety of different plastic packaging products with a great span in rheological and mechanical behavior. Therefore, the resulting post-consumer recyclates usually show melt mass-flow rates (MFR) in the region of injection molding grades and intermediate mechanical properties. High-quality packaging applications demand a distinct property profile that is met by tailor-made PP grades and cannot be met by recyclates with intermediate performance. One such application with high market volume is high-stiffness thermoforming trays. The aim of this research was to blend intermediate-performance recyclates with a virgin PP grade to obtain compounds that fulfill the rheological and mechanical demands of this application. Three commercially available PP post-consumer recyclates were acquired and compounded with different blending ratios with a high stiffness, low MFR virgin PP grade. As the pure recyclates show different rheological properties, the blending ratios had to be adapted for each of them to fit into the MFR range of 2–4 g/10 min which is desirable for thermoforming applications. The resulting PP recyclate compounds show a distinct correlation of recyclate content with rheological and mechanical performance. However, the resulting property profile was directly dependent on the performance of the originally used recyclate. The best-performing recyclate could be used in a blending ratio of 65 m% recyclate content while adhering to both property limits, the MFR of 2–4 g/10 min and the lower bound tensile stiffness of 1500 MPa.
Determination of Processing Precision of Hole in Industrial Plastic Materials
Authors: Ravai-Nagy Sandor , Pop Alina Bianca , Titu Aurel Mihail
Published: January 2023

The precision of the thread processed by tapping is closely related to the precision of the pre-drilling of the blank. Currently, the technologies for processing threads with the tap in the case of metals are well established. In this sense, there are tables and clear recommendations about the tool pairs—helical drill-tap, depending on the size of the thread, but in the case of plastics, no correlations or recommendations have been found. A well-known aspect concerns the fact that the hole made in plastics is obtained with a smaller diameter than the diameter of the drill bit used. To determine the differences between the drill bit and the diameter of the resulting hole, and its precision on different types of plastic materials, experimental research was started. At the same time, the tolerance of the resulting hole was checked and the influence of the cutting regime on the processing precision was studied. During the experiments, plastic materials often used in the aeronautical and car-building industries were used: POM-C, PA6, PEHD1000, Sika Block 700, Sika Block 960, and Sika Block 980. Following the experiments, differences in the diameter of the holes processed were found according to the plastic mass of even 0.3 mm, which is 4.4% of the diameter of the hole. Based on the experimental results and the design of the experiment, recommendations could be made about the diameter of the drill to use to obtain the desired diameter of the hole after processing.
Watered-Based Graphene Dispersion Stabilized by a Graft Co-Polymer for Electrically Conductive Screen Printing
Authors: Zhao Fengfeng , Quan Hui , Zhang Shijun , Xu Yihui , Zhou Zheng , Chen Guangxin , Li Qifang
Published: January 2023

Graphene conductive inks have attracted significant attention in recent years due to their high conductivity, corrosion resistance, and environmentally friendly nature. However, the dispersion of graphene in aqueous solution is still challenging. In this work, we synthesized an amphiphilic graft copolymer, polyvinyl alcohol-g-polyaniline (PVA-g-PANI), and studied the graphene dispersion prepared with the graft copolymer by high-speed shear dispersion. The amphiphilic graft copolymer can be used as a stabilizer and adhesive agent in graphene dispersion. Given the steric hindrance of the graft copolymer, the stability of graphene dispersion is improved by decreasing the probability of π–π stacking. PVA-g-PANI has a better stability on graphene dispersion than carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC-Na) and a mixture of PVA and PANI. The graft copolymer has only a slight effect on the conductivity of graphene dispersion due to the existence of conductive PANI, which is beneficial for preparing the graphene dispersion with good conductivity and adhesion. Graphene dispersion is well-adapted to screen printing and is very stable with regard to the sheet resistance bending cycle.
Research on the Thermal Stability in High-Temperature Air of Cr-Fe Composite Oxide Solar Coatings by Chemical-Colored of Stainless Steel
Authors: Yu Hongwen , He Yi , Song Ziye , Zhang Xinyu , Xue Yibing , Feng Lei
Published: January 2023

The stainless steel chemical coloration demonstrates excellent repeatability of process when adopted to fabricate solar selective absorber coatings (SSACs) on TTS445J1 stainless steel base material. The optical performance, morphology, and composition of coatings are characterized by UV-3600, IR-Affinity-1, SEM, EDS, etc. The experimental results suggest that the Cr-Fe composite oxides with coatings in a spinel structure obtained by chemical coloration on a stainless steel surface exhibit outstanding spectral selectivity, with α/ε = 0.9334/0.1326. The coatings were generated by the direct reaction between the stainless steel substrate composition and the coloring solution, which changes the traditional way of combining the coating with the substrate by physical methods. Comparing the SEM images of the coatings before and after aging at 500 °C in air, we noticed no significant changes at the interface between the coatings and the substrate, indicating excellent coating adhesion. At the same time, the substrate grains did not change much after the chemical reaction of the stainless steel substrate, indicating that the oxidation resistance of the stainless steel substrate was not weakened. Finally, the Cr-Fe composite oxide exhibited excellent thermal stability in air. Based upon a microstructure analysis, the Performance Creation (PC) is 0.01 after aging at 500 °C for 200 h in high-temperature air, primarily because of the loss of H2O molecules from the hydrates in the coatings. After aging for 800 h, PC = 0.0458. After the aging hours are extended to 1000 h, PC = 0.0762. During the aging process at high temperature, the coatings of the Cr-Fe composite oxides maintained stable composition and phase structures. The decay in optical performance is due mainly to the reconstruction of the surface morphology of the coatings as a result of the largening of grains.
Control of Precalciner Temperature in the Cement Industry: A Novel Method of Hammerstein Model Predictive Control with ISSA
Authors: Sun Chao , Liu Pengfei , Guo Haoran , Di Yinlu , Xu Qingquan , Hao Xiaochen
Published: January 2023

As the most critical equipment in the pre-calcination process of dry cement production, the temperature of the precalciner is an essential factor affecting the quality of cement. However, the cement calcination system is time-delayed, nonlinear, and multi-disturbance, which makes it difficult to predict and control the precalciner temperature. In this study, a deep learning-based Hammerstein model is proposed, and a model predictive control system is built to predict and control the precalciner temperature. In the prediction model, the CNN-GRU network architecture is used to extract the operating states of the precalciner, and an attention mechanism is employed to find and emphasize the important historical information in the extracted states. Then, an ARX model is built to predict the temperature of the precalciner using the extracted operating state information. The complex nonlinear model solution in the control system is formed into a linear control problem and an inverse solution problem. The generalized predictive control (GPC) is used for linear control, and the improved sparrow search algorithm (ISSA) is used for the problem of an inverse solution. Tested with data from a cement plant in Hebei, China, the prediction accuracy of the model proposed in this paper is 99%, and the established control algorithm has less overshoot compared to PID and better stability in anti-disturbance tests. It is demonstrated that the prediction model developed in this study has better accuracy and the control strategy based on this model has good robustness.
A Method to Design Assembling Lines for Super Premium Efficiency Motors
Authors: Parv Aurica Luminita , Daicu Raluca , Dragoi Mircea Viorel , Rusu Marian , Oancea Gheorghe
Published: January 2023

Producing highly efficient electric motors remains a challenge nowadays. Given that the legislation in the field requires the transition to the production of engines with increased efficiency, for manufacturing companies, switching from one generation of engines to another can be a difficult task. This paper analyzes ways to adapt the assembly of engines of the IE4 generation starting from the assembly lines of the engines of the previous generation, IE3. The analysis of the assembly process covers both the operator training part and the actual assembly part. Ten possible variants for the assembly line and specific decisional variables have been defined. The decision to choose the optimal assembly configuration was made using as management tools the matrix of consequences and utilities. The validation of the theoretical model of the assembly line was carried out through a case study built for two classes of electric motors, namely G90 and G180. For a total production of IE4 electric motors of 20,000 parts/month, the analyzed variants, respectively, the two sizes (G90 and G100) represent 35% (7000 parts/month) of the G90 size and 22% (4400 parts/month) the G100 size. The aim is to provide a new modular assembly concept, which depending on the orders, can use, as given in the conclusion of this article.
The Hormetic Response of Soil P Extraction Induced by Low-Molecular-Weight Organic Acids
Authors: Zhao Kuan , Wang Cong , Xiao Xin , Li Ming , Zhao Wenrui , Wang Yixuan , Yang Yang
Published: January 2023

The hormetic effect is a toxicological phenomenon in the soil ecosystem. The influence of low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs) on the release and activation of soil phosphorus (P) has become the focus of toxicological research. To what extent LMWOAs can regulate the hormetic effect of P release and then influence soil P nutrients is worth attention. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different types and concentrations of exogenous LMWOAs on P extraction, establish the relationship between the concentration of LMWOAs and P extraction efficiency, and calculate the hormetic parameters to understand the mechanism of types and concentrations of LMWOAs in P extraction efficiency. Four organic acids, i.e., citric, oxalic, tartaric, and malic acids, induced hormetic effects on P extraction that were concentration dependent. The relationship between LMWOAs and P extraction efficiency was explained by a quadratic polynomial equation. The critical threshold of citric acid concentration was similar to that of oxalic acid, whereas that of tartaric acid was similar to that of malic acid. The critical thresholds of the P concentration extracted by malic acid and citric acid were higher than those extracted by oxalic acid and tartaric acid due to the differences in the structure and properties of LMWOAs. The critical thresholds of P extraction efficiency of oxalic acid were lower than those of the other three organic acid types. These results provide evidence for the use of citric acid and malic acid to increase soil P.
Perstraction: A Membrane-Assisted Liquid–Liquid Extraction of PFOA from Water
Authors: Almquist Catherine B. , Garza Linda , Flood Megan , Carroll Anne , Armstrong Ryan , Chen Sean , Marcellino Christopher
Published: January 2023

This study represents a first time that perstraction was assessed as a process to remove perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from water. In the perstraction process, PFOA permeates through a membrane from water to a solvent. The membrane used in this study was polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The experimental approach included the following: (1) measurement of partition coefficients for PFOA between water and selected solvents; (2) determination of solubility and diffusivity of the solvents in PDMS; (3) determination of the uptake of PFOA in PDMS; (4) determination of the effects of selected particles imbedded in the PDMS on PFOA uptake and solvent absorption; and (5) demonstration of the perstraction process to remove PFOA from water. PFOA preferentially partitioned to alcohols over water. In addition, ZnO and CuO particles in PDMS significantly enhanced the rate at which PFOA was absorbed in PDMS from deionized water due to ionic interactions. The perstraction of PFOA from deionized water into hexanol was demonstrated. However, perstraction was not successful at removing PFOA from tap water. While the application of perstraction to removing PFOA from water is limited, the idea was demonstrated and information contained within this manuscript is new.
Applications of Fractional Partial Differential Equations for MHD Casson Fluid Flow with Innovative Ternary Nanoparticles
Authors: Asjad Muhammad Imran , Karim Rizwan , Hussanan Abid , Iqbal Azhar , Eldin Sayed M.
Published: January 2023

This study deals with the modeling issues of the transport problem with a fractional operator. The fractional model with generalized Fourier’s law is discussed for Casson fluid flow over a flat surface. The dimensionless governing model is solved with the Laplace transform method, and the different comparisons are plotted from the obtained solutions. Other features of the problem have been analyzed instead of the symmetric behavior of the properties for different values of the fractional parameter. As a result, the ternary nanoparticles approach can be used to improve the fluid properties better than hybrid and mono nanoparticles. Further, it is evident that the law-based fractional model is more accurate and efficient in fitting any experimental data instead of an artificial replacement.
Mechanical Properties of Translucent Zirconia: An In Vitro Study
Authors: Mavriqi Luan , Traini Tonino
Published: January 2023

Background: The introduction of translucent zirconia has improved mimetics: nevertheless, a reduction in the mechanical performance was registered. The study aim was to investigate the mechanical characteristics of a high-translucent zirconia used for monolithic restorations before and after the aging process compared to a low-translucent zirconia. Methods: A total of 23 specimens were used in the present study. Group A (n = 10) was made of a high-translucent Y-TZP; group B (n = 7) was made of a low-translucent Y-TZP and finally group C (n = 6) was an aged high-translucent Y-TZP. Flexural strength, fracture toughness, brittleness, microcrack’s propagation and grain size were analyzed. Results: The Vickers hardness was: 1483 ± 187 MPa (group C); 1102 ± 392 MPa (group A); 1284 ± 32 MPa (group B). The flexural strength was: 440 (±96.2) MPa (group C); 427 (±59.5) MPa (group A); 805 (±198.4) MPa (group B). The fracture toughness was: 5.1 (±0.7) MPa.m1/2 (group C); 4.9 (±0.9) MPa.m1/2 (group A); 8.9 (±1.1) MPa.m1/2 (group B). The brittleness was: 295 (±42.8) (group C), 230.9 (±46.4) (group A) and 144.9 (±20.3) (group B). The grain size was: 2.75 (±1.2) µm2 (group A); 0.16 (±0.05) µm2 (group B); 3.04 (±1.1) µm2 (group C). Conclusions: The significant reduction in the mechanical properties of high-translucent zirconia, compared to the traditional one, suggests their use in the anterior/lateral area (up to premolars).
Fusion of LiDAR and Multispectral Data for Aboveground Biomass Estimation in Mountain Grassland
Authors: Chen Ang , Wang Xing , Zhang Min , Guo Jian , Xing Xiaoyu , Yang Dong , Zhang Huilong , Hou Zhiyan , Jia Ze , Yang Xiuchun
Published: January 2023

Grassland aboveground biomass (AGB) is an important indicator for studying the change in grassland ecological quality and carbon cycle. The rapid development of high-resolution remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) provides a new opportunity for accurate estimation of grassland AGB on the plot scale. In this study, the mountain grassland was taken as the research object. Using UAV Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data and multispectral satellite images, the influence of topographic correction methods on AGB estimation was compared and a series of LiDAR metrics and vegetation indices were extracted. On this basis, a comprehensive indicator, the vegetation index-height-intensity model (VHI), was proposed to estimate AGB quickly. The results show that: (1) Among the four topographic correction methods, the Teillet regression has the best effect, and can effectively improve the accuracy of AGB estimation in mountain grassland. The correlation between corrected ratio vegetation index and AGB was the highest (correlation coefficient: 0.682). (2) Among the height and intensity metrics, median height and max intensity yielded the higher accuracy in estimating AGB, with Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 322 g/m2 and 333 g/m2, respectively. (3) The VHI integrated spectrum and LiDAR information, and its accuracy for AGB estimation for mountain grassland, was obviously better than other indicators, with an RMSE of 272 g/m2. We also found that the accuracy of VHI in univariate models was comparable to that of complex multivariate models such as stepwise regression, support vector machine, and random forest. This study provides a new approach for estimating grassland AGB with multi-source data. As a simple and effective indicator, VHI has shown strong application potential for grassland AGB estimating in mountainous areas, and can be further applied to grassland carbon cycle research and fine management.
Search for Electron Bursts in the Inner Van Allen Belts with the CSES and NOAA POES Satellites
Authors: Neubüser Coralie , Battiston Roberto , Burger William Jerome , Follega Francesco Maria , Vitale Vincenzo
Published: January 2023

Earthquake monitoring plays a key role in human life protection, especially in highly populated areas of the Earth. First indications have been found in SAMPEX and NOAA satellite data that particle fluxes of trapped electrons in the Van Allen belts can be correlated to seismic activity on the ground. Within the framework of the CSES mission, a systematic analysis of the electron flux, within the invariant phase space in the L-shell and equatorial pitch angle, has started with the goal to identify short-term variations of the flux (particle bursts) in conjunction with seismic activity. This analysis is based on the statistical evaluation of the flux measurements and built to be potentially implemented in an online monitoring system. The first milestone in that direction has been achieved, providing a stable background estimation. With the injection of artificial signals, the efficiency of the method was evaluated and found to be better than 95% for isolated (one per day) and short (∼3 min) signals with a significance ≥ 5σ above the background. The developed method is set up in a manner to be easily applicable to data from different instruments and satellites. This article presents the studied datasets of the low-energy HEPP instrument onboard the CSES-01 satellite and the electron telescopes of the MEPED detector onboard the NOAA POES-19 satellite, introduces the method for the background estimation, and discusses the first correlation studies of particle bursts with geomagnetic indices obtained within this framework.
National Scale Maize Yield Estimation by Integrating Multiple Spectral Indexes and Temporal Aggregation
Authors: He Yuhua , Qiu Bingwen , Cheng Feifei , Chen Chongcheng , Sun Yu , Zhang Dongshui , Lin Li , Xu Aizhen
Published: January 2023

Maize yield in China accounts for more than one-fourth of the global maize yield, but it is challenged by frequent extreme weather and increasing food demand. Accurate and timely estimation of maize yield is of great significance to crop management and food security. Commonly applied vegetation indexes (VIs) are mainly used in crop yield estimation as they can reflect the greenness of vegetation. However, the environmental pressures of crop growth and development are difficult to monitor and evaluate. Indexes for water content, pigment content, nutrient elements and biomass have been developed to indirectly explain the influencing factors of yield, with extant studies mainly assessing VIs, climate and water content factors. Only a few studies have attempted to systematically evaluate the sensitivity of these indexes. The sensitivity of the spectral indexes, combined indexes and climate factors and the effect of temporal aggregation data need to be evaluated. Thus, this study proposes a novel yield evaluation method for integrating multiple spectral indexes and temporal aggregation data. In particular, spectral indexes were calculated by integrating publicly available data (remote sensing images and climate data) from the Google Earth Engine platform, and county-level maize yields in China from 2015 to 2019 were estimated using a random forest model. Results showed that the normalized moisture difference index (NMDI) is the index most sensitive to yield estimation. Furthermore, the potential of adopting the combined indexes, especially NMDI_NDNI, was verified. Compared with the whole-growth period data and the eight-day time series, the vegetative growth period and the reproductive growth period data were more sensitive to yield estimation. The maize yield in China can be estimated by integrating multiple spectral indexes into the indexes for the vegetative and reproductive growth periods. The obtained R2 of maize yield estimation reached 0.8. This study can provide feature knowledge and references for index assessments for yield estimation research.
How Good Is a Tactical-Grade GNSS + INS (MEMS and FOG) in a 20-m Bathymetric Survey?
Authors: Oguntuase Johnson O. , Hiroji Anand , Komolafe Peter
Published: January 2023

This paper examines how tactical-grade Inertial Navigation Systems (INS), aided by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) modules, vary from a survey-grade system in the bathymetric mapping in depths less than 20 m. The motivation stems from the advancements in sensor developments, measurement processing algorithms, and the proliferation of autonomous and uncrewed surface vehicles often seeking to use tactical-grade systems for high-quality bathymetric products. While the performance of survey-grade GNSS + INS is well-known to the hydrographic and marine science community, the performance and limitations of the tactical-grade micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) and tactical-grade fiber-optic-gyro (FOG) INS aided with GNSS require some study to answer the following questions: (1) How close or far is the tactical-grade GNSS + INS performance from the survey-grade systems? (2) For what survey order (IHO S-44 6th ed.) can a user deploy them? (3) Can we use them for navigation chart production? We attempt to answer these questions by deploying two tactical-grade GNSS + INS units (MEMS and FOG) and a survey-grade GNSS + INS on a survey boat. All systems collected data while operating a multibeam system with the lever-arm offsets accurately determined using a total station. The tactical-grade GNSS + INSs shared one pair of antennas for heading, while the survey-grade system used an independent antenna pair. We analyze the GNSS + INS results in sequence, examine the patch-test results, and the sensor-specific SBET-integrated bathymetric surfaces as metrics for determining the tactical-grade GNSS + INSs’ reliability. In addition, we evaluate the multibeam’s sounding uncertainties at different beam angles. The bathymetric surfaces using the tactical-grade navigation solutions are within 15 cm of the surface generated with the survey-grade solutions.
Variational Information Bottleneck Regularized Deep Reinforcement Learning for Efficient Robotic Skill Adaptation
Authors: Xiang Guofei , Dian Songyi , Du Shaofeng , Lv Zhonghui
Published: January 2023

Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) algorithms have been widely studied for sequential decision-making problems, and substantial progress has been achieved, especially in autonomous robotic skill learning. However, it is always difficult to deploy DRL methods in practical safety-critical robot systems, since the training and deployment environment gap always exists, and this issue would become increasingly crucial due to the ever-changing environment. Aiming at efficiently robotic skill transferring in a dynamic environment, we present a meta-reinforcement learning algorithm based on a variational information bottleneck. More specifically, during the meta-training stage, the variational information bottleneck first has been applied to infer the complete basic tasks for the whole task space, then the maximum entropy regularized reinforcement learning framework has been used to learn the basic skills consistent with that of basic tasks. Once the training stage is completed, all of the tasks in the task space can be obtained by a nonlinear combination of the basic tasks, thus, the according skills to accomplish the tasks can also be obtained by some way of a combination of the basic skills. Empirical results on several highly nonlinear, high-dimensional robotic locomotion tasks show that the proposed variational information bottleneck regularized deep reinforcement learning algorithm can improve sample efficiency by 200–5000 times on new tasks. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm achieves substantial asymptotic performance improvement. The results indicate that the proposed meta-reinforcement learning framework makes a significant step forward to deploy the DRL-based algorithm to practical robot systems.
A Near-Optimal Energy Management Mechanism Considering QoS and Fairness Requirements in Tree Structure Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Tai Kuang-Yen , Liu Bo-Chen , Hsiao Chiu-Han , Tsai Ming-Chi , Lin Frank Yeong-Sung
Published: January 2023

The rapid development of AIOT-related technologies has revolutionized various industries. The advantage of such real-time sensing, low costs, small sizes, and easy deployment makes extensive use of wireless sensor networks in various fields. However, due to the wireless transmission of data, and limited built-in power supply, controlling energy consumption and making the application of the sensor network more efficient is still an urgent problem to be solved in practice. In this study, we construct this problem as a tree structure wireless sensor network mathematical model, which mainly considers the QoS and fairness requirements. This study determines the probability of sensor activity, transmission distance, and transmission of the packet size, and thereby minimizes energy consumption. The Lagrangian Relaxation method is used to find the optimal solution with the lowest energy consumption while maintaining the network’s transmission efficiency. The experimental results confirm that the decision-making speed and energy consumption can be effectively improved.
Wearable System Based on Ultra-Thin Parylene C Tattoo Electrodes for EEG Recording
Authors: Mascia Antonello , Collu Riccardo , Spanu Andrea , Fraschini Matteo , Barbaro Massimo , Cosseddu Piero
Published: January 2023

In an increasingly interconnected world, where electronic devices permeate every aspect of our lives, wearable systems aimed at monitoring physiological signals are rapidly taking over the sport and fitness domain, as well as biomedical fields such as rehabilitation and prosthetics. With the intent of providing a novel approach to the field, in this paper we discuss the development of a wearable system for the acquisition of EEG signals based on a portable, low-power custom PCB specifically designed to be used in combination with non-conventional ultra-conformable and imperceptible Parylene-C tattoo electrodes. The proposed system has been tested in a standard rest-state experiment, and its performance in terms of discrimination of two different states has been compared to that of a commercial wearable device for EEG signal acquisition (i.e., the Muse headset), showing comparable results. This first preliminary validation demonstrates the possibility of conveniently employing ultra-conformable tattoo-electrodes integrated portable systems for the unobtrusive acquisition of brain activity.
Gaussian Process Regression for Single-Channel Sound Source Localization System Based on Homomorphic Deconvolution
Authors: Kim Keonwook , Hong Yujin
Published: January 2023

To extract the phase information from multiple receivers, the conventional sound source localization system involves substantial complexity in software and hardware. Along with the algorithm complexity, the dedicated communication channel and individual analog-to-digital conversions prevent an increase in the system’s capability due to feasibility. The previous study suggested and verified the single-channel sound source localization system, which aggregates the receivers on the single analog network for the single digital converter. This paper proposes the improved algorithm for the single-channel sound source localization system based on the Gaussian process regression with the novel feature extraction method. The proposed system consists of three computational stages: homomorphic deconvolution, feature extraction, and Gaussian process regression in cascade. The individual stages represent time delay extraction, data arrangement, and machine prediction, respectively. The optimal receiver configuration for the three-receiver structure is derived from the novel similarity matrix analysis based on the time delay pattern diversity. The simulations and experiments present precise predictions with proper model order and ensemble average length. The nonparametric method, with the rational quadratic kernel, shows consistent performance on trained angles. The Steiglitz–McBride model with the exponential kernel delivers the best predictions for trained and untrained angles with low bias and low variance in statistics.
Fiber Optic Impact Location System Based on a Tracking Tandem Low-Coherence Interferometer
Authors: Volkov Petr , Lukyanov Andrey , Goryunov Alexander , Semikov Daniil , Vopilkin Evgeniy , Kraev Stanislav
Published: January 2023

This study proposes a method for detecting small-length fluctuations for fiber-optic sensors (FOS). The method is based on a tracking tandem low-coherence interferometer and enables the ability to compensate for temperature and deformation drifts in FOS. As a result, the constant high sensitivity of FOS over a wide frequency range is guaranteed. Sensitivity to the level of 2 nm in the frequency range of 200 kHz has been demonstrated. The operation of the circuit is demonstrated on the example of the 2D location of acoustic signals using a correlation algorithm for signal processing, known as the time reversal method. It is shown that this system enables us to determine the place of the impact on the sample under the test with an accuracy of about 2 cm using a single sensor.
A Simple Differential Microwave Imaging Approach for In-Line Inspection of Food Products
Authors: Zeni Noemi , Crocco Lorenzo , Cavagnaro Marta , Bellizzi Gennaro
Published: January 2023

Microwave imaging has been recently proposed as alternative technology for in-line inspection of packaged products in the food industry, thanks to its non-invasiveness and the low-cost of the equipment. In this framework, simple and effective detection/imaging strategies, able to reveal the presence of foreign bodies that may have contaminated the product during the packaging stage, are needed to allow real-time and reliable detection, thus avoiding delays along the production line and limiting occurrence of false detections (either negative or positive). In this work, a novel detection/imaging approach meeting these requirements is presented. The approach performs the detection/imaging of the contaminant by exploiting the symmetries usually characterizing the food items. Such symmetries are broken by the presence of foreign bodies, thereby determining a differential signal that can be processed to reveal their presence. In so doing, the approach does not require the prior measurement of a reference, defect-free, item. With respect to the quite common case of homogeneous food packaged in circular plastic/glass jars, numerical analyses are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Continuous Sizing and Identification of Microplastics in Water
Authors: Glöckler Felix , Foschum Florian , Kienle Alwin
Published: January 2023

The pollution of the environment with microplastics in general, and in particular, the contamination of our drinking water and other food items, has increasingly become the focus of public attention in recent years. In order to better understand the entry pathways into the human food chain and thus prevent them if possible, a precise characterization of the particles concerning their size and material is indispensable. Particularly small plastic particles pose a special challenge since their material can only be determined by means of large experimental effort. In this work, we present a proof of principle experiment that allows the precise determination of the plastic type and the particle size in a single step. The experiment combines elastic light scattering (Mie scattering) with inelastic light scattering (Raman scattering), the latter being used to determine the plastic type. We conducted Monte Carlo simluations for the elastically scattered light for different kinds of plastics in a microfluidic cuvette which we could reproduce in the experiment. We were able to measure the Raman signals for different microplastics in the same measurement as the elastically scattered light and thereby determine their material. This information was used to select the appropriate Monte Carlo simulation data and to assign the correct particle size to different materials with only one calibration measurement.
CO2 Emissions in Layered Cranberry Soils under Simulated Warming
Authors: Dossou-Yovo Wilfried , Parent Serge-Étienne , Ziadi Noura , Parent Léon E.
Published: January 2023

Sanding to bury the overgrowth of uprights and promote new growth results in alternate sand and organic sublayers in the 0–30 cm layer of cranberry soils contributing to global carbon storage. The aim of this study was to measure CO2 emission rates in cranberry soil sublayers under simulated warming. Soil samples (0–10, 10–20 and 20–30 cm) were incubated in jars for up to 105 days at 10, 20 and 30 °C. The CO2 emission rate was measured biweekly by gas chromatography. The CO2 emission rate increased with temperature and decreased in deeper soil sublayers. Linear regression relating CO2 efflux to soil sublayer and temperature returned R2 = 0.87. Sensitivity of organic matter decomposition to temperature was estimated as activation energy and as Q10 coefficient, the increase in reaction rate per 10 °C. Activation energy was 50 kJ mol−1, 59 kJ mol−1 and 71 kJ mol−1 in the in the 0–10, 10–20 and 20–30 cm sublayers, respectively, indicating higher molecular-weight compounds resisting to decomposition in deeper sublayers. The Q10 values were significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the 10–30 cm (2.79 ± 0.10) than the 0–10 cm (2.18 ± 0.07) sublayers. The 20–30 cm sublayer where less total carbon was stored was the most sensitive to higher temperature. Cranberry soils could be used as sensitive markers of global warming.
Usefulness of V˙O2 Kinetics and Biomechanical Parameters as Predictors of Athlete’s Performance in 800 m Running Race
Authors: Navarro Vicente Torres , Díaz-Pintado Jose Vicente Sánchez-Alarcos , Piero Diego Warr di , Olmedo Florentino Huertas
Published: January 2023

Incremental tests to exhaustion have been usually employed as the “gold standard” to establish the fitness level of athletes. However, during real competition in many sport disciplines, exertion is not characterized by an increasing effort until failure. The purpose of this preliminary study was to add new evidence regarding the usability of parameters obtained from an on-field testing in 800 m running athletes. V˙O2 kinetics (mean, amplitude, phase time, and phase start time) and biomechanical parameters (velocity, stride frequency, and stride length) were analyzed in eight athletes during a maximal 800 m running race test. Our results showed that only the peak of blood lactate concentration after the 800 m test was correlated with the race time (p = 0.047). The race time was positively associated with both the phase duration and phase start time (all p-values < 0.05). Conversely, race time was negatively correlated with velocity, stride frequency, and amplitude (p-values < 0.05). Our results reveal that jointly studying the V˙O2 kinetics and biomechanical parameters during a maximal 800 m running race test is a useful tool to predict the athlete’s upcoming performance and improve the planning and control of the training process of 800 m running athletes.
High-Order Sliding Mode Magnetometer for Excitation Fault Detection of Elevator Traction Synchronous Motor under the Background of Industrial Engineering
Authors: Shao Peng , Tang Xiaozhou , Zheng Bo , Li Dongyang , Chen Shu , Lin Huipin
Published: January 2023

In order to solve the excitation problem of elevator traction permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs), a new high-order sliding mode flux observer based on a hybrid reaching rate is proposed under the background of industrial engineering to detect loss of excitation faults in real time. Firstly, a new high-order sliding mode flux observer is designed to solve the problem of the traditional sliding mode observer not being able to accurately detect the loss of excitation fault when the load resistance changes. Then, based on the sliding mode variable structure equivalent control principle, a PMSM flux estimation formula is established. The sinusoidal input function replaces the traditional symbolic process, and a mixed approach law is designed to replace the constant speed approach rate. The adaptive adjustment of the boundary layer of the sinusoidal input function is realized through a fuzzy control system, which effectively suppresses the chattering problem caused by the sliding mode variable structure and improves the observation accuracy of rotor position. The stability of the system is verified by Lyapunov’s second method. MATLAB/Simulink is used to build the simulation model of the PMSM control system with the new sliding mode observer, and the simulation results are compared with those of a traditional sliding mode observer. The results show that compared with the conventional observer, the new sliding mode observer can track the rotor position quickly, and the system has better anti-interference abilities and stability. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of this method are verified via simulations and experiments.
Poverty Reduction through Corporate Social Responsibility: Case Study of Peruvian Rural Families
Authors: Ventura José , Jauregui Kety
Published: January 2023

Poverty remains one of this millennium’s main problems, which why the first objective of sustainable development is poverty reduction. Multiple actors are working on this issue: states, multilateral organisms, civil societies, and—perhaps less boldly—the private sector, through social responsibility programs. In this research, the aim was to understand how rural families perceive the contribution of CSR programs, in respect to the decrease in rural poverty. A total of 20 rural families, who were beneficiaries from CSR programs belonging to two extractive companies, were interviewed; furthermore, they were no longer poor and were currently dwelling within the highlands and jungles of Perú. The results show that the CSR strategies used by the companies directly and indirectly contribute toward a reduction in rural poverty, and particularly those more specifically related to capacity development, access to markets, and strategic philanthropy. In this study, it was also found that families mostly use the strategy of informal entrepreneurship, which is not directly linked to the companies’ actions; as such, this could serve as a basis for the future implementation of CSR actions.
Role of Government in the Construction of Zero-Waste Cities: A Case Study of China’s Pearl River Delta City Cluster
Authors: Zhang Zhengliang , Teng Junfei
Published: January 2023

Urbanization and industrialization have contributed to the rapid growth of solid waste production, posing serious challenges to the urban governance field. Consequently, the concept of “zero waste” (ZW) has gradually become the common goal pursued by human society. At the end of 2021, China initiated the second phase of ZW city (ZWC) construction. Several pilot areas were selected and these areas have exhibited the characteristics of regionalization in distribution. However, previous studies on China’s ZWCs have mainly summarized and reflected on the results of the first phase of practice, ignoring the development requirements of city cluster construction. The transformation from the ZWC to “zero-waste city clusters” (ZWCCs) requires the government, as a leader, to change its role to adapt to the new development trend. This study selects Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta City Cluster (PRDCC) in the pilot cities as the research objects to discuss the successful experience of Shenzhen in terms of the improvement of the legal framework, establishment of a centralized park governance model, and establishment of an information platform. Based on the specific situation of the PRDCC, the study analyzes how the government should accomplish the transformation of its role and re-stablish its positioning. Furthermore, a case study reveals that the government should change its dominant role to a collaborator’s role to effectively promote ZWC construction, given the problems of unbalanced regional economic level, inconsistent solid waste treatment capacity, noncooperation among multiple subjects, and imperfect coordination mechanism. The study provides three recommendations for this purpose, including supporting enterprises and social organizations with institutional incentives and establishing a benign interaction model with multiple actors as well as a sound publicity and monitoring model. In conclusion, the transformation of China from ZWCs to ZWCC is in accordance with the development law, and the government must adapt to the law and change the governance model accordingly. The study provides a reference for ZWC construction in other countries or regions.