bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Holistic Sustainability Assessment of Riparian Buffer Designs: Evaluation of Alternative Buffer Policy Scenarios Integrating Stream Water Quality and Costs
Authors: Ghimire Santosh R. , Nayak Adam C. , Corona Joel , Parmar Rajbir , Srinivasan Raghavan , Mendoza Katie , Johnston John M.
Published: September 2022

Riparian buffer zones (RBZs) have been shown to be effective best management practices (BMPs) in controlling non-point source pollutants in waterbodies. However, the holistic sustainability assessment of individual RBZ designs is lacking. We present a methodology for evaluating the holistic sustainability of RBZ policy scenarios by integrating environmental and economic indicators simulated in three watersheds in the southeastern USA. We developed three unique sets of 40, 32, and 48 RBZ policy scenarios as decision management objectives (DMOs), respectively, in Back Creek, Sycamore Creek, and Greens Mill Run watersheds (Virginia and North Carolina) by combining the RBZ—widths with vegetation types (grass, urban, naturalized, wildlife, three-zone forest, and two-zone forest). We adapted the RBZ—hydrologic and water quality system assessment data of instream water quality parameters (dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, total suspended solids—sediment and biochemical oxygen demand) as environmental indicators, recently published by U.S. EPA. We calculated 20-year net present value costs as economic indicators using the RBZ’s establishment, maintenance, and opportunity costs data published by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The mean normalized net present value costs varied by DMOs ranging from 4% (grass RBZ—1.9 m) to 500% (wildlife RBZ—91.4 m) across all watersheds, due primarily to the width and the opportunity costs. The mean normalized environmental indicators varied by watersheds, with the largest change in total nitrogen due to urban RBZs in Back Creek (60–95%), Sycamore Creek (37–91%), and Greens Mill (52–93%). The holistic sustainability assessments revealed the least to most sustainable DMOs for each watershed, from least sustainable wildlife RBZ (score of 0.54), three-zone forest RBZ (0.32), and three-zone forest RBZ (0.62), respectively, for Back Creek, Sycamore Creek, and Greens Mill, to most sustainable urban RBZ (1.00) for all watersheds.
The Relationship between Figureheads and Managerial Leaders in the Private University Sector: A Decentralised, Competency-Based Leadership Model for Sustainable Higher Education
Authors: Alam Gazi Mahabubul
Published: September 2022

Using school management settings, important substantial leadership models (such as “instructional”, “constructive”, and “distributed”) are developed. University leadership, especially in the private sector, is an understudied topic. While private universities need to generate revenue for profits and survival, they should at the same time retain a sound education philosophy—an extremely difficult task. Studies are yet to be conducted to understand how leaders of private universities handle this challenge, and this issue motivates the present study. Using Bangladesh as a case study, this qualitative analysis discovers that the “visionary” leadership approach is mainly used for the business management models that governs private-sector universities. This does not allow an established education leadership model to function well, if at all. This has seriously challenged education philosophy. Innovation of a specialised private-sector university leadership model is therefore required. A “distributed leadership” approach is the latest innovation for educational leadership, which is mainly applicable for the public system, especially for K12 provision. Considering a distinct operational norm of the private university sector in a developing nation, this research suggests a dynamic revenue-collection model which would enable the development of a decentralised, competency-based leadership approach. While the private university sector may not be able to implement “distributed leadership” model given the operational differences and challenges involved, the proposed model may support the private university sector to function in tertiary level, as the “distributed model” functions for K12 provision. This proposed model (decentralised, competency-based leadership) would further be able to ensure a specialised operational directive for private universities in an emerging nation that may ensure a distinctive nature for the sector’s delivery of sustainable higher education (HE) without compromising the philosophy and role of HE.
Establishing Competency Development Evaluation Systems and Talent Cultivation Strategies for the Service Industry Using the Hybrid MCDM Approach
Authors: Lin Chia-Li , Kuo Chung-Ling
Published: September 2022

Previously, coffee baristas only needed to learn basic coffee brewing skills. Today, in addition to coffee brewing skills, baristas also need to be able to identify the quality of coffee beans, select the appropriate way of roasting specific beans, and explain the growing regions and production processes for different coffees to customers. As coffee practitioners’ competency gradually becomes specialized and complicated, understanding professional competency needs is critical to effectively cultivating a new generation of coffee practitioners. Further, without this understanding, it will be difficult to maintain the competitiveness of coffee industry practitioners in the third-wave coffee revolution. This study seeks to understand coffee consumers’ service needs and coffee competency needs for the industry and to determine the driving forces of professional competency needs for the coffee (beverage) industry. In understanding coffee competency needs, we can analyze the status and gaps in coffee professionals’ competency. Therefore, this study attempts to identify the professional competency needs of coffee industry practitioners (coffee operators and coffee workers) and consumers and introduces four major aspects (professional skills, professional knowledge, personal characteristics, and self-efficacy) to construct the competency needs and determine the network relation map (NRM). This research found that PK (professional knowledge) was the dominant aspect, and SE (self-efficacy) was the aspect being dominated. Moreover, the PK aspect affects the aspects of PS (professional skills), PC (personal characteristics), and SE (self-efficacy), and the PS aspect affects the aspects of PC and SE. Additionally, the PC aspect affects the SE aspect. Further, this study can aid various coffee service businesses in establishing competency development strategy maps and redefining coffee professionals’ competency to achieve professional competency goals through staff selection and training and using their talents.
Critical Review of Trends in Modular Integrated Construction Research with a Focus on Sustainability
Authors: Nguyen Truong Dang Hoang Nhat , Moon Hyosoo , Ahn Yonghan
Published: September 2022

Modular integrated construction (MiC) is an innovative technology that minimizes the adverse impacts of construction not only in terms of material resources, energy consumption and environmental issues but also by reducing construction times and costs. The widespread adoption of these practices could therefore contribute to the construction industry’s sustainable development. Despite the increasing public attention of MiC with a number of published works in various aspects, there is still a lack of systematic assessment of its sustainability performance. We therefore reviewed the published literature addressing the sustainability of MiC over the last two decades using a desktop research method integrating a bibliometric search with quantitative and qualitative analyses. Our objective was to investigate, evaluate, and summarize the ongoing research trends for sustainability-related studies in MiC published in leading construction journals to identify promising potential directions for future research. This research is intended to serve as a useful resource for practitioners and researchers seeking to better understand the significance of this outstanding technology as we strive to develop a more sustainable construction environment.
Filtering Power Divider Design Using Resonant LC Branches for 5G Low-Band Applications
Authors: Roshani Saeed , Yahya Salah I. , Alameri Ban M. , Mezaal Yaqeen Sabah , Liu Louis W. Y. , Roshani Sobhan
Published: September 2022

This paper proposes an ultra-compact filtering power divider with a wide harmonic suppression band. In this design, the proposed power divider (PD) in the ideal case has 100% size reduction and an infinite number of harmonics suppression. However, in the real case, the proposed divider has a 92% size reduction and suppresses the 2nd to 45th harmonics. The small-proposed divider is designed at 0.9 GHz. The typical Wilkinson divider has two long quarter-wavelength branches. In the proposed design, new resonant series LC branches are used instead of the divider’s typical branches, leading to performance improvements in the proposed PD. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the proposed filtering PD has the best size reduction, and harmonics suppression reported thus far. The proposed divider has a filtering response with good insertion loss at the passband, which is desirable for modern communication systems.
Behind the Lines of #MeToo: Exploring Women’s and Men’s Intentions to Join the Movement
Authors: Menegatti Michela , Mazzuca Silvia , Ciaffoni Stefano , Moscatelli Silvia
Published: September 2022

Campaigns supporting victims of gender harassment and abuse, such as #MeToo, have made and still make significant contributions to achieving the fifth UN Sustainable Development Goal aimed at eliminating “all forms of violence against all women”. In two correlational studies, we examined possible antecedents of people’s willingness to participate in the #MeToo campaign by focusing on the role of ambivalent beliefs toward women and men and the perceived effects of the movement. Men (Study 1) and women (Study 2) were asked to answer questions concerning hostile and benevolent beliefs about women and men, respectively, their perception of the beneficial and detrimental effects of #MeToo, and their intentions to participate in the campaign. Study 1 showed that men’s hostile sexism toward women was associated with fewer intentions to actively support the #MeToo campaign and that the reduced beliefs that the movement had beneficial effects mediated this relation. Study 2 revealed that women’s stronger benevolent beliefs about men were associated with decreased perception that the #MeToo campaign had a beneficial impact. In turn, such a perception was related to lower intentions to participate in supporting the campaign. Moreover, women’s hostility toward men explained the intention to join the #MeToo movement through the mediation of the perception that the campaign was beneficial. The findings suggest that to foster participation in a feminist movement that promotes women’s rights, it is necessary to eradicate traditional gender roles and the related ideologies that legitimate men’s dominant position in society.
Integrated PV–BESS-Fed High Gain Converter for an LED Lighting System in a Commercial Building
Authors: Susaikani Augusti Lindiya , Nallusamy Subashini , Dharmalingam Uma , Buswig Yonis M. , Prabaharan Natarajan , Salem Mohamed
Published: September 2022

The demand for electricity is rapidly growing and renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and tidal energy can compensate the demand to a substantial level. Among these, solar energy is abundant, scalable and is cheaper. The generated energy can be used in an efficient way if the DC output is directly supplied to the load instead of converting it to AC. Every electrical system is capable of operating in DC and, for example, energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights have become popular as they provides more lumens with less power consumption and also can be directly operated from DC. LED lighting system in large commercial buildings has irradiance levels which vary sigificantly during operation. Extracting maximum power from the energy system and maintaining constant voltage output at different loads is another challenge. This paper proposes a solar Photo Voltaic (PV)-based energy system including Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for supplying LED lamps to a commercial building through a modified high gain Luo converter. The Perturb and Observe control algorithm has been used for maximum power extraction from a PV cell whereas PI (Proportional Integral) controllers maintain constant output voltage from PV–BESS against different irradiance levels. To supply the desired voltages to the LED lighting system, a modified high gain Luo converter is designed. To make the output voltage constant at different load currents, PI and Sliding Mode Controllers (SMC) are designed with the help of the state-space average model. It is found that the sliding mode controller outperforms the PI controller in terms of behavior in the transient period and tracking capability. The system is simulated using MATLAB/Simulink®. The Sliding Mode Controller has a 95% less transient period and is 75% faster in tracking capability when compared to other controllers. The system could be incorporated with the PV source to obtain green energy.
Financing Constraints and Corporate Value in China: The Moderating Role of Multinationality and Ownership Type
Authors: Cai Ruize , Yun Kyung Hwan , Kim Minho
Published: September 2022

Drawing on institutional theory and agency theory, this study examines the relationship between financing constraints and corporate value in China. In addition, we provide solutions for negative effects of financing constraints on corporate value in China. Chinese firms tend to utilize costly informal institutions to gain legitimacy and necessary resources from external stakeholders. This can lead to Chinese firms’ assuming higher financing transaction costs, negatively influencing corporate value. The multinational strategy of Chinese firms can further increase the financial burden of the company, and agency problems of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) can negatively affect the enthusiasm of managers, exacerbating the restraining effects of financing constraints on corporate value. We empirically analyze the non-financial companies listed on the Chinese stock market from 2011 to 2020 by using the methods of fixed effects and dynamic regression, heterogeneity analysis, and instrumental variables. The results show that financing constraints significantly inhibit corporate value. Accounting for the impact of differing degrees of multinationality and different types of ownership in enterprises, we empirically present the positive moderating effects of multinationality and ownership type in reducing corporate value in circumstances of financing constraints. Finally, we suggest ways for Chinese firms to overcome the negative effects of financing constraints on corporate value.
Knowledge Management Practice for Sustainable Development in Higher Education Institutions: Women Managers’ Perspective
Authors: Raudeliuniene Jurgita , Matar Ibrahim
Published: September 2022

Women play a crucial leadership role in higher education institutions by implementing knowledge management practices; however, there is a lack of scientific studies that mainly investigate this role. Therefore, in order to fill this scientific studies gap, a purposive sampling technique focusing on women managers and a survey were employed to collect data from 201 women working in managerial positions in Lebanese and Syrian higher education institutions. PLS structural equational modeling technique and independent sample t-test were used to analyze the influence of the knowledge management cycle on sustainability in higher education institutions through women managers’ perspectives. The findings revealed a positive and significant relationship among the analyzed knowledge management processes in the study, and some insignificant differences were detected in the independent sample t-test between the Lebanese and Syrian higher education institutions. The results of this study are valuable for strategic and knowledge management practitioners concerned with women’s leadership and implementation of knowledge management practices in higher education institutions for sustainability.
Challenges in Promoting Positive Youth Development through Sport
Authors: Palheta Carlos Ewerton , Ciampolini Vitor , Santos Fernando , Ibáñez Sergio José , Nascimento Juarez Vieira , Milistetd Michel
Published: September 2022

Following previous calls regarding the importance of using sport as a platform for promoting youth psychosocial development and mental health, this case study aimed to understand the challenges faced by coaches and technical directors in the face of their individual efforts to infuse a positive youth development focus into a nationwide youth sports program in Brazil. After conducting semi-structured interviews, we conducted an inductive−deductive thematic analysis. High-order themes were organized according to the dimensions of the Framework for Planning Youth Sport Programs That Foster Psychosocial Development. The challenges faced appear to be interconnected. Since the program’s goals are not evident to the stakeholders, parents seemed not to support the absence of participation in competitive events. The lack of a structured methodology for implementing the program hinders coaches from planning and delivering practices by concurrently integrating sport skills and life skills development. Furthermore, the program presents difficulties in ensuring its effectiveness through assessment processes.
Land-Cover-Change Detection with Aerial Orthoimagery Using SegNet-Based Semantic Segmentation in Namyangju City, South Korea
Authors: Son Sanghun , Lee Seong-Hyeok , Bae Jaegu , Ryu Minji , Lee Doi , Park So-Ryeon , Seo Dongju , Kim Jinsoo
Published: September 2022

In this study, we classified land cover using SegNet, a deep-learning model, and we assessed its classification accuracy in comparison with the support-vector-machine (SVM) and random-forest (RF) machine-learning models. The land-cover classification was based on aerial orthoimagery with a spatial resolution of 1 m for the input dataset, and Level-3 land-use and land-cover (LULC) maps with a spatial resolution of 1 m as the reference dataset. The study areas were the Namhan and Bukhan River Basins, where significant urbanization occurred between 2010 and 2012. The hyperparameters were selected by comparing the validation accuracy of the models based on the parameter changes, and they were then used to classify four LU types (urban, crops, forests, and water). The results indicated that SegNet had the highest accuracy (91.54%), followed by the RF (52.96%) and SVM (50.27%) algorithms. Both machine-learning models showed lower accuracy than SegNet in classifying all land-cover types, except forests, with an overall-accuracy (OA) improvement of approximately 40% for SegNet. Next, we applied SegNet to detect land-cover changes according to aerial orthoimagery of Namyangju city, obtained in 2010 and 2012; the resulting OA values were 86.42% and 78.09%, respectively. The reference dataset showed that urbanization increased significantly between 2010 and 2012, whereas the area of land used for forests and agriculture decreased. Similar changes in the land-cover types in the reference dataset suggest that urbanization is in progress. Together, these results indicate that aerial orthoimagery and the SegNet model can be used to efficiently detect land-cover changes, such as urbanization, and can be applied for LULC monitoring to promote sustainable land management.
Evaluation of a Sustainable Urban Transportation System in Terms of Traffic Congestion—A Case Study in Taxila, Pakistan
Authors: Raza Arsalan , Ali Muhammad Umair , Ullah Ubaid , Fayaz Muhammad , Alvi Muhammad Junaid , Kallu Karam Dad , Zafar Amad , Nengroo Sarvar Hussain
Published: September 2022

Traffic delays are not wholly new and are a well-known problem that impacts many of the world’s populations through disruptions and pollution. The rising urbanization and quantity of powered road vehicles necessitate a greater traffic control demand to maintain flow and avoid jams. In order to understand the notion of sustainable transportation, this study first examined sustainable transportation systems. This research then assessed Pakistan’s present transportation infrastructure and urban transportation to find the most reasonable and sustainable alternative to reduce congestion. The Taxila intersection was utilized as a pilot study area because of its vicinity to Pakistan’s leading economic hubs (i.e., industrial estates and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi). The study used multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques, including the fuzzy AHP, TOPSIS, VIKOR, and traffic simulation software, to determine the optimal solution for a more sustainable transportation system, and reducing traffic congestion. A pairwise comparison of the criteria and alternatives was made using a survey. This survey was used to look into the perspectives of various stakeholders and experts. The outcomes of the fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS and fuzzy AHP-VIKOR revealed that a flyover is the best alternative. In contrast, the best alternative, according to the software was a parking area. Ultimately, we assessed our results using the literature, and site observation, and concluded that a parking area would be the most sustainable alternative in the Taxila intersection.
Implementation of Physical Activity-Based Health Promotion Measures in Schools—Examples and Evaluations from Germany
Authors: Braksiek Michael , Pahmeier Iris , Gröben Bernd , Lindemann Uta
Published: September 2022

Health prevention and promotion are increasingly important in the school context. Beyond physical education, measures focused on physical activity (PA) are implemented to enhance students’ mental and physical health. The first aim of this study was to systematically describe two school-based health promotion measures that were based on the idea of active school concepts against the background of the German educational and health policies as well as the German school system. The second aim was to assess the process and implementation quality and potential outcomes of the measures and to identify factors that promote or hinder the implementation of the measures. Both measures were funded and supported by health insurance companies. The measure Fitness at School supported approximately 1195 schools in the last thirteen years by promoting PA-related projects at schools. In the measure Active School NRW, schools that best implement the concept of an active school were awarded. The results provide insights into the conditions that hinder and support the implementation of PA-based health promotion measures at schools and are discussed against the background of sustainable health promotion. Overall, the evaluation indicates that financial investments in health-prevention and -promotion measures in the school setting are beneficial.
Wave Analysis of Thick Rectangular Graphene Sheets: Thickness and Small-Scale Effects on Natural and Bifurcation Frequencies
Authors: Mousavi Janbeh Sarayi Seyyed Mostafa , Rajabpoor Alisepahi Amir , Bahrami Arian
Published: September 2022

Free vibration and wave analysis of thick rectangular graphene are studied by employing the wave propagation method. To consider small-scale effects and thickness of a plate in nanoscales, equations of motions are represented by the Eringen nonlocal theory coupled with the Mindlin plate theory of thick plates. To solve the governing equations of motion with the wave propagation technique, propagation and reflection matrices are derived. These matrices are combined to obtain exact natural frequencies of graphene sheets for all six possible boundary conditions. To check the accuracy and reliability of the method, natural frequencies are compared with the results of the literature, and excellent agreement is observed. Additionally, wave analysis of the graphene sheet is performed and different types of waves in the graphene sheet are captured. Deriving the dispersion relation of the graphene sheet, bifurcation frequencies (cut-off and escape frequencies) are analytically found. Finally, the effects of graphene sheet thickness and nonlocal parameter on the natural frequencies and bifurcation frequencies are investigated. It is observed that natural frequencies are highly dependent on the graphene sheet’s thickness and nonlocal parameter. More importantly, the number and order of bifurcation frequencies depend on these two parameters as well. Our findings are valuable for the sustainable design and fabrication of graphene-based sensors, in which structural health monitoring of embedded graphene sheets is of great importance.
Low Emission Zone (LEZ) Expansion in Jakarta: Acceptability and Restriction Preference
Authors: Rizki Muhamad , Irawan Muhammad Zudhy , Dirgahayani Puspita , Belgiawan Prawira Fajarindra , Wihanesta Retno
Published: September 2022

After the Jakarta government enacted a policy to improve air quality in high-priority areas and established Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in the Kota Tua Tourism Area (KTTA), there is now a plan to replicate this LEZ in other locations. However, the current scale of the LEZ in the KTTA and the ongoing issues with public acceptance, raise the question of how the Jakarta Government effectively replicates this policy in other locations. This study aims to explore the socio-psychological factors that affect acceptability and restriction preference (i.e., type of vehicle and strategies) on LEZ replication in Jakarta. For those purposes, questionnaires were distributed to the commuters in Jakarta, and hierarchical Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and Multinomial Logistics Regression (MNL) were used to analyze the data. The support for LEZ expansion to other locations was found to be shaped by the trust of the government, the level of environmental concern, and personal and social norms concerning LEZ implementation. The perception of the form of full-scale restriction (i.e., combinations of the vehicle types to be restricted and/or the TDM strategies) that should be implemented within the LEZ area is associated with higher acceptability and environmental concern. Moreover, younger and wealthier people are among the groups who are more concerned about the effectiveness of LEZ implementation.
Interpretable Dynamic Ensemble Selection Approach for the Prediction of Road Traffic Injury Severity: A Case Study of Pakistan’s National Highway N-5
Authors: Khattak Afaq , Almujibah Hamad , Elamary Ahmed , Matara Caroline Mongina
Published: September 2022

Road traffic accidents are among the top ten major causes of fatalities in the world, taking millions of lives annually. Machine-learning ensemble classifiers have been frequently used for the prediction of traffic injury severity. However, their inability to comprehend complex models due to their “black box” nature may lead to unrealistic traffic safety judgments. First, in this research, we propose three state-of-the-art Dynamic Ensemble Learning (DES) algorithms including Meta-Learning for Dynamic Ensemble Selection (META-DES), K-Nearest Oracle Elimination (KNORAE), and Dynamic Ensemble Selection Performance (DES-P), with Random Forest (RF), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), Classification and Regression Tree (CART), and Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) as the base learners. The DES algorithm automatically chooses the subset of classifiers most likely to perform well for each new test instance to be classified when generating a prediction, making it more efficient and flexible. The META-DES model using RF as the base learner outperforms other models with accuracy (75%), recall (69%), precision (71%), and F1-score (72%). Afterwards, the risk factors are analyzed with SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). The driver’s age, month of the year, day of the week, and vehicle type influence SHAP estimation the most. Young drivers are at a heightened risk of fatal accidents. Weekends and summer months see the most fatal injuries. The proposed novel META-DES-RF algorithm with SHAP for predicting injury severity may be of interest to traffic safety researchers.
Does Retirement Affect Household Energy Consumption Structure? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design
Authors: Lv Xiaofeng , Lin Kun , Chen Lingshan , Zhang Yongzhong
Published: September 2022

Whether retirement can affect household energy consumption structure is an interesting topic in relation to environment and aging. Based on China’s Urban Household Survey (UHS) data, we adopt a regression discontinuity design (RDD) to identify this causal effect. The empirical results show that households suddenly reduce their overall energy consumption by about 2.5 percent when they retire. Specifically, retirement greatly reduces household energy consumption expenditure related to work by about 55.4 percent, reduces non-durable products by about 12.1 percent, and reduces dining out consumption by about 55.3. Moreover, the mechanism analysis shows that householders reduce their social activities after retirement and spend much more time at home, so that the direct energy consumed increases and the indirect energy consumed decreases. The reduction in household non-durable energy consumption expenditure after retirement is closely related to the reduction in work-related energy consumption. Our conclusion has passed a series of validity tests and robustness tests. Our finding implies that it is valuable to design energy policies by considering these causal effects.
A Comparative Study on the Export Competitiveness of Rare Earth Products from China, the United States, Russia and India
Authors: Guo Qing , Mai Zishan
Published: September 2022

This paper evaluates and compares the export competitiveness of rare-earth products from China, the US, Russia, and India between 2006 and 2020 using the CMS model and the WRCA index. The results show that (1) the competitiveness of the four countries’ rare-earth products has changed differently. The overall competitiveness of rare-earth products of China, the US, and India has decreased, whereas the competitiveness of Russia’s rare-earth products has increased. (2) The factors inhibiting the development of the competitiveness of rare-earth products in the four countries are different. In China and India they are market factors and product factors, in the US it is the overall market share factor, and in Russia it is the market factor. (3) The competitiveness of rare-earth products varies greatly among the four countries. China has the highest rare-earth export competitiveness, whereas the US has significantly lower export competitiveness of rare-earth products than China. Russia and India do not have comparative advantages. (4) The four countries have different trends in the evolution of the competitiveness of rare-earth products. The export competitiveness of rare-earth products of China and India tends to decline, whereas that of the United States and Russia tends to rise. Based on the above findings, the paper puts forward corresponding policy recommendations.
The Impact of Street Tree Height on PM2.5 Concentration in Street Canyons: A Simulation Study
Authors: Liu Junyou , Zheng Bohong , Xiang Yanfen , Fan Jia
Published: September 2022

With the rapid development of cities and the rapid increase in automobile ownership, traffic has become one of the main sources of PM2.5 pollution, which can be reduced by road greening through sedimentation, blocking, adhesion, and absorption. Using the method of combining field monitoring and ENVI-met simulation, the influence of the tree height on the PM2.5 concentration on both sides of the city streets was discussed. The influence of tree height on PM2.5 under five conditions was analyzed, including 10 m tall trees (i), 15 m tall trees (ii), alternating distribution of 15 and 10 m tall trees (iii), 5 m tall trees (iv), no trees on either side of the road (v). The results show that: Roadside trees can increase the concentration of PM2.5 in the narrow space of street canyons. However, without roadside trees, PM2.5 from traffic sources is not reduced in time, it is more easily spread to the distance. When the height of the roadside trees is 5 m and their crown widths are smaller than those of other trees, there is a relatively wide space between them. Compared with the higher roadside tree models with larger crown widths, the concentration of PM2.5 on the roadway and the downwind sidewalk is relatively low. In the three models (i–iii) with tree height above or equal to 10 m, the PM2.5 concentration around the trees do not show regular change with the change in tree height. Due to the tree height of 10 and 15 m, the crown width is large enough, and the alternate distribution of tree height of 15 and 10 m fails to make the PM2.5 concentration in the models lower than the models with tree height of 15 m or 10 m. The reasonable height of roadside trees in street canyons helps improve the wind circulation to promote the diffusion of PM2.5 pollution. There is no optimal height of roadside trees for PM2.5 pollution in street canyons, thus it is necessary to select the height reasonably according to the specific situation.
Spatial Predictive Modeling of the Burning of Sugarcane Plots in Northeast Thailand with Selection of Factor Sets Using a GWR Model and Machine Learning Based on an ANN-CA
Authors: Littidej Patiwat , Uttha Theeraya , Pumhirunroj Benjamabhorn
Published: September 2022

The main purpose of the study is to apply symmetry principles to general mathematical modelling based on multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) approach for use in development in conjunction with geographic weighted regression (GWR) model and optimize the artificial neural network-cellular automaton (ANN-CA) model for forecasting the sugarcane plot burning area of Northeast Thailand. First, to calculate the service area boundaries of sugarcane transport that caused the burning of sugarcane with a fire radiative power (FRP) values using spatial correlation analysis approach. Second, the analysis of the spatial factors influencing sugarcane burning. The study uses the approach of symmetry in the design of algorithm for finding the optimal service boundary distance (called as cut-off) in the analysis of hot-spot clustering and uses calculations with the geographic information system (GIS) approach, and the final stage is the use of screened independent variable factors to predict the plots of burned sugarcane in 2031. The results showed that the positively related factors for the percentage of cane plot sintering in the sub-area units of each sugar plant’s service were the distance to transport sugarcane plots index and percentage of sugarcane plantations in service areas, while the negative coefficients were FRP differences and density of sugarcane yield factors, according to the analysis with a total of seven spatial variables. The best GWR models display local R2 values at levels of 0.902 to 0.961 in the service zones of Khonburi and Saikaw. An influential set of independent variables can increase the accuracy of the ANN-CA model in forecasting with kappa statistical estimates in the range of 0.81 to 0.85 The results of the study can be applied to other regions of Thailand, including countries with similar sugarcane harvesting industries, to formulate policies to reduce the exposure of sugarcane harvested by burning methods and to support the transportation of sugarcane within the appropriate scope of service so that particulate matter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) can be reduced.
Load Frequency Controller Design Based on the Direct Synthesis Approach Using a 2DoF-IMC Scheme for a Multi-Area Power System
Authors: Kumar Anand , Anwar Md , Huba Mikulas
Published: September 2022

To maintain reliable and sustainable power supply, the frequency should be kept constant under varying load conditions. The two degrees of freedom internal model control (2DoF-IMC) scheme is a robust control technique and is efficient for load-disturbance rejection problems in industrial process control. The asymmetry of IMC compared to other methods regarding controller design is that it does not guarantee the stability of the system by itself but is based on the stability of the controlled system. For the control of less-stable and unstable systems, it is therefore usually supplemented with an additional controller, establishing two degrees of freedom in the overall design. In this manuscript, the load-frequency-regulation problem was investigated using a 2DoF-IMC scheme for a single-area as well as a multi-area power system. In the 2DoF-IMC scheme, two controllers are used to control the set-point response and load-disturbance response separately. The set-point controller is designed through the internal model control (IMC) principle, whereas the load-disturbance rejection controller is designed via the direct-synthesis (DS) approach. In the DS approach, the closed-loop transfer function of the system model is matched with the desired closed-loop transfer function of the system and the disturbance-rejection controller is approximated at a very low-frequency point to obtain the proportional–derivative (PD) controller parameter. The simulation results of the proposed method provide satisfactory performance for load-frequency control (LFC) in the single-area power system and extended to two-area and four-area power systems. The effect of non-linearity, such as generation rate constraint (GRC), was investigated in the single-area power system to establish the efficacy of the proposed method. A random step loading pattern was also considered to confirm the robustness of the proposed method. The overall performance of the proposed control scheme is comparatively better than the recently reported work.
The Loss of Symmetry in Unilateral Bony Syngnathia: Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Crincoli Vito , Cortelazzi Roberto , De Biase Corrado , Cazzolla Angela Pia , Campobasso Alessandra , Dioguardi Mario , Piancino Maria Grazia , Mattia Luigi , Di Comite Mariasevera
Published: September 2022

Congenital syngnathia is a very rare condition of unknown etiology with multiple clinical manifestations due to different combinations of bony or soft tissue adhesions between the mandible and maxilla. It shares possible association with other congenital anomalies in the head and neck region, or with other syndromes. The aims of the present work were: (1) to perform a literature review on bony syngnathia in order to obtain a general framework on epidemiology and management protocol; (2) to describe a case of a two-year-old boy with a left unilateral bony fusion treated with a distraction protocol of three months. Original articles were searched through PubMed, Cochrane Central database and Embase with a cut-off date of June 2022. In total, 94 articles were identified through database searching. After 39 exclusions, 55 articles were included in the review process. Eighty-seven cases of bony syngnathia have been reported from 1936 to 2022, and different classifications have been suggested in terms of location, extension, functional outcomes and management protocol. Complications may range from feeding difficulty to aspiration pneumonia and respiratory arrest. Early surgery is generally required to release the ankylosis and to establish good mandible function.
A Machine Learning Strategy for the Quantitative Analysis of the Global Warming Impact on Marine Ecosystems
Authors: Alhakami Hosam , Kamal Mustafa , Sulaiman Muhammad , Alhakami Wajdi , Baz Abdullah
Published: September 2022

It is generally observed that aquatic organisms have symmetric abilities to produce oxygen (O2) and fix carbon dioxide (CO2). A simulation model with time-dependent parameters was recently proposed to better understand the symmetric effects of accelerated climate change on coastal ecosystems. Changes in environmental elements and marine life are two examples of variables that are expected to change over time symmetrically. The sustainability of each equilibrium point is examined in addition to proving the existence and accuracy of the proposed model. To support the conclusions of this research compared to other studies, numerical simulations of the proposed model and a case study are investigated. This paper proposes an integrated bibliographical analysis of artificial neural networks (ANNs) using the Reverse-Propagation with Levenberg–Marquaradt Scheme (RP-LMS) to evaluate the main properties and applications of ANNs. The results obtained by RP-LMS show how to prevent global warming by improving the management of marine fish resources. The reference dataset for greenhouse gas emissions, environmental temperature, aquatic population, and fisheries population (GAPF) is obtained by varying parameters in the numerical Adam approach for different scenarios. The accuracy of the proposed RP-LMS neural network is demonstrated using mean square error (MSE), regression plots, and best-fit output. According to RP-LMS, the current scenario of rapid global warming will continue unabated over the next 50 years, damaging marine ecosystems, particularly fish stocks.
Creativity and Innovative Processes: Assemblages and Lines of Flight
Authors: Turner John R. , Baker Rose , Thurlow Nigel
Published: September 2022

The current research study presented assemblages theory and the theory of affordances to identify the elements that make up the processes of creativity, innovative, and creativity and innovation. Assemblages involve heterogeneous elements that are associated with and interact with external components. Assemblages include elements that can be either independent or as part of an assemblage. The assemblage comprises elements that contribute to the assemblage, but not all elements are active simultaneously. Each element’s activation and intensity level varies based on context, environment, and constraints. This activation level is represented by lines of flight that aid in showing movement across the elements. Affordances identify agent-to-environment relationships that promote action (abilities and effectivities). The current article identified that creativity affords innovation and innovation affords creativity, interconnecting these two processes as a holistic and composite process from the perspective of affordances theory. The current article provides assemblage maps showing the elements related to creativity, innovation, and creativity and innovation. These assemblage maps highlight virtual and dynamic flight lines that represent potentially active components with varying intensity and direction. Mapping these lines of flight along with the elements for a particular construct (e.g., creativity and innovation) provides a tool for managers and practitioners to identify potentialities for future predictions better.
DVS: A Drone Video Synopsis towards Storing and Analyzing Drone Surveillance Data in Smart Cities
Authors: Ingle Palash Yuvraj , Kim Yujun , Kim Young-Gab
Published: September 2022

The commercialization and advancement of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have increased in the past decades for surveillance. UAVs use gimbal cameras and LIDAR technology for monitoring as they are resource-constrained devices that are composed of limited storage, battery power, and computing capacity. Thus, the UAV’s surveillance camera and LIDAR data must be analyzed, extracted, and stored efficiently. Video synopsis is an efficient methodology that deals with shifting foreground objects in time and domain space, thus creating a condensed video for analysis and storage. However, traditional video synopsis methodologies are not applicable for making an abnormal behavior synopsis (e.g., creating a synopsis only of the abnormal person carrying a revolver). To mitigate this problem, we proposed an early fusion-based video synopsis. There is a drastic difference between the proposed and the existing synopsis methods as it has several pressing characteristics. Initially, we fused the 2D camera and 3D LIDAR point cloud data; Secondly, we performed abnormal object detection using a customized detector on the merged data and finally extracted only the meaningful data for creating a synopsis. We demonstrated satisfactory results while fusing, constructing the synopsis, and detecting the abnormal object; we achieved an mAP of 85.97%.
An Open System Understanding of Product Innovation: Attention Allocation, External Information Sources, and Absorptive Capacity
Authors: Yang Daegyu , Battulga Altantsetseg , Rhee Mooweon
Published: September 2022

Product innovation is a key achievement by which a firm can not only build up its competitive advantages but also prolong its survival in the open market environment. By understanding the firm as a social system pursuing both efficiency and effectiveness, this study examines three key factors that independently enable product innovation through a theoretical lens of the open system approach: strategic attention, external information sources, and absorptive capacity. While we suggest that a focused set of strategic attentions functions as an internal means to enhance the likelihood of product innovation, we also propose that diverse external partners provide the firm with the relevant knowledge for product innovation. In addition, we argue that the absorptive capacity is a crucial factor that has a positive direct effect on product innovation and mediates the effects of the two variables on the product innovation, based on the organizational learning theory. We empirically examined our hypotheses with the reliable data collected systematically through the “Korean Innovation Survey 2020: Manufacturing Industry” and found support for all of our hypotheses. Finally, we discuss theoretical contributions and practical implications.
Improving Performance of Breast Lesion Classification Using a ResNet50 Model Optimized with a Novel Attention Mechanism
Authors: Islam Warid , Jones Meredith , Faiz Rowzat , Sadeghipour Negar , Qiu Yuchen , Zheng Bin
Published: September 2022

Background: The accurate classification between malignant and benign breast lesions detected on mammograms is a crucial but difficult challenge for reducing false-positive recall rates and improving the efficacy of breast cancer screening. Objective: This study aims to optimize a new deep transfer learning model by implementing a novel attention mechanism in order to improve the accuracy of breast lesion classification. Methods: ResNet50 is selected as the base model to develop a new deep transfer learning model. To enhance the accuracy of breast lesion classification, we propose adding a convolutional block attention module (CBAM) to the standard ResNet50 model and optimizing a new model for this task. We assembled a large dataset with 4280 mammograms depicting suspicious soft-tissue mass-type lesions. A region of interest (ROI) is extracted from each image based on lesion center. Among them, 2480 and 1800 ROIs depict verified benign and malignant lesions, respectively. The image dataset is randomly split into two subsets with a ratio of 9:1 five times to train and test two ResNet50 models with and without using CBAM. Results: Using the area under ROC curve (AUC) as an evaluation index, the new CBAM-based ResNet50 model yields AUC = 0.866 ± 0.015, which is significantly higher than that obtained by the standard ResNet50 model (AUC = 0.772 ± 0.008) (p < 0.01). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that although deep transfer learning technology attracted broad research interest in medical-imaging informatic fields, adding a new attention mechanism to optimize deep transfer learning models for specific application tasks can play an important role in further improving model performances.