bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Involvement of Astrocytes in the Formation, Maintenance, and Function of the Blood–Brain Barrier
Authors: Schiera Gabriella , Di Liegro Carlo Maria , Schirò Giuseppe , Sorbello Gabriele , Di Liegro Italia
Published: January 2024

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a fundamental structure that protects the composition of the brain by determining which ions, metabolites, and nutrients are allowed to enter the brain from the blood or to leave it towards the circulation. The BBB is structurally composed of a layer of brain capillary endothelial cells (BCECs) bound to each other through tight junctions (TJs). However, its development as well as maintenance and properties are controlled by the other brain cells that contact the BCECs: pericytes, glial cells, and even neurons themselves. Astrocytes seem, in particular, to have a very important role in determining and controlling most properties of the BBB. Here, we will focus on these latter cells, since the comprehension of their roles in brain physiology has been continuously expanding, even including the ability to participate in neurotransmission and in complex functions such as learning and memory. Accordingly, pathological conditions that alter astrocytic functions can alter the BBB’s integrity, thus compromising many brain activities. In this review, we will also refer to different kinds of in vitro BBB models used to study the BBB’s properties, evidencing its modifications under pathological conditions.
The Psychological Impact on Parents of Children who Receive an Inconclusive Diagnosis for Cystic Fibrosis following Newborn Screening: A Systematic Mini-Review
Authors: Loukou Ioanna , Moustaki Maria , Douros Konstantinos
Published: January 2024

Newborn screening (NBS) has been available for the diagnosis of cystic fibrosis (CF) over the last decades. Through the implementation of NBS, a new designation emerged, that of CF related metabolic syndrome (CRMS) or cystic fibrosis screen positive inconclusive diagnosis (CFSPID). As there is uncertainty regarding the clinical progression of these infants to CF, some studies have investigated the psychological impact of CRMS/CFSPID on their parents. This systematic narrative review aimed to describe the findings of the relevant studies. The number of studies is limited and the study samples are relatively small. It seems that there is a negative impact of CRMS/CFSPID on parental mental health. While some studies indicated similar levels of parental anxiety among those with infants diagnosed with CF and those with CRMS/CFSPID, not all studies reached the same conclusion. Parental uncertainty represents another mental dimension of the impact associated with the designation of CRMS/CFSPID. These observations suggest that parents of infants with CRMS/CFSPID should be provided with effective communication, and it may also be beneficial to consider parental mental screening. More robust and long-term studies are required to detect differences in parental emotional status between those with infants diagnosed with CF and those with CRMS/CFSPID.
The Family Talk Intervention in Pediatric Oncology: Potential Effects Reported by Parents
Authors: Ayoub Maria , Udo Camilla , Årestedt Kristofer , Kreicbergs Ulrika , Lövgren Malin
Published: January 2024

Background: Childhood cancer impacts the family system and has psychosocial consequences for all family members. For the parents, the ill child, and the siblings to be able to adjust to this challenging situation, the whole family needs access to psychosocial support. However, only a few such family interventions in pediatric oncology have been evaluated. The aim of this study was to explore the potential effects of a family-centered intervention, the Family Talk Intervention (FTI), in pediatric oncology from the parents’ perspectives. Methods: A concurrent mixed methods design was used for this study. Data were derived from a pilot study of 26 families recruited from one pediatric oncology center in Sweden. This study focused on questionnaire and interview data from 52 parents. Results: After participation in FTI, the parents felt more satisfied with the conversations within the family about the illness. FTI also contributed to strengthened family togetherness, including more open communication and improved family relations, as described by the parents. Parents further expressed that they felt more empowered in their parenting role following FTI. Conclusions: The findings regarding FTI’s ability to improve family communication and family relations, thus strengthening family togetherness in families with childhood cancer, are promising. This provides motivation for a large-scale study of FTIs in pediatric oncology.
High-Temperature Oxidation Resistance and Molten Salt Corrosion Study of YSZ, CeYSZ, and YSZ/CeYSZ Thermal Barrier Coatings by Atmospheric Plasma Spraying
Authors: Li Rongbin , Xing Yue , Li Qianqian , Cheng Zhijun , Guo Linlin
Published: January 2024

Five thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), namely TBC-1 (YSZ), TBC-2 (CeYSZ), TBC-3 (YSZ:CeYSZ = 1:2), TBC-4 (YSZ:CeYSZ = 1:1), and TBC-5 (YSZ:CeYSZ = 2:1), were fabricated using the atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) method. Their oxidation behaviors at 1100 °C and corrosion resistance to molten salts (V2O5 + Na2SO4) at 900 °C were examined. After 100 h of oxidation, the thermally grown oxide layer (TGO) for YSZ primarily contained Cr and Ni oxides with significant internal fractures, presenting a continuous band-like Al2O3. In dual-ceramic configurations, an increase in CeYSZ thickness led to a rise in Al content and reduced Cr and Ni in TGO, with the surface fracture morphing into an internal porosity. Following salt corrosion, YSZ revealed rod-like YVO4 and m-ZrO2 as corrosion products, whereas CeYSZ displayed chain-structured CeO2, CeYO4, and YVO4 combined with m-ZrO2. YSZ coatings underwent notable phase transitions with evident densification, forming a corrosion layer of approximately 10 μm. Conversely, CeYSZ showed a limited phase change, retaining porosity without a distinguishable corrosion layer. As CeYSZ thickness increased from 100 μm to 200 μm in the dual-ceramic structure, salt penetration reduced. Evidently, the dense structure of CeYSZ heightened diffusion resistance against oxygen and corrosive salts, rendering superior oxidation and corrosion resistance over YSZ. By optimizing the thickness ratio between CeYSZ and YSZ, whilst retaining total ceramic layer thickness, the dual-ceramic TBC’s resistance to high-temperature oxidation and corrosion can be enhanced.
Morphological Strategies in Ant Communities along Elevational Gradients in Three Mountain Ranges
Authors: Gibb Heloise , Contos Peter , Photakis Manoli , Okey Iona , Dunn Robert R. , Sanders Nathan J. , Jones Mirkka M.
Published: January 2024

Species traits often vary in a coordinated manner, making up an ecological strategy comprised of suites of interrelated traits. Environmental gradients, such as those along elevational gradients, provide an ideal venue in which to examine variation in ecological strategies with the environment. We examined variation in the morphological strategies of ants along elevational gradients on thirteen mountains across three mountain ranges in central and south-eastern Australia. We pitfall-trapped ants, counted and identified workers and measured morphological traits. Most species showed a hump-shaped relationship between occurrence and elevation, and several responded to microhabitat variables. Morphological traits varied along two key axes: “gracility”, where high values indicated longer-legged species with dorsally positioned eyes and smooth, bare cuticles; and “size and darkness”, where species with high values were larger and darker. Analysis of assemblage-weighted means revealed that gracility decreased with temperature and increased with precipitation, suggesting links with desiccation tolerance. Size and darkness increased with UV-B, declined with increasing canopy cover and peaked at mid-temperatures. We thus detected strong shifts in dominant morphological strategies along our elevational gradients. However, the multifunctionality and interrelatedness of traits and the covariance of climatic factors may make isolation of the function of individual traits difficult. Further, the predictive power of our models may be limited in the context of novel environments predicted under global change.
ChatGPT’s Accuracy on Magnetic Resonance Imaging Basics: Characteristics and Limitations Depending on the Question Type
Authors: Lee Kyu-Hong , Lee Ro-Woon
Published: January 2024

Our study aimed to assess the accuracy and limitations of ChatGPT in the domain of MRI, focused on evaluating ChatGPT’s performance in answering simple knowledge questions and specialized multiple-choice questions related to MRI. A two-step approach was used to evaluate ChatGPT. In the first step, 50 simple MRI-related questions were asked, and ChatGPT’s answers were categorized as correct, partially correct, or incorrect by independent researchers. In the second step, 75 multiple-choice questions covering various MRI topics were posed, and the answers were similarly categorized. The study utilized Cohen’s kappa coefficient for assessing interobserver agreement. ChatGPT demonstrated high accuracy in answering straightforward MRI questions, with over 85% classified as correct. However, its performance varied significantly across multiple-choice questions, with accuracy rates ranging from 40% to 66.7%, depending on the topic. This indicated a notable gap in its ability to handle more complex, specialized questions requiring deeper understanding and context. In conclusion, this study critically evaluates the accuracy of ChatGPT in addressing questions related to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), highlighting its potential and limitations in the healthcare sector, particularly in radiology. Our findings demonstrate that ChatGPT, while proficient in responding to straightforward MRI-related questions, exhibits variability in its ability to accurately answer complex multiple-choice questions that require more profound, specialized knowledge of MRI. This discrepancy underscores the nuanced role AI can play in medical education and healthcare decision-making, necessitating a balanced approach to its application.
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy in Children: A Systematic Review
Authors: Moisa Stefana Maria , Spoiala Elena Lia , Cinteza Eliza , Vatasescu Radu , Butnariu Lacramioara Ionela , Brinza Crischentian , Burlacu Alexandru
Published: January 2024

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited disease characterized by the progressive replacement of the normal myocardium by fibroadipocytic tissue. The importance of an early diagnosis is supported by a higher risk of sudden cardiac death in the pediatric population. We reviewed the literature on diagnosis, risk stratification, and prognosis in the pediatric population with ARVC. In case reports which analyzed children with ARVC, the most common sign was ventricular tachycardia, frequently presenting as dizziness, syncope, or even cardiac arrest. Currently, there is no gold standard for diagnosing ARVC in children. Nevertheless, genetic analysis may provide a proper diagnosis tool for asymptomatic cases. Although risk stratification is recommended in patients with ARVC, a validated prediction model for risk stratification in children is still lacking; thus, it is a matter of further research. In consequence, even though ARVC is a relatively rare condition in children, it negatively impacts the survival and clinical outcomes of the patients. Therefore, appropriate and validated diagnostic and risk stratification tools are crucial for the early detection of children with ARVC, ensuring a prompt therapeutic intervention.
Congenital Infiltrating Lipomatosis of the Face: Multimodality Assessment through CT-Scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Cicero Giuseppe , Arico Francesco Marcello , Mazziotti Silvio
Published: January 2024

Congenital infiltrating lipomatosis of the face is a rare and benign condition involving a hamartomatous proliferation of mature adipose cells. The final diagnosis derives from a combination of clinical data, histology, and imaging features and affects the treatment decision. This report describes the clinical case of a young patient suffering from facial lipomatosis with particular emphasis on radiological findings detected at CT-scan and magnetic resonance imaging.
Electrodynamics of Superconductors: From Lorentz to Galilei at Zero Temperature
Authors: Salasnich Luca
Published: January 2024

We discuss the derivation of the electrodynamics of superconductors coupled to the electromagnetic field from a Lorentz-invariant bosonic model of Cooper pairs. Our results are obtained at zero temperature where, according to the third law of thermodynamics, the entropy of the system is zero. In the nonrelativistic limit, we obtain a Galilei-invariant superconducting system, which differs with respect to the familiar Schrödinger-like one. From this point of view, there are similarities with the Pauli equation of fermions, which is derived from the Dirac equation in the nonrelativistic limit and has a spin-magnetic field term in contrast with the Schrödinger equation. One of the peculiar effects of our model is the decay of a static electric field inside a superconductor exactly with the London penetration length. In addition, our theory predicts a modified D’Alembert equation for the massive electromagnetic field also in the case of nonrelativistic superconducting matter. We emphasize the role of the Nambu–Goldstone phase field, which is crucial to obtain the collective modes of the superconducting matter field. In the special case of a nonrelativistic neutral superfluid, we find a gapless Bogoliubov-like spectrum, while for the charged superfluid we obtain a dispersion relation that is gapped by the plasma frequency.
Changes in SME Business Due to COVID-19—Survey in Slovakia and the Czech Republic
Authors: Janáková Sujová Andrea , Kupčák Václav
Published: January 2024

The objective of the paper is to analyse and compare the consequences of the coronacrisis on the entrepreneurship of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Slovakia and the Czech Republic with the aim of identifying the determinants of changes in entrepreneurship. The secondary empirical research was carried out based on the analysis of secondary and primary data. The analysis used economic indicators of SMEs, governmental measures and surveys of the views of entrepreneurs. The analysis used data from statistical databases and official reports from government institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as data from primary surveys conducted by NGOs. Descriptive statistics, financial analysis and cross-comparison methods were used to process the data. The results revealed changes in the business of SMEs in the Czech Republic and Slovakia during the crisis, such as the adaptation of business strategies, improvement of flexibility and acceleration of digitalisation processes. These changes highlighted the importance of building business agility. The summary of the main changes in SME business based on both secondary data and primary surveys and the perception of state anti-pandemic aid by managers as feedback to governments represent the main contributions of the paper.
Constructing in Minecraft in Primary School as a Boundary-Crossing Practice
Authors: Ritella Giuseppe , Marcone Roberto
Published: January 2024

This study explores the educational adoption of Minecraft as a boundary-crossing practice in primary schools. Previous research indicates that Minecraft can facilitate connections between educational activities and students’ out-of-school experiences, promoting the development of skills such as creativity, innovation, and collaboration. Using a qualitative approach, this study analyzed group interviews with 37 primary school students who participated in a Minecraft-based school project. The analysis focused on instances of boundary crossing associated with the Minecraft activity, allowing an examination of how various socio-cultural boundaries were overcome. The results suggest that educational activities in Minecraft can facilitate connections between school and out-of-school contexts. Moreover, the results indicate that Minecraft can serve as an interdisciplinary learning environment, enabling students to acquire knowledge and skills across diverse domains and disciplines. The analysis also underscores the significance of teachers’ design work in transforming the game into an educational resource. Overall, this article argues that the educational adoption of Minecraft has the potential to foster the construction of continuity between students’ different spheres of life, as well as prompting a reconsideration of students’ previous cultural classifications and social positions.
An Electrocardiogram Classification Using a Multiscale Convolutional Causal Attention Network
Authors: Guo Chaoqun , Yin Bo , Hu Jianping
Published: January 2024

Electrocardiograms (ECGs) play a pivotal role in the diagnosis and prediction of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, traditional methods for ECG classification involve intricate signal processing steps, leading to high design costs. Addressing this concern, this study introduces the Multiscale Convolutional Causal Attention network (MSCANet), which utilizes a multiscale convolutional neural network combined with causal convolutional attention mechanisms for ECG signal classification from the PhysioNet MIT-BIH Arrhythmia database. Simultaneously, the dataset is balanced by downsampling the majority class and oversampling the minority class using the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE), effectively categorizing the five heartbeat types in the test dataset. The experimental results showcase the classifier’s performance, evaluated through accuracy, precision, sensitivity, and F1-score and culminating in an overall accuracy of 99.35%, precision of 96.55%, sensitivity of 96.73%, and an F1-recall of 96.63%, surpassing existing methods. Simultaneously, the application of this innovative data balancing technique significantly addresses the issue of data imbalance. Compared to the data before balancing, there was a significant improvement in accuracy for the S-class and the F-class, with increases of approximately 8% and 13%, respectively.
Reducing Distracted Driving and Improving Consistency with Brine Truck Automation
Authors: Mahlberg Justin Anthony , Mathew Jijo K. , Desai Jairaj , Bullock Darcy M.
Published: January 2024

Salt brine is routinely used by transportation agencies to pre-treat critical infrastructure such as bridges, ramps, and underpasses in advance of winter storms. This requires an operator turning on and off brine controls while driving at highway speeds, introducing driver distraction and consistency challenges. In urban areas, such as Indianapolis, a 5500-gallon tractor trailer with a gross vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds is typically used and the driver may have 1200 on/off activations while covering 318 miles during a pre-treatment shift. This study conducted in collaboration with Indiana Department of Transportation has worked with their truck upfitters to adapt geo-fenced agriculture spraying controls to seven trucks that use the Global Positioning System (GPS) position of the truck to activate the sprayer valves when the trucks enter and exit geo-fenced areas that require pre-treatment. This automated brine system enhances safety, reduces driver workload, and ensures the consistent application of brine in designated areas. Furthermore, as additional environmental constraints and reporting requirements evolve, this system has the capability of reducing application rates in sensitive areas and provides a comprehensive geo-coded application history. The Indiana Department of Transportation has scaled deployment for treating interstates and major arterials with brine. This deployment on 5500-gallon tankers, used on I-64/65/69/70/74, and 465, eliminates over 10,000 driver distraction events during every statewide pre-treatment event.
Gaze-Swin: Enhancing Gaze Estimation with a Hybrid CNN-Transformer Network and Dropkey Mechanism
Authors: Zhao Ruijie , Wang Yuhuan , Luo Sihui , Shou Suyao , Tang Pinyan
Published: January 2024

Gaze estimation, which seeks to reveal where a person is looking, provides a crucial clue for understanding human intentions and behaviors. Recently, Visual Transformer has achieved promising results in gaze estimation. However, dividing facial images into patches compromises the integrity of the image structure, which limits the inference performance. To tackle this challenge, we present Gaze-Swin, an end-to-end gaze estimation model formed with a dual-branch CNN-Transformer architecture. In Gaze-Swin, we adopt the Swin Transformer as the backbone network due to its effectiveness in handling long-range dependencies and extracting global features. Additionally, we incorporate a convolutional neural network as an auxiliary branch to capture local facial features and intricate texture details. To further enhance robustness and address overfitting issues in gaze estimation, we replace the original self-attention in the Transformer branch with Dropkey Assisted Attention (DA-Attention). In particular, this DA-Attention treats keys in the Transformer block as Dropout units and employs a decay Dropout rate schedule to preserve crucial gaze representations in deeper layers. Comprehensive experiments on three benchmark datasets demonstrate the superior performance of our method in comparison to the state of the art.
QoE-Based Performance Comparison of AVC, HEVC, and VP9 on Mobile Devices with Additional Influencing Factors
Authors: Nawaz Omer , Fiedler Markus , Khatibi Siamak
Published: January 2024

While current video quality assessment research predominantly revolves around resolutions of 4 K and beyond, targeted at ultra high-definition (UHD) displays, effective video quality for mobile video streaming remains primarily within the range of 480 p to 1080 p. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of the quality of experience (QoE) for widely implemented video codecs on mobile devices, specifically Advanced Video Coding (AVC), its successor High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), and Google’s VP9. Our choice of 720 p video sequences from a newly developed database, all with identical bitrates, aimed to maintain a manageable subjective assessment duration, capped at 35–40 min. To mimic real-time network conditions, we generated stimuli by streaming original video clips over a controlled emulated setup, subjecting them to eight different packet-loss scenarios. We evaluated the quality and structural similarity of the distorted video clips using objective metrics, including the Video Quality Metric (VQM), Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Video Multi-Method Assessment Fusion (VMAF), and Multi-Scale Structural Similarity Index (MS-SSIM). Subsequently, we collected subjective ratings through a custom mobile application developed for Android devices. Our findings revealed that VMAF accurately represented the degradation in video quality compared to other metrics. Moreover, in most cases, HEVC exhibited an advantage over both AVC and VP9 under low packet-loss scenarios. However, it is noteworthy that in our test cases, AVC outperformed HEVC and VP9 in scenarios with high packet loss, based on both subjective and objective assessments. Our observations further indicate that user preferences for the presented content contributed to video quality ratings, emphasizing the importance of additional factors that influence the perceived video quality of end users.
Vulnerable Road User Safety Using Mobile Phones with Vehicle-to-VRU Communication
Authors: Gelbal Sukru Yaren , Aksun-Guvenc Bilin , Guvenc Levent
Published: January 2024

Pedestrians, bicyclists, and scooterists are Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) in traffic accidents. The number of fatalities and injuries in traffic accidents involving vulnerable road users has been steadily increasing in the last two decades in the U.S., even though road vehicles now have perception sensors like cameras to detect risk and issue collision warnings or apply emergency braking. Perception sensors like cameras are highly affected by lighting and weather conditions. Cameras, radar, and lidar cannot detect vulnerable road users in partially occluded and occluded situations. This paper proposes the use of Vehicle-to-VRU communication to inform nearby vehicles of VRUs on trajectories with a potential collision risk. An Android smartphone app with low-energy Bluetooth (BLE) advertising is developed and used for this communication. The same app is also used to collect motion data of VRUs for training. VRU motion data are smoothed using a Kalman filter, and an LSTM neural network is used for future motion prediction. This information is used in an algorithm comparing Time-To-collision-Zone (TTZ) for the vehicle and VRU, and issues driver warnings with different severity levels. The warning severity level is based on the analysis of real data from a smart intersection for close vehicle and VRU interactions. The resulting driver warning system is demonstrated using proof-of-concept experiments. The method can easily be extended to a VRU collision-mitigation system.
An Integrated Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing Chirp Waveform Processing Method for Joint Radar and Communication Based on Low-Density Parity-Check Coding and Channel Estimation
Authors: Zhu Chenchen , He Pengfei , Wu Shie , Wang Guorui
Published: January 2024

With the advancement of information technology construction, the integration of radar and communication represents a crucial technological evolution. Driven by the research boom of integrated sensing and communications (ISACs), some scholars have proposed utilizing orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) to separately modulate radar and communication signals. However, the OFDM symbols in this paper incorporate a cyclic prefix (CP) and a virtual carrier (VC) instead of zero padding (ZP). This approach mitigates out-of-band power caused by ZP, in addition to reducing adjacent channel interference (ACI). In addition, we introduce low-density parity-check (LDPC) and use an improved normalized min-sum algorithm (NMSA) in decoding. The enhanced decoding efficiency and minimized system errors render the proposed waveform more suitable for complex environments. In terms of signal processing methods, this paper continues to use radar signals as a priori information to participate in channel estimation. Further, we consider the symbol timing offset (STO) and carrier frequency offset (CFO) issues. In order to obtain more reliable data, we use the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) estimation based on the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) to evaluate the channel. Simulation experiments verify that the system we propose not only realizes the transmission and detection functions but also improves the performance index of the integrated signal, such as the bit error rate (BER) of 7 × 10−5, the peak side lobe ratio (PSLR) of −13.81 dB, and the integrated side lobe ratio (ISLR) of −8.98 dB at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 10 dB.
A New System Supporting the Diagnostics of Electronic Modules Based on an Augmented Reality Solution
Authors: Kowalke Wojciech , Górecki Krzysztof , Ptak Przemysław , Cadigan Liam , Borucki Brian , Warren Nick , Ancona Mario
Published: January 2024

Printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) is a cost-effective hardware device used in mechanical, process, electrical, electronic, military, and medical equipment providing automated and digital functionalities for users. Keeping high quality standards in the PCBA production process is a major challenge for the electronics production industry. Defective PCBAs are submitted to analysis, debug, and repair processes. This paper presents an augmented reality (AR) fault diagnosis support system for assembled electronic systems—the Cadence inspectAR Augmented Reality Electronics Platform. The system’s functional concept and components are described. The steps of the diagnostic process are presented and discussed. The diagnostic capabilities of the system are illustrated with an example of the system’s use in industrial practice. The planned steps in the development of the elaborated system are indicated.
Enabling Technologies for the Navigation and Communication of UAS Operating in the Context of BVLOS
Authors: Politi Elena , Purucker Patrick , Larsen Morten , Reis Ricardo , Rajan Raj , Penna Sergio , Boer Jan-Floris , Rodosthenous Panagiotis , Dimitrakopoulos George , Varlamis Iraklis , Höß Alfred
Published: January 2024

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have rapidly gained attraction in recent years as a promising solution to revolutionize numerous applications and meet the growing demand for efficient and timely delivery services due to their highly automated operation framework. Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, in particular, offer new means of delivering added-value services via a wide range of applications. This "plateau of productivity" holds enormous promise, but it is challenging to equip the drone with affordable technologies which support the BVLOS use case. To close this gap, this work showcases the convergence of the automotive and aviation industries to advance BVLOS aviation for UAS in a practical setting by studying a combination of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technologies and systems. A novel risk-based approach of investigating the key technological components, architectures, algorithms, and protocols is proposed that facilitate highly reliable and autonomous BVLOS operations, aiming to enhance the alignment between market and operational needs and to better identify integration requirements between the different capabilities to be developed.
Object Localization and Sensing in Non-Line-of-Sight Using RFID Tag Matrices
Authors: Shen Erbo , Duan Shanshan , Guo Sijun , Yang Weidong
Published: January 2024

RFID-based technology innovated a new field of wireless sensing, which has been applied in posture recognition, object localization, and the other sensing fields. Due to the presence of a Fresnel zone around a magnetic field when the RFID-based system is working, the signal undergoes significant changes when an object moves through two or more different Fresnel zones. Therefore, the moving object can be sensed more easily, and most of the sensing applications required the tag to be attached to the moving object for better sensing, significantly limiting their applications. The existing technologies to detect static objects in agricultural settings are mainly based on X-ray or high-power radar, which are costly and bulky, making them difficult to deploy on a large scale. It is a challenging task to sense a static target without a tag attached in NLOS (non-line-of-sight) detection with low cost. We utilized RFID technologies to sense the static foreign objects in agricultural products, and take metal, rock, rubber, and clod as sensing targets that are common in agriculture. By deploying tag matrices to create a sensing region, we observed the signal variations before and after the appearance of the targets in this sensing region, and determined the targets’ positions and their types. Here, we buried the targets in the media of seedless cotton and wheat, and detected them using a non-contact method. Research has illustrated that, by deploying appropriate tag matrices and adjusting the angle of a single RFID antenna, the matrices’ signals are sensitive to the static targets’ positions and their properties, i.e., matrices’ signals vary with different targets and their positions. Specifically, we achieved a 100% success rate in locating metallic targets, while the success rate for clods was the lowest at 86%. We achieved a 100% recognition rate for the types of all the four objects.
Comparative Analysis of PWM Techniques for Interleaved Full Bridge Converter in an AC Battery Application
Authors: Do Tuan Anh , Nguyen Quang Dich , Vu Phuong , Ngo Minh Duc , Ahn Seon-Ju
Published: January 2024

The AC battery utilizing second-life time batteries has gained great interest currently with the advantages of both power solutions and economic benefits. In this system, the power converters play a crucial role in the stable and effective operation of the system. This paper focused on the AC/DC stage with the chosen topology being the interleaved full bridge (IFB) converter due to its flexibility and the ability to increase the power rate of the system. For the sake of high-performance operation, various pulse width modulation (PWM) methods for this converter are analyzed. First, based on the theory of the traditional PWM methods for a full bridge inverter in combination with the interleaved technique, this paper proposed three interleaved PWM methods for the IFB converter. Secondly, the proposed methods are theoretically compared in terms of the output current, common-mode voltage, and power losses. Finally, the evaluation is carried out by both the simulation and the experimental prototype, in which the results are in good agreement with the theoretical analysis.
Microcontroller-Based Embedded System for the Diagnosis of Stator Winding Faults and Unbalanced Supply Voltage of the Induction Motors
Authors: Pietrzak Przemyslaw , Pietrzak Piotr , Wolkiewicz Marcin
Published: January 2024

Induction motors (IMs) are one of the most widely used motor types in the industry due to their low cost, high reliability, and efficiency. Nevertheless, like other types of AC motors, they are prone to various faults. In this article, a low-cost embedded system based on a microcontroller with the ARM Cortex-M4 core is proposed for the extraction of stator winding faults (interturn short circuits) and an unbalanced supply voltage of the induction motor drive. The voltage induced in the measurement coil by the axial flux was used as a source of diagnostic information. The process of signal measurement, acquisition, and processing using a cost-optimized embedded system (NUCLEO-L476RG), with the potential for industrial deployment, is described in detail. In addition, the analysis of the possibility of distinguishing between interturn short circuits and unbalanced supply voltage was carried out. The effect of motor operating conditions and fault severity on the symptom extraction process was also studied. The results of the experimental research conducted on a 1.5 kW IM confirmed the effectiveness of the developed embedded system in the extraction of these types of faults.
How Do Financial Development and Industrial Structure Affect Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency: Evidence from China
Authors: Xu Weicheng , Wang Meng
Published: January 2024

Improving energy efficiency is vital for addressing climate change and reducing carbon emissions in emerging economies. Financial development (FD) is crucial for economic growth, and its environmental impact and the adjustment of the industrial structure (IND) is a crucial lever in China’s economic transition period. This study explored the relationship between FD, IND, and China’s green total factor productivity (GTFEE) from 2000 to 2020 using the super-efficiency SBM-undesirable model, which estimates China’s GTFEE. The ARDL results suggest that FD and IND enhance GTFEE in the long term, with FD promoting GTFEE by facilitating industrial structure adjustments. The Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality tests supported this finding. The QRPD panel quantile regression and heterogeneity analysis revealed significant heterogeneity in the effects. With increasing GTFEE, FD exerts a restraining effect, gradually weakening and transitioning into a promoting effect, while the IND consistently plays a promoting role.
Simple Design Scheme for a 300 kW Modular NPC Inverter Using Thermal RC Network Analysis
Authors: Lee Jae-Woon , Kim Ji-Won , Lee Chee-Woo , Park Byoung-Gun , Lee Jin-Kyu
Published: January 2024

This paper proposes a simple design scheme for a modular NPC inverter using thermal RC network analysis. The proposed design process is an efficient and straightforward approach to designing the heatsink for a 300 kW modular neutral-point-clamped inverter. The heatsink design plays a crucial role in achieving high power density of a power converter because the weight and size of the heatsink are primarily influenced by its type. The structure and dimensions of the heatsink are mainly determined based on the generated heat by losses of the power semiconductor switches. In this paper, a thermal RC network model was established using parameters from the power switch module and was applied to the simulation of the power converter. The thermal losses of the power semiconductor switches were calculated via this process, and the heatsink was designed according to the calculated thermal losses. The proposed design scheme was analyzed and compared with the thermal fluid dynamic model. To validate the feasibility of the proposed design process, The simulation results were compared with experimental results.
Effects of the Abandonment of Traditional Cultural Practices on Epiphytic Bryolichenic Communities in Chestnut Orchards in North-West Spain
Authors: Paz-Bermúdez Graciela , Fernández-Salegui Ana Belén , Hespanhol Helena , López de Silanes Mª Eugenia , Vieira Cristiana , Calviño-Cancela María
Published: January 2024

This study delves into the impact of contrasting management practices on epiphytic bryolichenic communities, shedding light on their divergent responses to management regimes on Castanea sativa Mill. orchards. Lichens and bryophytes were sampled in managed and abandoned plots, in 95 trees, in north and south sides and at two heights in Galicia (NW Spain). The studied groups exhibited opposing reactions to these management practices; bryophytes suffered adverse effects in managed stands, experiencing reduced cover and species richness compared to abandoned orchards, while lichens displayed heightened cover and species diversity. The size of trees, included as a covariate in our analyses, displayed no significant impact on the overall species richness of lichens or bryophytes, although it did influence the cover of specific functional traits. These differing outcomes may be linked to alterations in environmental conditions brought by management interventions. Furthermore, the study uncovered divergent responses within the taxonomic and functional composition of epiphytic communities. Different species and functional groups exhibited varying reactions to changing environmental conditions, making predictions a complex endeavour. In conclusion, this research emphasizes the need for management strategies that account for the diverse ecological requirements of different species and functional groups since no single management regime will suit all species or functional groups.
Suitable Habitat Prediction and Analysis of Dendrolimus houi and Its Host Cupressus funebris in the Chinese Region
Authors: Miao Guangting , Zhao Youjie , Wang Yijie , Yu Chunjiang , Xiong Fei , Sun Yongke , Cao Yong
Published: January 2024

The Dendrolimus houi, a phytophagous pest, displays a broad range of adaptations and often inflicts localized damage to its hosts. Cupressus funebris, an indigenous timber species in China, is significantly impacted by D. houi. Investigating the suitable habitat distribution and changes in D. houi and its host plant, C. funebris, within the context of climate warming, is essential for understanding D. houi’s development and providing novel insights for managing D. houi and conserving C. funebris resources. In this study, MaxEnt was employed to simulate the distribution of D. houi and its host plant, C. funebris, in their suitable habitats, evaluating the influence of environmental factors on their distribution and determining changes under a warming scenario. MaxEnt model parameters were adjusted using the Kuenm data package based on available distribution and climatic data. The minimum temperature of the coldest month emerged as the primary environmental factor influencing the distribution of a suitable habitat for D. houi and C. funebris, with a percentage contribution of environmental factors over 60%. There was a substantial similarity in the suitable habitat distributions of D. houi and C. funebris, with varying degrees of expansion in the total habitat area under different temporal and climatic scenarios. Intersection analysis results indicated that the 2041–2060 period, especially under low (SSP1-2.6) and high (SSP5-8.5) emission scenarios, is a critical phase for D. houi control. The habitat expansion of D. houi and C. funebris due to climate change was observed, with the distribution center of D. houi shifting northeast and that of C. funebris shifting northwest.
Classification Tendency Difference Index Model for Feature Selection and Extraction in Wireless Intrusion Detection
Authors: Tseng Chinyang Henry , Tsaur Woei-Jiunn , Shen Yueh-Mao
Published: January 2024

In detecting large-scale attacks, deep neural networks (DNNs) are an effective approach based on high-quality training data samples. Feature selection and feature extraction are the primary approaches for data quality enhancement for high-accuracy intrusion detection. However, their enhancement root causes usually present weak relationships to the differences between normal and attack behaviors in the data samples. Thus, we propose a Classification Tendency Difference Index (CTDI) model for feature selection and extraction in intrusion detection. The CTDI model consists of three indexes: Classification Tendency Frequency Difference (CTFD), Classification Tendency Membership Difference (CTMD), and Classification Tendency Distance Difference (CTDD). In the dataset, each feature has many feature values (FVs). In each FV, the normal and attack samples indicate the FV classification tendency, and CTDI shows the classification tendency differences between the normal and attack samples. CTFD is the frequency difference between the normal and attack samples. By employing fuzzy C means (FCM) to establish the normal and attack clusters, CTMD is the membership difference between the clusters, and CTDD is the distance difference between the cluster centers. CTDI calculates the index score in each FV and summarizes the scores of all FVs in the feature as the feature score for each of the three indexes. CTDI adopts an Auto Encoder for feature extraction to generate new features from the dataset and calculate the three index scores for the new features. CTDI sorts the original and new features for each of the three indexes to select the best features. The selected CTDI features indicate the best classification tendency differences between normal and attack samples. The experiment results demonstrate that the CTDI features achieve better detection accuracy as classified by DNN for the Aegean WiFi Intrusion Dataset than their related works, and the detection enhancements are based on the improved classification tendency differences in the CTDI features.
A Biomimetic Lignocellulose Aerogel-Based Membrane for Efficient Phenol Extraction from Water
Authors: Liu Peipei , Zheng Chunling , Yao Zhong , Zhang Fang
Published: January 2024

Rapid extraction and concentration systems based on green materials such as cellulose or lignin are promising. However, there is still a need to optimize the material properties and production processes. Unlike conventional cellulose or lignin sorbent materials, aquatic reed root cells can concentrate external organic pollutants in the water and accumulate them in the plant. Inspired by this, a new nanocellulose–lignin aerogel (NLAG) was designed, in which nanocellulose was used as a substrate and lignin and polyamide epoxy chloropropane were used to crosslink cellulose in order to enhance the strength of the NLGA, resulting in good mechanical stability and water–oil amphiphilic properties. In practical applications, the organic membrane on the NLAG can transport organic pollutants from water to the NLAG, where they are immobilized. This is evidenced by the fact that the aerogel can remove more than 93% of exogenous phenol within a few minutes, highly enriching it inside. In addition, the aerogel facilitates filtration and shape recovery for reuse. This work establishes a novel biopolymer–aerogel-based extraction system with the advantages of sustainability, high efficiency, stability, and easy detachability, which are hard for the traditional adsorbent materials to attain.
Multi-Modal versus Uni-Modal Treatment for the Recovery of Lower Limb Motor Function in Patients after Stroke: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
Authors: Lando Alex , Cacciante Luisa , Mantineo Alessio , Baldan Francesca , Pillastrini Paolo , Turolla Andrea , Pregnolato Giorgia
Published: January 2024

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether the multimodal treatment based on both resistance and endurance training for the recovery of lower limb function in post-stroke patients is more effective than unimodal treatment. Six electronic databases were searched. The included articles were firstly analysed for methodological quality and then quantitatively analysed for the following outcomes: endurance, knee-extensor muscle strength, gait speed, and aerobic capacity. The treatment effect was analysed with the mean difference (MD) or standardised mean difference (SMD). From a total of 4439 records, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria for the qualitative analysis, whereas 7 studies were included in the quantitative analysis. There is a significant difference favourable to the group with multimodal treatment for knee-extensor muscle strength (SMD = 1.25; 95% CI 0.97, 1.53, I2 = 42%), both for the affected and the unaffected side. Multimodal treatments are a valid choice in the field of post-stroke rehabilitation. In particular, the combination of resistance and endurance training is useful to maximise the recovery of knee-extensor muscle strength, which in turn could be beneficial for achieving upright position and walking, allowing patients to improve independence levels in their activities of daily life.
Effect of Red and Blue Light on the Growth and Antioxidant Activity of Alfalfa Sprouts
Authors: Sun Kelong , Peng Ying , Wang Mengyuan , Li Weihu , Li Yang , Chen Jianjun
Published: January 2024

Alfalfa sprouts are popular as a gourmet vegetable that contains a variety of antioxidants with anti-cancer and anti-coronary heart disease properties. In this study, under a photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) of 30 mol·L−1 photoperiod of 12 h for 3 days, and a temperature of 25 ± 2 °C, we investigated the effects of different light qualities on the growth, nutritional quality and antioxidant activity of alfalfa sprouts by modulating LEDs with different red and blue ratios, and searched for suitable light-quality conditions for alfalfa sprout growth. The experimental results showed that the dark treatment favored the growth of alfalfa sprout hypocotyls and the increase of soluble sugar content; alfalfa fresh weight was the largest under the white and red light treatments; nitrate content was the lowest in the treatment with a red-to-blue ratio of 2:2 (2R2B); soluble proteins and total phenolic content were the highest in the treatment with red-to-blue ratio of 1:3 (1R3B); and the total antioxidant activity of sprouts was the highest in the blue light treatment.