bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biostimulant Activity of Silicate Compounds and Antagonistic Bacteria on Physiological Growth Enhancement and Resistance of Banana to Fusarium Wilt Disease
Authors: Zakaria Md Aiman Takrim , Sakimin Siti Zaharah , Ismail Mohd Razi , Ahmad Khairulmazmi , Kasim Susilawati , Baghdadi Ali
Published: March 2023

Biostimulants such as silicate (SiO32−) compounds and antagonistic bacteria can alter soil microbial communities and enhance plant resistance to the pathogens and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (FOC), the causal agent of Fusarium wilt disease in bananas. A study was conducted to investigate the biostimulating effects of SiO32− compounds and antagonistic bacteria on plant growth and resistance of the banana to Fusarium wilt disease. Two separate experiments with a similar experimental setup were conducted at the University of Putra Malaysia (UPM), Selangor. Both experiments were arranged in a split-plot randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replicates. SiO32− compounds were prepared at a constant concentration of 1%. Potassium silicate (K2SiO3) was applied on soil uninoculated with FOC, and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) was applied to FOC-contaminated soil before integrating with antagonistic bacteria; without Bacillus spp. ((0B)—control), Bacillus subtilis (BS), and Bacillus thuringiensis (BT). Four levels of application volume of SiO32− compounds [0, 20, 40, 60 mL) were used. Results showed that the integration of SiO32− compounds with BS (108 CFU mL−1) enhanced the physiological growth performance of bananas. Soil application of 28.86 mL of K2SiO3 with BS enhanced the height of the pseudo-stem by 27.91 cm. Application of Na2SiO3 and BS significantly reduced the Fusarium wilt incidence in bananas by 56.25%. However, it was recommended that infected roots of bananas should be treated with 17.36 mL of Na2SiO3 with BS to stimulate better growth performance.
Metabarcoding Reveals Impact of Different Land Uses on Fungal Diversity in the South-Eastern Region of Antioquia, Colombia
Authors: Aranguren Raul , Voyron Samuele , Ungaro Fabrizio , Cañón Julio , Lumini Erica
Published: March 2023

Changes in soil fungal communities caused by land use have not been sufficiently studied in South American Andosols, which are considered key food production areas. Since fungal communities play an important role in soil functionality, this study analysed 26 soil samples of Andosols collected from locations devoted to conservation, agriculture and mining activities in Antioquia, Colombia, to establish differences between fungal communities as indicators of soil biodiversity loss using Illumina MiSeq metabarcoding on nuclear ribosomal ITS2 region. A non-metric multidimensional scaling allowed to explore driver factors of changes in fungal communities, while the significance of these variations was assessed by PERMANOVA. Furthermore, the effect size of land use over relevant taxa was quantified. Our results suggest a good coverage of fungal diversity with a detection of 353,312 high-quality ITS2 sequences. We found strong correlations of Shannon and Fisher indexes with dissimilarities on fungal communities (r = 0.94). These correlations allow grouping soil samples according to land use. Variations in temperature, air humidity and organic matter content lead to changes in abundances of relevant orders (Wallemiales and Trichosporonales). The study highlights specific sensitivities of fungal biodiversity features in tropical Andosols, which may serve as a basis for robust assessments of soil quality in the region.
Exogenous Melatonin Enhances the Yield and Secondary Metabolite Contents of Prunella vulgaris by Modulating Antioxidant System, Root Architecture and Photosynthetic Capacity
Authors: Chang Qingshan , Zhang Lixia , Chen Shuangchen , Gong Minggui , Liu Longchang , Hou Xiaogai , Mi Yinfa , Wang Xiaohui , Wang Jianzhang , Zhang Yue , Sun Yiming
Published: March 2023

Melatonin (MT) plays a number of key roles in regulating plant growth and secondary metabolite accumulation. Prunella vulgaris is an important traditional Chinese herbal medicinal plant which is used for the treatment of lymph, goiter, and mastitis. However, the effect of MT on the yield and medicinal component content of P. vulgaris remains still unclear. In this research, we have examined the influence of different concentrations of MT (0, 50, 100, 200, 400 μM) on the physiological characteristics, secondary metabolite contents, and yield of P. vulgaris biomass. The results showed that 50–200 μM MT treatment had a positive effect on P. vulgaris. MT treatment at 100 μM greatly increased the activities of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase, the contents of soluble sugar and proline, and obviously decreased the relative electrical conductivity, the contents of malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide of leaves. Furthermore, it markedly promoted the growth and development of the root system, increased the content of photosynthetic pigments, improved the performance of photosystems I and II and the coordination of both photosystems, and enhanced the photosynthetic capacity of P. vulgaris. In addition, it significantly increased the dry mass of whole plant and spica and promoted the accumulation of total flavonoids, total phenolics, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, rosmarinic acid, and hyperoside in the spica of P. vulgaris. These findings demonstrated that the application of MT could effectively activate the antioxidant defense system of P. vulgaris, protect the photosynthetic apparatus from photooxidation damage, and improve the photosynthetic capacity and the root absorption capacity, thereby promoting the yield and accumulation of secondary metabolites in P. vulgaris.
Reducing the Permittivity of Polyimides for Better Use in Communication Devices
Authors: Chen Yuwei , Liu Yidong , Min Yonggang
Published: March 2023

Recent studies have shown that introducing fluorinated groups into polyimide (PI) molecules can effectively reduce the dielectric constant (Dk) and dielectric loss (Df) of PIs. In this paper, 2,2′-bis[4-(4-aminophenoxy) phenyl]-1,1′,1′,1′,3,3′,3′-hexafluoropropane (HFBAPP), 2,2′-bis(trifluoromethyl)-4,4′-diaminobenzene (TFMB), diaminobenzene ether (ODA), 1,2,4,5-Benzenetetracarboxylic anhydride (PMDA), 3,3′,4,4′-diphenyltetracarboxylic anhydride (s-BPDA) and 3,3′,4,4′-diphenylketontetracarboxylic anhydride (BTDA) were selected for mixed polymerization to find the relationship between the structure of PIs and dielectric properties. Firstly, different structures of fluorinated PIs were determined, and were put into simulation calculation to learn how structure factors such as fluorine content, the position of fluorine atom and the molecular structure of diamine monomer affect the dielectric properties. Secondly, experiments were carried out to characterize the properties of PI films. The observed change trends of performance were found to be consistent with the simulation results, and the possible basis of the interpretation of other performance was made from the molecular structure. Finally, the formulas with the best comprehensive performance were obtained respectively. Among them, the best dielectric properties were 14.3%TFMB/85.7%ODA//PMDA with dielectric constant of 2.12 and dielectric loss of 0.00698.
Silver Decorated and Graphene Wrapped Polypyrrole@Ni(OH)2 Quaternary Nanocomposite for High Performance Energy Storage Devices
Authors: Jafer Rashida , Alsufyani Sarah A. , Iqbal Javed , Ansari Mohammad Omaish , Numan Arshid , Bashir Shahid , Hasan P. M. Z. , Wageh S.
Published: March 2023

In this work, silver (Ag) anchored over graphene (GN) wrapped polypyrrole (PPy)@ nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)2) nanocomposites were synthesized through a combination of oxidative polymerization and hydrothermal processes. The synthesized Ag/GN@PPy–Ni(OH)2 nanocomposites were characterized for their morphological characteristics by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), while the structural investigations were done by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The FESEM studies showed Ni(OH)2 flakes and silver particles attached over the surface of PPy globules, along with the presence of GN sheets and spherical silver particles. The structural analysis also showed the presence of constituents, i.e., Ag, Ni(OH)2, PPy, GN, and their interaction, therefore vouching that the synthesis protocol is efficacious. The electrochemical (EC) investigations were done in potassium hydroxide (1 M KOH) using a three electrode setup. The quaternary Ag/GN@PPy–Ni(OH)2 nanocomposite electrode showed the highest specific capacity of 237.25 C g−1. The highest electrochemical performance of the quaternary nanocomposite is associated with the synergistic/additional effect of PPy, Ni(OH)2, GN, and Ag. The assembled supercapattery with Ag/GN@PPy-Ni(OH)2 as a positive and activated carbon (AC) as a negative electrode displayed eminent energy density of 43.26 Wh kg−1 with the associated power density of 750.00 W kg−1 at a current density of 1.0 A g−1. The cyclic stability of the supercapattery (Ag/GN@PPy–Ni(OH)2//AC), comprising a battery-type electrode, displayed a high cyclic stability of 108.37% after 5500 cycles.
Effect of Packing Structure Evolution on the Flow Characteristics in a Binary Composite Packed Bed Based on DEM-CFD Method
Authors: Shen Cunliang , Li Mingchun , Ji Jie , Yang Xin , Li Laishi , Wu Yusheng
Published: March 2023

The evolution of mesoscale structures of particle packing in binary composite packed beds and their effects on flow characteristics and wall effects were investigated using the discrete element method (DEM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The DEM model was used to build a series of randomly mixed packing structures of particles in accordance with the dynamic change of mass ratio between particles in two size ranges, which were then confirmed by the findings of an X-ray tomography (CT) scan. The results show that the packing structure of b25s75 was conducive to reducing the influence of wall effect in packed bed reactors. For b25s75, the dimensionless distance of radial porosity fluctuation from the wall is 0.3705, which is the smallest among the five packing models, indicating that this structure plays a suppressive role on the wall effect. In addition, the uniformity of velocity and temperature distributions in both the radial and axial directions of different packing structures were compared. The standard deviations of radial relative velocity distributions in the packed beds of b100, b75s25, b25s75 and s100 are 0.28, 0.178, 0.139 and 0.156, respectively, indicating that the stacking mode of b25s75 can make the fluid flow and the gas–solid interactions more uniform.
Neanderthal Hunting Weapons Re-Assessed: A Tip Cross-Sectional Area Analysis of Middle Palaeolithic Point Assemblages from South Eastern France
Authors: Lombard Marlize , Moncel Marie-Hélène
Published: March 2023

There are many opinions and arguments about the types of weapons that Neanderthals may have used. We list five assumptions about Neanderthal weapon-assisted hunting and suggest that the tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) approach may be used to assess these, and to provide a hypothetical overview of stone-tipped weaponry used in south eastern France between MIS 7 and MIS 3. We analysed stone points from Abri du Maras, Saint-Marcel, Grotte du Figuier, and Payre, and discuss possible hunting strategies in tandem with faunal evidence. Our results suggest that early Neanderthals may have hunted with bimanual thrusting spears in combination with one-handed stabbing spears, but that later groups possibly introduced javelin hunting to the Neanderthal arsenal. Stone-tipped assegais or one-handed stabbing spears, however, stand out as the Neanderthal weapons of choice throughout the Middle Palaeolithic, and we discuss the adaptive advantages of hunting with these weapons. Comparative results that include assemblages from elsewhere in the Old World suggest similarities in hunting with stone-tipped weapons between Neanderthal and H. sapiens before MIS 5, marked differences during MIS 5–4, but similarities again during MIS 3. We suggest that caution is needed when attributing MIS 3 point assemblages to Neanderthals based on age and/or technology only.
A Possible New Diagnostic Method for Early Diagnosis of Cryptococcus Infection in Lymphoma Patient Co-Infected with SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Colosimo Manuela , Nisticò Salvatore , Quintieri Francesco , De Luca Annamaria , Minchella Pasquale , Gallelli Luca
Published: March 2023

A Cryptococcus subspecies, neoformans, represents the most pathogenic infection for humans, particularly in immunocompromised hosts (e.g., cancer patients, drug users). In the present study, we described a 67-year old woman with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who developed an infectious disease sustained by Cryptococcus neoformans. Biochemical data documented a decrease in lymphocytes count while clinical evaluation was suggestive on meningeal infection. The microbiological analysis of the serum, using a dilution pattern through the CrAg lateral flow assay (Immy, Norman, OK 73069, USA) detected the antigen of Cryptococcus (dilution 1/1280), and a treatment with liposomal amphotericin B (3 mg/kg id) plus flucytosine (100 mg/kg per day orally in four divided doses) were started, showing an improvement of symptoms. This case report suggests that an antigen dilution can be used to perform a rapid diagnosis and to quickly start the pharmacological treatment.
BIM–GIS Integrated Utilization in Urban Disaster Management: The Contributions, Challenges, and Future Directions
Authors: Cao Yu , Xu Cong , Aziz Nur Mardhiyah , Kamaruzzaman Syahrul Nizam
Published: March 2023

In the 21st Century, disasters have severe negative impacts on cities worldwide. Given the significant casualties and property damage caused by disasters, it is necessary for disaster management organizations and the public to enhance urban disaster management. As an effective method, BIM (Building Information Modeling)–GIS (Geographic Information System) integration can significantly improve urban disaster management. Despite the significance of BIM–GIS integration, there is rarely the adoption of BIM–GIS integration in urban disaster management, which significantly hinders the development of the quality and efficiency of urban disaster management. To enhance urban disaster management and reduce the negative impact caused by disasters, this study is developed to perform a systematic review of the utilization of BIM–GIS integration in urban disaster management. Through the systematic review, the capabilities of BIM–GIS integration in disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster response, and post-disaster recovery are reviewed and analyzed. Moreover, the data acquisition approaches, interoperability, data utilization and analysis methods, and future directions of BIM–GIS integrated utilization in the disaster management process are also discussed and analyzed. Through this study, the public and urban disaster managers can effectively familiarize themselves with and utilize the capabilities of BIM–GIS integration in urban disaster management, thereby improving the urban disaster management efficiency and the survival rate of disaster victims worldwide. For BIM and GIS software developers, this study can support them to familiarize themselves with the methods and trends of BIM–GIS integrated utilization in urban disaster management and thus optimize the development of software for BIM and GIS.
Monitoring Ground Surface Deformation of Ice-Wedge Polygon Areas in Saskylakh, NW Yakutia, Using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Google Earth Engine (GEE)
Authors: Wang Wenhui , Jin Huijun , Zhang Ze , Zhelezniak Mikhail N. , Spektor Valentin V. , Șerban Raul-David , Li Anyuan , Tumskoy Vladimir , Jin Xiaoying , Yang Suiqiao , Zhang Shengrong , Li Xiaoying , Șerban Mihaela , Wu Qingbai , Wen Yanan
Published: March 2023

As one of the best indicators of the periglacial environment, ice-wedge polygons (IWPs) are important for arctic landscapes, hydrology, engineering, and ecosystems. Thus, a better understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics and evolution of IWPs is key to evaluating the hydrothermal state and carbon budgets of the arctic permafrost environment. In this paper, the dynamics of ground surface deformation (GSD) in IWP zones (2018–2019) and their influencing factors over the last 20 years in Saskylakh, northwestern Yakutia, Russia were investigated using the Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Google Earth Engine (GEE). The results show an annual ground surface deformation rate (AGSDR) in Saskylakh at −49.73 to 45.97 mm/a during the period from 1 June 2018 to 3 May 2019. All the selected GSD regions indicate that the relationship between GSD and land surface temperature (LST) is positive (upheaving) for regions with larger AGSDR, and negative (subsidence) for regions with lower AGSDR. The most drastic deformation was observed at the Aeroport regions with GSDs rates of −37.06 mm/a at tower and 35.45 mm/a at runway. The GSDs are negatively correlated with the LST of most low-centered polygons (LCPs) and high-centered polygons (HCPs). Specifically, the higher the vegetation cover, the higher the LST and the thicker the active layer. An evident permafrost degradation has been observed in Saskylakh as reflected in higher ground temperatures, lusher vegetation, greater active layer thickness, and fluctuant numbers and areal extents of thermokarst lakes and ponds.
Ionospheric Changes over the Western Pacific Ocean near and after the End of Annular Solar Eclipse on 21 June 2020
Authors: Wang Jin , Yu Tao , Liang Yu , Yan Xiangxiang , Xia Chunliang , Qi Yifan
Published: March 2023

The center path of the 21 June 2020 solar eclipse, which passed through Guam (13.62°N, 144.86°E, 94.6% obscuration), United States, at the end of its journey, provides a peculiar opportunity to study the ionospheric changes as the moon shadow moves into the nightside. In this study, remote-sensing observations of the ionosphere taken from the ionosonde, and total electron content from the International GNSS Service over Guam were analyzed to examine the related ionospheric changes. Independent in situ observations of electron density (Ne), electron (Te) and ion temperatures (Ti) from DMSP-F17 at ~850 km, and Ne and Te from Swarm-B at ~540 km were also studied. With a significant enhancement of the critical frequency and downward movement of F2-layer, the ionosphere was compressed as the moon shadow swept over Guam near its sunset hours. Neutral wind observations from the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) showed the westward reversed wind occurring in the F-region near sunset. The westward wind disturbance and downward press over the Western Pacific suggest changes in the electrodynamics in the ionosphere and thermosphere near sunset at the end of the solar eclipse, which further contributes to ~85% decrease of Ne and 157% enhancement of Te at ~540 km near midnight.
Landsat-Based Assessment of Morphological Changes along the Sinai Mediterranean Coast between 1990 and 2020
Authors: Darwish Kamal , Smith Scot
Published: March 2023

The objective of this study was to assess coastal dynamics of the Sinai Mediterranean coastline (SMC) between 1990 and 2020. In this study, remote sensing imagery and geographic information systems-based spatial computing methods were used for coastline change analysis. The study found that the SMC experienced major morphological changes during the period of study. The results show a spatial heterogeneity of coastline change rate over the study period with some periods of rapid change and other periods of stability. The overall analysis during the period of study indicated that the coastline has retreated landward approximately 555 m; the average annual erosion rate was 2.5 m/year. The percentage of the eroded section in the coastline is 60% with the remaining 40% either advancing or remaining stable. Sections of the coastline accreted as much as 542 m. The GIS-based DSAS model application used in this study is unique because it measured spatial variations of coastline dynamics over time using a multiple statistical approach.
Blind Hyperspectral Unmixing with Enhanced 2DTV Regularization Term
Authors: Wang Peng , Shen Xun , Kong Yingying , Zhang Xiwang , Wang Liguo
Published: March 2023

For the problem where the existing hyperspectral unmixing methods do not take full advantage of the correlations and differences between all these bands, resulting in affecting the final unmixing results, we design an enhanced 2DTV (E-2DTV) regularization term and suggest a blind hyperspectral unmixing method with the E-2DTV regularization term (E-gTVMBO), which adds E-2DTV regularization to the previous blind hyperspectral unmixing based on g-TV model. The E-2DTV regularization term is based on the gradient mapping of all bands of HSI, and the sparsity is calculated on the basis of the subspace, rather than applying sparsity to the gradient map itself, which can utilize the correlations and differences between all bands naturally. The experimental results prove the superiority of the E-gTVMBO method from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. The research results can be applied to land cover classification, mineral analysis, and other fields.
The Role of Aerosol Concentration on Precipitation in a Winter Extreme Mixed-Phase System: The Case of Storm Filomena
Authors: Pravia-Sarabia Enrique , Montávez Juan Pedro , Halifa-Marin Amar , Jiménez-Guerrero Pedro , Gomez-Navarro Juan José
Published: March 2023

Aerosol concentration, size and composition are fundamental in hydrometeor formation processes. Meteorological models often use prescribed aerosol concentrations and a single substance. In this study, we analyze the role of aerosol concentration, acting both as CCN and IN, in the development of precipitation in a mixed phase system in numerical weather simulations. To this end, Storm Filomena was selected as the case study. In such a mixed-phase system, the coexistence of supercooled water with ice crystals, as well as the particular existence of a thermal inversion, led to the formation of precipitation in the form of rain, snow and graupel. Several high resolution experiments varying the fixed background aerosol concentration as well as a simulation with an interactive aerosol calculation were performed by means of the WRF-Chem model, using the same physics suite, domain and driving conditions. Results show that the total precipitation remains basically unaltered, with maximum changes of 5%; however, the production of snow is heavily modified. The simulation with maximum prescribed aerosol concentration produced 27% more snow than the interactive aerosol simulation, and diminished the graupel (74%) and rain production (28%). This redistribution of precipitation is mainly linked to the fact that under fixed ice crystal population the variation of aerosol concentration translates into changes in the liquid water content and droplet size and number concentration, thus altering the efficiency of precipitation production. In addition, while modifying the prescribed aerosol concentration produces the same precipitation pattern with the concentration modulating the precipitation amount, interactive aerosol calculation leads to a different precipitation pattern due to the spatial and temporal variability induced in the dynamical aerosol distribution.
Filtering Airborne LiDAR Data in Forested Environments Based on Multi-Directional Narrow Window and Cloth Simulation
Authors: Cai Shangshu , Yu Sisi
Published: March 2023

Ground filtering is one of the essential steps for processing airborne light detection and ranging data in forestry applications. However, the performance of existing methods is still limited in forested areas due to the complex terrain and dense vegetation. To overcome this limitation, we proposed an improved surface-based filter based on multi-directional narrow window and cloth simulation. The innovations mainly involve two aspects as follows: (1) sufficient and uniformly distributed ground seeds are identified by merging the lowest points and line segments from the point clouds within a multi-directional narrow window; (2) complete and accurate ground points are extracted using a cyclic scheme that includes incorrect ground point elimination using the internal force adjustment of cloth simulation, terrain reconstruction with moving least-squares plane fitting, and ground point extraction based on progressively refined terrain. The proposed method was tested in five forested sites with various terrain characteristics and vegetation distributions. Experimental results showed that the proposed method could accurately separate ground points from non-ground points in different forested environments, with the average kappa coefficient of 88.51% and total error of 4.22%. Moreover, the comparative experiments proved that the proposed method performed better than the classical methods involving the slope-based, mathematical morphology-based and surface-based methods.
Impacts of Extreme Space Weather Events on September 6th, 2017 on Ionosphere and Primary Cosmic Rays
Authors: Kolarski Aleksandra , Veselinović Nikola , Srećković Vladimir A. , Mijić Zoran , Savić Mihailo , Dragić Aleksandar
Published: March 2023

The strongest X-class solar flare (SF) event in 24th solar cycle, X9.3, occurred on 6 September 2017, accompanied by earthward-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Such space weather episodes are known to cause various threats to human activities ranging from radio communication and navigation disturbances including wave blackout to producing geomagnetic storms of different intensities. In this study, SFs’ ionospheric impacts and effects of accompanied heliospheric disturbances on primary cosmic rays (CR) are investigated. This work offers the first detailed investigation of characteristics of these extreme events since they were inspected both from the perspective of their electromagnetic nature, through very low frequency (VLF) radio waves, and their corpuscular nature of CR by multi-instrumental approach. Aside data recorded by Belgrade VLF and CR stations, data from GOES and SOHO space probes were used for modeling and analysis. Conducted numerical simulations revealed a significant change of ionospheric parameters (sharpness and effective reflection height) and few orders of magnitude increase of electron density. We compared our findings with those existing in the literature regarding the ionospheric response and corresponding parameters. In addition, Forbush decrease (FD) magnitude, corrected for magnetospheric effect, derived from measurements, and one predicted from power exponents used to parametrize the shape of energetic proton fluence spectra at L1 were compared and found to be in good agreement. Presented findings could be useful for investigation of atmospheric plasma properties, particles’ modeling, and prediction of extreme weather impacts on human activities.
Inferences on the 2021 Ongoing Volcanic Unrest at Vulcano Island (Italy) through a Comprehensive Multidisciplinary Surveillance Network
Authors: Federico Cinzia , Cocina Ornella , Gambino Salvatore , Paonita Antonio , Branca Stefano , Coltelli Mauro , Italiano Francesco , Bruno Valentina , Caltabiano Tommaso , Camarda Marco , Capasso Giorgio , De Gregorio Sofia , Diliberto Iole Serena , Di Martino Roberto Maria Rosario , Falsaperla Susanna , Greco Filippo , Pecoraino Giovannella , Salerno Giuseppe , Sciotto Mariangela , Bellomo Sergio , Grazia Giuseppe Di , Ferrari Ferruccio , Gattuso Alessandro , La Pica Leonardo , Mattia Mario , Pisciotta Antonino Fabio , Pruiti Lucia , Sortino Francesco
Published: March 2023

In September 2021, the La Fossa crater at Vulcano, in Italy, entered a new phase of unrest. We discuss a set of monitoring parameters included in the INGV surveillance network, which closely tracked the sequence of effects related to the crisis. The low-frequency local seismicity sharply increased, while the GPS and tiltmeter networks recorded the inflation of the cone, as an effect of fluid expansion in the hydrothermal system. Gravity variations were probably the effects of fast processes within shallow sources. The anomalies in soil CO2 flux, fumarole temperature, and in plume SO2 flux marked the strong increase in the vapor output from crater fumaroles. The signs of the impending crisis had been evident in the chemical and isotopic composition of fumarole gases since July 2021. These geochemical anomalies were clearly indicative of the enhanced input of gases from a magmatic source. In October, the massive degassing also influenced the areas at the base of the cone. In some areas, soil CO2 degassing and the thermal aquifer recorded strong anomalies. By early November, the crisis reached its acme. Afterward, the monitored parameters started a slow and discontinuous decreasing trend although remaining, some of them, sensibly above the background for several months. The multidisciplinary approach proved decisive for the interpretation of the underlying processes acting in the different phases of the unrest, thus allowing a consistent evaluation of the multiple hazards.
A Nonlinear Grid Transformation Method for Extrapolating and Predicting the Convective Echo of Weather Radar
Authors: Sun Yue , Xiao Hui , Tian Ye , Yang Huiling
Published: March 2023

A nonlinear grid transformation (NGT) method is proposed for weather radar convective echo extrapolation prediction. The change in continuous echo images is regarded as a nonlinear transformation process of the grid. This process can be reproduced by defining and solving a 2 × 6 transformation matrix, and this approach can be applied to image prediction. In ideal experiments with numerical and path changes of the target, NGT produces a prediction result closer to the target than does a conventional optical flow (OF) method. In the presence of convection lines in real cases, NGT is superior to OF: the critical success index (CSI) for 40 dBZ of the echo prediction at 60 min is approximately 0.2 higher. This is due to the better estimation of the movement of the whole cloud system in the NGT results since it reflects the continuous change in the historical images. For the case with a mesoscale convective complex, the NGT results are better than the OF results, and a deep learning result is cited from a previous study for the same case for 20 and 30 dBZ. However, the result is the opposite for 40 dBZ, where the deep learning method may produce an overestimation of the stronger echo.
Identity-Based Proxy Re-Encryption Scheme Using Fog Computing and Anonymous Key Generation
Authors: Lin Han-Yu , Tsai Tung-Tso , Ting Pei-Yih , Fan Yan-Rong
Published: March 2023

In the fog computing architecture, a fog is a node closer to clients and responsible for responding to users’ requests as well as forwarding messages to clouds. In some medical applications such as the remote healthcare, a sensor of patients will first send encrypted data of sensed information to a nearby fog such that the fog acting as a re-encryption proxy could generate a re-encrypted ciphertext designated for requested data users in the cloud. Specifically, a data user can request access to cloud ciphertexts by sending a query to the fog node that will forward this query to the corresponding data owner who preserves the right to grant or deny the permission to access his/her data. When the access request is granted, the fog node will obtain a unique re-encryption key for carrying out the re-encryption process. Although some previous concepts have been proposed to fulfill these application requirements, they either have known security flaws or incur higher computational complexity. In this work, we present an identity-based proxy re-encryption scheme on the basis of the fog computing architecture. Our identity-based mechanism uses public channels for key distribution and avoids the troublesome problem of key escrow. We also formally prove that the proposed protocol is secure in the IND-PrID-CPA notion. Furthermore, we show that our work exhibits better performance in terms of computational complexity.
WE3DS: An RGB-D Image Dataset for Semantic Segmentation in Agriculture
Authors: Kitzler Florian , Barta Norbert , Neugschwandtner Reinhard W. , Gronauer Andreas , Motsch Viktoria
Published: March 2023

Smart farming (SF) applications rely on robust and accurate computer vision systems. An important computer vision task in agriculture is semantic segmentation, which aims to classify each pixel of an image and can be used for selective weed removal. State-of-the-art implementations use convolutional neural networks (CNN) that are trained on large image datasets. In agriculture, publicly available RGB image datasets are scarce and often lack detailed ground-truth information. In contrast to agriculture, other research areas feature RGB-D datasets that combine color (RGB) with additional distance (D) information. Such results show that including distance as an additional modality can improve model performance further. Therefore, we introduce WE3DS as the first RGB-D image dataset for multi-class plant species semantic segmentation in crop farming. It contains 2568 RGB-D images (color image and distance map) and corresponding hand-annotated ground-truth masks. Images were taken under natural light conditions using an RGB-D sensor consisting of two RGB cameras in a stereo setup. Further, we provide a benchmark for RGB-D semantic segmentation on the WE3DS dataset and compare it with a solely RGB-based model. Our trained models achieve up to 70.7% mean Intersection over Union (mIoU) for discriminating between soil, seven crop species, and ten weed species. Finally, our work confirms the finding that additional distance information improves segmentation quality.
Crosstalk in Facial EMG and Its Reduction Using ICA
Authors: Sato Wataru , Kochiyama Takanori
Published: March 2023

There is ample evidence that electromyography (EMG) signals from the corrugator supercilii and zygomatic major muscles can provide valuable information for the assessment of subjective emotional experiences. Although previous research suggested that facial EMG data could be affected by crosstalk from adjacent facial muscles, it remains unproven whether such crosstalk occurs and, if so, how it can be reduced. To investigate this, we instructed participants (n = 29) to perform the facial actions of frowning, smiling, chewing, and speaking, in isolation and combination. During these actions, we measured facial EMG signals from the corrugator supercilii, zygomatic major, masseter, and suprahyoid muscles. We performed an independent component analysis (ICA) of the EMG data and removed crosstalk components. Speaking and chewing induced EMG activity in the masseter and suprahyoid muscles, as well as the zygomatic major muscle. The ICA-reconstructed EMG signals reduced the effects of speaking and chewing on zygomatic major activity, compared with the original signals. These data suggest that: (1) mouth actions could induce crosstalk in zygomatic major EMG signals, and (2) ICA can reduce the effects of such crosstalk.
Secure Networking with Software-Defined Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces
Authors: Chiti Francesco , Degl’Innocenti Ashley , Pierucci Laura
Published: March 2023

Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) are considered of paramount importance to improve air–ground and THz communications performance for 6G systems. Recently, RISs were proposed in Physical Layer Security (PLS), as they can (i) improve the secrecy capacity due to the controlled directional reflections’ capability of RIS elements and (ii) avoid potential eavesdroppers, redirecting data streams towards the intended users. This paper proposes the integration of a multi-RISs system within a Software Defined Networking (SDN) architecture to provide a specific control layer for secure data flows forwarding. The optimisation problem is properly characterised in terms of an objective function and an equivalent graph theory model is considered to address the optimal solution. Moreover, different heuristics are proposed, trading off complexity and PLS performance, to evaluate the more suitable multi-beam routing strategy. Numerical results are also provided, focusing on a worst case scenario which points out the improvement of the secrecy rate from the increase in the number of eavesdroppers. Furthermore, the security performance is investigated for a specific user mobility pattern in a pedestrian scenario.
Readout IC Architectures and Strategies for Uncooled Micro-Bolometers Infrared Focal Plane Arrays: A Review
Authors: Fusetto Samuele , Aprile Antonio , Malcovati Piero , Bonizzoni Edoardo
Published: March 2023

InfraRed Focal Plane Arrays (IRFPAs) are crucial components in a wide range of applications, including night vision, thermal imaging and gas sensing. Among the various types of IRFPAs, micro-bolometer-based ones have gained significant attention due to their high sensitivity, low noise and low cost. However, their performance is heavily dependent on the readout interface, which converts the analog electrical signals provided by the micro-bolometers into digital signals for further processing and analysis. This paper briefly introduces these kinds of devices and their function, reporting and discussing a list of key parameters used to evaluate their performance; after that, the focus is shifted to the readout interface architecture with particular attention to the different strategies adopted, across the last two decades, in the design and development of the main blocks included in the readout chain.
Phase Unwrapping Error Correction Based on Multiple Linear Regression Analysis
Authors: Lv Zhuang , Zhu Kaifeng , He Xin , Zhang Lei , He Jiawei , Mu Zhiya , Wang Jun , Zhang Xin , Hao Ruidong
Published: March 2023

Fringe projection profilometry (FPP) is prone to phase unwrapping error (PUE) due to phase noise and measurement conditions. Most of the existing PUE-correction methods detect and correct PUE on a pixel-by-pixel or partitioned block basis and do not make full use of the correlation of all information in the unwrapped phase map. In this study, a new method for detecting and correcting PUE is proposed. First, according to the low rank of the unwrapped phase map, multiple linear regression analysis is used to obtain the regression plane of the unwrapped phase, and thick PUE positions are marked on the basis of the tolerance set according to the regression plane. Then, an improved median filter is used to mark random PUE positions and finally correct marked PUE. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective and robust. In addition, this method is progressive in the treatment of highly abrupt or discontinuous regions.
Relationship between Butyrylcholinesterase Activity and Cognitive Ability in Workers Exposed to Chlorpyrifos
Authors: Rosales-Rimache Jaime , Machado-Pereyra Paola , Bendezu-Quispe Guido
Published: March 2023

Background. The use of Chlorpyrifos leads to a public, environmental, and occupational health problem associated with adverse effects in the exposed population, generating alterations mainly in the central nervous system, such as cognitive function. This study aimed to estimate the association between butyrylcholinesterase activity (BChE) and cognitive ability in workers exposed to chlorpyrifos. Methods. We designed a cross-sectional study, where we measured BChE in serum samples as an indicator of exposure to chlorpyrifos. The cognitive ability was assessed by the mean score of the Peruvian version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). We also used a questionary to collect demographic and occupational information. Results. We evaluated 120 farmers with a predominance of males (92%) and a mean age of 32.1 ± 9.0 years. We found most of the workers in fumigation activities (84%). The mean BChE was 6144.7 ± 2355.0 U/L, and 46% presented inhibition enzyme (<5500 U/L). The median MMSE score was 28 (interquartile range: 26.5–31.5; 6% showed an alteration in cognitive ability (score < 24)). The MMSE test found a significant association between BChE inhibition and MMSE score (β: −0.071, 95%CI: −0.108 to −0.025). Conclusion. In this study, 45.8% of workers exposed to chlorpyriphos presented BChE inhibition. The BChE inhibition is significantly associated with the MMSE score in workers exposed to chlorpyrifos.
An Empirical Investigation on the Influence of the Number of Particle Outlets and Volume Flow Rates on Separation Efficiency and Pressure Drop in a Uniflow Hydrocyclone
Authors: Senfter Thomas , Ennemoser Jonas , Berger Manuel , Mayerl Christian , Kofler Tobias , Pillei Martin
Published: March 2023

The influence of the number of particle outlets as well as of varying inlet and underflow volume flow rates on separation efficiency and pressure drop of uniflow hydrocyclones was empirically investigated. Therefore, several prototypes were designed and constructed, and separation tests were systematically conducted on a test rig. With regard to the number of particle outlets, the influence of a single, twofold and fourfold particle outlet on the separator’s performance was evaluated. The results showed that a higher number of particle outlets had neither a measurable influence on the separator’s separation efficiency nor on the pressure drop. However, high inlet volume flow rates favor particle separation but also lead to higher pressure drops. Accordingly, separation efficiencies in a range of 26.92 % to 38.56 % were recorded, while the pressure drop simultaneously varied between 0.218 bar and 0.413 bar. The separation efficiency was additionally enhanced by applying higher underflow volume flow rates. Increasing the underflow to inlet volume flow ratio by 4 % led to performance improvements by more than 6 % on average.
A Bibliometric Analysis of Research on the Convergence of Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain in Smart Cities
Authors: Alaeddini Morteza , Hajizadeh Maryam , Reaidy Paul
Published: March 2023

Smart cities aim to enhance the quality of life for citizens by integrating information technology in various aspects of daily life. This paper focuses on recent innovations in the integration of two prominent technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain, to manage complex interactions between smart connected devices, individuals, government agencies, and the private sector. By conducting a systematic scientometric analysis and visualization of 505 articles published between 2017 and 2023, we uncover the social, conceptual, and intellectual structures of the literature in this field through co-authorship, co-word, and co-citation networks. Our analysis identifies key insights, research hotspots, specialties, and emerging trends by examining important nodes in the bibliometric networks. The findings of this study can be of interest to both academics and practitioners working in the fields of AI, blockchain, and smart cities.
The Impact of Temporary Residence Permits on Young Refugees’ Abilities to Build a Life in Sweden
Authors: Lind Jacob , Hansen Christina , Khoury Nadeen
Published: March 2023

Drawing on interviews with young refugees, 20–30 years old, mainly from Syria and Afghanistan, we discuss the effects that temporary residence permits have on their ability to build a life in Sweden. The article includes both unaccompanied and accompanied youth that at some point had been given temporary residence permits. These permits could later be renewed or turned into permanent permits if the youth fulfilled certain tough requirements. Through rich empirical data, we show how these temporal techniques of border control keep young refugees in a state where they fear deportation, which have detrimental effects for their ability to build a life in Sweden. They are not able to plan ahead and they feel forced to work although they would have preferred to study, which puts them out of sync with other young people around them, challenges their sense of agency and increases their vulnerability. Temporary residence permits severely limit the life opportunities of young refugees in Sweden, and thus hamper their ability to achieve the “migrant integration” that is expected of them.
Soil Health Assessment and Management Framework for Water-Limited Environments: Examples from the Great Plains of the USA
Authors: Ghimire Rajan , Thapa Vesh R. , Acosta-Martinez Veronica , Schipanski Meagan , Slaughter Lindsey C. , Fonte Steven J. , Shukla Manoj K. , Bista Prakriti , Angadi Sangamesh V. , Mikha Maysoon M. , Adebayo Olufemi , Noble Strohm Tess
Published: March 2023

Healthy soils provide the foundation for sustainable agriculture. However, soil health degradation has been a significant challenge for agricultural sustainability and environmental quality in water-limited environments, such as arid and semi-arid regions. Soils in these regions is often characterized by low soil organic matter (SOM), poor fertility, and low overall productivity, thus limiting the ability to build SOM. Soil health assessment frameworks developed for more productive, humid, temperate environments typically emphasize building SOM as a key to soil health and have identified the best management practices that are often difficult to implement in regions with water limitations. This study reviewed existing soil health assessment frameworks to assess their potential relevance for water-limited environments and highlights the need to develop a framework that links soil health with key ecosystem functions in dry climates. It also discusses management strategies for improving soil health, including tillage and residue management, organic amendments, and cropping system diversification and intensification. The assessment of indicators sensitive to water management practices could provide valuable information in designing soil health assessment frameworks for arid and semi-arid regions. The responses of soil health indicators are generally greater when multiple complementary soil health management practices are integrated, leading to the resilience and sustainability of agriculture in water-limited environments.
Sustainability-Oriented Optimization and Decision Making of Community Buildings under Seismic Hazard
Authors: Anwar Ghazanfar Ali , Hussain Mudasir , Akber Muhammad Zeshan , Khan Mustesin Ali , Khan Aatif Ali
Published: March 2023

Optimization and decision-making tools are often utilized to enhance the performance of community buildings under extreme events, but this may compromise the ability of future generations to enhance performance. Hence, a sustainability-oriented approach is required to enhance the performance of community buildings under extreme events. In this context, this paper proposes an optimization and decision-making framework considering multiple performance indicators, including socioeconomic and environmental consequences as well as retrofit costs. These performance indicators are assessed by utilizing performance-based assessment methodologies in terms of sustainability dimensions. The performance indicators are then exploited as multiple performance objectives in a genetic optimization to determine the Pareto optimal solutions. Finally, the Pareto optimal solutions are utilized for decision making to extract ideal solutions for the given retrofit costs. The ideal solutions provide trade-offs between the consequences of extreme events and the retrofit costs required to reduce the consequences of extreme events.