bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Portable Biosensor for 2,4-Dinitrotoluene Vapors
Authors: Prante Marc , Ude Christian , Große Miriam , Raddatz Lukas , Krings Ulrich , John Gernot , Belkin Shimshon , Scheper Thomas
Published: December 2018

Buried explosive material, e.g., landmines, represent a severe issue for human safety all over the world. Most explosives consist of environmentally hazardous chemicals like 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), carcinogenic 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) and related compounds. Vapors leaking from buried landmines offer a detection marker for landmines, presenting an option to detect landmines without relying on metal detection. 2,4-Dinitrotoluene (DNT), an impurity and byproduct of common TNT synthesis, is a feasible detection marker since it is extremely volatile. We report on the construction of a wireless, handy and cost effective 2,4-dinitrotoluene biosensor combining recombinant bioluminescent bacterial cells and a compact, portable optical detection device. This biosensor could serve as a potential alternative to the current detection technique. The influence of temperature, oxygen and different immobilization procedures on bioluminescence were tested. Oxygen penetration depth in agarose gels was investigated, and showed that aeration with molecular oxygen is necessary to maintain bioluminescence activity at higher cell densities. Bioluminescence was low even at high cell densities and 2,4-DNT concentrations, hence optimization of different prototypes was carried out regarding radiation surface of the gels used for immobilization. These findings were applied to sensor construction, and 50 ppb gaseous 2,4-DNT was successfully detected.
Evidence of Reactivity in the Membrane for the Unstable Monochloramine during MIMS Analysis
Authors: Louarn Essyllt , Asri-Idlibi Abdoul. Monem , Leprovost Julien , Héninger Michel , Mestdagh Hélène
Published: December 2018

Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry (MIMS) was used to analyze monochloramine solutions (NH2Cl) and ammonia solutions in a compact FTICR. Chemical ionization enables identification and quantification of the products present in the permeate. The responses of protonated monochloramine and ammonium increase linearly with the solution concentration. The enrichments were respectively 1.2 and 5.5. Pervaporation is dependent on pH and only the basic form of ammonia NH3 pervaporates through the membrane. Unexpectedly, the small ammonia molecule permeated very slowly. It could be due to interactions with water molecules inside the membrane that create clusters. Moreover, NH2Cl solutions, in addition to the NH3Cl+ signal, presented a strong NH4+ signal at m/z 18.034. Ammonia presence in the low-pressure zone before ionization is probable as NH4+ was detected with all the precursors used, particularly CF3+ and trimethylbenzene that presents a proton affinity higher than monochloramine. Ammonia may be formed inside the membrane due to the fact that NH2Cl is unstable and may react with the water present in the membrane. Those results highlight the need for caution when dealing with chloramines in MIMS and more generally with unstable molecules.
A Stellar Imaging Error Correction Method Based on an Ellipsoid Model: Taking Ziyuan 3-02 Satellite Data Analysis as an Example
Authors: Wang Bo , Zhou Wei , Gao Yuyang , Sheng Qinghong
Published: December 2018

Stellar point image coordinates are one of the important observations needed for high-precision space attitude measurement with a star sensor. High-coupling imaging errors occur under dynamic imaging conditions. Using the results of preliminary star point extraction from star sensor imaging data combined with a superimposed time series, we analyze the relative motion and trajectory based on the star point image, establish an image error ellipsoid fitting model based on the elliptical orbit of a satellite platform, and achieve geometric error correction of a star sensors’ image star point using multi-parameter screening of the ambiguous solutions of intersection of the elliptic equations. The simulation data showed that the accuracy of the correction error of this method reached 89.8%, and every star point coordinate required 0.259 s to calculate, on average. In addition, it was applied to real data from the satellite Ziyuan 3-02 to carry out the correction of the star points. The experiment shows that the mean of attitude quaternion errors for all its components was reduced by 52.3%. Our results show that the estimation parameters of dynamic imaging errors can effectively compensate for the star point image observation value and improve the accuracy of attitude calculation.
Circularly Polarized Broadband Printed Antenna for Wireless Applications
Authors: Samsuzzaman Md. , Islam Mohammad Tariqul
Published: December 2018

A simple, compact sickle-shaped printed antenna with a slotted ground plane is designed and developed for broadband circularly polarized (CP) radiation. The sickle-shaped radiator with a tapered feed line and circular slotted square ground plane are utilized to realize the wideband CP radiation feature. With optimized dimensions of 0.29λ × 0.29λ × 0.012λ at 2.22 GHz frequency for the realized antenna parameters, the measured results display that the antenna has a 10 dB impedance bandwidth of 7.70 GHz (126.85%; 2.22–9.92 GHz) and a 3 dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidth of 2.64 GHz (73.33%; 2.28–4.92 GHz). The measurement agrees well with simulation, which proves an excellent circularly polarized property. For verification, the mechanism of band improvement and circular polarization are presented, and the parametric study is carried out. Since, the proposed antenna is a simple design structure with broad impedance and AR bandwidth, which is a desirable feature as a candidate for various wireless communication systems. Because of the easy printed structure and scaling the dimension with broadband CP characteristics, the realized antenna does incorporate in a number of CP wireless communication applications.
Characterization of Recombinant His-Tag Protein Immobilized onto Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles
Authors: Torres-González Lisa , Díaz-Ayala Ramonita , Vega-Olivencia Carmen A. , López-Garriga Juan
Published: December 2018

The recombinant polyhistidine-tagged hemoglobin I ((His)6-rHbI) from the bivalve Lucina pectinata is an ideal biocomponent for a hydrogen sulfide (H2S) biosensor due to its high affinity for H2S. In this work, we immobilized (His)6-rHbI over a surface modified with gold nanoparticles functionalized with 3-mercaptopropionic acid complexed with nickel ion. The attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis of the modified-gold electrode displays amide I and amide II bands characteristic of a primarily α-helix structure verifying the presence of (His)6-rHbI on the electrode surface. Also, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show a new peak after protein interaction corresponding to nitrogen and a calculated overlayer thickness of 5.3 nm. The functionality of the immobilized hemoprotein was established by direct current potential amperometry, using H2S as the analyte, validating its activity after immobilization. The current response to H2S concentrations was monitored over time giving a linear relationship from 30 to 700 nM with a corresponding sensitivity of 3.22 × 10−3 nA/nM. These results confirm that the analyzed gold nanostructured platform provides an efficient and strong link for polyhistidine-tag protein immobilization over gold and glassy carbon surfaces for a future biosensors development.
MAPLE Assembled Acetylcholinesterase–Polyethylenimine Hybrid and Multilayered Interfaces for Toxic Gases Detection
Authors: Dinca Valentina , Viespe Cristian , Brajnicov Simona , Constantinoiu Izabela , Moldovan Antoniu , Bonciu Anca , Toader Constantin , Ginghina Raluca , Grigoriu Nicoleta , Dinescu Maria , Scarisoreanu Nicu
Published: December 2018

Developing a controlled method for obtaining hybrid enzymatic-based interfaces for sensing application require the use of a multiuse, reusable sensor. By controlling the interface characteristics in terms of the surface chemistry, thickness, and roughness, a tailored response toward various toxic compounds can be obtained, regarding both materials used as active surfaces and fabrication methods. Herein, we report a preliminary study on using a laser-based method (i.e., matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation, or MAPLE) for obtaining active polymeric–enzymatic interfaces as hybrid or layered coatings for detecting toxic vapors. The MAPLE fabrication consisted of the simultaneous alternating evaporation of layers of polyethylenimine (PEI) and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) in order to obtain active surfaces as both hybrid PEI-AchE and a PEI/AchE layered coating, respectively. The deposition processes of the polymer and enzyme were carried out using a double-target system and a Nd:YAG pulsed laser, operating at 0.45 J/cm2 fluences with a wavelength of 266 nm and a repetition rate of 10 Hz. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed no significant changes in the functional groups of both hybrid and layered coatings compared with the initial material. The thickness and roughness, as well as the morphologies of the coatings revealed by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy showed coatings thicker than two μm that had smooth surfaces and average roughness values below six nm. The sensors were tested with simulants for nerve gases and pesticides containing phosphonate ester groups, namely dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) and diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP), and a different sensitivity was shown to the selected chemical agents for each of the sensors. The best sensitivities for DMMP and DIMP obtained by using a PEI-AchE coated sensor are 65 kHz and 200 kHz, respectively, whereas the best sensitivity when using multilayered interfaces is 30 kHz and 10 KHz for DIMP and DMMP, respectively.
A Review of Wearable Solutions for Physiological and Emotional Monitoring for Use by People with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Caregivers
Authors: Taj-Eldin Mohammed , Ryan Christian , O’Flynn Brendan , Galvin Paul
Published: December 2018

The goal of real-time feedback on physiological changes, stress monitoring and even emotion detection is becoming a technological reality. People in their daily life experience varying emotional states, some of which are negative and which can lead to decreased attention, decreased productivity and ultimately, reduced quality of life. Therefore, having a solution that continuously monitors the physiological signals of the person and assesses his or her emotional well-being could be a very valuable tool. This paper aims to review existing physiological and motional monitoring devices, highlight their features and compare their sensing capabilities. Such technology would be particularly useful for certain populations who experience rapidly changing emotional states such as people with autism spectrum disorder and people with intellectual disabilities. Wearable sensing devices present a potential solution that can support and complement existing behavioral interventions. This paper presents a review of existing and emerging products in the market. It reviews the literature on state-of-the-art prototypes and analyzes their usefulness, clinical validity, and discusses clinical perspectives. A small number of products offer reliable physiological internal state monitoring and may be suitable for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is likely that more promising solutions will be available in the near future. Therefore, caregivers should be careful in their selection of devices that meet the care-receiver’s personal needs and have strong research support for reliability and validity.
Data Compression Based on Stacked RBM-AE Model for Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Liu Jianlin , Chen Fenxiong , Wang Dianhong
Published: December 2018

Data compression is very important in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) with the limited energy of sensor nodes. Data communication results in energy consumption most of the time; the lifetime of sensor nodes is usually prolonged by reducing data transmission and reception. In this paper, we propose a new Stacked RBM Auto-Encoder (Stacked RBM-AE) model to compress sensing data, which is composed of a encode layer and a decode layer. In the encode layer, the sensing data is compressed; and in the decode layer, the sensing data is reconstructed. The encode layer and the decode layer are composed of four standard Restricted Boltzmann Machines (RBMs). We also provide an energy optimization method that can further reduce the energy consumption of the model storage and calculation by pruning the parameters of the model. We test the performance of the model by using the environment data collected by Intel Lab. When the compression ratio of the model is 10, the average Percentage RMS Difference value is 10.04%, and the average temperature reconstruction error value is 0.2815 °C. The node communication energy consumption in WSNs can be reduced by 90%. Compared with the traditional method, the proposed model has better compression efficiency and reconstruction accuracy under the same compression ratio. Our experiment results show that the new neural network model can not only apply to data compression for WSNs, but also have high compression efficiency and good transfer learning ability.
Vascular Occlusion Restores Endothelium-Dependent Effects of Adenosine Previously Diminished by Diabetes: The Preliminary Report
Authors: Stojanović Marko , Janković Radmila , Prostran Milica , Radenković Miroslav
Published: December 2018

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adenosine in non-occluded or occluded femoral arteries (FA) that were isolated from healthy or diabetic Wistar rats. Determining the role of endothelium, and a transmembrane flow of potassium ions in adenosine actions were also of interest. Diabetes was experimentally induced by alloxan, while the vascular occlusion was performed for 45 min on randomly selected FA. Vascular tone changes were continuously recorded. Selected markers of endothelial dysfunction were measured in animal serum. Thus, adenosine produced a concentration-dependent relaxation of rat FA, which was endothelium-dependent, too, except in a group of diabetic animals. Moreover, serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) levels were higher in diabetic animals, thus reflecting endothelial dysfunction (ED). Still, an occlusion of FA enhanced the relaxation effect of adenosine in endothelium-intact rings from diabetic animals. Oppositely, in the presence of high potassium concentration in the buffer, adenosine-induced relaxation was significantly reduced in all of the investigated groups/subgroups. These results suggest that in diabetic animals, an occlusion of FA most probably reversed adenosine-induced relaxation from endothelium-independent into an endothelium-dependent relaxation, thus indicating the possible protective mechanism against ischemic episodes of FA in the presence of diabetes.
Modulatory Effect of Lippia alba Essential Oil on the Activity of Clinically Used Antimicrobial Agents on Salmonella typhi and Shigella dysenteriae Biofilm
Authors: Batista Andressa , Dodou Hilania , Rodrigues Matheus , Pereira Pedro , Sales Gleilton , Medeiros Suelen , Nogueira Nádia
Published: December 2018

The essential oil obtained from the leaves of Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Brown (Verbenaceae) has shown great pharmacological potential as an analgesic, antispasmodic, and antimicrobial agent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the modulatory effect of Lippia alba essential oil (LaEO I) on the activity of clinically used antimicrobial agents on Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (Salmonella typhi) and Shigella dysenteriae biofilms. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of LaEO I (MICLaEO I) was determined by the microdilution method, and the effect of LaEO I on the activity of clinically used antimicrobials was assessed by the Checkboard method. The values obtained from MICLaEO I and ciprofloxacin were used to evaluate the effect of time of exposure on cell viability. LaEO I main components were geranial (34.2%), neral (25.9%), and myrcene (12.5%). The MICLaEO I was 1 mg/mL for both strains. LaEO I positively modulated the action of ciprofloxacin, cefepime, and ceftriaxone. After the first hour of treatment with MICLaEO I, the cell viability of the strains showed a 5 log10 CFU/mL reduction, and the LaEO I-CIP association was able to inhibit growth during the first 6 h of the test. Regarding the anti-biofilm activity, MICLaEO I was able to reduce the biofilm mass of Salmonella typhi by 61.2% and of Shigella dysenteriae by 38.9%. MICLaEO I was not able to eradicate the preformed biofilm; however, there was a reduction in the biofilm microbial viability. LaEO I has the potential to be used as an antimicrobial agent and interferes with biofilm formation; also, it is able to reduce cell viability in preformed biofilm and synergistically modulate the activity of ciprofloxacin.
Chemometric Characterization of Synthetic Dye Sorption onto Slovakian River Sediments: A Laboratory Batch Experiment
Authors: Koprdová Anna , Bachratá Miroslava , Adamcová Vanda , Valica Martin , Pipíška Martin , Horník Miroslav
Published: December 2018

The aim of the work was to characterize the sorption of cationic dyes thioflavine T (ThT) and methylene blue (MB) onto selected Slovakian river sediments using chemometric approaches including principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Also, the potential of mentioned multivariate analyses for comparison of studied objects (river sediments or river and model waters) as well as in finding relationships between the variables describing the physico-chemical characteristics of studied matrices or waters and sorption/desorption characteristics of matrices for dyes binding under laboratory conditions was evaluated. Parameters describing the physico-chemical characteristics of sediments include: pH, pHzpc, or cation-exchange capacity; and in the case of waters: pH, conductivity, water hardness, content of dissolved solids or presence of organic compounds. From the comparison of dye sorption onto sediments, it was found that sorption of thiazine dye MB was minimally 1.5-times higher than sorption of benzothiazole dye ThT. Sorption capacities Qs reached the maximum values in the case of sediments originated from Dudvah River (MB-Qs = 8.70 ± 0.42 mg g−1; ThT-Qs = 5.03 ± 0.28 mg g−1; ±SD). Obtained results showed that applied methods of multivariate analyses represent a suitable tool for evaluation of sorption/desorption processes of organic xenobiotics binding in sediments.
The Paradigms of Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy as Enabling Drivers for the Competitiveness of Businesses and Territories: The Case of an Italian Ceramic Tiles Manufacturing Company
Authors: Garcia-Muiña Fernando E. , González-Sánchez Rocío , Ferrari Anna Maria , Settembre-Blundo Davide
Published: December 2018

Sustainable development and the circular economy are two important issues for the future and the competitiveness of businesses. The programs for the integration of sustainability into industrial activities include the reconfiguration of production processes with a view to reducing their impact on the natural system, the development of new eco-sustainable products and the redesign of the business model. This paradigm shift requires the participation and commitment of different stakeholder groups and industry can completely redesign supply chains, aiming at resource efficiency and circularity. Developments in key ICT technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), help this systemic transition. This paper explores the phases of the transition from a linear to a circular economy and proposes a procedure for introducing the principles of sustainability (environmental, economic and social) in a manufacturing environment, through the design of a new Circular Business Model (CBM). The new procedure has been tested and validated in an Italian company producing ceramic tiles, using the digitalization of the production processes of the Industry 4.0 environment, to implement the impact assessment tools (LCA—Life Cycle Assessment, LCC—Life Cycle Costing and S-LCA—Social Life Cycle Assessment) and the business intelligence systems to provide appropriate sustainability performance indicators essential for the definition of the new CBM.
Exploring the Influence of Urban Form on Urban Vibrancy in Shenzhen Based on Mobile Phone Data
Authors: Tang Lingjun , Lin Yu , Li Sijia , Li Sheng , Li Jingyi , Ren Fu , Wu Chao
Published: December 2018

Urban vibrancy is an important indicator of the attractiveness of a city and its potential for comprehensive, healthy and sustainable development in all aspects. With the development of big data, an increasing number of datasets can be used to analyse urban vibrancy on fine spatial and temporal scales from the perspective of human perception. In this study, we applied mobile phone data as a proxy for local vibrancy in Shenzhen and constructed a comprehensive framework for the factors that influence urban vibrancy, especially in terms of urban morphology and space syntax. In addition, the popular geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) method was used to explore the spatiotemporal relationships between vibrancy and its influencing factors. The spatial and temporal coefficients are presented through maps. The conclusions of this attempt to study urban vibrancy with urban big data have significant implications for helping urban planners and policy makers optimize the spatial layouts of urban functional zones and perform high-quality city planning.
ISO 9001 and Supply Chain Integration Principles Based Sustainable Development: A Delphi Study
Authors: Bastas Ali , Liyanage Kapila
Published: December 2018

Driven by the increasing stakeholder and societal pressures, organizations and supply chains face the multi-dimensional challenges of not only integrating economic, environmental and social agendas into their management systems but also driving continual sustainability performance improvement. Aiming to support organizations in this sustainable development challenge, this paper explores the strategic management principles of ISO 9001 and supply chain integration from the lens of triple bottom line sustainability. Derived from theoretical synergies, a conceptual framework for integration, measurement, and improvement of triple bottom line sustainability is constructed and a business diagnostic tool introduced to facilitate the implementation of the framework. The developed conceptual framework and diagnostic tool are verified through an expert panel-based Delphi study and positive relationships formulated between the management principles of ISO 9001, supply chain integration and sustainability management. The facilitating and catalyzing role of quality management and supply chain management principles for integration and improvement of organizational sustainability is outlined.
Urban Form, Growth, and Accessibility in Space and Time: Anatomy of Land Use at the Parcel-Level in a Small to Medium-Sized American City
Authors: Zhou Long , Shen Guoqiang , Wu Yao , Brown Robert , Chen Tian , Wang Chenyu
Published: December 2018

Using the City of Corvallis, Oregon, a small to medium sized American city, as a test-bed, this paper examines the City’s urban growth in relation to urban accessibility. This relationship is explored in an anatomic spatial-temporal fashion, taking account of: the number and size of developed land use parcels over time; urban accessibility from residential to non-residential land use areas; and the statistical relationships between urban form and urban accessibility. This investigation of land use is structured around use-classification and examined within a range of dimensional and demographic measurements over 5-year time periods from 1853 to 2014; concurrently, urban accessibility is measured by the least-cost path distance as calculated through the OD cost matrix analysis in GIS. The results indicate that the city grew spatially at different rates and its urban accessibility experienced both ups and downs over time. The city’s population growth corresponded closely with urban growth and its decreasing population density negatively impacted on the city’s urban accessibility to commerce, industry, and office for most time periods. Significantly, while the urban density increased steadily after 1950s concurrent with an increase in urban sprawl, in contrast to previous studies on the metropolitan condition, the urban density had no evident impact on urban accessibility in Corvallis. Instead, increasing the land-use mix was a more effective and feasible approach to reduce urban travel path distance and enhance accessibility than increasing population density or urban development density. Accordingly, this research provides evidence-based policy recommendations for planning sustainable urban mobility and urban form in small to medium-sized cities.
Future Impacts of Climate Change and Land Use on Multiple Ecosystem Services in a Rapidly Urbanizing Agricultural Basin, China
Authors: Liu Yang , Bi Jun , Lv Jianshu
Published: December 2018

Ecosystem services (ESs) in rapidly urbanizing agricultural basins are vulnerable to environmental changes. Adequately understanding the driving forces and the dynamics of ESs related to water quantity and quality can provide a basis for making sound management decisions on the development of basins. Here, we explored the impacts of future land use and climate changes on four ESs: nitrogen and phosphorous purification, water supply, and soil retention services in the Taihu Basin region of eastern China. Spatially explicit methods, a cellular automata-Markov (CA-Markov) model and the delta downscaling method were used to quantify the ESs, simulate land use changes, and project future climate changes, respectively. We built a business-as-usual land use scenario, representative concentration pathways (RCPs) scenarios for climate change, as well as a combined land use and climate change scenario to analyze the changes in the drivers and the responses of ESs. The results showed the following: (1) future land use changes would significantly enhance the nitrogen purification service while reducing the phosphorus purification service compared to other services; (2) climate change would have substantial effects on water supply and soil retention, but these impacts would vary with different RCPs scenarios during three future periods; and (3) the combined scenarios of both drivers would obviously influence all ESs and lead to a nitrogen purification service that was different from the other three services. Moreover, the policy implications of the results were discussed. The findings can help guide the creation of policies for land structure and patterns, climate change adaptation, and ecosystem-based management to promote the sustainable development of watersheds at the regional scale.
Liquidity of the Chinese Agricultural Futures Market and Its Impact on Futures Price—Based on High-Frequency Data
Authors: Xu Yuanyuan , Li Chongguang
Published: December 2018

This study examines the price impact of intraday trading activity and daily market liquidity of Chinese agricultural futures by analyzing continuous intraday 15-min and daily trading datasets, respectively. Corn and soybean, the necessity of the nation and people’s survival in China, are taken as case studies. Our main findings are threefold. Firstly, there is evidence of the presence of informed trading through persistent effects of trade size for both purchases and sales. The magnitude of effects and the seasonality of informed trading vary among varieties, which support the importance of night trading for price smoothing. Secondly, the impact of liquidity costs on returns does not permanently persist. For example, there appears a significant Friday effect with a linear negative relationship in the soybean market, while an exact opposite effect can be found in the corn market for Monday. Thirdly, while the results show no effect of holding position on asset returns in the corn market, the market size of soybean futures exerts a positive Thursday effect, which is prior to the Friday effect of transaction cost. A better understanding of liquidity costs and liquidity pricing is of great significance to a sustainable development of the agricultural commodity market in China.
An Image Copy-Move Forgery Detection Scheme Based on A-KAZE and SURF Features
Authors: Wang Chengyou , Zhang Zhi , Zhou Xiao
Published: December 2018

The popularity of image editing software has made it increasingly easy to alter the content of images. These alterations threaten the authenticity and integrity of images, causing misjudgments and possibly even affecting social stability. The copy-move technique is one of the most commonly used approaches for manipulating images. As a defense, the image forensics technique has become popular for judging whether a picture has been tampered with via copy-move, splicing, or other forgery techniques. In this paper, a scheme based on accelerated-KAZE (A-KAZE) and speeded-up robust features (SURF) is proposed for image copy-move forgery detection (CMFD). It is difficult for most keypoint-based CMFD methods to obtain sufficient points in smooth regions. To remedy this defect, the response thresholds for the A-KAZE and SURF feature detection stages are set to small values in the proposed method. In addition, a new correlation coefficient map is presented, in which the duplicated regions are demarcated, combining filtering and mathematical morphology operations. Numerous experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in searching for duplicated regions and its robustness against distortions and post-processing techniques, such as noise addition, rotation, scaling, image blurring, joint photographic expert group (JPEG) compression, and hybrid image manipulation. The experimental results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed scheme is superior to that of other tested CMFD methods.
Online Road Detection under a Shadowy Traffic Image Using a Learning-Based Illumination-Independent Image
Authors: Song Yongchao , Ju Yongfeng , Du Kai , Liu Weiyu , Song Jiacheng
Published: December 2018

Shadows and normal light illumination and road and non-road areas are two pairs of contradictory symmetrical individuals. To achieve accurate road detection, it is necessary to remove interference caused by uneven illumination, such as shadows. This paper proposes a road detection algorithm based on a learning and illumination-independent image to solve the following problems: First, most road detection methods are sensitive to variation of illumination. Second, with traditional road detection methods based on illumination invariability, it is difficult to determine the calibration angle of the camera axis, and the sampling of road samples can be distorted. The proposed method contains three stages: The establishment of a classifier, the online capturing of an illumination-independent image, and the road detection. During the establishment of a classifier, a support vector machine (SVM) classifier for the road block is generated through training with the multi-feature fusion method. During the online capturing of an illumination-independent image, the road interest region is obtained by using a cascaded Hough transform parameterized by a parallel coordinate system. Five road blocks are obtained through the SVM classifier, and the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) space of the combined road blocks is converted to a geometric mean log chromatic space. Next, the camera axis calibration angle for each frame is determined according to the Shannon entropy so that the illumination-independent image of the respective frame is obtained. During the road detection, road sample points are extracted with the random sampling method. A confidence interval classifier of the road is established, which could separate a road from its background. This paper is based on public datasets and video sequences, which records roads of Chinese cities, suburbs, and schools in different traffic scenes. The author compares the method proposed in this paper with other sound video-based road detection methods and the results show that the method proposed in this paper can achieve a desired detection result with high quality and robustness. Meanwhile, the whole detection system can meet the real-time processing requirement.
Interval-Valued Fuzzy Cooperative Games Based on the Least Square Excess and Its Application to the Profit Allocation of the Road Freight Coalition
Authors: Zhao Wen-Jian , Liu Jia-Cai
Published: December 2018

This paper is mainly committed to constructing a new model for solving interval-valued fuzzy cooperative games based on the least square excess. We propose the interval-valued least square excess solution according to the solution concept of the least square prenucleolus and the least square nucleolus for solving crisp cooperative games. In order to obtain the corresponding optimal analytical solution, one mathematic programming model is constructed. The least square excess solution can be used to determine plays’ payoffs directly. Considering the fuzziness and uncertainty existing in the process of the road freight coalition, we establish the interval-valued fuzzy utility function of the road freight coalition that can properly reflect the real situation in view of the green logistics. The illustratively calculated results show that the least square excess solution proposed in this paper is effectual and ascendant, and satisfied many important and useful properties of cooperative games, such as symmetry and uniqueness. As for the problems of interval-valued cooperative games, the model proposed in this paper can be applied appropriately to obtain the players’ interval-valued payoffs.
A Decision-Making Approach Based on a Multi Q-Hesitant Fuzzy Soft Multi-Granulation Rough Model
Authors: Alsager Kholood , Alshehri Noura , Akram Muhammad
Published: December 2018

In this paper, we propose a new hybrid model, multi Q-hesitant fuzzy soft multi-granulation rough set model, by combining a multi Q-hesitant fuzzy soft set and multi-granulation rough set. We demonstrate some useful properties of these multi Q-hesitant fuzzy soft multi-granulation rough sets. Furthermore, we define multi Q-hesitant fuzzy soft ( M k Q H F S ) rough approximation operators in terms of M k Q H F S relations and M k Q H F S multi-granulation rough approximation operators in terms of M k Q H F S relations. We study the main properties of lower and upper M k Q H F S rough approximation operators and lower and upper M k Q H F S multi-granulation rough approximation operators. Moreover, we develop a general framework for dealing with uncertainty in decision-making by using the multi Q-hesitant fuzzy soft multi-granulation rough sets. We analyze the photovoltaic systems fault detection to show the proposed decision methodology.
Positive Energy Condition and Conservation Laws in Kantowski-Sachs Spacetime via Noether Symmetries
Authors: Akhtar Sumaira Saleem , Hussain Tahir , Bokhari Ashfaque H.
Published: December 2018

In this paper, we have investigated Noether symmetries of the Lagrangian of Kantowski–Sachs spacetime. The associated Lagrangian of the Kantowski–Sachs metric is used to derive the set of determining equations. Solving the determining equations for several values of the metric functions, it is observed that the Kantowski–Sachs spacetime admits the Noether algebra of dimensions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11. A comparison of the obtained Noether symmetries with Killing and homothetic vectors is also presented. With the help of Noether’s theorem, we have presented the expressions for conservation laws corresponding to all Noether symmetries. It is observed that the positive energy condition is satisfied for most of the obtained metrics.
Intra Prediction of Depth Picture with Plane Modeling
Authors: Lee Dong-seok , Kwon Soon-kak
Published: December 2018

In this paper, an intra prediction method is proposed for coding of depth pictures using plane modelling. Each pixel in the depth picture is related to the distance from a camera to an object surface, and pixels corresponding to a flat surface of an object form a relationship with the 2D plane surface. The plane surface can be represented by a simple equation in the 3D camera coordinate system in such a way that the coordinate system of depth pixels can be transformed to the camera coordinate system. This paper finds the parameters which define the plane surface closest to given depth pixels. The plane model is then used to predict the depth pixels on the plane surface. A depth prediction method is also devised for efficient intra prediction of depth pictures, using variable-size blocks. For prediction with variable-size blocks, the plane surface that occupies a large part of the picture can be predicted using a large block size. The simulation results of the proposed method show that the mean squared error is reduced by up to 96.6% for a block size of 4 × 4 pixels and reduced by up to 98% for a block size of 16 × 16, compared with the intra prediction modes of H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC.
Damage to the Microstructure and Strength of Altered Granite under Wet–Dry Cycles
Authors: Chen Xuxin , He Ping , Qin Zhe
Published: December 2018

This paper presents an analytical method for surrounding rocks in symmetrically shaped tunnels or roadways, with the symmetrical rise and fall of groundwater over a certain period. The influence of reservoir water level on wet–dry cycles were studied. The changes in the microstructure and strength of altered granite and its evolution were explored using mechanical tests and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that: (1) the wet–dry cycles weakened the strength of altered granite. Furthermore, the uniaxial compressive strength, elastic modulus, cohesion, and internal friction angle decreased with the increase of the number of cycles, while the maximum reduction in these parameters reached 50.22%, 63.84%, 93.76%, and 53.90%, respectively. (2) The wet–dry cycles damaged the microstructure of altered granite. The SEM analysis showed that, under wet–dry cycles, the structure of altered granite changed from a smooth and integrated internal structure to the initiation, development, and expansion of pores and cracks. The porosity and fractal dimension of rock were determined using the SEM results. The degree of damage to altered granite under wet–dry cycles was quantitatively analyzed. (3) According to the rock mechanics strength tests and SEM and X-ray diffraction analyses, the damage mechanism of altered granite subjected to wet–dry cycles was discussed. The results provide the basis for a stability analysis of symmetrically shaped tunnels, especially symmetrical tunnels constructed in water-rich areas such as symmetric circular tunnels and symmetric horseshoe tunnels.
Fuzzy Attribute Expansion Method for Multiple Attribute Decision-Making with Partial Attribute Values and Weights Unknown and Its Applications
Authors: Zhuo Jinbao , Shi Weifeng , Lan Ying
Published: December 2018

In the real world, there commonly exists types of multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) problems with partial attribute values and weights totally unknown. Symmetry among some attribute information that is already known and unknown, and symmetry between the pure attribute set and fuzzy attribute membership set can be a considerable way to solve this type of MADM problem. In this paper, a fuzzy attribute expansion method is proposed to solve this type of problem based on two key techniques: the spline interpolation technique and the attribute weight reconfiguration technique, which are respectively used for the determination of attribute values and the reconfiguration of attribute weights. The spline interpolation technique to expand attribute values can enhance the performance of some regression methods and clustering methods by the comparisons between the results of these methods dealing with practical cases with and without the application of the technique, which further illustrates the effectiveness of this technique. For MADM problems with partial attribute values and weights totally unknown, compared with traditional fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE), FCE with the application of fuzzy attribute expansion method can obtain results more similar with the ones when all attribute values and weights are known, which is proved by the practical power quality evaluation example.
A Systematic Overview of Type II and III Toxin-Antitoxin Systems with a Focus on Druggability
Authors: Kang Sung-Min , Kim Do-Hee , Jin Chenglong , Lee Bong-Jin
Published: December 2018

Toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems are known to play various roles in physiological processes, such as gene regulation, growth arrest and survival, in bacteria exposed to environmental stress. Type II TA systems comprise natural complexes consisting of protein toxins and antitoxins. Each toxin and antitoxin participates in distinct regulatory mechanisms depending on the type of TA system. Recently, peptides designed by mimicking the interfaces between TA complexes showed its potential to activate the activity of toxin by competing its binding counterparts. Type II TA systems occur more often in pathogenic bacteria than in their nonpathogenic kin. Therefore, they can be possible drug targets, because of their high abundance in some pathogenic bacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In addition, recent bioinformatic analyses have shown that type III TA systems are highly abundant in the intestinal microbiota, and recent clinical studies have shown that the intestinal microbiota is linked to inflammatory diseases, obesity and even several types of cancer. We therefore focused on exploring the putative relationship between intestinal microbiota-related human diseases and type III TA systems. In this paper, we review and discuss the development of possible druggable materials based on the mechanism of type II and type III TA system.
Spontaneous μ-τ Reflection Symmetry Breaking in Neutrino Phenomenology
Authors: Huang Guo-Yuan , Xing Zhi-Zhong , Zhu Jing-Yu
Published: December 2018

The latest global analysis of neutrino oscillation data indicates that the normal neutrino mass ordering is favored over the inverted one at the 3 σ level. The best-fit values of the largest neutrino mixing angle θ 23 and the Dirac CP-violating phase δ are located in the higher octant and the third quadrant, respectively. We show that these experimental trends can be naturally explained by the μ - τ reflection symmetry breaking, triggered by the one-loop renormalization-group equations (RGEs) running from a superhigh energy scale down to the electroweak scale in the framework of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). The complete parameter space is numerically explored for both the Majorana and Dirac cases, by allowing the smallest neutrino mass m 1 and the MSSM parameter tan β to vary within their reasonable ranges.
Numerical Investigations of Tsunami Run-Up and Flow Structure on Coastal Vegetated Beaches
Authors: Zhang Hongxing , Zhang Mingliang , Xu Tianping , Tang Jun
Published: December 2018

Tsunami waves become hazardous when they reach the coast. In South and Southeast Asian countries, coastal forest is widely utilized as a natural approach to mitigate tsunami damage. In this study, a depth-integrated numerical model was established to simulate wave propagation in a coastal region with and without forest cover. This numerical model was based on a finite volume Roe-type scheme, and was developed to solve the governing equations with the option of treating either a wet or dry wave front boundary. The governing equations were modified by adding a drag force term caused by vegetation. First, the model was validated for the case of solitary wave (breaking and non-breaking) run-up and run-down on a sloping beach, and long periodic wave propagation was investigated on a partially vegetated beach. The simulated results agree well with the measured data. Further, tsunami wave propagation on an actual-scale slope covered by coastal forest Pandanus odoratissimus (P. odoratissimus) and Casuarina equisetifolia (C. equisetifolia) was simulated to elucidate the influence of vegetation on tsunami mitigation with a different forest open gap. The numerical results revealed that coastal vegetation on sloping beach has significant potential to mitigate the impacts from tsunami waves by acting as a buffer zone. Coastal vegetation with open gaps causes the peak flow velocity at the exit of the gap to increase, and reduces the peak flow velocity behind the forest. Compared to a forest with open gaps in a linear arrangement, specific arrangements of gaps in the forest can increase the energy attenuation from tsunami wave. The results also showed that different cost-effective natural strategies in varying forest parameters including vegetation collocations, densities, and growth stages had significant impacts in reducing the severity of tsunami damage.
Evaluation and Hydrological Validation of GPM Precipitation Products over the Nanliu River Basin, Beibu Gulf
Authors: Tong Kai , Zhao Yinjun , Wei Yongping , Hu Baoqing , Lu Yuan
Published: December 2018

Adequate and high-quality precipitation estimates, from spaceborne precipitation radars, are necessary for a variety of applications in hydrology. In this study, we investigated the performance of two Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission (IMERG) products, against gauge observations over a small river basin, the Beibu Gulf—the Nanliu River basin, and evaluated their capability of streamflow simulation, based on a conceptual watershed model from April 2014 to December 2016. The results showed that both IMERG_Cal and IMERG_Uncal could roughly capture the spatial patterns of precipitation with slight over/underestimation (Relative Bias (RB) values of 6.5% and −5.5%, respectively) at a basin scale. At grid-cell scales, two IMERG products got an RB of −23.3% to 18.9%, Correlation Coefficient (CC) of 0.521 to 0.744, and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 11.3 to 17.5 mm. There were some considerable errors in heavy precipitation events, and the IMERG significantly overestimated the amounts of these extreme events. The two IMERG products showed a higher accuracy and lower error rate, when detecting the light precipitation. IMERG-driven simulation had a better quality when the model was calibrated with satellite data rather than with rain gauge data. This analysis implied that IMERG products have potential in hydrological applications, in this region, and need further improvement in algorithms.
Evaluating the Road-Bioretention Strip System from a Hydraulic Perspective—Case Studies
Authors: Li Xiaoning , Fang Xing , Gong Yongwei , Li Junqi , Wang Jianlong , Chen Gang , Li Ming-Han
Published: December 2018

The two-dimensional overland flow simulation program, FullSWOF_2D, was revised to include submodules of determining infiltration by zones (Z) and grate-inlet (G) drainage from a 2D surface to a 1D pipe flow. The updated program, FullSWOF-ZG, was used to evaluate the performance of a road-bioretention strip (RBS) system and explore/understand key parameters of continuous RBS design. The program was validated using eight pervious surfaces under simulated rainfall events and tested with 20 experimental cases of a locally depressed curb inlet. The mean difference of simulated interception efficiencies (36.6%–86.0%) and observed interception efficiencies (34.8%–84.0%) of the curb inlet was 3.5%, which proves the program predicts the curb-inlet interception efficiency accurately. The 20 road-only and 20 RBS modeling cases were designed and modeled using the FullSWOF-ZG program. These case studies have different road lengths, curb inlet lengths, longitudinal slopes, cross slopes, bioretention-overflow inlet heights, and bioretention soil infiltration parameters. Only 34.6%–48.4% of the total runoff volume is intercepted by the RBS’s curb inlet under heavy rainfall (250 mm/h) and the remaining part of the runoff flows downstream along the road, which may cause local inundation and become a safety hazard. The curb inlet becomes the bottleneck of the RBS system that could impede the runoff flowing into the bioretention strip for detention and infiltration to improve the stormwater quality.