bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fault Diagnosis by Multisensor Data: A Data-Driven Approach Based on Spectral Clustering and Pairwise Constraints
Authors: Pacella Massimo , Papadia Gabriele
Published: December 2020

This paper deals with clustering based on feature selection of multisensor data in high-dimensional space. Spectral clustering algorithms are efficient tools in signal processing for grouping datasets sampled by multisensor systems for fault diagnosis. The effectiveness of spectral clustering stems from constructing an embedding space based on an affinity matrix. This matrix shows the pairwise similarity of the data points. Clustering is then obtained by determining the spectral decomposition of the Laplacian graph. In the manufacturing field, clustering is an essential strategy for fault diagnosis. In this study, an enhanced spectral clustering approach is presented, which is augmented with pairwise constraints, and that results in efficient identification of fault scenarios. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is described using a real case study about a diesel injection control system for fault detection.
Pre-Emption of Affliction Severity Using HRV Measurements from a Smart Wearable; Case-Study on SARS-Cov-2 Symptoms
Authors: Varma Gatha , Chauhan Ritu , Singh Madhusudan , Singh Dhananjay
Published: December 2020

Smart wristbands and watches have become an important accessory to fitness, but their application to healthcare is still in a fledgling state. Their long-term wear facilitates extensive data collection and evolving sensitivity of smart wristbands allows them to read various body vitals. In this paper, we hypothesized the use of heart rate variability (HRV) measurements to drive an algorithm that can pre-empt the onset or worsening of an affliction. Due to its significance during the time of the study, SARS-Cov-2 was taken as the case study, and a hidden Markov model (HMM) was trained over its observed symptoms. The data used for the analysis was the outcome of a study hosted by Welltory. It involved the collection of SAR-Cov-2 symptoms and reading of body vitals using Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Garmin smart bands. The internal states of the HMM were made up of the absence and presence of a consistent decline in standard deviation of NN intervals (SSDN), the root mean square of the successive differences (rMSSD) in R-R intervals, and low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and very low frequency (VLF) components of the HRV measurements. The emission probabilities of the trained HMM instance confirmed that the onset or worsening of the symptoms had a higher probability if the HRV components displayed a consistent decline state. The results were further confirmed through the generation of probable hidden states sequences using the Viterbi algorithm. The ability to pre-empt the exigent state of an affliction would not only lower the chances of complications and mortality but may also help in curbing its spread through intelligence-backed decisions.
Energy Efficiency Analysis of MIMO Wideband RF Front-End Receivers
Authors: Junior Eduil Nascimento , Theis Guilherme , Santos Edson Leonardo dos , Mariano André Augusto , Brante Glauber , Souza Richard Demo , Taris Thierry
Published: December 2020

Energy-efficiency is crucial for modern radio-frequency (RF) receivers dedicated to Internet of Things applications. Energy-efficiency enhancements could be achieved by lowering the power consumption of integrated circuits, using antenna diversity or even with an association of both strategies. This paper compares two wideband RF front-end architectures, based on conventional low-noise amplifiers (LNA) and low-noise transconductance amplifiers (LNTA) with N-path filters, operating with three transmission schemes: single antenna, antenna selection and singular value decomposition beamforming. Our results show that the energy-efficiency behavior varies depending on the required communication link conditions, distance between nodes and metrics from the front-end receivers. For short-range scenarios, LNA presents the best performance in terms of energy-efficiency mainly due to its very low power consumption. With the increasing of the communication distance, the very low noise figure provided by N-path LNTA-based architectures outperforms the power consumption issue, yielding higher energy-efficiency for all transmission schemes. In addition, the selected front-end architecture depends on the number of active antennas at the receiver. Hence, we can observe that low noise figure is more important with a few active antennas at the receiver, while low power consumption becomes more important when the number of active RF chains at the receiver increases.
Multi-Physical Models of Bending Characteristics on the Double-Clamped Beam Switch for Flexible Electronic Devices Application
Authors: Han Lei , Chen Lijun , Qin Ruijie , Wang Kang , Zhang Zhiqiang , Nie Meng , Huang Xiaodong
Published: December 2020

In this paper, multi-physical models of bending characteristics, including the static, dynamic and microwave models, are firstly proposed for the double-clamped beam switch based on flexible substrate. Both simulated and experimental verification have been carried out to prove that the changing regularity of the driving voltage and time of the switch is inversely proportional with the increase in the bending curvature of the flexible substrate. The microwave performance of the switch at the ON state is found to get worse with the increase in the bending curvature. The measured results indicate that when the bending curvature increases from 0 m−1 to 28.6 m−1, the measured driving voltage decreases from 90.0 V to 72.6 V with the error of 5.9% compared with the calculated results. The measured driving time decreases from 52.4 μs to 35.6 μs with the error of 16.7% compared with the calculated results. When the substrate bending curvature increases from 0 m−1 to 28.6 m−1, the measured reflection loss S11 of the switch gradually deteriorates from −27.1 dB to −22.0 dB with the error of 1.3 dB corresponding to the calculated results at 10 GHz. All the simulated and experimental results are consistent with the theoretical calculated results.
Effects of Asymmetric Vibration Frequency on Pulling Illusions
Authors: Tanabe Takeshi , Endo Hiroshi , Ino Shuichi
Published: December 2020

It is known that humans experience a haptic illusion, such as the sensation of being pulled in a particular direction, when asymmetric vibrations are presented. A pulling illusion has been used to provide a force feedback for a virtual reality (VR) system and a pedestrian navigation system, and the asymmetric vibrations can be implemented in any small non-grounded device. However, the design methodology of asymmetric vibration stimuli to induce the pulling illusion has not been fully demonstrated. Although the frequency of the asymmetric vibration is important, findings on the frequency have not been reported. In this study, we clarified the influences of the effects on the pulling illusion based on the investigation of asymmetric vibration frequency differences. Two psychophysical experiments that related to the frequency of asymmetric vibration were performed. Experiment I showed that the illusion occurs for specific vibration waveforms at 40 Hz and 75 Hz. As a result of Experiment II, the threshold was the lowest when the frequency was 40 Hz, and highest when the frequency was 110 Hz. This result supports the previous hypothesis that the Meissner corpuscles and the Ruffini endings contribute to the illusion, while the Pacinian corpuscles do not.
Stress, Emotion Regulation, and Well-Being among Canadian Faculty Members in Research-Intensive Universities
Authors: Salimzadeh Raheleh , Hall Nathan C. , Saroyan Alenoush
Published: December 2020

Existing research reveals the academic profession to be stressful and emotion-laden. Recent evidence further shows job-related stress and emotion regulation to impact faculty well-being and productivity. The present study recruited 414 Canadian faculty members from 13 English-speaking research-intensive universities. We examined the associations between perceived stressors, emotion regulation strategies, including reappraisal, suppression, adaptive upregulation of positive emotions, maladaptive downregulation of positive emotions, as well as adaptive and maladaptive downregulation of negative emotions, and well-being outcomes (emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, quitting intentions, psychological maladjustment, and illness symptoms). Additionally, the study explored the moderating role of stress, gender, and years of experience in the link between emotion regulation and well-being as well as the interactions between adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in predicting well-being. The results revealed that cognitive reappraisal was a health-beneficial strategy, whereas suppression and maladaptive strategies for downregulating positive and negative emotions were detrimental. Strategies previously defined as adaptive for downregulating negative emotions and upregulating positive emotions did not significantly predict well-being. In contrast, strategies for downregulating negative emotions previously defined as dysfunctional showed the strongest maladaptive associations with ill health. Practical implications and directions for future research are also discussed.
Position Specific Running Performances in Professional Football (Soccer): Influence of Different Tactical Formations
Authors: Modric Toni , Versic Sime , Sekulic Damir
Published: December 2020

Running performances (RPs) are known to be important parameters of success in football (soccer), but there is a lack of studies where RPs are contextualized regarding applied tactical solutions. This study aims to quantify and analyze the differences in position-specific RPs in professional football, when games are played with three defensive players (3DP) and four defensive players (4DP). The participants here include professional football players (M ± SD, age 23.57 ± 2.84 years, body height 181.9 ± 5.17 cm, body mass 78.36 ± 4.18 kg) playing at the highest competitive level in Croatia. RPs were measured by global positioning system and classified into four groups based on playing positions: central defenders (CD; n = 47), wide defenders (WD; n = 24), midfielders (MF; n = 48), or forwards (FW; n = 19). Analysis of variance and discriminant canonical analysis are used to identify differences between 3DP and 4DP tactical solutions in terms of the RPs for each playing position. The number of accelerations and decelerations most significantly contributed to the differentiation of 3DP and 4DP among MFs (Wilks λ = 0.31, p < 0.001), with higher occurrences with 3DP. For CDs, total distance, and high-intensity running were higher in 3DP (Wilks λ = 0.66, p < 0.001). No multivariate differences were found for FW and WD players in terms of the RPs between 3DP and 4DP tactical formations. The characteristics and differences shown in this study may provide useful information for coaching staff regarding changing in-season tactical formations. Additionally, the results are useful for optimizing training programs for football players with different playing positions. When changing from 4DP to 3DP tactical formations, WDs training programs should include more of high-intensity running, while MFs training programs should be more based on short intensity activities (accelerations and decelerations).
The Optimized N, P, and K Fertilization for Bermudagrass Integrated Turf Performance during the Establishment and Its Importance for the Sustainable Management of Urban Green Spaces
Authors: Ihtisham Muhammad , Liu Shiliang , Shahid Muhammad Owais , Khan Nawab , Lv Bingyang , Sarraf Mohammad , Ali Siyad , Chen Longqing , Liu Yinggao , Chen Qibing
Published: December 2020

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers) turf is the most widely used turfgrass in urban landscapes. Large amounts of fertilizer are usually applied for maximum turf performance, while relatively little attention has been paid to efficient nutrient management of bermudagrass turf. The design opted for was a 3-factor and 5-level Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD) consisting of 24 experimental runs in the greenhouse with response surface methodology (RSM) and simulated regression modeling. The experiment covered in this study was carried out at Sichuan Agricultural University with the objectives of understanding the interactive effects of nitrogen, (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilization on the bermudagrass integrated turf performance (ITP) and optimizing the amount of N, P, and K required for optimum turf performance during establishment. The qualitative and quantitative relationships between bermudagrass and fertilization significantly affected the ITP. The N, P, and K Fertilization significantly influenced the percent grass cover, turf height, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, and total chlorophyll content. Fertilization with N and P significantly enhanced the tiller length, turf density, color, and total protein levels. Root length was augmented with the application of P and K. We found that 3-D surface plots indicated significant interactive effects of NP, NK, and PK on the ITP. A simulation optimization and frequency analysis indicated that the optimal combined amounts of these nutrients were N: 26.0–27.6 g m−2, P: 24.2–26.4 g m−2, and K: 3.1–5.0 g m−2 during the establishment phase. The results suggest that optimized fertilization is key to sustainable nutrient management of bermudagrass integrated turf performance.
Photovoltaic Power Prediction Using Artificial Neural Networks and Numerical Weather Data
Authors: López Gómez Javier , Ogando Martínez Ana , Troncoso Pastoriza Francisco , Febrero Garrido Lara , Granada Álvarez Enrique , Orosa García José Antonio
Published: December 2020

The monitoring of power generation installations is key for modelling and predicting their future behaviour. Many renewable energy generation systems, such as photovoltaic panels and wind turbines, strongly depend on weather conditions. However, in situ measurements of relevant weather variables are not always taken into account when designing monitoring systems, and only power output is available. This paper aims to combine data from a Numerical Weather Prediction model with machine learning tools in order to accurately predict the power generation from a photovoltaic system. An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model is used to predict power outputs from a real installation located in Puglia (southern Italy) using temperature and solar irradiation data taken from the Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) sflux model outputs. Power outputs and weather monitoring data from the PV installation are used as a reference dataset. Three training and testing scenarios are designed. In the first one, weather data monitoring is used to both train the ANN model and predict power outputs. In the second one, training is done with monitoring data, but GDAS data is used to predict the results. In the last set, both training and result prediction are done by feeding GDAS weather data into the ANN model. The results show that the tested numerical weather model can be combined with machine learning tools to model the output of PV systems with less than 10% error, even when in situ weather measurements are not available.
Danube River Cruises as a Strategy for Representing Historical Heritage and Developing Cultural Tourism in Serbia
Authors: Hristić Nataša Danilović , Stefanović Nebojša , Milijić Saša
Published: December 2020

Podunavlje, a region located along the Danube River in Serbia, features a very rich cultural heritage with different notable periods ranging from prehistoric to medieval times. It is also a unique and valuable region with natural beauty. Our research concentrates on this area, using a case study as the methodology. The starting hypothesis is that strategic orientation to develop tourist docks for river cruises and marinas along the corridor of 588 km, at certain locations, primarily in urban centers and near the prominent archaeological sites, will form conditions for the better accessibility and presentation of priceless cultural treasures. By collecting data about various trends in the region and comparing these data with international studies, the authors support the utilization of an integrated method derived from the context of sustainable spatial planning. Such a method would support the creation of suitable conditions for the reconstruction, presentation, and development of creative tourist offerings. The urban plans that regulate these areas must observe and harmonize all aspects, especially the conditions for preserving heritage alongside the need for creating new accompanying content and events that will stimulate the economy and thereby ensure self-preservation and protection. The goal of the strategic analysis presented here is to determine which tourist and cultural offers are effective and thus should be promoted. The purpose of this study is to indicate the steps and required conditions for the implementation of suitable strategies. Apart from decision making on the strategic level and the implementation process, it is necessary to consider further impacts and investigate other possibilities to fully utilize the potential in the region.
Regional Security Assessment of Integrated Energy Systems with Renewables in China: A Grid-Connected Perspective
Authors: Zhao Zhenyu , Yang Huijia
Published: December 2020

Stable and reliable integrated energy systems are one of the major issues related to sustainable regional and national energy development. Because most existing studies are conducted on whole countries, few address the effects of regional interaction and renewable energy. Therefore, a natural disaster risk assessment model (NDRAM) combined with spatial models is used as a general systematic tool to assess and resolve regional energy security, based on a framework of resources, generation, transmission, marketing and consumption, with 17 metrics. In particular, energy systems were treated as organic connected-units and their security status was regarded as a combined result of potential hazard and system vulnerability. The proposed method was applied to evaluate and classify the security situation of 31 Chinese provinces in 2016. The results showed that transmission had the most significant impact among five major risk sources. The closer grid connections have a stronger ability to deal with risks among regions, where renewables consumption could be better stimulated cross-regionally. In terms of a regional perspective, there is still a gap among different regions, and eastern China presented higher energy risk status. The most energy-hazard provinces are mainly in the east provinces with well-developed levels in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The least energy-vulnerable provinces are mainly in the abundant natural resources regions such as Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and Xinjiang. The NDRAM-based general model provides a systematic tool for quantitative assessment of regional energy security with a full accounting of regional interaction and renewable energy issues, which may help to develop clean energy, optimize system infrastructure and improve scientific management.
Capital Intensity and Labour Productivity in Waste Companies
Authors: Novotná Martina , Leitmanová Ivana Faltová , Alina Jiří , Volek Tomáš
Published: December 2020

At first glance, it might seem that the economic aspects of sustainability in terms of waste management have resolved themselves already in areas of activity. In reality, however, companies in this area also need to address how to ensure their future operations. The primary priority for companies in the area of waste disposal is to provide efficient collection, sorting, and recycling, effectively using company resources. The goal of this paper was to explore the relation between capital intensity and the productivity of labour in companies in the waste sector in the countries of the Visegrad Group (V4), and consequently, to define the bonds among economic indicators in the form of the economic normal. The study used data from 875 enterprises from the V4 countries, which were divided into categories according to the development of capital intensity and labour productivity. This study found that companies mainly implement modest investment development, which was characterised by the high effectiveness of capital usage, diminishing labour productivity, low labour endowment, but at the same time, increasing profitability. The reason for the labour productivity decrease was due to the growing proportional cost of labour. This trend was typical for most of the large-sized and middle-sized companies, whereas for most small companies, there was a dominant severe capital development with decreasing labour productivity and relatively high profitability of incomes. The smallest representation takes companies with capital-intensive development with the positive development of all monitored economic indicators.
Factors Influencing the Purchase Intention of Autonomous Cars
Authors: Topolšek Darja , Babić Dario , Babić Darko , Cvahte Ojsteršek Tina
Published: December 2020

Even though autonomous cars have not yet crossed into the mainstream car market, their adoption seems inevitable, but not much is known about the purchasing intention of ACs and potential influences on it. To better understand the influences of various factors on purchasing intentions of autonomous cars, research using bibliometrics, an online survey and SEM modelling was performed. Based on an analysis of previous research work and the unified theory of acceptance of technology, an empirical model was produced and tested using data obtained from an online survey involving 266 individuals. The goal was to analyse which characteristics of autonomous cars, socio-demographic variables of potential buyers, and buyers’ personal and social characteristics could potentially influence the adoption of autonomous cars. The results show that factors of car safety, buyer age and level of education, perceived social influence, anxiety and performance expectancy are significantly correlated to purchasing intention of ACs, while correlations with other factors to purchasing intentions have not been proven.
Assessing the Economy for the Common Good Measurement Theory Ability to Integrate the SDGs into MSMEs
Authors: Ejarque Ana T. , Campos Vanessa
Published: December 2020

Over the past decades, sustainability and corporate sustainability have gained a lot of attention. Currently, the focus of attention has shifted to the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into businesses operation. The extant literature points to the proposed frameworks as not fitting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) reality and, also, to a lack of empirical evidence in this field. With research at the intersection of business and SDGs still being scarce, the Economy for the Common Good (ECG) model allows operationalizing the SDGs employing its novel measurement theory. The present study is aimed at completing the statistical validation process of the ECG measurement theory using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on a sample of 206 European firms. Thus, after having performed an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), this study takes as a starting point the previously published knowledge and proceeds with the second step of the statistical validation process. The results of CFA confirm the conclusions of the EFA and allow to redefine the measurement scales included in the ECG framework to achieve a sufficient level of goodness of fit.
Renewable Energy Consumption, Water Crises, and Environmental Degradation with Moderating Role of Governance: Dynamic Panel Analysis under Cross-Sectional Dependence
Authors: Kousar Shazia , Ahmed Farhan , López García María de las Nieves , Ashraf Nimra
Published: December 2020

This study aims to investigate the relationship between renewable energy consumption, water availability, and environmental degradation with the moderating effect of governance in the South Asian region. This study collected data for renewable energy, water availability, governance, and environmental degradation for the period of 1988 to 2018 from the World Development Indicator. In panel data estimation, if cross-sectional dependence exists, it produces biased estimates. Therefore, this study applied a newly developed technique, dynamic common correlated effect, which produces efficient estimates in the presence of cross-sectional dependence. This study found that foreign direct investment positively and significantly increases environment degradation (β = 0.69 *, * indicates the significance level at less than 1%) while renewable energy and water availability cause to reduce environment degradation (β = −0.08 **, β = −0.09 **, **indicates the significance level at less than 5%). Moreover, the study also found that governance significantly strengthens the relationship of renewable energy and water availability with environment degradation (β = 0.37 **, β = 0.24 **) while governance significantly weakens the relationship of foreign direct investment and environmental degradation (β = −0.34 *). The study suggests that South Asian countries should improve political institutions, and promote renewable energy, water availability, and clean production to improve the environment quality.
Digital Innovation in Times of Emergency: Reactions from a School of Management in Italy
Authors: Agasisti Tommaso , Frattini Federico , Soncin Mara
Published: December 2020

The study explores how the COVID-19 outbreak prompted digital innovation in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) by providing evidence on the dimensions leveraged, the initiatives organised and the organisational results achieved. By means of an exploratory single case study based on a School of Management located in Northern Italy, the study proposes a process model to highlight how digital innovation has been fostered during the emergency. Results highlight the relevance of both technological and cultural aspects that supported the digital transformation during the crisis. The dimensions of digital readiness and cultural openness, together with a defined strategic orientation, represented relevant facilitators of the digital innovation process. In turn, digital innovation had important implications for sustainability, which was fostered by increasing the accessibility to quality education and addressed as a topic of many of the digital contents delivered. Thus, the study contributes to the stream of research that investigates how digital innovation in HEIs and other public administrations happens and how such an innovation can support sustainability. Finally, the paper provides practical implications on both technological and cultural aspects of innovation.
Creative Tourism on Islands: A Review of the Literature
Authors: Baixinho Alexandra , Santos Carlos , Couto Gualter , Albergaria Isabel Soares de , Silva Leonor Sampaio da , Medeiros Pilar Damião , Simas Rosa Maria Neves
Published: December 2020

In the last two decades, creative tourism has evolved as a burgeoning field, encompassing a wide range of concepts and practices, in different places around the world. From the very beginning, however, creative tourism has aimed to contribute to sustainable development and increased community wellbeing, as an alternative to mass cultural tourism. With this review article, our main objective is to identify and analyze a body of literature that specifically addresses creative tourism in islands, contributing to fill a gap in the knowledge since no reviews with this focus have yet been undertaken. Our aim is to provide a critical overview of creative tourism experiences at island destinations worldwide, addressing the plurality of empirical contexts and methodological approaches found in academic research. This review highlights the key trends in creative tourism, pointing out two distinct approaches: creative tourism in urban contexts, based on creative events, “cultural clusters” or Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), versus community-focused small-scale tourism experiences in rural contexts. This paper also provides an opportunity to assess the evolution of sustainable creative tourism approaches in islands.
A Technical Assessment of Comfort Performance of Hanok Using Comparative Field Surveys between Experts and Users
Authors: Lee Mi-Hyang , Cheon Deuk-Youm , Han Seung-Hoon
Published: December 2020

The paper aims to evaluate the psychological factors of the comfort performance of the hanok. This is to guide restoration and improvement in consideration of the intangible variables that provide the quality of the hanok. Through this process, we ultimately intend to build an integrated residential performance evaluation system that includes factors related to the quality of residents’ lives, such as the comfort of their surrounding and indoor environment, as well as the functionality and convenience of the hanok, a representative type of Korean traditional architecture. The test method to evaluate the comfort performance of hanok is largely divided into the physical perception element, which is a quantitative indicator, and the psychological cognitive element, which is a qualitative indicator. Physical perceptive factors are composed of nine quantifiable factors that can be measured by numerical values, namely humidity control, condensation, insulation, thermal comfort, air permeability, solar radiation, solar lighting, sound insulation, and air cleanness. This is a perceptual concept of viewing a building as it is, and a quantitative evaluation method of measuring data in the field using environmental sensors and equipment. Psychological cognitive factors that are evaluated based on the experiences of users (residents) living in hanok, are classified into five categories, of scenery, beauty, deodorization, usability, and health. This study was conducted through a questionnaire between experts and users (residents), limited to the psychological factors among methods of evaluating the comfort performance of hanok. As a result, it can be seen that environmental factors are the main variables that influence the degree of satisfaction with the psychological perception factor. This might be a merit factor of general hanok, and weight could be given when creating an integrated standard in the future.
Sustainability in FinTechs: An Explanation through Business Model Scalability and Market Valuation
Authors: Moro-Visconti Roberto , Cruz Rambaud Salvador , López Pascual Joaquín
Published: December 2020

Framework: Financial Technology (FinTech) is an industry composed of diversified firms that combine financial services with innovative technologies. The research question and main goal are attempting to answer whether they are more similar to traditional banks or trendy technological firms deploying their innovativeness to favor financial inclusion and sustainability. Justification: Evaluators may wonder if FinTechs follow the typical evaluation patterns of bank/financial intermediaries or those of technological firms. Preliminary empirical evidence shows that the latter interpretation is the one consistent with the stock-market mood. Objective: This study goes beyond the extant literature, analyzing the differences between FinTechs and traditional banks in market valuation, and showing the potential for digital interaction and cross-pollination of complementary business models. Methodology: The differences will be empirically analyzed with the stock market valuation and the multipliers associated with these firms. Results: The main contribution of this paper is that the appraisal approaches of FinTechs follow those of technological startups, having a revenue model much more scalable than that of a typical bank. FinTechs may so provide a solution for sustainable finance with microfinance and crowdfunding among others. FinTechs and traditional banks may eventually converge towards a common market exploiting co-opetition strategies.
Eucheuma cottonii Seaweed-Based Biochar for Adsorption of Methylene Blue Dye
Authors: Saeed Anwar Ameen Hezam , Harun Noorfidza Yub , Sufian Suriati , Siyal Ahmer Ali , Zulfiqar Muhammad , Bilad Muhammad Roil , Vagananthan Arvind , Al-Fakih Amin , Ghaleb Aiban Abdulhakim Saeed , Almahbashi Najib
Published: December 2020

Pollution from dye containing wastewater leads to a variety of environmental problems, which can destroy plant life and eco-systems. This study reports development of a seaweed-based biochar as an adsorbent material for efficient adsorption of methylene blue (MB) dye from synthetic wastewater. The Eucheuma cottonii seaweed biochar was developed through pyrolysis using a tube furnace with N2 gas, and the properties were later improved by sulfuric acid treatment. The adsorption studies were conducted in a batch experimental setup under initial methylene blue concentrations of 50 to 200 mg/L, solution pH of 2 to 10, and temperature of 25 to 75 °C. The characterization results show that the developed biochar had a mesoporous pore morphology. The adsorbent possessed the surface area, pore size, and pore volume of 640 m2/g, 2.32 nm, and 0.54 cm3/g, respectively. An adsorption test for 200 mg/L of initial methylene blue at pH 4 showed the best performance. The adsorption data of the seaweed-based biochar followed the Langmuir isotherm adsorption model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, with the corresponding R2 of 0.994 and 0.995. The maximum adsorption capacity of methylene blue using the developed seaweed‑based biochar was 133.33 mg/g. The adsorption followed the chemisorption mechanism, which occurred via the formation of a monolayer of methylene blue dye on the seaweed-based biochar surface. The adsorption performance of the produced seaweed biochar is comparable to that of other commercial adsorbents, suggesting its potential for large-scale applications.
Unravelling Diverse Values of Ecosystem Services: A Socio-Cultural Valuation Using Q Methodology in Messenia, Greece
Authors: Maniatakou Sofia , Berg Håkan , Maneas Giorgos , Daw Tim M.
Published: December 2020

People perceive the importance of benefits from ecosystem services in different ways, depending on their values, beliefs, and needs. Acknowledging and integrating this diversity into decision-making processes can support informed natural resource management. Our empirical study unpicks the multiple ways stakeholder groups perceive the benefits derived from wetland ecosystem services (WES) in the area surrounding the “Gialova” coastal wetland in Messenia, Greece. The inhabitants from this region benefit from a range of WES, and most livelihoods are closely linked to agriculture and tourism. We aim to understand the patterns in commonly held stakeholder views on WES using “Q methodology”, a participatory mixed-methods approach. We identified five distinct perspectives on WES from a sample of 32 stakeholders. Alongside diverse perceptions of the relative importance of different WES, we observed a range of explanations of why certain WES are important and analyzed these through the lens of “value pluralism”. This identified tension between relational and instrumental values. Such analyses move beyond ecosystem service identification towards an understanding of value justifications and conflicts, and can support the deliberation of conflicted views, and policy design in alignment with people’s values.
Towards Rail-Road Online Exchange Platforms in EU-Freight Transportation Markets: An Analysis of Matching Supply and Demand in Multimodal Services
Authors: Jain Anuradha , van der Heijden Rob , Marchau Vincent , Bruckmann Dirk
Published: December 2020

The European Union (EU) is confronted with too low a share of inland rail freight transport. The implementation of two-sided online exchanges for rail-road freight transport could increase this share. However, such exchanges focusing on the EU market are mainly designed for single modes of transport. Their matching of supply and demand for multimodal services, especially including rail, is still in its infancy. This paper applies a maturity growth framework to speed up the implementation of such multimodal online exchanges. The framework integrates insights from industrial organization theory, platform economy theory, and maturity growth theory. Online exchanges, summarized in a new taxonomy, are compared to study their practices on matching supply with demand on the exchange, especially for multimodal services. Data is collected from case studies, exchange websites and semi-structured interviews. The analysis shows the emergence of new market actors and business models, including digital freight forwarders. These offer a variety of transport mode solutions for EU inland and EU related global freight transport. Maturity in matching supply and demand appears to result from clear objectives to provide benefits to the exchange participants, notably by digitizing the data for transaction completion and providing real time support for operational issues. In this context of rising online exchanges, especially in road and global multimodal transport (air, ocean, and road), the competition to capture a fragmented freight market seems to steadily increase. A similar maturity analysis of exchanges could not be found.
How Does Corporate Sustainability Increase Financial Performance for Small- and Medium-Sized Fashion Companies: Roles of Organizational Values and Business Model Innovation
Authors: Yang Su Jin , Jang Seyoon
Published: December 2020

The objective of this study was to examine how corporate sustainability can raise the level of corporate financial performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the fashion industry by considering the roles of organizational values and business model innovation in forming corporate sustainability. It is meaningful to explore the role of corporate sustainability in SMEs as well as fashion companies considering the recent growth of SMEs in the fashion industry. Practitioners (N = 218) working for SMEs located in South Korea participated in an online survey. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in three organizational values of SMEs: flexibility value, rational value, and hierarchical value. While flexibility has contributed to forming business model innovation and sustainability, having a rational value has impacted business model innovation and financial performance. A hierarchical value affected only corporate sustainability. However, business model innovation did not show any significant impact on corporate sustainability or financial performance. Finally, corporate sustainability positively influenced financial performance only for SMEs that had experience practicing at least three sustainable activities. These results have implications for how SMEs manage sustainability to enhance financial performance.
Competitiveness Evaluation Methodology for Aviation Industry Sustainability Using Network DEA
Authors: Song Ki Han , Choi Solsaem , Han Ik Hyun
Published: December 2020

The purpose of this study is to develop the methodology to assess the sustainability of the aviation industry based on network data envelopment analysis (DEA) for the assessment of the national aviation industry process productivity. The national aviation industry is classified into the front stage, corresponding to the aviation market, and the behind stage, the ecosystem of the aviation industry from which added value is created. DEA for each stage and network DEA analysis from a system perspective and a process perspective were applied by integrating the two stages. Unlike the results of national productivity assessments based on previous aviation performance, it was found that the productivity varied among countries in each stage, and that the process of creating added value had the most profound effect on the overall sustainability determination of the national aviation industry. This methodology and the results are expected to contribute toward establishing the national policy direction for aviation industry sustainability.
Ethical Regulators and Super-Ethical Systems
Authors: Ashby Mick
Published: December 2020

This paper combines the good regulator theorem with the law of requisite variety and seven other requisites that are necessary and sufficient for a cybernetic regulator to be effective and ethical. The ethical regulator theorem provides a basis for systematically evaluating and improving the adequacy of existing or proposed designs for systems that make decisions that can have ethical consequences; regardless of whether the regulators are humans, machines, cyberanthropic hybrids, organizations, or government institutions. The theorem is used to define an ethical design process that has potentially far-reaching implications for society. A six-level framework is proposed for classifying cybernetic and superintelligent systems, which highlights the existence of a possibility-space bifurcation in our future time-line. The implementation of “super-ethical” systems is identified as an urgent imperative for humanity to avoid the danger that superintelligent machines might lead to a technological dystopia. It is proposed to define third-order cybernetics as the cybernetics of ethical systems. Concrete actions, a grand challenge, and a vision of a super-ethical society are proposed to help steer the future of the human race and our wonderful planet towards a realistically achievable minimum viable cyberanthropic utopia.
A Review of Extended Reality (XR) Technologies for Manufacturing Training
Authors: Doolani Sanika , Wessels Callen , Kanal Varun , Sevastopoulos Christos , Jaiswal Ashish , Nambiappan Harish , Makedon Fillia
Published: December 2020

Recently, the use of extended reality (XR) systems has been on the rise, to tackle various domains such as training, education, safety, etc. With the recent advances in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies and ease of availability of high-end, commercially available hardware, the manufacturing industry has seen a rise in the use of advanced XR technologies to train its workforce. While several research publications exist on applications of XR in manufacturing training, a comprehensive review of recent works and applications is lacking to present a clear progress in using such advance technologies. To this end, we present a review of the current state-of-the-art of use of XR technologies in training personnel in the field of manufacturing. First, we put forth the need of XR in manufacturing. We then present several key application domains where XR is being currently applied, notably in maintenance training and in performing assembly task. We also reviewed the applications of XR in other vocational domains and how they can be leveraged in the manufacturing industry. We finally present some current barriers to XR adoption in manufacturing training and highlight the current limitations that should be considered when looking to develop and apply practical applications of XR.
The Role of HLA and KIR Immunogenetics in BK Virus Infection after Kidney Transplantation
Authors: Burek Kamenaric Marija , Ivkovic Vanja , Kovacevic Vojtusek Ivana , Zunec Renata
Published: December 2020

BK virus (BKV) is a polyomavirus with high seroprevalence in the general population with an unremarkable clinical presentation in healthy people, but a potential for causing serious complications in immunosuppressed transplanted patients. Reactivation or primary infection in kidney allograft recipients may lead to allograft dysfunction and subsequent loss. Currently, there is no widely accepted specific treatment for BKV infection and reduction of immunosuppressive therapy is the mainstay therapy. Given this and the sequential appearance of viruria-viremia-nephropathy, screening and early detection are of utmost importance. There are numerous risk factors associated with BKV infection including genetic factors, among them human leukocyte antigens (HLA) and killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) alleles have been shown to be the strongest so far. Identification of patients at risk for BKV infection would be useful in prevention or early action to reduce morbidity and progression to frank nephropathy. Assessment of risk involving HLA ligands and KIR genotyping of recipients in the pre-transplant or early post-transplant period might be useful in clinical practice. This review summarizes current knowledge of the association between HLA, KIR and BKV infection and potential future directions of research, which might lead to optimal utilization of these genetic markers.
Characterization of Salmonella Isolates from Various Geographical Regions of the Caucasus and Their Susceptibility to Bacteriophages
Authors: Makalatia Khatuna , Kakabadze Elene , Wagemans Jeroen , Grdzelishvili Nino , Bakuradze Nata , Natroshvili Gulnara , Macharashvili Nino , Sedrakyan Anahit , Arakelova Karine , Ktsoyan Zhanna , Zakharyan Magdalina , Gevorgyan Zaruhi , Mnatsakanyan Armine , Tishkova Farida , Lood Cédric , Vandenheuvel Dieter , Lavigne Rob , Pirnay Jean-Paul , De Vos Daniel , Chanishvili Nina , Merabishvili Maia
Published: December 2020

Non-typhoidal Salmonella present a major threat to animal and human health as food-borne infectious agents. We characterized 91 bacterial isolates from Armenia and Georgia in detail, using a suite of assays including conventional microbiological methods, determining antimicrobial susceptibility profiles, matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, serotyping (using the White-Kauffmann-Le Minor scheme) and genotyping (repetitive element sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR)). No less than 61.5% of the isolates were shown to be multidrug-resistant. A new antimicrobial treatment strategy is urgently needed. Phage therapy, the therapeutic use of (bacterio-) phages, the bacterial viruses, to treat bacterial infections, is increasingly put forward as an additional tool for combatting antibiotic resistant infections. Therefore, we used this representative set of well-characterized Salmonella isolates to analyze the therapeutic potential of eleven single phages and selected phage cocktails from the bacteriophage collection of the Eliava Institute (Georgia). All isolates were shown to be susceptible to at least one of the tested phage clones or their combinations. In addition, genome sequencing of these phages revealed them as members of existing phage genera (Felixounavirus, Seunavirus, Viunavirus and Tequintavirus) and did not show genome-based counter indications towards their applicability against non-typhoidal Salmonella in a phage therapy or in an agro-food setting.