bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity Modal Analysis of Long Reflective Multimode Interferometer for Small Angle Detection and Temperature
Authors: Lozano-Hernandez Tania , Estudillo-Ayala Julian M. , Jauregui-Vazquez Daniel , Sierra-Hernandez Juan M. , Rojas-Laguna Roberto
Published: June 2023

This work presents the sensitive modal analysis of a long reflective multimode optical fiber device for angle and temperature. The reflective multimode interference optical fiber device was fabricated by splicing ~40 cm of multimode optical fiber (50/125). This structure provides a random interference reflection spectrum; the wavelength sensitivity analysis indicates that estimating the angle detection is impossible due to the several modes involved. However, by the phase analysis of the Fourier components, it was possible to detect slight angle deflection. Here, three spectral Fourier components were analyzed, and the maximal sensitivity achieved was 1.52 rad/°; the maximal angle variation of the multimode fiber was 3.4°. In addition, the thermal analysis indicates minimal temperature affectation (0.0065 rad/°C). Moreover, it was demonstrated that there is a strong dependence between the sensitivity and the m-order of the modes involved. Considering the fiber optic sensor dimensions and signal analysis, this device is attractive for numerous applications where slight angle detection is needed.
Advanced Image Post-Processing Methods for Photoacoustic Tomography: A Review
Authors: Tang Kaiyi , Zhang Shuangyang , Liang Zhichao , Wang Yang , Ge Jia , Chen Wufan , Qi Li
Published: June 2023

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is a promising imaging technique that utilizes the detection of light-induced acoustic waves for both morphological and functional biomedical imaging. However, producing high-quality images using PAT is still challenging and requires further research. Besides improving image reconstruction, which turns the raw photoacoustic signal into a PAT image, an alternative way to address this issue is through image post-processing, which can enhance and optimize the reconstructed PAT image. Image post-processing methods have rapidly emerged in PAT and are proven to be essential in improving image quality in recent research. In this review, we investigate the need for image post-processing in PAT imaging. We conduct a thorough literature review on the latest PAT image post-processing articles, including both general and PAT-specific post-processing techniques. In contrast to previous reviews, our analysis focuses specifically on advanced image post-processing rather than image reconstruction methods. By highlighting their potential applications, we hope to encourage further research and development in PAT image post-processing technology.
Hyperspectral Imaging Combined with Deep Learning to Detect Ischemic Necrosis in Small Intestinal Tissue
Authors: Zhang Lechao , Zhou Yao , Huang Danfei , Zhu Libin , Chen Xiaoqing , Xie Zhonghao , Cui Guihua , Huang Guangzao , Ali Shujat , Chen Xiaojing
Published: June 2023

Obtaining adequate resection margins in small intestinal necrotic tissue remains challenging due to the lack of intraoperative feedback. Here, we used hyperspectral imaging (HSI), an imaging technique for objective identification, combined with deep learning methods for automated small intestine tissue classification. As part of a prospective experimental study, we recorded hyperspectral datasets of small intestine biopsies from seven white rabbits. Based on the differences in the spectral characteristics of normal and ischemic necrotic small intestinal tissues in the wavelength range of 400–1000 nm, we applied deep learning techniques to objectively distinguish between these two types of tissues. The results showed that three-dimensional convolutional neural networks were more effective in extracting both spectral and spatial features of small intestine tissue hyperspectral data for classification. The combination of a deep learning model and HSI provided a new idea for the objective identification of ischemic necrotic tissue in the small intestine.
Experimental Investigation into the Influence of LED Bias Setup on VLC Frequency Domain Characteristics: Beyond Non-Negativity
Authors: Li Long , Zhang Yanyu , Ba Bin , Yuan Tao
Published: June 2023

Different from the radio frequency bipolar complex signalling, LED-based visible light communication (LED-VLC) meets the non-negativity requirement by adding a bias component (BC) to a bipolar real-valued signal. Although many people know that there is a relationship between BC and LED characteristics, unfortunately, most of them chose to ignore it, and thus there has been little exploration of its impact on VLC. In this paper, we have experimentally measured the frequency domain characteristics of several LEDs commonly used in home and business applications. The numerical calculations show that the logarithmic domain absolute frequency response is approximately linear, where the corresponding intercepts and slopes can be quadratically expressed with respect to BC with a very low fitting error. This experimental investigation reveals that the BC value will remarkably influence the VLC system performance beyond non-negativity, and the LED-VLC transceiver designs should jointly take the BC and LED communication characteristic into consideration.
Fruit Photosynthesis: More to Know about Where, How and Why
Authors: Garrido Andreia , Conde Artur , Serôdio João , De Vos Ric C. H. , Cunha Ana
Published: June 2023

Not only leaves but also other plant organs and structures typically considered as carbon sinks, including stems, roots, flowers, fruits and seeds, may exhibit photosynthetic activity. There is still a lack of a coherent and systematized body of knowledge and consensus on the role(s) of photosynthesis in these “sink” organs. With regard to fruits, their actual photosynthetic activity is influenced by a range of properties, including fruit anatomy, histology, physiology, development and the surrounding microclimate. At early stages of development fruits generally contain high levels of chlorophylls, a high density of functional stomata and thin cuticles. While some plant species retain functional chloroplasts in their fruits upon subsequent development or ripening, most species undergo a disintegration of the fruit chloroplast grana and reduction in stomata functionality, thus limiting gas exchange. In addition, the increase in fruit volume hinders light penetration and access to CO2, also reducing photosynthetic activity. This review aimed to compile information on aspects related to fruit photosynthesis, from fruit characteristics to ecological drivers, and to address the following challenging biological questions: why does a fruit show photosynthetic activity and what could be its functions? Overall, there is a body of evidence to support the hypothesis that photosynthesis in fruits is key to locally providing: ATP and NADPH, which are both fundamental for several demanding biosynthetic pathways (e.g., synthesis of fatty acids); O2, to prevent hypoxia in its inner tissues including seeds; and carbon skeletons, which can fuel the biosynthesis of primary and secondary metabolites important for the growth of fruits and for spreading, survival and germination of their seed (e.g., sugars, flavonoids, tannins, lipids). At the same time, both primary and secondary metabolites present in fruits and seeds are key to human life, for instance as sources for nutrition, bioactives, oils and other economically important compounds or components. Understanding the functions of photosynthesis in fruits is pivotal to crop management, providing a rationale for manipulating microenvironmental conditions and the expression of key photosynthetic genes, which may help growers or breeders to optimize development, composition, yield or other economically important fruit quality aspects.
Molecular Characterization of a Recombinant Isolate of Tomato Leaf Curl New Delhi Virus Associated with Severe Outbreaks in Zucchini Squash in Southern Italy
Authors: Mastrochirico Mariarosaria , Spanò Roberta , De Miccolis Angelini Rita Milvia , Mascia Tiziana
Published: June 2023

The molecular characterization of a tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) isolate, denoted ToLCNDV-Le, is reported. The virus was associated with severe and recurrent outbreaks in protected crops of zucchini squash grown in the Province of Lecce (Apulia, southern Italy). The fully sequenced genome of ToLCNDV-Le consists of two genomic components named DNA-A and DNA-B of 2738 and 2683 nt in size, respectively. Like other ToLCNDV isolates, ToLCNDV-Le DNA-A contains the AV2 and AV1 open reading frames (ORFs) in the virion-sense orientation and five additional ORFs named AC1, AC2, AC3, AC4 and AC5 in the complementary-sense orientation. The DNA-B contains BV1 ORF in the virion-sense orientation and BC1 ORF in the complementary-sense orientation. No DNA betasatellites were found associated with ToLCNDV-Le in naturally infected samples. Phylogenetic analysis clustered ToLCNDV-Le with the ToLCNDV-ES strain of western Mediterranean Basin isolates. Consequently, the ToLCNDV-ES-[IT-Zu-Le18] name is proposed as the descriptor for ToLCNDV-Le. Using recombination detection program RDP4, one putative recombination breakpoint (Rbp) was identified close to nucleotide positions 2197–2727, covering approximately half of the AC1 region, including the AC4 ORF and the 3′ UTR. RDP4 indicated the event represents an Rbp of an isolate similar to ToLCNDV [Pk-06] (Acc. No. EF620534) found in Luffa acutangula in Pakistan and identified as putative minor parent into the background of ToLCNDV [BG-Jes-Svr-05] (Acc. No. AJ875157), found in tomato in Bangladesh, and identified as putative major parent. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a ToLCNDV-ES recombinant isolate in the AC1-AC4 region in Italy.
Storage on Maternal Plants Affects Temperature Requirements during Germination in Rumex obtusifolius
Authors: Bhatt Arvind , Chen Xingxing , Gallacher David J. , Phartyal Shyam S. , Rodriguez-Paez Luis Alfonso , Pineda-Rodriguez Yirlis Yadeth , Pompelli Marcelo F. , Jamal Aftab , Mancinelli Roberto , Radicetti Emanuele
Published: June 2023

Aerial seed banks facilitate population persistence by extending the temporal range of seed dispersal. Knowing the temporal range of germination will improve our understanding of the relationship between seed germination dynamics and aerial seed bank storage duration. We tested the effects of temperature (12/12 h of 5/10, 10/20, 20/30 and 25/35 °C) and light variation (12 h light/12 h darkness and 24 h darkness per day) on germination of Rumex obtusifolius L. seeds retained in an aerial seed bank for 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 months. Freshly harvested R. obtusifolius were non-dormant and exhibited germination rates of up to 92%. Overall, seeds of R. obtusifolius germinated reliably at all but the lowest temperature (5/10 °C). Seeds maintained high viability throughout the collection period, indicating that fluctuating weather conditions had little influence on seed germination. Thus, the species can maintain viable seeds in aerial storage for up to 10 months and contribute viable seeds to the soil seed bank year-round. This ability to maintain a renewed soil seed bank contributes to the species’ strong resilience in colonizing disturbed areas and makes it a difficult weed to control.
Hydrochorous Seed Transport in the Lower Traisen River before and after Riverbed Restoration
Authors: Rasran Leonid , Vogt Kati , Trattnig Marc , Bernhardt Karl-Georg
Published: June 2023

Hydrological restoration was carried out in a Lower Traisen, a small river within the floodplain of the Danube. The main goal was the reestablishment of typical riparian plant communities by using the potential of natural dispersal processes. We studied the transport of plant diaspores in the river water before and after the reconstruction of the riverbed. Aquatic seed traps were placed upstream and downstream of the restoration site. We identified the transported species and tested the viability of propagules. Functional species traits were analyzed to predict the probability of successful hydrochorous dispersal and changes in the transport pool due to the restoration. One-third of the local species pool was detected as being diaspores in the river. We observed a significant increase of ruderal species and neophytes, while the competitors and stress-tolerant competitors declined. Hydrochory is an important dispersal pathway for numerous plant species in the study area, including those without specific adaptations to this vector. Hydrochorous transport appears to be a sink for large-seeded species, primarily adapted to endozoochory. Follow-up management should be recommended to control the invasive species and to improve the structural and biological diversity of the Traisen Valley by supporting target species, which are also represented in the transport pool.
Production of Blended Poly(acrylonitrile): Poly(ethylenedioxythiophene):Poly(styrene sulfonate) Electrospun Fibers for Neural Applications
Authors: Garrudo Fábio F. F. , Filippone Giulia , Resina Leonor , Silva João C. , Barbosa Frederico , Ferreira Luís F. V. , Esteves Teresa , Marques Ana Clara , Morgado Jorge , Ferreira Frederico Castelo
Published: June 2023

This study describes, for the first time, the successful incorporation of poly(ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) in Poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) fibers. While electroconductive PEDOT:PSS is extremely challenging to electrospun into fibers. Therefore, PAN, a polymer easy to electrospun, was chosen as a carrier due to its biocompatibility and tunable chemical stability when cross-linked, particularly using strong acids. PAN:PEDOT:PSS blends, prepared from PEDOT:PSS Clevios PH1000, were electrospun into fibers (PH1000) with a diameter of 515 ± 120 nm, which after being thermally annealed (PH1000 24H) and treated with heated sulfuric acid (PH1000 H2SO4), resulted in fibers with diameters of 437 ± 109 and 940 ± 210 nm, respectively. The fibers obtained over the stepwise process were characterized through infra-red/Raman spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The final fiber meshes showed enhanced electroconductivity (3.2 × 10−3 S cm−1, four-points-assay). Fiber meshes biocompatibility was evaluated using fibroblasts and neural stem cells (NSCs) following, respectively, the ISO10993 guidelines and standard adhesion/proliferation assay. NSCs cultured on PH1000 H2SO4 fibers presented normal morphology and high proliferation rates (0.37 day−1 vs. 0.16 day−1 for culture plate), indicating high biocompatibility for NSCs. Still, the low initial NSC adhesion of 7% calls for improving seeding methodologies. PAN:PEDOT:PSS fibers, here successful produced for the first time, have potential applications in neural tissue engineering and soft electronics.
Reinforced Bioremediation of Excessive Nitrate in Atrazine-Contaminated Soil by Biodegradable Composite Carbon Source
Authors: Yang Zhongchen , Lou Yanhong , Pan Hong , Wang Hui , Yang Quangang , Sun Yajie , Zhuge Yuping
Published: June 2023

Bioremediation is a good alternative to dispose of the excessive nitrate (NO3−) in soil and alleviate the secondary salinization of soil, but the presence of atrazine in soil interferes with the bioremediation process. In the present study, the biodegradable composite carbon source with different dosages was added to the atrazine-contaminated soil to intensify the bioremediation of excessive NO3−. The atrazine-contaminated soil with a 25 g/kg composite carbon source achieved the optimal NO3− removal performance (92.10%), which was slightly higher than that with a 5 g/kg composite carbon source (86.15%) (p > 0.05). Unfortunately, the negative effects of the former were observed, such as the distinctly higher emissions of N2O, CO2 and a more powerful global warming potential (GWP). Microbial community analysis showed that the usage of the composite carbon source clearly decreased the richness and diversity of the microbial community, and greatly stimulated nitrogen metabolism and atrazine degradation (p < 0.05). To sum up, the application of a 5 g/kg composite carbon source contributed to guaranteeing bioremediation performance and reducing adverse environmental impacts at the same time.
Institutional Factors Affecting Postsecondary Student Mental Wellbeing: A Scoping Review of the Canadian Literature
Authors: Thaivalappil Abhinand , Stringer Jillian , Burnett Alison , Papadopoulos Andrew
Published: June 2023

There have been increased calls to address the growing mental health concerns of postsecondary students in Canada. Health promotion focuses on prevention and is needed as part of a comprehensive approach to student mental health support, with an emphasis on not just the individual but also the sociocultural environment of postsecondary institutions. The aim was to conduct a scoping review of the literature pertaining to the associations between postsecondary institutional factors and student wellbeing. The review included a comprehensive search strategy, relevance screening and confirmation, and data charting. Overall, 33 relevant studies were identified. Major findings provide evidence that institutional attitudes, institutional (in)action, perceived campus safety, and campus climate are associated with mental wellbeing, suggesting that campus-wide interventions can benefit from continued monitoring and targeting these measures among student populations. Due to the large variability in reporting and measurement of outcomes, the development of standardized measures for measuring institutional-level factors are needed. Furthermore, institutional participation and scaling up established population-level assessments in Canada that can help systematically collect, evaluate, and compare findings across institutions and detect changes in relevant mental health outcomes through time.
God in the Face of Natural and Moral Evils: A Thomistic Approach
Authors: Sanguineti Juan José
Published: June 2023

The existence of evil in a world created by God raises very difficult questions to answer. Under the inspiration of Thomistic philosophy, in this article we face this problem first of all “from below”, trying to understand the meaning of physical evils in living nature, especially in animals (pain, aggressive interactions). Secondly, in thinking of the enormous amount of moral evil in the human world, we consider the biblical faith in original sin as illuminating. We examine some points of Thomas Aquinas in this regard, especially his thesis that the physical cosmos is not affected by original sin and that the loss of man’s primitive happy situation involves a contradiction between his spiritual aspirations and his mortal nature subject to limits and suffering. This situation is remedied by the help God gives man through his ordinary Providence, which includes a personal struggle against evil, and above all through his salvific plan which we know thanks to the biblical faith.
Correlation Pitfalls with ChatGPT: Would You Fall for Them?
Authors: Hofert Marius
Published: June 2023

This paper presents an intellectual exchange with ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, about correlation pitfalls in risk management. The exchange takes place in the form of a conversation that provides ChatGPT with context. The purpose of this conversation is to evaluate ChatGPT’s understanding of correlation pitfalls, to offer readers an engaging alternative for learning about them, but also to identify related risks. Our findings indicate that ChatGPT possesses solid knowledge of basic and mostly non-technical aspects of the topic, but falls short in terms of the mathematical rigor needed to avoid certain pitfalls or completely comprehend the underlying concepts. Nonetheless, we suggest ways in which ChatGPT can be utilized to enhance one’s own learning process.
Risk Management in Electricity Markets: Dominant Topics and Research Trends
Authors: Londoño Adriana A. , Velásquez Juan D.
Published: June 2023

Risk management in electricity markets is essential for decision making that involve uncertainty. This article researches the dominant themes and research trends in risk management in electricity markets using descriptive analysis, literature mapping, and data mining techniques. The proposed methodology generates the clusters within the dominant themes and provides a comprehensive view of the main authors, journals, and publications, as well as the main lines of research. The results reveal that the academic production of the subject is increasing and the research trends focused on financial risk management, energy resource management, and that climate coverage mechanisms are of great interest to the scientific community.
Discovering Optimal Triplets for Assessing the Uncertainties of Satellite-Derived Evapotranspiration Products
Authors: He Yan , Wang Chen , Hu Jinghao , Mao Huihui , Duan Zheng , Qu Cixiao , Li Runkui , Wang Mingyu , Song Xianfeng
Published: June 2023

Information relating to errors in evapotranspiration (ET) products, including satellite-derived ET products, is critical to their application but often challenging to obtain, with a limited number of flux towers available for the sufficient validation of measurements. Triple collocation (TC) methods can assess the inherent uncertainties of the above ET products using just three independent variables as a triplet input. However, both the severity with which the variables in the triplet violate the assumptions of zero error correlations and the corresponding impact on the error estimation are unknown. This study proposed a cross-correlation analysis approach to discover the optimal triplet of satellite-derived ET products with regard to providing the most reliable error estimation. All possible triple collocation solutions for the same product were first evaluated by the extended triple collocation (ETC), among which the optimum was selected based on the correlation between ETC-based and in-situ-based error metrics, and correspondingly, a statistic experiment based on ranked triplets demonstrated how the optimal triplet was valid for all pixels of the product. Six popular products (MOD16, PML_V2, GLASS, SSEBop, ERA5, and GLEAM) that were produced between 2003 to 2018 and which cover China’s mainland were chosen for the experiment, in which the error estimates were compared with measurements from 23 in-situ flux towers. The findings suggest that (1) there exists an optimal triplet in which a product as an input of TC with other collocating inputs together violate TC assumptions the least; (2) the error characteristics of the six ET products varied significantly across China, with GLASS performing the best (median error: 0.1 mm/day), followed by GLEAM, ERA5, and MOD16 (median errors below 0.2 mm/day), while PML_V2 and SSEBop had slightly higher median errors (0.24 mm/day and 0.27 mm/day, respectively); and (3) removing seasonal variations in ET signals has a substantial impact on enhancing the accuracy of error estimations.
Improved PPP-RTK by Considering the Non-Homogeneous Uncertainty of the ionosphere with a Spatial Three-Direction Model
Authors: Liu Kezhong , Yang Junling , Zheng Kai , Yuan Yongqiang
Published: June 2023

The ultimate goal of PPP-RTK is to achieve rapid ambiguity resolution, which is influenced by the prior precision of the external ionospheric information. This study proposes a method for determining the precision of ionospheric corrections for each satellite. In this method, an 8 min piece-wise function linearly related to the spatial three-direction distance components (SDC) within the geocentric coordinate system is constructed. By exploiting the SDC model, the user can calculate the precision of the ionospheric corrections satellite by satellite. Using the German and French stations, we validate this method experimentally and compare it to a method with an 8 min piece-wise function constructed by the baseline length (BLL). The SDC model provides an accuracy better than 10 mm in modeling ionospheric correction precision for each GPS satellite, with an average improvement of 43% compared to the BLL model. In addition, the SDC model offers an accuracy of approximately 5 mm in the reference network with an inter-station distance of less than 100 km, which is about 15% better than that of the BLL model during the active ionospheric period. The SDC model exhibits advantages over ionospheric correction precision modeling, with an average improvement of 73.5% for a reference network with station spacing of 125–155 km. By adopting the adaptive ionospheric precision derived from the SDC model, the GPS/GPS + Galileo PPP-RTK achieves a horizontal error of 50 mm and a vertical error of 100 mm within an average of three to four epochs. Notably, the convergence time is significantly enhanced by 30% in reference networks with inter-station distances of 125–155 km, compared to that of the PPP-RTK solution generated with dynamic ionospheric correction precision from the BLL model for all observed satellites.
A Federated Learning Latency Minimization Method for UAV Swarms Aided by Communication Compression and Energy Allocation
Authors: Zeng Liang , Wang Wenxin , Zuo Wei
Published: June 2023

Unmanned aerial vehicle swarms (UAVSs) can carry out numerous tasks such as detection and mapping when outfitted with machine learning (ML) models. However, due to the flying height and mobility of UAVs, it is very difficult to ensure a continuous and stable connection between ground base stations and UAVs, as a result of which distributed machine learning approaches, such as federated learning (FL), perform better than centralized machine learning approaches in some circumstances when utilized by UAVs. However, in practice, functions that UAVs must perform often, such as emergency obstacle avoidance, require a high sensitivity to latency. This work attempts to provide a comprehensive analysis of energy consumption and latency sensitivity of FL in UAVs and present a set of solutions based on an efficient asynchronous federated learning mechanism for edge network computing (EAFLM) combined with ant colony optimization (ACO) for the cases where UAVs execute such latency-sensitive jobs. Specifically, UAVs participating in each round of communication are screened, and only the UAVs that meet the conditions will participate in the regular round of communication so as to compress the communication times. At the same time, the transmit power and CPU frequency of the UAV are adjusted to obtain the shortest time of an individual iteration round. This method is verified using the MNIST dataset and numerical results are provided to support the usefulness of our proposed method. It greatly reduces the communication times between UAVs with a relatively low influence on accuracy and optimizes the allocation of UAVs’ communication resources.
Edge-Guided Camouflaged Object Detection via Multi-Level Feature Integration
Authors: Liu Kangwei , Qiu Tianchi , Yu Yinfeng , Li Songlin , Li Xiuhong
Published: June 2023

Camouflaged object detection (COD) aims to segment those camouflaged objects that blend perfectly into their surroundings. Due to the low boundary contrast between camouflaged objects and their surroundings, their detection poses a significant challenge. Despite the numerous excellent camouflaged object detection methods developed in recent years, issues such as boundary refinement and multi-level feature extraction and fusion still need further exploration. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-level feature integration network (MFNet) for camouflaged object detection. Firstly, we design an edge guidance module (EGM) to improve the COD performance by providing additional boundary semantic information by combining high-level semantic information and low-level spatial details to model the edges of camouflaged objects. Additionally, we propose a multi-level feature integration module (MFIM), which leverages the fine local information of low-level features and the rich global information of high-level features in adjacent three-level features to provide a supplementary feature representation for the current-level features, effectively integrating the full context semantic information. Finally, we propose a context aggregation refinement module (CARM) to efficiently aggregate and refine the cross-level features to obtain clear prediction maps. Our extensive experiments on three benchmark datasets show that the MFNet model is an effective COD model and outperforms other state-of-the-art models in all four evaluation metrics (Sα, Eϕ, Fβw, and MAE).
Research on an Identification Method for Wheelset Coaxial Wheel Diameter Difference Based on Trackside Wheelset Lateral Movement Detection
Authors: Peng Xinyu , Zeng Jing , Wang Qunsheng , Zhu Haiyan
Published: June 2023

The wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference is one of the most common wheel faults of railway vehicles. The existence of the wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference may lead to the off-load operation of vehicles, resulting in abnormal wheel tread wear, leading to the deterioration of the wheel–rail contact relationship, resulting in the deterioration of the vehicle’s operating stability and comfort, and even leading to an increase in the derailment coefficient, affecting the running safety. In order to monitor the freight car wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference online, a vehicle–track coupling dynamics model based on a trackside detection method was established, and the response of rail lateral displacement under the condition of the wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference was analyzed. The results show that the existence of the wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference can lead to a deviation in the vehicle’s run, with an increase in the wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference and an increase in the lateral offset of wheelset increases. The impact of vehicle unbalance loading on the lateral movement of the wheelset is much smaller than that of the wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference. The existence of the wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference can be better reflected by detecting the wheelset’s lateral displacement. On straight line, the variation of lateral displacement has no infection of vehicle speed, but shows a quadratic growth trend with the wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference. Based on this, the mapping relationship between the wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference and wheelset lateral displacement can be obtained. Through a mapping relationship, the size of the wheelset coaxial wheel diameter difference can be reversed precisely through the detection of a trackside lateral movement monitoring system. The reliability of the identification method was verified with a specific test on the trackside monitoring system.
Molecular Mechanisms in Understanding Anoxia Tolerance in Rice Seeds under Submergence and Their Implication in Rice Biotechnology
Authors: Adak Malay Kumar , Das Abir , Kundu Ankita , Chatterjee Mitali , Hasanuzzaman Mirza
Published: June 2023

Submergence in rice fields creating inundation stress and realizing anoxia or hypoxia is a problem in agriculture. Seeds under this oxygen deficit are faced with fermentative respiration, where the end product would be poisoning the tissue viability. This is more aggravated in direct seeded rice cultivation with the accumulation of lactate as a poison. This review is concerned with the basic insights into anoxia tolerance in seeds and possible strategies to reduce anoxic shock through the modification of metabolism preceded by gene expression. The major concern of anoxic germination is starch metabolism and downstream physiological realization to facilitate escape or quiescence strategy, overcoming submergence stress. The coleoptiles facing hypoxic stress mated with transcripts for oxidative traits, energy metabolism, and proteins for membrane peroxidation in support of energy metabolism are the most important. Hypoxic genes are recovered from traditional indica and japonica land races of rice, and show changes in glycolytic flux and sugar sensing. Anoxic germination and seedling vigor are based on a combinational regulation of oxidative stress and fermentative catabolism. De novo antioxidant and antioxidative enzyme production can support improved seed germination in this condition. Pre-harvest spouting with seed-coat-induced dormancy, hormonal ratios, and hydrolyses would be of concern. Therefore, comprehensive analysis aimed to understand rice seed priming for better gas exchange, diffusion, temperature sensitivity, ion uptake, redox balance, and others. Still, in-depth insights are being awaited for better understanding the physiological and molecular basis using a multi-omics approach for better seed priming to overcome the anoxic/hypoxic revelation mostly acquainted with submergence stress.
Social and Individual Factors Associated with Eating Disorders in Young Athletes: Effects on Concentration and Fatigue
Authors: Checa Olmos Juan Carlos , Monserrat Hernández Montserrat , Belmonte García Teresa , Jiménez Rodríguez Diana , Rodríguez Martínez Antonio , Berenguel Martínez Pablo , Berrio López Antonio Miguel
Published: June 2023

Eating disorders are a growing societal problem, especially among young people. This study aims to determine the individual and social factors that support and perpetuate the risk of eating disorders (ED) and their possible consequences on an individual’s athletic and academic performances. The sample consisted of 395 athletes between 12 and 16 years of age (M = 14.07; SD = 1.35), of whom 142 (35.9%) were female, and 253 (64.1%) were male. A questionnaire was administered to collect information on sociodemographic data, body image, use of social networks, social relationships, sports practice, risk of developing ED, and academic and sports performance. In the resulting analysis, an initial cross-tabulation was carried out to observe the body distortion of the respondents as a function of BMI, followed by a linear regression to analyze the factors influencing the risk of suffering from ED. In addition, correlations were made to determine the relationship between the risk of manifesting ED and academic and sports performance. The main results show that 77.7% of the young athletes present a risk of ED (M = 13.3; DT = 3.33) due to a high body image distortion, which becomes the determining factor. In addition, relationships with family and friends have a significant influence on this. On the other hand, behaviors related with eating disorders affect concentration (r = −0.122; p = 0.01) and fatigue (r = −0.376; p < 0.01). For all these reasons, generating and promoting prevention and early detection guidelines during adolescence is necessary.
Expert Opinions about Barriers and Facilitators to Physical Activity Participation in Ghanaian Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: A Qualitative Descriptive Study
Authors: Amin Mohammed , Kerr Debra , Atiase Yacoba , Yakub Yusif , Driscoll Andrea
Published: June 2023

Most adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) do not meet their physical activity (PA) goals despite its importance in improving their health outcomes. Our study aim was to explore the opinions of healthcare professionals regarding barriers and facilitators to PA participation in Ghanaian adults with T2DM. Using qualitative descriptive design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 healthcare professionals experienced in diabetes management in Ghana. Three main themes relating to PA barriers and facilitators were identified in a thematic analysis: health system-related factors, healthcare practitioner factors, and patient factors. Inadequate accessibility to physical therapists and therapy centres hindered the provision of PA programs. Nurses and doctors lacked sufficient knowledge and training on effective PA interventions for individuals with T2DM. Time constraints during patient consultations limited discussions on PA, while the cost associated with accessing physical therapy posed a significant challenge. Patients often disregarded PA advice from physical therapists due to their reliance on doctors, and some perceived PA as irrelevant for diabetes treatment. Despite these barriers, healthcare professionals expressed belief in PA facilitators, including integrating physical therapists and diabetes educators into diabetes care, providing structured exercise resources, improving curriculum planning to emphasise PA in health science education, and addressing knowledge gaps and misconceptions. Overall, this study highlights patient-related and healthcare system-related factors that influence PA behaviour in Ghanaian adults with T2DM. Findings from this study should inform the development of tailored PA programs for this population.
Research on Industry Transformation Models and Influencing Factors of Hot Spring Villages from the Perspective of Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Fujian, China
Authors: Liu Lihua , Chen Yuping , Li Wei , Zeng Yanfang , Lin Mingshui
Published: June 2023

The industrial transformation of hot spring villages is an important means to promote the sustainable development of the rural economy and achieve common prosperity. This study aims to explore the models of hot spring industrial transformation and reveal the influencing mechanisms in hot spring villages. Based on the theory of rural industrial transformation, an evaluation index system was constructed to measure rural industrial development by using the attribute data of enterprises in hot spring villages. Taking 19 typical hot spring villages in Fujian Province of China as examples, this study explores the process, models and influencing factors of the industrial transformation of hot spring villages from a sustainable perspective. Research results show that (1) the industrial transformation of the hot spring village includes the initial development stage and the rapid development stage, with the leading industries being transformed into service industries. (2) The industrial transformation of the hot spring village presents a gradual transformation model from hot spring aquaculture to hot spring processing and hot spring services, which not only reflects the transformation process of the hot spring village from the development of its primary industry to that of its secondary and tertiary industries, but also reveals the transformation trend of specialization and the high-end productive service industry and the convenient and high-quality transformation process of the living service industry. (3) The influencing factors of the industrial transformation of the hot spring village mainly include location conditions, the demand of the rural hot spring tourism market, government funding policy support and the choices of local villagers. This study not only enriches the theory of industrial transformation in resource-based rural areas, but also provides decision-making references for the sustainable development of hot spring villages in practice.
Porcelain Supply Chain Coordination Considering the Preferences of Consumers against the Background of E-Commerce
Authors: Ren Haiping , Chen Rui
Published: June 2023

In e-commerce transactions, the packaging level of porcelain, to a certain extent, determines the loss rate of goods in the transportation process. Therefore, encouraging decisionmakers to improve the packaging level is key to coordinating the supply chain of porcelain. Considering consumers’ preferences for packaging level, this paper constructs three kinds of porcelain supply chain decision-making models, including the impact of the packaging level on porcelain transport losses and after-sales problems caused by transport losses. Using Stackelberg game knowledge, the equilibrium decision and supply chain profit under three decision models are compared and analyzed. The main findings are as follows: the decision and profit are better in the centralized decision-making mode. In the decentralized decision-making model, the profit of the leader is higher than that of the follower. Consumers’ preferences for porcelain packaging and the value coefficient of packaging protection have a positive effect on the improvement of supply chain profits and the level of porcelain packaging. In addition, in view of the decentralized decision-making model led by suppliers, this paper introduces a joint contract to encourage the members of the supply chain to improve the packaging level of porcelain and achieve the perfect coordination of the supply chain.
Comparative Analysis of Parametric and Non-Parametric Data-Driven Models to Predict Road Crash Severity among Elderly Drivers Using Synthetic Resampling Techniques
Authors: Alrumaidhi Mubarak , Farag Mohamed M. G. , Rakha Hesham A.
Published: June 2023

As the global elderly population continues to rise, the risk of severe crashes among elderly drivers has become a pressing concern. This study presents a comprehensive examination of crash severity among this demographic, employing machine learning models and data gathered from Virginia, United States of America, between 2014 and 2021. The analysis integrates parametric models, namely logistic regression and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), as well as non-parametric models like random forest (RF) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). Central to this study is the application of resampling techniques, specifically, random over-sampling examples (ROSE) and the synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE), to address the dataset’s inherent imbalance and enhance the models’ predictive performance. Our findings reveal that the inclusion of these resampling techniques significantly improves the predictive power of parametric models, notably increasing the true positive rate for severe crash prediction from 6% to 60% and boosting the geometric mean from 25% to 69% in logistic regression. Likewise, employing SMOTE resulted in a notable improvement in the non-parametric models’ performance, leading to a true positive rate increase from 8% to 36% in XGBoost. Moreover, the study established the superiority of parametric models over non-parametric counterparts when balanced resampling techniques are utilized. Beyond predictive modeling, the study delves into the effects of various contributing factors on crash severity, enhancing the understanding of how these factors influence elderly road safety. Ultimately, these findings underscore the immense potential of machine learning models in analyzing complex crash data, pinpointing factors that heighten crash severity, and informing targeted interventions to mitigate the risks of elderly driving.
New Perspective of Cultural Sustainability: Exploring Tourism Commodification and Cultural Layers
Authors: Bai Lingxiao , Weng Shixiu
Published: June 2023

Commodification is an important research issue regarding cultural sustainability. This paper draws on the theory of cultural layers to understand tourism commodification and the development of local cultures. Through 76 days of field investigation and about 60 face-to-face interviews, this paper explores the characteristics of tourism commodification in festivals and rites related to sacrifices to Genghis Khan and the relationship between its five layers of commodification. Research findings reveal that commodification mainly occurs in the layers of artifacts and patterns of behavior. In addition, the process of tourism commodification does not necessarily follow the sequence of cultural division from the outside to the inside; instead, the deeper layer of commodification will inevitably drive the commodification of its outer circle, and different layers of commodification display different social problems as well. It is also found that this theory is suitable for other tourism commodification cases examined in existing studies. Taken together, analyzing tourism commodification through layered thinking can unveil the degree of commodification, offer an avenue to address the extant debate over the pros and cons of tourism commodification, and provide a basis for guiding the regulation of tourism commodification more effectively.
Research on the Effectiveness of Modular Post Stations in Improving Conditions for Decent Work in Outdoor Working Environments
Authors: Pang Huimin , Fu Jiuqiang , Yang Jianming
Published: June 2023

In the context of decent work being regarded as the eighth goal of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 8), unsafe, inconvenient, and uncomfortable outdoor working conditions have gradually highlighted the problem of decent work for outdoor workers. The purpose of this study is to explore the possible methods for providing decent work in outdoor public spaces and to verify the work framework by combining design and psychology. Firstly, by analyzing the current demand of outdoor workers for decent conditions for outdoor working environments, the status of relevant research and actual assistance, as well as the design status and trend of urban public facilities, the shortcomings of the existing research and designs were summarized, and a new design direction was proposed. Secondly, based on modular design theory, urban post stations for outdoor workers were designed to meet their basic needs, such as sunshade, rain protection, temporary rest, and so on. Finally, a structural equation model was constructed to evaluate the effectiveness of the modular post station in improving the sense of decency in the outdoor working environment through the decency scale and the scale of factors affecting it. The results showed that the requirements of the working environment had a significant positive impact on the sense of decency and that different environmental conditions had different significant degrees of impact on it. Therefore, the modular urban post station designed in this study can effectively improve the sense of decency by optimizing the working environment and meeting the basic needs of outdoor workers during work.
3D Printing of Hybrid Cements Based on High Contents of Powders from Concrete, Ceramic and Brick Waste Chemically Activated with Sodium Sulphate (Na2SO4)
Authors: Robayo-Salazar Rafael , Martínez Fabio , Vargas Armando , Mejía de Gutiérrez Ruby
Published: June 2023

This article evaluates the synthesis, characterization and 3D printing of hybrid cements based on high (70%) contents of powders from concrete waste (CoW), ceramic waste (CeW) and red clay brick waste (RCBW) from construction and demolition waste. For the synthesis of the hybrid cements, 30% (by weight) of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) was added. Sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) (4%) was used as a chemical activator. The effect of the liquid/solid ratio on the properties in the fresh state of the mixes was studied by means of minislump, flowability index, and buildability tests. The compressive strength was evaluated at 3, 7, 28 and 90 days of curing at room temperature (≈25 °C), obtaining strengths of up to 30.7 MPa (CoW), 37.0 MPa (CeW) and 33.2 MPa (RCBW) with an L/S ratio of 0.30. The results obtained allowed selecting the CoW 0.30, CeW 0.33 and RCBW 0.38 mixes as optimal for carrying out 3D printing tests on a laboratory scale, successfully printing elements with good print quality, adequate buildability, and compressive strength (CoW 0.30 = 18.2 MPa, CeW 0.33 = 27.7 MPa and RCBW 0.38 = 21.7 MPa) higher than the structural limit (≥17.5 MPa) established for concrete by Colombian Regulations for Earthquake Resistant Construction (NSR-10).