bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reference Values of Thyroid Hormones During the First Trimester of Pregnancy in Valencian Community (Spain) and Their Relationship with Iodine Intake
Authors: Murillo-Llorente María Teresa , Fajardo-Montañana Carmen , Pérez-Bermejo Marcelino
Published: May 2020

Thyroid hormones require special monitoring during the first trimester of gestation. Local reference values should be applied if available, especially in iodine-deficient areas, as generalized iodine supplementation is controversial. The aim of the present study was to establish thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) reference values in the first trimester of gestation in the Valencian community (Spain) and relate them to iodine intake. A total of 261 healthy pregnant women participated in the study. The calculated reference values were 0.128–4.455 mIU/L for TSH and 0.9–1.592 ng/dL for FT4. The upper TSH reference value for pregnant women in the first trimester in our environment was similar to the latest American Thyroid Association (ATA) recommendation (4 mIU/L). The mean TSH value was significantly lower in smokers, and there were no significant differences when analyzing the influence of iodine supplementation, although the low duration of supplement intake needs to be taken into consideration. Ioduria levels (median 57 µg/L) confirmed iodine deficiency. We found statistically significant differences in ioduria levels among patients who consumed iodized salt and iodine supplements and those who did not. It is essential to focus on recommending adequate consumption of iodized salt and iodine supplements prior to gestation and at least during the first trimester to avoid possible maternal thyroid dysfunction and perinatal complications.
Characterization of Staphylococci and Streptococci Isolated from Milk of Bovides with Mastitis in Egypt
Authors: Ahmed Wedad , Neubauer Heinrich , Tomaso Herbert , El Hofy Fatma Ibrahim , Monecke Stefan , Abdeltawab Ashraf Awad , Hotzel Helmut
Published: May 2020

The aim of this study was to characterize staphylococci and streptococci in milk from Egyptian bovides. In total, 50 milk samples were collected from localities in the Nile Delta region of Egypt. Isolates were cultivated, identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), and antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by the broth microdilution method. PCR amplifications were carried out, targeting resistance-associated genes. Thirty-eight Staphylococcus isolates and six Streptococcus isolates could be cultivated. Staphylococcus aureus isolates revealed a high resistance rate to penicillin, ampicillin, clindamycin, and erythromycin. The mecA gene defining methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, erm(C) and aac-aphD genes was found in 87.5% of each. Coagulase-negative staphylococci showed a high prevalence of mecA, blaZ and tetK genes. Other resistance-associated genes were found. All Streptococcus dysgalactiae isolates carried blaZ, erm(A), erm(B), erm(C) and lnuA genes, while Streptococcus suis harbored erm(C), aphA-3, tetL and tetM genes, additionally. In Streptococcus gallolyticus, most of these genes were found. The Streptococcus agalactiae isolate harbored blaZ, erm(B), erm(C), lnuA, tetK, tetL and tetM genes. Streptococcus agalactiae isolate was analyzed by DNA microarray analysis. It was determined as sequence type 14, belonging to clonal complex 19 and represented capsule type VI. Pilus and cell wall protein genes, pavA, cadD and emrB/qacA genes were identified by microarray analysis.
Optimization of Mangifera indica L. Kernel Extract-Loaded Nanoemulsions via Response Surface Methodology, Characterization, Stability, and Skin Permeation for Anti-Acne Cosmeceutical Application
Authors: Poomanee Worrapan , Khunkitti Watcharee , Chaiyana Wantida , Leelapornpisid Pimporn
Published: May 2020

This study aimed to optimize nanoemulsions loading with Mangifera indica L. kernel extract using response surface methodology for enhancing the stability and skin permeation of the extract. Central composite design was employed for optimization and evaluation of three influencing factors including hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB), % co-surfactant (PEG-7 glyceryl cocoate), and surfactant-to-oil ratio (SOR) on physical properties of the nanoemulsions. The desired nanoemulsions were then incorporated with the extract and characterized. Physicochemical properties of the extract-loaded nanoemulsions and their antibacterial effects against Propionibacterium acnes were also evaluated after storage at various conditions and compared to those of the initial. Ex vivo skin permeation was also investigated. The factors significantly (p < 0.05) influenced on droplet size, polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential, especially HLB of the surfactant and its combined effects with co-surfactant and SOR. The extract-loaded nanoemulsions revealed a very small spherical droplets (size of 26.14 ± 0.22 nm) with narrow size distribution (PDI of 0.16 ± 0.02). The formulation also presented an excellent stability profile and successfully enhanced antibacterial stability of the extract comparing with the extract solution. Ex vivo skin permeation study illustrated that the extract in nanoemulsions could be delivered through a primary skin barrier to reach viable epidermis dermis layers. In conclusion, the affinity of surfactant and hydrophilicity of the system play a crucial role in nanoemulsions’ characteristics. Such results might provide promising anti-acne nanoemulsions with the notable capacities of extract stabilization and permeation enhancing which will be further clinically evaluated.
Raman-Laser System for Absolute Gravimeter Based On 87Rb Atom Interferometer
Authors: Zhao Yang , Wang Shaokai , Zhuang Wei , Li Tianchu
Published: May 2020

The paper describes a Raman-laser system with high performance for an absolute gravimeter that was based on 87Rb atom interferometer. As our gravimeter is a part of the standard acceleration of gravity of China, the Raman lasers’ characteristics should be considered. This laser system includes two diode lasers. The master laser is frequency locked through the frequency-modulation (FM) spectroscopy technology. Its maximum frequency drift is better than 50 kHz in 11 h, which is measured by home-made optical frequency comb. The slave laser is phase locked to the master laser with a frequency difference of 6.8346 GHz while using an optical phase lock loop (OPLL). The phase noise is lower than −105 dBc/Hz at the Fourier frequency from 200 Hz to 42 kHz. It is limited by the measurement sensitivity of the signal source analyzer in low Fourier frequency. Furthermore, the power fluctuation of Raman lasers’ pulses is also suppressed by a fast power servo system. While using this servo system, Raman lasers’ pulses could be fast re-locked while its fast turning on again in the pulse sequence. The peak value fluctuation of the laser power pulses is decreased from 25% to 0.7%, which is improved over 35 times. This Raman-laser system can stably operate over 500 h, which is suited for long-term highly precise and accurate gravity measurements.
The Effect of Mechanical Stress on Plant Susceptibility to Pests: A Mini Opinion Review
Authors: Coutand Catherine
Published: May 2020

Plants are subject to multiple pest attacks during their growing cycle. In order to address consumers’ desire to buy healthy vegetables and fruits, i.e., without chemical residues, and to develop environment-friendly agriculture, major research efforts are being made to find alternative methods to reduce or suppress the use of chemicals. Many methods are currently being tested. Among these methods, some are being tested in order to modify plant physiology to render it less susceptible to pathogen and pest attacks by developing plant immunity. An emerging potentially interesting method that is being studied at this time is mechanical stimuli (MS). Although the number of articles on the effect of MS on plant immunity is still not large, it has been reported that several types of mechanical stimuli induce a reduction of plant susceptibility to pests for different plant species in the case of wounding and non-wounding stimuli. This mini review aims to summarize the knowledge available at this time by raising questions that should be addressed before considering MS as an operable alternative method to increase plant immunity for crop protection.
Ritual Treatment of Fortunate and Unfortunate Dead by the Chinese Redemptive Society Déjiāo in Thailand
Authors: Formoso Bernard
Published: May 2020

This paper compares the ritual management of fortunate and unfortunate dead (hungry ghosts) by a Chinese new religious movement named Déjiāo 徳教 (lit. Teaching of Virtue), which emerged in Chaozhou (the northeast of Guangdong province) in 1939, before spreading to Southeast Asia after World War II. Based on ethnographic data collected in Chaozhou and Thailand between 1993 and 2005, the analysis reveals significant differences concerning both the ideological and performative aspects of the ritual processing of the two categories of dead. The funeral care of orphaned dead by Déjiāo conforms to the Chaozhou tradition of xiū gūgú 修孤骨, a festival of second burial allegedly devised during the Song dynasty by a local Buddhist monk; most of his sequences require the activity of mediums. Turned toward the salvation of the unfortunate dead, this festival was enriched by a universalist ambition through its adaptation to the Thai context. In doing so, it perfectly expresses the moral and religious goals of Déjiāo, one of the most active Chinese redemptive societies.
The Dialectical of Life and Death in Contemporary Sōka Gakkai
Authors: Fisker-Nielsen Anne Mette
Published: May 2020

Doctrinal reasoning, the practice of chanting nam-myōho-renge-kyō and its vision for kōsen-rufu has been how Sōka Gakkai (SG) promulgated Nichiren Buddhism. This paper explores, in an in-depth anthropological manner, how doctrinal issues matter significantly in the meaning of funeral practices in contemporary SG. So-called Friend Funerals have become widely common and demonstrate how SG members’ understanding of death and mortuary rites differ in some significant ways from common practices in Japan. To understand why specific funeral rituals are not in and of themselves considered of primary importance when a person dies in SG, this paper discusses its reading of key tenants of Nichiren Buddhism. What hotoke or buddha means is commonly seen in Japan as something achieved upon death facilitated by specific funeral rites. How such views fundamentally differ in SG is explored here based on long-term fieldwork and participant observation, as well as interviews and review of its doctrine. The research suggests that SG members engage in a cross-generational endeavour for kōsen-rufu where personal actions—what could be described as the ‘political’ existence of this life—matters but in a non-dualistic way as this simultaneously becomes the sphere that ‘transcends’ that contemporary existence. How one views death is not only seen as something relevant at the end of life, nor only to those remaining, but is taken as a reality that becomes the impetus for giving deeper meaning to how one acts in daily life as part of a cross-generational movement.
LIDAR Scan Matching in Off-Road Environments
Authors: Fu Hao , Yu Rui
Published: May 2020

Accurately matching the LIDAR scans is a critical step for an Autonomous Land Vehicle (ALV). Whilst most previous works have focused on the urban environment, this paper focuses on the off-road environment. Due to the lack of a publicly available dataset for algorithm comparison, a dataset containing LIDAR pairs with varying amounts of offsets in off-road environments is firstly constructed. Several popular scan matching approaches are then evaluated using this dataset. Results indicate that global approaches, such as Correlative Scan Matching (CSM), perform best on large offset datasets, whilst local scan matching approaches perform better on small offset datasets. To combine the merits of both approaches, a two-stage fusion algorithm is designed. In the first stage, several transformation candidates are sampled from the score map of the CSM algorithm. Local scan matching approaches then start from these transformation candidates to obtain the final results. Four performance indicators are also designed to select the best transformation. Experiments on a real-world dataset prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Erratum: Wang, S., et al. Improved Winter Wheat Spatial Distribution Extraction Using a Convolutional Neural Network and Partly Connected Conditional Random Field. Remote Sensing 2020, 12, 821
Authors: Wang Shouyi , Xu Zhigang , Zhang Chengming , Wang Yuanyuan , Gao Shuai , Yin Hao , Zhang Ziyun
Published: May 2020

After re-considering the contribution of Jinghan Zhang, Zhongshan Mu, and Tianyu Zhao, respectively, we wish to remove them from the authorship of our paper [...]
A New Identification Method for Surface Cracks from UAV Images Based on Machine Learning in Coal Mining Areas
Authors: Zhang Fan , Hu Zhenqi , Fu Yaokun , Yang Kun , Wu Qunying , Feng Zewei
Published: May 2020

Obtaining real-time, objective, and high-precision distribution information of surface cracks in mining areas is the first task for studying the development regularity of surface cracks and evaluating the risk. The complex geological environment in the mining area leads to low accuracy and efficiency of the existing extracting cracks methods from unmanned air vehicle (UAV) images. Therefore, this manuscript proposes a new identification method of surface cracks from UAV images based on machine learning in coal mining areas. First, the acquired UAV image is cut into small sub-images, and divided into four datasets according to the characteristics of background information: Bright Ground, Dark Dround, Withered Vegetation, and Green Vegetation. Then, for each dataset, a training sample is established with cracks and no cracks as labels and the RGB (red, green, and blue) three-band value of the sub-image as feature. Finally, the best machine learning algorithms, dimensionality reduction methods and image processing techniques are obtained through comparative analysis. The results show that using the V-SVM (Support vector machine with V as penalty function) machine learning algorithm, principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce the full features to 95% of the original variance, and image color enhancement by Laplace sharpening, the overall accuracy could reach 88.99%. This proves that the method proposed in this manuscript can achieve high-precision crack extraction from UAV image.
Assessing the Repeatability of Automated Seafloor Classification Algorithms, with Application in Marine Protected Area Monitoring
Authors: Zelada Leon America , Huvenne Veerle A.I. , Benoist Noëlie M.A. , Ferguson Matthew , Bett Brian J. , Wynn Russell B.
Published: May 2020

The number and areal extent of marine protected areas worldwide is rapidly increasing as a result of numerous national targets that aim to see up to 30% of their waters protected by 2030. Automated seabed classification algorithms are arising as faster and objective methods to generate benthic habitat maps to monitor these areas. However, no study has yet systematically compared their repeatability. Here we aim to address that problem by comparing the repeatability of maps derived from acoustic datasets collected on consecutive days using three automated seafloor classification algorithms: (1) Random Forest (RF), (2) K–Nearest Neighbour (KNN) and (3) K means (KMEANS). The most robust and repeatable approach is then used to evaluate the change in seafloor habitats between 2012 and 2015 within the Greater Haig Fras Marine Conservation Zone, Celtic Sea, UK. Our results demonstrate that only RF and KNN provide statistically repeatable maps, with 60.3% and 47.2% agreement between consecutive days. Additionally, this study suggests that in low-relief areas, bathymetric derivatives are non-essential input parameters, while backscatter textural features, in particular Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrices, are substantially more effective in the detection of different habitats. Habitat persistence in the test area between 2012 and 2015 was 48.8%, with swapping of habitats driving the changes in 38.2% of the area. Overall, this study highlights the importance of investigating the repeatability of automated seafloor classification methods before they can be fully used in the monitoring of benthic habitats.
Classification Endmember Selection with Multi-Temporal Hyperspectral Data
Authors: Jiang Tingxuan , van der Werff Harald , van der Meer Freek
Published: May 2020

In hyperspectral image classification, so-called spectral endmembers are used as reference data. These endmembers are either extracted from an image or taken from another source. Research has shown that endmembers extracted from an image usually perform best when classifying a single image. However, it is unclear if this also holds when classifying multi-temporal hyperspectral datasets. In this paper, we use spectral angle mapper, which is a frequently used classifier for hyperspectral datasets to classify multi-temporal airborne visible/infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS) hyperspectral imagery. Three classifications are done on each of the images with endmembers being extracted from the corresponding image, and three more classifications are done on the three images while using averaged endmembers. We apply image-to-image registration and change detection to analyze the consistency of the classification results. We show that the consistency of classification accuracy using the averaged endmembers (around 65%) outperforms the classification results generated using endmembers that are extracted from each image separately (around 40%). We conclude that, for multi-temporal datasets, it is better to have an endmember collection that is not directly from the image, but is processed to a representative average.
Real Time Monitoring of Calcium Oxalate Precipitation Reaction by Using Corrosion Resistant Magnetoelastic Resonance Sensors
Authors: Sisniega Beatriz , Sagasti Sedano Ariane , Gutiérrez Jon , García-Arribas Alfredo
Published: May 2020

The magnetoelastic resonance is used to monitor the precipitation reaction of calcium oxalate ( C a C 2 O 4 ) crystals in real-time, by measuring the shift of the resonance frequency caused by the mass increase on the resonator. With respect to previous work on the same matter, the novelty lies in the adoption of an amorphous ferromagnetic alloy, of composition F e 73 C r 5 S i 10 B 12 , as resonator, that replaces the commercial Metglas® 2826 alloy (composition F e 40 N i 38 M o 4 B 18 ). The enhanced corrosion resistance of this material allows it to be used in biological environments without any pre-treatment of its surface. Additionally, the measurement method, which has been specifically adapted to this application, allows quick registration of the whole resonance curve as a function of the excitation frequency, and thus enhances the resolution and decreases the detection noise. The frequency shift is calibrated by the static deposition of well-known masses of C a C 2 O 4 . The resonator dimensions have been selected to improve sensitivity. A 20 mm long, 2 mm wide and 25 μ m thick magnetoelastic resonator has been used to monitor the precipitation reaction of calcium oxalate in a 500 s time interval. The results of the detected precipitated mass when oxalic acid and calcium chloride are mixed in different concentrations (30 mM, 50 mM and 100 mM) are presented as a function of time. The results show that the sensor is capable of monitoring the precipitation reaction. The mass sensitivity obtained, and the corrosion resistance of the material, suggest that this material can perform excellently in monitoring this type of reaction.
Magnetoelectric Vortex Magnetic Field Sensors Based on the Metglas/PZT Laminates
Authors: Huong Giang Do Thi , Tam Ho Anh , Ngoc Khanh Vu Thi , Vinh Nguyen Trong , Anh Tuan Phung , Van Tuan Nguyen , Thi Ngoc Nguyen , Duc Nguyen Huu
Published: May 2020

This paper describes the route, from simulations toward experiments, for optimizing the magnetoelectric (ME) geometries for vortex magnetic field sensors. The research is performed on the base of the Metglas/Piezoelectric (PZT) laminates in both open and closed magnetic circuit (OMC and CMC) geometries with different widths (W), lengths (L), and diameters (D). Among these geometries, the CMC laminates demonstrate advantages not only in their magnetic flux distribution, but also in their sensitivity and in their independence of the position of the vortex center. In addition, the ME voltage signal is found to be enhanced by increasing the magnetostrictive volume fraction. Optimal issues are incorporated to realize a CMC-based ME double sandwich current sensor in the ring shape with D × W = 6 mm × 1.5 mm and four layers of Metglas. At the resonant frequency of 174.4 kHz, this sensor exhibits the record sensitivity of 5.426 V/A as compared to variety of devices such as the CMC ME sensor family, fluxgate, magnetoresistive, and Hall-effect-based devices. It opens a potential to commercialize a new generation of ME-based current and (or) vortex magnetic sensors.
Vision-Based Safety-Related Sensors in Low Visibility by Fog
Authors: Kim Bong Keun , Sumi Yasushi
Published: May 2020

Mobile service robots are expanding their use to outdoor areas affected by various weather conditions, but the outdoor environment directly affects the functional safety of robots implemented by vision-based safety-related sensors (SRSs). Therefore, this paper aims to set the fog as the environmental condition of the robot and to understand the relationship between the quantified value of the environmental conditions and the functional safety performance of the robot. To this end, the safety functions of the robot built using SRS and the requirements for the outdoor environment affecting them are described first. The method of controlling visibility for evaluating the safety function of SRS is described through the measurement and control of visibility, a quantitative means of expressing the concentration of fog, and wavelength analysis of various SRS light sources. Finally, object recognition experiments using vision-based SRS for robots are conducted at low visibility. Through this, it is verified that the proposed method is a specific and effective method for verifying the functional safety of the robot using the vision-based SRS, for low visibility environmental requirements.
Indoor Radio Map Construction Based on Position Adjustment and Equipment Calibration
Authors: Guo Ruolin , Qin Danyang , Zhao Min , Wang Xinxin
Published: May 2020

The crowdsourcing-based wireless local area network (WLAN) indoor localization system has been widely promoted for the effective reduction of the workload from the offline phase data collection while constructing radio maps. Aiming at the problem of the diverse terminal devices and the inaccurate location annotation of the crowdsourced samples, which will result in the construction of the wrong radio map, an effective indoor radio map construction scheme (RMPAEC) is proposed based on position adjustment and equipment calibration. The RMPAEC consists of three main modules: terminal equipment calibration, pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) estimated position adjustment, and fingerprint amendment. A position adjustment algorithm based on selective particle filtering is used by RMPAEC to reduce the cumulative error in PDR tracking. Moreover, an inter-device calibration algorithm is put forward based on receiver pattern analysis to obtain a device-independent grid fingerprint. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed solution achieves higher localization accuracy than the peer schemes, and it possesses good effectiveness at the same time.
A Cycle Slip Repair Method Against Ionospheric Effects and Observational Noises for BDS Triple-Frequency Undifferenced Phases
Authors: Li Dehai , Mi Jinzhong , Cheng Pengfei , Yuan Yunbin , Gan Xingli
Published: May 2020

The cycle slip detection (CSD) and cycle slip repair (CSR) are easily affected by ionospheric delay and observational noise. Aiming at mitigating the above disadvantage, a new BeiDou navigation satellite system (BDS) triple-frequency CSR method (BTCSR) is proposed for the undifferenced phase. BTCSR learns from the classic triple-frequency CSR (CTCSR), with combinations of phases and pseudoranges in correcting ionospheric delay and optimizing observational noise. Different from CTCSR, though, BTCSR has made the following improvements: (1) An optimal model of calculating cycle slip combination is established, which further takes into account the minimization of the effect of residual ionospheric error after the correction. The calculation of cycle slip combination is obtained with the root mean squared errors (0.0646, 0.1261, 0.1069) of cycles, resulting in CSR success rate of 99.9927%, and the wavelengths (4.8842,3.5738,8.1403) of m. (2) A discriminant function is added to guarantee the CSR correctness. This function utilizes epoch-difference value of the ionosphere-free and geometry-free phase to select the correct cycle slip value, which eliminates the interference of large pseudorange errors in determining the final cycle slip. Consequently, the performances of BTCSR and CTCSR have been compared. For the real BDS pseudorange observation with additional 1.5 m errors, which can cover situations of 99.96% pseudorange noise, results of CTCSR show failure, but results of BTCSR keep correct. Moreover, BTCSR has made the following improvements relative to the geometry-free cycle slip detection method (GFCSD) and Melboune–Wubbena cycle slip combination detection method (MWCSD): (1) During a moderate magnetic storm of level 6, CSR testing, with the BDS monitoring station in a low latitude region, showed that some failures occur in GFCSD because of severe ionospheric variation, but BTCSR could correctly identify and fix cycle slips. (2) For the BDS observation data with an additional 1.5 m error on the actual pseudoranges, MWCSD exhibited failures, but the repair results of BTCSR were correct and reliable. (3) For the special slips of (0,59,62) cycles, and equal slips of (1,1,1) cycles on (B1,B2,B3), that are hard to detect by GFCSD and MWCSD, respectively, BTCSR could repair these correctly. Finally, BTCSR obtains reliable repair results under large pseudorange errors and severe ionospheric variations, and the cut-off elevation larger than 10 degrees is the suggested background.
Design of a Tri-Axial Surface Micromachined MEMS Vibrating Gyroscope
Authors: Crescenzi Rocco , Castellito Giuseppe Vincenzo , Quaranta Simone , Balucani Marco
Published: May 2020

Gyroscopes are one of the next killer applications for the MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems) sensors industry. Many mature applications have already been developed and produced in limited volumes for the automotive, consumer, industrial, medical, and military markets. Plenty of high-volume applications, over 100 million per year, have been calling for low-cost gyroscopes. Bulk silicon is a promising candidate for low-cost gyroscopes due to its large scale availability and maturity of its manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, it is not suitable for a real monolithic IC integration and requires a dedicated packaging. New designs are supposed to eliminate the need for magnets and metal case package, and allow for a real monolithic MEMS-IC (Integrated Circuit) electronic system. In addition, a drastic cost reduction could be achieved by utilizing off-the-shelf plastic packaging with lead frames for the final assembly. The present paper puts forward the design of a novel tri-axial gyroscope based on rotating comb-drives acting as both capacitive sensors and actuators. The comb-drives are comprised of a single monolithic moving component (rotor) and fixed parts (stators). The former is made out of different concentrated masses connected by curved silicon beams in order to decouple the motion signals. The sensor was devised to be fabricated through the PolyMUMPs® process and it is intended for working in air in order to semplify the MEMS-IC monolithic integration.
Dietary Intake of Gaelic Football Players during Game Preparation and Recovery
Authors: Ó Catháin Ciarán , Fleming James , Renard Michèle , Kelly David T.
Published: May 2020

It is well established that dietary intake can influence performance and modulate recovery in field-based invasion team sports such as soccer and rugby. However, very limited research currently exists examining dietary intake of Gaelic football players. This research aimed to examine the dietary intake of Gaelic football players 2 days prior to competition, on game day, and for 2 days post-competition. A five-day paper-based food diary was completed by 45 players (25 elite and 20 sub-elite). Preliminary inspection of diaries eliminated 11 participants, and analysis of Goldberg cut-offs identified 1 player as an under-reporter, leaving 33 players in the final analysis. Playing level had no effect on energy, carbohydrate, or fat intake. Average intake of energy was 2938 ± 618 kcal.day−1, carbohydrate was 3.7 ± 1.42 g.kgbm−1.day−1, and fat was 1.34 ± 0.61 g.kgbm−1.day−1. However, elite players consumed 24.1% more protein than sub-elite players (2.2 ± 0.67 vs. 1.8 ± 0.62 g.kgbm−1.day−1). Regardless of playing level, players consumed inadequate amounts of carbohydrate to support optimal performance and recovery and consumed protein and fat in line with general sport nutrition guidelines. Given the unique demands placed on Gaelic football players, it may be necessary to develop nutrition guidelines specific to Gaelic football. Additionally, the design and implementation of Gaelic football-specific education-based interventions may be necessary to address the highlighted nutritional inadequacies.
Towards Identifying the Soft Skills Needed in Curricula: Finnish and Italian Students’ Self-Evaluations Indicate Differences between Groups
Authors: Caggiano Valeria , Schleutker Kai , Petrone Loredana , González-Bernal Jerónimo
Published: May 2020

Background: The identification of soft skills by Higher Education (HE) students is important for curriculum design, as is to evaluate if the students’ soft skills are adapted to the needs of the socioeconomic environment. This paper presents a study conducted to determine to what extent Finnish and Italian students’ perceptions of their own soft skills differ. Methods: The cohort of the study consisted of 80 Finnish and 80 Italian HE students. Results: The results reveal that, regardless of cultural aspects, both groups share specific soft skills whilst showing significant differences in others. The observed differences in the profiles of the two countries are explained on the basis of the cultural and curricula design frameworks that are well established in Finland and Italy. Conclusions: The implications of the findings for HE teachers and researchers are presented, which may bear relevance in guiding the implementation of curriculum design in Finland, Italy and beyond.
Influences of the Industry 4.0 Revolution on the Human Capital Development and Consumer Behavior: A Systematic Review
Authors: Sima Violeta , Gheorghe Ileana Georgiana , Subić Jonel , Nancu Dumitru
Published: May 2020

Automation and digitalization, as long-term evolutionary processes, cause significant effects, such as the transformation of occupations and job profiles, changes to employment forms, and a more significant role for the platform economy, generating challenges for social policy. This systematic literature review aims to provide an overview of the research to date related to influences of the Industry 4.0 Revolution on human capital development and consumer behavior. A search on the Web of Science identified 160 papers that met the inclusion criteria. The major objectives aimed to identify: the main types of influences of the Industry 4.0 Revolution on human capital development and consumer behavior; the main opportunities and challenges for new directions in education associated with shifting the work environment; and the drivers for human capital development and consumer behavior through the lenses of the Industry 4.0 Revolution. The results revealed some key aspects for the development of human capital: information, new jobs, the Internet, technology, training, education, new skills, automation, communication, innovativeness, professionals, productivity, artificial intelligence, digitalization, e-recruitment, and the Internet of Things, as well as the main drivers of consumer behavior: information, e-commerce, digitalization, the Internet of Things, e-distribution, technology, digitalization, automation, personalized, performance, artificial intelligence, behavior intention, e-shopping, and data mining.
Energy Poverty in European Union: Assessment Difficulties, Effects on the Quality of Life, Mitigation Measures. Some Evidences from Romania
Authors: Neacsa Adrian , Panait Mirela , Muresan Jianu Daniel , Voica Marian Catalin
Published: May 2020

The scope of this research is to explore the relations between energy poverty, quality of life and renewable energy. First, an analysis of concept evolution, economic and social implications and the difficulties in assessing energy poverty was conducted by analyzing the data from Eurostat regarding electricity prices for households and arrears on utility bills between 2009 and 2018 and the solutions for combating energy poverty from the EU. In the next part, a cross-country analysis regarding Granger causality between indicators representing all three dimensions was conducted. The period of the analysis was between 2010 and 2019 for the 28 EU member states. In the final part of the article, the situation of Romania was analyzed. The phenomenon of energy poverty is not marginal but is underestimated and superficially approached. Starting from the dominant discussions on the concepts and tools practiced at international level, this article makes a proposal for a working model for various regions in Romania, taking in consideration the financial potential of the geographic areas and the possibilities of accessing unconventional energies by local communities. Through a case study based on the analysis of relevant energy resource statistics, the article identifies main shortcomings and opportunities for Romania and proposes concrete recommendations of sustainable public policies on the elimination of energy poverty. In some geographic areas where this was not possible, we propose how to diminish the effects of this social phenomenon. Our proposals for the case study focus on supporting populations in areas where access to energy sources is difficult and there is a lack of energy infrastructure, the government programs being an alternative to access green (renewable) energies. Even if this may seem expensive to some specialists in the economy, access to energy sources of any kind brings social advantages by improving quality of life-in this case, a real victory in the fight against energy poverty.
Physical Responsibility Versus Financial Responsibility of Producers for E-Wastes
Authors: Rau Hsin , Bisnar Athena Rhae , Velasco Jan Patrick
Published: May 2020

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a legislative mandate that requires a producer to be accountable for the whole life cycle of its product—from product design to final disposal. The EPR system is imposed to solve the problem of the growing e-waste in different areas of the world. Different countries have different system designs and approaches in EPR, depending on the country’s legislation, customer demand, incentives, and resources; it can either be a physical responsibility or a financial responsibility. Physical responsibility is when the producers are responsible for the physical movements of the e-wastes necessary, while financial responsibility is when the producers are financially supporting all the costs needed to successfully fulfil the EPR goals. In this study, we will determine which type of EPR system is better by doing a comparison on its social welfare value using a social welfare model. This study uses a notebook computer as an example, and based on our analysis, we conclude that the physical responsibility is better if and only if the rate of return of e-waste is equal to or greater than a certain percentage. Otherwise, the financial responsibility model outperforms the physical responsibility model. A sensitivity analysis is also carried for each parameter used in the two models for determining the significance.
Wearable Sensor Data-Driven Walkability Assessment for Elderly People
Authors: Kim Hyunsoo
Published: May 2020

Active living improves the lives and social networks of the elderly. In terms of active living, walkability is an essential element in the daily life of the elderly. To support active living, it is important to create an age-friendly environment. Considering that the elderly carry out a large part of their activities by walking, a good walkable environment is one of the most important elements of an age-friendly environment. Existing studies have involved surveys of experts, audit tools, and questionnaires. However, despite their merits, current methods of measuring walkability remain limited as they do not include the actual walking activity of the elderly. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of using a wearable sensor to measure the walking of the elderly quantitatively, and to compare different walking environments based on data collected from their actual walking. To accomplish this, experiments were conducted in four types of environments with 30 elderly subjects. During the experiments, the subjects were asked to attach a smartphone that includes an inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMU sensor collected the body movement using tri-axial accelerations. The collected data were used to calculate walkability by investigating how constant a subject’s walking pattern is. The consistency of pattern can be regarded as gait stability that can be quantitatively measured via the maximum Lyapunov exponent (MaxLE—a metric used for measuring the stability of human body during locomotion. As a result of the experiment, it was found that the stability of walking of elderly people differs according to the walking environment, which means that by investigating the stability the current conditions of a specific walking environment can be inferred. This result helps improve the active life of the elderly by providing opportunities for continuous diagnosis of the walking environment.
A New Comprehensive Approach for Efficient Road Vehicle Procurement Using Hybrid DANP-TOPSIS Method
Authors: Stokic Marko , Vujanovic Davor , Sekulic Dragan
Published: May 2020

The efficient vehicle procurement is an important business segment of different companies with their own vehicle fleet. It has a significant influence on reducing transport and maintenance costs and on increasing the fleet’s energy efficiency. It is indispensable that managers consider various criteria from several aspects when procuring a vehicle. In that sense, we defined 13 relevant criteria and divided them into four multidisciplinary aspects: Construction-technical, financial, operational, and environmental. Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory-Based Analytic Network Process (DANP) method was applied to evaluate the significance of defined criteria and aspects and their interdependency. It is established that the three most important criteria for vehicle procurement are vehicle price, vehicle maintenance, and vehicle selling price. The most important aspect is construction technical aspect, while the aspect of the environment is the least important. The Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was used to rank eight different vehicles, which were considered by vehicle fleet manager at the observed company. This model assists fleet managers in the selection of the most suitable vehicle for procurement, while significantly reducing decision-making time and simultaneously observing all necessary criteria and their weights. Moreover, we have considered 10 different scenarios to establish whether and how the rank of the observed alternatives would change.
Soft Computing Applications in Air Quality Modeling: Past, Present, and Future
Authors: Rahman Muhammad Muhitur , Shafiullah Md , Rahman Syed Masiur , Khondaker Abu Nasser , Amao Abduljamiu , Zahir Md. Hasan
Published: May 2020

Air quality models simulate the atmospheric environment systems and provide increased domain knowledge and reliable forecasting. They provide early warnings to the population and reduce the number of measuring stations. Due to the complexity and non-linear behavior associated with air quality data, soft computing models became popular in air quality modeling (AQM). This study critically investigates, analyses, and summarizes the existing soft computing modeling approaches. Among the many soft computing techniques in AQM, this article reviews and discusses artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), evolutionary ANN and SVM, the fuzzy logic model, neuro-fuzzy systems, the deep learning model, ensemble, and other hybrid models. Besides, it sheds light on employed input variables, data processing approaches, and targeted objective functions during modeling. It was observed that many advanced, reliable, and self-organized soft computing models like functional network, genetic programming, type-2 fuzzy logic, genetic fuzzy, genetic neuro-fuzzy, and case-based reasoning are rarely explored in AQM. Therefore, the partially explored and unexplored soft computing techniques can be appropriate choices for research in the field of air quality modeling. The discussion in this paper will help to determine the suitability and appropriateness of a particular model for a specific modeling context.
An Investigation of Lecturers’ Teaching through English Medium of Instruction—A Case of Higher Education in China
Authors: Chen Haijiao , Han Jinghe , Wright David
Published: May 2020

Teaching through English Medium of Instruction (EMI) is a theory-based pedagogy that has been adopted in many European and Asian countries as a strategic initiative in educational internationalization. To date, there has been little research into EMI in-class teaching and learning. In effect, lived experiences in EMI in-class practice have been largely ignored. To address this gap, we reported on a case study that explored the linguistic and pedagogical characteristics of EMI lecturers’ teaching in a university in southern China. Twenty academic staff in the university’s EMI programs were recruited. Their in-class EMI teaching processes were observed and audio-recorded. The data was analyzed by drawing upon multilingualism and instructional design theories. This research found that Chinese EMI lecturers’ bilingual repertoire led to their English instruction featuring Chinese language influences, from pronunciation to syntax and that translanguaging strategies were purposively employed to achieve their goals including students’ cognitive understanding, affiliative bonds and the lecturers’ own survival for teaching. Further, that and the instruction applied in the EMI classes were more topic-centered than problem-centered, focusing on activating new learning and knowledge presentation through demonstration.
Exploring the Coordination Mechanism for Public Housing Supply with Urban Growth Management: A Case Study of Chongqing, China
Authors: Wang Wei , Wu Yuzhe
Published: May 2020

While urbanization acts as an engine of economic growth, rising inequality and exclusion within cities derails development progress. In the past 30 years, the population in China has converged to large-scale cities, which brought a severe housing issue, not least for migrants. In order to relieve the tension between the increasing demand for housing and the scarcity of urban resources, research on housing policy in response to urban growth is a matter of cardinal significance. This paper made an effort to explore the mechanism of public housing policies coordinated with urban growth management. Taking Chongqing City as the study area, the system dynamics model was adopted in exploring the coordination mechanism. The impact of the two policies were simulated, including the urban population control and public housing supply. The results indicated that the combined policy could more effectively cope with the possible urban housing crisis under the long-term trend, and promote urban inclusive growth. Meanwhile, the starting time of intervention also has a significant impact on the policy effect. This study shares China’s experience and provides reference for other developing countries to pursue socio-economic sustainability in the process of urbanization.
The Reciprocal Involvement of Family Business Owners and Communities in Business Success
Authors: Johnson Jorgensen Jennifer , Masuo Diane , Manikowske Linda , Lee Yoon
Published: May 2020

It is believed that highly involved business owners and community members will yield benefits to ensure business and community sustainability over time. However, little research has delved into understanding the role of business owners’ involvement and the community’s involvement in business outcomes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the reciprocal involvement of family business owners and the community. To investigate this phenomenon, this study utilized survey data from a rare group of business owners who currently operate long-standing businesses. Results indicate that more involved business owners perceived higher levels of business success. When seeking a profit, business owners also tended to be more involved in the community than owners not seeking a profit. However, family-owned businesses felt that the community did not contribute to their businesses and did not stay involved over time. Overall, business owners felt that they contributed more than the community provided in return. Recommendation is made to stress in entrepreneurship curricula the importance of reciprocal involvement between businesses and their communities and vice versa to promote business and community sustainability over time.
Seawater Fluorescence Near Oil Occurrence
Authors: Baszanowska Emilia , Otremba Zbigniew
Published: May 2020

Petroleum and its related products pose a serious pollution risk to the world’s seas and require a simple, rapid detection method. This is a difficult task if the pollution is under the water surface. One common approach to oil detection is excitation-emission spectroscopy (EEMs) of seawater exposed to oil for analyzing the fluorometric index (FIo/w) as a potential indicator of oil presence in the marine environment. In this paper, FIo/w was determined for both natural seawater and samples of the same water, but exposed to a relatively small portion of oil. The water samples were collected from the coastal and port waters of the Gdynia region (Southern Baltic Sea) from five stations, four times at two-week intervals. FIo/w indicates the changes between seawater sampled from the marine environment and the same seawater polluted with oil substances. Moreover, the obtained FIo/w values do not depend on the point and time of sampling. In all cases of seawater exposed to oil, significantly higher FIo/w values were observed than for unpolluted seawater. Moreover, the detection of oil by analyzing the value of FIo/w is efficient if the oil-to-water weight ratio is close to or above 5 × 10−6.