bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Methanol, Ethanol, and Formic Acid Oxidation on New Platinum-Containing Catalysts
Authors: Menshikov Vladislav S. , Novomlinsky Ivan N. , Belenov Sergey V. , Alekseenko Anastasya A. , Safronenko Olga I. , Guterman Vladimir E.
Published: January 2021

Electrooxidation of methanol, ethanol, and formic acid was studied on three platinum-containing electrocatalysts: PtCu/C, Pt/(SnO2/C), and Pt/C, Pt content being about 20 wt%. In all reactions, the integral specific activity of the catalysts, estimated from the results of cyclic voltammetry, grows in the Pt/C < Pt/(SnO2/C) < PtCu/C row. The influence of the reagent nature subjected to electrooxidation is manifested both in the difference of the absolute rate values of the corresponding reactions, decreasing in the order CH3OH > HCOOH > C2H5OH, and in the different ratio of these rates on different catalysts and at different potentials. Pt/(SnO2/C) catalyst containing SnO2 nanoparticles is the most active among the studied catalysts in methanol and formic acid electrooxidation reactions under potentiostatic conditions at the E = 0.60 V. Moreover, in formic acid electrooxidation reaction it is significantly superior to even the PtRu/C commercial catalyst. The reasons for the positive influence of Cu atoms and SnO2 nanoparticles on the catalytic activity of platinum are presumably associated with different effects: Interaction of the d-orbitals of copper and platinum atoms in bimetallic nanoparticles and implementation of the bifunctional catalysis mechanism on the adjacent platinum and tin dioxide nanoparticles.
AFX Zeolite for Use as a Support of NH3-SCR Catalyst Mining through AICE Joint Research Project of Industries–Academia–Academia
Authors: Ogura Masaru , Shimada Yumiko , Ohnishi Takeshi , Nakazawa Naoto , Kubota Yoshihiro , Yokoi Toshiyuki , Ehara Masahiro , Shimizu Kenichi , Tsunoji Nao
Published: January 2021

This paper introduces a joint industries–academia–academia research project started by researchers in several automobile companies and universities working on a single theme. Our first target was to find a zeolite for NH3-SCR, that is, zeolite mining. Zeolite AFX, having the same topology of SSZ-16, was found to be the one of the zeolites. SSZ-16 can be synthesized by using an organic structure-directing agent such as 1,1′-tetramethylenebis(1-azonia-4-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane; Dab-4, resulting in the formation of Al-rich SSZ-16 with Si/Al below five. We found that AFX crystallized by use of N,N,N′,N′-tetraethylbicyclo[2.2.2]oct-7-ene-2,3:5,6-dipyrrolidinium ion, called TEBOP in this study, had the same analog as SSZ-16 having Si/Al around six and a smaller particle size than SSZ-16. The AFX demonstrated a high performance for NH3-SCR as the zeolitic support to load a large number of divalent Cu ionic species with high hydrothermal stability.
Ultralow Loading Ruthenium on Alumina Monoliths for Facile, Highly Recyclable Reduction of p-Nitrophenol
Authors: Shultz Lorianne R. , Feit Corbin , Stanberry Jordan , Gao Zhengning , Xie Shaohua , Anagnostopoulos Vasileios A. , Liu Fudong , Banerjee Parag , Jurca Titel
Published: January 2021

The pervasive use of toxic nitroaromatics in industrial processes and their prevalence in industrial effluent has motivated the development of remediation strategies, among which is their catalytic reduction to the less toxic and synthetically useful aniline derivatives. While this area of research has a rich history with innumerable examples of active catalysts, the majority of systems rely on expensive precious metals and are submicron- or even a few-nanometer-sized colloidal particles. Such systems provide invaluable academic insight but are unsuitable for practical application. Herein, we report the fabrication of catalysts based on ultralow loading of the semiprecious metal ruthenium on 2–4 mm diameter spherical alumina monoliths. Ruthenium loading is achieved by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and catalytic activity is benchmarked using the ubiquitous para-nitrophenol, NaBH4 aqueous reduction protocol. Recyclability testing points to a very robust catalyst system with intrinsic ease of handling.
Microwave-Assisted Continuous Flow for the Selective Oligomerization of Glycerol
Authors: Nguyen Remi , Galy Nicolas , Alasmary Fatmah Ali , Len Christophe
Published: January 2021

The continuous oligomerization of glycerol for the formation of polyglycerol was carried out for the first time under microwave activation. In the presence of potassium carbonate, we studied the ease of handling, effects of temperature, flow rate and residence time of an inexpensive homogeneous commercial catalyst. The main linear and branched-chain diglycerol and triglycerol regioisomers were characterized and the quantification of the different isomers was realized. Successive cyclic mode processes followed by short distance distillation allowed the mixture to be enriched with glycerol ethers and thus to obtain a mixture of diglycerol (50.2 wt%), triglycerol (22.1 wt%), tetraglycerol (9.5 wt%), and pentaglycerol (4.3 wt%).
Immune Infiltrates in Breast Cancer: Recent Updates and Clinical Implications
Authors: Dieci Maria Vittoria , Miglietta Federica , Guarneri Valentina
Published: January 2021

In recent decades, the increasing interest in the field of immunotherapy has fostered an intense investigation of the breast cancer (BC) immune microenvironment. In this context, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) have emerged as a clinically relevant and highly reproducible biomarker capable of affecting BC prognosis and response to treatment. Indeed, the evaluation of TILs on primary tumors proved to be strongly prognostic in triple-negative (TN) BC patients treated with either adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, as well as in early TNBC patients not receiving any systemic treatment, thus gaining level-1b evidence in this setting. In addition, a strong relationship between TILs and pathologic complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been reported in all BC subtypes and the prognostic role of higher TILs in early HER2-positive breast cancer patients has also been demonstrated. The interest in BC immune infiltrates has been further fueled by the introduction of the first immune checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment armamentarium of advanced TNBC in patients with PD-L1-positive status by FDA-approved assays. However, despite these advances, a biomarker capable of reliably and exhaustively predicting immunotherapy benefit in BC is still lacking, highlighting the imperative need to further deepen this issue. Finally, more comprehensive evaluation of immune infiltrates integrating both the quantity and quality of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and incorporation of TILs in composite scores encompassing other clinically or biologically relevant biomarkers, as well as the adoption of software-based and/or machine learning platforms for a more comprehensive characterization of BC immune infiltrates, are emerging as promising strategies potentially capable of optimizing patient selection and stratification in the research field. In the present review, we summarize available evidence and recent updates on immune infiltrates in BC, focusing on current clinical applications, potential clinical implications and major unresolved issues.
An Investigation on the Thermal and Solar Properties of Graphene-Coated Polyester Fabrics
Authors: Manasoglu Gizem , Celen Rumeysa , Kanik Mehmet , Ulcay Yusuf
Published: January 2021

In this study, coatings were made with graphene nanopowder in two different thicknesses (0.1 and 0.5 mm) at three different concentrations (50, 100 and 150 g/kg) on polyester woven fabrics. The effects of the coating thickness and graphene concentration were examined with optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The thermal stability properties of the samples were also evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Thermal conductivity was evaluated with two different principles: contact and radiant heat transfer, according to JIS R 2618 and EN ISO 6942, respectively. Solar measurements were performed with a Shimadzu UV-3600 Plus spectrophotometer. The graphene coating improved the thermal stability of the polyester fabrics. The solar absorbance value increased by 80% compared to reference fabrics, and reached approximately 90%. One of the important results was that the thermal conductivity coefficient increased by 87% and 262% for the two coating thicknesses, respectively.
A Method for Accelerated Natural Weathering of Wood Subsurface and Its Multilevel Characterization
Authors: Sandak Anna , Sandak Jakub , Noël Marion , Dimitriou Athanasios
Published: January 2021

The function of altering weathering factors and degradation mechanisms are essential for understanding the weathering process of materials. The goal of this work was to develop a method for the acceleration of natural weathering and to investigate the molecular, microstructure and macrostructure degradation of wood caused by the process. Tests were performed in the whole month of July, which, according to previous research, is considered as the most severe for weathering of wood micro-sections. Sample appearance was evaluated by colour measurement. Scanning electron microscopy was used for evaluation of the structural integrity and changes in the microstructure of wood morphological components. Changes on the molecular level were assessed by means of FT-IR spectroscopy. Observation of the effects of weathering allowed a better understanding of the degradation process. Typical structural damage, such as cracks on bordered pits and cross-field pits, and, as a consequence, their erosion, revealed the sequence of the degradation process. It was confirmed that earlywood was more susceptible to damage than latewood. Even if the weathering test was conducted for a relatively short time (28 days) the ultra-thin wood samples changed noticeably. The progress of alteration was similar as usually noticed for wood surfaces, but occurred at shorter exposure times. The estimated acceleration factor was ×3, compare to the natural weathering kinetics of wood. The research methodology presented can be used for the determination of the weather dose-response models essential to estimate the future service life performance of timber elements.
UV-Cured Biodegradable Methacrylated Starch-Based Coatings
Authors: Noè Camilla , Tonda-Turo Chiara , Carmagnola Irene , Hakkarainen Minna , Sangermano Marco
Published: January 2021

Promising UV-curable starch-based coatings were fabricated by utilizing methacrylated starch. The aqueous methacrylated starch solution was cast on a glass substrate, and UV-cured after drying. The efficiency of UV-curing process was monitored with gel percentage measurements. The thermal and mechanical properties of the fabricated UV-cured coatings were investigated through differential scanning calorimetry and tensile test and compared with the starch-based uncured casted coatings. A complete characterization of the surface properties was performed by means of pencil hardness, adhesion, solvent resistance, and surface tension measurements. The cross-linking by UV-curing significantly enhanced the mechanical and surface properties of the coating. The effect of UV-curing on the biodegradability of the coating was evaluated by following the enzymatic degradation by α-amylase by determining the amount of glucose and maltose released from the coatings. UV-cured methacrylated starch based coating with promising material and surface properties and retained biodegradation potential was demonstrated.
A Compromise Programming for Multi-Objective Task Assignment Problem
Authors: Ngo Son Tung , Jaafar Jafreezal , Aziz Izzatdin Abdul , Anh Bui Ngoc
Published: January 2021

The problem of scheduling is an area that has attracted a lot of attention from researchers for many years. Its goal is to optimize resources in the system. The lecturer’s assigning task is an example of the timetabling problem, a class of scheduling. This study introduces a mathematical model to assign constrained tasks (the time and required skills) to university lecturers. Our model is capable of generating a calendar that maximizes faculty expectations. The formulated problem is in the form of a multi-objective problem that requires the trade-off between two or more conflicting objectives to indicate the optimal solution. We use the compromise programming approach to the multi-objective problem to solve this. We then proposed the new version of the Genetic Algorithm to solve the introduced model. Finally, we tested the model and algorithm with real scheduling data, including 139 sections of 17 subjects to 27 lecturers in 10 timeslots. Finally, a web application supports the decision-maker to visualize and manipulate the obtained results.
Characterization and Antibacterial Response of Silver Nanoparticles Biosynthesized Using an Ethanolic Extract of Coccinia indica Leaves
Authors: Chinni Suresh V. , Gopinath Subash C. B. , Anbu Periasamy , Fuloria Neeraj Kumar , Fuloria Shivkanya , Mariappan Praveena , Krusnamurthy Kishonthani , Veeranjaneya Reddy Lebaka , Ramachawolran Gobinath , Sreeramanan Subramaniam , Samuggam Sumitha
Published: January 2021

The present study was planned to characterize and analyze the antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) biosynthesized using a Coccinia indica leaf (CIL) ethanolic extract. The present study included the preparation of CIL ethanolic extract using the maceration process, which was further used for AgNP biosynthesis by silver nitrate reduction. Biosynthetic AgNPs were characterized using UV–Visible spectrometry, zeta potential analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometry. The biogenic AgNP and CIL extracts were further investigated against different bacterial strains for their antimicrobial activity. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) signal at 425 nm confirmed AgNP formation. The SEM and TEM data revealed the spherical shape of biogenic AgNPs and size in the range of 8 to 48 nm. The EDX results verified the presence of Ag. The AgNPs displayed a zeta potential of −55.46 mV, suggesting mild AgNP stability. Compared to Gram-positive bacteria, the biogenic AgNPs demonstrated high antibacterial potential against Gram-negative bacteria. Based on the results, the current study concluded that AgNPs based on CIL extract have strong antibacterial potential, and it established that AgNP biosynthesis using CIL ethanol extract is an effective process.
Synthesis and Characterization of Polymeric (PMMA-PVA) Hybrid Thin Films Doped with TiO2 Nanoparticles Using Dip-Coating Technique
Authors: Alsaad Ahmad , Al Dairy Abdul Raouf , Ahmad Ahmad , Qattan Issam A. , Al Fawares Shatha , Al-Bataineh Qais
Published: January 2021

We report the synthesis of hybrid thin films based on Poly(MethylMethAcrylate) (PMMA) and Poly(VinylAlcohol) (PVA), doped with different concentrations of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs). As-prepared thin films of (PMMA-PVA) doped by TiO2 NPs (wt.% = 2%, 4%, 8%, and 16%) are deposited on glass substrate. Transmittance (T%), reflectance (R%), absorption coefficient (α), optical constants (n and k), and optical dielectric functions (ε1 and ε2) are deduced using the experimental transmittance and reflectance spectra. Furthermore, a combination of classical models such as Tauc, Urbach, Spitzer-Fan, and Drude models are applied to calculate the optical and optoelectronic parameters and the energy gaps of the prepared nanocomposite thin films. The optical bandgap energy of PMMA-PVA thin film is found to be 4.101 eV. Incorporation of TiO2 NPs into PMMA-PVA polymeric thin films leads to a decrease in the optical bandgap and thus bandgap engineering is possible. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) transmittance spectra of thin films are measured and interpreted to identify the vibrational modes. To elucidate the chemical stability, thermogravimetric (TGA) curves are measured. We found that (PMMA-PVA)/TiO2 NPs polymeric thin films are thermally stable below 110 °C enable them to be attractive for a wide range of optical and optoelectronic applications.
Effect of Annealing on Innovative CsPbI3-QDs Doped Perovskite Thin Films
Authors: Huang Pao-Hsun , Chen Yu-Hao , Lien Shui-Yang , Lee Kuan-Wei , Wang Na-Fu , Huang Chien-Jung
Published: January 2021

In this study, a simple hot-injection method to synthesize high-quality inorganic perovskite cesium lead iodide (CsPbI3) quantum-dots (QDs) was demonstrated. Adding CsPbI3 QDs into the organic perovskite methylamine lead triiodide (CH3NH3PbI3) to form a composite perovskite film, annealed by different temperatures, was found to be effectively enhanced by the perovskite crystallization. The intensity of the preferred peak (110) of MAPbI3 was enhanced by increasing the size of the crystal and reducing the cluster crystal. The densest film can be found at annealing temperature of 140 °C. The full width half maximum of MAPbI3 and CsPbI3 was analyzed through XRD peak fitting. This was a huge breakthrough for QDs doped perovskite films.
Muscle Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography as a Non-Invasive Biomarker in Myotonia
Authors: Kronlage Cornelius , Grimm Alexander , Romano Alyssa , Stahl Jan-Hendrik , Martin Pascal , Winter Natalie , Marquetand Justus
Published: January 2021

Myotonia, i.e., delayed muscle relaxation in certain hereditary muscle disorders, can be assessed quantitatively using different techniques ranging from force measurements to electrodiagnostics. Ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) has been proposed as a novel tool in biomechanics and neuromuscular medicine for the non-invasive estimation of muscle elasticity and, indirectly, muscle force. The aim of this study is to provide ‘proof-of-principle’ that SWE allows a quantitative measurement of the duration of delayed muscle relaxation in myotonia in a simple clinical setting. In six myotonic muscle disorder patients and six healthy volunteers, shear wave velocities (SWV) parallel to the fiber orientation in the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle in the forearm were recorded with a temporal resolution of one per second during fist-clenching and subsequent relaxation; the relaxation time to 10% of normalized shear wave velocity (RT0.1) was calculated. Forty-six SWE imaging sequences were acquired, yielding a mean RT0.1 of 7.38 s in myotonic muscle disorder patients, significantly higher than in healthy volunteers (1.36 s), which is comparable to data obtained by mechanical dynamometry. SWV measurements during the baseline relaxation and voluntary contraction phases did not differ significantly between groups. We conclude that SWE is a promising, non-invasive, widely available tool for the quantitative assessment of myotonia to aid in diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring.
Evaluation of Nine Commercial Serological Tests for the Diagnosis of Human Hepatic Cyst Echinococcosis and the Differential Diagnosis with Other Focal Liver Lesions: A Diagnostic Accuracy Study
Authors: Tamarozzi Francesca , Longoni Silvia Stefania , Vola Ambra , Degani Monica , Tais Stefano , Rizzi Eleonora , Prato Marco , Scarso Salvatore , Silva Ronaldo , Brunetti Enrico , Bisoffi Zeno , Perandin Francesca
Published: January 2021

The differential diagnosis of hepatic cystic echinococcosis (CE) may be challenging. When imaging is insufficient, serology can be applied, but no consensus diagnostic algorithm exists. We evaluated the performances of nine serological tests commercialized in Europe for the diagnosis of “echinococcosis”. We performed a diagnostic accuracy study using a panel of sera from patients with hepatic CE (n = 45 “liquid” content stages, n = 25 “solid” content stages) and non-CE focal liver lesions (n = 54 with “liquid” content, n = 11 with “solid” content). The diagnosis and staging of CE were based on ultrasound (gold standard). Nine commercial seroassays (5 ELISA, 2 WB, 1 Chemiluminescence Immunoassay [CLIA] and 1 Immunochromatographic test [ICT]) were the index tests. Sensitivity (Se) ranged from 43 to 94% and from 31 to 87%, and specificity (Sp) from 68 to 100% and from 94 to 100%, when borderline results were considered positive or negative, respectively. Three seroassays (2 ELISA, 1 WB) were excluded from further analyses due to poor performances. When tests were combined, Sp was 98–100%. The best results were obtained using the WB-LDBIO alone (Se 83%) or as a third test after two non-WB tests (Se 67–86%). A validated WB or two non-WB tests, read with stringent criteria (borderline = negative and considered positive only if concordant positive), possibly confirmed by the WB, appear sensible approaches.
BrainSeg-Net: Brain Tumor MR Image Segmentation via Enhanced Encoder–Decoder Network
Authors: Rehman Mobeen Ur , Cho SeungBin , Kim Jeehong , Chong Kil To
Published: January 2021

Efficient segmentation of Magnetic Resonance (MR) brain tumor images is of the utmost value for the diagnosis of tumor region. In recent years, advancement in the field of neural networks has been used to refine the segmentation performance of brain tumor sub-regions. The brain tumor segmentation has proven to be a complicated task even for neural networks, due to the small-scale tumor regions. These small-scale tumor regions are unable to be identified, the reason being their tiny size and the huge difference between area occupancy by different tumor classes. In previous state-of-the-art neural network models, the biggest problem was that the location information along with spatial details gets lost in deeper layers. To address these problems, we have proposed an encoder–decoder based model named BrainSeg-Net. The Feature Enhancer (FE) block is incorporated into the BrainSeg-Net architecture which extracts the middle-level features from low-level features from the shallow layers and shares them with the dense layers. This feature aggregation helps to achieve better performance of tumor identification. To address the problem associated with imbalance class, we have used a custom-designed loss function. For evaluation of BrainSeg-Net architecture, three benchmark datasets are utilized: BraTS2017, BraTS 2018, and BraTS 2019. Segmentation of Enhancing Core (EC), Whole Tumor (WT), and Tumor Core (TC) is carried out. The proposed architecture have exhibited good improvement when compared with existing baseline and state-of-the-art techniques. The MR brain tumor segmentation by BrainSeg-Net uses enhanced location and spatial features, which performs better than the existing plethora of brain MR image segmentation approaches.
Benchmarking Attention-Based Interpretability of Deep Learning in Multivariate Time Series Predictions
Authors: Barić Domjan , Fumić Petar , Horvatić Davor , Lipic Tomislav
Published: January 2021

The adaptation of deep learning models within safety-critical systems cannot rely only on good prediction performance but needs to provide interpretable and robust explanations for their decisions. When modeling complex sequences, attention mechanisms are regarded as the established approach to support deep neural networks with intrinsic interpretability. This paper focuses on the emerging trend of specifically designing diagnostic datasets for understanding the inner workings of attention mechanism based deep learning models for multivariate forecasting tasks. We design a novel benchmark of synthetically designed datasets with the transparent underlying generating process of multiple time series interactions with increasing complexity. The benchmark enables empirical evaluation of the performance of attention based deep neural networks in three different aspects: (i) prediction performance score, (ii) interpretability correctness, (iii) sensitivity analysis. Our analysis shows that although most models have satisfying and stable prediction performance results, they often fail to give correct interpretability. The only model with both a satisfying performance score and correct interpretability is IMV-LSTM, capturing both autocorrelations and crosscorrelations between multiple time series. Interestingly, while evaluating IMV-LSTM on simulated data from statistical and mechanistic models, the correctness of interpretability increases with more complex datasets.
Anaerobic Digestion for Producing Renewable Energy—The Evolution of This Technology in a New Uncertain Scenario
Authors: Sevillano Cristián Arenas , Pesantes Alby Aguilar , Peña Carpio Elizabeth , Martínez Elia J. , Gómez Xiomar
Published: January 2021

Anaerobic digestion is a well-known technology with wide application in the treatment of high-strength organic wastes. The economic feasibility of this type of installation is usually attained thanks to the availability of fiscal incentives. In this review, an analysis of the different factors associated with this biological treatment and a description of alternatives available in literature for increasing performance of the process were provided. The possible integration of this process into a biorefinery as a way for producing energy and chemical products from the conversion of wastes and biomass also analyzed. The future outlook of anaerobic digestion will be closely linked to circular economy principles. Therefore, this technology should be properly integrated into any production system where energy can be recovered from organics. Digestion can play a major role in any transformation process where by-products need further stabilization or it can be the central core of any waste treatment process, modifying the current scheme by a concatenation of several activities with the aim of increasing the efficiency of the conversion. Thus, current plants dedicated to the treatment of wastewaters, animal manures, or food wastes can become specialized centers for producing bio-energy and green chemicals. However, high installation costs, feedstock dispersion and market distortions were recognized as the main parameters negatively affecting these alternatives.
Solar Energy Conversion and Storage Using a Photocatalytic Fuel Cell Combined with a Supercapacitor
Authors: Andrade Tatiana Santos , Dracopoulos Vassilios , Lianos Panagiotis
Published: January 2021

This work studies the production of electricity by a photocatalytic fuel cell and its storage in a supercapacitor. We propose a simple construction, where a third electrode bearing activated carbon is added to the device to form a supercapacitor electrode in combination with the supporting electrolyte of the cell. The photocatalytic fuel cell is based on a CdS-sensitized mesoporous TiO2 photoanode and an air cathode bearing only nanoparticulate carbon as an oxygen reduction electrocatalyst.
Posting Recommendations in Healthcare Q&A Forums
Authors: Lin Yi-Ling , Chien Shih-Yi , Chen Yi-Ju
Published: January 2021

Online Q&A forums, unlike search engines, allow posting of various types of queries, thus attracting users to seek information and solve problems in specific domains. However, as insufficient knowledge leads to incomprehensible queries, unsuitable responses are common. We develop posting recommendation systems (RSs) to support users in composing reasonable posts and receiving effective answers. The posting RSs were evaluated by a user study containing 27 participants and three tasks to examine if users engaged more in the question generation process. Two medical experts were recruited to verify whether professionals can understand and answer posts supported by RSs. The results show that the proposed mechanism enables askers to produce posts with better understandability, which leads experts to devote more attention to answer their questions.
FPGA Implementation for CNN-Based Optical Remote Sensing Object Detection
Authors: Zhang Ning , Wei Xin , Chen He , Liu Wenchao
Published: January 2021

In recent years, convolutional neural network (CNN)-based methods have been widely used for optical remote sensing object detection and have shown excellent performance. Some aerospace systems, such as satellites or aircrafts, need to adopt these methods to observe objects on the ground. Due to the limited budget of the logical resources and power consumption in these systems, an embedded device is a good choice to implement the CNN-based methods. However, it is still a challenge to strike a balance between performance and power consumption. In this paper, we propose an efficient hardware-implementation method for optical remote sensing object detection. Firstly, we optimize the CNN-based model for hardware implementation, which establishes a foundation for efficiently mapping the network on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). In addition, we propose a hardware architecture for the CNN-based remote sensing object detection model. In this architecture, a general processing engine (PE) is proposed to implement multiple types of convolutions in the network using the uniform module. An efficient data storage and access scheme is also proposed, and it achieves low-latency calculations and a high memory bandwidth utilization rate. Finally, we deployed the improved YOLOv2 network on a Xilinx ZYNQ xc7z035 FPGA to evaluate the performance of our design. The experimental results show that the performance of our implementation on an FPGA is only 0.18% lower than that on a graphics processing unit (GPU) in mean average precision (mAP). Under a 200 MHz working frequency, our design achieves a throughput of 111.5 giga-operations per second (GOP/s) with a 5.96 W on-chip power consumption. Comparison with the related works demonstrates that the proposed design has obvious advantages in terms of energy efficiency and that it is suitable for deployment on embedded devices.
Indirect Drying and Coking Characteristics of Coking Coal with Soda Residue Additive
Authors: Zhang Ze , Zhang Shuting
Published: January 2021

To improve indirect drying efficiency, the effect of soda residue on the drying characteristics of coking coal were studied using a self-made indirect drying system. A tube furnace was used in the dry distillation of coal samples with soda residue, and the coke properties were analyzed. The results indicated that the soda residue has a significant influence on the increase in the heating rate of coal samples in the temperature distribution range of 90 to 110 °C. With the addition of 2%, 5%, and 10% soda residue, the drying rates increased by 11.5%, 25.3%, and 37.3%, respectively at 110 °C. The results of dry distillation show that addition of 2%, 5% and 10% soda residue decreases the carbon loss quantity by 4.67, 4.99, and 8.82 g, respectively. The mechanical strength of coke samples satisfies the industrial conditions when the soda residue ratio ranges from 2% to 5%. Soda residue can improve the active point of coke dissolution reaction and inhibit coke internal solution. Economically, coking coal samples mixed with soda residue have an obvious energy saving advantage in the drying process. Energy saving analysis found that it can reduce cost input by 20% than that of the normal drying method.
Complementary Analysis for DGA Based on Duval Methods and Furan Compounds Using Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Aciu Ancuța-Mihaela , Nicola Claudiu-Ionel , Nicola Marcel , Nițu Maria-Cristina
Published: January 2021

Power transformers play an important role in electrical systems; being considered the core of electric power transmissions and distribution networks, the owners and users of these assets are increasingly concerned with adopting reliable, automated, and non-invasive techniques to monitor and diagnose their operating conditions. Thus, monitoring the conditions of power transformers has evolved, in the sense that a complete characterization of the conditions of oil–paper insulation can be achieved through dissolved gas analysis (DGA) and furan compounds analysis, since these analyses provide a lot of information about the phenomena that occur in power transformers. The Duval triangles and pentagons methods can be used with a high percentage of correct predictions compared to the known classical methods (key gases, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Rogers, Doernenburg ratios), because, in addition to the six types of basic faults, they also identify four sub-types of thermal faults that provide important additional information for the appropriate corrective actions to be applied to the transformers. A new approach is presented based on the complementarity between the analysis of the gases dissolved in the transformer oil and the analysis of furan compounds, for the identification of the different faults, especially when there are multiple faults, by extending the diagnosis of the operating conditions of the power transformers, in terms of paper degradation. The implemented software system based on artificial neural networks was tested and validated in practice, with good results.
Numerical Analysis of Liquid–Liquid Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger Based on a Novel Model
Authors: Chen Qilu , Shi Yutao , Zhuang Zhi , Weng Li , Xu Chengjun , Zhou Jianqiu
Published: January 2021

Heat pipe heat exchangers (HPHEXs) are widely used in various industries. In this paper, a novel model of a liquid–liquid heat pipe heat exchanger in a countercurrent manner is established by considering the evaporation and condensation thermal resistances inside the heat pipes (HPs). The discrete method is added to the HPHEX model to determine the thermal resistances of the HPs and the temperature change trend of the heat transfer fluid in the HPHEX. The established model is verified by the HPHEX structure and experimental data in the existing literature and demonstrates numerical results that agree with the experimental data to within a 5% error. With the current model, the investigation compares the effectiveness and minimum vapor temperature of the HPHEX with three types of HP diameters, different mass flow rates, and different H* values. For HPs with a diameter of 36 mm, the effectiveness of each is improved by about 0.018 to 0.029 compared to HPs with a diameter of 28 mm. The results show that the current model can predict the temperature change trend of the HPHEX well; in addition, the effects of different structures on the effectiveness and minimum vapor temperature are obtained, which improve the performance of the HPHEX.
The Effect of Static Magnetic Field on Methanogenesis in the Anaerobic Digestion of Municipal Sewage Sludge
Authors: Zieliński Marcin , Dębowski Marcin , Kazimierowicz Joanna
Published: January 2021

The present study aimed to determine the effect of a 17.6 mT static magnetic field (SMF) on the efficiency of anaerobic digestion (AD) of municipal sewage sludge (MSS). The SMF had a significant impact on methane (CH4) production efficiency, the levels of fermentation rate (ηFMSS) vs. removal rate (ηVS), and the structure of the anaerobic bacteria consortium, but it did not affect cumulative biogas production. The highest CH4 yield (431 ± 22 dm3CH4/kgVS) and the highest methane content in the biogas (66.1% ± 1.9%) were found in the variant in which the SMF exposure time was 144 min/day. This variant also produced the highest ηFMSS and ηVS values, reaching 73.8% ± 2.3% and ηVS 36.9% ± 1.6%, respectively. Longer anaerobic sludge retention time in the SMF area significantly decreased AD efficiency and caused a significant reduction in the number of methanogens in the anaerobic bacteria community. The lowest values were observed for SMF exposure time of 432 min/day, which produced only 54.8 ± 1.9% CH4 in the biogas. A pronounced reduction was recorded in the Archaea (ARC915) and Methanosaeta (MX825) populations in the anaerobic sludge, i.e., to 20% ± 11% and 6% ± 2%, respectively.
Power Hardware-in-the-Loop: Response of Power Components in Real-Time Grid Simulation Environment
Authors: Muhammad Moiz , Behrends Holger , Geißendörfer Stefan , Maydell Karsten von , Agert Carsten
Published: January 2021

With increasing changes in the contemporary energy system, it becomes essential to test the autonomous control strategies for distributed energy resources in a controlled environment to investigate power grid stability. Power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) concept is an efficient approach for such evaluations in which a virtually simulated power grid is interfaced to a real hardware device. This strongly coupled software-hardware system introduces obstacles that need attention for smooth operation of the laboratory setup to validate robust control algorithms for decentralized grids. This paper presents a novel methodology and its implementation to develop a test-bench for a real-time PHIL simulation of a typical power distribution grid to study the dynamic behavior of the real power components in connection with the simulated grid. The application of hybrid simulation in a single software environment is realized to model the power grid which obviates the need to simulate the complete grid with a lower discretized sample-time. As an outcome, an environment is established interconnecting the virtual model to the real-world devices. The inaccuracies linked to the power components are examined at length and consequently a suitable compensation strategy is devised to improve the performance of the hardware under test (HUT). Finally, the compensation strategy is also validated through a simulation scenario.
Impact of Past and Future Climate Change on the Potential Distribution of an Endangered Montane Shrub Lonicera oblata and Its Conservation Implications
Authors: Wu Yuan-Mi , Shen Xue-Li , Tong Ling , Lei Feng-Wei , Mu Xian-Yun , Zhang Zhi-Xiang
Published: January 2021

Climate change is an important driver of biodiversity patterns and species distributions, understanding how organisms respond to climate change will shed light on the conservation of endangered species. In this study, we modeled the distributional dynamics of a critically endangered montane shrub Lonicera oblata in response to climate change under different periods by building a comprehensive habitat suitability model considering the effects of soil and vegetation conditions. Our results indicated that the current suitable habitats for L. oblata are located scarcely in North China. Historical modeling indicated that L. oblata achieved its maximum potential distribution in the last interglacial period which covered southwest China, while its distribution area decreased for almost 50% during the last glacial maximum. It further contracted during the middle Holocene to a distribution resembling the current pattern. Future modeling showed that the suitable habitats of L. oblata contracted dramatically, and populations were fragmentedly distributed in these areas. As a whole, the distribution of L. oblata showed significant migration northward in latitude but no altitudinal shift. Several mountains in North China may provide future stable climatic areas for L. oblata, particularly, the intersections between the Taihang and Yan mountains. Our study strongly suggested that the endangered montane shrub L. oblata are sensitive to climate change, and the results provide new insights into the conservation of it and other endangered species.
Precipitation Gradient Drives Divergent Relationship between Non-Structural Carbohydrates and Water Availability in Pinus tabulaeformis of Northern China
Authors: Hao Bingyan , Hartmann Henrik , Li Yuanqiao , Liu Hongyan , Shi Fangzhong , Yu Kailiang , Li Xiaoyan , Li Zongshan , Wang Pei , Allen Craig D. , Wu Xiuchen
Published: January 2021

Seasonal non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) dynamics in different organs can indicate the strategies trees use to cope with water stress; however, these dynamics remain poorly understood along a large precipitation gradient. In this study, we hypothesized that the correlation between water availability and NSC concentrations in different organs might be strengthened by decreasing precipitation in Pinus tabulaeformis Carr. forests in temperate China. Our results show that the concentrations of soluble sugars were lower in stems and coarse roots, and starch was higher in branches in the early growing season at drier sites. Throughout the growing season, the concentrations of soluble sugars increased in drier sites, especially for leaves, and remained stable in wetter sites, while starch concentrations were relatively stable in branches and stems at all sites. The NSC concentrations, mainly starch, decreased in coarse roots along the growing season at drier sites. Trees have a faster growth rate with an earlier cessation in active stem growth at drier sites. Interestingly, we also found a divergent relationship between NSCs in different organs and mean growing season water availability, and a stronger correlation was observed in drier sites. These results show that pine forests in arid and semi-arid regions of northern China exhibit different physiological responses to water availability, improving our understanding of the adaptive mechanisms of trees to water limitations in a warmer and drier climate.
Special Issue “Forensic Genetics and Genomics”
Authors: Giardina Emiliano , Ragazzo Michele
Published: January 2021

The technological and scientific progress that we have experienced in recent years has contributed to characterization of the complex processes underlying human biology and evolution [...]
Discriminative Measurement of Absorbed Dose Rates in Air from Natural and Artificial Radionuclides in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture
Authors: Ogura Koya , Hosoda Masahiro , Tamakuma Yuki , Suzuki Takahito , Yamada Ryohei , Negami Ryoju , Tsujiguchi Takakiyo , Yamaguchi Masaru , Shiroma Yoshitaka , Iwaoka Kazuki , Akata Naofumi , Shimizu Mayumi , Kashiwakura Ikuo , Tokonami Shinji
Published: January 2021

Ten years have elapsed since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, and the relative contribution of natural radiation is increasing in Fukushima Prefecture due to the reduced dose of artificial radiation. In order to accurately determine the effective dose of exposure to artificial radiation, it is necessary to evaluate the effective dose of natural as well as artificial components. In this study, we measured the gamma-ray pulse-height distribution over the accessible area of Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, and evaluated the annual effective dose of external exposure by distinguishing between natural and artificial radionuclides. The estimated median (range) of absorbed dose rates in air from artificial radionuclides as of 1 April 2020, is 133 (67–511) nGy h−1 in the evacuation order cancellation zone, and 1306 (892–2081) nGy h−1 in the difficult-to-return zone. The median annual effective doses of external exposures from natural and artificial radionuclides were found to be 0.19 and 0.40 mSv in the evacuation order cancellation zone, and 0.25 and 3.9 mSv in the difficult-to-return zone. The latest annual effective dose of external exposure discriminated into natural and artificial radionuclides is expected to be utilized for radiation risk communication.
Influence of the CoViD-19 Pandemic on Mental Workload and Burnout of Fashion Retailing Workers in Spain
Authors: Rodríguez-López Ana María , Rubio-Valdehita Susana , Díaz-Ramiro Eva María
Published: January 2021

This study analyzed the levels of mental workload and the presence of burnout on a sample of fashion retailing workers from Spain and its relationship with the current CoViD-19 (Coronavirus disease-19) pandemic. We established a cross-sectional design. Participants (n = 360) answered an online survey including questions about sociodemographic data, perception of CoViD-19, CarMen-Q questionnaire (workload), and MBI (burnout syndrome). The survey campaign took place in October and November 2020. The results showed that participants exhibited deep concern about the CoViD-19 pandemic and its influence in the workplace. Although the mental workload was near the middle point of the scale, participants showed moderate to high burnout levels, revealing that the sample was at risk of experiencing higher burnout levels over time as the pandemic and associated economic crisis continued. The multiple regression analysis results indicated that environmental changes, work overload, somatic symptoms, insomnia, negative job expectations, and uncertainty constituted significant mental workload predictors. Insomnia, somatic symptoms, and negative job expectations constituted significant predictors for burnout. Differences between job positions and genders in mental workload and burnout were found. In conclusion, the uncertainty at work derived from the CoViD-19 pandemic harms fashion retailing workers’ psychological well-being in Spain.
Design and Energy Requirements of a Photovoltaic-Thermal Powered Water Desalination Plant for the Middle East
Authors: Alqaed Saeed , Mustafa Jawed , Almehmadi Fahad Awjah
Published: January 2021

Seawater or brackish water desalination is largely powered by fossil fuels, raising concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the arid Middle East region. Many steps have been taken to implement solar resources to this issue; however, all attempts for all processing were concentrated on solar to electric conversion. To address these challenges, a small-scale reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination system that is in part powered by hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) solar collectors appropriate for a remote community in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) was designed and its power requirements calculated. This system provides both electricity to the pumps and low-temperature thermal energy to pre-heat the feedwater to reduce its viscosity, and thus to reduce the required pumping energy for the RO process and for transporting the feedwater. Results show that both thermal and electrical energy storage, along with conventional backup power, is necessary to operate the RO continuously and utilize all of the renewable energy collected by the PVT. A cost-optimal sizing of the PVT system is developed. It displays for a specific case that the hybrid PVT RO system employs 70% renewable energy while delivering desalinized water for a cost that is 18% less than the annual cost for driving the plant with 100% conventional electricity and no pre-heating of the feedwater. The design allows for the sizing of the components to achieve minimum cost at any desired level of renewable energy penetration.
Reduction of Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) Bacterial Infections during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study
Authors: Bentivegna Enrico , Luciani Michelangelo , Arcari Luca , Santino Iolanda , Simmaco Maurizio , Martelletti Paolo
Published: January 2021

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms are emerging as some of the main healthcare problems worldwide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures have been adopted to reduce nosocomial microorganism transmission. We performed a case–control study to identify if the incidence of MDR bacterial infections while using pandemic-related preventive measures is lower than in previous years. From 2017 to 2020, we monitored hospital discharges over a four-month period (P #) (1 March to 30 June) in St. Andrea Hospital, Rome. In total, we reported 1617 discharges. Pearson’s chi-squared test was used to identify significant differences. A value of p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A significant reduction in the incidence of total MDR bacterial infections was observed during the pandemic compared to in prepandemic years (p < 0.05). We also found a significantly higher incidence of MDR bacterial infections in COVID-19 departments compared with other medical departments (29% and 19%, respectively), with extended-spectrum β-lactamase Klebsiella pneumoniae as the pathogens presenting the highest increase. This study demonstrates that maintaining a high level of preventive measures could help tackle an important health problem such as that of the spread of MDR bacteria.