bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Yoghurt Intake and Gastric Cancer: A Pooled Analysis of 16 Studies of the StoP Consortium
Authors: Collatuzzo Giulia , Negri Eva , Pelucchi Claudio , Bonzi Rossella , Turati Federica , Rabkin Charles S. , Liao Linda M. , Sinha Rashmi , Palli Domenico , Ferraroni Monica , López-Carrillo Lizbeth , Lunet Nuno , Morais Samantha , Albanes Demetrius , Weinstein Stephanie J. , Parisi Dominick , Zaridze David , Maximovitch Dmitry , Dierssen-Sotos Trinidad , Jiménez-Moleón José Juan , Vioque Jesus , Garcia de la Hera Manoli , Curado Maria Paula , Dias-Neto Emmanuel , Hernández-Ramírez Raúl Ulises , López-Cervantes Malaquias , Ward Mary H. , Tsugane Shoichiro , Hidaka Akihisa , Lagiou Areti , Lagiou Pagona , Zhang Zuo-Feng , Trichopoulou Antonia , Karakatsani Anna , Camargo Maria Constanza , La Vecchia Carlo , Boffetta Paolo
Published: April 2023

Background: Yoghurt can modify gastrointestinal disease risk, possibly acting on gut microbiota. Our study aimed at exploring the under-investigated association between yoghurt and gastric cancer (GC). Methods: We pooled data from 16 studies from the Stomach Cancer Pooling (StoP) Project. Total yoghurt intake was derived from food frequency questionnaires. We calculated study-specific odds ratios (ORs) of GC and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for increasing categories of yoghurt consumption using univariate and multivariable unconditional logistic regression models. A two-stage analysis, with a meta-analysis of the pooled adjusted data, was conducted. Results: The analysis included 6278 GC cases and 14,181 controls, including 1179 cardia and 3463 non-cardia, 1191 diffuse and 1717 intestinal cases. The overall meta-analysis revealed no association between increasing portions of yoghurt intake (continuous) and GC (OR = 0.98, 95% CI = 0.94–1.02). When restricting to cohort studies, a borderline inverse relationship was found (OR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.88–0.99). The adjusted and unadjusted OR were 0.92 (95% CI = 0.85–0.99) and 0.78 (95% CI = 0.73–0.84) for any vs. no yoghurt consumption and GC risk. The OR for 1 category of increase in yoghurt intake was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.91–1.02) for cardia, 1.03 (95% CI = 1.00–1.07) for non-cardia, 1.12 (95% CI = 1.07–1.19) for diffuse and 1.02 (95% CI = 0.97–1.06) for intestinal GC. No effect was seen within hospital-based and population-based studies, nor in men or women. Conclusions: We found no association between yoghurt and GC in the main adjusted models, despite sensitivity analyses suggesting a protective effect. Additional studies should further address this association.
Prebiotic and Probiotic Modulation of the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis in Depression
Authors: Radford-Smith Daniel E. , Anthony Daniel C.
Published: April 2023

Emerging evidence demonstrates that alterations to the gut microbiota can affect mood, suggesting that the microbiota–gut–brain (MGB) axis contributes to the pathogenesis of depression. Many of these pathways overlap with the way in which the gut microbiota are thought to contribute to metabolic disease progression and obesity. In rodents, prebiotics and probiotics have been shown to modulate the composition and function of the gut microbiota. Together with germ-free rodent models, probiotics have provided compelling evidence for a causal relationship between microbes, microbial metabolites, and altered neurochemical signalling and inflammatory pathways in the brain. In humans, probiotic supplementation has demonstrated modest antidepressant effects in individuals with depressive symptoms, though more studies in clinically relevant populations are needed. This review critically discusses the role of the MGB axis in depression pathophysiology, integrating preclinical and clinical evidence, as well as the putative routes of communication between the microbiota–gut interface and the brain. A critical overview of the current approaches to investigating microbiome changes in depression is provided. To effectively translate preclinical breakthroughs in MGB axis research into novel therapies, rigorous placebo-controlled trials alongside a mechanistic and biochemical understanding of prebiotic and probiotic action are required from future research.
Feasibility of an Individualized mHealth Nutrition (iNutrition) Intervention for Post-Discharged Gastric Cancer Patients Following Gastrectomy: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial
Authors: Jiang Xiaohan , Chen Jiamin , Yuan Xiuhong , Lin Yijia , Chen Yingliang , Li Sijia , Jiang Qiuxiang , Yu Hong , Du Qianqian , Peng Junsheng
Published: April 2023

(1) Background: A major challenge for post-discharged gastric cancer patients following gastrectomy is the impact of the anatomy change on decreased oral intake, nutritional status, and, ultimately, quality of life. The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility and preliminary effects of an individualized mHealth nutrition (iNutrition) intervention in post-discharged gastric cancer patients following gastrectomy. (2) Methods: A mixed-method feasibility study with a parallel randomized controlled design was conducted. Patients were randomly assigned to either the iNutrition intervention group (n = 12) or the control group (n = 12). Participants completed measures at baseline (T0), four (T1), and twelve weeks (T2) post-randomization. (3) Results: Recruitment (33%) and retention (87.5%) rates along with high adherence and acceptability supported the feasibility of the iNutrition intervention for post-discharged gastric cancer patients following gastrectomy, echoed by the qualitative findings. The iNutrition intervention significantly improved participants’ nutritional behavior (p = 0.005), energy intake (p = 0.038), compliance with energy requirements (p = 0.006), and compliance with protein requirements (p = 0.008). (4) Conclusions: The iNutrition intervention is feasible and potentially benefits post-discharged gastric cancer patients following gastrectomy. A larger trial is required to establish the efficacy of this approach. Trial Registration: 19 October 2022 Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2200064807.
Antiplatelet Aggregation Properties of Cirsilineol: A Novel Inhibitor of Blood Coagulation Factor Xa
Authors: Kim Go Oun , Heo Jong Beom , Park Dong Ho , Song Gyu Yong , Bae Jong-Sup
Published: April 2023

A small natural substance called cirsilineol (CSL), which was discovered in the plant Artemisia vestita, is lethal to many cancer cells and has antioxidant, anticancer, and antibacterial properties. Here, we investigated the underlying mechanisms of the antithrombotic action of CSL. We demonstrated that CSL has antithrombotic efficacy comparable to rivaroxaban, a direct blood coagulation factor Xa (FXa) inhibitor employed as a positive control, in inhibiting the enzymatic activity of FXa and the platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and U46619, a thromboxane A2 analog. The expression of P-selectin, the phosphorylation of myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate by U46619 or ADP, and the activation of PAC-1 in platelets were inhibited by CSL. Nitric oxide production was increased by CSL in ADP- or U46619-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), although excessive endothelin-1 secretion was suppressed. CSL demonstrated strong anticoagulant and antithrombotic effects in a mouse model of arterial and pulmonary thrombosis. Our findings suggest that CSL is a potential pharmacological candidate for a novel class of anti-FXa and antiplatelet medications.
Safety and Therapeutic Optimization of Lutetium-177 Based Radiopharmaceuticals
Authors: Ladrière Typhanie , Faudemer Julie , Levigoureux Elise , Peyronnet Damien , Desmonts Cédric , Vigne Jonathan
Published: April 2023

Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) using Lutetium-177 (177Lu) based radiopharmaceuticals has emerged as a therapeutic area in the field of nuclear medicine and oncology, allowing for personalized medicine. Since the first market authorization in 2018 of [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu-DOTATATE (Lutathera®) targeting somatostatin receptor type 2 in the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, intensive research has led to transfer innovative 177Lu containing pharmaceuticals to the clinic. Recently, a second market authorization in the field was obtained for [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 (Pluvicto®) in the treatment of prostate cancer. The efficacy of 177Lu radiopharmaceuticals are now quite well-reported and data on the safety and management of patients are needed. This review will focus on several clinically tested and reported tailored approaches to enhance the risk–benefit trade-off of radioligand therapy. The aim is to help clinicians and nuclear medicine staff set up safe and optimized procedures using the approved 177Lu based radiopharmaceuticals.
Spherical Aberration and Accommodative Insufficiency: Is There a Link?
Authors: Gomes Jessica , Sapkota Kishor , Franco Sandra
Published: April 2023

Given the relationship between spherical aberrations and accommodation, the study of these aberrations can be helpful to understand accommodative response in subjects with accommodative dysfunctions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate on-axis and off-axis changes of primary and secondary spherical aberrations, Z(4,0) and Z(6,0), with accommodation in subjects with accommodative insufficiency (AI). Ten subjects with AI and eleven without any accommodative dysfunction (control) participated in this study. On-axis defocus Z(2,0), Z(4,0), and Z(6,0) were obtained in both groups with a Hartmann–Shack aberrometer for the unaccommodated state and with 1.00 D, 2.44 D, 3.83 D, and 4.73 D of accommodative stimuli. Z(4,0) and Z(6,0) were also measured on 11.5° and 23° temporal, nasal, superior, and inferior retinal areas for unaccommodated state and for 2.44 D of accommodative stimulus. In the control group, Z(4,0) became more negative with accommodation and Z(6,0) became more positive, as was expected according to previous studies. This tendency was not observed in the group of subjects with AI group for Z(4,0) or for Z(6,0). No differences on off-axis Z(4,0) and Z(6,0) were observed between the groups. The changes of spherical aberrations with accommodation seem different in subjects with AI compared to those without any accommodative dysfunction. Those with AI do not present a decrease in Z(4,0) and an increase in Z(6,0) with accommodation as occurs in eyes without this type of dysfunction. Understanding how the optics of the eye changes with accommodation can be helpful to understand the origin of accommodative dysfunctions.
An Ultra-Low-Loss Waveguide Based on BIC Used for an On-Chip Integrated Optical Gyroscope
Authors: Yuan Zhenkun , Chen Jian , Chen Dingbo , Zhu Shuolong , Yang Junbo , Zhang Zhenrong
Published: April 2023

The development of integrated optical technology and the continuous emergence of various low-loss optical waveguide materials have promoted the development of low-cost, size, weight, and power optical gyroscopes. However, the losses in conventional optical waveguide materials are much greater than those in optical fibers, and different waveguide materials often require completely different etching processes, resulting in severely limited gyroscope performance, which is not conducive to the monolithic integration of gyroscope systems. In this paper, an ultra-low-loss Archimedean spiral waveguide structure is designed for an on-chip integrated optical gyroscope by using the high Q value and low-loss optical characteristics of the bound state in the continuum (BIC). The structure does not require the etching of high-refractive-index optical functional materials, avoiding the etching problem that has been difficult to solve for a long time. In addition, the optical properties of the BIC straight and the BIC bent waveguide are simulated using the finite element method (FEM) to find the waveguide structural parameters corresponding to the BIC mode, which is used to design the integrated sensing coil and analyze the gyroscope performance. The simulation results show that the gyroscope’s sensitivity can reach 0.6699°/s. This research is the first time a BIC optical waveguide has been used for an integrated optical gyroscope, providing a novel idea for the monolithic integration of optical gyroscopes.
Incorporation of Graphene Oxide Modified with Polyamide Curing Agent into the Epoxy–Zinc Composite Coating for Promoting Its Corrosion Resistance
Authors: He Shengjun , Wei Guangxiong , Zhang Zhengnan , Yang Lifeng , Lin Yuebin , Du Longji , Du Xusheng
Published: April 2023

To promote the anticorrosion performance of epoxy/zinc (EP/Zn) coating, graphene oxide (GO) was directly incorporated into dual-component paint. Interestingly, it was found that the method of incorporating GO during the fabrication of the composite paints strongly influenced their performance. The samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicated that GO could be intercalated and modified with the polyamide curing agent while preparing component B of the paint, for which the interlayer spacing of the resulting polyamide modified GO (PGO) increased, and its dispersion in organic solvent was improved. The corrosion resistance of the coatings was studied through potentiodynamic polarization testing, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and immersion testing. Among the three types of as-prepared coatings, i.e., neat EP/Zn coating, GO modified EP/Zn coating (GO/EP/Zn), and PGO-modified EP/Zn coating (PGO/EP/Zn), the order of the corrosion resistance of the coatings was PGO/EP/Zn > GO/EP/Zn > neat EP/Zn. This work demonstrates that although the in situ modification of GO with a curing agent is a simple method, it evidently promotes the shielding effect of the coating and enhances its corrosion resistance.
Coupling Effect of LDPE Molecular Chain Structure and Additives on the Rheological Behaviors of Cable Insulating Materials
Authors: Li Jiacai , Si Zhicheng , Shang Kai , Wu Yifan , Feng Yang , Wang Shihang , Li Shengtao
Published: April 2023

The rheological behaviors of low-density polyethylene doped with additives (PEDA) determine the dynamic extrusion molding and structure of high-voltage cable insulation. However, the coupling effect of additives and molecular chain structure of LDPE on the rheological behaviors of PEDA is still unclear. Here, for the first time, the rheological behaviors of PEDA under uncross-linked conditions are revealed by experiment and simulation analysis, as well as rheology models. The rheology experiment and molecular simulation results indicate that additives can reduce the shear viscosity of PEDA, but the effect degree of different additives on rheological behaviors is determined by both chemical composition and topological structure. Combined with experiment analysis and the Doi–Edwards model, it demonstrates that the zero-shear viscosity is only determined by LDPE molecular chain structure. Nevertheless, different molecular chain structures of LDPE have different coupling effects with additives on the shear viscosity and non-Newtonian feature. Given this, the rheological behaviors of PEDA are predominant by the molecular chain structure of LDPE and are also affected by additives. This work can provide an important theoretical basis for the optimization and regulation of rheological behaviors of PEDA materials used for high-voltage cable insulation.
Phormidium ambiguum and Leptolyngbya ohadii Exopolysaccharides under Low Water Availability
Authors: Moia Isabela C. , Pereira Sara B. , Domizio Paola , De Philippis Roberto , Adessi Alessandra
Published: April 2023

Cyanobacteria can cope with various environmental stressors, due to the excretion of exopolysaccharides (EPS). However, little is known about how the composition of these polymers may change according to water availability. This work aimed at characterizing the EPS of Phormidium ambiguum (Oscillatoriales; Oscillatoriaceae) and Leptolyngbya ohadii (Pseudanabaenales; Leptolyngbyaceae), when grown as biocrusts and biofilms, subject to water deprivation. The following EPS fractions were quantified and characterized: soluble (loosely bound, LB) and condensed (tightly bound, TB) for biocrusts, released (RPS), and sheathed in P. ambiguum and glycocalyx (G-EPS) in L. ohadii for biofilms. For both cyanobacteria upon water deprivation, glucose was the main monosaccharide present and the amount of TB-EPS resulted was significantly higher, confirming its importance in these soil-based formations. Different profiles of monosaccharides composing the EPSs were observed, as for example the higher concentration of deoxysugars observed in biocrusts compared to biofilms, demonstrating the plasticity of the cells to modify EPS composition as a response to different stresses. For both cyanobacteria, both in biofilms and biocrusts, water deprivation induced the production of simpler carbohydrates, with an increased dominance index of the composing monosaccharides. The results obtained are useful in understanding how these very relevant cyanobacterial species are sensitively modifying the EPS secreted when subject to water deprivation and could lead to consider them as suitable inoculants in degraded soils.
Carbonized Aminal-Linked Porous Organic Polymers Containing Pyrene and Triazine Units for Gas Uptake and Energy Storage
Authors: Mousa Aya Osama , Mohamed Mohamed Gamal , Chuang Cheng-Hsin , Kuo Shiao-Wei
Published: April 2023

Porous organic polymers (POPs) have plenteous exciting features due to their attractive combination of microporosity with π-conjugation. Nevertheless, electrodes based on their pristine forms suffer from severe poverty of electrical conductivity, precluding their employment within electrochemical appliances. The electrical conductivity of POPs may be significantly improved and their porosity properties could be further customized by direct carbonization. In this study, we successfully prepared a microporous carbon material (Py-PDT POP-600) by the carbonization of Py-PDT POP, which was designed using a condensation reaction between 6,6′-(1,4-phenylene)bis(1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine) (PDA-4NH2) and 4,4′,4′′,4′′′-(pyrene-1,3,6,8-tetrayl)tetrabenzaldehyde (Py-Ph-4CHO) in the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a solvent. The obtained Py-PDT POP-600 with a high nitrogen content had a high surface area (up to 314 m2 g−1), high pore volume, and good thermal stability based on N2 adsorption/desorption data and a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Owing to the good surface area, the as-prepared Py-PDT POP-600 showed excellent performance in CO2 uptake (2.7 mmol g−1 at 298 K) and a high specific capacitance of 550 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 compared with the pristine Py-PDT POP (0.24 mmol g−1 and 28 F g−1).
Influence of Impeller and Mixing Tank Shapes on the Solid–Liquid Mixing Characteristics of Vanadium-Bearing Shale Based on the DEM-VOF Method
Authors: Hu Yue , Zhang Yimin , Xue Nannan , Zheng Qiushi
Published: April 2023

The mixing tank is important equipment for industrial applications in the wet vanadium extraction process, but in practice, there are problems, such as uneven mixing of minerals. In this study, the effect of different types of impellers and different mixing tank structures on the suspended mass of particles was simulated using the discrete element method and volume of fluid method (DEM-VOF). The simulation results show that the round-bottomed tank performed mixing better than the flat-bottomed tank at different particle densities, and the flat-bottomed tank was prone to particle stratification and other phenomena. The round-bottomed mixing tank could better improve the solid–liquid suspension effect. In this study, the coefficient of variation σ was introduced to characterize the suspended mass of particles. By monitoring the σ value, it was found that the blade pitch angle 45 (BPA45) had the best mixing uniformity in the inclined pitched blade turbine (PBT). As the PBT impeller pitch angle increased, the particle suspension increased. When comparing different types of impellers, the Rushton exhibited a 45% improvement in mixing uniformity relative to the BPA45. Second, the width and height of the trough bottom projection were optimized and their σ values were calculated separately for different parameter conditions. The width of 0.05 m and height T/4 (T being the diameter of the tank) were finally determined to be the optimum parameters for the optimal design of the vanadium shale leaching mixing trough.
Enhancing Heart Disease Prediction Accuracy through Machine Learning Techniques and Optimization
Authors: Chandrasekhar Nadikatla , Peddakrishna Samineni
Published: April 2023

In the medical domain, early identification of cardiovascular issues poses a significant challenge. This study enhances heart disease prediction accuracy using machine learning techniques. Six algorithms (random forest, K-nearest neighbor, logistic regression, Naïve Bayes, gradient boosting, and AdaBoost classifier) are utilized, with datasets from the Cleveland and IEEE Dataport. Optimizing model accuracy, GridsearchCV, and five-fold cross-validation are employed. In the Cleveland dataset, logistic regression surpassed others with 90.16% accuracy, while AdaBoost excelled in the IEEE Dataport dataset, achieving 90% accuracy. A soft voting ensemble classifier combining all six algorithms further enhanced accuracy, resulting in a 93.44% accuracy for the Cleveland dataset and 95% for the IEEE Dataport dataset. This surpassed the performance of the logistic regression and AdaBoost classifiers on both datasets. This study’s novelty lies in the use of GridSearchCV with five-fold cross-validation for hyperparameter optimization, determining the best parameters for the model, and assessing performance using accuracy and negative log loss metrics. This study also examined accuracy loss for each fold to evaluate the model’s performance on both benchmark datasets. The soft voting ensemble classifier approach improved accuracies on both datasets and, when compared to existing heart disease prediction studies, this method notably exceeded their results.
Electrical Properties and Chemical Resistance of the Composites (1-x)Gd2Zr2O7·xMgO in Li-Containing Chloride Melts
Authors: Anokhina Irina , Animitsa Irina , Erzhenkov Maxim , Voronin Vladimir , Kadyrova Nadezhda , Zaikov Yuri
Published: April 2023

Composites of (1-x)Gd2Zr2O7·xMgO were prepared by mixing gadolinium zirconate with freshly precipitated Mg(OH)2 followed by heat treatment at 1500 °C. Small concentrations of magnesium oxide dissolved in the complex oxide matrix of Gd2Zr2O7. This led to decrease in the lattice parameters of the matrix phase and a complex redistribution of Gd and Zr over the A and B sublattices. According to the impedance spectroscopy results of the studied samples, for (1-x)Gd2Zr2O7·xMgO (x = 0.05, 0.07, 0.10), the ionic conductivity was slightly higher than that for the undoped Gd2Zr2O7. The share of dominant ion transport did not change upon doping with magnesium oxide. The composites showed chemical resistance in a lithium halide (LiCl) melt and interacted with LiCl-xLi2O (x = 2 wt.%, 4 wt.%) melts at 650 °C with the formation of a Gd2O3 phase or a mixture of phases (Gd2O3, Li2ZrO3, ZrO2, LiGdO2, or LiGdCl2) on the ceramic surface, respectively.
A VHF Circularly Polarized Turnstile Antenna with Balun for Meteor Radar
Authors: Qiao Wei , Zhou Chen , Yin Wenjie , Lv Mingjie , Zhao Zhengyu
Published: April 2023

This paper presents a circularly polarized turnstile antenna for a meteor radar system. The antenna employs a pair of turnstile radiators, a 1:2 power divider and a 90° phase shifter. After a series of simulations and optimizations, the maximum circularly polarized gain at 39 MHz is 5.9 dBic with 96° 3 dB beam width. The simulated axial ratio below 3 dB is from −39° to 39° within the band of interest. Then, the proposed antenna is fabricated and applied to a meteor radar system. Two tests are carried out for radiation characteristics demonstration. In the first test, the VSWR of the proposed antenna is below 1.2 at 38.5–39.5 MHz and keeps good agreement with simulation results. However, the meteor azimuth distribution is illogical when the output results are compared with the Australian meteor detection radar (ATRAD) meteor detection. To address the problem, baluns are investigated and introduced for balanced feeding. The 1:1 unbalance–balance transformer has been used to improve the radiation characteristics of the designed antenna. The final test results show that the meteor radar system with the improved antenna achieves better performances in meteor counts and meteor azimuth distribution.
Radiometric Correction with Topography Influence of Multispectral Imagery Obtained from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Jenerowicz Agnieszka , Wierzbicki Damian , Kedzierski Michal
Published: April 2023

This article aims to present the methods of the radiometric correction of multispectral images—a short review of the existing techniques. The role of radiometric correction is essential to many applications, especially in precision farming, forestry, and climate analysis. Moreover, this paper presents a new relative approach, which considers the angle of inclination of the terrain and the angle of incidence of electromagnetic radiation on the imaged objects when obtaining the baseline data. This method was developed for data obtained from low altitudes—for imagery data acquired by sensors mounted on UAV platforms. The paper analyses the effect of the correction on the spectral information, i.e., the compatibility of the spectral reflection characteristics obtained from the image with the spectral reflection characteristics obtained in the field. The developed method of correction for multispectral data obtained from low altitudes allows for the mapping of spectral reflection characteristics to an extent that allows for the classification of terrestrial coverage with an accuracy of over 95%. In addition, it is possible to distinguish objects that are very similar in terms of spectral reflection characteristics. This research presents a new method of correction of each spectral channel obtained by the multispectral camera, increasing the accuracy of the results obtained, e.g., based on SAM coefficients or correlations, but also when distinguishing land cover types during classification. The results are characterized by high accuracy (over 94% in classification).
Holistic Reduction to Compare and Create New Indices for Global Inter-Seasonal Monitoring: Case Study for High Resolution Surface Water Mapping
Authors: Aravena Ricardo A. , Lyons Mitchell B. , Keith David A.
Published: April 2023

A remote sensing method that integrates virtual sampling from formalized visual interpretations is proposed to facilitate land cover mapping and enhance its accuracy, with an emphasis on spatial and temporal scalability. Indices are widely used for mapping and monitoring surface water across space and time; however, they typically display some kind of limitation across different environments and seasons. A decision matrix framework based on observations derived from interpretation keys was designed to compare the performance of existing indices alongside a set of newly developed indices. This comparison helped to shortlist indices that warranted further evaluation and accuracy assessment to identify effective indices for global inter-seasonal surface water extent mapping. Additional visual inspections were conducted for criteria that remained unresolved by the decision matrix to examine index consistency across the seasons in a wide range of geographic settings around the world, and further reduce the shortlist. An accuracy assessment was performed for three new shortlisted indices. On a global scale, CAWI (Comprehensive Automatic Water Index) was the best-performing index. Its distinct binary data distribution provides the possibility of regional automatic Otsu thresholding. CAWI was determined to be compatible for Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 sensors, providing the highest possible spatial resolution as well as the longest time series for retrospective analyses with freely available multispectral imagery. Two alternative indices were identified for sensors limited to the visible and NIR bands. The first index, CATWIC (Clear and Turbid Water Index Combination), split the classification of water into two components, with one index for generally clear water and another index for turbid water. The second, NDCHRWI (Normalized Difference Colourimetric High Resolution Water Index), applied the hue angle from a normalized difference RGB. Masking indices based on modified HSV Saturation equations were developed to reduce misclassification due to other high reflectance features. The indices’ overall accuracies, respectively, were: 94.97%, 94.51%, and 94.85%. This study concludes with recommendations for the application of different indices for sensors possessing shortwave infrared bands and for sensors limited to the visible and NIR bands, with a simple stratification of six zones for Global Surface Water monitoring.
Snow Density Retrieval in Quebec Using Space-Borne SMOS Observations
Authors: Gao Xiaowen , Pan Jinmei , Peng Zhiqing , Zhao Tianjie , Bai Yu , Yang Jianwei , Jiang Lingmei , Shi Jiancheng , Husi Letu
Published: April 2023

Snow density varies spatially, temporally, and vertically within the snowpack and is the key to converting snow depth to snow water equivalent. While previous studies have demonstrated the feasibility of retrieving snow density using a multiple-angle L-band radiometer in theory and in ground-based radiometer experiments, this technique has not yet been applied to satellites. In this study, the snow density was retrieved using the Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite radiometer observations at 43 stations in Quebec, Canada. We used a one-layer snow radiative transfer model and added a τ-ω vegetation model over the snow to consider the forest influence. We developed an objective method to estimate the forest parameters (τ, ω) and soil roughness (SD) from SMOS measurements during the snow-free period and applied them to estimate snow density. Prior knowledge of soil permittivity was used in the entire process, which was calculated from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) soil simulations using a frozen soil dielectric model. Results showed that the retrieved snow density had an overall root-mean-squared error (RMSE) of 83 kg/m3 for all stations, with a mean bias of 9.4 kg/m3. The RMSE can be further reduced if an artificial tuning of three predetermined parameters (τ, ω, and SD) is allowed to reduce systematic biases at some stations. The remote sensing retrieved snow density outperforms the reanalysis snow density from GLDAS in terms of bias and temporal variation characteristics.
Algorithms for Hyperparameter Tuning of LSTMs for Time Series Forecasting
Authors: Dhake Harshal , Kashyap Yashwant , Kosmopoulos Panagiotis
Published: April 2023

The rapid growth in the use of Solar Energy for sustaining energy demand around the world requires accurate forecasts of Solar Irradiance to estimate the contribution of solar power to the power grid. Accurate forecasts for higher time horizons help to balance the power grid effectively and efficiently. Traditional forecasting techniques rely on physical weather parameters and complex mathematical models. However, these techniques are time-consuming and produce accurate results only for short forecast horizons. Deep Learning Techniques like Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) networks are employed to learn and predict complex varying time series data. However, LSTM networks are susceptible to poor performance due to improper configuration of hyperparameters. This work introduces two new algorithms for hyperparameter tuning of LSTM networks and a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based data decomposition technique. This work also proposes an optimised workflow for training LSTM networks based on the above techniques. The results show a significant fitness increase from 81.20% to 95.23% and a 53.42% reduction in RMSE for 90 min ahead forecast after using the optimised training workflow. The results were compared to several other techniques for forecasting solar energy for multiple forecast horizons.
Development of a Fast Convergence Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix for Sea Surface Wind Direction Extraction from Marine Radar Images
Authors: Wang Hui , Li Shiyu , Qiu Haiyang , Lu Zhizhong , Wei Yanbo , Zhu Zhiyu , Ge Huilin
Published: April 2023

The new sea surface wind direction from the X-band marine radar image is proposed in this study using a fast convergent gray-level co-occurrence matrix (FC-GLCM) algorithm. First, the radar image is sampled directly without the need for interpolation due to the algorithm’s application of the GLCM to the polar co-ordinate system, which reduces the inaccuracy caused by image transformation. An additional process is then to merge the fast convergence method with the optimized GLCM so that the circular transition between rough and fine estimates is acquired, resulting in the fast convergence and accuracy improvement of the GLCM. Furthermore, the algorithm will affect the GLCM spatial distribution while calculating it, and it can automatically resolve the 180° ambiguity problem of sea surface wind direction retrieved from radar images. Finally, the proposed method is applied to 1436 X-band marine radar sequences collected from the coast of the East China Sea. Compared with in situ anemometer data, the correlation coefficient is as high as 0.9268, and the RMSE is 4.9867°. The new method was also tested under diverse sea conditions. The FC-GLCM wind direction results against the adaptive reduced method (ARM), energy spectrum method (ESM), and the traditional GLCM (T-GLCM) method produced the best stability and accuracy, in which the RMSE decreased by 91.6%, 67.7%, and 18.1%, respectively.
Energy-Based Unmixing Method for Low Background Concentration Oil Spills at Sea
Authors: Lu Huimin , Li Ying , Liu Bingxin
Published: April 2023

Marine oil spills have caused severe environmental pollution with long-term toxic effects on marine ecosystems and coastal habitants. Hyperspectral remote sensing is currently used in efforts to respond to oil spills. Spectral unmixing plays a key role in hyperspectral imaging because of its ability to extract accurate fractional abundances of constituent materials from spectrums collected by sensors. However, multiple oil-propagating processes provide different mixing states of oil and water, thereby involving complicated, nonlinear mixing effects between in-depth elements in water, especially those with a low concentration. Therefore, an accurate inversion of material abundance remains a challenging yet fundamental task. This study proposes an unmixing method with normalizers in a combined polynomial and sine model to resolve overfitting problems. An energy information-based wavelet package scheme effectively highlights the latent information of the concerned material. Experimental analyses of synthetic and real data indicate that the proposed method shows superior unmixing performance, especially in delivering more accurate abundance estimations of different background oil concentration levels as low as a fractional abundance of 10−5, and can be used for long-term monitoring of oil propagation.
Unveiling Temperature Patterns in Tree Canopies across Diverse Heights and Types
Authors: Shaik Riyaaz Uddien , Jallu Sriram Babu , Doctor Katarina
Published: April 2023

Forests are some of the major ecosystems that help in mitigating the effects of climate change. Understanding the relation between the surface temperatures of different vegetation and trees and their heights is very crucial in understanding events such as wildfires. In this work, relationships between tree canopy temperature and canopy height with respect to vegetation types were extracted. The southern part of Sardinia Island, which has dense forests and is often affected by wildfires, was selected as the region of interest. PRISMA hyperspectral imagery has been used to map all the available vegetation types in the region of interest using the support vector machine classifier with an accuracy of >80% for all classes. The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation’s (GEDI) L2A Raster Canopy Top Height product provides canopy height measurements in spatially discrete footprints, and to overcome this issue of discontinuous sampling, Random Forest Regression was used on Sentinel-1 SAR data, Sentinel-2 multispectral data, and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) to estimate the canopy heights of various vegetation classes, with a root mean squared error (RMSE) value of 2.9176 m and a coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.791. Finally, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Surface Temperature (LST) and emissivity product provides ground surface temperature regardless of land use and land cover (LULC) types. LST measurements over tree canopies are considered as the tree canopy temperature. We estimated the relationship between the canopy temperature of five vegetation types (evergreen oak, olive, juniper, silicicole, riparian trees) and the corresponding canopy heights and vegetation types. The resulting scatter plots showed that lower tree canopy temperatures correspond with higher tree canopies with a correlation coefficient in the range of −0.4 to −0.5 for distinct types of vegetation.
Stem Quality Estimates Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning Voxelized Data and a Voting-Based Branch Detection Algorithm
Authors: Olofsson Kenneth , Holmgren Johan
Published: April 2023

A new algorithm for detecting branch attachments on stems based on a voxel approach and line object detection by a voting procedure is introduced. This algorithm can be used to evaluate the quality of stems by giving the branch density of each standing tree. The detected branches were evaluated using field-sampled trees. The algorithm detected 63% of the total amount of branch whorls and 90% of the branch whorls attached in the height interval from 0 to 10 m above ground. The suggested method could be used to create maps of forest stand stem quality data.
Investigating the Potential Climatic Effects of Atmospheric Pollution across China under the National Clean Air Action Plan
Authors: Dilawar Adil , Chen Baozhang , Ul-Haq Zia , Amir Muhammad , Arshad Arfan , Hassan Mujtaba , Guo Man , Shafeeque Muhammad , Fang Junjun , Song Boyang , Zhang Huifang
Published: April 2023

To reduce air pollution, China adopted rigorous control mechanisms and announced the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) in 2013. Here, using OMI satellite, the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Application Center (SEDAC), and Fifth ECMWF (ERA5) data at a 0.25° × 0.25° resolution, we explored changes in NO2, PM, SO2, and O3 and climatology over China in response to the Action Plan between 2004 and 2021. This study attempts to investigate the long term trend analysis of air pollution and climatic variations during two scenarios before (2004–2013) and after (2013–2021) APPCAP. We investigated the climatic effects of air pollution in China before and after APPCAP adoption using geographically weighted regression (GWR) and differential models to assess the contribution of air pollution. The spatial representation analysis demonstrated how air pollution affected climatic factors before and after the APPCAP. Several important findings were derived: (1) the APPCAP significantly influenced air pollution reduction in China post-scenario (2013–2021); (2) the Mann Kendall test investigated that all pollutants showed an increasing trend pre-APPCAP, while they showed a decreasing trend, except for O3, post-APPCAP; (3) for climatic factors, the MK test showed an increasing trend of precipitation and mean minimum air temperature tmin post-APPCAP; (4) innovative trend analysis (ITA) showed a reduction in NO2, SO2, and PM, although O3 showed no trend post-APPCAP; and (5) pre-scenario, NO2 contributed to an increase in the mean maximum air temperature (tmax) by 0.62 °C, PM contributed to raising tmin by 0.41 °C, while O3 reduced the tmax(tmin) by 0.15 °C (0.05 °C). PM increased tmax and precipitation with a magnitude 0.38 °C (7.38 mm), and NO2 contributed to increasing tmin by (0.35 °C), respectively, post-scenario. In particular, post-scenario led to an increase in tmin and precipitation across China. The results and discussion presented in this study can be beneficial for policymakers in China to establish long-term management plans for air pollution and climatological changes.
Exploiting Cooperative Downlink NOMA in D2D Communications
Authors: Rauniyar Ashish , Østerbø Olav N. , Håkegård Jan Erik , Engelstad Paal
Published: April 2023

We propose and investigate a bidirectional device-to-device (D2D) transmission scheme that exploits cooperative downlink non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) (termed as BCD-NOMA). In BCD-NOMA, two source nodes communicate with their corresponding destination nodes via a relaying node while exchanging bidirectional D2D messages simultaneously. BCD-NOMA is designed for improved outage probability (OP) performance, high ergodic capacity (EC) and high energy efficiency by allowing two sources to share the same relaying node for data transmission to their corresponding destination nodes while also facilitating bidirectional D2D communications exploiting downlink NOMA. Simulation and analytical expressions of the OP, EC and ergodic sum capacity (ESC) under both perfect and imperfect successive interference cancellation (SIC) are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of BCD-NOMA compared to conventional schemes.
Nut Geometry Inspection Using Improved Hough Line and Circle Methods
Authors: Lin En-Yu , Tu Ching-Ting , Lien Jenn-Jier James
Published: April 2023

Nuts are the cornerstone of human industrial construction, especially A-grade nuts that can only be used in power plants, precision instruments, aircraft, and rockets. However, the traditional nuts inspection method is to manually operate the measuring instrument for conducting an inspection, so the quality of the A-grade nut cannot be guaranteed. In this work, a machine vision-based inspection system was proposed, which performs a real-time geometric inspection of the nuts before and after tapping on the production line. In order to automatically screen out A-Grade nuts on the production line, there are 7 inspections within this proposed nut inspection system. The measurements of parallel, opposite side length, straightness, radius, roundness, concentricity, and eccentricity were proposed. To shorten the overall detection time regarding nut production, the program needed to be accurate and uncomplicated. By modifying the Hough line and Hough circle, the algorithm became faster and more suitable for nut detection. The optimized Hough line and Hough circle can be used for all measures in the testing process.
Multi-Mode Model Predictive Control Approach for Steel Billets Reheating Furnaces
Authors: Zanoli Silvia Maria , Pepe Crescenzo , Orlietti Lorenzo
Published: April 2023

In this paper, a unified level 2 Advanced Process Control system for steel billets reheating furnaces is proposed. The system is capable of managing all process conditions that can occur in different types of furnaces, e.g., walking beam and pusher type. A multi-mode Model Predictive Control approach is proposed together with a virtual sensor and a control mode selector. The virtual sensor provides billet tracking, together with updated process and billet information; the control mode selector module defines online the best control mode to be applied. The control mode selector uses a tailored activation matrix and, in each control mode, a different subset of controlled variables and specifications are considered. All furnace conditions (production, planned/unplanned shutdowns/downtimes, and restarts) are managed and optimized. The reliability of the proposed approach is proven by the different installations in various European steel industries. Significant energy efficiency and process control results were obtained after the commissioning of the designed system on the real plants, replacing operators’ manual conduction and/or previous level 2 systems control.
Multi-Camera-Based Sorting System for Surface Defects of Apples
Authors: Lee Ju-Hwan , Vo Hoang-Trong , Kwon Gyeong-Ju , Kim Hyoung-Gook , Kim Jin-Young
Published: April 2023

In this paper, we addressed the challenges in sorting high-yield apple cultivars that traditionally relied on manual labor or system-based defect detection. Existing single-camera methods failed to uniformly capture the entire surface of apples, potentially leading to misclassification due to defects in unscanned areas. Various methods were proposed where apples were rotated using rollers on a conveyor. However, since the rotation was highly random, it was difficult to scan the apples uniformly for accurate classification. To overcome these limitations, we proposed a multi-camera-based apple sorting system with a rotation mechanism that ensured uniform and accurate surface imaging. The proposed system applied a rotation mechanism to individual apples while simultaneously utilizing three cameras to capture the entire surface of the apples. This method offered the advantage of quickly and uniformly acquiring the entire surface compared to single-camera and random rotation conveyor setups. The images captured by the system were analyzed using a CNN classifier deployed on embedded hardware. To maintain excellent CNN classifier performance while reducing its size and inference time, we employed knowledge distillation techniques. The CNN classifier demonstrated an inference speed of 0.069 s and an accuracy of 93.83% based on 300 apple samples. The integrated system, which included the proposed rotation mechanism and multi-camera setup, took a total of 2.84 s to sort one apple. Our proposed system provided an efficient and precise solution for detecting defects on the entire surface of apples, improving the sorting process with high reliability.
Validating Force Sensitive Resistor Strip Sensors for Cardiorespiratory Measurement during Sleep: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Haghi Mostafa , Asadov Akhmadbek , Boiko Andrei , Ortega Juan Antonio , Martínez Madrid Natividad , Seepold Ralf
Published: April 2023

Sleep disorders can impact daily life, affecting physical, emotional, and cognitive well-being. Due to the time-consuming, highly obtrusive, and expensive nature of using the standard approaches such as polysomnography, it is of great interest to develop a noninvasive and unobtrusive in-home sleep monitoring system that can reliably and accurately measure cardiorespiratory parameters while causing minimal discomfort to the user’s sleep. We developed a low-cost Out of Center Sleep Testing (OCST) system with low complexity to measure cardiorespiratory parameters. We tested and validated two force-sensitive resistor strip sensors under the bed mattress covering the thoracic and abdominal regions. Twenty subjects were recruited, including 12 males and 8 females. The ballistocardiogram signal was processed using the 4th smooth level of the discrete wavelet transform and the 2nd order of the Butterworth bandpass filter to measure the heart rate and respiration rate, respectively. We reached a total error (concerning the reference sensors) of 3.24 beats per minute and 2.32 rates for heart rate and respiration rate, respectively. For males and females, heart rate errors were 3.47 and 2.68, and respiration rate errors were 2.32 and 2.33, respectively. We developed and verified the reliability and applicability of the system. It showed a minor dependency on sleeping positions, one of the major cumbersome sleep measurements. We identified the sensor under the thoracic region as the optimal configuration for cardiorespiratory measurement. Although testing the system with healthy subjects and regular patterns of cardiorespiratory parameters showed promising results, further investigation is required with the bandwidth frequency and validation of the system with larger groups of subjects, including patients.