bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Min–Max Optimal Control of Robot Manipulators Affected by Sensor Faults
Authors: Milić Vladimir , Kasać Josip , Lukas Marin
Published: February 2023

This paper is concerned with the control law synthesis for robot manipulators, which guarantees that the effect of the sensor faults is kept under a permissible level, and ensures the stability of the closed-loop system. Based on Lyapunov’s stability analysis, the conditions that enable the application of the simple bisection method in the optimization procedure were derived. The control law, with certain properties that make the construction of the Lyapunov function much easier—and, thus, the determination of stability conditions—was considered. Furthermore, the optimization problem was formulated as a class of problem in which minimization and maximization of the same performance criterion were simultaneously carried out. The algorithm proposed to solve the related zero-sum differential game was based on Newton’s method with recursive matrix relations, in which the first- and second-order derivatives of the objective function are calculated using hyper-dual numbers. The results of this paper were evaluated in simulation on a robot manipulator with three degrees of freedom.
UWB Sensing for UAV and Human Comparative Movement Characterization
Authors: Digulescu Angela , Despina-Stoian Cristina , Popescu Florin , Stanescu Denis , Nastasiu Dragos , Sburlan Dragos
Published: February 2023

Nowadays, unmanned aerial vehicles/drones are involved in a continuously growing number of security incidents. Therefore, the research interest in drone versus human movement detection and characterization is justified by the fact that such devices represent a potential threat for indoor/office intrusion, while normally, a human presence is allowed after passing several security points. Our paper comparatively characterizes the movement of a drone and a human in an indoor environment. The movement map was obtained using advanced signal processing methods such as wavelet transform and the phase diagram concept, and applied to the signal acquired from UWB sensors.
Multiplicative Attacks with Essential Stealthiness in Sensor and Actuator Loops against Cyber-Physical Systems
Authors: Chen Jingzhao , Liu Bin , Li Tengfei , Hu Yong
Published: February 2023

Stealthy attacks in sensor and actuator loops are the research priorities in the security of cyber-physical systems. Existing attacks define the stealthiness conditions against the Chi-square or Kullback-Leibler divergence detectors and parameterize the attack model based on additive signals. Such conditions ignore the potential anomalies of the vulnerable outputs in the control layer, and the attack sequences need to be generated online, increasing the hardware and software costs. This paper investigates a type of multiplicative attack with essential stealthiness where the employed model is a novel form. The advantage is that the parameters can be designed in a constant form without having to be generated online. An essential stealthiness condition is proposed for the first time and complements the existing ones. Two sufficient conditions for the existence of constant attack matrices are given in the form of theorems, where two methods for decoupling the unknown variables are particularly considered. A quadruple-tank process, an experimental platform for attack and defense, is developed to verify the theoretical results. The experiments indicate that the proposed attack strategy can fulfill both the attack performance and stealthiness conditions.
Adaptive Beam Splitting-Based Broadband Hybrid Precoding for Terahertz Massive MIMO
Authors: Xu Lei , Liu Yu , Chang Jing , Fang Hongyu , Li Xiaohui
Published: February 2023

Terahertz massive MIMO systems can be used in the local area network (LAN) scene of maritime communication and has great application prospects. To solve the problems of excessive beam training overhead in beam tracking and beam splitting in beam aggregation, a broadband hybrid precoding (HP) is proposed. First, an additional delayer is introduced between each phase shifter and the corresponding antenna in the classical sub-connected HP structure. Then, by precisely designing the time delay of the delayer and the phase shift of the phase shifter, broadband beams with flexible and controllable coverage can be generated. Finally, the simulation results verify that the proposed HP can achieve fast-tracking and high-energy-efficient communication for multiple mobile users.
Improved Estimation of Exercise Intensity Thresholds by Combining Dual Non-Invasive Biomarker Concepts: Correlation Properties of Heart Rate Variability and Respiratory Frequency
Authors: Rogers Bruce , Schaffarczyk Marcelle , Gronwald Thomas
Published: February 2023

Identifying exercise intensity boundaries has been shown to be important during endurance training for performance enhancement and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, even though surrogate markers show promise when assessed on a group level, substantial deviation from gold standards can be present in each individual. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether combining two surrogate intensity markers improved this agreement. Electrocardiogram (ECG) and gas exchange data were obtained from 21 participants who performed an incremental cycling ramp to exhaustion and evaluated for first (VT1) and second (VT2) ventilatory thresholds, heart rate (HR) variability (HRV), and ECG derived respiratory frequency (EDR). HRV thresholds (HRVT) were based on the non-linear index a1 of a Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA a1) and EDR thresholds (EDRT) upon the second derivative of the sixth-order polynomial of EDR over time. The average of HRVT and EDRT HR was set as the combined threshold (Combo). Mean VT1 was reached at a HR of 141 ± 15, HRVT1 at 152 ± 14 (p < 0.001), EDRT1 at 133 ± 12 (p < 0.001), and Combo1 at 140 ± 13 (p = 0.36) bpm with Pearson’s r of 0.83, 0.78, and 0.84, respectively, for comparisons to VT1. A Bland–Altman analysis showed mean biases of 8.3 ± 7.9, −8.3 ± 9.5, and −1.7 ± 8.3 bpm, respectively. A mean VT2 was reached at a HR of 165 ± 13, HRVT2 at 167 ± 10 (p = 0.89), EDRT2 at 164 ± 14 (p = 0.36), and Combo2 at 164 ± 13 (p = 0.59) bpm with Pearson’s r of 0.58, 0.95, and 0.94, respectively, for comparisons to VT2. A Bland–Altman analysis showed mean biases of −0.3 ± 8.9, −1.0 ± 4.6, and −0.6 ± 4.6 bpm, respectively. Both the DFA a1 and EDR intensity thresholds based on HR taken individually had moderate agreement to targets derived through gas exchange measurements. By combining both non-invasive approaches, there was improved correlation, reduced bias, and limits of agreement to the respective corresponding HRs at VT1 and VT2.
Reduced Graphene Oxide/Polyelectrolyte Multilayers for Fast Resistive Humidity Sensing
Authors: Noh Woojin , Go Yuchan , An Hyosung
Published: February 2023

Fast humidity sensors are of interest due to their potential application in new sensing technologies such as wearable personal healthcare and environment sensing devices. However, the realization of rapid response/recovery humidity sensors remains challenging primarily due to the sluggish adsorption/desorption of water molecules, which particularly impacts the response/recovery times. Moreover, another key factor for fast humidity sensing, namely the attainment of equal response and recovery times, has often been neglected. Herein, the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of a reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/polyelectrolyte is demonstrated for application in fast humidity sensors. The resulting sensors exhibit fast response and recovery times of 0.75 and 0.85 s (corresponding to times per RH range of 0.24 and 0.27 s RH−1, respectively), providing a difference of only 0.1 s (corresponding to 0.03 s RH−1). This performance exceeds that of the majority of previously reported graphene oxide (GO)- or rGO-based humidity sensors. In addition, the polyelectrolyte deposition time is shown to be key to controlling the humidity sensing kinetics. The as-developed rapid sensing system is expected to provide useful guidance for the tailorable design of fast humidity sensors.
A Method to Improve Mounting Tolerance of Open-Type Optical Linear Encoder
Authors: Lu Xinji , Kilikevičius Artūras , Yang Fan , Gurauskis Donatas
Published: February 2023

Accuracy becomes progressively important in the wake of development in advanced industrial equipment. A key position sensor to such a quest is the optical linear encoder. Occasionally, inappropriate mounting can cause errors greater than the accuracy grade of the optical linear encoder itself, especially for open-type optical linear encoders, where the mounting distance between the reading head and main scale must be accurately controlled. This paper analyzes the diffraction fields of a traditional scanning reticle made by amplitude grating and a newly designed combined grating; the latter shows a more stable phase in mathematical calculation and simulations. The proposed combined gratings are fabricated in a laboratory and assembled into the reading heads. The experimental results indicate that the mounting tolerance between the reading head and the main scale of the optical linear encoder can be improved.
The Detection of Yarn Roll’s Margin in Complex Background
Authors: Wang Junru , Shi Zhiwei , Shi Weimin , Wang Hongpeng
Published: February 2023

Online detection of yarn roll’s margin is one of the key issues in textile automation, which is related to the speed and scheduling of bobbin (empty yarn roll) replacement. The actual industrial site is characterized by uneven lighting, restricted shooting angles, diverse yarn colors and cylinder yarn types, and complex backgrounds. Due to the above characteristics, the neural network detection error is large, and the contour detection extraction edge accuracy is low. In this paper, an improved neural network algorithm is proposed, and the improved Yolo algorithm and the contour detection algorithm are integrated. First, the image is entered in the Yolo model to detect each yarn roll and its dimensions; second, the contour and dimensions of each yarn roll are accurately detected based on Yolo; third, the diameter of the yarn rolls detected by Yolo and the contour detection algorithm are fused, and then the length of the yarn rolls and the edges of the yarn rolls are calculated as measurements; finally, in order to completely eliminate the error detection, the yarn consumption speed is used to estimate the residual yarn volume and the measured and estimated values are fused using a Kalman filter. This method overcomes the effects of complex backgrounds and illumination while being applicable to different types of yarn rolls. It is experimentally verified that the average measurement error of the cylinder yarn diameter is less than 8.6 mm, and the measurement error of the cylinder yarn length does not exceed 3 cm.
Uncertainty Estimation for Quantitative Agarose Gel Electrophoresis of Nucleic Acids
Authors: Semenov Konstantin , Taraskin Aleksandr , Yurchenko Alexandra , Baranovskaya Irina , Purvinsh Lada , Gyulikhandanova Natalia , Vasin Andrey
Published: February 2023

This paper considers the evaluation of uncertainty of quantitative gel electrophoresis. To date, such uncertainty estimation presented in the literature are based on the multiple measurements performed for assessing the intra- and interlaboratory reproducibility using standard samples. This paper shows how to estimate the uncertainty in cases where we cannot study scattering components of the results. The first point is dedicated to a case where we have standard samples (the direct expressions are shown). The second point considers the situation when standard samples are absent (the algorithm for estimating the lower bound for uncertainty is discussed). The role of the data processing algorithm is demonstrated.
Practical Application of Drive-By Monitoring Technology to Road Roughness Estimation Using Buses in Service
Authors: Yamamoto Kyosuke , Shin Ryota , Sakuma Katsuki , Ono Masaaki , Okada Yukihiko
Published: February 2023

The efficiency of vehicles and travel comfort are maintained by the effective management of road pavement conditions. Pavement conditions can be inspected at a low cost by drive-by monitoring technology. Drive-by monitoring technology is a method of collecting data from sensors installed on a running vehicle. This technique enables quick and low-cost inspections. However, most existing technologies assume that the vehicle runs at a constant speed. Therefore, this study devises a theoretical framework that estimates road unevenness without prior information about the vehicle’s mechanical parameters even when the running speed changes. This paper also shows the required function of sensors for this scheme. The required ability is to collect the three-axis acceleration vibration and position data simultaneously. A field experiment was performed to examine the applicability of sensors with both functions to the proposed methods. Each sensor was installed on a bus in service in this field experiment. The vehicle’s natural frequency estimated from the measured data ranges from 1 to 2 Hz, but the natural frequency estimated by the proposed method is 0.71 Hz. However, the estimated road unevenness does not change significantly with changes in the vehicle’s estimated parameters. The results found that the accuracy of road unevenness estimation seems to be acceptable with the conventional method and the new method. Future work will include improving the algorithm and accuracy verification of the schemes.
Autonomous Vehicle Dataset with Real Multi-Driver Scenes and Biometric Data
Authors: Rosique Francisca , Navarro Pedro J. , Miller Leanne , Salas Eduardo
Published: February 2023

The development of autonomous vehicles is becoming increasingly popular and gathering real-world data is considered a valuable task. Many datasets have been published recently in the autonomous vehicle sector, with synthetic datasets gaining particular interest due to availability and cost. For a real implementation and correct evaluation of vehicles at higher levels of autonomy, it is also necessary to consider human interaction, which is precisely something that lacks in existing datasets. In this article the UPCT dataset is presented, a public dataset containing high quality, multimodal data obtained using state-of-the-art sensors and equipment installed onboard the UPCT’s CICar autonomous vehicle. The dataset includes data from a variety of perception sensors including 3D LiDAR, cameras, IMU, GPS, encoders, as well as driver biometric data and driver behaviour questionnaires. In addition to the dataset, the software developed for data synchronisation and processing has been made available. The quality of the dataset was validated using an end-to-end neural network model with multiple inputs to obtain the speed and steering wheel angle and it obtained very promising results.
Enhancing the Yield Potential of Soybean after Magneto-Priming: Detailed Study on Its Relation to Underlying Physiological Processes
Authors: Joshi-Paneri Juhie , Sharma Sonika , Guruprasad Kadur. N. , Kataria Sunita
Published: February 2023

Soybean (Glycine max) is one of the most important proteins and oilseed crops in the world due to a boom in its demand. In order to meet this demand, various modern agricultural methods are being employed, of which magneto-priming (treatment of seeds with magnetic field) is becoming the most popular technique owing to its efficiency and eco-friendly nature to improve seed vigour, growth and yield of soybean plants. Therefore, we conducted a field experiment to evaluate the impact of magneto-priming of seeds with static magnetic field on soybean var. JS-335 plants. We used static magnetic field (SMF) strengths of 150 mT (1 h) and 200 mT (1 h) for this study. Both the SMF treatments improved growth (shoot as well as root growth parameters), carbon fixation (PSII efficiency, gas exchange parameters, carbonic anhydrase activity) and nitrogen fixation (leghemoglobin content, total protein content, nitrate reductase activity). We observed an association between these parameters which contributed to biomass accumulation and hence to the enhanced crop yield. In addition, reduced levels of ASA (reduced form of ascorbate), MDA (malondialdehyde) and antioxidant enzymes suggest that magneto-priming alleviates oxidative stress in SMF-primed soybean plants. Field strength of 200 mT (1 h) proved to be more effective in improving all the parameters as compared to 150 mT. Our study suggested that pre-sowing SMF treatment can be efficaciously employed for improving the growth, development and production of soybean.
Development of Micro-Column Preconcentration Method Using a Restricted-Access Poly(protoporphyrin-co-vinyl pyridine) Adsorbent for Copper Determination in Water and Milk Samples by FIA-FAAS
Authors: Cajamarca Suquila Fabio , Bertoldo Letícia , Lins Eduardo , Tarley César
Published: February 2023

For years, researchers have focused on the determination of metal ions at trace levels in environmental and food samples using analytical methods that employ techniques with low cost acquisition and maintenance and without microwave-assisted acid digestion procedures or aggressive reagents. Therefore, the present study deals with the synthesis and application of a novel, restricted-access poly(protoporphyrin-co-vinyl pyridine) adsorbent to preconcentrate copper in water samples and bovine milk that have only been subjected to pH adjusting (pH 6.0) and filtration using posterior on-line determination by FAAS. Regarding macromolecules, the restricted-access property of the adsorbent was achieved using the hydrophilic compound 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). This method is based on the preconcentration of Cu2+ ions using a flow-injection system which is buffered with 0.05 mol L−1 of Britton–Robinson (BR) at a pH of 6.0 and has a flow rate of 14.0 mL min−1 through a mini-column packed with 50.0 mg of adsorbent. The elution was carried out using 0.40 mol L−1 of HCl toward the FAAS detector. The developed method provided a preconcentration factor of 44.7-fold, low limits of detection (LOD) (0.90 µg L−1) and quantification (LOQ) (2.90 µg L−1), tolerance to interfering ions (95.0 and 103.0%), and intra-day and inter-day precision assessed as the RSD (percentage of relative standard deviation), which ranged from 3.08 to 4.80%. The restricted-access poly(protoporphyrin-co-vinyl pyridine) adsorbent demonstrated outstanding features to exclude macromolecules, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and humic acid (HA) from an aqueous medium. Lake water and bovine milk samples were analyzed by the proposed preconcentration method with minimal sample pretreatment (which was based mainly on pH adjusting and filtration using an analytical curve with external calibration), yielding recovery values from addition and recovery tests ranging from 91.7 to 101.9%. The developed method shows great advantages over previously published methods, avoiding the time-consuming use of concentrated acids in a microwave-assisted acid digestion procedure.
Combined Effects of Polyamide Microplastics and Hydrochemical Factors on the Transport of Bisphenol A in Groundwater
Authors: Cheng Zhou , Lin Xuanhao , Wu Ming , Lu Guoping , Hao Yanru , Mo Cehui , Li Qusheng , Wu Jianfeng , Wu Jichun , Hu Bill X.
Published: February 2023

Polyamide (PA) and bisphenol A (BPA) are selected as typical microplastic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in this study. The adsorption of BPA on the surface of PA and the effect of PA on the transport behavior of BPA in groundwater are systematically investigated using a combination of batch experiments, column experiments and numerical models. The results of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) show that the surface of PA particles is changed significantly after adsorption of BPA. The isothermal adsorption process of BPA can be simulated by the Langmuir model and the Freundlich model. Kinetic adsorption, on the other hand, can be fitted by a quasi-first-order adsorption model, and the adsorption results indicate that the maximum adsorption of BPA on PA reaches 13 mg·g−1. The results of the column experiments suggest that the mass recovery rate of BPA decreases with PA content, and increases with flow velocity, while initial concentration has no apparent influence on BPA transport. In addition, due to the hydrolysis of BPA, the mass recovery rate of BPA does not change with pH under conditions of pH < 10.2 and increases substantially to 94% when pH > 10.2. Moreover, Ca2+ has a significant inhibitory effect on the transport of BPA, while Na+ has no apparent influence on the transport of BPA. The transport process of BPA in porous media is simulated using a single-point kinetic model, and the fitted mathematical relationships for the variation of kinetic parameters with environmental factors are obtained by regression analysis.
Synthesis and Surface Modification of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for the Extraction of Cadmium Ions in Food and Water Samples: A Chemometric Study
Authors: Shah Faheem , Ghafoor Munazza
Published: February 2023

In this project, a prompt, efficient, and effective method for Cd2+ ions extraction from different food and water samples using magnetic dispersion-based solid phase extraction by functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles was proposed. Iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized through the co-precipitation method followed by functionalization with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and 3-aminopropyl silane (APTES) to obtain Fe3O4@SiO2@APTES. This composite was characterized through different techniques, including vibrating sample magnetometer, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, FTIR, SEM, XRD, and BET. Variables studied were pH, temperature, sorbent amount, sonication time, and sample and eluent volume affecting the sorption efficacy of freshly synthesized sorbent. Plackett–Burman design was utilized for the identification of significant factors for microextraction of target analyte, while the central composite design was utilized for the optimization of significant factors. Detection and quantification limits obtained were 0.17 and 0.58 μgL−1, respectively, with an enhancement factor of 83.5. Under optimum conditions, Fe3O4@SiO2@APTES showed good stability even after >80 adsorption/desorption cycles run while maintaining over 96% analyte recoveries. The developed method was validated by assessing certified reference materials and standard addition methodology for Cd2+ detection in real samples. To confirm the precision, repeatability (RSDr) and reproducibility (RSDR) were calculated and found as <3.0 (n = 7) and <7.5 (n = 15), respectively. Furthermore, in accordance with the ISO/IEC 17025 recommendations, the validation was also confirmed through a “bottom-up” approach while considering all possible uncertainties in data.
Telling Disabled and Autistic Sexuality Stories: Reflecting upon the Current Research Landscape and Possible Future Developments
Authors: Toft Alex
Published: February 2023

Developments in the study of sexuality in the lives of disabled people have been relatively slow, as the spectre of a medicalised model continues to dominate most debates and invalidate any form of sexual identity. The social model of disability has enabled the amplification of voices that have been previously silenced; however, progress has stalled. Within autism studies, however, the rise of neurodiversity studies coupled with intersectionality, has presented an opportunity to explore sexualities in terms of difference rather than deficiency, therefore bypassing deficit models which have dominated any study of non-heterosexual lives. Such deficit models have focussed upon discovering what it is about autism that leads autistic people to think they are non-heterosexual, often resulting in a lack of support for young LGBT+ people as sexuality is dismissed as a result of autism. Reflecting upon findings from my own ongoing work alongside emerging social research, this article explores important developments and potential future directions. This will highlight the progress made and the barriers remaining. Using a sociological approach and a framework inspired by Plummer, which focusses upon the importance of sexual stories, the article will show that much needs to be done. The diversity of goals and multiplicity of stories means that disabled and autistic sexuality stories have not been accepted into the public consciousness.
A New Soft-Clipping Discrete Beta GARCH Model and Its Application on Measles Infection
Authors: Chen Huaping
Published: February 2023

In this paper, we develop a novel soft-clipping discrete beta GARCH (ScDBGARCH) model that provides an available method to model bounded time series with under-dispersion, equi-dispersion or over-dispersion. The new model not only allows positive dependence, but also negative dependence. The stochastic properties of the models are established, and these results are, in turn, used in the analysis of the asymptotic properties of the conditional maximum likelihood (CML) estimator of the new model. In addition, we apply the new model to measles infection to show its improved performance.
Revisiting the Value of Various Ecosystems: Considering Spatiality and Disaster Concern
Authors: Komatsubara Kento , Keeley Alexander Ryota , Managi Shunsuke
Published: February 2023

Recently, concerns about ecosystem loss and the threat of disasters have emerged. Understanding people’s perception of the ecosystem’s value will lead to disaster adaptation through ecosystem conservation. We incorporated use and disaster attributes into a contingent valuation study to investigate Japanese peoples’ perceptions of the value of various ecosystems. We construct a concept representing ecosystems’ perceived disaster prevention and mitigation functions by investigating the effects of use status and disaster concerns on people’s preferences. Results revealed that almost all of the ecosystem’s disaster prevention and mitigation functions are not perceived by people. In some cases, people mistakenly avoid ecosystems that protect people from disasters. In conclusion, this concept and its findings facilitate an understanding of people’s perceptions of disaster prevention mitigation functions of ecosystems and promote the concrete practice of conserving ecosystems.
Climate Change Projection and Its Impacts on Building Façades in Singapore
Authors: Chew Lup Wai , Li Xian-Xiang , Chew Michael Y. L.
Published: February 2023

Singapore is one of the most populous countries, and the majority of the population stays in high-rise public flats. In 2021, there were about 1.1 million public residential units, of which 79% were above 20 years old. The number of incidents of falling objects from a height has been increasing due to the aging and deterioration of buildings. The Periodic Façade Inspection (PFI) regime was enacted in 2020 to mandate façade inspections for all buildings above 13 m and exceeding 20 years old. However, the relatively new PFI regime has not considered the potential impacts of climate change on building façades. In this paper, the common root causes of façade defects that can be impacted by climate change are first identified. Based on the climate projection in Singapore to 2100, Singapore is expected to experience a higher mean temperature, a higher rainfall intensity, more extreme rainfall events, and a higher wind gust speed. Overall, these changes in the climate pattern will accelerate corrosion or degradation, material fatigue, adhesion failure, biological attack, and humidity or dampness. The impacts of climate change on vertical greeneries are also discussed. This paper provides a first insight into the key concerns to focus on for the future revision and improvement of the PFI regime to incorporate climate change impacts on façades.
Do Financial Linkages Ease the Credit Rationing of Forest Rights Mortgage Loans? Evidence from Farm Households in Fujian Province, China
Authors: Li Li , Huang Heliang , Huang Senwei , Chen Siying
Published: February 2023

Affected by the small scale of forest farmers’ land and the imperfect development of the forest land transfer market, China’s forest rights mortgage loans have suffered from more serious credit rationing. The application of financial linkage theoretically has the effect of solving credit rationing. However, previous studies on financial linkages have focused on the field of credit lending, whereas the applied studies in the field of mortgage lending are mainly case studies on transaction models, and empirical tests on the application of financial linkages in mortgage lending are lacking. Therefore, to fill this gap, this study analyzed the effect of financial linkage on credit rationing for forestry mortgage loans and the mechanism of action through a study of farmers in Fujian, one of the key collective forestry areas in China, using the PSM method with 785 sample values. The results show the following: (1) Financial linkages have a significant mitigating effect on supply rationing, demand rationing, and the total rationing of forest rights mortgage loans. Compared to non-participation, financial linkages significantly reduced total rationing by 15.2%, with a 5% reduction in supply rationing and a 10.2% reduction in demand rationing. (2) The impact of financial linkage differs significantly among heterogeneous farmers. It has a significant mitigating effect on supply rationing for small-scale farmers, but not for large-scale farmers; meanwhile, it better mitigates demand rationing for large-scale farmers than for small-scale farmers. (3) In the mechanistic test, financial linkages were found to moderate the relationship between the value of collateral and supply rationing for small-scale farmers, and transaction costs play an intermediary role in the relationship between financial linkages and demand-based rationing. According to the study results, in order to promote the development of forest rights mortgage loans, it is necessary to develop different lending strategies for heterogeneous farmers, to further encourage small- and medium-sized farmers to participate in financial linkages, as well as to further reduce the related transaction costs.
Digitalization of the Healthcare Supply Chain through the Adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems in Hospitals: An Empirical Study on Influencing Factors and Cost Performance
Authors: Bialas Christos , Bechtsis Dimitrios , Aivazidou Eirini , Achillas Charisios , Aidonis Dimitrios
Published: February 2023

Rising healthcare costs force healthcare organizations worldwide to reconsider their business strategies. Hospital managers are tasked with lowering operating costs while upholding the high quality of care, two goals perceived as contradictory by many healthcare professionals. Attempting to contribute towards reaching these goals, the study explores the digitalization of the healthcare supply chain through the adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and its impact on hospital supply chain costs. Established technology adoption theories are synthesized to develop a research model that investigates the adoption of hospital ERP systems and its impact on supply chain cost performance. The framework is validated via structural equation modeling (SEM) with data collected from 107 Greek public hospitals. The results indicate that technological and organizational readiness, hospital size, governmental policies, and perceived benefits have a significant influence on the extent of ERP systems adoption. They also demonstrate a statistically significant association between the use of ERP systems and hospital supply chain costs. The present study highlights the influencing factors of ERP systems adoption in hospitals and provides empirical evidence on the resulting cost benefits., This implies greater urgency for hospitals to digitalize their supply chain by implementing and fully exploiting the ERP systems’ functionality in order to reach their goal of delivering quality care at a lower cost.
Research on Highway Self-Consistent Energy System Planning with Uncertain Wind and Photovoltaic Power Output
Authors: Shi Ruifeng , Gao Yuqin , Ning Jin , Tang Keyi , Jia Limin
Published: February 2023

Highways are a critical consumer of energy. The integration of the highway and the energy system (ES) is a proven method towards carbon neutrality. The increasing energy demands of highway transportation infrastructure and the development of distributed energy and energy storage technologies drive the coupling between the highway system (HS) and the energy supply network, which is becoming tighter than ever before. Many scholars have explored the mode and path of integrated transportation and energy development. However, the energy and transportation systems’ coupling relationship and the collaborative planning scheme have not been thoroughly studied. Facing the increasing interconnection between transportation and energy networks, as well as addressing the demand for clean energy in highway transportation effectively, this paper proposes a highway self-consistent energy system (HSCES) planning model integrating uncertain wind and photovoltaic (PV) power output, so as to analyze the energy supply mode of the HS and determine the multi-energy capacity configuration of the self-consistent energy system (SCES). Firstly, the mathematical model related to each micro-generator of the SCES and the load aggregation scenario of the HS is established. Secondly, considering the uncertainty of renewable energy, this paper focuses on wind and PV power generation, and abatement technology, under uncertain conditions to ensure the best solution for reliability. Thirdly, taking the economy, reliability and the renewable energy utilization rate of the system into account, the system planning model is established under the condition of ensuring the system correlation constraints. Finally, the proposed method is validated using a section of the highway transportation system in western China. The results show that the hybrid energy storage planning scheme can cause the system’s renewable energy utilization rate to reach 99.61%, and the system’s power supply reliability to reach 99.74%. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out coordinated planning while considering the characteristics of the HS and the ES, which can minimize the planning cost of a HSCES, reduce the waste of wind and solar energy, and ensure the reliability of the power supply for the HS.
Correction: Aman et al. Impact of Tourist’s Environmental Awareness on Pro-Environmental Behavior with the Mediating Effect of Tourist’s Environmental Concern and Moderating Effect of Tourist’s Environmental Attachment. Sustainability 2021, 13, 12998
Authors: Aman Shahrukh , Hassan Nadir Munir , Khattak Mohammad Nisar , Moustafa Mohamed A. , Fakhri Mahendra , Ahmad Zeeshan
Published: February 2023

The authors would like to make the following corrections about the published paper [...]
Sustainable Facilities Management in the Built Environment: A Mixed-Method Review
Authors: Okoro Chioma Sylvia
Published: February 2023

The significance of facilities management practices in the built environment and the changing focus to include sustainability principles have been acknowledged. However, there is no consensus on the sustainability principles needed to ensure maximal benefits in the built environment. Few studies have systematically analysed and visualised the trends in facilities management sustainability research. This study thus explored facilities management research and its evolving focus over the past decade regarding sustainability. With a focus on the built environment, an exploratory study using scientometrics and content analysis was undertaken based on the extant literature from 2012 to 2022 published in the Scopus database. Keywords including “sustainable facilities management” and “built environment” were used to identify journal articles and conference papers. Interlinks were mapped and visualised using VOSviewer and complemented with findings from the content analysis. Findings showed that current research pathways centred around four clusters, including planning and implementation, community-oriented smart facilities management, innovativeness, and environmental and corporate energy management. These core research focus areas were mostly concentrated in the United Kingdom. The core researchers, institutions, funders, and sources were established. Future research gaps and directions based on knowledge areas and methodological and collaborative endeavours were highlighted. The study offers insights to facilities managers, researchers, analysts, and policymakers on the trajectory of sustainable facilities management research and the extent to which the sustainable development agenda has been embraced. The relations between SFM research and opportunities or areas of stronger focus given contemporary occurrences were identified.
Socio-Economic and Environmental Challenges of Small-Scale Fisheries: Prognosis for Sustainable Fisheries Management in Lake Kariba, Zambia
Authors: Imbwae Imikendu , Aswani Shankar , Sauer Warwick
Published: February 2023

The Lake Kariba fishery is of regional importance; it accounts for 35% of the total Zambian fish production. However, emerging evidence in the recent decades suggests that the fishery is facing socio-economic and environmental challenges. Using Ostrom’s framework for analysing socio-ecological systems, we examined the social, economic, and environmental problems faced by the fishing communities in Lake Kariba. The framework links various social, economic, and ecological factors to devise a sustainable fisheries management plan. A combination of survey questionnaires, focus group discussions, observations, and key informant interviews were used to assess this sustainability challenge. The data collected were subjected to bivariate and descriptive analysis. The results obtained did not show a significant decline in fish production over the past 13 years (R2 Linear = 0.119, p = 0.248). However, the experts and the fishers have reported declining trends in valuable fish species such as Oreochromis mortimeri, compounded by the increased fishing efforts (X2 = 180.14, p value = ˂ 0.00001). The key threats identified include: overfishing, weak institutions, and the introduction of invasive fish species such as Oreochromis niloticus. This situation has raised fears of fish depletion among the stakeholders. Based on these results, we recommend stronger institutional collaboration among the stakeholders in the riparian states and education that illustrates the global value of fisheries for food security and biodiversity conservation in pursuing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Indigenous Knowledge and Perception of Local People towards Biodiversity Conservation in Rajouri District of Jammu and Kashmir, India
Authors: Ridwan Qamer , Wani Zishan Ahmad , Hanief Mohd , Pant Shreekar , Shah Ali Asghar , Siddiqui Sazada , Alamri Saad
Published: February 2023

Plant resources have been used by humans for their wellbeing for ages. Tribal communities live in far flung areas in close proximity with forests and have a rich cultural heritage and traditional knowledge of forest resources. The present study was carried out in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir to document the traditional knowledge of plant usage and local perception towards biodiversity conservation. A total of 86 informants were selected through non-probability sampling using a convenience sampling method based on easy access, availability and relevance of informants. During the present study, a total of 92 plant species belonging to 85 genera and 57 families were recorded. Fabaceae and Rosaceae were found to be dominant families. In terms of growth forms, herbaceous species were dominant, followed by trees. Leaves were the most common parts used, followed by fruits. These plant species are used for different purposes such as medicine, edibles, fodder and dye making. A number of plant species were found to be multipurpose in use. Most of the documented plant species are collected by local people from the wild. Local people perceived that the populations of many species, such as Dolomiaea costus, Dioscorea deltoidea and Dolomiaea macrocephala, have declined in recent decades. Climate change, urbanization, deforestation, pollution, overexploitation and species invasion are some of the major threats to biodiversity perceived by the local people. Therefore, the establishment of protected areas and cultivation of wild species are recommended to safeguard forest wealth of the area. Furthermore, mass awareness and cooperation-building programs are highly recommended so that locals can enthusiastically participate in conservation and management programs.
Sustainability Oriented Vehicle Route Planning Based on Time-Dependent Arc Travel Durations
Authors: Ge Xianlong , Jin Yuanzhi
Published: February 2023

Traffic congestion has become a growing concern in cities, with both economic and environmental impacts on both individuals and the logistics industry. Therefore, a model of freight distribution in urban areas considering economic and environmental objectives needs to be established to alleviate the consequences. In this paper, a multi-stage heuristic algorithm is designed for solving the route planning based on time-dependent arc travel durations. The algorithm includes a savings method, a modified tabu search heuristic and a cycle transforming optimization (CTO) algorithm. Benchmark instances and the case of Jingdong, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in China, have been adopted to verify the accuracy and feasibility of the model and algorithm. Results of the performance test reveal that the designed algorithm is suitable for addressing large-scale instances. Based on the single objective models, two objectives referring to economical-related and environmental-related factors are considered in the proposed sustainability oriented bi-objective model, and a modified solution framework using a multi-objective decision making method with a relaxation coefficient which is designed for addressing the bi-objective model. Finally, the time-dependent arc travel durations based on real-time traffic information have been incorporated into the optimization algorithms, simulation of distribution process and dynamic route updating strategy, which can reduce costs and route-associated emissions of logistics companies.
Estimating the Effects of Deficit Irrigation on Water Absorption and Utilization of Tomatoes Grown in Greenhouse with Hydrus-1D Model
Authors: Li Xufeng , Ma Juanjuan , Sun Xihuan , Zheng Lijian , Chen Ruixia , An Jianglong
Published: February 2023

Quantitative analysis of tomato root water uptake and soil water utilization in the root zone under deficit irrigation is an important tool to improve agricultural water utilization efficiency. In this study, three different deficit irrigation levels were set at the flowering and fruit development stage (Stage I) and the fruit-ripening stage (Stage II), respectively. The Hydrus-1D model and field data were used to analyze the effects of deficit irrigation on tomato root growth, soil water uptake and utilization in the root zone. The results showed that deficit irrigation could reduce the total root length density of water-absorbed roots but increase the water-absorbed root length density of the underlying soil (30–60 cm). Moderate and severe water deficits at Stage II increased the water-absorbed root length density of the underlying soil by 0.10–6.26% and 2.12–11.71% compared with a mild water deficit. Considering tomato root growth, the Hydrus-1D model can improve the accuracy of soil moisture simulation. The main water absorption zone of tomato roots was 0–30 cm. Compared with full irrigation, the ratio of water absorption by the underlying root system (30–60 cm) to the total water absorption of the profile (0–60 cm) increased by 2.16–2.82% and 5.34–6.34% due to mild and moderate water deficits at Stage I. At Stage I and Stage II, a water deficit could reduce soil evaporation. T3 had the highest water use efficiency in two years, which was 24.07% (T9) and 20.47% (T8) higher than the lowest value, respectively. The optimal deficit irrigation scheme under this experiment condition is as follows: the soil water content was 70–90% θf (field capacity) at Stage I and was 40–60% θf at Stage II (T3).
Multivariate Analysis of Short Day Onion (Allium cepa L.) Genotypes by Canonical Variate Analysis and Mahalanobis Distances
Authors: Abbasi Zahra , Darabi Abdosattar , Bocianowski Jan
Published: February 2023

Genetic variability and diversity of genotypes are very important for all living organisms. Knowledge of the genetic diversity is a potential tool for pre-breeding parental selection. The present experiment was conducted at two locations (Isfahan, Khuzestan) under field conditions during the 2017–2018 growing season, with fifteen short day onion genotypes which were evaluated by multivariate methods. Nine quantitative traits were studied. MANOVA showed that the locations, varieties and location × variety interaction were significantly different for all nine traits. Significant positive correlation observed for two locations for yield and single weight (0.85 in Khuzestan and 0.61 in Isfahan), yield and bulb height (0.52 in Khuzestan and 0.55 in Isfahan), bulb height and index shape (0.68 in Khuzestan and 0.70 in Isfahan) and bulb diameter and single weight (0.81 in Khuzestan and 0.66 in Isfahan). Further, yield was significantly correlated with dry matter: positively in Isfahan (0.62), and negatively in Khuzestan (–0.54). In Khuzestan, the first two canonical variants explained 79.19% of the total variation between the varieties; however, the greatest variation was found for the Saba and Behbahan improved population. The first two canonical variables explained 86.76% of the total variation between the varieties in Isfahan. Saba and Behbahan improved population varieties were the smallest, while Paliz and Early Super Select were the largest. The Saba and Behbahan improved population, as the most diverse genotypes, were recommended for further inclusion in future crop improvement programs.
Life Cycle Assessment of Mortars with Fine Recycled Aggregates from Industrial Waste: Evaluation of Transports Impact in the Italian Context
Authors: D’Orazio Marco , Di Giuseppe Elisa , Carosi Marta
Published: February 2023

An LCA study (based on ISO 14040, ISO 14044, and EN 15804 + A2 standards) was performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of two mortars incorporating recycled materials (composite and carbon dust) from industrial waste as fine aggregates. They were compared to “reference” mortars, with the same strength performance, entirely composed of raw natural materials. The aim was to advance knowledge on the performance of mortars with composite materials, especially deepening the impact of the phase of materials’ transport on life-cycle behavior. In this regard, the work was conducted in three phases. Firstly, the LCA was performed in a specific “local” production scenario. Then, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to assess the influence of the uncertainty of input data on the variance of LCA outcomes. Considering the high sensitivity of results to transport distances, the LCA was finally extended considering several scenarios with increasing distances of aggregates’ transport. The results demonstrate that, for all of the eleven impact categories considered, mortars with recycled aggregates perform better than reference mortars, mainly due to the higher weight of natural aggregates. Even considering an extreme scenario, where natural aggregates are produced in the mortar factory (aggregates’ transport distances set to 0 km, for reference mortars), mortars with recycled aggregates are still convenient from an environmental point of view, if distances for providing industrial waste are lower than 200 km. The promotion of a circular economy perspective, with the settlement of a network of local recycled materials’ providers and users can then generate important environmental benefits.
The Gender Dimension in Sustainability Policies and Their Evaluation
Authors: Wroblewski Angela , Littig Beate , Segert Astrid
Published: February 2023

Overcoming the current challenges caused by climate change and the crisis of society’s relationships with nature requires societal as well as economic transformation [...]