bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
INDUSTRY PERCEPTIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES IN KUWAIT
Authors: ISMAEL Dalya , SHEALY Tripp 
Published: December 2019

ABSTRACTTo better meet global sustainable development goals will require more focus on Arab countries like Kuwait, which contribute one and a half times more global greenhouse gas emissions per capita than the United States. Buildings contribute more than half of these emissions. Rating systems like LEED and BREEAM can help reduce energy emissions from buildings globally when used during construction, but these rating systems are not entirely applicable to Kuwait as they are not tailored for its geographic climate and social context, and there is currently no rating system tailored for energy efficient and environmentally sustainable buildings. The research presented in this paper measures the industry's perceptions about sustainable design and construction practices in Kuwait. A synthesized list of sustainable design and construction principles were developed from the six most common rating systems globally that are currently being used in the Arab region. Construction professionals (n = 131) from Kuwait were asked in a qualitative survey which sustainable design principles and construction practices are the most applicable but are not being implemented. The majority of professionals responded that sustainable practices related to water use reduction and renewable energy sources are most applicable but are not currently being implemented. They also responded that sustainable practices related to bicycle facilities, green roofs, and rainwater harvesting are not applicable but are currently being implemented. The lack of training and limited awareness of the benefits of sustainable design and construction may be contributing to the lack of sustainable practices. As a whole, professionals in Kuwait appear to undervalue sustainable design and construction practices that promote environmental sustainability. This study provides a benchmark, indicating a lack of shared viewpoints and illustrates the need for more common objectives and the need for training among design and construction professionals in the region.
A simplified correlation between vertebrate evolution and Paleozoic geomagnetism
Authors: Staub John P 
Published: December 2019

Background. Despite a fifty-year failure of paleontologists to find a viable connection between geomagnetic polarity reversals and evolutionary patterns, recent paleobiology databases show that the early appearance, radiation, and diversification of Paleozoic vertebrates tends to occur during periods having frequent collapses of the Earth’s geomagnetic field. The transition time during the collapse of the Earth’s protective magnetic shield can last thousands of years, and the effects on biota are unknown. Solar and cosmic radiation, volcanism, climate alteration, low-frequency electromagnetic fields, depletion of ozone, the stripping of atmospheric oxygen, and increasing production of Carbon14 in the stratosphere have been proposed as possible causes, but previous studies have found no effects.
Methods. Using published databases, we compiled a spreadsheet showing the first appearance of 2104 genera with each genus assigned to one of 8 major taxonomic groups. From Gradstein’s Geologic Time Scale 2012, we delineated 17 Paleozoic zones with either high or low levels of polarity reversals.
Results. From our compilation, 727 Paleozoic vertebrates represent the initial radiation and diversification of individual Paleozoic vertebrate clades. After compensating for sample-size and external geologic and sampling biases, the resulting Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the 727 genera and geomagnetic polarity zones equals 0.8, a result that suggests a strong relationship exists between Paleozoic vertebrates and geomagnetism.
Discussion. The question: is this apparent connection between geomagnetism and the evolution of Paleozoic vertebrate due to environmental or biologic factors. If biologic, why are vertebrates the only biota effected? And after an indeterminate period of time, how do vertebrates become immune to the ongoing effects of polarity reversals?
Controlling Post-operative Pain Intensity in Patients Undergoing Tibia Fracture Surgery: Pregabalin vs. Clonidine
Authors: Eraghi Amir Sobhani , Daneshmand Seyedehsan , Malakooti Seyed Mohammad 
Published: December 2019

Introduction: The goal of this study was to compare the effect of two drugs (pregabalin and clonidine) on pain intensity within 24 hours after surgery in patients undergoing tibia fracture surgery is a step forward to choose the right drug.
Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 64 candidates for elective tibia fractures were selected based on a randomized table. The patients were divided into two groups of those treated with clonidine (group C) and those treated with pregabalin (group P). Clonidine is given to patients in the first group one hour before surgery at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg and one hour after surgery at a dose of 0,1 mg / kg. Patients in the second group received pregabalin one hour before surgery at a dose of 200 mg and one hour after surgery at a dose of 200 mg orally. Then the variables are 6,12 and 24 hours. Finally, by using SPSS software, qualitative variables were compared according to their percentage using Chi square test, and for quantitative variables, the mean of each group was calculated and t-test was used to compare the means.
Results: The visual analog scale (VAS) scores were significantly lower in the pregabalin group compared with the clonidine group at .7 and 70 hours after surgery. A statistically significant analgesic effect was seen in the clonidine treated group compared with pregabalin.
Conclusion: Our data suggested that pregabalin improves pain relief after surgery, but it has less analgesic effect than clonidine.
A Zn–CO2 Flow Battery Generating Electricity and Methane
Authors: Wang Kai , Wu Yuanyuan , Cao Xuebo , Gu Li , Hu Jing 
Published: January 2020

AbstractMetal–CO2 batteries represent an economical and efficient CO2 utilization technique, which provides a mechanism combining CO2 reduction with electricity generation instead of electricity input. Existing metal–CO2 batteries generally work in a closed system by recycling CO2. In this study, a flow battery is designed with a hollow fiber of carbon nanotubes (cathode), Zn wire (anode), and 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (electrolyte). The battery can continuously consume CO2 to produce CH4 under ambient conditions and promptly output the gaseous product through the hollow fiber, with a Faradaic efficiency up to 94%. Simultaneously, the battery generates electricity, with an energy density of 288.3 Wh kg−1 (based on the zinc mass) and a stability up to 8 days. The high selectivity and efficiency of the battery is attributed to a water‐shuttling assisted proton mechanism and delicate electrode–electrolyte interplay. Moreover, the Zn anode is electrochemically renewed and the battery assembled with the regenerated Zn anode restores battery performances to the former level. The renewable characteristic implies that, if the regeneration of Zn anode is coupled to excessive renewable energy sources, then the Zn–CO2 flow battery will be promising to accomplish a net reduction of CO2 emission.
Tunable Electromagnetic Wave Absorption of Supramolecular Isomer‐Derived Nanocomposites with Different Morphology
Authors: Miao Peng , Zhou Rui , Chen Kaijie , Liang Jin , Ban Qingfu , Kong Jie 
Published: January 2020

AbstractDesign and fabrication of highly efficient electromagnetic wave absorbing materials are yet challenging tasks, mainly caused by the lack of the in‐depth understanding of structure–property relationship. Herein, significant morphology effect on electromagnetic wave absorption is uncovered by pyrolyzing two isomeric metal–organic frameworks (MOFs: MIL‐101‐Fe and MIL‐88B‐Fe). The resultant pyrolyzed nanocomposites from these two MOFs with different topology under same pyrolysis condition have almost identical chemical composition (i.e., element type, element content, and valence state) and microstructure (i.e., particle size, pore size, and volume). As far as it is known, this work represents the first study on morphology control for superior electromagnetic wave absorption in carbon‐included composite system. Notably, an excellent performance of minimum reflection loss of −59.2 dB with a thickness of 4.32 mm and effective absorption bandwidth of 6.5 GHz with a thickness of 2 mm are achieved by Fe/C‐700@101 (700 represent the pyrolysis temperature; 101 stands for MIL‐101 precursor) and Fe/Fe3C/C‐800@101, respectively. This contribution will shed the light on design of advanced electromagnetic wave absorbers in future, especially from the perspective of fine morphology control.
Self‐assembly of a Sequence‐shuffled Short Peptide Amphiphile Triggered by Metal Ions into Terraced Nanodome‐like Structures
Authors: Singh Ramesh , Mishra Narendra Kumar , Gupta Puneet , Joshi Khashti Ballabh 
Published: January 2020

AbstractWe highlight the structural diversity of strategically designed two short peptide amphiphiles (sPAs) and describe their structure–function relationship studies. The shuffling of two key amino acids, that is, tyrosine and phenylalanine, in a designed sPA lead to a pair of constitutional isomers. Such small and strategic alteration can bring a substantial change in the self‐assembling pattern. Inspired from the naturally occurring metallopeptides, bioactive transition‐metal ions were used for constructing the unusual nanostructures. Use of appropriate metal ions created bigger differences between the properties of these isomers and hence the self‐assembly. Coordination of appropriate transition metal ions modifies the internal nanoscale structures of sPA, thus leading to the formation of vertically stacked terraced layers with decreasing size, which possess a high degree of dimensional regularity. We propose that such metal‐induced terraced nanodome‐like hierarchical self‐assembly may have relevance for specific biotechnology applications.
Choosing the adequate thermodynamic reference state: The evolution of pyrophosphate bioenergetics as an example
Authors: Méndez Eduardo 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe use of the thermodynamic formalism in the investigation of biochemical reactions constitutes one of the key analysis in bioenergetics, and the first step in such analysis is the selection of the adequate reference state. For biochemistry majors, thermodynamic analysis based on the chemical reference state is used in Physical Chemistry courses, while the biological and biochemical reference states are used in Biochemistry courses. As these definitions are introduced in different courses, it is difficult that students can understand the need to select a reference state as a first step in the energy analysis of a system. The lack of suitable examples in textbooks to illustrate the importance of the adequate selection of the reference state in a thermodynamic analysis, promoted the present analysis of the energetic role of pyrophosphate (PPi) in comparison with adenosine‐triphosphate in different ambient conditions, namely, the early PPi world (better described by the chemical reference state), the enclosed systems like the cells (better described by the biological reference state), and the actual thioester world (better described by the biochemical reference state). This example not only provides a new interesting point of view on the evolution of two biochemical fuels but also represents a biochemical example in which the use of different reference states can illustrate a single process from different points of views.
The role of multilateral development banks in mainstreaming the use of space and geospatial technologies for sustainable development
Authors: Verspieren Quentin 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe potential of space and geospatial technologies (SGTs) for sustainable development is enormous. In particular, all Sustainable Development Goals can be approached though SGTs utilisation, making it a key area of interest for multilateral development banks (MDBs). This article argues that development banks have the influence and responsibility to mainstream the use of SGTs for sustainable development. It first presents the current utilisation of such technologies before introducing two specific directions MDBs should follow, namely the development of a space infrastructure and the support to the emerging private space sector. The recommendations made in this article are based on a pragmatic analysis of the potential of SGTs and on the actual scope of MDBs' activities. They can be easily implemented, without requiring significant structural or strategic change for any of the major existing MDBs.
Family ownership and environmental performance: The mediation effect of human resource practices
Authors: Dal Maso Lorenzo , Basco Rodrigo , Bassetti Thomas , Lattanzi Nicola 
Published: January 2020

AbstractPrevious literature has found that listed family firms underperform their nonfamily counterparts in terms of environmental performance, but has not explained why this occurs. We address this research gap by hypothesizing that training and development practices (i.e., managerial practices devoted to providing training and development for the workforce) mediate the relationship between family blockholders and environmental performance. Using a sample of 33,901 firm‐year observations from 2002 to 2016 distributed across 56 countries and employing the structural equation model technique, we find that investment in training and development practices explains almost half of the negative relationship between family blockholders and environmental performance. Our study contributes to the agency theory debate on principal–principal problems by explaining why family blockholders could damage other blockholders and minority shareholders.
Cyberbullying detection in social media text based on character‐level convolutional neural network with shortcuts
Authors: Lu Nijia , Wu Guohua , Zhang Zhen , Zheng Yitao , Ren Yizhi , Choo Kim‐Kwang Raymond 
Published: January 2020

SummaryAs people spend increasingly more time on social networks, cyberbullying has become a social problem that needs to be solved by machine learning methods. Our research focuses on textual cyberbullying detection because text is the most common form of social media. However, the content information in social media is short, noisy, and unstructured with incorrect spellings and symbols, and this impacts the performance of some traditional machine learning methods based on vocabulary knowledge. For this reason, we propose a Char‐CNNS (Character‐levelConvolutionalNeuralNetwork withShortcuts) model to identify whether the text in social media contains cyberbullying. We use characters as the smallest unit of learning, enabling the model to overcome spelling errors and intentional obfuscation in real‐world corpora. Shortcuts are utilized to stitch different levels of features to learn more granular bullying signals, and a focal loss function is adopted to overcome the class imbalance problem. We also provide a new ChineseWeibocomment dataset specifically for cyberbullying detection, and experiments are performed on both the Chinese Weibo dataset and the English Tweet dataset. The experimental results show that our approach is competitive with state‐of‐the‐art techniques on cyberbullying detection task.
Development of a novel spindle‐shaped coil‐based wireless power transfer system for frequency splitting elimination
Authors: Wang Meng , Zhou Chuang , Shi Yanyan , Shen Minghui , Feng Jing 
Published: January 2020

SummaryTo eliminate frequency splitting in wireless power transfer, a novel spindle‐shaped coil‐based wireless power transfer system is introduced and designed. Based on the equivalent circuit model, the transmission coefficient and the input impedance are calculated. A comparative analysis is performed between the traditional and the proposed systems. It is found that the frequency splitting is suppressed by utilizing spindle‐shaped transmitting and receiving coils in the proposed system because of the larger mutual inductance between the source coil (load coil) and transmitting coil (receiving coil) and the smaller mutual inductance between the transmitting and the receiving coils in comparison with the traditional system. In the overcoupled region, the transmission coefficient of the proposed system almost remains unchanged and keeps at a high value. The input impedance is characterized with high amplitude and small argument, which is beneficial for efficient power transfer. Experimental setup is established to validate the performance of the proposed wireless power transfer system. The results indicate that the proposed system is superior to the traditional one in eliminating the frequency splitting, which is well consistent with the simulation analysis.
Incremental dynamic analysis and FEMA P695 seismic performance evaluation of a cold‐formed steel–framed building with gravity framing and architectural sheathing
Authors: Leng Jiazhen , Buonopane Stephen G. , Schafer Benjamin W. 
Published: January 2020

SummaryThe objective of this paper is to present incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) and seismic performance evaluation results for a two‐story cold‐formed steel (CFS)–framed building. The archetype building was designed to current U.S. standards and then subjected to full‐scale shake table tests under the U.S. National Science Foundation Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) program. Test results showed that the building's stiffness and capacity were considerably higher than expected and the building suffered only nonstructural damage even at excitations in excess of Maximum Considered Earthquake levels for a high seismic zone. For the archetype building, three‐dimensional finite element models at different modeling fidelity levels were created using OpenSees. The models are subjected to IDA using the far‐field ground motion records prescribed in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) P695. Seismic performance quantification following the FEMA P695 procedure shows that if the modeling fidelity only follows the state‐of‐the‐practice, ie, only includes shear walls, unsafe collapse margin ratios are predicted. State‐of‐the‐art models that account for participation from CFS gravity walls and architectural sheathing have overall performance that are consistent with testing, and IDA results indicate acceptable collapse margin ratios, predicated primarily on large system overstrength. Neglecting the lateral force resistance of the gravity system and nonstructural components, as done in current design, renders a safe design in the studied archetype, but largely divorced from actual system behavior. The modeling protocols established here provide a means to analyze a future suite of CFS‐framed archetype buildings for developing further insight on the seismic response modification coefficients for CFS‐framed buildings.
aTask scheduling approaches in fog computing: A survey
Authors: Hosseinioun Pejman , Kheirabadi Maryam , Kamel Tabbakh Seyed Reza , Ghaemi Reza 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe advent of the Internet of Things brings a wave of research, technology, and computing. The Internet of Things has brought a concept called the fog computing, which has launched many discussions in the scientific community. In a fog environment, a requested service decomposed into a set of tasks and applied with an optimal approach to schedule these tasks across the fog devices to serve the user requirements is an important challenge. In spite of the task scheduling approaches being a necessity in fog computing, to the best of our knowledge, there is no comprehensive survey in the field of task scheduling approaches in fog computing. This paper provides a survey to analyze the current research studies in task scheduling approaches in fog computing from 2015 to 2018. Moreover, this paper classifies the task scheduling approaches in two fields: static and dynamic. This study tries to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each study to solve their weaknesses. Providing a survey of the task scheduling approaches in the fog computing, planning a technical taxonomy for the task scheduling approaches, and highlighting the future open issues in the recent topics are the contributions of this study.
Microscopic melanoma detection and classification: A framework of pixel‐based fusion and multilevel features reduction
Authors: Rehman Amjad , Khan Muhammad A. , Mehmood Zahid , Saba Tanzila , Sardaraz Muhammad , Rashid Muhammad 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe numbers of diagnosed patients by melanoma are drastic and contribute more deaths annually among young peoples. An approximately 192,310 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in 2019, which shows the importance of automated systems for the diagnosis process. Accordingly, this article presents an automated method for skin lesions detection and recognition using pixel‐based seed segmented images fusion and multilevel features reduction. The proposed method involves four key steps: (a) mean‐based function is implemented and fed input to top‐hat and bottom‐hat filters which later fused for contrast stretching, (b) seed region growing and graph‐cut method‐based lesion segmentation and fused both segmented lesions through pixel‐based fusion, (c) multilevel features such as histogram oriented gradient (HOG), speeded up robust features (SURF), and color are extracted and simple concatenation is performed, and (d) finally variance precise entropy‐based features reduction and classification through SVM via cubic kernel function. Two different experiments are performed for the evaluation of this method. The segmentation performance is evaluated on PH2, ISBI2016, and ISIC2017 with an accuracy of 95.86, 94.79, and 94.92%, respectively. The classification performance is evaluated on PH2 and ISBI2016 dataset with an accuracy of 98.20 and 95.42%, respectively. The results of the proposed automated systems are outstanding as compared to the current techniques reported in state of art, which demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.
Broadband stimulated Raman scattering microscopy with wavelength‐scanning detection
Authors: De la Cadena Alejandro , Valensise Carlo M. , Marangoni Marco , Cerullo Giulio , Polli Dario 
Published: January 2020

AbstractWe introduce a high‐sensitivity broadband stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) setup featuring wide spectral coverage (up to 500 cm−1) and high‐frequency resolution (≈20 cm−1). The system combines a narrowband Stokes pulse, obtained by spectral filtering an Yb laser, with a broadband pump pulse generated by a home‐built optical parametric oscillator. A single‐channel lock‐in amplifier connected to a single‐pixel photodiode measures the stimulated Raman loss signal, whose spectrum is scanned rapidly using a galvanometric mirror after the sample. We use the in‐line balanced detection approach to suppress laser fluctuations and achieve close to shot‐noise‐limited sensitivity. The setup is capable of measuring accurately the SRS spectra of several solvents and of obtaining hyperspectral data cubes consisting in the broadband SRS microscopy images of polymer beads test samples as well as of the distribution of different biological substances within plant cell walls.