bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Transforming Construction and Demolition Waste into Soft-Soil Treatment for Paving Design
Authors: Moreira Eclesielter B. , Baldovino Jair A. , Izzo Ronaldo L. S. 
Published: June 2023

AbstractConstruction and demolition wastes (CDW) are a concern in urban areas, in addition, it is well understood that soft soils are inappropriate for paving designs. Therefore, this paper presents an alternative solution combining CDW and a soft silty soil, aiming to overcome the soft soil drawbacks by repeated loadings. For this purpose, a laboratory study was developed, comprising both resilient modulus (MR) and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests over soil and soil-CDW compacted blends, to evaluate the mechanical properties of the proposed stabilization. Also, three compaction efforts (standard, intermediate, and modified) and a curing time of up to 90 days were used. The UCS of blends was also measured with the identical specimens with which the resilience tests were carried out. The results indicated that incorporating CDW (size sand and gravel materials) into the soil improves the qu and MR for all compaction energies, and the Resilient Modulus test affects the UCS of all blends, increasing its effect with the decrease in compaction effort. Repeated loads caused a decrease in the specimen's voids whereby the density increased and, therefore, qu. Finally, the results conclude that the compacted mixtures in the intermediate effort and 40–60% CDW by weight are potentially applicable in pavements compared to the traditional soil–cement base/subbase.
Genetic diversity and differentiation of South African cactus pear cultivars (Opuntia spp.) based on simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers
Authors: Modise Tsholofelo J. , Maleka Mathabatha F. , Fouché Herman , Coetzer Gesine M. 
Published: June 2023

AbstractOpuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. is one of the most recognisable agricultural crops that can withstand harsh environmental conditions. South Africa is one of the few countries that hosts a large germplasm of Opuntia cultivars, which represent an ex-situ conservation population. However, little is known about the genetic diversity in this population. Additionally, some genotypes are morphologically indistinct, and therefore, making it a challenge for novice farmers and researchers to recognise specimens in the germplasm. The current study aimed to differentiate and measure the genetic diversity in 44 cultivars that represent the South African Opuntia germplasm using eight simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Evidently, the cultivars comprised moderate levels of diversity (average polymorphic information content, PIC = 0.37, Nei’s unbiased gene diversity = 0.42) that discriminated 90% of the cultivars. Analysis of the cultivars with the unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA) method revealed three main clusters, whereas principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) showed indistinct clustering of cultivars based on their usage in the agricultural market. Overall, the used SSR markers were able to distinguish most cultivars in the South African Opuntia germplasm—a genetic resource that appears to hold sufficient genetic diversity to aid the conservation and breeding of novel cultivars for the agriculture market.
Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum): its impact on wireworm development and survival
Authors: Noronha Christine , Liu Suqi , Bahar Md. Habibullah , Mosher-Gallant Natasha 
Published: June 2023

AbstractBuckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is a member of the Polygonaceae family, cultivated as a cover crop to suppress or reduce weeds and improve soil health. In our field studies, buckwheat gave significant potato tuber protection from wireworm damage after two consecutive years of cropping. In this study, we identified the mechanism underlying the beneficial effect of buckwheat on wireworm suppression. Results show high wireworm numbers in buckwheat than other host plants in bioassays conducted under greenhouse and field conditions which reject the hypothesis that buckwheat has antifeedant activity. We found that newly hatched neonate wireworms feeding on either barley or buckwheat plants for 120 days, showed reduced body weight and head capsule size. The larvae feeding on buckwheat were 60% and 30% smaller than the ones feeding on barley. Survival was also impacted with 44% of the neonate larvae surviving on barley plants, and only 15% when feeding on buckwheat roots over 120 days. A similar bioassay with small to medium-sized wireworms showed higher mortality, lower weight gain and smaller head capsule size. Wireworms feeding on buckwheat were deformed and demonstrated irregular growth. In conclusion, this study revealed that buckwheat did not repel wireworms and they chose to feed on the roots despite it not being a good host. Long-term feeding on buckwheat roots caused reduced weight gain, abnormal growth, and reduced survival. This study provided a better understanding of how buckwheat functions as a biopesticide for wireworm control and its potential for use in an IPM program.
A Training on Perspective Taking for Preschoolers with Typical Development and with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Cigala Ada , Mori Arianna , Silla Benedetta 
Published: June 2023

AbstractPerspective taking refers to the ability to understand others’ thoughts, feelings and perspectives. From previous studies, it emerges that children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder show many difficulties in understanding the other’s point of view, especially in terms of thoughts and emotions. The aims of the present study were: (1) to verify the effectiveness of group training in promoting perspective taking in a small group of preschoolers including two children with diagnosis of high-functioning autism spectrum disorder; and (2) to verify whether the learning in the perspective taking skills could be transferred to everyday situations in terms of prosocial behaviors. Twelve children (mean age: 54.5 months), 10 with typical development and 2 with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder, participated in the study. The effectiveness of training was evaluated in a pre/post-test design both via experimental tests and direct observations. The results highlighted the effectiveness of the training in enhancing perspective taking ability and prosocial behaviors of preschoolers, including the two children with a diagnosis of high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. The use of non-clinical and educational methodologies can contribute to the development of children's perspective taking skills by means of daily educational activities in small group including children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. These results have great applicative relevance for early childhood education and care centers.
Physicochemical analysis and detection of exceptionally high diclofenac concentration in the pharmaceutical wastewaters collected from the production units of national industrial zone, Rawat, Pakistan
Authors: Bibi Mehmooda , Rashid Jamshaid , Malik Mahrukh , Iqbal Aneela , Xu Ming 
Published: June 2023

AbstractThe annual growth rate of pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan is 10% and is continuously expanding to fulfill the increasing demand of the rapidly growing population. But inability of the pharmaceutical sector to comply with the environmental standards leads to the introduction of large quantities of various pollutants in the natural environment which presents serious ecological challenges. In this study, effluent wastewater samples from 14 manufacturing units of the pharmaceutical industries of the National Industrial Zone, Rawat, Pakistan, were collected and characterized for physicochemical parameters including color, odor, pH, electric conductivity, temperature, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), nitrates, sulfates and phosphates according to the standard methods. The detection and quantification of diclofenac (DCF)—one of the commonly prescribed drugs in Pakistan—were carried out in the pharmaceutical wastewater samples (PWWSs) using HPLC-PAD. Exceptionally high concentration of the diclofenac was detected in the industrial disposal of MB-12 (311,495 µg L−1). PWWSs were analyzed using chemometric techniques including principal factor analysis (PFA) and cluster analysis (CA). PFA explained almost 81.48% of the total variance by the newly extracted four components and complemented the strong Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) of DCF concentrations to that of the levels of COD, r = 0.752, and DO, r =  − 0.609, in PWWSs. Six clusters were generated during similar wastewater characteristics-based CA dendrogram, in which reverse osmosis-treated PWWSs were observed to cluster with the untreated PWWSs, suggesting the need to adopt an advance and better wastewater treatment methods by the pharmaceutical industries.
A simple characterization of the existence of upper semicontinuous order-preserving functions
Authors: Bosi Gianni , Franzoi Laura 
Published: June 2023

AbstractWe introduce an upper semicontinuity condition concerning a not necessarily total preorder on a topological space, namely strong upper semicontinuity, and in this way we extend to the nontotal case the famous Rader’s theorem, which guarantees the existence of an upper semicontinuous order-preserving function for an upper semicontinuous total preorder on a second countable topological space. We show that Rader’s theorem is not generalizable if we adopt weaker upper semicontinuity conditions already introduced in the literature. We characterize the existence of an upper semicontinuous order-preserving function for all strongly upper semicontinuous preorders on a metrizable topological space.
The theorem of unified locality
Authors: Mastriani Mario 
Published: June 2023

AbstractIn this study, a theorem about the vectorization of the entangled-photons trajectories is presented, and through it, an effect equivalent to the unification of the individual localities of the entangled particles is evidenced, which will be confirmed in two scenarios: a theoretical demonstration, and four simple experiments carried out on an optical table. In this way, the existence of this possibility, in terms of entanglement, will be scientifically established when explaining the instantaneous synchronization of non-local outcomes as a result of local measurements from the vectorization of the entangled-photons trajectories without resorting to local hidden variables, or faster-than-light arguments. Finally, this explanation will be completely contained within the Theory of Special Relativity, eliminating entanglement as a showdown scenario between the two main pillars of Physics: Special Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics.
Results of recurrent in-service exhaust gas measurements with an EU stage IV forest harvester fuelled with rapeseed oil within the emission durability period
Authors: Emberger Peter , Thuneke Klaus , Remmele Edgar , Ettl Johannes 
Published: June 2023

AbstractThe real driving emissions of an EU stage IV forest harvester were measured four times within five years to monitor long-time emission behaviour. In this period, the harvester worked 7650 h in total, thereof 6300 h with pure rapeseed oil fuel DIN 51605 (R100) and 1350 h with conventional diesel fuel initially. Data analysis according to relevant EU regulation 2017/655 shows that the emission behaviour complies with the legal requirements of exhaust gas stage IV within the five years under consideration. According to EU regulation 2016/1628 the achieved 7650 operating hours nearly correspond to the emission durability period of 8000 h. However, between the single measurements some differences in emission results are clear evident. They are primarily caused by different working profiles, and unavoidable random events. Detailed analysis of the results showed that the measured nitrogen oxides (NOX), carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons remain at the same level over time at comparable operation conditions. Thus, the operation time had no major impact on the emission behaviour of the harvester. During cold start and non-working events higher nitrogen oxides (NOX) concentrations are observed in the exhaust since the exhaust aftertreatment system is not within its operation temperature. When the exhaust gas aftertreatment is within its operating range, exhaust emissions are at a very low level indicating an efficient, clean combustion. It can be concluded that the operation of the harvester with R100 did not affect the emission behaviour and functionality of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system.
Design of a smart garment for fencing: measuring attractiveness using the AttrakDiff Mini method
Authors: Vieira Daniel , Providência Bernardo , Carvalho Helder 
Published: June 2023

AbstractIn this study, a new hypothesis for the design of a smart fencing garment, developed through a user-centred design process, is presented and a pre-evaluation of the design by applying the AttrakDiff Mini method is proposed. With the Portuguese Fencing Federation’s support, a survey was shared with the 37 affiliated weapons rooms. It was possible to validate 36 participations, 54.1% men (n = 20) and 45.9% women (n = 16) residing in Portugal. The questionnaire consists of 4 scales, divided into 10 items that made it possible to assess the hypothesis’ usability, identity, stimulation, and attractiveness. It is statistically possible to quantify the relationship between the dependent variable (attractiveness) and the independent variables (pragmatic quality, hedonic quality-identity, hedonic quality-stimulation), such as the correlations between these variables. At the end of the analysis, it was possible to conclude that the participants evaluate the hypothesis positively, considering the envisioned fencing suit possible to use and attractive.
A Novel Approach to Visualizing Olfactory Landscapes
Authors: Endreß Sven 
Published: June 2023

AbstractThis article focuses on the exploration and mapping of olfactory landscapes. For this purpose, a brief introduction to the social and cultural significance of odors in the 'Western world', especially in the sciences and philosophy, is first given and the visuality paradigm of these societies is highlighted. Subsequently, olfactory landscapes are integrated into a basic social constructivist-phenomenological concept to create a theoretical basis for the discussion of these special landscapes. This is accompanied by a brief discussion of current approaches to smellscape survey and the particular mapping approach of Kate McLean (in comparison with the here used approach), which forms the basis for the mapping and presentation presented here. This presented approach was developed and tested in a master's thesis on the smellscape of Christmas and Christmas markets. An extended signature system and the detailed procedure for a smellwalk are presented.
Improved Algorithm for Face Mask Detection Based on YOLO-v4
Authors: Zhao Gang , Zou Shuilong , Wu Huijie 
Published: June 2023

AbstractTo reduce the chance of being infected by the COVID-19, wearing masks correctly when entering and leaving public places has become the most feasible and effective ways to prevent the spread of the virus. It is a concern to how to quickly and accurately detect whether a face is worn a mask correctly while reduce missed detection and false detection in practical applied scenarios. In this paper, an improved algorithm is proposed based on the YOLO-v4 algorithm. The attention mechanism module is added to the appropriate network level to enhance the key feature points of face wearing masks and suppress useless information. Apart from that, three attention mechanism modules are added to different layers of the YOLO-v4 network for ablation experiments, including CBAM (convolutional block attention module), SENet (squeeze-and-excitation networks) and CANet (coordinate attention networks). The path-aggregation network and feature pyramid are used to extract features from images. Two network models were compared and improved in the experiment, and it is found that adding the dual-channel attention mechanism CBAM before the three YOLO heads of YOLOv4 and in the neck network had better detection performance than the single channel attention mechanism SENet and the coordinated attention mechanism CANet. The experimental results show that when the attention module CBAM and the YOLO-v4 model are integrated, the accuracy of the selected MAFA + WIDER Face dataset reaches the highest value of 93.56%, which is 4.66% higher than that of the original YOLO-v4.
Finite element model updating with quantified uncertainties using point cloud data
Authors: Graves William , Nahshon Ken , Aminfar Kiyarash , Lattanzi David 
Published: June 2023

AbstractWhile finite element (FE) modeling is widely used for ultimate strength assessments of structural systems, incorporating complex distortions and imperfections into FE models remains a challenge. Conventional methods typically rely on assumptions about the periodicity of distortions through spectral or modal methods. However, these approaches are not viable under the many realistic scenarios where these assumptions are invalid. Research efforts have consistently demonstrated the ability of point cloud data, generated through laser scanning or photogrammetry-based methods, to accurately capture structural deformations at the millimeter scale. This enables the updating of numerical models to capture the exact structural configuration and initial imperfections without the need for unrealistic assumptions. This research article investigates the use of point cloud data for updating the initial distortions in a FE model of a stiffened ship deck panel, for the purposes of ultimate strength estimation. The presented approach has the additional benefit of being able to explicitly account for measurement uncertainty in the analysis. Calculations using the updated FE models are compared against ground truth test data as well as FE models updated using standard spectral methods. The results demonstrate strength estimation that is comparable to existing approaches, with the additional advantages of uncertainty quantification and applicability to a wider range of application scenarios.
Mass Extinctions and Their Relationship With Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Concentration: Implications for Earth's Future
Authors: Davis W. Jackson 
Published: June 2023

AbstractIndustrialization has raised the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth's atmosphere by half since 1770, posing a risk from ocean acidification to global biodiversity, including phytoplankton that synthesize approximately (∼) 50% of planetary oxygen. This risk is estimated here from the fossil record and implications for our energy and economic future are explored. Over the last 534 million years (Myr), 50 extinction events present as peaks of genus loss‐and‐recovery cycles, each spanning ∼3–40 Myr. Atmospheric CO2concentration oscillates with percent genus loss, leading in phase by ∼4 Myr and sharing harmonic periodicities at ∼10, 26 and 63 Myr. Over the last 210 Myr, where data resolution is highest, biodiversity loss is correlated with atmospheric CO2concentration, but not with long‐term global temperature nor with marginal radiative forcing of temperature by atmospheric CO2. The end‐Cretaceous extinction of the dinosaurs is anomalous, occurring during a 20‐million year depression in atmospheric CO2concentration and rising global temperature. Today's atmospheric CO2concentration, ∼421 parts per million by volume (ppmv), corresponds in the most recent marine fossil record to a biodiversity loss of 6.39%, implying that contemporary anthropogenic CO2emissions are killing ocean life now. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projects that unabated fossil fuel use could elevate atmospheric CO2concentration to 800 ppmv by 2100, approaching the 870 ppmv mean concentration of the last 19 natural extinction events. Reversing this first global anthropogenic mass extinction requires reducing net anthropogenic CO2emissions to zero, optimally by 2% per year starting immediately.
Development of the Ames Global Hyperspectral Synthetic Data Set: Surface Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function
Authors: Wang Weile , Dungan Jennifer , Genovese Vanessa , Shinozuka Yohei , Yang Qiguang , Liu Xu , Poulter Benjamin , Brosnan Ian 
Published: June 2023

AbstractThis study introduces the Ames Global Hyperspectral Synthetic Data set (AGHSD), in particular the surface bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) product, to support the NASA Surface Biology and Geology (SBG) mission development. The data set is generated based on the corresponding multispectral BRDF products from NASA's MODIS satellite sensor. Based on theories of radiative transfer in vegetation canopies, we derive a simple but robust relationship that indicates that the hyperspectral surface BRDF can be accurately approximated as a weighted sum of the soil surface reflectance, the leaf single albedo, and the canopy scattering coefficient, where the weights or coefficients are spectrally invariant and thus readily estimated from the multispectral MODIS products. We validate the algorithm with simulations by a Monte Carlo Ray Tracing model and find the results highly consistent with the theoretic derivation. Using reflectance spectra of soil and vegetation derived from existing spectral libraries, we apply the algorithm to generate the AGHSD BRDF product at 1 km and 8‐day resolutions for the year of 2019. The data set is biogeochemically and biogeophysically coherent and consistent, and serves the goal to support the SBG community in developing sciences and applications for the future global imaging spectroscopy mission.
Wind– and Sea‐Ice–Driven Interannual Variability of Antarctic Bottom Water Formation
Authors: Schmidt Christina , Morrison Adele K. , England Matthew H. 
Published: June 2023

AbstractAntarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is a major component of the global overturning circulation, originating around the Antarctic continental margin. In recent decades AABW has both warmed and freshened, but there is also evidence of large interannual variability. The causes of this underlying variability are not yet fully understood, in part due to a lack of ocean and air‐sea‐ice flux measurements in the region. Here, we simulate the formation and export of AABW from 1958 to 2018 using a global, eddying ocean–sea‐ice model in which the four AABW formation regions and transports agree reasonably well with observations. The simulated formation and export of AABW exhibits strong interannual variability which is not correlated between the different formation regions. Reservoirs of very dense waters at depth in the Weddell and Ross Seas following 1–2 years of strong surface water mass transformation can lead to higher AABW export for up to a decade. In Prydz Bay and at the Adélie Coast in contrast, dense water reservoirs do not persist beyond 1 year which we attribute to the narrower shelf extent in the East Antarctic AABW formation regions. The main factor controlling years of high AABW formation are weaker easterly winds, which reduce sea ice import into the AABW formation region, leaving increased areas of open water primed for air‐sea buoyancy loss and convective overturning. Our study highlights the variability of simulated AABW formation in all four formation regions, with potential implications for interpreting trends in observational data using only limited duration and coverage.