Search Results (58,250)

According to the United Nations Environment Programme reports, buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of energy-related emissions; therefore, energy-optimized building design is crucial to reduce the reliance on non-renewable energy sources as well as greenhouse gas emissions. The OECD reports indicate the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) as one of the effective strategies for decarbonization of buildings, since a 3D digital representation of both physical and functional characteristics of a building can help to design a more efficient infrastructure. An efficient integration of solar energy in building design can be vital for the enhancement of energy performance in terms of heating, cooling, and lighting demand. This paper presents results of an analysis of how factors related to the use of daylight, such as automatic control of artificial lighting, external shading, or the visual absorptance of internal surfaces, influence the energy efficiency within an example room in two different climatic zones. The simulation was conducted using Design Builder software, with predefined occupancy schedules and internal heat gains, and standard EPW weather files for Warsaw and Genua climate zones. The study indicates that for the examined room, when no automatic sunshades or a lighting control system is utilized, most of the final energy demand is for cooling purposes (45–54%), followed by lighting (42–43%), with only 3–12% for heating purposes. The introduction of sunshades and/or the use of daylight allowed for a reduction of the total demand by up to half. Moreover, it was pointed out that often neglected factors, like the colour of the internal surfaces, can have a significant effect on the final energy consumption. In variants with light interior, the total energy consumption was lower by about 3–4% of the baseline demand, compared to their corresponding ones with dark surfaces. These results are consistent with previous studies on daylighting strategies and highlight the importance of considering both visual and thermal impacts when evaluating energy performance. Similarly, possible side effects of certain actions were highlighted, such as an increase in heat demand resulting from a reduced need for artificial lighting. The results of the analysis highlight the potential of a simulation-based design approach in optimizing daylight use, contributing to the broader goals of building decarbonization. Full article

This essay provides a fine-grained analysis of selected passages of Giulio Aleni (艾儒略 1582–1649)’s translation of Catholic liturgy into classical Chinese in late imperial China. It focuses on the hitherto underexplored relationships between Aleni’s resort to medieval Aristotelianism and Thomism, as well as his translation-based introduction of Catholic Eucharistic theology into China. The case studies here revolve around Aleni’s Chinese translation of Aristotelian-Thomistic hylomorphism, with a focus on his interpretation of “anima” (i.e., the soul, which corresponds largely to linghun 靈魂 in Chinese), which is a multifaceted Western concept that pertains simultaneously to Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy and Eucharistic theology. It is argued that in his overarching project of introducing Western learnings (i.e., 西學) to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century China, Aleni’s attention is centered primarily on the body-soul and form-matter relationship. This is, as understood here, motivated to a great extent by his scholarly awareness that properly informing Chinese Catholics of the Aristotelian-Thomistic underpinning of Western metaphysics enacts an indispensable role in introducing Catholic liturgy into China, notably the mystery of the Eucharist and Transubstantiation that would not have been effectively introduced to China without having the Western philosophical underpinnings already made available to Chinese intellectuals. Aleni’s use of medieval European cultural legacy thus requires more in-depth analysis vis-à-vis his translational poetics in China. Accordingly, the intellectual and liturgical knowledge in Aleni’s Chinese œuvres shall be investigated associatively, and the medievalism embodied by Aleni offers a valid entry point and productive critical prism. Full article

Croatian agricultural legislation acknowledges the significance of radionuclides as pollutants in agricultural lands; however, it lacks specific thresholds or reference values for contamination levels, in contrast to other contaminants. This absence highlights the necessity for a comprehensive assessment of radionuclides across various agricultural systems in Croatia. This study investigates the transfer of radionuclides ¹³⁷Cs and ⁴⁰K from soil to agricultural crops throughout Croatia and estimates the consequent annual ingestion dose for the population. The samples collected comprised food crops and animal feed, with corresponding soil samples analyzed to calculate transfer factors. Activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs exhibited regional and crop-type variability, reflecting the uneven distribution of fallout and differing soil properties. Transfer factors were found to range from 0.003 to 0.06 for ¹³⁷Cs and from 0.15 to 3.1 for ⁴⁰K, with the highest uptake occurring in kidney beans. The total estimated annual effective ingestion dose was calculated to be a maximum of 0.748 mSv/year for children aged 2–7, predominantly attributable to ⁴⁰K. Given the homeostatic regulation of potassium in the human body, the dose associated with ¹³⁷Cs poses a more significant radiological concern. These findings underscore the need for radionuclide-specific agricultural legislation in Croatia and offer a baseline for recommending reference values and informing future regulations regarding agricultural soil contamination. Full article

A facile and versatile strategy to obtain NPs@ZnAlO nanocomposite materials, comprising controlled-size nanoparticles (NPs) within a ZnAlO matrix is reported. The mono-(Au, Ni) and bimetallic (Ni-Au) NPs serving as an active phase were prepared by the polyol-alkaline method, while the ZnAlO support was obtained via the thermal decomposition of its corresponding layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursors. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed the successful fabrication of the nanocomposites, including the synthesis of the metallic NPs, the formation of LDH-like structure, and the subsequent transformation to ZnO phase upon LDH calcination. The obtained nanostructures confirmed the nanoplate-like morphology inherited from the original LDH precursors, which tended to aggregate after the addition of gold NPs. According to the UV-Vis spectroscopy, loading NPs onto the ZnAlO support enhanced the light absorption and reduced the band gap energy. ATR-DRIFT spectroscopy, H₂-TPR measurements, and XPS analysis provided information about the functional groups, surface composition, and reducibility of the materials. The catalytic performance of the developed nanostructures was evaluated by the photodegradation of bisphenol A (BPA), under simulated solar irradiation. The conversion of BPA over the bimetallic Ni-Au@ZnAlO reached up to 95% after 180 min of irradiation, exceeding the monometallic Ni@ZnAlO and Au@ZnAlO catalysts. Its enhanced activity was correlated with good dispersion of the bimetals, narrower band gap, and efficient charge carrier separation of the photo-induced e⁻/h⁺ pairs. Full article

Understanding the interplay between lightning activity and hydrometeor distribution is crucial for advancing knowledge of thunderstorm electrification processes. Using three-dimensional lightning mapping and dual-polarization radar observations, this study investigates the spatiotemporal correlations between low-frequency (LF) lightning sources and hydrometeors during a severe thunderstorm on 11 June 2014, in North Carolina, USA. The results reveal that lightning sources are predominantly observed above 6 km (near the −10 °C isotherm) and stabilize into a dual-peak vertical distribution as the storm progresses into its mature stage, with peaks located at 6–7 km (−10 °C to −15 °C) and 10–11 km (approximately −40 °C). Low-density graupel (LDG) and aggregates (AGs) dominate at lightning locations. Stronger updrafts lead to higher proportions of LDG and high-density graupel (HDG), and lower proportions of AG. LDG exhibits the strongest positive correlation with LF lightning sources, with a peak correlation coefficient of 0.65 at 9 km. During the vigorous development stage, HDG and hail (Ha) also show positive correlations with LF lightning sources, with peak correlation coefficients of 0.52 at 7 km and 0.42 at 8 km, respectively. As the storm reaches its mature phase, the correlation between LDG and lightning sources also displays a dual-peak vertical distribution, with peaks at 7–8 km and 13–14 km. Both the peak correlation coefficient and its corresponding height increase with the strengthening of updrafts, underscoring the critical role of updrafts in microphysical characteristics and driving electrification processes. Full article

We investigate the statistical entropy of black holes within the framework of the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) by employing effective metrics that incorporate leading-order and all-order quantum gravitational corrections. We construct three distinct effective metrics induced by the GUP, which are derived from the GUP-corrected temperature, entropy, and all-order GUP corrections, and analyze their impact on black hole entropy using ’t Hooft’s brick wall method. Our results show that, despite the differences in the effective metrics and the corresponding ultraviolet cutoffs, the statistical entropy consistently satisfies the Bekenstein–Hawking area law when expressed in terms of an invariant (coordinate-independent) distance near the horizon. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the GUP naturally regularizes the ultraviolet divergence in the density of states, eliminating the need for artificial cutoffs and yielding finite entropy even when counting quantum states only in the vicinity of the event horizon. These findings highlight the universality and robustness of the area law under GUP modifications and provide new insights into the interplay between quantum gravity effects and black hole thermodynamics. Full article

This study evaluates the production of base oils for biolubricants using fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) derived from sunflower oil as the raw material. The production process involved the synthesis of oleochemical esters through a single-step alkaline transesterification reaction with a high-molecular-weight polyol, such as trimethylolpropane (TMP). To assess the effectiveness of the developed catalytic system in conducting the transesterification reactions and its impact on the properties of the final product, two types of alkaline catalysts were used. Specifically, the reactions were carried out using either Ca/TEA alkoxide or sodium methoxide as catalysts in various configurations and concentrations to determine the optimal catalyst concentration and reaction conditions. Sodium methoxide served as the commercial benchmark catalyst, while the Ca/TEA alkoxide was prepared in the laboratory. The optimal concentration of Ca/TEA was determined to be 3.0% wt. in the presence of iso-octane and 3.5% wt. under vacuum, while the corresponding concentrations of CH₃ONa for both cases were determined to be 2.0% wt. The synthesized biolubricant esters exhibit remarkable performance characteristics, such as high kinematic viscosities and low pour points—ranging from 33–48 cSt at 40 °C, 7.68–10.03 cSt at 100 °C, to −14 to −7 °C, respectively—which are comparable to or improved over those of mineral oils such as SN-150 or SN-500, with the Ca/TEA alkoxide-catalyzed systems showing superior oxidation stability and reduced byproduct formation. Full article

How do humans analyze the sentiments embedded in text? When attempting to analyze a text, humans construct a “scene” in their minds through imagination based on the text, generating a vague image. They then synthesize the text and the mental image to derive the final analysis result. However, current sentiment analysis models lack such imagination; they can only analyze based on existing information in the text, which limits their classification accuracy. To address this issue, we propose the SceEmoNet model. This model endows text classification models with imagination through Stable diffusion, enabling the model to generate corresponding visual scenes from input text, thus introducing a new modality of visual information. We then use the Contrastive Language-Image Pre-training (CLIP) model, a multimodal feature extraction model, to extract aligned features from different modalities, preventing significant feature differences caused by data heterogeneity. Finally, we fuse information from different modalities using late fusion to obtain the final classification result. Experiments on six datasets with different classification tasks show improvements of 9.57%, 3.87%, 3.63%, 3.14%, 0.77%, and 0.28%, respectively. Additionally, we set up experiments to deeply analyze the model’s advantages and limitations, providing a new technical path for follow-up research. Full article

Wet areas, which are locations in the landscape that consistently retain moisture, and channel networks are important landscape compartments, with key hydrological and ecological functions. Hence, defining their spatial boundaries is an important step towards sustainable watershed management. In catchments of developing countries, wet areas and small order channels of river networks are rarely mapped, although they represent a crucial component of local livelihoods and ecosystems. In this study, topographic attributes generated with a 30 m SRTM DEM were used to map wet areas and stream networks of two tropical catchments in Central Brazil. The topographic attributes for wet areas were the local slope and the slope curvature, and the Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) was used to delineate the stream networks. Threshold values of the selected topographic attributes were calibrated in the Santa Maria catchment, comparing the synthetically generated wet areas and drainage networks with corresponding reference (map) features, and validated in the nearby Santa Maria basin. Drainage network and wet area delineation accuracies were estimated using random basin transects and multi-criteria and confusion matrix methods. The drainage network accuracies were 67.2% and 70.7%, and wet area accuracies were 72.7% and 73.8%, for the Santa Maria and Gama catchments, respectively, being equivalent or higher than previous studies. The mapping errors resulted from model incompleteness, DEM vertical inaccuracy, and cartographic misrepresentation of the reference topographic maps. The study’s novelty is the use of readily available information to map, with simplicity and robustness, wet areas and channel initiation in data-scarce, tropical environments. Full article

In celebration of 50 years of the endoreversible Carnot-like heat engine, this work aims to link the thermodynamic success of the irreversible Carnot-like heat engine with the stability dynamics of the engine. This region of success is defined by two extreme configurations in the interaction between heat reservoirs and the working fluid. The first corresponds to a fully reversible limit, and the second one is the fully dissipative limit; in between both limits, the heat exchange between reservoirs and working fluid produces irreversibilities and entropy generation. The distance between these two extremal configurations is minimized, independently of the chosen metric, in the state where the efficiency is half the Carnot efficiency. This boundary encloses the region where irreversibilities dominate or the reversible behavior dominates (region of success). A general stability dynamics is proposed based on the endoreversible nature of the model and the operation parameter in charge of defining the operation regime. For this purpose, the maximum ecological and maximum Omega regimes are considered. The results show that for single perturbations, the dynamics rapidly directs the system towards the success region, and under random perturbations producing stochastic trajectories, the system remains always in this region. The results are contrasted with the case in which no restitution dynamics exist. It is shown that stability allows the system to depart from the original steady state to other states that enhance the system’s performance, which could favor the evolution and specialization of systems in nature and in artificial devices. Full article

Spruce wood is a natural polymeric material, consisting of cellulose, lignin, hemicelluloses and other secondary components, which gives it a unique chemical footprint and architecture. Varnishes are used in musical instruments to protect the wood against humidity variations, wood being a hygroscopic material, but also to protect the wood from dirt. The varnishes used both to protect the wood from resonance and to ensure a special aesthetic appearance are either polymeric varnishes (nitrocellulose, oil-based) or volatile solvents (spirit). In this study, the color changes, the surface morphology and the chemical spectrum produced by three types of varnishes, applied in 5, 10 and 15 layers, on resonance spruce plates were analyzed. The results revealed significant changes in the color parameters: the lightness decreased by approximately 17% after the first layer, by 50% after 5 layers, by 65% after 10 layers and by 70% after 15 layers. The color parameters are most influenced by the anatomical quality of spruce wood (annual ring width and earlywood/latewood ratio) in the case of oil-based varnishes and least influenced in the case of nitrocellulose varnishes. The chemical fingerprint was determined by FTIR spectrum analysis, which revealed that the most pronounced absorptions were the double band 2926–2858 cm⁻¹, corresponding to aliphatic methylene and methyl groups (asymmetric and symmetrical C-H stretch), and the bands at 1724 cm⁻¹ (oil-based varnish), 1722 cm⁻¹ (nitrocellulose varnish) and 1708 cm⁻¹ (spirit varnish), all assigned to non-conjugated carbonyl groups in either carboxylic acids, esters aldehydes or ketones. The novelty of the study lies in the comparative analysis of three types of varnishes used in the musical instrument industry, applied to samples of spruce resonance wood with different macroscopic characteristics in three different layer thicknesses. Full article

In this study, we aimed to address the lack of systematic research on key collision dynamics parameters (elastic restitution coefficient) in the full mechanization of rapeseed operations, which hinders the development of precision agriculture. In this present work, the restitution coefficient of rapeseed was systematically investigated, and a predictive model (R² = 0.959) was also established by using Box–Behnken design response surface methodology (BBD-RSM). The results show that the collision restitution coefficient varies in the range of 0.539–0.649, with the key influencing factors ranked as follows: moisture content (M_c) > material layer thickness (L) > drop height (H). The EDEM simulation methodology was adopted to validate the experimental results, and the results show that there is a minimal relative error (−1% < δ < 1%) between the measured and simulated rebound heights, indicating that the established model shows a reliable prediction performance. Moreover, by comprehensively analyzing stress, strain, and energy during the collision process between rapeseed and Q235 steel, it can be concluded that the process can be divided into five stages—free fall, collision compression, collision recovery, rebound oscillation, and rebound stabilization. The maximum stress (1.19 × 10⁻² MPa) and strain (6.43 × 10⁻⁶ mm) were observed at the beginning of the collision recovery stage, which can provide some theoretical and practical basis for optimizing and designing rapeseed machines, thus achieving the goals of precise control, harvest loss reduction, and increased yields. Full article

Natural disasters like wildfires pose significant threats to communities, which necessitates timely and effective disaster response strategies. While Aspect-based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA) has been widely used to extract sentiment-related information at the sub-sentence level, the corresponding field of Aspect-based Emotion Analysis (ABEA) remains underexplored due to dataset limitations and the increased complexity of emotion classification. In this study, we used EmoGRACE, a fine-tuned BERT-based model for ABEA, which we applied to georeferenced tweets of the 2020 California wildfires. The results for this case study reveal distinct spatio-temporal emotion patterns for wildfire-related aspect terms, with fear and sadness increasing near wildfire perimeters. This study demonstrates the feasibility of tracking emotion dynamics across disaster-affected regions and highlights the potential of ABEA in real-time disaster monitoring. The results suggest that ABEA can provide a nuanced understanding of public sentiment during crises for policymakers. Full article

The rapid urbanization process has accelerated the degradation of ecosystem services (ESs) in peri-urban rural areas of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), leading to increasing landscape ecological risks (LERs). Establishing a scientifically grounded landscape ecological risk assessment (LERA) system and corresponding control strategies is therefore imperative. Using rural areas of Jiangning District, Nanjing as a case study, this research proposes an optimized dual-dimensional coupling assessment framework that integrates ecosystem service value (ESV) and ecological risk probability. The spatiotemporal evolution of LER in 2000, 2010, and 2020 and its key driving factors were further studied by using spatial autocorrelation analysis and geodetector methods. The results show the following: (1) From 2000 to 2020, cultivated land remained dominant, but its proportion decreased by 10.87%, while construction land increased by 26.52%, with minimal changes in other land use types. (2) The total ESV increased by CNY 1.67 × 10⁹, with regulating services accounting for over 82%, among which water bodies contributed the most. (3) LER showed an overall increasing trend, with medium- to highest-risk areas expanding by 55.37%, lowest-risk areas increasing by 10.10%, and lower-risk areas decreasing by 65.48%. (4) Key driving factors include landscape vulnerability, vegetation coverage, and ecological land connectivity, with the influence of distance to road becoming increasingly significant. This study reveals the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of LER in typical peri-urban villages. Based on the LERA results, combined with terrain features and ecological pressure intensity, the study area was divided into three ecological management zones: ecological conservation, ecological restoration, and ecological enhancement. Corresponding zoning strategies were proposed to guide rural ecological governance and support regional sustainable development. Full article

The demand for high data rates and large system capacity has posed significant challenges for medium access control (MAC) methods. Successive interference cancellation (SIC) is a classical multi-user detection (MUD) method; however, it suffers from an error propagation problem. To address this deficiency, we propose a method called Virtual Signal Processing-Based Integrated Multi-User Detection (VSP-IMUD). In VSP-IMUD, the received mixed multi-user signals are treated as an equivalent signal. The channel ambiguity corresponding to each user’s signal is then examined. For channels with non-zero ambiguity values, the signal components are detected using zero-forcing (ZF) reception. Next, the detected ambiguous signal components are reconstructed and subtracted from the received mixed signal using SIC. Once all the ambiguous signals are detected, the remaining signal components with zero ambiguity values are equated to a virtual integrated signal, to which a matched filter (MF) is applied. Finally, by selecting the signal with the highest channel gain and adopting its data as the reference symbol, the remaining signals’ dataset can be determined. Our theoretical analysis and simulation results demonstrate that VSP-IMUD effectively reduces the frequency of SIC applications and mitigates its error propagation effects, thereby improving the system’s bit-error rate (BER) performance. Full article