Analyzing the determinants of carbon emissions from transportation in European countries: the role of renewable energy and urbanization

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - The continuous growth of transport sector and the increase in carbon emissions from transportation attract the attention of policy makers in...     

Role of Glycosylation in Vascular Calcification

Glycosylation is an important step in post-translational protein modification. Altered glycosylation results in an abnormality that causes diseases such as malignancy and cardiovascular diseases. Recent emerging evidence highlights the importance of glycosylation in vascular calcification. Two major types of glycosylation, N-glycosylation and O-glycosylation, are involved in vascular calcification. Other glycosylation mechanisms, which polymerize the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain onto protein, resulting in proteoglycan (PG), also have an impact on vascular calcification. This paper discusses the role of glycosylation in vascular calcification.     

Development and characterisation of gelatine/palm wax/lemongrass essential oil (GPL)-coated paper for active food packaging

This research focused on the enhancement of paper through the incorporation of a biodegradable and hydrophobic film coating with antioxidant properties. The effects of different lemongrass essential oil (LEO) concentrations (0–12%) on the physical, mechanical, microstructural, water-resistance, antioxidant and biodegradable properties of gelatine/palm wax/lemongrass essential oil (GPL)-coated paper were analysed. Uncoated paper was used as a control. The GPL-coated papers were heat sealable and had significantly (p < 0.05) higher tensile strength and stretchability but lower stiffness than those of the control paper. The GPL-coated paper incorporated with higher LEO concentrations showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the initial contact angle while also demonstrating significant (p < 0.05) reductions in the Cobb value and water vapour permeability. The GC–MS analysis revealed that LEO was highly dominated by monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and their oxygenated derivatives, supporting that all GPL-coated papers have a good amount of total phenolic compounds and free radical scavenging activities, which improved significantly (p < 0.05) with higher LEO concentrations. In conclusion, the GPL film coating was capable of improving the physical, mechanical and functional properties of Kraft paper and has the potential to be applied for food products.     

A Robust Resource Allocation Scheme for Device-to-Device Communications Based on Q-Learning

One of the most effective technology for the 5G mobile communications is Device-to-device (D2D) communication which is also called terminal pass-through technology. It can directly communicate between devices under the control of a base station and does not require a base station to forward it. The advantages of applying D2D communication technology to cellular networks are: It can increase the communication system capacity, improve the system spectrum efficiency, increase the data transmission rate, and reduce the base station load. Aiming at the problem of co-channel interference between the D2D and cellular users, this paper proposes an efficient algorithm for resource allocation based on the idea of Q-learning, which creates multi-agent learners from multiple D2D users, and the system throughput is determined from the corresponding state-learning of the Q value list and the maximum Q action is obtained through dynamic power for control for D2D users. The mutual interference between the D2D users and base stations and exact channel state information is not required during the Q-learning process and symmetric data transmission mechanism is adopted. The proposed algorithm maximizes the system throughput by controlling the power of D2D users while guaranteeing the quality-of-service of the cellular users. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm effectively improves system performance as compared with existing algorithms.     

Technical Investigation on V2G,S2V,and V2I for Next Generation Smart City Planning

The paper investigates a few of the major areas of the next generation technological advancement, “smart city planning concept”. The areas that the paper focuses are vehicle to grid (V2G), sun to vehicle (S2V), and vehicle to infrastructure (V2I). For the bi-directional crowd energy single entity concept, V2G and building to grid (B2G) are the primary parts of distributed renewable generation (DRG) under smart living. This research includes an in-depth overview of this three major areas. Next, the research conducts a case analysis of V2G, S2V, and V2I along with their possible limitations in order to find out the novel solutions for future development both for academia and industry levels. Lastly, few possible solutions have been proposed to minimize the limitations and to develop the existing system for future expansion.     

Nodal Point Relation for the Distribution of Sediments at Channel Bifurcation

This technical note explores the applicability of the general nodal point relation to describe the distribution of sediments at channel bifurcation. Experiments were conducted in a physical model of channel bifurcation to estimate the coefficient and exponent of the nodal point relation for different nose angles and upstream discharges. It was found that the nose angle is the major variable for the distribution of sediments to the downstream branches. The value of the exponent k found from experimental results was compared with that of a theoretical analysis. For a stable equilibrium, the value of k is greater than 5/3 from theoretical consideration when the Engelund–Hansen sediment transport formula is used. This was confirmed from the experimental results. This suggests that the distribution of sediments at channel bifurcation can be expressed by the general nodal point relation.     

Breast milk from healthy women has higher anti-Candida properties than women with vaginal infections during pregnancy

Food Science and Biotechnology - The aim of this study was to investigate the different immunological and antimicrobial properties of breast milk from women with (W) or without (WO) vaginal yeast...