Touchless palmprint recognition systems enable high-accuracy recognition of individuals through less-constrained and highly usable procedures that do not require the contact of the palm with a ...surface. To perform this recognition, methods based on local texture descriptors and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are currently used to extract highly discriminative features while compensating for variations in scale, rotation, and illumination in biometric samples. In particular, the main advantage of CNN-based methods is their ability to adapt to biometric samples captured with heterogeneous devices. However, the current methods rely on either supervised training algorithms, which require class labels (e.g., the identities of the individuals) during the training phase, or filters pretrained on general-purpose databases, which may not be specifically suitable for palmprint data. To achieve a high-recognition accuracy with touchless palmprint samples captured using different devices while neither requiring class labels for training nor using pretrained filters, we introduce PalmNet, which is a novel CNN that uses a newly developed method to tune palmprint-specific filters through an unsupervised procedure based on Gabor responses and principal component analysis (PCA), not requiring class labels during training. PalmNet is a new method of applying Gabor filters in a CNN and is designed to extract highly discriminative palmprint-specific descriptors and to adapt to heterogeneous databases. We validated the innovative PalmNet on several palmprint databases captured using different touchless acquisition procedures and heterogeneous devices, and in all cases, a recognition accuracy greater than that of the current methods in this paper was obtained.
In recent years, increased concerns over pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have initiated a wave of policy change in both governmental, industry and non-governmental organisations in order to ...reduce the overall environmental impact and ensure a sustainable future. The UK Green Building Council for instance has identified construction as one of the most emission-intensive industries, accounting for around 50% of greenhouse gas production in the UK. In this study, a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) technique is used to analyse the plasterboard supply chain; the most commonly used product in the UK construction industry of one of the Europe׳s leading distributor and contractor of building materials. This study demonstrates how emission ‘hotspots’ across the lifecycle of products can be identified and analysed using different intervention options in the supply chain in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For the plasterboard supply chain, the implementation of cross-docking principles and use of renewable sources of energy in warehousing were determined to be major decarbonzation interventions.
The trend of expansion in Higher Education in the UK since 1992 has created a massive demand for accommodation for students, where the housing stock is one of the oldest and least efficient in ...Europe, and the private rented sector is often singled out for containing some of the least energy efficient, and in worst condition properties. The extent to which students factor in energy efficiency and fuel poverty concerns into their accommodation choices is explored in this paper, along with the perception of the phenomena by students. From a survey of 286 students it was revealed that while students themselves may not consider themselves to be living in fuel poverty, the activities taken in their day-to-day lives suggest the opposite. The impact of the housing stock on student quality of life is investigated as well.
•Students in the UK are more likely to live in poor quality housing.•Poor quality housing is associated with a higher probability of fuel poverty.•The student population are overlooked in fuel poverty statistics and strategies.•A survey of Sheffield students reveals characteristics typical of fuel poor populations.•Current policies are not equipped to identify and assist fuel poor students.
This study introduces a cooperative game theory approach aimed at addressing the problem of allocating pollution responsibility across partners collaborating in supply networks. The proposed ...framework includes three different allocation rules through which companies can share pollution responsibility across complex supply networks. A case study in the context of a supply network for the manufacturing of construction materials is illustrated for demonstrating the real-world applicability of the approach.
The increasing awareness of the environmental and health threats of lead as well as environmental legislation, both in the EU and around the world targeted at decreasing the use of hazardous ...substances in electrical appliances and products has reinvigorated the race to develop lead-free alternatives to lead zirconate titanate (PZT), which presently dominates the market for piezoelectric materials. Emphasis has been placed on one of the most likely piezoelectric materials, potassium sodium niobate (KNN), as a lead-free replacement for PZT. KNN has been speculated to have better environmental credentials and is considered as a "greener" replacement to PZT. However, a comparative environmental impact assessment of the life cycle phases of KNN versus PZT piezoelectric materials has not been carried out. Such a life cycle assessment is crucial before any valid claims of "greenness" or environmental viability of one material over the other can be made and is the focus of this paper. Against this backdrop, a methodologically robust life cycle supply chain assessment based on integrated hybrid life cycle framework is undertaken within the context of the two piezoelectric materials. Results show that the presence of niobium in KNN constitutes far greater impact across all the 16 categories considered in comparison with PZT. The increased environmental impact of KNN occurs in the early stages of the LCA due to raw material extraction and processing. As a result, the environmental damage has already occurred before its use in piezoelectric applications during which it doesn't constitute any threat. As such, the use of the term "environmentally friendly" for the description of KNN should be avoided. Cost-benefit analysis of substituting PZT with KNN also indicates that the initial cost of conversion to KNN is greater, especially for energy usage during production. This environmental assessment has allowed us to define and address environmental health and safety as well as sustainability issues that are essential for future development of these materials. Overall, this work demonstrates insightful findings that can be garnered through the application of life cycle assessment and supply chain management to a strategic engineering question which allows industries and policy makers to make informed decisions regarding the environmental consequences of substitute materials, designs, fabrication processes and usage.
•A new method to assess service level for electric charging stations is proposed.•A big-data traffic source allows the identification of a drivers’ sample.•A fuzzy model that mimics the drivers’ ...behavior for station choice is presented.•A simulation procedure to stack and queue in time the charging requests is shown.•The instantaneous crowding and energy load for charging stations are obtained.
Electric mobility is regarded as an important option for reducing environmental impacts of transport. State incentives and planning efforts for the mass deployment of a public charging infrastructure (CI) are in hand in many countries; in particular, public CIs based on the Level 3 DC fast charge are most likely to become commercially viable in the short to medium term, as the drivers are more likely to view the operation as traditional refuelling.
The aim of this work is to develop a procedure for the evaluation of the level of service of a configuration of electric fast charging stations (CI scenario), located in a selected urban area of the city of Rome. By varying the configuration of the stations in the area, and taking into account a charge demand inferred from real-world traffic data, we are able to make comparative analyses among different CI scenarios, and to determine the best one in terms of average and maximum waiting time to recharge (demand-side analysis). The steps considered included: creation of realistic CI scenarios based on lists of existing car parks and petrol stations; estimation of the potential battery electrical vehicle (BEV) users in the selected urban area using a Big Data analysis procedure; development of a fuzzy model to assign BEV users to stations with a criterion of convenience; use of a simulation procedure of all the charge events, in order to obtain a time profile of customer crowding at stations.
In an effort to achieve sustainable operations, green supply chain management has become an important area for firms to concentrate on due to its inherent involvement with all the processes that ...provide foundations to successful business. Modelling methodologies of product supply chain environmental assessment are usually guided by the principles of life cycle assessment (LCA). However, a review of the extant literature suggests that LCA techniques suffer from a wide range of limitations that prevent a wider application in real-world contexts; hence, they need to be incorporated within decision support frameworks to aid environmental sustainability strategies. Thus, this paper contributes in understanding and overcoming the dichotomy between LCA model development and the emerging practical implementation to inform carbon emissions mitigation strategies within supply chains. Therefore, the paper provides both theoretical insights and a practical application to inform the process of adopting a decision support framework based on a LCA methodology in a real-world scenario. The supply chain of a product from the steel industry is considered to evaluate its environmental impact and carbon 'hotspots'. The study helps understanding how operational strategies geared towards environmental sustainability can be informed using knowledge and information generated from supply chain environmental assessments, and for highlighting inherent challenges in this process.
Public opinion polls show consistently that a substantial portion of the American public would vote for a qualified female presidential candidate. Because of the controversial nature of such ...questions, however, the responses may suffer from social desirability effects. In other words, respondents may be purposely giving false answers as not to violate societal norms. Using an unobtrusive measure called the "list experiment," we find that public opinion polls are indeed exaggerating support for a female president. Roughly 26 percent of the public is "angry or upset" about the prospect of a female president. Moreover, this level of dissatisfaction is constant across several demographic groups.
Treatment of respiratory viral infections remains a global health concern, mainly due to the inefficacy of available drugs. Therefore, the discovery of novel antiviral compounds is needed; in this ...context, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) like temporins hold great promise. Here, we discovered that the harmless temporin G (TG) significantly inhibited the early life‐cycle phases of influenza virus. The in vitro hemagglutinating test revealed the existence of TG interaction with the viral hemagglutinin (HA) protein. Furthermore, the hemolysis inhibition assay and the molecular docking studies confirmed a TG/HA complex formation at the level of the conserved hydrophobic stem groove of HA. Remarkably, these findings highlight the ability of TG to block the conformational rearrangements of HA2 subunit, which are essential for the viral envelope fusion with intracellular endocytic vesicles, thereby neutralizing the virus entry into the host cell. In comparison, in the case of parainfluenza virus, which penetrates host cells upon a membrane‐fusion process, addition of TG to infected cells provoked ~1.2 log reduction of viral titer released in the supernatant. Nevertheless, at the same condition, an immunofluorescent assay showed that the expression of viral hemagglutinin/neuraminidase protein was not significantly reduced. This suggested a peptide‐mediated block of some late steps of viral replication and therefore the impairment of the extracellular release of viral particles. Overall, our results are the first demonstration of the ability of an AMP to interfere with the replication of respiratory viruses with a different mechanism of cell entry and will open a new avenue for the development of novel therapeutic approaches against a large variety of respiratory viruses, including the recent SARS‐CoV2.
A picosecond laser ablation approach has been developed for the synthesis of ligand-free AuAg bimetallic NPs where the relative amount of Ag is controlled in situ through a laser shielding effect. ...Various measurements, such as optical spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, revealed the generation of homogenous 15 nm average size bimetallic NPs with different compositions and tunable localized surface plasmon resonance. Furthermore, ligand-free metallic nanoparticles with respect to chemically synthesized nanoparticles display outstanding properties, i.e. featureless Raman background spectrum, which is a basic requirement in many plasmonic applications such as Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy. Various molecules were chemisorbed on the nanoparticle and SERS investigations were carried out, by varying the laser wavelength. The SERS enhancement factor for AuAg bimetallic NPs shows an enhancement factor of about 5.7 × 10(5) with respect to the flat AuAg surface.
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