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Publications - 6273

FinTech credit using CBDC: Transformation of lending market

Publication Name: Exploring Central Bank Digital Currencies Concepts Frameworks Models and Challenges

Publication Date: 2024-03-07

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 158-168

Description:

The advancement of financial technology and the development of central bank digital currency (CBDC) are revolutionizing the lending market. FinTech credit and CBDC have disrupted traditional lending practices, providing new channels of financing for borrowers and increasing access to credit. This chapter explores the transformation in the lending market due to the advent of FinTech credit and CBDC. It analyses the impact of these developments on the lending market, borrowers, and financial institutions. The chapter also evaluates the challenges and opportunities presented by these innovations and the implications for regulators. Financial technology (FinTech) credit has rapidly emerged as a disruptive force in the lending market, and the use of central bank digital currency (CBDC) has the potential to further transform the lending market. This chapter aims to examine the potential impact of FinTech credit using CBDC on the lending market, analyse the benefits and challenges of this model, and provide recommendations for policymakers and market participants to foster its adoption.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3693-1882-9.ch010

Wild Blackberry Fruit (Rubus fruticosus L.) as Potential Functional Ingredient in Food: Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Optimization, Ripening Period Evaluation, Application in Muffin, and Consumer Acceptance

Publication Name: Foods

Publication Date: 2024-03-01

Volume: 13

Issue: 5

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the antioxidant properties of wild blackberry fruits as well as their possible use in powdered form as a functional ingredient. For this, ultrasound-assisted extraction optimization, ripening stage evaluation, and wild blackberry powder incorporation into a real food matrix were applied. The optimum conditions for extraction were as follows: 60% MeOH, 20 min of extraction time, acidification with 0.5% HCl, and a 1:40 g/mL solid-to-solvent ratio, which allowed the following yields: total polyphenol content (TPC): 53.8 mg GAE/g; total flavonoid content (TFC): 5.78 mg QE/g; total monomer anthocyanin content (TMA): 11.2 mg CGE/g; 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity (DPPH): 71.5 mg AAE/g; IC50: 52.3 µg/mL. The study also highlighted that, during the ripening process, the TPC (41.4%), TFC (17.0%), and DPPH levels (66.4%) of the fruits decreased while the TMA yield increased. The incorporation of blackberry powder at different levels (5–20%) increased the TPC, TFC, TMA, and antioxidant properties of muffins. Although the muffins enriched with 20% wild blackberry powder had the best chemical properties (TPC: 3.15 mg GAE/g; TFC: 0.52 mg QE/g; TMA: 0.23 mg CGE/g; DPPH: 1.70 mg AAE/g; IC50: 1.65 mg/mL), the sensory analysis showed that the addition of blackberry fruit at a concentration of 10% to the muffins resulted in the best consumer acceptability.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.3390/foods13050666

Sustainability implications of lateral wander modes for autonomous trucks

Publication Name: Discover Applied Sciences

Publication Date: 2024-03-01

Volume: 6

Issue: 3

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

Autonomous trucks can bring changes in transport infrastructure in terms of sustainability based on the type of lateral wander mode used. In this research, two lateral wander modes, a zero wander and uniform wander mode are analyzed based on their applicability for sustainability by analyzing the CO2 emissions occurred during pavements life cycle. Both lateral wander modes have been analyzed in terms of occurrence of fatigue damage by using finite element analysis in ABAQUS. The fatigue damage predictions have then been used for planning the maintenance interventions for both lateral wander modes. Life cycle analysis has been performed for the analysis period of 30 years for the pavement section of 10 km. Results show that zero wander mode generates more emissions as a result of premature fatigue damage under channelized loading. The uniform wander mode leads to 20% less emissions when compared to zero wander mode. Moreover, the use of full depth reclamation during pavement’s life cycle improves the CO2 emissions by 15% when compared to traditional removal and reconstruction methods. Therefore, the uniform wander mode is favorable for improvement of pavement sustainability in terms of CO2 emissions.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1007/s42452-024-05732-5

Effects of Lip Length and Inside Radius-to-Thickness Ratio on Buckling Behavior of Cold-Formed Steel C-Sections

Publication Name: Buildings

Publication Date: 2024-03-01

Volume: 14

Issue: 3

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

Cold-formed steel (CFS) sections constructed with high-strength steel have gained prominence in construction owing to their advantages, including a high strength-to-weight ratio, shape flexibility, availability in long spans, portability, cost-effectiveness, and design versatility. However, the thin thickness of CFS members makes them susceptible to various forms of buckling. This study focuses on addressing and mitigating different types of buckling in columns and beams by manipulating the lip length (d) and the ratio of inside radius to thickness (Ri/t) in CFS C-sections. To achieve this objective, a comprehensive analysis involving 176 models was conducted through the Finite Element Method (FEM). The findings reveal that an increase in lip length leads to a corresponding increase in critical elastic buckling load and moment ((Formula presented.), (Formula presented.), (Formula presented.), (Formula presented.), (Formula presented.), and (Formula presented.)). It is recommended to utilize a lip length greater than or equal to 15 mm for both columns and beams to mitigate various buckling types effectively. Conversely, an increase in the ratio of inside radius to thickness (Ri/t) results in an increase in critical elastic local buckling load ((Formula presented.)) and moment ((Formula presented.)). Thus, lip length (d) significantly influences column and beam buckling, whereas Ri/t exhibits a relatively impactful effect. Subsequently, the experimental test results were used to verify finite element models. These insights contribute significant knowledge for optimizing the design and performance of CFS C-sections in structural applications.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.3390/buildings14030587

Numerical Covariance Evaluation for Linear Structures Subject to Non-Stationary Random Inputs

Publication Name: Computation

Publication Date: 2024-03-01

Volume: 12

Issue: 3

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

Random vibration analysis is a mathematical tool that offers great advantages in predicting the mechanical response of structural systems subjected to external dynamic loads whose nature is intrinsically stochastic, as in cases of sea waves, wind pressure, and vibrations due to road asperity. Using random vibration analysis is possible, when the input is properly modeled as a stochastic process, to derive pieces of information about the structural response with a high quality (if compared with other tools), especially in terms of reliability prevision. Moreover, the random vibration approach is quite complex in cases of non-linearity cases, as well as for non-stationary inputs, as in cases of seismic events. For non-stationary inputs, the assessment of second-order spectral moments requires resolving the Lyapunov matrix differential equation. In this research, a numerical procedure is proposed, providing an expression of response in the state-space that, to our best knowledge, has not yet been presented in the literature, by using a formal justification in accordance with earthquake input modeled as a modulated white noise with evolutive parameters. The computational efforts are reduced by considering the symmetry feature of the covariance matrix. The adopted approach is applied to analyze a multi-story building, aiming to determine the reliability related to the maximum inter-story displacement surpassing a specified acceptable threshold. The building is presumed to experience seismic input characterized by a non-stationary process in both amplitude and frequency, utilizing a general Kanai–Tajimi earthquake input stationary model. The adopted case study is modeled in the form of a multi-degree-of-freedom plane shear frame system.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.3390/computation12030050

Companies Local Embeddedness and Culture: A Review

Publication Name: Economic Research Guardian

Publication Date: 2024-01-01

Volume: 14

Issue: 2

Page Range: 73-87

Description:

The criticism of neoclassical economic behaviour, the changing company-space dynamics, the effects of globalization, and the cultural turn have stimulated new trends in social sciences. In recent decades, the concept of embeddedness has evolved significantly and now holds a solid place in regional economics and economic geography; however, interdisciplinary studies remain common. This review article examines the interaction between corporate embeddedness and culture, aiming to demonstrate how previous research has interpreted culture's role in embeddedness. A comprehensive literature analysis, the primary question addressed is how corporate practices and cultural norms develop in a specific socio-cultural context. The review's novelty lies in its dual approach to culture's role in embeddedness. On one hand, it explores the value and norm system of embeddedness, focusing on culture's role in limiting social practices. On the other hand, it discusses culture's role in the interactions of the embedding process at all levels of embeddedness and culture. The literature indicates that the culture of both the company and the receiving space – including trust levels, openness, willingness to settle, and receptiveness – determines the success of embeddedness.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: DOI not available

The Obligations of the States in Respect of Climate Change Before the International Court of Justice

Publication Name: Journal of Environmental Law

Publication Date: 2024-03-01

Volume: 36

Issue: 1

Page Range: 117-124

Description:

This analysis discusses the advisory opinion requested by the UN General Assembly from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in April 2023 on the obligations of states in respect of climate change. Although the ICJ’s decision cannot be expected before the autumn of 2024, important procedural anomalies have arisen, which require due regard to ensure that the ICJ can provide its advisory opinion in possession of sufficient information. In particular, firstly, not all Small Island Developing States have been notified by the ICJ and invited to submit written statements and, secondly, the amicus curiae provided by NGOs will be not accessible to the public. This analysis argues that all Small Island Developing States should have the opportunity to take part in the proceedings and the amicus curiae submitted by NGOs to the ICJ should receive proper publicity.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1093/jel/eqad033

Precision agricultural technology for advanced monitoring of maize yield under different fertilization and irrigation regimes: A case study in Eastern Hungary (Debrecen)

Publication Name: Journal of Agriculture and Food Research

Publication Date: 2024-03-01

Volume: 15

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

Precision agricultural (PrA) technology relies on the utilization of special equipment to access real time observations on plant health status, chlorophyll, nitrogen content, and soil moisture content. In this research new PrA technology (i.e., SPAD (Soil Plant Analysis Development), and UAV-based NDVI (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) were used to monitor maize yield based on different filed trials in eastern part of Hungary. Our study aimed to examine the utilization of PrA technology specifically SPAD and UAV-based NDVI measurements for monitoring maize GY under irrigated and rainfed experimental setups in Hungary with varied nitrogen treatment for the year 2022. The results showed that the SPAD increased in all treatments (14.7 %; p < 0.05) from V6–V8 in the rainfed treatments, decreased significantly (p < 0.05) by 13.9 % (R1) and 30.6 % (R3). However, implementation of irrigation significantly increased the SPAD values in majority of treatments. Also, results reveal that, under irrigated and rainfed conditions the highest UAV-based NDVI value (0.703, 0.642) was obtained in V12 (A120 treatment) and highest NDVI value (0.728, 0.662) was obtained in Vn (A120 treatment). Remarekedly, irrigation led to significant differences (p < 0.05) of UAV-based NDVI values compared with none irrigated. On the other hand, implementation of 120 kg N ha−1 before sowing led to highest GY, especially under irrigated conditions (8.649 Mg ha−1). The overall mean GY under rainfed treatment was 6.256 Mg ha−1, while under irrigated treatment it increased by 37.2 % and reached 8.581 Mg ha−1 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, PrA technology will support farmers in making informed decisions regarding fertilization strategies and timing, which will in turn maximize yield and minimize risk.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1016/j.jafr.2024.100967

A new method applied for explaining the landing patterns: Interpretability analysis of machine learning

Publication Name: Heliyon

Publication Date: 2024-02-29

Volume: 10

Issue: 4

Page Range: Unknown

Description:

As one of many fundamental sports techniques, the landing maneuver is also frequently used in clinical injury screening and diagnosis. However, the landing patterns are different under different constraints, which will cause great difficulties for clinical experts in clinical diagnosis. Machine learning (ML) have been very successful in solving a variety of clinical diagnosis tasks, but they all have the disadvantage of being black boxes and rarely provide and explain useful information about the reasons for making a particular decision. The current work validates the feasibility of applying an explainable ML (XML) model constructed by Layer-wise Relevance Propagation (LRP) for landing pattern recognition in clinical biomechanics. This study collected 560 groups landing data. By incorporating these landing data into the XML model as input signals, the prediction results were interpreted based on the relevance score (RS) derived from LRP. The interpretation obtained from XML was evaluated comprehensively from the statistical perspective based on Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) and Effect Size. The RS has excellent statistical characteristics in the interpretation of landing patterns between classes, and also conforms to the clinical characteristics of landing pattern recognition. The current work highlights the applicability of XML methods that can not only satisfy the traditional decision problem between classes, but also largely solve the lack of transparency in landing pattern recognition. We provide a feasible framework for realizing interpretability of ML decision results in landing analysis, providing a methodological reference and solid foundation for future clinical diagnosis and biomechanical analysis.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26052