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Ecological restoration is an important strategy for mitigating environmental degradation, and the effectiveness evaluation of ecological restoration is of profound significance for the scientific implementation of restoration projects. This study improved the Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model. It was used to simulate the land use patterns under multi-scenarios such as natural development (ND), economic priority (EP), and ecological restoration (ER) in 2030. An evaluation framework covering ecological "Restoration–Monitoring–Effectiveness" (RME) was proposed. Based on 30 m high-resolution remote-sensing data from 2000 to 2020, the land use distribution, landscape pattern changes, and ecosystem services under different scenarios were evaluated and predicted in the Yellow River Basin of Sichuan to verify the effectiveness of the evaluation framework. The results showed the following: (1) Under the ER scenario, the transfer of land use types in 2020–2030 was mainly characterized by an increase in the area of wetlands and a decrease in the area of built-up land. (2) There were obvious differences in land use and landscape patterns under different scenarios. Compared with the ND and EP scenarios, the growth of the construction rate was suppressed in the ER scenario, and the coverage of grassland and wetlands increased significantly. (3) The mean values of ecosystem services in the ER scenario were higher than those in the ND and EP scenarios. These findings clearly indicate that the RME evaluation system can accurately evaluate the ecological restoration effects under multi-scenarios in the future, providing a new perspective for ecological restoration evaluation in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The imbalance between the supply and demand of ecological products between society and ecosystems is an important cause of a series of water ecological problems, and water ecological restoration projects aim to improve the above supply–demand relationship by means of inputs from the social side. For this reason, this paper takes the Yellow River Delta region as an example to launch a study on the assessment of the effectiveness of water ecological restoration projects from the perspective of the supply and demand of ecological products. Specifically, the level of the supply and demand of ecological products, as well as the relationship between the supply and the demand in the studied area, were measured using the equivalent factor approach and the water footprint approach, and the effects of the Yellow River Delta hydro-ecological restoration project were assessed by integrating the following four metrics: land use, supply of ecological products (ecosystem services), demand for ecological products, and the relationship between the supply of and demand for ecological products. The results of this study show that although the hydro-ecological restoration project continues to replenish water resources in the Yellow River Delta region, and promotes the level of ecological product supply in the study area through the restoration of wetlands and water, the growing and excessive demand for ecological products in the study area still puts the local ecosystems at risk of degradation. In the future, the Yellow River Delta region should continue to control the scale of land for production and living on the supply side of ecological products and increase its investment in water ecological restoration, while establishing a highly efficient mode of ecological product development and utilization and a reasonable mechanism for the payment of ecological products on the demand side. In addition, the Yellow River Delta region needs to pay attention to the impacts of rising sea levels and other climatic problems on ecological restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological Product Value Realization (EPVR) is regarded as an effective tool for ecological civilization construction in China and has received widespread attention. Based on the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model, this study constructs a multi-layered evaluation index system for the effectiveness of EPVR in China from a systemic perspective and determines the weights of the indicators through the entropy weight method. On this basis, an empirical analysis of the EPVR effectiveness in China from 2011 to 2021 is conducted using the TOPSIS method, the coupling coordination degree model, and the obstacle diagnosis model. The results show that the whole effectiveness of EPVR in China has been significantly improved during the study period, with the composite evaluation index increasing from 0.1481 to 0.7680, which can be categorized into a slow exploration period (2011 to 2016) and a rapid development period (2017 to 2021). The development effectiveness and the state of coupling coordination varies between subsystems, and the main obstacle factors are not fixed. The above results verify the scientific nature and applicability of the index system, which can provide a new assessment method to promote the efficient utilization of resources and sustainability. This study also makes recommendations in terms of ecological product supply, natural resource utilization, eco-industry, and coordinated development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness indicator system of remote sensing satellites includes various satellites capabilities. Effectiveness evaluation is the process of calculating these indicators in the digital world, involving many different physical parameters of multiple subsystems. Model-based simulation statistics method is the mainstream approach of effectiveness evaluation, and digital twin is currently the most advanced modeling method for simulation. The satellite digital twin model has the characteristics of multi-dynamic, multi-spatial scale and multi-physics field coupling, which gives rise to challenges related to the stiff problem of ordinary differential equations and multi-scale problem of partial differential equations to the calculation process of indicators. It is difficult to solve these problems by breakthroughs in numerical solution methods. This paper uses the sparsity of the satellite system to group each indicator of the effectiveness evaluation indicator system according to the change period. The satellite system model is decomposed into multiple modules according to the composition and structure, and a series of models with different simulation fidelity are established for each module. The optimization schemes for selecting model granularity when calculating indicators by group is given. Simulation results show that this approach considers the coupling between systems, grasps the main contradiction of indicator calculation and overcomes the loss of indicator accuracy caused by the separate calculation of each subsystem under the neglect of coupling in the traditional method. Additionally, it avoids the difficulty in numerical calculation caused by coupling, while simultaneously balancing the accuracy and efficiency of the model simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy sustainability and the establishment of the 'national water network' are all inseparable from the construction of underground engineering. Monitoring indices for the surrounding rock are vital for the safety management of underground engineering construction, which determines the actual state of the surrounding rock. The complexity of deep underground engineering construction leads to many situations that cannot be predicted and explained by existing experience. Therefore, it is necessary to identify which monitoring index best represents the surrounding rock damage. Currently, there are no advanced and convenient effectiveness evaluation schemes for surrounding rock monitoring information. To fill the technical gap, this study introduces the volume expansion rate (VER) index for surrounding rock and proposes a machine learning (ML)-based evaluation scheme for the effectiveness of monitoring indices. First, six conditions with different in situ stresses are designed, and tunnel excavation monitoring tests are conducted. Second, the surrounding rock damage determination experiments using the ML classification algorithm are performed, and the accuracy matrix and index significance scores are obtained. The evaluation results show that: (1) The multi-class logistic regression algorithm is more suitable for determining surrounding rock damage with high accuracy and more appropriate significance evaluation outcomes. (2) Under the higher in situ stress condition, the tangential stress is more sensitive to the surrounding rock damage. (3) As the in situ stress increases, the significant monitoring indices demonstrate a transition 'from shallow to deep, from regional damage to point failure', describing the instability of the surrounding rock and inspiring a new instability criterion for surrounding rock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The remote sensing satellite cluster system, as an important component of the next generation of space architecture in the United States, has important application prospects in the military field. In order to improve the effects of time, with regard to the effectiveness evaluation of the remote sensing satellite cluster system, neural network methods are generally used to satisfy the requirements of real-time decision-making assistance in the military field. However, there are two problems that emerge when applying the existing neural network methods to an effectiveness evaluation of the remote sensing satellite cluster. On the one hand, the neural network model architecture needs to be designed specifically for the remote sensing satellite cluster system. On the other hand, there is still a lack of hyperparameter optimization methods that consume less time and have good optimization effects for the established neural network model. In this regard, two main modifications were made to the back-propagation neural network, to which an effectiveness evaluation was applied. The first comprised a new architecture named BPS, which was designed for the back-propagation neural network so as to improve its prediction accuracy. In BP architecture, one back-propagation neural network is established for each indicator involved in the effectiveness evaluation indicator system of the remote sensing satellite cluster; the output of each back-propagation neural network model is modified to the residual value between the corresponding indicator value and the value that is predicted through a multiple linear regression analysis of the corresponding indicator. The second modification involved the multi-round traversal method, which is based on the three-way decision theory, and it was proposed in order to significantly improve the model's training time, which is a new type of hyperparameter optimization method. The results show that compared with the traditional simulation model, the modified back-propagation neural network model based on three-way decision theory can quickly and effectively provide stable and accurate evaluation results; this can assist with and meet the requirements for real-time decision-making in the military field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed a smart greenhouse virtual reality (VR) curriculum based on STEAM learning and explored its effects on students' satisfaction and learning outcomes. The objectives included evaluating STEAM capability indicators, the practicability of VR-assisted teaching, constructing the VR curriculum, discussing students' satisfaction, and assessing the impact on learning effectiveness. The fuzzy Delphi method was used to evaluate the importance of STEAM capabilities and the practicability of VR-assisted teaching. Experimental teaching was carried out on 26 engineering students, and the case study method was adopted for hybrid analysis and discussion based on quality and quantity. The study found that "hands-on skills" and "problem-solving" were the most important capabilities, with the highest practicability in VR-assisted teaching. Based on this, an analysis was conducted on the integrated teaching design, and the smart greenhouse VR teaching materials based on STEAM learning were developed. After 18 weeks of experimental teaching, most students expressed significant positive affirmation of their satisfaction with the "STEAM smart greenhouse VR" curriculum. The study highlights the importance of hands-on skills and problem-solving in VR-assisted teaching. The study suggests that the practicability analysis of VR-assisted teaching should be reviewed according to the curriculum characteristics, and three phases of VR-assisted teaching modes, such as teacher operation, student exercises, and student testing, should be planned to guide students to learn step by step. The curriculum design and planning based on STEAM learning in this study could provide a reference for teachers and researchers to plan students' STEAM capability training and interdisciplinary capability learning and development. The study highlights the importance of hands-on skills, problem-solving in VR-assisted teaching, and the positive impact of multi-sensory experiences on student learning outcomes. These findings can inform the development of future VR-assisted teaching materials and curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial reefs (ARs) have been advocated for and implemented as management tools for recreational fisheries, species conservation, and habitat replacement; however, the research that includes attracting marine species of floating ARs remains in its early stages. Here, two types of floating ARs were designed to evaluate the attractive effects using the occurrence rate and attracting index for six commercially important species (Lateolabrax maculatus, Liza haematocheila, Sebastes schlegelii, Acanthopagrus schlegelii, Litopenaeus vannamei, and Amphioctopus fangsiao) in the Bohai Bay of China; their combined ARs were meanwhile compared with two variants of artificial seagrass beds (SA and SB) and the traditional double-frame artificial reef (TD). All of the designed ARs were effective in attracting experimental species. The ARs with higher shelter areas (SB and TD) showed a better attracting effect. The efficiency of the ARs in attracting different species depended on their life histories. The bottom-mounted ARs were more efficient in attracting demersal species, while the floating ARs attracted epipelagic fish. In addition, the combined reefs had a better attractive effect than single ARs did. Overall, floating ARs and their combined ARs show the potential to deploy especially for attracting epipelagic fishes, although further study is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequent severe floods have caused great losses to urban safety and the economy, which raises high requirements for the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency rescue. Due to the flood characteristics, flood rescue requires a more rapid responder and decision-making compared with other kinds of disaster rescue. In recent years, aviation emergency rescue (AER) has attracted much attention for flood applications. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of AER for flood disasters, the present study proposes a conceptual model of helicopter AER scheduling and develops a simulation system of helicopter AER scheduling using multiple agents. Seven elements are considered in the conceptual model: helicopters, the command-and-control center, temporary take-off/landing points, mission demand points, resettlement points, loading points, and unloading points. Furthermore, process-oriented and object-oriented scheduling rules are developed as the general guide for scheduling. In order to efficiently simulate and evaluate an AER mission (assisting the decision maker), the simulation system is designed with multiple agents and a user interface, which can quickly load mission settings, run the simulation, and collect data for further evaluation. A standardized mission makespan is adopted as the evaluation index. Based on that, the minimum integrated index can be derived to finally assess the different rescue schemes and choose the best. In the case study, the comparison results indicate that the rescue efficiency of large helicopters (Mi-26 in the case) could be limited by the capabilities of loading points and unloading points. This problem is solved by scheduling small/medium-size helicopters to transfer the personnel. Alternately, two types of helicopters can be used: one for passenger transfer and the other for goods/material transfer. Anyway, the analyses in the case study illustrate the correlation between effectiveness and scheduling, which demonstrates the significance of decision-making. By using the proposed scheduling and modeling methods, the simulation system can be served as a convenient decision-making support tool for practical rescue applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable agricultural production systems are important for ensuring food security. However, they are severely threatened by soil degradation and carbon emissions resulting from traditional farming practices. A cooperative-dominated conservation tillage model attempts to mitigate these issues, yet it is not clear how this model has been implemented and how well it performs in practice. This study takes Lishu County in Jilin Province in Northeast China as a case study to explore the implementation of a cooperative-dominated conservation tillage (CDCT) model and its practical effectiveness. In contrast to the traditional production model, this model uses cooperatives as the direct managers of cultivated land and promotes the construction of new production units and large-scale and mechanized operations to standardize the application of conservation tillage technology in agricultural production. Scientific research institutes, governments, and enterprises are supporters of cooperatives, empowering them in terms of technology, capital, products, and services. The evaluation results show that, unlike the traditional production model, which caused a decrease in the soil organic carbon content, the organic carbon content of the topsoil of cultivated land under this model increased by an average of 6.17% after 9 years of conservation tillage application. Furthermore, the soil structural stability index of the cultivated land increased from 3.35% to 3.69%, indicating that the degree of soil structural degradation was alleviated to a certain extent. The CDCT model effectively enhanced the operational efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency, and the carbon footprint of maize production was also reduced by 15.65% compared to the traditional production model. In addition, the total production cost was reduced by 1449 CNY/ha and profit increased by 2599 CNY/ha on average, indicating higher economic returns under the CDCT model due to increased yields and lower input costs. Farmers who are freed from agricultural production activities by transferring their farmland can also gain two types of income—land revenue and labor wagesi—thus mproving their living conditions. The CDCT model can deliver multigoal benefits and be of great value in its extension to other regions. This study may provide lessons for the sustainable use of cultivated land in China and other developing countries, contributing to agricultural development with lower environmental costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is currently at a crucial stage of rural revival and transformation growth. Accurate measurement of rural development status is able to provide decision-making services for rural revitalization plan implementation. To address this issue, combining with effectiveness concepts and on the basis of the widely recognized "production–living–ecology" perspective of rural development in the world, this study proposes an innovative technical evaluating system for rural effectiveness. We constructed a rural effectiveness evaluation index system and measurement model, as well as a four-quadrant approach to identify the effectiveness of villages, selecting Xintai county, a typical resource-depleted city, for empirical analysis to verify the evaluation technical system. The results show that (1) 220 villages had comprehensive effectiveness, accounting for 27.8% of the total; the amount of effectiveness for villages in terms of the production, living, and ecological dimensions were 204, 229 and 195, respectively, and they clearly displayed heterogeneity in terms of spatial distribution. (2) The following are village effectiveness dominant types: the function dominates the comprehensive effectiveness. For each dimension, there is a functionally dominant type. (3) Bivariate Moran's I analysis revealed the relationships' internal effectiveness. In the same dimension, there was a conflict between efficiency and function. In each dimension, trade-offs were found between the production function, ecological function, living efficiency, as well as production efficiency, ecological function, and efficiency. Synergies were found among the production function and ecological efficiency. Living efficiency had synergies with production efficiency and ecological efficiency. This research enriched the theoretical approach of assessing rural development status and can help guide the rational conversion of village elements to achieve village transformation and sustainability development, as well as providing technical assistance for the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote the precise governance of China's new-energy vehicle (NEV) industry, this paper quantitatively analyzes 204 policy texts on the NEV industry in China since 2007 and constructs an evaluation system of policy effectiveness from three dimensions of policy attributes, policy objectives, and policy measures to reveal the effectiveness and evolutionary trends of China's NEV industry policies. In addition, this paper explores the two-way effects of different types of policy measures on the NEV supply and demand markets through an econometric model to reveal the differential impact effectiveness of various policy instruments in China's NEV industry. The results indicate that China's NEV industry has changed from "government-driven" to "government-driven + market-driven", and the multi-sectoral policy coordination needs to be further improved; the dynamic evolution over the years reveals a similar pattern of change in the total effectiveness of policy issuance as influenced by the number of policies; the quantity of patents in China is large but the quality of patents is insufficient, and an overall problem of low level of core technology is being faced; taxation and subsidy measure, technical innovation measures, social guidance measures, and environmental support measures all effectively promote the development of the supply-side market, while taxation and subsidy measures, social guidance measures and legal regulation measures can better promote the development of the demand-side market; the impact of financial support measures on both supply and demand-side markets is not significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of remote sensing satellites has increased rapidly in parallel with the advancement of space technology and the rising demand in the space industry. Consequently, the observation effectiveness evaluation of remote sensing satellites has received extensive attention. As the core content of the effectiveness evaluation, index systems are usually established and screened using qualitative or quantitative methods. They can hardly satisfy the construction principles such as completeness and independence simultaneously. To address this issue, we propose a new method for remote sensing satellite observation effectiveness evaluation that considers various principles. Firstly, a three-layer evaluation index system structure is constructed. The principle of completeness, hierarchy, and measurability of the index system is ensured by decomposition, clustering, and preliminary screening. Secondly, the principal component contribution rate is obtained through principal component analysis. Finally, we introduce a comprehensive scoring method (ICCLR) based on the combination of independence coefficient and principal component comprehensive loss rate. It realizes the screening of an index system from the index set containing correlation relationships. The validity and optimality of the proposed method are verified through experiments and analysis of three typical tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, remote sensing satellites have become increasingly important in the Earth observation field as their temporal, spatial, and spectral resolutions have improved. Subsequently, the quantitative evaluation of remote sensing satellites has received considerable attention. The quantitative evaluation method is conventionally based on simulation, but it has a speed-accuracy trade-off. In this paper, a real-time evaluation model architecture for remote sensing satellite clusters is proposed. Firstly, a multi-physical field coupling simulation model of the satellite cluster to observe moving targets is established. Aside from considering the repercussions of on-board resource constraints, it also considers the consequences of the imaging's uncertainty effects on observation results. Secondly, a moving target observation indicator system is developed, which reflects the satellite cluster's actual effectiveness in orbit. Meanwhile, an indicator screening method using correlation analysis is proposed to improve the independence of the indicator system. Thirdly, a neural network is designed and trained for stakeholders to realize a rapid evaluation. Different network structures and parameters are comprehensively studied to determine the optimized neural network model. Finally, based on the experiments carried out, the proposed neural network evaluation model can generate real-time, high-quality evaluation results. Hence, the validity of our proposed approach is substantiated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a vital component of public space, public open space (POS) is considered crucial for community regeneration. However, most evaluation studies have focused on the geographical attributes of POS, and those assessing renewal holistically in terms of residents' everyday lives are limited. Drawing on the Ruijin community in Shanghai, this study compared networks of public space layout and residents' daily behaviours as a function of their structure and individual nodes using the Social Network Analysis method to explore the characteristics and evaluate the effectiveness of renewal. The results showed: (1) the current renewal while increasing recreational opportunities and improving spatial appearance has had a limited effect at the social level. (2) There are differentiations between the two networks. POS plays different roles in the behavioural network, including comprehensive, intermediary, and directional nodes. (3) The core POSs have frequent interactions and strong links with specific types of public facilities than the periphery. Therefore, we suggested that POS renewal should be conducted according to the rule of "core preceding periphery, comprehensive high-efficiency preceding single low-efficiency" and explain the necessity of public participation in the process. These findings shed light on the potential mechanism of the impact of POS on everyday life and rethink the construction management and governance of urban community regeneration in the era of sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of section speed control is to increase speed limit compliance in the monitored road sections, decrease speed variance and improve traffic safety. General experience with section speed control on motorways is positive, with significant improvements in both speed and safety performance. The presented study focused on a unique application of section speed control in motorway work zones in the Czech Republic. Effectiveness was monitored (in terms of average speed, speeding and accident rates) in three sections and four time periods (normal operation, work zone, work zone with section speed control, normal operation), which allowed discerning individual effects of work zone and section speed control. In addition, a novel data source--floating car data--was used. Work zones were found to increase accident rates compared to normal operation and decrease with the introduction of section speed control. The effects on average speed, speed variance and speeding were positive, although smaller compared to the studies conducted in non-work zone conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the original technique of predicting the effectiveness of hydrochloric acid treatment of the bottom hole zone of a carbonate reservoir. The technique consists in determining the technological effectiveness of the oil recovery stimulation procedure at productive wells using hydrodynamic simulation based on the calculated value of skin factor change. In the course of the study, a number of parameters affecting the intensity of flow coefficient decline in the near-wellbore zone during acid treatment have been established. The paper presents a comparison of data on the actual change of the skin factor after acidizing jobs at the fields of Perm Krai (Russian Federation) and the calculated values obtained using the presented technique. This scientific research includes an example of practical application of the proposed technique for the target well of the Kokuyskoye oil field in Perm Krai, its results with a minor deviation coinciding with the actual values of the flow rate. In the conclusion to the study, it is noted that using the proposed technique, recommendations can be provided on the selection of acid composition and technology of its injection into formation for the preliminary evaluation of the cost effectiveness of the designed procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban flooding occurs frequently in many regions of China. To reduce the losses caused by urban flooding, sponge city (SPC) and low-impact development (LID) have been carried out in many Chinese cities. However, urban flooding is influenced by various factors, such as climate, land cover characteristics and nearby river networks, so it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of LID measures. In this study, the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was adopted to simulate historical urban storm processes in the mountainous Fragrance Hills region of Beijing, China. Subsequently, numerical simulations were performed to evaluate how various LID measures (concave greenbelt, permeable pavement, bio-retention, vegetative swales, and comprehensive measures) influenced urban runoff reduction. The results showed that the LID measures are effective in controlling the surface runoff of the storm events with return periods shorter than five years, in particular, for one-year events. Furthermore, the effectiveness on traffic congestion mitigation of several LID measures (concave greenbelt, vegetative swales, and comprehensive measures) was evaluated. However, the effective return periods of storm events are shorter than two years if the effectiveness on traffic congestion relief is considered. In all evaluated aspects, comprehensive measures and concave greenbelts are the most effective, and vegetative swale is the least effective. This indicated that LID measures are less effective for removing ponding from most storm events in a mountainous, low-lying and backward pipeline infrastructure region with pressures from interval flooding and urban waterlogging. The engineering measures including water conservancy projects and pipeline infrastructure construction combined with the non-engineering measures were suggested to effectively control severe urban storms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Photovoltaic-assisted Charging Station (PVCS) is regarded as one of the most promising charging facilities for future electric vehicle (EV) energy supplementation. In this paper, the operation mode and profitability of a commercialized PVCS are analyzed under the energy policy of China. In order to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of using the PVCS to provide guidance for the investors of the stations, a set of evaluation indexes is introduced, including the quality of service, the environmental and economic benefits, and the impacts on the grid. Furthermore, an easily-achieved charging strategy which considers the quality of service and the self-consumption of PV energy is proposed. Finally, an effectiveness evaluation for different operational scenarios of the PVCS is completed, based on the actual statistical data. The simulation and evaluation results indicate that the PVCS has the potential to produce satisfactory environmental/economic benefits and to reduce the impacts and dependence of an EV's charging load on the grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unclear how to effectively protect healthcare workers' mental health during infectious disease epidemics. Targeting the occupational determinants of stress may hold more promise than individual stress management, which has received more focus. Through a systematic review of the 2000-2021 English- and French-language scientific literature, we evaluated the effectiveness of organizational and psychosocial work environment interventions to protect healthcare workers' mental health in an epidemic/pandemic context. Evidence from medium- and high-quality studies was synthesized using GRADE. Among 1604 unique search results, 41 studies were deemed relevant, yielding 34 low-quality and seven medium-quality studies. The latter reported on promising multi-component prevention programs that combined staffing adjustments, work shift arrangements, enhanced infection prevention and control, recognition of workers' efforts, psychological and/or logistic support during lockdowns (e.g., accommodation). Our confidence in the effectiveness of reviewed interventions is low to very low, however, owing to methodological limitations. We highlight gaps in the reporting of intervention process and context elements and discuss theory and implementation failure as possible explanations for results. We conclude by urging authors of future studies to include and document detailed risk assessments of the work environment, involve workers in solution design and implementation and consider how this process can be adapted during an emergency.

Accurate evaluation of the risk mitigation status of navigating ships is essential for guaranteeing navigational safety. This research mainly focuses on the feasibility and accuracy of evaluating the real effectiveness of a risk mitigation system for navigating ships, including addressing the problem of immeasurableness for risk mitigation capability and determining the degradation regulation of risk mitigation capability over time. The proposed method to solve the problem is an effectiveness evaluation model based on the capability perspective, composed of a capability measurement algorithm based on entropy theory and capability degradation regulation analysis based on numerical process fitting. First, combined with the theoretical framework of a comprehensive defence system, the risk mitigation system designed for navigating ships is reconstructed based on capability building. Second, using a numerical fitting method, the degradation regulation of risk mitigation capability with time is obtained to improve the accuracy of the dynamic evaluation. Finally, referring to entropy theory, the uncertainty of capability is calculated, and then the model is constructed based on this uncertainty to realize the effectiveness evaluation from a capability perspective. The results obtained in an application test of the proposed model indicate that using the entropy of capability can realize an accurate effectiveness evaluation of a risk mitigation system for navigating ships, with a 9% improvement in accuracy, and the Weibull curve fitting is more consistent with capability degradation regulation, with a signification level of 2.5%. The proposed model provides a new path for evaluating the effectiveness of a risk mitigation system for navigating ships from the entropy of capability, and compared with the traditional probabilistic method, the model is more realistic and accurate in actual applications.

In an effort to maximize the combat effectiveness of multimissile groups, this paper proposes an adaptive simulated annealing–particle swarm optimization (SA-PSO) algorithm to enhance the design parameters of multimissile formations based on the concept of missile cooperative engagement. Firstly, considering actual battlefield circumstances, we establish an effectiveness evaluation index system for the cooperative engagement of missile formations based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). In doing so, we adopt a partial triangular fuzzy number method based on authoritative assessments by experts to ascertain the weight of each index. Then, considering given constraints on missile performance, by selecting the relative distances and angles of the leader and follower missiles as formation parameters, we design a fitness function corresponding to the established index system. Finally, we introduce an adaptive capability into the traditional particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and propose an adaptive SA-PSO algorithm based on the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm to calculate the optimal formation parameters. A simulation example is presented for the scenario of optimizing the formation parameters of three missiles, and comparative experiments conducted with the traditional and adaptive PSO algorithms are reported. The simulation results indicate that the proposed adaptive SA-PSO algorithm converges faster than both the traditional and adaptive PSO algorithms and can quickly and effectively solve the multimissile formation optimization problem while ensuring that the optimized formation satisfies the given performance constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mine ventilation system is an indispensable component to improve coal mining efficiency and ensure the safety of production. Only by clearly grasping the comprehensive evaluation quality of the ventilation system can effective countermeasures be formulated. This paper establishes an evaluation index system for mine ventilation systems by combining a qualitative survey with quantitative research. Specifically, the primary indicators are screened through R-type clustering and the coefficient of variation method. The weight of each index is determined by the entropy weight method. Moreover, the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method is used to evaluate the quality of the mine ventilation system. Finally, this evaluation system is used to evaluate the ventilation renovation project in the production mining area of the Sihe mine. The evaluation results verify the effectiveness of the establishment of the mine ventilation evaluation index system and of the evaluation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uniquely soft and fragile nature of tectonic coal makes it difficult to obtain core samples suitable for laboratory experimentation. Preparation of reconstituted tectonic coal (RTC) samples generally adopts the secondary forming method. Reliable coal samples are needed to obtain credible permeability and mechanical parameters that can guide Coalbed Methane (CBM) extraction and improve mining safety. In this study, the compaction mechanism of coal particles is analyzed based on the Kawakita model, and optimal sample preparation conditions are systemically investigated, particularly particle size and particle size distribution, forming pressure, and moisture content. The density and P-wave velocity of coal samples were used to test whether the RTC samples were realistic. Finally, the mechanical properties and deformation characteristics of the RTC samples were determined. The results indicate that RTC samples prepared for laboratory testing of mechanical properties require (1) the original particle size of the tectonic coal to be retained as much as possible; (2) a forming pressure that compacts the sample similar to the original tectonic coal; and (3) an optimum moisture content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood obesity has increased worldwide over the past four decades. This quasi-experimental study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a multicomponent and multilevel school-based intervention (POIBA) at 3 years of follow-up. The nutrition intervention focused on food groups, food pyramid, nutrients, portions, and balanced menus. In total, 3624 children participated in the study. Anthropometric measurements and information on food frequency and behavior, physical activity, and daily screen use were collected in the intervention (IG) and comparison group (CG). Positive unadjusted changes toward adherence to recommendations were found for water, meat, sweets, and fried potato consumption, proper breakfast, not having dinner in front of the TV, out-of-school physical activity, and daily screen use. Three scores were used to calculate the proportion of children making more than one change to improve healthy habits regarding physical activity (global Activity score), nutrition (global Nutrition score), and both (global score). Students exposed to the intervention had a significantly better global Activity score (16.2% IG vs. 11.9% CG; p = 0.012) and Global score (63.9% IG vs. 58.5% CG; p = 0.025). Intervention effects on obesity incidence at 3-year follow-up lost significance but maintained the positive trend. In conclusion, school-based interventions including a family component could be useful to address the childhood obesity problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electronic Warfare (EW) effectiveness evaluation plays an important role in promoting the development of EW technology, promoting the construction of EW equipment systems, and improving the operational capability of the system. Due to the incomplete information caused by the non-cooperative nature of EW, the data of the evaluation index, which are used for effectiveness evaluation, are in Grey scale. In order to approach these problems, we develop a novel method for EW effectiveness evaluation based on Conflict Status Grey Correlation analysis. Specifically, based on conflict theory and correlation theory, an analysis model for the approximation degree of the observation status and expected status of EW is established. Then we introduce the status Grey relational analysis method. The effectiveness value is acquired through the function correlation of the approximation values of both sides, and then we propose an evaluation discrimination method based on status robustness and correlation discrimination. At the same time, we evaluate the effect of errors in the observed values on the evaluation results. The simulation example results show that the proposed model is rational and feasible. This method can effectively overcome the problem of single-angle evaluation of the system and solves the issue of high dependence of traditional EW effectiveness evaluation theory on target data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road lane markings play an essential role in maintaining traffic order and improving traffic safety and efficiency. Active luminous lane markings have emerged with advances in technology recently. However, it is still not completely clear what impact their application will have on drivers. This paper aimed to study the effectiveness of active luminous lane markings on highways at night. A driving simulation experiment was carried out based on advanced driving simulators at Tongji University. The driving simulation experiment involved 31 participants and 9 simulation scenes with 6 different types of lane markings models and the same 2-way highway segment, which was 5300-m long with four 3.75-m wide driving lanes. The study participants drove through the simulated highway while the vehicle operation data and the driver's eyes changing data were continuously captured. Overall, the pupil area change rate, steering wheel speed, brake pedal force, gas pedal, lane departure, and operating speed indicators were selected to evaluate the effectiveness of the active luminous lane markings. The results are shown as follows: (1) the active luminous lane markings have excellent visual recognition performance at night. Compared with the passive luminous lane markings, the active luminous markings can reduce the mental and physical loads of drivers, increase the early braking distance significantly, improve the lane-keeping ability and smooth the operating speed; (2) for the specific parameter settings of the active luminous lane markings at night, the yellow lane markings are better than the white ones, the point-line-type lane markings are superior to the conventional-type ones, and the blinking frequency is reasonable to set, at a moderate level, as 40 times per min. The results suggest that there are positive effects of active luminous lane markings on the promotion of highway traffic safety and efficiency at night, providing theoretical support for the popularization and application of active luminous road lane markings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roads are notable and responsible for the loss of biodiversity and disruption of wildlife habitats connectivity. Wildlife crossing structures (WCS) help wildlife move between habitats by connecting fragmented habitats. Their effectiveness is affected by various factors. Here, to identify methods for improving the effectiveness of wildlife crossing structures, we controlled the effect of intrinsic factors, such as size, that are difficult to improve in an already installed area, and then, evaluated the differences in extrinsic factors using 12 landscape characteristics. Our results show that 18 wildlife crossing structures were selected with propensity-score (PS) matching method. The surrounding landscape characteristics differed between high-effectiveness wildlife crossing structures and low-effectiveness wildlife crossing structures. Particularly, there was a significant difference between the 'statutory protected area' and the 'edge' index of the morphological spatial pattern analysis among the landscape characteristic variables derived within 1 km2 of wildlife crossing structures. We empirically demonstrate that characteristics around highly effective WCS, statutory protected areas are widely distributed, and the ratio of edge of MSPA is low (within 1 km2). Therefore, an important outcome of our research is the demonstration that management of WCS itself is important, but conservation of surrounding habitats and landscape management plans are also significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Electronic Warfare (EW) system is a highly complex and highly uncertain dynamic system. With a change of environment conditions, EW systems present different states and exhibit the characteristics of a Markov chain, which also directly affects and determines the effectiveness of EW systems. In order to describe and solve the problem of evaluating the effectiveness of EW, based on the definition of EW conflict system, this paper analyses the dynamic relationship of state between target unit and task unit of an EW system, studies the measurability of state, obtains measurable state space, then introduces randomness into state space and gives the theory, properties and applications of the state random process, state Markov process. Finally, the dynamic conflict analysis model of EW effectiveness is constructed and used to analyze the state transition process in the dynamic conflict process of an EW system, which is of great value to improve the theoretical system of EW effectiveness evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullying can have serious physical and emotional consequences. In recent years, interest in this phenomenon has been growing, becoming a public health problem in the first world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Action for Neutralization of Bullying Program (ANA) in Spanish children. This study used a quasi-experimental design that included a pre-test evaluation, 2 months of intervention, a post-test, and 3 months of follow-up. A sample of 330 children aged 7-12 years (M = 9.27; SD = 1.09) from third to sixth grade participated in the study. One hundred and fifty-nine were girls (48.2%). The program consisted of eight group sessions in which empathy, assertiveness, communication skills, conflict resolution, and group cohesion were worked on. The results showed statistically significant reductions in verbal abuse behaviors ( t = 4.76, p < 0.001), direct social exclusion ( t = 3.53, p < 0.001), threats ( t = 2.04, p = 0.042), aggression with objects ( t = 3.21, p < 0.001), and physical abuse ( t = 4.41, p < 0.001). The differences were not statistically significant for indirect social exclusion behaviors ( t = 1.86, p = 0.065) or cyberbullying ( t = 0.31, p = 0.756). The effects in the reduction of the bullying behaviors decreased after the implementation of the program, achieving even greater reduction in victimization behaviors after 3 months than immediately after the end of the program. These results indicate that the ANA program is effective in reducing bullying behaviors in a group of children. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Work-related stress is a global problem causing suffering and economic costs. In Sweden, employees in human service occupations are overrepresented among persons on sick leave due to mental health problems such as stress-related disorders. The psychosocial work environment is one contributing factor for this problem, making it urgent to identify effective methods to decrease stress at the workplace. The aim of the study is to evaluate a participatory intervention to improve the psychosocial work environment and mental health using an embedded mixed methods design. The study is a controlled trial with a parallel process evaluation exploring fidelity and participants' reactions to the intervention activities, experiences of learning and changes in behaviours and work routines. We collected data through documentation, interviews and three waves of questionnaires. Our results show small changes in behaviours and work routines and no positive effects of the intervention on the psychosocial work environment nor health outcomes. One explanation is end-users' perceived lack of involvement over the process causing the intervention to be seen as a burden. Another explanation is that the intervention activities were perceived targeting the wrong organisational level. A representative participation over both content and process can be an effective strategy to change psychosocial working conditions and mental health.

The main purpose of the paper is to identify the outcomes for employers and employees indicated in research related to workplace health promotion interventions (WHPIs). We investigated what methods are used and what types of organization this type of research is most often carried out in. In addition, the authors attempted to assess to what extent the methods used in the previous research prove the effectiveness of the implemented WHPIs. A systematic review of English-language papers (2000-2020) focused on types of health-promoting interventions in the workplace, and outcomes for employers and employees were conducted using the SCOPUS database ( n = 260). As a result, 29 texts qualified for a final qualitative synthesis of the results. The analyses were most frequently conducted in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based on both quantitative and qualitative methods. In order to draw conclusions, analyses were made by classifying the research presented in the texts according to the type of intervention implemented, classifying the outcomes identified, and indicating the type of evaluation made by the researcher. The analysis showed that most of the outcomes presented refer to changes in the strategy and organizational culture, as well as the behavior of employees. In 18 studies, the indication of outcomes resulted directly from the evaluation outcomes. In other cases, the outcomes were identified by an evaluation of the process or structure of WHPI. The conducted analysis showed significant diversity in terms of the outcomes measured and the research methods used. The quasi-experimental methods, randomly controlled cluster trials, or cross-sectorial studies used in the study to confirm the effectiveness of WHPI were used only in every third study. In these studies, measurements were usually performed twice: at baseline and after intervention. The majority of studies confirmed that WHPIs led to a positive change in the healthy behavior of employees and effected an organizational change, and more rarely led to savings or a reduction in costs resulting from sickness absenteeism, presentism, turnover, etc., and return on investment (ROI). The article shows the need to conduct further research towards the development of guidelines for the evaluation of the effectiveness of implemented programs.

Based on the criterion of governance quality, this study aimed to use the case of community-based monitoring in Taiwanese Wu-Wei-Kang Wildlife Refuge to evaluate the impact of public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) on its governance quality regarding inclusiveness, respect, competence, visions and scopes, accountability, and equity. Our research included 31 informants and 75 records (25 by in-depth interview and 50 from participant observation) collected in the field from 2009 to 2015. The results show that there are several effects attributable to the application of PPGIS in substratum elevation monitoring, including generating high quality data; strengthening monitoring processes and extending attributes of its outputs by lay knowledge; promoting stakeholders' understanding of wetlands and their involvement in negotiations; increasing their capacity and degree to participate in refuge management; amending visions and scopes of this refuge; rearranging stakeholder divisions of labor; and assisting local communities as partners of this refuge. This study demonstrates that governance quality could provide a useful concept for evaluating PPGIS effectiveness on stakeholders' participation, knowledge interpretation, capacity and consensus building, decision-making, and distribution of rights. Being a sole case with a qualitative approach, further case studies need to be undertaken to better understand the relationships between protected area governance quality and PPGIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites play an important role in human space activities, and market demands for commercial uses of LEO satellites have been increasing rapidly in recent years. LEO satellites mainly consist of Earth observation satellites (EOSs), the major commercial applications of which are various sorts of Earth observations, such as map making, crop growth assessment, and disaster surveillance. However, the success rates of observation tasks are influenced considerably by uncertainties in local weather conditions, inadequate sunlight, observation dip angle, and other practical factors. The available time windows (ATWs) suitable for observing given types of targets and for transmitting data back to ground receiver stations are relatively narrow. In order to utilize limited satellite resources efficiently and maximize their commercial benefits, it is necessary to evaluate the overall effectiveness of satellites and planned tasks considering various factors. In this paper, we propose a method for determining the ATWs considering the influence of sunlight angle, elevation angle, and the type of sensor equipped on the satellite. After that, we develop a satellite effectiveness evaluation (SEE) model for satellite observation and data-downlink scheduling (SODS) based on the Availability–Capacity–Profitability (ACP) framework, which is designed to evaluate the overall performance of satellites from the perspective of time resource utilization, the success rate of tasks, and profit return. The effects of weather uncertainties on the tasks' success are considered in the SEE model, and the model can be applied to support the decision-makers on optimizing and improving task arrangements for EOSs. Finally, a case study is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method and verify the ACP-based SEE model. The obtained ATWs by the proposed method are compared with those by the Systems Tool Kit (STK), and the correctness of the method is thus validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a hybrid model for evaluating the effectiveness of new and old kinetic energy conversion (NOKEC), China's major strategic move aiming to transform the mode of economic growth and improvie the quality of economic development. Considering the goals of NOKEC and the supporting roles of power industry to NOKEC, this paper constructs an index system for NOKEC effectiveness evaluation from an electric power economics perspective, involving three dimensions and 17 secondary indicators. Furthermore, a hybrid evaluation model based on DEMATEL-ANP and DQ-GRA techniques is developed to accomplish the evaluation of Shandong's NOKEC effectiveness. The results show that Shandong's NOKEC effectiveness increased from 2015–2017, indicating that Shandong's NOKEC policies have achieved remarkable results. According to the evaluation results, this paper puts forward the indicators that should be paid close attention to and the following work priorities in Shandong's future NOKEC process, which has certain practical value for the promotion of Shandong's NOKEC. In addition, the evaluation model proposed in this paper considers the interrelationships between indicators and overcomes the shortcomings of traditional GRA, showing good applicability to similar effectiveness evaluation issues. Finally, the limitations and universality of the model are discussed and the improvement direction is put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]