The Assessment of Hydrogeosites in the Fann Mountains, Tajikistan as a Basis for Sustainable Tourism

Despite the fact that the Fann Mountains are among the most popular tourist destinations in Tajikistan, they are still in the first stage of tourism development. This represents a great opportunity for the implementation of the principles of sustainable tourism, which will avoid the mistakes associated with the uncontrolled tourism development currently observed in other mountain areas of the world. The aim of this article is to demonstrate, using the example of the Fann Mountains, how hydrogeosites in mountain areas can be valorised for the needs of cognitive tourism. The valorisation methods used in previous research to this point have focused on the evaluation of the objects themselves. This study additionally takes into account features of the surroundings of hydrogeostations, such as the visibility range, the vertical development of the view, and the diversity of the landscape. The conducted value assessments of the sites and their surroundings show that in both internal and external assessments the highest values were achieved by lakes and wetlands. This means that the evaluation of the surroundings has a strong influence on the results obtained and the choice of hydrogeotourism attractions.

Smart Design for Evacuation Signage Layout for Exhibition Halls in Exhibition Buildings Based on Visibility

The reasonable placement of evacuation signage is an important means to improve the efficiency of evacuation in the exhibition halls of exhibition buildings. The booths in exhibition halls are arranged and changed frequently for different exhibitions, which means that the evacuation paths are not fixed. Most people are also unfamiliar with the exhibition hall environment. In case of fire, earthquake, or other emergencies, people need to quickly escape to the safety exit, adhering to the guidance of evacuation signage. Existing evacuation signs are located according to the standards and the experience of the designers, and the locations of the signs are fixed and do not change with the changes in the booth layout, which means that the signage can be easily obscured by the booths, affecting the signage identification. Based on the visibility of evacuation signage, a smart design method of evacuation signage layout is proposed in this paper that can be adapted to different forms of booth arrangements in exhibition halls. This method establishes a key goal of achieving the full coverage of the visibility range of evacuation passages with the minimum number of evacuation signs. In the context of the actual visibility range of evacuation signage being blocked by booths in a three-dimensional space, this method finds the optimal number and best locations of evacuation signs by using a genetic algorithm. Finally, a case is given to verify the effectiveness of the method. This smart design for evacuation signage layout can enhance the guidance ability of evacuation signage in exhibition halls and improve the efficiency of evacuation.

Visibility Detection Algorithm of Single Fog Image Based on the Ratio of Wavelength Residual Energy

Different visibilities and different wavelength attenuations can cause color deviation problem in some dehazing algorithms. A visibility detection algorithm based on a single fog image is proposed. First, the visibility range of the image is preliminarily determined according to the transmissivity; then, the normalized differences between the residual energy ratios of different wavelengths of RGB channels are calculated, and the pixels with large gray deviation of a single channel are filtered to improve the calculation accuracy; finally, the image visibility detection value is calculated. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm not only effectively reflects the fog image visibility but is also well suited for evaluating the effectiveness of the image defogging algorithms and the restoration degree of the defogging color difference.

Parking and competition for space in urban neighborhoods: Residents’ perceptions of traffic and parking-related conflicts

The infrastructure for parking and parked cars themselves (e.g., parked cars blocking bike lanes and sidewalks or the visibility range) can lead to conflicts for pedestrians and cyclists. The perception of conflicts could discourage walking and cycling in neighborhoods and undermine municipalities’ efforts to provide more sustainable urban mobility. The aim of this study was therefore to analyze the effect of on-street car parking in urban neighborhoods on perceived parking and traffic-related conflicts. In addition, it examines in what way the intention to reduce one’s car use influences the perception of the conflicts (Stage Model of Self-Regulated Behavior Change (SSBC)). A household survey was conducted in the inner-city neighborhood of Frankfurt-Bornheim, Germany (N=1027). The residents most often observed the conflicts in which parked cars impeded walking and cycling as well as situations in which pedestrians felt threatened by cyclists biking on the sidewalk. Results from multiple linear regression models revealed that the influencing factors for the perception of conflicts were the use of different means of transportation and the intention to change one’s behavior (SSBC model) to reduce car use rather than car ownership. In addition, a resident’s age and household structure seemed to affect awareness of conflicts in which pedestrians and cyclists were involved. The results suggest a group-serving bias, meaning that the residents mostly observed those conflicts that they did not cause. A separate infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists could help prevent most of the conflicts described in this study.

Evaluating Visibility Range on Air Pollution using NARX Neural Network

Evaluating air visibility range is considered as one of the apparent criteria of air quality. Haze air as a conclusion of air pollution causes unpleasant breathing, psychological effects, and visibility restriction. In this study, NARX neural network applied to determine air visibility restriction factors. Data of air quality control stations of Baghshomal, Rastebazar, and Abresan in Tabriz City, Iran used which include PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, O3, and CO for the duration of four years from 2013 to 2017 that considered as independent variables. NARX neural network created to find each pollutant relation to visibility restriction and networks used for simulation to analysis network results in conspectuses condition. The results showed that PM10 pollutant has the most influence on-air visibility with R=0.9 in the train, R=0.728 in the test, and R=0.75 in validation process. Also error results of the PM10 obtained as MSE=0.054. Moreover, simulation results demonstrated the least area integral between curves according to ascending order for six pollutant factors and verified PM10 accuracy in NARX network simulation. The total result as study conclusion verified NARX neural network efficiency to evaluate air visibility range while using air pollutant parameters.

Control unit for active-pulse television systems

The principles of operation of active-pulse television systems used in robotic complexes, remotely controlled or Autonomous unmanned vehicles are considered. A mode control device is provided that allows to increase the depth of the visibility range and the efficiency of the systems in various environmental conditions as a result of scanning the observation zone by distance.

Management of flying insects on expressways through an academic-industrial collaboration: evaluation of the effect of light wavelengths and meteorological factors on insect attraction

Insect outbreaks often occur in the absence of natural enemies and in the presence of excess suitable host materials. Outbreaks of gypsy moths are especially problematic in remote areas located in high-latitude regions in Japan because the majority of adults emerge during the short summer season and initiate synchronous mass flight toward artificial lights. The aggregation of moths in public facilities not only is an annoyance to visitors but also permits the establishment of new populations the following year. The aim of this study was to establish a method to reduce the numbers of large moths that are attracted to lights in the rest areas of expressways in Hokkaido based on the results of research on their behavioral ecology and physiology. First, we conducted extensive insect surveys using light traps that emit light at different wavelengths; the traps were set along the expressways in the summers of 2014–2018. The insects attracted to the light were roughly classified into those showing a preference for broadband light wavelengths (from UV-A to green) and short light wavelengths (from UV-A to blue). The former included aquatic insects and winged ants, and the latter included moths and beetles. Next, we analyzed correlations between moth emergence and daily meteorological data. When gypsy moths were abundant during an outbreak, the daily catch of gypsy moths was positively correlated with the highest ambient temperature on the catch day but not with the visibility range, wind speed, or moon phase. In contrast, the daily catch of oak silkmoths did not correlate with any of these parameters. Our results provide guidance for the management of forest insects inhabiting cool-temperate to subarctic regions based on light wavelengths with reference to weather variables.