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Previous knowledge base question answering (KBQA) models only consider the monolingual scenario and cannot be directly extended to the cross-lingual scenario, in which the language of questions and that of knowledge base (KB) are different. Although a machine translation (MT) model can bridge the gap through translating questions to the language of KB, the noises of translated questions could accumulate and further sharply impair the final performance. Therefore, the authors propose a method to improve the robustness of KBQA models in the cross-lingual scenario.

The authors propose a knowledge distillation-based robustness enhancement (KDRE) method. Specifically, first a monolingual model (teacher) is trained by ground truth (GT) data. Then to imitate the practical noises, a noise-generating model is designed to inject two types of noise into questions: general noise and translation-aware noise. Finally, the noisy questions are input into the student model. Meanwhile, the student model is jointly trained by GT data and distilled data, which are derived from the teacher when feeding GT questions.

The experimental results demonstrate that KDRE can improve the performance of models in the cross-lingual scenario. The performance of each module in KBQA model is improved by KDRE. The knowledge distillation (KD) and noise-generating model in the method can complementarily boost the robustness of models.

The authors first extend KBQA models from monolingual to cross-lingual scenario. Also, the authors first implement KD for KBQA to develop robust cross-lingual models.

In recent years, in parallel with the increasing air traffic and the number of passengers in air transport, the number of people exposed to aircraft-induced noise has increased significantly. Especially people living in the areas close to the airports are affected by noise emission during the landing, take-off, taxi and ground operations. Negative effects of noise such as sleep disturbance, lack of concentration, anxiety and high blood pressure cardiac diseases were determined directly or indirectly for human health. For this reason, examining the noise effect caused by aircraft and determining the necessary measures to be taken is very important for the sustainable development of aviation. In the International Eskisehir Hasan Polatkan Airport (LTBY), this paper aims to calculate a noise mapping following international standards in line with the directives of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Also, Annex 8, “Airworthiness of Aircrafts” and Annex 16, “Environmental Protection Volume 1 Aircraft Noise”, which were taken at the International Civil Aviation Convention, were proposed to determine the exposure caused by aircraft noise.

In this paper, noise levels for the day (07.00–19.00), evening (19.00–23.00) and night (23.00–07.00) period around LTBY were predicted and calculated by the use of the IMMI software according to the “ECAC Doc. 29-Interim” method for the prediction and computation of the aircraft noise.

According to the calculated/mapped values, in the 24 hours (Lden), the noise level is 65 dB (A) and above. In the day time zone, the noise level is 63 dB (A) and above. When the calculations for the evening time zone are examined, the noise level is above 58 dB (A). When the calculations for the night time frame are examined, it is calculated that there is no dwelling that is affected by the noise level above 53 dB (A).

Along with future improvements, it is recommended to be applied to other civil airports.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no previous research in the literature on aircraft noise mapping of LTBY. Also, unlike the software commonly used in other works in the literature, IMMI software was used in this study. Such investigations should be carried out in other civil airports in the coming years to struggle with noise emissions and noise control. If noise boundary values are exceeded, action plans should be developed for a sustainable aviation concept. Along with future improvements, it is recommended to be applied to other civil airports.

To make the single‐antenna attitude method more useful as a back‐up or fault diagnostic system than was targeted originally.

The enhancement incorporates information from the GPS satellite constellation and aircraft dynamic model. The visibility of GPS satellites affects the accuracy of the aircraft's volocity that is the main source of single‐antenna attitude. In addition, to use the aircraft dynamic model is natural because single‐antenna attitude is for exclusive use of aircraft. These are considered and implemented as a covariance matrix or process model of Kalman filters. The enhanced performances are verified by an aircraft nonlinear simulation.

The proposed method estimates more accurate volocity and unpiased single‐antenna attitude by using satellite constellation information and the aircraft dynamics. Moreover, the implemented system has a structure that combines other navigation sensors easily.

It would be more desirable to perform further researches; sensor integration, stability against wind disturbance, and aircraft model uncertainty, etc.

A useful attitude sensor for a back‐up attitude system at low cost on manned aircraft or a main attitude system on unmanned aircraft that are sensitive to the mass or size of payload.

This paper has been the first to promote the potential of single‐antenna attitude and with only information that can be easily obtained.

This paper aims to guide the implementation of noise reduction measures in hoistway and reduce the aerodynamic noise generated by elevator operation, this paper aims to propose an aerodynamic noise analysis method that can solve the flow field in hoistway.

A turbulence-acoustic model solving the flow field in a hoistway and a numerical wind hoistway model of the ultra-high-speed elevator were established by using large eddy simulation (LES) and Curle acoustic theory.

The characteristics of pulsating flow field and aerodynamic noise around ultra-high-speed elevator are analyzed. The asymmetric characteristics of the flow field could be observed using the turbulent kinetic energy and the instantaneous vortexes in the wind hoistway model. Vortex shedding, air flow separation and recombination around the car were the key factors for aerodynamic noise generation. The sound pressure level was approximately linear to the logarithm of car speed. The increase of car deflection angle in a certain range would reduce the peak frequency of wake noise and increase the sound pressure level (SPL) value.

This paper provides important guidance for researches studying the aerodynamic noise in the hoistway and the technical personnel that look for the reduction measures, which greatly improves the shortcomings in the numerical simulation of the aerodynamic noise of the hoistway.

Vertical urban settlements are becoming the predominant form of contemporary urban design in response to population increase and rapid urbanization. These developments are, however, perceived to be poorly designed and incongruent with the users’ needs. The purpose of this study was to present a resident satisfaction assessment of Hong Kong’s vertical settlements.

A review of the literature was conducted on the concept of vertical urbanism, residential satisfaction and postoccupancy evaluation. Fifty performance indicators were classified into three groups including indoor environment, safety and maintenance; furniture, utilities and spaces; and privacy, appearance and city life. These indicators were used to develop a Web-based questionnaire administered to residents in the three administrative regions of Hong Kong. Ninety-eight respondents participated in the study, and the results were analyzed using the resident satisfaction index and the overall satisfaction index. A multilinear regression analysis was also made to develop a model describing the most relevant performance indicators for determining the overall residential satisfaction.

The results revealed that residents expressed dissatisfaction with performance indicators, including “level of noise generated from outside the building (neighboring buildings, traffic, noise, etc.),” “variation and stability of indoor temperature,” “sustainable design of the building’s environment (cyclability, walkability, electric charging stations, etc.),” “availability and capacity of car parking,” “size and adequacy of spaces for social interaction” and “considerations for occupants with special needs (disabled, aged people, children, occupants with a medical condition, etc.).” The results also revealed that some indicators such as the maintenance of elevators, adequate interior space and surrounding areas were considered as significantly influencing residential satisfaction. Similarly, the building height and wind-induced motion were not significantly influencing residential satisfaction. The results also revealed that a multilinear Regression model with five variables and an adjusted R² value of 93% could estimate the overall residential satisfaction.

The concept of vertical urban design is the new paradigm in the shaping of future cities. The originality of this study is its adoption of post-occupancy evaluation to assess occupants’ residential satisfaction. As well as the determination of factors that should inform the planning, design and management of vertical urban settlements. Thus, the study has significant implications for research in vertical urban development, as well as the professional practice of building and urban planners, designers and managers.

This study aims to present a problem of noise compensation related to the localization of single-family houses in the restricted use areas (RUA) created around airports. The authors presented different methodological approaches to the valuation of such amends and characterized distinct solutions applied in that area in chosen countries and cities.

To estimate the level of those indemnities, linear models including spatial and generalized linear models, were applied. The set of explanatory variables contains quantitative and qualitative attributes of real estates. The influence of outliers indicated by means of cluster analysis on the received results were also considered.

The results show that after accounting for noise level and house characteristics, houses in noisier areas were sold for less than houses subjected to less noise. Unit prices of houses located outside the RUA were on average 17.05 per cent higher than the prices observed in zone with noise level for the daytime of 60 dB and 8.95 per cent in zone characterized by noise level for the daytime of 55 dB.

Received results can be compared with results obtained by other authors, but its most important application is possibility of use the proposed methodology by judicial appraisers to assess the proper level of noise compensation for home owners or tenants.

An identification of real estate market heterogeneity and its considering in estimation of compensation related to airport noise evidence some novelty of the research.

Proliferation of digital devices amongst patrons implies that libraries are faced with the challenge of providing conducive study spaces to patrons. This study, therefore, aims to establish the effect of digital devices on noise levels in the Mzuzu University Library and measures that have been taken to curb it.

The study was anchored by the technology advancement model. The mixed methodological design was used and involved use of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Questionnaires were used to collect data from a sample of 110 students, whilst an interview was conducted with one librarian responsible for managing service. SPSS was used to analyse quantitative data, whilst qualitative data was presented by following order of the themes.

The findings revealed that students owned a number of digital devices that included smartphones, laptops and augmented reality/virtual reality headsets which they deployed for a variety of uses. The findings further indicated that use of digital devices in the library has resulted in an upsurge in noise levels. Measures taken by students and library staff to tackle the problem have had limited success.

The prevalence of mobile digital devices has resulted in high levels of noise in academic libraries. However, this has not diminished users’ desire for a quiet study place. This paper, therefore, offers some insights of how libraries can combat the problem of noise to ensure that libraries remain attract to all groups of users.

Besides transforming the way people do business and interact with others, digital devices have also negatively impacted people and society in the form of increased road traffic accidents due to misuse. Promoting responsible use of digital devices in the library may have spill-over effects, in that library patrons may become more disciplined in their usage of the digital devices elsewhere, thereby help eradicate the ills that have come about due to their wanton use.

Some studies that have been done have pointed to a high prevalence rate of digital devices at Mzuzu University. However, none of them has investigated the impact the existing digital devices have had on noise levels in the library. This study is one of the first studies to be done on the topic not only at Mzuzu University but also academic libraries in Malawi. It is further hoped that action taken based on the recommendations made would lead to reduced noise levels in the library that will lead to creation of a conducive place for study.

The purpose of this paper is to carry out an extensive numerical study in order to understand the flow structures and the resulting noise generated by a supersonic impinging jet on a flat plate. One of the parameters varied in this study is the distance between the jet exit plane and the flat plate.

Because of the unsteady nature of the problem a time-dependent computation is carried out using the detached eddy simulation turbulence model. The OVERFLOW 2 CFD code was used with a highly resolved grid and small time steps.

The authors found that as the separation distance increases, the dominant frequencies in the noise spectrum decrease. In addition, the relative strength of the various frequencies to each other changes with changing distance, indicating the changing modes of the jet. The CFD results indicate a strong interaction between the acoustic waves emanating from the impingement plate and the jet plume. This feedback mechanism is responsible for destabilizing the jet shear layer leading to the jet changing modes. The computed near field spectra, convection velocities of the jet vortical structures and mean jet centerline velocity profile are in good agreement with experimental measurements. The results also show very high sound pressure levels all over the impingement plate but especially near the impingement point. These levels, if sustained, are detrimental to both human operators as well as the surrounding structures.

Given the large-scale nature of the computations carried out, it is very costly to run the computations long enough to collect a good, statistically steady time sample to achieve a low frequency bandwidth resolution. Such a long time sample could actually improve the results in terms of frequency resolution and obtained an even better agreement with experiments. Off course there is always the issue of grid resolution as well, but given the good agreement with experiments that the authors obtained, the authors are confident in their results.

The practical implications of the results the authors obtained are significant in that, the authors now know that hybrid RANS-large eddy simulation methods can be used for this complex, unsteady engineering problems. In addition, the results also show the high noise level both on the impingement surface and in the surroundings of the jet. This could have a negative impact on the structural integrity of the flat surface.

Noisy environments are never desirable anywhere especially in places where human operations take place. Therefore, given the high noise levels obtained in the simulations and confirmed by experiments, any human presence around the jet will be harmful to hearing and precautions need to be taken.

This is a physics-based study; i.e. understanding the physical phenomena involved in supersonic jet impingement. Of particular interest is the interaction of the jet shear layer with the acoustic waves emanating from the impingement area. This feedback loop is found to be responsible for intensifying the instability of the jet shear layer.

Fiber nonlinearities are anticipated to impose transmission limitations due to the enhanced total interaction length in long‐haul dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical transmission systems. The purpose of this paper is to analytically study the combined effect of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and four‐wave mixing (FWM) in the presence of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise generated by erbium‐doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs).

The paper presents analytical analysis of DWDM optical transmission systems in the presence of two significant fiber nonlinearities (SRS and FWM).

Simple expressions are derived to study the dependence of signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) on the amplifier spacing between two consecutive amplifiers.

The authors have analytically studied the combined effect of SRS and FWM in the presence of ASE noise generated by EDFAs. The novelty of the work is that it has considered all the three factors simultaneously and the expressions are derived for calculation of SNR.

The bulk of jet engine noise developed at high powers arises from the turbulent mixing of the jet efflux in the surrounding air, as judged from model experiments, and has a continuous spectrum with a single flat maximum. The high frequency sound arises from fairly close to the orifice, and reaches its maximum intensity at fairly large acute angles to the jet direction. Lower frequency noise arises from lower down stream and its maxima make smaller acute angles with the jet axis. The possible origins are briefly discussed in view of Lighthill's theory and refraction effects. The most intensesound has a wave‐length of the order of three or four exit diameters, and originates between five and ten diameters from the orifice. A semi‐empirical rule of noise energy depending on the jet velocity to the eighth power and the jet diameter squared gives a rough estimate of the noise level for both cold and heated jets. Further noise from heated or supersonic jets may occur through eddies travelling at supersonic speed and so producing small Shockwaves. Model experiments have shown that interaction between shock‐wave configurations in choked jets and passing eddy trains generates sound and this initiates further eddies at the orifice. The directional properties of this sound are quite distinctive, the maximum being in the upstream direction. Methods of reducing jet noise are briefly discussed.