Search results for: critical state

Authors: Mustafa Rezazada, Takuya Maruyama

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Cars have a strong integration with the human being since its introduction, and this interaction is more evident in the urban context. Therefore, shifting city residents from driving private vehicles to public transits has been a big challenge. Accordingly, carsharing as an innovative, environmentally friendly transport alternative had a significant contribution to this transition so far. It helped to reduce the numbers of household car ownership, declining demand for on-street parking, dropping the numbers of kilometers traveled by car, and affects the future of mobility by decreasing the Green House Gases (GHS) emissions’ and the numbers of new cars to be purchased otherwise. However, majorities of carsharing researches were conducted in highly developed cities, and less attention has been paid to the cities of developing countries. This study is conducted in the Capital of Afghanistan, Kabul to investigate the current transport pattern, user behavior, and to examine the possibility of introducing the carsharing system. This study established a new survey method called Onboard Carsharing Survey OCS. In this survey, the carpooling passengers aboard are interviewed following the Onboard Transit Survey OTS guideline with a few refinements. The survey focuses on respondents’ daily travel behavior and hypothetical stated choice of carsharing opportunities. Moreover, it followed by an aggregate analysis at the end. The survey results indicate the following: two-thirds of the respondents 62% have been carpooling every day since 5 years or more, more than half of the respondents are not satisfied with current modes, besides other attributes the Traffic Congestion, Environment and Insufficient Public Transport were ranked the most critical in daily transportation by survey participants. Moreover, 68.24% of the respondent chose Carsharing over carpooling under different choice game scenarios. Overall, the findings in this research show that Kabul City is a potential underground for the introduction of Carsharing in the future. Taken together, insufficient public transit, dissatisfaction with current modes, and their stated interest will affect the future of carsharing positively in Kabul City. The modal choice in this study is limited to carpooling and carsharing; more choice sets, including bus, cycling, and walking, will have to be added to evaluate further.

Keywords: carsharing, developing countries, Kabul Afghanistan, onboard carsharing survey, transportation, urban planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Aliaksandr Huminski

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Semantic Role Labeling (SRL) as shallow semantic parsing approach includes recognition and labeling arguments of a verb in a sentence. Verb participants are linked with specific semantic roles (Agent, Patient, Instrument, Location, etc.). Thus, SRL can answer on key questions such as ‘Who’, ‘When’, ‘What’, ‘Where’ in a text and it is widely applied in dialog systems, question-answering, named entity recognition, information retrieval, and other fields of NLP. However, SRL has the following flaw: Two sentences with identical (or almost identical) meaning can have different semantic role structures. Let consider 2 sentences: (1) John put butter on the bread. (2) John buttered the bread. SRL for (1) and (2) will be significantly different. For the verb put in (1) it is [Agent + Patient + Goal], but for the verb butter in (2) it is [Agent + Goal]. It happens because of one of the most interesting and intriguing features of a verb: Its ability to capture participants as in the case of the verb butter, or their features as, say, in the case of the verb drink where the participant’s feature being liquid is shared with the verb. This capture looks like a total fusion of meaning and cannot be decomposed in direct way (in comparison with compound verbs like babysit or breastfeed). From this perspective, SRL looks really shallow to represent semantic structure. If the key point in semantic representation is an opportunity to use it for making inferences and finding hidden reasons, it assumes by default that two different but semantically identical sentences must have the same semantic structure. Otherwise we will have different inferences from the same meaning. To overcome the above-mentioned flaw, the following approach is suggested. Assume that: P is a participant of relation; F is a feature of a participant; Vcp is a verb that captures a participant; Vcf is a verb that captures a feature of a participant; Vpr is a primitive verb or a verb that does not capture any participant and represents only a relation. In another word, a primitive verb is a verb whose meaning does not include meanings from its surroundings. Then Vcp and Vcf can be decomposed as: Vcp = Vpr +P; Vcf = Vpr +F. If all Vcp and Vcf will be represented this way, then primitive verbs Vpr can be considered as a canonical form for SRL. As a result of that, there will be no hidden participants caught by a verb since all participants will be explicitly unfolded. An obvious example of Vpr is the verb go, which represents pure movement. In this case the verb drink can be represented as man-made movement of liquid into specific direction. Extraction and using primitive verbs for SRL create a canonical representation unique for semantically identical sentences. It leads to the unification of semantic representation. In this case, the critical flaw related to SRL will be resolved.

Keywords: decomposition, labeling, primitive verbs, semantic roles

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Authors: G. Hafner

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A method developed at the University of Stuttgart will be presented: ‘Analysis, Evaluation and Optimization of Food Management’. A major focus is represented by quantification of food losses and food waste as well as their classification and evaluation regarding a system optimization through waste prevention. For quantification and accounting of food, food losses and food waste along the food chain, a clear definition of core terms is required at the beginning. This includes their methodological classification and demarcation within sectors of the food value chain. The food chain is divided into agriculture, industry and crafts, trade and consumption (at home and out of home). For adjustment of core terms, the authors have cooperated with relevant stakeholders in Germany for achieving the goal of holistic and agreed definitions for the whole food chain. This includes modeling of sub systems within the food value chain, definition of terms, differentiation between food losses and food wastage as well as methodological approaches. ‘Food Losses’ and ‘Food Wastes’ are assigned to individual sectors of the food chain including a description of the respective methods. The method for analyzing, evaluation and optimization of food management systems consist of the following parts: Part I: Terms and Definitions. Part II: System Modeling. Part III: Procedure for Data Collection and Accounting Part. IV: Methodological Approaches for Classification and Evaluation of Results. Part V: Evaluation Parameters and Benchmarks. Part VI: Measures for Optimization. Part VII: Monitoring of Success The method will be demonstrated at the example of an invesigation of food losses and food wastage in the Federal State of Bavaria including an extrapolation of respective results to quantify food wastage in Germany.

Keywords: food losses, food waste, resource management, waste management, system analysis, waste minimization, resource efficiency

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Authors: Oluwayemisi D. Ishola, Lekan Ajijola

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Nigeria faces a demographic challenge characterized by a burgeoning youth population and an escalating fertility rate. A notable decline in the use of modern contraceptives among adolescent girls and young women compounds the challenge. The youthful demographic stands at a critical juncture in the nation's pursuit to fulfill its pledge of achieving a 27% modern contraceptive rate by 2030, embodying the potential to translate this ambitious commitment into a tangible reality. This research undertook a multi-dimensional examination to scrutinize contraceptive ideational disparities among adolescents and young women in Nigeria, with a particular emphasis on ideational factors. The data underpinning this study were drawn from a cross-sectional household survey carried out in the Nigerian states of Edo, Ogun, Plateau, and Niger between October 2019 and January 2020. The survey encompassed 2,857 sexually active women aged 15-24 years. Employing an ideational framework focusing on behavior that accentuates psychosocial factors, the study dissected nine unique ideational variables into three principal domains: social, cognitive, and emotional. Multivariate logistics regression analyses were used to assess associations between ideational elements and contraceptive use within the total sample and specific age brackets (adolescents of 15-19 years and youth of 20-24 years). For this study, a p-value less than 0.05 was considered indicative of statistical significance. The study's results revealed significant associations between the ideational variables and contraceptive use in total sample and among adolescent and youth, ranging from p < .05 to p < .001. The influence of each domain's predictors on Family Planning (FP) manifested variations when assessed separately and across the different age groups. Notably, cognitive and emotional domains were found to be the strongest predictor of contraceptive use when compared with social domains in the general sample and among youth. This study’s findings highlight the complex interplay of social, cognitive, and emotional factors in contraceptive use among young individuals. Understanding these dynamics is crucial in developing effective strategies to overcome barriers and improve access to contraceptive services among young women in Nigeria.

Keywords: adolescents, contraception, ideation, youth

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Authors: Dato Surmanidze, Dato Antadze, Tornike Partenadze

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Public online services in Georgia are concentrated on main target segments: public administration, business, population, non-governmental and other interested organizations. Therefore, the strategy of digital Georgia is focused on providing G2C, G2B/B2G, G2NGO and G2G services. In G2C framework sophisticated and high-technological online services have been developed in order to provide passports, identity cards, documentations concerning residence and civil acts (birth, marriage, divorce, child adoption, change of name and surname, death, etc) as well as other services. Websites like my.gov.ge and sda.gov.ge have distance services like electronic application, processing and decision making. In line with international standards automatic services like electronic tenders, product catalogues, invoices and payment have been developed. This creates better investment climate for foreign companies in Georgia in the framework of G2B politics. The website mybusiness.gov.ge creates better conditions for local business. Among electronic services is e-NRMS (electronic system for national resource management) which was introduced by the Ministry of Finance of Georgia. The system was created in order to ensure management of national resources by state and business organizations. It is integrated with bank services and provides G2C, G2B and B2G representatives with electronic services. Also a portal meteo.gov.ge was created which gives electronic services concerning air, geological, environmental and pollution issues. Also worknet.gov.ge should be mentioned which is an electronic hub of information management for employers and employees. The information portal of labor market will facilitate receipt of information, its analysis and delivery to interested people like employers and employees. However, nowadays it’s been two years that only employees portal is activated. Therefore, awareness about the portal, its competitiveness and success is undermined.

Keywords: electronic services, public administration, information technology, information society

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Authors: Zhongmin Wang, Wudong Fan, Hengshan Zhang, Yimin Zhou

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In data-driven prognostic methods, the prediction accuracy of the estimation for remaining useful life of bearings mainly depends on the performance of health indicators, which are usually fused some statistical features extracted from vibrating signals. However, the existing health indicators have the following two drawbacks: (1) The differnet ranges of the statistical features have the different contributions to construct the health indicators, the expert knowledge is required to extract the features. (2) When convolutional neural networks are utilized to tackle time-frequency features of signals, the time-series of signals are not considered. To overcome these drawbacks, in this study, the method combining convolutional neural network with gated recurrent unit is proposed to extract the time-frequency image features. The extracted features are utilized to construct health indicator and predict remaining useful life of bearings. First, original signals are converted into time-frequency images by using continuous wavelet transform so as to form the original feature sets. Second, with convolutional and pooling layers of convolutional neural networks, the most sensitive features of time-frequency images are selected from the original feature sets. Finally, these selected features are fed into the gated recurrent unit to construct the health indicator. The results state that the proposed method shows the enhance performance than the related studies which have used the same bearing dataset provided by PRONOSTIA.

Keywords: continuous wavelet transform, convolution neural net-work, gated recurrent unit, health indicators, remaining useful life

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Authors: Ibrahim Abubakar Alkali, Abubakar Sarkile Kawuwa, Ibrahim Sani Khalil

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The concept of space and function forms the bedrock for spatial configuration in architectural design. Thus, the effectiveness and functionality of an architectural product depends their cordial relationship. This applies to all buildings especially to a hospital ward setting designed to accommodate various complex and diverse functions. Health care facilities design, especially an inpatient setting, is governed by many regulations and technical requirements. It is also affected by many less defined needs, particularly, response to culture and the need to provide for patient families’ presence and participation. The spatial configuration of the hospital ward setting in developing countries has no consideration for the patient’s families despite the significant role they play in promoting recovery. Attempts to integrate facilities for patients’ families have always been challenging, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, where accommodation for inpatients is predominantly in an open ward system. In addition, the situation is compounded by culture, which significantly dictates healthcare practices in Africa. Therefore, achieving such a hospital ward setting that is patient and family-centered requires careful assessment of family care actions and transaction spaces so as to arrive at an evidence based solution. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify how hospital ward spaces can be reconfigured to provide for sustainable family integration. In achieving this aim, a qualitative approach using the principles of behavioral mapping was employed in male and female medical wards of the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Gombe, Nigeria. The data obtained was analysed using classical and comparative content analysis. Patients’ families have been found to be a critical component of hospital ward design that cannot be undermined. Accordingly, bedsides, open yards, corridors and foyers have been identified as patient families’ transaction spaces that require design attention. Arriving at sustainable family integration can be achieved by revisiting the design requirements of the family transaction spaces based on the findings in order to avoid the rowdiness of the wards and uncoordinated sprawl.

Keywords: caregiving, design basics, family integration, hospital ward, sustainability

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Authors: Jonas Hamann, Siavash Saki, Tobias Hagen

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Discretization of urban areas is a crucial aspect in many spatial analyses. The process of discretization of space into subspaces without overlaps and gaps is called tessellation. It helps understanding spatial space and provides a framework for analyzing geospatial data. Tessellation methods can be divided into two groups: regular tessellations and irregular tessellations. While regular tessellation methods, like squares-grids or hexagons-grids, are suitable for addressing pure geometry problems, they cannot take the unique characteristics of different subareas into account. However, irregular tessellation methods allow the border between the subareas to be defined more realistically based on urban features like a road network or Points of Interest (POI). Even though Python is one of the most used programming languages when it comes to spatial analysis, there is currently no library that combines different tessellation methods to enable users and researchers to compare different techniques. To close this gap, we are proposing TessPy, an open-source Python package, which combines all above-mentioned tessellation methods and makes them easily accessible to everyone. The core functions of TessPy represent the five different tessellation methods: squares, hexagons, adaptive squares, Voronoi polygons, and city blocks. By using regular methods, users can set the resolution of the tessellation which defines the finesse of the discretization and the desired number of tiles. Irregular tessellation methods allow users to define which spatial data to consider (e.g., amenity, building, office) and how fine the tessellation should be. The spatial data used is open-source and provided by OpenStreetMap. This data can be easily extracted and used for further analyses. Besides the methodology of the different techniques, the state-of-the-art, including examples and future work, will be discussed. All dependencies can be installed using conda or pip; however, the former is more recommended.

Keywords: geospatial data science, geospatial data analysis, tessellations, urban studies

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Authors: Akinbuluma Ayodeji Theophilus, Adewale Olutaiwo

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When building roads and paved surfaces, a strong foundation is always essential. A durable material that can withstand years of traffic while staying trustworthy must be used to build the foundation. A frequent problem in the construction of roads and pavements is the lack of high-quality, long-lasting materials for the pavement structure (base, subbase, and subgrade). Hence, this study examined the stabilization of lateritic soil samples from Ijoko with cement kiln dust and lime. The study adopted the experimental design. Laboratory tests were conducted on classification, swelling potential, compaction, California bearing ratio (CBR), and unconfined compressive tests, among others, were conducted on the laterite sample treated with cement kiln dust (CKD) and lime in incremental order of 2% up to 10% of dry weight soft soil sample. The results of the test showed that the studied soil could be classified as an A-7-6 and CL soil using the American Association of State Highway and transport officials (AASHTO) and the unified soil classification system (USCS), respectively. The plasticity (PI) of the studied soil reduced from 30.5% to 29.9% at the application of CKD. The maximum dry density on the application of CKD reduced from 1.9.7 mg/m3 to 1.86mg/m3, and lime application yielded a reduction from 1.97mg/m3 to 1.88.mg/m3. The swell potential on CKD application was reduced from 0.05 to 0.039%. The study concluded that soil stabilizations are effective and economic way of improving road pavement for engineering benefit. The degree of effectiveness of stabilization in pavement construction was found to depend on the type of soil to be stabilized. The study therefore recommended that stabilized soil mixtures should be used to subbase material for flexible pavement since is a suitable.

Keywords: lateritic soils, sand, cement, stabilization, road pavement

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Authors: Foluke Abimbola

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There are two separate groups of a recognised body of human rights. These are known as Civil and Political Rights, and Economic and Social Rights. There is however an impression that civil and political rights are enforceable in courts while socio-economic rights are not. Nigeria is an example of one of such countries whose constitution has social, economic and cultural rights’ provisions as well as civil and political rights. However, the socio-economic rights provided in the Nigerian constitution are not justiciable or are unenforceable in a court of law. On the other hand, a comparative examination of the socio-economic right provisions in the South African constitution and judgments of the constitutional court of South Africa reveals that socio-economic rights may be enforceable. This position may ensure the protection of the socio-economic rights of the poor and vulnerable groups. These rights include the rights to food, adequate shelter, health, and education. Moreover, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) which incorporates similar socio-economic right provisions, has been recognized as a domestic law in Nigeria and its provisions are enforceable by the domestic courts by virtue of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Cap A9 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. It is not only a regional treaty signed and adopted by Nigeria but has been passed into law by the National Assembly and can be enforced like any other local law. This paper will propose that in view of the provisions of the African Charter and mechanisms for implementation as well as other international conventions and national constitutional provisions on human rights, domestic courts may be able to assess state responsibilities in the light of socio-economic rights. Cases decided by South African courts and other jurisdictions will be discussed in order to lend weight to the notion that socio-economic rights can be enforced in jurisdictions such as Nigeria even though the constitution provides otherwise.

Keywords: african charter, constitutional court of south africa, nigerian constitution, socio-economic rights, south african constitution

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Nazlı Çetindağ, Pelin Yılmaz Çetiner, Metin Mert İlgün, Emine Birci, Gizemnur Yıldız Uysal, Özcan Hatipoğlu, Ehsan Tuzcuoğlu, Gökhan Sır

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Stressing the importance of water conservation, emphasizing the need for efficient management of household water, and underlining the significance of alternative solutions are important. In this context, advanced solutions based on technologies such as the advanced oxidation process have emerged as promising methods for treating household wastewater. Evaluating household water usage holds critical importance for the sustainability of water resources. Researchers and experts are examining various technological approaches to effectively treat and reclaim water for reuse. In this framework, the advanced oxidation process has proven to be an effective method for the removal of various organic and inorganic pollutants in the treatment of household wastewater. In this study, performance will be evaluated by comparing it with the reference case. This international criterion simulates the washing of home textile products, determining various performance parameters. The specially designed stain strips, including sebum, carbon black, blood, cocoa, and red wine, used in experiments, represent various household stains. These stain types were carefully selected to represent challenging stain scenarios, ensuring a realistic assessment of washing performance. Experiments conducted under different temperatures and program conditions successfully demonstrate the practical applicability of the advanced oxidation process for treating household wastewater. It is important to note that both adherence to standards and the use of real-life stain types contribute to the broad applicability of the findings. In conclusion, this study strongly supports the effectiveness of treating household wastewater with the advanced oxidation process in terms of washing performance under both standard and practical application conditions. The study underlines the importance of alternative solutions for sustainable water resource management and highlights the potential of the advanced oxidation process in the treatment of household water, contributing significantly to optimizing water usage and developing sustainable water management solutions.

Keywords: advanced oxidation process, household water usage, household appliance waste water, modelling, water reuse

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Authors: Sadhana Sharma, P. K. Nema, Siddhartha Singha

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Paneer or Indian cottage cheese is an acid and heat coagulated milk product, highly perishable because of high moisture (58-60 %). Typically paneer is marble to light creamy white in appearance. A good paneer should have cohesive body with slight sponginess or springiness. The texture must be smooth and velvety with close-knit compactness. It should have pleasing mild acidic, slightly sweet and nutty flavour. Consumers today demand simple to prepare, convenient, healthy and natural foods. Dehydrated paneer finds numerous ways to be used. It can be used in curry preparation similar to paneer-in-curry, a delicacy in Indian cuisine. It may be added to granola/ trail mix yielding a high energy snack. If grounded to a powder, it may be used as a cheesy spice mix or used as popcorn seasoning. Dried paneer powder may be added to pizza dough or to a white sauce to turn it into a paneer sauce. Drying of such food hydrogels by conventional methods is associated with several undesirable characteristics including case hardening, longer drying time, poor rehydration ability and fat loss during drying. The present study focuses on developing cost-effective protocol for freeze-drying of paneer. The dehydrated product would be shelf-stable and can be rehydrated to its original state having flavor and texture comparable to the fresh form. Moreover, the final product after rehydration would be more fresh and softer than its frozen counterparts. The developed product would be shelf-stable at room temperature without any addition of preservatives.

Keywords: color, freeze-drying, paneer, texture

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Kebret Kebede, Anthony Scinta

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Obesity is the most prevalent global problem that continues to rise at alarming rates both in the industrialized and developing countries. Adipose tissue is an endocrine tissue that secretes numerous chemical signals, hormones, lipids, cytokines and coagulation factors as well as prompting insulin resistance which is a primary contributor to Type II Diabetes- one of its most common adverse effects on health. Other hormones whose levels are linked to obesity and nutritional state are leptin, IGF-1, and adiponectin. Several studies indicate that obesity is the leading cause of high levels of cholesterol that leads to fatty liver disease, gallstones, hypertension, increased risk for cancer and degenerative joint disease that primarily affects the weight bearing joints of the lower extremities. The activation of inflammatory pathways promotes synovial pathology that results in accelerated degeneration of the joints. The study examines the prevalence of obesity in the US female population in comparison to that of the developing world and its emergence as a significant and potentially modifiable risk factor in degenerative disease of the hip and knee joints that has resulted in staggering healthcare cost. Studies have shown that as the prevalence of obesity rises, we continue to see a rise in degenerative joint disease. The percentage of arthritis cases linked directly to obesity has risen from 3 percent in 1971 to 18 percent in 2002. A person with obesity is around 60 percent more likely to develop arthritis than someone of normal body weight. In women, obesity is associated with increased mortality from breast, cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancer that may accompany debilitating joint diseases and restricted mobility.

Keywords: obesity, endocrine, degenerative, mortality, joint diseases, cancer, debilitating, mobility

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Authors: Shima Soleimani, Steven Eckels

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One area of special importance for surface-level study of heat exchangers is tubes with internal micro-fins (< 0.5 mm tall). Micro-finned surfaces are a kind of extended solid surface in which energy is exchanged with water that acts as the source or sink of energy. Significant performance gains are possible for either shell, tube, or double pipe heat exchangers if the best surfaces are identified. The parametric studies of micro-finned tubes that have appeared in the literature left some key parameters unexplored. Specifically, they ignored three-dimensional (3D) micro-fin configurations, conduction heat transfer in the fins, and conduction in the solid surface below the micro-fins. Thus, this study aimed at implementing a parametric study of 3D micro-finned tubes that considered micro-fin height and discontinuity features. A 3D conductive and convective heat-transfer simulation through coupled solid and periodic fluid domains is applied in a commercial package, ANSYS Fluent 19.1. The simulation is steady-state with turbulent water flow cooling inner wall of a tube with micro-fins. The simulation utilizes a constant and uniform temperature on the tube outer wall. Performance is mapped for 18 different simulation cases, including a smooth tube using a realizable k-ε turbulence model at a Reynolds number of 48,928. Results compared the performance of 3D tubes with results for the similar two-dimensional (2D) one. Results showed that the micro-fin height has greater impact on performance factor than discontinuity features in 3D micro-fin tubes. A transformed 3D micro-fin tube can enhance heat transfer and pressure drop up to 21% and 56% compared to a 2D one, respectfully.

Keywords: three-dimensional micro-finned tube, heat transfer, friction factor, heat exchanger

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Authors: Sepideh Mohammadi

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Iran is a country that boasts of ethnic diversity, comprising various groups such as Turks, Lors, Arabs, Baluchs, Persians, Kurds, Gliks, Azaris, and Tabaris. The majority of people in Iran are Persians and as such, the Persian language is the official language of the country. However, it is also a common language among different ethnic groups. It is worth noting that there is a longstanding history of coexistence and cultural relations between the Turkic and Lor ethnic groups. The purpose of this article is to study the range of intercultural sensitivities of Turks and Lor peoples to identify the state of intercultural competence and reduce conflicts in the direction of cultural policy. It is important to gain insight into the mutual perceptions of Lor and Turkic people towards each other. Understanding these perceptions can greatly aid in fostering stronger relationships and promoting effective communication between the two ethnic groups. The study employed a qualitative content analysis approach to gather data using a semi-structured interview tool. The participants consisted of ten individuals from the Lor ethnic and ten individuals from the Turk ethnic. According to Milton Bennett's six-stage model, our findings reveal that the Turkish and Lor ethnic groups tend to exhibit higher intercultural sensitivity in the second stage, which consists of defense against differences. Both groups tend to emphasize the differences between them, and the notion of "us and the other" holds significant importance for them. It is important to acknowledge that both the Turk and Lor ethnicities consist of various clans, which significantly shape intercultural relations between them. A common stereotype in this regard is that the Turks of Tabriz province often do not recognize the Turks of other provinces of the country as their own. Moreover, our study indicates that an increase in interaction and communication between the Lor and Turk ethnic groups may lead to a reduction in cultural sensitivities between them.

Keywords: intercultural communication, intercultural sensitivity, Iran, Lor, Turk

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Authors: Rahul Paul, Kedar Nath Das

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The paradigm of Reinforcement Learning (RL) has become prominent in training intelligent agents to make decisions in environments that are both dynamic and uncertain. The primary objective of RL is to optimize the policy of an agent in order to maximize the cumulative reward it receives throughout a given period. Nevertheless, the process of optimization presents notable difficulties as a result of the inherent trade-off between exploration and exploitation, the presence of extensive state-action spaces, and the intricate nature of the dynamics involved. Evolutionary Optimization Methods (EOMs) have garnered considerable attention as a supplementary approach to tackle these challenges, providing distinct capabilities for optimizing RL policies and value functions. The ongoing advancement of research in both RL and EOMs presents an opportunity for significant advancements in autonomous decision-making systems. The convergence of these two fields has the potential to have a transformative impact on various domains of artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This article highlights the considerable influence of EOMs in enhancing the capabilities of RL. Taking advantage of evolutionary principles enables RL algorithms to effectively traverse extensive action spaces and discover optimal solutions within intricate environments. Moreover, this paper emphasizes the practical implementations of EOMs in the field of RL, specifically in areas such as robotic control, autonomous systems, inventory problems, and multi-agent scenarios. The article highlights the utilization of EOMs in facilitating RL agents to effectively adapt, evolve, and uncover proficient strategies for complex tasks that may pose challenges for conventional RL approaches.

Keywords: machine learning, reinforcement learning, loss function, optimization techniques, evolutionary optimization methods

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Authors: K. Swapna, Sk. Mahamuda, Ch, Annapurna, A. Srinivasa Rao, G. Vijaya Prakash

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Samarium ions doped Alkali Fluoro Tungsten Tellurite (AFTT) Glasses have been prepared by using the melt quenching technique and characterized through various spectroscopic techniques such as optical absorption, excitation, emission and decay spectral studies. From the measured absorption spectra of Sm3+ ions in AFTT glasses, the optical band gap and Urbach energies have been evaluated. The spectroscopic parameters such as oscillator strengths (f), Judd-Ofelt (J-O) intensity parameters (Ωλ), spontaneous emission probability (AR), branching ratios (βR) and radiative lifetimes (τR) of various excited levels have been determined from the absorption spectrum by using J-O analysis. A strong luminescence in the reddish-orange spectral region has been observed for all the Sm3+ ions doped AFTT glasses. It consisting four emission transitions occurring from the 4G5/2metastable state to the lower lying states 6H5/2, 6H7/2, 6H9/2 and 6H11/2 upon exciting the sample with a 478 nm line of an argon ion laser. The stimulated emission cross-sections (σe) and branching ratios (βmeas) were estimated from the emission spectra for all emission transitions. Correlation of the radiative lifetime with the experimental lifetime measured from the day curves allows us to measure the quantum efficiency of the prepared glasses. In order to know the colour emission of the prepared glasses under near UV excitation, the emission intensities were analyzed using CIE 1931 colour chromaticity diagram. The aforementioned spectral studies carried out on Sm3+ ions doped AFTT glasses allowed us to conclude that, these glasses are best suited for orange-red visible lasers.

Keywords: fluoro tungsten tellurite glasses, judd-ofelt intensity parameters, lifetime, stimulated emission cross-section

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Authors: Sameh Shahin, Nannang Arrys

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Optimizing pit slope stability and reducing strip ratio of a mining operation are two key tasks in geotechnical engineering. With a growing demand for minerals and an increasing cost associated with extraction, companies are constantly re-evaluating the viability of mineral deposits and challenging their geological understanding. Within Rio Tinto Iron Ore, the Structural Geology (SG) team investigate and collect critical data, such as point based orientations, mapping and geological inferences from adjacent pits to re-model deposits where previous interpretations have failed to account for structurally controlled slope failures. Utilizing innovative data collection methods and data-driven investigation, SG aims to address the root causes of slope instability. Committing to a resource grid drill campaign as the primary source of data collection will often bias data collection to a specific orientation and significantly reduce the capability to identify and qualify complexity. Consequently, these limitations make it difficult to construct a realistic and coherent structural model that identifies adverse structural domains. Without the consideration of complexity and the capability of capturing these structural domains, mining operations run the risk of inadequately designed slopes that may fail and potentially harm people. Regional structural trends have been considered in conjunction with surface and in-pit mapping data to model multi-batter fold structures that were absent from previous iterations of the structural model. The risk is evident in newly identified dip-slope and rock-mass controlled sectors of the geotechnical design rather than a ubiquitous dip-slope sector across the pit. The reward is two-fold: 1) providing sectors of rock-mass controlled design in previously interpreted structurally controlled domains and 2) the opportunity to optimize the slope angle for mineral recovery and reduced strip ratio. Furthermore, a resulting high confidence model with structures and geometries that can account for historic slope instabilities in structurally controlled domains where design assumptions failed.

Keywords: structural geology, geotechnical design, optimization, slope stability, risk mitigation

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Authors: Laura Struik, Sarah Dow-Fleisner, Robert Janke

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Introduction: The use of e-cigarettes, also known as vaping, has risen exponentially among North American youth and young adults (YYA) in recent years and has become a critical public health concern. The marketing strategies used by e-cigarette companies have been associated with the uptick in use among YYA, with video advertisements on TV and other electronic platforms being the most pervasive strategy. It is unknown if or how these advertisements capitalize on the recently documented multi-faceted influences that contribute to the initiation of vaping among this demographic (e.g., stress, anxiety, gender, peers, etc.), which is examined in this study. Methods: This content analysis is phase one of a two-phased research project that aims to inform meaningful approaches to anti-vaping messaging and campaigns. As part of this first phase, a scoping review has been conducted to identify various influences (environmental, cognitive, contextual, social, and emotional) on e-cigarette uptake among YYA. The results of this scoping review will inform the development of a coding framework to analyze the multiple influences present in vaping advertisements, as seen on two popular television channels (Discovery and AMC). In addition, advertisement characteristics will be incorporated into the coding framework (e.g., the number of people present, demographic details, context, and setting, etc.), and analyzed. Findings: Findings will reveal the types of influences being leveraged in vaping advertisements, and identify the underlying messages that may be particularly attractive to YYA. This will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of how e-cigarette companies market their products and to whom. The results will also inform the next phase of this research project, which will encompass an analysis of anti-vaping advertisements and how the underpinning strategies align with those of the pro-vaping advertisements. Conclusions: Findings of this will study bring forward important implications for developing effective anti-vaping messages, and assist public health professionals in providing more comprehensive prevention and cessation support as it relates to e-cigarette use. Understanding which marketing strategies e-cigarette companies use is vital to our understanding of how to combat them. Findings will inform recommendations for public health efforts aimed at curbing e-cigarette use among YYA, and ultimately contribute to the health and well-being of YYA.

Keywords: e-cigarettes, youth and young adults, advertisements, public health

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Authors: Nahid Ferdousi

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Juvenile justice is a key component of the child rights to keep the best interest and completely different from criminal justice. After independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the Children Act 1974 and the Children Rules 1976 were considered as the basic law for juvenile justice which written before many international instruments on children’s rights came into existence, did not align with the international mandate set by those instruments. These Acts were not really child rights-based and modern concept such as diversion, restorative justice and community-based rehabilitation has not developed accordingly. In this backdrop, government has enacted the new Children Act 2013 and introduced extensive reforms to the juvenile justice system in Bangladesh. The Act has been adopted with the provisions for child-friendly juvenile courts in each district and different kinds of child-oriented practices in a number of settings, such as, child affairs police officer, probation officer, national child welfare board, diversion, alternative preventive measures on the basis of international principles. Prior to the Act, there had been a number of High Court rulings which considered the international standards for juvenile justice. But the recent reforms to juvenile justice system hail a new commitment to the country’s international obligations to its children and a change in the philosophy guiding the treatment of offender children. This is high time to create an effective juvenile justice system for the 21st century in Bangladesh by the proper implementation of the Children Act 2013. Additionally, the new Children Rules should be enacted and juvenile courts along with correctional institutions should be established in each district in Bangladesh. This study assesses the juvenile justice reforms in Bangladesh over the five decades (1974-2014) and focuses on changes that will improve the system as a whole and enable us to better achieve the ends of fair juvenile justice.

Keywords: Juvenile justice reforms, international obligations, child-oriented practices, commitment of the state

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Authors: Amy Guidera, Steven Busby, Christian Williams, David Phillippi

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College students are a priority preventative healthcare population that can engage in high-risk behaviors which may concurrently increase the potential for unsafe sexual practices, including contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Early education, screening, treatment, and partner notification are important interventions for breaking the chain of transmission and recurrence in relation to preventing poor health outcomes and mitigating college dropout rates. The aim of this quality improvement project was to determine if the reduction in STI screening costs for college students (aged 18-30 years old) would increase the amount of STI screenings conducted at a university health center over the course of an academic semester while evaluating our ability to achieve an improved quality of care at a reduced cost, along with improved STI reporting and documentation. This study was conducted through retrospective chart reviews of STI-related visits and utilized the RADAR matrix to provide a guiding, iterative mechanism to continuously reassess goals and outcomes defined in a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between a university health center and the state department of health (DOH) laboratory. The project failed to increase the amount of STI screenings, most likely due to the emergence of COVID-19, but resulted in improved quality of care for students, improved STI-related visit documentation and reporting, and significantly reduced costs for STI screening for collegiate students at a southeastern private university campus.

Keywords: college health, college students, preventive health, reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections, young adults

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Authors: Irfan Ahmad Afip

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This main research objective is to accurately identify the possibility for a Leptospirosis outbreak severity of a certain area based on its input features into a multivariate regression model. The research question is the possibility of an outbreak in a specific area being influenced by this feature, such as social demographics and hydrometeorological extremes. If the occurrence of an outbreak is being subjected to these features, then the epidemic severity for an area will be different depending on its environmental setting because the features will influence the possibility and severity of an outbreak. Specifically, this research objective was three-fold, namely: (a) to identify the relevant multivariate features and visualize the patterns data, (b) to develop a multivariate regression model based from the selected features and determine the possibility for Leptospirosis outbreak in an area, and (c) to compare the predictive ability of multivariate regression model and machine learning algorithms. Several secondary data features were collected locations in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, based on the possibility it would be relevant to determine the outbreak severity in the area. The relevant features then will become an input in a multivariate regression model; a linear regression model is a simple and quick solution for creating prognostic capabilities. A multivariate regression model has proven more precise prognostic capabilities than univariate models. The expected outcome from this research is to establish a correlation between the features of social demographic and hydrometeorological with Leptospirosis bacteria; it will also become a contributor for understanding the underlying relationship between the pathogen and the ecosystem. The relationship established can be beneficial for the health department or urban planner to inspect and prepare for future outcomes in event detection and system health monitoring.

Keywords: geographical information system, hydrometeorological, leptospirosis, multivariate regression

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Authors: Wan-Ting Liao, Angela K. Tzeng

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Empathy has been an important issue in psychology, education, as well as cognitive neuroscience. Empathy has two major components: cognitive and emotional. Cognitive component refers to the ability to understand others’ perspectives, thoughts, and actions, whereas emotional component refers to understand how others feel. Empathy can be induced, attitude can then be changed, and with enough attitude change, helping behavior can occur. This finding leads us to two questions: is attitude change really necessary for prosocial behavior? And, what roles cognitive and affective empathy play? For the second question, participants with different psychopathic personality (PP) traits are critical because high PP people were found to suffer only affective empathy deficit. Their cognitive empathy shows no significant difference from the control group. 132 college students voluntarily participated in the current three-stage study. Stage 1 was to collect basic information including Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R), Attitude Scale, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and demographic data. Stage two was for empathy induction with three controversial scenarios, namely domestic violence, depression with a suicide attempt, and an ex-offender. Participants read all three stories and then rewrite the stories by one of two perspectives (empathetic vs. objective). They would then complete the VAS and Attitude Scale one more time for their post-attitude and emotional status. Three IVs were introduced for data analysis: PP (High vs. Low), Responsibility (whether or not the character is responsible for what happened), and Perspective-taking (Empathic vs. Objective). Stage 3 was for the action. Participants were instructed to freely use the 17 tokens they received as donations. They were debriefed and interviewed at the end of the experiment. The major findings were people with higher empathy tend to take more action in helping. Attitude change is not necessary for prosocial behavior. The controversy of the scenarios and how familiar participants are towards target groups play very important roles. Finally, people with high PP tend to show more public prosocial behavior due to their affective empathy deficit. Pre-existing value and belief as well as recent dramatic social events seem to have a big impact and possibly reduce the effect of the independent variables (IV) in our paradigm.

Keywords: empathy, cognitive, emotional, psychopathy

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Authors: Meredith Rossi, Lesley Lee, Mary Wear, Mary Van Baalen, Bradley Rhodes

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The astronaut community is unique, and may be disproportionately exposed to occupational hazards not commonly seen in other communities. The extent to which the demands of the astronaut occupation and exposure to spaceflight-related hazards affect the health of the astronaut population over the life course is not completely known. A better understanding of the individual, population, and mission impacts of astronaut occupational exposures is critical to providing clinical care, targeting occupational surveillance efforts, and planning for future space exploration. The ability to characterize the risk of latent health conditions is a significant component of this understanding. Provision of health screening services to active and former astronauts ensures individual, mission, and community health and safety. Currently, the NASA-Johnson Space Center (JSC) Flight Medicine Clinic (FMC) provides extensive medical monitoring to active astronauts throughout their careers. Upon retirement, astronauts may voluntarily return to the JSC FMC for an annual preventive exam. However, current retiree monitoring includes only selected screening tests, representing an opportunity for augmentation. The potential long-term health effects of spaceflight demand an expanded framework of testing for former astronauts. The need is two-fold: screening tests widely recommended for other aging populations are necessary to rule out conditions resulting from the natural aging process (e.g., colonoscopy, mammography); and expanded monitoring will increase NASA’s ability to better characterize conditions resulting from astronaut occupational exposures. To meet this need, NASA has begun an extensive exploration of the overall approach, cost, and policy implications of expanding the medical monitoring of former NASA astronauts under the Astronaut Occupational Health program. Increasing the breadth of monitoring services will ultimately enrich the existing evidence base of occupational health risks to astronauts. Such an expansion would therefore improve the understanding of the health of the astronaut population as a whole, and the ability to identify, mitigate, and manage such risks in preparation for deep space exploration missions.

Keywords: astronaut, long-term health, NASA, occupational health, surveillance

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Authors: Jacqui Robertson

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The sustainable governance of groundwater is of the utmost importance in an arid country like Australia. Groundwater has been relied on by our agricultural and pastoral communities since the State was settled by European colonialists. Nevertheless, the rapid establishment of a coal seam gas (CSG) industry in Queensland, Australia, has had extensive impacts on the pre-existing groundwater users. Managed aquifer recharge of important aquifers in Queensland, Australia, using treated coal seam gas produced water has been used to reduce the impacts of CSG development in Queensland Australia. However, the process has not been widely adopted. Negative environmental outcomes are now acknowledged as not only engineering, scientific or technical problems to be solved but also the result of governance failures. An analysis of the regulatory context for aquifer injection using treated CSG water in Queensland, Australia, using Ostrom’s Common Pool Resource (CPR) theory and a ‘heat map’ designed by the author, highlights the importance of governance arrangements. The analysis reveals the costs and benefits for relevant stakeholders of artificial recharge of groundwater resources in this context. The research also reveals missed opportunities to further active management of the aquifer and resolve existing conflicts between users. The research illustrates the importance of strategically and holistically evaluating innovations in technology that impact water resources to reveal incentives that impact resource user behaviors. The paper presents a proactive step that can be adapted to support integrated water resource management and sustainable groundwater development.

Keywords: managed aquifer recharge, groundwater regulation, common-pool resources, integrated water resource management, Australia

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Authors: R. Oleko, A. Saraceni

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The aim of this research is to provide a rigorous evaluation of the existing academic productivity in relation to value proposition and creation in networked environments. Bibliometrics is a vigorous approach used to structure existing literature in an objective and reliable manner. To that aim, a thorough bibliometric analysis was performed in order to assess the large volume of the information encountered in a structured and reliable manner. A clear distinction between networks and service networks was considered indispensable in order to capture the effects of each network’s type properties on value creation processes. Via the use of bibliometric parameters, this review was able to capture the state-of-the-art in both value proposition and value creation consecutively. The results provide a rigorous assessment of the annual scientific production, the most influential journals, and the leading corresponding author countries. By means of citation analysis, the most frequently cited manuscripts and countries for each network type were identified. Moreover, by means of co-citation analysis, existing collaborative patterns were detected through the creation of reference co-citation networks and country collaboration networks. Co-word analysis was also performed in order to provide an overview of the conceptual structure in both networks and service networks. The acquired results provide a rigorous and systematic assessment of the existing scientific output in networked settings. As such, they positively contribute to a better understanding of the distinct impact of service networks on value proposition and value creation when compared to regular networks. The implications derived can serve as a guide for informed decision-making by practitioners during network formation and provide a structured evaluation that can stand as a basis for future research in the field.

Keywords: bibliometrics, co-citation analysis, networks, service networks, value creation, value proposition

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Authors: P. Joris, E. Lombard, X. Cameleyre, G. Navarro, A. Paillet, N. Gorret, S. E. Guillouet

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Today, on the international space station, multiple supplies are needed per year to supply food and spare parts and to take out waste. But as it is planned to go longer and further into space these supplies will no longer be possible. The astronaut life support system must be able of continuously transform waste into valuable compounds. Two types of production were identified as critical and could be be supplemented by microorganisms. On the one hand, since microgravity causes rapid muscle loss, single cell proteins (SCPs) could be used as protein rich feed or food. On the other hand, having enough building materials to build an advanced habitat will not be possible only by transporting space goods from earth to mars for example. The bacterium Cupriavidus. necator is well known for its ability to produce a large amount of proteins or of polyhydroxyalkanoate biopolymers (PHAs) depending on its implementation. By coupling the life support system to a 3D-printer, astronauts could be supplied with an unlimited amount of building materials. Additionally, based on the design of the life support system, waste streams have been identified: urea from the crew urine and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) from a first stage of organic waste (excrement and food waste) treatment through anaerobic digestion. Thus, the objective of this, within the Spaceship.Fr project, was to demonstrate the feasibility of producing SCPs and PHAs from VFAs and urea in bioreactor. Because life support systems operate continuously as loops, continuous culture experiments were chosen and the effect of the bioreactor dilution rate on biomass composition was investigated. Total transformation of the carbon source into biomass with high SCP or PHA content was achieved in all cases. We will present the transformation performances of VFAs and urea by the bacteria in bioreactor in terms of titers, yields and productivities but also in terms of the quality of SCP and PHA produced, nucleic acid content. We will further discuss the envisioned integration of our process within life support systems.

Keywords: life support system, space travel, waste treatment, single cell proteins, polyhydroxyalkanoates, bioreactor

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Authors: Ramesh K. Adsul, V. R. Shinde, S. S. Jadhav

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The main aim of the present study was to explore the effect of various levels of parental acceptance – avoidance attitude on various areas of adjustment of urban and rural junior college students. It was hypothesized that 1. There exists no significant effect of various levels of parental acceptance attitude on adjustment of urban and rural junior college students. 2. There exists no significant effect of various levels of parental avoidance attitude on adjustment of urban and rural junior college students. 3. There would be no significant difference between urban and rural Junior College students on various areas of (home, health, social, and emotional) adjustment. The 847 students (427 boys and 420 girls) studying in 11th class of various Junior colleges in Sangli ,Satara and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra State, India were selected by random sampling method. Study was conducted by using two psychological tests namely 1. Family Relationship Inventory. 2.Bell’s Adjustment Inventory. One way ANOVA was employed to find out the effect of parental acceptance – avoidance attitude and adjustment in various areas of urban and rural junior college students. ‘t’ test was used to find out the difference between urban and rural students on various areas of adjustment. The results of the study indicate that (1) It is observed that three groups of parental acceptance attitude (PA) are significantly varied on home and social adjustment. It means that PA affects home and social adjustment of adolescents. High PA creates excellent adjustment and low PA creates poor adjustment in adolescents. (2) Study revealed that PV significantly affects adjustment of adolescents. High PV significantly creates poor adjustment in adolescents than average and low PV. (3) There is significant difference between urban and rural adolescents on adjustment. Urban adolescents have better adjustment than rural adolescents.

Keywords: parental acceptance, avoidance attitude, adjustment, urban-rural student

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Authors: Ryan Houser

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Introduction: Previous studies have found that public health systems within the United States are inadequately prepared for an act of biological terrorism. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, few studies have evaluated bioterrorism preparedness of Emergency Medical Services, even in the accelerating environment of biothreats. Methods: This study utilized an Internet-based survey to assess the level of preparedness and willingness to respond to a bioterrorism attack and identify factors that predict preparedness and willingness among Nebraska EMS (Emergency Medical Services ) providers. The survey was available for one month in 2021, during which 190 EMS providers responded to the survey. Results: Only 56.8% of providers were able to recognize an illness or injury as potentially resulting from exposure to a CBRN agent. The provider Clinical Competency levels range from a low of 13.6% (ability to initiate patient care within his/her professional scope of practice and arrange for prompt referral appropriate to the identified condition(s)) to a high of 74% (the ability to respond to an emergency within the emergency management system of his/her practice, institution and community). Only 10% of the respondents are both willing and able to effectively function in a bioterror environment. Discussion: In order to effectively prepare for and respond to a bioterrorist attack, all levels of the healthcare system need to have the clinical skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary to treat patients exposed. Policy changes and increased focus on training and drills are needed to ensure a prepared EMS system which is crucial to a resilient state. EMS entities need to be aware of the extent of their available workforce so that the country can be prepared for the increasing threat of bioterrorism or other novel emerging infectious disease outbreaks. A resilient nation relies on a prepared set of EMS providers who are willing to respond to biological terrorism events.

Keywords: bioterrorism, prehospital, EMS, disaster, emergency, medicine, preparedness, policy

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Authors: Bilal Ahmed, Muhammad Rafiq, Choongjae Im

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The tech-savvy Gen Z's transfer towards interactive concept learning is hammering the demand for online collaborative learning environments, renovating conventional education approaches. The authors propose a novel approach to enhance learning outcomes to improve retention in 3D interactive education by connecting virtual reality (VR) and non-VR devices in the classroom and distance learning. The study evaluates students' experiences with VR interconnectivity devices in human anatomy lectures using real-time 3D interactive data visualization. Utilizing the renowned "Guo & Pooles Inventory" and the "Flow for Presence Questionnaires," it used an experimental research design with a control and experimental group to assess this novel connecting strategy's effectiveness and significant potential for in-person and online educational settings during the sessions. The experimental group's interactions, engagement levels, and usability experiences were assessed using the "Guo & Pooles Inventory" and "Flow for Presence Questionnaires," which measure their sense of presence, engagement, and immersion throughout the learning process using a 5-point Likert scale. At the end of the sessions, we used the "Perceived Usability Scale" to find our proposed system's overall efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. By comparing both groups, the students in the experimental group used the integrated VR environment and VR to non-VR devices, and their sense of presence and attentiveness was significantly improved, allowing for increased engagement by giving students diverse technological access. Furthermore, learners' flow states demonstrated increased absorption and focus levels, improving information retention and Perceived Usability. The findings of this study can help educational institutions optimize their technology-enhanced teaching methods for traditional classroom settings as well as distance-based learning, where building a sense of connection among remote learners is critical. This study will give significant insights into educational technology and its ongoing progress by analyzing engagement, interactivity, usability, satisfaction, and presence.

Keywords: interactive learning environments, human-computer interaction, virtual reality, computer- supported collaborative learning

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