Search results for: technology adoption models

Authors: Frederic Barth, Wouter Vanhoudt, Marc Londo, Jaap C. Jansen, Karine Veum, Javier Castro, Klaus Nürnberger, Matthias Altmann

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Hydrogen is expected to play a key role in the transition towards a low-carbon economy, especially within the transport sector, the energy sector and the (petro)chemical industry sector. However, the production and use of hydrogen only make sense if the production and transportation are carried out with minimal impact on natural resources, and if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced in comparison to conventional hydrogen or conventional fuels. The CertifHy project, supported by a wide range of key European industry leaders (gas companies, chemical industry, energy utilities, green hydrogen technology developers and automobile manufacturers, as well as other leading industrial players) therefore aims to: 1. Define a widely acceptable definition of green hydrogen. 2. Determine how a robust Guarantee of Origin (GoO) scheme for green hydrogen should be designed and implemented throughout the EU. It is divided into the following work packages (WPs). 1. Generic market outlook for green hydrogen: Evidence of existing industrial markets and the potential development of new energy related markets for green hydrogen in the EU, overview of the segments and their future trends, drivers and market outlook (WP1). 2. Definition of “green” hydrogen: step-by-step consultation approach leading to a consensus on the definition of green hydrogen within the EU (WP2). 3. Review of existing platforms and interactions between existing GoO and green hydrogen: Lessons learnt and mapping of interactions (WP3). 4. Definition of a framework of guarantees of origin for “green” hydrogen: Technical specifications, rules and obligations for the GoO, impact analysis (WP4). 5. Roadmap for the implementation of an EU-wide GoO scheme for green hydrogen: the project implementation plan will be presented to the FCH JU and the European Commission as the key outcome of the project and shared with stakeholders before finalisation (WP5 and 6). Definition of Green Hydrogen: CertifHy Green hydrogen is hydrogen from renewable sources that is also CertifHy Low-GHG-emissions hydrogen. Hydrogen from renewable sources is hydrogen belonging to the share of production equal to the share of renewable energy sources (as defined in the EU RES directive) in energy consumption for hydrogen production, excluding ancillary functions. CertifHy Low-GHG hydrogen is hydrogen with emissions lower than the defined CertifHy Low-GHG-emissions threshold, i.e. 36.4 gCO2eq/MJ, produced in a plant where the average emissions intensity of the non-CertifHy Low-GHG hydrogen production (based on an LCA approach), since sign-up or in the past 12 months, does not exceed the emissions intensity of the benchmark process (SMR of natural gas), i.e. 91.0 gCO2eq/MJ.

Keywords: green hydrogen, cross-cutting, guarantee of origin, certificate, DG energy, bankability

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Authors: Lisseth Rojas Barreto, Carlos Muñoz Hernández

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The COVID-19 pandemic led to many abrupt changes, including a prolonged lockdown, which brought about work and personal challenges to the population worldwide. Among the most affected populations are women who are workers and housewives at the same time, and especially those who are also parenting. These women were faced with the challenge to perform their usual varied roles during the lockdown from the same physical space, which inevitably had strong repercussions for each of them. This paper will present some results of a research study whose main objective was to examine the possible effects that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown may have caused in the work, social, family, and personal environments of female English teachers who are also housewives and, by extension in the teaching and learning processes that they lead. Participants included five female English language teachers of a public foreign language school, they are all married, and two of them have children. Similarly, we examined some of the coping strategies these teachers used to tackle the pandemic-related challenges in their different roles, especially those used for their language teaching role; coping strategies are understood as a repertoire of behaviors in response to incidents that can be stressful for the subject, possible challenging events or situations that involve emotions with behaviors and decision-making of people which are used in order to find a meaning or positive result (Lazarus &Folkman, 1986) Following a qualitative-case study design, we gathered the data through a survey and a focus group interview with the participant teachers who work at a public language school in southern Colombia. Preliminary findings indicate that the circumstances that emerged as a result of the pandemic lockdown affected the participants in different ways, including financial, personal, family, health, and work-related issues. Among the strategies that participants found valuable to deal with the novel circumstances, we can highlight the reorganization of the household and work tasks and the increased awareness of time management for the household, work, and leisure. Additionally, we were able to evidence that the participants faced the circumstances with a positive view. Finally, in order to cope with their teaching duties, some participants acknowledged their lack of computer or technology literacy in order to deliver their classes online, which made them find support from their students or more knowledgeable peers to cope with it. Others indicated that they used strategies such as self-learning in order to get acquainted and be able to use the different technological tools and web-based platforms available.

Keywords: coping strategies, language teaching, female teachers, pandemic lockdown

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Authors: Mette Pedersen

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This paper outlines the criteria that assessment specialists use when they design the 'Persuasive Essay' task for the four Advanced Placement World Language and Culture Exams (AP French, German, Italian, and Spanish). The 'Persuasive Essay' is a free-response, source-based, standardized measure of presentational writing. Each 'Persuasive Essay' item consists of three sources (an article, a chart, and an audio) and a prompt, which is a statement of the topic phrased as an interrogative sentence. Due to its richness of source materials and due to the amount of time that test takers are given to prepare for and write their responses (a total of 55 minutes), the 'Persuasive Essay' is the free-response task on the AP World Language and Culture Exams that goes to the greatest lengths to unleash the test takers' proficiency potential. The author focuses on the work that goes into designing the 'Persuasive Essay' task, outlining best practices for the selection of topics and sources, the interplay that needs to be present among the sources and the thinking behind the articulation of prompts for the 'Persuasive Essay' task. Using released 'Persuasive Essay' items from the AP World Language and Culture Exams and accompanying data on test taker performance, the author shows how different passages, and features of passages, have succeeded (and sometimes not succeeded) in eliciting writing proficiency among test takers over time. Data from approximately 215.000 test takers per year from 2014 to 2017 and approximately 35.000 test takers per year from 2012 to 2013 form the basis of this analysis. The conclusion of the study is that test taker performance improves significantly when the sources that test takers are presented with express directly opposing viewpoints. Test taker performance also improves when the interrogative prompt that the test takers respond to is phrased as a yes/no question. Finally, an analysis of linguistic difficulty and complexity levels of the printed sources reveals that test taker performance does not decrease when the complexity level of the article of the 'Persuasive Essay' increases. This last text complexity analysis is performed with the help of the 'ETS TextEvaluator' tool and the 'Complexity Scale for Information Texts (Scale)', two tools, which, in combination, provide a rubric and a fully-automated technology for evaluating nonfiction and informational texts in English translation.

Keywords: advanced placement world language and culture exams, designing presentational writing assessments, large-scale standardized assessments of written language proficiency, source-based language testing

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Authors: Tatsuhiko Aizawa, Hiroshi Morita

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The tool steels such as SKD11 and SKH51 have been utilized as punch and die substrates for cold stamping, forging, and fine blanking processes. The heat-treated SKD11 punches with the hardness of 700 HV wrought well in the stamping of SPCC, normal steel plates, and non-ferrous alloy such as a brass sheet. However, they suffered from severe damage in the fine blanking process of smaller holes than 1.5 mm in diameter. Under the high aspect ratio of punch length to diameter, an elastoplastic bucking of slender punches occurred on the production line. The heat-treated punches had a risk of chipping at their edges. To be free from those damages, the blanking punch must have sufficient rigidity and strength at the same time. In the present paper, the small-hole blanking punch with a dual toughness structure was proposed to provide a solution to this engineering issue in production. The low-temperature plasma nitriding process was utilized to form the nitrogen supersaturated thick layer into the original SKD11 punch. Through the plasma nitriding at 673 K for 14.4 ks, the nitrogen supersaturated layer, with the thickness of 50 μm and without nitride precipitates, was formed as a high nitrogen steel (HNS) layer surrounding the original SKD11 punch. In this two-zone structured SKD11 punch, the surface hardness increased from 700 HV for the heat-treated SKD11 to 1400 HV. This outer high nitrogen SKD11 (HN-SKD11) layer had a homogeneous nitrogen solute depth profile with a nitrogen solute content plateau of 4 mass% till the border between the outer HN-SKD11 layer and the original SKD11 matrix. When stamping the brass sheet with the thickness of 1 mm by using this dually toughened SKD11 punch, the punch life was extended from 500 K shots to 10000 K shots to attain a much more stable production line to yield the brass American snaps. Furthermore, with the aid of the masking technique, the punch side surface layer with the thickness of 50 μm was modified by this high nitrogen super-saturation process to have a stripe structure where the un-nitrided SKD11 and the HN-SKD11 layers were alternatively aligned from the punch head to the punch bottom. This flexible structuring promoted the mechanical integrity of total rigidity and toughness as a punch with an extremely small diameter.

Keywords: high nitrogen supersaturation, semi-dry cold stamping, solid solution hardening, tool steel dies, low temperature nitriding, dual toughness structure, extremely small diameter punch

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Authors: S. Sansone-Casaburi

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The pandemic that the world is going through is causing important changes in the daily life of all cities, which can translate into opportunities to rearrange pending situations. Among others: the town-city relationship and sustainability. On the one hand, the city continues to be the center of attention, and the countryside is assumed as the supplier of food. However, the temporary closure of cities highlighted the importance of the rural environment, and many people are reassessing this context as an alternative for life. Furthermore, the countryside is not simply the home and the center of activity of the people who inhabit it, but rather constitutes the active group of all citizens, both rural and urban. On the other hand, the pandemic is the opportunity to meet sustainable development goals. Sustainable development is understood as the capital to be transferred to future generations made up of three types of wealth: natural capital (environment), human capital (people, relationships, culture), and artificial or built capital, made up of buildings and infrastructure, or by cities and towns. The 'new normal' can mean going back to the countryside, but not to a merely agricultural place but to a sustainable, affordable, and healthy place, which, with the appropriate infrastructures, allows work from a distance, a new post-COVID-19 modality. The contribution of the research is towards the recovery of traditional villages from the perspective of populations that have managed to maintain their vitality with innovative solutions. It is assumed that innovation is a path for the recovery of traditional villages, so we ask: what conditions are necessary for innovation to be successful and sustainable? In the research, several variables were found, among which culture is named, so the objective of this article is to understand Uruena, a town in the province of Valladolid, which with only 182 inhabitants houses five museums and twelve bookstores that make up the first Villa del Libro in Spain. The methodology used is mixed: inductive and deductive and the results were specified in determining the formula of innovative peoples in culture: PIc = Pt + C [E (Aec) + S (pp) + A (T + s + t + enc)]. Where the innovative villages in culture PIc are the result of traditional villages Pt that from a cultural innovation C, integrates into the economic, economic and cultural activities E (Aec); in the social sphere, the public and private actors S (pp); and in the environmental (A), Territory (T), services (s), technology (t) and natural and built spaces (enc). The results of this analysis will focus on determining what makes the structure of innovative peoples sustainable and understanding what variables make up that structure to verify if they can be applied in other contexts and repower abandoned places to provide a solution for people who migrate to this context. That is, learn from what has been done to replicate it in similar cases.

Keywords: culture as innovation, depopulation, sustainability, traditional villages

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Authors: Isabella Lima Leite de Freitas

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The importance of astronomy for humanity is unquestionable. Despite being a robust science, capable of bringing new discoveries every day and quickly increasing the ability of researchers to understand the universe more deeply, scientific research in this area can also help in various applications outside the domain of astronomy. The objective of this study was to review and conduct a descriptive analysis of published studies that presented the importance of astronomy in the area of education. A narrative review of the literature has been performed, considering the articles published in the last five years. As astronomy involves the study of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics and technology, one of the studies evaluated presented astronomy as the gateway to science, demonstrating the presence of astronomy in 52 school curricula in 37 countries, with celestial movement the dominant content area. Another intervention study, evaluating individuals aged 4-5 years, demonstrated that the attribution of personal characteristics to cosmic bodies, in addition to the use of comprehensive astronomy concepts, favored the learning of science in preschool-age children, considering the use of practical activities of accompaniment and free drawing. Aiming to measure scientific literacy, another study developed in Turkey, motivated the authorities of this country to change the teaching materials and curriculum of secondary schools after the term “astronomy” appeared as one of the most attractive subjects for young people aged 15 to 24. There are also reports in the literature of the use of pedagogical tools, such as the representation of the Solar System on a human scale, where students can walk along the orbits of the planets while studying the laws of dynamics. The use of this tool favored the teaching of the relationship between distance, duration and speed over the period of the planets, in addition to improving the motivation and well-being of students aged 14-16. An important impact of astronomy on education was demonstrated in the study that evaluated the participation of high school students in the Astronomical Olympiads and the International Astronomy Olympiad. The study concluded that these Olympics have considerable influence on students who pursue a career in teaching or research later on, many of whom are in the area of astronomy itself. In addition, the literature indicates that the teaching of astronomy in the digital age has facilitated the availability of data for researchers, but also for the general population. This fact can increase even more the curiosity that the astronomy area has always instilled in people and promote the dissemination of knowledge on an expanded scale. Currently, astronomy has been considered an important ally in strengthening the school curricula of children, adolescents and young adults. This has been used as teaching tools, in addition to being extremely useful for scientific literacy, being increasingly used in the area of education.

Keywords: astronomy, education area, teaching, review

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Authors: Michael Russelle S. Alvarez, Noel S. Quiming, Francisco M. Heralde

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This study aims to: a) obtain ethanolic (95% EtOH) and aqueous extracts of Selaginella elmeri, Christella dentata, Elatostema sinnatum, Curculigo capitulata, Euphorbia hirta, Murraya koenigii, Alpinia speciosa, Cymbopogon citratus, Eucalyptus globulus, Jatropha curcas, Psidium guajava, Gliricidia sepium, Ixora coccinea and Capsicum frutescens and screen them for larvicidal activities against Aedes aegypti (Linn.) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) larvae; b) to fractionate the most active extract and determine the most active fraction; c) to determine the larvicidal properties of the most active extract and fraction against by computing their percentage mortality, LC50, and LC90 after 24 and 48 hours of exposure; and d) to determine the nature of the components of the active extracts and fractions using phytochemical screening. Ethanolic (95% EtOH) and aqueous extracts of the selected plants will be screened for potential larvicidal activity against Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus using standard procedures and 1% malathion and a Piper nigrum based ovicide-larvicide by the Department of Science and Technology as positive controls. The results were analyzed using One-Way ANOVA with Tukey’s and Dunnett’s test. The most active extract will be subjected to partial fractionation using normal-phase column chromatography, and the fractions subsequently screened to determine the most active fraction. The most active extract and fraction were subjected to dose-response assay and probit analysis to determine the LC50 and LC90 after 24 and 48 hours of exposure. The active extracts and fractions will be screened for phytochemical content. The ethanolic extracts of C. citratus, E. hirta, I. coccinea, G. sepium, M. koenigii, E globulus, J. curcas and C. frutescens exhibited significant larvicidal activity, with C. frutescens being the most active. After fractionation, the ethyl acetate fraction was found to be the most active. Phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, indoles and steroids. A formulation using talcum powder–300 mg fraction per 1 g talcum powder–was made and again tested for larvicidal activity. At 2 g/L, the formulation proved effective in killing all of the test larvae after 24 hours.

Keywords: larvicidal activity screening, partial purification, dose-response assay, capsicum frutescens

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Authors: M. Reza Hashemi, Chris Small, Scott Hayward

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The Northeast Coast of the US faces damaging effects of coastal flooding and winds due to Atlantic tropical and extratropical storms each year. Historically, several large storm events have produced substantial levels of damage to the region; most notably of which were the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1938, Hurricane Carol, Hurricane Bob, and recently Hurricane Sandy (2012). The objective of this study was to develop an integrated modeling system that could be used as a forecasting/hindcasting tool to evaluate and communicate the risk coastal communities face from these coastal storms. This modeling system utilizes the ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) model for storm surge predictions and the Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model for the wave environment. These models were coupled, passing information to each other and computing over the same unstructured domain, allowing for the most accurate representation of the physical storm processes. The coupled SWAN-ADCIRC model was validated and has been set up to perform real-time forecast simulations (as well as hindcast). Modeled storm parameters were then passed to a coastal risk assessment tool. This tool, which is generic and universally applicable, generates spatial structural damage estimate maps on an individual structure basis for an area of interest. The required inputs for the coastal risk model included a detailed information about the individual structures, inundation levels, and wave heights for the selected region. Additionally, calculation of wind damage to structures was incorporated. The integrated coastal risk assessment system was then tested and applied to Charlestown, a small vulnerable coastal town along the southern shore of Rhode Island. The modeling system was applied to Hurricane Sandy and a synthetic storm. In both storm cases, effect of natural dunes on coastal risk was investigated. The resulting damage maps for the area (Charlestown) clearly showed that the dune eroded scenarios affected more structures, and increased the estimated damage. The system was also tested in forecast mode for a large Nor’Easters: Stella (March 2017). The results showed a good performance of the coupled model in forecast mode when compared to observations. Finally, a nearshore model XBeach was then nested within this regional grid (ADCIRC-SWAN) to simulate nearshore sediment transport processes and coastal erosion. Hurricane Irene (2011) was used to validate XBeach, on the basis of a unique beach profile dataset at the region. XBeach showed a relatively good performance, being able to estimate eroded volumes along the beach transects with a mean error of 16%. The validated model was then used to analyze the effectiveness of several erosion mitigation methods that were recommended in a recent study of coastal erosion in New England: beach nourishment, coastal bank (engineered core), and submerged breakwater as well as artificial surfing reef. It was shown that beach nourishment and coastal banks perform better to mitigate shoreline retreat and coastal erosion.

Keywords: ADCIRC, coastal flooding, storm surge, coastal risk assessment, living shorelines

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Authors: Lam Pham, Peter Hubber, Russell Tytler

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Students’ conceptual understandings of chemistry concepts/phenomena involve capability to coordinate across the three levels of Johnston’s triangle model. This triplet model is based on reasoning about chemical phenomena across macro, sub-micro and symbolic levels. In chemistry education, there is a need for further examining inquiry-based approaches that enhance students’ conceptual learning and problem solving skills. This research adopted a directed inquiry pedagogy based on students constructing and coordinating representations, to investigate senior school students’ capabilities to flexibly move across Johnston’ levels when learning dilution and molar concentration concepts. The participants comprise 50 grade 11 and 20 grade 10 students and 4 chemistry teachers who were selected from 4 secondary schools located in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria. This research into classroom practices used ethnographic methodology, involved teachers working collaboratively with the research team to develop representational activities and lesson sequences in the instruction of a unit on solution chemistry. The representational activities included challenges (Representational Challenges-RCs) that used ‘representational tools’ to assist students to move across Johnson’s three levels for dilution phenomena. In this report, the ‘representational tool’ called ‘cross and portion’ model was developed and used in teaching and learning the molar concentration concept. Students’ conceptual understanding and problem solving skills when learning with this model are analysed through group case studies of year 10 and 11 chemistry students. In learning dilution concepts, students in both group case studies actively conducted a practical experiment, used their own language and visualisation skills to represent dilution phenomena at macroscopic level (RC1). At the sub-microscopic level, students generated and negotiated representations of the chemical interactions between solute and solvent underpinning the dilution process. At the symbolic level, students demonstrated their understandings about dilution concepts by drawing chemical structures and performing mathematical calculations. When learning molar concentration with a ‘cross and portion’ model (RC2), students coordinated across visual and symbolic representational forms and Johnson’s levels to construct representations. The analysis showed that in RC1, Year 10 students needed more ‘scaffolding’ in inducing to representations to explicit the form and function of sub-microscopic representations. In RC2, Year 11 students showed clarity in using visual representations (drawings) to link to mathematics to solve representational challenges about molar concentration. In contrast, year 10 students struggled to get match up the two systems, symbolic system of mole per litre (‘cross and portion’) and visual representation (drawing). These conceptual problems do not lie in the students’ mathematical calculation capability but rather in students’ capability to align visual representations with the symbolic mathematical formulations. This research also found that students in both group case studies were able to coordinate representations when probed about the use of ‘cross and portion’ model (in RC2) to demonstrate molar concentration of diluted solutions (in RC1). Students mostly succeeded in constructing ‘cross and portion’ models to represent the reduction of molar concentration of the concentration gradients. In conclusion, this research demonstrated how the strategic introduction and coordination of chemical representations across modes and across the macro, sub-micro and symbolic levels, supported student reasoning and problem solving in chemistry.

Keywords: cross and portion, dilution, Johnston's triangle, molar concentration, representations

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Authors: Grace C. Kuroki, Yixin Hu, Bailey Surtees, Rebecca Krimins, Nicholas J. Durr, Dara L. Kraitchman

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The purpose of this study was to perform a Phase I veterinary clinical trial with a low-cost, carbon-dioxide-based, passive thaw cryoablation device as proof-of-principle for application in pets and translation to third-world treatment of breast cancer. This study was approved by the institutional animal care and use committee. Client-owned dogs with subcutaneous masses, primarily lipomas or mammary cancers, were recruited for the study. Inclusion was based on clinical history, lesion location, preanesthetic blood work, and fine needle aspirate or biopsy confirmation of mass. Informed consent was obtained from the owners for dogs that met inclusion criteria. Ultrasound assessment of mass extent was performed immediately prior to mass cryoablation. Dogs were placed under general anesthesia and sterilely prepared. A stab incision was created to insert a custom 4.19 OD x 55.9 mm length cryoablation probe (Kubanda Cryotherapy) into the mass. Originally designed for treating breast cancer in low resource settings, this device has demonstrated potential in effectively necrosing subcutaneous masses. A dose escalation study of increasing freeze-thaw cycles (5/4/5, 7/5/7, and 10/7/10 min) was performed to assess the size of the iceball/necrotic extent of cryoablation. Each dog was allowed to recover for ~1-2 weeks before surgical removal of the mass. A single mass was treated in seven dogs (2 mammary masses, a sarcoma, 4 lipomas, and 1 adnexal mass) with most masses exceeding 2 cm in any dimension. Mass involution was most evident in the malignant mammary and adnexal mass. Lipomas showed minimal shrinkage prior to surgical removal, but an area of necrosis was evident along the cryoablation probe path. Gross assessment indicated a clear margin of cryoablation along the cryoprobe independent of tumor type. Detailed histopathology is pending, but complete involution of large lipomas appeared to be unlikely with a 10/7/10 protocol. The low-cost, carbon dioxide-based cryotherapy device permits a minimally invasive technique that may be useful for veterinary applications but is also informative of the unlikely resolution of benign adipose breast masses that may be encountered in third world countries.

Keywords: cryoablation, cryotherapy, interventional oncology, veterinary technology

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Authors: Deon Bezuidenhout

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Pre-seeding with autologous endothelial cells improves the long-term patency of synthetic vascular grafts levels obtained with autografts, but is limited to a single centre due to resource, time and other constraints. Spontaneous in vivo endothelialization would obviate the need for pre-seeding, but has been shown to be absent in man due to limited transanastomotic and fallout healing, and the lack of transmural ingrowth due to insufficient porosity. Two types of graft scaffolds with increased interconnected porosity for improved tissue ingrowth and healing are thus proposed and described. Foam-type polyurethane (PU) scaffolds with small, medium and large, interconnected pores were made by phase inversion and spherical porogen extraction, with and without additional surface modification with covalently attached heparin and subsequent loading with and delivery of growth factors. Fibrillar scaffolds were made either by standard electrospinning using degradable PU (Degrapol®), or by dual electrospinning using non-degradable PU. The latter process involves sacrificial fibres that are co-spun with structural fibres and subsequently removed to increased porosity and pore size. Degrapol samples were subjected to in vitro degradation, and all scaffold types were evaluated in vivo for tissue ingrowth and vascularization using rat subcutaneous model. The foam scaffolds were additionally evaluated in a circulatory (rat infrarenal aortic interposition) model that allows for the grafts to be anastomotically and/or ablumenally isolated to discern and determine endothelialization mode. Foam-type grafts with large (150 µm) pores showed improved subcutaneous healing in terms of vascularization and inflammatory response over smaller pore sizes (60 and 90µm), and vascularization of the large porosity scaffolds was significantly increased by more than 70% by heparin modification alone, and by 150% to 400% when combined with growth factors. In the circulatory model, extensive transmural endothelialization (95±10% at 12 w) was achieved. Fallout healing was shown to be sporadic and limited in groups that were ablumenally isolated to prevent transmural ingrowth (16±30% wrapped vs. 80±20% control; p<0.002). Heparinization and GF delivery improved both mural vascularization and lumenal endothelialization. Degrapol electrospun scaffolds showed decrease in molecular mass and corresponding tensile strength over the first 2 weeks, but very little decrease in mass over the 4w test period. Studies on the effect of tissue ingrowth with and without concomitant degradation of the scaffolds, are being used to develop material models for the finite element modelling. In the case of the dual-spun scaffolds, the PU fibre fraction could be controlled shown to vary linearly with porosity (P = −0.18FF +93.5, r2=0.91), which in turn showed inverse linear correlation with tensile strength and elastic modulus (r2 > 0.96). Calculated compliance and burst pressures of the scaffolds increased with fibre fraction, and compliances matching the human popliteal artery (5-10 %/100 mmHg), and high burst pressures (> 2000 mmHg) could be achieved. Increasing porosity (76 to 82 and 90%) resulted in increased tissue ingrowth from 33±7 to 77±20 and 98±1% after 28d. Transmural endothelialization of highly porous foamed grafts is achievable in a circulatory model, and the enhancement of porosity and tissue ingrowth may hold the key the development of spontaneously endothelializing electrospun grafts.

Keywords: electrospinning, endothelialization, porosity, scaffold, vascular graft

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Authors: Tobias Huwer, Thomas Bobek, Gunter Spöcker

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Driving forces for enhancements in production are trends like digitalization and individualized production. Currently, such developments are restricted to assembly parts. Thus, complex freeform surfaces are not addressed in this context. The need for efficient use of resources and near-net-shape production will require individualized production of complex shaped workpieces. Due to variations between nominal model and actual geometry, this can lead to changes in operations in Computer-aided process planning (CAPP) to make CAPP manageable for an adaptive serial production. In this context, 3D CAD data can be a key to realizing that objective. Along with developments in the geometrical adaptation, a preceding inspection method based on CAD data is required to support the process planner by finding objective criteria to make decisions about the adaptive manufacturability of workpieces. Nowadays, this kind of decisions is depending on the experience-based knowledge of humans (e.g. process planners) and results in subjective decisions – leading to a variability of workpiece quality and potential failure in production. In this paper, we present an automatic part inspection method, based on design and measurement data, which evaluates actual geometries of single workpiece preforms. The aim is to automatically determine the suitability of the current shape for further machining, and to provide a basis for an objective decision about subsequent adaptive manufacturability. The proposed method is realized by a workflow-based approach, keeping in mind the requirements of industrial applications. Workflows are a well-known design method of standardized processes. Especially in applications like aerospace industry standardization and certification of processes are an important aspect. Function blocks, providing a standardized, event-driven abstraction to algorithms and data exchange, will be used for modeling and execution of inspection workflows. Each analysis step of the inspection, such as positioning of measurement data or checking of geometrical criteria, will be carried out by function blocks. One advantage of this approach is its flexibility to design workflows and to adapt algorithms specific to the application domain. In general, within the specified tolerance range it will be checked if a geometrical adaption is possible. The development of particular function blocks is predicated on workpiece specific information e.g. design data. Furthermore, for different product lifecycle phases, appropriate logics and decision criteria have to be considered. For example, tolerances for geometric deviations are different in type and size for new-part production compared to repair processes. In addition to function blocks, appropriate referencing systems are important. They need to support exact determination of position and orientation of the actual geometries to provide a basis for precise analysis. The presented approach provides an inspection methodology for adaptive and part-individual process chains. The analysis of each workpiece results in an inspection protocol and an objective decision about further manufacturability. A representative application domain is the product lifecycle of turbine blades containing a new-part production and a maintenance process. In both cases, a geometrical adaptation is required to calculate individual production data. In contrast to existing approaches, the proposed initial inspection method provides information to decide between different potential adaptive machining processes.

Keywords: adaptive, CAx, function blocks, turbomachinery

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Authors: Suneet Jagdev

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The development of the original Bauhaus occurred at a time in the beginning of the 20th century when the industrialization of Germany had reached a climax. The cities were a reflection of the new living conditions of an industrialized society. The Bauhaus can be interpreted as an ambitious attempt to find appropriate answers to the challenges by using architecture-urban development and design. The core elements of the conviction of the day were the belief in the necessary crossing of boundaries between the various disciplines and courage to experiment for a better solution. Even after 100 years, the situation in our cities is shaped by similar complexity. The urban consequences of developments are difficult to estimate and to predict. The paper critically reflected on the central aspects of the history of the Bauhaus and its role in bringing the modernism in India by comparative studies of the methodology adopted by the artists and designer in both the countries. The paper talked in detail about how the Bauhaus Exhibition in 1922 offered Indian artists a new weapon of anti-colonial resistance. The original Bauhaus fought its aesthetic and political battles in the context of economic instability and the rise of German fascism. The Indians had access to dominant global languages and in a particular English. The availability of print media and a vibrant indigenous intellectual culture provided Indian people a tool to accept technology while denying both its dominant role in culture and the inevitability of only one form of modernism. The indigenous was thus less an engagement with their culture as in the West than a tool of anti-colonial struggle. We have shown how the Indian people used Bauhaus as a critique of colonialism itself through an undermining of its typical modes of representation and as a means of incorporating the Indian desire for spirituality into art and as providing the cultural basis for a non-materialistic and anti-industrial form of what we might now term development. The paper reflected how through painting the Bauhaus entered the artistic consciousness of the sub-continent not only for its stylistic and technical innovations but as a tool for a critical and even utopian modernism that could challenge both the hegemony of academic and orientalist art and as the bearer of a transnational avant-garde as much political as it was artistic, and as such the basis of a non-Eurocentric but genuinely cosmopolitan alternative to the hierarchies of oppression and domination that had long bound India and were at that moment rising once again to a tragic crescendo in Europe. We have talked about how the Bauhaus of today can offer an innovative orientation towards discourse around architecture and design.

Keywords: anti-colonial struggle, art over architecture, Bauhaus exhibition of 1922, industrialization

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Authors: Jyh Sheen, Yang-Hung Cheng

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This paper presents a design of a microstrip bandpass filter with a compact size and wide stopband by using 0.15-μm GaAs pHEMT process. The wide stop band is achieved by suppressing the first and second harmonic resonance frequencies. The slow-wave coupling stepped impedance resonator with cross coupled structure is adopted to design the bandpass filter. A two-resonator filter was fabricated with 13.5GHz center frequency and 11% bandwidth was achieved. The devices are simulated using the ADS design software. This device has shown a compact size and very low insertion loss of 2.6 dB. Microstrip planar bandpass filters have been widely adopted in various communication applications due to the attractive features of compact size and ease of fabricating. Various planar resonator structures have been suggested. In order to reach a wide stopband to reduce the interference outside the passing band, various designs of planar resonators have also been submitted to suppress the higher order harmonic frequencies of the designed center frequency. Various modifications to the traditional hairpin structure have been introduced to reduce large design area of hairpin designs. The stepped-impedance, slow-wave open-loop, and cross-coupled resonator structures have been studied to miniaturize the hairpin resonators. In this study, to suppress the spurious harmonic bands and further reduce the filter size, a modified hairpin-line bandpass filter with cross coupled structure is suggested by introducing the stepped impedance resonator design as well as the slow-wave open-loop resonator structure. In this way, very compact circuit size as well as very wide upper stopband can be achieved and realized in a Roger 4003C substrate. On the other hand, filters constructed with integrated circuit technology become more attractive for enabling the integration of the microwave system on a single chip (SOC). To examine the performance of this design structure at the integrated circuit, the filter is fabricated by the 0.15 μm pHEMT GaAs integrated circuit process. This pHEMT process can also provide a much better circuit performance for high frequency designs than those made on a PCB board. The design example was implemented in GaAs with center frequency at 13.5 GHz to examine the performance in higher frequency in detail. The occupied area is only about 1.09×0.97 mm2. The ADS software is used to design those modified filters to suppress the first and second harmonics.

Keywords: microstrip resonator, bandpass filter, harmonic suppression, GaAs

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Authors: Qianwei Cheng, A. K. M. Mahbubur Rahman, Anis Sarker, Abu Bakar Siddik Nayem, Ovi Paul, Amin Ahsan Ali, M. Ashraful Amin, Ryosuke Shibasaki, Moinul Zaber

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Thomas Friedman, in his famous book, argued that the world in this 21st century is flat and will continue to be flatter. This is attributed to rapid globalization and the interdependence of humanity that engendered tremendous in-flow of human migration towards the urban spaces. In order to keep the urban environment sustainable, policy makers need to plan based on extensive analysis of the urban environment. With the advent of high definition satellite images, high resolution data, computational methods such as deep neural network analysis, and hardware capable of high-speed analysis; urban planning is seeing a paradigm shift. Legacy data on urban environments are now being complemented with high-volume, high-frequency data. However, the first step of understanding urban space lies in useful categorization of the space that is usable for data collection, analysis, and visualization. In this paper, we propose a pragmatic categorization method that is readily usable for machine analysis and show applicability of the methodology on a developing world setting. Categorization to plan sustainable urban spaces should encompass the buildings and their surroundings. However, the state-of-the-art is mostly dominated by classification of building structures, building types, etc. and largely represents the developed world. Hence, these methods and models are not sufficient for developing countries such as Bangladesh, where the surrounding environment is crucial for the categorization. Moreover, these categorizations propose small-scale classifications, which give limited information, have poor scalability and are slow to compute in real time. Our proposed method is divided into two steps-categorization and automation. We categorize the urban area in terms of informal and formal spaces and take the surrounding environment into account. 50 km × 50 km Google Earth image of Dhaka, Bangladesh was visually annotated and categorized by an expert and consequently a map was drawn. The categorization is based broadly on two dimensions-the state of urbanization and the architectural form of urban environment. Consequently, the urban space is divided into four categories: 1) highly informal area; 2) moderately informal area; 3) moderately formal area; and 4) highly formal area. In total, sixteen sub-categories were identified. For semantic segmentation and automatic categorization, Google’s DeeplabV3+ model was used. The model uses Atrous convolution operation to analyze different layers of texture and shape. This allows us to enlarge the field of view of the filters to incorporate larger context. Image encompassing 70% of the urban space was used to train the model, and the remaining 30% was used for testing and validation. The model is able to segment with 75% accuracy and 60% Mean Intersection over Union (mIoU). In this paper, we propose a pragmatic categorization method that is readily applicable for automatic use in both developing and developed world context. The method can be augmented for real-time socio-economic comparative analysis among cities. It can be an essential tool for the policy makers to plan future sustainable urban spaces.

Keywords: semantic segmentation, urban environment, deep learning, urban building, classification

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Authors: Pin-Ling Yin, Dung-Ying Lin

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Satellites play an important role in our daily lives, from monitoring the Earth's environment and providing real-time disaster imagery to predicting extreme weather events. As technology advances and demands increase, the tasks undertaken by satellites have become increasingly complex, with more stringent resource management requirements. A common challenge in satellite mission scheduling is the limited availability of resources, including onboard memory, ground station accessibility, and satellite power. In this context, efficiently scheduling and managing the increasingly complex satellite missions under constrained resources has become a critical issue that needs to be addressed. The core of Satellite Onboard Activity Planning (SOAP) lies in optimizing the scheduling of the received tasks, arranging them on a timeline to form an executable onboard mission plan. This study aims to develop an optimization model that considers the various constraints involved in satellite mission scheduling, such as the non-overlapping execution periods for certain types of tasks, the requirement that tasks must fall within the contact range of specified types of ground stations during their execution, onboard memory capacity limits, and the collaborative constraints between different types of tasks. Specifically, this research constructs a mixed-integer programming mathematical model and solves it with a commercial optimization package. Simultaneously, as the problem size increases, the problem becomes more difficult to solve. Therefore, in this study, a heuristic algorithm has been developed to address the challenges of using commercial optimization package as the scale increases. The goal is to effectively plan satellite missions, maximizing the total number of executable tasks while considering task priorities and ensuring that tasks can be completed as early as possible without violating feasibility constraints. To verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the algorithm, test instances of various sizes were generated, and the results were validated through feedback from on-site users and compared against solutions obtained from a commercial optimization package. Numerical results show that the algorithm performs well under various scenarios, consistently meeting user requirements. The satellite mission scheduling algorithm proposed in this study can be flexibly extended to different types of satellite mission demands, achieving optimal resource allocation and enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of satellite mission execution.

Keywords: mixed-integer programming, meta-heuristics, optimization, resource management, satellite mission scheduling

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Authors: Rezaul K. Sk., Mohammad Ashiq, Avinash K. Srivastava

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The use of radiation shielding technology ranging from EMI to high energy gamma rays in various areas such as devices, medical science, defense, nuclear power plants, medical diagnostics etc. is increasing all over the world. However, exposure to different radiations such as X-ray, gamma ray, neutrons and EMI above the permissible limits is harmful to living beings, the environment and sensitive laboratory equipment. In order to solve this problem, there is a need to develop effective radiation shielding materials. Conventionally, lead and lead-based materials are used in making shielding materials, as lead is cheap, dense and provides very effective shielding to radiation. However, the problem associated with the use of lead is its toxic nature and carcinogenic. So, to overcome these drawbacks, there is a great need for lead-free radiation shielding materials and that should also be economically sustainable. Therefore, it is necessary to look for the synthesis of radiation-shielding glass by using other heavy metal oxides (HMO) instead of lead. The lead-free BaO-doped TeZnCaB glass systems have been synthesized by the traditional melt-quenching method. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the glassy nature of the synthesized samples. The densities of the developed glass samples were increased by doping the BaO concentration, ranging from 4.292 to 4.725 g/cm3. The vibrational and bending modes of the BaO-doped glass samples were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy, and FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) was performed to study the functional group present in the samples. UV-visible characterization revealed the significance of optical parameters such as Urbach’s energy, refractive index and optical energy band gap. The indirect and direct energy band gaps were decreased with the BaO concentration whereas the refractive index was increased. X-ray attenuation measurements were performed to determine the radiation shielding parameters such as linear attenuation coefficient (LAC), mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), half value layer (HVL), tenth value layer (TVL), mean free path (MFP), attenuation factor (Att%) and lead equivalent thickness of the lead-free BaO-doped TeZnCaB glass system. It was observed that the radiation shielding characteristics were enhanced with the addition of BaO content in the TeZnCaB glass samples. The glass samples with higher contents of BaO have the best attenuation performance. So, it could be concluded that the addition of BaO into TeZnCaB glass samples is a significant technique to improve the radiation shielding performance of the glass samples. The best lead equivalent thickness was 2.626 mm, and these glasses could be good materials for medical diagnostics applications.

Keywords: heavy metal oxides, lead-free, melt-quenching method, x-ray attenuation

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Authors: Natalia Alzate-Carvajal, Diego A. Acevedo-Guzman, Victor Meza-Laguna, Mario H. Farias, Luis A. Perez-Rey, Edgar Abarca-Morales, Victor A. Garcia-Ramirez, Vladimir A. Basiuk, Elena V. Basiuk

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Direct covalent functionalization of prefabricated free-standing graphene oxide paper (GOP) is considered as the only approach suitable for systematic tuning of thermal, mechanical and electronic characteristics of this important class of carbon nanomaterials. At the same time, the traditional liquid-phase functionalization protocols can compromise physical integrity of the paper-like material up to its total disintegration. To avoid such undesirable effects, we explored the possibility of employing an alternative, solvent-free strategy for facile and nondestructive functionalization of GOP with two representative aliphatic amines, 1-octadecylamine (ODA) and 1,12-diaminododecane (DAD), as well as with two aromatic amines, 1-aminopyrene (AP) and 1,5-diaminonaphthalene (DAN). The functionalization was performed under moderate heating at 150-180 °C in vacuum. Under such conditions, it proceeds through both amidation and epoxy ring opening reactions. Comparative characterization of pristine and amine-functionalized GOP mats was carried out by using Fourier-transform infrared, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential thermal analysis, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy (SEM and AFM, respectively). Besides that, we compared the stability in water, wettability, electrical conductivity and elastic (Young's) modulus of GOP mats before and after amine functionalization. The highest content of organic species was obtained in the case of GOP-ODA, followed by GOP-DAD, GOP-AP and GOP-DAN samples. The covalent functionalization increased mechanical and thermal stability of GOP, as well as its electrical conductivity. The magnitude of each effect depends on the particular chemical structure of amine employed, which allows for tuning a given GOP property. Morphological characterization by using SEM showed that, compared to pristine graphene oxide paper, amine-modified GOP mats become relatively ordered layered assemblies, in which individual GO sheets are organized in a near-parallel pattern. Financial support from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (grants DGAPA-IN101118 and IN200516) and from the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT, grant 250655) is greatly appreciated. The authors also thank David A. Domínguez (CNyN of UNAM) for XPS measurements and Dr. Edgar Alvarez-Zauco (Faculty of Science of UNAM) for the opportunity to use TGA equipment.

Keywords: amines, covalent functionalization, gas-phase, graphene oxide paper

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Authors: Mahadehe Hassan

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In most countries manufacturing, trading and distribution of gasoline and diesel fuels belongs to the most important sectors of national economy. For Bangladesh, a robust, well-functioning, secure and smartly managed national fuel distribution chain is an essential precondition for achieving Government top priorities in development and modernization of transportation infrastructure, protection of national environment and population health as well as, very importantly, securing due tax revenue for the State Budget. Bangladesh is a developing country with complex fuel supply network, high fuel taxes incidence and – till now - limited possibilities in application of modern, automated technologies for Government national fuel market control. Such environment allows dishonest physical and legal persons and organized criminals to build and profit from illegal fuel distribution schemes and fuel illicit trade. As a result, the market transparency and the country attractiveness for foreign investments, law-abiding economic operators, national consumers, State Budget and the Government ability to finance development projects, and the country at large suffer significantly. Research shows that over 50% of retail petrol stations in major agglomerations of Bangladesh sell adulterated fuels and/or cheat customers on the real volume of the fuel pumped into their vehicles. Other forms of detected fuel illicit trade practices include misdeclaration of fuel quantitative and qualitative parameters during internal transit and selling of non-declared and smuggled fuels. The aim of the study is to recommend the implementation of a National Fuel Distribution Integrity Program (FDIP) in Bangladesh to address and resolve fuel adulteration and illicit trade problems. The program should be customized according to the specific needs of the country and implemented in partnership with providers of advanced technologies. FDIP should enable and further enhance capacity of respective Bangladesh Government authorities in identification and elimination of all forms of fuel illicit trade swiftly and resolutely. FDIP high-technology, IT and automation systems and secure infrastructures should be aimed at the following areas (1) fuel adulteration, misdeclaration and non-declaration; (2) fuel quality and; (3) fuel volume manipulation at retail level. Furthermore, overall concept of FDIP delivery and its interaction with the reporting and management systems used by the Government shall be aligned with and support objectives of the Vision 2041 and Smart Bangladesh Government programs.

Keywords: fuel adulteration, octane, kerosene, diesel, petrol, pollution, carbon emissions

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Authors: Hugo Badia

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This research answers which is the most suitable transit network structure to serve specific demand requirements in an increasing urban dispersion process. Two main approaches of network design are found in the literature. On the one hand, a traditional answer, widespread in our cities, that develops a high number of lines to connect most of origin-destination pairs by direct trips; an approach based on the idea that users averse to transfers. On the other hand, some authors advocate an alternative design characterized by simple networks where transfer is essential to complete most of trips. To answer which of them is the best option, we use a two-step methodology. First, by means of an analytical model, three basic network structures are compared: a radial scheme, starting point for the other two structures, a direct trip-based network, and a transfer-based one, which represent the two alternative transit network designs. The model optimizes the network configuration with regard to the total cost for each structure. For a scenario of dispersion, the best alternative is the structure with the minimum cost. This dispersion degree is defined in a simple way considering that only a central area attracts all trips. If this area is small, we have a high concentrated mobility pattern; if this area is too large, the city is highly decentralized. In this first step, we can determine the area of applicability for each structure in function to that urban dispersion degree. The analytical results show that a radial structure is suitable when the demand is so centralized, however, when this demand starts to scatter, new transit lines should be implemented to avoid transfers. If the urban dispersion advances, the introduction of more lines is no longer a good alternative, in this case, the best solution is a change of structure, from direct trips to a network based on transfers. The area of applicability of each network strategy is not constant, it depends on the characteristics of demand, city and transport technology. In the second step, we translate analytical results to a real case study by the relationship between the parameters of dispersion of the model and direct measures of dispersion in a real city. Two dimensions of the urban sprawl process are considered: concentration, defined by Gini coefficient, and centralization by area based centralization index. Once it is estimated the real dispersion degree, we are able to identify in which area of applicability the city is located. In summary, from a strategic point of view, we can obtain with this methodology which is the best network design approach for a city, comparing the theoretical results with the real dispersion degree.

Keywords: analytical network design model, network structure, public transport, urban dispersion

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Authors: Samuel Olajide Babawale, Jonathan Bridge

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Natural Flood Management (NFM) is promoted as part of sustainable flood management (SFM) in response to climate change adaptation. Stakeholder engagement is central to this approach, and current trends are progressively moving towards a collaborative learning approach where stakeholder participation is perceived as one of the indicators of sustainable development. Within this methodology, participation embraces a diversity of knowledge and values underpinned by a philosophy of empowerment, equity, trust, and learning. To identify barriers to NFM uptake, there is a need for a new understanding of how stakeholder participation could be enhanced to benefit individual and community resilience within SFM. This is crucial in light of climate change threats and scientific reliability concerns. In contributing to this new understanding, this research evaluated the proposed interventions on six (6) UK NFM in a catchment known as the Sheffield Lakeland Partnership Area with reference to the Environment Agency Working with Natural Processes (WWNP) Potentials/Opportunities. Three of the opportunities, namely Run-off Attenuation Potential of 1%, Run-off Attenuation Potential of 3.3% and Riparian Woodland Potential, were modeled. In all the models, the interventions, though they have been proposed or already in place, are not in agreement with the data presented by EA WWNP. Findings show some institutional weaknesses, which are seen to inhibit the development of adequate flood management solutions locally with damaging implications for vulnerable communities. The gap in communication from practitioners poses a challenge to the implementation of real flood mitigating measures that align with the lead agency’s nationally accepted measures which are identified as not feasible by the farm management officers within this context. Findings highlight a dominant top-bottom approach to management with very minimal indication of local interactions. Current WWNP opportunities have been termed as not realistic by the people directly involved in the daily management of the farms, with less emphasis on prevention and mitigation. The targeted approach suggested by the EA WWNP is set against adaptive flood management and community development. The study explores dimensions of participation using the self-reliance and self-help approach to develop a methodology that facilitates reflections of currently institutionalized practices and the need to reshape spaces of interactions to enable empowered and meaningful participation. Stakeholder engagement and resilience planning underpin this research. The findings of the study suggest different agencies have different perspectives on “community participation”. It also shows communities in the case study area appear to be least influential, denied a real chance of discussing their situations and influencing the decisions. This is against the background that the communities are in the most productive regions, contributing massively to national food supplies. The results are discussed concerning practical implications for addressing interagency partnerships and conducting grassroots collaborations that empower local communities and seek solutions to sustainable development challenges. This study takes a critical look into the challenges and progress made locally in sustainable flood risk management and adaptation to climate change by the United Kingdom towards achieving the global 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

Keywords: natural flood management, sustainable flood management, sustainable development, working with natural processes, environment agency, run-off attenuation potential, climate change

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Authors: Radu Deju, Carmen Mustata

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The VVR-S nuclear research reactor owned by Horia Hubulei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH) was designed for research and radioisotope production, being permanently shut-down in 2002, after 40 years of operation. All amount of the nuclear spent fuel S-36 and EK-10 type was returned to Russian Federation (first in 2009 and last in 2012), and the radioactive waste resulted from the reprocessing of it will remain permanently in the Russian Federation. The decommissioning strategy chosen is immediate dismantling. At this moment, the radionuclides with half-life shorter than 1 year have a minor contribution to the contamination of materials and equipment used in reactor department. The decommissioning of the reactor has started in 2010 and is planned to be finalized in 2020, being the first nuclear research reactor that has started the decommissioning project from the South-East of Europe. The management system applied in the decommissioning of the VVR-S research reactor integrates all common elements of management: nuclear safety, occupational health and safety, environment, quality- compliance with the requirements for decommissioning activities, physical protection and economic elements. This paper presents the application of integrated management system in decommissioning of systems, structures, equipment and components (SSEC) from pumps room, including the management of the resulted radioactive waste. The primary cooling system of this type of reactor includes circulation pumps, heat exchangers, degasser, filter ion exchangers, piping connection, drainage system and radioactive leaks. All the decommissioning activities of primary circuit were performed in stage 2 (year 2014), and they were developed and recorded according to the applicable documents, within the requirements of the Regulatory Body Licenses. In the presentation there will be emphasized how the integrated management system provisions are applied in the dismantling of the primary cooling system, for elaboration, approval, application of necessary documentation, records keeping before, during and after the dismantling activities. Radiation protection and economics are the key factors for the selection of the proper technology. Dedicated and advanced technologies were chosen to perform specific tasks. Safety aspects have been taken into consideration. Resource constraints have also been an important issue considered in defining the decommissioning strategy. Important aspects like radiological monitoring of the personnel and areas, decontamination, waste management and final characterization of the released site are demonstrated and documented.

Keywords: decommissioning, integrated management system, nuclear reactor, waste management

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Authors: Sonia Butalia, Huong Luu, Alexis Guigue, Karen J. B. Martins, Khanh Vu, Scott W. Klarenbach

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Obesity is associated with significant personal impacts on health and has a substantial economic burden on payers due to increased healthcare use. A contemporary estimate of the healthcare costs associated with obesity at the population level are lacking. This evidence may provide further rationale for weight management strategies. Methods: Adults who underwent a medical procedure between 2012 and 2019 in Alberta, Canada were categorized into the investigational cohort (had body mass index [BMI]-defined class 2 or 3 obesity based on a procedure-associated code) and the control cohort (did not have the BMI procedure-associated code); those who had bariatric surgery were excluded. Characteristics were presented and healthcare costs ($CDN) determined over a 1-year observation period (2019/2020). Logistic regression and a generalized linear model with log link and gamma distribution were used to assess total healthcare costs (comprised of hospitalizations, emergency department visits, ambulatory care visits, physician visits, and outpatient prescription drugs); potential confounders included age, sex, region of residence, and whether the medical procedure was performed within 6-months before the observation period in the partial adjustment, and also the type of procedure performed, socioeconomic status, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and seven obesity-related health conditions in the full adjustment. Cost ratios and estimated cost differences with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported; incremental cost differences within the adjusted models represent referent cases. Results: The investigational cohort (n=220,190) was older (mean age: 53 standard deviation [SD]±17 vs 50 SD±17 years), had more females (71% vs 57%), lived in rural areas to a greater extent (20% vs 14%), experienced a higher overall burden of disease (CCI: 0.6 SD±1.3 vs 0.3 SD±0.9), and were less socioeconomically well-off (material/social deprivation was lower [14%/14%] in the most well-off quintile vs 20%/19%) compared with controls (n=1,955,548). Unadjusted total healthcare costs were estimated to be 1.77-times (95% CI: 1.76, 1.78) higher in the investigational versus control cohort; each healthcare resource contributed to the higher cost ratio. After adjusting for potential confounders, the total healthcare cost ratio decreased, but remained higher in the investigational versus control cohort (partial adjustment: 1.57 [95% CI: 1.57, 1.58]; full adjustment: 1.21 [95% CI: 1.20, 1.21]); each healthcare resource contributed to the higher cost ratio. Among urban-dwelling 50-year old females who previously had non-operative procedures, no procedures performed within 6-months before the observation period, a social deprivation index score of 3, a CCI score of 0.32, and no history of select obesity-related health conditions, the predicted cost difference between those living with and without obesity was $386 (95% CI: $376, $397). Conclusions: If these findings hold for the Canadian population, one would expect an estimated additional $3.0 billion per year in healthcare costs nationally related to BMI-defined obesity (based on an adult obesity rate of 26% and an estimated annual incremental cost of $386 [21%]); incremental costs are higher when obesity-related health conditions are not adjusted for. Results of this study provide additional rationale for investment in interventions that are effective in preventing and treating obesity and its complications.

Keywords: administrative data, body mass index-defined obesity, healthcare cost, real world evidence

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Authors: Pablo Chico De Guzman, Cesar Sanchez

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Microservices are a software development methodology in which applications are built by composing a set of independently deploy-able, small, modular services. Each service runs a unique process and it gets instantiated and deployed in one or more machines (we assume that different microservices are deployed into different machines). Microservices are becoming the de facto standard for developing distributed cloud applications due to their reduced release cycles. In principle, the responsibility of a microservice can be as simple as implementing a single function, which can lead to the following issues: - Resource fragmentation due to the virtual machine boundary. - Poor communication performance between microservices. Two composition techniques can be used to optimize resource fragmentation and communication performance: aggregation and embedding of microservices. Aggregation allows the deployment of a set of microservices on the same machine using a proxy server. Aggregation helps to reduce resource fragmentation, and is particularly useful when the aggregated services have a similar scalability behavior. Embedding deals with communication performance by deploying on the same virtual machine those microservices that require a communication channel (localhost bandwidth is reported to be about 40 times faster than cloud vendor local networks and it offers better reliability). Embedding can also reduce dependencies on load balancer services since the communication takes place on a single virtual machine. For example, assume that microservice A has two instances, a1 and a2, and it communicates with microservice B, which also has two instances, b1 and b2. One embedding can deploy a1 and b1 on machine m1, and a2 and b2 are deployed on a different machine m2. This deployment configuration allows each pair (a1-b1), (a2-b2) to communicate using the localhost interface without the need of a load balancer between microservices A and B. Aggregation and embedding techniques are complex since different microservices might have incompatible runtime dependencies which forbid them from being installed on the same machine. There is also a security concern since the attack surface between microservices can be larger. Luckily, container technology allows to run several processes on the same machine in an isolated manner, solving the incompatibility of running dependencies and the previous security concern, thus greatly simplifying aggregation/embedding implementations by just deploying a microservice container on the same machine as the aggregated/embedded microservice container. Therefore, a wide variety of deployment configurations can be described by combining aggregation and embedding to create an efficient and robust microservice architecture. This paper presents a formal method that receives a declarative definition of a microservice architecture and proposes different optimized deployment configurations by aggregating/embedding microservices. The first prototype is based on i2kit, a deployment tool also submitted to ICWS 2018. The proposed prototype optimizes the following parameters: network/system performance, resource usage, resource costs and failure tolerance.

Keywords: aggregation, deployment, embedding, resource allocation

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Authors: Yun-Hsiang Lee

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Cancer is the main cause of death worldwide. With advances in medical technology, immunotherapy, which is a newly developed advanced treatment, is currently a crucial cancer treatment option. For better quality cancer care, the ability to communicate and critical thinking plays a central role in clinical oncology settings. However, few studies have explored the impact of communication skills on immunotherapy-related issues and their related factors. This study was to (i) explore the current status of communication skill ability for immunotherapy-related issues, self-efficacy for immunotherapy-related care, and critical thinking ability; and (ii) identify factors related to communication skill ability. This is a cross-sectional study. Oncology nurses were recruited from the Taiwan Oncology Nursing Society, in which nurses came from different hospitals distributed across four major geographic regions (North, Center, South, East) of Taiwan. A total of 123 oncology nurses participated in this study. A set of questionnaires were used for collecting data. Communication skill ability for immunotherapy issues, self-efficacy for immunotherapy-related care, critical thinking ability, and background information were assessed in this survey. Independent T-test and one-way ANOVA were used to examine different levels of communication skill ability based on nurses having done oncology courses (yes vs. no) and education years (< 1 year, 1-3 years, and > 3 years), respectively. Spearman correlation was conducted to understand the relationships between communication skill ability and other variables. Among the 123 oncology nurses in the current study, the majority of them were female (98.4%), and most of them were employed at a hospital in the North (46.8%) of Taiwan. Most of them possessed a university degree (78.9%) and had at least 3 years of prior work experience (71.7%). Forty-three of the oncology nurses indicated in the survey that they had not received oncology nurses-related training. Those oncology nurses reported moderate to high levels of communication skill ability for immunotherapy issues (mean=4.24, SD=0.7, range 1-5). Nurses reported moderate levels of self-efficacy for immunotherapy-related care (mean=5.20, SD=1.98, range 0-10) and also had high levels of critical thinking ability (mean=4.76, SD=0.60, range 1-6). Oncology nurses who had received oncology training courses had significantly better communication skill ability than those who had not received oncology training. Oncology nurses who had higher work experience (1-3 years, or > 3 years) had significantly higher levels of communication skill ability for immunotherapy-related issues than those with lower work experience (<1 year). When those nurses reported better communication skill ability, they also had significantly better self-efficacy (r=.42, p<.01) and better critical thinking ability (r=.47, p<.01). Taken altogether, courses designed to improve communication skill ability for immunotherapy-related issues can make a significant impact in clinical settings. Communication skill ability for oncology nurses is the major factor associated with self-efficacy and critical thinking, especially for those with lower work experience (< 1 year).

Keywords: communication skills, critical thinking, immunotherapy, oncology nurses, self-efficacy

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Authors: Badryah Alshehri, Kevin Gormley, Gillian Prue, Karen McCutcheon

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In a disaster event, sharing patient information between the pre-hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Emergency Department (ED) hospitals is a complex process during which important information may be altered or lost due to poor communication. The aim of this study was to critically discuss the current evidence base in relation to communication between pre- EMS hospital and ED hospital professionals by the use of Information and Communication Systems (ICT). This study followed the systematic approach; six electronic databases were searched: CINAHL, Medline, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, and IEEE Xplore Digital Library were comprehensively searched in January 2018 and a second search was completed in April 2020 to capture more recent publications. The study selection process was undertaken independently by the study authors. Both qualitative and quantitative studies were chosen that focused on factors that are positively or negatively associated with coordinated communication between pre-hospital EMS and ED teams in a disaster event. These studies were assessed for quality, and the data were analyzed according to the key screening themes which emerged from the literature search. Twenty-two studies were included. Eleven studies employed quantitative methods, seven studies used qualitative methods, and four studies used mixed methods. Four themes emerged on communication between EMTs (pre-hospital EMS and ED staff) in a disaster event using the ICT. (1) Disaster preparedness plans and coordination. This theme reported that disaster plans are in place in hospitals, and in some cases, there are interagency agreements with pre-hospital and relevant stakeholders. However, the findings showed that the disaster plans highlighted in these studies lacked information regarding coordinated communications within and between the pre-hospital and hospital. (2) Communication systems used in the disaster. This theme highlighted that although various communication systems are used between and within hospitals and pre-hospitals, technical issues have influenced communication between teams during disasters. (3) Integrated information management systems. This theme suggested the need for an integrated health information system that can help pre-hospital and hospital staff to record patient data and ensure the data is shared. (4) Disaster training and drills. While some studies analyzed disaster drills and training, the majority of these studies were focused on hospital departments other than EMTs. These studies suggest the need for simulation disaster training and drills, including EMTs. This review demonstrates that considerable gaps remain in the understanding of the communication between the EMS and ED hospital staff in relation to response in disasters. The review shows that although different types of ICTs are used, various issues remain which affect coordinated communication among the relevant professionals.

Keywords: emergency medical teams, communication, information and communication technologies, disaster

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Authors: Daniel Manaye Kabtamu, Anteneh Wodaje Bayeh

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With the development and utilization of new energy technology, people’s demand for large-scale energy storage system has become increasingly urgent. Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is one of the most promising technologies for grid-scale energy storage applications because of numerous attractive features, such as long cycle life, high safety, and flexible design. However, the relatively low energy efficiency and high production cost of the VRFB still limit its practical implementations. It is of great attention to enhance its energy efficiency and reduce its cost. One of the main components of VRFB that can impressively impact the efficiency and final cost is the electrode materials, which provide the reactions sites for redox couples (V₂₊/V³⁺ and VO²⁺/VO₂⁺). Graphite felt (GF) is a typical carbon-based material commonly employed as electrode for VRFB due to low-cost, good chemical and mechanical stability. However, pristine GF exhibits insufficient wettability, low specific surface area, and poor kinetics reversibility, leading to low energy efficiency of the battery. Therefore, it is crucial to further modify the GF electrode to improve its electrochemical performance towards VRFB by employing active electrocatalysts, such as less expensive metal oxides. This study successfully fabricates low-cost plate-like bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) material through a simple one-step hydrothermal route, employed as an electrocatalyst to adorn the GF for use as the negative electrode in VRFB. The experimental results show that BiVO₄-3h exhibits the optimal electrocatalytic activity and reversibility for the vanadium redox couples among all samples. The energy efficiency of the VRFB cell assembled with BiVO₄-decorated GF as the negative electrode is found to be 75.42% at 100 mA cm−2, which is about 10.24% more efficient than that of the cell assembled with heat-treated graphite felt (HT-GF) electrode. The possible reasons for the activity enhancement can be ascribed to the existence of oxygen vacancies in the BiVO₄ lattice structure and the relatively high surface area of BiVO₄, which provide more active sites for facilitating the vanadium redox reactions. Furthermore, the BiVO₄-GF electrode obstructs the competitive irreversible hydrogen evolution reaction on the negative side of the cell, and it also has better wettability. Impressively, BiVO₄-GF as the negative electrode shows good stability over 100 cycles. Thus, BiVO₄-GF is a promising negative electrode candidate for practical VRFB applications.

Keywords: BiVO₄ electrocatalyst, electrochemical energy storage, graphite felt, vanadium redox flow battery

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Authors: Santiago Quesada-García, María Lozano-Gómez, Pablo Valero-Flores

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The recent digital revolution, together with modern technologies, is changing the environment and the way people interact with inhabited space. However, in society, the elderly are a very broad and varied group that presents serious difficulties in understanding these modern technologies. Outpatients with cognitive disabilities, such as those suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD), are distinguished within this cluster. This population group is in constant growth, and they have specific requirements for their inhabited space. According to architecture, which is one of the health humanities, environments are designed to promote well-being and improve the quality of life for all. Buildings, as well as the tools and technologies integrated into them, must be accessible, inclusive, and foster health. In this new digital paradigm, artificial intelligence (AI) appears as an innovative resource to help this population group improve their autonomy and quality of life. Some experiences and solutions, such as those that interact with users through chatbots and voicebots, show the potential of AI in its practical application. In the design of healthy spaces, the integration of AI in architecture will allow the living environment to become a kind of 'exo-brain' that can make up for certain cognitive deficiencies in this population. The objective of this paper is to address, from the discipline of neuroarchitecture, how modern technologies can be integrated into everyday environments and be an accessible resource for people with cognitive disabilities. For this, the methodology has a mixed structure. On the one hand, from an empirical point of view, the research carries out a review of the existing literature about the applications of AI to build space, following the critical review foundations. As a unconventional architectural research, an experimental analysis is proposed based on people with AD as a resource of data to study how the environment in which they live influences their regular activities. The results presented in this communication are part of the progress achieved in the competitive R&D&I project ALZARQ (PID2020-115790RB-I00). These outcomes are aimed at the specific needs of people with cognitive disabilities, especially those with AD, since, due to the comfort and wellness that the solutions entail, they can also be extrapolated to the whole society. As a provisional conclusion, it can be stated that, in the immediate future, AI will be an essential element in the design and construction of healthy new environments. The discipline of architecture has the compositional resources to, through this emerging technology, build an 'exo-brain' capable of becoming a personal assistant for the inhabitants, with whom to interact proactively and contribute to their general well-being. The main objective of this work is to show how this is possible.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, artificial intelligence, healthy architecture, neuroarchitecture, architectural design

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Authors: Justyna Humięcka-Jakubowska

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1. Background in music analysis. Traditionally, when we think about a composer’s sketches, the chances are that we are thinking in terms of the working out of detail, rather than the evolution of an overall concept. Since music is a “time art’, it follows that questions of a form cannot be entirely detached from considerations of time. One could say that composers tend to regard time either as a place gradually and partially intuitively filled, or they can look for a specific strategy to occupy it. In my opinion, one thing that sheds light on Stockhausen's compositional thinking is his frequent use of 'form schemas', that is often a single-page representation of the entire structure of a piece. 2. Background in music technology. Sonic Visualiser is a program used to study a musical recording. It is an open source application for viewing, analysing, and annotating music audio files. It contains a number of visualisation tools, which are designed with useful default parameters for musical analysis. Additionally, the Vamp plugin format of SV supports to provide analysis such as for example structural segmentation. 3. Aims. The aim of my paper is to show how SV may be used to obtain a better understanding of the specific musical work, and how the compositional strategy does impact on musical structures and musical surfaces. I want to show that ‘traditional” music analytic methods don’t allow to indicate interrelationships between musical surface (which is perceived) and underlying musical/acoustical structure. 4. Main Contribution. Stockhausen had dealt with the most diverse musical problems by the most varied methods. A characteristic which he had never ceased to be placed at the center of his thought and works, it was the quest for a new balance founded upon an acute connection between speculation and intuition. In the case with Mikrophonie I (1964) for tam-tam and 6 players Stockhausen makes a distinction between the "connection scheme", which indicates the ground rules underlying all versions, and the form scheme, which is associated with a particular version. The preface to the published score includes both the connection scheme, and a single instance of a "form scheme", which is what one can hear on the CD recording. In the current study, the insight into the compositional strategy chosen by Stockhausen was been compared with auditory image, that is, with the perceived musical surface. Stockhausen's musical work is analyzed both in terms of melodic/voice and timbre evolution. 5. Implications The current study shows how musical structures have determined of musical surface. My general assumption is this, that while listening to music we can extract basic kinds of musical information from musical surfaces. It is shown that an interactive strategies of musical structure analysis can offer a very fruitful way of looking directly into certain structural features of music.

Keywords: automated analysis, composer's strategy, mikrophonie I, musical surface, stockhausen

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Authors: Jeroen Rotteveel, Zeger De Groot

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The small satellite community is more and more aware of the need to start operating responsibly and sustainably in order to secure the use of outer space in the long run. On the technical side, many debris mitigation techniques have been investigated and demonstrated on board small satellites, showing that technically, a lot of things can be done to curb the growth of space debris and operate more responsible. However, in the absence of strict laws and constraints, one cannot help but wonder what the incentive is to incur significant costs (paying for debris mitigation systems and the launch mass of these systems) and to lose performance onboard resource limited small satellites (mass, volume, power)? Many small satellite developers are operating under tight budgets, either from their sponsors (in case of academic and research projects) or from their investors (in case of startups). As long as it is not mandatory to act more responsibly, we might need to consider the implementation of incentives to stimulate developers to accommodate deorbiting modules, etc. ISISPACE joined the NetZeroSpace initiative in 2021 with the aim to play its role in secure the use of low earth orbit for the next decades by facilitating more sustainable use of space. The company is in a good position as both a satellite builder, a rideshare launch provider, and a technology development company. ISISPACE operates under one of the stricter space laws in the world in terms of maximum orbital lifetime and has been active in various debris mitigation and debris removal in-orbit demonstration missions in the past 10 years. ISISPACE proposes to introduce together with launch partners and regulators an incentive scheme for CubeSat developers to baseline debris mitigation systems on board their CubeSats in such a way that is does not impose too many additional costs to the project. Much like incentives to switch to electric cars or install solar panels on your house, such an incentive can help to increase market uptake of behavior or solutions prior to legislation or bans of certain practices. This can be achieved by: Introducing an extended launch volume in CubeSat deployers to accommodate debris mitigation systems without compromising available payload space for the payload of the main mission Not charging the fee for the launch mass for the additional debris mitigation module Whenever possible, find ways to further co-fund the purchase price, or otherwise reduce the cost of flying debris mitigation modules onboard the CubeSats. The paper will outline the framework of such an incentive scheme and provides ISISPACE’s way forward to make this happen in the near future.

Keywords: netZerospace, cubesats, debris mitigation, small satellite community

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