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The need for a qualitative estimation of social processes, trends, and activities executed by social governing institutions has been considered. It was determined that the information openness, availability of processing and informational tools create the conditions for efficient administration.An analysis of trends for a time series in the indicators’ dynamics has been performed. The number of priority indicators for analysis and generalization was limited to four, the data were selected from reports by the World Bank, Obozrevatel.ua, and Transparency International. The unified norm has been introduced, which would ensure the comparability of indicators that generate the conclusion on the state, trends, and processes. One of the norms that are applied for Euclidean spaces has been introduced.The system of basic estimation of the integral indicator has been substantiated, based on data about management efficiency, quality of regulation, political stability, absence of violence and CPI index. Expressions for estimation of prognostic values for the integral indicator were derived. It was proposed to use a lower boundary as the estimate to analyze the efficiency of public administration activities.Modeling of the processes of estimation of the integral indicator was performed and a five-year time series for the integral indicator was obtained. The relation between an error of the integral indicator, the size of the sliding window, jumps in first and second derivative from a generalized time series and a permissible error has been represented as a limited inequality. It was proposed to introduce the system of representation and mapping of time series in dimensionless, limited spaces by rotation at an angle around the common axis. The definitions were introduced, the theorem about retaining the local values for relative dimensions and errors were introduced. The influence of the quadratic form on a local relative error of the integral indicator has been shown. The prediction of the development was performed and the assessment of public administration activities was given based on the estimate of the integral indicator, Рассмотрена необходимость количественной оценки общественных процессов, тенденций та действий социальных институций, которые осуществляют управление. Определено, что информационная открытость и наличие инструментов обработки и информирования формирует условия эффективного администрирования.Проведен анализ трендов для часовых рядов динамики индикаторов. Для анализа и обобщения ограничено количество приоритетных показателей четырьмя, а данные выбраны из отчетов Мирового Банка, Obozrevatel.ua, Transparency International. Введено унифицированную норму, которая обеспечит соизмеримость показателей, формирующих вывод о состоянии, тенденциях и процессах. Введена одна из норм, применяемых для евклидовых пространств.Обоснована система базисной оценки интегрального показателя по данным об эффективности управления, качестве регулирования, политической стабильности, отсутствии насилия и индексе СРІ. Получены выражения оценки прогнозных значений интегрального показателя. Предложено в качестве оценки для анализа эффективности действий публичного администрирования использовать нижнюю границу.Проведено моделирование процессов оценивания интегрального показателя и получен пятилетний часовой ряд интегрального показателя. Представлена связь ошибки интегрального показателя, размера окна скольжения, скачков первой и второй производной обобщенного часового ряда и допустимой ошибки как ограничение неравенство. Предложено вводить систему представления и отображения часовых рядов, в безразмерных, ограниченных пространствах поворотом на угол вокруг общей оси. Введены определения, доказано теорему о сохранении локальных значений относительных размеров и ошибок. Показано влияние квадратичной формы на локальную относительную ошибку интегрального показателя. Проведено прогнозирование развития и дана оценка действий публичного администрирования по оценке интегрального показателя, Розглянуто необхідність кількісної оцінки суспільних процесів, тенденцій та дій соціальних інституцій, що здійснюють керування. Визначено, що інформаційна відкритість та наявність інструментів обробки і інформування формує умови ефективного адміністрування. Проведено аналіз трендів – часових рядів динаміки індикаторів. Для аналізу і узагальнення обмежено перелік пріоритетних показників чотирма та обрано данні звітів Світового Банку, Obozrevatel.ua, Transparency International. Введено уніфіковану норму, яка забезпечить спів-вимірність показників, що формують висновок про стан, тенденції та процеси. Введено одну із можливих норм, що застосовуються для евклідових просторів. Обґрунтовано систему базисної оцінки інтегрального показника за даними про ефективність урядування, якість регулювання, політичну стабільність та відсутність насильства та індекс СРІ. Отримані вирази оцінки прогнозних значень інтегрального показника. Запропоновано у якості оцінки для аналізу ефективності дій публічного адміністрування використовувати нижню межу. Промодельовані процеси оцінювання і отримано п’ятирічний часовий ряд для інтегрального показника. Представлено зв'язок похибки інтегрального показника, розміру вікна ковзання, стрибків першої та другої похідних узагальненого часового ряду та допустимої похибки, як обмеження нерівність. Запропоновано вводити систему представлення і відображення часових рядів у безрозмірних, обмежених просторах поворотом на кут навколо спільної вісі. Введені означення, доведено теорему про збереження локальних значень відносних розмірів та похибок. Показано вплив квадратичної форми на локальну відносну похибку інтегрального показника. Проведено прогнозування розвитку та дана оцінка дій публічного адміністрування за оцінкою інтегрального показника

BackgroundWhole-body vibration (WBV) is a method utilizing vibrating platforms to expose individuals to mechanical vibration. In its various applications, it has been linked to improved muscular, skeletal, metabolic, or cognitive functioning, quality of life, and physiological parameters such as blood pressure. Most evidence concerning WBV is inconclusive and meta-analytical reviews may not readily produce insights since the research has a risk of misunderstandings of vibration parameters and incomplete reporting occurs. This study aims at laying an empirical foundation for reporting guidelines for human WBV studies to improve the quality of reporting and the currently limited comparability between studies.MethodThe Delphi methodology is employed to exploit the integrated knowledge of WBV experts to distil the specific aspects of WBV methodology that should be included in such guidelines. Over three rounds of completing online questionnaires, the expert panel (round 1/2/3: 51/40/37 experts respectively from 17 countries with an average of 19.4 years of WBV research experience) rated candidate items.ResultsA 40-item list was established based on the ratings of the individual items from the expert panel with a large final consensus (94.6%).ConclusionThe final consensus indicates comprehensiveness and valuableness of the list. The results are in line with previous guidelines but expand these extensively. The present results may therefore serve as a foundation for updated guidelines for reporting human WBV studies in order to improve the quality of reporting of WBV studies, improve comparability of studies and facilitate the development of WBV study designs.

Re-use restricted to non-commercial and no derivative uses. The ubiquitous pollution of the environment with microplastics - a diverse suite of contaminants - is of growing concern for science and currently receives considerable public, political, and academic attention. The potential impact of microplastics in the environment has prompted a great deal of research in recent years. Many diverse methods have been developed to answer different questions about microplastic pollution, from sources, transport, and fate in the environment, and about effects on humans and wildlife. These methods are often insufficiently described, making studies neither comparable nor reproducible. The proliferation of new microplastic investigations and cross-study syntheses to answer larger scale questions are hampered. We - a diverse group of 23 researchers - think these issues can begin to be overcome through the adoption of a set of reporting guidelines. This collaboration was created using an open science framework that we detail for future use. Here, we suggest harmonized reporting guidelines for microplastic studies in environmental and laboratory settings through all steps of a typical study, including best practices for reporting materials, quality assurance / quality control, data, field sampling, sample preparation, microplastic identification, microplastic categorization, microplastic quantification, and considerations for toxicology studies. We developed three easy to use documents - a detailed document, a checklist, and a mind map - that can be used to quickly reference the reporting guidelines. It is our intention that these reporting guidelines support the annotation, dissemination, interpretation, reviewing, and synthesis of microplastic research. Through open access licensing (CC BY 4.0), these documents aim to increase the validity, reproducibility, and comparability of studies in this field for the benefit of the global community.

Following the proposal of deriving statistical entropy maps from multidimensional separation curves, an extension is proposed to allow to compare the separation efficiency of various separation processes. This is achieved by integrating the entropy map weighted by the mass distribution of the particles in the feed. This proposal has several advantages: its straightforward extension to multidimensional partition curves, its scalar value (which allows for a natural ranking of processes), its flexibility to adapt to each and every feed, and its non-parametric character. A typical dynamic air classification process of an iron ore is presented as an example.

In this paper a new method for the evaluation and comparison of potential future electricity systems is presented. The German electricity system in the year 2050 is used as an example. Based on a comprehensive scenario analysis defining a corridor for possible shares of fluctuating renewable energy sources (FRES) residual loads are calculated in a unified manner. The share of electricity from PV and wind power plants in Germany in the year 2050 is in a range of 42–122% and the load demand has a bandwidth of around 460–750 TWh. The residual loads are input for an algorithm that defines a supplementary mix of technologies providing flexibility to the system. The overall system layout guarantees the balance of generation and demand at all times. Due to the fact that the same method for residual load calculation and mixture of technologies is applied for all scenarios, a good comparability is guaranteed and we are able to identify key characteristics for future developments. The unique feature of the new algorithms presented here is the very fast calculation for a year-long simulation with hourly or shorter time steps taking into account the state of charge or availability of all storage and flexibility technologies. This allows an analysis of many different scenarios on a macro-economic level, variation of input parameters can easily be done, and extensive sensitivity analysis is possible. Furthermore different shares of FRES, CO2-emission targets, interest rates or social acceptance of certain technologies can be included. The capabilities of the method are demonstrated by an analysis of potential German power system layouts with a base scenario of 90% CO2-reduction target compared to 1990 and by the identification of different options for a power sector with a high degree of decarbonisation. The approach also aims at a very high level of transparency both regarding the algorithms and regarding the input parameters of the different technologies taken into account. Therefore this paper also gives a comprehensive and complete overview on the technology parameters used. The forecast on all technologies for the year 2050 regarding technical and economic parameters was made in a comprehensive consultation process with more than 100 experts representing academia and industry working on all different technologies. An extensive analysis of options for the design of potential German energy supply systems in 2050 based on the presented methodology will be published in a follow-up paper.

A large study on the comparability of various aerosol instruments was conducted. The study involved altogether 24 instruments, including eleven scanning, sequential and fast mobility particle sizers (five Grimm SMPS+C, three TSI SMPS and three FMPS) with different settings and differential mobility analyzers (DMAs), twelve instruments based on unipolar diffusion charging to determine size integrated concentrations and in some cases mean particle size (five miniDiSCs of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, four Philips Aerasense nanoTracers, two TSI Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitors and one Grimm nanoCheck) and one TSI ultrafine condensation particle counter (UCPC). All instruments were simultaneously challenged with particles of various sizes, concentrations and morphologies. All measurement results were compared with those from a freshly calibrated SMPS for size distributions and the UCPC for number concentration. In general, all SMPSs showed good comparability with particularly the sizing agreeing to within a few percent. Differences in the determined number concentration were somewhat more pronounced, but the largest deviations could be tracked back to the use of an older software version. The comparability of the FMPSs was shown to be lower, with discrepancies on the order of ±25% for sizing and ±30% for total concentrations. The discrepancies between FMPSs and the internal reference SMPS seemed to be influenced by particle size and morphology. Total number and/or lung deposited surface area concentrations measured with unipolar diffusion charger based instruments generally agreed to within ±30% with the internal references (CPC for number concentrations; lung deposited surface area derived from SMPS measurements), as long as the particle size distributions of the test aerosols were within the specified limits for the instruments. When the upper size limit was exceeded, deviations of up to several hundred percent were detected.

This paper presents an update on a friction benchmark, that was proposed during the 13th ESAFORM conference. The goal is to compare different friction test set-ups [1–4] by determining the coefficient of friction (CoF) for Twintex® PP. The benchmark instructions are based on the ASTM standard D1894 [5] but also account for different friction velocities, pressures and temperatures. At the time of writing five research groups contributed to the benchmark, each with a custom designed test set-up, differing in size, mechanism, force control and temperature regulation. All tests will be conducted with woven glass reinforced polypropylene, from the same Twintex® batch. Conclusions will be drawn about the comparability of different testing methods by recognizing and analyzing systematically deviating results.

This study examined the safety efficiency of infrastructure improvements applied on the non-urban roads in Israel. The improvements considered were implemented by the National Transport Infrastructure Company in the framework of a black-spots’ treatment project, over the years 2007–2009. In the study, information on about two hundred locations treated was collected, where about thirty treatment types were found suitable for evaluation. For each treatment site, accident changes were examined using after-before comparisons, accounting for changes that had occurred in the comparison-group sites and for a regression-to-the-mean. For sites with a similar treatment a weighted value of the efficiency index was produced. Both the significance of findings and their comparability with international and previous local experience were examined to assign a final list of safety effects. Finally, accident reduction factors were obtained for 19 types of road infrastructure improvements. Applying those, we estimated that the black-spots’ treatment project was associated with an average annual saving of 224 injury accidents and 531 total accidents, having a tangible economic value. Most values of safety effects observed under Israeli conditions were in line with the international knowledge, while for some and especially combined treatments, the international experience is lacking. The updated accident reduction factors are applicable for the efficiency assessment of future investments in a safer road infrastructure.