Search

Im November 2022 ist die Zentralbibliothek im KAP1 mit einer eigenen App an den Start gegangen. Die „Stadtbüchereien Düsseldorf App" bietet den Besucher*innen der Zentralbibliothek ein besonderes Erlebnis, indem sie den realen Ort Bibliothek mit Augmented-Reality-Technologie um virtuelle Elemente erweitert. Gut ein Jahr nach der Eröffnung der neuen Räume erhielten diese mit der App nun eine neue, virtuelle Nutzungsebene. Aufgrund der großzügigen Öffnungszeiten der neuen Zentralbibliothek, auch ohne dass das Bibliotheksteam zur Unterstützung vor Ort ist, war es von Anfang an geplant, umfangreiche digitale Self-Services anzubieten, um die Zentralbibliothek jederzeit eigenständig entdecken und sich zurechtfinden zu können. Mit dem Düsseldorfer Unternehmen und AR-Experten Exponential Dimensions hat das Team nun eine alles andere als typische Bibliotheks-App entwickelt. Der Schwerpunkt liegt, übereinstimmend mit der Leitlinie „Menschen, Bücher, Räume", ganz auf Ort und Besuchenden. Im Juni 2023 erhielt die „Stadtbüchereien Düsseldorf App" international Anerkennung. Sie erhielt den renommierten Auggie Award in der Kategorie „Best Consumer App". Die jährlichen Auggie Awards sind seit 2010 die weltweit anerkanntesten Auszeichnungen der AR- und VR-Branche. In November 2022, the central library in KAP1 launched its own app. The "Stadtbüchereien Düsseldorf App" offers visitors a special experience by adding virtual elements to the real place of the library using augmented reality technology. A year after the opening of the library, the app adds a new, virtual level of use. Due to the generous opening hours of the new central library, even without the library team being on site for support, it is designed to offer extensive digital self-services for users to discover the library independently at any time and to find their way around. With Düsseldorf-based AR experts Exponential Dimensions, a "anything but typical" library app has been developed. In keeping with the principle of "People, Books, Spaces", its focus is entirely on location and visitors. In June 2023, the "Stadtbüchereien Düsseldorf App" got international recognition. It received the prestigious Auggie Award in the category "Best Consumer App". The annual Auggie Awards have been the world's most recognized awards in the AR and VR industry since 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the need for threshing, the current energy crisis, the power potential of solar energy, especially, many stand-alone solar installations in rural areas, and their use, a study was undertaken to develop and evaluate a solar-powered multi-crop thresher on soybean. The study was conducted in IARI- Pusa Campus, New Delhi, India aiming to assess the seasonal suitability of the solar operated thresher. The devolved prototype was evaluated on soybean crop and the operational and machine parameters were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM), with central composite design (CCD). Four independent parameters, each at three levels, were taken viz, feed rate, cylinder speed, concave clearance, and spike types to evaluate their effects on three response variables, namely, threshing efficiency, cleaning efficiency, and energy consumption. The response variables ranged from 96.3% to 99.9%, 86.68% to 93.05%, and 1.12 kWh q -1 to 1.74 kWh q -1, respectively, for threshing efficiency, cleaning efficiency, and energy consumption. The cylinder speed significantly affected all response variables. The optimization showed that the best operational and machine settings were 13.62 m s -1 cylinder peripheral speed, 4.3 kg min-1, feed rate, 20 mm concave clearance, and spike type 3 giving the desirability of 0.799 and the threshing of 116.64 kg hr-1 capacity. However, the season-based optimization with lower feed rates was found advantageous to increase the duration of up to 5 hours of thresher operation in thresher direct coupling mode. Hence it is recommended to adopt the lower feed rate in seasons with reduced insolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Bangladesh for spraying purposes there are two types of sprayers are used, one is hand-operated and the other is a fuel-operated sprayer. A worker can’t use the hand-operated sprayer nonstop for more than 5-6 hours and needs fuel for fuel fuel-operated sprayer which is costly, an environmental pollutant and in rural places availability of fuel is not easy. An investigation was made to fabricate a solar pesticide sprayer, evaluation the performance of the sprayer and comparing it with the hand-operated sprayer. The solar-operated pesticide sprayer consists of a 12-volt 20-watt capacity solar panel, a 12-volt DC battery, a DC motor, a pump and a 16-liter tank to hold the pesticide. The solar sprayer required 5 minutes 18 seconds to apply pesticide in 5 decimal fields. This time was almost half compared to the hand-operated sprayer. The solar sprayer worked at 4-5 bar but hand operated sprayer worked at 1.5-2 bar. The solar panel of the pesticide sprayer produced maximum voltage, current and power at 300 inclination angles and the lowest output at 600 inclination angles. The proposed sprayer’s total cost was US $ 2.13 per ha. On the other hand, the manually operated sprayer costs US $ 4.20 per ha. It was clearly shown that the solar-operated sprayer cost was half compared to the manual sprayer. In full solar intensity after 5 hours of operation, the solar pesticide sprayer can operate for 3-4 hours more which offers the spraying facility at night. This sprayer can be used at farms, gardens and other various locations also it can become more popular in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The relationship between skin-to-skin operative time and long-term complications, as well as complications requiring treatment, after deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstructions has not been thoroughly investigated. The study objective was to evaluate if operative time would independently prognosticate the type and number of treated complications, as well as long-term abdominal morbidity. Methods Patients who underwent bilateral DIEP flaps from 2010 to 2021 by two senior surgeons with standardized surgical and postoperative protocols were retrospectively reviewed. Inclusion required at least 1 year of postoperative follow-up. Extensive multivariable regression analyses were utilized to adjust for potential confounders, including measures of intraoperative complexity. Results Three hundred thirty-five patients were entered into multivariable analyses. After risk adjustment, there was a significant increase in the risk of all treated complications per hour. Each hour of operation increased risk of complications requiring extended hospital stay for treatment by 25%, flap-site complications requiring readmission treatment by 24%, and flap-site complications requiring extended hospital stay for treatment by 26% (all p < 0.0001). Long-term abdominal morbidity (abdominal bulge) increased by 25% per hour of operative time (p < 0.0001). The number of complications requiring treatment, abdominal donor-site complications, and complications requiring extended hospital stay for treatment had statistically significant linear relationships with the duration of surgery (all p < 0.05). Conclusion Operative time predicts long-term abdominal morbidity and complications requiring treatment, especially impacting the odds of developing abdominal bulges and complications requiring extended hospital stay for treatment or readmission treatment. This study emphasizes the importance of reducing operative time to improve DIEP flap breast reconstruction outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary needle and syringe programs (NSPs) have been integral for the prevention of blood-borne virus (BBV) transmission among people who inject drugs. Despite this, many people who inject drugs face barriers accessing these services, particularly after-hours when most services are closed. To our knowledge, the St Kilda NSP, in Melbourne, Victoria, is the only primary NSP providing 24/7 dedicated stand-alone face-to-face services for people who inject drugs in Australia. We conducted an evaluation of the St Kilda NSP to assess its role and effectiveness in meeting client needs. Methods: Mixed research methods were used to conduct the evaluation. We analysed four quantitative data sets including the Victorian Needle and Syringe Program Information System data; NSP 'snapshot' survey data; and St Kilda NSP records of after-hours contacts and naloxone training events. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 purposively selected NSP clients, which were focused on individual needs, expectations and experiences accessing the service. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, and data were analysed thematically. A convergent research design was used to merge the five data sets. Results: St Kilda NSP had 39,898 service contacts in 2018; 72% of contacts occurred outside business hours. Similarly, of 1,185,000 sterile needles and syringes dispatched, 71% were distributed outside business hours. Participants described valuing the after-hours service because drug use patterns did not always align with standard NSP opening hours and after-hours access afforded anonymity when collecting injecting equipment. Narratives highlighted several additional benefits of the 24/7 service, including: access to safer sex equipment; material support; naloxone training; referrals to specialist services; face-to-face emotional and social support from a non-judging worker; and for women involved in sex work in particular, being able to seek refuge when feeling unsafe on the streets. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence of the social and health benefits (beyond that of preventing BBV transmission) that can be gained through the provision of 24/7 primary NSP services. Findings support the need for the establishment of after-hours primary NSPs in other areas of Australia where active street-based drug markets operate outside business hours and concentrated numbers of people who inject drugs live and spend time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, long-time operation of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) characterized by a single thin dielectric was investigated. The discharge was operated under nitrogen at atmospheric pressure in a typical filamentary regime. Electrical measurements were performed, i.e. applied voltage, current and charge were retrieved. The Lissajous figure method combined with an equivalent circuit of the DBD was used to calculate the dissipated power, estimate the gas gap voltage V g , evaluate the deposited charges Q 0 as well as the capacitances of the discharge cell. The results over a one-hour operation indicated that the total dissipated power remained constant, but a decrease of the gas gap voltage with an increase of the charge deposited was also depicted. For the capacitances, both dielectric and cell capacitances variations were studied from the Lissajous figures. The dielectric capacitance showed a voltage dependency over half a period of applied voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of local tensile strain in Ni(OH)2 nanosheets accelerates the Ni(OH)2-to-NiOOH transition and boosts the electrocatalytic ammonia oxidation reaction (EAOR), i.e., reducing the onset potential by 80 mV, doubling both the current density and N2 faradaic efficiency, and enabling 1000 hours of operation at 160 mA cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For renewable hydrogen production, polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis is the most promising technology. However, the technology is not yet competitive with conventional hydrogen production in terms of cost. The impact of cost reduction options on CAPEX and OPEX is investigated. Depending on the hours of operation, the main cost factor is the production and manufacturing of components or the price of electricity. Clearly a tremendous need to implement low‐cost electrolysis cells on a large scale to bring green hydrogen production costs to a level 1–3 € kg−1 hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines OneRedmond's OneEastside SPARK program, which focuses on equity in economic development by collaborating with community-based organizations. Topics discussed include the program's impact on underserved communities, challenges faced during the pandemic, and efforts to provide in-language assistance and resources to minority-owned businesses.

This paper highlights the importance of accurately modeling the operational constraints of Combined-Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGTs) within a unit-commitment framework. In practice, in Colombia, when given an initial dispatch by the Independent System Operator, CCGT plants are operated according to the results of heuristic simulation codes. Such heuristics often omit technical operating constraints, including hot, warm, or cold startup ramps; the minimum operation hours required for a gas turbine to start a steam turbine; the relationship between the dispatched number of steam and gas turbines; the load distribution among gas turbines; and supplementary fires. Most unit-commitment models in the literature represent standard technical constraints like startup, shutdown, up/down ramps, and in some cases, supplementary fires. However, they typically overlook other real-life CCGT operating constraints, which were considered in this work. These constraints are crucial in integrated energy systems to avoid equipment damage, which can potentially put CCGT plants out of service and ultimately lead to lower operating costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates a low-temperature three-circuit cooling system for a 55 kW industrial electric motor. The cooling system provides an increase of the power-to-dimension ratio by 63%, together with an improvement in motor performance. The three-circuit cooling system includes water cooling of the housing and stator and air-cooling of the motor's interior. The test results show that the motor efficiency was maintained in the range between 92.5 and 94.5%, with respect to the motor's power. With power increases up to 90 kW, a winding temperature of 67 °C was observed during three hours of operation. This advancement is particularly valuable for vehicles, ships, and aircraft applications, where maximizing power within limited space is crucial. An analysis of the experimental data showed that the cooling system operates at an average efficiency of 79.2%, indicating that roughly 20% of heat was accumulated in the rotor. This leads to a gradual temperature rise, particularly in the rotor, posing a risk of overheating and failure during motor overloads above 90 kW. Enhancing the cooling efficiency within the motor's interior can be achieved by incorporating extra heat exchangers, implementing evaporative heat transfer, and employing water-cooling circuits at lower temperatures. This, in turn, can boost the electric motor's power-to-dimension ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Antimicrobial resistance rates are continuously increasing, driving the need for rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (RAST) results, especially in the treatment of bloodstream infections. The EUCAST RAST method performed directly from positive blood cultures with incubation times from 4 to 8 h was developed in 2018 and is now used in many laboratories. To increase the practicality of the method, an extended incubation time of 16 and 20 h was evaluated in this study. Method Blood culture bottles were spiked with clinical isolates (n  = 325) of the seven most important sepsis pathogens. The EUCAST RAST method was performed, extending the incubation time to 16 and 20 h. Broth microdilution (BMD) was used as a reference, except for screening tests where standard disc diffusion or presence of resistance genes was used. Results Inhibition zones were possible to read for all species–agent combinations. For 16 and 20 h, the MIC zone diameter correlations were sufficiently similar to allow establishment of common breakpoints for the time interval of 16–20 h. The proportion of isolates in the area of technical uncertainty was, on average, 6% for all species and the number of errors were low, with <1% false-resistant and <0.5% false-susceptible results. Conclusions This study shows that, for EUCAST RAST, prolonging the recommended incubation to 16–20 h is possible and can be used as a complement when the intended shorter incubation is not possible to achieve. The introduction of the prolonged incubation will increase the usefulness of the EUCAST RAST method in clinical laboratories with limited opening hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical reduction of CO to value-added products, especially C2 products, provides a potential approach to achieve carbon neutrality and overcome the energy crisis. Herein, we report a metal–azolate framework (CuBpz) with dicopper active sites as an electrocatalyst for the electrochemical CO reduction reaction (eCORR). As a result, CuBpz achieved an impressive faradaic efficiency (FE) of 47.8% for yielding acetate with a current density of −200 mA cm−2, while no obvious degradation was observed over 60 hours of continuous operation at a current density of −200 mA cm−2. Mechanism studies revealed that the dicopper site can promote C–C coupling between two C1 intermediates, thereby being conducive to the generation of the key *CH2COOH intermediate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solvent effect plays an important role in catalytic reaction, but there is little research and attention on it in electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR). Herein, we report a stable covalent‐organic framework (denoted as PcNi‐im) with imidazole groups as a new electrocatalyst for eCO2RR to CO. Interestingly, compared with neutral conditions, PcNi‐im not only showed high Faraday efficiency of CO product (≈100 %) under acidic conditions (pH ≈ 1), but also the partial current density was increased from 258 to 320 mA cm−2. No obvious degradation was observed over 10 hours of continuous operation at the current density of 250 mA cm−2. The mechanism study shows that the imidazole group on the framework can be protonated to form an imidazole cation in acidic media, hence reducing the surface work function and charge density of the active metal center. As a result, CO poisoning effect is weakened and the key intermediate *COOH is also stabilized, thus accelerating the catalytic reaction rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solvent effect plays an important role in catalytic reaction, but there is little research and attention on it in electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR). Herein, we report a stable covalent‐organic framework (denoted as PcNi‐im) with imidazole groups as a new electrocatalyst for eCO2RR to CO. Interestingly, compared with neutral conditions, PcNi‐im not only showed high Faraday efficiency of CO product (≈100 %) under acidic conditions (pH ≈ 1), but also the partial current density was increased from 258 to 320 mA cm−2. No obvious degradation was observed over 10 hours of continuous operation at the current density of 250 mA cm−2. The mechanism study shows that the imidazole group on the framework can be protonated to form an imidazole cation in acidic media, hence reducing the surface work function and charge density of the active metal center. As a result, CO poisoning effect is weakened and the key intermediate *COOH is also stabilized, thus accelerating the catalytic reaction rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While rarely recognized as such by labor scholars, these decisions were an important part of the deregulatory push of the neoliberal era, as they put increasing numbers of workers outside the protection of labor and employment laws and into the far more employer-friendly terrain of contract law and a new big business-friendly antitrust law. Keywords: antitrust; fissured workplace; labor; law; policy EN antitrust fissured workplace labor law policy 50 58 9 09/11/23 20230901 NES 230901 Graph: The little boy [common people] and the big boys [trusts] prepare for the baseball season. B I ... [A]ntitrust policy in recent decades has had a decidedly mixed record with respect to workers. i b Labor unions, worker centers, and other worker organizations have a chance to seize the opening created by antitrust enforcers' newfound interest in worker welfare to shape the direction of reform. Second, Taft-Hartley excluded independent contractors from the National Labor Relations Act, denying taxi drivers and similar workers access to collective bargaining, and made the misclassification of workers as independent contractors an attractive tactic for employers. [Extracted from the article]

The article presents the results of the simulation studies concerning the impact of random production interruptions on the efficiency of multi-spindle machining centers. Four different machining center configuration models were developed using a dedicated class of stochastic Petri nets. In addition to the number of machine spindles, the number of simultaneously mounted parts, loading time of parts, their machining time, and reliability parameters regarding the frequency of machine interruptions caused by random factors were also taken into account as model parameters. A series of virtual tests was carried out for machining processes over a period of 1000 hours of operation. Analysis of the results confirmed the purpose of conducting simulation tests prior to making a decision regarding the purchase of a multispindle milling center. This work fills the existing research gap, as there are no examples in the technical literature of evaluating the effectiveness of multi-spindle machining centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of dynamic bus lane not only ensures the strategy of bus priority but also significantly improves the spatiotemporal utilization of road resources and reduces the conflicting demands of buses and social vehicles on road resources. Firstly, the heterogeneity of bus arrival time is analysed according to the process of aggregation and dissipation of vehicle queues at intersections. Considering the correlation between the operating states of social vehicles and buses, a dynamic control strategy for bus lane based on the insertable interval of social vehicles is established. Secondly, combining the setting conditions of the intermittent bus lane control area with the correlation scenario of signal control at intersections and then according to the HCM 2010 vehicle delay equation and the BPR function, the associated optimized control model with the minimum total travel time consumption of the road section as the objective function is constructed. The global optimal control of the intermittent bus lane is realized through the computational experiment. Finally, the setting conditions and benefits of three lane organization schemes (including intersect (i.e., no bus priority), parallel, and intermittent bus lanes) are compared and analysed through case study. The results indicate that the intermittent priority bus lanes have opening hours, which can not only ensure bus priority but also expand the right way for social vehicles and make full use of road space resources, thus improving the overall traffic efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objectives: Due to the publication of the third edition of the book " Alcohol: No ordinary commodity", the authors have related the development of per capita alcohol consumption in Austria to the development of alcohol prices, the availability of alcoholic beverages as well as measures to combat drink-driving. Methodology: The main basis was statistics that the authors have collected regularly for many years on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health – statistics which are made available to a broad public in research reports as well as in the regularly published Handbook Alcohol-Austria. Results: Over the last 50 years, a downward trend in alcohol consumption is evident. With regard to alcohol-associated problems, there has been a clear improvement, even though alcohol prices fell sharply relative to disposable incomes during this period and opening hours in the retail and hospitality sectors were considerably extended. This highlights that positive developments in terms of alcohol culture can be initiated through processes other than price increases and restrictions on the availability of alcohol as well. With regard to drinking and driving, legal pressure on drunk drivers has steadily increased over the years, and alcohol-related accidents have declined sharply during this period. Even though, as will also be illustrated in this text, one cannot automatically infer causality from correlations, it seems highly plausible that these legal measures contributed in a relevant way to reducing the incidence of alcohol-related accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a stable metal‐azolate framework with cyclic trinickel(II) clusters, namely [Ni3(μ3‐O)(BTPP)(OH)(H2O)2] (Ni‐BTPP, H3BTPP=1,3,5‐tris((1H‐pyrazol‐4‐yl)phenylene)benzene), achieved a current density of 50 mA cm−2 at a cell voltage of 1.8 V in 1.0 M KOH solution, while the current density of 20%Pt/C@NF||IrO2@NF is just 35.8 mA cm−2 at 2.0 V under the same condition. Moreover, no obvious degradation was observed over 12 hours of continuous operation at a large current density of 50 mA cm−2. Theoretical calculations revealed that the μ3‐O atom in the cyclic trinickel(II) cluster serves as hydrogen‐bonding acceptor to facilitate the dissociation of a H2O molecule adsorbed on the adjacent Ni(II) ion, giving a lower energy barrier of H2O dissociation compared with Pt/C; meanwhile, the μ3‐O atom can also participate in the water oxidation reaction to couple with the adjacent *OH adsorbed on Ni(II) ion, providing a low‐energy coupling pathway, thus Ni‐BTPP achieves a high performance for overall water splitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccine procurement costs comprise a significant share of immunization program costs in low- and middle-income countries, yet not all procured vaccines are administered. Vaccine wastage occurs due to vial breakage, excessive heat or freezing, expiration, or when not all doses in a multidose vial are used. Better estimates of vaccine wastage rates and their causes could support improved management of vaccine stocks and reduce procurement costs. This study examined aspects of wastage for four vaccines at service delivery points in Ghana (n = 48), Mozambique (n = 36), and Pakistan (n = 46). We used prospective data from daily and monthly vaccine usage data entry forms, along with cross-sectional surveys, and in-depth interviews. The analysis found that estimated monthly proportional open-vial wastage rates for vaccines in single-dose vials (SDV) or in multi-dose vials (MDV) that can be kept refrigerated up to four weeks after opening ranged from 0.08 % to 3 %. For MDV where remaining doses are discarded within six hours after opening, the mean wastage rates ranged from 5 % to 33 %, with rates being highest for measles containing vaccine. Despite national-level guidance to open a vaccine vial even when only one child is present, vaccines in MDV that are discarded within six hours of opening are sometimes offered less frequently than vaccines in SDV or in MDV where remaining doses can be used for up to 4 weeks. This practice can lead to missed opportunities for vaccination. While closed-vial wastage at service delivery points (SDPs) was relatively rare, individual instances can result in large losses, suggesting that monitoring closed-vial wastage should not be neglected. Health workers reported insufficient knowledge of vaccine wastage tracking and reporting methods. Improving reporting forms would facilitate more accurate reporting of all causes of wastage, as would additional training and supportive supervision. Globally, decreasing doses per vial could reduce open-vial wastage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Office buildings, characterized by high internal heat gains, represent a major share of energy use, mainly due to HVAC systems, especially in commercial facilities. Such energy use becomes more significant in locations with harsh climatic conditions. The careful design, selection, and operation of HVAC and energy systems, however, can contribute to major reductions in the energy use in buildings. In this paper, we present the outcomes of a study conducted to assess the impact of HVAC operational strategies on energy use in office buildings in the hot and humid climate of Saudi Arabia. The study utilized detailed building-energy simulation coupled with utility-use data. The results revealed annual electrical energy savings ranging from an average of 1.9% for each 1°C increase in the thermostat setpoint temperature up to 42.4%, when limiting HVAC system operation to occupied hours only. On an average, there was about a 1.4% penalty in the annual energy for each hour of increase in the HVAC system start-up time. However, this penalty should not be avoided at the expense of compromising thermal comfort. In summary, a combination of appropriate HVAC operational strategies can have a significant impact on a building's annual energy savings, as demonstrated in the presented case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools transitioned face-to-face (F2F) classes online in spring 2020 due to COVID-19. This paper reports on changes in study hours of business majors at a public university amid this transition. The analysis by enrollment type of quantitative data collected from 250 students shows an overall significant difference in study hours per class for all students. However, the difference is between students enrolled in online and F2F classes before the transition. F2F-only or online-only students did not significantly have a change in study hours after the transition. This report discusses these results and explores suggestions for helping students transition to online learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to address two major issues: (1) the spread of epidemics such as COVID-19 due to long waiting times caused by a large number of waiting for customers, and (2) excessive energy consumption resulting from the elevator patterns used by various customers. The first issue is addressed through the development of a mobile application, while the second issue is tackled by implementing two strategies: (1) determining optimal stopping strategies for elevators based on registered passengers and (2) assigning passengers to elevators in a way that minimizes the number of floors the elevators need to stop at. The mobile application serves as an input parameter for the optimization toolbox, which employs the exact method and multi-objective variable neighborhood strategy adaptive search (M-VaNSAS) to find the optimal plan for passenger assignment and elevator scheduling. The proposed method, which adopts an even-odd floor strategy, outperforms the currently practiced procedure and leads to a 42.44% reduction in waiting time and a 29.61% reduction in energy consumption. Computational results confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective On-line gas chromatograph is the key analysis equipment to realize natural gas energy measurement. It is of great significance to carry out the research on the adaptability of domestic on-line gas chromatograph, and to break the technical barriers of imported on-line gas chromatograph and to realize the localization of instruments and equipment. Method The gas standard material was analyzed by on-line gas chromatograph and the field application test was carried out, analyze and evaluate the effectiveness, separation degree, reproducibility, accuracy and stability of the prototype. Results The prototype can effectively analyze the content of N2, CO2, C1-C6 hydrocarbon components in the gas, and the analysis period is not more than 2 min; resolution R=2.0 for iC4 and nC4, quantitative repeatability RSD≤1.0% for nC4; the stability of the prototype operation for 4 hours is 3.0%; the relative deviation from the actual natural gas samples obtained by imported on-line gas chromatograph is not more than 0.1%. Conclusions The developed prototype can basically meet the needs of natural gas energy measurement, which provides a technical reference for the comprehensive implementation of natural gas energy measurement and the localization of on-line gas chromatograph in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presented are the results of an investigation into a model predictive controller (MPC) for hydronic floor heating and cooling in a highly glazed house in Ottawa, Canada. The goal of this investigation was to determine if a MPC would simultaneously result in reduced energy consumption and reduced indoor air temperature (Tia) violations in comparison to the incumbent reactive controller (RC). Shown both experimentally and via simulation, predictive control results in more hours with Tia between the acceptable limits (19.5–25 °C) for significantly less heating and cooling system operation hours. Experimentally, a "pseudo-predictive controller" (PPC) required 35% less cooling hours and 50% less heating hours than the RC baseline. The PPC also reduced overheating time by 88%. A simple MPC was then designed and compared to a RC using a MATLAB simulation. Even with a simple and non-optimized MPC, the simulation confirmed the superiority of said MPC over RC operation for the hydronic floor system. The simulated MPC required 28% less cooling hours and 27% less heating hours than the simulated RC. These results have confirmed the suspected promise of predictive control and next steps include actual implementation of the presented MPC in the highly glazed house long-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: High alcohol availability is related to increased alcohol consumption and harms. Existing quantitative research provides potential explanations for this relationship but there is little understanding of how people experience local alcohol availability. This is the first review to synthesise qualitative research exploring the relationship between alcohol availability and other factors in local alcohol environments. Methods: The scoping review includes qualitative studies exploring community‐level alcohol availability and other factors, facilitating the purchase and consumption of alcohol. We included studies focusing on children and adolescents as well as adults. Study findings were brought together using thematic analysis and the socio‐environmental context model, which explains how certain environments may facilitate drinking. Results: The review includes 34 articles. The majority of studies were conducted since 2012. Most studies were conducted in the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. The physical availability of alcohol and proximity to local amenities and temporal aspects, like late night opening hours, may be linked to social factors, such as normalisation of drinking and permissive drinking environments. The review highlights the importance of social and cultural factors in shaping interactions with local alcohol environments. Discussion and Conclusion: This qualitative scoping review advances understanding of the pathways linking alcohol availability and alcohol harms by showing that availability, accessibility and visibility of alcohol may contribute towards permissive drinking environments. Further research is needed to better understand how people experience alcohol availability in their local environment and how this can inform alcohol control policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a paratransit application in which children are transported every day from their homes to their special schools or medical-social establishments. To optimize this transportation system, the establishments collaborate to propose a joint transportation plan. We propose a new algorithm to jointly build vehicle routes that visit several establishments and simultaneously set the establishments' opening hours. This algorithm combines a large neighborhood search, the resolution of a route-based model, and the progressive shrinkage of the planning window. It is applied to a real case from the area of Lyon in France, including 34 schools and 575 heterogeneous users served by a heterogeneous fleet of reconfigurable vehicles. On average, we show that in addition to the 10% of saving that can be expected by sharing vehicle routes between schools, 7% of additional savings can be achieved by school bell adjustment. This cost saving also decreases average user ride times and the number of vehicles required, creating longer routes that are more attractive for driver services. Funding: This work was supported by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund [Grant RA0012500] and by the French Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes through the NOMAd project. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/trsc.2022.1160. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the mathematical model of technical condition-based maintenance of weapon systems. The model his developed based on a semi-Markov stochastic process. The diffusion-monotonic (DM) distribution law, which is specific for airfield technical condition-based maintenance of aircraft, is has been used as a failure model, and type I errors are considered. For standard operating conditions, graphs of the dependence of the coefficient of technical use and specific costs per hour of operation in good condition from the basic parameters are shown. The optimal maintenances interval ensuring maximum maintenance coefficient value has been proved. The principal results have been achieved by using multiple calculation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term energy consumption prediction of buildings is crucial for developing model-based predictive control, fault detection, and diagnosis methods. This study takes a university library in Xi'an as the research object. First, a time-by-time energy consumption prediction model is established under the supervised learning approach, which uses a long short-term memory (LSTM) network and a Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) strategy. The experimental results validate the model's validity, which is close enough to physical reality for engineering purposes. Second, the potential of the people flows factor in energy consumption prediction models is explored. The results show that people flow has great potential in predicting building energy consumption and can effectively improve the prediction model performance. Third, a diagnostic method, which can recognize abnormal energy consumption data is used to diagnose the unreasonable use of the building during each hour of operation. The method is based on differences between actual and predicted energy consumption data derived from a short-term energy consumption prediction model. Based on actual building operation data, this work is enlightening and can serve as a reference for building energy efficiency management and operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess public opinion about community pharmacy services in Lebanon during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was conducted between April and August of 2021. A link was shared randomly among the Lebanese population using WhatsApp and Facebook. Public perceptions were explored within 3 different indicators: general services (B) dispensing (C), and storage (D). Chi-square, Student's test and ANOVA tests were used. p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Out of 491 responses, only 9.6% scored above the 75th percentile (19.3% for the general services, 2.4% for dispensing indicator and 12.6% for storage indicator). The main concerns focused on lack of medication and reduced opening hours; however, 67.1% of respondents preferred consulting the community pharmacist instead of visiting primary health care centers, doctor's private clinic and hospitals. Higher mean values of indicators B, C and in the overall indicator were significantly found in the presence of a pharmacist compared to the support pharmacy workforce. Conclusion: The overall public perception was inadequate. Significant difference in terms of quality of services was detected in the presence and absence of a community pharmacist during the crisis. It is recommended that the Order of Pharmacist of Lebanon (OPL) and the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) undergo further steps mainly to enforce the laws concerning dispensing and storage indicators, improve the services in terms of extending the opening hours, ensure the availability of medicines and increase public awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the information obtainable from the markets are potentially limitless. Economic theory has always supported the possible advantage obtainable from having more information than competitors, however quantifying the advantage that these can give has always been a problem. In particular, in this paper we study the amount of information obtainable from the markets taking into account only the time series of the prices, through the use of a specific Generative Adversarial Network. We consider two types of financial instruments traded on the market, stocks and cryptocurrencies: the first are traded in a market subject to opening and closing hours, whereas cryptocurrencies are traded in a 24/7 market. Our goal is to use this GAN to be able to "convert" the amount of information that the different instruments can have in discriminative and predictive power, useful to improve forecast. Finally, we demonstrate that by using the initial dataset with the 5 most important feature useds by traders, the prices of cryptocurrencies present higher discriminatory and predictive power than stocks, while by adding a feature the situation can be completely reversed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the experiences of the General Student Advisory Service at Humboldt University Berlin and the Central Student Advisory Service at Ludwig Maximilian University Munich during the pandemic. It discusses the number of students and the opening hours of the advisory centers before the pandemic. During the pandemic, organizational adjustments were made, such as the introduction of telephone and email contact options, as well as the use of digital offerings such as chat functions and online consultations. LMU Munich has introduced digital counseling services that are intended to continue to be used, while HU Berlin offers flexible mobile work and various counseling formats. The pandemic has led to a different normality in which virtuality plays a greater role, and universities must orient themselves to the needs of the students and continue to evolve. [Extracted from the article]

A simple continuous flow microreactor was successfully constructed for the N -oxidation of pyridine. The continuous flow microreactor used titanium silicalite (TS-1) in a packed-bed microreactor and H2 O2 (in methanol as solvent) as the catalytic oxidation system for the formation of various pyridine N -oxides in up to 99% yields. This process is a safer, greener, and more highly efficiency process than using a batch reactor. The device was used for over 800 hours of continuous operation with the catalyst maintaining great activity thus providing great potential for large-scale production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective of the study: This study aims to identify the effect of decision making on the relationship between the energy source and the establishment of the sales price in electricity auctions for the selection of auction projects. Methodology / approach: Statistical tests were performed on an auction base that concentrates the majority of energy auctions held in the Brazilian market. The relationships between the establishment of the sales price and energy sources and the moderating effect of power, hours of operation, and period of use on this main relationship were evaluated. Originality / Relevance: The formation of a portfolio of electric energy projects through the prior selection of energy auction projects, via a multi-criteria decision-making process, is a valid strategy for companies in the sector. Main results: It was identified that there is awareness of the sales price based on the energy source and relevant criteria for decision making, such as capacity and implementation period. Theoretical-methodological contributions: This study contributes to a process of analysis and preparation of the secondary database of electricity auctions made available by the Electric Energy Commercialization Chamber (CCEE). The theoretical contribution is made by enabling the use of multicriteria processes for decision making. Contributions to Society / management: Managers can use the methodology applied in this study to create a portfolio of projects with less risk for decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a computer modeling approach for SARS-CoV-2 transmission that can be preferable to a purely mathematical framework. It is illustrated its functionality in a specific case of indoor transmission. Based on literature, we assume that infection is due to aerosols with viral particles that persist and accumulate for hours in the air even after the persons who produced them left the space. We incorporate also restricted opening hours as a mitigation measure and one possible behavioral change in response to this measure. It is shown via several examples how this algorithmic modeling approach can be used to run various scenarios in order to predict the efficacy of the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ireland's recently implemented My Open Library (MOL) service is operating in 15 public libraries following initial trials in 2014. MOL consists of the provision of extended opening hours during which no library staff are present. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight librarians from seven public libraries operating MOL to understand the uses and challenges of MOL. The findings show MOL's popularity, user demographics, uses, staff absence, health and safety concerns, automated systems, increased workload, investment, expansion and improvements. This research has implications for key stakeholders of MOL as it provides an original contribution of practical value within the context of the government's plans for expansion of the service. The findings also increase understandings of MOL and highlight recommendations as to how stakeholders may improve, expand and develop this socially significant public service. Future research can examine user demographics and preferences, the requirement for security guards during MOL hours and the concepts of equal access and expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In higher education, student learning support centres are examples of walk-in services with nonstationary demand. For many centres, the major expenditure is tutor wages; thus, optimizing tutor numbers and ensuring value for money in this area are key. In University College Dublin, the mathematics support centre (MSC) has developed a software system, which electronically records the time each student enters the queue, their start time with a tutor and time spent with a tutor. In this paper, we show how data analysis of 25,702 student visits and tutor timetable data, spanning 6 years, is used to identify busy and quiet periods. Prediction modelling is then used to estimate the waiting time for future MSC visitors. Subsequently, we discuss how this is used for staffing optimization, i.e. to ensure there is sufficient coverage for busy times and no resource wastage during quieter periods. The analysis described resulted in the MSC reducing the number of queue abandonments and releasing funds from overstaffed hours to increase opening hours. The methods used are easily adapted for any busy walk-in service, and the code and data referenced are freely available: https://github.com/ehoward1/Math-Support-Centre-. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Device life time is a significant consideration in the cost of ownership of quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). The life time of QCLs beyond an initial burn-in period has been studied previously; however, little attention has been given to predicting premature device failure where the device fails within several hundred hours of operation. Here, we demonstrate how standard electrical and optical device measurements obtained during an accelerated burn-in process can be used in a simple support vector machine to predict premature failure with high confidence. For every QCL that fails, at least one of the measurements is classified as belonging to a device that will fail prematurely—as much as 200 h before the actual failure of the device. Furthermore, for devices that are operational at the end of the burn-in process, the algorithm correctly classifies all the measurements. This work will influence future device analysis and could lead to insights on the physical mechanisms of premature failure in QCLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]