Conventional monitoring relies on "in vivo" (non-destructive) measurements of aboveground organ traits (such as stems, branches, and leaves) to analyze plantation growth trends and assess the effectiveness of management practices like watering and fertilization. This study reveals the necessity of “ex vivo” (destructive) approaches, post-excavation, to ensure fully reliable monitoring of plantation performance, including belowground organ growth and development trends. We showcase the effectiveness of dendrometric analysis, which measures the annual ring width in the secondary xylem (wood) of the taproot and stem. Monitoring above- and belowground organ growth trends allow for the exploration of similarities and differences in how different tree organs respond to internal and external factors. Such monitoring is especially crucial for assessing plantation performance in challenging climates, such as those found in arid and semi-arid lands.

This paper presents a comprehensive analytical-numerical algorithm constructed for proprotor performance evaluation, focusing on accommodating large inflow angles. The algorithm’s design, range, and analytical features are clarified, indicating its potential to improve performance analysis, particularly for blades with substantial pitch variations. The Stahlhut model has not been validated against the conventional BEMT small-inflow angle methodology. This paper implements a modified Stahlhut model, coupled with the conventional BEMT theory. Preliminary validations of the model demonstrate promising results, with deviations reduced to -3% to 4% compared to conventional BEMT methods exhibiting deviations as high as 20% to 88% against experimental data for a highly twisted proprotor. The reconsideration of the computational module carries considerable implications for the design and refinement of proprotors, providing alternative analysis methods that could improve operational effectiveness across a range of flight scenarios. Drawing upon the theoretical framework presented by Stahlhut, the algorithm enables a more complex understanding of proprotor dynamics, facilitating accurate predictions of the loads at each blade section. The introduced algorithm emerges as a valuable asset for evaluating proprotor performance during the early stages of design and certification, offering both low computational cost and medium to high reliability.

Risk management strategies protect the company as a whole as well as employees from unforeseen financial impacts. As in the case of personal finance, preparing for certain scenarios helps to face any difficulties that the company may encounter and allows it to get out of this impasse.For any project to be successful, the way the project executing agency will deal with potential risks must be determined so that it can identify, mitigate or avoid problems when it needs to do so. Successful project managers realize that risk management is important, because the achievement of project objectives depends on planning, preparation, results and evaluation that contribute to the achievement of strategic goals, especially the sustainable development of societies.Risk management strategies work to protect the company as a whole as well as employees from unexpected financial effects, and as is the case in personal finance, preparing for certain scenarios helps to face any difficulties that the company may face and allows it to get out of this impasse.To ensure the success of your project, determine how you will handle potential risks so that you can identify, mitigate or avoid problems when you need to do so. Successful project managers understand that risk management is important, because the achievement of project objectives depends on planning, preparation, results, and evaluation that contribute to the achievement of strategic objectives.

(1) Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the external load demands in futsal, con-sidering both home and away matches and their outcomes, in order to plan microcycles throughout the season based on the external load of each match. (2) Methods: The external load of 10 players from a First Division team in the Spanish Futsal League was recorded. The total dura-tion of player involvement with the clock stopped was 18.15 ±7.04 minutes. The players' external load was monitored using OLIVER devices. To analyse the influence of the match outcome and location on the external load, a univariate general linear model (GLM) analysis was conducted. (3) Results: There are no differences between the variables, except for accelerations of 2 to 3 m/s² (m) per minute and the number of accelerations of 2 to 3 m/s² per minute. Despite not showing significant differences, there is a trend indicating a higher demand for external loads in away matches as well as in matches won. (4) Conclusions: These findings are important for planning microcycles and providing the appropriate dosage to each player to achieve optimal performance in matches.

There is increasing interest in automating train operations of mainline services, e.g. to increase network capacity. Automatic train operation (ATO) is already achieved by several pilot projects, but not implemented on a large scale. Before the general introduction of new or adapted technologies can have a transformative effect on the operation of such a complex system as train operation on mainlines, they have to pass functional, interoperability and performance tests. A virtual preliminary analysis is one way to ensure a smooth as well as safe introduction and implementation. This paper aims to present an approach that applies to the performance testing of ATO systems. Therefore, methods and test standards for technologies enabling automatic operation in other transport sectors are reviewed. The main findings have been adapted, transformed and combined to be used as a general strategy for virtual performance testing in the railway sector. Specifically, universal performance indicators, namely punctuality, accuracy, energy consumption, safety and comfort, are presented. A layer model for scenario description is adapted from the automotive sector, as well as the definition of different scenario types. Lastly, factors that can influence the performance of an ATO algorithm are identified. To demonstrate the developed approach, a straightforward investigation of a case study is conducted using a microscopic train simulator in combination with an ATO algorithm.

The purpose of this study is to examine the match-related performance (scores and penalties) of the athletes in the Junior EJC (European Judo Championship) and U23 EJC categories before and immediately after the Covid-19 quarantine, according to gender and weight category groups. Our sample was based on the junior and U23, male and females, 2019-2020 Junior European Judo Championships and 2019-2020 U23 European Judo Championships. A total of 1431 matches in these tournaments were analyzed: male (n=812) and female (n=619). The main findings of this study showed that most matches in both the male and female categories resulted in ippon (2019-2020 average: 64,35% for Junior male, 70,55% for U23 male and 69,3% for Junior female, 64,4% for U23 female). No significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed between gender and age groups concerning the match scores. In the formation phase of the technique, considerations of high- and low-intensity actions, and analysis of the speed of athletes during matches in official competitions can help to better understand the dynamics of the variability of movements in judo matches. In addition, suggestions are presented to be applied to athletes in different age categories who are on the way to become Olympic athletes.

Using a sample of 103 surviving and non-surviving global bond funds over a long sample period of 1998 to 2022, we perform a comprehensive analysis of the funds under our modified Sharpe’s (1992) style analysis model. We find that dynamic style analysis is useful in explaining time-series and cross-sectional and in predicting future returns of global bond funds. The dynamic style analysis also allows us to examine asset allocation over time. The results show that, during 2001 to 2014, funds shift their allocations from intermediate-term bonds to world corporate bonds and from world corporate bonds to emerging market bonds in search of higher returns at the price of credit quality.

The use of biomass as a source of energy has been identified to be energy intensive which involves high cost of handling. However, pelletization reduces the bulk density of biomass, thereby reducing the cost of handling and enhancing ease of use. This study modified and evaluated an existing hand operated fish feed pelleting machine. The parts of the machine that were redesigned are hopper and power transmission unit. Corncob was used to evaluate the modified machine using die hole diameter (5,6 and 7 mm) and binder quantity (0, 2.5 and 5 wt%) as factors. The average results obtained for machine efficiency, throughput, pellet length and bulk density were 58.83%, 4.24 kg/h, 15.51 mm and 0.160 g/cm3. Die hole diameter had significant effect on pellet length only. Binder quantity had significant effect on machine efficiency, throughput and pellet length. Machine efficiency and throughput reduces as the quantity of binder increases and pellet length increases with increasing quantity of binder.

This research focuses on developing a Student Performance Evaluation System to enhance effectiveness and oversight in higher education. The system aims to address challenges faced by instructors in evaluating student performance using a distributed system approach. Agile methodology is employed in development, and database replication techniques are applied for data synchronization. System features include registration, assessment form creation, assessment submission, statistical visualization, and access to assessment history. The system is designed to improve efficiency and transparency in the assessment process. Key features of the system include registration process, assessment form creation, assessment submission, statistical visualization, and access to assessment history. Its goal is to enhance efficiency and transparency throughout the assessment process. The article details the system workflow and the roles played by Admins, Instructors, and students in system usage. Additionally, it discusses the back-end development model and pathways, as well as the performance testing results. Performance testing indicates that the system achieves high throughput of up to 21.55 requests per second, with an average response time of only 34 milliseconds and an error rate of zero percent. These results affirm that the system efficiently handles user loads and nearly instantaneously responds to requests, providing an optimal user experience in the context of student performance evaluation in higher education.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) require collaboration among academia, indus-try, citizens, public administration and politics. Analysis and monitoring of the SDGs is a deci-sive step in evaluating possible corrective actions. In this regard, this paper assesses the perfor-mance of Italian regions in 2021 compared to the values recorded in 2020. An online survey among academics aims to support Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) choices, which aims to calculate a sustainability score for Italian regions. The results, based on 27 targets, show that the northern regions show better performance, with the province of Trento topping the list. This is followed by Valle d'Aosta and the province of Bolzano, confirming the trio that emerged in the previous year. A very interesting fact is the growth of the central regions, which overall tend to reach a value close to that of the northern regions. In particular, Toscana, Marche and Lazio stand out for a good performance. It is also confirmed that the southern regions occupy the last places in the ranking with the only excep-tion being Abruzzo. The implications of this paper move toward a pragmatic approach that goes beyond the ideological in order to arrive at solutions and projects that are viewed with sharing by stake-holders. There is a need to foster collaboration between different territorial realities in order to achieve a social community in which young people have a role in which they can grow and share their ideas. Made in Italy is a target on which to enhance the SDGs to help make the Medi-terranean area a crossroads of the future global economy.

To instruct interior lighting design of aviation cockpit and ensure the work efficiency and comfort of pilots, and reduce safety accidents caused by light environment and visual fatigue during flight, it is important to establish a multi-dimensional ergonomic evaluation mechanism of cockpit light environment. In this paper, by improving Jdms' mental load theory, we establish a thorough experimental scheme based on physiological workload, mental workload, work performance and physiological work performance to evaluate the cockpit ergonomic under different light environment multi-dimensionally. Firstly, 12 evaluation indexes including job accuracy, job speed, blinking, heart rate variability, average fixation time, saccadic speed, mental demand, physical demand, operational performance, time demand, degree of confusion and degree of effort are obtained through the experiment, and then the weight of each evaluation index is calculated by entropy method to construct the ergonomic evaluation model. The evaluation results of physiological workload, mental load, work performance and physiological work performance were combined to obtain the final ergonomic evaluation results. According to our experimental results, it was found that light environment for pilot to get the highest ergonomic efficiency is 1500 lx light illumination and 5000K color temperature. The results provide a reference for the ergonomic experiment of aircraft cockpit and the design of aviation cockpit lighting system.

Everyone should therefore consistently get access to enough and safe water. The operation of the existing distribution network as well as the proper optimization and implementation of the new distribution systems are required for a sufficient and safe water supply. In Sekota town sufficient amount of water was not reached to the beneficiaries due to shortage of water at the source. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the performance and optimize the existing Sekota water supply distribution system using Bentley Water GEMS.The system's hydraulic modeling is carried out by considering as a continuous supply system, and the evaluation procedure used the extended period simulation approach after calibration was done. Calibration is used to ensure the performance of the model using the observed pressure values. The output of the existing system shows pressure is very high means above the maximum pressure and velocity is very low at peak hour demand. The results of velocity and pressure before optimization have negative effect on the performance of the system. The number of pipes and junctions their velocities and pressures which were in admissible ranges are 15 and 42 pipes for velocities and zero and 59 junctions for pressure before and after optimization were evaluated respectively.

One of the needs of the teaching and learning processes is the lack of information during the process, such as the emotions of students. Emotions influence learning, the ability to process information and accurately understand what we are dealing with. They profoundly affect students’ academic engagement and performance. One new way of getting such information is monitoring students' emotions. This research aims to expose 6 groups of secondary school students to video recordings for further analysis and categorization of their emotions. A model of emotional recognition (ER) during classroom learning was designed, with a custom-made code, from recorded videos to images to identify faces, action units (AUs) and consequently the emotions of each of the students shown on the screen. In addition, the ER model was optimized, from detecting few students to many students during a class. Emotions were then analysed according to the academic year, subject, and comparing the emotions at the beginning and at the end of the class. The results indicate the presence of a variety of emotions in the classroom and we found significant differences in the presence of some emotions depending on the time of class, subject and academic year, although there are no clear patterns. We discussed how emotions influence students' academic performance, and we suggest future research focus on teachers utilizing tools like this to improve student well-being and performance.

This paper aims to assess whether the financial performance of Portuguese companies that publish sustainability reports (SR) differs from the financial performance of companies that do not publish SR. We use two methodological procedures. First, we conducted a univariate analysis to test the differences in the financial performance according to the disclosure of SR. Second, we conducted a multivariate analysis using a multiple linear regression that explains financial performance by the disclosure of SR, as well as control variables such as sector, size, leverage, growth, and liquidity. Findings indicate that financial performance of companies that disclose SR does not significantly differ from the financial performance of companies that do not disclose SR. The results are robust to both methodological procedures, as well as to the sample split by sectors.

The paper highlights the performance of the seismic isolation devices, installed on retrofitted buildings in reducing the seismic response when subjected to earthquakes. Two buildings from the beginning of the XX-th century in Bucharest are chosen from many more, monitored over the city area. We discuss the response of these base-seismic isolated structures, relying on good quality data acquired from the recent strong earthquake (03.11.2022, MW = 5.0). Elastic response spectra computed from recordings at two levels of each structure are used, placed under and right above the isolating layer. At one building the existence of previous recordings and the particularity of the sensors allow a comparison with other two relatively recent medium intensity earthquakes. The assessment is carried out in terms of maximum acceleration amax, measured at certain levels in each structure, spectral acceleration amplitude SAmax and spectral-peak corresponding period. We find that the base-isolation methodology is effective in reducing the response of the building right above the isolating layer, an observation valid for both structures, all components of the recordings, and spectral acceleration values. Moreover, the outcomes from the modal evaluation performed prior to rehabilitation and seismic isolation process are presented, by pointing out a higher newly acquired fundamental period of the isolated structures.

Fatigue performance and self-repairing activity of asphalt binders are two properties that highly influence the fatigue cracking response of asphalt pavement. There are still numerous gaps of knowledge to fill linked with these two characteristics. For instance, current parameters fail to fully accommodate these two bitumen phenomena. This study aims to propose a new procedure to address this issue utilizing the linear amplitude sweep (LAS) test, LAS with rest period (RP) (LASH) test, and simplified viscoelastic continuum damage (S-VECD) model. This research work used four different types of asphalt binders: neat asphalt (NA), self-healing thermoplastic polyurethane (STPU)-modified bitumen (STPB), self-healing poly (dimethyl siloxane) crosslinked with urea bond (IPA1w)-modified bitumen (IPAB), and styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS)-modified bitumen (SBSB). Before the testing process, all the materials were subjected to short-term and long-term aging. The new procedure showed a superior capacity to analyze and accommodate all bitumen fatigue performances and self-repairing activities compared to the current method. Another finding proved that asphalt binders with higher self-restoration behavior failed to show better fatigue performance. A breakthrough finding demonstrated that asphalt binder fatigue response augmented when the RP was applied at a higher damage intensity (S) value. STPBs and IPABs reached their highest increments of fatigue response, containing 1.0% of STPU and 0.5% of IPA1w, respectively. Those augmentations were 207.54% and 232.64%, respectively.

The stormwater drainage problem is one of the major challenges facing in Shire Endaslasse town, Ethiopia. In a town, Street flooding and overtopping drainage system problems are occurring during the rainy season. This causes ponding which poses difficulties in ease of transportation and it hinders the day-to-day activity of the people. So, the study focuses on the performance of the stormwater drainage system in Shire Endaslasse town using Arc GIS and SWMM5.1. For this study, the primary data were collected by field surveys and interviews with the council body. Simulation results for storm events show that in some of the drainage systems in different regions of Shire Endaslasse town have flooded. During the field observation, the drainage structures are filled with solid wastes, inadequate inlet and outlet structures and some of the top element of the manhole have been broken this may cause a problem of aesthetic and healthy at large it may increase flood risk. The flooding risk in the drainage systems is very high due to the drainage system is undersized to cope with the current rainfall rates, but also is very limited to face the upcoming predicted rainfall.

Cool roofs are roofing systems designed to reflect significant solar radiation, reducing heat absorption and subsequent cooling energy demands in buildings. This paper provides a comprehensive review of cool roof technologies, covering performance standards, material options, energy-saving potential, and hygrothermal considerations. The review examines provisions in current codes and standards, which specify minimum requirements for solar reflectance, thermal emittance, and solar reflectance index (SRI) values. These criteria often vary based on factors like roof slope, climate zone, and building type. Different cool roof materials are explored, including reflective paints and coatings that can be applied to existing roofs as cost-effective solutions. Several studies demonstrated the energy performance benefits of cool roofs, showing significant reductions in cooling loads, indoor air temperatures, peak cooling demand, and overall cooling energy consumption compared to traditional roofs. However, hygrothermal performance must be evaluated, especially in cold climates, to optimize insulation levels and avoid moisture accumulation risks, as reduced heat absorption can alter moisture migration patterns within the building envelope. While cool roofs provide substantial energy savings in hot climates, further research is needed to validate modeling approaches against real-world studies, investigate the impact of seasonality and green spaces on cool roof efficacy and urban heat island mitigation, and explore energy savings potential, moisture control, and condensation risks in cold and humid environments.

Like the most of crops, especially sugarcane needs to be kept upright until it is harvested. Because, lodging of sugarcane has a significant negative effect on cane yield and sugar content of sugarcane. To keep sugarcane upright earthing up is an utmost intercultural operation. In Bangladesh, most of the operations for sugarcane cultivation including earthing up are generally done in traditional method using human labor which increases production costs as well as reduces the income of sugarcane growers. So, a cost effective two-wheeled tractor (2WT) mounted earthing up machine was developed in Bangladesh Sugarcrop Research Institute (BSRI), Pabna to reduce drudgery and cost of sugarcane production. Field tests were conducted in experimental sugarcane field at BSRI and technical and economic performances of the developed earthing up machine were also carried out based on the field test. Average effective field capacity and field efficiency were found 0.16 ha/hr and 77.41 %, respectively for the developed earthing up machine. The earthing up machine was not found economically viable when it is used only for earthing up operation. Besides, when the 2WT was being used as the main driver for other activities including earthing up operation, then the earthing up machine becomes economically beneficial with net cash flow, net present value, internal rate of return, benefit-cost ratio and payback period of BDT 148497/ha, BDT 23184, 3%, 3.81:1 and approximately 1 year, respectively. On the contrary, considering cost of only earthing up tool without 2WT, then it was found economically beneficial with net cash flow, internal rate of return, net present value, benefit-cost ratio and payback period of BDT 16428/ha, BDT 3053, 4.7%, 2.71:1 and approximately 2 years, respectively. Since 2WT is commonly used for versatile farming purposes. Therefore, versatile use of 2WT as prime mover for other machines including earthing up machine can make earthing up machine economically viable and beneficial for sugarcane growers.

Sentinel-1 satellite system continuously observes European countries in a relatively high revisit frequency of 6 days per orbital track. Given the Sentinel-1 configuration, most areas in Czechia are observed every 1–2 days by different tracks in a moderate resolution. This is attractive for various types of analyses by various research groups. The starting point for processing is an original data provided by ESA, for interferometry (InSAR) this level is a Single Look Complex (SLC) data. This work represents advantages of storing data augmented to a specifically corrected level of data, SLC-C. The presented database contains Czech nation-wide Sentinel-1 data stored in burst units that have been preprocessed to the state of a consistent well-coregistered dataset of SLC-C. These are resampled SLC data with their phase values reduced by a topographic phase signature, ready for fast interferometric analyses (an interferogram is generated by a complex conjugate between two stored SLC-C files). The data can be used directly into multitemporal interferometry techniques, e.g. Persistent Scatterers (PS) or Small Baseline (SB) techniques applied here. A further development of the nation-wide system utilising SLC-C data would lead into a dynamic state where every new pre-processed burst triggers a processing update to detect unexpected changes from InSAR time series and therefore provide a signal for early warning against a potential dangerous displacement, e.g. a landslide, instability of an engineering structure or a formation of a sinkhole. An update of the processing chain would also allow use of cross-polarised Sentinel-1 data, needed for polarimetric analyses. The current system is running at a national supercomputing centre IT4Innovations in interconnection to the Czech Copernicus Collaborative Ground Segment (CESNET), providing fast on-demand InSAR results over Czech territories. A full nation-wide PS processing using data over Czechia has been performed in 2017, discovering several areas of land deformation. Its downsampled version and basic findings are demonstrated within the article.

The main purpose of the study was to study the effects of a specific rowing ergometer training program on the athletic performance of young adolescents (n=56; 11.73 ± 1.4 years old) com-pared to a workout based on general strength training. Eight-week training program was im-plemented, with four sessions per week and two-hours per session. Sample was divided in two groups: a control group (CG) that performed circuit training with exercises aimed at building general strength and an experimental group (EG) who focused on specifically training on a rowing ergometer (rowing machine). The data obtained in a rowing meter test over the compe-tition distance were analyzed to obtain the average power attained (W) at the beginning of the training, at the middle (4 weeks), at the end of the training (8 weeks) and one year after the ex-perimentation. The results show that, although both forms of training improve the average W obtained in both categories, the EG subjects (+29.94W) obtained better averages in all phases of the study compared to the CG (+5.88W). Furthermore, this increase was greater in male rowers (+ 34.06W) than in female rowers (+24.54W). These results reveal that a specific rower rowing ergometer training program has a significant effect than a general strength program and these effects can even be observed a year after the intervention.

Banks have enormous potential in supporting the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in accordance with their function as financial intermediaries through sustainable lending. However, the average national financing growth for the sustainable business activity category over the past four years is still 12%. The aim of this research is to identify the conditions of sustainable lending at state-owned conventional banks and analyze the influence of the value chain, economic performance and ESG performance on sustainable lending. The research was conducted at state-owned commercial banks in Indonesia. The research utilized a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The SEM results of this study describe value chain, ESG performance (environmental, social and governance) and economic performance have direct and positive influences on sustainable lending, of which ESG performance has the biggest influence. As per individual aspect, social orientation gives the biggest contribution toward sustainable lending.

Disease detection and prediction have been one of the most frequent uses of machine learning models in the last decade, and Parkinson's disease is no exception. It is common for people in their old age to have one form of disease or another depending on the circumstances in which they find themselves. This study analyzed and evaluated various supervised machine learning models to detect the presence of Parkinson's disease in elderly individuals. An extreme gradient boosting model, along with other models, such as naïve Bayes, random forest, K-nearest neighbor, and support vector machine (SVM), was implemented to determine the best outcome. The extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model is a powerful boosting machine learning technique, particularly in terms of speed and accuracy. The results showed that the XGBoost model, which is an optimized version of the other boosting models, is capable of projecting the presence of Parkinson's disease with very high accuracy compared to other algorithms. The implemented classification algorithm extreme gradient boosting method achieved approximately 98 % accuracy, 97.5 % precision, 100.0 % recall, and 98.7% f1-score which are high compared with the results found in the existing literature.

The aim of the present trial was to evaluate the growth performance of buffalo calves fed diets characterized by different forage/concentrate ratio with or without the Saccharomyces Cerevisiae supplementation (CBS 493.94, Yea-Sacc®). Twenty-four male buffalo calves (mean age 145.1 ± 16.1 days; mean weight 108.0 ± 18.7) were assigned randomly to 4 groups, homogeneous for age, fed four different diets: diet 1 F:C ratio 50:50; diet 2 F:C ratio 30:70; diet 3 F:C ratio 50:50 + Yea-Sacc® and diet 4 F:C ratio 30:70 + Yea-Sacc®. Buffalo calves were individually weighted before the start of the experiment and the data were used as a covariate, monthly until the end of the trial. Dry matter intake (DMI), daily weight gain (DWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were calculated. The differences in diets’ composition significantly (p

Telemedicine and remote survey of physiological parameters may significantly increase the health and safety of people working in extreme environmental conditions, like firefighters, maintain rescuers, soldiers, and others. We highlight this problem and give an overview of the historical development and the actual status of systems available. Ruggedized systems, as small, lightweight, and flexible as possible, are needed to optimize the goal of increasing occupational health and safety of persons at risk and maximizing their performance during missions.

Sports are framed within the context of the Olympic spirit and are, therefore, within the vision and mission of the Olympic Committee, aimed at “building a better world”. This is identified as a fundamental value and sustainability is therefore explicitly considered to be a “working principle” of this. In this research an analysis of the performance of professional European football teams publicly listed on stock markets, restating the income statements according to the Value-Added perspective is carried out. This takes into account the effective sustainable contribution in the distribution of added value with reference to the human, structural, debt, infrastructural, and risk capitals of these organisations. The Value-Added Statement is considered as a part of the broader CSR Reporting and can be traced back to the late 1970s. However, it is in widespread contemporary use and is regarded as being both a credible and a tested measure. In this paper, the authors apply a slightly modified and simplified version of this tool to these publicly listed European football clubs as a proxy for wider professional sport. This research demonstrates that, although professional sports clubs are profit-oriented, the distribution of wealth generated by the added value is unbalanced. In most cases, at least in financial terms, shareholders are the most disadvantaged and athletes are the most rewarded.

The detrimental consequences of soil pollution caused by crude oil or petroleum products are immense, leading to land degradation, property damage, and rendering agricultural practices ineffective. Extensive research has been conducted in the field of soil remediation, but further studies are still required to explore additional details of the remedial process. As a result, this study focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of Vernonia Galamensis and Vernonia Amygdalina, commonly known as bitter leaf, in remediating hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. In the analysis of micro-organisms, it was found that the bitter leaf extracts contained three types of bacteria: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. The leaf extracts were prepared using different methods, including sun drying, room drying, and using them in their wet form, which were then blended into the contaminated soil. The study also took into consideration three different types of soil: sandy-loamy soil, clay soil, and swamp soil. These advanced techniques and considerations are relevant to the topic of revolutionizing soil remediation, as they explore the potential of bitter leaf extracts and different soil types in effectively mitigating the effects of hydrocarbon contamination.The findings revealed that the wet blended extracts of Vernonia performed exceptionally well in the remediation process, surpassing a 50% reduction in the initial contamination levels. The study involved utilizing a quantity of bitter leaf ranging from 10g to 40g, which was added to the contaminated soils and monitored for a duration of 40 days. Remarkably, this approach led to a significant decrease in the concentration of contaminants within the soil, indicating the effectiveness of the bitter leaf extracts in the remediation process. Towards the conclusion of the study, predictive models were constructed to forecast the impact of hydrocarbon content, as well as the levels of lead, zinc, and chromium in the soil. These variables served as the dependent variables in the models, while the mass of bitter leaf, the duration of treatment, and the pH of the soil were considered as independent variables. Significantly, the models achieved a level of significance of less than 0.05, indicating their statistical validity. Furthermore, the r2 value, which represents the goodness of fit, demonstrated an appreciable level of accuracy in predicting the remediation effects. These results highlight the potential of the developed models in assessing and predicting the remedial outcomes of hydrocarbon contamination using bitter leaf extract.

Hermetia illucens is a very promising insect due to its ability to convert low-value substrates in highly nutrient feed. Its feeding and nutrition are important issues. This work aimed to study the effect of different substrates composed of coffee silverskin, by-product of the roasting process, enriched with different inclusion of microalgae (5%, 10%, 20%, 25%), Schizochytrium limacinum and Isochrysis galbana, coupled with the assessment of environmental sustainability by LCA. In general, the inclusion of microalgae caused an increase in the growth performance of the larvae, although S. limacinum showed the best results. Higher prepupal weight were observed in larvae fed on 20% and 25% of S. limacinum, shorter development times in larvae fed on 25% of both S. limacinum and I. galbana and higher growth rate were observed in larvae fed on 25% of S. limacinum. Anyway, the inclusion of 10% of S. limacinum showed a small difference with the higher inclusions. Moreover, the 10% of S. limacinum achieved the best waste reduction index. Therefore, considering the greater inclusion of microalgae, the higher the environmental impact of larvae production, the addition of 10% of S. limacinum seems to be the best compromise for the larval rearing.

The paper presents the results of energy and environmental analysis of geothermal CHP plant operation in Polish conditions. As the most favorable, for the geothermal conditions prevailing in Poland, the variant of CHP plant based on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has been taken into consideration. As the case study the existing geothermal well located in the town of Konin in the Wielkopolska voivodship has been chosen. The conceptual design of CHP plant has been proposed and evaluated from energy and environmental point of view. As energy performance criteria the non-renewable primary energy consumption has been chosen. In case of environmental performance carbon dioxide emission has been taken as evaluation criteria. The analysis has been performed for different operating conditions and three working fluids.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology offers a national operational 7-day ensemble streamflow forecast service covering regions of high environmental, economic and social significance. This semi-automated service generates streamflow forecasts every morning and is seamlessly integrated into the Bureau's Hydrologic Forecasting System (HyFS). Ensemble rainfall forecasts, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and Poor Man's Ensemble (PME), available in the Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) suite, are used to generate these streamflow forecasts. The NWP rainfall undergoes pre-processing using the Catchment Hydrologic Pre-Processer (CHyPP) before being fed into the GR4H rainfall-runoff model, which is embedded in the Short-term Water Information Forecasting Tools (SWIFT) hydrological modelling package. The simulated streamflow is then post-processed using the Error Representation and Reduction In Stages (ERRIS). We evaluated the performance of the operational rainfall and streamflow forecasts for 96 catchments using four years of operational data between January 2020 and December 2023. Performance evaluation metrics included CRPS, relative CRPS, CRPSS, and PIT-Alpha for ensemble forecasts and NSE, PCC, MAE, KGE, PBias and RMSE and three categorical metrics CSI, FAR and POD for deterministic forecasts. The skill scores CRPS, relative CRPS, CRPSS and PIT-Alpha, gradually decreased for both rainfall and streamflow as the forecast horizon increased from Day 1 to Day 7. A similar pattern emerged for NSE, KGE, PCC, MAE and RMSE as well as the categorical metrics. Forecast performance also progressively decreased with the higher streamflow regime. Most catchments showed positive performance skills, meaning the ensemble forecast outperformed climatology. Both streamflow and rainfall forecast skills varied spatially across the country – and were generally better in the high runoff generating catchments, and poorer in the drier catchments situated in the western part of the Great Dividing Range, South Australia and mid-west of Western Australia. We did not find any association between model forecast skill and the catchment area. Our findings demonstrate that the 7-day ensemble streamflow forecasting service is robust and draws great confidence from agencies that use these forecasts to support decisions around water resources management.

Solar radiation is closely related to the energy buildings consume for cooling, heating, and lighting purposes. Glazing is the only material of the building envelope that transmits solar radiation and needs to be appropriately designed to reduce energy cㅈonsumption. Currently, smart glass technology is being actively investigated and developed for effective solar radiation control. Among the various types of smart glass, electrochromic glazing is one of the most promising technologies, as it can adjust transmittance on its own, has a wider transmittance range in both the clear and darkened states, and consumes less electricity. Considering the importance of solar radiation adjustment in electrochromic glazing technology, this study attempted to develop an optimal control method for electrochromic glazing. Toward this goal, the solar radiation incident on vertical surfaces and outdoor temperature conditions were controlled in three regions with different climatic characteristics, and the annual cooling, heating, and lighting loads, discomfort glare, and interior illumination were analyzed. This approach enabled the optimal conditions with respect to visual comfort to be determined. Subsequently, the EDPI (Energy and daylight performance index) was used to optimize control conditions for each region, thereby producing integrated evaluations from results with different units and properties. The proposed control method will be utilized to develop a control algorithm and a control system to reduce building energy consumption.

Legacy IPv4 networks are strenuous to manage and operate. Network operators are in need to minimize the capital and operational expenditure of running network infrastructure. The implementation of Software-defined networking (SDN) addresses those issues by minimizing the expenditures in the long run. Legacy networks need to integrate with the SDN networks for the smooth migration towards the fully functional SDN environment. In this paper, we compare the network performance of the legacy network with the SDN network for IP routing in order to determine the feasibility of the SDN deployment in the Internet Service provider (ISP) network. The simulation of the network is performed in the Mininet test-bed and the network traffic is generated using distributed Internet traffic generator. Open network operating system is used as a controller for the SDN network in which SDN-IP application is used for IP routing. Round trip time, bandwidth, and packet transmission rate from both SDN and legacy networks are first collected and then the comparison is done. We found that SDN-IP performs better in terms of bandwidth and latency as compared to legacy routing. The experimental analysis of interoperability between SDN and legacy networks shows that SDN implementation in production level carrier-grade ISP network is viable and progressive.

The paper is dedicated to the topical problem of examining permafrost state and the processes of its geocryological changes by means of geophysical methods. To monitor the cryolithozone, we propose and scientifically substantiate a new technique of pulsed electromagnetic cross-well sounding. Based on the vector finite-element method, we created a mathematical model of the cross-well sounding process with a pulsed source in a three-dimensional spatially heterogeneous medium. A high-performance parallel computing algorithm was developed and verified. Through realistic geoelectric models of permafrost with a talik under a highway, constructed following the results of electrotomography field data interpretation, we numerically simulated the pulsed sounding on the computing resources of the Siberian Supercomputer Center of SB RAS. The simulation results suggest the proposed system of pulsed electromagnetic cross-well monitoring to be characterized by a high sensitivity to the presence and dimensions of the talik. The devised approach can be oriented to addressing a wide range of issues related to monitoring permafrost rocks under civil and industrial facilities, buildings and constructions.

This paper formulates the performance evaluation of cloud services as a multicriteria group decision making problem, and presents a fuzzy multicriteria group decision making method for evaluating the performance of cloud services. Interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy numbers are used to model the inherent subjectiveness and imprecision of the performance evaluation process. An effective algorithm is developed based on the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution method and the Choquet integral operator for adequately solving the performance evaluation problem. An example is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed fuzzy multicriteria group decision making method for solving the multicriteria group decision making problem in real world situations.

The aim was to identify if surface electromyography (sEMG) parameters are indicative of post-activation potentiation (PAP)/post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE), in terms of twitch potentiation and voluntary performance. Three databases were used in March 2024, with the following inclusion criteria: (a) original research, assessed in healthy human adults, (b) sEMG parameters were measured. The exclusion criteria were: (a) studies with no PAP/PAPE-protocol, (b) non-randomized control trials. The following data were extracted: study characteristics/demographics, PAP/PAPE-protocols, sEMG parameters, twitch/performance outcomes, and study findings. A modified physiotherapy evidence database (PEDro) scale was used for quality assessment. Fifteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs), with a total of 199 subjects were included. The M-wave amplitude (combined with a twitch torque outcome) was shown to generally be indicative of PAP. The sEMG amplitude (in some muscles) were found to be indicative of PAPE during ballistic movements, while a small decrease in the MdF (in certain muscles) were shown to reflect PAPE. Changes in the Hmax/Mmax ratio were found to contribute (temporally) to PAP, while the H-reflex amplitude was shown to be neither indicative of PAP nor PAPE. This review provides preliminarily findings suggesting that certain sEMG parameters could be indicative of PAP/PAPE. However, future research is warranted.

. Identifying students who might have difficulty in their course of studies ahead of time is crucial. There can be many reasons for performance issues, such as personality, family, social, and/or economic. We advocate that educational systems should use machine learning to predict students’ performance based on performance factors. This would allow educational professionals and institutions to put in place a preventive plan to help students towards achievements of their educational goals and success. In this chapter, we propose a student performance prediction method and evaluate its performance. We provide a taxonomy of performance factors that help to gauge students performance from different perspectives and give insights on the categories and features that have more significant impact on students’ performance. The results of this work can be used by education institutions to put in place a student-centric approach to tackle performance issues before they create long-term effects on student’s life. In addition, it will help education policymakers to introduce a tailored approach for the population in specific areas.

Bitumen is produced from non-renewable natural resources, continuously deplete and intrigues researchers to look for alternative binders. Annually, tons of waste engine oil (WEO) and crumb rubber (CR) are discarded unsustainably and pose a significant environmental threat. Adding these industrial waste products to asphalt provides a safe and cost-effective way for their disposal and improves the bitumen's performance in parallel. This study uses various combinations of waste engine oil and crumb rubber with 60/70 penetration grade bitumen to produce a partially synthetic bitumen. Adhesion being one of the critical characteristics of the bituminous binder has been assessed using the bitumen bond strength test along with physical and rheological properties. Results showed that waste engine oil with crumb rubber inclusion increases penetration and decreases the softening point, viscosity, complex modulus, and bonding strength. Additionally, polyphosphoric acid (PPA) in smaller dosages was also incorporated into the optimum percentage of CR + WEO to improve the properties of the binder. The results confirm that binder modification with waste engine oil and crumb rubber can be more effective with PPA. It is concluded that 35% of waste can replace the virgin binder giving a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution.

This study investigates cloud cavitation suppression around a model scale NACA66 hydrofoil using active water injection and explores the effect of multiple injection parameters. Numerical simulations and a mixed-level orthogonal test method are employed to systematically analyze the impact of jet angle αjet, jet location Ljet, and jet velocity Ujet on cavitation suppression efficiency and hydrofoil energy performance. The study reveals that jet location has the greatest influence on cavitation suppression, while jet angle has the greatest influence on hydrofoil energy performance. The optimal parameter combination (Ljet = 0.30C, αjet = +60 degrees, Ujet = 3.25 m/s) effectively balances energy performance and cavitation suppression, reducing cavitation volume by 49.34% and improving lift-drag ratio by 8.55%. The study found that the jet's introduction not only enhances vapor condensation and reduces the intensity of the vapor-liquid exchange process but also disrupts the internal structure of cavitation clouds and elevates pressure on the hydrofoil suction surface, thereby effectively suppressing cavitation. Further analysis shows that positive-going horizontal jet components enhance the lift-drag ratio, while negative-going components have a detrimental effect. Jet arrangements near the trailing edge negatively impact both cavitation suppression and energy performance. These findings provide valuable reference for selecting optimal injection parameters to achieve a balance between cavitation suppression and energy performance in hydrodynamic systems.

Establishing systemic communications between the project plan, stakeholders, and the organization through integrated management meets stakeholders' demands and managerial expectations in project-oriented organizations. Performance assessment can be defined as a control system in any company that reviews its daily operations and evaluates how well it has achieved its goals. This study aims to investigate the impact of an integrated project management system on the financial performance of the Organization for Renovation, Development, and Equipment of Schools. This applied research is descriptive-analytical. The statistical population comprises 2,700 employees of the organization, with a sample size of 340 individuals examined. The reliability of the designed questionnaire was confirmed by experts in the organization using Cronbach's alpha (α=0.91). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 and AMOS 18 software through descriptive statistics and confirmatory factor analysis. The results indicate that the seven dimensions of the integrated project management system (cost management, quality management and continuous control, change management, systems and information management, human resources management, interaction and communication management, procurement management) have a positive and significant impact on the financial performance of the Organization for Renovation, Development, and Equipment of Schools.

The effects of rare earth Ce on the microstructure and properties of cast pure copper were investigated through thermodynamic calculations, XRD analysis, mechanical testing, metallographic microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental results demonstrate that the reaction between rare earth Ce and oxygen as well as sulfur in copper exhibits a significantly negative Gibbs free energy value, indicating a strong thermodynamic driving force for deoxidation and desulfurization reactions. Ce is capable of removing trace amounts of O and S from copper. Moreover, the maximum solid solubility of Ce in Cu falls within the range of 0.009% to 0.01%. Furthermore, Ce can refine columnar grains while enlarging equiaxed grains in as-cast copper.Upon addition of rare earth Ce, the tensile strength increased by 8.45%, elongation increased by 12.1%, and microhardness rose from 73.5HV to 81.2HV-an increase of 10.5%. Overall, rare earth Ce has been found to enhance both the microstructure and mechanical properties of cast pure copper.

Literature revealed the potential of using guayule resin for asphalt cement replacement from the binder’s perspective. However, monitoring guayule resin through binder-aggregate mixture could disclose its performance through field. In this study, designated binders were employed to investigate the applicability of such an innovative replacer through mixture, which were neat asphalt and guayule-based binders (neat guayule, asphalt-rubber-guayule, guayule-rubber binders). Consecutively, field-simulated lab mixtures were prepared to investigate the major distresses. Moisture damage, rutting, fatigue cracking, and thermal cracking resistances were investigated using the modified Lottman (TSR) test, rut test by asphalt pavement analyzer (APA), semi-circular bending (SCB) test, and disk-shaped compact tension (DCT) test, respectively. Additionally, the Hamburg wheel-tracking (HWT) test was employed to evaluate moisture susceptibility and rutting resistance. Outcomes revealed that the neat guayule was susceptible to moisture damage at a 7% air content (V_a) when the TSR test was employed. In contrast, all investigated mixtures yielded perfect performances against moisture susceptibility under the HWT test. Guayule-based mixtures perfectly resisted rutting, as analyzed by the rut test and HWT test. Generally, changing parameters (e.g., V_a, rubber addition, and partial asphalt replacement by guayule and rubber) enhanced the guayule-based mixture resistance to rutting and moisture damage resulting in acceptable performances. Guayule-based mixture had a high fracture toughness at low temperatures, hence fatigue fracture resistance at intermediate temperatures. Neat guayule mixture with or without rubber addition did not entirely resist thermal fracture. However, partial asphalt replacement by guayule and rubber resisted the thermal fracture to a great extent.

The performance evaluation of the Internet of Things (IoT) based supply chain is challenging due to the involvement of multiple decision makers, the multi-dimensional nature of the evaluation process, and the existence of uncertainty and imprecision in the decision making process. To ensure effective decisions are made, this paper presents a fuzzy multicriteria analysis model for evaluating the performance of IoT based supply chain. The inherent uncertainty and imprecision of the performance evaluation process is adequately handled by using intuitionistic fuzzy numbers. A new algorithm is developed for determining the overall performance index for each alternative across all criteria. The development of the fuzzy multicriteria group decision making model provides organizations with the ability to effectively evaluate the performance of their IoT based supply chains for improving their competitiveness. An example is presented for demonstrating the applicability of the model for dealing with real world IoT-based performance evaluation problems.

Supplements in fish nutrition can help alleviate pressure on the wild stock; however, there is limited information on the benefits of rooibos tea extract in aquafeed. This study aimed to determine the effect of rooibos tea extract inclusion in the commercial diet on the growth performance of larval fish. Fish were reared on three diets: a commercial diet with 30% fermented or green rooibos extract and a commercial tilapia diet (control). Fish (initial weight of 0.54 ± 0.008 g and length of 2.22 ± 0.01 cm) were randomly distributed into recirculating aquaculture systems in triplicates at 100 fish per tank. Fish was hand-fed thrice daily for eight weeks at 2% body weight. After that, samples were withdrawn to measure growth parameters. Fish-fed fermented, and green tea extracts exhibited a significantly (p ˂ 0.05) higher weight gain than the controls. The feed conversion ratio was higher in the control group, fermented (1.50 ± 0.25 cm) and green tea (1.41 ± 0.07 cm). Similarly, the control group exhibited the highest condition factor (K=13.14 ± 4.87). The two treatment groups were comparable (p >0.05) in growth performance. Overall, the evidence indicates that adding rooibos tea extracts to the basal diet can improve fish growth.

In multi-objective optimization problems, the optimization target is to obtain a set of non-dominated solutions. Comparing solution sets is crucial in evaluating the performances of different optimization algorithms. The use of performance indicators is common in comparing those sets and, subsequently, optimization algorithms. A good solution set must be close to the Pareto-optimal front, well-distributed, maximally extended and fully filled. Therefore, an effective performance indicator must encompass these features as a whole and must be Pareto dominance compliant. Unfortunately, some of the known indicators often fail to properly reflect the quality of a solution set or cost a lot to compute. This paper demonstrates that the Degree of Approximation (DOA) quality indicator, is a weakly Pareto compliant unary indicator that gives a good estimation of the match between the approximated front and the Pareto-optimal front. Moreover, DOA computation is easy and fast.

Background: The duration of the vaccine's protective efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 is unknown. Evaluation of the clinical performance of available tests is required. Objectives: To evaluate the clinical performance of three immunoassays for the detection of IgG antibodies generated by mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Two automated immunoassays (Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA IgG and Abbott SARS-CoV-2 CLIA IgG) and one lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA Test Livzon IgG) were tested. 300 samples distributed in 3 groups were analyzed: 100 subjects over 18 years old and under 45 years old, 100 subjects between 45-65 years old and another 100 over 65 years old. collected before vaccination, at 21 days, 1, 2, 3 and 6 months post-vaccination. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, and agreement (I. Kappa) were calculated for each serological test. Results: Maximum sensitivity for IgG was 98.7%, 98.1%, and 97.8% for the ELISA Euroimmun, CLIA Abbott, and Livzon LFIA assays and maximum specificity for IgG was 99.4%, 99.9%. % and 98.4% ELISA, CLIA and LFIA respectively at 3 months after vaccination with a decrease in antibody levels from the sixth month. The best agreement was observed between ELISA and CLIA 100%; (k = 1.00). The agreement between ELIA, CLIA and LIFIA was 99% (k = 0964) at the second and third month after vaccination. Seroconversion was faster and longer lasting in the younger age groups. Conclusion: Our study showed an equivalent and homogeneous clinical performance for IgG of three immunoassays after vaccination and that the LIFIA assay is the most cost-effective, reliable and accurate for routine use in population studies of seroconversion and seroprevalence.

The recyclable paper based on photochromic materials not only reduces the pollution in the paper manufacture process, but also reduces the pollution caused by the use of ink, which receives wide attention. In this paper, a serial of PMoA-PWA/ZnO/PVP hybrid films which had different ratio of PMoA/PWA was prepared by the ultrasonic composite method. The results indicated that the hybrid film prepared when the ratio of PMoA to PWA was 3 had the best photochromic performance. In this system, ZnO was the photosensitizer while PMoA/PWA was the chromophore. The photochromic mechanism of PMoA-PWA/ZnO/PVP hybrid film was based on the photogenerated electron transfer mechanism. ZnO generated photoelectron under the excitation of visible light, then PMoA and PWA obtained the photoelectron and produced photoreduction reaction to generate heteropolyblue. The visible light photochromic paper was prepared by loaded PMoA-PWA/ZnO/PVP hybrid film (A3) on A4 paper. Application test showed that the prepared paper had extremely stable, excellent and reversible visible light photochromic properties, whether it was printing patterns or words and could replace the ordinary paper to realize the reuse of paper.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the performance of health, safety and environmental management of civil, traffic and urban services contractors in the 18th district of Tehran municipality in 2015-2016. Methods: This is an applied, longitudinal, descriptive-comparative study. The statistical population of this study was construction contractors, urban services and traffic in the municipality of district 18 of Tehran in the years 2015-2016. from 52 contractors, 18 construction contractors, 21 utilities contractors and 13 traffic contractors, respectively, were selected using census method. the research instrument consisted of periodic direct observation and completion of the HSE standard checklist by researchers. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test by SPSS software.Results: The HSE performance of all contractors (civil, utilities and traffic) was acceptable and the results of Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the HSE performance of contractors at the second visit of 2015 and the first visit of 2016 was significantly different in favor of civil contractors )p <0.01), but there was no significant difference between the first and third visits of 2015 and the second and third visits of 2016 (p> 0.05). visits in six periods indicate HSE Civil Contractors status increased from 100% unfavorable to 88.88% acceptable level and 11.11% good level, and in the case of civil service contractors who initially had 95.23% in an unfavorable situation and 4.76% in a favorable situation achieved 100% acceptable performance, and finally, the traffic contractors, who were 100% unfavorable, were upgraded to 100% acceptable. Conclusion: According to the findings of the study, it seems that the supervision of municipality inspectors on HSE performance of contractors can be effective in improving and strengthening the commitment to HSE requirements, therefore, it is suggested that periodical visits be made to the municipal contractors.

Nowadays, energy saving is considered a key issue worldwide, as it brings a variety of benefits: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing demand for energy imports, and lowering costs on a household and economy-wide level. Researchers and building designers are looking to optimize building efficiency by means of new energy technologies. Changes in existing buildings can also be made to reduce energy consumption and costs. These may include the usage of new heat transfer fluids based on nanofluids. In this work, an extended experimental campaign (from February 2020 to March 2021) has been carried out on an educational building in the Campus of University of Salento, Lecce – Italy, in order to evaluate the increase in performance of the HVAC system, due to the usage of a nanofluid. The results show that, under optimal operating conditions, plant performance improves more than 10%, with average daily peaks of about 15%.

This experimental study examined the application effect of polycaprolactone (PCL), an organic resin material with excellent elasticity and ductility, on improving the mechanical performance of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) cement composites. To analyze the effect, a test specimen containing CNC and PCL mixed, containing only CNC, and a control (plain) specimen containing nothing were compared. PCL was compared according to its shape, and in the case of Granules, which is the basic shape, interfacial adhesion with cement was not achieved, so a DCM solution was used to dissolve and use the Granules form. As a method for bonding PCL to the CNC surface, the CNC surface was modified using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), and surface silylation was confirmed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR) analysis. To evaluate the dispersibility according to the application of PCL to the modified CNC, particle size analysis (PSA) and zeta potential analysis were performed according to the PCL mixing amount (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1 vol.% compared with those of CNC) and size distribution. Through the zeta potential value, the highest dispersion stability was shown at 1 vol.%. The cohesive force of CNC was low and the dispersion stability was high according to the application of PCL. According to the results of the dispersion stability evaluation, the degree of hydration of the dissolved PCL 1 vol.%, CNC-only specimens, and plain specimens were analyzed. Hydration products increased by increasing the degree of hydration in the unhydrated area. However, the incorporation of PCL showed a low degree of hydration, and the analysis of strength characteristics also showed a decrease of approximately 27% compared with that of plain specimens. This was because the bonding with SiO2 was not smooth owing to the solvent, thus affecting internal hydration. To investigate the effect of the PCL shape, the compressive and flexural strength characteristics were compared using PCL powder as an additional parameter. The compressive and flexural strength values were improved by approximately 54% and 26%, respectively, compared with those of the plain specimen. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis determined that the filler effect that made the micropore structure denser, affected the mechanical performance improvement.

Proper Post-Activation Performance Enhancement helps to improve athletic performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of two different velocity loss (VL), 10%VL and 20%VL, on post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) in 20m sprint performance among sprint athletes. Twenty-four male sprint athletes (100m sprint time: 10.96±0.15 s) were recruited. A randomized crossover experimental design was used for traditional group (TG), 10%VL, and 20%VL interventions. Sprint tests were conducted at the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th minutes after the intervention. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed an interaction effect between group and time on 20m sprint performance (F=2.817, p=0.037, partial η²=0.585). Simple effect analyses showed significant differences compared to baseline at the 4th minute for the 20%VL group (P&lt;0.05). Cohen's d values indicated improvement in 10m sprint times at the 8th minute of the rest interval for all three intervention groups (TG: ES=-0.270, 10%VL: ES=-0.038, 20%VL: ES=-0.279). Improvement in 20m sprint times was observed at the 4th minute for the 20%VL group (ES=-0.296) and at the 16th minute for the 10%VL group (ES=-0.276). Compared to traditional PAPE schemes based on 1RM, PAPE schemes based on velocity loss (20%VL) can better induce PAPE effects in sprint athletes.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are perceived as a first step towards the future of sustainable transport. Of course, battery electric vehicles (EVs) are currently ideal for what is wanted to stand for transport in the future. The lack of infrastructure for these vehicles makes many potential users choose hybrid vehicles in these conditions. This paper analyzes the influence of the engine and electric motor of hybrid vehicles on their performances. Three engines with slightly different power and close characteristics were considered for configured models. Also, two electric motors with very different power but having a very close maximum continuous torque have been used in models. One is an induction motor, and the other is a permanent magnet synchronous motor. ADVISOR software has been used for vehicles configuration and simulation. Series and parallel hybrid vehicles have been considered. The main dynamic performances and the fuel consumption in two driving cycles were compared for the configured models. Three conventional models with the same engines used in HEVs have also been simulated for reference. The results highlight that in the case of HEVs, the choice of combination engine/electric motor is crucial in obtaining the best report between dynamic performances and low fuel consumption, and implicitly a low negative impact on the environment.

The construction industry is a key driver of environmental change due to its extensive ‎use of resources and high levels of emissions, thus placing a significant burden on global ‎efforts towards sustainable development targets. A large portion of the environmental ‎footprint of buildings results from the energy required to sustain indoor comfort levels. ‎Therefore, enhancing the energy efficiency of existing buildings becomes critical in ‎reducing their environmental impact. This study examines the influence of increasing ‎thermal performance with the aim of reducing heating ‎demand. Thus, numerical modelling tools and different energy performance assessment meth-odologies have been used. ‎Specifically, it evaluates two existing residential buildings in Romania and compares ‎heating demand predictions using PHPP and Mc001-2022 methodologies across various ‎climatic data sets and case studies. The results reveal significant variability in heating ‎demand predictions, emphasizing the importance of methodological choice and climatic ‎data. The ‎study highlights that both PHPP and Mc001-2022 methodologies yield varying results ‎depending on the specific conditions and characteristics of each building. This variation in results underscores ‎the necessity for a nuanced and context-specific approach to energy performance ‎assessment, in-corporating multiple energy efficiency measures tailored to the unique ‎features of each building.

Dipole antennas, fundamental components in wireless communication systems, have garnered significant attention due to their versatility and efficiency across various applications. This literature review explores the performance analysis of dipole antennas, focusing on recent advancements and methodologies from 2019 to 2024. Employing a systematic approach, the review synthesizes findings from multiple databases, emphasizing peer-reviewed studies that delve into dipole antenna designs and applications. Through meticulous data extraction, key parameters influencing dipole antenna performance, such as material properties and operating frequency, are identified and analyzed. Results highlight the widespread utilization of dipole antennas in wireless communication systems, including indoor positioning, mobile communication, and antenna calibration, among others. Discussions underscore the evolution of dipole antennas in base station environments and their role in filtering applications. The review concludes by emphasizing the continued relevance and evolution of dipole antennas, showcasing their adaptability and potential across diverse wireless communication contexts.

The advancement in science and technology has led to luffa sponge (LS) being widely used as a natural material in industrial application as its polyporous structure and light texture. In order to enhance the utility of LS fibers as the reinforcement of lightweight composite materials, this study investigate its water absorption, mechanical properties, anatomical characteristic and thermal performance. Hence, moisture regain, tensile properties of LS fiber bundles were measured in accordance with standards and the structural characteristics were investigated via microscopic observation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the surface morphology and fracture surface of fiber bundles. Test results shows that the special structure where the phloem tissues degenerate to cavities had a significant influence on the mechanical properties of LS fiber bundles. Additionally, the transverse sectional area occupied by fibers in a fiber bundle (SF), wall thickness and ratio of wall to lumen of fiber cell, and crystallinity of cellulose had an impact on the mechanical properties of LS fiber bundles. Furthermore, the fiber bundles density of LS varies range of 385.46-468.70 kg/m³, much less than that of jute (1360.40 kg/m³) and Arenga engleri (950.20 kg/m³) while LS fiber bundles has superior specific modulus.

The present study is to address performance of the dairy supply chain and emphasizes the significance of reliability of the chain as a fundamental and critical attribute for fulfilling the safety requirements. In order to evaluate the performance of the dairy supply chain, the present study utilizes the reliability attribute, which is an essential and informative system performance indicator. The study considers not only the inputs and outputs but also internal activities and relationships between customers, manufacturers, and suppliers. To minimize calculations and resolve uncertainties and vagueness that may be experienced in the performance evaluation process, this study proposes the use of the Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) approach and evaluates the reliability at each level of the supply chain: supply, manufacturing, and distribution. Combining the reliability of different levels, the study finally calculates the reliability of the entire supply chain. The proposed methodology offers a practical approach for evaluating the reliability performance of a dairy supply chain and can be easily extended to other industries as well. To verify the proposed methodology, a real case in the Iranian dairy industry is chosen to be studied. Results indicate that the proposed methodology can effectively identify bottlenecks or weaknesses in the dairy supply chain and help develop effective strategies to address them. Analyzing factors influencing supply chain reliability can optimize operations, reduce costs, and improve the overall quality of dairy product quality delivered to consumers.

Partial shading on solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays is a prevalent problem in photovoltaic systems that impair the performance of PV modules and is responsible for reduced power output as compared to that in standard irradiance conditions thereby resulting in the appearance of multiple maximas on panel output power characteristics. These maxims contribute to mismatch power losses among PV modules. The mismatch losses depend on shading characteristics together with different interconnected configuration schemes of PV modules. The research presents a comparative analysis of partial shading effects on a 4 x4 PV array system connected in series(S), parallel (P), serries-parallel (SP),total-cross-tied (TCT),central-cross-tied(CCT),bridge-linked(BL),bridge-linked total cross-tied (BLTCT) ,honey-comb(HC), honey-comb total-cross-tied (HCTCT) and ladder (LD) configurations using MATLAB/Simulink. The PV module SPR-X20-250-BLK was used for modeling and simulation analysis. Each module is comprised of 72 number of PV cells and a combination of 16 PV modules was employed for the contextual analysis. Accurate mathematical modeling for the HCTCT configuration under partial shading conditions (PSCs) is provided for the first time and is verified from the simulation. The different configuration schemes were investigated under short-narrow,short-wide,long-narrow,long-wide, diagonal, entire row distribution, and entire column distribution partial shading condition patterns with mathematical implementation and simulation of passing clouds. The performance of array configurations is compared in terms of maximum power generated ), mismatch power loss (∆), relative power loss ) and the fill factor (FF). It was inferred that on average, TCT configuration yielded maximum power generation under all shading patterns among all PV modules interconnection configurations with minimum mismatch power losses followed by hybrid and conventional PV array configurations respectively.

The oscillating heat pipe (OHP) is a new member in the family of heat pipes, and it has great potential applications in energy conservation. However, the fluid flow and heat transfer in the OHP as well as the fundamental effects of inner diameter on them have not been fully understood, which are essential to the design and optimization of the OHP in real applications. Therefore, by combining the high-speed visualization method and infrared thermal imaging technique, the fluid flow and thermal performance in the OHPs with inner diameters of 1, 2 and 3 mm are presented and analyzed. The results indicate that three fluid flow motions, including small oscillation, bulk oscillation and circulation, coexist or, respectively, exist alone with the increasing heating load under different inner diameters, with three flow patterns occurring in the OHPs, viz. bubbly flow, slug flow and annular flow. These fluid flow motions are closely correlated with the heat and mass transfer performance in the OHPs, which can be reflected by the characteristics of infrared thermal images of condensers. The decrease in the inner diameter increases the frictional flow resistance and capillary instability while restricting the nucleate boiling in OHPs, which leads to a smaller proportion of bubbly flow, a larger proportion of short slug flow, a poorer thermal performance, and easier dry-out of working fluid. In addition, when compared with the 2 mm OHP, the increasing role of gravity induces the thermosyphon effect and weakens the 'bubble pumping' action, which results in a little smaller and bigger thermal resistances of 3 mm OHP under small and bulk oscillation of working fluid, respectively.

This study investigated the effect of replacing part of the dietary soybean meal with either polymer-coated urea or gelatinized starch urea on the performance, nutrient digestibility, blood biochemical indexes, ruminal fermentation and rumen microflora of Angus heifers. The urea release profiles of two kinds of slow-release urea were evaluated in vitro and indicated a superior nitrogen retention with the polymer-coated urea. 210 purebred Angus cattle (BW = 314.26 kg) were divided into three groups: no urea group (CON), polymer-coated urea group (PCU), gelatinized starch urea group (GSU), 20g/kg polymer-coated urea or 25g/kg gelatinized starch urea was used to replace part of soybean meal in the concentrate feed respectively according to the principle of iso-metabolic energy and iso-nitrogenous. During the whole experiment, the ADG of PCU group was higher than both the GSU group and the CON group. The feed-weight ratio of the PCU group was significantly lower than both the GSU group and the CON group during the 90-day feeding period. The ADF apparent digestibility in the PCU group was significantly higher than that of the CON group, and extremely significantly higher than that of the GSU group. On the 86th day, the ALB content in the PCU group was significantly higher than that in the CON group. The contents of acetic acid and butyric acid, total volatile fatty acid and propionic acid were significantly higher in the PCU group than in the CON group. Bacterial diversity analysis found that the abundance of Firmicutes was higher in the PCU group than that in the GSU group and the CON group at the phylum level, and inverse result was observed in Bacteroidetes. The abundance of Paraprevotella was higher in the PCU group, whereas higher abundance of Prevotella was found in the GSU group at the genus level. These results indicate that both polymer-coated urea and gelatinized starch urea can replace part of soybean meal in the diet, and the amount of substitution in this trial had no diverse effect on the performance of Angus heifers, and the effect and economic benefits brought by polymer-coated urea were better than gelatinized starch urea.

The lack of quality formulated feeds as supplements or replacements for live feeds has negatively impacted the growth performance and survival rates in the larvae of many fish species, notably African catfish (C. gariepinus). Successful larval rearing relies on the availability of suitable diets that are readily consumed, easily digested, and provide the essential nutrients necessary for optimal growth and health of the fish. This study evaluated the growth performance and survival rates of C. gariepinus larvae when fed locally formulated diets. The experiment was conducted using 12 basins, each with a capacity of 20 liters. Each basin was stocked with 60 larvae in four replicates, averaging 0.03 g in weight. The experimental diets were formulated to contain three different levels of crude protein: 40%, 45%, and 50%. The larvae were fed these diets at a rate of 10-20% of their body weight over 70 days. Initially, the larvae were fed artemia at the onset of feeding in hatchling basins immediately after yolk sac absorption for the first seven days. This was followed by a blend of artemia and formulated feeds for 14 days. After 28 days, the larvae were transitioned to be exclusively fed the formulated dry feeds. The results indicated that the larvae fed on diets containing 45% and 50% crude protein exhibited significantly better overall growth performance compared to those fed on a 40% crude protein diet. Specifically, the larvae that received the 45% and 50% crude protein diets showed higher final mean weight, increased daily weight gain, and improved survival rates, which ranged from 80% to 81.5%. Notably, there was no significant difference in growth performance and survival rates between the larvae fed on 45% and 50% crude protein diets, suggesting that a 45% crude protein-formulated diet is sufficient to achieve the best growth performance and survival rates for C. gariepinus larvae. This study supports the recommendation of feeding C. gariepinus larvae with a dry diet containing 45% crude protein starting from 14 days post-hatching to enhance their growth and survival rates. However, further research is recommended to explore the effects of this feeding regimen across different agroecological zones and aquaculture systems to validate and potentially refine these findings.

The purpose of this article is to present an IoT architecture implemented in an intelligent environment, focusing on the optimization of initial conditions and device management. A general control system was developed using an open-source platform, integrating aWi-Fi network and YAML coding to enable communication and control of the IoT architecture devices. The implementation includes actuators, sensors, and control devices that, through a graphical interface, allow the visualization of the historical record of activities and real-time measurements of connected devices. The design includes specific mechanisms and the analysis of materials through tensile tests on specimens, following the ASTM E8 standard, and deformation test simulations, in which PLA demonstrated better performance compared to materials like ABS and resin. The significance of the implemented IoT system lies in an energy saving of 58% compared to conventional structures. Additionally, the study of response times for network connections showed that using an Ethernet cable resulted in a response time of 1.21 seconds, representing a reduction of 1.65 seconds compared to the second lowest value obtained.

This study investigated the development of novel probiotic formulations specifically designed for rainbow trout aquaculture. The project evaluated the effects of two formulations containing potential probiotic strains isolated from rainbow trout itself. These effects were assessed on various parameters including growth performance, immune response, liver enzyme activity, gene expression related to immunity, and the composition of the bacterial gut microbiota in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). In a completely randomized experimental design, a total of 450 rainbow trout were randomly divided into 70-liter fiberglass tank. The study included six treatments of three replicates (n=18 tanks). Six dietary treatments were included (A) and (B) containing three strains of Pediococcus sp P15, Lactococcus lactis ml3, Weissella cibaria ml6 at two dosages (300 and 500 mg/kg), treatments (C) and (D) containing five strains of P. sp P15, L. lactis ml3, W. cibaria ml6, Enterococcus faecium E10 and Lactobacillus curvatus 13A at two dosages (300 and 500 mg/kg), a commercial probiotic (E) at 300 mg/kg, and a control group (F) without probiotics. Treatments of (A), (B) and (E) resulted in the highest final weights in compared to control group. Fish fed treatments (A) and (B) had the lowest FCR than other groups. Treatments (A) and (D) showed a significant increase in immunoglobulin M (IgM) concentration compared to other groups. The expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was significantly lower in group (A) than the control. In contrast, the expression of interleukin 6 (IL6) and immunoglobulin T (IgT) was increased 4.4-fold and 41-fold, respectively, in group (A) compared to control group. Among the probiotic fed treatments, group (A) showed a significant higher number of lactic acid bacteria compared to other groups during the experiment. This study highlights the significant role of treatment (A) containing three strains of P. sp P15, L. lactis ml3, and W. cibaria ml6 at a dosage of 300 mg/kg as a potential probiotic product for the rainbow trout industry.

When drilling oil and gas wells, hole cleaning efficiency is crucial, particularly in the curved or severely deviated sections. Although many hole-cleaning procedures and models have been developed, most of them have substantial limitations or are difficult to apply in real time. This study aimed to develop a model for the hole cleaning index (HCI) that could be integrated into the drilling operations to provide an automated and real-time evaluation of deviated drilling hole cleaning. The new model herein was developed based on the mechanical drilling parameters, enhanced estimated drilling fluid properties, and cuttings characteristics. This HCI model was validated and tested in the field, as it was applied when drilling 12.25”-intermediate directional sections in two wells with a total length of approximately 2000 ft each. The integration of the HCI helped to attain a much better well drilling performance (50% enhancement) and mitigation of potential problems like pipe sticking and the slower rate of penetration. Since the developed index incorporates the changes in wellbore geometry and other spontaneous field data, the new model could be utilized for real-time optimization and intermediate interventions by drilling teams, unlike commercial software tools which are only useful during the planning phase. For this reason, the HCI can be linked to the driller's control panel to provide timely evaluation and corrective measures related to hole cleaning.

This study aims to develop a performance evaluation system that can facilitate performance evaluation at region, hospital, and department levels to enable better cost management for sustainable development. A multi-level system of performance evaluation informs a hierarchical assessment of cost management from regions to hospitals to departments using diagnosis-related group (DRGs). Various metrics are developed employing the variances between targets and actuals where targets are determined from two perspectives: benchmarking using external regional prices and change management using internal data. Targets for the latter are statistically based and specifically incorporate variability. The model is applied to two hospitals, twenty departments, nine DRGs and 1071 inpatients. The analyses indicate that the approach can provide a practical evaluation tool that allows for particular characteristics at multiple levels. The system provides macro-micro and external-internal perspectives in performance, enabling high-level variances to be decomposed thereby identifying sources of performance variability and financial impact.

Ghana, blessed with abundant solar resources and has strategically invested in solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies to diversify its energy mix and reduce the environmental impacts of traditional energy technologies. The 50 MW solar PV installation by the Bui Power Authority exemplifies the nation's dedication to utilizing clean energy for sustainable growth. This study seeks to close the knowledge gap by providing a detailed analysis of the system's performance under different weather conditions, particularly on days with abundant sunshine and those with cloudy skies. The research consists of one-year monitoring data of the climatic and AC energy output fed into the grid. This data was used to analyze PV performance on each month's sunniest and cloudiest days. The results show that the total amount of AC energy output fed into the grid each month on the sunniest day varies between 229.3 MWh in December and 278.0 MWh in November, while the total amount of AC energy output fed into the grid each month on the cloudiest day varies between16.1 MWh in August and 192.8 MWh in February. Also, the percentage variation in energy produced between the sunniest and cloudiest days within a month ranges from 16.9% (December) to 94.1% (August). The reference and system yield analysis showed that the PV plant has a high conversion efficiency of 91.3%; however, only the sunniest and overcast days had an efficiency of 38% and 92%, respectively. The BPA plant's performance can be enhanced by using this analysis to identify erratic power generation on sunny days and schedule timely maintenance to keep the plant's performance from deteriorating. Optimizing a solar PV system's design, installation, and operation can significantly improve its AC energy output, performance ratio, and capacity factor on sunny and cloudy days.

Purpose: This research aims to model a police agency ordering problem based on criteria that measure the performance of operational and logistical variables, using a multicriteria method. Design/methodology/approach: The multicriteria method PROMETHEE II was used, which with the aid of the Visual PROMETHEE software, emulated the systematized data in the impact matrix and produced the final ordering of the most efficient police agencies in equalizing the operational, logistical, financial, and human resources applied in the combating crime and reducing criminal indices. Findings: The results confirmed that the resources made available to police agencies located in different municipalities in the metropolitan region of the state of Rio de Janeiro are better applied by managers compared to police units in the capital of Rio de Janeiro. Research limitations/implications: As implications of the research, it can be inferred that the use of multicriteria methods in modelling problems in ​​public security can contribute to the rationalization of the use of available resources to fight crime in large cities. Research has shown that it is possible to use the multicriteria methodology in ordering police agencies that best equalize the available resources. Practical implications: The practical impact of this research lies in optimizing the resources available to law enforcement agencies in the fight against crime in general. Social implications: The results can influence the decision making of the local government in the allocation of resources, as well as offering sectors of the economy information relevant to local development. Originality/value: The results of the MCDA analysis can be used to help police agencies in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to be more efficient. In addition, the application of MCDA can be a new approach to measuring the efficiency of police services.

In the past twenty years, the IT industry has moved away from using physical servers for workload management to workloads consolidated via virtualization and, in the next iteration, further consolidated into containers. In the next step, container workloads based on Docker and Podman as underlying container technologies were orchestrated/automated via Kubernetes or OpenShift. On the other hand, high-performance computing (HPC) environments have been lagging in that process, as there’s still much work to figure out how to apply containerization platforms for HPC in real-life scenarios. Kubernetes and OpenShift have many advantages – generally speaking, container technologies use quite a bit less overhead from the computing perspective while providing many benefits in flexibility, modularity, and maintenance. Therefore, they are ideal for tasks requiring a lot of computing power. There are also some tradeoffs regarding the complexity of these two platforms - they’re just not that user-friendly when used by people without years of experience managing them. In this paper, we propose a different architecture based on seamless hardware integration and user-friendly, dynamic workload placement based on real-time performance analysis and prediction coupled with Machine Learning-based scheduling.

Aquaculture is an important source of food for the growing global population. To meet the increasing demand for fish, intensive aquaculture methods are commonly used. However, these methods can lead to stress and disease in fish, which can result in significant economic losses. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid that is found in the brain and central nervous system of animals as inhibitory neurotransmitter. It has been shown to have a variety of physiological functions, including stress reduction and immune enhancement. This study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation of GABA on growth, serum biochemistry, innate immunity and disease resistance in juvenile olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) challenged with Edwardsiella tarda under high stocking density. A control diet and three experimental diets were prepared, with 150 mg/kg (GABA150), 200 mg/kg (GABA200), and 250 mg/kg (GABA250) of GABA added to each diet, respectively. The actual GABA content of the experimental diets was analyzed and found to be 63.9 mg/kg (CON), 231.3 mg/kg (GABA150), 291.6 mg/kg (GABA200), and 323.9 mg/kg (GABA250). Each experimental diet was fed to olive flounder with an initial weight of 12.75 g ± 0.3 g in 40 L tanks at two stocking densities: normal density (20 fish/tank) and high density (40 fish/tank). The experiment was conducted in triplicate for each diet and stocking density. The water temperature was maintained at 17.5 ± 1℃ and the salinity at 33 ± 1 ppt. After 8 weeks of feeding trial, growth, feed utilization, whole-body proximate composition, blood analysis, non-specific immune response, and challenge test were performed. There were no significant difference in weight gain and specific growth rate among the GABA concentrations and density × GABA concentration interaction groups. However, the low-density groups showed significantly higher values than the high-density groups (P &lt; 0.05). There was no significant difference in feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio among all groups. Moreover, there was no significant difference in the whole-body general composition analysis (P &gt; 0.05). In the hematological analysis, there was no significant difference in cortisol in terms of diet and density × GABA concentration interaction, but the high-density experimental group showed a significantly higher value. Blood GABA significantly increased in proportion to the addition amount regardless of the density group (P&lt;0.05). Superoxide dismutase activity in the non-specific immune response showed that the GABA-added experimental group had a significantly higher value than the control group, but there was no significant effect of the density densities or density × GABA concentration interaction (P&lt;0.05). Myeloperoxidase activities in fish fed the GABA200 and GABA250 diets showed significantly higher values, and a density × GABA concentration interaction effect was observed (P&lt;0.05). Lysozyme activity was significantly higher in the GABA150 group than in the CON, GABA200, and GABA250 groups (P &lt; 0.05). After 15 days of challenge test by intraperitoneal injection of Edwardsiella tarda, the cumulative survival rates of the GABA150, GABA200, and GABA250 groups were significantly higher than that of the CON group (P &lt; 0.05). The results suggested that the optimal dietary GABA level for juvenile olive flounder culture is 150 mg/kg, regardless of rearing density, to enhance growth, immune function and disease resistance.

The presented research focused on the evaluation of the novel concept of overmolding technique using self-reinforced composite prepregs and recycled polymer blends. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed manufacturing technique, several series of materials based on polycarbonate/polyethylene terephthalate (PC/PET) and polycarbonate/polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PC/PETG) blends were prepared. The reinforcing component in the form of overmolded prepreg was made from polyester-based self-reinforced composite (srPET). The prepared materials were compared in terms of mechanical properties and heat resistance; the study was supplemented by thermal analysis measurements (DMTA, DSC). Considering the mechanical characteristics, the overmolding technique turns out to be an effective method of improving the properties of composites, and the increase in impact strength turns out to be particularly beneficial. The increase of the impact strength for overmolded PC/PET blend reached 430 % for PC/PETG sample 330% , while for PC-based composite, only 100%. The expected improvement in thermomechanical properties turned out to be difficult to achieve due to the rapid softening of the srPET prepreg at around 70 °C. However, technological tests and analysis of properties clearly indicated that the use of PC-based blends makes it possible to create a permanent connection with reinforcement based on srPET prepregs, which can significantly expand the potential of applications of this type of materials.

The background of this research is the environmental sustainability assessments in the aviation ecosystem, particularly concerning airports, are getting significant attention from the industry, regulators, and researchers. A standardized and comprehensive approach is essential for uniformly addressing the global impacts of these assessments across the industry. The main objective of this study is to develop a unique framework that encompasses the requirements of aviation regulators as well as industry and academic metrics, aiming for a standardized approach to environmental sustainability assessments at airports. The methodology used the Sum of Ranking Method to evaluate each environmental indicator precisely. It was applied to five airports globally, providing a diverse testing ground to assess the proposed metrics’ applicability and effectiveness and validate the framework. The results showed that applying the framework across these varied airport environments demonstrated its viability and effectiveness, indicating that it can be successfully applied to different airport realities. The conclusion shows that the developed framework can be successfully applied globally, suggesting that it can be a valid method for international adoption in environmental airport sustainability analysis, offering a standardized approach that could be accepted and utilized worldwide.

This study assessed the relationship between body posture displacements and cardiopulmonary function test (CPET) and skill related physical fitness tests. One hundred male (60%) and female collegiate athletes (22.2 ± 4yrs) with a normal body mass index (BMI up to 24.9) were assessed via the PostureScreen Mobile app to quantify postural displacements as head, thorax and pelvis rotations and translations. CPET and physical performance tests including the agility T-test, the vertical jump test, the stork static balance test (SSBT) and the dynamic Y-balance test (YBT) were performed. Spearman correlation (r) and p-values are reported. Postural parameters were found to have moderate-to-high associations with CPET and the agility test, moderate correlations with the vertical jump test and the SSBT (head and pelvic postures only), and weak correlations with the YBT. As postural parameters were more asymmetric, both CPET and performance skills scores were worse. For examples: 1) a medium positive correlation was found between cranio-vertebral angle (CVA) and vertical jump test (r = 0.54; p-value &lt; 0.001) and SSBT (r = 0.57; p-value &lt; 0.001), while a strong negative correlation was found between CVA and agility test (r = -0.86; p-value &lt; 0.001). 2) A strong positive correlation was found between CVA and oxygen uptake efficiency slope, load watts VO2 at VT, VO2 / kg, load watts at respiratory compensation point (RCP), (r = 0.65 and r = 0.71; p &lt; 0.001). Conversely, a significant negative correlation was found between CVA and VE / VO2 at VT (r = -0.61; p &lt; 0.001). Postural rotations and translations of the head, thorax and pelvis were statistically correlated with physical performance skills and CPET in young collegiate athletes. There were moderate-to-high associations with cardiopulmonary functions and agility tests, moderate correlations with the vertical jump test, and weak correlations with the YBT. Postural alignment may be important for optimal physical performance and optimal cardiopulmonary function. Further research is necessary to elucidate reasons for these correlations as found in our sample of young and healthy athletes.

Sustainability experienced significant global momentum in recent decades. The emergence of the sustainability movement in the Financial Sector was prompted by the increasing global climate change resulting from environmental deterioration. Primarily associated with the Financial Sector, it has increasingly been recognised that Financial Institutions are significant contributors to global climate change, both via direct and indirect means. This has resulted in a heightened emphasis and demand from stakeholders for the implementation of Sustainability Principles on a worldwide scale. This study presents a methodology that utilises the various dimensions of Sustainable Finance through the concept of Triple Bottom Line to determine the factors influencing the Sustainability Performance of Financial Institutions. The suggested approach is grounded and supported by the current body of literature. The study presents a hypothesis to investigate the correlation between factors of Green Finance Practices and Sustainability Performance of Banking Sector. The suggested framework can be utilised by regulatory bodies and individual financial institution of a country to identify the elements that influence the Sustainability Performance of Banking Sector.

As an active device, air source heat pumps (ASHP) are widely used for heating and cooling in buildings. However, in cold regions, their efficiency decreases, and frost formation becomes a significant issue during winter. This paper proposes a new scheme that couples air source heat pumps with passive heating. By using software simulations and mathematical models, the new scheme is compared to traditional ASHP systems to analyze its heating performance in rural homes during winter in China’s cold regions. According to the simulation and calculation analysis, on the coldest day of winter, the coupling scheme can provide approximately 99.41kWh of heat to the interior, surpassing the 86.67kWh required to maintain an indoor temperature of 20℃. The system’s power consumption is 36.96 kWh, which is 66.88% lower than that of traditional heat pump heating. The study shows that a coupled system of air source heat pumps and passive heating has better heating performance in cold regions. By incorporating phase change materials and heat storage media to address the shortage of solar energy at night, the system can meet the heating needs throughout the entire day.

Long-term storage may reduce the nutritional quality of brown rice, so the present study was aimed to evaluate the nutritive values and application in pig diets. In Exp.1, 18 Landrace × Yorkshire (L × Y) barrows with initial body weight (IBW) of 25.48 ± 3.21 kg were randomly assigned to three treatments, which included corn diet, one-year stored brown rice (BR1) diet and six-year stored brown rice (BR6) diet, to determine the digestible energy (DE) and metabolisable energy (ME) value of stored brown rice. In Exp. 2, 24 barrows (L × Y; IBW: 22.16 ± 2.42 kg) fixed with ileal T-cannula were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments, including corn diet, two stored brown rice diets and nitrogen-free diet, to evaluate the amino acid (AA) digestibility of stored brown rice. In Exp. 3 and 4, 108 crossbred weaned piglets (L × Y; IBW: 9.16 ± 0.89 kg) and 90 crossbred growing pigs (L × Y; IBW: 48.28 ± 3.51 kg) were allotted to 3 treatment diets, including control diet and two stored brown rice diets, respectively, to investigate the application of stored brown rice in weaned piglet and growing-finishing pig diets. Results showed that: 1) The DE and ME of corn and stored brown rice showed no significant differences (P > 0.05), while the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of arginine, histidine, aspartic acid, and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of arginine and histidine were higher in stored brown rice compared to corn (P < 0.05). 2) Compared with the control diet, the stored brown rice diets showed no significant effects on growth performance, nutrient apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and serum biochemical indices (P > 0.05), but decreased digestive enzymes activities in duodenum, jejunum and ileum of piglets (P < 0.05). 3) Compared with the control diet, the stored brown rice diets showed no significant effects on growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, fatty acids profiles in the longissimus dorsi muscle of growing-finishing pigs (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the brown rice stored for 6 years under good conditions has no obvious changes in available energy and nutrient values. Although it may reduce digestive enzyme activity in small intestine of the piglets, the stored brown rice showed no obvious adverse effect on growth performance and meat quality, and can be effectively used in pig diet.

Tennis is an individual sport characterised by high intensity action, including sprints and changes of direction (COD). There is a gap in the knowledge of limb asymmetries in adolescent tennis players and their association with performance. This study aimed to examine the relationship between asymmetry in vertical and horizontal jump tests (CMJ and HJ) and COD with lower limb performance variables in adolescent tennis players. Forty-five adolescent tennis players (age: 13.81 ± 1.08 years; height: 167.64 ± 9.9 cm; body mass: 57.48 ± 10.94 kg; body mass index: 20.27 ± 2.18 kg/m2) performed the CMJ test (unilateral and bilateral), horizontal jumps (unilateral and bilateral), 25 m sprint and 180º COD test. The single-leg countermovement jump showed the greatest asymmetries among the different tests (6.62 ± 9.35%). Significant negative relationships were found between CMJ asymmetry and COD asymmetry with unilateral horizontal jump variables (r = -0.30 to -0.53). In addition, CMJ asymmetry showed significant relationships with CMJR (r=0.49) and COD180R (r=0.29), whereas COD asymmetry showed a significant relationship with COD180L (r=0.40). On the other hand, HJ asymmetry showed no significant relationships with any variable. The main findings of this study indicate that greater imbalances in the CMJ and COD tests are associated with a reduced capacity to perform unilateral horizontal jumps. These results suggest the need to incorporate training protocols that reduce interlimb asymmetries in growing athletes to improve their performance.

A co-curing resin system consisting of 9368 epoxy resin for prepreg and 6808 epoxy resin for resin transfer molding (RTM) was developed. A corresponding preparation method of novel polymer composite bolted T-joint with internal skeleton and external skin was proposed based on prepreg-RTM co-curing process, and novel T-joints were fabricated. A series of conventional configuration T-joints based on RTM process and T-joints made of 2A12 aluminum alloy were prepared simultaneously. Bending performances were studied on these T-joints experimentally. The results indicate that 9368 epoxy resin and 6808 epoxy resin exhibit good compatibility in rheological and thermophysical properties. The novel T-joints prepared with prepreg-RTM co-curing process show no obvious fiber local winding or resin-rich regions inside, and the interface quality between internal skeleton and external skin is excellent. The main failure modes of the novel T-joint under bending load include separation of skin and skeleton and fracture along the thickness on the base panel; the skeleton carries the main bending load, but there is still load transfer between external skin and internal skeleton through their interface. The internal damages of the novel T-joint are highly consistent with surface damages observed visually, facilitating the detection and timely discovery of damages. The initial stiffness, damage initiation load, and ultimate load of the novel T-joint are 1.65 times, 5.89 times, and 3.45 times that of conventional T-joint, respectively. When considering the influence of density, the relative initial stiffness and relative ultimate load of the novel T-joint are 1.44 times and 2.07 times that of aluminum alloy T-joint, respectively.

In this paper, it is defined that how the IPOs are affected by the underwriter reputation. What will happen to IPOs who are backed by reputed underwriter and who is not? And evaluate the IPOs short-run and long-run performance. Also try to explain the relationship between IPOs and underwriter. Also tried to compare some of the international return and Pakistani returns. Also determine the relation of the investor to the underwriter. There is a set of investors who have there own relationship with the underwriters how they will affect on the IPOs in the market.

Emotion detection from the text is an important and challenging problem in text analytics. The opinion-mining experts are focusing on the development of emotion detection applications as they have received considerable attention of online community including users and business organization for collecting and interpreting public emotions. However, most of the existing works on emotion detection used less efficient machine learning classifiers with limited datasets, resulting in performance degradation. To overcome this issue, this work aims at the evaluation of the performance of different machine learning classifiers on a benchmark emotion dataset. The experimental results show the performance of different machine learning classifiers in terms of different evaluation metrics like precision, recall ad f-measure. Finally, a classifier with the best performance is recommended for the emotion classification.

Capital structure decision plays an imperative role in firm’s performance. Recognizing the importance, there has been many studies inspected the rapport of capital structure with performance of firms and findings of those studies are inconclusive. In addition, there is relative deficiency of empirical studies examining the link of capital structure with performance of banks in Bangladesh. This paper attempted to fill this gap. Using panel data of 22 banks for the period of 2005-2014, this study empirically examined the impacts of capital structure on the performance of Bangladeshi banks assessed by return on equity, return on assets and earnings per share. Results from pooled ordinary least square analysis show that there are inverse impacts of capital structure on bank’s performance. Empirical findings of this study is of greater significance for the developing countries like Bangladesh because it will call upon concentration of the bank management and policy makers to pursue such policies to reduce reliance on debt and to accomplish optimal level capital structure. This research also contributes to empirical literatures by reconfirming (or otherwise) findings of previous studies.

The oil and gas industry in Nigeria, a vital contributor to the nation's economy, has long been associated with significant environmental challenges. Pollution, habitat destruction, and greenhouse gas emissions have raised global concerns about sustainability and corporate responsibility. This empirical study explores the relationship between environmental accounting practices and the financial performance of listed oil and gas companies in Nigeria. We investigated eight oil and gas companies that are publicly traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market (NGX) as of January 17, 2022, from 2011 to 2022. The study employs Driscoll-Kraay standard errors and reveals that environmental accounting had significant effects on returns on assets, earnings per share, and liquidity ratio. The study revealed that the implementation of environmental accounting practices had diverse effects on the performance of oil and gas companies in Nigeria. The findings encourage policymakers and stakeholders in the sector to utilise the insights and design more effective regulations and incentives that promote environmental corporate responsibility. Also, valuable insights into the potential benefits and challenges associated with adopting environmental accounting practices, and influencing the decision-making processes of corporate stakeholders were provided to ensure sustainability in terms of improved financial performance of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.

The stinging nettle caterpillar, Darna pallivitta (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) is a serious invasive pest of agricultural products and a health hazard on the Hawaiian Islands first discovered in 2001. Nursery workers and homeowners have been stung by the caterpillars while handling their plants, especially rhapis palms (Rhapis sp.). Throughout its invaded range, it causes widespread damage including the many cultivated and native palm species grown in Hawaii. Of medical importance are the stinging spines of the larva, which cause dermatitis on contact with the skin. Horticulture and nursery products impacted by the limacodid pest are estimated at $84.3 million (2018 value). An eradication attempt with pesticides and lure traps was made but proved unsuccessful and the moth population continued to spread to major Hawaiian Islands (Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Oahu). The introduction of specific biological control agents from the native region was thought to be the long-term solution for this invasive pest. Initial exploration in Indonesia and Thailand resulted in the introduction of a pupal ectoparasitoid, Nesolynx sp. (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae), that was not specific. The oriental wasp, Aroplectrus dimerus Lin (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae: Eulophinae), idiobiont gregarious ectoparasitoid of the stinging nettle caterpillar, was introduced from Taiwan in 2004 for host specificity studies and biocontrol in Hawaii. Host range testing showed the parasitoid attacked only limacodid species and it was approved for field release in 2010. The parasitoid identity, host specificity under containment facility conditions, reproductive performance, colonization on the major infested sites were assessed. A total of 13379 parasitoids were colonized on162 release sites on four Hawaiian Islands. Evaluations were conducted using field surveys of larvae, pupal counts, and male lure traps. Field parasitism was thoroughly investigated on Oahu Island averaging 18.9 ± 5.6 % of 3923 collected larvae during 2010 – 2023. The numbers of male moths caught/trap/month were significantly reduced on Oahu Island (P

This research examines sustainable approaches in academic career development by analyzing the interactions between job satisfaction, professional commitment, and research performance among early-career researchers in Romanian institutions. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were collected from 96 individuals classified as R1 and R2 by the European Commission. A detailed questionnaire and Web-Assisted Personal Interviewing (WAPI) identified key relationships. Findings show a significant positive correlation between job satisfaction and research perfor-mance, underscoring the role of professional satisfaction in fostering sustainable academic ex-cellence. Professional commitment is also a crucial predictor of research performance, aligning with existing studies and highlighting the importance of sustainable career practices. Statistical analysis via SPSS version 23.0 validated the initial hypotheses, emphasizing each dimension's significance in a sustainable academic career. Results reflect Romania's research environment, emphasizing the need for sustainable working conditions, effective research evaluation, sup-portive career frameworks, and strong professional commitment to motivate young researchers. This research proposes innovative, sustainable practices for enhancing academic performance and career management, advocating clear objectives, leadership development, continuous competency improvement, and a collaborative, inclusive work environment. Understanding these factors aids individuals and institutions in making informed decisions that support sustainable academic career trajectories and professional growth.

In this study, a commercial sodium butyrate protected by a new buffer salt solution (NSB) was tested to determine whether it can be used as an antibiotic alternative in broiler production. 192 1-day-old broilers were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments: soybean meal diet (CON), antibiotic diet (ANT, basal diet + 100 mg/kg aureomycin), and NSB (basal diet + 800 mg/kg NSB). The growth performance, serum anti-inflammatory cytokines, intestinal morphology, gut barrier function, antioxidative parameters, SCFAs content, and cecal microbiota were analyzed. The result showed that NSB significantly improved ADFI, ADG (p < 0.01), and decreased FCR (p < 0.01). Serum anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was up-regulated (p < 0.01), and pro-inflammatory TNF-α was down-regulated (p < 0.05) by NSB supplementation. H&E results showed that VH and VH: CD ratio significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the jejunum and ileum in the NSB group. Furthermore, ZO-1 (p < 0.01), claudin-1 (p < 0.01), and occludin (p < 0.05) in the jejunum and claudin-1 (p < 0.01) and mucin-2 (p < 0.05) in the ileum significantly up-regulated in the NSB group, respectively. Additionally, SOD (p < 0.05) and T-AOC/MDA ratio (p < 0.01) in the jejunum and SOD in the ileum were significantly increased (p < 0.05) in the NSB group. The MDA level also significantly increased (p < 0.01) in the ANT group in the jejunum. Propionic acid (p < 0.05) and butyric acid (p < 0.01) content significantly increased in the NSB group in the jejunum and ileum segments. The 16S rRNA sequencing results showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) in alpha and beta diversity among the groups. LEFSe analysis also indicated that Peptostreptococcaceae, Colidextribacter, Firmicutes, Oscillospira, and Erysipelatoclostridiaceae, which promote SCFA production (p < 0.05), were identified as dominant taxon-enriched bacterial genera in the NSB group. The Spearman correlation analysis revealed that Colidextribacter with ADFI, ADG, VH, claudin-1 (p < 0.05), and unclassified_f__Peptostreptococcaceae with ADFI, IL-10, and ZO-1 were positively correlated (p < 0.05). Furthermore, ADFI and ADG with IL-10, claudin-1, SOD, T-AOC, and butyric acid (p < 0.05), and similarly, ADG with VH (p < 0.05) showed a positive correlation. In conclusion, NSB enhanced the growth performance by improving jejunum and ileum morphology, serum anti-inflammatory cytokines, regulating intestinal barrier function and antioxidant capacity, SCFAs content, and cecum microbiota, showing its potential use as an alternative to antibiotics in poultry nutrition.

Digital transformation provides new drivers for economic performance growth in enterprises, but can it further improve ESG performance and support sustainable development? Based on the perspective of resources and capabilities, this paper uses the relevant data of 1588 listed companies in strategic emerging industries from 2011 to 2021 to study the differential impact of digital transformation on enterprise ESG performance, and further tests the mediating role of absorptive capacity and the moderating role of regional digital level. The research results indicate that: firstly, digital transformation of enterprises can positively promote the improvement of ESG performance; Secondly, there are significant differences in the impact of digital transformation on the ESG performance of enterprises in terms of property rights and industry characteristics. The ESG performance of state-owned enterprises and high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises is more sensitive to digital transformation; Thirdly, absorptive capacity plays a mediating role between digital transformation and corporate ESG performance; Fourthly, the positive regulation of regional digital level promotes the ESG performance of enterprises through digital transformation. The research conclusion is based on a digital perspective, providing relevant insights for improving the ESG performance of strategic emerging industry enterprises and expanding their ESG development paths.

In the current study, we assessed the effects of conventional and Ultra High Dose Rate (UHDR) irradiation on behavioral and cognitive performance one month following exposure and assessed whether these effects were associated with alterations in the number of immune cells in the hippocampus using flow cytometry. Conventional- and UHDR-irradiated mice showed impaired novel object recognition. During fear learning, conventional- and UHDR-irradiated mice moved less during the inter-stimulus-interval (ISI) and UHDR-irradiated mice also moved less during the baseline period (prior to the first tone). In irradiated mice, reduced activity levels were also seen in the home cage; conventional- and UHDR-irradiated mice moved less during the light period and UHDR-irradiated mice moved less during the dark period. Following behavioral and cognitive testing, infiltrating immune cells in the hippocampus were analyzed by flow cytometry. The percent Ly6G+ CD45+ cells in the hippocampus was lower in conventional- and UHDR-irradiated than sham-irradiated mice, suggesting that neutrophils might be particularly sensitive to radiation. The percent of Ly6G+ CD45+ cells in the hippocampus was positively correlated with the time spent exploring the novel object in the object recognition test, suggesting that the reduced percent Ly6G+ CD45+ cells in the hippocampus might mediate some of the detrimental radiation-induced cognitive effects.

This paper introduces a rigorous and comprehensive approach for the assessment of marine shafting systems through the utilization of an advanced Pi-Theorem based scaling methodology. Integrating journal bearing similarity assessment and shaft-line scaling methodology with advanced dimensional analysis, the study aims to provide a methodology foundation for systematic replication and analysis of marine shafting systems through scaled models. The proposed scaling methodology ensures geometric and mechanical similarity in terms of shaft-line deflection, considering key scaling parameters such as shaft length, diameter, weight, loads, rotational speed, material properties, bearing locations, and offsets. The advanced dimensional analysis computes specific non-dimensional ratios to guarantee a close resemblance between a real-size system and a scaled lab model, enabling meaningful experimentation. The methodology is analytically derived and validated with numerical simulations for a case study, conducting comparative analysis, evaluating discrepancies, and utilizing the integrated framework for experimentation.

Vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are receiving more and more attention as they involve simple design, cope better with turbulence and are insensitive to wind direction which has a huge impact on the cost since the yaw mechanism is not needed. However, VAWTs still suffer from low conversion efficiency. As a results tremendous efforts are exerted to improve its efficiency which mainly focus on two methods regardless of whether the study is a CFD simulation or a field test or lab test experiment. An active approach which involves the modification of the rotor itself such as the blade design, angle, trailing and leading edges, inner blades, chord thickness, contra-rotating rotor, etc. While the second approach involves passive techniques where the flow is directed to optimally face the downwind rotor by mounting a guiding vane such as a diffuser or other shapes at the upwind position of the rotor. Among all techniques undertaken, the CRWT rotor technique seems to be the most effective with an output even comparable to that of Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT), while the Savonius rotor received more attention compared to other designs of VAWTs. Apart from technological issues, it was also suggested that geographical issues such as proper site siting of the wind turbine rotor at a particular location where a uniform flow could be guaranteed is of paramount importance to ensure an effective conversion capacity of wind turbines.

This study investigates the utilization of innovative green composites made from hemp shiv, a waste by-product of hemp cultivation, with the aim of promoting sustainability within the construction industry. The manufacturing method involve the application of pressure in a mold to create the samples. These materials were produced using an environmentally friendly binder consisting of colophony, arabic gum and corn starch, moreover white glue and bioepoxy are also used to compare with the green resins. Three different binder compositions for the specimens. The samples underwent mechanical testing through tensile and bending assessments, and their performance was compared to that of non-green binders to validate the effectiveness of the manufacturing processes. The study revealed that decreasing the moisture content during the curing process is crucial for improving the mechanical properties. The best results were achieved when using arabic gum as a binder, yielding a tensile strength of 2.16 MPa and a bending strength of 5.25 MPa, with a composition of 62.5% hemp shiv and a manufacturing process involving a pressure of 5 MPa.

The Ames/quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) International Challenge Projects held during 2014–2017 and 2020–2022, evaluated the performance of various predictive models. Despite the significant insights gained, the rules allowing participants to select prediction targets introduced ambiguity in model performance evaluation. This reanalysis identified the highest-performing prediction model, assuming a 100% coverage rate (COV) for all prediction target compounds and an estimated performance variation due to changes in COV. All models from both projects were evaluated using balance accuracy (BA), Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC), F1 Score (F1), and the first principal component (PC1). After normalizing the COV, a correlation analysis with these indicators was conducted, and the evaluation index for all prediction models in terms of the COV was estimated. In total, 109 models, the highest estimated BA (76.9) at 100% COV was MMI-VOTE1, reported by Meiji Pharmaceutical University (MPU). The best models for MCC, F1, and PC1 were all MMI-STK1, also reported by MPU. All models reported by MPU ranked in the top four. MMI-STK1 was estimated to have F1 scores of 59.2, 61.5, and 63.1 at COV levels of 90%, 60%, and 30%, respectively. These findings highlight the current state and potential of the Ames prediction technology.

A set of polymer composite bolted T-joints with novel configuration consisting of internal skeleton and external skin was fabricated using a prepreg-RTM co-curing molding process. Experiments were conducted to study their mechanical properties under bending load. A finite element model with a polymer resin area between the skin and skeleton was established and verified by the experimental results. Then, the damage propagation process and failure mechanism of the joint and the influence of three factors related to the layer characteristics of the skin and skeleton were investigated by the validated models. The results show that the bending stiffness and the yield limit load of the novel composite T-joint are 0.81 times and 1.65 times that of the 2A12 aluminum T-joint respectively, while at only 55.4% of its weight. The damage of the joint initiates within the resin area and leads to a degradation of the joint bending performances. The preferred stacking sequence of the skeleton is [0/+45/90/-45]ns when primarily subjected to bending loads. The decrease in bending performances is within 5% with the inclining angle of the skeleton less than 12 degrees. The more layers of 90° in the skin, the better bending performances of the joints, while the more layer of 0°, the poorer bending performances.

Cloud computing refers to applications delivered as services over the Internet. Cloud systems employ policies that are inherently dynamic in nature and that depend on temporal conditions defined in terms of external events, such as the measurement of bandwidth, use of hosts, intrusion detection or specific time events. In this paper, we investigate an optimized resource management scheme named v-Mapper. The basic premise of v-Mapper is to exploit application-awareness concepts using software-defined networking (SDN) features. This paper makes three key contributions to the field: (1) We propose a virtual machine (VM) placement scheme that can effectively mitigate the VM placement issues for data-intensive applications; (2) We propose a validation scheme that will ensure that a service is entertained only if there are sufficient resources available for its execution and (3) We present a scheduling policy that aims to eliminate network load constraints. An evaluation was carried out with various benchmarks and demonstrated that v-Mapper shows improved performance over other state-of-the-art approaches in terms of average task completion time, service delay time and bandwidth utilization. Given the growing importance of supporting large-scale data processing and analysis in datacentres, the v-Mapper system has the potential to make a positive impact in improving datacentre performance in the future.

The three-pronged sliding universal coupling is a new kind of three-pronged coupling. To study its kinematic and dynamic characteristics, directional cosine matrices are utilized as tools to analyze the coordinate systems by establishing simplified geometric models and corresponding motions. Through the analysis of the motions of the input and output shafts and employing the method of single-force element, a set of equilibrium equations for the forces acting on the output shaft and the input shaft are formulated for solution analysis. The research indicates that during the rotation process, there exists a small angular difference between the input shaft and the intermediate shaft, demonstrating the quasi-constant angular velocity characteristics of the new tripod sliding universal coupling. The curves of the forces and torques acting on each component of the coupling approximate sinusoidal curves. The optimal operating angle range for the new tripod universal coupling is at angle , during which the system exhibits good transmission and mechanical performance.

Identifying punch types as part of punch kinematic analysis is a key component for both coaches and players, providing critical insights into the variety and effectiveness of punches, which are essential for refining overall performance. Existing research indicates that punch type classification typically relies on data from either wearables or video data. Both approaches have their merits and demerits but require a significant amount of labeled data for modeling the classification algorithm. In this work, we propose a novel approach that significantly reduces the labeling effort by one-sixth by leveraging video data to enhance the training information of sensor data. This enriched training phase enables more accurate punch classification with reduced labeled data. Subsequently, the real-time punch identification and classification use only the wearable data. On a real dataset, with 15% of the labeling efforts, our approach achieved an accuracy rate of 91.41% for rear hand punch recognition and 91.91% for lead hand punch recognition, along with 92.33% and 94.56% for punch classification, respectively. Through the development of our Smart Boxer system, we aim to revolutionize punch analytics in boxing, providing comprehensive insights while enhancing the overall training and competitive experience for athletes and enriching fan engagement with the sport.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010 calls for the Nearly Zero Energy Standard for new buildings from 2021 onwards: Buildings using “almost no energy” are powered by renewable sources or energy produced by the building itself. For residential buildings, this ambitious new standard has already been reached. But for other building types this goal is still far away. The potential of these buildings to meet a Nearly Zero Energy Standard was investigated by analyzing ten case studies representing non-residential buildings with different uses. The analysis shows that the primary characteristics common to critical building types are a dense building context with a very high degree of technical installation (such as hospital, research and laboratory buildings). The large primary energy demand of these types of buildings cannot be compensated by building and property-related energy generation including off-site renewables. If the future Nearly Zero Energy Standard were to be defined with lower requirements because of this, the state related properties of Bavaria suggest that the real potential energy savings available in at least 85% of all new buildings would be insufficiently exploited. Therefore, it would be useful to instead individualize the legal energy verification process for new buildings to distinguish critical building types such as laboratories and hospitals.

This paper aims to demonstrate how the detection of communities for epidemiological networks can be used to reduce the dimensionality of optimal control problems. A range of planted partition stochastic blockmodels are generated, where the underlying communities in the model vary in detectability. A high-performance computing workflow is then used to simulate and estimate reduced model dynamics for the networks, which in turn is used to find optimal control solutions.

This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the performance of the hormone treatment protocols, determine the factors associated with pregnancy success after hormone treatment, and compare the cost-efficiencies of two types of hormone treatment among cyclic and noncyclic anestrous dairy cows. The clinical records of 279 anestrous cows who received hormone treatment for artificial insemination (AI) from 64 herds in the western region of Thailand were obtained from Kasetsart University Veterinary Teaching Hospital from January to August 2017. The performance of the hormone treatment protocols, fixed-time AI (TAI) and estrus detection before AI (EAI), showed that the pregnancy risk for the TAI protocol was higher than for the EAI protocol, but pregnancy per AI did not differ significantly between the two protocols in cyclic and noncyclic cows. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that cows receiving the TAI protocol were more likely to be pregnant compared to those treated with the EAI protocol. Cows with a 3.00 body condition score (BCS) &lt;3.75 after treatment and loose-housing cows were more likely to become pregnant. Treatment during winter showed higher pregnancy success than in the summer and rainy seasons. The cost-efficiency analysis showed that the TAI protocol was the most cost-efficient option for noncyclic cows, whereas the EAI protocol was the most cost-efficient option for cyclic cows.

This study aimed to analyze the effect of a flow training program based on mindfulness applied to young and adult elite handball athletes. A quantitative, quasi-experimental, descriptive data analysis approach was carried out. The sample included 105 athletes (51 female and 54 male). The athletes were divided into two groups: i) experimental (n = 53) and ii) control (n = 52). The results of the repeated ANOVA indicated that the experimental group achieved significant improvements compared to the control group in decision making (n2p=.086), mental well-being (n2p=.045), dispositional flow state (n2p=.103), non-judgment (n2p=.040), refocusing (n2p=.052) and mindful trait in daily life (n2p=.058). In the linear regression test, the factor non-judgment was identified as a predictor of decision making (F(103)=7.99, p=.006) and the predictor for the mental well-being were dispositional flow state (F(102)=29.2, p

Due to the extraordinary mechanical properties of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC), the shear stirrups in UHPC beams could potentially be removed. The aim of this study is to determine the effect of beam height and steel fiber volume content on the shear behavior of non-stirrup UHPC beams under a larger shear span-depth ratio (up to 2.8). Eight beams were designed and fabricated, including six non-stirrup UHPC beams and two comparing stirrup-reinforced normal concrete (NC) beams. The experimental results demonstrated that the volume content of steel fiber could be a crucial factor affecting the ductility, cracking strength, and shear strength of non-stirrup UHPC beams and altering their failure modes. Additionally, the height of the beam had a considerable effect on its shear resistance. This study revealed that the French standard formulae were more accurate for the UHPC beams with larger shear span-depth ratios and PCI-2021 formulae greatly overestimate the shear capacity of UHPC beams with larger shear span-depth ratios. Xu’s formulae were more accurate for the steel fiber-reinforced UHPC beams with larger shear span-depth ratios.

The Internet of Healthcare Things (IoHT) is an essential IoT domain that encompasses the necessary capabilities to transform the current healthcare system. IoHT generates, transfers, manages, stores, and processes highly confidential medical data and sensitive personal information. Thus, IoHT is a critical application from a security perspective and is most favorably targeted by attackers. Several security-breaching attempts can be carried out due to the vulnerabilities of the IoHT that put classified data at constant risk. Henceforth, this work aims to inspect the performance of 6LoWPAN-RPL-based `Patient-Centric IoHT’ in the presence of malicious intruders conducting blackhole, rank, and DoDAG attacks in both normal and emergency operational modes of the mentioned resource-constraint network. PC-IoHT is simulated on the Cooja simulator and Contiki-OS for each attack with two and four intruders (out of 10 motes) for both operation modes. Several performance evaluation parameters are used to assess the overall performance of the considered PC-IoHT. The attacks’ impact on PC-IoHT is analyzed by comparing blackhole, rank, and DoDAG attacks with the no-attack scenario.

Covid-19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, which has spread worldwide since the beginning of 2020. Several pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical strategies were proposed to contain the virus dissemination, including vaccination and lockdowns. One of the consequences of the pandemic was the denial or delay of access to convenient health care services, but also potentially the increase of adverse events within those services, like the number of hospital infections. Therefore, the main question here is: What happened to the performance and sustainability of hospitals? The main goal of this work was to test if the Portuguese public hospitals' performance has been affected by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We used the Benefit-of-Doubt method integrated with the Malmquist Index to analyze the performance evolution over time. Then, we employed a multiple regression model to test whether some pandemic-related variables could explain the performance results. We considered a database of 40 Portuguese public hospitals evaluated from January 2017 to May 2022. The period 2017 to 2019 corresponds to the baseline (pre-pandemic), against which the remaining period will be compared (during the pandemic). We also considered fourteen variables characterizing hospital quality, divided into three main performance definitions (efficiency and productivity; access; safety and care appropriateness). As potential explanatory variables, we consider seven dimensions, including vaccination rate and the need for intensive care for Covid-19 infected people. Results suggest that Covid-19 pandemic features help explain the drop on access after 2020, but not the evolution of safety and appropriateness of care, which surpris-ingly increased the whole time.

In order to cope with the limited supply of feed for global animal production, there is a pressing need to explore alternative feed resources. Orange pulp, a by-product of agriculture and industry, has shown potential to positively or neutrally impact pig productive performance when included in their diet. However, there is a lack of research on the effects of fermented navel orange pulp (FNOP) on pig growth and productive performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of FNOP as a dry matter substitute on pig’s growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, meat nutrition, and serum biochemical indicators. The experiment involved 128 finishing Tibetan pigs, divided into four feed treatment groups, with varying levels (0%, 5%, 10% and 15%) of FNOP replacing dry matter in the basal diet. The results indicated that substituting 5% to 15% FNOP had no adverse effects on pig growth performance. However, at a 15% substitution rate, there was a decrease in serum growth hormone and IGF-1 levels, along with an increase in feed-to-gain ratio. A 10% FNOP replacement notably increased the eye muscle area of pigs. Additionally, 5% and 10% FNOP substitutions reduced the drip loss of pork. The study also found that substituting 5% to 15% FNOP increased unsaturated fatty acids and umami nucleotide contents in pork, as well as raised serum total protein and uric acid (nucleotide metabolism related-product) levels. These findings suggest that moderate FNOP substitution might enhance meat quality and maintain growth and productive performance in Tibetan pigs by improving protein synthesis and nucleotide metabolism, while also reducing feed costs. The optimal substitution ratio identified was 10%.