Robots, ICT and aging: How do advanced technologies interact with aging

The key objective for this project was to evaluate the potential to achieve substantial reductions in the production cost of H2-rich syngas via coal gasification with near-zero emissions due to the cumulative and synergistic benefits realized when multiple advanced technologies are integrated into the overall conversion process. In this project, Aerojet Rocketdyne’s (AR’s) advanced gasification technology (currently being offered as R-GAS™) and RTI International’s (RTI’s) advanced warm syngas cleanup technologies were evaluated via a number of comparative techno-economic case studies. AR’s advanced gasification technology consists of a dry solids pump and a compact gasifier system. Based on the unique design of this gasifier, it has been shown to reduce the capital cost of the gasification block by between 40 and 50%. At the start of this project, actual experimental work had been demonstrated through pilot plant systems for both the gasifier and dry solids pump. RTI’s advanced warm syngas cleanup technologies consist primarily of RTI’s Warm Gas Desulfurization Process (WDP) technology, which effectively allows decoupling of the sulfur and CO2 removal allowing for more flexibility in the selection of the CO2 removal technology, plus associated advanced technologies for direct sulfur recovery and water gas shift (WGS). WDP has been demonstrated at pre-commercial scale using an activated amine carbon dioxide recovery process which would not have been possible if a majority of the sulfur had not been removed from the syngas by WDP. This pre-commercial demonstration of RTI’s advanced warm syngas cleanup system was conducted in parallel to the activities on this project. The technical data and cost information from this pre-commercial demonstration were extensively used in this project during the techno-economic analysis. With this project, both of RTI’s advanced WGS technologies were investigated. Because RT’s advanced fixed-bed WGS (AFWGS) process was successfully implemented in the WDP pre-commercial demonstration test mentioned above, this technology was used as part of RTI’s advanced warm syngas technology package for the techno-economic analyses for this project. RTI’s advanced transport-reactor-based WGS (ATWGS) process was still conceptual at the start of this project, but one of the tasks for this project was to evaluate the technical feasibility of this technology. In each of the three application-based comparison studies conducted as part of this project, the reference case was based on an existing Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE/NETL) system study. Each of these references cases used existing commercial technology and the system resulted in > 90% carbon capture. In the comparison studies for the use of the hydrogen-rich syngas generated in either an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) or a Coal-to-Methanol (CTM) plant, the comparison cases consisted of the reference case, a case with the integration of each individual advanced technology (either AR or RTI), and finally a case with the integration of all the advanced technologies (AR and RTI combined). In the Coal-to-Liquids (CTL) comparison study, the comparison study consisted of only three cases, which included a reference case, a case with just RTI’s advanced syngas cleaning technology, and a case with AR’s and RTI’s advanced technologies. The results from these comparison studies showed that the integration of the advanced technologies did result in substantial benefits, and by far the greatest benefits were achieved for cases integrating all the advanced technologies. For the IGCC study, the fully integrated case resulted in a 1.4% net efficiency improvement, an 18% reduction in capital cost per kW of capacity, a 12% reduction in the operating cost per kWh, and a 75–79% reduction in sulfur emissions. For the CTM case, the fully integrated plant resulted in a 22% reduction in capital cost, a 13% reduction in operating costs, a > 99% net reduction in sulfur emissions, and a reduction of 13–15% in CO2 emissions. Because the capital cost represents over 60% of the methanol Required Selling Price (RSP), the significant reduction in the capital cost for the advanced technology case resulted in an 18% reduction in methanol RSP. For the CTL case, the fully integrated plant resulted in a 16% reduction in capital cost, which represented a 13% reduction in diesel RSP. Finally, the technical feasibility analysis of RTI’s ATWGS process demonstrated that a fluid-bed catalyst with sufficient attrition resistance and WGS activity could be made and that the process achieved about a 24% reduction in capital cost compared to a conventional fixed-bed commercial process.

Going beyond the guidelines: a call for expanded carrier screen based on an analysis of 3,208 clinical samples

The real impact of advances in technology on global welfare is an unresolved issue. According to a recent Human Development Report, globalization based on technical advances in information technology has not had a positive impact on economies of developing countries. While advances in technology have helped improve standards of living in industrialized countries, they have caused developing countries to further lag behind. Some other studies, however, have concluded that investment in technology is a critical factor in improving economic welfare of all countries. It is important to note that most of the empirical studies in the latter group have treated technology investment as an independent variable explaining growth in economic welfare. In this paper, we argue against the notion that investment technology is an independent variable explaining welfare in developing countries. In section one, we present logical reasons why technology in itself fails to create better standards of living in developing countries. In section two, we will use a cross sectional simple regression model to test the relationship between advances in technology and economic welfare in developing countries. The results of our empirical study confirm our arguments of section one that global technological advances have not helped the economies of developing countries.

Advances in computer information technology have a significant impact on the world of education. Because each person has the ability to do it themselves, the world of education has the ability to explore high-quality learning materials, such as literature, journals, and books, as well as build scientific discussion forums and consult with experts around the world. This journal was created to find out how big the influence of Information Technology and Computers is on education. This research is a type of literature study which aims to explain research findings collected from articles and books related to the subject being discussed. According to research results in this journal, innovative and creative learning models can be accessed through technological advances. According to research results published in this journal, innovative and creative learning models can be accessed through technological advances. The development of human resources in the education sector depends on advances in technology and information. It is hoped that educators can adapt to advances in information and communication technology (ICT). The author comes to the conclusion that educators must be able to adapt to increasingly complex and sophisticated developments in the modern era 4.0. However, the role of human resources must be consistent with advances in technology and information. Therefore, trained teaching staff are needed to help improve students' abilities. Example, mentor and role model for his students.

This year has seen an unprecedented worldwide pandemic that has been brought on by the rise of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which results in COVID-19 (coronavirus 2019) infections. COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our lives and has required the world to rapidly mobilize to address all aspects of diagnosis and treatment of this disease. COVID-19 has brought to light the challenges of managing a completely novel infectious disease with existing diagnostics and therapeutics that were insufficient to stem the spread of COVID-19. Thus, the resources allotted toward research and development and the global cooperation of governments, scientists, and clinicians to address COVID-19 required a pace of innovation in healthcare that has never before been observed in order to address this new disease. As a result of this effort, innovations in technology to better understand, detect, and treat COVID-19 continue to be reported every day. Here at SLAS Technology, we felt it was important to highlight these advances in technology that have been made to better address all aspects of COVID-19 detection and treatment. We present here a special issue that reports how technology has been used to address COVID-19. The spread of COVID-19 across the world has shown that any hope for effective control of COVID-19 infection in the community requires the development of rapid and accurate methods for detecting COVID-19 infections. Applying existing and emerging viral detection technologies toward better COVID-19 diagnostics has resulted in incredible advances in pathogen detection innovations. Miniaturization assays that allowed for the accurate analysis and detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral nucleic acid detection or host antibody response to COVID-19 have proven to be critical.1Zhu N. Wong P.K. Advances in Viral Diagnostic Technologies for Combating COVID-19 and Future Pandemics.SLAS Technol. 2020; 25: 513-521Google Scholar, 2Tan A.S. Nerurkar S.N. Tan W.C.C. et al.The Virological, Immunological, and Imaging Approaches for COVID-19 Diagnosis and Research.SLAS Technol. 2020; 25: 522-544Google Scholar, 3Karp D.G. Cuda D. Tandel D. et al.Sensitive and Specific Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Using a High-Throughput, Fully Automated Liquid-Handling Robotic System.SLAS Technol. 2020; 25: 545-552Google Scholar While diagnostics initially required clinical laboratory tests, these technological advances have proven critical for field testing in the community or in less well-equipped remote diagnostic testing sites. In addition to advances in detecting COVID-19 infections, leveraging technology to better understand COVID-19 disease progression and immune response is critical to developing better therapies to combat this pandemic. As a result, the molecular mechanisms of COVID-19 infection, as well as an understanding of the critical immune responses and overall biological responses to COVID-19, have been uncovered in an amazingly short amount of time. Much of this has been a result of the use of critical technologies such as single-cell analysis technologies and advances in mass cytometry.2Tan A.S. Nerurkar S.N. Tan W.C.C. et al.The Virological, Immunological, and Imaging Approaches for COVID-19 Diagnosis and Research.SLAS Technol. 2020; 25: 522-544Google Scholar The last few years have seen a paradigm shift in the development and application of artificial intelligence (AI). This has been particularly true for life sciences and biomedical applications. In order to better understand and address COVID-19, AI has played a huge role in improving detection and therapeutic drug development. Of particular importance has been the development of multiple AI-based approaches toward improving COVID-19 detection through standard chest x-ray images.4Sekeroglu B. Ozsahin I. Detection of COVID-19 from Chest X-Ray Images Using Convolutional Neural Networks.SLAS Technol. 2020; 25: 553-565Google Scholar,5Echtioui A. Zouch W. Ghorbel M. et al.Detection Methods of COVID-19.SLAS Technol. 2020; 25: 566-572Google Scholar Applying AI toward COVID-19 diagnostics through existing standard medical imaging allows for more rapid diagnosis through telemedicine and automated tools. As AI begins to pervade every aspect of medicine, it is inevitable that advances in AI technology will be important to overcoming this pandemic. It is now clear that COVID-19 is a unique infection that affects a wide range of biological systems. One of the most affected systems has been pulmonary function. The ability to treat COVID-19 patients has often required the use of ventilators, and the lack of sufficient ventilators has been linked to poorer outcomes. The paucity of ventilators available in comparison to COVID-19 infection rates led to a number of advances in ventilator technology to increase their production speed and portability while lowering their cost.6Fang Z. Li A.I. Wang H. et al.Ambubox: A Fast-Deployable Low-Cost Ventilator for COVID-19 Emergent Care.SLAS Technol. 2020; 25: 573-584Google Scholar These advances allow patients additional time to fight off infection as well as allow emerging therapies to work. This pandemic has adversely affected the lives of so many people in so many ways. But, it has also shown that when the global community comes together to collectively address a singular problem, amazing innovations in technology can happen that provide hope for a better future after the pandemic.

This paper investigates the evolution of industrial structure in the Canadian food processing sector and its relationship to technological change. It does so by examining the impact of adopting advanced manufacturing technologies, amongst them information and communication technologies (ICTs), on plant performance. This study utilizes a linked dataset combining advanced technology use data from a 1998 special survey with firm performance data derived from administrative records covering the period 1988-1997. The data file contains information on advanced technology use (by type of technology), plant characteristics (size, nationality, emphasis given to training, nnovativeness) and plant performance (growth in productivity and market share). The paper first examines the characteristics of firms that adopt advanced technologies. It then asks how the use of these technologies is related to growth in productivity and market share. Plants that adopted advanced technologies were larger and foreign controlled. They tended to be more innovative along a number of dimensions other than just their technological orientation. They were the ones that adopted a number of advanced business production processes that made use of advanced technologies. They were plants that developed a human resource strategy that focused on developing a skilled workforce and emphasized training. Plants that adopted more advanced technologies enjoyed superior productivity growth. Process control and network communications technologies are particularly important to productivity growth in the food-processing sector. Those plants that increased their relative productivity growth and used more advanced technologies saw their market share increase. Once technology use was taken into account, few of the other characteristics of plants that were related to technology use contributed to increased relative productivity growth — except for the emphasis given to a human resource strategy that focused on the development of skilled labour and training. Similarly, apart from technology use, none of the plant characteristics that are related to the use of advanced technologies were related to the growth in market share.

The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry faces ongoing challenges in enhancing safety performance. Despite the availability of advanced technologies for enhancing safety, there is limited understanding of the inter-relationships among safety factors and advanced technologies for enhancing safety performance. This study aims to investigate the inter-relationships among factors affecting safety performance and advanced technologies. A questionnaire survey was disseminated to construction professionals to assess the criticality of factors and strategies. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The findings indicate that 16 factors and eight advanced technologies are critical for enhancing safety. The EFA grouped 11 critical factors into four underlying groupings: safety planning and hazard prevention, workplace environment and supervision, employee safety support, and medical readiness and site protection. Moreover, the EFA grouped the eight critical advanced technologies into two underlying groupings: advanced digital technologies and personal and site monitoring technologies. The correlation analysis demonstrates measurable but weak associations between the factors and advanced technologies, indicating the need for future research to explore additional variables that may impact these relationships. The findings help construction professionals prioritize resources to address the specific groupings of critical factors and advanced technologies.

Digital Gaming Upgrade and Recovery: Enrolling Memories and Technologies as a Strategy for the Future.

The new frontier of diagnostics: Molecular assays and their role in infection prevention and control.

The past decade has brought advanced information technologies, which include electronic messaging systems, executive information systems, collaborative systems, group decision support systems, and other technologies that use sophisticated information management to enable multiparty participation in organization activities. Developers and users of these systems hold high hopes for their potential to change organizations for the better, but actual changes often do not occur, or occur inconsistently. We propose adaptive structuration theory (AST) as a viable approach for studying the role of advanced information technologies in organization change. AST examines the change process from two vantage points: (1) the types of structures that are provided by advanced technologies, and (2) the structures that actually emerge in human action as people interact with these technologies. To illustrate the principles of AST, we consider the small group meeting and the use of a group decision support system (GDSS). A GDSS is an interesting technology for study because it can be structured in a myriad of ways, and social interaction unfolds as the GDSS is used. Both the structure of the technology and the emergent structure of social action can be studied. We begin by positioning AST among competing theoretical perspectives of technology and change. Next, we describe the theoretical roots and scope of the theory as it is applied to GDSS use and state the essential assumptions, concepts, and propositions of AST. We outline an analytic strategy for applying AST principles and provide an illustration of how our analytic approach can shed light on the impacts of advanced technologies on organizations. A major strength of AST is that it expounds the nature of social structures within advanced information technologies and the key interaction processes that figure in their use. By capturing these processes and tracing their impacts, we can reveal the complexity of technology-organization relationships. We can attain a better understanding of how to implement technologies, and we may also be able to develop improved designs or educational programs that promote productive adaptations.

In a longitudinal field study we tested several hypotheses of adaptive structuration theory, which predicts the impacts of advanced information technologies on work teams. We observed 47 technical and administrative work teams in a large, multinational energy company. The teams varied in their structural properties—team size and geographical dispersion—and in their degree of interaction with one another. We tracked the extent to which the teams used advanced information technologies, and we assessed the impacts of technology use practices on teams' views of the quality of their coordination and their overall group effectiveness. The teams in our study had access to a range of traditional and advanced technologies, and we observed the impacts of team structural properties on technology use practices and outcomes across a three-year period. Use practices varied between the two types of teams. We found that, early on introduction of technology, team size, geographic dispersion, and meeting frequency predicted advanced technology use by administrative teams. Larger administrative teams reported more comfort with technology use, and they were more likely to use the technology to dominate one another rather than to collaborate. These effects diminished over time, however, and the influence of team structure and interaction patterns on advanced technology use were not clearcut. Use practices, which we label “appropriation,” impacted perceptions of coordination quality, especially in the case of technical teams. The most consistent pattern was that use of technology to dominate rather than to collaborate was negatively related to outcomes. Surprisingly, teams with relatively high use of advanced technologies grew in their use of the technology for domination purposes over the course of our study. Our findings suggest the need for more in-depth study of technology use practices in teams over time.

Technology and the Process of Scientific Discovery: The Case of Cosmic Rays CHARLES A. ZIEGLER In 1909 ballooning, a technology that had remained virtually unchanged since the 1780s, began to play the role of midwife in the birth of a new branch of science, cosmic-ray physics. This role has not been fully explicated in histories of either scientific ballooning or early cosmic-ray research.1 In describing the nexus between ballooning and cosmic rays, histories of ballooning focus narrowly on the way certain advances in balloon technology were induced by the need to obtain high-altitude cosmic-ray data, while historical accounts of cosmic-ray research treat the balloon simply as an enabling device that was exploited by scientists. It is, of course, well established that techno­ logical innovations are sometimes called forth by the demands of scientific research, and that the technological infrastructure is an enabling factor in the conduct of such research.2 Nevertheless, Dr. Ziegler is lecturer in social anthropology at Brandeis University. Material for this article was drawn from a 1986 study while the author was a Guggenheim Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Portions appeared in Research Report 1986, an NASM internal publication. 'Representative histories of scientific ballooning in the 20th century are: G. Pfotzer, “History of the Use of Balloons in Scientific Experiments,” Space Science Review 13 (1972): 199-242; T. Crouch, The Eagle Aloft (Washington, D.C., 1983), chaps. 19, 20; E. J. Kirschner, Aerospace Balloons (Fallbrook, Calif., 1985). Summaries of early cosmicray research can be found in many textbooks and articles, but there are few substantive historical accounts. These include: V. F. Hess, The Electrical Conductivity ofthe Atmosphere and Its Causes (New York, 1928); R. A. Millikan, Electrons (+ and —), Protons, Photons, Neutrons and Cosmic Rays (Chicago, 1935); V. F. Hess, “The Discovery of Cosmic Radiation,” Thought: Fordham University Quarterly 25 (1940): 225-36; W. F. Swann, “The History of Cosmic Rays,” AmericanJournal ofPhysics 29 (1961): 811-19; B. Rossi, Cosmic Rays (New York, 1964); Y. Sekido and H. Elliot, eds., Early History of Cosmic Ray Studies (Dordrecht, 1984); Q. Xu and L. M. Brown, “The Early History of Cosmic Ray Research,” AmericanJournal ofPhysics 55 (1987): 23-33. The dependence of experiment on technology in pre-20th-century science is well documented; e.g., the study ofgases by Toricelli and Boyle was facilitated by innovations in pump design. See R. Forbes and E. Dijksterhuis, History of Science and Technology (Baltimore, 1963). And astronomical investigations were enabled by advances in the technologies related to instrument making. See D. Dewhirst, “Observations and Instru-© 1989 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X789/3004-0002$01.00 939 940 Charles A. Ziegler histories that describe the relationship between ballooning and cosmic rays solely in terms of these perspectives yield an incomplete picture. What is ignored in these accounts is the influence of balloon technol­ ogy on cosmic-ray instrumentation and the consequences of this influence on the complex pattern of findings that constituted the “discovery” of cosmic rays. This article focuses on the interactive relationship that existed from 1909 to 1932 between balloon technology, on the one hand, and the instruments used to measure cosmic rays, on the other. The relation­ ship was interactive in the sense that advances in measuring instru­ ments occurred largely in response to the need to adapt them to balloon use, and advances in balloon technology were made either to compensate for the limitations of the instruments or to exploit their capabilities. Over the long term, the relationship between ballooning and cosmic-ray instrumentation resulted in major innovations in balloon technology and significant improvements in instrumentation. But the short-term outcome of the relationship was less positive because data from the first balloon ascents—initially accepted as valid—were later found to be grossly inaccurate owing to the inability of the instru­ ments to withstand the rigors of flight. After this became generally known, scientists questioned the validity of the measurements ob­ tained on subsequent flights. Doubts about the reliability of such data were only slowly dispelled by improved instruments and advances in balloon technology. Thus, the pace of the interactive...

BackgroundTechnology is gaining momentum in rehabilitation. While evidence is emerging, a growing number of rehabilitation facilities are implementing devices, though with variable success. A public-private rehabilitation provider in Australia recently opened a technology therapy centre with robotic and virtual reality devices. This study was embedded in the setting, which saw substantial clinician uptake of devices and presented a unique opportunity to explore clinician experiences, perceptions and factors influencing uptake, implementation and sustainment of advanced technology in practice.MethodsA longitudinal qualitative study was conducted, involving interviews with clinicians at three timepoints across the first 16 months of the centre opening. Allied health clinicians in the organisation (n = 119) were invited to participate in interviews, which were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded and analysed using an inductive thematic approach.ResultsIn total, 63 interviews were conducted with 25 allied health clinicians across inpatient, outpatient and community rehabilitation services. An overarching finding that human interactions remain at the heart of rehabilitation with advanced technology, comprised three major themes with 12 subthemes. (1) Technology integration involves cognitive and emotional labour for clinicians, stemming from determining the value-add of advanced technology, juggling learning demands and negotiating patients’ high expectations of technology. (2) Contextual factors shape clinician uptake and ongoing use of technology, including organisational culture, professional discipline, rehabilitation setting, patient characteristics and device features. (3) Shared understanding and priorities promote technology implementation and sustainment, including understanding advanced technology in relation to conventional therapy, creating a well-designed training model, equipping clinicians to manage patient expectations and maintaining a commitment to evidence-based practice.ConclusionsWhile further high-quality evidence regarding the effectiveness of technology in rehabilitation is required, clinicians in this study perceived advanced technology as an adjunct to conventional therapy, with benefits for enhancing therapy dosage, patient engagement, manual handling and providing objective feedback. Important practice-derived considerations for integrating advanced technologies in rehabilitation include: developing clinician technical, clinical reasoning and interpersonal skills, reducing contextual barriers and fostering a positive organisational culture with strong leadership and targeted initiatives to support clinicians. Successful implementation of advanced rehabilitation technologies relies on clinician buy-in to champion change within an enabling person-centered context.

Academicians and policy makers alike state that technology is the catalyst of growth for small medium businesses (SMEs). The review of past research reveals that the strategic upside of technology is the accomplishment of competitive advantage through their business strategies. The effective implementation of advanced technologies enables companies to achieve economies of scale and scope simultaneously. That is, investigating advanced technologies reduces the cost of future product innovation, allowing the company to increase its speed of response to market and competitive changes. Therefore, investment in advanced manufacturing technologies represents a strategic option. Despite the great importance of technology in small sized businesses, not many studies attempted to explore technology embraced by them, especially within the Macedonian context. The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of advanced technology knowledge and usage within the specific SME sector in the Republic of North Macedonia and to discover, if technology is used, whether it is seen as crucial to their competitive strategy. Moreover, the main research question is how advanced technology affects different aspects such as costs, sales and profitability, employee productivity, customer care, share of the e-market and competitiveness. Primary data were obtained through a questionnaire survey, carried out in small and medium sized businesses in the Republic of North Macedonia and evaluated using the tools of descriptive statistics and the methods of comparison, induction, deduction and synthesis. The research results indicate that advanced technology influences favorably the overall costs and also increases profitability. Likewise, the findings show that advanced technology leads to increase of productivity and sales. One of the conclusions of the paper is that small businesses find it important to invest in advanced technology in order to promote competitiveness. JEL Classification: M19; L19; O39.

The study of the scientific and technological development of Russia's regions is important for several reasons. Firstly, the development of advanced production technologies is crucial for enhancing the competitiveness of Russian industry and ensuring the country's technological sovereignty. Secondly, analyzing the impact of science expenditures, the number of researchers and the number of organizations on the development of advanced technologies will help to identify the factors that either promote or hinder scientific and technological progress in different regions. This, in turn, can serve as the basis for developing proposals to update the Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation, as well as the development strategies of federal districts and constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the dynamics of the regions' R&D potential on the dynamics of advanced production technologies developed within those regions using spatial modelling methods. The following hypothesis has been proposed - increasing budget expenditures on science and technology has a positive impact on the development of advanced manufacturing technologies in Russian regions. The novelty of the methodological approach lies in the use of spatial modelling methods applying several spatial weight matrices. In the course of the study, it was confirmed that the dynamics of the newly developed advanced production technologies is positively influenced by the engineering and technical personnel based in the neighboring regions who are engaged in research and development, as well as by the financial resources allocated to scientific organizations of the surrounding regions to conduct fundamental research. According to Durbin's model, the number of R&D organizations operating in the surrounding regions and the amount of funding allocated for applied research and development have a negative impact on the dynamics of developed advanced technologies. The theoretical significance of the study lies in the identification of factors affecting the creation of domestic advanced manufacturing technologies. The practical significance lies in the possibility of using these results to form strategies to promote scientific and technological development of the regions of the Russian Federation under modern conditions.