Interconnected Segments Research Articles

Exploring the household food-wasting behaviour: A bibliometric review.

Despite plenty of research recently conducted, household food waste still has not been comprehensively investigated. In view of this, we systematically reviewed the literature on this topic (using VOSviewer), made content analyses and identified several issues in these studies. This study aims to provide an in-depth review on household food waste research by highlighting the research gaps. Our findings indicate that the recent studies on household food waste can be broadly categorised into three interconnected segments: definition of food waste, cause analysis of household food waste and strategies for reducing household food waste. It was found that targeted strategies could reduce food waste by up to 27.85% in some regions. In addition, intervention strategies reduced total household food waste and avoidable food waste by 31% and 30%, respectively, showing excellent performance. This review highlights the importance of targeted research on consumer behaviour and regional conditions in reducing household food waste, as well as the necessity of working out solutions to household food waste within a common interest community.

Unveiling the Bacterial Community across the Stomach, Hepatopancreas, Anterior Intestine, and Posterior Intestine of Pacific Whiteleg Shrimp.

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract of shrimp, which is comprised of the stomach, hepatopancreas, and intestine, houses microbial communities that play crucial roles in immune defense, nutrient absorption, and overall health. While the intestine's microbiome has been well-studied, there has been limited research investigating the stomach and hepatopancreas. The present study addresses this gap by profiling the bacterial community in these interconnected GI segments of Pacific whiteleg shrimp. To this end, shrimp samples were collected from a local aquaculture farm in South Korea, and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing was performed. The results revealed significant variations in bacterial diversity and composition among GI segments. The stomach and hepatopancreas exhibited higher Proteobacteria abundance, while the intestine showed a more diverse microbiome, including Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, and Verrucomicrobia. Genera such as Oceaniovalibus, Streptococcus, Actibacter, Ilumatobacter, and Litorilinea dominated the intestine, while Salinarimonas, Sphingomonas, and Oceaniovalibus prevailed in the stomach and hepatopancreas. It is particularly notable that Salinarimonas, which is associated with nitrate reduction and pollutant degradation, was prominent in the hepatopancreas. Overall, this study provides insights into the microbial ecology of the Pacific whiteleg shrimp's GI tract, thus enhancing our understanding of shrimp health with the aim of supporting sustainable aquaculture practices.

Geometrical properties of three-dimensional crossed nanowire networks

Three-dimensional interconnected nanowire networks have recently attracted notable attention for the fabrication of new devices for energy harvesting/storage, sensing, catalysis, magnetic and spintronic applications, and for the design of new hardware neuromorphic computing architectures. However, the complex branching of these nanowire networks makes it challenging to investigate these 3D nanostructured systems theoretically. Here, we present a theoretical description and simulations of the geometric properties of these 3D interconnected nanowire networks with selected characteristics. Our analysis reveals that the nanowire segment length between two crossing zones follows an exponential distribution. This suggests that shorter nanowire segments have a more pronounced influence on the nanowire network properties compared to their longer counterparts. Moreover, our observations reveal a homogeneous distribution in the smallest distance between the cores of two crossing nanowires. The results are highly reproducible and unaffected by changes in the nanowire network characteristics. The density of crossing zones and interconnected nanowire segments is found to vary as the square of the nanowire density multiplied by their diameter, further multiplied by a factor dependent on the packing factor. Finally, densities of interconnected segments up to 1013cm−2 can be achieved for 22-µm-thick nanowire networks with high packing factors. This has important implications for neuromorphic computing applications, suggesting that the realization of 1014 interconnections, which corresponds to the approximate number of synaptic connections in the human brain, is achievable with a nanowire network of about 10cm2. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Toward a dynamic frame-based ontology of legal terminology

In the study of special languages and translation, the legal field is often insulated from other domains. This is primarily due to the extreme system dependence of the terminology of law, which results from a lack of a common legal system of reference throughout the world. The abstract nature of this human-made field and its dynamicity in view of the continuously evolving case law and constant changes in legislation make it difficult to illustrate its complex ontology through traditional terminology management techniques. Therefore, this paper argues for an interdisciplinary approach to constructing the ontology of legal concepts based on structural constituents from frame semantics and comparative law. Frames allowing for the representation of interconnected knowledge segments evoked by legal concepts and the distinction between micro- and macro-dimensions in legal comparison research make it possible to capture the complex ontology of legal terminology evoked in a specific point in time and a determined legal context. The ontological knowledge structure will be exemplified by terms from German social, commercial, employment, and tax law.

Uticaj liderskih osobina menadžera na ključne pokazatelje aktivnosti hirurških klinika

Human resources reform is the main driver of improvement and change in healthcare organizations and the healthcare system in general. Thorough transformation of management and improvements in the structure and quality of employee performance are necessary for progress in the healthcare sector. This need for change stems from an increasing awareness of the importance of strategic human resources planning in healthcare, as well as the necessity of providing better quality services despite limited financial resources. Leadership skills are recognized as key to success in healthcare and can be adopted through targeted work and development, which benefits not only institutions but also individuals on a personal level. The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the importance of capacity building in leadership and management, proposing a model that balances between four interconnected segments. This model should be adapted to local specificities, so that it would be as efficient as possible. The specific objective of this research was to analyse the leadership qualities of heads of surgical clinics of the University Clinical Centre in Niš (UCC Niš), based on employee ratings, and to explore how these qualities affect the key indicators of success of these clinics. The research consisted of two parts: qualitative, which included an analysis of the tertiary level healthcare institution during the period from June 2010 to March 2017, and quantitative, in which data on the activities and the quality of operation of surgical clinics were collected and analysed. Research results indicate a generally high leadership abilities rating among surgical clinic managers, noting that building trust among employees has been identified as an area with room for improvement. The highest ratings were assigned to managers' qualities related to goal-orientation and perseverance in their achievement, regardless of the circumstances. The study also shows that leadership qualities have a significant impact on key performance indicators of surgical clinics, confirming the importance of developing effective leadership in the healthcare sector.

Calibration and efficient evaluation of electromigration lifetime for interconnect wire sizing of multi-port networks

A canonical form of the hydrostatic stress equations for electromigration is proposed to determine the minimum number of parameters to calibrate the model. An efficient probabilistic lifetime checker is developed to determine the wire sizing of interconnect segments. Large networks can be checked on a segment-by-segment basis. To enable efficient evaluation of lifetime, multivariate models are constructed by precomputing the results for all possible interconnect segment geometries, model parameters, and current densities.

FlipWalker: Self-Inverting Robot Locomotion Inspired by ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ Falling Block Illusion Toy

This study presents a novel, underactuated robot locomotion system inspired by the Jacob's Ladder illusion toy, aimed at overcoming challenges encountered by wheeled locomotion on rugged and soft terrains. The system comprises interconnected body segments using flexible wires, offering inherent robustness and scalability due to its simple design. The motion is achieved through servo-controlled rotations, with joint locations adapting as segments pivot around each other. These segments utilize wires as hinges and tension-based constraints, enabling perpetual rotations, thereby propelling the robot forward while remaining flat on the ground. The manufacturing process involves rapid 3D printing for housing and CNC machining for PCB board fabrication. Flexible hinges are attached using threaded bolts, providing tension adjustability. The robot's microcontroller setup involves separate controllers for each body segment, communicating with a central offboard microcontroller for sensor data aggregation, configuration determination, and servo control. This modular design ensures easy addition and removal of segments without disrupting the overall electrical connectivity. The developed locomotion system showcases potential for enhanced adaptability and performance in challenging terrains.

Trans-twin dislocations in nanotwinned metals

The strength-controlling dislocation mechanism of a material can be illuminated by partition of the flow stress into its effective stress and back stress components. Recent experiments report a nearly constant saturated effective stress of about 100 MPa for nanotwinned Cu with a range of nanotwin thicknesses less than 100 nm [Z. Cheng et.al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 119 (2022) e2116808119]. This surprising result implies that the effective stress is controlled by the long dislocations spanning multiple nanotwin lamellae, termed trans-twin dislocations, rather than the commonly thought threading dislocations confined within individual nanotwin lamellae. Here we use molecular dynamics to simulate the formation and motion of trans-twin dislocations across multiple nanotwin lamellae. We show that the interconnected segments of a trans-twin dislocation can glide concertedly on the corrugated {111} slip planes in consecutive nanotwin lamellae with little resistance from coherent twin boundaries. Our results indicate that the finite resistance to slip transmission across coherent twin boundaries can set a lower limit of the effective obstacle spacing to hinder dislocation glide and thus dictate the upper limit of the saturated effective stress of nanotwinned metals. This work provides new understanding of the strength-controlling mechanism in nanotwinned metals.

Microstructural impact on electromigration reliability of gold interconnects

Interconnect segments of gold metallization used for GaAs devices are susceptible to significant electromigration degradation and have a microstructure with thousands of grains. In this work, a complete physics-based analysis of electromigration in gold is presented. A novel approach for the numerically efficient simulation of an interconnect containing a large number of grains is introduced. By building grain compounds containing hundreds of grains and equipping them with appropriate models, the dependence of statistical failure features on the variation of geometric properties is investigated. The experimentally observed dependence of the mean failure time and the associated standard deviation of the failure times on the interconnect geometry is well reproduced by our simulations.

Agent-Based Modeling of Traffic Systems Using Modelica

A microsimulation model of traffic described using the Modelica language in combination with the Modelica libraries developed by the authors, ABMLib and CellularAutomataLib2, is presented. Modelica facilitates the description of equation-based models using the physical modeling paradigm, and its combination with the discrete-event and agent-based modeling functionality of the developed libraries constitutes a powerful and versatile tool. The functionality of ABMLib is extended to facilitate the description of individual agent behavior as a combination of equation-based and discrete-event models. In this way, vehicle dynamics and fuel consumption are modeled using equations, while driver behavior is described using an agent-based model. Vehicles move along the road, which is described as a combination of interconnected segments that constitute the environment for the agents. A cellular automaton is used to model the CO2 emissions of vehicles to the environment. A model that represents two consecutive road segments with a semaphore between them is used to illustrate the provided functionality.

CacheEM: For Reliability Analysis on Cache Memory Aging Due to Electromigration

Electromigration (EM) is crucial for interconnect reliability. This article introduces the implementation and application of CacheEM which targets SRAM cache memory aging due to EM. CacheEM is based on a comprehensive framework including five parts: 1) microprocessor emulation; 2) memory cell array activity extraction; 3) computation of currents in segments of long complex interconnect structures; 4) evaluation of the time-dependent hydrostatic stress and the resistance shift of interconnects; and 5) characterization of the EM lifetime distribution of interconnects in the cache memory. The first two steps (top-down) are implemented with gem5 and cache simulation, respectively. These simulators export the number of read and write operations for each cell of a cache memory in a microprocessor after running benchmarks. Then, based on the number of operations and the currents corresponding to each operation, CacheEM calculates the equivalent current distribution in each interconnect segment as the third step (bottom-up). The currents due to read and write operations are stored in models which have been pretrained with a regression algorithm. These models provide accurate predictions of the corresponding currents under various parameter settings, such as temperature, supply voltage, and gate length. Afterward, the samples of time-dependent hydrostatic stress and the resistance shift in each interconnect segment are computed while incorporating the variations of the effective activation energy and critical stress. The EM lifetime distribution of the cache memory is extracted using predefined threshold values. The impact of configuration parameters on EM reliability and performance of the SRAM cache is analyzed by comparing EM lifetime distributions.

Monte Carlo simulations of the self-assembly of hierarchically organized metal-organic networks on solid surfaces

The coordination-driven self-assembly of two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular architectures is a convenient method of rational construction of one-atom-thick nanomaterials with desired topology, intriguing physicochemical properties and high cognitive value. In this work, we use coarse-grained Monte Carlo (MC) computer simulations to study the self-assembly of functional bridging ligands with mononuclear metal centers on a triangular lattice. Particularly, we focus on the role of anisotropic, reversible ligand → metal coordinate bonds in the bottom-up formation of hierarchically organized metal-organic networks composed of star-shaped and rod-like linkers (representing real organic molecules) and trivalent metal atoms. In our model π aromatic ligands were modeled in a simplified way as a collection of flat, rigid, and interconnected segments with properly encoded short-ranged interactions. Depending on the composition of the investigated overlayers, we observed the spontaneous formation a cascade of openwork (co)crystals with a hierarchical structure, controllable chirality and scalable morphological properties like porosity, connectivity, density, etc. Our theoretical findings can pave the way for the experimental fabrication of the novel surface-confined metal-organic networks (SMONs) in which anisotropic coordinate bonds play a decisive role.

Analysis and Development of a Methodological Approach to Structuring the List of Documents Regulating Science and Technology, Formed through the Activities of Federal Executive Bodies and Organisations Subordinate to Them

Introduction.The target of our research is the methodology of creating government lists of documents generated by the activities of federal executivebodiesandorganisationssubordinatetothem.Thegoal of the study is to analyse and formulate a methodological approach to structuring a list of documents resulting from the activities of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, as well as various science and technology organisations subordinate tothis Ministry.Methods.Theoretical (analysis, synthesis, analogy) and empirical (document analysis, generalisation, classification) research methods have been used to achieve the research goal specified. The theoretical foundation of our research was formed by the works of Russian authors on the problems of archive management and archival studies. The empirical foundation, in turn, is made out of the regulatory legal acts that assign a specific set of functions to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, acts that control the creation of document lists reflecting the activities of federal executive bodies, approved and valid departmental lists, and decrees by the Ministry.ResultsandDiscussion.The study results in suggestions on structuring a list of documents generated by the activities of federal executive bodies and organisations subordinate to them, with mentions of storage terms relevant to science and technology. Methodologically, the creation of a structure for such a list is based on the results of analysing the lists of documents associated with other government institutions, analysing the functions of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, as specified in Decree No. 682 of the Government of the Russian Federation of 15.06.2018 (amended on 19.06.2021), and analysing the activities of organisations subordinate to the Ministry. To split the list into interconnected segments, we have developed a special principle for distributing the science and technology functions of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federationacrosstiersandspecialisations.Conclusion.Ourstudy results in the formulation of a structural and segmentation diagram that will facilitate the creation of a list of documents resulting from the activities of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and its subordinate organisations, including storage terms relevant to regulating science and technology. The structural diagram of this part of the list has three sections, while the segmentation diagram has five elements. With the framework thus established, the list can be filled with content (specific documents).

Multimachine stability enhancement with hybrid PSO-BFOA based PV-STATCOM

The article explores the mitigating capabilities of a large PV-farm as a PV-STATCOM (Static synchronous compensator) in quenching the power system oscillations in a multimachine power system. Power system oscillations include fluctuation in the rotor dynamics (generator speed and angle), coupling voltage, and shaft torsions. At dusk, the PV-farm starts operating as VSC (Voltage Source Converter)-STATCOM deploying its entire inverting capabilities for suppressing the oscillations. While at the full sun during the faults, the solar-farm instantly ceases the real power generation and, operating as a PV-STATCOM until the normal operating states are resumed. The paper demonstrates the optimizing capabilities of a Bacterial Swarm Optimization (BSO), a hybrid of particle swarm and bacterial foraging optimizations in controlling the power flow of PV-STATCOM deployed in the literature. Kundur’s modified two-area model integrated with a largescale PV-farm is designed in Matlab to probe the rotor swings with torsional deviations in the interconnected shaft segments. The results for several test cases including without-with and BSO-tuned PV-STATCOM reveal the optimizing capabilities of the proposed BSO-based controller in alleviating the power system oscillations in the multi-machine power system.

A New Method Based on Boundary Element Method to Appraise CO2 Geological Storage Potential in Depleted Shale Gas Reservoirs

In recent years, greenhouse gases have increased in the atmosphere, and climate change concerns have triggered global efforts to find solutions for CO2 capture, separation, transport, and storage. Geological sequestration in the depleted unconventional reservoir is an effective measure to reduce the atmosphere’s CO2 content. The exact evaluation of the CO2 storage capacity can verify the feasibility of storing carbon dioxide and parameter optimization. A reasonable boundary element method to estimating the CO2 storage capacity of depleted shale gas reservoirs considering arbitrarily shaped boundaries is introduced. Firstly, the physical model with fracture networks is built based on the microseismic data. Then, the flow equation including the matrix and fracture can be obtained considering adsorption, and the star-delta transformation is used to deal with interconnected fracture segments. The point source function with an infinite boundary can be obtained after the Laplace transform method. Finally, the semianalytical flow solution is obtained by using the boundary element method in the Laplace region. Moreover, the results have a high agreement with commercial software for the regular boundary. The sensitivity of relevant parameters is analyzed by this method, and the importance of considering the boundary shape is emphasized. This method can evaluate the CO2 storage capacity of formation with the irregular boundary and is regarded as the guide of parameter optimization in CO2 storage.

Reconstruction of Conifer Root Systems Mapped with Point Cloud Data Obtained by 3D Laser Scanning Compared with Manual Measurement

Three-dimensional (3D) root system architecture (RSA) is a predominant factor in anchorage failure in trees. Only a few studies have used 3D laser scanners to evaluate RSA, but they do not check the accuracy of measurements. 3D laser scanners can quickly obtain RSA data, but the data are collected as a point cloud with a large number of points representing surfaces. The point cloud data must be converted into a set of interconnected axes and segments to compute the root system traits. The purposes of this study were: (i) to propose a new method for easily obtaining root point data as 3D coordinates and root diameters from point cloud data acquired by 3D laser scanner measurement; and (ii) to compare the accuracy of the data from main roots with intensive manual measurement. We scanned the excavated root systems of two Pinus thunbergii Parl. trees using a 3D laser scanner and neuTube software, which was developed for reconstructing the neuronal structure, to convert the point cloud data into root point data for reconstructing RSA. The reconstruction and traits of the RSA calculated from point cloud data were similar in accuracy to intensive manual measurements. Roots larger than 7 mm in diameter were accurately measured by the 3D laser scanner measurement. In the proposed method, the root point data were connected as a frustum of cones, so the reconstructed RSAs were simpler than the 3D root surfaces. However, the frustum of cones still showed the main coarse root segments correctly. We concluded that the proposed method could be applied to reconstruct the RSA and calculate traits using point cloud data of the root system, on the condition that it was possible to model both the stump and ovality of root sections.

An efficient method to generate kidney organoids at the air-liquid interface.

The prevalence of kidney dysfunction continues to increase worldwide, driving the need to develop transplantable renal tissues. The kidney develops from four major renal progenitor populations: nephron epithelial, ureteric epithelial, interstitial and endothelial progenitors. Methods have been developed to generate kidney organoids but few or dispersed tubular clusters within the organoids hamper its use in regenerative applications. Here, we describe a detailed protocol of asynchronous mixing of kidney progenitors using organotypic culture conditions to generate kidney organoids tightly packed with tubular clusters and major renal structures including endothelial network and functional proximal tubules. This protocol provides guidance in the culture of human embryonic stem cells from a National Institute of Health-approved line and their directed differentiation into kidney organoids. Our 18-day protocol provides a rapid method to generate kidney organoids that facilitate the study of different nephrological events including in vitro tissue development, disease modeling and chemical screening. However, further studies are required to optimize the protocol to generate additional renal-specific cell types, interconnected nephron segments and physiologically functional renal tissues.

Low Pressure Tube Transport—An Alternative to Ground Road Transport—Aerodynamic and Other Problems and Possible Solutions

This paper presents the concept of one possible but unconventional implementation of a Low Pressure Tube Transport (LPTT) system for a network with station-to-station distances of 300 km, based on the use of circular tunnels in which modular vehicles consisting of three interconnected functional segments move on wheels with airless tires. The physical limitations associated with high-speed vehicle travel in tunnels are presented. The reasons for the expected inconvenience in the travel system, compensated by short travel times, are justified. Assumptions for the use of locomotion, safety, and passenger segments in the construction of a vacuum modular vehicle are presented, as well as systems to ensure the efficient conversion of serial traffic in tunnels to parallel traffic in station areas. Schemes of station construction and traffic organization in the station area are presented, as well as assumptions for a number of systems increasing the safety of vehicle traffic used in emergency situations. Visualizations of some solutions are presented. Details of the construction of a locomotive segment based on a multi-wheel system of airless wheels with the use of a system of linear motors for acceleration and an inertial drive system between them to reduce its weight are presented. Some conclusions from tests conducted on built simulators, mechanical and virtual, of the passenger segment of a vacuum vehicle are discussed.

Automatic segmentation of fish midlines for optimizing robot design

While fish use continuous and flexible bodies to propel themselves, fish robots are often made from interconnected segments. How many segments do robots need to represent fish movements accurately? We propose a new method to automatically determine parsimonious robot models from actual fish data. We first identify key bending points (i.e., joint positions) along the body and then study the concerted movement of the segments so that the difference between actual fish and modelled bending kinematics is minimized. To demonstrate the utility of our method, we analyse the steady swimming kinematics of 10 morphologically distinct fish species. Broadly classified as sub-carangiform (e.g., rainbow trout) and carangiform (e.g., crevalle jack) swimmers, these species exhibit variations in the way they undulate when traditional parameters (including head and tail beat amplitudes, body wavelength and maximum curvature along the body) are considered. We show that five segments are sufficient to describe the kinematics with at least 99% accuracy. For optimal performance, segments should progressively get shorter towards the tail. We also show that locations where bending moments are applied vary among species, possibly because of differences in morphology. More specifically, we find that wider fish have shorter head segments. We discover that once bending points are factored in, the kinematics differences observed in these species collapse into a single undulatory pattern. The amplitude and timing of how body segments move entirely depend on their respective joint positions along the body. Head and body segments are also coupled in a timely manner, which depends on the position of the most anterior joint. Our findings provide a mechanistic understanding of how morphology relates to kinematics and highlight the importance of head control, which is often overlooked in current robot designs.

OPTIMAL REINSURANCE FROM THE VIEWPOINTS OF BOTH AN INSURER AND A REINSURER UNDER THE CVAR RISK MEASURE AND VAJDA CONDITION

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we study the optimal reinsurance contracts that minimize the convex combination of the Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) of the insurer’s loss and the reinsurer’s loss over the class of ceded loss functions such that the retained loss function is increasing and the ceded loss function satisfies Vajda condition. Among a general class of reinsurance premium principles that satisfy the properties of risk loading and convex order preserving, the optimal solutions are obtained. Our results show that the optimal ceded loss functions are in the form of five interconnected segments for general reinsurance premium principles, and they can be further simplified to four interconnected segments if more properties are added to reinsurance premium principles. Finally, we derive optimal parameters for the expected value premium principle and give a numerical study to analyze the impact of the weighting factor on the optimal reinsurance.