Types Of Resources Research Articles

AN OVERVIEW OF GREEN ENERGY SOURCES, ENHANCING THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC ELEMENTS OF THE WORLD'S SUSTAINABILITY

<p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-right:9px; margin-left:7px; text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="text-justify:inter-ideograph"><span style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">In a transitional world, where countries strive for the achievement of better environmental quality through setting up various goals, there is a need for the substitution of fossil fuels and non-renewable resources which deteriorates the environment, with renewable energy resources which alleviates the problems of scarcity, depletion and degradation of natural resources. This article focuses on improving the economic welfare of the countries through the consumption of renewable energy resources, which focuses on the environmental benefits and the economic improvement in the nation's life. It is evidence showing the contrast between differences in electricity generation and the capacity of different types of renewable energy resources in the world, which is solved by focusing on renewable energy consumption.</span></span></span></span></p>

Effect of elemental composition and phase transformation on lithium leaching behavior of micas in calcination-acid leaching process

Lithium (Li)-bearing clays have emerged as new types of Li resources. The structure and elemental composition of clay minerals play a crucial role in determining the Li leaching efficiency. The elemental composition and structural transformation of Li-bearing mica from Inner Mongolia (IMS) and Jiangxi (JS), China, were studied during the calcination-leaching process by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and electron microprobe analysis (EMPA). The findings indicate that Mica is the predominant Li-bearing mineral in both IMS and JS. Notably, the IMS mica contains a significantly higher concentration of fluorine compared to the JS mica. Fluorine exerts a minor inhibitory effect on Li leaching, whereas the hydroxyl group (OH) significantly inhibits the leaching of Li from mica. The removal of residual oxygen atoms post-dehydroxylation is crucial to extract Li from mica. Both defluorination and dehydroxylation reactions occur within the temperature range of 800 °C to 900 °C. When calcined at 900 °C, the IMS mica was transformed into sanidine, while the JS mica was transformed into microcline. The acid leaching of products calcined at this temperature represents a process that further disrupts the residual mica structure and facilitates a cation exchange reaction.

Comparison and Optimization of Energy’s Source Consumption

In the period of continually evolving electronic engineering, devices are becoming more intelligent and more multifunctional. However, this increased functionality enhances companies with higher energy consumption which places pressure on energy resources and poses sustainability challenges. Due to this point, this passage is going to discuss three different types of energy resources—batteries, power plants, and renewable energy—outlining their advantages and drawbacks while considering their shortcuts on environmental impacts. Batteries face limitations in capacity and disposal concerns. Power plants, especially those reliant on fossil fuels, offer reliability but contribute to emissions and resource limitation. Renewable energy, like solar and wind power, provides sustainable solutions but may be intermittent due to environmental effects. After that, this passage will determine the optimum choice under different circumstances to reach its maximum productivity.

A unified solution framework for flexible job shop scheduling problems with multiple resource constraints

This paper examines flexible job shop scheduling problems with multiple resource constraints. A unified solution framework is presented for modelling various types of non-renewable, renewable and cumulative resources, such as limited capacity machine buffers, tools, utilities and work in progress buffers. We propose a Constraint Programming (CP) model and a CP-based Adaptive Large Neighbourhood Search (ALNS-CP) algorithm. The ALNS-CP uses long-term memory structures to store information about the assignment to machines of both individual operations and pairs of operations, as encountered in high-quality and diverse solutions during the search process. This information is used to create additional constraints for the CP solver, which guide the search towards promising regions of the solution space. Numerous experiments are conducted on well-known benchmark sets to assess the performance of ALNS-CP against the current state-of-the-art. Additional experiments are conducted on new instances of various sizes to study the impact of different resource types on the makespan. The computational results show that the proposed solution framework is highly competitive, while it was able to produce 39 new best solutions on well-known problem instances of the literature.

Value capture in IoT-driven business models: considerations about smart resources and isolating mechanisms in networked environments

PurposeThis conceptual paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of value creation and value capture with smart resources in the Internet of Things (IoT)-driven business models against the backdrop of an increasingly networked and connectivity-based environment. More specifically, the authors screen strategic management theories and adapt them to the specificities of new types of smart resources by focusing on a conceptual analysis of isolating mechanisms that enable value creation and value capture based upon different types of smart resources.Design/methodology/approachBy adapting the state of the art of the contemporary resource-based discussion (resource-based view, dynamic capabilities view, relational view, resource-based view for a networked environment) to the context of IoT-driven business models, the paper typifies valuable intra- and inter-organisational resource types. In the next step, a discursive discussion on the evolution of isolating mechanisms, which are assumed to enable the translation of value creation into value appropriation, adapts the resource-based view for a networked environment to the context of IoT-driven business models.FindingsThe authors find that connectivity shapes both opportunities and challenges for firms, e.g. focal firms, in such business models, but it is notably social techniques that help to generate connectivity and transform inter-organisational ties into effective isolating mechanisms.Originality/valueThis paper lays a foundation for a theoretically underpinned understanding of how IoT can be exploited through designing economically sustainable business models. In this paper, research propositions are established as a point of departure for future research that applies strategic management theories to better understand business models that work with the digitisation and connectivity of resources on different levels.

Loneliness in Bavaria before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Loneliness represents asignificant health risk and is associated with numerous mental and physical conditions. The aim of this paper was to describe the prevalence of loneliness in Bavaria before and during the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to socio-demographic attributes. Data sources were the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Univariate statistical analyses were carried out for different socio-demographic attributes, such as age, gender, type of household, education, and financial resources. According to the SOEP, the proportion of adults who are often or very often lonely increased from 2.3% in 2017 to 16.2% in 2021. In 2021, women had ahigher prevalence of loneliness than men (21.0% vs. 11.3%), and younger adults had the highest prevalence of loneliness (18 to 25years: 31.7%) compared to the other age groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness increased in almost every population subgroup in Bavaria. Further studies are needed to examine whether this development is temporary or represents along-term effect even after the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have been lifted.

Joint optimization of application placement and resource allocation for enhanced performance in heterogeneous multi-server systems

Efficiently placing applications remains a critical challenge across diverse multi-server environments, including web hosting centers, cloud computing, and edge computing environments. Unfortunately, most existing studies tend to overlook the crucial aspect of resource allocation, leading to suboptimal system performance. To address this gap, there is a pressing need to holistically explore both application placement and resource allocation in a unified manner. In this paper, we introduce the place and allocate problem in heterogeneous multi-server systems, a novel approach aiming at simultaneously optimizing the placement and allocation of applications to maximize the overall utility of the heterogeneous multi-server system. Our proposed methodology harnesses the interplay between application placement and resource allocation, showcasing substantial improvements in system utility. To model individual application performance concerning their allocated resources, we employ utility functions. For concave utility functions, we present an approximation algorithm that operates efficiently with a time complexity of O(mn3(logC)2), where n represents the number of applications, m is the number of servers, and C denotes the maximum available resource capacity of each server. Furthermore, we extend our approach to accommodate more general scenarios that involve applications with nonconcave utility functions and using multiple types of resources. Our study includes comprehensive experimental evaluations conducted on applications with both synthetic and real-world utility functions. Results consistently showcase that our algorithms achieve over 96.9% of optimal performance on average. Additionally, comparative analysis against several practical heuristics reveal that our algorithms outperform these methods by up to 4.3 times in total utility.

Sounding out solutions: using SONAR to connect participants with relevant healthcare resources.

This article outlines a scalable system developed by the All of Us Research Program's Genetic Counseling Resource to vet a large database of healthcare resources for supporting participants with health-related DNA results. After a literature review of established evaluation frameworks for health resources, we created SONAR, a 10-item framework and grading scale for health-related participant-facing resources. SONAR was used to review clinical resources that could be shared with participants during genetic counseling. Application of SONAR shortened resource approval time from 7 days to 1 day. About 256 resources were approved and 8 rejected through SONAR review. Most approved resources were relevant to participants nationwide (60.0%). The most common resource types were related to support groups (20%), cancer care (30.6%), and general educational resources (12.4%). All of Us genetic counselors provided 1161 approved resources during 3005 (38.6%) consults, mainly to local genetic counselors (29.9%), support groups (21.9%), and educational resources (21.0%). SONAR's systematic method simplifies resource vetting for healthcare providers, easing the burden of identifying and evaluating credible resources. Compiling these resources into a user-friendly database allows providers to share these resources efficiently, better equipping participants to complete follow up actions from health-related DNA results. The All of Us Genetic Counseling Resource connects participants receiving health-related DNA results with relevant follow-up resources on a high-volume, national level. This has been made possible by the creation of a novel resource database and validation system.

The Mediating Role of Students' Health Information Literacy Skills: Exploring the Relationship Between Web Resource Utilization and Health Information Evaluation Proficiency.

In an increasingly digital age, students rely heavily on web resources to access health information. However, evaluating the reliability and relevance of such information is crucial for informed decision-making. This study examines the importance of students' health information literacy skills (HILS) as mediators, particularly their ability to utilize web resources and successfully evaluate health information. This research investigates the mediating role of students' HILS in the relationship between their utilization of web resources and their proficiency in evaluating health information. An online survey was distributed to current students at a public university in Bangladesh as part of the data collection process for this study. Using Google Forms, the authors created a structured questionnaire. The survey was distributed through Messenger groups, Facebook pages and email invitations to reach the target audience effectively. The researchers thoroughly analysed the gathered data using structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques and SmartPLS-4 software to look for correlations between the variables. The study revealed that among the 122 participants, a significant number (N = 47) accessed internet health information on an occasional basis, whereas 30 individuals reported using it infrequently. The data revealed that 58 individuals, accounting for 47.5% of the sample, possessed the necessary abilities to access and assess online health information. Additionally, 57 participants, representing 46.7% of the sample, demonstrated proficiency in conducting online health information searches. The measurement model demonstrated good convergent validity, as evidenced by composite reliability (CR)scores and Cronbach's ⍺ values over 0.700 and an average extracted variance (AVE) of 0.500. The structural model demonstrated R2values exceeding 0.1, thus validating its dependable forecasting capability. Notable effects were seen, with f2values of 0.335 and 0.317 for the challenges in accessing and evaluating health information (CAEHI) to health information evaluation (HIE) and CAEHI to HILSrelationships, respectively. The mediation analysis found that HILS act as a mediator between types of web resources (TWRs) and HIE, with TWR having an indirect impact on HIE through HILS. The result supports all hypotheses. Therefore, it is evident that students' HILS mediate the relationship between utilization of web resources and their proficiency in evaluating health information. This study's findings could significantly impact instructional practices meant to raise students' health information literacy. This initiative seeks to enable students to make informed decisions about their health by providing them with the necessary tools to analyse and evaluate health-related information. Research on health information literacy can assist patients and the general public by instructing them on how to assess trustworthy online health resources. Students gave insightful feedback that assisted in shaping the study and guaranteeing its relevancy. If they better comprehend health information literacy, patients and the general public can use web-based resources and critically evaluate health information more accurately.

DNA computing and meta-heuristic-based algorithm for big data task scheduling in cloud computing

With the advent of cloud computing, there is a need to enhance both the methods and algorithms of big data workloads for task scheduling. Due to the global spread of services with changing task load circumstances and different cloud client demands, big data task scheduling in cloud systems is a time-consuming process. The proposed approach emphasises the necessity for efficient big data task scheduling in the cloud computing, which exacerbate data processing. Virtual machines frequently utilise all three types of physical resources: CPU, memory, and storage. Big data task scheduling is one of the most important implications of cloud computing application resource management, and this research work meticulously offers a task scheduling technique for advancing cloud computing.

Inversion of Gravity Data Constrained by a Magnetotelluric Resistivity Model: Application to the Asal Rift, Djibouti

AbstractBefore exploiting a geothermal resource in a volcanic setting such as the Asal rift, it is necessary to acquire a better knowledge of the subsoil, with the objective of locating the geothermal reservoir and evaluating the resource characteristic (permeability, temperature, etc.). For this type of resource, geophysical exploration methods are essential (such as gravimetry, magnetotellurics, etc.). However, a particular data type does not necessarily have the resolution and sensitivity. Furthermore, individual inversions of these geophysical data face the ambiguity of the non‐uniqueness of the inverse solution. In this paper, we present a new linear approach of gravity data using the constraint of a MT resistivity model. We coupled the resistivity and density using inversion cross‐gradients and the linear correlations. The approach was tested and validated on synthetic data and applied to gravity and MT data in the Asal Rift. Multiple inversions with different levels of coupling provided a series of density models. We applied the principal component analysis (PCA) technique to assess these models. We were able to define two dominant processes acting differently on the density and resistivity distribution at depth, namely the geothermal activity of the rift and the structural control of active tectonics.

Helium resource and play classification systems, effective reservoir control elements, and enrichment patterns in China

The classification system, effective reservoir control elements, and major enrichment and exploration modes of helium resources in China are analyzed based on the source of helium, carrier, geological background, and anatomy of typical helium-rich fields. Firstly, based on the special characteristics of helium and the correlation analysis of natural gas accumulation and reservoir formation, we analyzed and sorted out the helium resource and play type classification scheme and classification system in China from nine aspects, namely, the source of helium parental sources, helium type diversities, the storage and carrier types, the technically and economically recoverable characteristics of carrier gases, the carrier gas genesis, the main components of carrier gases, the matching combination of helium sources and reservoirs, background of prototype basin structure, and helium content, to lay the foundation for the subsequent targeted and detailed studies and evaluation programs in different categories. Secondly, the analysis points out the characteristics of helium resource types in the east, middle, and west of China in terms of longitudinal and transverse distribution, tectonic dynamics, geological and geochemical characteristics, and key conditions for the formation of helium deposits. Thirdly, from the perspective of the helium “generation-migration-accumulation” system and the controlling elements and effectiveness of helium-rich reservoir formation, we analyze the effective controlling elements of helium accumulation and the related problems that deserve attention in geological evaluation and point out the misunderstandings in helium reservoir formation and exploration evaluation. Last but not least, from the perspective of basin tectonic background, helium enrichment controlling mechanism and exploration direction, the exploration and evaluation direction and classification scheme for the four element combination zones of “original basin–structure–lithology–carrier gas” helium accumulation in China have been proposed, based on which, four types of basins and eight types of helium-rich zones in China have been sorted out. In these eight types of helium-rich zones, eight typical helium-rich field enrichment and exploration patterns, including the ancient uplift type of China's craton, fracture-fold variant of the craton margin, fracture-rise type of depression basin, slope bulge and uplift type of foreland basin, fracture-convex type of fracture basin, and U/Th-rich basement type of basin were analyzed, and the main controlling factors of the formation of different types of helium-rich deposits were analyzed, which will provide a reference for the subsequent exploration and discovery of similar helium-rich areas and exploration target evaluation.

Experimental evolution reveals an effective avenue for d-lactic acid production from glucose-xylose mixtures via enhanced Glk activity and a cAMP-independent CRP mutation.

d-Lactic acid holds significant industrial importance due to its versatility and serves as a crucial component in the synthesis of environmentally friendly and biodegradable thermal-resistant poly-lactic acid. This polymer exhibits promising potential as a substitute for nonbiodegradable, petroleum-based plastics. The production of d-lactic acid from lignocellulosic biomass, a type of biorenewable and nonfood resources, can lower costs and improve product competitiveness. Glucose and xylose are the most abundant sugar monomers in lignocellulosic biomass materials. Despite Escherichia coli possessing native xylose catabolic pathways and transport, their ability to effectively utilize xylose is often hindered in the presence of glucose. Here, the E. coli strain Rec1.0, previously engineered to overcome carbon catabolite repression, was selected as the initial strain for reengineering to produce d-lactic acid. An adaptive evolution approach was employed to achieve highly efficient fermentation of glucose-xylose mixtures. The resulting strain, QJL010, could produce d-lactic acid of 87.5 g/L with a carbon yield of 0.99 mol/mol. Notably, the consumption rates of glucose and xylose reached 0.75 and 0.82 g/gDCW/h, respectively. Further analysis revealed that increased Glk activity, resulting from glk mutations (A142V and R188H), along with their upregulated expression, contributed to an elevated glucose consumption rate. Additionally, a CRP G141D mutation, cAMP-independent, stimulated the expression of the xylR, xylE, and galABC* genes, resulting in an accelerated xylose consumption rate. These findings provide valuable support for the utilization of E. coli platform strains in the production of value-added chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass.

UTILIZATION OF DIGITAL LIBRARY RESOURCES AND SERVICES BY LIS STUDENTS OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY DUTSIN-MA, KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

This study is set out to investigate the challenges to the utilisation of digital library resources and services by Library and Information Science (LIS) students, Federal University, Dutsin-Ma, Katsina-Nigeria. In order to achieve this, three (3) research questions were formulated. A survey method was employed in the conduct of this study while the population comprised 590 library and information science students, FUDMA. A well-structure questionnaire was administered to 40% of 590 which is 236 for data collection. The data collected for the study were presented and analysed using descriptive statistics, frequency distribution tables and simple percentages for the data analysis. It was found that FUDMA Digital Library apps, KOHA Digital management software, online databases (open and closed access), Calibre E-library management software and DSpace were the type of the available Digital Library Resources and services respondents were aware of, and were being utilized by LIS respondents. LIS students search and utilized Digital Library Resources and services through library website, search through OPAC, Institutional Repositories and through FUDMA Digital Library apps. Slow Internet connectivity in the institution, lack of wireless network on campus, lack of computer literacy skills, erratic power supply were the major challenges faced by the respondents in using the FUDMA Digital Library Resources and Services. Hence, the study recommended that the university management should take a leading role to address the issue of power supply and Internet connectivity across the university community and in order to increase the level of utilization of FUDMA Library resources and services, that, the management should organize more sensitization training and workshop on use and customization of FUDMA digital library.

How Do Socioeconomic Differences Among Low-Income and Racially Minoritized Students Shape Their Engagement and Access in School Choice Systems?

Socioeconomic differences among low-income and racially minoritized students may be consequential for understanding the dynamics of school choice—especially in high-poverty and racially segregated urban contexts that are often targeted by school choice policies. Yet school choice research largely focuses on differences between groups and relies on measures that broadly categorize students as low-income or not. Drawing on parent interviews in Detroit, this study describes socioeconomic differences among low-income and racially minoritized families and examines how those differences relate to their engagement in the school choice process. While families faced a similar landscape of choice, relied on similar types of resources, and did not have drastically different preferences, relative socioeconomic disadvantages translated to more constrained access and engagement in school choice.

Are natural resources a curse, a blessing, or a double-edged sword? Implications for environmental sustainability

Natural resources have a significant impact on economic and political landscapes of developing countries which determines environmental sustainability. This study explores the convoluted connection between governance and natural resources, examining how resource abundance might influence governance quality. The main components of this dynamic that the theoretical framework considers are the Rentier effects, the repression effects, and the obstruction of modernization. This study creates a governance index applying principal component analysis (PCA) on several governance characteristics, such as political stability, rule of law, government efficacy, regulation and control of corruption, to measure governance comprehensively. Natural resource exports, rents, and the differentiation between renewable and non-renewable natural resources are the three proxies used to quantify natural resources, providing a more nuanced view. To calculate the effect of renewable and non-renewable natural resources on governance in developing nations, the econometric methodology uses a dynamic panel model and system GMM. This analysis reveals that the ability of renewable resources to promote inclusive development has a favourable impact on governance. On the other hand, non-renewable resources show a negative correlation, mainly because of their vulnerability to swings in the world price and their propensity to consolidate power and promote corruption. The significance of differentiating between natural resource types is highlighted in this study, along with the possible advantages of renewable resources for governance and the disadvantages of an over-reliance on non-renewable resources. Policymakers, researchers, and practitioners interested in the development and governance difficulties encountered by resource-rich developing nations can benefit greatly from this research's larger and more complex understanding of the link between natural resources and governance.

Selective anion exchange adsorption of molybdenum(VI) at low concentrations from an acid leached vanadium shale solution containing aluminium and phosphorus

With a decline in high-grade molybdenum reserves, the development of other types of molybdenum resources have received increasing attention. Vanadium shale is a multi-metal shale and fine-grained sedimentary rock comprising small grains and various minerals. After leaching and extracting vanadium, the solution often contains a low concentration of molybdenum. However, because of the low molybdenum concentration, many processing plants treat it as an acidic wastewater, which wastes molybdenum resources and carries the risk of environmental pollution. The leaching process of vanadium shale mostly involves high-temperature and high-pressure operations, which greatly increase the content of impurity ions such as aluminium and phosphorus in the pregnant leach solution. These impurity ions increase the difficulty in separating and recovering molybdenum. In this study, the adsorption and separation of molybdenum at leach liquor of low molybdenum concentration were investigated. The effects of different factors such as: (i) pH of feed solution, (ii) adsorption time, and (iii) presence of impurity ions, aluminium and phosphorus, on the adsorption and separation of molybdenum using five different anion-exchange resins, D201, D296, D301, D314, and D301R, were investigated. The static adsorption and desorption test results showed a molybdenum adsorption capacity of 222 mg/g at pH = 1.5 by the D301 resin. The desorption efficiency using 20% NH₄OH was 96.1%. The adsorption efficiencies of aluminium and phosphorus were 1.31% and 3.10%, respectively. This is a better choice for separating molybdenum from complex solutions. The experimental results from spectra and theoretical calculations showed that the -NH group of D301 resin was combined with the O atoms of MoO3·3H2O, Al(SO4)2−, and H2PO4− by electrostatic attraction. The binding energies of these three species were − 311 kJ/mol, −231 kJ/mol, and − 62.0 kJ/mol respectively, indicating that D301 resin preferentially adsorbed MoO3·3H2O. Based on the above results, the D301 resin can adsorb molybdenum(VI) in complex solutions under low pH conditions, and this study is expected to promote the comprehensive recovery of valuable metals from vanadium shale.

How much 'enrichment' is enough for laboratory rodents? A systematic review and meta-analysis re-assessing the impact of well-resourced cages on morbidity and mortality

Laboratory rodent housing often fails to meet rodents' behavioral and physiological needs. We previously found that compared to well-resourced (often called 'enriched') housing, conventional cages increase mortality rates and the morbidity of stress-sensitive experimentally-induced diseases (anxiety, cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, stroke). This systematic review and meta-analysis updates and re-analyzes this dataset, and supplements it with an author survey (via protocol https://hdl.handle.net/10214/26983), to test the hypothesis that cages meeting more needs are better for rodent health. This hypothesis predicts that providing more types of resources ('enrichments' meeting different needs) will result in dose-dependent health benefits. We also explored whether this relationship was linear (such that each additional resource has equivalent value), or instead reflected diminishing welfare returns (perhaps even reaching a plateau), as a plausible alternative. Updating previous searches (May 24, 2020, updated May 6, 2022, via Ovid, CABI, Web of Science, Proquest, SCOPUS) yielded 1589 further publications. After screening for inclusion criteria (published in English, using mice or rats, and providing resources in long-term housing), this yielded 48 new articles, totaling 233 unique articles in the combined dataset (using 4953 mice, 2611 rats). Each beneficial resource type (additional space, burrowing substrates, chewing/gnawing materials, environmental complexity, foraging opportunities, fresh plant material or its odours, nesting material, shelters, sweet or high fat food, wheels) was given one point if added to well-resourced cages, up to a potential maximum of ten (with well-resourced cages in practice supplying 1–5 additional resources over control conditions). The prediction of dose-dependent benefits was met for disease morbidity: as more resource-types were supplied (compared to controls), health benefits linearly increased (F1,164= 9.12, p = 0.0029) Each additional resource increased the standardized mean difference by 0.11 (0.04–0.19). No such effect occurred for mortality (F1,13 = 0.59, p = 0.4565), but power here was low. Risk of bias (assessed using the Systematic Review Center for Laboratory animal Experimentation 'SYRCLE' tool) in included studies was high; however, overall effects were large and confidence in the analysis was considered high. Providing multiple resources is thus important for rodent health: here, providing up to five additional resource-types (the maximum we could assess) steadily reduced morbidity. However, there was no evidence of diminishing returns (let alone plateau effects) over this range, and so additional resources should be supplied to further improve rodent health and welfare (and perhaps even reach asymptotic levels). This research was funded by NSERC and UFAW.

A Q-learning-based biology migration algorithm for energy-saving flexible job shop scheduling with speed adjustable machines and transporters

Due to the increasing demand for green manufacturing, energy-saving scheduling problems have garnered significant attention. These problems aim to reduce energy consumption at the production system level within workshops. To simulate a realistic production environment, this study addresses an energy-saving flexible job shop scheduling problem that considers two types of speed-adjustable resources, namely machines and transporters. The optimization objective is to minimize the comprehensive energy consumption of the workshop. A novel mathematical model is initially constructed based on the specific characteristics of the problem at hand. Given its NP-hard nature, a new Q-learning-based biology migration algorithm (QBMA) is proposed, which encompasses diverse search strategies and employs a Q-learning algorithm to dynamically select search strategies, thereby preventing blind search during the evolutionary process. The experimental results of our study demonstrate the promising efficacy of QBMA in effectively addressing the aforementioned problem, while also highlighting the positive impact of considering resources with adjustable speed.

A highly resolved network reveals the role of terrestrial herbivory in structuring aboveground food webs.

Comparative studies suggest remarkable similarities among food webs across habitats, including systematic changes in their structure with diversity and complexity (scale-dependence). However, historic aboveground terrestrial food webs (ATFWs) have coarsely grouped plants and insects such that these webs are generally small, and herbivory is disproportionately under-represented compared to vertebrate predator-prey interactions. Furthermore, terrestrial herbivory is thought to be structured by unique processes compared to size-structured feeding in other systems. Here, we present the richest ATFW to date, including approximately 580 000 feeding links among approximately 3800 taxonomic species, sourced from approximately 27 000 expert-vetted interaction records annotated as feeding upon one of six different resource types: leaves, flowers, seeds, wood, prey and carrion. By comparison to historical ATFWs and null ecological hypotheses, we show that our temperate forest web displays a potentially unique structure characterized by two properties: (i) a large fraction of carnivory interactions dominated by a small number of hyper-generalist, opportunistic bird and bat predators; and (ii) a smaller fraction of herbivory interactions dominated by a hyper-rich community of insects with variably sized but highly specific diets. We attribute our findings to the large-scale, even resolution of vertebrate, insect and plant guilds in our food web.This article is part of the theme issue 'Connected interactions: enriching food web research by spatial and social interactions'.