Small Scale Research Articles

Synchronising an IMX219 image sensor and AS7265x spectral sensor to make a novel low-cost spectral camera

A low-cost novel spectral camera able to be used for near infrared spectroscopy was made by using a Jetson Nano to synchronize a Sony IMX219 NOIR autofocus image sensor, an AMS AS7265x 18-channel spectral sensor and Osram SFH 4737 broadband infrared LED’s. Synchronizing an image sensor and spectral sensor augments a standard RGB image with light spectrum information; capturing the light distribution information normally lost in RGB image capture. Sutherland et al. [1] used this novel spectral camera to examine the dorsal surface of juvenile lobsters as a possible pre-moult detector. Having the image and spectrum in combination allowed the incomplete and unmineralized post-moult dorsal surface to be characterized with 86.7% accuracy for the first time. A proposed application for the spectral camera is to omit the local SFH 4737 light source and use the camera in daylight, effectively making a low-cost substitute hyperspectral snapshot camera. In this configuration the camera may have application for low-cost drone deployment for small scale agriculture.

Holistic evaluation of energy transition technology investments using an integrated recommender system and artificial intelligence-based fuzzy decision-making approach

The most essential criteria should be determined in the selection of the suitable energy transition technologies due to budget deficit problem. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the most important criteria in energy transition technology selection. Therefore, a new study is needed to determine the most prominent issues in the correct selection of energy transition technologies. The purpose of this study is to identify the most appropriate energy transition technology alternative. Within this framework, a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based fuzzy decision-making model has been presented. In the first part, the experts are prioritized by the help of AI methodology. In the next section, missing evaluations of energy transition technology investments are estimated via expert recommender system. Thirdly, the weights of the criteria for energy transition technology selection are computed by quantum picture fuzzy rough sets (QPFR) M-Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA). At the final stage, selected energy transition technology alternatives are ranked via QPFR-Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR). The main contribution of this study is the integration of AI technique to the proposed model. Similar to this issue, using M-SWARA methodology in the process of criteria weighting increases the quality of the findings. This methodology helps to consider the impact relation map of the criteria. The findings demonstrate that the most important factor is cost-effectiveness of energy transition. Similarly, it is also found that the local ecosystem is the second most significant issue. On the other side, the ranking results denote that compact renewable systems for small scale production is the most optimal solution of energy transition technology alternatives.

Incorporation of a Non-Conventional Liana (Tetracapidium conophorum) Seed Oil Cake in Diets of Congolese Indigenous Batéké Chicks Raised Without Outdoor Access

The indigenous Batéké hen (Gallus gallus) has low productivity due to various constraints such as feeding sources. The aim of this study was to improve the productivity of the local hen using a new local protein source: Tetracarpidium conophorum meal. A sample of ninety-six chicks 21-day old from the local population were randomized into 3 groups of 32 birds each (TC0, TC4 and TC6), with one replicate. In each group. Tetracarpidium conophorum oil cake was incorporated into groupsTC4 (4% Tcconophorum oil cake and 11% soya oil cake), TC6 (6% T.conophorum oil cake and 9% soya oil cake) whereas TC0 served as a control group (0% T.conophorum meal and 15% soya oilcake). The experiment started at 3 weeks and lasted at 20 weeks of age. Chickens were fed ad libithum and had free access to drinkers. The results indicated that mortality rate decreased (3.12 % versus 9.3), Also, the treatment improved significantly (p ˂ 0.05) feed intake (56.8 vs 60.1g per day), feed conversion (6.5 vs 5.7), and carcass yield (65.8 % vs 71.3 %). The final body weight at 20 weeks of age has been improved groups (1.200g versus 1300g) .. This study indicated that T.conophorum oil cake may be useful in diets at 4% thus reducing soya oil cake from 15% to 11% of incorporation) in a small scale poultry farming in Congo.

Detection of reproductive interference between closely related Salvia species with small-scale separated distributions by multifaceted pollination and molecular analyses.

Reproductive interference, an interspecific interaction in reproductive process that exerts an adverse effect, has gained attention as a contributing factor in promoting exclusive distributions between closely related species. However, detailed studies on the possibility of reproductive interference between native plants are still lacking, presumably because strong reproductive interference can rapidly realize exclusive distributions, leaving the two species apparently independent. Salvia japonica and S. lutescens are found in separate localities at a small scale, although their distributions overlap at a large scale. We investigated the possibility of reproductive interference between them through field surveys, hand-pollination experiments, evaluation of hybrid fertility, cpDNA and nrDNA genotyping, and genome-wide DNA analysis. The field survey results did not reveal apparent negative interaction in competition for pollinator services. Mixed pollination with conspecific pollen and counterpart pollen reduced seed set in S. japonica, and hybrid progeny produced by mixed pollination were less than 20% as fertile compared to the pure species. The DNA genotyping results suggested the possibility of hybridization where their distributions overlap, and the genome-wide DNA analysis results showed clear genetic differentiation between the two species as well as the existence of hybrids. These results suggest that bi-directional reproductive interference between S. japonica and S. lutescens may have led to their present separated distributions at a small scale.

SAKit: an all-in-one analysis pipeline for identifying novel proteins resulting from variant events at both large and small scales

SAKit: an all-in-one analysis pipeline for identifying novel proteins resulting from variant events at both large and small scales

Digital marketing and small and medium-sized enterprises’ business performance in emerging markets

Purpose This study aims to investigate the comprehensive conceptualization how digital marketing and its adoption increase the productivity of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as the impact of technological orientation, customer relationship management and digital marketing on SMEs’ business performance in emerging markets (EMs). Design/methodology/approach Anchored by social network theory, 178 SMEs were conveniently drawn from the National Board for Small Scale Industries now Ghana enterprise agencies in Ghana. The hypotheses were analysed using the SPSS package tool, and structural equation modelling was used, as well. Findings This study reveals that the conceptualization and adoption of digital marketing positively affect the performance of SMEs’ business management in EMs. In addition, a positive moderating effect of dynamism is observed in the relationship between digital marketing and SMEs’ business performance. Research limitations/implications This study focuses only on SMEs from the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions of Ghana as an EM, and it proposes priorities for future research streams in both developed and emerging countries. Practical implications The findings encourage SMEs to develop quality digital marketing technologies, good customer relationships and technological orientation and customer relationship management competencies in EMs to maximise profit. Originality/value This paper fills considerable knowledge, evidence and contextual gaps in the literature on SMEs, entrepreneurship and marketing in EMs by presenting a comprehensive overview of how SMEs can use digital marketing in an EM context to achieve the following: customer acquisitions, satisfaction and retention; increased profitability; quality service delivery; value creation; and cost reductions.

Effect of Innovation Processes on the Financial Growth of Small Scale Businesses in Custom Market, Juba-South Sudan

Innovation refers to the introduction of new products, services, processes, or ideas in conducting businesses. It encompasses both technological advancements and non-technological improvements, such as organizational changes or novel marketing strategies. The main aim of this study was to assess the overall effect of innovation processes on the performance and growth of small-scale businesses in Custom market. The study adapted a descriptive survey design, by quantitative approaches to enrich the understanding of the phenomenon under study. The study adopted; descriptive Statistics; Mean, Percentages, Frequencies, Standard deviation and Inferential Statistics; Correlation analysis to determine the relationships, ANOVA to test the model fitness, and Regression analysis to test the effect of independent variables on the dependent. The research findings stated that, ideas development had a weak positive insignificant relationship with and financial growth. Idea development had no statistical effect on financial growth. It also revealed that based on idea selection had a strong positive significant relationship with financial growth. The findings also indicated Idea implementation had a weak positive insignificant relationship with financial growth and it had no statistical effect on financial growth. It was recommended that business idea development should be done by in-depth exploration of passion, skills and keen observation to identify market gaps and opportunities thus improving financial growth. There is also need for a study to identify customers’ satisfaction factors that can be improved through innovation processes by the small scale businesses in Custom market, Juba South Sudan.

Constraints on Primordial Magnetic Fields from High Redshift Stellar Mass Density

Primordial magnetic fields (PMFs) play a pivotal role in influencing small-scale fluctuations within the primordial density field, thereby enhancing the matter power spectrum within the context of the ΛCDM model at small scales. These amplified fluctuations accelerate the early formation of galactic halos and stars, which can be observed through advanced high-redshift observational techniques. Therefore, stellar mass density (SMD) observations, which provide significant opportunities for detailed studies of galaxies at small scales and high redshifts, offer a novel perspective on small-scale cosmic phenomena and constrain the characteristics of PMFs. In this study, we compile 14 SMD data points at redshifts z > 6 and derive stringent constraints on the parameters of PMFs, which include the amplitude of the magnetic field at a characteristic scale of λ = 1 Mpc, denoted as B 0, and the spectral index of the magnetic field power spectrum, n B . At 95% confidence level, we establish upper limits of B 0 < 4.44 nG and n B < −2.24, along with a star formation efficiency of approximately f*0∼0.1 . If we fix n B at specific values, such as −2.85, −2.9, and −2.95, the 95% upper limits for the amplitude of the magnetic field can be constrained to 1.33, 2.21, and 3.90 nG, respectively. Finally, we attempt to interpret recent early observations provided by the James Webb Space Telescope using the theory of PMFs and find that by selecting appropriate PMF parameters, it is possible to explain these results without significantly increasing the star formation efficiency.

An Economical and Efficient Physico-Chemical Approach for the Reuse of Wastewater in Small and Medium Scale Paint Enterprises

An Economical and Efficient Physico-Chemical Approach for the Reuse of Wastewater in Small and Medium Scale Paint Enterprises

Asymmetric self-interacting dark matter with a canonical seesaw model

We study the possibility of generating dark matter (DM) and baryon asymmetry of the Universe (BAU) simultaneously in an asymmetric DM framework, which also alleviates the small-scale structure issues of cold DM. While the thermal relic of such self-interacting DM remains underabundant due to efficient annihilation into light mediators, a nonzero asymmetry in the dark sector can lead to the survival of the required DM in the Universe. The existence of a light mediator leads to the required self-interactions of DM at small scales while keeping DM properties similar to cold DM at large scales. It also ensures that the symmetric DM component annihilates away, leaving the asymmetric part in the spirit of cogenesis. The particle physics implementation is done in canonical seesaw models of light neutrino mass, connecting it to the origin of DM and BAU. In particular, we consider type-I and type-III seesaw origin of neutrino mass for simplicity and minimality of the field content. We show that the desired self-interactions and relic of DM together with BAU while satisfying relevant constraints lead to strict limits on DM mass O(GeV)≲MDM≲460 GeV. In spite of being a high-scale seesaw, the models remain verifiable in different experiments, including direct and indirect DM searches as well as colliders. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Unresolved RBCs: An upscaling strategy for the CFD-DEM simulation of blood flow with deformable cells

Numerical simulation of blood flow is a challenging topic due to the multiphase nature of this biological fluid. The choice of a specific method among the ones available in literature is often motivated by the physical scale of interest. Single-phase approximation allows for lower computational time, but does not consider this multiphase nature. Cell-level simulation, on the other hand, requires high computational resources and is limited to small scales. This work proposes a scale-up approach for cell-level simulation of blood flow, in the framework of unresolved CFD-DEM technique. This method offers the possibility to simulate hundreds of thousands of particles with limited computational effort, but requires specific models for fluid–particle interactions. Regarding blood flow, drag and lift force acting on the red blood cells (RBCs) are responsible for several macroscopic blood characteristics. Despite several correlations available for drag and lift force acting on rigid particles, specific force models for the simulation of deformable particles compatible with RBCs physics are missing. This study employs data obtained from cell-level simulations to derive equations then used in unresolved simulation of RBCs. The strategy followed during the modeling phase is presented, together with the model verification and validation. This approach returns satisfying results when used to simulate blood flow in large-scale channels. Up to half a million RBCs are considered, and computational effort is reported to allow a comparison with other existing methods. Future perspectives include further improvement of the model, such as a deeper understanding of particle–particle interactions.

Joint bidding strategy of multi‐virtual power plant operators

AbstractThe distributed generation of new energy can effectively use the local endemic clean new energy and provide green power. However, due to the small scale and scattered layout of distributed generation resources, it is difficult to participate in the economic dispatch of power systems and even the competition of the power market. Virtual Power Plant (VPP) can act as a carrier of Distributed Energy Resource (DER) to manage its internal energy, to carry out combined bidding in the day‐ahead energy market and the regulation market. When virtual power plants coordinate multiple distributed energy resources to participate in electricity market transactions, the degree of disclosure of their internal privacy information will produce different trading strategies. A Stackelberg game model between multiple virtual power plant aggregators and virtual power plant operators is constructed, and the Kriging model is combined to protect the privacy information in the transactions of virtual power plant operators. Energy management for distributed generation is carried out, and the profit situation of virtual power plant operators under different strategies is analyzed.

Use of Engineering-Educational-Empowerment Model to Improve the Integrated Traffic Impact Analysis and Environment Impact Analysis Results

In order to control road carriage way capacity and/or road environment degradation due to transport activities, the Traffic Impact Analysis TIA document has been directed to be integrated within the Environment Impact Analysis EIA document. However, only medium and high trip attractiveness was considered. Consequently, cumulative impact due to dense small scale concentrated in a certain corridor not only decrease road capacity but also increase road environment degradation. These unintended situations, especially at fast growth corridors, was recorded, including the parking index, on-street parking impacts due to inadequacy in existing parking space capacity. This activity aims to socialized and discussed the technical and environmental impacts due to on-street parking in order to improve better knowledge and transport policy decision. Therefore, an integrated approaches - using a Focus Group Discussion - based on engineering, educational and empowerment method was undertaken to identify a change in stake holder’s perception towards the correlation between transport and land use. It was found that, although within low trip attractiveness level category, but a dense small scale of activities produces great roadside friction and contribute negative impact on roadway capacity and air pollutant essence. This strongly indicate that a micro zoning regulation is required to control the type, number, scale and dense of social-economic activities, particularly in fast growth corridors.

Estimation of phosphorus input on county-based scale is more appropriate to formulate phosphorus management policies

The excessive phosphorus input generated by human activities has broken the nutritional balance of ecosystem. This study focused on the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, where human activities are concentrated. It involved the innovative selection of county subunits to provide a clearer analysis of different components contributing to net anthropogenic phosphorus input (NAPI) and factors impacting it on a smaller scale, opening up a new horizon for more accurately formulating phosphorus management policies. The results showed that NAPI of the reservoir region maintained a high level (2641.84 kg·km−2·a−1), while showing significant spatial variation due to high input (>4200 kg·km−2·a−1) at an urban agglomeration in the reservoir region. Phosphorus fertiliser made the largest (63 %–64 %) contribution to NAPI in the reservoir region, but different compositions of the component determining NAPI were shown among the counties. The sensitive coefficient (2.36) of phosphorus fertiliser in the reservoir region was the largest, the sensitive coefficients and proportional contributions in counties also varied among the counties. The findings of this study showed that reducing the input of phosphorus fertiliser and improving the utilization rate of phosphorus are direct methods for reducing NAPI in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region. Furthermore, improving the methods of treating human domestic waste and sewage can alleviate the high input pressure of phosphorus. The spatial differentiation of NAPI in the analyzed counties was mainly affected by the increase in phosphorus fertiliser and gross output value of agriculture, along with increasing urbanization, population densification, and greater economic activity in Chongqing compared with the other counties. Moreover, the components, sensitivities, contributions and impact factors in the counties were heterogeneous due to socio-economic, agricultural, and geographical characteristics, so it might be more appropriate to formulate phosphorus management policies on a smaller county-based scale.

Measurement of Anisotropies in Supernova Remnant Observations and Their Interpretation Using Numerical Models

Supernova remnants (SNRs) exhibit varying degrees of anisotropy, which have been extensively modeled using numerical methods. We implement a technique to measure anisotropies in SNRs by calculating power spectra from their high-resolution images. To test this technique, we develop 3D hydrodynamical models of SNRs and generate synthetic X-ray images from them. Power spectra extracted from both the 3D models and the synthetic images exhibit the same dominant angular scale, which separates large-scale features from small-scale features due to hydrodynamic instabilities. The angular power spectrum at small length scales during relatively early times is too steep to be consistent with Kolmogorov turbulence, but it transitions to Kolmogorov turbulence at late times. As an example of how this technique can be applied to observations, we extract a power spectrum from a Chandra observation of Tycho’s SNR and compare with our models. Our predicted power spectrum picks out the angular scale of Tycho’s fleecelike structures and also agrees with the small-scale power seen in Tycho. We use this to extract an estimate for the density of the circumstellar gas (n ∼ 0.28 cm−3), consistent with previous measurements of this density by other means. The power spectrum also provides an estimate of the density profile of the outermost ejecta. Moreover, we observe additional power at large scales, which may provide important clues about the explosion mechanism itself.

A High-Speed, High-Temperature, Micro-Cantilever Steam Turbine for Hot Syngas Compression in Small-Scale Combined Heat and Power

Abstract Coupling a biomass gasifier with a solid oxide fuel cell system through a high-temperature syngas compressor holds great promise to achieve low-emission, small-scale combined heat and power, since it reduces the number of heat exchangers and increases the system efficiency. However, due to the demanding operating conditions (high temperatures, toxic and explosive gases), electrical motors are not suitable to drive the syngas compressor. Therefore, a high-speed, small-scale cantilever steam turbine that can valorize the system?s waste heat to power the compression is designed and developed. An iterative process involving preliminary design, meanline analysis, commercial tools, and in-house codes is used for the design. The design is then numerically analyzed using computational fluid dynamics. The 2.8 kW cantilever steam turbine with a tip diameter of 21 mm runs up to 210 krpm at temperatures of 525°C while being supported on dynamic steam-lubricated bearings. A low-reaction, full-admission design has been chosen to lower the steam consumption, the axial forces, and the turbine backface leakage. The turbine rotor is made of Ti6Al4V and coated for structural integrity and to withstand high temperatures. Despite the small scale of this design, the results obtained from the established correlations based on large-scale turbines yield a remarkable concordance with the results from the numerical analysis, in particular for the isentropic expansion efficiency prediction.

Development of Marbel Sitasya Interactive Learning Media Based on Canva to Improve Science Learning Outcomes

Study This developing learning media interactive based Canva provided​ term Marble Sitasya To use overcome problem low results study science material solar system in class VI Wonotulus State Elementary School Regency Purworejo. Study This use Research and Development ( RnD ) method with Borg and Gall stages. The data analysis technique uses a feasibility test product, initial and final data analysis namely the t test and the N-Gain test. Based on results study show that learning media very worthy used. This proven with results evaluation appropriateness products by media experts and expert material obtained percentage by 76% and 90%. This media is also effectiv used in accordance with t test results on both the test stage is the scale test small and test scale great showing​ results sig value. (2-tailed) is 0.000 &lt; 0.05, meaning Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted. Besides Therefore, the N-Gain test results are obtained amounted to 0.51 on the scale test small and fruitful amounted to 0.6082 on the scale test big with criteria currently. based on results study this stated that learning media interactive Marble Sitasya based canva very feasible and effective for increase results study participant educate on science content material solar system in class VI Wonotulus State Elementary School Regency Purworejo.

Modeling the spatial distribution of soil physical properties in a semiarid tropical region

In semiarid regions, sustainably managing the limited available water resources is critical for food, water, and economic security. An important aspect of water management is monitoring, analyzing, and predicting soil moisture and hydrologic fluxes, especially under the threats of climate change. Unfortunately, since monitoring of soil moisture and water fluxes is often sparse in these regions, one needs to rely on hydrological modeling. The latter requires accurate knowledge of soil properties (e.g., texture, porosity, hydraulic conductivity), which in semiarid regions is also complicated by high level of spatial heterogeneity that is not captured by the low density of soil sampling efforts as well as by globally gridded soil databases. Using 300 monitoring sites across the Semiarid region of NE Brazil and a soil moisture model, this study aims to estimate soil properties at the sites through inverse-modeling and then spatially interpolation these properties via geostatistics. Inverse modeling with the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm accurately captured soil properties across the sites, while clear spatial patterns in these properties allowed us to confidently interpolation them across the region. Comparing our results with a global soil dataset shows that the latter does not capture spatial variability in the region, underlining the need to leverage small scale information. The derived soil property datasets may then particularly be valuable for regional water and ecosystem management applications.

ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OF DIGITAL APPLICATION SYSTEMS FOR EMPLOYEE DATA MANAGEMENT IN XYZ STORE

As technology and information systems develop in the digital era, managing employee data has become very important for organizations and companies. An efficient and accurate employee data input process is the first step in managing human resources optimally. XYZ Shop is a shop located in the Banten area, which sells retail goods to end consumers, usually on a small scale and at home. The shop provides a variety of products, ranging from clothing, food, electronic goods, to household equipment. However, the XYZ store still faces challenges in managing employee data, such as limited time and human energy in carrying out this process because it is still manual. To overcome this problem, an employee data input program was designed to be an effective solution. With this program, the employee data management process can become more efficient, accurate and organized. The author used three techniques for data collection activities, namely observation, interviews and literature study. Development of an application program system for managing employee data at XYZ store using the PHP programming language and MySql database. The application system built is web-based, so it can be accessed easily anywhere and anytime. This provides immediate benefits in day-to-day operational efficiency, allowing human resources to focus on more strategic tasks. With the ability to manage employee data efficiently, stores can easily adapt to company growth, including branch expansion and increased employment

Generative commonsense knowledge subgraph retrieval for open-domain dialogue response generation

Grounding on a commonsense knowledge subgraph can help the model generate more informative and diverse dialogue responses. Prior Traverse-based works explicitly retrieve a subgraph from the external knowledge base (eKB). Notably, the available knowledge is strictly restricted by the eKB. To break this restriction, Generative Retrieval methods externalize knowledge from the language model. However, they always generate boring knowledge due to their one-pass externalization procedure. This work proposes a novel TiLM Traverse in Language Model (TiLM), which uses three ‘Chain-of-Thought’ sub-tasks, i.e., Query Entity Production, Topic Entity Prediction, and Knowledge Subgraph Completion, to build a high-quality knowledge subgraph to ground the next Response Generation without explicitly accessing the eKB in inference. Experimental results on both Chinese and English datasets demonstrate TiLM’s outstanding performance even only with a small scale of parameters.