Stages Of Process Research Articles

Auditory Processing of Intonational Rises and Falls in German: Rises Are Special in Attention Orienting.

This article investigates the processing of intonational rises and falls when presented unexpectedly in a stream of repetitive auditory stimuli. It examines the neurophysiological correlates (ERPs) of attention to these unexpected stimuli through the use of an oddball paradigm where sequences of repetitive stimuli are occasionally interspersed with a deviant stimulus, allowing for elicitation of an MMN. Whereas previous oddball studies on attention toward unexpected sounds involving pitch rises were conducted on nonlinguistic stimuli, the present study uses as stimuli lexical items in German with naturalistic intonation contours. Results indicate that rising intonation plays a special role in attention orienting at a pre-attentive processing stage, whereas contextual meaning (here a list of items) is essential for activating attentional resources at a conscious processing stage. This is reflected in the activation of distinct brain responses: Rising intonation evokes the largest MMN, whereas falling intonation elicits a less pronounced MMN followed by a P3 (reflecting a conscious processing stage). Subsequently, we also find a complex interplay between the phonological status (i.e., accent/head marking vs. boundary/edge marking) and the direction of pitch change in their contribution to attention orienting: Attention is not oriented necessarily toward a specific position in prosodic structure (head or edge). Rather, we find that the intonation contour itself and the appropriateness of the contour in the linguistic context are the primary cues to two core mechanisms of attention orienting, pre-attentive and conscious orientation respectively, whereas the phonological status of the pitch event plays only a supplementary role.

Enhancing student career readiness: a two-decade systematic literature review

This study intends to discover the elements that impact student career readiness growth, analyze the components that dominate that growth, and identify the factors that dominate student career readiness. The methods used to review selected articles are discussed including publication standards, databases, eligibility and exclusion criteria, stages of the review process (identification, screening, feasibility) as well as abstraction and analysis of data. By following the guidelines of item preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) to produce this review. Based on the commonalities and traits of the first identified components, these factors have been separated into two categories, internal and external. Self-efficacy factors for internal factors and job training factors for external factors are the two factors with the maximum frequency and dominance over the others. Pursuing formal and non-formal education relevant to the chosen career field, making short-term and long-term career plans, establishing a strong professional network, and seeking relevant work experience through internships, part-time jobs, or volunteer work are all components of a career readiness strategy. Develop the necessary skills for an industry or career field, improve your communication skills, think positively, and be willing to confront career challenges. Maintain a balance between personal and professional life.

Transient Energy Dissipation Control of Energy Storage Devices in Wind Power Generation Systems

The transient stability of power systems with high penetration of wind power generation can be significantly improved through the utilization of variable virtual inertia if the energy source of rotational inertia can be expanded by energy storage devices (ESDs). This paper first establishes the relationship of energy conversion between ESD and mechanical kinetic energy inside a synchronous generator (SG). Then, the impact of the controllable inertia on system frequency characteristics and power angle oscillation is analyzed using the small-signal model corresponding to this system. Based on the analysis of the change of transient energy at different stages in the transient process, the control of transient energy dissipation is proposed employing ESDs for reliable inertia support. Finally, a typical simulation system with high penetration of wind power generation is carried out to demonstrate the viability of the proposed control scheme. The test results show that the fluctuation of SG’s power angle and system frequency can be reduced by regulating the variable inertia in transient events, significantly improving the reliability of the inertia support provided by the ESDs.

Improving lightning protection with corona minimising air terminals

A comprehensive approach to lightning protection is comprised of four key steps, namely protection against direct lightning strikes, dealing with surges and transients, dissipation of lightning currents via earthing and bonding, and protecting people. This paper deals with new research findings associated with direct-strike protection with lightning rods or “air terminals”, namely the effect of accumulated corona space charge around the tips of these components. There is now a great deal of consensus amongst lightning researchers and practitioners that space charge accumulation reduces the efficiency of an air terminal by inhibiting the initiation and development of an upward leader, a critical stage in the lightning attachment process. The paper describes measurements carried out in a high-voltage laboratory to quantify the amount of corona discharge that would be emitted under thunderstorm conditions from a variety of air terminals of different geometries. A unique, previously unreported aspect of these experiments was the corona testing of air terminals under dry and wet conditions. The results of these experiments showed that corona discharge (and hence space charge accumulation) from a standard Franklin rod is substantially higher than from the range of significantly blunter “corona minimising” air terminals that were tested. The previously reported polarity difference in corona characteristics was also observed, i.e., the magnitude of negative corona was larger than positive corona for the same ambient electric field. Differences in corona discharge were also observed under wet and dry conditions, where wet air terminals were found to produce modestly more corona. The paper then addresses the optimisation of air terminals, i.e., minimising corona discharge, for practical lightning protection applications, where the air terminal radius of curvature is tailored to its height and position of installation. Various researchers have made these calculations, the outcomes of which are summarised in this paper. In general, radii of curvature in the range 1–100 mm are required, depending on the installation height and location of the air terminal.

Effect of dataset distribution on automatic road extraction in very high-resolution orthophoto using DeepLab V3+

Road extraction is one of the stages in the map-making process, which has been done manually, takes a long time, and costs a lot. Deep Learning is used to speed up the road extraction process by performing binary semantic segmentation on the image. We propose DeepLab V3+ to produce road extraction from very high-resolution orthophoto for Indonesia study area, which poses many challenges, such as road obstruction by trees, clouds, building shadows, dense traffic, and similarities to rivers and rice fields. We compared the distribution of datasets to obtain the optimal performance of the DeepLab V3+ model in relation to the dataset. The results showed that dataset ratio of 75:10:15 resulted in mean Intersection Over Union (mIoU) of 0.92 and Dice Loss of 0.042. Visually, the results of road extraction are more accurate when compared to the results obtained from different distributions of the dataset.

Reduction of rejects by combining data from the casting process and automatic X-ray inspection

Automatic inspection of castings with X-rays (radiographic and computed tomography) is widespread for parts that are relevant for safety or have high quality requirements. Examples in the automotive sector are aluminum wheels, chassis parts and new parts within the electric power train. Those parts are automatically inspected, which means that both the image acquisition and the evaluation of the images is done fully automatically. Today, in most industrial implementations, the generated data with a size up to several gigabytes per part is summarized to a simple good or bad decision, according to specification. All other data is dismissed, although this information can be valuable to optimize production processes and thus minimize rejects. This contribution gives an overview about the results of the project Cast Control, which is a collaboration of Fraunhofer Development Center for X-ray Technology EZRT, Fraunhofer Center for Applied Research on Supply Chain Services SCS and industry partner RONAL GROUP. RONAL GROUP is a major aluminum wheel manufacturer, mainly for the OEM market. Within the project we combined serial production data from the low pressure die casting process from a foundry of the RONAL GROUP with the data generated in the automatic X- ray inspection. After collecting a large base of sample data, we were able train a neural network for the prediction of error metrics obtained by X-ray inspection. We apply a combination of layer-wise relevance propagation and dimensionality reduction to find correlations between data of the casting machines (process and sensor) and the characteristics of anomalies detected during X-ray inspection. With this information, it is possible to adjust the casting process in an early stage – even before rejects are produced. This enables the foundry to reduce their rejects rate, which saves costs and energy and results in a better competitiveness.

A new topology of non-isolated AC-DC quadratic boost converter with enhanced power traits

A novel AC-DC quadratic boost converter (QBC) topology is presented in this paper which can provide higher power factor (PF), lower total harmonic distortion (THD) and higher voltage when compared to a conventional AC-DC boost convertero This is achieved by using additional switched capacitor and switched inductor in the power processing stage. The presented converter is analyzed theoretically, and a voltage gain equation is derived. A simulation model is created to evaluate the converter performance under various duty cycles, switching frequency, and changing output load. The input PF, THD, and voltage gain of the simulated model were compared with conventional converter to determine the validity of the suggested converter circuit. The results show that the efficiency, PF, THD and voltage gain value reaches approximately 97.9%, 0.98, 16.14, and 2.83 respectively at a duty cycle of 50% with fixed output load of 100 Ω. A dual loop voltage and current controller is also arrayed with the proposed circuit which allows further enhancement in PF (0.997) and THD (7.45%). This converter can be a suitable option for systems where isolation is not necessary but high PF, high voltage gain and low THD are required.

Analysis, design, and control of standalone PV based boost DC-AC converter

This paper presents a new control scheme for a boost DC–AC converter which is used for solar power applications. The proposed DC-AC converter configuration can produce an AC voltage level across the output or load side greater than input DC voltage based on the operating duty cycle. Generally, the conventional DC-AC converter or voltage source inverter (VSI) generates AC voltage which is less than input DC voltage. Maintaining a constant voltage across the load with improved dynamic performance is challenging for anyone for the solar photovoltaic (PV) system. A dual-loop sliding mode control is proposed for the boost VSI to address the above issues. The proposed controller has robust in nature against the wide fluctuation in the plant or load parameters. The design, analysis and control of the boost DC-AC converter are briefly discussed in this paper. This topology can be broadly used in solar powered uninterruptible power supply (UPS) where boosting operation is essential for low voltage solar PV system. This topology eliminates the DC boosting power processing stage which leads an improved efficiency of the overall system. The MATLAB/Simulink results are presented to highlight the above issues.

A Case Study on Image Co-Registration of Hyper Spectral and Dual (L & S) Band SAR Data and Ore Findings Over Zewar Mines, India

The technique of superimposing two or more photographs in a way that ensures that for each image, the same pixel corresponds to the same location of the target scene is known as image coregistration It is a crucial stage in the picture enhancement process for satellite images. Different frequency bands store feature. Image fusion makes it possible to superimpose co-registered pictures taken by several sensors to get a superior image incorporating elements from both sources. On many match patches that are evenly dispersed over the two scenes, we estimate pixel offsets between possibly coherent picture pairings as image coregistration allows a more detailed single image to be obtained than many photos with distinct attributes. This study presents existing various fusion methods for ASAR (Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar) images in the S-band and L-band to interpret urban, forestry, and agricultural areas. AVIRIS hyper spectral data also shows mining possibilities on ore of region. Hence, the seeking of ore region, and coregistration using fusion facilitates the remote sensing architecture next to drones.

Food waste and the EU target: effects on the agrifood systems’ sustainability

ABSTRACT The reduction of food losses and waste is part of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (target 12.3) and, consequently, is one of the EU’s political priority in the field of circular economy. In this framework, the target 12.3 of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development stated, by 2030, a not quantified reduction in post-harvest losses and a halving of food waste at the retail and consumers levels; while the EU Commission has recently set the target, by 2030, of reducing by 10% food losses occurred at the stage of processing and manufacturing and by 30% food waste occurred at the stage of retail and consumption. Food losses and waste should primarily be considered an expression of inefficiency of agricultural production processes determining several environmental, social and economic impacts. The quantification of food losses and waste is still an unsolved problem so much so that, in EU; currently available data are only related to the period 2020–2021 and, in many cases, are based on estimates and are not uniform in individual Member States. This makes reliable predictions of results achievable by the European Union particularly difficult. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether the plan of losses and waste reduction established by the EU Commission is able to both ensure the achievement of 2030 Agenda target 12.3 and to make a contribution to improving the sustainability of agri-food systems. In doing so, in addition to Eurostat data on losses and waste, the EU-Commission projections and the latest results of recent studies on environmental, social and economic impact of food losses and waste in EU were used, including indicators on hidden costs of agrifood systems developed by FAO. What observed shows that the EU-Commission reduction plan, if implemented, should result in a reduction of losses and waste inadequate for complying with the recommendation given by the target 12.3. Furthermore, the EU-Commission’s decision not to provide for losses reduction at the agricultural stage should significantly limit environmental benefits, given that much of the negative environmental impacts (GHG, land and water use, etc.) are ascribable to this stage as are, according to FAO estimates, hidden environmental costs. Besides limiting environmental benefits, the EU-Commission reduction plan, focusing only on the food losses and waste reduction in the final stage of supply food chain, could lead to negative social and economic impacts caused by a decline in the demand, which will reduce supply, jobs losses and GDP reduction. The conclusion on this, is that the reduction of food losses and waste is an issue that cannot be addressed separated but needs to be included in a wider program of integrated and complementary measures as a whole clearly aimed at realizing forms of circular economy.

Assessing Environmental Impact: Organosolv Extraction of Cellulose Pulp from Wood Waste

In the upcoming years, the paper industry is expected rely on containerboard for packaging, with approximately 80% of it being made from recycled fibers by 2020. Creating a new supply chain for fibers could help mitigate possible shortages. In this context, wood waste emerges as a valuable resource with the potential to serve as a plentiful and cost-effective reservoir for generating new materials, as cellulose fibers. This study presents an assessment of the environmental impact associated with the organosolv extraction of cellulose pulp from wood waste based on a previous in lab study conducted by the authors. The increasing demand for sustainable materials has prompted exploration into alternative methods for cellulose pulp production, with a focus on minimizing environmental footprint. Organosolv extraction, a promising technique, involves the use of organic solvents and acid catalysts to break down lignocellulosic biomass, resulting in high-quality cellulose pulp production. To evaluate the environmental implications of this process, a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was adopted. The LCA framework considers all stages of the organosolv extraction process, from wood waste collection to cellulose pulp manufacture, using a gate-to-gate approach. The functional unit for assessment is set as one ton of cellulose pulp. The dataset utilized for the LCA comprises primary data obtained from laboratory experiments, complemented by secondary data sourced from literature and the Ecoinvent life cycle inventory database. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the influence of key parameters on the environmental performance of the organosolv extraction process, with a focus on variations in energy consumption to identify potential areas for optimization and improvement. In summary, this study emphasizes the environmental aspects of utilizing organosolv extraction for cellulose pulp production from wood waste. Further research is warranted to explore energy consumption during the organosolv process for obtaining more precise data and optimizing the process. This could be achieved through pilot-scale experiments or utilizing process simulation software.

Implementation of Village Fund Allocation Policy to Realize Village Self-Reliance

Introduction: The welfare of rural communities in developing countries such as Indonesia is a significant concern for the government. Therefore, the government's implementation of policies related to village fund allocation is expected to enhance the welfare of village communities. However, in practice, this policy has not yet brought about significant changes in the local communities, particularly in achieving village self-reliance. Literature review: Policy implementation from the Triangle Model perspective is an approach developed by Walt & Gilson, (1994) which emphasizes four main stages in the policy process, namely agenda setting, formulation, implementation and evaluation. The agenda setting stage involves the selection of various problems faced by society to become the focus of decision makers. Next, in the formulation stage, legislative and decision-making bodies design and ratify policies. The implementation process is carried out by the government, followed by an evaluation stage that assesses the impact of the policy. Method: This article aims to examine the process of implementing village fund allocation policies using the triangle analysis model (Buse et al., 2005) .The research informants comprised 23 individuals. Result and Discussion: The results of this study indicate that the objectives of implementing village fund allocation in the Semangga district are known to the implementers/actors, as well as the benefits of village fund allocation being perceived by the village communities. However, the policy implementers lack effective communication to convince and educate the village communities. Additionally, there is a need to enhance human resource commitment and allocate additional funds to advance the villages towards self-reliance. Conclusion: The findings of this study specifically demonstrate the real conditions in the research location regarding village fund allocation. This article presents opportunities for further research using the triangle analysis model in the implementation of village fund allocation policies.

Информация бухгалтерской (финансовой) отчетности как социальный феномен

The article is devoted to rethinking the social significance of accounting science and practice. Based on the results of research by modern sociologists, a comparative analysis was carried out and corresponding analogies were built between such concepts as “social information” and “accounting”. Guided by scientific criteria, the philosophical nature of accounting knowledge is convincingly proven. Based on the analysis of the functions of social information, certain accounting functions, as well as stages of the accounting process, are synthesized into it.

"Politics Versus Policy": Qualitative Insights on Stigma and Overdose Prevention Center Policymaking in the United States.

Federal, state, and municipal governments in the United States have been reluctant to authorize overdose prevention centers (OPCs), which are evidence-based approaches for preventing overdose deaths and blood-borne pathogen transmission. From July 2022 to February 2023, we explored how stigma manifests in OPC policymaking by conducting in-depth interviews with 17 advocates, legislators, service providers, and researchers involved with OPC advocacy and policymaking in Rhode Island, California, Pennsylvania, and New York. We found that although jurisdictions differed in their OPC policymaking experiences, stigma manifested throughout the process, from planning to authorization. Participants described OPCs as a tool for destigmatizing overdose and substance use, yet confronted institutionalized stigma and discriminatory attitudes toward people who use drugs (PWUD) and harm reduction from multiple sources (eg, politicians, media, and members of the public). Opposition toward OPCs and harm reduction approaches more broadly intersected with public discourse on crime, homelessness, and public disorder. Employed stigma-mitigation strategies included humanizing PWUD, publicizing the benefits of OPCs to the wider community, and strategically engaging media. These findings illustrate the importance of understanding stigma at different stages of the policymaking process to better facilitate authorization and eventual implementation of OPCs in the United States.

Fine particle capture performance assessment in an electrostatic-fabric integrated precipitator

Electrostatic precipitators, which are more commonly referred to as precipitators, play a crucial role in the process of reducing the quantity of airborne contaminants that are present in both atmospheric and flue gas settings. This is because precipitators are able to lower the concentration of contaminants in the air. The fine particles, ash, and oil that make up these pollutants are included. With a special emphasis on a Cottrell-type electro-filter that makes use of the wire-cylinder arrangement, the goals of this study are to evaluate the practicability of various filtration systems for the purpose of air decontamination. Specifically, the study will focus on the Cottrell-type electro-filter. By conducting a thorough examination of the peculiarities of the electrical and physical parameters that regulate the mechanisms of particle aggregation, our major purpose is to achieve a comprehensive understanding of these parameters. Through the use of experimental design strategies, we will make an effort to construct and perfect the filtration process in the subsequent stage. In addition to that, the purpose of this inquiry is to explore the impact that high voltage levels and the diameter of the conductor wire that is incorporated into the prototype have. Especially notable is the fact that our prototype exhibits an incredible filtration efficiency, with rates reaching up to 98%. This performance is really remarkable. Its exceptional performance reveals that it has the potential to be suitable for a wide variety of contexts, including residential, commercial, healthcare, industrial, and workshop applications. This suggests that it has the potential to be suitable for a wide range of applications.

Enhanced agency and the visual thinking of design

Abstract Visual thinking is a systematic way to produce knowledge in design by means of mental imagery, spatial reasoning, and the use of an array of visual representations. Pictorial representations such as sketches are crucial for the activity of designing at the early stage of the creative process. Designers see more information in sketches than was actually drawn. The ability to see more information than is sketched out can be seen as an enhanced visual capacity of human agency. Enhanced agency is the prosthetic incorporation of artifacts to improve the original agentive capacities. The incorporation of artifacts to draw raises some fundamental questions: Is the pencil an extension of the mind? Can we think with our hands? What agentive capacities are increased with the use of the pencil? What is the representational status of sketching? The chapter is structured around these key questions to suggest some answers inspired by the work of Göran Sonesson. Using the notion of enhanced agency and the layered model of agency, I explore the way in which the pencil improves the visual thinking of design. In doing so I found that it is important to maintain the principle of asymmetry in cognitive systems to reconsider relational ontology in favor of ecological relationships.

The importance of first-principles tools for safety enhancement in the design of passenger ships in the case of flooding events

The design of a passenger ship is a complex process covering multiple aspects of naval architecture and marine engineering to address performance, functionality safety, and cost as primary objectives. Between them, safety is a key element focusing on the people on board. In this sense, ship safety in the case of flooding events needs proper estimation from the first stages of the design process employing an appropriate metric. To this end, safety can be evaluated as a risk by calculating the Potential Loss of Life. Thanks to a multi-level framework developed during project FLARE, it is possible to calculate the risk associated with an accident, increasing the level of reliability as the design process advances. The framework aims at employing first-principles tools from the early stages of the design process, abandoning static calculations and empirical formulae as soon as data is available to set up advanced calculation techniques. Then, the framework adopts rigid-body time-domain calculations for the flooding simulations, advanced evacuation analysis tools, and direct crash simulation to evaluate collision damages. The process allows for testing alternative design solutions for the ship to enhance safety. Investigating risk control options is also possible, considering active or passive systems such as fixed foam installations, deployable barriers, or crashworthiness. Such an approach allows for evaluating safer solutions, respecting other design constraints and cost-related aspects. The present work describes the risk assessment framework for the case of flooding events, together with the different levels of accuracy that can be achieved, showing the improvements that could be reached by employing alternative risk control options.

Hydrogel loaded with bone marrow stromal cell-derived exosomes promotes bone regeneration by inhibiting inflammatory responses and angiogenesis

BACKGROUND Bone healing is a complex process involving early inflammatory immune regulation, angiogenesis, osteogenic differentiation, and biomineralization. Fracture repair poses challenges for orthopedic surgeons, necessitating the search for efficient healing methods. AIM To investigate the underlying mechanism by which hydrogel-loaded exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) facilitate the process of fracture healing. METHODS Hydrogels and loaded BMSC-derived exosome (BMSC-exo) gels were characterized to validate their properties. In vitro evaluations were conducted to assess the impact of hydrogels on various stages of the healing process. Hydrogels could recruit macrophages and inhibit inflammatory responses, enhance of human umbilical vein endothelial cell angiogenesis, and promote the osteogenic differentiation of primary cranial osteoblasts. Furthermore, the effect of hydrogel on fracture healing was confirmed using a mouse fracture model. RESULTS The hydrogel effectively attenuated the inflammatory response during the initial repair stage and subsequently facilitated vascular migration, promoted the formation of large vessels, and enabled functional vascularization during bone repair. These effects were further validated in fracture models. CONCLUSION We successfully fabricated a hydrogel loaded with BMSC-exo that modulates macrophage polarization and angiogenesis to influence bone regeneration.

A comprehensive review on anaerobic digestion with focus on potential feedstocks, limitations associated and recent advances for biogas production.

With the escalating energy demand to accommodate the growing population and its needs along with the responsibility to mitigate climate change and its consequences, anaerobic digestion (AD) has become the potential approach to sustainably fulfil our demands and tackle environmental issues. Notably, a lot of attention has been drawn in recent years towards the production of biogas around the world in waste-to-energy perspective. Nevertheless, the progress of AD is hindered by several factors such as operating parameters, designing and the performance of AD reactors. Furthermore, the full potential of this approach is not fully realised yet due the dependence on people's acceptance and government policies. This article focuses on the different types of feedstocks and their biogas production potential. The feedstock selection is the basic and most important step for accessing the biogas yield. Furthermore, different stages of the AD process, design and the configuration of the biogas digester/reactors have been discussed to get better insight into process. The important aspect to talk about this process is its limitations associated which have been focused upon in detail. Biogas is considered to attain the sustainable development goals (SDG) proposed by United Nations. Therefore, the huge focus should be drawn towards its improvements to counter the limitation and makes it available to all the rural communities in developing countries and set-up the pilot scale AD plants in both developing and developed countries. In this regard, this article talks about the improvements and futures perspective related to the AD process and biogas enhancement.

Children’s Functional Clothing: Design Challenges and Opportunities

Functional textiles and clothing designed for children should provide a safe and supportive environment, encompassing comfort, safety, health, wellbeing, and cognitive development, as well as fostering interaction and exploration. This study explores the multifaceted nature of functional textiles and clothing for children. It emphasises the importance of comprehensive knowledge about the user and an interdisciplinary approach in the design process. The integration of expertise from diverse fields contributes to a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities inherent in creating clothing that satisfies aesthetic demands and promotes the wellbeing of children. Through a study of existing research in functional textiles and a market analysis of children’s clothing, this research underscores the importance of practical application of studied materials and technologies in children’s fashion, creating innovative and purposeful solutions. This collaborative effort involves working with multidisciplinary teams and applying designers’ updated knowledge of functional materials throughout all stages of the design process. The study emphasises the designer’s responsibility in articulating the essential knowledge needed to integrate functionality from the beginning of the design process, ensuring that practical considerations are integral to the core attributes of the clothing. The study also proposes a framework that represents the design process for functional children’s clothing.