Showing items 121 - 140 of 12881

Mapping the cumulative impacts of long-term mining disturbance and progressive rehabilitation on ecosystem services

- Wang, Zhenyu, Lechner, Alex, Yang, Yongjun, Baumgartl, Thomas, Wu, Jiansheng

  • Authors: Wang, Zhenyu , Lechner, Alex , Yang, Yongjun , Baumgartl, Thomas , Wu, Jiansheng
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Science of the Total Environment Vol. 717, no. (2020), p.
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Open-cut coal mining can seriously disturb and reshape natural landscapes which results in a range of impacts on local ecosystems and the services they provide. To address the negative impacts of disturbance, progressive rehabilitation is commonly advocated. However, there is little research focusing on how these impacts affect ecosystem services within mine sites and changes over time. The aim of this study was to assess the cumulative impacts of mining disturbance and rehabilitation on ecosystem services through mapping and quantifying changes at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Four ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, air quality regulation, soil conservation and water yield were assessed in 1989, 1997, 2005 and 2013. Disturbance and rehabilitation was mapped using LandTrendr algorithm with Landsat. We mapped spatial patterns and pixel values for each ecosystem service with corresponding model and the landscape changes were analyzed with landscape metrics. In addition, we assessed synergies and trade-offs using Spearman's correlation coefficient for different landscape classes and scales. The results showed that carbon sequestration, air quality regulation and water yield services were both positively and negatively affected by vegetation cover changes due to mined land disturbance and rehabilitation, while soil conservation service were mainly influenced by topographic changes. There were strong interactions between carbon sequestration, air quality regulation and water yield, which were steady among different spatial scales and landscape types. Soil conservation correlations were weak and changed substantially due to differences of spatial scales and landscape types. Although there are limitations associated with data accessibility, this study provides a new research method for mapping impacts of mining on ecosystem services, which offer spatially explicit information for decision-makers and environmental regulators to carry out feasible policies, balancing mining development with ecosystem services provision. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

Measurement invariance across adult self-ratings of current and retrospective childhood ADHD symptoms

- Gomez, Rapson, Stavropoulos, Vasileios, Watson, Shaun

  • Authors: Gomez, Rapson , Stavropoulos, Vasileios , Watson, Shaun
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment Vol. 42, no. 3 (2020), p. 475-487
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: This study examined measurement invariance across adult self-ratings of current and retrospective childhood ADHD symptoms. A group of 265 adults (135 females and 130 males) from the general community completed ratings of their current and retrospective childhood ADHD symptoms presented in the Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV (BAARS-IV; Barkley 2011). Initially, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the both sets of ratings provided more support for a bifactor ADHD model (a model with an orthogonal general factor and specific factors for inattention [IA] and hyperactivity/impulsivity [HI]) over a 2-factor oblique model (with factors for IA and HI). Using the bifactor model, chi-square difference test indicated non-invariance for 12 factor loadings on the general factor, and 13 thresholds. Differences in approximate fit indices indicated that only 4 factor loadings were not invariant. The clinical theoretical, and psychometric implications of the findings are discussed. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Medical-attention injuries in community cricket : a systematic review

- McLeod, Geordie, O'Connor, Siobhan, Morgan, Damian, Kountouris, Alex, Finch, Caroline, Fortington, Lauren

Misconceptions in the knowledge of vocational fitness students and graduates

- Jolley, Daniel, Davis, Melissa, Lavender, Andrew

  • Authors: Jolley, Daniel , Davis, Melissa , Lavender, Andrew
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 60, no. 1 (2020), p. 66-88
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: The use of non-academic sources of health information is popular among both the public and exercise professionals. However, the quality of this information varies and without the application of critical thinking skills, may lead to misconceptions forming. This research aimed to compare the knowledge, presence of misconceptions, and critical thinking ability of vocational education and training (VET) fitness students at the beginning and end of their training, and qualified personal trainers (PTs). It also examines differences in the sources of information used by students and professionals. An Exercise Science Knowledge Survey was developed to assess knowledge and misconceptions about ten areas of exercise and nutrition. VET students were assessed at the beginning and end of a personal training qualification and PTs were surveyed once. Though VET students’ knowledge improved and misconceptions decreased from pre-to post training, PTs did not differ from post-VET students in knowledge, misconceptions, or critical thinking ability. PTs reported using more varied sources of information and were more likely to trust reliable sources. Critical thinking ability correlated with higher knowledge scores and lower misconception scores. Instruction in critical thinking should be embedded at lower levels of VET, and exercise professionals should be encouraged to undertake higher levels of study. © 2020, ADULT LEARNING AUSTRALIA INC. All rights reserved.

Mobility based network lifetime in wireless sensor networks: A review

- Nguyen, Linh, Nguyen, Hoc

  • Authors: Nguyen, Linh , Nguyen, Hoc
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Computer Networks Vol. 174, no. (2020), p.
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Increasingly emerging technologies in micro-electromechanical systems and wireless communications allows mobile wireless sensor networks (MWSNs) to be a more and more powerful mean in many applications such as habitat and environmental monitoring, traffic observing, battlefield surveillance, smart homes and smart cities. Nevertheless, due to sensor battery constraints, energy-efficiently operating an MWSN is paramount importance in those applications; and a plethora of approaches have been proposed to elongate the network longevity at most possible. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review on the developed methods that exploit mobility of sensor nodes and/or sink(s) to effectively maximize the lifetime of an MWSN. The survey systematically classifies the algorithms into categories where the MWSN is equipped with mobile sensor nodes, one mobile sink or multiple mobile sinks. How to drive the mobile sink(s) for energy efficiency in the network is also fully reviewed and reported. © 2020

MODEL : motif-based deep feature learning for link prediction

- Wang, Lei, Ren, Jing, Xu, Bo, Li, Jianxin, Luo, Wei, Xia, Feng

  • Authors: Wang, Lei , Ren, Jing , Xu, Bo , Li, Jianxin , Luo, Wei , Xia, Feng
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems Vol. 7, no. 2 (2020), p. 503-516
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Link prediction plays an important role in network analysis and applications. Recently, approaches for link prediction have evolved from traditional similarity-based algorithms into embedding-based algorithms. However, most existing approaches fail to exploit the fact that real-world networks are different from random networks. In particular, real-world networks are known to contain motifs, natural network building blocks reflecting the underlying network-generating processes. In this article, we propose a novel embedding algorithm that incorporates network motifs to capture higher order structures in the network. To evaluate its effectiveness for link prediction, experiments were conducted on three types of networks: social networks, biological networks, and academic networks. The results demonstrate that our algorithm outperforms both the traditional similarity-based algorithms (by 20%) and the state-of-the-art embedding-based algorithms (by 19%). © 2014 IEEE.

Modelling the clogging of a field filtration system used for stormwater harvesting

- Kandra, Harpreet, McCarthy, David, Deletic, Ana, Zhang, Kefeng

  • Authors: Kandra, Harpreet , McCarthy, David , Deletic, Ana , Zhang, Kefeng
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology Vol. 6, no. 4 (2020), p. 993-1003
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Non-vegetated high-flow stormwater filters have had widespread implementation in urban areas for stormwater management due to their small footprints. Relevant studies on investigation and modelling of the clogging of these systems, however, are quite limited, especially where they are based on real field observations. In this study, the infiltration rates (IR) of a field stormwater harvesting system, consisting of individual high-flow modules for water filtration, were monitored over a 2.5-year time period. A simple conceptual model, comprising a rainfall runoff model and a water balance model (that includes a water distribution model and a linear/exponential regression model), was developed to simulate the evolution of the IR of each filter module. The field observations show that the IR of the entire system dropped from 2000 mm h-1 to an average of 711 mm h-1 after 2.5 years of operation, with the filters closer to the inlet having the lowest IR at the end of testing (i.e., only 167 mm h-1). The models were calibrated highly satisfactorily against a different number of field observation events, with an average Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient (E) value of 0.64 and mean absolute error (MAE) value of 11.8. The validation results show that the linear regression model had better performance, with E mostly being positive (0.03-0.60) and MAE values (15.0-18.9) smaller than the exponential regression model (E < 0 in many cases, and MAE = 14.5-20.7). Compared to the results of previous laboratory experiments, data from this study indicate a slower decline rate of IR in field conditions, showing the importance of natural wetting/drying regimes for the longevity of such filters. The model could be very useful for optimisation of the design and long-term maintenance (e.g., replacement of clogged filter modular components) of modular filtration systems. © 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry..

Multimodal memetic framework for low-resolution protein structure prediction

- Nazmul, Rumana, Chetty, Madhu, Chowdhury, Ashan

  • Authors: Nazmul, Rumana , Chetty, Madhu , Chowdhury, Ashan
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Swarm and Evolutionary Computation Vol. 52, no. (Feb 2020), p. 14
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: In this paper, we propose a systematic design of evolutionary optimization, namely Multimodal Memetic Framework (MMF), to effectively search the vast complex energy landscape. Our proposed memetic framework is implemented in hierarchical stages with the optimization of each stage performed in parallel in three different states: Exploratory, Exploitative and Central. Each state, with its own set of sub-populations, either explores or exploits by beneficial mixing of potential solutions to direct the search towards a global solution. Instead of implementing identical genetic operators, the proposed approach employs different selection and survival criteria in each state according to their designated task. The Exploratory state employs a knowledge-based initial population generation technique with appropriately tuned genetic operators to guide the search to the "nearest peak". The Exploitative state fine-tunes the individuals representing different regions by applying a building block based local search. Finally, by utilizing the imbibed knowledge from different peaks, the Central state carries out information-exchange among the highly fit solutions for exploring the undiscovered regions. The information exchange employs a novel non-random parental selection technique to distribute the reproduction opportunity intelligently among the individuals for making cross-over more effective. The method has been tested on a set of various benchmark protein sequences for 2D and 3D lattice models. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over other state-of-the-art algorithms.

Narratives of access: A critical exploration of how institutional interactions with students affect regional student participation in higher education.

- Ostini, Jenny, Partridge, Helen, Kelly, Kate, Owen, Sue, Jeffries, Sandra

  • Authors: Ostini, Jenny , Partridge, Helen , Kelly, Kate , Owen, Sue , Jeffries, Sandra
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Student Success Vol. 11, no. 1 (2020), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: This article examines the narratives that drive university staff understanding of the concerns and experiences of regional and remote students at five universities in Australia. Interviews were conducted with thirty university staff members over a period of three months in 2018. Reflexive thematic analysis of the stories told by staff of supporting regional students found that staff used the lens of access to create meaningful stories for themselves and others in how they supported students. Access is defined as a multi-faceted term encompassing access to people, Internet, study materials and equipment and study environments. Access is facilitated by a sense of belonging or identity as a student and limited by the lack of this. Our analysis of “belongingness” draws on Bourdieu’s concepts of habitas to start to unpick the interactions between higher education institutions and the student that develop student identities as scholars and centres the narrative on the student as a person, wrestling to gain many forms of access within complex social situations.

Naturally occurring potentially harmful elements in groundwater in makueni county, south‐eastern kenya : effects on drinking water quality and agriculture

- Gevera, Patrick, Cave, Mark, Dowling, Kim, Gikuma‐njuru, Peter, Mouri, Hassina

  • Authors: Gevera, Patrick , Cave, Mark , Dowling, Kim , Gikuma‐njuru, Peter , Mouri, Hassina
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Geosciences (Switzerland) Vol. 10, no. 2 (2020), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Makueni County is located in the semi‐arid south‐eastern Kenya region characterized by unreliable rainfall and limited surface water resources. This necessitates a high reliance on groundwater for domestic and agricultural use. In this paper, we report on the physico‐chemical characteristics of 20 drinking water sources (boreholes, shallow wells, streams, and tap water) collected during the dry season (November 2018), the geochemical processes controlling their composition, and their suitability for drinking water and irrigation. Of all the physico‐chemical parameters analysed, the concentrations of total dissolved solids, hardness, electrical conductivity, magnesium, calcium, chloride, and fluoride exceeded the permissible drinking water limits set by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) in up to 55% of the samples. The dominant ions reflect the high salinity in the water that ranged from very high to extreme in up to 50% of samples. The northern region shows the highest concentrations of the dominant parameters. The water type is predominantly Ca‐Mg‐HCO3 with a trend to Ca‐Mg‐Cl‐ SO4. Rock weathering and evaporation are suggested to be the primary controls of groundwater geochemical characteristics. High salinity and fluoride, which are associated with reported undesirable taste and gastrointestinal upsets, as well as cases of dental fluorosis are some of the effects of consuming groundwater in the region. These two parameters can be attributed to the weathering of biotite gneisses, granitoid gneisses, migmatites, and basaltic rocks that occur in the area. The high salinity and alkalinity of most of the samples analysed, renders the water unsuitable for irrigation in the study area. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Never afters : female friendship and collaboration in contemporary re-visioned fairy tales by women

- McDermott, Kirstyn

  • Authors: McDermott, Kirstyn
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
  • Full Text:
  • Description: Antagonism among girls and women in fairy tales has been the subject of much critical and popular discussion over recent decades. Significantly less attention, however, has been paid to the frequent absence of collaborative female relationships in traditional fairy tales and their contemporary retellings. Holding re-visioned fairy tales to be a type of feminist creative praxis, this thesis investigates how mutually beneficial relationships between female characters may be constructed within such narratives. “Never Afters” is a collection of six re-visions, written as sequels to well-known fairy tales from the Western European corpus. Situated within a genre that commonly isolates female characters or foregrounds female antagonism, each re-vision employs one (or more) of five key strategies that are used by contemporary authors to imagine collaborative female relationships within retold fairy tales: inversion, insertion/deletion, expansion, fusion, and extrapolation. The exegesis contextualises my creative work and assesses the strengths and limitations of each strategy by critically examining how they are used in contemporary fairy tales by authors including Emma Donoghue, Theodora Goss, Angela Slatter, Aimee Bender, and Kelly Link. I demonstrate that expansion, fusion, and extrapolation best allow authors to introduce new female characters and fresh feminist perspectives that move away from female exceptionalism and instead foreground female collaboration and friendship as potent sources of narrative power. The exegesis further argues that the cognitive sciences, and schema theories in particular, may offer insights as to why collaborative female relationships have received such scant representation. Using case studies of my own creative praxis, I explore the ways in which female isolation and acrimony are re-inscribed in contemporary work and recommend the adoption of new frameworks through which creative writers may critically and reflexively interrogate their tacit storytelling knowledge.
  • Description: Doctor of Philosophy

New Lobellini (collembola : neanuridae) from Queensland contribute to understanding distribution and ecology of Australian fauna

- Smolis, Adrian, Greenslade, Penelope

  • Authors: Smolis, Adrian , Greenslade, Penelope
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Austral Entomology Vol. 59, no. 2 (2020), p. 253-264
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Two new species from Queensland rainforest belonging to genera Hemilobella and Sphaeronura are described and illustrated with drawings and colour photographs. Hemilobella matildae sp. nov. Smolis and Greenslade is characterised by elongated tubercles laterally on body and an elongated ogival labrum. Sphaeronura ameliae sp. nov. Smolis and Greenslade differs from other taxa in the genus in chaetotaxic features and the presence of a male ventral organ. A new record of Australonura scoparia is included. The high species richness of lowland rainforests, in which these log inhabiting saproxylic species were found, is noted, and the contribution that extreme events such as cyclones in maintaining the fallen timber habitat is emphasised. The bright colour of these species may be caused by sequestered pigments from the slime moulds on which they feed. The colour probably also acts as a warning to predators that individuals are distasteful. A description of the distributions, characteristics, distinctiveness and possible genesis of Australian fauna of the subfamily Neanurinae is presented, and a checklist of species and key to all Australian genera of the subfamily is included. Species in this subfamily are predominately short-range endemics so should be surveyed whenever wet forests are under threat from logging or urban expansion. © 2020 Australian Entomological Society

Nordic walking for overweight and obese people : a systematic review and meta-analysis

- Sanchez-Lastra, Miguel, Miller, Kyle, Martínez-Lemos, Rodolfo, Giráldez, Antón, Ayán, Carlos

  • Authors: Sanchez-Lastra, Miguel , Miller, Kyle , Martínez-Lemos, Rodolfo , Giráldez, Antón , Ayán, Carlos
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Physical Activity and Health Vol. 17, no. 7 (2020), p. 762-772
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Background: Nordic walking (NW) is a potentially beneficial exercise strategy for overweight and obese people. To date, no reviews have synthesized the existing scientific evidence regarding the effects of NW on this population. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to identify the characteristics, methodological quality, and results of the investigations that have studied the effects of NW in overweight and obese individuals. Methods: Six electronic databases were searched up to June 2019 for studies that examined the effects of NW on people with a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2. The methodological quality of the included randomized controlled trials was retrieved from the physiotherapy evidence database or evaluated using the physiotherapy evidence database scale. Results: Twelve studies were included in the review. The investigations were mostly good-to-fair methodological quality. NW groups had a significant improvement on parameters such as fasting plasma glucose, abdominal adiposity, and body fat compared with the baseline, but no significant improvements were found when compared with control groups. Conclusions: NW can potentially lead to improvements in parameters related to major health outcomes in overweight and obese people. The lack of control for confounding variables in the analyzed studies prevents further elaboration on its potential benefits. © 2020 Human Kinetics, Inc.

Numerical modelling of ceria undergoing reduction in a particle-gas counter-flow: Effects of chemical kinetics under isothermal conditions

- Li, Sha, Wheeler, Vincent, Kumar, Apurv, Lipinski, Wojciech

  • Authors: Li, Sha , Wheeler, Vincent , Kumar, Apurv , Lipinski, Wojciech
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Chemical Engineering Science Vol. 218, no. (Jun 2020), p. 14
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: A numerical model is employed to simulate a single tube reactor featuring a downward particle flow counter to an upward inert gas flow for ceria reduction in the dilute flow regime. The coupled phenomena of mass and momentum transfer as well as chemical kinetics are simulated assuming isothermal operation for the reactor. The model predicts the reduction extent under varying reaction kinetics as well as design and operational choices. The reduction extent is found to increase with the reaction rate constant until achieving the thermodynamic upper limit at a certain critical value. This critical rate constant signifies a transition from a chemical kinetics limited conversion to a gas advection limited conversion. The effect of the reactor length and the particle size on reaction extent is studied for a range of realistic cases. An empirical correlation is developed to quantify the effects of particle and gas flow rates on reduction extent at both slow and fast kinetics. The present work offers insights to help guide reactor design and operation towards achieving the maximum reduction extent. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerical modelling of radiation absorption in a novel multi-stage free-falling particle receiver

- Kumar, Apurv, Lipinski, Wojciech, Kim, Jin-Soo

  • Authors: Kumar, Apurv , Lipinski, Wojciech , Kim, Jin-Soo
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Vol. 146, no. (Jan 2020), p. 11
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: A novel multi-stage free-falling particle receiver design is proposed to improve the simple free-falling concept by enhancing the hydrodynamic stability and improving the radiation absorption of the particle curtain. The multi-stage design arising from repeated re-initialisation of the particle curtain by using intermediate troughs in the receiver results in an increased average volume fraction and residence time of the particles. The present work numerically solves the mass, momentum and radiative transfer equation for an isothermal two dimensional Eulerian-Eulerian particle-gas multiphase flow equations to estimate the absorption characteristics of the particle curtain. The multi-stage receiver concept significantly improves the absorptance of the curtain and reduces the reflection losses by over 50%. The reflection losses are seen to be insensitive to increase in size of the receiver making the multi-stage concept highly scalable. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Observations on the separable quotient problem for banach spaces

- Morris, Sidney, Yost, David

  • Authors: Morris, Sidney , Yost, David
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Axioms Vol. 9, no. 1 (2020), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: The longstanding Banach-Mazur separable quotient problem asks whether every infinite-dimensional Banach space has a quotient (Banach) space that is both infinite-dimensional and separable. Although it remains open in general, an affirmative answer is known in many special cases, including (1) reflexive Banach spaces, (2) weakly compactly generated (WCG) spaces, and (3) Banach spaces which are dual spaces. Obviously (1) is a special case of both (2) and (3), but neither (2) nor (3) is a special case of the other. A more general result proved here includes all three of these cases. More precisely, we call an infinite-dimensional Banach space X dual-like, if there is another Banach space E, a continuous linear operator T from the dual space E* onto a dense subspace of X, such that the closure of the kernel of T (in the relative weak* topology) has infinite codimension in E*. It is shown that every dual-like Banach space has an infinite-dimensional separable quotient. © 2020 by the authors.

Occupational self-efficacy and psychological capital amongst nursing students : a cross sectional study understanding the malleable attributes for success

- Terry, Daniel, Peck, Blake, Smith, Andrew, Nguyen, Hoang

  • Authors: Terry, Daniel , Peck, Blake , Smith, Andrew , Nguyen, Hoang
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education Vol. 10, no. 1 (Mar 2020), p. 159-172
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: With a predicted shortfall in the worldwide nursing workforce, efforts to understand attributes that influence attrition and workforce longevity remain fundamental. Self-efficacy and the broader construct of psychological capital have been linked to positive workplace-based attributes in occupations. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between general self-efficacy, occupational (nursing) self-efficacy, and psychological capital and their predictive factors among nursing students. A cross sectional design was used to address the aims of the study where all nursing students studying a three-year bachelor's degree were invited to complete a questionnaire examining traits that might assist in the preparation for, and longevity in, a nursing career. Although the participating nursing students demonstrated high levels of general self-efficacy, their reported levels of nursing-specific self-efficacy were significantly lower. Psychological capital measures indicated that students had high levels of belief, hope, and resilience concerning their capacity to commit to and achieve goals, succeed now and into the future, and overcome obstacles. The findings suggest an opportunity exists for education providers to nurture the malleable aspects of self-e fficacy and psychological capital, while developing greater capacity to bounce back and overcome the challenges that nursing students may encounter in their undergraduate academic training, and to reduce attrition as they prepare to enter the workplace.

Older women in australia : facing the challenges of dual sensory loss

- Heine, Chyrisse, Gong, Cathy, Feldman, Susan, Browning, Colette

  • Authors: Heine, Chyrisse , Gong, Cathy , Feldman, Susan , Browning, Colette
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 17, no. 1 (2020), p.
  • Full Text:
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: With the increase in longevity, the number of women living into old age is rising and higher than that of men. Data was derived from the Melbourne Longitudinal Studies on Healthy Ageing Program, which included 533 women and 467 men aged 65 years and older, in Australia, over 10 years. Logistic regression modeling was used to investigate the prevalence of dual sensory loss and the unmet needs for vision and hearing devices in older women (compared to men) over time, as well as its impacts on self-reported general health, depression, perceived social activities, community service use and ageing in place. Results suggested that the prevalence of dual sensory loss increased for women from the age of 75 years and over. Dual sensory loss was higher for older women and men who were living alone, with government benefits as their main income source or were divorced, separated or widowed. Dual sensory loss had significant impacts on poor general health, perceived inadequate social activities and community service use for women and men and on depression for women only. Early identification of dual sensory loss is essential to minimize its effects, ensuring continued well-being for this population. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Optimization of blasting design in open pit limestone mines with the aim of reducing ground vibration using robust techniques

- Rezaeineshat, Afsaneh, Monjezi, Masoud, Mehrdanesh, Amirhossein, Khandelwal, Manoj

  • Authors: Rezaeineshat, Afsaneh , Monjezi, Masoud , Mehrdanesh, Amirhossein , Khandelwal, Manoj
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources Vol. 6, no. 2 (2020), p.
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: Blasting operations create significant problems to residential and other structures located in the close proximity of the mines. Blast vibration is one of the most crucial nuisances of blasting, which should be accurately estimated to minimize its effect. In this paper, an attempt has been made to apply various models to predict ground vibrations due to mine blasting. To fulfill this aim, 112 blast operations were precisely measured and collected in one the limestone mines of Iran. These blast operation data were utilized to construct the artificial neural network (ANN) model to predict the peak particle velocity (PPV). The input parameters used in this study were burden, spacing, maximum charge per delay, distance from blast face to monitoring point and rock quality designation and output parameter was the PPV. The conventional empirical predictors and multivariate regression analysis were also performed on the same data sets to study the PPV. Accordingly, it was observed that the ANN model is more accurate as compared to the other employed predictors. Moreover, it was also revealed that the most influential parameters on the ground vibration are distance from the blast and maximum charge per delay, whereas the least effective parameters are burden, spacing and rock quality designation. Finally, in order to minimize PPV, the developed ANN model was used as an objective function for imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA). Eventually, it was found that the ICA algorithm is able to decrease PPV up to 59% by considering burden of 2.9 m, spacing of 4.4 m and charge per delay of 627 Kg. © 2020, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Optimization of combustion in micro combined heat and power (mCHP) system with the biomass-Stirling engine using SiO2 and Al2O3 nanofluids

- Najafi, Gholamhassan, Hoseini, Seyed, De Goey, Laurentius, Yusaf, Talal

  • Authors: Najafi, Gholamhassan , Hoseini, Seyed , De Goey, Laurentius , Yusaf, Talal
  • Date: 2020
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Applied Thermal Engineering Vol. 169, no. (2020), p.
  • Full Text: false
  • Reviewed:
  • Description: In this paper, a typical mCHP system was integrated by gamma type Stirling engine to meet electric, heating and hot water demands. The combustion test results, which is a key technology for small and micro scale mCHP systems have been presented and the combustion parameters for the Gamma type Stirling engine power system are discussed. Finally, the effect of SiO2 and Al2O3 nanoparticles, dispersed in Polyalkylene glycol (PAG) of mCHP system on the viscosity and thermal conductivity, were investigated. Also, the effect of sawdust biomass fuel on mCHP system emissions (such as CO, NOx, HC) have investigated. The test results confirm the fact that Stirling engines that are driven by the temperature of biomass gases are able to achieve a valuable output power. Also, Analysis of pollutants showed that by increasing of sawdust mass flow rate from 0 to 0.14 (g/s), CO emissions increased 164 vol%, also HC and NOx emissions increased 295–24 ppm respectively. Finally, the comparison between Al2O3/PAG and SiO2/PAG nano-lubricant demonstrate that Al2O3/PAG have better performance, therefore, the findings suggest Al2O3/PAG with a volume concentration of 0.010% as an optimum and best performance nano-lubricant for mCHP system. On the basis of the experimental results, we conclude that using the SiO2 and Al2O3 nanofluids in mCHP system can be introduced as new way to improve the performance of mCHP. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd