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Experimental implementation of an economic model predictive control for froth flotation
Get PDFWe present the implementation of a novel economic model predictive control (E-MPC) strategy for froth flotation, the largest tonnage mineral separation process. A previously calibrated and validated dynamic model incorporating froth physics was used, which overcomes the limitations of previous simplified models reported in the literature. The E-MPC's optimal control problem was solved using full discretization with orthogonal collocation over finite elements, employing automatic differentiation via CasADi. This approach was applied in a 30-litre laboratory-scale flotation cell, significantly improving mineral recovery from 9% to 29% under feed flowrate disturbances while maintaining a minimum concentrate grade of 20%.The article version is a preprint. It was published as Computer Aided Chemical Engineering
Volume 53, 2024, Pages 1759-1764 DOI URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-28824-1.50294-5
Narcissists don’t care about approval: the role of narcissism and status motives in explaining the relationship between self-objectification and approval motivation
Get PDFData availability:
All data and materials of the project can be viewed on https://osf.io/jyvft/?view_only=addef77b8bb24f0283a38420c530d73d.Electronic Supplementary Material is available online at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-024-06141-y#Sec26 .Prior research has established that women who self-objectify seek approval from others more strongly than women who self-objectify less. Yet the boundary conditions of this link remain largely unexamined. Building on hierometer theory, which postulates that narcissism tracks social status and motivates status-optimizing behaviour, we tested whether the desire for social status (e.g., among narcissists) severed the association between self-objectification and approval seeking. Two cross-sectional studies (NS1 = 200; NS2 = 201) using moderated mediation models found support for this proposition. The moderated mediation model shows that the link between self-objectification and approval seeking was attenuated among narcissists, as narcissists seek higher social status, instead of favour and approval from others. Together, the studies suggest that self-objectification no longer predicts approval seeking among individuals who prioritise status over inclusion. The findings help further connect the self-objectification literature to research on social status and self-regard. Practical implications and extensions are discussed.This research was supported in part by the Henry Lester Trust awarded to the first author
Experimental Study on the Feasibility of Disassembling and Reusing Lightweight Façade Wall Systems
Get PDFThis paper presents experimental investigations into the feasibility of disassembling and reusing exterior lightweight infill walls. The work stems as necessary steps towards the advancement of circular economy principles in future constructions. The experiment employed the single-shear test method commonly used to assess the shear strength of steel connections. The test samples consisted of cold-formed steel plates attached to hot-rolled steel plates, connected by screws. The cold-formed steel plate represents the track, a component of exterior lightweight infill walls, while the hot-rolled steel plate represents the beams of the primary structural frame. In total, twenty-one specimens were made: nine were tested after screwing, nine were tested after unscrewing and re-screwing, and three were tested after unscrewing, re-screwing, unscrewing, and re-screwing. The unscrewing step demonstrates the disassembly of the infill walls, while the re-screwing demonstrates their reuse. The experimental results revealed that the average peak strengths of the samples with different connections exhibited negligible differences. This can be attributed to the interaction between the screws and the connected cold-formed steel and hot-rolled steel plates, a mechanism further discussed in this paper. The test outcomes imply that exterior lightweight infill walls can be disassembled from the primary structural frame’s beams after the infill walls’ service life, and subsequently reused in the construction of other exterior lightweight infill walls. The study also demonstrated that more specimens should be tested to confirm the observation.This research was funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Centre for Mineral-Based Construction Materials (ICEC-MCM) (EPSRC Reference: EP/V011820/1)
Dynamic Sparse Encoding and Cross-Temporal Attention for Remote Sensing Image Change Detection
Get PDFDue to the inherent inductive bias of operations, convolutional neural networks (CNN) cannot model global information of remote sensing (RS) images. In contrast, Transformer-based methods can establish long-range dependencies of images through self-attention (SA) mechanism, but it faces the challenges of computational complexity and memory requirements, but also ignores the exploration on the feature redundancy removal of RS images. To address these two issues, we propose a network based on dynamic sparse encoding and cross-temporal collaborative attention (DSECTCA-Net) for RS image change detection (CD). First, we implement dynamic sparse encoding (DSE) by designing hierarchical sparse Transformer module (HSTM), which decreases the correlation calculation of the SA mechanism and effectively reduces the computational complexity and parameter amount of Transformer. Secondly, we propose cross-temporal collaborative attention (CTCA) to model RS images in time series and fully explore the interactivity between dual-temporal RS images, so as to better extract the global understanding of visual scenes. Extensive experiments on two large-scale public RS datasets show that the proposed method not only provides higher detection accuracy, but also achieves lower computational complexity and required storage space than most popular CD networks.10.13039/501100001809-National Natural Science Foundation of China
The Immunomodulatory Role of Regulatory T Cells in Preterm Birth and Associated Pregnancy Outcomes
Get PDFSpontaneous preterm birth (sPTB), defined as live birth before 37 weeks of gestational age, is associated with immune dysregulation and pro-inflammatory conditions that profoundly impact newborn health. The question of immune integrity at the maternal-foetal interface is a focus of recent studies centring not only sPTB but the conditions often affiliated with this outcome. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a critical anti-inflammatory role in pregnancy, promoting foetal tolerance and placentation. Due to this gestational role, it is hypothesised that decreased or dysfunctional Tregs may be implicated in cases of sPTB. This review examines studies comparing Treg presence in healthy term pregnancies and those with sPTB-associated conditions. Conflicting findings across different conditions and within sPTB itself have been identified. However, notable findings from the research indicate increased proinflammatory cytokines in pregnancies suffering from premature rupture of membranes (pPROM), chorioamnionitis, infection, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes (GDM). Additionally, reduced Treg levels were identified in preeclampsia, GDM, and pPROM as well as chorioamnionitis presenting with increased Treg dysfunctionality. Treg deficiencies may contribute to health issues in preterm newborns. Current sPTB treatments are limited, underscoring the potential of in utero therapies targeting inflammation, including T cell interventions. Future research aims to establish consensus on the role of Tregs in sPTB and associated conditions and advancing understanding of mechanisms leading to Treg deficiencies in adverse pregnancy outcomes.This study was funded by the Fetal Medicine Foundation (KHN,AE&NM) (registered charity 1037116), Tommy’s (RT) (registered charity number 1060508) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ National Health Service Foundation Trust and King’s College London (IS-BRC-1215–20006). PS is supported by a Fetal Medicine Foundation Senior Clinical Lectureship and grants from the Fetal Medicine Foundation. AB is funded by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), grant number (2022-MR/W006820/1)
Damage modeling of CO₂ injection well interfaces under coupled thermal, hydraulic and mechanical behavior
Get PDFData availability statement - The data presented in this paper can be accessed from Brunel University London's data repository, Brunelfigshare,under a CC BY licence. A DOI link to the data will be provided and included here before publication.This paper presents an investigation of well integrity during low-temperature CO₂ injection using a model of thermo-poroelasticity with interface damage mechanics. The casing–cement and cement–formation interfaces are described using cohesive interface elements and a bilinear traction–separation law. Verification testing is performed to establish the correct implementation of the coupled thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical equations. Simulation scenarios are developed to determine well interface damage initiation and development for intact wells and wells with an initial defect in the form of a 45° debonded azimuth. Each intact and defective well was simulated for 30 days of CO₂ injection at selected temperatures. Under the conditions considered, tensile radial stress developed at both the casing–cement and cement–formation interfaces. Hoop stress in the cement sheath remained compressive after 30 days but with reduced magnitude at the lower injection temperature, indicating greater risk of tensile stress and radial cracking as the injection temperature was reduced. Damage occurred in two of four scenarios considered, namely, the intact and defective wells at an injection temperature of 10° , and was limited to the casing–cement interface, with no damage to the cement–formation interface. Inclusion of the pre-existing defect led to earlier damage initiation, at 2.75 days compared to 4 days, and produced a microannulus with over double the peak aperture at 0.077 mm compared to 0.037 mm. These findings emphasize the importance of accounting for initial defects and damage evolution when investigating the integrity of CO₂ injection wells.UK Carbon Capture and Research Community (UKCCSRC) Flexible Funding Call 202
Do not shut up and do dribble: social media and TV consumption
Get PDFThis paper investigates the impact of social media interest and sentiment surrounding the 2020 National Basketball Association’s involvement with the Black Lives Matter movement on the television audience in the United States. Twitter (now known as X) serves as the chosen social media platform, and we determine the sentiment expressed in tweets (messages posted on Twitter) using the XLM-RoBERTa deep language model. Our primary findings indicate that the quantity of users’ posts does not significantly influence TV viewership; instead, the tone of the messages plays a crucial role. Positive messages supporting the NBA’s engagement correlate with an increase in the number of viewers, while those expressing opposition do not. We argue that this asymmetry may stem from a positive elasticity among casual (non-habitual) NBA viewers concerning positive sentiments toward NBA involvement. These viewers are likely to align with the NBA’s stances on civil rights and BLM. In contrast, the core NBA fan base exhibits inelastic demand and is unlikely to cease watching NBA games. A comprehensive set of robustness checks reinforces the validity of our key conclusions
Exploring how prisoners experience work: A discursive practice approach
Get PDFThis thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonStudies on prison work have long held the view that giving inmates the chance to work influences their lives and forms a critical component in their rehabilitation. Thus, the frequently touted benefits of prison work include but are not limited to, reducing idleness, financial benefits, skill acquisition, personal character reformation, desistance from crime, and cost reduction. The belief in the efficacy of prison work in providing these benefits has aided in hatching a copious body of practical and theoretical cottage industry of journal articles and books on prison work that extol its values and contributions to rehabilitation, subsequently stipulating suggestions for the working conditions of prisoners. In spite of the popularity of prison work in prisons across the globe, there is still not much empirical evidence about how the procurement of the work flows through the prisons and the ensuing possibilities associated with the process for inmates to comprehend and incorporate into their performance.
Drawing on the contemporary turn to practice in social theory as a lens, and conceptualizing practices as the analytical starting point for theorizing work, this study provides a fresh empirical articulation on prison work and rehabilitation by demonstrating how prisoners engaged in working outside the prison walls come to understand work, their motivation to participate and engage in the work, and how the work they do may contribute to their rehabilitation. Developing the thesis’s contribution in the context of Ghanaian prisons, five prisons served as the empirical research sites. Adopting an interpretive approach and an exploratory qualitative research design, the main data for the inquiry were collected from 60 inmates, 20 prison officers, and 10 ex-offenders using semi-structured interviews and observations. Analysed through the reflective gaze of microstoria—the sharing of contemporaneous stories on prison life and work as recounted by prisoners—the thesis sheds light on the lived experiences of prisoners, emphasizing the discursive situated practices that come together to define work in the prisons, and how this work is organized. This was supplemented with publicly available data in the form of Ghana government prison policy documents, prison websites, and newspaper articles on prisons.
The study presents three main findings. First, emphasizing how external labour work is organized in the prison, the study found that inmates who participate in external labour activities had to qualify by serving either one-third or one-fifth of their sentences as a precondition for prison work or hard labour respectively. Additionally, inmates had to have exhibited good behaviour as proscribed by the environment of the prison during the time served, as witnessed by other prisoners and officers alike. This highlights the forms of integration in the various climatic conditions in the prisons, which is indicative of the acceptable conduct required of participants who engage in external labour activities. Once an inmate passes this stage, they are seen as duly qualified and are called into a gang and assigned to an officer. Second, using the potlatch system as the analytical starting point, the study highlights property rights, rules of earning and holding positions, and reciprocal exchanges as played out in external labour activities. The active engagement of officers in sourcing jobs for inmates propels inmates to work assiduously in their quest to reciprocate the gifts and kindness that the officers have bestowed upon them. This account highlights the power relations embedded in external labour and is suggestive of the impact of the job sourcing process on the inmates’ perceptions regarding the nature of the jobs which are found in the informal sector and are characteristic of fragmented, flexible and 3D (Dirty, Demanding and Dangerous). While it is undeniable that the sourcing process creates fierce competition for status and prestige among the officers, it also provides several other significant junctions which contribute to the general welfare of inmates in the prisons. Third, the study found that the transgression transparency employed by the prison service, such as publishing the names of inmates who ‘misbehave’ at the gate, making the transgressions of the said inmates known to others, and suspending such inmates from taking part in external labour activities, means that transgressors are prompted to progressively engage in a coactive procedure that facilitates the development of mutually acceptable behaviour. Consequently, inmates are assisted to personally engage in acceptable behaviours espoused by the prisons, hence creating a personal narrative control of their own accord in an effort to enable behavioural change, leading to rehabilitation. Thus, personal narrative control helps inmates to take charge of their rehabilitation and prompts others who engage in or hope to engage in external labour to learn from them.
Overall, the study demonstrates the relevance of external labour activities as a promising intervention that, although improperly implemented in the prisons, reinforces the need for a positive, holistic approach to the rehabilitation of inmates in prisons. Thus, external labour refocuses our attention from the dyadic prisoner–officer relationship to a more complex triad of the prisoner as a worker, the officers as middlemen and at times employers, and the state as the general overseer, shedding more light on the varying means by which inmates can be rehabilitated in prisons. A series of practical and policy implications are also suggested to help boost and improve external labour activities and support the rehabilitation of inmates in the Ghana Prisons Service. The study ends with a number of directions for future research
'Not so Other': Challenging ideas of citizenship and belonging in Italy
Get PDFBased on research funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 683033). https://doi.org/10.3030/68303
Financial integration and economic growth in Europe
Get PDFThis is a draft chapter. The final version is available in Handbook of Financial Integration, edited by Guglielmo Maria Caporale, published by Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2024
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