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Co-Crystallization of Urea Granules for Slower Dissolution
Get PDFCo-crystals are multicomponent crystals formed through hydrogen bond interactions. Co-crystallization, the process of developing cocrystals, serves as a versatile approach for discovering new solid forms of active ingredients (AIs) that can alter physical properties such as solubility, dissolution rates, and stability. These co-crystals can be produced through three main methods: solid-state methods, solution-based methods, and supercritical fluid methods. Recently, the solid-state (mechanochemical) method of developing cocrystals has gained more attention from researchers in the development of slow-release urea fertilizers. This technique can also be applied to the development of urease inhibitors. These multicomponent crystals present a potential solution to the increase in harmful chemicals and microplastics in soil. In the case of urea cocrystals, urea crystal serves as the active ingredient, and any other crystal used to change the physical properties of urea is called a coformer. The selection of coformers is crucial from an environmental perspective.Therefore, the current study focuses on developing urea cocrystals that combine the properties of slow-release nutrients and the inhibition of urease activity. The selected potential coformers are calcium sulfate, commonly referred to as gypsum (CaSO4), zinc chloride (ZnCl2), and potassium chloride (KCl). The convergence of these benefits underscores the potential of mechanochemical approaches not only in streamlining production processes but also in fostering sustainable environmental practices and safeguarding our valuable water resources from the detrimental impacts of nutrient runoff
Online Class-Incremental Learning for Real-World Food Image Classification
Get PDFFood image classification is essential for monitoring health and tracking dietary in image-based dietary assessment methods. However, conventional systems often rely on static datasets with fixed classes and uniform distribution. In contrast, real-world food consumption patterns, shaped by cultural, economic, and personal influences, involve dynamic and evolving data. Thus, it requires the classification system to cope with continuously evolving data. Online Class Incremental Learning (OCIL) addresses the challenge of learning continuously from a single-pass data stream while adapting to the new knowledge and reducing catastrophic forgetting. Experience Replay (ER) based OCIL methods store a small portion of previous data and have shown encouraging performance. However, most existing OCIL works assume that the distribution of encountered data is perfectly balanced, which rarely happens in real-world scenarios. In this work, we explore OCIL for real-world food image classification by first introducing a probabilistic framework to simulate realistic food consumption scenarios. Subsequently, we present an attachable Dynamic Model Update (DMU) module designed for existing ER methods, which enables the selection of relevant images for model training, addressing challenges arising from data repetition and imbalanced sample occurrences inherent in realistic food consumption patterns within the OCIL framework. Our performance evaluation demonstrates significant enhancements compared to established ER methods, showing great potential for lifelong learning in real-world food image classification scenarios
Medicinal Vibrations
Get PDFIn the course of the mid to late 20th and 21st centuries the term vibrator has been synonymous with sexual gratification and the female sex drive. However, its original usage is more in line with a therapeutic medical treatment administered and recommended by medical professionals. In this article the history of the vibrator discusses the roots of medicines views on the female body and the ways in which their ailments were treated, with medicine not fully understanding the female sexual gratification of clitoral stimulation until the 1920s. These previous decades are colored by ancient understandings of the female sex and their bodily functions, ultimately culminating in the creation and implementation of the vibrator to relieve various feminine health issues, most prominently hysteria
Pressure from tourism hardest for religious World Heritage Sites and those in forest and coastal areas
No full textShort abstract (max 250)
This study empirically investigates tourism as a threat to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, given their characteristics and location. The main contribution of the study is a new measure that relates the time from inscription to the occurrence of a threat, based on data from the State of Conservation reports. In this database, there is information on 1,200 World Heritage sites for the period 1978-2023 with 29,000 observations. Two indicators relating to tourism as a threat are used: One relating to demand and the other to supply. Estimation results reveal that the occurrence of a tourism threat is highest for religious sites. Forest areas and marine and coastal areas are the ones most threatened in the group of natural sites. In the group of cultural properties, religious sites are most affected. World Heritage sites in Europe and North America have the lowest risk of being threatened by tourism. The size and year of the inscription are not relevant in these cases.
Keywords: World Heritage Sites, Tourism, Accommodations, Threat, Duration mode
Utility Rope-a-dope: Muhammad Ali Approach to Conflict Analysis
Get PDFLearn how to avoid getting hit with utility conflicts when they are coming at you quickly. Discussion will focus on designing around utilities; evaluating conflicts; right-of-way consideration for utility relocations; changes late in design and during construction; and lessons learned
INDOT Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) In-Pavement EV Charging Pilot Project
Get PDFINDOT, in collaboration with Purdue University/Aspire and AECOM, is conducting a pilot project for dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) on US-52/231 in West Lafayette, IN. High-power DWPT has the potential to reduce range anxiety and allow for smaller and lighter batteries in vehicles. This presentation will give an overview of our project, why this is important for Indiana, how this relates to the future of wirelessly charged vehicles, and other AECOM DWPT projects
Civil Rights Nondiscrimination Information for Local Public Agencies
Get PDFThis session will discuss new ADA/Title VI
Use of GPR to Evaluate Pavement Subgrade Problems
Get PDFGround penetrating radar (GPR) is a non-destructive field test that can provide a continuous profile of existing road conditions. It has the potential to be used for a variety of pavement applications, including measuring the thickness of asphalt pavement structure and assisting in the analysis of pavement distress mechanisms. We will share the experiences gained from GPR testing to evaluate pavement subgrade problems
Log-Linear Dynamic Inversion Control With Provable Safety Guarantees in Lie Groups
No full textIn this article, we use the derivative of the exponential map to derive the exact evolution of the logarithm of the tracking error for mixed-invariant systems, a class of systems capable of describing rigid body tracking problems in Lie groups. In addition, we design a log-linear dynamic inversion-based control law to remove the nonlinearities due to spatial curvature and enhance the robustness of the controller. We apply linear matrix inequalities to bound the tracking error given a bounded disturbance amplified by the distortion matrix and leverage the tracking error bound to create flow pipes. To demonstrate the usefulness of our method, we show its application with urban air mobility) scenarios using a simplified kinematic aircraft model and polynomial-based path planning methods
Thermal performance of a pump-assisted capillary cooler
No full textThe heat transfer and hydraulic performance of a flat evaporator, pump-assisted capillary loop cooler is evaluated for a 1 cm2 heat source. The cooler consists of a copper manifold that houses a compensation chamber that feeds liquid to a sintered, flat evaporator wick below via a micro-tube array. Liquid evaporates from the copper wick as it is attached to the heater through a copper base plate. The custom cooler design offers separate flow routes for liquid and vapor phases during steady operation and thereby maintaining the pressure balance of the flow loop. The cooler performance is evaluated using de-ionized water as the coolant with an inlet volumetric flowrate of 322 ml/min. The cooler achieves a steady convective heat transfer coefficient of \u3e95 kW/m2 K with 537] to [356, \u3e610] W/cm2 within the same temperature range. Such a cooler shows promise for systems of variable thermal load where system pressure is a key consideration