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Exploring consumer behaviour on carbon labelled food products: evidence from a survey on the case of sandwich production and consumption in UK
Get PDFBy assessing carbon footprints and raising awareness of carbon labelling, the food sector is setting long-term targets to reduce carbon emissions and accelerate the transition to low-carbon food production. Carbon labelling, also known as carbon labelling, informs customers about a product's production, distribution, and disposal carbon emissions. This study examines how customers view carbon labelling and how it affects their purchases. The study also examines the complex food industry, identifying the biggest carbon emitters and proposing sustainable alternatives. The study collects qualitative and quantitative data using mixed methodologies. An overview of the literature shows how carbon labelling promotes sustainable consumption. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to evaluate two sandwich recipes' carbon footprints, focusing on emissions per item. LCA results indicated that carbon footprint of a cheese and mayonnaise sandwich ranged between 700 and 750 g CO2 eq, while a ham and cheese sandwich ranged between 1053 and 1070 g CO2 eq., and the primary contributors for these emissions were ingredient production, packaging and energy consumption. A sandwich maker partnership simplifies case study data collection, providing a complete carbon footprint analysis throughout production. This study suggests ways to minimise food industry carbon emissions for a sustainable future. Consumer knowledge and relevance of carbon labelling vary, according to our results. Survey findings revealed that 68.6 % of respondents recognise the significance of carbon labelling, however, only 26.9 % reported that their purchasing decisions are influenced by carbon labelling. This indicated a gap between consumer awareness and behavioural change. Consumers are concerned about carbon footprints; thus, carbon labels affect shopping decisions differently. This study suggests that consumer education, standardisation of carbon labelling and recipe modifications could increase effectiveness of carbon labelling in the food industry and its potential to change consumer behaviour towards greener choices and lower carbon footprints.Guillermo Garcia-Garcia acknowledges the Grant ‘Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship’ with Grant agreement ID: 101052284.Journal of Agriculture and Food Researc
Characterization and PAH removal performance of microbe-immobilized biochars derived from different feedstocks
Get PDFMicrobial degradation is the primary mechanism for purifying polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in environments, and biochar immobilization is an effective technology to enhance biodegradation, but the process parameters of the immobilization technology still require further systematic evaluation. Here, biochars derived from pig manure (PM), bamboo (BB), rice straw (RS), and soybean straw (SS) were used as carriers of Mycobacterium sp. ZL7, and the optimal biochar dosage of 1:30 (w/v) and immobilization time of 24 h were determined. The immobilization effects followed the order of RS > SS > PM > BB. Scanning electron microscopy and physicochemical properties revealed that porous structures acted as shelters for bacteria, and high nitrogen content, large pore size and high-water holding capacity played important driving roles in immobilization. In the single-substrate system, pyrene removal rates of the PM-, RS- and SS-immobilized materials were greater than 96 %, which were significantly higher than those of the biochar alone or the free strains. An orthogonal design experiment in historically PAH-contaminated soil further revealed that, compared with free strain, immobilized materials combined with high moisture content and moderate salicylic acid or Brij 30 can effectively increase the abundance of bacteria and the nidA gene, and enhance the dehydrogenase and polyphenol oxidase activities. The removal rate of total PAHs increased by 8.53 %-30.45 % after 24 d. Moreover, biochar with strong immobilization capacity showed better PAH removal effects. This study provides a scientific basis and practical reference for biochar-immobilized microorganisms to enhance the self-purification of PAH-contaminated soil.This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Project of China (Nos. 2023YFC3709700 and 2024YFC3713800).Journal of Environmental Science
Investigation of disc brake interface strain distributions using Fibre Bragg Grating sensors
No full textTirovic, Marko - Associate SupervisorThe processes occurring at the friction brake interface are complex due to the high interface pressure, and heat and wear, which change continually and are governed by the thermo-elastic instability phenomenon. Complexities in modelling are mainly related to the inability to establish all necessary material properties. Experimental investigations, on the other hand, are difficult due to the challenging working environment and limited space, whilst the sensors used should not disturb the very process that is being monitored.
The Thesis uses optical Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) strain sensors, having a small diameter of order 250 µm and temperature resistance of several hundred degrees. The brake pads are modified by creating shallow and narrow grooves in which the optical fibre sensors are installed. In such a manner, the strains are measured in the close proximity to the friction surface, with minimum modifications and influence on the interface contact. Two special rigs were used, one for static and quasi-dynamic testing, and the other for dynamic brake applications, employing the complete brake assembly and accurately controlled test environment.
The static loading phase involved step-wise hydraulic pressure changes (0bar to 120bar) and variations (pressure applied to the piston sets differed by ±10bar) to understand the brake pad interface performance, while the quasi-dynamic measurement phase involved the application of torque levels (200Nm, 600Nm & 1000Nm) at varying hydraulic pressure levels (40bar, 80bar and 120bar). The measurements confirmed the FBG sensors’ suitability for interface strain measurements, with high level of accuracy and repeatability, within a wide range of brake operating conditions. Comparisons with finite element (FE) analyses in the static and quasi-dynamic conditions showed very good agreement.
In the dynamic phase, the disc brake system is exposed to a (approx.) 50rpm disc rotational speed and 30bar applied hydraulic pressure, which represents the first reported attempt to apply the optical sensing technique on a disc brake under dynamic loading conditions. FBG sensors were able to follow the fast-changing strain distributions at the pad/disc interface, and a means of correcting the influence of temperature on the sensor response was implemented. The possibility of direct measurement and monitoring of a truly dynamic change in the strain distributions at the entire pad frictional surface during braking lays the foundations for dynamic monitoring of pressure and temperature distributions at the brake pad frictional interface.PhD in Transport System
Invaders and containers: cognitive representations of biological and particular matter (bioPM)
Get PDFAir quality management concerns the assessment, analysis and mitigation strategies associated with ensuring that air is breathable and non-toxic. Successful management is a cognitively intensive task, knowledge-focused and converges multiple sources of information to develop a shared understanding of a problem. To operate effectively in this space, managers and operational teams share common points of reference in discussing problems and solutions, strategies, tactical briefings, etc., and communication and technical language use are key to the discipline. However, few studies have homed in on the language communities of air quality management discourse, and fewer still have exploited this to gain insight into the cognitive processes underpinning salient operational knowledge production. This paper draws upon a discussion from a multi-stakeholder workshop on bioaerosols and the built environment and draws upon Cognitive Linguistics to systematically examine the cognitive structuring of those different stakeholder representations. This approach is then explored as a contribution to good practice in air quality knowledge management and communication that is consistent with studies on cognitive and learning science and has potential for policy formulation.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)This research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), grant number NE/V002171/1.Pollutant
Individual and combined effects of heatwaves, air pollution, green spaces, and blue spaces on depressive symptoms incidence
No full textThe health hazards of climate-driven temperature have been extensively studied, but the specific effects on mental health, especially given the backdrop of air pollution and blue-green accessibility, remain largely unknown. Here we investigate individual and synergistic effects of heatwave, air pollution, and blue-green space on depressive symptoms, using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Logistic regression analyses revealed that exposure to heatwaves was associated with a 4.2–14.0 % increase in depression risk. Furthermore, for every 10 μg/m3 increment in ambient concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, CO, and SO2, the odds ratios (ORs) of depression increased by 25 %, 13 %, 1 %, and 55 %, respectively. We also found positive interactions between the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, CO, and the lack of blue and green spaces with heatwave exposure, both on multiplicative (ORs for product terms >1) and additive (RERIs >0) scales. Simultaneous exposure to heatwave and air pollution or lack of green and blue spaces showed increased risk of depression symptom than exposure alone. This study advocates integrating heatwaves, air pollution, and blue/green infrastructure into climate-resilient mental health policy-making.The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from Project LH2021E097 supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province. ZY thanks UKRI NERC Fellowship (NE/R013349/2) and The Leverhulme Trust Research Leaderships Awards (RL-2022-041).Journal of Environmental Psycholog
Optimizing industrial etching processes for PCB manufacturing: real-time temperature control using VGG-based transfer learning
Get PDFAccurate temperature control in Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturing is essential for maintaining high-quality etching results. Automated monitoring using machine vision and deep learning offers an effective approach for this task. This study investigated a feature-based transfer learning technique for classifying temperature readiness in infrared images of the etching process. The captured dataset containing 470 ‘Production-Ready’ and 480 ‘Not-Ready’ infrared images of the etchant tank was utilized. Pre-trained Visual Geometry Group (VGG) Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models, specifically VGG16 and VGG19, were employed to extract discriminative features from these images. Logistic Regression (LR) classifiers were then trained on these features to classify the infrared images. The performance of the VGG16-LR and VGG19-LR pipelines was evaluated on training, validation, and test sets using a 60:20:20 split. While both pipelines achieved 100% accuracy on the training sets, the VGG19 pipeline showed exceptional performance, achieving a validation accuracy of 95%, and a test accuracy of 99%. The VGG16 pipeline also demonstrated robust performance, achieving 96% accuracy on both the validation and test sets. Considering the dimensions and the overall efficiency of the pipeline, it was determined that the VGG19-LR model was appropriate for the captured dataset. The high accuracy indicates that transfer learning is suitable for categorizing temperature fluctuation in infrared thermography, as opposed to training a deep neural network from scratch. Computer vision and deep learning provide automated and precise temperature management during the etching process, leading to enhanced efficiency in PCB manufacturing.European CommissionThis research was funded by Research Development Fund, Grant Num-ber: RDF-21-01-028; Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Grant Number: SURF-2024-0355; and Project for Centre of Excellence for Syntegrative Education, Grant Number: COESE2324-01-07 of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. Guillermo Garcia-Garcia acknowledges the Grant ‘Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship’ with Grant agreement ID: 1010522842nd International Conference on Intelligent Manufacturing and Robotic
Comparison of efficiencies in protectionist and liberal cabotage policies
Get PDFThis paper focuses on cabotage, which is a long-standing regulation that restricts coastal trade to domestic ships. As globalisation has grown, global trade organisations have pushed for the removal of these barriers to promote a competitive market environment. In this research, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to evaluate and compare the efficiencies of countries which have protectionist and liberalised cabotage policies. To do this, maritime statistics in 2022 from the World Bank database are considered for 50 different countries. We find that both protectionist and liberal policies have advantages and disadvantages, but neither is inherently superior. In addition, cabotage policies must be structured according to each country’s conditions, and a delicate balance must be established between these policies, considering the dynamics of the global economy. This paper has also considered advantages and disadvantages by comparing countries that have different policies on cabotage, such as the UK and Türkiye, to show how cabotage regulations generate different perspectives created by their respective maritime pasts and geopolitics. In terms of an effective and competitive maritime industry, the study is one of the unique types of research that underlines the need for a cabotage strategy balanced between the liberalised and protectionist components.Maritime Policy & Managemen
Resilient time dissemination fusion framework for UAVs for smart cities
Get PDFFuture smart cities will consist of a heterogeneous environment, including UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles) and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), used for different applications such as last mile delivery. Considering the vulnerabilities of GNSS (Global Navigation System Satellite) in urban environments, a resilient PNT (Position, Navigation, Timing) solution is needed. A key research question within the PNT community is the capability to deliver a robust and resilient time solution to multiple devices simultaneously. The paper is proposing an innovative time dissemination framework, based on IQuila’s SDN (Software Defined Network) and quantum random key encryption from Quantum Dice to multiple users. The time signal is disseminated using a wireless IEEE 802.11ax, through a wireless AP (Access point) which is received by each user, where a KF (Kalman Filter) is used to enhance the timing resilience of each client into the framework. Each user is equipped with a Jetson Nano board as CC (Companion Computer), a GNSS receiver, an IEEE 802.11ax wireless card, an embedded RTC (Real Time clock) system, and a Pixhawk 2.1 as FCU (Flight Control Unit). The paper is presenting the performance of the fusion framework using the MUEAVI (Multi-user Environment for Autonomous Vehicle Innovation) Cranfield’s University facility. Results showed that an alternative timing source can securely be delivered fulfilling last mile delivery requirements for aerial platforms achieving sub millisecond offset.This research was funded by Innovate UK funding, grant number 10038140.European Navigation Conference 2024Engineering Proceeding
Global Terrorism Database Analysis
No full textExploring the blast and fragmentation impact design considerations of low carbon construction materials subject to terrorist threats. The dataset is from the
Global Terrorism Database with the addition of details around the charge size to enable analysis of trends.British Arm
Generating G2 continuity reference paths for autonomous vehicles at roundabouts
Get PDFPlanning paths for Frenet-based autonomous vehicles (AVs) at roundabouts is difficult without complete and smooth reference paths. In such situations, the interpolating curve planner is often used to create segmented reference paths from simplified geometric roundabout data. While this method ensures curvature continuity within each curve segment, the continuity at the junctions of these segments is poor. Additionally, the determination of merging and diverging point positions at roundabouts has not been thoroughly explored. This paper introduces a novel approach using 5th-order Bézier curves to plan piecewise reference paths for AVs at roundabouts. The proposed method enhances endpoint curvature continuity of the Bézier curves and improves adaptability to non-standard roundabouts. A well-designed objective function is created to optimize both the geometric continuity parameters of the Bézier curves and the positions of merging and diverging points in the circulatory roadway. This function takes into account key factors, including path length and smoothness. Case studies validate the feasibility of maintaining curvature continuity at the endpoints and the method’s ability to generalize across various scenarios, proving its effectiveness for different roundabout structures. The results also confirm the method’s efficacy in generating paths from original geometric roundabout data. Lastly, the acceptable transverse deviations between real-world trajectories and reference paths demonstrate the rationality and practical applicability of this method.This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 52202414, in part by the Project of Philosophy and Social Science Research in Colleges and Universities in Jiangsu Province under Grant 2022SJYB2207, in part by the Public Open Project of Automobile Standardization under Grant CATARC-Z-2024-00116, in part by two Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province under Grant KYCX22_3618 and Grant KYCX21_3334, and in part by the Department of Xiamen Human Resources and Social Security under Grant 12024008.IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation System