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A Batch Reverse Osmosis Process to Recover and Recycle Trivalent Chromium from Electroplating Wastewater
Get PDFElectroplating generates high volumes of rinse water that is contaminated with heavy metals. This study presents an approach for direct metal recovery and recycling from simulated rinse water, made up of an electroplating electrolyte used in industry, using reverse osmosis (RO). To simulate the real industrial application, the process was examined at various permeate fluxes, ranging from 3.75 to 30 L·m−2·h−1 and hydraulic pressures up to 80 bar. Although permeance decreased significantly with increasing water recovery, rejections of up to 93.8% for boric acid, >99.9% for chromium and 99.6% for sulfate were observed. The final RO retentate contained 8.40 g/L chromium and was directly used in Hull cell electroplating tests. It was possible to deposit cold-hued chromium layers under a wide range of relevant current densities, demonstrating the reusability of the concentrate of the rinsing water obtained by RO
Safe from Harm? Massive Attack Nuclear Worst-Case Scenario for Civil Protection in Germany Regarding High-Risk Zones of Exposure, Vulnerability, and Safe Havens
Get PDFNew risk geographies are emerging with war and conflict resurfacing, including nuclear threats. This poses challenges to civil protection for conducting risk-informed preparedness planning. A spatial assessment of Germany and Europe is conducted using a geographic information system. Buffer circles of nuclear explosion effects and fallout buffers show potentially exposed areas around major cities. Different scenarios indicate shrinking areas safe from exposure. However, even in a densely populated country, rural areas and smaller cities can be identified that could provide sites for evacuation shelters. Changing wind directions poses a challenge for civil protection planning because fallout risk covers most German territory even when few cities are attacked. However, wind speeds and topography can help identify suitable shelter areas. More knowledge about the temporal development of a nuclear explosion and its specific forms of harm can also help to improve risk knowledge and planning. While nuclear warfare at first seems to render useless any option for safe areas and survival, the spatial risk assessment shows that exposure does not occur at all places at all times. Being safe from harm will be difficult in such a worst-case scenario, but avoiding large city perimeters and being informed can also help reduce risk
Developments in Chinese Online Insurance 2022
Get PDFLihong Wang reported on the rapid expansion of Chinese Online Insurance. With the ongoing lifestyle and demographic changes, online insurance is becoming one of China's key distributional and operational business models. More than 140 Chinese insurance companies had launched an online business by 2021, with a total premium of 298 billion Yuan (US$45 billion) or 6% of the industry total. Over 7741 enterprises are registered and involved in online insurance. Despite ongoing pandemic issues and lockdowns, online insurance became the accelerators for premium growth in China, especially in the life and health insurance sectors. While the opportunities are enormous, online insurers are facing a number of challenges, such as tightening regulations, a shortage of competent advisors, rising fraud and global recessions. With over 900 million mobile users in China and a population that is ageing and witnessing a reduction in fertility, online insurance will keep growing
Erarbeitung eines barrierefreien UX-Design für sehbehinderte und blinde Personen im "E-Commerce"-Bereich
Get PDFAufgrund der voranschreitenden Digitalisierung sind neue Geschäftsmodelle entstanden, wozu unter anderem der Online-Handel (Electronic Commerce, E-Commerce) gehört. Dieser bietet Flexibilität beim Einkaufen, die verschiedenen Benutzergruppen zugutekommt. Dazu gehören auch Personen mit einer Sehbehinderung oder Erblindung. Allerdings existieren noch einige Hindernisse bzw. Barrieren im Online-Handel, die zu einer negativen Benutzerfreundlichkeit (User Experience, UX) und einer Benachteiligung der genannten Benutzergruppe führen.
Das Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist daher die Untersuchung der digitalen Inklusion von sehbehinderten und blinden Personen im E-Commerce. Anhand einer ausführlichen Literaturrecherche und 16 halbstrukturierten Interviews mit der Zielgruppe wurden bestehende Barrieren im E-Commerce sowie Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten zur Schaffung eines barrierefreien Online-Handels gesammelt. Durch die Analyse eines Fallbeispiels wurden negative Implementierungen veranschaulicht und anhand der zuvor gesammelten Erkenntnisse beseitigt. Dadurch wurde aufgezeigt, wie ein barrierefreies User-Experience-Design für sehbehinderte und blinde Personen im E-Commerce geschaffen werden kann.
In der Arbeit stellte sich heraus, dass viele vorhandene Barrieren im E-Commerce erst durch die Interviews identifiziert werden konnten. Dadurch zeigt sich, dass eine Auseinandersetzung mit der Zielgruppe und eine Einbindung dieser in die Gestaltung und Evaluation von hoher Relevanz ist. Dies gewährleistet, dass Barrieren vermieden oder rechtzeitig entdeckt werden können und das System, Produkt oder die Dienstleistung den Anforderungen der Zielgruppe entspricht. Die Arbeit stellt somit ein erstes Konzept zur Schaffung eines barrierefreien UX-Designs im E-Commerce da. Um die Qualität der Ergebnisse je- doch überprüfen zu können, sind weitere Forschungen notwendig, die sich mit weiteren Benutzerbefragungen und Evaluationen der Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten beschäftigen
Transgene Expression and Transposition Efficiency of Two-Component Sleeping Beauty Transposon Vector Systems Utilizing Plasmid or mRNA Encoding the Transposase
Get PDFThe use of two-component transposon plasmid vector systems, namely, a transposase construct and a donor vector carrying the gene of interest (GOI) can accelerate the development of recombinant cell lines. However, the undesired stable transfection of the transposase construct and the sustained expression of the enzyme can cause genetic instability due to the re-mobilization of the previously transposed donor vectors. Using a Sleeping Beauty -derived vector system, we established three recombinant cell pools and demonstrate stable integration of the transposase construct and sustained expression of the transposase over a period of 48 days. To provide an alternative approach, transcripts of the transposase gene were generated in vitro and co-transfected with donor vector plasmid at different ratios and mediating high GOI copy number integrations and expression levels. We anticipate that the use of transposase mRNA will foster further improvements in future cell line development processes
Reducing Carbon Emissions from the Tourist Accommodation Sector on Non-Interconnected Islands: A Case Study of a Medium-Sized Hotel in Rhodes, Greece
Get PDFReducing the carbon emissions from hotels on non-interconnected islands (NII) is essential in the context of a low carbon future for the Mediterranean region. Maritime tourism is the major source of income for Greece and many other countries in the region, as well as hot-temperate and tropical regions worldwide. Like many NIIs, Rhodes attracts a high influx of tourists every summer, doubling the island’s energy demand and, given the high proportion of fossil fuels in the Rhodian energy supply, increasing carbon emissions. Using the theoretical framework ‘FINE’, this paper presents the optimisation of a medium-sized hotel’s energy system with the aim of reducing both cost and carbon emissions. By introducing a Photovoltaic (PV) net metering system, it was found that the carbon emissions associated with an NII hotel’s energy system could be reduced by 31% at an optimised cost. It is suggested that large-scale deployment of PV or alternative renewable energy sources (RES) in NII hotels could significantly reduce carbon emissions associated with the accommodation sector in Greece and help mitigate climate change
Benefits of Global Earth Observation Missions for Disaggregation of Exposure Data and Earthquake Loss Modeling: Evidence from Santiago de Chile
Get PDFExposure is an essential component of risk models and describes elements that are endangered by a hazard and susceptible to damage. The associated vulnerability characterizes the likelihood of experiencing damage (which can translate into losses) at a certain level of hazard intensity. Frequently, the compilation of exposure information is the costliest component (in terms of time and labor) of risk assessment procedures. Existing models often describe exposure in an aggregated manner, e.g., by relying on statistical/census data for given administrative entities. Nowadays, earth observation techniques allow the collection of spatially continuous information for large geographic areas while enabling a high geometric and temporal resolution. Consequently, we exploit measurements from the earth observation missions TanDEM-X and Sentinel-2, which collect data on a global scale, to characterize the built environment in terms of constituting morphologic properties, namely built-up density and height. Subsequently, we use this information to constrain existing exposure data in a spatial disaggregation approach. Thereby, we establish dasymetric methods for disaggregation. The results are presented for the city of Santiago de Chile, which is prone to natural hazards such as earthquakes. We present loss estimations due to seismic ground shaking and corresponding sensitivity as a function of the resolution properties of the exposure data used in the model. The experimental results underline the benefits of deploying modern earth observation technologies for refined exposure mapping and related earthquake loss estimation with enhanced accuracy properties
Risk Factors for Pressure Injuries in Adult Patients: A Narrative Synthesis
Get PDFPressure injuries remain a serious health complication for patients and nursing staff. Evidence from the past decade has not been analysed through narrative synthesis yet. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL Complete, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and other reviews/sources were screened. Risk of bias was evaluated using a slightly modified QUIPS tool. Risk factor domains were used to assign (non)statistically independent risk factors. Hence, 67 studies with 679,660 patients were included. In low to moderate risk of bias studies, non-blanchable erythema reliably predicted pressure injury stage 2. Factors influencing mechanical boundary conditions, e.g., higher interface pressure or BMI < 18.5, as well as factors affecting interindividual susceptibility (male sex, older age, anemia, hypoalbuminemia, diabetes, hypotension, low physical activity, existing pressure injuries) and treatment-related aspects, such as length of stay in intensive care units, were identified as possible risk factors for pressure injury development. Health care professionals’ evidence-based knowledge of above-mentioned risk factors is vital to ensure optimal prevention and/or treatment. Openly accessible risk factors, e.g., sex, age, BMI, pre-existing diabetes, and non-blanchable erythema, can serve as yellow flags for pressure injury development. Close communication concerning further risk factors, e.g., anemia, hypoalbuminemia, or low physical activity, may optimize prevention and/or treatment. Further high-quality evidence is warranted
Phase dependency of success factors in startups
Get PDFThe purpose of this article is to analyze the specific success factors of start-ups and to examine their phase dependency. Based on a literature study, 13 start-up-specific success factors from three categories (founders, situational occurrence, strategy) are identified and examined for their influence and phase dependency. For this purpose, 54 employees of successful german start-ups are asked how strongly they assess the influence of the respective success factor and in which phase (pre-foundation, foundation, growth) it has the strongest effect. The results show that the hypotheses derived from the theory are confirmed to a very large extent by the study
The Unfolding Space Glove: A Wearable Spatio-Visual to Haptic Sensory Substitution Device for Blind People
Get PDFThis paper documents the design, implementation and evaluation of the Unfolding Space Glove—an open source sensory substitution device. It transmits the relative position and distance of nearby objects as vibratory stimuli to the back of the hand and thus enables blind people to haptically explore the depth of their surrounding space, assisting with navigation tasks such as object recognition and wayfinding. The prototype requires no external hardware, is highly portable, operates in all lighting conditions, and provides continuous and immediate feedback—all while being visually unobtrusive. Both blind (n = 8) and blindfolded sighted participants (n = 6) completed structured training and obstacle courses with both the prototype and a white long cane to allow performance comparisons to be drawn between them. The subjects quickly learned how to use the glove and successfully completed all of the trials, though still being slower with it than with the cane. Qualitative interviews revealed a high level of usability and user experience. Overall, the results indicate the general processability of spatial information through sensory substitution using haptic, vibrotactile interfaces. Further research would be required to evaluate the prototype’s capabilities after extensive training and to derive a fully functional navigation aid from its features