58622 research outputs found
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A review on energy harvesting for sustainable IoT monitoring systems
Get PDFAutonomous condition monitoring is essential for advancing intelligent systems in both industrial and domestic Internet of Things (IoT) applications. However, continuous long-term condition monitoring is challenged by the limited energy availability for wireless sensor nodes (WSNs). Therefore, energy harvesting offers a promising approach by converting ambient or host energy into electrical power to sustain WSN operation. To bridge the gap between energy harvesting and condition monitoring, this review provides an overview and synthesis of recent advances in energy harvesting technologies tailored for condition monitoring applications. State-of-the-art developments in energy harvesting are categorized into six domains: healthcare, ocean, machinery, grid, railway, and infrastructure. The characteristics of these energy sources and their domain-specific monitoring requirements are analyzed. Furthermore, this review examines harvesting transducers, structural designs, and optimization methods employed in energy harvesters. Finally, the review discusses current challenges and future prospects for energy-autonomous condition monitoring systems, aiming to support the deployment of sustainable IoT sensing solutions.</p
ESG Risk, Political Ideology, and the Syndicated Lending Relationship
Get PDFPurpose – This study examines how Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) scores affect both the matching process between borrowers and lenders and the terms of syndicated loans. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis concentrates on a comprehensive sample of syndicated loans to US firms. We estimate a set of linear models relating the borrower's ESG ratings to the bank's ESG ratings and to the loan conditions. Findings – We find that firms with higher ESG scores are more likely to secure loans from banks that also have strong ESG ratings, especially in politically liberal states. Such firms also benefit from more favorable loan terms, including lower interest rates and a reduced number covenants. Originality/value – This study highlights the dual role of ESG in influencing both borrower–lender matching and loan contracting outcomes. It also demonstrates that local political ideology amplifies the alignment between borrowers and lenders in terms of ESG, as well as the pricing of ESG ratings in loan contracting.</p
Does preferred technique influence how kinematics change during a run to exhaustion?—A cluster based approach
Get PDFFatigue-related changes in running technique may depend on a runner’s preferred style. Understanding these changes can inform targeted training to enhance performance. In previous work, we identified two technique-based clusters of runners: the “neutral pelvis” and the “tilted pelvis” clusters. This follow-up study examined whether fatigue induces cluster-specific technique adaptations. Sixty runners (neutral pelvis, n = 32; tilted pelvis, n = 28) completed a treadmill run to exhaustion at 5% above their individual lactate threshold speed. Stride frequency, duty factor, trunk and lower limb kinematics were compared between clusters at the start, middle, and end of the run using a 2-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). All runners reached exhaustion in ∼20 minutes, covering ∼5 km. Runners from the tilted pelvis cluster consistently showed greater trunk-to-pelvis extension, more pelvic anterior tilt and greater hip flexion, and a smaller duty factor compared with the neutral pelvis cluster throughout the run. Fatigue-related adaptations were similar across clusters: reduced stride frequency, increased duty factor, greater trunk flexion during stance, increased plantar flexion, and higher coordination variability (trunk-to-pelvis–hip, hip–knee, knee–ankle) during swing. Although fatigue affected both groups similarly, the underlying technique differences suggest these adaptations may have distinct mechanical or performance consequences. Understanding such cluster-specific responses can help coaches tailor training and fatigue management strategies to individual running styles
Does Agglomeration Enhance Property Value?
Get PDFDoes agglomeration within a building and/or neighborhood enhance or weaken property value? The valuation impact is unclear ex-ante, given that agglomeration trades-off enhanced productivity at the expense of a more concentrated tenant base. We find that a value premium exists only when agglomeration at both the building and neighborhood levels consists of firms in the same industry. This premium represents capitalized knowledge spillover externalities. Additionally, we show the stock market rewards REITs that transact specialized buildings. The valuation consequences arising from agglomeration in the underlying real estate market are thus consistent with the public real estate market
Marine soundscapes of the Arctic and human impacts:going beyond the “shipping bands”
Get PDFIn the Arctic, amplified climate change enables increased human activity, adding to sounds in the ocean. Future guidelines need to know local baselines and how best to measure anthropogenic impacts. The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive uses “shipping bands”, third-octave bands centred on 63 Hz and 125 Hz. Addressing the lack of measurements, acoustic models often use satellite recordings of ship tracks, We investigate sound levels in Cambridge Bay (Nunavut, Canada) between 2015 and 2024, comparing May (full ice cover, no shipping) and August (little to no ice, shipping activity). We show “shipping bands” should include frequencies up to several kHz and sounds include snowmobiles, aircraft and small vessels untracked by satellites. This will need addressing in future guidelines. This is particularly important because of the development of Arctic shipping routes, increasing resource exploration and tourism, amplified by current plans for the expansion of mining, drilling and other geostrategic pressures
A comparison of cost-sharing models in horizontal cooperative routing
Get PDFWe develop and compare several cost-sharing models for cooperative vehicle routing problems formulated under various objectives and constraints. Our study is motivated by a real-world case involving smallholder farmers in the Province of Quebec. We examine the issues of fairness and stability in cooperative routing, and we show that coalitions served by single routes are sufficient to impose stability conditions. To evaluate equity, we use the Gini coefficient to measure the dispersion of individual savings. Hence we can analyze the trade-offs between fairness and stability. We demonstrate that widely used fairness proxies do not necessarily yield equitable outcomes. We test our methodology on randomly generated instances and on a Quebec-based case study
Does Agglomeration Enhance Property Value?
Get PDFDoes agglomeration within a building and/or neighborhood enhance or weaken property value? The valuation impact is unclear ex-ante, given that agglomeration trades-off enhanced productivity at the expense of a more concentrated tenant base. We find that a value premium exists only when agglomeration at both the building and neighborhood levels consists of firms in the same industry. This premium represents capitalized knowledge spillover externalities. Additionally, we show the stock market rewards REITs that transact specialized buildings. The valuation consequences arising from agglomeration in the underlying real estate market are thus consistent with the public real estate market
Tertiary phosphane-modified Ni(II) 1,3-Benzothiazol-2-ylacetonitriledithiolates:Tuning heterogeneous OER electrocatalysis through phosphane denticity, steric modulation, and chelate ring-size variation
Get PDFDeveloping robust and active transition metal-based electrocatalysts for the generation of oxygen is crucial for enhancing the performance of numerous energy conversion systems. In this study, syntheses and characterization of three new heteroleptic Ni(II) dithiolate complexes: [(Bzdt)Ni(PPh3)2] (NiBz1), [(Bzdt)Ni(dppe)] (NiBz2), and [(Bzdt)Ni(dppf)] (NiBz3), (where Bzdt2-, PPh3, dppe, and dppf represents 1,3-benzothiazol-2-ylacetonitriledithiolate, triphenylphosphine, 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane, and 1,1ʹ-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene, respectively) have been presented. These complexes have been characterized using several spectroscopic techniques, FESEM-EDX, and for NiBz2 using single crystal X-ray diffraction. Structural investigations reveal that Ni(II) center in NiBz2 is coordinated to two S atoms from dithiolate ligand and two P atoms from dppe ligand forming a distorted square planar geometry. Hirshfeld surface analysis indicates the presence of key non-covalent interactions, including C-H···S, C-H···C, C-H···Ni, and C-H···N, which support the stability of the supramolecular framework. Electrochemical investigations of these complexes as OER electrocatalysts in alkaline media reveal that all three show notable activity (j > 46.11 mA.cm-2 at 10 mV·s-1), with NiBz2 standing out due to its lowest overpotential (η = 354 mV at j = 10 mA.cm-2) and Tafel slope (53 mV.dec‑1). This performance places NiBz2 among the best heterogeneous Ni(II)-dithiolate based OER electrocatalysts so far reported. Its outstanding activity is attributed to a combination of favorable electronic properties, such as a reduced charge-transfer gap and charge transfer resistance, which facilitate efficient electron transfer during catalysis. Overall, this study showcases that phosphine-derived steric and electronic tuning enables charge-transfer gap engineering within Ni(II)-dithiolate frameworks, and establishes a clear correlation between ligand-dependent electronic structure and OER performance.</p
Synergistic Fe–O–Ni bridged sites in layered double hydroxides boost electrocatalytic oxidation of glycerol to formate coupled with hydrogen evolution
Get PDFElectrochemical glycerol oxidation (GOR) to formate emerges as a highly promising and cost-effective approach for biomass valorization. However, the formate yield and selectivity are predominantly hindered by the slow kinetics in successive dehydrogenation and C–C bond cleavage of glycerol. Herein, we demonstrate an enhanced electrochemical GOR over Fe–O–Ni bridged sites in layered double hydroxides (LDHs), which couples charge transfer with adsorption/activation of *OH/glycerol. Engineered from a facile electrochemical deposition approach, NiFe-LDH is successfully constructed on Ni-foam. This catalyst with Fe–O–Ni bridged sites delivers formate selectivity of 92.26 % and yield of 67.76 mol m–2 h–1, outperforming most of the reported GOR electrocatalysts in the literature. The Fe–O–Ni bridged sites facilitate the electron transfer from Ni to Fe and boost the redox reaction between Ni3+ and glycerol while synergistically enhancing the adsorption and activation of *OH and glycerol, which improves dynamics in successive dehydrogenation and C-C cleavage of glycerol. Moreover, the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) flow cell employing NiFe-LDH@NF as both anode and cathode exhibits a current density of 100 mA cm–2 for a stable 120 h, demonstrating potential applications for electrooxidation of glycerol to formate coupled with H2 production. This study pioneers a new strategy of designing highly efficient electrocatalysts for advancing biomass valorization and sustainable energy conversion.</p
Parental and Adolescent Positive Affect and Optimism as Predictors of Post-surgical Mood and Functioning in Adolescents Undergoing Spinal Fusion Surgery
Get PDFObjectives: – While most adolescents display a steady recovery trajectory following surgery, some develop chronic postsurgical pain (CPP), which can significantly impact their functioning. Psychosocial factors are known to play a role in the recovery from pain following surgery, but positive psychosocial factors have received little attention in the literature. This study aims to address this gap by investigating parental and adolescent positive affect and optimism as predictors of post-surgical pain recovery and positive outcomes in adolescents. Methods: – This study uses data collected as part of a larger longitudinal project that involved administering questionnaires to adolescents and their parents over multiple timepoints. Adolescent participants aged 12 – 18 years old with a diagnosis of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, and scheduled for spinal fusion surgery, were recruited across four Belgian hospitals along with their parents. Structural Equation Modelling was used to investigate how parental and adolescent positive affect and optimism predicted post-surgical outcomes, including mood, quality of life and functional disability in adolescents. Results: – The study comprised 94 adolescent-parent dyads. Parental optimism before surgery predicted increased adolescent mood following surgery. Adolescent positive affect before surgery predicted increased mood and decreased pain intensity following surgery, while adolescent optimism predicted increased quality of life. None of the optimism or positive affect variables were significantly related to adolescent functional disability following surgery. Discussion: – Study findings identify parental and adolescent positive affect and optimism as potential predictors of post-surgical recovery and positive outcomes in adolescents. However, the multifaceted and complex nature of these relationships warrants further investigation.</p
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