48080 research outputs found
Sort by
Enhanced battery life prediction with reduced data demand via semi-supervised representation learning
No full textAccurate prediction of the remaining useful life (RUL) is crucial for the design and management of lithium-ion batteries. Although various machine learning models offer promising predictions, one critical but often overlooked challenge is their demand for considerable run-to-failure data for training. Collection of such training data leads to prohibitive testing efforts as the run-to-failure tests can last for years. Here, we propose a semi-supervised representation learning method to enhance prediction accuracy by learning from data without RUL labels. Our approach builds on a sophisticated deep neural network that comprises an encoder and three decoder heads to extract time-dependent representation features from short-term battery operating data regardless of the existence of RUL labels. The approach is validated using three datasets collected from 34 batteries operating under various conditions, encompassing over 19,900 charge and discharge cycles. Our method achieves a root mean squared error (RMSE) within 25 cycles, even when only 1/50 of the training dataset is labelled, representing a reduction of 48% compared to the conventional approach. We also demonstrate the method's robustness with varying numbers of labelled data and different weights assigned to the three decoder heads. The projection of extracted features in low space reveals that our method effectively learns degradation features from unlabelled data. Our approach highlights the promise of utilising semi-supervised learning to reduce the data demand for reliability monitoring of energy devices.</p
"You're not too old for learning": Exploring EFL Teachers' Developing Practices and Cognitions about Neuroscience
No full textNeuroscience is gaining increasing attention in English language teaching as recent research seeks to provide new insights into learning and second language acquisition. However, understandings from neuroscience have yet to inform English language teacher learning. This article addresses this gap by reporting on a 2.5-year longitudinal research project in which seven Japanese university English language teachers learned about neuroscience by initially participating in a 15-week teacher professional learning approach, namely, Learning Study. To enable accessible and applicable learning of neuroscience principles for our participants, teacher learning was focused on specific brain-based principles generally considered to be important in English language teaching (e.g., memory storage and retrieval, and the brain-body connection). Data were triangulated through focus group meetings and pre-, immediate post-, and delayed postLearning Study interviews, enabling an exploration of teacher-participants’ developing practices and cognitions (i.e., beliefs and knowledge) about brain-based principles. Findings revealed substantial development of participants’ practices and cognitions about brain-based principles with each teacher-participant focusing on a different area of interest intertwined with facilitating and impeding factors. This paper offers novel insights into the use and development of sustainable teacher-professional learning.</p
Borderline Personality Disorder in males: A study of sex differences and implications for improving treatment outcomes
No full textDespite decades of research conducted on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), the majority of studies have been conducted with female-only or female-dominated samples, leaving the field unclear about potential gender differences. This is despite the prevalence of BPD being equal between females and males. This thesis applies a series of differential research methods to better understand BPD in males. Study 1 was a scoping review to synthesise key findings and identify if there are any sex-specific trends in the BPD literature. Results from study 1 found sex differences in symptomatic manifestation and a general lack of literature regarding males with BPD. Study 2 was a comprehensive and systematic analysis of 12-month longitudinal quantitative data (n = 96) conducted to compare the outcome differences or similarities in current psychotherapy treatments of males and females. Results found females to benefit more from existing treatment than males. This suggests that current treatment for BPD may be more suitable for females than males. Study 3 then involved a more in-depth qualitative exploration of the experiences of males (n = 14) in treatment for BPD. Study 3 synthesised and elaborated the findings of this thesis, with a view to improve treatment adherence and outcomes for males. These studies found BPD to manifest differently between the sexes. Current treatments are not as effective for males, and modifications to available therapy and improving staff attitude and reducing stigma are required to improve access and effectiveness for males with BPD.</p
Development of systems based on silicon detectors for beam monitoring, treatment verification and microdosimetry in Particle Therapy
No full textCharged Particle Therapy (CPT) has gained a signi cant interest for the treatment of solid tumors thanks to the favorable depth-dose deposition which allows for the delivery of a well-conformed dose to the tumour while sparing healthy tissues e ectively. In addition, charged particles, such as carbon ions, exhibit a larger biological effectiveness in comparison to conventional photons, thereby providing the potential to treat radioresistant tumors with a higher success probability. This thesis presents the development and testing of new system based on silicon detectors to further improve the delivery of the dose to the tumor. In particular, this work explores the use of silicon detectors for beam monitoring, particle range verification and treatment quality assurance through microdosimetric measurements.The state-of-the-art of beam monitors in CPT are the gas- lled Ionization Chambers (IC), which measure beam position, shape and particle flux. Even though ICs are widely used in clinics showing good radiation hardness, the slow charge collection time of 100 s and the low sensitivity of 1000 particles prevent ICs from being used for the development of faster and more precise irradiation modalities. The medical physics group of the University of Torino and the Nuclear Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) is working on the development of new detectors based on silicon sensors for applications in beam monitoring and range veri cation during the treatment. Thin planar silicon sensors appear to be a promising alternative to ICs, allowing for the direct discrimination of particles, thanks to the short charge collection time of 1 ns and to the sensitivity to the single particle.In this context, an innovative proton and carbon ion counter is presented in this work. The detector exploits strip-segmented planar silicon sensors with an active thickness of a few tens of m read out by a front-end electronics based on a 24-channel ASIC for the discrimination of the particles' signals. The detectors were tested with clinical beams at the Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica (CNAO) in Pavia, Italy. The proton counting efficiency shows a dependence on the beam energy because of transversal dimension and pile-up effects whereas an efficiency between 94 and 98 % with lower energy dependence was measured for carbon ion beams. In addition, the particle counter was integrated with the CERN PicoTDC, a Time-to-Digital Converter with a minimum bin size of 3 ps. A measurement of the distribution of the time interval between consecutive crossing particles was performed and was found to be compatible with the accelerator radio-frequency period.The second application investigated in this thesis is a novel range verification system based on the Prompt Gamma Timing (PGT) technique. The PGT method provides the assessment of the particle range by measuring the time of flight between the primary particle transit time and the detection of the Prompt Gamma (PG) photons emitted by the fast de-excitation of nuclei left in an excited state by nuclear interactions. The setup relies on a strip-segmented silicon sensor and a LaBr3(Ce) scintillating crystal coupled with Silicon PhotoMultiplier to detect the primary particles and the PG photons, respectively. The signal readout is based on the PicoTDC. The preliminary measurements were conducted with 398 MeV/u carbon ions at sub-clinical rate in CNAO, showing promising results.Finally, the thesis reports the microdosimetric measurements and simulations performed with a 3D Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) microdosimeter developed by the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics (CMRP) in Wollongong, Australia. The aim is to compare the Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) calculated using the Microdosimetric Kinetic Model (MKM), based on microdosimetric measurements, with the RBE computed by a Treatment Planning System (TPS) using the Local Effect Model (LEM). The 3D SOI microdosimeter was placed in an RW3 phantom and was irradiated with different carbon ion plans at CNAO, acquiring microdosimetric spectra along the beam direction. A good agreement between experiment and Monte Carlo simulation was found, providing RBE10 values ranging between 1.2 and 2.8. The prescribed LEM-based biological dose of 3 GyE in a cubic Spread-Out-Bragg- Peak was found to be 33 % larger than the MKM-based biological dose, consistently with other results found in the literature. This result confirms the reliable use of the 3D SOI microdosimeters as a quality assurance tool for RBE prediction in particle therapy.</p
Video as Craft: How Engaging with Media Art Collections Can Re-constitute Experience and Restore the Experimental Spirit.
No full textThe turn of the new millennium was a time of generational changes in technologies, materials and inquiries in experimental arts. The 2020s will see many not-for-profit media arts organisations marking their fourth and fifth-decade milestones. What stories will their collections tell, and what new stories will be composed when (re)visiting these works?In this paper, I look back to the rapidly evolving decades of the 1990s using an autoethnographic method with a focus on Australia and Hong Kong. I present the case study of my video works through the lens of craft to highlight how the haptic and the social dimensions of making influence the stories we (re)tell. I locate the workshop and the cinema as sites where experiments invite open dialogues and exchanges about materials, techniques, processes, tools, and experiences. I argue that attending to these dimensions in how we experience artworks of the past restores the experimental spirit within our stories.I hope to show how an active embodied engagement with media artworks and collections has the capacity to re-constitute experience afforded by the creative act.</p
Geotechnical study on Salkhit silver-gold open-pit mine
No full textA comprehensive study of the ore deposit's proven reserves for open-pit mining, including the lowest working level, general slope of the pit walls, geotechnical conditions, and influencing factors, serves as a positive measure for preventing risks to both occupational safety and the mine's economic viability. The geotechnical study of the Salkhit Silver-Gold deposit involved evaluating the geological mass, weathering zones, geological and hydrogeological conditions, and testing the physical and mechanical properties of rock, along with mining and technical conditions. Based on this data, a geotechnical assessment was conducted, and recommendations were made regarding further measures. Consequently, this study aimed to delineate fracture structural zones (domains) at the open-pit level, assess potential risks and favorable conditions for each zone during open-pit extraction, and establish baseline information for the mine.</p
Study of processing for 1:200 000 scale topographic maps of Mongolia
No full textArticle Resolution #25 of the Government of Mongolia dated as of January 28, 2009, provides that the international geodesy coordinates of WGS-84 shall be used for geodesy measurement and processing, the Baltic Sea structure shall be used for height network and the UTM reflex of the world horizontal merkater shall be used for large and medium scale topographic mapping respectively based on Articles 5.2.1 of the Geodesy and Mapping Law of Mongolia. There is a research rationale to adjust distortion generated from transferring procedure from TM projection of CS-42 (coordinate system 1942) reference system into UTM projection of WGS-84, an Earth-fixed terrestrial reference system.</p
Analysis of wedge stability in the excavation of dam diversion tunnels: a case study
No full textIn tunnel design and execution, one of the critical phases is the stability analysis of tunnels and identifying mechanisms of over-excavation and collapse, or, in other words, recognising areas prone to wedge formation. This paper discussed and examined the collapsing wedges while excavating the Moshampa Dam diversion tunnels. Considering the excavation depth and the conditions of jointed rock masses in these tunnels, the most prominent failure mechanism is wedge collapse or the detachment of rock fragments from the walls. Therefore, the relationship between collapse-prone points or areas prone to wedge formation, identified based on pre-construction conditions and laboratory parameters, has been integrated and compared with actual site conditions. A kinematic analysis was performed using the UNWEDGE software to analyse the results and identify potential wedges. The results revealed a significant and interesting consistency between the kinematic analysis results and the actual post-construction conditions, confirming that these collapses occurred due to geological conditions during excavation. Since cohesion, friction angle, and the geometric characteristics of the joints (strike and dip) play a crucial role in kinematic analyses, the consistency between the results of over-excavation and the outcomes of wedge collapses highlights the importance of these parameters. This, in turn, emphasised the need for precision in field data collection, joint surveying, in-situ and laboratory testing, and generally, the completion of geotechnical and rock mechanics data.</p
Stresses within the area of longwall in massive strata
No full textThis paper presents the results of two and three dimensional rock stress measurements at the Aquila seam level above Grasstree mine in Central Queensland. This seam overlies the goaf of Grasstree mine some 90 m below. Stress measurement results are presented before and after the mining of the German Creek seam. The measurements show stress redistribution with reduced and increased stress in different areas. Some of these are interpreted in terms of tilting blocks within the massive strata that forms the goaf.</p
Microplastics biodegradation in water: Factors and mechanisms
No full textThe abstract for this item has not been populated.</p