Suchergebnisse

The jarless cyclone calibration method is an appealing approach because it removes the need for calibration adapters and eliminates potential sources of error that result from poor or inconsistent seals in calibration adapters or calibration jar lids. The aim of this study was to perform a detailed review of the jarless calibration method by (1) examining the rationale behind the initial pressure drop range specified by the method and (2) evaluating the accuracy of the method in contrast to flow rate measurements in a well-controlled, jar protocol. Four types of respirable cyclones and two filter brands with samples from three separate production lots were considered as components of the sampling trains under consideration. Volumetric flow rate and pressure drop were measured under controlled conditions in a cylindrical jar designed for these determinations. The initial challenge pressure range evaluated in this study was modified based on cyclone type. The measured pressure drop fell within the modified range for all configurations considered, indicating the modified ranges were appropriate. The accuracy of the jarless method was then evaluated by comparing measured volumetric flow rates using different calibration methods for various cyclone, filter brand, and filter lot combination. The jarless method provided accurate calibration results utilizing the modified initial pressure drop ranges utilized in this study. Therefore, it is recommended the initial pressure drop range specified by the jarless method be modified to account for differences among cyclone types.

Although several studies have been conducted to summarize the progress of open educational resources (OER) in specific regions, only a limited number of studies summarize OER in Africa. Therefore, this paper presents a systematic literature review to explore trends, themes, and patterns in this emerging area of study, using content and bibliometric analysis. Findings indicated three major strands of OER research in Africa: (1) OER adoption is only limited to specific African countries, calling for more research and collaboration between African countries in this field to ensure educational equity; (2) most of the OER initiatives in Africa have focused on the creation process and neglected other important perspectives, such as dissemination and open educational practices (OEP) using OER; and (3) on top of the typical challenges for OER adoption (e.g., infrastructure), other personal challenges were identified within the African context, including culture, language, and personality. The findings of this study suggest that more initiatives and cross-collaborations with African and non-African countries in the field of OER are needed to facilitate OER adoption in the region. Additionally, it is suggested that researchers and practitioners should consider individual differences, such as language, personality and culture, when promoting and designing OER for different African countries. Finally, the findings can promote social justice by providing insights and future research paths that different stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, educators, practitioners, etc.) should focus on to promote OER in Africa.

AbstractGiven the increasing evidence that domestic contact with livestock is a risk factor for child diarrhoea in low- and middle-income countries, there have been calls for greater quantification of human-livestock contact in such countries. This study aimed to quantify seasonality in cattle proximity to domestic water sources and household compounds and develop a preliminary landscape model of faecal deposition by cattle. A total of 120 cattle in smallholder herds in the Asembo area of Siaya County, Kenya, were tracked over 1 week in April 2018 to July 2018 and November 2018 to February 2019 using GPS tracking devices. Dung deposition and behaviour were observed among 33 cattle from these herds over 185.4 hours. Mean cattle home ranges were small at 3.78 km2 and 5.85 km2 in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. There were significant differences between seasons in home range size, distance travelled from the household, and time spent tethered, but not in the time spent at domestic water sources or home range overlap with other herds. On average, 0.76 dung deposition events/hour were observed, with higher frequency in bulls. Variation in cattle proximity to household compounds and water sources did not account for seasonal variation in child diarrhoea in this population. The preliminary landscape model of faecal deposition by cattle could be further developed to inform interventions for safe separation of livestock and people, such as fencing and separate water troughs.

Abstract
Given the increasing relevance of cities in the global agenda, we examine the voluntary local reports from six northern and southern cities around the world to understand their approach to the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development. We examine not only the framework but also the content of the reports to identify the differences in reporting on sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the factors that may explain why these cities have voluntarily submitted their reports. The research has revealed a wide diversity in the structure and content of the voluntary local reports, demonstrating that there was little to no institutional framework used to submit and compile the reports. Although the reports of northern cities tend to align with previous strategies for the SDGs, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in southern cities has had a more significant impact on the adoption of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms at the local level. We have found that both international bodies and national policies have an influence on the development of sustainable practices at the local level. Our analysis also indicates that all cities have some sort of international exposure either through their participation in transnational municipal networks or through their collaboration with international organizations, especially in southern cities, which can explain why these cities (and not others) are more active in the adoption of SDGs at the local level and in the submission of voluntary reports.

Abstract
Urban expansion has been identified as one of the main threats to biodiversity because it can negatively affect wildlife populations. However, wildlife population dynamics have not been studied in one of the most rapidly urbanizing regions in the world—the Neotropics. To examine the effect of urbanization on the population dynamics of Neotropical wildlife, we used recapture data from a marked population (2011–2017) of White-eared Ground-Sparrow (Melozone leucotis) across an urban–rural gradient in the Costa Rican Central Valley. Additionally, we tested if this effect differed between males and females. Contrary to our prediction, ground-sparrow survival rates were higher in urban and suburban sites than in the rural site, and we found that survival was positively correlated to the proportion of urban surface inside each territory (β = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.71–0.97). We did not find differences in survival rates between the sexes and the mean survival rate was high overall (0.79 ± 0.06). Surprisingly, our results suggest that the survival rate of this urban avoider is positively influenced by urbanization, and therefore, suggest that the potential cost to some urban avoiders may not be driven by reduced survival in more urbanized environments, and could be driven by reductions in other vital rates. Therefore, we encourage research to evaluate multiple vital rates of urban avoiders and urban adapters to achieve more comprehensive knowledge on how urbanization is affecting avian populations in the Neotropics.

AbstractAn honest communication of uncertainty about quantities of interest enhances transparency in scientific assessments. To support this communication, risk assessors should choose appropriate ways to evaluate and characterize epistemic uncertainty. A full treatment of uncertainty requires methods that distinguish aleatory from epistemic uncertainty. Quantitative expressions for epistemic uncertainty are advantageous in scientific assessments because they are nonambiguous and enable individual uncertainties to be characterized and combined in a systematic way. Since 2019, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends assessors to express epistemic uncertainty in conclusions of scientific assessments quantitatively by subjective probability. A subjective probability can be used to represent an expert judgment, which may or may not be updated using Bayes's rule to integrate evidence available for the assessment and could be either precise or approximate. Approximate (or bounded) probabilities may be enough for decision making and allow experts to reach agreement on certainty when they struggle to specify precise subjective probabilities. The difference between the lower and upper bound on a subjective probability can also be used to reflect someone's strength of knowledge. In this article, we demonstrate how to quantify uncertainty by bounded probability, and explicitly distinguish between epistemic and aleatory uncertainty, by means of robust Bayesian analysis, including standard Bayesian analysis through precise probability as a special case. For illustration, the two analyses are applied to an intake assessment.

This trial aimed to analyze the replacement of forage sorghum silage (FS silage) with biomass sorghum silage (BRS 716 silage) in diets for heifers ¾ Holstein x ¼ Zebu on their nutrient intake and digestibility, nitrogen balance, microbial production, feeding behavior, and animal performance. Eight heifers with average age 18±4 months (mo) and average body weight (BW) 271 ± 57 kg were used. The experimental design was double-Latin square, 4×4, being four diets, four experimental periods and four animals. Four experimental diets with 0, 33, 67 and 100% substitution of forage sorghum silage with biomass sorghum silage were used. The roughage:concentrate ratio in the total dry matter (DM) of the diets was 75:25. The fraction "b" of DM was higher in the BRS 716 silage. There was no difference (p> 0.05) for dry matter intake (DMI; p = 0.45) and total digestible nutrients intake (p = 0.76). The dry matter digestibility (DMD), crude protein, ether extract and neutral detergent fiber increased linearly with the inclusion of BRS 716 silage. The feeding times, ruminating and idle have not been changed (p > 0.05). The replacement of FS silage with BRS 716 silage did not modify the average daily weight gain (ADG; p > 0.05; mean 1.30 ± 0.025 kg). Biomass sorghum silage can replace up to 100% forage sorghum silage in the diets of ¾ Holstein x ¼ Zebu heifers.

AbstractThe basis of a methodology determines whether a research method can fit the core characteristics of a particular academic tradition, and thus, it is crucial to explore this foundation. Keeping in mind the controversy and progress of the philosophy of social sciences, this paper aims to elaborate on four aspects including the cognitive model, the view of causality, research methods, and analysis techniques, and to establish a more solid methodological basis for historical political science. With respect to the "upstream knowledge" of methodology, both positivism and critical realism underestimate the tremendous difference between the natural world and the social world. This leads to inherent flaws in controlled comparison and causal mechanism analysis. Given the constructiveness of social categories and the complexity of historical circumstances, the cognitive model of constructivism makes it more suitable for researchers to engage in macro-political and social analysis. From the perspective of constructivism, the causality in "storytelling," i.e., the traditional narrative analysis, is placed as the basis of the regularity theory of causality in this paper, thus forming the historical–causal narrative. The historical–causal narrative focuses on how a research object is shaped and self-shaped in the ontological historical process, and thus ideally suits the disciplinary characteristics of historical political science. Researchers can complete theoretical dialogues, test hypotheses, and further explore the law of causality in logic and evidence, thereby achieving the purpose of "learning from history" in historical political science.

As is well known, peninsular Italy was considerably involved in the "Cetina phenomenon" during the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, as illustrated by the occurrence of pottery akin to Cetina-types at several sites on the Adriatic side; recent discoveries in present-day Campania have enriched this picture and evidence from the north-east (present-day Veneto and Trentino), besides that from the Trieste/Slovenian karst, may also enlarge this range of connections. The most probable hypothesis to explain the situation is that of small groups, which identified themselves with some elements that we consider as 'Cetina', moving from the eastern Adriatic (mainly Dalmatia) to the northern and western Adriatic. Several questions remain open, such as those related to the patterns of interaction between the eastern Adriatic small groups reaching the Italian regions and the local communities. What was the dimension of these cross-cultural contacts and how did they differ from one region to another? To what extent did the foreign groups blend with the local ones? Which were the aftermaths of these interactions? This paper presents a critical reconsideration of the available evidence from continental and peninsular present-day Italy, including the geographical setting of sites and reciprocal distances, with the aim of tracing similarities and differences between the various cases. Hypotheses on both the chronology and patterns of these Cetina interactions are discussed.

Migrants living in Europe constitute over half of the world's international migrants and are at higher risk of poor mental health than non-migrants, yet also face more barriers in accessing and engaging with services. Furthermore, the quality of care received is shaped by the experiences and attitudes of health professionals. The aim of this review was to identify professionals' attitudes towards migrants receiving mental healthcare and their perceptions of barriers and facilitators to service provision. Four electronic databases were searched, and 23 studies met the inclusion criteria. Using thematic synthesis, we identified three themes: 1) the management of multifaceted and complex challenges associated with the migrant status; 2) professionals' emotional responses to working with migrants; and 3) delivering care in the context of cultural difference. Professionals employed multiple strategies to overcome challenges in providing care yet attitudes towards this patient group were polarized. Professionals described mental health issues as being inseparable from material and social disadvantage, highlighting a need for effective collaboration between health services and voluntary organizations, and partnerships with migrant communities. Specialist supervision, reflective practice, increased training for professionals, and the adoption of a person-centered approach are also needed to overcome the current challenges in meeting migrants' needs. The challenges experienced by health professionals in attempting to meet migrant needs reflect frustrations in being part of a system with insufficient resources and without universal access to care that effectively stigmatizes the migrant status.

Abstract In recent years, risk assessments for violent extremism have attracted great interest from both scholars and practitioners, and many assessment tools have been developed. After a critical review of this development, the paper examines differences and similarities between the indicators of various violent extremist risk assessment tools and checklists. Based on an interview study with 34 experts in the field of Counter Violent Extremism and 24 (formerly) radicalized persons from the right-wing radical and Salafi-Jihadist spectrum, risk factors were identified and the findings merged and compared with already existing risk assessment tools. The paper will present results especially regarding the risk signals' occurrence and applicability in the German context. One key finding is that existing assessment tools insufficiently take into account personal contacts in the radicalization process. Thus, the paper—based on the results of a social network analysis—draws attention to the potential and importance of networks. The paper concludes by outlining the potential of risk assessment, suggesting improvements, and raising awareness of the limits and deficits of these tools. The paper thus scientifically addresses the challenge of more security through efficient risk assessment and management. It offers a list of radicalization process characteristics (ARISNA: Assessment of Radicalized Individuals including Social Network Analysis), which is designed to help users analyze the risk of radicalization based on concrete traits of a person and their environment.

A three-dimensional (3D) model extraction represents the best way to reflect the reality in all details. This explains the trends and tendency of many scientific disciplines towards making measurements, calculations and monitoring in various fields using such model. Although there are many ways to produce the 3D model like as images, integration techniques, and laser scanning, however, the quality of their products is not the same in terms of accuracy and detail. This article aims to assess the 3D point clouds model accuracy results from close range images and laser scan data based on Agi soft photoscan and cloud compare software to determine the compatibility of both datasets for several applications. College of Science, Departments of Mathematics and Computer in the University of Baghdad campus were exploited to create the proposed 3D model as this area location, which is one of the distinctive features of the university, allows making measurements freely from all sides. Results of this study supported by statistical analysis including 2 sample T-test and RMSE calculation in addition to visual comparison. Through this research, we note that the laser3D model provides many points in a short time, so it will reduce the field work and also its data is faster in processing to produce a reliable model of the scanned area compared with data derived from photogrammetry, then the difference were computed for all the reference points.

Vietnam is currently in the process of renovating the general educational curriculum, shifting from a content-based to a competency-based approach, with mathematical creativity as one of the core competencies. This paper aims to determine the correlations of perception, emotion, and behavior in sustainable development of mathematical creativity for primary school students in Vietnam. Analysis of 5th graders' survey results in different regions in Vietnam (N = 903) shows that perception and emotion are highly correlated with the p-value Sig. (2-tailed) = 0.000 (<0.01); emotion and behavior are also correlated positively with the p-value Sig. (2-tailed) < 0.01, while perception and behavior also have a positive correlation with the p-value Sig. < 0.01. From the analysis, there are positive correlations of perception, emotion, and behavior, in which the role of emotion has the strongest effect on the process of teaching mathematical creativity for Vietnamese primary school students. At the same time, the analysis results show that there is no vast difference between students' perception, emotion, and behavior amongst the urban, plain, and mountainous areas in Vietnam. The paper affirms the necessity to discover and strengthen students' mathematical creativity from the primary school levels to equip human resources with essential competencies to face future obstacles in achieving sustainable development.

Received: 19 October 2021 / Accepted: 7 December 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

The article "The problem of euphemisms in the medical terminology of the English and Tatar languages" discusses issues related to euphemisms, in particular, the field organization of euphemisms in the medical terminology of the English and Tatar languages. The study uses a comparative analysis and the field organization of euphemisms in medical terminology is established to be the basis of comparison. Another method applied is the method of comparative interpretation and the principles of interpretation of the compared material of the two languages are determined. The results of this study make it possible to use the obtained theoretical outcomes and the collected lexical material in courses of general linguistics, lexicology and stylistics of the English and Tatar languages. In addition, the data obtained can be used in teaching professionally oriented English, for example in practical lessons of English language and while teaching translation practice to students of medical sciences. The lexical material obtained in the course of the research can supplement the existing dictionaries of euphemisms of medical terminology in the English language and form the basis of the dictionary of euphemisms of medical terminology in the Tatar language. Thus, one can observe the universal features of the field organization of euphemisms in English and Tatar languages for the first position of the first row, second, third and fifth rows. There are some differences in the rest of the ranks.

Received: 20 August 2021 / Accepted: 18 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Objective To investigate the digit force control during a five-digit precision grasp in aligned (AG) and unaligned grasping (UG) configurations. Background The effects of various cylindrical handles for tools on power grasp performance have been previously investigated. However, there is little information on force control strategy of precision grasp to fit various grasping configurations. Method Twenty healthy young adults were recruited to perform a lift-hold-lower task. The AG and UG configurations on a cylindrical simulator with force transducers were adjusted for each individual. The applied force and moment, the force variability during holding, and force correlations between thumb and each finger were measured. Result No differences in applied force, force correlation, repeatability, and variability were found between configurations. However, the moments applied in UG were significantly larger than those in AG. Conclusion The force control during precision grasp did not change significantly across AG and UG except for the digit moment. The simulator is controlled efficiently with large moment during UG, which is thus the optimal configuration for precision grasping with a cylindrical handle. Further research should consider the effects of task type and handle design on force control, especially for individuals with hand disorders. Application To design the handle of specific tool, one should consider the appropriate configuration according to the task requirements of precision grasping to reduce the risk of accumulating extra loads on digits with a cylindrical handle.