Is atmospheric water generation an economically viable solution?

This essay proposes that the picture of a broken circle encountered by Watt during the second part of his tale marks a crucial collision point between Beckett's literary and mathematical interests and triggers a process of fractal scaling self-similarity. Building on recent interest concerning the role of the mathematics and mathematical forms found in Beckett's work, I argue that the broken circle depicted in the picture from Watt is a geometric form which (re)appears within at least three interlocking scales throughout Beckett's novel-length prose: (i) its moment of arrival in the picture from Watt, (ii) a macroscopic reinscription in the names of the protagonists populating the five novels spanning Watt through to The Unnamable and (iii) buried within the narratological depths of How It Is. As a structural principle, the interminable irregularity of fractals offered Beckett a viable solution for what he considered the defining task of the modern artist: ‘to find a form to accommodate the mess’. Moreover, the specific shape selected for his fractal is shown to contain within its geometry one of Beckett's most universal and pressing concerns: the inevitable insufficiency of language. Therefore, although this essay restricts itself to examining Beckett's novel-length prose, the idea of a broken circle fractal promises to provide a valuable heuristic through which to reassess the author's other generic avenues. Fractals thus offer a means through which one can bind together the length and breadth of Beckett's oeuvre without ever reducing dynamic chaos to stable order.

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A fully automated conversational agent with artificial intelligence capabilities (Youper) for treating depression and anxiety: A nonrandomized feasibility trial (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.12888 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jose Hamilton Vargas ◽

Thiago Antonio Marafon ◽

Diego Fernando Couto ◽

Ricardo Giglio ◽

Marvin Yan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Financial Incentives ◽

Empirical Support ◽

Digital Technologies ◽

Feasibility Trial ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Conversational Agents ◽

Symptoms Of Depression ◽

Viable Solution

BACKGROUND Mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety disorders, are significant global concerns. Many people with these conditions don't get the help they need because of the high costs of medical treatment and the stigma attached to seeking help. Digital technologies represent a viable solution to these challenges. However, these technologies are often characterized by relatively low adherence and their effectiveness largely remains empirical unverified. While digital technologies may represent a viable solution for this persisting problem, they often lack empirical support for their effectiveness and are characterized by relatively low adherence. Conversational agents using artificial intelligence capabilities have the potential to offer a cost-effective, low-stigma and engaging way of getting mental health care. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of Youper, a mobile application that utilizes a conversational interface and artificial intelligence capabilities to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy-based interventions to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults. METHODS 1,012 adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety participated in a real-world setting study, entirely remotely, unguided and with no financial incentives, over an 8-week period. Participants completed digital versions of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7) at baseline, 2, 4, and 8 weeks. RESULTS After the eight-week study period, depression (PHQ-9) scores of participants decreased by 48% while anxiety (GAD-7) scores decreased by 43%. The RCI was outside 2 standard deviations for 93.0% of the individuals in the PHQ-9 assessment and 90.7% in the GAD-7 assessment. Participants were on average 24.79 years old (SD 7.61) and 77% female. On average, participants interacted with Youper 0.9 (SD 1.56) times per week. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that Youper is a feasible, acceptable, and effective intervention for adults with depression and anxiety. CLINICALTRIAL Since this study involved a nonclinical population, it wasn't registered in a public trials registry.

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Spatial and temporal characteristics of atmospheric water vapour content and its relationship with precipitation conversion in China during 1980–2016

International Journal of Climatology ◽

10.1002/joc.6928 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Olusola O. Ayantobo ◽

Jiahua Wei ◽

Beiming Kang ◽

Tiejian Li ◽

Guangqian Wang

Keyword(s):

Water Vapour ◽

Atmospheric Water ◽

Water Vapour Content ◽

Atmospheric Water Vapour ◽

Temporal Characteristics ◽

Spatial And Temporal Characteristics

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Profiling of atmospheric water vapor with MIR and LASE

IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing ◽

10.1109/tgrs.2002.800227 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 40 (6) ◽

pp. 1211-1219 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

J.R. Wang ◽

P. Racette ◽

M.E. Triesky ◽

E.V. Browell ◽

S. Ismail ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Atmospheric Water Vapor ◽

Atmospheric Water

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Efficient 3D printing via photooxidation of ketocoumarin based photopolymerization

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-23170-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiaoyu Zhao ◽

Ye Zhao ◽

Ming-De Li ◽

Zhong’an Li ◽

Haiyan Peng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Additive Manufacturing ◽

3D Printing ◽

Visible Light ◽

Light Exposure ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

3D Printer ◽

Light Penetration ◽

Viable Solution

AbstractPhotopolymerization-based three-dimensional (3D) printing can enable customized manufacturing that is difficult to achieve through other traditional means. Nevertheless, it remains challenging to achieve efficient 3D printing due to the compromise between print speed and resolution. Herein, we report an efficient 3D printing approach based on the photooxidation of ketocoumarin that functions as the photosensitizer during photopolymerization, which can simultaneously deliver high print speed (5.1 cm h−1) and high print resolution (23 μm) on a common 3D printer. Mechanistically, the initiating radical and deethylated ketocoumarin are both generated upon visible light exposure, with the former giving rise to rapid photopolymerization and high print speed while the latter ensuring high print resolution by confining the light penetration. By comparison, the printed feature is hard to identify when the ketocoumarin encounters photoreduction due to the increased lateral photopolymerization. The proposed approach here provides a viable solution towards efficient additive manufacturing by controlling the photoreaction of photosensitizers during photopolymerization.

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Advances in atmospheric water generation technologies

Energy Conversion and Management ◽

10.1016/j.enconman.2021.114226 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 239 ◽

pp. 114226

Author(s):

G. Raveesh ◽

R. Goyal ◽

S.K. Tyagi

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Water

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Modes of exploitation of atmospheric water resources in the Qinghai–Tibet plateau

International Journal of Climatology ◽

10.1002/joc.7016 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fang‐Fang Li ◽

Kang Zhao ◽

Hou‐Liang Lu ◽

Guang‐Qian Wang ◽

Jun Qiu

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Tibet Plateau ◽

Atmospheric Water ◽

Qinghai Tibet Plateau

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Ideal pH for the adsorption of metal ions Cr6+, Ni2+, Pb2+ in aqueous solution with different adsorbent materials

Open Agriculture ◽

10.1515/opag-2021-0225 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 115-123

Author(s):

Luísa P. Cruz-Lopes ◽

Morgana Macena ◽

Bruno Esteves ◽

Raquel P. F. Guiné

Keyword(s):

Heavy Metals ◽

Metal Ions ◽

Walnut Shell ◽

Lead Adsorption ◽

Viable Solution ◽

Chestnut Shell ◽

Adsorption Processes ◽

Irreversible Effects ◽

Optimal Values ◽

Ph Range

Abstract Industrialization increases the number of heavy metals released into the environment. Lead (Pb2+), nickel (Ni2+) and chromium (Cr6+) are among these toxic metals and cause irreversible effects on ecosystems and human health due to their bio-accumulative potential. The decontamination through adsorption processes using lignocellulosic wastes from agricultural and/or forestry processes is a viable solution. Hence, this work aimed at studying the effect of pH on the biosorption of the metal ions using four different by-product materials: walnut shell, chestnut shell, pinewood and burnt pinewood. These experiments were conducted with solutions of the three heavy metals in which the adsorbents were immersed to measure the rate of adsorption. A range of pH values from 3.0 to 7.5 was used in the experiments, and the concentrations were determined by atomic absorption. The results showed different behaviour of the biosorbent materials when applied to the different metals. The lead adsorption had an ideal pH in the range of 5.5–7.5 when the walnut shell was used as an adsorbent, corresponding to values of adsorption greater than 90%, but for the other materials, maximum adsorption occurred for a pH of 7.5. For the adsorption of chromium, the pH was very heterogeneous with all adsorbents, with optimal values of pH varying from 3.0 (for chestnut shell) to 6.5 (for walnut shell and wood). For nickel, the best pH range was around pH 5, with different values according to the lignocellulosic material used. These results indicate that the tested biosorbents have the potential to decontaminate wastewater in variable extensions and that by controlling the pH of the solution; a more efficient removal of the heavy metals can be achieved.

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