Monitoring and Performance Evaluation of Plastic Cleanup Systems: Part II — Results and Analysis

Author(s):  
Bruno Sainte-Rose ◽  
Hendrik Wrenger ◽  
Ivan Soares ◽  
Cosme Mosneron-Dupin ◽  
Clara Duval ◽  
...  

Abstract The Ocean Cleanup Foundation is developing floating barrier systems to concentrate and extract buoyant plastic from the global accumulation zones. In that context, two cleanup systems have been designed, built and deployed in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch since 2018 to evaluate their performance in the field for which a large amount of data has been collected. This data serves to validate and calibrate numerical models that will be used to develop future generations of cleanup systems. The main performance indicator in scrutiny is the field efficiency which can be derived from on the one hand the barrier horizontal motion in terms of displacement and span heading and on the other hand the plastic transport around and inside the barrier. After a first part dedicated to the presentation of the experimental campaign carried out to evaluate the field efficiency of the second cleanup system, this second part is dedicated to the presentation of some results and analysis performed to evaluate the interception efficiency. This paper first focuses on the cross comparison of two measurement techniques to evaluate the barrier span length and heading, second the metocean models in terms of waves and wind are presented and compared against the available metocean measurements. Then, a multi-linear model is proposed to evaluate the barrier dynamics from the background metocean conditions and applied to the analysis of the barrier in the lifting bag configuration. Finally, the multi-linear model is compared to measured relative speed for all the drifter tests carried out in the campaign the whole test campaign.

Author(s):  
Bruno Sainte-Rose ◽  
Hendrik Wrenger ◽  
Hans Limburg ◽  
Arthur Fourny ◽  
Arjen Tjallema

Abstract The Ocean Cleanup Foundation is developing floating barrier systems to concentrate and extract buoyant plastic from the global accumulation zones located in the subtropical convergence zones in the world’s oceans. In that context, two cleanup systems have been designed, built and deployed in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch since 2018 to evaluate their performance in the field. During those campaigns, a large amount of data in terms of system displacement and environmental conditions has been collected. This data serves to further validate and calibrate numerical models that will be used to develop future generations of cleanup systems. The main performance indicator in scrutiny is the field efficiency which can be derived from on the one hand the barrier horizontal motion in terms of displacement and span heading and on the other hand the plastic transport around and inside the barrier. This information then needs to be correlated to the background environmental conditions to evaluate the barrier’s efficiency over a longer deployment period and allow multi-decadal hindcast analysis. describe both the experimental and numerical work, this paper is split in two parts. This first part is dedicated to the presentation of the experimental setup in terms of barrier displacement, environmental conditions and surface transport measurements. This paper details the techniques employed to carry out those measurements, how they are processed but also the short comings of some measurement methods.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcello Sansone ◽  
Vincenzo Formisano

<p>This paper aims to analyze the relationship between marketing innovation and performance of an enterprise, studying in particular the banking sector. So after a brief review of the literature on services marketing and on the issue of business innovation, through the methodology of the single case (Yin, 1994; Dubois &amp; Gadde, 2002), that is appropriate because of the complexity of the phenomenon, the research analyzes how innovation of bank management—interpreted as a tendency to integrate strategies and tools of “marketing” that have long been the preserve of industrial production and, in recent years, of retailers—influences the performance and competitive advantages.</p><p>In detail, the work provides an analysis of the main KPIs of the bank on the one hand, and innovation indicators of marketing on the other; subsequently it detects any correlation between the two elements and it emphasizes through what strategies a bank has managed to overcome the crisis and to gain a defensible competitive advantage.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-211
Author(s):  
Patricia E. Chu

The Paris avant-garde milieu from which both Cirque Calder/Calder's Circus and Painlevé’s early films emerged was a cultural intersection of art and the twentieth-century life sciences. In turning to the style of current scientific journals, the Paris surrealists can be understood as engaging the (life) sciences not simply as a provider of normative categories of materiality to be dismissed, but as a companion in apprehending the “reality” of a world beneath the surface just as real as the one visible to the naked eye. I will focus in this essay on two modernist practices in new media in the context of the history of the life sciences: Jean Painlevé’s (1902–1989) science films and Alexander Calder's (1898–1976) work in three-dimensional moving art and performance—the Circus. In analyzing Painlevé’s work, I discuss it as exemplary of a moment when life sciences and avant-garde technical methods and philosophies created each other rather than being classified as separate categories of epistemological work. In moving from Painlevé’s films to Alexander Calder's Circus, Painlevé’s cinematography remains at the forefront; I use his film of one of Calder's performances of the Circus, a collaboration the men had taken two decades to complete. Painlevé’s depiction allows us to see the elements of Calder's work that mark it as akin to Painlevé’s own interest in a modern experimental organicism as central to the so-called machine-age. Calder's work can be understood as similarly developing an avant-garde practice along the line between the bestiary of the natural historian and the bestiary of the modern life scientist.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 35-42
Author(s):  
David Black ◽  
Bryan Found ◽  
Doug Rogers

Forensic Document Examiners (FDEs) examine the physical morphology and performance attributes of a line trace when comparing questioned to specimen handwriting samples for the purpose of determining authorship. Along with spatial features, the elements of execution of the handwriting are thought to provide information as to whether or not a questioned sample is the product of a disguise or simulation process. Line features such as tremor, pen-lifts, blunt beginning and terminating strokes, indicators of relative speed, splicing and touch ups, are subjectively assessed and used in comparisons by FDEs and can contribute to the formation of an opinion as to the validity of a questioned sample of handwriting or signatures. In spite of the routine use of features such as these, there is little information available regarding the relative frequency of occurrence of these features in populations of disguised and simulated samples when compared to a large population of a single individual’s signature. This study describes a survey of the occurrence of these features in 46 disguised signatures, 620 simulated signatures (produced by 31 different amateur forgers) and 177 genuine signatures. It was found that the presence of splices and touch-ups were particularly good predictors of the simulation process and that all line quality parameters were potentially useful contributors in the determination of the authenticity of questioned signatures. Purchase Article - $10


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 3929
Author(s):  
Han-Yun Chen ◽  
Ching-Hung Lee

This study discusses convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for vibration signals analysis, including applications in machining surface roughness estimation, bearing faults diagnosis, and tool wear detection. The one-dimensional CNNs (1DCNN) and two-dimensional CNNs (2DCNN) are applied for regression and classification applications using different types of inputs, e.g., raw signals, and time-frequency spectra images by short time Fourier transform. In the application of regression and the estimation of machining surface roughness, the 1DCNN is utilized and the corresponding CNN structure (hyper parameters) optimization is proposed by using uniform experimental design (UED), neural network, multiple regression, and particle swarm optimization. It demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach to obtain a structure with better performance. In applications of classification, bearing faults and tool wear classification are carried out by vibration signals analysis and CNN. Finally, the experimental results are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness and performance of our approach.


Author(s):  
Dafnis Vidal Pérez ◽  
José Miguel Martínez-Sanz ◽  
Alberto Ferriz-Valero ◽  
Violeta Gómez-Vicente ◽  
Eva Ausó

Weightlifting is a discipline where technique and anthropometric characteristics are essential to achieve the best results in competitions. This study aims to analyse the relationships between body composition, limb length and barbell kinematics in the performance of weightlifters. It consists of an observational and descriptive study of 19 athletes (12 men [28.50 ± 6.37 years old; 84.58 ± 14.11 kg; 176.18 ± 6.85 cm] and 7 women [27.71 ± 6.34 years old; 64.41 ± 7.63 kg; 166.94 ± 4.11 cm]) who met the inclusion criteria. A level I anthropometrist took anthropometric measures according to the methodology of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK), and the measurement of the barbell velocity was made with the software Kinovea. In terms of body composition, both genders are within the percentage range of fat mass recommended for this sport. In female weightlifters, there is a positive correlation between foot length, maximal velocity in the Snatch (ρ = 0.775, p = 0.041), and performance indicator in the Snatch and the Clean & Jerk (ρ = 0.964, p < 0.001; ρ = 0.883, p = 0.008, respectively). In male weightlifters, a positive correlation between tibial length and average velocity of the barbell in the Snatch is observed (ρ = 0.848, p < 0.001). Muscle mass percentage correlates positively with performance indicator in both techniques (ρ = 0.634, p = 0.027; ρ = 0.720, p = 0.008). Also, the relative length of the upper limb is negatively correlated with the performance indicator (ρ = −0.602, p = 0.038). Anthropometry and body composition may facilitate skill acquisition among this sport population, contributing to increase the limited body of scientific knowledge related to weightlifting.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1117
Author(s):  
Bin Li ◽  
Zhikang Jiang ◽  
Jie Chen

Computing the sparse fast Fourier transform (sFFT) has emerged as a critical topic for a long time because of its high efficiency and wide practicability. More than twenty different sFFT algorithms compute discrete Fourier transform (DFT) by their unique methods so far. In order to use them properly, the urgent topic of great concern is how to analyze and evaluate the performance of these algorithms in theory and practice. This paper mainly discusses the technology and performance of sFFT algorithms using the aliasing filter. In the first part, the paper introduces the three frameworks: the one-shot framework based on the compressed sensing (CS) solver, the peeling framework based on the bipartite graph and the iterative framework based on the binary tree search. Then, we obtain the conclusion of the performance of six corresponding algorithms: the sFFT-DT1.0, sFFT-DT2.0, sFFT-DT3.0, FFAST, R-FFAST, and DSFFT algorithms in theory. In the second part, we make two categories of experiments for computing the signals of different SNRs, different lengths, and different sparsities by a standard testing platform and record the run time, the percentage of the signal sampled, and the L0, L1, and L2 errors both in the exactly sparse case and the general sparse case. The results of these performance analyses are our guide to optimize these algorithms and use them selectively.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-100
Author(s):  
Philip Poillot ◽  
Christine L. Le Maitre ◽  
Jacques M. Huyghe

AbstractThe strain-generated potential (SGP) is a well-established mechanism in cartilaginous tissues whereby mechanical forces generate electrical potentials. In articular cartilage (AC) and the intervertebral disc (IVD), studies on the SGP have focused on fluid- and ionic-driven effects, namely Donnan, diffusion and streaming potentials. However, recent evidence has indicated a direct coupling between strain and electrical potential. Piezoelectricity is one such mechanism whereby deformation of most biological structures, like collagen, can directly generate an electrical potential. In this review, the SGP in AC and the IVD will be revisited in light of piezoelectricity and mechanotransduction. While the evidence base for physiologically significant piezoelectric responses in tissue is lacking, difficulties in quantifying the physiological response and imperfect measurement techniques may have underestimated the property. Hindering our understanding of the SGP further, numerical models to-date have negated ferroelectric effects in the SGP and have utilised classic Donnan theory that, as evidence argues, may be oversimplified. Moreover, changes in the SGP with degeneration due to an altered extracellular matrix (ECM) indicate that the significance of ionic-driven mechanisms may diminish relative to the piezoelectric response. The SGP, and these mechanisms behind it, are finally discussed in relation to the cell response.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-203
Author(s):  
Nathan Genicot

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to the massive development and use of health indicators. Drawing on the history of international public health and of the management of infectious disease, this paper attempts to show that the normative power acquired by metrics during the pandemic can be understood in light of two rationales: epidemiological surveillance and performance assessment. On the one hand, indicators are established to evaluate and rank countries’ responses to the outbreak; on the other, the evolution of indicators has a direct influence on the content of public health policies. Although quantitative data are an absolute necessity for coping with such disasters, it is critical to bear in mind the inherent partiality and precarity of the information provided by health indicators. Given the growing importance of normative quantitative devices during the pandemic, and assuming that their influence is unlikely to decrease in the future, they call for close scrutiny.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Suardi ◽  
Sergio Saia ◽  
Walter Stefanoni ◽  
Carina Gunnarsson ◽  
Martin Sundberg ◽  
...  

The collection of residues from staple crop may contribute to meet EU regulations in renewable energy production without harming soil quality. At a global scale, chaff may have great potential to be used as a bioenergy source. However, chaff is not usually collected, and its loss can consist of up to one-fifth of the residual biomass harvestable. In the present work, a spreader able to manage the chaff (either spreading [SPR] on the soil aside to the straw swath or admixed [ADM] with the straw) at varying threshing conditions (with either 1 or 2 threshing rotors [1R and 2R, respectively] in the combine, which affects the mean length of the straw pieces). The fractions of the biomass available in field (grain, chaff, straw, and stubble) were measured, along with the performances of both grain harvesting and baling operations. Admixing chaff allowed for a slightly higher amount of straw fresh weight baled compared to SPR (+336 kg straw ha−1), but such result was not evident on a dry weight basis. At the one time, admixing chaff reduced the material capacity of the combine by 12.9%. Using 2R compared to 1R strongly reduced the length of the straw pieces, and increased the bale unit weight; however, it reduced the field efficiency of the grain harvesting operations by 11.9%. On average, the straw loss did not vary by the treatments applied and was 44% of the total residues available (computed excluding the stubble). In conclusion, admixing of chaff with straw is an option to increase the residues collected without compromising grain harvesting and straw baling efficiencies; in addition, it can reduce the energy needs for the bale logistics. According to the present data, improving the chaff collection can allow halving the loss of residues. However, further studies are needed to optimise both the chaff and the straw recoveries.


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