scholarly journals PRELIMINARY FINDINGS ON PRODUCING ORGANIC VIDALIA ONIONS

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 885c-885
Author(s):  
George E. Boyhan ◽  
Raymond Hicks ◽  
C. Randell Hill
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Straw ◽  
Poultry Litter ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Practical Method ◽  
Pine Straw ◽  
Oat Straw ◽  
Allelopathic Effects ◽  
Hand Weeding ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Better Than

There has been interest in producing Vidalia onions organically among both conventional and organic growers. In the 2000–01 season we began to look at producing onions organically. Starting with conventionally produced transplants that were transplanted at standard commercial spacings on beds prepared with 10.2–15.2 cm of incorporated compost and 2,802 kg·ha–1 rate of fresh poultry litter. This was sidedressed with an additional 2,500 less/acre (2,802 kg·ha–1) poultry litter. Yields were about half of conventional onion production. In 2002–03, production of organic transplants with 10.2 cm of incorporated compost with 2.24 t·ha–1 rate of poultry litter, which was followed by an additional sidedressing of 2.24 t·ha–1 rate of poultry litter resulted in similar findings. The weight of harvested transplants was about half that of conventionally produced transplants. In the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons various natural mulches were evaluated for weed control. They included wheat straw, oat straw, Bermuda hay, pine straw, and compost. None of these performed better than hand weeding and the wheat straw, oat straw, and Bermuda hay actually reduced yields apparently due to allelopathic effects. Finally in the 2003–04 season rates of poultry litter from 0–22.4 t·ha–1 were evaluated for transplant production with rates of 13.4, 17.9, and 22.4 t·ha–1 yielding plants comparable to conventional transplants. Work continues in the area of organic Vidalia onion production. One of the greatest challenge for future work will be finding a cost-effective and practical method of controlling weeds in transplant production.

scholarly journals Heat Exchanger Network Retrofit of an Oleochemical Plant through a Cost and Energy Efficiency Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Valli Trisha ◽  
Kai Seng Koh ◽  
Lik Yin Ng ◽  
Vui Soon Chok
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Capital Cost ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Annual Saving ◽  
Heat Exchanger Network ◽  
First Case ◽  
Payback Time ◽  
Better Than

Limited research of heat integration has been conducted in the oleochemical field. This paper attempts to evaluate the performance of an existing heat exchanger network (HEN) of an oleochemical plant at 600 tonnes per day (TPD) in Malaysia, in which the emphases are placed on the annual saving and reduction in energy consumption. Using commercial HEN numerical software, ASPEN Energy Analyzer v10.0, it was found that the performance of the current HEN in place is excellent, saving over 80% in annual costs and reducing energy consumption by 1,882,711 gigajoule per year (GJ/year). Further analysis of the performance of the HEN was performed to identify the potential optimisation of untapped heating/cooling process streams. Two cases, which are the most cost-effective and energy efficient, were proposed with positive results. However, the second case performed better than the first case, at a lower payback time (0.83 year) and higher annual savings (0.20 million USD/year) with the addition of one heat exchanger at a capital cost of USD 134,620. The first case had a higher payback time (4.64 years), a lower annual saving (0.05 million USD/year) and three additional heaters at a capital cost of USD 193,480. This research has provided a new insight into the oleochemical industry in which retrofitting the HEN can further reduce energy consumption, which in return will reduce the overall production cost of oleochemical commodities. This is particularly crucial in making the product more competitive in its pricing in the global market.

Doing More With Less: Pragmatic Implementation of Vancomycin Area-Under-the-Curve (AUC) Monitoring

2021 ◽  
pp. 089719002110272
Author(s):  
Joanne Huang ◽  
Jeannie D. Chan ◽  
Thu Nguyen ◽  
Rupali Jain ◽  
Zahra Kassamali Escobar
Keyword(s):  
Quality Improvement ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Area Under The Curve ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Practical Method ◽  
Therapeutic Drug ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Quality Improvement Process

Universal area-under-the-curve (AUC) guided vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is resource-intensive, cost-prohibitive, and presents a paradigm shift that leaves institutions with the quandary of defining the preferred and most practical method for TDM. We report a step-by-step quality improvement process using 4 plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles to provide a framework for development of a hybrid model of trough and AUC-based vancomycin monitoring. We found trough-based monitoring a pragmatic strategy as a first-tier approach when anticipated use is short-term. AUC-guided monitoring was most impactful and cost-effective when reserved for patients with high-risk for nephrotoxicity. We encourage others to consider quality improvement tools to locally adopt AUC-based monitoring.

A validated robust and automatic procedure for vibration analysis of bridge structures using MEMS accelerometers

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-354
Author(s):  
Mohammad Omidalizarandi ◽  
Ralf Herrmann ◽  
Boris Kargoll ◽  
Steffen Marx ◽  
Jens-André Paffenholz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vibration Analysis ◽  
Damping Ratio ◽  
Fem Analysis ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Analysis Procedure ◽  
Modal Parameters ◽  
Bridge Structure ◽  
Modal Damping ◽  
Mems Accelerometers ◽  
Better Than

AbstractToday, short- and long-term structural health monitoring (SHM) of bridge infrastructures and their safe, reliable and cost-effective maintenance has received considerable attention. From a surveying or civil engineer’s point of view, vibration-based SHM can be conducted by inspecting the changes in the global dynamic behaviour of a structure, such as natural frequencies (i. e. eigenfrequencies), mode shapes (i. e. eigenforms) and modal damping, which are known as modal parameters. This research work aims to propose a robust and automatic vibration analysis procedure that is so-called robust time domain modal parameter identification (RT-MPI) technique. It is novel in the sense of automatic and reliable identification of initial eigenfrequencies even closely spaced ones as well as robustly and accurately estimating the modal parameters of a bridge structure using low numbers of cost-effective micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers. To estimate amplitude, frequency, phase shift and damping ratio coefficients, an observation model consisting of: (1) a damped harmonic oscillation model, (2) an autoregressive model of coloured measurement noise and (3) a stochastic model in the form of the heavy-tailed family of scaled t-distributions is employed and jointly adjusted by means of a generalised expectation maximisation algorithm. Multiple MEMS as part of a geo-sensor network were mounted at different positions of a bridge structure which is precalculated by means of a finite element model (FEM) analysis. At the end, the estimated eigenfrequencies and eigenforms are compared and validated by the estimated parameters obtained from acceleration measurements of high-end accelerometers of type PCB ICP quartz, velocity measurements from a geophone and the FEM analysis. Additionally, the estimated eigenfrequencies and modal damping are compared with a well-known covariance driven stochastic subspace identification approach, which reveals the superiority of our proposed approach. We performed an experiment in two case studies with simulated data and real applications of a footbridge structure and a synthetic bridge. The results show that MEMS accelerometers are suitable for detecting all occurring eigenfrequencies depending on a sampling frequency specified. Moreover, the vibration analysis procedure demonstrates that amplitudes can be estimated in submillimetre range accuracy, frequencies with an accuracy better than 0.1 Hz and damping ratio coefficients with an accuracy better than 0.1 and 0.2 % for modal and system damping, respectively.

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Multi-Label Classification and Multi-Output Regression in Social Trait Recognition

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 4127
Author(s):  
Will Farlessyost ◽  
Kelsey-Ryan Grant ◽  
Sara R. Davis ◽  
David Feil-Seifer ◽  
Emily M. Hand
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
First Impressions ◽  
Social Traits ◽  
Judicial Proceedings ◽  
Facial Attributes ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Automated Methods ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Social Trait ◽  
Better Than

First impressions make up an integral part of our interactions with other humans by providing an instantaneous judgment of the trustworthiness, dominance and attractiveness of an individual prior to engaging in any other form of interaction. Unfortunately, this can lead to unintentional bias in situations that have serious consequences, whether it be in judicial proceedings, career advancement, or politics. The ability to automatically recognize social traits presents a number of highly useful applications: from minimizing bias in social interactions to providing insight into how our own facial attributes are interpreted by others. However, while first impressions are well-studied in the field of psychology, automated methods for predicting social traits are largely non-existent. In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of two automated approaches—multi-label classification (MLC) and multi-output regression (MOR)—for first impression recognition from faces. We demonstrate that both approaches are able to predict social traits with better than chance accuracy, but there is still significant room for improvement. We evaluate ethical concerns and detail application areas for future work in this direction.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of a Three-Dimensional Printed Multifunctional Trap for Surveillance of Mosquitoes

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-75
Author(s):  
Drew David Reinbold-Wasson ◽  
Michael Hay Reiskind
Keyword(s):  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Disease Monitoring ◽  
Life History Stage ◽  
Mosquito Trap ◽  
Host Seeking ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Development And Validation ◽  
Better Than

ABSTRACT An essential component of vector-borne disease monitoring programs is mosquito surveillance. Surveillance efforts employ various collection traps depending on mosquito species and targeted life-history stage, i.e., eggs, larvae, host-seeking, resting, or gravid adults. Surveillance activities often use commercial traps, sometimes modified to accept specific mosquito species attractants. The advent of widely available and affordable 3D printing technology allows the construction of novel trap designs and components. The study goal was to develop and assess a cost-effective, multipurpose, 6-volt mosquito trap integrating features of both host-seeking and gravid mosquito traps to collect undamaged live specimens: a multifunctional mosquito trap (MMT). We tested the MMT in comparison to commercial traps, targeting gravid Aedes albopictus, host-seeking Ae. albopictus, and total number of host-seeking mosquitos regardless of species. Field evaluations found the MMT performed as well as or better than comparable commercial traps. This project demonstrates an easy to construct, inexpensive, and versatile mosquito trap, potentially useful for surveying multiple mosquito species and other hematophagous insects by varying attractants into the MMT.

scholarly journals Review on the Synthesis Methods of Nano-Tungsten Oxide Dihydrate Colloid

2021 ◽  
Vol 335 ◽  
pp. 03008
Author(s):  
Khizar Mushtaq ◽  
Pui May Chou ◽  
Chin Wei Lai
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Tungsten Oxide ◽  
Sol Gel ◽  
Synthesis Method ◽  
Transition Element ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Processing Parameters ◽  
Synthesis Methods ◽  
Cost Effective Method ◽  
Future Work

Tungsten being a transition element, forms oxide compounds of various oxidation states that enables it to form nanocolloids of tungsten oxide dihydrate. Multiple methods have been used in recent years to synthesize nano tungsten oxide dihydrate, including sol-gel synthesis, electrochemical deposition, hydrothermal synthesis and anodization. However, a universally accepted synthesis method for this material is not offered. The most appropriate method and its corresponding processing parameters for the synthesis of nano tungsten oxide dihydrate colloids were presented in the present study. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of processing parameters, i.e. applied voltage, temperature and anodizing duration on the particle size of nanocolloids. It is found that anodization is the easiest, efficient, and cost-effective method to synthesize the colloidal solution of nano tungsten oxide dihydrate. Conducting the synthesis at room temperature at a voltage of 50 V for 60 minutes yields the product with particle size of 40 – 60 nm, which can be used in wide array of applications. This paper also highlights the research gaps for future work and gives recommendations to extend this study particularly for the industrial application of tungsten oxide.

A Practical Method for the Rational Design of Ship Structures

1980 ◽  
Vol 24 (02) ◽  
pp. 101-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen F. Hughes ◽  
Farrokh Mistree ◽  
Vedran Žanic
Keyword(s):  
Optimum Design ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Practical Method ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Processing Unit ◽  
Ship Structures ◽  
Finite Element Program ◽  
Central Processing ◽  
Element Program

A practical, rationally based method is presented for the automated optimum design of ship structures. The method required the development of (a) a rapid, design-oriented finite-element program for the analysis of ship structures; (b) a comprehensive mathematical model for the evaluation of the capability of the structure; and (c) a cost-effective optimization algorithm for the solution of a large, highly constrained, nonlinear redesign problem. These developments have been incorporated into a program called SHIPOPT. The efficiency and robustness of the method is illustrated by using it to determine the optimum design of a complete cargo hold of a general-purpose cargo ship. The overall dimensions and the design loads are the same as those used in the design of the very successful SD14 series of ships. The redesign problem contains 94 variables, a nonlinear objective function, and over 500 constraints of which approximately half are non-linear. Program SHIPOPT required approximately eight minutes of central processing unit time on a CDC CYBER 171 to determine the optimum design.

scholarly journals Transparent PDMS Bioreactors for the Fabrication and Analysis of Multi-Layer Pre-vascularized Hydrogels Under Continuous Perfusion

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Liu ◽  
Huaiyuan Zheng ◽  
Xinyi Dai ◽  
Patrina S. P. Poh ◽  
Hans-Günther Machens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Organization ◽  
Umbilical Vein ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Practical Method ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Collagen Gels ◽  
Vascular Walls ◽  
Novel Strategy ◽  
Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ◽  
Continuous Perfusion

Tissue engineering in combination with stem cell technology has the potential to revolutionize human healthcare. It aims at the generation of artificial tissues that can mimic the original with complex functions for medical applications. However, even the best current designs are limited in size, if the transport of nutrients and oxygen to the cells and the removal of cellular metabolites waste is mainly dependent on passive diffusion. Incorporation of functional biomimetic vasculature within tissue engineered constructs can overcome this shortcoming. Here, we developed a novel strategy using 3D printing and injection molding technology to customize multilayer hydrogel constructs with pre-vascularized structures in transparent Polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) bioreactors. These bioreactors can be directly connected to continuous perfusion systems without complicated construct assembling. Mimicking natural layer-structures of vascular walls, multilayer vessel constructs were fabricated with cell-laden fibrin and collagen gels, respectively. The multilayer design allows functional organization of multiple cell types, i.e., mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in outer layer, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) the inner layer and smooth muscle cells in between MSCs and HUVECs layers. Multiplex layers with different cell types showed clear boundaries and growth along the hydrogel layers. This work demonstrates a rapid, cost-effective, and practical method to fabricate customized 3D-multilayer vascular models. It allows precise design of parameters like length, thickness, diameter of lumens and the whole vessel constructs resembling the natural tissue in detail without the need of sophisticated skills or equipment. The ready-to-use bioreactor with hydrogel constructs could be used for biomedical applications including pre-vascularization for transplantable engineered tissue or studies of vascular biology.

scholarly journals Fabrication of Multiscale-Structure Wafer-Level Microlens Array Mold

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuping Xie ◽  
Xinjun Wan ◽  
Xiaoxiao Wei
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Form Factors ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Microlens Array ◽  
Practical Method ◽  
Reduced Form ◽  
Wafer Level ◽  
Polycrystalline Aluminum ◽  
Microlens Arrays ◽  
Multiscale Structure

The design and manufacture of cost-effective miniaturized optics at wafer level, usingadvanced semiconductor-like techniques, enables the production of reduced form-factor cameramodules for optical devices. However, suppressing the Fresnel reflection of wafer-level microlensesis a major challenge. Moth-eye nanostructures not only satisfy the antireflection requirementof microlens arrays, but also overcome the problem of coating fracture. This novel fabricationprocess, based on a precision wafer-level microlens array mold, is designed to meet the demandfor small form factors, high resolution, and cost effectiveness. In this study, three different kinds ofaluminum material, namely 6061-T6 aluminum alloy, high-purity polycrystalline aluminum, and purenanocrystalline aluminum were used to fabricate microlens array molds with uniform nanostructures.Of these three materials, the pure nanocrystalline aluminum microlens array mold exhibited auniform nanostructure and met the optical requirements. This study lays a solid foundation for theindustrial acceptation of novel and functional multiscale-structure wafer-level microlens arrays andprovides a practical method for the low-cost manufacture of large, high-quality wafer-level molds.

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