scholarly journals Internet of Beer: A Review on Smart Technologies from Mash to Pint

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 950
Author(s):  
Simona Violino ◽  
Simone Figorilli ◽  
Corrado Costa ◽  
Federico Pallottino
Keyword(s):  
Production Control ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Future Trend ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Scientific Databases ◽  
Access Price ◽  
Processing Product ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
Beer Production ◽  
Open Source Systems

The beer production chain includes some crucial steps regarding processing, delivery, service, and consumption that can benefit from the implementation of IoT (Internet of Things) based technologies. Large breweries implemented the use of sensors and digitization before smaller ones among which are craft breweries. Internet of Beer (IoB) technologies are becoming accessible to mid and small sized brewing companies. Therefore, the objective of this work is to review mainly low-cost IoB smart technologies that can be implemented from the mash to the final product and its service, to improve the brewing production, control, delivery, and final quality increasing profitability. The reviewed applications were retrieved both from the scientific databases and from the web. The work is structured in three macro areas such as beer processing, product logistics and traceability, and service. The results show a future trend characterized by a very fast increase in the use of IoB (also open source) systems to drive efficiency, productivity, quality, and safety. This will be done by real-time monitoring and a data-driven decision support system (DSS). Crucial aspects needing further investigation are data ownership and data standardization. The access price of IoB devices and software is destined for a significant decrease while their diversification on the market will grow leading to a massive future implementation within all the production levels.

scholarly journals Label-free DNA biosensing by topological light confinement

Nanophotonics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianluigi Zito ◽  
Gennaro Sanità ◽  
Bryan Guilcapi Alulema ◽  
Sofía N. Lara Yépez ◽  
Vittorino Lanzio ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Bound States ◽  
Production Control ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Label Free ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Light Confinement ◽  
Binding Event ◽  
The Continuum

Abstract Large-area and transparent all-dielectric metasurfaces sustaining photonic bound states in the continuum (BICs) provide a set of fundamental advantages for ultrasensitive biosensing. BICs bridge the gap of large effective mode volume with large experimental quality factor. Relying on the transduction mechanism of reactive sensing principle, herein, we first numerically study the potential of subwavelength confinement driven by topological decoupling from free space radiation for BIC-based biosensing. Then, we experimentally combine this capability with minimal and low-cost optical setup, applying the devised quasi-BIC resonator for PNA/DNA selective biosensing with real-time monitoring of the binding event. A sensitivity of 20 molecules per micron squared is achieved, i.e. ≃0.01 pg. Further enhancement can easily be envisaged, pointing out the possibility of single-molecule regime. This work aims at a precise and ultrasensitive approach for developing low-cost point-of-care tools suitable for routine disease prescreening analyses in laboratory, also adaptable to industrial production control.

scholarly journals Estimates and causes of fresh fruit post-harvest losses in the Chapadinha Microregion, Maranhão, Brazil

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 288
Author(s):  
Luana Ribeiro Silva ◽  
Edmilson Igor Bernardo Almeida ◽  
Lusiane De Sousa Ferreira ◽  
Kessia Tenorio Figueirinha ◽  
Antonio Gabriel da Costa Ferreira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Passion Fruit ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Retail Markets ◽  
Post Harvest ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Fruit Growing ◽  
Training Courses ◽  
Negative Impacts

Fruit growing contributes to Brazilian socioeconomic growth, both as a source of food for the population and in the generation of employment and income. However, the production chain incurs significant negative impacts, mainly due to post-harvest losses. The objective of the current study was to estimate the post-harvest losses of fruits, occurring in the retail markets of Anapurus, Belágua, Mata Roma, São Benedito do Rio Preto and Urbano Santos (Maranhão State). The study was carried out with visits to 45 commercial establishments, and the deployment of a questionnaire regarding post-harvest losses of 12 fruits. It is concluded that, in decreasing order, losses were: avocado (11.76 ± 0.09%) > papaya (11.65% ± 0.02) > banana (10.82 ± 1.75%) > grape (10.08 ± 0.06%) > passion fruit (9.28 ± 0.04%) > pineapple (8.62 ± 0.04%) > watermelon (8.48 ± 0.05%) > mango (8.00 ± 0.18%) > orange (7.12 ± 0.10%) > apple (6.68 ± 0.07%) > pear (6.52 ± 0.03%) > melon (4.32 ± 0.01%). Physiological disorders were the main cause of losses, with estimated losses being up to 10.62%. It is suggested that losses could be reduced with: better hygiene in commercial environments, effective planning of the quantities offered, and the adoption of low cost technologies for the conservation and refrigeration of temperate fruits. Some public initiatives, such as the increase in availability of training courses, improvement of roads in the rural areas of the Chapadinha Microregion, and encouragement of the expansion of fruit growing in Maranhão, may lead to improvements, with direct benefits to society in general.

scholarly journals Open Source Completely 3-D Printable Centrifuge

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salil S. Sule ◽  
Aliaksei L. Petsiuk ◽  
Joshua M. Pearce
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Medical Diagnostics ◽  
Resource Constrained ◽  
Fused Filament Fabrication ◽  
Web Camera ◽  
Relative Centrifugal Force ◽  
Recycled Plastics ◽  
Human Powered ◽  
Open Source Systems

Centrifuges are commonly required devices in medical diagnostics facilities as well as scientific laboratories. Although there are commercial and open source centrifuges, costs of the former and required electricity to operate the latter, limit accessibility in resource-constrained settings. There is a need for low-cost, human-powered, verified and reliable lab-scale centrifuge. This study provides the designs for a low-cost 100% 3-D printed centrifuge, which can be fabricated on any low-cost RepRap-class fused filament fabrication (FFF) or fused particle fabrication (FPF)-based 3-D printer. In addition, validation procedures are provided using a web camera and free and open source software. This paper provides the complete open source plans including instructions for fabrication and operation for a hand-powered centrifuge. This study successfully tested and validated the instrument, which can be operated anywhere in the world with no electricity inputs obtaining a radial velocity of over 1750rpm and over 50N of relative centrifugal force. Using commercial filament the instrument costs about US$25, which is less than half of all commercially available systems; however, the costs can be dropped further using recycled plastics on open source systems for over 99% savings. The results are discussed in the contexts of resource-constrained medical and scientific facilities.

scholarly journals Potential uses of biomass from fast-growing crop miscanthus×giganteus

2012 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nada Babovic ◽  
Gordana Drazic ◽  
Ana Djordjevic
Keyword(s):  
Panicum Virgatum ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Water Concentration ◽  
High Water ◽  
Perennial Grasses ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Cellulose Content ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Miscanthus Giganteus

There is an increasing interest in perennial grasses as a renewable source of bioenergy and feedstock for second-generation cellulosic biofuels. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and miscanthus (Miscanthus?giganteus), belonging to the parennial grasses group, are the major lignocellulosic materials being studied today as sources for direct energy production, biofuels, bioremediation and other. They have the ability to grow at low cost on marginal land where they will not compete with the traditional food crops. Miscanthus?giganteus possesses a number of advantages in comparison with the other potential energy crops such as are: high yields, low moisture content at harvest, high water and nitrogen use efficiencies, low need for annual agronomic inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, high cellulose content, non-invasive character, low susceptibility to pests and diseases and broad adaptation to temperate growing environments. The main problems are low rate of survival during the first winter after the creation of plantation and the relatively high establishment costs. Miscanthus?giganteus is grown primarily for heat and electricity generation but can also be used to produce transport fuels. Miscanthus biomass has a very good combustion quality due to its low water concentration as well as its low Cl, K, N, S and ash concentrations compared to other lignocellulose plants. It is expected that miscanthus will provide cheaper and more sustainable source of cellulose for production of bioethanol than annual crops such as corn. Miscanthus has great promise as a renewable energy source, but it can only be realised when the grass production has been optimised for large-scale commercial cultivation. However, further research is still needed to optimise agronomy of miscanthus, to develop the production chain and pre-treatment as well as to optimise energy conversation route to produce heat, electricity, and/or fuels from biomass, if miscanthus is to compete with fossil fuel use and be widely produced.

VeriMask

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Yan Long ◽  
Alexander Curtiss ◽  
Sara Rampazzi ◽  
Josiah Hester ◽  
Kevin Fu
Keyword(s):  
Health Workers ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Throughput Maximization ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Moist Heat ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
The Us ◽  
Real Scenario ◽  
Smart Technologies

The US CDC has recognized moist-heat as one of the most effective and accessible methods of decontaminating N95 masks for reuse in response to the persistent N95 mask shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is challenging to reliably deploy this technique in healthcare settings due to a lack of smart technologies capable of ensuring proper decontamination conditions of hundreds of masks simultaneously. To tackle these challenges, we developed an open-source wireless sensor platform---VeriMask1 ---that facilitates per-mask verification of the moist-heat decontamination process. VeriMask is capable of monitoring hundreds of masks simultaneously in commercially available heating systems and provides a novel throughput-maximization functionality to help operators optimize the decontamination settings. We evaluate VeriMask in laboratory and real-scenario clinical settings and find that it effectively detects decontamination failures and operator errors in multiple settings and increases the mask decontamination throughput. Our easy-to-use, low-power, low-cost, scalable platform integrates with existing hospital protocols and equipment, and can be broadly deployed in under-resourced facilities to protect front-line healthcare workers by lowering their risk of infection from reused N95 masks. We also memorialize the design challenges, guidelines, and lessons learned from developing and deploying VeriMask during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Our hope is that by reflecting and reporting on this design experience, technologists and front-line health workers will be better prepared to collaborate for future pandemics, regarding mask decontamination, but also other forms of crisis tech.

Low-Cost Receiver and Network Real-Time Kinematic Positioning for use in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (04) ◽  
pp. 917-930
Author(s):  
Fang-Shii Ning ◽  
Xiaolin Meng ◽  
Yi-Ting Wang
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Satellite System ◽  
High Accuracy ◽  
Future Trend ◽  
Intelligent Transport System ◽  
Positioning System ◽  
Gnss Receiver

Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) have been researched extensively for solving traffic issues and for realising the concept of an intelligent transport system. A well-developed positioning system is critical for CAVs to achieve these aims. The system should provide high accuracy, mobility, continuity, flexibility and scalability. However, high-performance equipment is too expensive for the commercial use of CAVs; therefore, the use of a low-cost Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver to achieve real-time, high-accuracy and ubiquitous positioning performance will be a future trend. This research used RTKLIB software to develop a low-cost GNSS receiver positioning system and assessed the developed positioning system according to the requirements of CAV applications. Kinematic tests were conducted to evaluate the positioning performance of the low-cost receiver in a CAV driving environment based on the accuracy requirements of CAVs. The results showed that the low-cost receiver satisfied the “Where in Lane” accuracy level (0·5 m) and achieved a similar positioning performance in rural, interurban, urban and motorway areas.

Adopting Citizen Observations in Operational Weather Prediction

2019 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. E43-E57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas N. Nipen ◽  
Ivar A. Seierstad ◽  
Cristian Lussana ◽  
Jørn Kristiansen ◽  
Øystein Hov
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Production Chain ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
High Resolution Data ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Operational Systems ◽  
Weather Stations

Abstract Citizen weather stations are rapidly increasing in prevalence and are becoming an emerging source of weather information. These low-cost consumer-grade devices provide observations in real time and form parts of dense networks that capture high-resolution meteorological information. Despite these benefits, their adoption into operational weather prediction systems has been slow. However, MET Norway recently introduced observations from Netatmo’s network of weather stations in the postprocessing of near-surface temperature forecasts for Scandinavia, Finland, and the Baltic countries. The observations are used to continually correct errors in the weather model output caused by unresolved features such as cold pools, inversions, urban heat islands, and an intricate coastline. Corrected forecasts are issued every hour. Integrating citizen observations into operational systems comes with a number of challenges. First, operational systems must be robust and therefore rely on strict quality control procedures to filter out unreliable measurements. Second, postprocessing methods must be selected and tuned to make use of the high-resolution data that at times can contain conflicting information. Central to resolving these challenges is the need to use the massive redundancy of citizen observations, with up to dozens of observations per square kilometer, and treating the data source as a network rather than a collection of individual stations. We present our experiences with introducing citizen observations into the operational production chain of automated public weather forecasts. Their inclusion shows a clear improvement to the accuracy of short-term temperature forecasts, especially in areas where existing professional stations are sparse.

scholarly journals Corporate Social Responsibility Influencing Sustainability within the Fashion Industry. A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9167
Author(s):  
Thorey S Thorisdottir ◽  
Lara Johannsdottir
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Scientific Databases ◽  
Academic Publications ◽  
Architecture And Design ◽  
Corporate Social

The fashion industry, one of the largest industries in the world, is a complicated phenomenon, driven by aspirations of symbolic lifestyle and the creativity of architecture and design. It pushes the use of natural resources to its limits by mass production and a low-cost structure that motivates consumerism at large. The purpose of this study is to explore corporate social responsibility and how it influences sustainability within the fashion industry. A systematic literature review was carried out. This encompassed the academic publications available in two scientific databases focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sustainability, and fashion, covering the period 2003–2019. The findings indicate that the CSR approach taken by managers within the fashion industry is focused on sustainability, business models, and/or supply chain innovation, with commitments undertaken concerning the economy, environment, and/or society, wherein the production of eco-friendly products and workers’ safety are emphasized. Actions that tie CSR and sustainability with companies’ actions are presented in a micro-meso-macro framework, where brand equity, culture, supply chain management, activism, and human rights are evident. The findings of the study are relevant for academia, practitioners, and policymakers, as they provide insight into the operations and impacts of domestic and multinational fashion companies, outlining the most relevant studies on the topic, and also highlighting research trends and gaps in the field.

scholarly journals Recent Advances in Equalization Technologies for Short-Reach Optical Links Based on PAM4 Modulation: A Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 2342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Honghang Zhou ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Yuyang Liu ◽  
Lei Yue ◽  
Chao Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Digital Signal ◽  
Pulse Amplitude ◽  
Data Rate ◽  
Future Trend ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Cloud Services ◽  
Optical Links ◽  
Effective Manner

In recent years, short-reach optical links have attracted much more attention and have come to constitute a key market segment due to the rapid development of data-center applications and cloud services. Four-level pulse amplitude modulation (PAM4) is a promising modulation format to provide both a high data rate and relatively low cost for short-reach optical links. However, the direct detector and low-cost components also pose immense challenges, which are unforeseen in coherent transmission. To compensate for the impairments and to truly meet data rate requirements in a cost-effective manner, various digital signal processing (DSP) technologies have been proposed and investigated for short-reach PAM4 optical links. In this paper, an overview of the latest progress on DSP equalization technologies is provided for short-reach optical links based on PAM4 modulation. We not only introduce the configuration and challenges of the transmission system, but also cover the principles and performance of different equalizers and some improved methods. Moreover, machine learning algorithms are discussed as well to mitigate the nonlinear distortion for next-generation short-reach PAM4 links. Finally, a summary of various equalization technologies is illustrated and our perspective for the future trend is given.

Improving energy efficiency of HVAC systems in buildings: a review of best practices

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Kwame Simpeh ◽  
Jon-Patrick George Pillay ◽  
Ruben Ndihokubwayo ◽  
Dorothy Julian Nalumu
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Hvac Systems ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Improve Energy Efficiency ◽  
Smart Technologies

PurposeHeating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems account for approximately half of all energy usage in the operational phase of a building's lifecycle. The disproportionate amount of energy usage in HVAC systems against other utilities within buildings has proved a huge cause for alarm, as this practice contributes significantly to global warming and climate change. This paper reviews the status and current trends of energy consumption associated with HVAC systems with the aim of interrogating energy efficiency practices for improving HVAC systems' consumption in buildings in the context of developing countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study relied predominantly on secondary data by analysing the relevant body of literature and proposing conceptual insights regarding best practices for improving the energy efficiency of HVAC systems in buildings. The systematic review of the literature (SLR) was aided by the PRISMA guiding principle. Content analysis technique was adopted to examine germane scholarly articles and finally grouped them into themes.FindingsBased on the SLR, measures for enhancing the energy efficiency of HVAC systems in buildings were classified based on economic considerations ranging from low-cost measures such as the cost of tuning the system, installing zonal control systems, adopting building integrated greenery systems and passive solar designs to major approaches such as HVAC smart technologies for energy management which have multi-year pay-back periods. Further, it was established that practices to improve energy efficiency in buildings range from integrated greening system into buildings to HVAC system which are human-centred and controlled to meet human modalities.Practical implicationsThere is a need to incorporate these energy efficiency practices into building regulations or codes so that built environment professionals would have a framework within which to design their buildings to be energy efficient. This energy efficient solution may serve as a prerequisite for newly constructed buildings.Originality/valueTo this end, the authors develop an integrated optimization conceptual framework mimicking energy efficiency options that may complement HVAC systems operations in buildings.

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