Measurement of volume fraction of air in water: experimental Study

In multi phase mixing of flow streams, the measurement of fraction of individual components with consideration of proportion of volume need to be analyzed considering the serious issues in many chemical and other processing industries. Even though, quantifiable measurements technique are exist for the calculation of solubility, partial pressure, molar fraction and VOF, the VOF measurement is the meaningful measure of percentage fraction of air in water. In this experimental procedure, the method to resolve the Volume fraction (VOF) is discussed and the same is achieved by impedance probe method.

Fair-minded critical thinking: Towards a reconciliation of the self and the other

This work examines the role which fair-minded critical thinking can play in the attempt to reconcile the self with the other. It argues that much of the problems encountered in human relations arise from either uncritical thinking or unfair-minded critical thinking. This happens as a result of the enthronement of both the individual and social ego, on account of the weakening of the fair-minded critical thinking faculty on the one hand, and the strengthening of that of the unfair-minded critical thinking, on the other. The overall result of this is the lack of peace and cooperation among men as well as between man and nature. This work, therefore, identifies fair-minded critical thinking as a missing link in previous attempts to reconcile the self with the other and recommends its cultivation as a veritable tool for the achievement of any meaningful measure of success in such attempts at reconciliation. It also shows how much humanity stands to benefit from the conscious and deliberate cultivation of the principles of fair-mindedness in all relations between the self and the other. The work adopts critical analysis in its discourse.

Performance of the sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea hatchlings from a hatchery on the Pacific coast of Guatemala

Sea turtles are marine species that are generally in danger of extinction. The conservation strategies in the different countries are attempting to preserve these species and should be constantly updating their policies according to research results taking place on site. The most abundant and frequent species of sea turtle that nest in the Pacific Coast of Guatemala is Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829), therefore human predation has been historically high. The solution to this predation, since the 1970s, as a conservation strategy was to place eggs in enclosed protected spaces called hatcheries, where collectors must give 20% of the nest as a conservation quota. Since this program leads to no natural nests (in situ) remaining on the beaches, the good functioning of the hatcheries plays a fundamental role in the conservation process to work. To understand and predict the fitness of the hatchlings being produced in Guatemalan hatcheries, crawling performance and self-righting performance were measured in 210 hatchlings of the Multiple Uses Area of Hawaii, in the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. The results of the performance were contrasted with incubation conditions to provide an insight into how the management may influence it. We found that self-righting may be a more meaningful measure of variable behavior than crawling performance, showing that there was little variation due to the homogeneous environment of the hatcheries. We can conclude that a greater number of eggs result in faster self-righting, while deeper nests produce hatchlings with slower rates of self-righting.

Detection of Microplastics in Water and Ice

It is possible to detect various microplastics (MPs) floating on water or contained in ice due to the unique optical characteristics of plastics of various chemical compositions and structures. When the MPs are measured in the spectral region between 800 and 1000 nm, which has relatively little influence on the temperature change in water, they are frequently perceived as noise or obscured by the surrounding reflection spectra because of the small number and low intensity of the representative peak wavelengths. In this study, we have applied several mathematical methods, including the convex hull, Gaussian deconvolution, and curve fitting to amplify and normalize the reflectance and thereby find the spectral properties of each polymer, namely polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), methyl methacrylate (PMMA), and polyethylene (PE). Blunt-shaped spectra with a relatively large maximum of normalized reflectance (NRmax) can be decomposed into several Gaussian peak wavelengths: 889, 910, and 932 nm for the PP and 898 and 931 nm for the PE. Moreover, unique peak wavelengths with the meaningful measure at 868 and 907 nm for the PET and 887 nm for the PMMA were also obtained. Based on the results of the study, one can say that each plastic can be identified with up to 81% precision by compensating based on the spectral properties even when they are hidden in water or ice.

The phantom alignment strength conjecture: practical use of graph matching alignment strength to indicate a meaningful graph match

The alignment strength of a graph matching is a quantity that gives the practitioner a measure of the correlation of the two graphs, and it can also give the practitioner a sense for whether the graph matching algorithm found the true matching. Unfortunately, when a graph matching algorithm fails to find the truth because of weak signal, there may be “phantom alignment strength” from meaningless matchings that, by random noise, have fewer disagreements than average (sometimes substantially fewer); this alignment strength may give the misleading appearance of significance. A practitioner needs to know what level of alignment strength may be phantom alignment strength and what level indicates that the graph matching algorithm obtained the true matching and is a meaningful measure of the graph correlation. The Phantom Alignment Strength Conjecture introduced here provides a principled and practical means to approach this issue. We provide empirical evidence for the conjecture, and explore its consequences.

The Problem of Fragmentation

This chapter assesses the challenge that social and spatial fragmentation poses for inclusive public discourse. This fragmentation impedes democratic speech by keeping people apart, by fuelling intergroup ill will, and by amplifying intergroup inequalities. To address this problem, the chapter recommends adopting ‘integrative’ policies aimed at desegregating social and political groups. Integrative policies, however, remain deeply controversial. For one thing, they may appear to violate people’s freedom of association. And, in particular, such policies seemingly overlook the important interest that members of historically oppressed groups have in residential self-segregation. But, properly understood, integrative measures in fact need not jeopardize these interests. First, integrative policies create meaningful associative opportunities even as they restrict others. Second, integrating a system of public discourse does not require integrating all sites in that system. Doing so therefore leaves space for historically oppressed groups to engage in a meaningful measure of residential self-segregation.

The Causal Interpretation of “Overall Vaccine Effectiveness” in Test-Negative Studies

Test-negative studies are commonly used to estimate influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE). In a typical study, an “overall VE” estimate may be reported based on data from the entire sample. However, there may be heterogeneity in VE, particularly by age. We therefore discuss the potential for a weighted average of age-specific VE estimates to provide a more meaningful measure of overall VE. We illustrate this perspective first using simulations to evaluate how overall VE would be biased when certain age groups are over-represented. We found unweighted overall VE estimates tended to be higher than weighted VE when children were over-represented and lower when elderly were over-represented. Then we extracted published estimates from the US Flu VE network, in which children are overrepresented, and some discrepancy between unweighted and weighted overall VE was observed. Differences in weighted versus unweighted overall VE could translate to substantial differences in the interpretation of individual risk reduction in vaccinated persons, and the total averted disease burden at the population level. Weighting overall estimates should be considered in VE studies in future.