810 research outputs found
Integrated Model and Index for Circular Economy in the Built-Environment in the Indian Context
Sustainable development aims at minimising waste and reducing exploitation of natural resources and energy, so that needs of the future generations are taken care of. Circular Economy (CE) is a new drift towards sustainability that aims at minimising waste and promoting material reuse, thereby creating a regenerative system. The construction industry is responsible for the extraction of raw materials and the generation of waste in large quantities, thereby making it an opportune sector for transition to a circular economy. On account of the complex nature of the built environment comprising various phases and associated actors, a proper framework or indexing for the circular economy is missing at present. This study aims to develop an integrated model of CE in the built environment which considers various construction stages and applicable strategies. An index for measuring the circularity potential in construction materials is also proposed, based on attributes developed from literature review and analysis of questionnaire survey. Simple Additive Weighting Method (SAWM), an elementary multi-criteria decision-making method is used for developing the index. It is anticipated that Circular Economy Potential Index (CEPI) would support decision-making in the initial stage of construction projects and help to compare the circularity of materials
The changing course of the Amazon River in the Neogene: center stage for Neotropical diversification
Non-local Realistic Theories and the Scope of the Bell Theorem
According to a widespread view, the Bell theorem establishes the untenability
of so-called 'local realism'. On the basis of this view, recent proposals by
Leggett, Zeilinger and others have been developed according to which it can be
proved that even some non-local realistic theories have to be ruled out. As a
consequence, within this view the Bell theorem allows one to establish that no
reasonable form of realism, be it local or non-local, can be made compatible
with the (experimentally tested) predictions of quantum mechanics. In the
present paper it is argued that the Bell theorem has demonstrably nothing to do
with the 'realism' as defined by these authors and that, as a consequence,
their conclusions about the foundational significance of the Bell theorem are
unjustified.Comment: Forthcoming in Foundations of Physic
EPR-Bell Nonlocality, Lorentz Invariance, and Bohmian Quantum Theory
We discuss the problem of finding a Lorentz invariant extension of Bohmian
mechanics. Due to the nonlocality of the theory there is (for systems of more
than one particle) no obvious way to achieve such an extension. We present a
model invariant under a certain limit of Lorentz transformations, a limit
retaining the characteristic feature of relativity, the non-existence of
absolute time resp. simultaneity. The analysis of this model exemplifies an
important property of any Bohmian quantum theory: the quantum equilibrium
distribution cannot simultaneously be realized in all
Lorentz frames of reference.Comment: 24 pages, LaTex, 4 figure
Purification of infectious canine parvovirus from cell culture by affinity chromatography with monoclonal antibodies.
Immuno affinity chromatography with virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, directed to the haemagglutinating protein of canine parvovirus (CPV) was used to purify and concentrate CPV from infected cell culture. The procedure was monitored by testing the respective fractions in an infectivity titration system, in an ELISA, in a haemagglutination assay and by negative contrast electron microscopy to quantify CPV or CPV antigen. The degree of purification was further estimated by testing the fractions for total protein content in a colorimetric method, for bovine serum albumin content in an ELISA and by SDS-PAGE. Over 99% of the contaminating proteins proved to be removed, and 20% or 70-90% of infectious CPV or CPV antigen, respectively, was recovered
âA room full of strangers every dayâ: the psychosocial impact of developmental prosopagnosia on children and their families
Objective: Individuals with developmental prosopagnosia (âface blindnessâ) have severe face recognition difficulÂŹties due to a failure to develop the necessary visual mechanisms for recognizing faces. These difficulties occur in the absence of brain damage and despite normal low-level vision and intellect. Adults with developmental prosopagnosia report serious personal and emotional consequences from their inability to recognize faces, but little is known about the psychosocial consequences in childhood. Given the importance of face recognition in daily life, and the potential for unique social consequences of impaired face recognition in childhood, we sought to evaluate the impact of developmental prosopagnosia on children and their families.
Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 8 children with developmental prosopagnosia and their parents. A battery of face recognition tests was used to confirm the face recognition impairment reported by the parents of each child. We used thematic analysis to develop common themes among the psychosocial experiences of the children and their parents.
Results: Three themes were developed from the child reports: 1) awareness of their difficulties, 2) coping stratÂŹegies, such as using non-facial cues to identify others, and 3) social implications, such as discomfort in, and avoidÂŹance of, social situations. These themes were paralleled by the parent reports and highlight the unique social and practical challenges associated with childhood developmental prosopagnosia.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate a need for increased awareness and treatment of developmental prosopagnosia to help these children manage their face recognition difficulties and to promote their social and emotional wellbein
Real World Interpretations of Quantum Theory
I propose a new class of interpretations, {\it real world interpretations},
of the quantum theory of closed systems. These interpretations postulate a
preferred factorization of Hilbert space and preferred projective measurements
on one factor. They give a mathematical characterisation of the different
possible worlds arising in an evolving closed quantum system, in which each
possible world corresponds to a (generally mixed) evolving quantum state. In a
realistic model, the states corresponding to different worlds should be
expected to tend towards orthogonality as different possible quasiclassical
structures emerge or as measurement-like interactions produce different
classical outcomes. However, as the worlds have a precise mathematical
definition, real world interpretations need no definition of quasiclassicality,
measurement, or other concepts whose imprecision is problematic in other
interpretational approaches. It is natural to postulate that precisely one
world is chosen randomly, using the natural probability distribution, as the
world realised in Nature, and that this world's mathematical characterisation
is a complete description of reality.Comment: Minor revisions. To appear in Foundations of Physic
Explaining the unobserved: why quantum mechanics is not only about information
A remarkable theorem by Clifton, Bub and Halvorson (2003)(CBH) characterizes
quantum theory in terms of information--theoretic principles. According to Bub
(2004, 2005) the philosophical significance of the theorem is that quantum
theory should be regarded as a ``principle'' theory about (quantum) information
rather than a ``constructive'' theory about the dynamics of quantum systems.
Here we criticize Bub's principle approach arguing that if the mathematical
formalism of quantum mechanics remains intact then there is no escape route
from solving the measurement problem by constructive theories. We further
propose a (Wigner--type) thought experiment that we argue demonstrates that
quantum mechanics on the information--theoretic approach is incomplete.Comment: 34 Page
Development of a clinical prediction model for an international normalised ratio ℠4·5 in hospitalised patients using vitamin K antagonists
Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) used for the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disease, increase the risk of bleeding complications. We developed and validated a model to predict the risk of an international normalised ratio (INR) â„ 4·5 during a hospital stay. Adult patients admitted to a tertiary hospital and treated with VKAs between 2006 and 2010 were analysed. Bleeding risk was operationalised as an INR value â„4·5. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between potential predictors and an INR â„ 4·5 and validated in an independent cohort of patients from the same hospital between 2011 and 2014. We identified 8996 admissions of patients treated with VKAs, of which 1507 (17%) involved an INR â„ 4·5. The final model included the following predictors: gender, age, concomitant medication and several biochemical parameters. Temporal validation showed a c statistic of 0·71. We developed and validated a clinical prediction model for an INR â„ 4·5 in VKA-treated patients admitted to our hospital. The model includes factors that are collected during routine care and are extractable from electronic patient records, enabling easy use of this model to predict an increased bleeding risk in clinical practice
Neuropsychological constraints to human data production on a global scale
Which are the factors underlying human information production on a global
level? In order to gain an insight into this question we study a corpus of
252-633 Million publicly available data files on the Internet corresponding to
an overall storage volume of 284-675 Terabytes. Analyzing the file size
distribution for several distinct data types we find indications that the
neuropsychological capacity of the human brain to process and record
information may constitute the dominant limiting factor for the overall growth
of globally stored information, with real-world economic constraints having
only a negligible influence. This supposition draws support from the
observation that the files size distributions follow a power law for data
without a time component, like images, and a log-normal distribution for
multimedia files, for which time is a defining qualia.Comment: to be published in: European Physical Journal
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