Process behavior and product quality in fertilizer manufacturing using continuous hopper transfer pan granulation—Experimental investigations

Fertilizers are commonly used to improve the soil quality in both conventional and organic agriculture. One such fertilizer is dolomite for which soil application in granulated form is advantageous. These granules are commonly produced from ground dolomite powder in continuous pan transfer granulators. During production, the granulator’s operation parameters affect the granules’ properties and thereby also the overall performance of the fertilizer. To ensure product granules of certain specifications and an efficient overall production, process control and intensification approaches based on mathematical models can be applied. However, the latter require high-quality quantitative experimental data describing the effects of process operation parameters on the granule properties. Therefore, in this article, such data is presented for a lab-scale experimental setup. Investigations were carried out into how variations in binder spray rate, binder composition, feed powder flow rate, pan inclination angle, and angular velocity affect particle size distribution, mechanical stability, and humidity. Furthermore, in contrast to existing work samples from both, pan granules and product granules are analyzed. The influence of operation parameter variations on the differences between both, also known as trajectory separation, is described quantitatively. The results obtained indicate an increase in the average particle size with increasing binder flow rate to feed rate and increasing binder concentration and the inclination angle of the pan. Compressive strength varied significantly depending on the operating parameters. Significant differences in properties were observed for the product and the intermediate (pan) samples. In fact, for some operation parameters, e.g., binder feed rate, the magnitude of the separation effect strongly depends on the specific value of the operation parameter. The presented concise data will enable future mathematical modeling of the pan granulation process, e.g., using the framework of population balance equations

Poziom poczucia koherencji wśród młodzieży zakładów poprawczych

Cel badań. Czy rzeczywiście jest tak, że współczesna oferta wychowawczo-resocjalizacyjna skierowana do młodzieży zakładów poprawczych buduje u nich poczucie zrozumienia, zaradności i sensowności, tak potrzebne w dorosłym życiu. Odpowiedzi poszukiwano poprzez ocenę poziomu poczucia koherencji wśród młodzieży zakładów poprawczych. Materiał i metoda. Dla oceny poziomu poczucia koherencji wśród młodzieży zakładów poprawczych, badaniom poddano 40 młodych ludzi tych zakładów. Użyto Kwestionariusza Poczucia Koherencji [SOC – 29], a uzyskane wyniki badań porównano ze zdrowymi osobnikami grupy kontrolnej. Wyniki i wnioski. Stwierdzono, że poziom poczucia koherencji wśród młodzieży zakładów poprawczych daleko odbiega od średniej wartości testu SOC-29 zarejestrowanej przez innych autorów u zdrowych mężczyzn naszej populacji, co może być istotnym czynnikiem niepowodzeń tej młodzieży w „dorosłym życiu”. Działalność resocjalizacyjna prowadzona w zakładach poprawczych nie przynosi jednakowego skutku w zmianach poczucia koherencji. Przede wszystkim skutkuje wzrostem liczebności nieletnich w przedziale 100-120 punków, głównie kosztem obniżenia liczebności grupy o zakresie punktacji 60 – 80 punktów. Istnieje taka wartość punktowa [jest to 58 pkt.] testu SOC-29, poniżej której pomimo prowadzonej starannej resocjalizacji istnieje u małoletnich znamiennie statystycznie wysokie ryzyko braku uzyskania sukcesu terapeutycznego, w postaci braku wzrostu poczucia koherencjiThe objective of the research: Is it actually the case that the modern educational and rehabilitation offer for approved school youth builds a sense of coherence, resourcefulness and meaningfulness among them, as these are factors very much essential to the adult life? To find an answer to this question, the sense of coherence level was measured among approved school youths. Material and method: In order to assess the approved school youth’s level of coherence, 40 of them were examined. The method used was The Sense of Coherence Questionnaire [SOC-29], and the results obtained were compared to those of the control group. Results and conclusions: It was established that the sense of coher-ence level among the approved school youth is largely discrepant from the result of SOC-29 test as indicated by the research on healthy men of our population conducted by other authors, which may be a significant factor to the youths’ failures in their “adult lives”. The rehabilitation process controlled by approved schools is not effective as far as the sense of coherence level is concerned. Above all, it re-sults in the increase in the number of juveniles within the range of 100-120 points, predominantly at the expense of the decrease in number within 60-80 points. Moreover, it was shown that in those cases where the result of the SOC questionnaire is lower than 58 points, the statistical risk of failing to achieve the therapeutic success [no increase in the sense of coherence level] is significantly high despite the on-going rehabilitation, even carefully supervised

Znaczenie komunikacji interpersonalnej w zawodzie pielęgniarskim

Wstęp. Komunikacja jest zjawiskiem wszechobecnym, towarzyszącym nam od samego początku naszego życia. Umiejętność komunikowania się z osobą chorą jest więc bardzo istotna, w tym również w zawodzie pielęgniarskim. Cel badań. Przekonanie to skłoniło autorów do podjęcia badań własnych mających na celu określenie aktywności komunikacyjnej w wybranej losowo grupie pielęgniarek. Materiał i metody. Grupę badawczą stanowiło 121 pielęgniarek. Ba-dania prowadzono w okresie od września 2010 roku do marca 2011 roku. Do określenie poziomu komunikacyjnej posłużono się Skalą Aktywności Komunikacyjnej Zb. Nęckiego Uzyskane wyniki odniesiono do wybranych cech takich jak wiek badanych, długość stażu pracy zawodowej oraz poziom wykształcenia. Wyniki i wnioski. Przeprowadzone badania pozwoliły stwierdzić, że zawód pielęgniarki nie podnosi w sposób charakterystyczny ( istotny statystycznie ) poziomu aktywności komunikacyjnej w porównaniu do przedstawicieli innych grup zawodowych np. informatyków. Średnia aktywność komunikacyjna wzrastała wraz z wiekiem badanych, przy czym w przedziale wieku 30-49 r.ż. znamiennie statystycznie w porównaniu do najmłodszej ankietowanej grupy pielęgniarek. Najniższy poziom aktywności komunikacyjnej wykazywały pielęgniarki o najkrótszym okresie pracy w zawodzie (do 5 lat). W miarę wydłużania stażu pracy średnia aktywność komunikacyjna badanych rosła. Średnia aktywność komunikacyjna wzrastała wraz ze stopniem wykształcenia zawodowego, przy czym wzrost ten miał cechy istotnie statystyczne, w porównaniu do niższych stopni wykształcenia, tylko w grupie pielęgniarek będących po studiach zawodowych II stopnia.Introduction. Communication is a universal phenomenon. It is essential to people at every stage of their lives. In it of utmost importance to be able to communicate with sick people, also as a nurse. The purpose of the study. The belief stated above has led the authors to undertake their own study, whose purpose was to assess communication activity in a randomly selected group of nurses. Materials and methods. The study group was 121 nurses. The re-search was conducted between September 2010 and March 2011. In order to assess the communication activity, the Communication Activity Scale introduced by Zbigniew Nęcki was used. The results obtained were compared with selected data such as the age of the nurses studied, their experience as professional nurses and their education. Results and conclusions. The research conducted allowed the authors to conclude that the nursing profession itself does not contribute to a statistically significant increase in the communication activity as compared to other professionals, e.g. IT specialists. The mean communication activity increased with the age of the interviewees – in the age groups of 30 to 49 years old, the increase was statistically signifi-cant in comparison with the youngest group interviewed. The lowest level of communication activity was characteristic of the least experienced nurses (no more than 5 years of experience). The mean communication activity of the interviewees increased along with the expe-rience. The increase in the mean communication activity was also observable with reference to their education; however, it was statistically significant only in relation to the those who completed professional postgraduate courses as compared to the lower levels of education

The perception of hospices and palliative care by charity workers

Wstęp: Wzrastająca liczba zaawansowanych przypadków choroby nowotworowej i nienowotworowych schorzeń przewlekłych, spowodowały wzrost zapotrzebowania na opiekę paliatywną sprawowaną przez hospicja domowe i stacjonarne, oddziały dzienne i poradnie medycyny paliatywnej. Ogromną rolę w opiece nad chorym leczonym paliatywnie odgrywają wolontariusze. Chory hospicyjny ma przed sobą trudną do przebycia drogę, potrzebuje własnego towarzysza. Szczególny charakter pomocy takim chorym wymaga osobistego zaangażowania i motywacji, a więc cech, które niesie ze sobą wolontariat. Materiał i metody: Badania przeprowadzono w okresie od 1 czerwca do 31 sierpnia 2011 roku w trzech placówkach hospicyjnych na tere-nie Warszawy. Objęto nimi 60 respondentów. Posłużono się metodą sondażu diagnostycznego z zastosowaniem techniki badawczej, jaką jest ankieta. Kwestionariusz ankiety składał się z 17 pytań dotyczących pracy wolontariuszy w hospicjach, powodów podjęcia pracy wolontariusza oraz przemyśleń i skojarzeń związanych z pracą w hospicjum. Wyniki i wnioski: Z przeprowadzonych badań wynika, że główną motywacją skłaniającą do pracy w opiece hospicyjnej była potrzeba niesienia pomocy innym ludziom lub chęć podarowania swego wolnego czasu innym. Wolontariusze opieki hospicyjnej podkreślają, że temat śmierci nadal pozostaje w naszym społeczeństwie tematem tabu. Wśród ankietowanych wolontariuszy dominuje zdanie, że hospicjum jest miejscem godnego umierania i nie wywołuje lęku u indagowanych. Badani ochotnicy uważają, że społeczeństwo poświęca zbyt mało uwagi opiece paliatywnej.Introduction: The growing number of advanced cases of cancer and nonneoplastic chronic diseases has resulted in the increase of the demand for palliative care delivered by home care and inpatient care hospices as well as day care units and palliative medicine facilities. A great part of palliative patient care is played by charity workers. A hospice patient has a difficult way to go and is certainly in need of companionship. The special character of such care requires personal involvement and motivation – the features specifically related to charity work. The material and methods: The study was conducted in three hospices in Warsaw between June 1st and August 31st, 2011. 60 responders participated in it. The diagnostic poll method was utilized; the research technique was survey. The questionnaire consisted of 17 questions about volunteer work in hospices, the reasons to become a charity worker as well as reflections and associations related to working in hospices. The results and conclusions: The research indicated that the predominant motivation to work in hospice care was a need to help others or will to devote a person’s time to others. The hospice care volunteers stressed that the issue of death is still a taboo in our society. The dominating view of the charity workers under investigation was that hospices are places where one can die with dignity and that they do not fear hospices. The responders thought that the society devotes too little attention to palliative care

Data production models for the CDF experiment

The data production for the CDF experiment is conducted on a large Linux PC farm designed to meet the needs of data collection at a maximum rate of 40 MByte/sec. We present two data production models that exploits advances in computing and communication technology. The first production farm is a centralized system that has achieved a stable data processing rate of approximately 2 TByte per day. The recently upgraded farm is migrated to the SAM (Sequential Access to data via Metadata) data handling system. The software and hardware of the CDF production farms has been successful in providing large computing and data throughput capacity to the experiment.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures; presented at HPC Asia2005, Beijing, China, Nov 30 - Dec 3, 200

Rollout Sampling Approximate Policy Iteration

Several researchers have recently investigated the connection between reinforcement learning and classification. We are motivated by proposals of approximate policy iteration schemes without value functions which focus on policy representation using classifiers and address policy learning as a supervised learning problem. This paper proposes variants of an improved policy iteration scheme which addresses the core sampling problem in evaluating a policy through simulation as a multi-armed bandit machine. The resulting algorithm offers comparable performance to the previous algorithm achieved, however, with significantly less computational effort. An order of magnitude improvement is demonstrated experimentally in two standard reinforcement learning domains: inverted pendulum and mountain-car.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Machine Learning 72(3). Presented at EWRL08, to be presented at ECML 200

Data processing model for the CDF experiment

The data processing model for the CDF experiment is described. Data processing reconstructs events from parallel data streams taken with different combinations of physics event triggers and further splits the events into datasets of specialized physics datasets. The design of the processing control system faces strict requirements on bookkeeping records, which trace the status of data files and event contents during processing and storage. The computing architecture was updated to meet the mass data flow of the Run II data collection, recently upgraded to a maximum rate of 40 MByte/sec. The data processing facility consists of a large cluster of Linux computers with data movement managed by the CDF data handling system to a multi-petaByte Enstore tape library. The latest processing cycle has achieved a stable speed of 35 MByte/sec (3 TByte/day). It can be readily scaled by increasing CPU and data-handling capacity as required.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, submitted to IEEE-TN

Learning near-optimal policies with Bellman-residual minimization based fitted policy iteration and a single sample path

We consider the problem of finding a near-optimal policy in continuous space, discounted Markovian Decision Problems given the trajectory of some behaviour policy. We study the policy iteration algorithm where in successive iterations the action-value functions of the intermediate policies are obtained by picking a function from some fixed function set (chosen by the user) that minimizes an unbiased finite-sample approximation to a novel loss function that upper-bounds the unmodified Bellman-residual criterion. The main result is a finite-sample, high-probability bound on the performance of the resulting policy that depends on the mixing rate of the trajectory, the capacity of the function set as measured by a novel capacity concept that we call the VC-crossing dimension, the approximation power of the function set and the discounted-average concentrability of the future-state distribution. To the best of our knowledge this is the first theoretical reinforcement learning result for off-policy control learning over continuous state-spaces using a single trajectory

Depsipeptide substrates for sortase-mediated N-terminal protein ligation

Technologies that allow the efficient chemical modification of proteins under mild conditions are widely sought after. Sortase-mediated peptide ligation provides a strategy for modifying the N or C terminus of proteins. This protocol describes the use of depsipeptide substrates (containing an ester linkage) with sortase A (SrtA) to completely modify proteins carrying a single N-terminal glycine residue under mild conditions in 4–6 h. The SrtA-mediated ligation reaction is reversible, so most labeling protocols that use this enzyme require a large excess of both substrate and sortase to produce high yields of ligation product. In contrast, switching to depsipeptide substrates effectively renders the reaction irreversible, allowing complete labeling of proteins with a small excess of substrate and catalytic quantities of sortase. Herein we describe the synthesis of depsipeptide substrates that contain an ester linkage between a threonine and glycolic acid residue and an N-terminal FITC fluorophore appended via a thiourea linkage. The synthesis of the depsipeptide substrate typically takes 2–3 d

Photon Production from a Quark--Gluon Plasma

In-medium interactions of a particle in a hot plasma are considered in the framework of thermal field theory. The formalism to calculate gauge invariant rates for photon and dilepton production from the medium is given. In the application to a QED plasma, astrophysical consequences are pointed out. The photon production rate from strongly interacting quarks in the quark--gluon plasma, which might be formed in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions, is calculated in the previously unaccessible regime of photon energies of the order of the plasma temperature. For temperatures below the chiral phase transition, an effective field theory incorporating dynamical chiral symmetry breaking is employed, and perturbative QCD at higher temperatures. A smooth transition between both regions is obtained. The relevance to the soft photon problem and to high energy heavy ion experiments is discussed.Comment: Paper in ReVTeX. Figures and complete paper available via anonymous ftp, ftp://tpri6c.gsi.de/pub/phenning/hq95ga