Online Thermal Analysis of Batch Roasted Coffee Beans

We constructed and instrumented a fluidised-bed coffee roaster. This work has been carried out as part of a search for the “ideal point”, which is the point in time when an expert roaster would terminate the roast in order to yield beans that produce the optimal brew. We roasted Costa Rican Arabica beans whilst controlling the roasting temperature to follow a linear ramp. We measured and recorded the input, output, and coffee bean surface temperatures. We introduce the idea of “bean load”, an uncalibrated measure of the heat load presented by the material being roasted. The bean load under constantly-ramping bean surface temperature shows the roast is increasingly endothermic. Toward the end of the roast the endothermic phenomena decrease, or are assisted by exothermic activity. The bean load also has a repeatable dip around first crack. Due to limitations with the roaster we were not able to make reliable measurements at and beyond second crack. We observed no waypoints or events that might be used to pinpoint the “ideal point” to end the roast

Diversity in Retirement Wealth Accumulation

Examines household wealth by source, such as Social Security, home equity, savings, and defined benefit pensions; how their savings build up with age; and how total wealth accumulations vary by income, education, and race/ethnicity. Explores implications

Determinants of farmer adoption of organic production methods in the fresh-market produce sector in California: A logistic regression analysis

This research uses binomial and multinomial logistic regression models to identify the factors that influence farmers adoption of organic technology. Using a sample of 175 farmers growing fresh-market produce in three California counties, the first model examines farmers choice between conventional-only and organic-only production. The second model compares conventional-only and "dual-method" (combined conventional and organic) production, while the third model employs all three choices in a multinomial model. These results, which indicate that gross sales, direct marketing, number of crops and acres, farmer age, and computer usage are significant determinants, have implications on policies that regulate the organic foods sector.Production Economics,

A bidirectional deep LSTM machine learning method for flight delay modelling and analysis

Flight delays can be prevented by providing a reference point from an accurate prediction model because predicting flight delays is a problem with a specific space. Only a few algorithms consider predicted classes\u27 mutual correlation during flight delay classification or prediction modelling tasks. None of these existing methods works for all scenarios. Therefore, the need to investigate the performance of more models in solving the problem of flight delay is vast and rapidly increasing. This paper presents the development and evaluation of LSTM and BiLSTM models by comparing them for a flight delay prediction. The LSTM does the feature extraction in both models, except that the BiLSTM maintains an equilibrium with a forward and backward hidden sequences model training. The experimental results show that the BiLSTM model accuracy improved by 97.56%, with a 21.11% accuracy increase. Furthermore, the models\u27 performance results and confusion matrix shows how the BiLSTM model outperforms the LSTM model. In evaluating the MCC, the BiLSTM model offers a better mutual correlation among the predicted classes with 0.9944. Our findings suggest that for predicting flight delays, the BiLSTM model utilises the advantages of the bidirectional hidden sequences and the deep neural network for exploitation and exploration of best performance given a high accuracy, precision, recall and F1-Score results. Hence, we can recommend the BiLSTM in developing a decision support system for flight delays and related applications

Mobility and safety issues in drivers with dementia

ABSTRACTAlthough automobiles remain the mobility method of choice for older adults, late-life cognitive impairment and progressive dementia will eventually impair the ability to meet transport needs of many. There is, however, no commonly utilized method of assessing dementia severity in relation to driving, no consensus on the specific types of assessments that should be applied to older drivers with cognitive impairment, and no gold standard for determining driving fitness or approaching loss of mobility and subsequent counseling. Yet, clinicians are often called upon by patients, their families, health professionals, and driver licensing authorities to assess their patients’ fitness-to-drive and to make recommendations about driving privileges. We summarize the literature on dementia and driving, discuss evidenced-based assessments of fitness-to-drive, and outline the important ethical and legal concerns. We address the role of physician assessment, referral to neuropsychology, functional screens, dementia severity tools, driving evaluation clinics, and driver licensing authority referrals that may assist clinicians with an evaluation. Finally, we discuss mobility counseling (e.g. exploration of transportation alternatives) since health professionals need to address this important issue for older adults who lose the ability to drive. The application of a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach to the older driver with cognitive impairment will have the best opportunity to enhance our patients’ social connectedness and quality of life, while meeting their psychological and medical needs and maintaining personal and public safety.</jats:p

Topographical mapwork in geographical education

Topographical mapwork has a strong position in the syllabi and examinations in second-level education in the Republic of Ireland. It has not been the subject of any research, however, so a questionnaire survey of geography teachers was undertaken to investigate aspects of its nature and problems. It receives less teaching time and resources than its role in assessment might suggest. Mapwork was considered to be comparatively easy to learn, relative to other sections and skills in the syllabi, but considerable differences in the level of difficulty of various topics within mapwork were perceived. Problems in teaching and learning topographical mapwork are discussed

ESTIMATING THE EFFECT OF TAXATION ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF SIERRA LEONE USING A TIME SERIES ANALYSIS

This study delves into the impact of taxation on the economic growth of Sierra Leone, aiming to establish a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between taxation and the country's economic trajectory. Employing time series data spanning from 1995 to 2022, the study utilizes the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) framework for analysis. Unit root analysis reveals that certain variables remain stable at levels, while others achieve stability at their first difference. The bound test cointegration results affirm the presence of cointegration, indicating a long-term relationship between taxation and economic growth in Sierra Leone. The study highlights the overall significance of explanatory variables in explaining Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The coefficient of determination indicates that 77.37 percent of GDP variation is explained by indirect taxes, other taxes, interest rates, and foreign direct investment. Notably, the coefficient of indirect taxes demonstrates a negative and statistically significant influence on short-term economic growth in Sierra Leone. In contrast, interest rates exhibit positive and individually significant effects on short-term economic growth. The findings suggest that indirect taxes in Sierra Leone stimulate consumption but reduce savings. Consequently, policymakers are urged to prioritize enhancing international relations to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and promote export activities, thereby bolstering export revenue and fostering economic growth. JEL: O11, O23, H20, H22, C22, F21, E62  Article visualizations

Advanced glycation endproduct-specific receptors in rat and mouse osteoblast-like cells: regulation with stages of differentiation

Advanced glycation endproducts have been implicated in the development of diabetic complications. In addition, these products could also mediate certain bone alterations such as diabetic osteopenia. Several receptors specific for advanced glycation endproduct-modified proteins have been characterized in different cell types, contributing to the recognition and degradation of senescent proteins. In the present report, we investigated the possible presence of advanced glycation endproduct-binding proteins on osteoblast-like cells. Both UMR106 and MC3T3E1 cell lines express specific advanced glycation endproduct-binding sites, with an affinity constant between 0.4 and 1.7. 10(6) M(-1), depending on the stage of osteoblastic differentiation; and with a receptor capacity of 1.5-2.0. 10(7) sites/cell. Osteoblast-like cells were also found to participate both in the uptake and degradation of advanced glycation endproduct-modified bovine serum albumin at 37 degrees C. Radiolabelled ligand blotting studies confirmed the presence of several membrane binding proteins, with apparent molecular masses of 50, 45-40, 30, 25 and 18 kDa; the major bands corresponded to 30 and 25 kDa proteins. This study provides evidence of the presence of advanced glycation endproduct-specific binding sites, and for their regulation with the stage of differentiation, in two osteoblast-like cells in culture.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta

Beyond the Marrakesh VIP Treaty: Typology of copyright access-enabling provisions for persons with disabilities

This paper builds upon the evidence drawn from a scoping study on access to copyright works by persons with disabilities. It identifies and discusses specific access‐enabling technologies for persons with aural, cognitive, physical, and visual disabilities and how they are affected by the exercise of exclusive rights. It shows how, and the extent to which states\u27 ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled (Marrakesh Treaty) has enabled the making of accessible format of copyright works for persons with disabilities. To this end, the paper examines patterns and trends of accessible format enabling provisions in the copyright laws of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member states