Real-time velocity optimization to minimize energy use in passenger vehicles

Energy use in internal combustion engine passenger vehicles contributes directly to CO 2 emissions and fuel consumption, as well as producing a number of air pollutants. Optimizing the vehicle velocity by utilising upcoming road information is an opportunity to minimize vehicle energy use without requiring mechanical design changes. Dynamic programming is capable of such an optimization task and is shown in simulation to produce fuel savings, on average 12%, compared to real driving data; however, in this paper it is also applied in real time on a Raspberry Pi, a low cost miniature computer, in situ in a vehicle. A test drive was undertaken with driver feedback being provided by a dynamic programming algorithm, and the results are compared to a simulated intelligent cruise control system that can follow the algorithm results precisely. An 8% reduction in fuel with no loss in time is reported compared to the test driver

A systematic review of the effects of prolonged cow-calf contact on behavior, welfare, and productivity

Separation of calves from cows within hours or days of birth is common on dairy farms. Stakeholders have conflicting perspectives on whether this is harmful or beneficial for the animals’ welfare and production. Our objective was to critically evaluate the scientific evidence for both acute and long-term effects of early separation versus an extended period of cow-calf contact. The outcomes investigated were the behavior, welfare (excluding physical health) and performance (milk yield and growth, respectively) of dairy cows and calves. Primary research papers were found through targeted Web of Science searches, the reference lists of recent reviews for each topic, and the reference lists of papers identified from these sources. Studies were included if they were published in English, the full text was accessible, and they compared treatments with and without contact between dairy cows and calves for a specified period. Early separation (within 24 h post-partum) was found to reduce acute distress responses of cows and calves. However, longer cow-calf contact typically had positive longer-term effects on calves, promoting more normal social behavior, reducing abnormal behavior and sometimes reducing responses to stressors. In terms of productivity, allowing cows to nurse calves generally decreased the volume of milk available for sale during the nursing period, but there was no consistent evidence of reduced milk production over a longer period. Allowing a prolonged period of nursing increased calf weight gains during the milk-feeding period. In summary, extended cow-calf contact aggravates the acute distress responses and reduces the amount of saleable milk while the calves are suckling, but can have positive effects on behaviors relevant to welfare in the longer term and benefit calf growth. The strength of these conclusions is limited, however, given that relatively few studies address most of these effects and that experimental design including timing of contact and observations are often inconsistent across studies. Few studies presented indicators of long-term welfare effects other than abnormal and social behavior of the calves

Young people’s awareness of the timing and placement of gambling advertising on traditional and social media platforms: a study of 11–16-year-olds in Australia

Background Research has demonstrated that the promotion of gambling, particularly within sport, may have a significant impact on positively shaping young people’s attitudes towards gambling. While some governments have implemented restrictions to limit young people’s exposure to gambling advertising, few studies have investigated where young people recall seeing gambling advertising, and whether they perceive that advertising restrictions have gone far enough in reducing exposure to these promotions. Method Mixed methods, interviewer-assisted surveys were conducted with n = 111 young people aged 11–16 years, who were self-reported fans of basketball in Victoria, Australia. Interviews were conducted at basketball stadiums between May and July 2018. The study assessed media viewing patterns; recall and awareness of the timing, placement, and content of gambling advertising; the impact of gambling advertising restrictions; and attitudes towards sporting organisations’ roles in the promotion of gambling. Results The majority of young people recalled seeing gambling advertising on television (n = 101, 91.0%), with most recalling advertising within sporting matches or games (n = 79, 71.2%). Most young people recalled seeing gambling advertising in the early evening before 8:30 pm (n = 75, 67.6%). Just over half of young people described seeing gambling advertisements on social media (n = 61, 55.0%), and over a third (n = 40, 36.0%) recalled gambling advertising on YouTube, predominantly before watching sporting or gaming videos. The majority stated that they continued to watch sport after 8:30 pm (n = 93, 83.7%), which is when restrictions on advertising in live sport in Australia end. The majority (n = 88, 79.3%) stated that there were too many gambling advertisements in sport. Three quarters believed that sporting codes should do more to prevent young people from being exposed to advertising for gambling in sport (n = 84, 75.7%). Conclusions There is now a clear body evidence that current regulatory systems for gambling advertising are ineffective, with further restrictions urgently needed across a range of media channels to prevent exposure to promotions that may encourage young people’s interest and involvement in gambling

Psychosocial Risk Factors in Disordered Gambling: A Descriptive Systematic Overview of Vulnerable Populations

Background: Gambling is a behaviour engaged in by millions of people worldwide; for some, gambling can become a severely maladaptive behaviour, and previous research has identified a wide range of psychosocial risk factors that can be considered important for the development and maintenance of disordered gambling. Although risk factors have been identified, the homogeneity of risk factors across specific groups thought to be vulnerable to disordered gambling is to date, unexplored. Methods: To address this, the current review sought to conduct a systematic overview of literature relating to seven vulnerable groups: young people and adolescents, older adults, women, veterans, indigenous peoples, prisoners, and low socio-economic/income groups. Results: Multiple risk factors associated with disordered gambling were identified; some appeared consistently across most groups, including being male, co-morbid mental and physical health conditions, substance use disorders, accessibility and availability of gambling, form and mode of gambling, and experience of trauma. Further risk factors were identified that were specific to each vulnerable group. Conclusion: Within the general population, certain groups are more vulnerable to disordered gambling. Although some risk factors are consistent across groups, some risk factors appear to be group specific. It is clear that there is no homogenous pathway in to disordered gambling, and that social, developmental, environmental and demographic characteristics can all interact to influence an individual’s relationship with gambling

Heating a Plasma to 100 Million Kelvin

In this work techniques for heating the fusion reactor ITER to thermonuclear temperatures, over 100 million kelvin, is investigated. The temperature is numerically computed for different heating configurations. The heat leakage is modeled to occur only via diffusion. The diffusion is assumed to be a combination of Bohm and gyro-Bohm diffusion. Basic conditions for a fusion reactor has been studied. The power needed for the different heat sources for the plasma to ignite is computed. Plots of the temperature profiles are included in the results together with plots showing the Q-value dependency on the power and the major radius

Heating a Plasma to 100 Million Kelvin

In this work techniques for heating the fusion reactor ITER to thermonuclear temperatures, over 100 million kelvin, is investigated. The temperature is numerically computed for different heating configurations. The heat leakage is modeled to occur only via diffusion. The diffusion is assumed to be a combination of Bohm and gyro-Bohm diffusion. Basic conditions for a fusion reactor has been studied. The power needed for the different heat sources for the plasma to ignite is computed. Plots of the temperature profiles are included in the results together with plots showing the Q-value dependency on the power and the major radius

Linnénätet i Blekinge

Linnénätet är tänkt att uppmärksamma historiskt intressanta växtlokaler och fokuserar på lokaler som varit kända sedan före 1850. Även om många av dem ingår i Floraväkteriet, så har det sig att flera av dessa inte är skyddade och några har inte ens varit uppmärksammade. Jan Thomas Johansson och Mariette Manktelow har startat detta projekt om historiska växtlokaler i Sverige, och här följer en presentation av de arter som bedöms som aktuella för Blekinge