Framework development and application in waste generation prediction

He, R., Sandoval-reyes, M., Scott, I., Semeano, R., Ferrão, P., Matthews, S., & Small, M. J. (2022). Global knowledge base for municipal solid waste management: Framework development and application in waste generation prediction. Journal of Cleaner Production, 377(December), 1-11. [134501]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134501--- This research is supported by the Mao Yisheng Fellowship of Carnegie Mellon University to Rui He, and through the CMU-Portugal project “Bee2Waste Crypto” (IDT-COP 45933). The authors would like to thank other members of the Bee2Waste Crypto project consortium for their support and inputs to this paper.Increasing municipal solid waste (MSW) generation has become not only a major sustainability challenge and a considerable financial burden for municipalities across the globe, but also an opportunity to promote a circular economy, provided adequate information is made available. Data and information on MSW generation, characterization, and management practices are prerequisites to studying and optimizing solid waste management systems (SWMS). However, such data and information are usually dispersed, unsystematized, and suffering from various availability and quality issues. This study aims to assemble and provide access to the current landscape of MSW data by establishing a comprehensive framework for understanding the interconnectedness of various sub-domains of MSW knowledge. Existing databases and governmental reports were reviewed to compile 1720 records of MSW generation, composition, management practices, and socioeconomic contexts for 219 countries and 410 cities. Multivariate linear regression and additive models were built to relate MSW generation, composition, and recovery rates to demographics, economic development, and climate patterns of cities and regions. These models generate new insights into the complex nature of SWMS and provide an evidence-based decision-making tool to future researchers and policy makers. Specifically, economic development (GDP), density factors (population, population density, and household size), sustainability initiatives, education, and regulation are all identified as positive drivers toward the targets of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.publishersversionpublishersversionpublishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Altered hippocampal function in major depression despite intact structure and resting perfusion

Background: Hippocampal volume reductions in major depression have been frequently reported. However, evidence for functional abnormalities in the same region in depression has been less clear. We investigated hippocampal function in depression using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and neuropsychological tasks tapping spatial memory function, with complementing measures of hippocampal volume and resting blood flow to aid interpretation. Method: A total of 20 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and a matched group of 20 healthy individuals participated. Participants underwent multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): fMRI during a spatial memory task, and structural MRI and resting blood flow measurements of the hippocampal region using arterial spin labelling. An offline battery of neuropsychological tests, including several measures of spatial memory, was also completed. Results: The fMRI analysis showed significant group differences in bilateral anterior regions of the hippocampus. While control participants showed task-dependent differences in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal, depressed patients did not. No group differences were detected with regard to hippocampal volume or resting blood flow. Patients showed reduced performance in several offline neuropsychological measures. All group differences were independent of differences in hippocampal volume and hippocampal blood flow. Conclusions: Functional abnormalities of the hippocampus can be observed in patients with MDD even when the volume and resting perfusion in the same region appear normal. This suggests that changes in hippocampal function can be observed independently of structural abnormalities of the hippocampus in depression

Printed Nanostructures for Organic Photovoltaic Cells and Solution‐Processed Polymer Light‐Emitting Diodes

We review the progress on printing‐based technologies for organic electronic devices, especially organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells and polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs). First we discuss recent efforts to introduce interdigitated nanostructures on the order of tens of nanometers to the photoactive layers of OPV cells using nanoimprint lithography including a soft‐printing process developed in our research group that can easily produce sub‐20 nm scale organic semiconductor nanopillars. Second, we review solution‐processible printing technologies such as gravure printing, screen printing, blade coating, and slot–die coating for high‐throughput manufacturing of PLEDs.Illuminating results: This article reviews the progress on printing‐based technologies for organic electronic devices, especially organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells and polymer light‐emitting diodes (PLEDs), including solution‐processible printing technologies such as gravure printing, screen printing, blade coating, and slot–die coating for high‐throughput manufacturing.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111088/1/340_ftp.pd

Algorithms for flows over time with scheduling costs

Flows over time have received substantial attention from both an optimization and (more recently) a game-theoretic perspective. In this model, each arc has an associated delay for traversing the arc, and a bound on the rate of flow entering the arc; flows are time-varying. We consider a setting which is very standard within the transportation economic literature, but has received little attention from an algorithmic perspective. The flow consists of users who are able to choose their route but also their departure time, and who desire to arrive at their destination at a particular time, incurring a scheduling cost if they arrive earlier or later. The total cost of a user is then a combination of the time they spend commuting, and the scheduling cost they incur. We present a combinatorial algorithm for the natural optimization problem, that of minimizing the average total cost of all users (i.e., maximizing the social welfare). Based on this, we also show how to set tolls so that this optimal flow is induced as an equilibrium of the underlying game

Usage Bibliometrics

Scholarly usage data provides unique opportunities to address the known shortcomings of citation analysis. However, the collection, processing and analysis of usage data remains an area of active research. This article provides a review of the state-of-the-art in usage-based informetric, i.e. the use of usage data to study the scholarly process.Comment: Publisher's PDF (by permission). Publisher web site: books.infotoday.com/asist/arist44.shtm

Light-Soaking-Free Inverted Polymer Solar Cells with an Efficiency of 10.5% by Compositional and Surface Modifications to a Low-Temperature-Processed TiO2 Electron-Transport Layer.

Compositional modification and surface treatments of a TiO2 film prepared by a low-temperature route are carried out by a new promising method. Inverted polymer solar cells incorporating the post-treated TiO2 :TOPD electron-transport layer achieve the highest efficiency of 10.5%, and more importantly, eliminate the light-soaking problem that is commonly observed in metal-oxide-based inverted polymer solar cells