Search Results (13)

Evolutionary algorithms are extensively used to solve optimisation problems. However, it is important to consider and reduce their energy consumption, bearing in mind that programming languages also significantly affect energy efficiency. This research work compares the execution of four frameworks—ParadisEO (C++), ECJ (Java), DEAPand Inspyred (Python)—running on two different architectures: a laptop and a server. The study follows a design that combines three population sizes ($2^6$, $2^{10}$, $2^{14}$ individuals) and three crossover probabilities ($0.01$; $0.2$; $0.8$) applied to four benchmarks (OneMax, Sphere, Rosenbrock and Schwefel). This work makes a relevant methodological contribution by providing a consistent implementation of the metric $\eta =fitness/kWh$. This metric has been systematically applied in four different frameworks, thereby setting up a standardized and replicable protocol for the evaluation of the energy efficiency of evolutionary algorithms. The CodeCarbon software was used to estimate energy consumption, which was measured using RAPL counters. This unified metric also indicates the algorithmic productivity. The experimental results show that the server speeds up the number of generations by a factor of approximately $2.5$, but the energy consumption increases four- to sevenfold. Therefore, on average, the energy efficiency of the laptop is five times higher. The results confirm the following conclusions: the computer power does not guarantee sustainability, and population size is a key factor in balancing quality and energy. Full article

The eastern coasts of Korea (ECK) and Japan (ECJ) are located at the southernmost limit of walleye pollock distribution in the Northwest Pacific. Following the climate regime shift (CRS) in the late 1980s, pollock catches in these regions have declined sharply, with different trends emerging. This study examined the relationship between environmental factors, such as sea surface temperature (SST) and habitat suitability, and changes in pollock catches from the late 1980s to 2022. From the late 1980s to the late 1990s, El Niño and positive Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) phases dominated, increasing SST in the ECK and ECJ habitats and rapidly decreasing catches. Although spawning grounds (SGs) have maintained high habitat suitability, nursery ground (NG) suitability has declined. From the late 1990s to 2022, La Niña and negative PDO phases prevailed, with SST continuing to rise along the ECK, further reducing catches. SG suitability remained high, but NG suitability declined. Along the ECJ, SST decreased after the late-1990s CRS, stabilizing catches. After the mid-2010s, the SST increased along the ECJ, reducing pollock catches, although SG suitability remained high. This study elucidates SST changes during early life stages and their effects on pollock catch, habitat, and resources in future marine environments. Full article

Healthcare facilities (HCFs) are complex building structures that are becoming more challenging with ever-changing codes and regulations. Previously completed projects become a basis for future guidance regarding costs and scope. A robust normalization framework to assess previously completed projects with today’s costs and location will benefit various stakeholders. The current study provides a complete picture for normalizing the overall project cost and phase cost by life cycle and HCF cost elements. This study aims to develop a cost normalization approach tailored to HCF-specific cost elements to extend the normalization framework for the overall project cost. Further, the researchers developed a distinct framework for normalizing the effect of shell space on the normalization of Total Installed Cost (TIC) to establish fixed cost adjustment rates for cold and warm shell spaces in HCFs, which can increase the accuracy of cost normalization of the overall project cost. This study identified an appropriate set of cost indices for normalizing HCF cost elements using publicly available indices. The cost elements identified for normalization included HCF-specific and Construction Specifications Institute Master Format (CSIMF) cost elements for assigning individual normalization procedures. This study provides individual and unique approaches for normalizing all identified cost elements, such as mechanical, concrete, etc. The initial framework was evaluated through a case study analysis that developed into the proposed approach built upon the collaborative efforts of academic researchers and industry experts. This study introduced shell space cost adjustment rates for warm and cold shell spaces to further develop a space normalization framework. This paper addresses the challenges of normalizing HCF project costs using the breakdown of HCF cost elements. Moreover, the paper provides the HCF’s overall cost normalization approach, emphasizing cost elements that allow accurate comparisons between various HCFs for early scope and cost guidance. Full article

In addition to climate change, the current war in Ukraine has highlighted the urgency of a rapid transformation to post-fossility. This paper analyses the much-lamented negative climate policy and energy transition impacts of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in international law, a treaty that serves as a basis for the compensation claims of fossil fuel companies in response to losses incurred because of climate policy measures. Methodologically, a legal interpretation is conducted, i.e., the ECT is interpreted grammatically and systematically. It is shown that, with a revised legal interpretation of the ECT, such claims usually cannot be upheld at all, except in the case of direct expropriations. This is further underlined by a legal interpretation of the ECT based on the Paris Agreement and on international human rights law. The arbitral ECT tribunals would therefore have to dismiss claims and if they do not do so then, for example, EU member states could take action against such verdicts of the arbitral tribunals before the ECJ. Even if all of this was to be disputed, there are also considerable possibilities for the contracting states to subsequently exclude claims for compensation. Nevertheless, there are a lot of arguments in favour of a comprehensive reform of the treaty. However, to do so as currently planned, with transitional periods, is not sufficient. Full article

Genome-edited crops are on the verge of being placed on the market and their agricultural and food products will thus be internationally traded soon. National regulations, however, diverge regarding the classification of genome-edited crops. Major countries such as the US and Brazil do not specifically regulate genome-edited crops, while in the European Union, they fall under GMO legislation, according to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). As it is in some cases impossible to analytically distinguish between products from genome-edited plants and those from non-genome-edited plants, EU importers may fear the risk of violating EU legislation. They may choose not to import any agricultural and food products based on crops for which genome-edited varieties are available. Therefore, crop products of which the EU is currently a net importer would become more expensive in the EU, and production would intensify. Furthermore, an intense substitution of products covered and not covered by genome editing would occur in consumption, production, and trade. We analyzed the effects of such a cease of EU imports for cereals and soy in the EU agricultural sector with the comparative static agricultural sector equilibrium model CAPRI. Our results indicate dramatic effects on agricultural and food prices as well as on farm income. The intensification of EU agriculture may result in negative net environmental effects in the EU as well as in an increase in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This suggests that trade effects should be considered when developing domestic regulation for genome-edited crops. Full article

This article examines the extent to which the inclusion of the European Union (EU) Charter of Fundamental Rights in the Treaty of Lisbon, which gives legal force to socio-economic rights as well as civil and political rights, will succeed in helping EU member states meet international treaty obligations to implement socio-economic rights. Will the EU’s renewed commitment to developing the social sphere, post-Brexit, be more successful and will British citizens lose out on so-cio-economic rights in the long term if the EU succeeds in creating a better social or public dimension? Member states of the EU that have ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) have obligations to progressively realise economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights. Progress on this has been slow and potentially made more difficult by the economic direction adopted by the EU since the 1980s. Although the EU, from the beginning, saw itself as a “social market” it struggled to embed the “social” to the same extent that it embedded the “market”. Critics argue that the economic policies of the EU and key judgements of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) successfully dis-embedded the market from its social context. Additionally, the regulatory regime of the EU developed in a direction that limited the capacity of nation states to ameliorate the consequences of market-led policies for the least advantaged. However, the Charter of Rights, which places socio-economic rights on an equal footing with civil and political rights, is a novel and bold initiative. It has stimulated debate on whether the Charter could rebalance the EU’s economic agenda by paying attention to the social consequences of predominantly market-led policies. This paper examines the potential impact of the EU Charter, in the context of member states international human rights obligations, to create an environment where member states of the EU have fewer obstacles to the “progressive realization” of ESC rights. Full article

This article studies the hidden blemishes of two benchmark rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In 2015 and 2018, the ECJ approved two unconventional monetary instruments, among others ‘Outright Monetary Transactions’ and the ‘Public Sector Purchase Program’. Yet, there is a vigorous debate about both monetary operations in law and economics. In this interdisciplinary article, we address law and economic arguments in order to elucidate insights to the legal community. In particular, we elaborate on the legal implications of a variety of concerning issues such as public policy interference, effect on wealth redistribution, erosion of democratic legitimacy and lack of effectiveness of monetary policy. These topics remain disregarded in the ECJ rulings. Consequently, the verdicts do not identify the economic boundaries of the European Central Bank’s mandate appropriately. Full article

Central to EU law and policies is the protection of human rights. For the European Union (EU), these rights are sacrosanct. Over the years, more substance to the protection of fundamental rights emerged. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is notably entrusted with the protection of human rights and has always deemed it imperative that fundamental rights must be protected within the scope of EU law. The Court has always relied on strong European traditions and values and is guided by the inalienable principle of the rule of law. In the human rights record of the EU, the Kadi cases occupy a special place. The scope of the application of Article 46 is limited, and the application of the Charter is still not used to its full potential, and too few citizens are even aware of it. The Commission intends to present a strategy that would improve the use and awareness of the Charter. By the middle of 2020, the UK’s withdrawal from the EU had become acrimonious. One issue that still begs the conclusion is the status of and protection available to EU citizens living in the UK beyond 31 December 2020. These basic rights of its citizens are not negotiable for the EU. Full article

The main idea of article is that, even if EU has no competence in religious matters, what we can observe now is a creation of a very specific policy on religion. (1) Herein, I explain why the EU is interested in religion and how it is improving its competence with respect to it. Mostly, this is achieved by a transformation of religious matters into secular ones, falling under EU competences. I consider how the EU is treating religious matters in its primary and secondary law. Then, migration and accession policy are analyzed from the point of view of results for the religious structure of the European societies. Next, the issue of religion in the EU external policy is shortly studied as well as the impact of ECtHR and the European Court of Justice—ECJ jurisprudence on religious communities. Finally, we have a description of res novae in the EU approach to religion. The article adopts the Catholic perspective. This applies both to anthropology and to the institutional aspect. (2) The main methods used in the paper are analytical-synthetic and the analysis of legal texts. (3) We can justly talk about the EU policy on religion in statu nascendi. This policy is organized differently than at the nation-states level. (4) EU politicians need churches and religious communities to legitimize their political decisions and the integration process in general. They are tempted to “domesticate” religions and religious leaders and change religions from within. In this way, the political world subjugates the world of religion and takes control of it, which may result in a new kind of politics and legal resacralization. Full article

This paper describes the development of a method to assess the level of implementation of best productivity practices in the petrochemical industry. The proposed methodology focuses on construction, maintenance activities, shutdowns, and turnarounds. Its novelty and importance are emphasized by the lack of productivity studies that target these types of projects. This article reports the research methodology steps including tool development and detailed case study assessments of projects in Singapore. The approach involved the verification of best productivity practices and the development of an assessment method designed to fit the characteristics of petrochemical projects. The assessment points out productivity practices with low implementation levels and provides recommendations to increase their usage. The results showed that the level of implementation of productivity practices in the petrochemical projects investigated was 68.42%, out of a maximum score of 100%. Practices related to Material Management and Equipment Logistics received the lowest scores and recommendations on how to bridge this productivity practice implementation gap were provided. The adoption of the Best Productivity Practices Implementation Index (BPPII) as a Productivity management tool will help the petrochemical plants to improve productivity in their projects and to be resilient during the pre-planning phase. This should also allow the petrochemical industry to attract more investments and remain competitive in order to be sustainable. The identification and analysis of practices related to maintenance activities, shutdowns, and turnarounds of petrochemical plants will significantly contribute to the body of knowledge on best productivity practice. Full article

Tire–pavement interactions, like friction and rolling resistance, are significantly influenced by pavement macro-texture and micro-texture. Accurate texture measurement at the micro-texture level is vital to achieve the desired level of safety, comfort, and sustainability of the pavement. However, the existence of dropouts and spikes in the collected data is still inevitable based on current laser devices, which leads to erroneous texture characterization. This study utilized an advanced laser sensor to measure three-dimensional (3D) pavement texture at the micro-level at a given speed. Using a proposed interpolation method, the dropout areas in the raw measurements were filled up. Butterworth’s high-pass and low-pass filters were applied to separate two texture components from the profile. Based on a statistical analysis for the micro-texture amplitude, an appropriate threshold was determined in order to identify the spikes. A three-step-spike-removal method was proposed and found to be effective in clearing the spikes. The 3D pavement profiles were finally reconstructed without dropouts and spikes. Mean profile depth (MPD) was calculated with different baselines. It was found that the presence of spikes leads to a greater MPD value and the MPD is sensitive to the baseline length. A shorter baseline is recommended to mitigate the impact of spikes on the accuracy of the MPD. Full article

Background: In the European Union (EU), a medicinal product needs a marketing authorization (MA) to be placed on the market. The EU’s medicinal products’ legislative framework allows for a reduced application for medicines outside their data exclusivity. One such type of application is the well-established use (WEU) medicinal product application (i.e. bibliographic applications). Recently, these MA applications have been subject to arbitration procedures at the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) because of disagreements between member states during the authorisation process. This paper reflects on these cases and highlights their potential impact on future WEU applications. Methods: Decisions adopted by the European Commission on WEU applications between 2009 and 2012 were identified from the EU Community Register on medicinal products for human use. Subsequently, decisions were reviewed to understand the potential serious risk to public health (PSRPH) that EU regulators raised during MA application procedures. Results: Four decisions were adopted by the EU commission between 2009 and 2012. Three followed disagreements between member states on PSRPH authorisation application. Six key messages were identified from the four cases reviewed and presented. Conclusion: A guideline on WEU to implement the technical specifications to fulfil Annex I of Directive 2001/83/EC for MA applications is not available. Thus, reflections on recent decisions on WEU applications provide scientific direction to the industry as well as the medicinal product regulators on the documentation required to successfully file and obtain a WEU MA. Full article

Few European lawmakers have analyzed the implications of Muslim headscarf bans for equal employment opportunity. EU anti-discrimination directives suggest that contradictory member-state approaches will eventually invoke a judicial Community response at national expense. Drawing on the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) standard, this study compares the “judicial cultures” of the U.S. Supreme Court, the German Constitutional Court, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It argues that while the ECJ initially invoked Roman law precepts shared by a majority of its member-states through the 1980s, it has come to embrace Anglo-American norms stressing individual freedoms over state interests. Given their strong support for equal treatment and social inclusion, EU justices will be more likely than member-state or ECHR judges to overturn existing bans on hejab at the workplace, once such a case makes its way onto the ECJ docket. Full article