Search Results (91)

Epidemiological data show racial and ethnic differences exist in breast cancer morbidity and mortality amongst Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Hispanic populations, with non-white females experiencing earlier age at diagnosis, more aggressive breast cancer subtypes and advanced cancer stages, and earlier mortality than white females. However, the current Canadian breast cancer screening guidelines recommend biannual screening for all females starting from age 50 to age 74 and suggest not to screen individuals aged 40–49. In May 2024, the Canadian Task Force for Preventative Health released updated draft breast cancer screening guidelines, maintaining such recommendations for screening. Both the existing and the proposed guidelines fail to account for the unique cancer burden amongst racialized populations in Canada and risk further perpetuation of existing racial and ethnic disparities by underscreening racialized females. This commentary will present data regarding racial disparities in cancer burden, highlighting the role social and biological factors play in impacting cancer risk and age of disease and presenting perspectives from stakeholder groups reflecting the impacts of current screening guidelines. Ultimately, we critique the current “one-size-fits-all” approach to breast cancer screening in Canada, emphasizing the need for adapted screening practices with the understanding that the current approaches overlook the needs of racialized Canadian populations. Full article

Saline-alkali soil has the characteristics of high density, high firmness and poor permeability. Aiming at the problems of shallow subsoiling depth, large subsoiling specific resistance and small soil bulkiness in subsoiling operation in saline-alkali soil, this paper establishes a mathematical model of the specific resistance of a broken line subsoiler and uses genetic algorithm and the discrete element method to optimize the structure design of the subsoiler. Firstly, the mathematical model was developed by analyzing the force of the subsoiler in the working process. The genetic algorithm was used to solve the problem, and three geometric models of the broken line subsoilers were fitted. Then, EDEM software was used to simulate this, and the tillage performance was evaluated with draft force, soil disturbance area, subsoiling specific resistance and soil bulkiness as the indexes and verified by field experiment. The results showed that the subsoiling specific resistance of the three broken line subsoilers was significantly lower than that of the standard subsoiler in the simulation test. Compared to the standard subsoiler, the soil disturbance area of the broken line subsoiler-B increased by 12%, the draft force decreased by 19%, the subsoiling specific resistance decreased by 26% and the bulkiness increased by 6%. The field experiment results showed that the broken line subsoiler-B reduced the traction force and improved the tillage efficiency compared to the standard subsoiler, which was consistent with the analysis results of EDEM. The broken line subsoiler can effectively enhance the quality of cultivated land. Full article

Background/Objectives: Using advanced methodologies may enhance athlete profiling. This study profiled morphological and laboratory-derived performance biomechanics by position of American-style football players training for the draft. Methods: Fifty-five players were categorized into three groups: Big (e.g., lineman; n = 17), Big–skill (e.g., tight end; n = 11), and Skill (e.g., receiver; n = 27). Body fat (BF%), lean body mass (LBM), and total body mass were measured using a bioelectrical impedance device. Running ground reaction force (GRF) and ground contact time (GCT) were obtained using an instrumented treadmill synchronized with a motion capture system. Dual uniaxial force plates captured countermovement jump height (CMJ-JH), normalized peak power (CMJ-NPP), and reactive strength. Asymmetry was calculated for running force, GCT, and CMJ eccentric and concentric impulse (IMP). MANOVA determined between-group differences, and radar plots for morphological and performance characteristics were created using Z-scores. Results: There was a between-group difference (F(26,80) = 5.70, p < 0.001; Wilk’s Λ = 0.123, partial η² = 0.649). Fisher’s least squares difference post hoc analyses showed that participants in the Skill group had greater JH, CMJ-NPP, reactive strength, and running GRF values versus Big players but not Big–skill players (p < 0.05). Big athletes had greater BF%, LBM, total body mass, and GCT values than Skill and Big–skill athletes (p < 0.05). Big–skill players had greater GCT asymmetry than Skill and Big players (p < 0.05). Asymmetries in running forces, CMJ eccentric, and concentric IMP were not different (p > 0.05). Morphological and performance biomechanics differences are pronounced between Skill and Big players. Big–skill players possess characteristics from both groups. Laboratory-derived metrics offer precise values of running and jumping force strategies and body composition that can aid sports science researchers and practitioners in refining draft trainee profiles. Full article

Accurate measurement of slip rate (SR) in agricultural tractors, particularly in Iraq, is essential for optimizing tractive efficiency, fuel economy, and field efficiency. Presently, tractors in Iraq lack sensors for SR detection, posing a challenge. This research addresses the issue by introducing a wireless technology, the novel digital slippage system (NDSS), designed to precisely measure the SR of rear wheels. The NDSS was tested across diverse field conditions, involving six soil textures and various kinds of agricultural tillage equipment (A-TE). Different tillage practices, including conservational tillage (CT) with a chisel plough, traditional tillage (TT) with a moldboard plough and disc plough, and minimum tillage (MT) using disc harrowing and spring tooth harrowing, were examined. Results from the NDSS were compared to traditional techniques, demonstrating the cost effectiveness and overall performance. Silty loam soil exhibited higher SR values, while the silty clay soil showed lower values. SR varied significantly across soil textures, with more cohesive soils leading to reduced SR percentages. Additionally, tillage methods had a marked influence on SR values. The use of CT resulted in higher SR values of 18.35% compared to TT and MT systems, which recorded lower SR values of 13.69% and 6.03%, respectively. SR measurements were also found to be affected by the draft force during the loading of A-TE, emphasizing the role of operational conditions in tractor performance, especially in challenging field environments. Comparison between NDSS and traditional techniques revealed that the NDSS offered high accuracy, flexibility, configurability, and consistent performance. The NDSS demonstrated superior precision, making it an effective tool for assessing SR in agricultural tractors. Full article

Expanding waste-to-energy (WtE) facilities is difficult, and with tightening incineration regulations, improvements in WtE facility operations are required to dispose of waste that is increasing by an average of 4.8% annually. To achieve this, an intelligent combustion control (ICC) system was studied using digital technologies such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence to improve the operation of WtE facilities. The ICC system in this study is composed of three modules: perception, decision, and control. Perception: collecting and visualizing digital data on the operating status of WtE facilities; Decision: using AI to propose optimal operation methods; Control: automatically controlling the WtE facility according to the AI-suggested optimization methods. The ICC system was applied to the “G” WtE facility, a solid waste WtE facility operating in Gyeonggi province, Republic of Korea, and the digital data collected over six months showed high quality, with low delay and a data loss rate of only 0.12%. Additionally, in January 2024, the ICC system was used to automatically control the second forced draft fan and induced draft fan over a four-day period. As a result, the incinerator flue gas temperature decreased by 0.66%, steam flow rate improved by 2.41%, power generation increased by 3.09%, CO emissions were reduced by 60.72%, and NOx emissions decreased by 7.33%. Future research will expand the ICC system to include the automatic control of the first forced draft fan and the operation time of the stoker. Full article

Floating breakwaters (FBs) are frequently used to protect marinas, fisheries, or other bodies of water subject to wave attacks of moderate intensity. New forms of FBs are frequently introduced and investigated in the literature as a consequence of technological advancements. In particular, a new possibility is offered by High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) by extruding pipes of large diameters (e.g., 2.5 m in diameter) and with virtually no limit in length (hundreds of meters). By connecting two or three such pipes in a vertical layout, a novel low-cost floating breakwater with deep draft is devised. This note investigates numerically and experimentally the efficiency of this type of multi-cylindrical FBs in evaluating different geometries and aims at finding design guidelines. Due to the extraordinary length of the breakwater, the investigation is carried out in two dimensions. The 2D numerical model is based on the solution of the rigid body motion in the frequency domain, where the hydrodynamic forces are evaluated (thanks to a linear potential flow model), and the mooring forces do not include dynamic effects nor drag on the lines. The numerical predictions are compared to the results of a 1:10 scale experimental investigation. An atypical shape of the wave transmission ($k_t$) curve is found, with a very low minimum in correspondence with the heave resonance frequency. The results essentially point out the influence of the position of the gravity center, the stiffness, and the mutual distance among cylinders on $k_t$. Full article

Elastic yarns are the key component of high-performance compression garments. However, it remains a challenge to fabricate anti-fatigue yarns with high mechanical force and long elongation for generating compression garments with prolonged wear. In this paper, we report the development of anti-fatigue double-wrapped yarns with excellent mechanical properties by wrapping high-denier Spandex with nylon filaments in opposite twists. In particular, high-denier (560 D) Spandex as the core was untwisted, which can maximally reduce the interaction between the core and wrapping filaments, enabling high elongation of double-wrapped yarns. In addition, we chose 70 D nylon filaments with a tensile force of 3.87 ± 0.09 N as the wrapping materials to provide sufficient force for double-wrapped yarns. Notably, opposite twists were induced for the inner and outer wrapping filaments to achieve a balanced stable yarn structure. By systematically optimizing manufacturing parameters, including inner wrapping density, outer wrapping density, take-up ratio, and drafting ratio, we obtained double-wrapped yarn with excellent tensile stress (32.59 ± 0.82 MPa) and tensile strain (357.28% ± 9.10%). Notably, the stress decay rate of optimized yarns was only 12.0% ± 2.2%. In addition, the optimized yarn was used as the weft-lining yarn for generating weft-lined fabrics. The elastic recovery rate of the obtained fabric was decreased by only 2.6% after five cyclic stretches, much lower than the control fabric. Our design of anti-fatigue double-wrapped yarns could be widely used for fabricating high-performance compression garments. Full article

To alleviate soil compaction, subsoiling practices using subsoiler implements are commonly implemented. However, subsoiler bodies are subjected to great draft forces because they work deep in the soil. Therefore, to contribute to draft force reduction, in this work, a bio-inspired attack edge for a subsoiler body based on the internal and external contour lines of the claws of the Mexican ground squirrel (Spermophilus mexicanus) is proposed. As a first step, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling was used to select the best bionic subsoiler (BS) according to the draft force requirements. Then, the BS was fabricated and field-evaluated, and its real draft force during tillage was contrasted with those of a curve subsoiler (CS) and a straight subsoiler (SS). The field evaluation demonstrated that the BS demands, on average, $12.37\%$ and $22.25\%$ less draft force than the CS and SS, respectively. Additionally, the BS was better at entering the soil since its mean tillage depths were $24.86\%$ and $5.73\%$ higher than those of the SS and CS geometries, respectively. Therefore, it was found that modeling the attacking edge of a subsoiler body after the Mexican ground squirrel clearly reduced the draft force during tillage. Full article

The article presents factors influencing the germination and development of plants after seeding with disk seeders. Schemes of improved two-disk seeders are proposed, forces acting on the improved seeder during operation, determination of the maximum distance between the seeder disks at the field surface level, and calculation schemes for determining the draft resistance of the serial and improved seeders, the area of the flat disk segment of the seeder, determination of the deformer, and tailstock area of the pressing plate. During the theoretical study of the seeding process, the following parameters and observations were obtained: analytical dependencies of soil density created by the pressing plate; geometric parameters of the pressing plate with a curvature radius r = 52…57 mm, plate section thickness of 2.5 mm; installation of the pressing plate insignificantly increases the draft resistance of the seeder; and the depth of the seeder’s travel has the greatest influence on spring deformation. Experimental studies reveal that the stiffness of the pressing plate is 7500…7600 N/m, ensuring an optimal furrow bottom density of 1.1–1.3 g/cm³; in the range of seed embedding depth of 0.05…0.07 m, 89% of the total number of seeds are placed compared to 76% of seeds embedded by the serial seeder. Full article

The effect of coating a flat blade surface with titanium nitride nano coatings (TiN), nano tantalum carbide (TaC), Fiberglass (Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer) (GFRP), Galvanized Steel (GAS), and St37 (SST37) was investigated in order to decrease the adhesion of soil on tilling tools, external friction and, ultimately, the draft force. The soil tank, which was filled with soil of the desired conditions, was pulled on the bearing on the rail. A S-shaped load cell was used to measure the draft force. Tests were conducted at a distance of 2 m and speeds of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 m·s⁻¹ at a depth of 10 cm. A model based on input factors, including blade travel speed, rake angle, and cohesion and adhesion of soil–blade, was developed in an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), and draft force was the output parameter. To verify the performance of the developed model using ANFIS, a relative error(ε) of 6.1% and coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.956 were computed. It was found that blades coated with Nano (TiN-TaC), due to its hydrophobic surface, flatness, and self-cleaning properties, have considerable ability to decrease adhesion in wet soils and showed a linear relationship with draft force reduction. Full article

When heating units are operated in winter, the extreme conditions, such as deep peak regulation and large extraction, can easily lead to a low unit load and severe icing in the wet cooling tower, which threatens the safe operation of the unit. Therefore, it is necessary to study the anti-freezing characteristics of the wet cooling tower. In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical model of a high-level, natural draft wet cooling tower is developed based on the constant heat load method. The influence of withdrawing a certain percentage of circulating water into the bypass on the cooling performance and anti-freezing characteristics of the high-level, natural draft wet cooling tower is investigated. The results show that as the percentage of circulating water bypass extraction increases, the temperature drop of circulating water in the tower continues to increase, but the lowest and the average water temperatures at the bottom of the packing continue to decrease. At the same time, the amount of circulating water entering the tower decreases, the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the tower under the same environmental conditions decreases, and the pumping force of the cooling tower decreases. If the circulating water bypass extraction percentage is less than 10%, it can prevent the circulating water from freezing at the bottom of the packing and, at the same time, try to reduce the temperature of the circulating water entering the condenser to ensure the efficiency of the unit. Full article

Pump-turbines experience complex flow phenomena and fluid–structure interactions during transient operations, which can significantly impact their stability and performance. This paper presents a comprehensive field test study of the pump mode startup process for a 150 MW prototype pump-turbine. By analyzing pressure fluctuations, structural vibrations, and their short-time Fourier transform (STFT) results, multiple stages were identified, each exhibiting distinct characteristics. These characteristics were influenced by factors such as runner rotation, free surface sloshing in the draft tube, and rotor–stator interactions. The natural frequencies of the metallic components varied during the speed-up and water-filling stages, potentially due to gyroscopic effects or stress-stiffening phenomena. The opening of the guide vanes and dewatering valve inside the guide vanes significantly altered the amplitude of the rotor–stator interaction frequency, transitioning the vibration behavior from forced to self-excited regimes. Interestingly, the draft tube pressure fluctuations exhibited sloshing frequencies that deviated from existing prediction methods. The substantial phenomena observed in this study can help researchers in the field to deepen the understanding of the complex behavior of pump-turbines during transient operations and identify more meaningful research directions. Full article

A specialized hoe opener was engineered for no-till systems to apply substantial amounts of wheat seeds and granular fertilizers, effectively suppressing early stage weeds. This distinctive hoe opener plants wheat seeds within a 120 mm wide horizontal band, positioning granular fertilizers precisely at the band’s center, all accomplished in a single pass. Notably, the design excels at covering the fertilizer with soil aggregates, compacting it through a wheat separator, and concurrently depositing wheat seeds from above. Our primary research objectives centered on achieving a consistent seedbed post-fertilizer application and ensuring a uniform distribution of wheat seeds within the horizontal band. The DEM (Discrete Element Method) was exploited to optimize the hoe opener’s parameters. Through extensive simulations and comparisons with experimental outcomes, an optimal wing orifice AB length of 60 mm was identified, effectively covering granular fertilizers with soil aggregates and achieving compaction through the wheat separator. Furthermore, parameters of the wheat seed separator’s hump were fine-tuned using the Box–Behnken algorithm, resulting in an optimal dimension of 40 mm for the top radius (A), 140 degrees for the top angle (B), and 90 mm for the bottom length (C). Full article

In this study, crank-locker kinematic equations were used to analyze the three-point hitch behavior when the dynamometer was connected to the work machine. The dynamometer was statically tested with a hydraulic actuator, and the accuracy of the three-way force and the moment was confirmed to be 96–99%. The calibrated dynamometer was put to the test on a real farm field, and data were collected using a data acquisition system. Using the transport pitch correction equation, the collected data can be transformed into more realistic data. International standards were used to determine the point of connection between the tractor, dynamometer, and implement. The results of this study made it possible to accurately measure force and moment, which will have an important role in future agricultural technologies such as autonomous agricultural operation. Full article

The optimization design of the double-layered material tank is essential to improve the material mixing efficiency and quality in chemical engineering and lithium battery production. The draft tube structure and double-layered impellers affect the flow patterns of the fluid–solid transfer process, and its flow pattern recognition faces significant challenges. This paper presents a fluid–solid mixing transfer modeling method using the CFD-DEM coupling solution method to analyze flow pattern evolution regularities. A porous-based interphase coupling technology solved the interphase force and could be used to acquire accurate particle motion trajectories. The effect mechanism of fluid–solid transfer courses in the double-layered mixing tank with a draft tube can be obtained by analyzing key features, including velocity distribution, circulation flows, power, and particle characteristics. The research results illustrate that the draft tube structure creates two major circulations in the mixing transfer process and changes particle and vortex flow patterns. The circulating motion of the double-layered impellers strengthens the overall fluid circulation, enhances the overall mixing efficiency of the fluid medium, and reduces particle deposition. Numerical results can offer technical guidance for the chemical extraction course and lithium battery slurry mixing. Full article