Fused deposition modelling (FDM) is one of the mostly used additive technologies, due to its ability to produce complex parts with good mechanical properties. The selection of FDM process parameters is crucial to achieve good mechanical properties of the manufactured parts. Therefore, in this paper, a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach based on Preference Selection Index (PSI) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is proposed for the selection of optimal process parameters in FDM printing of polylactic acid (PLA) parts. Printing temperature, layer thickness and raster angle were considered as input process parameters. In order to prove the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid PSI – TOPSIS method, the obtained results were compared with the results obtained with different MCDM methods. The obtained best option of process parameters was confirmed by other MCDM methods. The optimal combination of process parameters to achieve the maximal flexural strength, maximal flexural modulus and maximal compressive strength is selected using the hybrid PSI-TOPSIS method. The results show that the hybrid PSI-TOPSIS approach could be used for optimisation process parameters for any machining process.

Maintaining component dimensions in metal injection molding (MIM) is difficult because of significant component shrinkage in the sintering step and shrinkage variation. Most of the shrinkage variation in MIM is due to density inhomogeneity in moldings (greens), induced in the injection molding step. Therefore, the focus of this research was to clarify the relationship between injection molding parameters and shrinkage of a ring-shaped component molded into a four-cavity split mold. Material used in research was Catamold 310N in the form of ready to mold granules. An experiment, according to a 2k factorial design, was performed to evaluate the effects of holding pressure profiling on shrinkage at different levels of coolant temperatures and fill rates. Results showed that the interaction of holding profile and coolant temperature has the most influence on the mean shrinkage. This finding offers a possibility to maintain the component dimensions in MIM by using the revealed interconnection between holding pressure profile and mean shrinkage.

Introduction Multi-shell diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (dMRI) data has been widely used to characterise white matter microstructure in several neurodegenerative diseases. The lack of standardised dMRI protocols often implies the acquisition of redundant measurements, resulting in prolonged acquisition times. In this study, we investigate the impact of the number of gradient directions on Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and on Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI) metrics. Methods Data from 124 healthy controls collected in three different longitudinal studies were included. Using an in-house algorithm, we reduced the number of gradient directions in each data shell. We estimated DTI and NODDI measures on six white matter bundles clinically relevant for neurodegenerative diseases. Results Fractional Anisotropy (FA) measures on bundles where data were sampled at the 30% rate, showed a median L1 distance of up to 3.92% and a 95% CI of (1.74, 8.97)% when compared to those obtained at reference sampling. Mean Diffusivity (MD) reached up to 4.31% and a 95% CI of (1.60, 16.98)% on the same premises. At a sampling rate of 50%, we obtained a median of 3.90% and a 95% CI of (1.99, 16.65)% in FA, and 5.49% with a 95% CI of (2.14, 21.68)% in MD. The Intra-Cellular volume fraction (ICvf) median L1 distance was up to 2.83% with a 95% CI of (1.98, 4.82)% at a 30% sampling rate and 3.95% with a 95% CI of (2.39, 7.81)% at a 50% sampling rate. The volume difference of the reconstructed white matter at reference and 50% sampling reached a maximum of (2.09 ± 0.81)%. Discussion In conclusion, DTI and NODDI measures reported at reference sampling were comparable to those obtained when the number of dMRI volumes was reduced by up to 30%. Close to reference DTI and NODDI metrics were estimated with a significant reduction in acquisition time using three shells, respectively with: 4 directions at a b value of 700 s/mm2, 14 at 1000 s/mm2, and 32 at 2000 s/mm2. The study revealed aspects that can be important for large-scale clinical studies on bundle-specific diffusion MRI.

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to assess neck-to-height ratio (NtHR) and its possible association with other anthropometric measures of obesity and blood pressure (BP) values in Bosnian university students stratified by new 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force hypertension (HT) guidelines.Methods: The present study included 417 subjects with median age 20 (19-21) years that were divided into normal BP, elevated BP, stage 1 HT, and stage 2 HT groups based on BP measurements using auscultatory methods. Standard anthropometric indices including neck circumference (NC) were measured. NtHR (cm/m) was calculated in each participant based on the NC and height. Differences between groups were assessed by Kruskal-Wallis followed by Man-Whitney test and correlations were determined by Spearman test.Results: The prevalence of elevated BP was 19.2%, stage 1 HT 21.6%, and stage 2 HT 11.0 %. NtHR was highest in the stage 2 HT group. NtHR correlated significantly with all anthropometric measures in all groups. No correlation between NtHR, systolic BP, and diastolic BP was found, except in the stage 1 HT group, where a significant correlation between NtHR and systolic BP was uncovered.Conclusions: Based on the observed correlations between NtHR and standard measures of obesity, NtHR could be included in clinical practice, since it is simple and does not induce discomfort. The high prevalence of elevated BP found in the present study suggests HT prevention requires the implementation of programs aimed at promoting healthy dietary habits, physical activity, as well as effective stress management and coping mechanisms.

Each year, millions of birds migrate nocturnally over the North Sea basin, an area designated for significant offshore wind energy development. Wind turbines can harm aerial wildlife through collisions and barrier effects, especially when birds fly at low altitudes below the wind turbine rotor tip. We aim to quantify seasonal and nightly differences in flight altitudes of nocturnal bird migration over the North Sea and identify how weather influences low‐altitude flight to inform wind turbine curtailment procedures for reducing bird fatalities. We used bird tracking radars at Borssele and Luchterduinen offshore wind parks, 22 and 23 km from the western Dutch coast, to monitor altitude distributions during migration. We show that median flight altitude was higher in spring compared to autumn at Borssele (spring: 285.5 m, autumn: 169.2 m; p < .001, effect size [ES] = 0.0001) and Luchterduinen (spring: 133.8 m, autumn: 126.0 m; p < .001, ES = 0.002) and below wind turbine rotor tip in both seasons. On most nights in both seasons, the majority of migrants flew predominantly at low altitudes, except for intense migration nights in spring in Borssele where, on 87% of these nights, migration mainly occurred at high altitudes. The most important predictors of low‐altitude migration in both seasons were day of year and wind assistance. Birds chose altitudes with the most favorable wind conditions for migration in both seasons. The relationship between day of year and low‐altitude migration fraction suggests that different species migrate at different altitudes. In spring, birds were flying lower at the beginning and the end of the night, reflecting departures and arrivals of birds, while radar location in autumn was a good predictor of low‐altitude flights, indicating that different local migratory axes have distinct altitude distributions. Our findings suggest that mitigation measures offshore may be more effective during autumn than spring, especially on nights with more supportive wind conditions at altitudes below 300 m.

The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) collects data from representative samples of teachers and principals across the world about their practices and work conditions, school and classroom contexts, and attitudes, motivation, and satisfaction with their profession and jobs. Given the growth of participating countries, the number of constructs assessed, and the volume of publications based on secondary analyses of the freely available data, it is reasonable to claim that TALIS represents one of the major data sources in the field of international educational research. This study provides a systematic literature review of secondary analyses of TALIS data, summarising the past 15 years of TALIS research. The review includes a synthesis of 238 peer‐reviewed journal articles, providing bibliographical information about articles as well as the scope and impact of analysis of TALIS data across time, countries, and populations. Moreover, the article summarises information about the most prevalent research themes that have been investigated. The findings highlight the importance of TALIS data in the broader educational research scope, emphasising themes such as teacher characteristics, and teacher professional practices. Lastly, the review provides insights into methodological approaches to study and analyse TALIS data and calls for more caution in analysing complex survey data with respect to how clustering and multigroup design are handled.

With the development and implementation of the 5G systems worldwide, the shortages and imperfections that limit the functions and services of 5G networks were made apparent. This generation should enable its users to access unseen services and applications and a better quality of service in comparison to its predecessors. However, aside from the apparent importance of 6G networks, the possibilities, use cases, applications, and services that this technology would provide are yet to be explored. Our intention with this paper is to research the papers and compare the differences in requirements, capabilities, services, and use cases between 5G and 6G.

Ammonium‐nitrate‐fuel‐oil (ANFO) explosive, one of the most used mining explosives, exhibits highly non‐ideal behaviour. The non‐ideality of the detonation is manifested in the strong dependence of the detonation velocity on the charge radius and existence and the characteristics of confinement. This can lead to the detonation velocities as low as one‐third of the ideal velocity. The literature reported experimental detonation velocities of cylindrical ANFO charges confined in different confiners (aluminium, copper, steel, polymethyl methacrylate, and polyvinyl chloride) are analysed in this paper. An empirical confinement model, which relates the detonation velocity to the charge radius and the mass of the confiner to the mass of explosive ratio per unit length, is proposed. The model predicts the detonation velocity of unconfined and confined ANFO charges with a mean average percentage error of 8.8 %.

Given a discounted cost, we study deterministic discrete-time systems whose inputs are generated by policy iteration (PI). We provide novel near-optimality and stability properties, while allowing for non-stabilizing initial policies. That is, we first give novel bounds on the mismatch between the value function generated by PI and the optimal value function, which are less conservative in general than those encountered in the dynamic programming literature for the considered class of systems. Then, we show that the systems in closed-loop with policies generated by PI are stabilizing under mild conditions, after a finite (and known) number of iterations.

In this study, the influence of the type of extract (leaf and rhizome of R. japonica) and the type of copper-based mordant (copper (I) oxide - Cu2O and copper (II) sulfate - CuSO4) on the spectroscopic and antimicrobial properties of dyed wool knitwear was investigated. The antimicrobial activity of all samples was tested against the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and the yeast Candida albicans. It was observed that knitted fabrics dyed with R. Japonica leaf extract and Cu2O show a better antimicrobial effect on S. aureus bacteria compared to knitted fabrics dyed with the addition of CuSO4. However, in the case of knitwear dyed with R. Japonica rhizome extract, we have the opposite case; CuSO4 proved to be better as a mordant. Conductance was measured using the dielectric spectroscopy method in the frequency range from 20 Hz to 100 kHz. The highest increase in conductivity was observed in the sample dyed with the rhizome extract of R. Japonica and Cu2O, where the increase at the frequency of 24 kHz was 20 times higher compared to the initial sample. The obtained results of the coloration spectrophotometric analysis of the samples show that the highest colour strength (K/S) was achieved with the sample dyed with R. Japonica leaf extract and CuSO4. The obtained results indicate the possibility of using the tested knitwear for antimicrobial as well as electro protection.