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Found 6278 publications
FinTech Solutions Supporting Sustainable Agriculture - Lessons from Africa: FinTech Solutions Supporting Sustainable Agriculture
Publication Name: ACM International Conference Proceeding Series
Publication Date: 2024-09-12
Volume: Unknown
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 97-103
Description:
This paper explores the transformative role of FinTech solutions in enhancing agricultural productivity and financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region confronted by myriad challenges including fragmented economies, limited capital, climate adversities, and restricted access to financial services. Drawing upon empirical examples, it delves into the potential of crypto-assets and blockchain technology to address these issues, spotlighting the rapid growth of the FinTech industry as a disruptive force capable of revolutionizing financial accessibility for rural communities. Through a comprehensive literature review and case studies, the study highlights innovative FinTech applications, such as mobile money services, which have significantly contributed to financial inclusion among smallholder farmers, facilitating access to savings, loans, and insurance products. The paper presents two pioneering initiatives from Kenya - the blockchain-based insurance model, Etherisc, and Agri-wallet, a digital wallet solution, demonstrating their effectiveness in mitigating risks associated with agriculture and enabling efficient financial transactions; and a central information-operator from Ghana, the Esoko. Furthermore, it identifies existing barriers to the wider adoption of FinTech solutions, including infrastructural deficits, legal uncertainties surrounding smart contracts, and the limited penetration of internet services, underscoring the imperative for enhanced digital infrastructure and regulatory frameworks to maximize the benefits of digital technologies for sustainable agriculture. The findings suggest that, despite challenges, the integration of FinTech in agriculture presents a promising avenue for boosting productivity, ensuring food security, and fostering economic resilience among rural populations in Africa. The paper calls for concerted efforts by stakeholders to address the digital divide and create enabling environments for the deployment of innovative financial technologies, paving the way for a more inclusive and sustainable agricultural sector.
Open Access: Yes
Waste-Derived Composite Selection for Sustainable Automotive Brake Friction Materials Using Novel MEREC-RAM Decision Framework
Publication Name: Lubricants
Publication Date: 2025-12-01
Volume: 13
Issue: 12
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
This study aims to identify the most suitable slag waste-filled polymer composite for automotive braking applications. It employs a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model that integrates the “method based on the removal effects of criteria” (MEREC) and the “root assessment method” (RAM) method. Eight slag waste-filled polymer composites, evaluated using seven performance-defining criteria, were considered in the MCDM analysis. The performance evaluation criteria included the friction coefficient, wear, friction fluctuations, friction stability, fade-recovery aspects, and rise in disk temperature. The criteria were weighted through the MEREC approach, which identified fade% (0.2890) and wear (0.2829) as the most important attributes in the assessment. The RAM was employed to rank the alternatives and suggested that the composite alternative with 60 wt.% slag waste and 5 wt.% coir fiber proved to be the best composition for automotive braking applications. The results were validated using nine MCDM models and Spearman correlation coefficients, which showed that the ranking of alternatives was consistent and stable even when the normalization steps of MEREC were swapped. Statistical validation demonstrated a strong predictive accuracy (p < 0.05) with a strong correlation coefficient (>0.8) alongside a minimal mean absolute error. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was performed by examining several weight situations to determine whether the priority weights influenced the ranking of the composite alternatives. The findings from both the correlation and sensitivity analyses confirm the proposed hybrid MEREC-RAM model’s consistency and effectiveness.
Open Access: Yes
Green Energy Literacy and Eco- Inequality: Exploring Socio- Demographic Drivers of Sustainable Awareness
Publication Name: Inequality and Environmental Degradation in A Prosperity Driven World
Publication Date: 2025-01-01
Volume: Unknown
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 401-428
Description:
This research examines the complex interaction of socio- demographic characteristics and socio- ecological factors in the specification of green energy- related financial literacy across different populations. The research employs a mixed- methods ap-proach that combines quantitative survey returns of respondents across different regions with qualitative interview data from respondents with diverse demographic characteristics. Results indicate significant inconsistencies in green energy monetary literacy, whereby increased levels of education, urban residence, young age cohorts, and greater environmental consciousness powerfully predict greater understanding of renewable energy funding options, incentive systems, and investment strategies. The research concludes by calling for the development of culturally sensitive, localespecific financial education programs that can provide fill- in- knowledge and provide equal access to opportunities for green energy adoption.
Open Access: Yes
Plausible quantum-mechanical interpretations of RHEED oscillation
Publication Name: Vacuum
Publication Date: 2012-01-27
Volume: 86
Issue: 6
Page Range: 620-622
Description:
In this paper the oscillations of reflection high-energy electron diffraction is investigated on the basis of the electron complementarity principle and quantum entanglement. The intensity oscillations during the growth process can be explained by the change of the surface morphology, which is caused by the changing of the experimental conditions. The experimental conditions affect both the description of the interaction on the surface and the behavior of the electrons as quantum mechanical entities, i.e., if their particle-like or wave-like properties dominate. The interpretation of these phenomena can be made plausible with the help of the idea of quantum entanglement. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Open Access: Yes
Generic multidimensional economic environmental operation of power systems using equilibrium optimization algorithm
Publication Name: Scientific Reports
Publication Date: 2025-12-01
Volume: 15
Issue: 1
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The economic emission load dispatch (EELD) problem is one of the main challenges to power system operators due to the complexity of the interconnected power systems and the non-linear characteristics of the objective functions (OFs). Therefore, the EELD problem has attracted significant attention in the electric power system because it has important objectives. Thus, this paper proposes the equilibrium optimization algorithm (EOA) to solve the EELD problem in electrical power systems by minimizing the total fuel cost and emissions, considering system and operational constraints. The OFs are optimized with and without considering valve point effects (VPE) and transmission system loss. The multi-OF, which aims to optimize these objectives simultaneously, is considered. In the proposed EOA, agents are particles and concentrations that express the solution and position, respectively. The proposed EOA is evaluated and tested on different-sized standard test systems having 10, 20, 40, and 80 generation units through several case studies. The numerical results obtained by the proposed EOA are compared with other optimization techniques such as grey wolf optimization, particle swarm optimization (PSO), differential evolution algorithm, and other optimization techniques in the literature. To show the reliability of the proposed algorithm for solving the considered OFs on a large-scale power system with and without considering different practical constraints such as VPE, ramp-rate limits (RRL), and prohibited operating zones (POZs) of generating units, the proposed EOA is evaluated and tested on the 140-unit test system. Also, the proposed multi-objective EOA (MOEOA) successfully acquires the Pareto optimal front to find the best compromise solution between the considered OFs. Also, the statistical analysis and the Wilcoxon signed rank test between the EOA and other optimization techniques for solving the EELD problem are performed. From numerical results, the total fuel cost obtained without considering VPE using the proposed EOA is reduced by 0.1414%, 0.1295%, 0.6864%, 5.8441% than the results of PSO, with maximum savings of 150 $/hr, 78 $/hr, 820 $/hr, and 14,730 $/hr for 10, 20, 40, and 80 units, respectively. The total fuel cost considering VPE is reduced by 0.0753%, 0.2536%, 2.8891%, and 3.6186% than the base case with maximum savings of 80 $/hr, 158 $/hr, 3610 $/hr, 9230 $/hr for 10, 20, 40, and 80 units, respectively. The total emission is reduced by 1.7483%, 12.8673%, and 7.5948% from the base case for 10, 40, and 80 units, respectively. For the 140-unit test system, the total fuel cost without and with considering VPE, RRL, and POZs is reduced by 6.4203% and 7.2394%, than the results of PSO with maximum savings of 107,200 $/hr and 126,400 $/hr. The total emission is reduced by 2.5688% from the base case. The comparative studies show the superiority of the EOA for the economic/environmental operation of the power system by solving the EELD problem with more accuracy and efficiency, especially as the system size increases.
Open Access: Yes
Solution of the convex programming problem via second order differential equation system
Publication Name: Miskolc Mathematical Notes
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Volume: 13
Issue: 1
Page Range: 23-37
Description:
In this paper we investigate a family of second order differential equations which can be considered as the continuous versions of the Fletcher-Reeves iteration for minimization applied to a regularized and penalized convex programming problem. We show that synchronizing the parameter functions of the differential equation the stationary limit point of the trajectories is the minimal norm solution of the given convex programming problem. © 2012 Miskolc University Press.
Open Access: Yes
Comparison of three artificial intelligence methods for predicting 90% quantile interval of future insulin sensitivity of intensive care patients
Publication Name: IFAC Journal of Systems and Control
Publication Date: 2024-12-01
Volume: 30
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Insulin dosing of hyperglycemic patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) is a complex and nonlinear clinical control problem. Recent model-based glycemic control protocols predict a patient-specific and time-specific future insulin sensitivity distribution, which defines the future patient state in response to insulin and nutrition inputs. The prediction methods provide a 90% confidence interval for a future insulin sensitivity distribution for a given time horizon, making the prediction problem more specific compared to common prediction problems where the aim is to predict the expected value of the given stochastic parameter. This study proposes three alternative artificial intelligence-based insulin sensitivity prediction methods to improve the prediction accuracy and make prediction parameters better fit the clinical requirements. The proposed prediction methods use different neural network models: a classification deep neural network model, a Mixture Density Network model, and a Quantile Regression-based model. A large patient data set was used to create the neural network models, including 2357 patients and 92646 blood glucose measurements from three clinical sites (Christchurch, New Zealand, Gyula, Hungary, and Liege, Belgium). Prediction accuracy was assessed by statistical metrics expressing clinical requirements, as well as via validated in-silico virtual patient simulations comparing the clinical performance of a proven glycaemic control protocol using the alternative prediction methods to assess impact on glycemic control performance and thus the need for these alternative models.
Open Access: Yes
Social media applications through the lens of DeLone and McLean’s information system success model: does perceived privacy matter?
Publication Name: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Publication Date: 2025-12-01
Volume: 12
Issue: 1
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Social media applications (SMAs) significantly impact higher education by affecting students, professors, and institutions through various features that may improve learning, communication, and collaboration. However, many studies have focused on the initial use of SMAs, rarely considering their post-adoption and continued usage. Additionally, there are growing concerns about the privacy behaviour of SMA users, which remains inadequately examined. Therefore, this study explores the impact of perceived privacy on the relationship between tripartite quality constructs, user satisfaction, and continual usage using DeLone and McLean’s information system success (ISS) model. This study surveyed 384 SMA users among university lecturers through a convenience sampling approach, and SmartPLS 4, nonparametric software, was used to analyse the data. These findings elucidate the elements affecting SMA usage, suggesting that service and information quality influence continual usage. The tripartite quality constructs correlate with users’ satisfaction, which robustly correlates with continual usage. In addition, perceived privacy influences the links between service quality, system quality, and continual usage. This study finds that perceived privacy is crucial to DeLone and McLean’s ISS model. Hence, information privacy must be ensured to create more secure, functional, and engaging applications. Suppliers and developers should focus on improving app quality, security, and protection, which are precursors to user satisfaction and continual usage. This study examines the moderating role of perceived privacy in DeLone and McLean’s model. Its strong predictive model demonstrates the theoretical robustness of the ISS model for studying the continual usage of SMAs.
Open Access: Yes
What makes CrossFit exercise unique? Addiction, passion, or motivation?
Publication Name: Sport Sciences for Health
Publication Date: 2025-09-01
Volume: 21
Issue: 3
Page Range: 2167-2183
Description:
Background: CrossFit is one of the fastest-growing exercise regimens worldwide. Around 4 million people practice CrossFit in over 100 countries. This high-intensity training is performed with passion, often involving pain for gain, which sets CrossFit apart from most traditional exercises. Aims: Based on this premise, we aimed to test the hypothesis that the risk of exercise addiction (REA), obsessive passion (OP), harmonious passion (HP), and internal motivational regulations are greater in CrossFit than in other exercises. Methods: This study employed a between-participants research design, adopting a survey-based, cross-sectional approach. The study involved 507 participants (62.7% male), comprising 238 practicing CrossFit enthusiasts and 269 mixed exercisers classified as controls. Results: CrossFit practitioners scored significantly higher than controls on REA (Cohen’s d = 0.18) and both OP (d = 0.30) and HP (d = 0.32), but not motivational regulations. The effect sizes were small. However, after controlling for OP and HP, the group differences in REA vanished. The prevalence of “high” REA was 25.2% in the CrossFit group compared to 13.4% in the controls (p < 0.001). However, after controlling for OP and HP in a binary logistic regression, the group differences disappeared again. At the same time, OP (odds ratio [OR] = 0.795) and HP (OR = 0.653) remained statistically significant predictors in the model. Two group-by-gender interactions suggested that women in CrossFit had greater intrinsic-effective regulation and introjected regulation than controls. In comparison, men in CrossFit exhibited lesser introjected regulation compared to controls. Conclusion: The findings suggest that passion is what distinguishes CrossFit from other exercises, but gender-related differences may also exist at motivational levels.
Open Access: Yes
