Carlos Alberto

This paper presents a plantwide control strategy for optimizing a pressure-swing azeotropic distillation process used in tetrahydrofuran dehydration. Leveraging Skogestad's methodology, this strategy focused on two distillation columns: a low-pressure column for water recovery at 20 psia and a high-pressure column that achieved 0.99 molar fraction purity of tetrahydrofuran at 115 psia. This study identified critical control variables through plant analysis by implementing PI controllers in the regulatory control layer to stabilize flows and pressures. In the supervisory control layer, a PI controller combined with MIMO MPC effectively enhanced the product purity and reduced the energy consumption by 36%. Stable inlet and outlet flow conditions (100 lbmol/hr inlet, 29.59 lbmol/hr outlet) were maintained without compromising the equipment integrity. The operational ranges for the process included variations in the tetrahydrofuran mole fraction from 0.25 to 0.35 at the inlet, which demonstrated a robust performance across perturbations. These achievements signify significant advancements in process efficiency and sustainability, offering substantial reductions in energy usage while ensuring consistent high purity levels in tetrahydrofuran production. The developed control structure sets a new standard for efficient azeotropic distillation processes, with implications for enhancing operational performance across industrial applications.

The long-term corrosion resistance of commercially pure aluminum (AA1050) processed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) was evaluated in a saline environment. The study compared the microstructure and corrosion behavior of ECAP-processed samples in route A with 1X, 4X, and 8X passes to an annealed sample using a 3.5% NaCl solution. Characterization techniques, including optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), were employed. Results indicate that ECAP processing enhances the passive corrosion resistance compared to the undeformed sample. However, the improvement in corrosion resistance did not consistently increase with the number of ECAP passes. Factors such as the distribution of high- and low-angle grain boundaries, dislocation density, and fragmentation and redistribution of coarse dispersoid particles play a significant role in the corrosion behavior post-ECAP. Additionally, findings suggest that long-term immersion tests are required to obtain a more reliable electrochemical response.

Open Access Article by Carlos Alberto Espinosa-Pinos Carlos Alberto Espinosa-Pinos SciProfiles Scilit

Background/Objectives: People with multiple sclerosis (MS) often experience sensory, psychomotor, and cognitive impairment, sphincter disturbances, and fatigue, which can affect their ability to perform work-related tasks, self-care, and daily activities. This study aimed to analyze the lifestyle changes, cognitive function, and disability outcomes over a seven-year follow-up period, exploring potential associations with predictive markers. Methods: At the end of the seven-year follow-up period, 32 participants returned for cognitive and clinical reassessment with the Twenty-Five-Foot Walk Test, Nine-Hole Peg Test, and Brief Repeatable Neuropsychological Battery. Lifestyle data were acquired via interviews regarding sleep quality, reading habits, technology use, physical activity levels, household responsibilities, and participation in leisure and cultural activities. Results: The occupational profile did not demonstrate significant changes, but 11 (34%) participants showed disability accumulation, and the number of relapses increased (p = 0.001). Over time, improvement was observed in verbal episodic memory and worsening in psychomotor speed. Better cognitive performance in mental agility was associated with higher levels of physical activity (p = 0.021) and technology use (p = 0.039). In addition, better cognition (verbal memory p = 0.038 and processing speed 0.015) and psychomotor speed (upper limbs p = 0.017 and lower limbs p = 0.003) and lower functional disability (p = 0.022) were associated with maintenance of household activities. Conclusions: The changes in verbal memory and psychomotor speed were more prominent over time, and verbal memory, psychomotor and processing speed, and mental agility were associated with good lifestyle habits, mainly household activities. The treatment strategies should include lifestyle changes and pharmacological interventions.

Early diagnosis and preventive measures are necessary to mitigate diseases' impact on the yield of Colocasia esculenta (Taro). This study addresses the challenges of Taro disease identification by employing two key strategies: integrating explainable artificial intelligence techniques to interpret deep learning models and conducting a comparative analysis of advanced architectures Inception V3, ResNet-50, and Vision Transformers for classifying common Taro diseases, including leaf blight and mosaic virus, as well as identifying healthy leaves. The novelty of this work lies in the first-ever integration of SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) with deep learning architectures to enhance model interpretability while providing a comprehensive comparison of state-of-the-art methods for this underexplored crop. The proposed models significantly improve the ability to recognize complex patterns and features, achieving high accuracy and robust performance in disease classification. The model's efficacy was evaluated through multi-class statistical metrics, including accuracy, precision, F1 score, recall, specificity, Chohen's kappa, and area under the curve. Among the architectures, Inception V3 exhibited superior performance in accuracy (0.9985), F1 score (0.9985), recall (0.9985), and specificity (0.9992). The explainability of Inception V3 was further enhanced using SHAP, which provides insights by dissecting the contributions of individual features in Taro leaves to the model's predictions. This approach facilitates a deeper understanding of the disease classification process and supports the development of effective disease management strategies, ultimately contributing to improved Taro cultivation practices.

The use of different components, such as alternative aggregates, represents an innovation in construction. According to various studies, these components improve certain properties of the elements that incorporate them. Specifically, recycled construction aggregates (RCAs)—such as crushed ceramic bricks (CCBs)—offer several benefits, including reducing landfill waste, enhancing the mechanical properties of the elements that integrate them, and ensuring availability. This research focuses on utilizing these waste materials and determining their feasibility and compatibility (in the short term) for manufacturing traditional earth blocks (EBs). This is achieved by studying the physical and mechanical properties of CCBs in matrices for EB construction, adhering to performance standards, emphasizing the advantages these aggregates provide for mechanical properties in sustainable construction and applying them in the context of traditional construction. Correlations were established through a statistical study of experimental data, graphically indicating the relationship between the different properties of CCBs, the mix design process, and the structural behavior of the resulting EB. Based on the key variable of the CCB replacement percentage, properties such as the elastic module by ultrasound, porosity, and expansion by hygroscopicity were analyzed, alongside mechanical properties like compressive and flexural strength. The results show that EBs with CCBs increases porosity by up to 21.59%. These blocks exhibit dimensional shrinkage of up to 14.5%, correlating with the increase in the CCB content. This aggregate replacement leads to a reduction in compressive strength (up to −23%) and flexural strength (up to −17.43%); however, all CCB content levels studied met the requirements of the applied standards. It is concluded that CCBs satisfactorily modifies the properties of the EBs and is suitable for use in construction.

Department of Forestry Engineering, Federal University of Paraná-UFPR, Curitiba 80050-380, PR, Brazil

Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, MG, Brazil

As a self-proclaimed desert boot aficionado, I was thrilled to get my hands on the Woodford Desert Boot from Crown Northampton.

Fairtrade, present in Peru since 1990, has been widely studied for its impact on agri-food production. This research, based on convenience surveys conducted with leaders and members of cooperatives and agri-exporting companies during the 2024 Peruvian Expoalimentaria fair, examines the benefits and challenges faced by producers in their pursuit of sustainable and equitable development. The results were statistically analysed using Cronbach's alpha, factor analysis, and the ordinal logistic regression model. These methods revealed that not all the dimensions evaluated reached statistical significance. However, the dimensions of agricultural sustainability and social justice emerged as the most significant, driven by the adoption of sustainable technologies and democratic participation in cooperatives. Nonetheless, these dimensions require additional external conditions to ensure well-being, such as market incentives, which did not achieve statistical significance, suggesting the influence of contextual factors not accounted for in the study. This research not only enriches the existing literature but also provides recommendations for implementing Fairtrade initiatives in Peru to promote more equitable and sustainable agricultural development that improves the socio-economic and socio-political conditions of the most disadvantaged producers. Furthermore, this study highlights the need to expand the theoretical development of unexplored variables, such as association models, sustainable practices, and economic growth in rural communities. In this way, it serves as an exploratory foundation for future public policies and strategies in the agri-food sector.