Samantha Gilbert-Janizek, Rory K. Barnes, Peter E. Driscoll
et al.
As the only known habitable (and inhabited) planet in the universe, Earth informs our search for life elsewhere. Future telescopes like the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will soon look for life on rocky worlds around Sun-like stars, so it is critical that we understand how to distinguish habitable planets from inhabited planets. However, it remains unknown if life is necessary to maintain a habitable planet, or how all of the components of an evolving planet impact habitability over time. To address these open questions, we present a coupled interior-atmosphere evolution model of the Earth without life from 50 Myr to 5 Gyr that reproduces 19 key observations of the pre-industrial Earth within measurement uncertainties after 4.5 Gyr. We also produce a reflected light spectrum covering the possible wavelength range of HWO. Our findings support the view that life is not required to maintain habitable surface conditions. The model presented here is apt for predicting the long-term habitability of Earth-like exoplanets via evolving bulk properties. By generating realistic reflected light spectra from evolved atmospheric states, this model represents significant progress towards whole-planet modeling, which may ultimately provide a robust abiotic baseline for interpreting biosignature observations with HWO.
Gianfranco Giulioni, Edmondo Di Giuseppe, Arianna Di Paola
This paper presents a modeling framework for simulating the decision-making processes of artificial farms populating an agent-based model for the Italian wheat production system. The decision process is based on a mathematical programming model with which farms (i.e., agents) decide the target yield (production per hectare) and the mix of inputs needed to obtain such production, namely 1) fertilizers, 2) herbicides, and 3) insecticides. The environmental impacts of conventional production practices are assessed through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), using the ReCiPe 2016 methodology at the Endpoint level. Agents are made aware of the environmental consequences of their choices through two indicators: Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), which capture human health impacts, and the number of species lost per year, reflecting impacts on ecosystems. By internalizing this information, agents can make more balanced and sustainable production decisions.
Jiang Chang, Deekshith Basvoju, Aleksandar Vakanski
et al.
Recent advancements in machine learning-based methods have demonstrated great potential for improved property prediction in material science. However, reliable estimation of the confidence intervals for the predicted values remains a challenge, due to the inherent complexities in material modeling. This study introduces a novel approach for uncertainty quantification in fatigue life prediction of metal materials based on integrating knowledge from physics-based fatigue life models and machine learning models. The proposed approach employs physics-based input features estimated using the Basquin fatigue model to augment the experimentally collected data of fatigue life. Furthermore, a physics-informed loss function that enforces boundary constraints for the estimated fatigue life of considered materials is introduced for the neural network models. Experimental validation on datasets comprising collected data from fatigue life tests for Titanium alloys and Carbon steel alloys demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The synergy between physics-based models and data-driven models enhances the consistency in predicted values and improves uncertainty interval estimates.
Hannah Wakeling, Kristin Lohwasser, Peter Millington
Comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a tool to account for the full range of environmental impacts of resource use in commodities or services is a first step in reducing these impacts. There is an increasing necessity to account for these aspects in the planning, running and end-of-life of scientific experiments and research infrastructure. In the following, the concept for an Open Research Life Cycle Assessment (ORLCA) repository is presented to support this endeavour. It is designed to comply fully with the principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability (FAIR).
Road infrastructure significantly impacts how people move and live and the emissions associated with travel behaviour. The design of roads is crucial in mitigating emissions. This paper reviews existing transport life cycle assessment tools that have been developed by various entities and can be used for roads. The review focuses on data sources used in the analysis, methods of estimating carbon dioxide emissions, the underlying software that is used to make the estimates, and any limitations of the tools. A critical issue identified in life cycle assessment analysis is the erroneous assumption that relationships within the assessed systems are linear. The current tools focusing on transport infrastructure assessment were developed based on the linear assumptions and limitations of the life cycle assessment analysis. A significant research gap identified is that existing life cycle assessment tools are not integrated with the design process. The analysis is an add-on process to design and the results of an assessment are not then used iteratively to enhance the design. A case study on aggregate road design found that road area significantly correlates with emissions, slope adjustments reduce emissions, and soil type impacts emissions, suggesting future research should explore non-linear relationships for sustainable road design.
Quantitative measurement of ageing across systems and components is crucial for accurately assessing reliability and predicting failure probabilities. This measurement supports effective maintenance scheduling, performance optimisation, and cost management. Examining the ageing characteristics of a system that operates beyond a specified time $t > 0$ yields valuable insights. This paper introduces a novel metric for ageing, termed the Variance Residual Life Ageing Intensity (VRLAI) function, and explores its properties across various probability distributions. Additionally, we characterise the closure properties of the two ageing classes defined by the VRLAI function. We propose a new ordering, called the Variance Residual Life Ageing Intensity (VRLAI) ordering, and discuss its various properties. Furthermore, we examine the closure of the VRLAI order under coherent systems.
Kelâm ilmi Allah’ın varlığı ve sıfatlarını ispatlamayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu amaç etrafında kelâmcılar, duyulur âlemden gaybî alana yönelen bir yöntem benimsemişlerdir. Kıyâsü’l-ğāib alâ’ş-şâhid şeklinde isimlendirilen bu yöntem, muhaliflerle yapılan tartışmalarda ortak bir zemin oluşturmuştur. Çünkü duyulur âlem inkâra mahal vermeyecek şekilde insan algısına açıktır. Bundan hareketle Eş’arî kelâmında “Allah dışındaki her şey” şeklinde tanımlanan âlem hem yapı hem işleyiş itibariyle ele alınmaya çalışılmıştır. Kelâmcıların belirledikleri ilkeler etrafında âlemin cevher, araz ve cisimlerden oluştuğu söylenmiştir. Bahsi geçen varlıklar en temelde birbirine, ayrıca daha üst bir iradeye bağımlı bir şekilde kurgulanmıştır. Eş‘arî gelenek bu kurgudan hareketle âlemin işleyişini âdet teorisi ile açıklamayı tercih etmiştir. Hatta onların âleme ve Allah’a yönelik temel kabulleri bu tercihi zorunlu kılmıştır. Çünkü onlar Allah’ı mutlak irade ve kudret sahibi fâil-i muhtar bir ilah olarak tasavvur etmektedir. Âlemde akıl tarafından imkânsız görülen olay ya da durumlar haricindeki her şey, O’nun kudreti dâhilindedir. Bu yönüyle âlem mümkünler mecrası şeklinde nitelenmektedir. Özellikle arazın bâkî olmayan yapısından hareket eden Eş‘arî gelenek, arazların her an yeniden yaratılması gerektiği görüşünü ısrarla savunmaktadır. Bu temel savunu da âlemin Allah’a olan bağımlılığını tümüyle gözler önüne sermektedir. Bu temel kabuller üzerine inşa edilen âdet teorisi, mutlak irade ve kudret sahibi Allah’a herhangi bir sınırlama getirmeden âlemin işleyişini özgün bir şekilde açıklamaktadır. Eş‘arî geleneği birebir yansıtan bu teori, onların başta Allah-âlem ilişkisi olmak üzere tüm kelâmî meseleleri tutarlılık içinde açıklamalarına olanak sağlamaktadır. İşte bu çalışma ilk dönem Eş’arî geleneği âdet teorisini kabule sevk eden temel ilkeleri başlıklar halinde ele alarak irdelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu amaç etrafında literatür taraması yapılarak tespit edilen ilk dönem Eş’arî kelâmcıların görüşleri incelenmiş, konu bağlamında yorumlanmıştır.
This paper explores Kuyper’s approach to evolution and evolutionism. He was opposed to evolutionism as it has roots in monism and pantheism; it promotes atheism. However, he did leave the way open to support some form of evolution that was guided by God and not random chance.
https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.87.1.2510
The unsustainable take-make-dispose linear economy prevalent in healthcare contributes 4.4% to global Greenhouse Gas emissions. A popular but not yet widely-embraced solution is to remanufacture common single-use medical devices like electrophysiology catheters, significantly extending their lifetimes by enabling a circular life cycle. To support the adoption of catheter remanufacturing, we propose a comprehensive emission framework and carry out a holistic evaluation of virgin manufactured and remanufactured carbon emissions with Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). We followed ISO modelling standards and NHS reporting guidelines to ensure industry relevance. We conclude that remanufacturing may lead to a reduction of up to 60% per turn (-1.92 kg CO2eq, burden-free) and 57% per life (-1.87 kg CO2eq, burdened). Our extensive sensitivity analysis and industry-informed buy-back scheme simulation revealed long-term emission reductions of up to 48% per remanufactured catheter life (-1.73 kg CO2eq). Our comprehensive results encourage the adoption of electrophysiology catheter remanufacturing, and highlight the importance of estimating long-term emissions in addition to traditional emission metrics.
Amidst the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic, distance education, where the learning process is conducted online, has become the norm. Campus-based programs and courses have been redesigned in a timely manner which was a challenge for teachers not used to distance teaching. Students engagement and active participation become an issue; add to that new emerging effects associating with this set-up, such as the so called 'Zoom fatigue', which was coined recently by some authors. In realising this problem, solutions were suggested in the literature to help trigger students engagement and enhance teachers experience in online teaching. This study analyses these effects along with our teachers experience in the new learning environment and concludes by devising some recommendations. To attain the above objectives, we conducted online interviews with six of our teachers, transcribed the content of the videos and then applied the inductive research approach to assess the results.
In this paper, a Bayesian accelerated life testing model is presented. The Weibull distribution is used as the life distribution and the generalised Eyring model as the time transformation function. This is a model that allows for the use of more than one stressor, whereas other commonly used acceleration models, such as the Arrhenius and power law models, allow for only one stressor. The generalised Eyring-Weibull model is used in an application, where MCMC methods are utilised to generate samples for posterior inference.
In with-profit life insurance, the prudent valuation of future insurance liabilities leads to systematic surplus that mainly belongs to the policyholders and is redistributed as bonus. For a fair and lawful redistribution of surplus the insurer needs to decompose the total portfolio surplus with respect to the contributions of individual policies and with respect to different risk sources. For this task, actuaries have a number of heuristic decomposition formulas, but an overarching decomposition principle is still missing. This paper fills that gap by introducing a so-called ISU decomposition principle that bases on infinitesimal sequential updates of the insurer's valuation basis. It is shown that the existing heuristic decomposition formulas can be replicated as ISU decompositions. Furthermore, alternative decomposition principles and their relation to the ISU decomposition principle are discussed. The generality of the ISU concept makes it a useful tool also beyond classical surplus decompositions in life insurance.
“Geleneksel İslam
İnancında Mitolojik Unsurların Kritiği: Cinlerle İlgili İnanışlar Bağlamında
Bir İnceleme” adlı çalışmada cin inancının Sümerlerden Yahudiliğe kadar olan
tarihsel gelişimi incelenmiş, akabinde Müslümanların cin inancının büyük ölçüde
yarı animist/ruhçu câhiliye Araplarından tevarüs ettiği gösterilmiştir. Câhiliye Arapları varlık dünyasının dik
yarısını cinlere tahsis etmişlerdir. İnandıkları mesh teorisi söz konusu bu cin
ve şeytanların istedikleri surete/biçime girmesine olanak tanır. Yılan bunların
başında gelir. Cân; hem yılan hem de şeytan/İblis demektir. Yılanları bu yüzden
öldürmekten korkarlar. Cin ve şeytan olarak nitelemedikleri pek az
varlık/hayvan vardır. Bu teori İsrailoğullarının domuz ve maymuna
dönüştürülmesini de izah eder. Tabiat olaylarını cinlerle izah ederler. Kum
fırtınaları cin kabilelerinin birbirleriyle savaşırken çıkardığı tozdan
kaynaklanır. Aşağı yukarı tüm biyolojik ve psikolojik rahatsızlıkların
etiyolojisinde mutlaka bu mitolojik varlıklar bulunur. Nazar, veba hep onların
eseridir. Şairler şiirlerini, kâhinler kehanetini onlar vasıtasıyla icra eder.
İslâm yeni bir ontoloji ve epistemoloji getirmediğinden, davetini
muhataplarının epistemesi/mütearifesi üzerinden yaptığından; câhiliye cin
inancı İslâm sonrası da büyük ölçüde devam etmiştir. Son bölümde cin ve şeytanların
zikredildiği âyetler yeni bir okumaya tabi tutulmuştur. Yiyen, içen, evlenen,
kabileler halinde yaşayan, şair ve kâhinlere gökten haber getiren, istedikleri
anda istedikleri surete girebilen, birçok hastalıklara neden olduğuna, büyü ve
kehânet sektöründe faaliyet gösterdiğine inanılan bu hibrit varlıkların
mahiyeti, nesnel gerçekliği sorgulanmıştır. Söz konusu bu mitik varlıkların
Kur’ân’da zikredilmesinin nedeni cinlere tapan müşriklerin sakîm inançlarını
tasvir etmekten ibaret olup, bilinenin aksine cinlerin ispatı olmayıp,
nefyidir. İlgili âyetler tarihsel (sebeb-i nüzul) ve metinsel (siyak ve sibak)
bağlamından yararlanılarak incelendiğinde “cin” kelimesinin “melek, şeytan ve
insanlar” için de kullanıldığı görülmektedir. Şeytan kelimesi de bir sıfat
olması hasebiyle çoğunlukla “insan şeytanları” (Mekke şeytanları, Medineli
münafıklar ve Yahudi liderler); bazen “haset, megalomani, unutma” vb. kişilik
zaaflarını betimlemede; nadiren de soyut şeytan (İblis) için kullanılmıştır.
Bununla birlikte Süleyman’ın cin ve şeytanlarını “yabancı işçiler ve ustalar”
olarak te’vil etme imkânı bulunamamıştır. Bu konuda en makul çözümün Kur’ân’ı
“edebî bir metin” olarak gören yaklaşımlarda olduğu söylenilebilir. Cin inancı,
tabiat yasalarının henüz bilinmediği mitolojik bir evren tasavvurunun doğal
uzantısıdır. İlk Müslümanların evren tasavvurunun da büyük ölçüde mitolojik
olduğunu, bu nedenle vahyin ilk muhataplarının mütearifesini esas alarak
onlarla diyalog kurduğunu söylemek mümkündür. Evren tasavvurumuzun cin inancı
etrafında oluşan mitolojik unsurlardan arındırılması, değişen vesâilin
(bilimsel verilerin) mesâil-i kelâm’a intibak ettirilmesi suretiyle din dilinin
güncellenmesi gerektiği vurgulanmıştır.
We report a new system of artificial life called Lenia (from Latin lenis "smooth"), a two-dimensional cellular automaton with continuous space-time-state and generalized local rule. Computer simulations show that Lenia supports a great diversity of complex autonomous patterns or "lifeforms" bearing resemblance to real-world microscopic organisms. More than 400 species in 18 families have been identified, many discovered via interactive evolutionary computation. They differ from other cellular automata patterns in being geometric, metameric, fuzzy, resilient, adaptive, and rule-generic. We present basic observations of the system regarding the properties of space-time and basic settings. We provide a broad survey of the lifeforms, categorize them into a hierarchical taxonomy, and map their distribution in the parameter hyperspace. We describe their morphological structures and behavioral dynamics, propose possible mechanisms of their self-propulsion, self-organization and plasticity. Finally, we discuss how the study of Lenia would be related to biology, artificial life, and artificial intelligence.