Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) offer high lightweight potential, particularly for dynamic machine components due to their strength-to-weight ratio and low thermal expansion. However, integrating CFRP into stressed interfaces, such as tool spindles, poses challenges like anisotropic properties and tribological complexity. This study presents a multi-level approach to investigate and transfer tribological parameters in CFRP systems. Using the hierarchical product component test pyramid, it bridges product, structure and meterial levels, e.g. through simplified block-on-plate, as well as block-on-tube tests. Through abstracted and application-oriented test setups, key influencing factors can be identified and analyzed. The hierarchical test pyramid allows for stepwise knowledge transfer between abstraction levels, reducing testing effort without sacrificing relevant information.

There is a need for design of synthetic organs due to the high demand of organ replacements for patients and low availability of alternatives. Recent advancements in additive manufacturing are enabling the creation of biomimetic organs with biocompatible materials suitable for use in the body. Here, we consider a design, build, test approach for creating synthetic blood vessel tubules by comparing fused deposition modelling and stereolithography printing processes. Tubules were printed with vessel diameters from 10 mm to 20 mm and wall thicknesses of 1 mm to 2.5 mm. Mechanical testing results demonstrated high elongation of tubules prior to breaking. Results highlight the possibility for designers to create flexible biomimetic structures to aid biomedical applications, which opens the doors for new types of patient treatments in organ repair and transplantation.

Digitalisation has given rise to concerns about the future effectiveness of older adult grassroots organisations in enabling group-based participation in later life. Despite this, these organisations and their potential role in securing a just digital transition has featured in neither research debates nor policy and innovation agendas. It is essential that this absence is addressed to ensure future citizenship rights across civic, social and political spheres within digitalising ageing societies. The aim of this article is to explore the impact of digital transformations on the capacity of older adult grassroots organisations to support group-based multifaceted engagement in later life. Focusing on an Irish national voluntary membership-based organisation, and its network of local groups, this analysis draws on data from a multi-level mixed-methods study design. Data collection involved: European expert interviews (n = 4); social media analysis (X); organisational-level interviews (n = 11); an older adult member survey (n = 464); follow-up lifecourse interviews (n = 40); and a Translational Forum involving participants from all research strands to validate findings and agree key messages (n = 13). The analysis demonstrates the transitional nature of digital communication for these groups, and the need to and difficulties in addressing the diverse preferences and digital literacies of grassroots membership. The analysis also shows that the most significant challenges are systemic and structural in nature. An assets-based, capability-orientated approach that is supported by state-level leadership and resourcing is required to equip ageing societies for an equitable digital transition.

Glyphosate-resistant (GR) Italian ryegrass is one of the most troublesome weeds of rice in Mississippi. The most effective and economical management strategy to control GR Italian ryegrass is with preemergence (PRE) followed by postemergence (POST) herbicide programs. Two separate field studies were conducted in 2021-22 and 2022-23 in Stoneville, Mississippi, to evaluate GR Italian ryegrass control with fall-applied residual herbicide mixtures (Herbicide Mixture Study) and sequential PRE followed by POST herbicide programs with multiple applications of residual herbicides (Sequential Herbicide Application Study). In the Herbicide Mixture Study, dimethenamid-P, pyroxasulfone, and S-metolachlor alone provided ≥ 94% control of GR Italian ryegrass 21 d after treatment (DAT). The addition of flumioxazin to dimethenamid-P, pyroxasulfone, and S-metolachlor did not improve control 130 DAT. In the Sequential Herbicide Application Study, treatments with fall-applied dimethenamid-P performed better than those with acetochlor, except when fall-applied acetochlor was followed by a sequential application of clethodim plus S-metolachlor. Fall-applied residual herbicides are a necessary component of programs for control of GR Italian ryegrass in Mississippi.

Design generation using traditional Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools remains a labor-intensive and manual task. This paper introduces a framework for automating CAD geometry generation using Large Language Models (LLMs) with function calling and agent workflows. The framework enables both expert and novice designers to use textual prompts to automatically generate CAD code. We evaluate it with five LLMs and four agent workflows. The agent workflow incorporating automated visual feedback outperforms the others, especially with multimodal LLMs like ChatGPT-4o. A case study shows its use in topology optimization and additive manufacturing with minimal human input. Remaining challenges include limitations in spatial reasoning, prompt dependency, and workflow adaptability. Future work should focus on improving design-for-manufacturing capabilities, visual tools, and evaluation benchmarking.

Exploring patterns in large text corpus is essential for effective knowledge discovery in research domains. However, machine-driven methods often introduce noise and rely heavily on parameter thresholds. Human expertise is therefore essential for ensuring reliable outcomes. This study conducts a comparative analysis of a classification task performed by both human and computer algorithms. During the task, human experts are asked to categorize a list of abstracts based on their semantic contents, where computer algorithms perform computations, including network analysis and document embeddings, to group the abstracts. The findings show a significant level of disagreement between human and computer-generated clusters, indicating the need for further investigation into the factors influencing community categorization and incorporating more advanced techniques to improve the results.

This paper examines the integration of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the development method of autonomous product-infrastructure service systems, demonstrating the application on the use case for waste management. Integrating LCA in the earlier Phases of development methodology, sustainability analyses identify key environmental hotspots and improvement strategies. Scenario evaluations revealed the potential for energy-efficient operations with reduced emissions through smart infrastructure integration and optimized system designs. Findings underscore the importance of early-stage sustainability assessments and highlight pathways for achieving eco-design goals in urban robotics. This research work provides substantial insights for scalable, sustainable solutions with autonomous product-infrastructure service systems.

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has the potential to further revolutionize Computer-Aided Design (CAD) by recognizing patterns, making predictions, and generating automated design suggestions. This paper presents a systematic literature review that examines the current state of research on the use of GenAI in CAD-based product development. With a focus on 3D modelling, it provides an overview of current approaches, most used datasets and commonly used AI models. Four application areas where GenAI can enhance CAD were derived: Design generation, Design reconstruction, Design retrieval, and Design modification. In total, 47 papers were selected, analysed and categorised.

The aim of this research is to analyze the potential of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) to support the design process and overcome creative fixation in teams during the initial problem framing, ideation and concept exploration stage. Fixation is a common problem in design, and can be exacerbated during collaborative work due to diverse issues such as team dynamics or perceived hierarchy. Current research is exploring whether AI can help teams overcome this problem or on the contrary, might actually contribute to it. Through a creative ideation workshop with design students, we investigate how AI influences team dynamics as well as the creative results. We propose a conceptual model to work with AI in a team setting.

Products are often optimized for “most likely” conditions, but unexpected variations can render designs ineffective. Using examples from engineering systems, this paper explores the benefits of leveraging non-linear “payoff functions,” where small changes in conditions lead to disproportionate outcomes. By analyzing the direction and curvature of these functions near observed boundaries, designers could gain an understanding of behavior beyond expected ranges. Non-linear modeling can aid in assessing design margins, especially in long-lived systems. Integrating this approach into design processes can be helpful and effective in considering the “preparedness” of a system in the face of unexpected events of different natures.

Automating the structuring of Solution Principles within conceptual design is crucial for efficiently covering Function Structures while reducing time-intensive manual processes. Solution Principles are central in bridging functional requirements and technical implementations, yet traditional methods depend heavily on human expertise. To address this, a novel approach leveraging a search algorithm is proposed to automatically identify an optimal set of Solution Principles for a given Function Structure. The approach formalizes the problem and provides rules for the selection and application of Solution Principles. Key components include a function for applying Solution Principles to functions and a heuristic that minimizes principle selection, guiding the search toward optimal solutions. An evaluation shows the potential of this method to reduce time and effort in early product design.

This paper examines the impact of complexity on New Product Development (NPD) within the context of an Engineer-to-Order (ETO) organisation. A descriptive literature review identified three categories of complexity: organisational, process and product complexity. The influence on NPD performance due to the dimensions contained in these categories are investigated in terms of the Law of Requisite Variety. A case study of NPD at Héroux-Devtek Inc., a landing gear supplier, evaluates these dimensions in practice. The findings reveal that increased organisational complexity often improves NPD performance, while increased process complexity reduces NPD performance. Product complexity evolves from being ‘complex’ initially to ‘complicated’ or ‘simple’ at delivery. Insights into managing these complexities contribute to understanding their role in achieving project success in the ETO context.

A change frequently encounters opposition from analytical minds prior to being embraced. This paper discusses the complex biological, psychological and social causes of criminal tendencies and their neurological triggers. The endocrine system, notably cortisol, changes behaviour and cognitive functions, which might lead to criminal tendencies when exposed to prolonged stress and adverse socio-economic conditions. The paper discusses the legal framework under Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code, presently Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). The authors contend that Indian criminal law failed to decolonize when the BNS preserved the same idea of “unsoundness of mind” without much alteration. The study examines issues in defining “unsoundness of mind” and how the accused bears the burden of proof. The authors also support diminished responsibility as a legal defence in accordance with international precedents and emphasize that legislative adjustments must embrace scientific developments. The article emphasizes rehabilitation and community-based therapy over punishment, citing the Mental Health Care Act, 2017, for neurologically impaired offenders. It suggests cognitive–behavioural therapy, education and vocational training for young offenders. The findings of this research suggest that a neuroscientific-informed legal system can improve justice, public safety and offender reintegration by prioritizing rehabilitation over punishment.

This paper, positioned within two universities’ contexts on design education, explores the critical role of awareness in co-design with individuals who have lived experiences. The study introduces a SkillsLab designed to prepare students for managing awkward moments during co-design sessions. A SkillsLab is an intensive learning activity combining hands-on practice, theoretical insights, and practical exercises to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge on a topic and the real-life application of this knowledge in a project-based setting. The learning activity aims to enhance students’ confidence and skills in navigating awkward moments in co-design. The findings suggest that such educational interventions can significantly improve students’ preparedness for real-world co-design challenges, fostering a more inclusive and empathetic approach to design.

With the goal of achieving carbon neutrality, the green transformation of manufacturing firms has become a major trend, and exploring its influencing factors is of great practical significance. This study examines whether the carbon emissions trading policy can promote firms’ green transformation by analyzing its characteristics through both institutional pressures and incentives. Using a fixed-effects panel data model and data from Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms during 2010 and 2020, the basic empirical results confirm their positive relationship. We further examine the moderating roles of both external institutional environments and internal resources. The results suggest that, as external moderators, regions with high public environmental attention and government subsidies can amplify the positive impact. Internally, for firms with executives who have environmental experience, the carbon emissions trading policy has a greater impact on their green transformation, while higher resource slack plays the opposite role. Additional analyses suggest that, in the short term, this policy may hinder the green transformation of firms in adjacent regions and potentially lead to economic losses for the pilot firms.

The Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT) is one of the most effective and commonly used design evaluation methods. However, it fails to capture implicit cognitive processes and has mainly been studied in a homogenous design modality. To bridge this gap, the present study investigates the impact of design ideas represented in different modalities (i.e., text-only, sketch-only, text + sketch) on design evaluations for creativity, novelty, and usefulness, and examine human gaze patterns during the evaluation process. Our findings showed that novice raters exhibit higher interrater reliability and greater convergence in visual attention when rating ideas containing sketches compared to text-only design modality, highlighting the value of visual elements in design evaluations.

The history of weed science as a discipline has been a topic of interest for decades, but it is rare for researchers to consider publications prior to the 19th century or that were not focused on North America. In this article, the development of weed identification manuals in early modern England is documented out of two genres of premodern scientific writing: agricultural treatises and illustrated herbals. These two forms of writing intersected in the late 18th century with the publication of Thomas Martyn’s four-volume Flora rustica, an illustrated guide to plants in British agricultural systems. We argue that the key characteristics of modern North American weed identification guides in English (the use of the term weed to categorize plants, descriptions of plant habitats, and the use of detailed descriptions and/or illustrations of plants for identification purposes) originated in these premodern texts.