Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
1.1.3 Systemic Safety and Accident Modelling of Complex Socio‐technical Systems

Modern systems such as transportation, defence, telecommunications, nuclear power plants, robots and autonomous vehicles are increasingly becoming more complex. This is leading to new kinds of system failures, safety issues and severe accidents. The traditional approaches to system design and safety analysis are not adequate to capture the complexities and dynamics of modern socio‐technical systems. This paper focuses on new approaches to safety and accident modelling of socio‐technical systems based on systems theory and cognitive systems engineering. We examine the contributions by organisational sociologists to safety in complex organisations managing and operating high‐risk technological systems. This paper recommends interdisciplinary research encompassing technology, human factors, and organisational sociology, in order to capture the complexity of modern socio‐technical systems from a broad systemic view for understanding the multi‐dimensional aspects of safety and accident causation.
Sound transmission through normal and diseased human lungs

A system for monitoring sound transmission through the human lung is described and the possibility of using this information in order to construct a functional map of the lung is investigated. Lung morphology (structure) may be monitored by using X-rays or computerised axial tomography (CAT). However, the size, cost and the possible adverse effects of high doses of X-rays make these techniques unsuitable for routine use. The speed of sound transmission through parenchyma (lung tissue) is a function of the size of the alveoli (air sacs). Therefore, by measuring the speed of sound through the lungs it may be possible to detect areas of collapsed alveoli. This would provide a simple, cheap, and non-invasive technique for monitoring certain lung abnormalities.
Understanding one aspect of the knowledge leakage concept: people

Businesses strive to maintain their competitive advantage in the present tremendously aggressive commercial world. To guarantee the continued success of a commercial organisation, managers need to continually enhance best practice and retain in-house knowledge and experience. Knowledge leaking away from the origin of the knowledge or experience may lead to a loss of competitive advantage for an organisation. The forms of ‘knowledge leakage’ and its positive and negative impacts over time have been neglected in the literature. Research described here explores if organisations appreciate the full range of knowledge leakage routes via people and the positive and negative consequences. As the concept of knowledge leakage is not well understood and the nature of research is exploratory, a Grounded Theory research strategy has been employed to develop an initial taxonomy of knowledge leakage. This paper discusses the findings of in-depth-interviews carried out with employees of Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) involved in manufacturing and design. As a result, a taxonomy of knowledge leakage via people with an integrated approach to knowledge ‘loss’ and ‘gain’ is proposed here.
Improving heat capture for power generation in coal gasification plants

Improving the steam cycle design to maximize power generation is demonstrated using pinch analysis targeting techniques. Previous work models the steam pressure level in composite curves based on its saturation temperature alone. The present work examines the effect of including both sensible and latent heating of steam in the composite curve. It is shown that including sensible heating allows for better thermal matching between the process and steam system which results in improving the overall efficiency while minimizing the capital cost. Additionally, fixed steam headers, such as assumed in total site analysis, give no allowance for reheating before turbine expansion, which can be valuable to consider when optimizing the steam system for certain plant configurations. A case study using an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is analyzed to assess changes in steam cycle design on the plant efficiency and cost. In addition to improving the steam system within an IGCC plant to improve efficiency, losses within the radiant heat exchanger can also be reduced. Instead of using high temperature syngas, cooling from 1300°C to 760°C, to boil steam at 330°C, another heat transfer fluid can be used and heated to higher temperatures. Material constraints restrict the maximum allowable temperature of the heat transfer fluid. To maintain high heat transfer coefficients in the heat transfer fluid, a fluid with high thermal conductivity, such as a liquid metal, can be used and heated to high temperatures (~700°C). Liquid metals can then act as an intermediate heat transfer medium, absorbing heat from high temperature syngas and rejecting it to steam at temperatures in excess of 500°C. The use of liquid metals leads to a 0.75 point increase in plant efficiency. Gases, such as carbon dioxide and helium, are also considered as potential heat transfer fluids in the radiant heat exchanger. These gases can be at equal pressure to the syngas pressure in the radiant heat exchanger, reducing the tensile stress in tube walls, but their low thermal conductivities still necessitate high strength materials at high temperature. A Brayton power cycle with recuperation is considered in this work, absorbing heat from the hot syngas and rejecting it to steam. Over a range of different Brayton cycle pressure ratios and maximum temperatures, no improvement in plant efficiency was found with respect to the case where steam is boiled in the same sized heat exchanger.
Mechanical Property Analysis and Design of Shock Absorber System Using Fiber Bearing by Experimental Method

This paper describes an experimental and theoretical study of the feasibility of using fiber reinforced to produce lightweight low-cost elastomeric isolator. The fiber in the fiber-reinforced isolator, in contrast to the steel in the conventional isolator is assumed to be flexible in extension. Several examples of isolators in the form of long strips were fabricated and tested. The theoretical analysis and test results suggest that it is possible to produce the fiber-reinforced strip isolator that matches the behavior of a steel-reinforced isolator. The fiber-reinforced isolator is significantly lighter and can be made by a much less labor-intensive manufacturing process.
On creating a nonisotropic propagation environment inside a scattered field chamber

A traditional reverberation chamber creates a statistically isotropic test environment. Tests of communication devices may demand different environments to be able to test, for example, the influence of a diversity antenna. Here, a simple way of altering the distribution of plane waves incident on the device under test is presented. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 43: 192–195, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.20417
Assessment of Multispan Masonry Arch Bridges. II: Examples and Applications

Modern approaches to multispan masonry bridges are approximate in many ways: load distribution, masonry degradation, fill-to-barrel, span-to-span, and span-to-pier interaction are taken into account by means of approximate models or are neglected. At the end of the assessment procedure, the approximation to the load carrying capacity of the bridge cannot be easily quantified. In Part I of this paper, an extension of the classical approach to masonry arches was formulated taking into account the nonlinear response of masonry, a limit to compressive inelastic strains, and assuming simplifying but conservative assumptions. The procedure allows the analysis of multispan masonry bridges considering the nonlinear response of arches and barrels and the mutual interaction. The response of two- and three-span prototypes is compared to that of a single arch; then the procedure is applied to a six 18.5-m span in-service viaduct. A detailed comparison with the single-span-bridge approach is discussed. Specific attention is paid to the evolution of the collapse mechanism and to the effect of load distribution, addressing the concentrated loads versus distributed equivalent loads problem and showing how the limit to compressive inelastic strains, i.e., to masonry ductility, may be of great importance to the structural analysis of masonry bridges.
Development of a Reconfigurable Flight Control Law for the X-36 Tailless Fighter Aircraft

This paper describes a neural network based direct adaptive control approach to the problem of reconfigurable flight control. The control law was first tested using a model of a tailless fighter aircraft configured with multiple and redundant control actuation devices, and subsequently tested both in piloted simulation and in flight test on the X-36 aircraft. The model aircraft was used for design and to illustrate the level to which handling qualities can be maintained in the presence of failures in the actuation channels. Of significance here is the speed with which recovery and maintenance of handling qualities can take place. The main advantage lies in eliminating the need for parameter identification during the recovery phase, and limiting the potential need for parameter identification in the problem of control reallocation following a failure. A second by-product of this work is that the need for an accurate aerodynamic data base for the purpose of flight control design can be significantly reduced. Moreover, the need for extensive off-line analysis, in-flight tuning and validation of gain schedules, and contingency coding necessary to handle a large set of possible failure modes is substantially reduced. Thus the overall approach may also be viewed as a direct path to substantially reducing the cost associated with the development of new aircraft.
New approach to the assessment of frequency of electronic systems damage due to nearby lightning strokes

The paper deals with the assessment of expected frequency of damage or malfunction of electronic systems inside a structure due to lightning overvoltages both induced in the system by its direct coupling with the electromagnetic impulsive field radiated by the lightning current (Lightning Electromagnetic Impulse :LEMP) and induced on incoming lines connected to the system. The frequency of damage has been calculated as the product of the number of strokes influencing the system from different distances and the probability of damage by single stroke. In the calculation simultaneous action of the stroke by direct coupling with the system and by coupling with incoming line has been considered. The results relevant to the frequency of damage have been compared with those resulting from the application of the Rusck approach.
A model for gated-lateral BJTs based on standard MOSFET models

The Pao-Sah MOSFET equation is modified so that it applies when the source-body junction is forward biased. The modified equation can be separated into two components: (1) a MOSFET charge-sheet term and (2) a bipolar transistor term. The role of the two components in the variable gain of gated-lateral bipolar transistors (GL-BJT) is discussed.
Friction behavior of press-fit applications: test apparatus and methodology [connector pins]

The industry has been expanding the surface material combinations used in press-fit connection systems. This paper describes the development of an instrument to measure friction coefficients at force levels typical of press fit pin applications. Our testing provides accurate and repeatable measurement of lateral force on sliding samples. Representative press fit pin blanks are dead weight loaded against a representative half plated through hole (half PTH) that is moved with reciprocating simple harmonic motion. The reciprocating motion is produced using a micrometer adjustable eccentric cam driven by a DC motor. Lateral force is measured with a 222 N (50 lb) load cell and saved using a computer data acquisition program. Data analysis is possible using commercially available computer spread sheet or analysis programs. Combinations of maximum velocity and distance ranging between 0.02 - 20.8 mm/s and 0.125 - 12.7 mm, respectively are possible. The instrument is capable of loading forces of 4 - 93 N. A broad overview of typical results illustrates the application of the instrument.
Method of Image Matching for Seabed Sonar Images Based on Regions of Interest

One of the most effective instruments for target detection in turbid waters is imaging sonar. However, the aspect angle of imaging sonar is usually small and that is a sacrifice for high detection precision. To make imaging sonar practical in large scale target detection with wide aspect angle, investigating image matching methods for continuous sonar frames is of great importance. A novel image matching method using local features of SIFT is described in this paper, which mainly focuses on the problem of weak echo signals and the following sonar images mismatch. The correspondence between objects and cast shadow regions is employed to extract regions of interest. Besides, status parameters of underwater vehicle are used to approximate the image transformation. Image segmentation methods are involved to decrease the size of the feature extracting regions and reduce the impact of non-target seabed areas, which improves the stability of this sonar image matching method significantly.
Cost of Oral Cancer: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Background: Cancer care is among the costliest in the social sphere. Oral cancer (OC) is a chronic disease whose incidence has been growing worldwide. The lack of economic evaluation studies assessing the economic impact of OC, as well as the need to search for evidence of the economic burden of OC motivated this investigation. This study aims to collect evidence on the cost of OC (lip cancer - LC, oral cavity cancer - OCC and oropharyngeal cancer - OPC) worldwide. Methods: A systematic review will be conducted take into consideration any perspective. The primary outcome will be the costs related to oral cancer in patients, reported in monetary units. Specific breakdown of costs will be reported (direct hospital costs, rehabilitation care costs, direct non-healthcare costs, indirect costs and productivity loss, and intangible costs). SCOPUS, WEB OF SCIENCE, COCHRANE and BVS databases will be searched. Original studies on cost of OC that assess its cost based on components as: hospital and/or outpatient, promotion and prevention will be included. It will be excluded types of study such as: editorial, letters, reviews, case reports, case series, clinical trials, studies that address specific analysis, such as cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, cost-benefit, cost-minimization. A systematic meta-narrative synthesis will be presented. Data on quantities of health and social resource consumption, currencies used and whether studies show total or incremental costs will be collected.Discussion: The identification of evidence on the economic burden of LC, OCC and OPC will allow the determination of the contribution share of each sector of society in the total economic burden of oral cancer. Also, this evidence will favour the estimate of the impact that the reduction of the OC burden would have on its associated costs and better guide the choice decision, to optimize the benefits. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO ID number 172471.
Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors: The First Decade

Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors, or MKIDs, are non‐equilibrium superconducting detectors made out of high quality factor superconducting microwave resonant circuits. Their primary advantage over other low temperature detector technologies is their built‐in frequency domain multiplexing at GHz frequencies, allowing thousands of detectors to be read out through a single transmission line. MKIDs are now celebrating their tenth birthday, so this review aims to sum up what has been learned over the first decade and explore the diversity of current MKID projects.
Zur Biegebemessung von Flachdecken in Verbundbauweise

Basierend auf den Forderungen nach schlanken Konstruktionen und einer Optimierung des Bauablaufs, gewinnt die Slim‐Floor‐Bauweise zunehmend an Bedeutung. Die Bemessung solcher Bauteile kann jedoch nicht allein auf Grundlage der Europäischen Regelwerke für den Verbundbau erfolgen. Es gelten einige Besonderheiten, die durch ergänzende Bemessungsregeln zu erfassen sind. An dieser Stelle wird die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Bemessung im Bauzustand, die Querschnittsklassifizierung und die Biegebemessung gelenkt. Neben den klassischen Querschnitten, bestehend aus gewalzten Profilen mit untergeschweißter Gurtplatte, werden dabei auch in die Decke integrierte hohlkastenartige Profilformen untersucht.
Bundling and Unbundling in Public–Private Partnerships: Implications for Risk Sharing in Urban Transport Projects

Public–private partnership (PPP) projects may be organized in a variety of ways, depending on the level of integration of the so-called Special Purpose Vehicle. Based on the analyses of four major PPP light rail projects in Spain, this article outlines two fundamentally different models of organizing the Special Purpose Vehicle in PPP projects; moreover, the article examines the central principles of these two different models of organizing the private sector Special Purpose Vehicle and their implications for risk sharing and project management in large-scale infrastructure PPP projects.
Controlling a team of unmanned underwater vehicles performing water region search tasks

Abstract The article discusses a problem of performing a mission and controlling a team of unmanned underwater vehicles which perform a task of water region search. The team of underwater vehicles has been modelled as a multi-agent system, which made it possible to use the mechanism of multi-agent systems for controlling the team of cooperating underwater vehicles, with each vehicle being treated as an individual agent. Solutions to cooperation problems in multi-agent systems were proposed, including the presentation of the system structure and the data exchange method. Issues relating to cooperation actions in the team of underwater vehicles were described and solved using the theory of games and the vector quality index. The process of negotiations between the vehicles was modelled as the multiplayer cooperative game, which secured successful realisation of the task performed by the team of vehicles with respect to time, which represents the economic aspect of the task. The optimal solution was selected based on the vector quality index, which provided opportunities for minimisation of costs having the form of energy used by the entire team, and maximisation of profits in the form of time needed for completing the water region search task. The proposed method for dividing the action space in the water region search tasks performed by the team of underwater vehicles consists in assigning to each of cooperating underwater vehicles a task the realisation of which contributes to the realisation of the globally defined task. Finally, the results of water region search tasks performed by a team of cooperating underwater vehicles are presented and discussed taking into account possible vehicle failures happening during task realisation.
System of Rice Intensification in Hybrid Rice – A Review

The lower average rice yield in India and Tamil Nadu can be attributed to poor soil fertility, improper spacing and nursery management. Intensive research has been initiated to solve the problems related to soil fertility and crop management through coordinated net works of research all over the country. This review is focused to evaluate the response of hybrid rice under System of Rice Intensification (SRI) cultivation method. Relevant literature on this subject is reviewed under various headings in this paper.
Commercial Scale Tub Grinding of Corn Stover and Perennial Grasses

Performance of a commercial mobile tub-grinder [463 kW (630 hp)] was studied to produce coarsely ground particles from round-baled, plastic net-wrapped corn stover and native perennial grasses. The effects of grinder screen opening size [25.4 to 127.0 mm (1.0 to 5.0 in.)] and feedstock type on ground particle size, bulk density of ground biomass, throughput, specific energy consumption, and cost of grinding were studied. The bulk density of ground biomass ranged from 69 to 207 kg/m3 with the moisture content of particles ranging from 14% to 39% (w.b.). The throughput of the grinder ranged from 6 to 45 t/h. The specific energy consumption ranged from 93 to 661 MJ/t. The estimated cost of grinding ranged from $4.39 to $31.23/t. Increasing the grinder screen opening size increased the ground particle size and throughput, but decreased the bulk density of ground biomass, specific energy consumption, and cost of grinding. High moisture bales (= 25% w.b.) decreased the performance of the grinder. The results from this study would be useful for developing a biomass supply logistics system involving mobile grinding.
Identification and validation of a ten-gene set variation score as a diagnostic and prognostic stratification tools in hepatocellular carcinoma

We aimed to identify the progress of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-specific gene set. Using the HCC data set from The Cancer Genome Atlas, we found that 10 genes were gradually up-graduated with the progress of HCC and associated with survival and classed as HCC-unfavorable gene set, while 29 genes were gradually down-graduated and associated with survival and classed as HCC-favorable gene set. Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA) was used to score individual samples against the two gene sets. ROC curve analysis showed both of HCC-unfavorable GSVA score and HCC-favorable GSVA score were reliable biomarkers for diagnosing HCC, tROC curve analysis and univariate/multivariate Cox proportional hazards analyses indicated that HCC-unfavorable GSVA score was an independently prognostic biomarkers. Moreover, the results were validated in an external independent data set. In addition, according to mutation and methylation analysis, we proposed that the aberrant expression of HCC-unfavorable gene may be driven by hypomethylation, not mutation.
Excitation control of a power‐generating system based on fuzzy logic and neural networks

This paper presents a practical design of an intelligent controller (using fuzzy logic and neural network concepts) for the excitation control of an isolated power-generating system. The controller is suitable for realtime operation, with the aim of improving the dynamic characteristics of the generating unit by acting properly on the exciter input. At first, digital simulations of high- and reduced-order models of the above system are performed using conventional control techniques on five system cases which are based on previous work. Then, a fuzzy logic proportional-plus-derivative controller (FPDC) is designed and the dynamic performances of the mentioned five system cases and the FPDCs are presented by comparison. Finally, an enhanced controller is designed which involves a pre-trained neural network as a model dynamics capture. The computer simulation results obtained clearly demonstrate that the performance of the developed fuzzy logic and neural network controller offers better damping effects on the generator oscillations over a wider range of operating conditions, than the associated ones of the conventional excitation controller designs with output feedback applied to high- and reduced-order system models.
Coupling of a planar waveguide and a dielectric disk [laser resonator]

The complete analytic solution to the problem of coupling between a slab waveguide and a ring has been derived. The two-configuration problem is reduced to two simultaneous single-configuration problems by the method of equivalence. These are independently solved to yield the exact solution in terms of modal content. The results are illustrated with a numerical example and corroborated independently by a variational approach.