WorldWideScience

Sample records for control strategies evaluation

  1. Performance evaluation of control strategies for power maneuvering event of the KALIMER-600

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seong, Seong-Hwan; Kim, Seong-O

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► The performance of three power control strategies of the KALIMER-600 was evaluated. ► There are turbine-, reactor- and feedwater-leading strategies in this study. ► For this, a performance analysis code was developed in this study. ► Simulation results show the turbine-leading is the best alternative. ► The feedwater-leading seems to be the second option. - Abstract: A sodium-cooled fast reactor named KALIMER-600 has been under development at KAERI. It is a pool-type reactor with the intermediate loops filled with sodium and has a superheated steam cycle with the once-through steam generators. Since the characteristic of the power control of the KALIMER-600 is expected to be different with that of a conventional power plant, the performance of the turbine-leading, reactor-leading and feedwater-leading control strategies for a power maneuvering event of the KALIMER-600 was evaluated in this study. The turbine-leading and reactor-leading strategies are very similar to those of a conventional water reactor but the feedwater-leading strategy is very similar to that of a fossil plant. Also, a performance analysis code which can analyze the plant dynamics of the KALIMER-600 and simulate the control actions during a power maneuvering event was developed. To evaluate the performance of control strategies, a simple power maneuvering event including a 10% step change and a ramp change with a rate of 5%/min was assumed and simulated. Through the simulation results, the turbine-leading strategy is proven to be very suitable for the KALIMER-600 and the feedwater-leading strategy for power maneuvering seems to be a good alternative for the power control. In further studies, various performance-related events such as the reactor power cutback, turbine runback and some transients will be evaluated and the best control strategy will be suggested.

  2. Evaluating Internal Model Strength and Performance of Myoelectric Prosthesis Control Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shehata, Ahmed W; Scheme, Erik J; Sensinger, Jonathon W

    2018-05-01

    On-going developments in myoelectric prosthesis control have provided prosthesis users with an assortment of control strategies that vary in reliability and performance. Many studies have focused on improving performance by providing feedback to the user but have overlooked the effect of this feedback on internal model development, which is key to improve long-term performance. In this paper, the strength of internal models developed for two commonly used myoelectric control strategies: raw control with raw feedback (using a regression-based approach) and filtered control with filtered feedback (using a classifier-based approach), were evaluated using two psychometric measures: trial-by-trial adaptation and just-noticeable difference. The performance of both strategies was also evaluated using Schmidt's style target acquisition task. Results obtained from 24 able-bodied subjects showed that although filtered control with filtered feedback had better short-term performance in path efficiency ( ), raw control with raw feedback resulted in stronger internal model development ( ), which may lead to better long-term performance. Despite inherent noise in the control signals of the regression controller, these findings suggest that rich feedback associated with regression control may be used to improve human understanding of the myoelectric control system.

  3. Multi-criteria evaluation of wastewater treatment plant control strategies under uncertainty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flores-Alsina, Xavier; Rodríguez-Roda, Ignasi; Sin, Gürkan; Gernaey, Krist V

    2008-11-01

    The evaluation of activated sludge control strategies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) via mathematical modelling is a complex activity because several objectives; e.g. economic, environmental, technical and legal; must be taken into account at the same time, i.e. the evaluation of the alternatives is a multi-criteria problem. Activated sludge models are not well characterized and some of the parameters can present uncertainty, e.g. the influent fractions arriving to the facility and the effect of either temperature or toxic compounds on the kinetic parameters, having a strong influence in the model predictions used during the evaluation of the alternatives and affecting the resulting rank of preferences. Using a simplified version of the IWA Benchmark Simulation Model No. 2 as a case study, this article shows the variations in the decision making when the uncertainty in activated sludge model (ASM) parameters is either included or not during the evaluation of WWTP control strategies. This paper comprises two main sections. Firstly, there is the evaluation of six WWTP control strategies using multi-criteria decision analysis setting the ASM parameters at their default value. In the following section, the uncertainty is introduced, i.e. input uncertainty, which is characterized by probability distribution functions based on the available process knowledge. Next, Monte Carlo simulations are run to propagate input through the model and affect the different outcomes. Thus (i) the variation in the overall degree of satisfaction of the control objectives for the generated WWTP control strategies is quantified, (ii) the contributions of environmental, legal, technical and economic objectives to the existing variance are identified and finally (iii) the influence of the relative importance of the control objectives during the selection of alternatives is analyzed. The results show that the control strategies with an external carbon source reduce the output uncertainty

  4. Risk evaluation and control strategies for indoor radon: a brief discussion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nero, A.V. Jr.

    1994-01-01

    Average risks of death estimated for radon are larger than those for many exposures in the outdoor environment, but similar to some in industrial settings. However, the indoor environment differs in regard to cost, benefit, responsibility, and distribution of risks from the outdoor and occupational settings, where frameworks for setting risk-limiting objectives and strategies have already been developed substantially. This indicates the need to develop a conceptual framework for evaluating risks in the indoor environment, within which the objectives of radon control strategies can be sensibly chosen. Nevertheless, the range of estimated radon risks and of recent radon control strategies suggest near-term elements of any strategy, i.e. accurate and effective public information, as well as reliable monitoring and control capabilities, and a focus on areas where most high residential levels occur. Developing a conceptual framework for evaluating indoor risks will permit the formulation of suitable aims on average indoor exposures and lower exposure situations. (author)

  5. Evaluation of plant-wide WWTP control strategies including the effects of filamentous bulking sludge

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flores Alsina, Xavier; Comas, J.S.; Rodríguez Roda, I.

    2009-01-01

    The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of filamentous bulking sludge on the predicted performance of simulated plant-wide WWTP control strategies. First, as a reference case, several control strategies are implemented, simulated and evaluated using the IWA Benchmark Simulation...

  6. Evaluation of bioremediation strategies of a controlled oil release in a wetland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mills, Marc A.; Bonner, James S.; Page, Cheryl A.; Autenrieth, Robin L.

    2004-01-01

    A controlled petroleum release was conducted to evaluate bioremediation in a wetland near Houston, Texas. The 140-day study was conducted using a randomized, complete block design to test three treatments with six replicates per treatment. The three treatment strategies were inorganic nutrients, inorganic nutrients with an alternative electron acceptor, and a no-action oiled control. Samples were analyzed for petroleum chemistry and inorganic nutrients. These results are discussed in the context of our related research involving toxicology and microbiology at the site during the experiment. To evaluate biodegradation, the targeted compounds were normalized to the conservative compound C 30 17α, 21β-[H]hopane, thus reducing the effects of spatial heterogeneity and physical transport. The two biostimulation treatments demonstrated statistically-higher rates of biodegradation than the oiled no-action control. For the majority of the experiment, target nutrient levels were maintained. Further research may be warranted to optimize these bioremediation strategies as well as evaluating additional treatment strategies for wetlands and other shoreline systems

  7. Towards a benchmark simulation model for plant-wide control strategy performance evaluation of WWTPs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jeppsson, Ulf; Rosen, Christian; Alex, Jens

    2006-01-01

    The COST/IWA benchmark simulation model has been available for seven years. Its primary purpose has been to create a platform for control strategy benchmarking of activated sludge processes. The fact that the benchmark has resulted in more than 100 publications, not only in Europe but also...... worldwide, demonstrates the interest in such a tool within the research community In this paper, an extension of the benchmark simulation model no 1 (BSM1) is proposed. This extension aims at facilitating control strategy development and performance evaluation at a plant-wide level and, consequently...... the changes, the evaluation period has been extended to one year. A prolonged evaluation period allows for long-term control strategies to be assessed and enables the use of control handles that cannot be evaluated in a realistic fashion in the one-week BSM1 evaluation period. In the paper, the extended plant...

  8. Multi-criteria evaluation of wastewater treatment plant control strategies under uncertainty

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flores Alsina, Xavier; Rodriguez-Roda, Ignasi; Sin, Gürkan

    2008-01-01

    The evaluation of activated sludge control strategies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) via mathematical modelling is a complex activity because several objectives; e.g. economic, environmental, technical and legal; must be taken into account at the same time, i.e. the evaluation of the alter...

  9. Extreme value analysis for evaluating ozone control strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reich, Brian; Cooley, Daniel; Foley, Kristen; Napelenok, Sergey; Shaby, Benjamin

    2013-06-01

    Tropospheric ozone is one of six criteria pollutants regulated by the US EPA, and has been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular endpoints and adverse effects on vegetation and ecosystems. Regional photochemical models have been developed to study the impacts of emission reductions on ozone levels. The standard approach is to run the deterministic model under new emission levels and attribute the change in ozone concentration to the emission control strategy. However, running the deterministic model requires substantial computing time, and this approach does not provide a measure of uncertainty for the change in ozone levels. Recently, a reduced form model (RFM) has been proposed to approximate the complex model as a simple function of a few relevant inputs. In this paper, we develop a new statistical approach to make full use of the RFM to study the effects of various control strategies on the probability and magnitude of extreme ozone events. We fuse the model output with monitoring data to calibrate the RFM by modeling the conditional distribution of monitoring data given the RFM using a combination of flexible semiparametric quantile regression for the center of the distribution where data are abundant and a parametric extreme value distribution for the tail where data are sparse. Selected parameters in the conditional distribution are allowed to vary by the RFM value and the spatial location. Also, due to the simplicity of the RFM, we are able to embed the RFM in our Bayesian hierarchical framework to obtain a full posterior for the model input parameters, and propagate this uncertainty to the estimation of the effects of the control strategies. We use the new framework to evaluate three potential control strategies, and find that reducing mobile-source emissions has a larger impact than reducing point-source emissions or a combination of several emission sources.

  10. Energy evaluation of optimal control strategies for central VWV chiller systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin Xinqiao; Du Zhimin; Xiao Xiaokun

    2007-01-01

    Under various conditions, the actual load of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems is less than it is originally designed in most operation periods. To save energy and to optimize the controls for chilling systems, the performance of variable water volume (VWV) systems and characteristics of control systems are analyzed, and three strategies are presented and tested based on simulation in this paper. Energy evaluation for the three strategies shows that they can save energy to some extent, and there is potential remained. To minimize the energy consumption of chilling system, the setpoints of controls of supply chilled water temperature and supply head of secondary pump should be optimized simultaneously

  11. Balancing effluent quality, economic cost and greenhouse gas emissions during the evaluation of (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in WWTPs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flores Alsina, Xavier; Arnell, Magnus; Amerlinck, Youri

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies ...... evaluation criteria to compare and evaluate (plant-wide) control strategies in a WWTP for more informed operational decision making. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.......The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies...

  12. Developing a consumer evaluation tool of weight control strategy advertisements on the Internet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luevorasirikul, Kanokrat; Gray, Nicola J; Anderson, Claire W

    2008-06-01

    To develop two evaluation tools for weight loss and weight gain advertisements on the Internet in order to help consumers to evaluate the quality of information within these advertisements. One hundred websites identified by Internet search engines for weight loss and weight gain strategies (50 websites each) were evaluated using two specific scoring instruments, developed by adapting questions from the 'DISCERN' tool and reviewing all related weight control guidelines and advertising regulations. The validity and reliability of the adapted tools were tested. Our evaluation tools rated the information from most websites as poor quality (70%). In the case of weight loss strategies, statements about rapid (18%) and permanent (28%) weight loss caused concern as well as lack of sensible advice about dieting and a lack of product warnings (84%). Safety concerns relating to weight gain products were the lack of warnings about side effects in products containing steroids and creatine (92%). The adapted tools exhibited acceptable validity and reliability. Quality of information within weight control advertisements on the Internet was generally poor. Problems of false claims, little advice on healthy ways to modify weight and few warnings on side effects have been highlighted in this study.

  13. Evaluation Strategy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Coto Chotto, Mayela; Wentzer, Helle; Dirckinck-Holmfeld, Lone

    2009-01-01

    The paper presents an evaluation strategy based on deliberate ideals and principles of dialogue design. The evaluation strategy is based on experiential phenomenology taking the point of departure for design and evaluation processes in the experienced practitioners themselves. The article present...... the evaluation strategy and methodology of a research project Making Online Path to Enter new Markets, MOPEM. It is an EU-research project with partners from different Educational Institutions of Technology and Business in five European Countries.......The paper presents an evaluation strategy based on deliberate ideals and principles of dialogue design. The evaluation strategy is based on experiential phenomenology taking the point of departure for design and evaluation processes in the experienced practitioners themselves. The article presents...

  14. [Evaluation of the organization of health services as a strategy for the prevention and control of visceral leishmaniasis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Miriam Nogueira; Guimarães, Eliete Albano de Azevedo; Luz, Zélia Maria Profeta da

    2016-01-01

    to evaluate the organization of health services as a strategy for the prevention and control of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Ribeirão das Neves, Minas Gerais, Brazil, from 2010 to 2012. this was a case study evaluation of the degree of implementation of a strategy for the integration of health care services, control of zoonosis and epidemiological surveillance; it consisted of observing the work process, interviewing health professionals and analysing secondary data from information systems. implementation was partially adequate (84%); in terms of structure, the human resources component had the worst evaluation (64%) whilst in terms of work process, evaluation was 80% for reorganization of care and 77% for surveillance; in the period 2010-2012 there was a 20% increase in reported cases of VL and a 20% reduction in the time interval between reporting a case and starting treatment. the strategy contributed to the improvement of the organization of VL prevention and control actions.

  15. Taxonomy for Evaluation of Distributed Control Strategies for Distributed Energy Resources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Han, Xue; Heussen, Kai; Gehrke, Oliver

    2017-01-01

    Distributed control strategies applied to power distribution control problems are meant to offer robust and scalable integration of distributed energy resources (DER). However, the term “distributed control” is often loosely applied to a variety of very different control strategies. In particular....... For such comparison, a classification is required that is consistent across the different aspects mentioned above. This paper develops systematic categories of control strategies that accounts for communication, control and physical distribution aspects of the problem, and provides a set of criteria that can...

  16. Evaluating the combined effectiveness of influenza control strategies and human preventive behavior.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liang Mao

    Full Text Available Control strategies enforced by health agencies are a major type of practice to contain influenza outbreaks. Another type of practice is the voluntary preventive behavior of individuals, such as receiving vaccination, taking antiviral drugs, and wearing face masks. These two types of practices take effects concurrently in influenza containment, but little attention has been paid to their combined effectiveness. This article estimates this combined effectiveness using established simulation models in the urbanized area of Buffalo, NY, USA. Three control strategies are investigated, including: Targeted Antiviral Prophylaxis (TAP, workplace/school closure, community travel restriction, as well as the combination of the three. All control strategies are simulated with and without regard to individual preventive behavior, and the resulting effectiveness are compared. The simulation outcomes suggest that weaker control strategies could suffice to contain influenza epidemics, because individuals voluntarily adopt preventive behavior, rendering these weaker strategies more effective than would otherwise have been expected. The preventive behavior of individuals could save medical resources for control strategies and avoid unnecessary socio-economic interruptions. This research adds a human behavioral dimension into the simulation of control strategies and offers new insights into disease containment. Health policy makers are recommended to review current control strategies and comprehend preventive behavior patterns of local populations before making decisions on influenza containment.

  17. Evaluation of stormwater micropollutant source control and end-of-pipe control strategies using an uncertainty-calibrated integrated dynamic simulation model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vezzaro, Luca; Sharma, Anitha Kumari; Ledin, Anna

    2015-01-01

    (copper, zinc) and organic compounds (fluoranthene). MP fluxes were estimated by using an integrated dynamic model, in combination with stormwater quality measurements. MP sources were identified by using GIS land usage data, runoff quality was simulated by using a conceptual accumulation/washoff model......The estimation of micropollutant (MP) fluxes in stormwater systems is a fundamental prerequisite when preparing strategies to reduce stormwater MP discharges to natural waters. Dynamic integrated models can be important tools in this step, as they can be used to integrate the limited data provided...... by monitoring campaigns and to evaluate the performance of different strategies based on model simulation results. This study presents an example where six different control strategies, including both source-control and end-of-pipe treatment, were compared. The comparison focused on fluxes of heavy metals...

  18. Performance evaluation of a full-scale advanced phase isolation ditch process by using real-time control strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyosoo; Kim, Yejin; Kim, Minsoo; Piao, Wenhua; Kim, Changwon; Gee, Jeasung

    2014-01-01

    This paper proposes real-time control strategies that can be applied in a full-scale advanced phase isolation ditch (APID) process. Real-time operation mode control (OMC) and aeration section control (ASC) strategies were developed to cope more stably with fluctuations in the influent loading and to increase the nitrification and denitrification reactions within the entire volume. The real-time OMC and ASC strategies were evaluated using mathematical models. When the NH 4 -N in the reactor was maintained at a high level, appropriate control actions, such as continuing the aeration state, stopping the influent inflow and increasing the aeration section, were applied in the APID process. In contrast, when the NO X -N in the reactor was maintained at a high level, the non-aeration state, influent inflow, and decreased aeration section were continued. It was concluded that stable operation in the APID process could be achieved by applying real-time OMC and ASC strategies developed in this study

  19. Performance evaluation of a full-scale advanced phase isolation ditch process by using real-time control strategies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Hyosoo; Kim, Yejin; Kim, Minsoo; Piao, Wenhua; Kim, Changwon [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Gee, Jeasung [Taiwha Industrial Co. Ltd., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-04-15

    This paper proposes real-time control strategies that can be applied in a full-scale advanced phase isolation ditch (APID) process. Real-time operation mode control (OMC) and aeration section control (ASC) strategies were developed to cope more stably with fluctuations in the influent loading and to increase the nitrification and denitrification reactions within the entire volume. The real-time OMC and ASC strategies were evaluated using mathematical models. When the NH{sub 4}-N in the reactor was maintained at a high level, appropriate control actions, such as continuing the aeration state, stopping the influent inflow and increasing the aeration section, were applied in the APID process. In contrast, when the NO{sub X}-N in the reactor was maintained at a high level, the non-aeration state, influent inflow, and decreased aeration section were continued. It was concluded that stable operation in the APID process could be achieved by applying real-time OMC and ASC strategies developed in this study.

  20. [Aedes aegypti control strategies: a review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zara, Ana Laura de Sene Amâncio; Santos, Sandra Maria Dos; Fernandes-Oliveira, Ellen Synthia; Carvalho, Roberta Gomes; Coelho, Giovanini Evelim

    2016-01-01

    to describe the main strategies to control Aedes aegypti, with emphasis on promising technological innovations for use in Brazil. this study is a non-systematic review of the literature. several technologies have been developed as alternatives in the control of Ae. aegypti, using different mechanisms of action, such as selective monitoring of the infestation, social interventions, dispersing insecticides, new biological control agents and molecular techniques for population control of mosquitoes, also considering the combination between them. Evolving technologies require evaluation of the effectiveness, feasibility and costs of implementation strategies as complementary to the actions already recommended by the National Program for Dengue Control. the integration of different compatible and effective vector control strategies, considering the available technologies and regional characteristics, appears to be a viable method to try to reduce the infestation of mosquitoes and the incidence of arbovirus transmitted by them.

  1. Solar shading control strategy for office buildings in cold climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røseth Karlsen, Line; Heiselberg, Per Kvols; Bryn, Ida

    2016-01-01

    Highlights •Solar shading control strategy for office buildings in cold climate is developed. •Satisfying energy and indoor environmental performance is confirmed. •Importance of integrated evaluations when selecting shading strategy is illustrated.......Highlights •Solar shading control strategy for office buildings in cold climate is developed. •Satisfying energy and indoor environmental performance is confirmed. •Importance of integrated evaluations when selecting shading strategy is illustrated....

  2. Evaluation of bovine viral diarrhoea virus control strategies in dairy herds in Hokkaido, Japan, using stochastic modelling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekiguchi, S; Presi, P; Omori, R; Staerk, K; Schuppers, M; Isoda, N; Yoshikawa, Y; Umemura, T; Nakayama, H; Fujii, Y; Sakoda, Y

    2018-02-01

    Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) infection in cattle can result in growth retardation, reduced milk production, reproductive disorders and death. Persistently infected animals are the primary source of infection. In Hokkaido, Japan, all cattle entering shared pastures in summer are vaccinated before movement for disease control. Additionally, these cattle may be tested for BVDV and culled if positive. However, the effectiveness of this control strategy aiming to reduce the number of BVDV-infected animals has not been assessed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various test-and-cull and/or vaccination strategies on BVDV control in dairy farms in two districts of Hokkaido, Nemuro and Hiyama. A stochastic model was developed to compare the different control strategies over a 10-year period. The model was individual-based and simulated disease dynamics both within and between herds. Parameters included in the model were obtained from the literature, the Hokkaido government and the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Nine different scenarios were compared as follows: no control, test-and-cull strategies based on antigen testing of either calves or only cattle entering common pastures, vaccination of all adult cattle or only cattle entering shared pastures and combinations thereof. The results indicate that current strategies for BVDV control in Hokkaido slightly reduced the number of BVDV-infected animals; however, alternative strategies such as testing all calves and culling any positives or vaccinating all susceptible adult animals dramatically reduced those. To our knowledge, this is the first report regarding the comparison of the effectiveness between the current strategies in Hokkaido and the alternative strategies for BVDV control measures. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  3. Force Control Strategies in Hydraulically Actuated Legged Robots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hector Montes

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this contribution, several strategies of force control have been proposed to be implemented and evaluated in ROBOCLIMBER, a quadruped robot of large dimensions. A first group of strategies proposed in this paper is based on impedance control, which is intended to adapt the foot-ground contact forces according to the experimentally specified damping ratio and the undamped natural frequency. A second control strategy of interest for many practical cases is called the parallel force/position control, which has one inner loop position control and two external control loops, one of force and another of position. A third group of control strategies is the posture stabilization for ROBOCLIMBER using the feedback of the ZMP calculation and the position of its legs. Finally, a control strategy for the control of a quasi-static gait using ZMP feedback is proposed and tested by simulation.

  4. A Dynamic Model for the Evaluation of Aircraft Engine Icing Detection and Control-Based Mitigation Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Donald L.; Rinehart, Aidan W.; Jones, Scott M.

    2017-01-01

    Aircraft flying in regions of high ice crystal concentrations are susceptible to the buildup of ice within the compression system of their gas turbine engines. This ice buildup can restrict engine airflow and cause an uncommanded loss of thrust, also known as engine rollback, which poses a potential safety hazard. The aviation community is conducting research to understand this phenomena, and to identify avoidance and mitigation strategies to address the concern. To support this research, a dynamic turbofan engine model has been created to enable the development and evaluation of engine icing detection and control-based mitigation strategies. This model captures the dynamic engine response due to high ice water ingestion and the buildup of ice blockage in the engines low pressure compressor. It includes a fuel control system allowing engine closed-loop control effects during engine icing events to be emulated. The model also includes bleed air valve and horsepower extraction actuators that, when modulated, change overall engine operating performance. This system-level model has been developed and compared against test data acquired from an aircraft turbofan engine undergoing engine icing studies in an altitude test facility and also against outputs from the manufacturers customer deck. This paper will describe the model and show results of its dynamic response under open-loop and closed-loop control operating scenarios in the presence of ice blockage buildup compared against engine test cell data. Planned follow-on use of the model for the development and evaluation of icing detection and control-based mitigation strategies will also be discussed. The intent is to combine the model and control mitigation logic with an engine icing risk calculation tool capable of predicting the risk of engine icing based on current operating conditions. Upon detection of an operating region of risk for engine icing events, the control mitigation logic will seek to change the

  5. Interactive Control System, Intended Strategy, Implemented Strategy dan Emergent Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tubagus Ismail

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between management control system (MCS and strategy formation processes, namely: intended strategy, emergent strategy and impelemented strategy. The focus of MCS in this study was interactive control system. The study was based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM as its multivariate analyses instrument. The samples were upper middle managers of manufacturing company in Banten Province, DKI Jakarta Province and West Java Province. AMOS Software 16 program is used as an additional instrument to resolve the problem in SEM modeling. The study found that interactive control system brought a positive and significant influence on Intended strategy; interactive control system brought a positive and significant influence on implemented strategy; interactive control system brought a positive and significant influence on emergent strategy. The limitation of this study is that our empirical model only used one way relationship between the process of strategy formation and interactive control system.

  6. Verification and Performance Evaluation of Timed Game Strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    David, Alexandre; Fang, Huixing; Larsen, Kim Guldstrand

    2014-01-01

    Control synthesis techniques, based on timed games, derive strategies to ensure a given control objective, e.g., time-bounded reachability. Model checking verifies correctness properties of systems. Statistical model checking can be used to analyse performance aspects of systems, e.g., energy...... consumption. In this work, we propose to combine these three techniques. In particular, given a strategy synthesized for a timed game and a given control objective, we want to make a deeper examination of the consequences of adopting this strategy. Firstly, we want to apply model checking to the timed game...... under the synthesized strategy in order to verify additional correctness properties. Secondly, we want to apply statistical model checking to evaluate various performance aspects of the synthesized strategy. For this, the underlying timed game is extended with relevant price and stochastic information...

  7. Evaluation of BWROG EPG level/power control strategy for Vermont Yankee

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chandola, V.; Robichaud, J.D.

    1987-01-01

    The current Boiling Water Reactor Owner's Group (BWROG) emergency procedure guidelines (EPGs) direct reactor operators to manually lower the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) water level to the top of active fuel (TAF) during an anticipated transient without scram (ATWS) event. Lowering the water level reduces the core inlet flow, thereby reducing core power. However, reducing water level is contrary to current operator training, which requires that normal RPV water level be maintained to assure core cooling. In addition, the indicated water level near TAF using cold calibrated level instrumentation may not be reliable, which could potentially result in uncovering the core. This paper evaluates the EPGs' level/power control strategy for the Vermont Yankee plant and proposes alternative to the BWROG guidelines as applied to ATWS response

  8. Balancing effluent quality, economic cost and greenhouse gas emissions during the evaluation of (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in WWTPs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Flores-Alsina, Xavier; Arnell, Magnus; Amerlinck, Youri; 2O Building, Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona (Spain))" data-affiliation=" (ICRA, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, H2O Building, Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona (Spain))" >Corominas, Lluís; Gernaey, Krist V.; Guo, Lisha; Lindblom, Erik

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The proposed GHG evaluation is based on a set of comprehensive dynamic models that estimate the most significant potential on-site and off-site sources of CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O. The study calculates and discusses the changes in EQI, OCI and the emission of GHGs as a consequence of varying the following four process variables: (i) the set point of aeration control in the activated sludge section; (ii) the removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS) in the primary clarifier; (iii) the temperature in the anaerobic digester; and (iv) the control of the flow of anaerobic digester supernatants coming from sludge treatment. Based upon the assumptions built into the model structures, simulation results highlight the potential undesirable effects of increased GHG production when carrying out local energy optimization of the aeration system in the activated sludge section and energy recovery from the AD. Although off-site CO 2 emissions may decrease, the effect is counterbalanced by increased N 2 O emissions, especially since N 2 O has a 300-fold stronger greenhouse effect than CO 2 . The reported results emphasize the importance and usefulness of using multiple evaluation criteria to compare and evaluate (plant-wide) control strategies in a WWTP for more informed operational decision making. - Graphical abstract: The 3-D representation of effluent quality (EQI), operational cost (OCI) and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) during the evaluation of several (plant-wide) control/operational strategies: (1) modification of the DO set point, (2) modification of the primary clarifier TSS removal efficiency and (3) modification of the anaerobic

  9. Balancing effluent quality, economic cost and greenhouse gas emissions during the evaluation of (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in WWTPs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flores-Alsina, Xavier [Division of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation (IEA), Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering (MIE), Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Center for Process Engineering and Technology (PROCESS), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 229, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Arnell, Magnus [Division of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation (IEA), Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering (MIE), Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); CIT Urban Water Management, Gjuterigatan 1D, SE-582 73 Linköping (Sweden); Amerlinck, Youri [BIOMATH, Department of Mathematical Modelling, Statistics and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent (Belgium); Corominas, Lluís [ICRA, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Scientific and Technological Park of the University of Girona, H_2O Building, Emili Grahit 101, 17003 Girona (Spain); Gernaey, Krist V. [Center for Process Engineering and Technology (PROCESS), Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 229, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark); Guo, Lisha [ModelEAU, Département de génie civil et de génie des eaux, Université Laval, 1065 Avenue de la Médecine, Québec G1V 0A6, QC (Canada); Lindblom, Erik [Division of Industrial Electrical Engineering and Automation (IEA), Department of Measurement Technology and Industrial Electrical Engineering (MIE), Lund University, Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund (Sweden); Sweco Environment, Gjörwellsgatan 22, SE-100 26 Stockholm (Sweden); and others

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this paper was to show the potential additional insight that result from adding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to plant performance evaluation criteria, such as effluent quality (EQI) and operational cost (OCI) indices, when evaluating (plant-wide) control/operational strategies in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The proposed GHG evaluation is based on a set of comprehensive dynamic models that estimate the most significant potential on-site and off-site sources of CO{sub 2}, CH{sub 4} and N{sub 2}O. The study calculates and discusses the changes in EQI, OCI and the emission of GHGs as a consequence of varying the following four process variables: (i) the set point of aeration control in the activated sludge section; (ii) the removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS) in the primary clarifier; (iii) the temperature in the anaerobic digester; and (iv) the control of the flow of anaerobic digester supernatants coming from sludge treatment. Based upon the assumptions built into the model structures, simulation results highlight the potential undesirable effects of increased GHG production when carrying out local energy optimization of the aeration system in the activated sludge section and energy recovery from the AD. Although off-site CO{sub 2} emissions may decrease, the effect is counterbalanced by increased N{sub 2}O emissions, especially since N{sub 2}O has a 300-fold stronger greenhouse effect than CO{sub 2}. The reported results emphasize the importance and usefulness of using multiple evaluation criteria to compare and evaluate (plant-wide) control strategies in a WWTP for more informed operational decision making. - Graphical abstract: The 3-D representation of effluent quality (EQI), operational cost (OCI) and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) during the evaluation of several (plant-wide) control/operational strategies: (1) modification of the DO set point, (2) modification of the primary clarifier TSS removal efficiency and (3

  10. Evaluation of pull production control strategies under uncertainty: An integrated fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aydin Torkabadi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Just-In-Time (JIT production has continuously been considered by industrial practitioners and researchers as a leading strategy for the yet popular Lean production. Pull Production Control Policies (PPCPs are the major enablers of JIT that locally control the level of inventory by authorizing the production in each station. Aiming to improve the PPCPs, three authorization mechanisms: Kanban, constant-work-in-process (ConWIP, and a hybrid system, are evaluated by considering uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach: Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM methods are successful in evaluating alternatives with respect to several objectives. The proposed approach of this study applies the fuzzy set theory together with an integrated Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP and a Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS method. Findings: The study finds that hybrid Kanban-ConWIP pull production control policies have a better performance in controlling the studied multi-layer multi-stage manufacturing and assembly system. Practical implications: To examine the approach a real case from automobile electro mechanical part production industry is studied. The production system consists of multiple levels of manufacturing, feeding a multi-stage assembly line with stochastic processing times to satisfy the changing demand. Originality/value: This study proposes the integrated Kanban-ConWIP hybrid pull control policies and implements several alternatives on a multi-stage and multi-layer manufacturing and assembly production system. An integrated Fuzzy AHP TOPSIS method is developed to evaluate the alternatives with respect to several JIT criteria.

  11. A comparison of WEC control strategies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilson, David G. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Bacelli, Giorgio [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Coe, Ryan Geoffrey [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Bull, Diana L. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Abdelkhalik, Ossama [Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States); Korde, Umesh A. [South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD (United States); Robinett, Rush D. [Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States)

    2016-04-01

    The operation of Wave Energy Converter (WEC) devices can pose many challenging problems to the Water Power Community. A key research question is how to significantly improve the performance of these WEC devices through improving the control system design. This report summarizes an effort to analyze and improve the performance of WEC through the design and implementation of control systems. Controllers were selected to span the WEC control design space with the aim of building a more comprehensive understanding of different controller capabilities and requirements. To design and evaluate these control strategies, a model scale test-bed WEC was designed for both numerical and experimental testing (see Section 1.1). Seven control strategies have been developed and applied on a numerical model of the selected WEC. This model is capable of performing at a range of levels, spanning from a fully-linear realization to varying levels of nonlinearity. The details of this model and its ongoing development are described in Section 1.2.

  12. Model-Based Evaluation of Strategies to Control Brucellosis in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ming-Tao; Sun, Gui-Quan; Zhang, Wen-Yi; Jin, Zhen

    2017-03-12

    Brucellosis, the most common zoonotic disease worldwide, represents a great threat to animal husbandry with the potential to cause enormous economic losses. Brucellosis has become a major public health problem in China, and the number of human brucellosis cases has increased dramatically in recent years. In order to evaluate different intervention strategies to curb brucellosis transmission in China, a novel mathematical model with a general indirect transmission incidence rate was presented. By comparing the results of three models using national human disease data and 11 provinces with high case numbers, the best fitted model with standard incidence was used to investigate the potential for future outbreaks. Estimated basic reproduction numbers were highly heterogeneous, varying widely among provinces. The local basic reproduction numbers of provinces with an obvious increase in incidence were much larger than the average for the country as a whole, suggesting that environment-to-individual transmission was more common than individual-to-individual transmission. We concluded that brucellosis can be controlled through increasing animal vaccination rates, environment disinfection frequency, or elimination rates of infected animals. Our finding suggests that a combination of animal vaccination, environment disinfection, and elimination of infected animals will be necessary to ensure cost-effective control for brucellosis.

  13. Pilot-scale cooling tower to evaluate corrosion, scaling, and biofouling control strategies for cooling system makeup water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chien, S H; Hsieh, M K; Li, H; Monnell, J; Dzombak, D; Vidic, R

    2012-02-01

    Pilot-scale cooling towers can be used to evaluate corrosion, scaling, and biofouling control strategies when using particular cooling system makeup water and particular operating conditions. To study the potential for using a number of different impaired waters as makeup water, a pilot-scale system capable of generating 27,000 kJ∕h heat load and maintaining recirculating water flow with a Reynolds number of 1.92 × 10(4) was designed to study these critical processes under conditions that are similar to full-scale systems. The pilot-scale cooling tower was equipped with an automatic makeup water control system, automatic blowdown control system, semi-automatic biocide feeding system, and corrosion, scaling, and biofouling monitoring systems. Observed operational data revealed that the major operating parameters, including temperature change (6.6 °C), cycles of concentration (N = 4.6), water flow velocity (0.66 m∕s), and air mass velocity (3660 kg∕h m(2)), were controlled quite well for an extended period of time (up to 2 months). Overall, the performance of the pilot-scale cooling towers using treated municipal wastewater was shown to be suitable to study critical processes (corrosion, scaling, biofouling) and evaluate cooling water management strategies for makeup waters of complex quality.

  14. Evaluation of control strategies in forming processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Calmano Stefan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Products of forming processes are subject to quality fluctuations due to uncertainty in semi-finished part properties as well as process conditions and environment. An approach to cope with these uncertainties is the implementation of a closed-loop control taking into account the actual product properties measured by sensors or estimated by a mathematical process model. Both methods of uncertainty control trade off with a financial effort. In case of sensor integration the effort is the cost of the sensor including signal processing as well as the design and manufacturing effort for integration. In case of an estimation model the effort is mainly determined by the time and knowledge needed to derive the model, identify the parameters and implement the model into the PLC. The risk of mismatch between model and reality as well as the risk of wrong parameter identification can be assumed as additional uncertainty (model uncertainty. This paper evaluates controlled and additional uncertainty by taking into account process boundary conditions like the degree of fluctuations in semi-finished part properties. The proposed evaluation is demonstrated by the analysis of exemplary processes.

  15. Evaluation of Strategies to Control a Potential Outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in Sweden

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda C. Dórea

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available To minimize the potential consequences of an introduction of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD in Europe, European Union (EU member states are required to present a contingency plan. This study used a simulation model to study potential outbreak scenarios in Sweden and evaluate the best control strategies. The model was informed by the Swedish livestock structure using herd information from cattle, pig, and small ruminant holdings in the country. The contact structure was based on animal movement data and studies investigating the movements between farms of veterinarians, service trucks, and other farm visitors. All scenarios of outbreak control included depopulation of detected herds, 3 km protection and 10 km surveillance zones, movement tracing, and 3 days national standstill. The effect of availability of surveillance resources, i.e., number of field veterinarians per day, and timeliness of enforcement of interventions, was assessed. With the estimated currently available resources, an FMD outbreak in Sweden is expected to be controlled (i.e., last infected herd detected within 3 weeks of detection in any evaluated scenario. The density of farms in the area where the epidemic started would have little impact on the time to control the outbreak, but spread in high density areas would require more surveillance resources, compared to areas of lower farm density. The use of vaccination did not result in a reduction in the expected number of infected herds. Preemptive depopulation was able to reduce the number of infected herds in extreme scenarios designed to test a combination of worst-case conditions of virus introduction and spread, but at the cost of doubling the number of herds culled. This likely resulted from a combination of the small outbreaks predicted by the spread model, and the high efficacy of the basic control measures evaluated, under the conditions of the Swedish livestock industry, and considering the assumed control

  16. National evaluation of strategies to reduce safety violations for working from heights in construction companies: results from a randomized controlled trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Molen, Henk F.; den Herder, Aalt; Warning, Jan; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a face-to-face strategy and a direct mail strategy on safety violations while working from heights among construction companies compared to a control condition. Construction companies with workers at risk for fall injuries were eligible

  17. Experimental evaluation of control strategies for hydraulic servo robot

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bech, Michael Møller; Andersen, Torben Ole; Pedersen, Henrik C.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper different linear and non-linear controllers applied to a hydraulically driven servo robot are evaluated and validated. The task is to make the actuators of the manipulator track a position reference with minimum error. Hydraulic systems are intrinsically non-linear and using linear...... in industrial servo drives. The different controllers are compared and evaluated from simulation and experimental results....

  18. Strategy to Ensure Institutional Control Implementation at Superfund Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    This document sets forth EPA’s strategy (Strategy) for ensuring that institutional controls (ICs) are successfully implemented at Superfund sites, with an emphasis on evaluating ICs at sites where all construction of all remedies is complete (construction complete sites).

  19. Strategy and Evaluation of Vehicle Collision Avoidance Control via Hardware-in-the-Loop Platform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sin-Li Chen

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel control approach for vehicle collision avoidance of urban vehicles. For safe driving in urban environments, this paper presents both one-dimensional and two-dimensional solutions, which can be applied to the collision avoidance via steering assistance, automatic braking, and warning of collision. Strategies are verified under the software CarSim, and the experimental evaluations are carried out under the combination of CarSim with a hardware-in-the-loop platform. The results show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm on vehicle collision avoidance.

  20. Analysis of Control Strategies for Aircraft Flight Upset Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crespo, Luis G.; Kenny, Sean P.; Cox, David E.; Muri, Daniel G.

    2012-01-01

    This paper proposes a framework for studying the ability of a control strategy, consisting of a control law and a command law, to recover an aircraft from ight conditions that may extend beyond the normal ight envelope. This study was carried out (i) by evaluating time responses of particular ight upsets, (ii) by evaluating local stability over an equilibrium manifold that included stall, and (iii) by bounding the set in the state space from where the vehicle can be safely own to wings-level ight. These states comprise what will be called the safely recoverable ight envelope (SRFE), which is a set containing the aircraft states from where a control strategy can safely stabilize the aircraft. By safe recovery it is implied that the tran- sient response stays between prescribed limits before converging to a steady horizontal ight. The calculation of the SRFE bounds yields the worst-case initial state corresponding to each control strategy. This information is used to compare alternative recovery strategies, determine their strengths and limitations, and identify the most e ective strategy. In regard to the control law, the authors developed feedback feedforward laws based on the gain scheduling of multivariable controllers. In regard to the command law, which is the mechanism governing the exogenous signals driving the feed- forward component of the controller, we developed laws with a feedback structure that combines local stability and transient response considera- tions. The upset recovery of the Generic Transport Model, a sub-scale twin-engine jet vehicle developed by NASA Langley Research Center, is used as a case study.

  1. Interactive Control System, Intended Strategy, Implemented Strategy dan Emergent Strategy

    OpenAIRE

    Tubagus Ismail; Darjat Sudrajat

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between management control system (MCS) and strategy formation processes, namely: intended strategy, emergent strategy and impelemented strategy. The focus of MCS in this study was interactive control system. The study was based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) as its multivariate analyses instrument. The samples were upper middle managers of manufacturing company in Banten Province, DKI Jakarta Province and West Java Province. AM...

  2. National evaluation of strategies to reduce safety violations for working from heights in construction companies: results from a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Molen, Henk F; den Herder, Aalt; Warning, Jan; Frings-Dresen, Monique H W

    2016-01-09

    The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a face-to-face strategy and a direct mail strategy on safety violations while working from heights among construction companies compared to a control condition. Construction companies with workers at risk for fall injuries were eligible for this three-armed randomized controlled trial. In total, 27 cities were randomly assigned to intervention groups-where eligible companies were given either a face-to-face guidance strategy or a direct mailing strategy with access to internet facilities-or to a control group. The primary outcomes were the number and type of safety violations recorded by labor inspectors after three months. A process evaluation for both strategies was performed to determine reach, program implementation, satisfaction, knowledge and perceived safety behavior. A cost analysis was performed to establish the financial costs for each intervention strategy. Analyses were done by intention to treat. In total, 41% (n = 88) of the companies eligible for the face-to-face intervention participated and 73% (n = 69) for direct mail. Intervention materials were delivered to 69 % (face-to-face group) and 100 % (direct mail group); completion of intervention activities within companies was low. Satisfaction, increase in knowledge, and safety behavior did not differ between the intervention groups. Costs for personal advice were 28% higher than for direct mail. Ultimately, nine intervention companies were captured in the 288 worksite measurements performed by the labor inspectorate. No statistical differences in mean number of safety violations (1.8-2.4) or penalties (72%-100%) were found between the intervention and control groups based on all worksite inspections. No conclusions about the effect of face-to-face and direct mail strategies on safety violations could be drawn due to the limited number of intervention companies captured in the primary outcome measurements. The costs for a face

  3. Comparison of Power Control Strategies for DFIG Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Teodorescu, Remus; Luna, A.; Rodríguez, P.

    2008-01-01

    The classical control techniques for regulating the active and reactive power delivery in doubly fed induction generators (DFIG), for wind power applications, are normally based on voltage oriented control (VOC) strategies. Among these algorithms, those that work in a synchronous reference frame...... VOC strategy able to control the operation of a DFIG in the αβ reference frame, with no need of flux position estimation, something that conducts to a more simple and robust algorithm. In order to evaluate the advantages of this new control proposal, namely VOC-RRF, their performance will be compared...

  4. Control Strategies for DFIG Wind Turbines Under Grid Fault

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Luna, Alvara; Rolan, A.; Medeiros, G.

    2009-01-01

    The classical control techniques for regulating the active and reactive power delivery in doubly fed induction generators (DFIG), for wind power applications, are normally based on voltage oriented control (VOC) strategies. Among these algorithms, those that work in a synchronous reference frame...... VOC strategy able to control the operation of a DFIG in the αβ reference frame, with no need of flux position estimation, something that conducts to a more simple and robust algorithm. In order to evaluate the advantages of this new control proposal, namely VOC-RRF, their performance will be compared...

  5. A robust model predictive control strategy for improving the control performance of air-conditioning systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Gongsheng; Wang Shengwei; Xu Xinhua

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a robust model predictive control strategy for improving the supply air temperature control of air-handling units by dealing with the associated uncertainties and constraints directly. This strategy uses a first-order plus time-delay model with uncertain time-delay and system gain to describe air-conditioning process of an air-handling unit usually operating at various weather conditions. The uncertainties of the time-delay and system gain, which imply the nonlinearities and the variable dynamic characteristics, are formulated using an uncertainty polytope. Based on this uncertainty formulation, an offline LMI-based robust model predictive control algorithm is employed to design a robust controller for air-handling units which can guarantee a good robustness subject to uncertainties and constraints. The proposed robust strategy is evaluated in a dynamic simulation environment of a variable air volume air-conditioning system in various operation conditions by comparing with a conventional PI control strategy. The robustness analysis of both strategies under different weather conditions is also presented.

  6. Internal Roof and Attic Thermal Radiation Control Retrofit Strategies for Cooling-Dominated Climates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fallahi, A. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, Boston, MA (United States); Duraschlag, H. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, Boston, MA (United States); Elliott, D. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, Boston, MA (United States); Hartsough, J. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, Boston, MA (United States); Shukla, N. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, Boston, MA (United States); Kosny, J. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, Boston, MA (United States)

    2013-12-01

    This project evaluates the cooling energy savings and cost effectiveness of radiation control retrofit strategies for residential attics in U.S. cooling-dominated climates. Usually, in residential applications, radiation control retrofit strategies are applied below the roof deck or on top of the attic floor insulation. They offer an alternative option to the addition of conventional bulk insulation such as fiberglass or cellulose insulation. Radiation control is a potentially low-cost energy efficiency retrofit strategy that does not require significant changes to existing homes. In this project, two groups of low-cost radiation control strategies were evaluated for southern U.S. applications. One uses a radiant barrier composed of two aluminum foils combined with an enclosed reflective air space and the second uses spray-applied interior radiation control coatings (IRCC).

  7. Internal Roof and Attic Thermal Radiation Control Retrofit Strategies for Cooling-Dominated Climates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fallahi, A. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE), Boston, MA (United States); Durschlag, H. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE), Boston, MA (United States); Elliott, D. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE), Boston, MA (United States); Hartsough, J. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE), Boston, MA (United States); Shukla, N. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE), Boston, MA (United States); Kosny, J. [Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems (CSE), Boston, MA (United States)

    2013-12-01

    This project evaluates the cooling energy savings and cost effectiveness of radiation control retrofit strategies for residential attics in U.S. cooling-dominated climates. Usually, in residential applications, radiation control retrofit strategies are applied below the roof deck or on top of the attic floor insulation. They offer an alternative option to the addition of conventional bulkinsulation such as fiberglass or cellulose insulation. Radiation control is a potentially low-cost energy efficiency retrofit strategy that does not require significant changes to existing homes. In this project, two groups of low-cost radiation control strategies were evaluated for southern U.S. applications. One uses a radiant barrier composed of two aluminum foils combined with an enclosedreflective air space and the second uses spray-applied interior radiation control coatings (IRCC).

  8. Robust predictive control strategy applied for propofol dosing using BIS as a controlled variable during anesthesia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ionescu, Clara A.; De Keyser, Robin; Torrico, Bismark Claure; De Smet, Tom; Struys, Michel M. R. F.; Normey-Rico, Julio E.

    This paper presents the application of predictive control to drug dosing during anesthesia in patients undergoing surgery. The performance of a generic predictive control strategy in drug dosing control, with a previously reported anesthesia-specific control algorithm, has been evaluated. The

  9. Benchmark Simulation Model No 2 – finalisation of plant layout and default control strategy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nopens, I.; Benedetti, L.; Jeppsson, U.

    2010-01-01

    The COST/IWA Benchmark Simulation Model No 1 (BSM1) has been available for almost a decade. Its primary purpose has been to create a platform for control strategy benchmarking of activated sludge processes. The fact that the research work related to the benchmark simulation models has resulted...... in more than 300 publications worldwide demonstrates the interest in and need of such tools within the research community. Recent efforts within the IWA Task Group on “Benchmarking of control strategies for WWTPs” have focused on an extension of the benchmark simulation model. This extension aims...... be evaluated in a realistic fashion in the one week BSM1 evaluation period. In this paper, the finalised plant layout is summarised and, as was done for BSM1, a default control strategy is proposed. A demonstration of how BSM2 can be used to evaluate control strategies is also given....

  10. Evaluation of Strategies to Reducing Traction Energy Consumption of Metro Systems Using an Optimal Train Control Simulation Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuai Su

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Increasing attention is being paid to the energy efficiency in metro systems to reduce the operational cost and to advocate the sustainability of railway systems. Classical research has studied the energy-efficient operational strategy and the energy-efficient system design separately to reduce the traction energy consumption. This paper aims to combine the operational strategies and the system design by analyzing how the infrastructure and vehicle parameters of metro systems influence the operational traction energy consumption. Firstly, a solution approach to the optimal train control model is introduced, which is used to design the Optimal Train Control Simulator(OTCS. Then, based on the OTCS, the performance of some important energy-efficient system design strategies is investigated to reduce the trains’ traction energy consumption, including reduction of the train mass, improvement of the kinematic resistance, the design of the energy-saving gradient, increasing the maximum traction and braking forces, introducing regenerative braking and timetable optimization. As for these energy-efficient strategies, the performances are finally evaluated using the OTCS with the practical operational data of the Beijing Yizhuang metro line. The proposed approach gives an example to quantitatively analyze the energy reduction of different strategies in the system design procedure, which may help the decision makers to have an overview of the energy-efficient performances and then to make decisions by balancing the costs and the benefits.

  11. Control of Maillard Reactions in Foods: Strategies and Chemical Mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lund, Marianne N; Ray, Colin A

    2017-06-14

    Maillard reactions lead to changes in food color, organoleptic properties, protein functionality, and protein digestibility. Numerous different strategies for controlling Maillard reactions in foods have been attempted during the past decades. In this paper, recent advances in strategies for controlling the Maillard reaction and subsequent downstream reaction products in food systems are critically reviewed. The underlying mechanisms at play are presented, strengths and weaknesses of each strategy are discussed, and reasonable reaction mechanisms are proposed to reinforce the evaluations. The review includes strategies involving addition of functional ingredients, such as plant polyphenols and vitamins, as well as enzymes. The resulting trapping or modification of Maillard targets, reactive intermediates, and advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are presented with their potential unwanted side effects. Finally, recent advances in processing for control of Maillard reactions are discussed.

  12. Evaluating Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs: Decades of Evolving Strategies and Practices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan Philliber

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews the changing strategies for both process and outcome evaluations of teen pregnancy prevention programs over the past few decades. Implementation evaluations have emphasized discovery of what program attributes are most effective in reducing teen pregnancy and its antecedents. Outcome evaluations have moved from collecting data to measure knowledge, attitudes, and program satisfaction to measuring behavior change including postponement of sexual involvement, increased used of contraception, or reduction in teen pregnancy. High quality randomized control trials or quasi-experimental designs are being increasingly emphasized, as are sophisticated analysis techniques using multi-variate analyses, controls for cluster sampling, and other strategies designed to build a more solid knowledge base about how to prevent early pregnancy.

  13. Optimal control applied to the control strategy of a parallel hybrid vehicle; Commande optimale appliquee a la strategie de commande d'un vehicule hybride parallele

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Delprat, S.; Guerra, T.M. [Universite de Valenciennes et du Hainaut-Cambresis, LAMIH UMR CNRS 8530, 59 - Valenciennes (France); Rimaux, J. [PSA Peugeot Citroen, DRIA/SARA/EEES, 78 - Velizy Villacoublay (France); Paganelli, G. [Center for Automotive Research, Ohio (United States)

    2002-07-01

    Control strategies are algorithms that calculate the power repartition between the engine and the motor of an hybrid vehicle in order to minimize the fuel consumption and/or emissions. Some algorithms are devoted to real time application whereas others are designed for global optimization in stimulation. The last ones provide solutions which can be used to evaluate the performances of a given hybrid vehicle or a given real time control strategy. The control strategy problem is firstly written into the form of an optimization under constraints problem. A solution based on optimal control is proposed. Results are given for the European Normalized Cycle and a parallel single shaft hybrid vehicle built at the LAMIH (France). (authors)

  14. Regulatory controls for NORM contamination: Emerging issues and strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wennerberg, Linda

    1992-01-01

    Naturally occurring and accelerator-produced radioactive material (NORM) faces the increasing likelihood of federal or state regulatory control. Public concern and limited preliminary survey data fuel the debate over the necessity, approach, and jurisdiction of a NORM regulatory strategy. This debate requires the resolution of technical controversies and potentially competing state and federal agency interests. An additional facet of the debate is the impact of regulation upon traditionally non-nuclear industries, such as oil and gas production. Regulatory response has been initiated in several states, such as Louisiana's controls on equipment used in oil and gas production, to control specific industrial activities which generate NORM. A more comprehensive, generic federal strategy to control NORM contamination is also under review by the Environmental Protection Agency. This paper will detail the emerging technical issues, federal and state regulatory strategies under consideration, and evaluate the efficacy of selected regulatory approaches. (author)

  15. Evaluation of a decision support strategy for the control of powdery mildew, Erysiphe necator (Schw.) Burr., in grapevine in the central region of Chile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valdés-Gómez, Héctor; Araya-Alman, Miguel; Pañitrur-De la Fuente, Carolina; Verdugo-Vásquez, Nicolás; Lolas, Mauricio; Acevedo-Opazo, César; Gary, Christian; Calonnec, Agnès

    2017-09-01

    The primary strategy to control powdery mildew in Chilean vineyards involves periodic fungicide spraying, which may lead to many environmental and human health risks. This study aimed to implement and evaluate the effectiveness and economic feasibility of a novel decision support strategy (DSS) to limit the number of treatments against this pathogen. An experiment was conducted between the 2010 and 2013 seasons in two irrigated vine fields, one containing a cultivar of Cabernet Sauvignon (CS) and the other a cultivar of Chardonnay (CH). The results showed that the DSS effectively controlled powdery mildew in CS and CH vine fields, as evidenced by a disease severity lower than 3%, which was lower than that observed in untreated vines (approximately 10 and 40% for CS and CH respectively). The DS strategy required the application of only 2-3 fungicide treatments per season in key vine phenological stages, and the cost fluctuated between $US 322 and 415 ha -1 , which was 40-60% cheaper than the traditional strategy employed by vine growers. The decision support strategy evaluated in this trial allows a good control of powdery mildew for various types of epidemic with an early and late initiation. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

  16. Active lubrication applied to internal combustion engines - evaluation of control strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Estupinan, Edgar Alberto; Santos, Ilmar

    2009-01-01

    surface. The behaviour of a main bearing of a medium size combustion engine, operating with radial oil injection and with four different control strategies is analyzed, giving some insights into the minimum fluid film thickness, maximum fluid film pressure, friction losses and maximum vibration levels...... of reducing friction losses and vibrations between the crankshaft and the bearings. The conventional hydrodynamic lubrication is combined with hydrostatic lubrication which is actively modified by radially injecting oil at controllable pressures, through orifices circumferentially located around the bearing...

  17. Control strategies for demand controlled ventilation in dwellings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Toke Rammer; Drivsholm, Christian

    2011-01-01

    and efficient fans is becoming the standard solution. The building regulation requirement for air change in dwellings is often a constant value that has been chosen to avoid moisture related problems in the indoor environment. This required air change is sometimes sufficient, sometimes too low and sometimes too....... In the studied house two control strategies were tested. A simple strategy where all sensors and controls were located in the air handling unit and only the speed of the fans can be controlled, and a complex strategy where sensors were placed in each room and where individual control of air flow in each room...

  18. Do biological-based strategies hold promise to biofouling control in MBRs?

    KAUST Repository

    Malaeb, Lilian

    2013-10-01

    Biofouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) remains a primary challenge for their wider application, despite the growing acceptance of MBRs worldwide. Research studies on membrane fouling are extensive in the literature, with more than 200 publications on MBR fouling in the last 3 years; yet, improvements in practice on biofouling control and management have been remarkably slow. Commonly applied cleaning methods are only partially effective and membrane replacement often becomes frequent. The reason for the slow advancement in successful control of biofouling is largely attributed to the complex interactions of involved biological compounds and the lack of representative-for-practice experimental approaches to evaluate potential effective control strategies. Biofouling is driven by microorganisms and their associated extra-cellular polymeric substances (EPS) and microbial products. Microorganisms and their products convene together to form matrices that are commonly treated as a black box in conventional control approaches. Biological-based antifouling strategies seem to be a promising constituent of an effective integrated control approach since they target the essence of biofouling problems. However, biological-based strategies are in their developmental phase and several questions should be addressed to set a roadmap for translating existing and new information into sustainable and effective control techniques. This paper investigates membrane biofouling in MBRs from the microbiological perspective to evaluate the potential of biological-based strategies in offering viable control alternatives. Limitations of available control methods highlight the importance of an integrated anti-fouling approach including biological strategies. Successful development of these strategies requires detailed characterization of microorganisms and EPS through the proper selection of analytical tools and assembly of results. Existing microbiological/EPS studies reveal a number of

  19. Evaluation of a needle social marketing strategy to control HIV among injecting drug users in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zunyou; Luo, Wei; Sullivan, Sheena G; Rou, Keming; Lin, Peng; Liu, Wei; Ming, Zhongqiang

    2007-12-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness of a needle social marketing strategy to reduce needle sharing and hepatitis C Virus (HCV)/HIV transmission among injecting drug users (IDU) in China. Two-armed, prospective, community-randomized prevention trial. Four counties/townships in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces; one randomized to intervention the other to control in each province. Injecting drug users: 823 (443 intervention, 382 control) at baseline and 852 (415 intervention, 407 control) at the second cross-sectional survey 12 months later. A needle social marketing programme, including promotion of safe injection norms and increased access to clean needles over a 12 month period. Cross sectional surveys at baseline and follow-up compared changes in drug using behaviours and HIV and HCV rates in the intervention and control communities. Needle sharing behaviours were similar in the two groups at baseline (68.4 vs. 67.8%), and dropped significantly to 35.3% in the intervention community and remained relatively stable in the control community (62.3%; P marketing can reduce risky injecting behaviour and HIV/HCV transmission among injecting drug users in China and should be expanded.

  20. [Bibliometric analysis of literature regarding integrated schistosomiasis control strategy with emphasis on infectious source control].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Yi-Li; Wang, Wei; Hong, Qing-Biao; Liang, You-Sheng

    2014-12-01

    To evaluate the outcomes of implementation of integrated schistosomiasis control strategy with emphasis on infectious source control using a bibliometric method. The literature pertaining to integrated schistosomiasis control strategy with emphasis on infectious source control was retrieved from CNKI, Wanfangdata, VIP, PubMed, Web of Science, BIOSIS and Google Scholar, and a bibliometric analysis of literature captured was performed. During the period from January 1, 2004 through September 30, 2014, a total of 94 publications regarding integrated schistosomiasis control strategy with emphasis on infectious source control were captured, including 78 Chinese articles (82.98%) and 16 English papers (17.02%). The Chinese literature was published in 21 national journals, and Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control had the largest number of publications, consisting of 37.23% of total publications; 16 English papers were published in 12 international journals, and PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases had the largest number of publications (3 publications). There were 37 affiliations publishing these 94 articles, and National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (16 publications), Anhui Institute of Schistosomiasis Control (12 publications) and Hunan Institute of Schistosomiasis Control (9 publications) ranked top three affiliations in number of publications. A total of 157 persons were co-authored in these 94 publications, and Wang, Zhou and Zhang ranked top 3 authors in number of publications. The integrated schistosomiasis control strategy with emphasis on infectious source control has been widely implemented in China, and the achievements obtained from the implementation of this strategy should be summarized and transmitted internationally.

  1. Environmental performance evaluation and strategy management using balanced scorecard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Yu-Lung; Liu, Chun-Chu

    2010-11-01

    Recently, environmental protection and regulations such as WEEE, ELV, and RoHS are rapidly emerging as an important issue for business to consider. The trend of swinging from end-of-pipe control to product design, green innovation, and even the establishment of image or brand has affected corporations in almost every corner in the world, and enlarged to the all modern global production network. Corporations must take proactive environmental strategies to response the challenges. This study adopts balanced scorecard structure and aim at automobile industries to understand the relationships of internal and external, financial and non-financial, and outcome and driving factors. Further relying on these relationships to draw the "map of environment strategy" to probe and understand the feasibility of environmental performance evaluation and environmental strategy control.

  2. LOW-INCOME, MINORITY FATHERS’ CONTROL STRATEGIES AND THEIR CHILDREN'S REGULATORY SKILLS

    OpenAIRE

    Malin, Jenessa L.; Cabrera, Natasha J.; Karberg, Elizabeth; Aldoney, Daniela; Rowe, Meredith Lee

    2014-01-01

    The current study explored the bidirectional association of children's individual characteristics, fathers' control strategies at 24-months and children's regulatory skills at pre-kindergarten (pre-K). Using a sample of low-income minority families with 2-year-olds from the Early Head Start Evaluation Research Program (n = 71) we assessed the association between child gender and vocabulary skills, fathers' control strategies at 24-months (e.g., regulatory behavior and regulatory language), an...

  3. Parking management : strategies, evaluation and planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Litman, T.A.

    2006-01-01

    Parking facilities are a major cost to society. Current planning practices are based on the assumption that parking should be abundant and provided free, with costs borne indirectly. This report examined parking management strategies related to integrated parking plans. Problems with current parking planning practices were reviewed. The costs of parking facilities were examined, as well as the savings that can accrue from improved management techniques. Strategies included shared parking; remote parking and shuttle services; walking and cycling improvements; improved enforcement and control; and increasing the capacity of existing parking facilities. Parking pricing methods, financial incentives and parking tax reforms were reviewed. Issues concerning user information and marketing were examined. Overflow parking plans were evaluated. Three illustrative examples of parking management programs were outlined, along with details of implementation, planning and evaluation procedures. It was concluded that cost-effective parking management programs can often reduce parking requirements by 20 to 40 per cent compared with conventional planning requirements, in addition to providing economic, social and environmental benefits. 32 refs., 7 tabs., 3 figs

  4. Financial evaluation of different vaccination strategies for controlling the bluetongue virus serotype 8 epidemic in The Netherlands in 2008.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velthuis, Annet G J; Mourits, Monique C M; Saatkamp, Helmut W; de Koeijer, Aline A; Elbers, Armin R W

    2011-05-04

    Bluetongue (BT) is a vector-borne disease of ruminants caused by bluetongue virus that is transmitted by biting midges (Culicoides spp.). In 2006, the introduction of BTV serotype 8 (BTV-8) caused a severe epidemic in Western and Central Europe. The principal effective veterinary measure in response to BT was believed to be vaccination accompanied by other measures such as movement restrictions and surveillance. As the number of vaccine doses available at the start of the vaccination campaign was rather uncertain, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Dutch agricultural industry wanted to evaluate several different vaccination strategies. This study aimed to rank eight vaccination strategies based on their efficiency (i.e. net costs in relation to prevented losses or benefits) for controlling the bluetongue virus serotype 8 epidemic in 2008. An economic model was developed that included the Dutch professional cattle, sheep and goat sectors together with the hobby farms. Strategies were evaluated based on the least cost - highest benefit frontier, the benefit-cost ratio and the total net returns. Strategy F, where all adult sheep at professional farms in The Netherlands would be vaccinated was very efficient at lowest costs, whereas strategy D, where additional to all adult sheep at professional farms also all adult cattle in the four Northern provinces would be vaccinated, was also very efficient but at a little higher costs. Strategy C, where all adult sheep and cattle at professional farms in the whole of The Netherlands would be vaccinated was also efficient but again at higher costs. This study demonstrates that a financial analysis differentiates between vaccination strategies and indicates important decision rules based on efficiency.

  5. Primary Frequency Regulation with Li-Ion Battery Energy Storage System - Evaluation and Comparison of Different Control Strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thorbergsson, Egill; Knap, Vaclav; Swierczynski, Maciej Jozef

    2013-01-01

    devices is becoming more attractive, the aim of this paper is to analyse the viability of providing primary frequency regulation with Lithium-ion based energy storage systems. Three control strategies of the energy storage system are analysed and compared in terms of economic benefits on the Danish energy...... market. The revenues and degradation of the Lithium-ion batteries are obtained by simulations. Furthermore, an energy management strategy based on variable state-of-charge (SOC) set-point is evaluated. Preliminary, the influence of different state-of-charge levels on the cycle lifetime is estimated......The increased grid penetration levels of renewable sources are at the expense of the conventional power plants. This means that the grid support functions, traditionally achieved by the conventional power plants, need to be provided by new technologies. Since grid support with energy storage...

  6. Climate Control Load Reduction Strategies for Electric Drive Vehicles in Warm Weather

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeffers, M. A.; Chaney, L.; Rugh, J. P.

    2015-04-30

    Passenger compartment climate control is one of the largest auxiliary loads on a vehicle. Like conventional vehicles, electric vehicles (EVs) require climate control to maintain occupant comfort and safety, but cabin heating and air conditioning have a negative impact on driving range for all electric vehicles. Range reduction caused by climate control and other factors is a barrier to widespread adoption of EVs. Reducing the thermal loads on the climate control system will extend driving range, thereby reducing consumer range anxiety and increasing the market penetration of EVs. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have investigated strategies for vehicle climate control load reduction, with special attention toward EVs. Outdoor vehicle thermal testing was conducted on two 2012 Ford Focus Electric vehicles to evaluate thermal management strategies for warm weather, including solar load reduction and cabin pre-ventilation. An advanced thermal test manikin was used to assess a zonal approach to climate control. In addition, vehicle thermal analysis was used to support testing by exploring thermal load reduction strategies, evaluating occupant thermal comfort, and calculating EV range impacts. Through stationary cooling tests and vehicle simulations, a zonal cooling configuration demonstrated range improvement of 6%-15%, depending on the drive cycle. A combined cooling configuration that incorporated thermal load reduction and zonal cooling strategies showed up to 33% improvement in EV range.

  7. Operational scale entomological intervention for malaria control: strategies, achievements and challenges in Zambia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chanda Emmanuel

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background While consensus on malaria vector control policy and strategy has stimulated unprecedented political-will, backed by international funding organizations and donors, vector control interventions are expansively being implemented based on assumptions with unequaled successes. This manuscript reports on the strategies, achievements and challenges of the past and contemporary malaria vector control efforts in Zambia. Case description All available information and accessible archived documentary records on malaria vector control in Zambia were reviewed. Retrospective analysis of routine surveillance data from the Health Management Information System (HMIS, data from population-based household surveys and various operations research reports was conducted to assess the status in implementing policies and strategies. Discussion and evaluation Empirical evidence is critical for informing policy decisions and tailoring interventions to local settings. Thus, the World Health Organization (WHO encourages the adoption of the integrated vector management (IVM strategy which is a rational decision making process for optimal use of available resources. One of the key features of IVM is capacity building at the operational level to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate vector control and its epidemiological and entomological impact. In Zambia, great progress has been made in implementing WHO-recommended vector control policies and strategies within the context of the IVM Global Strategic framework with strong adherence to its five key attributes. Conclusions The country has solid, consistent and coordinated policies, strategies and guidelines for malaria vector control. The Zambian experience demonstrates the significance of a coordinated multi-pronged IVM approach effectively operationalized within the context of a national health system.

  8. BWR control blade replacement strategies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kennard, M W [Stoller Nuclear Fuel, NAC International, Pleasantville, NY (United States); Harbottle, J E [Stoller Nuclear Fuel, NAC International, Thornbury, Bristol (United Kingdom)

    2000-02-01

    The reactivity control elements in a BWR, the control blades, perform three significant functions: provide shutdown margin during normal and accident operating conditions; provide overall core reactivity control; and provide axial power shaping control. As such, the blades are exposed to the core's neutron flux, resulting in irradiation of blade structural and absorber materials. Since the absorber depletes with time (if B{sub 4}C is used, it also swells) and the structural components undergo various degradation mechanisms (e.g., embrittlement, corrosion), the blades have limits on their operational lifetimes. Consequently, BWR utilities have implemented strategies that aim to maximize blade lifetimes while balancing operational costs, such as extending a refuelling outage to shuffle high exposure blades. This paper examines the blade replacement strategies used by BWR utilities operating in US, Europe and Asia by assembling information related to: the utility's specific blade replacement strategy; the impact the newer blade designs and changes in core operating mode were having on those strategies; the mechanical and nuclear limits that determined those strategies; the methods employed to ensure that lifetime limits were not exceeded during operation; and blade designs used (current and replacement blades). (author)

  9. BWR control blade replacement strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kennard, M.W.; Harbottle, J.E.

    2000-01-01

    The reactivity control elements in a BWR, the control blades, perform three significant functions: provide shutdown margin during normal and accident operating conditions; provide overall core reactivity control; and provide axial power shaping control. As such, the blades are exposed to the core's neutron flux, resulting in irradiation of blade structural and absorber materials. Since the absorber depletes with time (if B 4 C is used, it also swells) and the structural components undergo various degradation mechanisms (e.g., embrittlement, corrosion), the blades have limits on their operational lifetimes. Consequently, BWR utilities have implemented strategies that aim to maximize blade lifetimes while balancing operational costs, such as extending a refuelling outage to shuffle high exposure blades. This paper examines the blade replacement strategies used by BWR utilities operating in US, Europe and Asia by assembling information related to: the utility's specific blade replacement strategy; the impact the newer blade designs and changes in core operating mode were having on those strategies; the mechanical and nuclear limits that determined those strategies; the methods employed to ensure that lifetime limits were not exceeded during operation; and blade designs used (current and replacement blades). (author)

  10. Formulation of a strategy for monitoring control integrity in critical digital control systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belcastro, Celeste M.; Fischl, Robert; Kam, Moshe

    1991-01-01

    Advanced aircraft will require flight critical computer systems for stability augmentation as well as guidance and control that must perform reliably in adverse, as well as nominal, operating environments. Digital system upset is a functional error mode that can occur in electromagnetically harsh environments, involves no component damage, can occur simultaneously in all channels of a redundant control computer, and is software dependent. A strategy is presented for dynamic upset detection to be used in the evaluation of critical digital controllers during the design and/or validation phases of development. Critical controllers must be able to be used in adverse environments that result from disturbances caused by an electromagnetic source such as lightning, high intensity radiated field (HIRF), and nuclear electromagnetic pulses (NEMP). The upset detection strategy presented provides dynamic monitoring of a given control computer for degraded functional integrity that can result from redundancy management errors and control command calculation error that could occur in an electromagnetically harsh operating environment. The use is discussed of Kalman filtering, data fusion, and decision theory in monitoring a given digital controller for control calculation errors, redundancy management errors, and control effectiveness.

  11. Financial evaluation of different vaccination strategies for controlling the bluetongue virus serotype 8 epidemic in The Netherlands in 2008.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annet G J Velthuis

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Bluetongue (BT is a vector-borne disease of ruminants caused by bluetongue virus that is transmitted by biting midges (Culicoides spp.. In 2006, the introduction of BTV serotype 8 (BTV-8 caused a severe epidemic in Western and Central Europe. The principal effective veterinary measure in response to BT was believed to be vaccination accompanied by other measures such as movement restrictions and surveillance. As the number of vaccine doses available at the start of the vaccination campaign was rather uncertain, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Dutch agricultural industry wanted to evaluate several different vaccination strategies. This study aimed to rank eight vaccination strategies based on their efficiency (i.e. net costs in relation to prevented losses or benefits for controlling the bluetongue virus serotype 8 epidemic in 2008. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: An economic model was developed that included the Dutch professional cattle, sheep and goat sectors together with the hobby farms. Strategies were evaluated based on the least cost - highest benefit frontier, the benefit-cost ratio and the total net returns. Strategy F, where all adult sheep at professional farms in The Netherlands would be vaccinated was very efficient at lowest costs, whereas strategy D, where additional to all adult sheep at professional farms also all adult cattle in the four Northern provinces would be vaccinated, was also very efficient but at a little higher costs. Strategy C, where all adult sheep and cattle at professional farms in the whole of The Netherlands would be vaccinated was also efficient but again at higher costs. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that a financial analysis differentiates between vaccination strategies and indicates important decision rules based on efficiency.

  12. Explaining the effects of two different strategies for promoting hand hygiene in hospital nurses: a process evaluation alongside a cluster randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huis, Anita; Holleman, Gerda; van Achterberg, Theo; Grol, Richard; Schoonhoven, Lisette; Hulscher, Marlies

    2013-04-08

    There is only limited understanding of why hand hygiene improvement strategies are successful or fail. It is therefore important to look inside the 'black box' of such strategies, to ascertain which components of a strategy work well or less well. This study examined which components of two hand hygiene improvement strategies were associated with increased nurses' hand hygiene compliance. A process evaluation of a cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted in which part of the nursing wards of three hospitals in the Netherlands received a state-of-the-art strategy, including education, reminders, feedback, and optimising materials and facilities; another part received a team and leaders-directed strategy that included all elements of the state-of-the-art strategy, supplemented with activities aimed at the social and enhancing leadership. This process evaluation used four sets of measures: effects on nurses' hand hygiene compliance, adherence to the improvement strategies, contextual factors, and nurses' experiences with strategy components. Analyses of variance and multiple regression analyses were used to explore changes in nurses' hand hygiene compliance and thereby better understand trial effects. Both strategies were performed with good adherence to protocol. Two contextual factors were associated with changes in hand hygiene compliance: a hospital effect in long term (p feedback about their hand hygiene performance (p manager holds team members accountable for hand hygiene performance p < 0.01) correlated positively with changes in nurses' hand hygiene compliance. This study illustrates the use of a process evaluation to uncover mechanisms underlying change in hand hygiene improvement strategies. Our study results demonstrate the added value of specific aspects of social influence and leadership in hand hygiene improvement strategies, thus offering an interpretation of the trial effects. The study is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov, dossier number: NCT

  13. National Drug Control Strategy, 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2011

    2011-01-01

    In May of 2010, President Obama released the Administration's inaugural "National Drug Control Strategy". Based on the premise that drug use and its consequences pose a threat not just to public safety, but also to public health, the 2010 "Strategy" represented the first comprehensive rebalancing of Federal drug control policy in the nearly 40…

  14. Risk evaluation of accident management strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dingman, S.; Camp, A.

    1992-01-01

    The use of Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) methods to evaluate accident management strategies in nuclear power plants discussed in this paper. The PRA framework allows an integrated evaluation to be performed to give the full implications of a particular strategy. The methodology is demonstrated for a particular accident management strategy, intentional depressurization of the reactor coolant system to avoid containment pressurization during the ejection of molten debris at vessel breach

  15. 40 CFR 123.46 - Individual control strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Individual control strategies. 123.46... PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS Transfer of Information and Permit Review § 123.46 Individual control strategies. (a..., approval, and implementation an individual control strategy for each point source identified by the State...

  16. Evaluation of two communication strategies to improve udder health management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansen, J.; Renes, R.J.; Lam, T.J.G.M.

    2010-01-01

    Worldwide, programs to improve udder health are implemented using communication tools and methods that inform and persuade dairy farmers. This study evaluated 2 communication strategies used in a mastitis control program in the Netherlands. To improve farmers’ udder health management, tools such as

  17. ENGINEERING AND ECONOMIC FACTORS AFFECTING THE INSTALLATION OF CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES FOR MULTIPOLLUTANT STRATEGIES

    Science.gov (United States)

    The report evaluates the engineering and economic factors associated with installing air pollution control technologies to meet the requirements of strategies to control sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOX), and mercury under the Clear Skies Act multipollutant control s...

  18. Communication strategies in acute health care: evaluation within the context of infection prevention and control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edwards, R; Sevdalis, N; Vincent, C; Holmes, A

    2012-09-01

    Communication in healthcare settings has recently received significant attention in the literature. However, there continues to be a large gap in current understanding of the effectiveness of different communication channels used in acute healthcare settings, particularly in the context of infection prevention and control (IPC). To explore and evaluate the main communication channels used within hospitals to communicate with healthcare workers (HCWs) and to propose practical recommendations. Critical review of the main communication channels used within acute health care to communicate information to HCWs, and analysis of their impact on practice. The analysis covers verbal communications, standardization via guidelines, education and training, electronic communications and marketing strategies. Traditional communication channels have not been successful in changing and sustaining best practice in IPC, but newer approaches (electronic messages and marketing) also have pitfalls. A few simple recommendations are made in relation to the development, implementation and evaluation of communications to HCWs; top-down vs bottom-up communications; and the involvement of HCWs, particularly ward personnel. Copyright © 2012 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Economic Evaluation of a Multifaceted Implementation Strategy for the Prevention of Hand Eczema Among Healthcare Workers in Comparison with a Control Group: The Hands4U Study.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Der Meer, Esther W C; van Dongen, J.M.; Boot, C.R.; van der Gulden, J.W.; Bosmans, J.E.; Anema, J.R.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a multifaceted implementation strategy for the prevention of hand eczema in comparison with a control group among healthcare workers. A total of 48 departments (n=1,649) were randomly allocated to the implementation strategy or the

  20. Economic Evaluation of a Multifaceted Implementation Strategy for the Prevention of Hand Eczema Among Healthcare Workers in Comparison with a Control Group: The Hands4U Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meer, E.W. van der; Dongen, J.M. van; Boot, C.R.; Gulden, J.W.J. van der; Bosmans, J.E.; Anema, J.R.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a multifaceted implementation strategy for the prevention of hand eczema in comparison with a control group among healthcare workers. A total of 48 departments (n=1,649) were randomly allocated to the implementation strategy or the

  1. Sensor-Based Model Driven Control Strategy for Precision Irrigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camilo Lozoya

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Improving the efficiency of the agricultural irrigation systems substantially contributes to sustainable water management. This improvement can be achieved through an automated irrigation system that includes a real-time control strategy based on the water, soil, and crop relationship. This paper presents a model driven control strategy applied to an irrigation system, in order to make an efficient use of water for large crop fields, that is, applying the correct amount of water in the correct place at the right moment. The proposed model uses a predictive algorithm that senses soil moisture and weather variables, to determine optimal amount of water required by the crop. This proposed approach is evaluated against a traditional irrigation system based on the empirical definition of time periods and against a basic soil moisture control system. Results indicate that the use of a model predictive control in an irrigation system achieves a higher efficiency and significantly reduce the water consumption.

  2. A Paratransgenic Strategy for the Control of Chagas Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivy Hurwitz

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Chagas disease results from infection with the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. This disease remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in central and south America. Chagas disease now exists and is detected worldwide because of human migration. Control of Chagas disease has relied mainly on vector eradication however, the development of insect resistance to pesticides, coupled with cost and adverse health effects of insecticide treatments, has prompted our group to investigate novel methods of transmission control. Our laboratory has been instrumental in the development of the paratransgenic strategy to control vectorial transmission of T. cruzi. In this paper, we discuss various components of the paratransgenic approach. Specifically, we describe classes of molecules that can serve as effectors, including antimicrobial peptides, endoglucanases, and highly specific single chain antibodies that target surface glycoprotein tags on the surface of T. cruzi. Furthermore, we address evolving concepts related to field dispersal of engineered bacteria as part of the paratransgenic control strategy and attendant risk assessment evaluation.

  3. Optimal control of anthracnose using mixed strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fotsa Mbogne, David Jaures; Thron, Christopher

    2015-11-01

    In this paper we propose and study a spatial diffusion model for the control of anthracnose disease in a bounded domain. The model is a generalization of the one previously developed in [15]. We use the model to simulate two different types of control strategies against anthracnose disease. Strategies that employ chemical fungicides are modeled using a continuous control function; while strategies that rely on cultivational practices (such as pruning and removal of mummified fruits) are modeled with a control function which is discrete in time (though not in space). For comparative purposes, we perform our analyses for a spatially-averaged model as well as the space-dependent diffusion model. Under weak smoothness conditions on parameters we demonstrate the well-posedness of both models by verifying existence and uniqueness of the solution for the growth inhibition rate for given initial conditions. We also show that the set [0, 1] is positively invariant. We first study control by impulsive strategies, then analyze the simultaneous use of mixed continuous and pulse strategies. In each case we specify a cost functional to be minimized, and we demonstrate the existence of optimal control strategies. In the case of pulse-only strategies, we provide explicit algorithms for finding the optimal control strategies for both the spatially-averaged model and the space-dependent model. We verify the algorithms for both models via simulation, and discuss properties of the optimal solutions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Brushless DC motor speed control strategy of simulation research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiang Wen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In view of the brushless DC motor speed regulation problem, an ideal control strategy is designed. Through the model and analysis of Brushless DC motor, the mathematical model of the brushless DC motor is obtained. By comparing three control strategies of PID control strategy, fuzzy control strategy and fuzzy PID control strategy, PID controller, fuzzy controller and fuzzy PID controller are designed respectively for simulation test. The simulation results show that the fuzzy PID controller has good control effect.

  5. An economic evaluation of preclinical testing strategies compared to the compulsory scrapie flock scheme in the control of classical scrapie.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Boden

    Full Text Available Cost-benefit is rarely combined with nonlinear dynamic models when evaluating control options for infectious diseases. The current strategy for scrapie in Great Britain requires that all genetically susceptible livestock in affected flocks be culled (Compulsory Scrapie Flock Scheme or CSFS. However, this results in the removal of many healthy sheep, and a recently developed pre-clinical test for scrapie now offers a strategy based on disease detection. We explore the flock level cost-effectiveness of scrapie control using a deterministic transmission model and industry estimates of costs associated with genotype testing, pre-clinical tests and the value of a sheep culled. Benefit was measured in terms of the reduction in the number of infected sheep sold on, compared to a baseline strategy of doing nothing, using Incremental Cost Effectiveness analysis to compare across strategies. As market data was not available for pre-clinical testing, a threshold analysis was used to set a unit-cost giving equal costs for CSFS and multiple pre-clinical testing (MT, one test each year for three consecutive years. Assuming a 40% within-flock proportion of susceptible genotypes and a test sensitivity of 90%, a single test (ST was cheaper but less effective than either the CSFS or MT strategies (30 infected-sales-averted over the lifetime of the average epidemic. The MT strategy was slightly less effective than the CSFS and would be a dominated strategy unless preclinical testing was cheaper than the threshold price of £6.28, but may be appropriate for flocks with particularly valuable livestock. Though the ST is not currently recommended, the proportion of susceptible genotypes in the national flock is likely to continue to decrease; this may eventually make it a cost-effective alternative to the MT or CSFS.

  6. Strengthening control over radioactive sources in authorized use and regaining control over orphan sources. National strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-02-01

    The objective of this report is to provide practical guidance to States on the development of a national strategy for improving control over radioactive sources, particularly dangerous sources (Categories 1-3). Part of this process involves the determination of the magnitude of the potential problem with orphan and vulnerable sources and indeed, whether or not a national strategy is needed. The ultimate objective is that States will use this report to develop and then implement a plan of action that will result in all significant sources being managed in a safe and secure manner. This report attempts to provide both the background knowledge and the methodology necessary for an individual or small team of responsible persons to develop a national strategy for improving control over all radioactive sources, but especially orphan and vulnerable sources. The background knowledge given in Chapter 3 is an update of the information on practices that was given in IAEA-TECDOC-804, which focused on spent radioactive sources. After some introductory material, this report provides both the factual information and the general steps needed to develop and implement a national strategy. Part I contains background information for those who are not already familiar with the subject including the need for national strategies, the generic causes of loss of control of sources, with specific examples and the common applications of radioactive sources. Part II details the actual process for the development and implementation of a national strategy, which includes assessing the problem by first gathering specific and national information, determining the nature and magnitude of the problem, developing the national strategy by evaluating, and prioritizing possible solutions, implementing the strategy subsequent to a high level decision; and evaluating the effectiveness of the plan and making changes as a result until the desired objective is achieved. Searches for sources will be part of

  7. Control strategies for nitrous oxide emissions reduction on wastewater treatment plants operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santín, I; Barbu, M; Pedret, C; Vilanova, R

    2017-11-15

    The present paper focused on reducing greenhouse gases emissions in wastewater treatment plants operation by application of suitable control strategies. Specifically, the objective is to reduce nitrous oxide emissions during the nitrification process. Incomplete nitrification in the aerobic tanks can lead to an accumulation of nitrite that triggers the nitrous oxide emissions. In order to avoid the peaks of nitrous oxide emissions, this paper proposes a cascade control configuration by manipulating the dissolved oxygen set-points in the aerobic tanks. This control strategy is combined with ammonia cascade control already applied in the literature. This is performed with the objective to take also into account effluent pollutants and operational costs. In addition, other greenhouse gases emissions sources are also evaluated. Results have been obtained by simulation, using a modified version of Benchmark Simulation Model no. 2, which takes into account greenhouse gases emissions. This is called Benchmark Simulation Model no. 2 Gas. The results show that the proposed control strategies are able to reduce by 29.86% of nitrous oxide emissions compared to the default control strategy, while maintaining a satisfactory trade-off between water quality and costs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Control and decision strategies in wastewater treatment plants for operation improvement

    CERN Document Server

    Santín, Ignacio; Vilanova, Ramón

    2017-01-01

    This book examines the operation of biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), with a focus on maintaining effluent water quality while keeping operational costs within constrained limits. It includes control operation and decision schemes and is based on the use of benchmarking scenarios that yield easily reproducible results that readers can implement for their own solutions. The final criterion is the effect of the applied control strategy on plant performance – specifically, improving effluent quality, reducing costs and avoiding violations of established effluent limits. The evaluation of the different control strategies is achieved with the help of two Benchmark Simulation Models (BSM1, BSM2). Given the complexity of the biological and biochemical processes involved and the major fluctuations in the influent flow rate, controlling WWTPs poses a serious challenge. Further, the importance of control goal formulation and control structure design in relation to WWTP process control is widely recogniz...

  9. Application of Multivariable Statistical Techniques in Plant-wide WWTP Control Strategies Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flores Alsina, Xavier; Comas, J.; Rodríguez-Roda, I.

    2007-01-01

    The main objective of this paper is to present the application of selected multivariable statistical techniques in plant-wide wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) control strategies analysis. In this study, cluster analysis (CA), principal component analysis/factor analysis (PCA/FA) and discriminant...... analysis (DA) are applied to the evaluation matrix data set obtained by simulation of several control strategies applied to the plant-wide IWA Benchmark Simulation Model No 2 (BSM2). These techniques allow i) to determine natural groups or clusters of control strategies with a similar behaviour, ii......) to find and interpret hidden, complex and casual relation features in the data set and iii) to identify important discriminant variables within the groups found by the cluster analysis. This study illustrates the usefulness of multivariable statistical techniques for both analysis and interpretation...

  10. Development of novel control strategies for single-stage autotrophic nitrogen removal: A process oriented approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vangsgaard, Anna Katrine; Mauricio Iglesias, Miguel; Gernaey, Krist

    2014-01-01

    operation and rejection of disturbances. Three novel control strategies were developed, evaluated, and benchmarked against each other: a feedforward control (control structure 1 – CS#1), a rule-based feedback control (CS#2), and a feedforward–feedback controller, in which the feedback loop updates the set......The autotrophic nitrogen removing granular sludge process is a novel and intensified process. However, its stable operation and control remain a challenging issue. In this contribution, a process oriented approach was used to develop, evaluate and benchmark novel control strategies to ensure stable...... point of the feedforward loop (CS#3). The CS#1 gave the best performance against disturbances in the ammonium concentration, whereas the CS#2 provided the best performance against disturbances in the organic carbon concentration and dynamic influent conditions. The CS#3 rejected both disturbances...

  11. Climate Control Load Reduction Strategies for Electric Drive Vehicles in Cold Weather: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeffers, Matthew; Chaney, Lawrence; Rugh, John

    2016-03-31

    When operated, the climate control system is the largest auxiliary load on a vehicle. This load has significant impact on fuel economy for conventional and hybrid vehicles, and it drastically reduces the driving range of all electric vehicles (EVs). Heating is even more detrimental to EV range than cooling because no engine waste heat is available. Reducing the thermal loads on the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system will extend driving range and increase the market penetration of EVs. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have evaluated strategies for vehicle climate control load reduction with special attention toward grid connected electric vehicles. Outdoor vehicle thermal testing and computational modeling were used to assess potential strategies for improved thermal management and to evaluate the effectiveness of thermal load reduction technologies. A human physiology model was also used to evaluate the impact on occupant thermal comfort. Experimental evaluations of zonal heating strategies demonstrated a 5.5% to 28.5% reduction in cabin heating energy over a 20-minute warm-up. Vehicle simulations over various drive cycles show a 6.9% to 18.7% improvement in EV range over baseline heating using the most promising zonal heating strategy investigated. A national-level analysis was conducted to determine the overall national impact. If all vehicles used the best zonal strategy, the range would be improved by 7.1% over the baseline heating range. This is a 33% reduction in the range penalty for heating.

  12. A systematic review of studies evaluating diffusion and dissemination of selected cancer control interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Peter; Robinson, Paula; Ciliska, Donna; Armour, Tanya; Brouwers, Melissa; O'Brien, Mary Ann; Sussman, Jonathan; Raina, Parminder

    2005-09-01

    With this review, the authors sought to determine what strategies have been evaluated (including the outcomes assessed) to disseminate cancer control interventions that promote the uptake of behavior change. Five topic areas along the cancer care continuum (smoking cessation, healthy diet, mammography, cervical cancer screening, and control of cancer pain) were selected to be representative. A systematic review was conducted of primary studies evaluating dissemination of a cancer control intervention. Thirty-one studies were identified that evaluated dissemination strategies in the 5 topic areas. No strong evidence currently exists to recommend any one dissemination strategy as effective in promoting the uptake of cancer control interventions. The authors conclude that there is a strong need for more research into dissemination of cancer control interventions. Future research should consider methodological issues such as the most appropriate study design and outcomes to be evaluated. (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved

  13. Evaluating the US Counter-ISIL Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-05-25

    strategy is actually addressing those critical capabilities and vulnerabilities. Finally, it explores alternative, whole-of-government strategies that...Counterterrorism Strategies as an Illustration. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation , 2009. Enduring Leadership in a Dynamic World. Quadrennial Diplomacy...Evaluating the US Counter-ISIL Strategy A Monograph by LTC Jason A. Curl U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies United States Army

  14. Economic Evaluation of a Multifaceted Implementation Strategy for the Prevention of Hand Eczema Among Healthcare Workers in Comparison with a Control Group: The Hands4U Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Meer, Esther W C; van Dongen, Johanna M; Boot, Cécile R L; van der Gulden, Joost W J; Bosmans, Judith E; Anema, Johannes R

    2016-05-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a multifaceted implementation strategy for the prevention of hand eczema in comparison with a control group among healthcare workers. A total of 48 departments (n=1,649) were randomly allocated to the implementation strategy or the control group. Data on hand eczema and costs were collected at baseline and every 3 months. Cost-effectiveness analyses were performed using linear multilevel analyses. The probability of the implementation strategy being cost-effective gradually increased with an increasing willingness-to-pay, to 0.84 at a ceiling ratio of €590,000 per person with hand eczema prevented (societal perspective). The implementation strategy appeared to be not cost-effective in comparison with the control group (societal perspective), nor was it cost-beneficial to the employer. However, this study had some methodological problems which should be taken into account when interpreting the results.

  15. A Prosthetic Hand Body Area Controller Based on Efficient Pattern Recognition Control Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benatti, Simone; Milosevic, Bojan; Farella, Elisabetta; Gruppioni, Emanuele; Benini, Luca

    2017-04-15

    Poliarticulated prosthetic hands represent a powerful tool to restore functionality and improve quality of life for upper limb amputees. Such devices offer, on the same wearable node, sensing and actuation capabilities, which are not equally supported by natural interaction and control strategies. The control in state-of-the-art solutions is still performed mainly through complex encoding of gestures in bursts of contractions of the residual forearm muscles, resulting in a non-intuitive Human-Machine Interface (HMI). Recent research efforts explore the use of myoelectric gesture recognition for innovative interaction solutions, however there persists a considerable gap between research evaluation and implementation into successful complete systems. In this paper, we present the design of a wearable prosthetic hand controller, based on intuitive gesture recognition and a custom control strategy. The wearable node directly actuates a poliarticulated hand and wirelessly interacts with a personal gateway (i.e., a smartphone) for the training and personalization of the recognition algorithm. Through the whole system development, we address the challenge of integrating an efficient embedded gesture classifier with a control strategy tailored for an intuitive interaction between the user and the prosthesis. We demonstrate that this combined approach outperforms systems based on mere pattern recognition, since they target the accuracy of a classification algorithm rather than the control of a gesture. The system was fully implemented, tested on healthy and amputee subjects and compared against benchmark repositories. The proposed approach achieves an error rate of 1.6% in the end-to-end real time control of commonly used hand gestures, while complying with the power and performance budget of a low-cost microcontroller.

  16. Evaluation of two communication strategies to improve udder health management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jansen, J; Renes, R J; Lam, T J G M

    2010-02-01

    Worldwide, programs to improve udder health are implemented using communication tools and methods that inform and persuade dairy farmers. This study evaluated 2 communication strategies used in a mastitis control program in the Netherlands. To improve farmers' udder health management, tools such as instruction cards, treatment plans, checklists and software were developed following an argument-based comprehensive "central route." These tools were used during on-farm study group meetings for farmers organized by veterinarians and also during individual veterinarian-farmer interactions. The second strategy aimed at adopting a single management practice to increase the use of milking gloves during milking. This approach followed a straightforward "peripheral" route that used implicit persuasion techniques. Results of an online survey of 374 Dutch dairy farmers showed that most farmers were able and willing to use the educational management tools to increase udder health on their farms. They evaluated the tools positively regardless of the mastitis problems on their farms. This seems to indicate that the central route of communication is most effective when farmers are motivated to work on udder health in general. Results of repeated random telephone surveys before, during, and after the campaign on the use of milking gloves showed that the use of gloves increased from 20.9 to 42.0% of the respondents. Respondents' opinions about milking gloves also changed favorably, indicating that a relatively short peripheral campaign on a single action can have a sustained effect on farmers' behavior. Both communication strategies seem to be potentially successful in disseminating knowledge to a specific target group of farmers and in changing that group's behavior. However, to reach as many farmers as possible, the strategies should be combined. When optimizing these strategies, both the farmers' motivation to work on udder health and the aim of the campaign should be considered

  17. A strategy for evaluating pathway analysis methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Chenggang; Woo, Hyung Jun; Yu, Xueping; Oyama, Tatsuya; Wallqvist, Anders; Reifman, Jaques

    2017-10-13

    Researchers have previously developed a multitude of methods designed to identify biological pathways associated with specific clinical or experimental conditions of interest, with the aim of facilitating biological interpretation of high-throughput data. Before practically applying such pathway analysis (PA) methods, we must first evaluate their performance and reliability, using datasets where the pathways perturbed by the conditions of interest have been well characterized in advance. However, such 'ground truths' (or gold standards) are often unavailable. Furthermore, previous evaluation strategies that have focused on defining 'true answers' are unable to systematically and objectively assess PA methods under a wide range of conditions. In this work, we propose a novel strategy for evaluating PA methods independently of any gold standard, either established or assumed. The strategy involves the use of two mutually complementary metrics, recall and discrimination. Recall measures the consistency of the perturbed pathways identified by applying a particular analysis method to an original large dataset and those identified by the same method to a sub-dataset of the original dataset. In contrast, discrimination measures specificity-the degree to which the perturbed pathways identified by a particular method to a dataset from one experiment differ from those identifying by the same method to a dataset from a different experiment. We used these metrics and 24 datasets to evaluate six widely used PA methods. The results highlighted the common challenge in reliably identifying significant pathways from small datasets. Importantly, we confirmed the effectiveness of our proposed dual-metric strategy by showing that previous comparative studies corroborate the performance evaluations of the six methods obtained by our strategy. Unlike any previously proposed strategy for evaluating the performance of PA methods, our dual-metric strategy does not rely on any ground truth

  18. 40 CFR 52.2088 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.2088... strategy: Ozone. (a) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the Rhode Island Department of... revised text is set forth as follows: § 52.2088 Control strategy: Ozone. (c) Determination of Attainment...

  19. Real-time integration of control strategies for an isolated DFIG-based WECS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouchiba, Nouha; Barkia, Asma; Chrifi-Alaoui, Larbi; Drid, Saïd; Sallem, Souhir; Kammoun, M. B. A.

    2017-08-01

    This paper deals with voltage and frequency control of a stand-alone wind energy conversion system (WECS) based on a double fed induction generator (DFIG) under wind speed and load variations. In this context, two kinds of linear and nonlinear control strategies, classical PI and backstepping, have been applied to the system in real time. A series of experiments have been conducted to evaluate and to compare dynamic performances of the proposed control approaches. Experiments on a 1.5Kw doubly fed induction machine in real time are carried out using dSpace DS1104 card based on the MATLAB/Simulink environment. Experimental results show the validity of implemented controllers and demonstrate the effectiveness, the precision and the rapidity of the backstepping control strategy compared with the PI controller.

  20. Lessons Learned in Evaluating a Multisite, Comprehensive Teen Dating Violence Prevention Strategy: Design and Challenges of the Evaluation of Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niolon, Phyllis Holditch; Taylor, Bruce G; Latzman, Natasha E; Vivolo-Kantor, Alana M; Valle, Linda Anne; Tharp, Andra T

    2016-03-01

    This paper describes the multisite, longitudinal cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) design of the evaluation of the Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Relationships initiative, and discusses challenges faced in conducting this evaluation. Health departments in 4 communities are partnering with middle schools in high-risk, urban communities to implement 2 models of teen dating violence (TDV) prevention over 4 years. Schools were randomized to receive either the Dating Matters comprehensive strategy or the "standard of care" strategy (an existing, evidence-based TDV prevention curriculum). Our design permits comparison of the relative effectiveness of the comprehensive and standard of care strategies. Multiple cohorts of students from 46 middle schools are surveyed in middle school and high school, and parents and educators from participating schools are also surveyed. Challenges discussed in conducting a multisite RCT include site variability, separation of implementation and evaluation responsibilities, school retention, parent engagement in research activities, and working within the context of high-risk urban schools and communities. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our approaches to these challenges in the hopes of informing future research. Despite multiple challenges, the design of the Dating Matters evaluation remains strong. We hope this paper provides researchers who are conducting complex evaluations of behavioral interventions with thoughtful discussion of the challenges we have faced and potential solutions to such challenges.

  1. Systematic review of management strategies to control chronic wasting disease in wild deer populations in North America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uehlinger, F D; Johnston, A C; Bollinger, T K; Waldner, C L

    2016-08-22

    Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, fatal prion disease affecting cervids in a growing number of regions across North America. Projected deer population declines and concern about potential spread of CWD to other species warrant strategies to manage this disease. Control efforts to date have been largely unsuccessful, resulting in continuing spread and increasing prevalence. This systematic review summarizes peer-reviewed published reports describing field-applicable CWD control strategies in wild deer populations in North America using systematic review methods. Ten databases were searched for peer-reviewed literature. Following deduplication, relevance screening, full-text appraisal, subject matter expert review and qualitative data extraction, nine references were included describing four distinct management strategies. Six of the nine studies used predictive modeling to evaluate control strategies. All six demonstrated one or more interventions to be effective but results were dependant on parameters and assumptions used in the model. Three found preferential removal of CWD infected deer to be effective in reducing CWD prevalence; one model evaluated a test and slaughter strategy, the other selective removal of infected deer by predators and the third evaluated increased harvest of the sex with highest prevalence (males). Three models evaluated non-selective harvest of deer. There were only three reports that examined primary data collected as part of observational studies. Two of these studies supported the effectiveness of intensive non-selective culling; the third study did not find a difference between areas that were subjected to culling and those that were not. Seven of the nine studies were conducted in the United States. This review highlights the paucity of evaluated, field-applicable control strategies for CWD in wild deer populations. Knowledge gaps in the complex epidemiology of CWD and the intricacies inherent to prion diseases currently

  2. Strategies for Enhancing Nonlinear Internal Model Control of pH Processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Qiuping.; Rangaiah, G.P. [The National University of Singapore, Singapore (Singapore). Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering

    1999-02-01

    Control of neutralization processes is very difficult due to nonlinear dynamics, different types of disturbances and modeling errors. The objective of the paper is to evaluate two strategies (augmented internal model control, AuIMC and adaptive internal model control, AdIMC) for enhancing pH control by nonlinear internal model control (NIMC). A NIMC controller is derived directly form input output linearization. The AuIMC is composed of NIMC and an additional loop through which the difference between the process and model outputs is fed back and added to the input of the controller. For the AdIMC, and adaptive law with two tuning parameters is proposed for estimating the unknown parameter. Both AuIMC and AdIMC are extensively tested via simulation for pH neutralization. The theoretical and simulation results show that both the proposed strategies can reduce the effect of modeling errors and disturbances, and thereby enhance the performance of NIMC for pH processes. (author)

  3. Movement Strategies among Groups of Chronic Ankle Instability, Coper, and Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Son, S Jun; Kim, Hyunsoo; Seeley, Matthew K; Hopkins, J Ty

    2017-08-01

    Comprehensive evaluation of movement strategies during functional movement is a difficult undertaking. Because of this challenge, studied movements have been oversimplified. Furthermore, evaluating movement strategies at only a discrete time point(s) provide limited insight into how movement strategies may change or adapt in chronic ankle instability (CAI) patients. This study aimed to identify abnormal movement strategies in individuals with a history of ankle sprain injury during a sports maneuver compared with healthy controls. Sixty-six participants, consisting of 22 CAI patients, 22 ankle sprain copers, and 22 healthy controls, participated in this study. Functional profiles of lower extremity kinematics, kinetics, and EMG activation from initial contact (0% of stance) to toe-off (100% of stance) were collected and analyzed during a jump landing/cutting task using a functional data analysis approach. Compared with copers, CAI patients displayed landing positions of less plantarflexion, less inversion, more knee flexion, more hip flexion, and less hip abduction during the first 25% of stance. However, restricted dorsiflexion angle was observed in both CAI patients and copers relative to controls during the midlanding to mid-side-cutting phase when the ankle and knee reached its peak range of motion (e.g., dorsiflexion and knee flexion). Reduced EMG activation of tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, medial gastrocnemius, and gluteus medius may be due to altered kinematics that reduce muscular demands on the involved muscles. CAI patients displayed altered movement strategies, perhaps in an attempt to avoid perceived positions of risk. Although sagittal joint positions seemed to increase the external torque on the knee and hip extensors, frontal joint positions appeared to reduce the muscular demands on evertor and hip abductor muscles.

  4. A fault-tolerant strategy based on SMC for current-controlled converters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azer, Peter M.; Marei, Mostafa I.; Sattar, Ahmed A.

    2018-05-01

    The sliding mode control (SMC) is used to control variable structure systems such as power electronics converters. This paper presents a fault-tolerant strategy based on the SMC for current-controlled AC-DC converters. The proposed SMC is based on three sliding surfaces for the three legs of the AC-DC converter. Two sliding surfaces are assigned to control the phase currents since the input three-phase currents are balanced. Hence, the third sliding surface is considered as an extra degree of freedom which is utilised to control the neutral voltage. This action is utilised to enhance the performance of the converter during open-switch faults. The proposed fault-tolerant strategy is based on allocating the sliding surface of the faulty leg to control the neutral voltage. Consequently, the current waveform is improved. The behaviour of the current-controlled converter during different types of open-switch faults is analysed. Double switch faults include three cases: two upper switch fault; upper and lower switch fault at different legs; and two switches of the same leg. The dynamic performance of the proposed system is evaluated during healthy and open-switch fault operations. Simulation results exhibit the various merits of the proposed SMC-based fault-tolerant strategy.

  5. Control Strategy Tool (CoST)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The EPA Control Strategy Tool (CoST) is a software tool for projecting potential future control scenarios, their effects on emissions and estimated costs. This tool...

  6. 40 CFR 52.1982 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.1982... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Oregon § 52.1982 Control strategy... emission control equipment, selected from a specific list on file at DEQ, is in place and operating...

  7. Occupant satisfaction with two blind control strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karlsen, Line Røseth; Heiselberg, Per Kvols; Bryn, Ida

    2015-01-01

    Highlights •Occupant satisfaction with two blind control strategies has been studied. •Control based on cut-off position of slats was more popular than closed slats. •Results from the study are helpful in development of control strategies for blinds. •The results give indications of how blinds...

  8. New regenerative braking control strategy for rear-driven electrified minivans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Junzhi, Zhang; Yutong, Li; Chen, Lv; Ye, Yuan

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A regenerative braking system is designed for a rear-driven electric minivan. • A new control strategy coordinating energy efficiency and braking feel is proposed. • The control strategy is verified by simulation and hardware-in-loop (HIL) tests. • The proposed control strategy offers higher regeneration efficiency. - Abstract: As of to 2012, minivan ownership stood at 20 million units in China, accounting for 16% of the passenger car market. In this article, comprehensive research is carried out on the design and control of a regenerative braking system for a rear-driven electrified minivan. For improving the regeneration efficiency by as much as possible, a new regenerative braking control strategy called “modified control strategy” is proposed. Additionally, a control strategy called “baseline control strategy” is introduced as a comparative control strategy. Simulations and hardware-in-loop (HIL) tests are carried out. The results of the simulations and the HIL tests show that the modified control strategy offers considerably higher regeneration efficiency than the baseline control strategy. In normal deceleration braking, the regeneration efficiency of the modified control strategy reaches 47%, 15% higher than that of the baseline control strategy. In addition, improvement in the fuel economy of electric vehicles operating on the ECE driving cycle and enhanced with the modified control strategy is greater than 10%, which is 3% higher than that with the baseline control strategy

  9. Application of MSHIM core control strategy for westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onoue, Masaaki; Kawanishi, Tomohiro; Carlson, William R.; Morita, Toshio

    2003-01-01

    Westinghouse has developed a new core control strategy, in which two independently moving Rod Cluster Control Assembly (RCCA) groups are utilized for core control; one group for reactivity/temperature control, the other for axial power distribution (Axial Offset) control. This control procedure eliminates the need for Chemical Shim adjustments during power maneuvers, such as load follow, and is designated MSHIM (Mechanical Shim). This core control strategy is utilized in the AP1000. In the AP1000, it is possible to perform MSHIM load follow maneuvers for up to 95% of cycle life without changing the soluble boron concentration in the moderator. This core control strategy has been evaluated, via computer simulations, to provide appropriate margins to core and fuel design limits during normal operation maneuvers (including load follow operations) and also during anticipated Condition II accident transients. The primary benefits of MSHIM as a control strategy are as follows; Power change operation can be totally automated due to the elimination of boron concentration adjustments. Full load follow capability is achievable for up to more than 95% of cycle life. Load follow operations performed solely by mechanical devices results in a significant reduction in the boron system requirements and a significant reduction in daily effluent to be processed. (author)

  10. A comparison of fuzzy logic-PID control strategies for PWR pressurizer control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kavaklioglu, K.; Ikonomopoulos, A.

    1993-01-01

    This paper describes the results obtained from a comparison performed between classical proportional-integral-derivative (PID) and fuzzy logic (FL) controlling the pressure in a pressurized water reactor (PWR). The two methodologies have been tested under various transient scenarios, and their performances are evaluated with respect to robustness and on-time response to external stimuli. One of the main concerns in the safe operation of PWR is the pressure control in the primary side of the system. In order to maintain the pressure in a PWR at the desired level, the pressurizer component equipped with sprayers, heaters, and safety relief valves is used. The control strategy in a Westinghouse PWR is implemented with a PID controller that initiates either the electric heaters or the sprayers, depending on the direction of the coolant pressure deviation from the setpoint

  11. Simulation and RTDS Hardware Implementation of SHAF for Mitigation of Current Harmonics with p-q and Id-Iq Control Strategies Using PI Controller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. K. Panda

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Control strategies for extracting the three-phase reference currents for shunt active power filters are compared, evaluating their performance under different source conditions in MATLAB/Simulink environment and also with Real Time Digital Simulator (RTDS Hardware. When the supply voltages are balanced and sinusoidal, the two control strategies are converging to the same compensation characteristics but when the supply voltages are distorted and/or un-balanced sinusoidal, these control strategies result in different degrees of compensation in harmonics. The p-q control strategy is unable to yield an adequate solution when source voltages are not ideal. Extensive Simulations are carried out with PI controller for both p-q and Id-Iq control strategies for different voltage conditions and adequate results were presented. The 3-ph 4-wire SHAF system is also implemented on RTDS Hardware to further verify its effectiveness. The detailed simulation and RTDS Hardware results are included.

  12. The effects of rhythm control strategies versus rate control strategies for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sethi, Naqash; Safi, Sanam; Nielsen, Emil E

    2017-01-01

    by Jakobsen and colleagues. We plan to include all relevant randomised clinical trials assessing the effects of any rhythm control strategy versus any rate control strategy. We plan to search the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, Science Citation Index Expanded...... on Web of Science, and BIOSIS to identify relevant trials. Any eligible trial will be assessed and classified as either high risk of bias or low risk of bias, and our conclusions will be based on trials with low risk of bias. The analyses of the extracted data will be performed using Review Manager 5....... This protocol for a systematic review aims at identifying the best overall treatment strategy for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. METHODS: This protocol for a systematic review was performed following the recommendations of the Cochrane Collaboration and the eight-step assessment procedure suggested...

  13. Comparative analysis of the effectiveness of three immunization strategies in controlling disease outbreaks in realistic social networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhijing Xu

    Full Text Available The high incidence of emerging infectious diseases has highlighted the importance of effective immunization strategies, especially the stochastic algorithms based on local available network information. Present stochastic strategies are mainly evaluated based on classical network models, such as scale-free networks and small-world networks, and thus are insufficient. Three frequently referred stochastic immunization strategies-acquaintance immunization, community-bridge immunization, and ring vaccination-were analyzed in this work. The optimal immunization ratios for acquaintance immunization and community-bridge immunization strategies were investigated, and the effectiveness of these three strategies in controlling the spreading of epidemics were analyzed based on realistic social contact networks. The results show all the strategies have decreased the coverage of the epidemics compared to baseline scenario (no control measures. However the effectiveness of acquaintance immunization and community-bridge immunization are very limited, with acquaintance immunization slightly outperforming community-bridge immunization. Ring vaccination significantly outperforms acquaintance immunization and community-bridge immunization, and the sensitivity analysis shows it could be applied to controlling the epidemics with a wide infectivity spectrum. The effectiveness of several classical stochastic immunization strategies was evaluated based on realistic contact networks for the first time in this study. These results could have important significance for epidemic control research and practice.

  14. Comparative analysis of the effectiveness of three immunization strategies in controlling disease outbreaks in realistic social networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Zhijing; Zu, Zhenghu; Zheng, Tao; Zhang, Wendou; Xu, Qing; Liu, Jinjie

    2014-01-01

    The high incidence of emerging infectious diseases has highlighted the importance of effective immunization strategies, especially the stochastic algorithms based on local available network information. Present stochastic strategies are mainly evaluated based on classical network models, such as scale-free networks and small-world networks, and thus are insufficient. Three frequently referred stochastic immunization strategies-acquaintance immunization, community-bridge immunization, and ring vaccination-were analyzed in this work. The optimal immunization ratios for acquaintance immunization and community-bridge immunization strategies were investigated, and the effectiveness of these three strategies in controlling the spreading of epidemics were analyzed based on realistic social contact networks. The results show all the strategies have decreased the coverage of the epidemics compared to baseline scenario (no control measures). However the effectiveness of acquaintance immunization and community-bridge immunization are very limited, with acquaintance immunization slightly outperforming community-bridge immunization. Ring vaccination significantly outperforms acquaintance immunization and community-bridge immunization, and the sensitivity analysis shows it could be applied to controlling the epidemics with a wide infectivity spectrum. The effectiveness of several classical stochastic immunization strategies was evaluated based on realistic contact networks for the first time in this study. These results could have important significance for epidemic control research and practice.

  15. A critical evaluation of the STRATEGY project

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Howard, B.J.; Liland, A.; Beresford, N.A.

    2004-01-01

    The STRATEGY project (sustainable restoration and long-term management of contaminated rural, urban and industrial ecosystems; www.strategy-ec.org.uk) addressed the need for a holistic decision framework for the selection of optimal remediation strategies for long-term sustainable management...... of contaminated areas in Western Europe. The project considered both technical and social aspects of implementing restoration strategies for urban and rural environments. The importance of considering socially relevant objectives in addition to the dose reduction was emphasised. A critical evaluation was carried...... out on 101 selected countermeasures, (including rural waste disposal options), a model was developed to aid optimising countermeasure strategies and a method of carrying out participatory decision-making suggested. The outputs of the project are described and critically evaluated....

  16. A critical evaluation of the strategy project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howard, B. J.; Liland, A.; Beresford, N. A.; Andersson, K. G.; Cox, G.; Gil, J. M.; Hunt, J.; Nisbet, A.; Oughton, D. H.; Voigt, G.

    2004-01-01

    The STRATEGY project (sustainable restoration and long-term management of contaminated rural, urban and industrial ecosystems; www.strategy-ec.org.uk) addressed the need for a holistic decision framework for the selection of optimal remediation strategies for long-term sustainable management of contaminated areas in Western Europe. The project considered both technical and social aspects of implementing restoration strategies for urban and rural environments. The importance of considering socially relevant objectives in addition to the dose reduction was emphasised. A critical evaluation was carried out on 101 selected countermeasures, (including rural waste disposal options), a model was developed to aid optimising countermeasure strategies and a method of carrying out participatory decision-making suggested. The outputs of the project are described and critically evaluated. (authors)

  17. The social strategy cone: Towards a framework for evaluating social media strategies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Effing, Robin; Spil, Antonius A.M.

    2016-01-01

    Social media is growing rapidly. Providing both risks and opportunities for organizations as it does. The social strategy cone is developed for evaluating social media strategies. This framework comprises of seven key elements of social media strategies as based on a systematic literature review and

  18. Market behavior and performance of different strategy evaluation schemes

    OpenAIRE

    Yongjoo Baek; Sang Hoon Lee; Hawoong Jeong

    2010-01-01

    Strategy evaluation schemes are a crucial factor in any agent-based market model, as they determine the agents' strategy preferences and consequently their behavioral pattern. This study investigates how the strategy evaluation schemes adopted by agents affect their performance in conjunction with the market circumstances. We observe the performance of three strategy evaluation schemes, the history-dependent wealth game, the trend-opposing minority game, and the trend-following majority game,...

  19. Evaluation of SO2 compliance strategies at Virginia Power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Presley, J.V.; Tomlinson, M.; Ulmer, R.H.

    1992-01-01

    This paper will address the process undertaken by Virginia Power to assess SO 2 control strategies available for complying with the Revised Clean Air Act. In April 1990, in anticipation of the passage of an amended Clean Air Act, Virginia Power assembled a task force of personnel from a wide cross section of the company. This task force was given the responsibility of providing an assessment of the requirements of the new legislation, evaluating compliance alternatives and providing recommendations for implementation of the least cost alternative. Twenty-four potential SO 2 compliance options were identified for evaluation for Phase I. These options included various levels of coal switching, gas co-firing and scrubbing. Each option was evaluated and compared to a base case which assumed no SO 2 control. As a result of our evaluations, the lowest cost and least risk approach to Phase I SO 2 compliance for Virginia Power appears to be to construct a scrubber for one unit (550 MW g ) at our Mt. Storm Power Station

  20. Evaluation of emission control strategies to reduce ozone pollution in the Paso del Norte region using a photochemical air quality modeling system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valenzuela, Victor Hugo

    Air pollution emissions control strategies to reduce ozone precursor pollutants are analyzed by applying a photochemical modeling system. Simulations of air quality conditions during an ozone episode which occurred in June, 2006 are undertaken by increasing or reducing area source emissions in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Two air pollutants are primary drivers in the formation of tropospheric ozone. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) undergo multiple chemical reactions under favorable meteorological conditions to form ozone, which is a secondary pollutant that irritates respiratory systems in sensitive individuals especially the elderly and young children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to limit ambient air pollutants such as ozone by establishing an 8-hour average concentration of 0.075 ppm as the threshold at which a violation of the standard occurs. Ozone forms primarily due reactions in the troposphere of NOx and VOC emissions generated primarily by anthropogenic sources in urban regions. Data from emissions inventories indicate area sources account for ˜15 of NOx and ˜45% of regional VOC emissions. Area sources include gasoline stations, automotive paint bodyshops and nonroad mobile sources. Multiplicity of air pollution emissions sources provides an opportunity to investigate and potentially implement air quality improvement strategies to reduce emissions which contribute to elevated ozone concentrations. A baseline modeling scenario was established using the CAMx photochemical air quality model from which a series of sensitivity analyses for evaluating air quality control strategies were conducted. Modifications to area source emissions were made by varying NOx and / or VOC emissions in the areas of particular interest. Model performance was assessed for each sensitivity analysis. Normalized bias (NB) and normalized error (NE) were used to identify

  1. [Harm reduction strategy in tobacco control].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorini, Giuseppe

    2011-01-01

    .Thus, California Department of Health Services prohibits promotion of snus and medicinal nicotine as a harm reduction strategy. However, the US Federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, signed by President Obama in 2009, places tobacco products under FDA jurisdiction: FDA must define criteria for lowering carcinogens and toxicants in tobacco products, making more available medicinal nicotine, evaluating PREPs, creating a federal Tobacco Control Agency.Which approaches is Italy going to follow?

  2. Impact of VSC Control Strategies and Incorporation of Synchronous Condensers on Distance Protection under Unbalanced Faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jia, Jundi; Yang, Guangya; Nielsen, Arne Hejde

    2018-01-01

    on distance protection are evaluated using a commercial relay through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests. Based on the test results, we propose to avoid using constant reactive power control strategy. It poses an adverse impact on the reliability and speed of distance protection regardless of the presence of SC....... This might bring up challenges to the protection system of a converter-dominated power system. This paper derives a generic converter peak current limitation method for three different VSC control strategies. The impact of the control strategies and the combined impact of a VSC with a synchronous condenser...... at the point of common coupling (PCC), while constant active power and balanced current control strategies favor the performances of distance protection....

  3. 40 CFR 52.2332 - Control Strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control Strategy: Ozone. 52.2332 Section 52.2332 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Utah § 52.2332 Control Strategy...

  4. 40 CFR 52.1885 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.1885 Section 52.1885 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Ohio § 52.1885 Control strategy...

  5. 40 CFR 52.1023 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.1023 Section 52.1023 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Maine § 52.1023 Control strategy...

  6. 40 CFR 52.377 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.377 Section 52.377 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Connecticut § 52.377 Control strategy: Ozone. (a...

  7. 40 CFR 52.66 - Control Strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control Strategy: Ozone. 52.66 Section 52.66 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Alabama § 52.66 Control Strategy: Ozone. (a) The...

  8. 40 CFR 52.582 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.582 Section 52.582 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Georgia> § 52.582 Control strategy: Ozone. (a) Approval...

  9. 40 CFR 52.350 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.350 Section 52.350 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Colorado § 52.350 Control strategy: Ozone. (a) Revisions...

  10. How does a change in the control room design affect diagnostic strategies in nuclear power plants?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Dong Young; Kim, Jonghyun

    2014-01-01

    Recently, main control rooms have been considerably changed by modern computer techniques. Some of the features that distinguish digital control rooms from conventional, analog rooms in nuclear power plants include advanced alarm systems, graphic information display systems, computerized procedure systems, and soft control. These features can bring changes in operator tasks, changing the characteristics of tasks or creating new tasks for operators. It is especially expected that these features may bring out changes in the operator's diagnostic tasks and strategies in a digital control room as compared with an analog control room. This study investigates the differences in the operator's diagnostic tasks and strategies in analog and digital control rooms. This study also attempts to evaluate how new systems in a digital control room affect diagnostic strategies. Three different approaches, which are complementary, are used to identify diagnostic strategies in the digital control room and in the analog control room: (1) observation in the simulator, (2) interview with operators, and (3) a literature review. The results show that the digital control room introduces new diagnosis strategies compared with the analog control room while also changing the characteristics of the strategies, mostly by gaining more support from the computerized system. (author)

  11. National Drug Control Strategy. Update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Office of National Drug Control Policy, Washington, DC.

    President Bush's new National Drug Control Strategy for 2003 focuses on three core priorities: stopping drug use before it starts; healing America's drug users; and disrupting the market. The 2003 strategy reports progress toward meeting the President's goals of reducing drug use by 10 percent over 2 years, and 25 percent over 5 years. With regard…

  12. Efficient community-based control strategies in adaptive networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Hui; Tang Ming; Zhang Haifeng

    2012-01-01

    Most studies on adaptive networks concentrate on the properties of steady state, but neglect transient dynamics. In this study, we pay attention to the emergence of community structure in the transient process and the effects of community-based control strategies on epidemic spreading. First, by normalizing the modularity, we investigate the evolution of community structure during the transient process, and find that a strong community structure is induced by the rewiring mechanism in the early stage of epidemic dynamics, which, remarkably, delays the outbreak of disease. We then study the effects of control strategies started at different stages on the prevalence. Both immunization and quarantine strategies indicate that it is not ‘the earlier, the better’ for the implementation of control measures. And the optimal control effect is obtained if control measures can be efficiently implemented in the period of a strong community structure. For the immunization strategy, immunizing the susceptible nodes on susceptible–infected links and immunizing susceptible nodes randomly have similar control effects. However, for the quarantine strategy, quarantining the infected nodes on susceptible–infected links can yield a far better result than quarantining infected nodes randomly. More significantly, the community-based quarantine strategy performs better than the community-based immunization strategy. This study may shed new light on the forecast and the prevention of epidemics among humans. (paper)

  13. Control strategies for effective robot assisted gait rehabilitation: the state of art and future prospects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Jinghui; Xie, Sheng Quan; Das, Raj; Zhu, Guo L

    2014-12-01

    A large number of gait rehabilitation robots, together with a variety of control strategies, have been developed and evaluated during the last decade. Initially, control strategies applied to rehabilitation robots were adapted from those applied to traditional industrial robots. However, these strategies cannot optimise effectiveness of gait rehabilitation. As a result, researchers have been investigating control strategies tailored for the needs of rehabilitation. Among these control strategies, assisted-as-needed (AAN) control is one of the most popular research topics in this field. AAN training strategies have gained the theoretical and practical evidence based backup from motor learning principles and clinical studies. Various approaches to AAN training have been proposed and investigated by research groups all around the world. This article presents a review on control algorithms of gait rehabilitation robots to summarise related knowledge and investigate potential trends of development. There are existing review papers on control strategies of rehabilitation robots. The review by Marchal-Crespo and Reinkensmeyer (2009) had a broad cover of control strategies of all kinds of rehabilitation robots. Hussain et al. (2011) had specifically focused on treadmill gait training robots and covered a limited number of control implementations on them. This review article encompasses more detailed information on control strategies for robot assisted gait rehabilitation, but is not limited to treadmill based training. It also investigates the potential to further develop assist-as-needed gait training based on assessments of patients' ability. In this paper, control strategies are generally divided into the trajectory tracking control and AAN control. The review covers these two basic categories, as well as other control algorithm and technologies derived from them, such as biofeedback control. Assessments on human gait ability are also included to investigate how to

  14. 40 CFR 52.2236 - Control strategy; lead.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy; lead. 52.2236 Section...) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Tennessee § 52.2236 Control strategy; lead... on October 6, 1994. These revisions address the requirements necessary to change a lead nonattainment...

  15. 40 CFR 52.930 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.930 Section 52.930 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Kentucky § 52.930 Control strategy: Ozone. (a) The VOC...

  16. 40 CFR 52.476 - Control strategy: ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: ozone. 52.476 Section 52.476 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS District of Columbia § 52.476 Control strategy: ozone. (a...

  17. Opportunistic Interference Cancellation Evaluation in Cognitive Radios under Power Control Strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Suriano, Ferdinando; De Rango, Floriano; Popovski, Petar

    2013-01-01

    conditions allow, the secondary system can decode and subsequently cancel the interference from the primary system. Contrary to the previous works that utilize the concept of OIC, in this paper we consider practical packet coding, rather than optimal random codebooks in an information-theoretic setting...... of the OIC mechanism. Several power control algorithms have been considered and evaluated in a single and multi-channel scenario. The results clearly indicate the advantage of using power control in conjunction with the OIC concept for achieving spectrally-efficient secondary operation....

  18. 40 CFR 52.1375 - Control strategy: Lead.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Lead. 52.1375 Section...) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Montana § 52.1375 Control strategy: Lead. Determination—EPA has determined that the East Helena Lead nonattainment area has attained the lead national...

  19. 40 CFR 52.58 - Control strategy: Lead.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Lead. 52.58 Section...) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Alabama § 52.58 Control strategy: Lead. The lead plan... the lead standard throughout Alabama. The lead plan submitted by the State on October 7, 1985, and...

  20. Feedback control strategies for the Liu chaotic system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Congxu; Chen Zhigang

    2008-01-01

    This Letter proposed three strategies of the dislocated feedback control, enhancing feedback control and speed feedback control of the Liu chaotic system to its unstable equilibrium points. It is found that the coefficients of enhancing feedback control and speed feedback control are smaller than those of ordinary feedback control, so, the complexity and cost of the system control are reduced. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulation are given, revealing the effectiveness of these strategies

  1. Evaluation of smart grid control strategies in co-simulation - integration of IPSYS and mosaik

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kosek, Anna Magdalena; Lünsdorf, Ontje; Scherfke, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents two different aspects consid- ering a co-simulation of smart grid scenarios. First considers representing the control strategy in a separate discrete event simulation developed in a multi-agent platform. This study investigates the design and implementation of such a simulator....... Special attention is given to timing issues presenting time variant and time invariant models. The second aspect presented in this paper is the co-simulation composition, investigating how to integrate a control simulation with other simulators in a co- simulation ecosystem. In this study the attention...

  2. 40 CFR 52.1681 - Control strategy: Lead.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Lead. 52.1681 Section...) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) New York § 52.1681 Control strategy: Lead. As part of the attainment demonstration for lead, the State of New York has committed to rate all sources...

  3. Evaluating risk management strategies in resource planning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andrews, C.J.

    1995-01-01

    This paper discusses the evaluation of risk management strategies as a part of integrated resource planning. Value- and scope-related uncertainties can be addressed during the process of planning, but uncertainties in the operating environment require technical analysis within planning models. Flexibility and robustness are two key classes of strategies for managing the risk posed by these uncertainties. This paper reviews standard capacity expansion planning models and shows that they are poorly equipped to compare risk management strategies. Those that acknowledge uncertainty are better at evaluating robustness than flexibility, which implies a bias against flexible options. Techniques are available to overcome this bias

  4. Nonlinear control strategy based on using a shape-tunable neural controller

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, C.; Peng, S. [Feng Chia Univ, Taichung (Taiwan, Province of China). Department of chemical Engineering; Chang, W. [Feng Chia Univ, Taichung (Taiwan, Province of China). Department of Automatic Control

    1997-08-01

    In this paper, a nonlinear control strategy based on using a shape-tunable neural network is developed for adaptive control of nonlinear processes. Based on the steepest descent method, a learning algorithm that enables the neural controller to possess the ability of automatic controller output range adjustment is derived. The novel feature of automatic output range adjustment provides the neural controller more flexibility and capability, and therefore the scaling procedure, which is usually unavoidable for the conventional fixed-shape neural controllers, becomes unnecessary. The advantages and effectiveness of the proposed nonlinear control strategy are demonstrated through the challenge problem of controlling an open-loop unstable nonlinear continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). 14 refs., 11 figs.

  5. Relationship Between Strategy Shaping and Management Control Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcia Athayde Moreira

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This research analyzed the interactions between strategy shaping and management control systems, having as parameter of analysis the system of levers of control recommended by Simons (1995. A multiple case study was carried out of two companies in the construction sector in Brazil. It was found that these companies use generic niche strategies to sell the properties they have built. One of these companies uses long-term planning while the other is guided by short-term perspectives and perceptions. Both companies employ various formal control tools. It was noted, however, that some of these tools exist for the purpose of meeting the requirements of standards and audits established by certifying bodies and are not being used as tools for decision making. It was thus concluded that the relationship between managerial controls and the shaping of strategy in these organizations occurs in a passive way, with the management control systems serving as guarantors of the accomplishment of organizational strategies and goals, but not being used effectively to identify opportunities or as a source for shaping new strategies.

  6. Optimal Control Strategy Search Using a Simplest 3-D PWR Xenon Oscillation Simulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoichiro, Shimazu

    2004-01-01

    Power spatial oscillations due to the transient xenon spatial distribution are well known as xenon oscillation in large PWRs. When the reactor size becomes larger than the current design, then even radial oscillations can be also divergent. Even if the radial oscillation is convergent, when some control rods malfunction occurs, it is necessary to suppress the oscillation in as short time as possible. In such cases, optimal control strategy is required. Generally speaking the optimality search based on the modern control theory requires a lot of calculation for the evaluation of state variables. In the case of control rod malfunctions the xenon oscillation could be three dimensional. In such case, direct core calculations would be inevitable. From this point of view a very simple model, only four point reactor model, has been developed and verified. In this paper, an example of a procedure and the results for optimal control strategy search are presented. It is shown that we have only one optimal strategy within a half cycle of the oscillation with fixed control strength. It is also shown that a 3-D xenon oscillation introduced by a control rod malfunction can not be controlled by only one control step as can be done for axial oscillations. They might be quite strong limitations to the operators. Thus it is recommended that a strategy generator, which is quick in analyzing and easy to use, might be installed in a monitoring system or operator guiding system. (author)

  7. Impact Safety Control Strategy for the Battery System of an Example Electric Bus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhen-po Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a side impact safety control strategy for the battery system, aiming at defusing the hazards of unacceptable behaviors of the battery system such as high-voltage hazards. Based on some collision identification metrics, a side impact discrimination algorithm and a side impact severity algorithm are developed for electric buses. Based on the study on the time to break for power battery, the side impact discrimination algorithm response time is about 20 ms posing a great challenge to the side impact discrimination algorithm. At the same time, the reliability of the impact safety control strategy developed in this paper is evaluated for other plausible side impact signals generated by finite element analysis. The results verify that the impact safety control strategy exhibits robust performance and is able to trigger a breaking signal for power battery system promptly and accurately.

  8. Adult vaccination strategies for the control of pertussis in the United States: an economic evaluation including the dynamic population effects.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurent Coudeville

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Prior economic evaluations of adult and adolescent vaccination strategies against pertussis have reached disparate conclusions. Using static approaches only, previous studies failed to analytically include the indirect benefits derived from herd immunity as well as the impact of vaccination on the evolution of disease incidence over time. METHODS: We assessed the impact of different pertussis vaccination strategies using a dynamic compartmental model able to consider pertussis transmission. We then combined the results with economic data to estimate the relative cost-effectiveness of pertussis immunization strategies for adolescents and adults in the US. The analysis compares combinations of programs targeting adolescents, parents of newborns (i.e. cocoon strategy, or adults of various ages. RESULTS: In the absence of adolescent or adult vaccination, pertussis incidence among adults is predicted to more than double in 20 years. Implementing an adult program in addition to childhood and adolescent vaccination either based on 1 a cocoon strategy and a single booster dose or 2 a decennial routine vaccination would maintain a low level of pertussis incidence in the long run for all age groups (respectively 30 and 20 cases per 100,000 person years. These strategies would also result in significant reductions of pertussis costs (between -77% and -80% including additional vaccination costs. The cocoon strategy complemented by a single booster dose is the most cost-effective one, whereas the decennial adult vaccination is slightly more effective in the long run. CONCLUSIONS: By providing a high level of disease control, the implementation of an adult vaccination program against pertussis appears to be highly cost-effective and often cost-saving.

  9. SP-100 initial startup and restart control strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halfen, Frank J.; Wong, Kwok K.; Switick, Dennis M.; Shukla, Jaikaran N.

    Startup control strategies for SP-100 are described. Revised control and operating strategies are discussed which have been developed and tested using the SP-100 dynamic simulation model Aries-GFS (Generic Flight System).

  10. "Healthy Eating - Healthy Action": evaluating New Zealand's obesity prevention strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanuvasa Ausaga

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background New Zealand rates of obesity and overweight have increased since the 1980s, particularly among indigenous Māori people, Pacific people and those living in areas of high deprivation. New Zealand's response to the obesity epidemic has been The Healthy Eating-Healthy Action: Oranga Kai - Oranga Pumau (HEHA Strategy ('the Strategy', launched in 2003. Because the HEHA Strategy explicitly recognises the importance of evaluation and the need to create an evidence base to support future initiatives, the Ministry of Health has commissioned a Consortium of researchers to evaluate the Strategy as a whole. Methods This paper discusses the Consortium's approach to evaluating the HEHA Strategy. It includes an outline of the conceptual framework underpinning the evaluation, and describes the critical components of the evaluation which are: judging to what extent stakeholders were engaged in the process of the strategy implementation and to what extent their feedback was incorporated in to future iterations of the Strategy (continuous improvement, to what extent the programmes, policies, and initiatives implemented span the target populations and priority areas, whether there have been any population changes in nutrition and/or physical activity outcomes or behaviours relating to those outcomes, and to what extent HEHA Strategy and spending can be considered value for money. Discussion This paper outlines our approach to evaluating a complex national health promotion strategy. Not only does the Evaluation have the potential to identify interventions that could be adopted internationally, but also the development of the Evaluation design can inform other complex evaluations.

  11. Study protocol of an economic evaluation of an extended implementation strategy for the treatment of low back pain in general practice: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Cathrine Elgaard; Riis, Allan; Pedersen, Kjeld Møller; Jensen, Martin Bach; Petersen, Karin Dam

    2014-10-08

    In Denmark, guidelines on low back pain management are currently being implemented; in association with this, a clinical trial is conducted. A health economic evaluation is carried out alongside the clinical trial to assess the cost-effectiveness of an extended implementation strategy to increase the general practitioners' adherence to the guidelines. In addition to usual dissemination, the extended implementation strategy is composed of visits from a guideline facilitator, stratification tools, and feedback on guideline adherence. The aim of this paper is to provide the considerations on the design of the health economic evaluation. The economic evaluation is carried out alongside a cluster randomised controlled trial consisting of 60 general practices in the North Denmark Region. An expected 1,200 patients between the age of 18 and 65 years with a low back pain diagnosis will be enrolled. The economic evaluation comprises both a cost-effectiveness analyses and a cost-utility analysis. Effectiveness measures include referral to secondary care, health-related quality of life measured by EQ-5D-5L, and disability measured by the Roland Morris disability questionnaire. Cost measures include all relevant additional costs of the extended implementation strategy compared to usual implementation. The economic evaluation will be performed from both a societal perspective and a health sector perspective with a 12-month time horizon. It is expected that the extended implementation strategy will reduce the number of patients referred to secondary care. It is hypothesised that the additional upfront cost of extended implementation will be counterbalanced by improvements in clinical practice and patient-related outcomes, thereby rendering the extended implementation strategy cost-effective. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01699256.

  12. Control strategies for wind farm power optimization: LES study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciri, Umberto; Rotea, Mario; Leonardi, Stefano

    2017-11-01

    Turbines in wind farms operate in off-design conditions as wake interactions occur for particular wind directions. Advanced wind farm control strategies aim at coordinating and adjusting turbine operations to mitigate power losses in such conditions. Coordination is achieved by controlling on upstream turbines either the wake intensity, through the blade pitch angle or the generator torque, or the wake direction, through yaw misalignment. Downstream turbines can be adapted to work in waked conditions and limit power losses, using the blade pitch angle or the generator torque. As wind conditions in wind farm operations may change significantly, it is difficult to determine and parameterize the variations of the coordinated optimal settings. An alternative is model-free control and optimization of wind farms, which does not require any parameterization and can track the optimal settings as conditions vary. In this work, we employ a model-free optimization algorithm, extremum-seeking control, to find the optimal set-points of generator torque, blade pitch and yaw angle for a three-turbine configuration. Large-Eddy Simulations are used to provide a virtual environment to evaluate the performance of the control strategies under realistic, unsteady incoming wind. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, Grants No. 1243482 (the WINDINSPIRE project) and IIP 1362033 (I/UCRC WindSTAR). TACC is acknowledged for providing computational time.

  13. A Holistic Quality Evaluation, Selection and Improvement Approach driven by Multilevel Goals and Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belen Rivera

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Organizations should establish business goals and check for their achievement in a systematic and disciplined way. In order to know if a business goal is achieved, it should be necessary to consider information need goals that also can require satisfying measurement and evaluation goals at operational level. Furthermore, if measurement and evaluation goals are not aligned with top-level business goals such as tactical or strategic level goals, the organization could waste its effort and resources. Usually, the different goals established in an organization are operationalized through projects. For a given project, strategies should be used in order to help in the goal achievement. A strategy defines a set of activities and methods to be followed for a specific goal purpose. Ultimately, to engineering all these issues in a systematic way, organizations should adopt a holistic evaluation approach supported by a set of integrated strategies. By means of a systematic literature review as research method, we have observed that very few approaches support integrated strategies and multilevel goals. To bridge this gap, we have developed a holistic quality multilevel and multipurpose evaluation approach that ties together multilevel goals, projects and integrated strategies. As contributions, this paper discusses an enhanced conceptual base (specified by ontologies for linking business and information need goal concepts with project, strategy and nonfunctional requirements concepts. Then, it defines the step by step of our holistic quality evaluation approach, by listing the necessary activities to establish goals and projects at different organizational levels. Lastly, it specifies and illustrates evaluation scenarios for business/information need goal purposes such as understanding, improving, monitoring and controlling, comparing and selecting entities, which are supported by strategies and strategy patterns.

  14. Wind farm models and control strategies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Soerensen, Poul; Hansen, Anca D.; Iov, F.; Blaabjerg, F.; Donovan, M.H.

    2005-08-01

    This report describes models and control strategies for 3 different concepts of wind farms. Initially, the potential in improvement of grid integration, structural loads and energy production is investigated in a survey of opportunities. Then simulation models are described, including wind turbine models for a fixed speed wind turbine with active stall control and a variable speed wind turbine with doubly-fed induction generator. After that, the 3 wind farm concepts and control strategies are described. The 3 concepts are AC connected doubly fed turbines, AC connected active stall turbines and DC connected active stall turbines. Finally, some simulation examples and conclusions are presented. (au)

  15. Evaluation of train-speed control algorithms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Slavik, M.M. [BKS Advantech (Pty.) Ltd., Pretoria (South Africa)

    2000-07-01

    A relatively simple and fast simulator has been developed and used for the preliminary testing of train cruise-control algorithms. The simulation is done in software on a PC. The simulator is used to gauge the consequences and feasibility of a cruise-control strategy prior to more elaborate testing and evaluation. The tool was used to design and pre-test a train-cruise control algorithm called NSS, which does not require knowledge of exact train mass, vertical alignment, or actual braking force. Only continuous measurements on the speed of the train and electrical current are required. With this modest input, the NSS algorithm effected speed changes smoothly and efficiently for a wide range of operating conditions. (orig.)

  16. Implementation and comparative study of control strategies for an isolated DFIG based WECS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouchiba, Nouha; Barkia, Asma; Sallem, Souhir; Chrifi-Alaoui, Larbi; Drid, Saïd; Kammoun, M. B. A.

    2017-10-01

    Nowadays, a global interest for renewable energy sources has been growing intensely. In particular, a wind energy has become the most popular. In case of autonomous systems, wind energy conversion system (WECS) based on a double fed induction generator (DFIG) is widely used. In this paper, in order to control the stand-alone system outputs under wind speed and load variations, three kinds of nonlinear control strategies have been proposed, applied and compared, such as: Classical PI controller, Back-Stepping and Sliding Mode controllers. A series of experiments have been conducted to evaluate and to compare the developed controllers' dynamic performances under load demand and speed variations. The design and the implementation of different control strategies to a 1.5kW doubly fed induction machine is carried out using a dSpace DS1104 card based on MATLAB/Simulink environment. Experimental results are presented to show the validity of the implemented controllers and demonstrate the effectiveness of each controller compared with others.

  17. Using the acid rain advisor to evaluate compliance strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stallard, G.S.; Anderson, A.A.

    1991-01-01

    Unlike prior Clean Air Act (CAA) legislation, the most recent amendments will require utilities to reduce SO 2 and NO x emissions for existing operating power station and provides for compliance strategies in which emissions for existing operating power stations and provides for compliance strategies in which emission reductions can be transferred from one unit to another. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), in conjunction with the Department of Energy (DOE), is funding the development of the Coal Quality Expert (CQE), a comprehensive analytical/planning tool to consider the myriad of potential coal purchase decisions now facing the utility, including fuel switching, blending, coal beneficiation, and the installation of retrofit emission controls. The CQE will be built on the foundation of proven, validated computer models to the maximum extent possible, including EPRI's Coal Quality Impact Model (CQIM), a state-of-the-art computer model designed to evaluate cost/performance impacts of fuel switching at existing power plants. In addition, as the CQE development permits, interim computer products will be offered. The first of these products is the Acid Rain Advisor (ARA). The ARA complements the CQIM by providing the ability to rapidly evaluate the system-wide cost and reduction benefits which result from selecting various reduction techniques on various units within the system. Thus, with the ARA, the utility can efficiently combine cost/performance information, view overall system results, and rapidly consider various 'What if' alternatives to ensure that individual unit reduction strategies are consistent with the goals of the utility as a whole. This paper demonstrates the capabilities of the ARA, and by use of a 'sample analysis,' illustrates how a utility might develop and evaluate alternative CAA compliance strategies

  18. Supervisory Control Strategy Development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gary D Storrick; Bojan Petrovic

    2007-01-01

    Task 4 of this collaborative effort between ORNL, Brazil, and Westinghouse for the International Nuclear Energy Research Initiative entitled 'Development of Advanced Instrumentation and Control for an Integrated Primary System Reactor' focused on the design of the hierarchical supervisory control for multiple-module units. The state of the IRIS plant design--specifically, the lack of a detailed secondary system design--made developing a detailed hierarchical control difficult at this time. However, other simultaneous and ongoing efforts have contributed to providing the needed information. This report summarizes the results achieved under Task 4 of this Financial Assistance Award. Section 1.2 describes the scope of this effort. Section 2 discusses the IRIS control functions. Next, it briefly reviews the current control concepts, and then reviews the maneuvering requirements for the IRIS plant. It closes by noting the benefits that automated sequences have in reducing operator workload. Section 3 examines reactor loading in the frequency domain to establish some guidelines for module operation, paying particular attention to strategies for using process steam for desalination and/or district heating. The final subsection discusses the implications for reactor control, and argues that using the envisioned percentage (up to 10%) of the NSSS thermal output for these purposes should not significantly affect the NSSS control strategies. Section 4 uses some very general economic assumptions to suggest how one should approach multi-module operation. It concludes that the well-known algorithms used for economic dispatching could be used to help manage a multi-unit IRIS site. Section 5 addresses the human performance factors of multi-module operation. Section 6 summarizes our conclusions

  19. Evaluating alternative management strategies for bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus, in the Indian Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuhe Tong

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus support a large commercial fishery in the Indian Ocean. However, explicit management strategies and harvest control rules are yet to be developed for the management of this fishery. We used a stochastic age-structured production model as an operating model to evaluate several potential management strategies under different assumptions of stock productivity. Five management strategies—constant fishing mortality, constant catch, quasi-constant catch, constant escapement, and status-dependent strategies—were evaluated and compared using the performance indicators including average catch, average spawning stock biomass, variation in catch, average fishing mortality and lowest biomass during the time period considered in the simulation. This study shows that (1 for the constant catch strategy, an annual catch of 90000 t would result in a low risk of stock being overfished while obtaining a stable catch; (2 for the constant fishing mortality strategy fishing mortality of 0.3 per year could yield a higher catch, but might have a high probability (64% of stock dropping below the spawning stock biomass (SSB that could achieve maximum sustainable yield (SSBmsy; and (3 for the quasi-constant catch strategy an annual catch of 110000 t was sustainable if the current SSB was higher than SSBmsy. Constant escapement and status-dependent strategies were robust with respect to different levels of virgin recruitment and steepness. This study suggests that it is important to incorporate uncertainties associated with key life history, fisheries and management processes in evaluating management strategies.

  20. Low-income minority fathers' control strategies and children's regulatory skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malin, Jenessa L.; Cabrera, Natasha J.; Karberg, Elizabeth; Aldoney, Daniela; Rowe, Meredith

    2015-01-01

    The current study explored the bidirectional association of children's individual characteristics, fathers' control strategies at 24-months and children's regulatory skills at pre-kindergarten (pre-K). Using a sample of low-income minority families with 2-year-olds from the Early Head Start Evaluation Research Program (n = 71) we assessed the association between child gender and vocabulary skills, fathers' control strategies at 24-months (e.g., regulatory behavior and regulatory language), and children's sustained attention and emotion regulation at pre-kindergarten. There were three main findings. First, fathers' overwhelmingly use commands (e.g., do that) to promote compliance in their 24-month old children. Second, children's vocabulary skills predict fathers' regulatory behaviors during a father-child interaction, whereas children's gender predicts fathers' regulatory language during an interaction. Third, controlling for maternal supportiveness, fathers' regulatory behaviors at 24-months predict children's sustained attention at pre-kindergarten whereas fathers' regulatory language at 24-months predicts children's emotion regulation at pre-kindergarten. Our findings highlight the importance of examining paternal contributions to children's regulatory skills. PMID:25798496

  1. Tit-For-Tat Strategy for Increasing Medical Student Evaluation Response Rates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew G. Malone

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Introducation It is essential for faculty to receive feedback on their teaching for the purpose of improvement as well as promotion. It can be challenging to motivate students to provide feedback to preceptors and fill out evaluation forms when not a clerkship requirement. Furthermore, there is concern that making the evaluations a requirement can compromise the quality of the feedback. The objective of this study was to identify an increase in the number of faculty and resident evaluations completed by students rotating through their Emergency Medicine clerkship following the implementation of a tit-for-tat incentive strategy. Method Prior to the implementation of Tit-for-Tat, students rotating through their emergency medicine clerkship were asked to fill out evaluations of residents and faculty members with whom they worked. These were encouraged but voluntary. Beginning in the 2014–2015 academic year, a tit-for-tat strategy was employed whereby students had to complete a resident or faculty evaluation in order to view the student assessment completed by that resident or faculty preceptor. Results Students submitted 1101 evaluations in the control, with a mean of 3.60 evaluations completed per student and 3.77 evaluations received per preceptor. Following the implementation of tit-for-tat, students submitted 2736 evaluations, with a mean of 8.19 evaluations completed per student and 7.52 evaluations received per preceptor. Both the increase in evaluations completed per student and evaluations received per preceptor were statistically significant with p-value <0.001. Conclusion The tit-for-tat strategy significantly increased the number of evaluations submitted by students rotating through their emergency medicine clerkship. This has served as an effective tool to increase the overall number of evaluations completed, the number of evaluations each instructor received on average and the proportion of students that completed evaluations

  2. Hierarchical Control Strategy for the Cooperative Braking System of Electric Vehicle

    OpenAIRE

    Peng, Jiankun; He, Hongwen; Liu, Wei; Guo, Hongqiang

    2015-01-01

    This paper provides a hierarchical control strategy for cooperative braking system of an electric vehicle with separated driven axles. Two layers are defined: the top layer is used to optimize the braking stability based on two sliding mode control strategies, namely, the interaxle control mode and signal-axle control strategies; the interaxle control strategy generates the ideal braking force distribution in general braking condition, and the single-axle control strategy can ensure braking s...

  3. An Efficient Modal Control Strategy for the Active Vibration Control of a Truss Structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Carvalhal

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper an efficient modal control strategy is described for the active vibration control of a truss structure. In this approach, a feedback force is applied to each mode to be controlled according to a weighting factor that is determined by assessing how much each mode is excited by the primary source. The strategy is effective provided that the primary source is at a fixed position on the structure, and that the source is stationary in the statistical sense. To test the effectiveness of the control strategy it is compared with an alternative, established approach namely, Independent Modal Space Control (IMSC. Numerical simulations show that with the new strategy it is possible to significantly reduce the control effort required, with a minimal reduction in control performance.

  4. An evaluation of multi-annual management strategies for ICES roundfish stocks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kell, L.T.; Pilling, G.M.; Kirkwood, G.P.

    2006-01-01

    to observe, monitor, assess, and control them. Strategies were evaluated in terms of risk (measured as the probability of spawning-stock biomass falling below a biomass threshold for the stock) and cumulative yield. In general, bounds on interannual TAC change of 10% and 20% affected the ability to achieve......Current scientific management objectives for ICES roundfish stocks are to ensure conservation of the biological resource and do not explicitly consider economic or social objectives. For example, there are currently no objectives to maximize the sustainable yield or to reduce variability in total...... allowable catches (TACs). This is despite the fact that the current system can result in wide annual fluctuations in TAC, limiting the ability of the fishing industry to plan for the future. Therefore, this study evaluated management strategies that stabilized catches by setting bounds on the interannual...

  5. Strategies to control odours in livestock facilities: a critical review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Ubeda

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Odours generated in livestock buildings constitute one of the most relevant air quality issues of intensive livestock production. Reducing nuisance episodes related to odour exposure is therefore essential for a sustainable livestock production. In this study, the state-of-the-art on odour mitigation techniques in livestock housing is critically reviewed. Scientific advances in the last decade are revised and research needs are also identified. The complex nature of livestock odours is firstly reviewed and examined. Then, the most relevant odour control strategies are analyzed in terms of present knowledge and future needs. The strategies considered are: nutritional strategies, manure additives, building design, air filtration, manure covers, manure treatment systems and windbreaks. Finally, future research needs and priorities when establishing mitigation techniques are identified. Despite important recent advances, there are still some challenges for scientists, producers and regulators, particularly related to field evaluation of odours. Therefore, to control livestock odours effectively, using standardized field assessment techniques will be required. Also, investigating measurement and model errors may be useful to better understand the limitations of the current methods, as well as to identify research priorities.

  6. Tax Strategy Control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rossing, Christian Plesner

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines how a functional tax strategy impacts the management control system (MCS) in a multinational enterprise (MNE) facing transfer pricing tax risks. Based on case study findings it is argued that the MCS in a multinational setting is contingent upon the MNE's response to its tax...... environment. Moreover, the paper extends existing contingency-based theory on MCS by illustrating the role of inter-organisational network collaboration across MNE transfer pricing tax experts. This collaboration, caused by a widely dispersed tax knowledge base, fuels the formal interactive control system...... and reduces tax uncertainty. The paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach for explaining findings, using contingency-based theory and network theory at the inter-organisational level....

  7. Industrial strategy for nondestructive control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, P.; Michaut, J.P.

    1994-01-01

    For Electricite de France, the nondestructive control strategy passes by a responsibility of services, a competition between companies, a clarification of the market access and a dialogue with the companies

  8. Effect of control strategies on the persistence of fish-borne zoonotic trematodes: A modelling approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boerlage, A.S.; Graat, E.A.M.; Verreth, J.A.J.; Jong, de M.C.M.

    2013-01-01

    Fish-borne Zoonotic Trematodes (FZTs) are a risk to human health and need to be controlled. A mathematical model was developed to give insight into how and to what extent control strategies change the dynamics of FZTs on integrated agriculture–aquaculture farms. The reproduction ratio R evaluates

  9. Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of control strategies using the benchmark simulation model No1 (BSM1).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flores-Alsina, Xavier; Rodriguez-Roda, Ignasi; Sin, Gürkan; Gernaey, Krist V

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to perform an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of the predictions of the Benchmark Simulation Model (BSM) No. 1, when comparing four activated sludge control strategies. The Monte Carlo simulation technique is used to evaluate the uncertainty in the BSM1 predictions, considering the ASM1 bio-kinetic parameters and influent fractions as input uncertainties while the Effluent Quality Index (EQI) and the Operating Cost Index (OCI) are focused on as model outputs. The resulting Monte Carlo simulations are presented using descriptive statistics indicating the degree of uncertainty in the predicted EQI and OCI. Next, the Standard Regression Coefficients (SRC) method is used for sensitivity analysis to identify which input parameters influence the uncertainty in the EQI predictions the most. The results show that control strategies including an ammonium (S(NH)) controller reduce uncertainty in both overall pollution removal and effluent total Kjeldahl nitrogen. Also, control strategies with an external carbon source reduce the effluent nitrate (S(NO)) uncertainty increasing both their economical cost and variability as a trade-off. Finally, the maximum specific autotrophic growth rate (micro(A)) causes most of the variance in the effluent for all the evaluated control strategies. The influence of denitrification related parameters, e.g. eta(g) (anoxic growth rate correction factor) and eta(h) (anoxic hydrolysis rate correction factor), becomes less important when a S(NO) controller manipulating an external carbon source addition is implemented.

  10. Evaluation of sampling strategies to estimate crown biomass

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krishna P Poudel

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background Depending on tree and site characteristics crown biomass accounts for a significant portion of the total aboveground biomass in the tree. Crown biomass estimation is useful for different purposes including evaluating the economic feasibility of crown utilization for energy production or forest products, fuel load assessments and fire management strategies, and wildfire modeling. However, crown biomass is difficult to predict because of the variability within and among species and sites. Thus the allometric equations used for predicting crown biomass should be based on data collected with precise and unbiased sampling strategies. In this study, we evaluate the performance different sampling strategies to estimate crown biomass and to evaluate the effect of sample size in estimating crown biomass. Methods Using data collected from 20 destructively sampled trees, we evaluated 11 different sampling strategies using six evaluation statistics: bias, relative bias, root mean square error (RMSE, relative RMSE, amount of biomass sampled, and relative biomass sampled. We also evaluated the performance of the selected sampling strategies when different numbers of branches (3, 6, 9, and 12 are selected from each tree. Tree specific log linear model with branch diameter and branch length as covariates was used to obtain individual branch biomass. Results Compared to all other methods stratified sampling with probability proportional to size estimation technique produced better results when three or six branches per tree were sampled. However, the systematic sampling with ratio estimation technique was the best when at least nine branches per tree were sampled. Under the stratified sampling strategy, selecting unequal number of branches per stratum produced approximately similar results to simple random sampling, but it further decreased RMSE when information on branch diameter is used in the design and estimation phases. Conclusions Use of

  11. Implementation strategy for the ITER plasma control system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winter, A.; Ambrosino, G.; Bauvir, B.; De Tommasi, G.; Humphreys, D.A.; Mattei, M.; Neto, A.; Raupp, G.; Snipes, J.A.; Stephen, A.V.; Treutterer, W.; Walker, M.L.; Zabeo, L.

    2015-01-01

    This paper gives an overview of the scope and context of the CODAC high-level real-time applications (Supervision and Plasma Control) and presents the strategy and current state of design of the tools to support the implementation. A real-time framework, which is currently under development with strong support of the worldwide fusion community will not only support the implementation of plasma control strategies with the extensive exception handling and forecasting functionality foreseen for ITER, but also integrated commissioning, orchestration and supervision as well as the real-time needs of ITER plant system developers. A second cornerstone in the implementation strategy is the development of a powerful simulation environment (Plasma Control System Simulation Platform – PCSSP) to design and verify control strategies, event handling and orchestration and automation. The development of PCSSP is currently under contract and this paper will also give an overview of its current state of development.

  12. Implementation strategy for the ITER plasma control system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Winter, A., E-mail: axel.winter@iter.org [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Ambrosino, G. [CREATE/Università di Napoli Federico II, Dip. Ingegneria Elettrica e delle Tecnologie dell’Informazione (Italy); Bauvir, B. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); De Tommasi, G. [CREATE/Università di Napoli Federico II, Dip. Ingegneria Elettrica e delle Tecnologie dell’Informazione (Italy); Humphreys, D.A. [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States); Mattei, M. [CREATE/Seconda Università di Napoli, Dip. Ingegneria Industriale e dell’Informazione (Italy); Neto, A. [Fusion for Energy, Barcelona (Spain); Raupp, G. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, EURATOM Association, Garching (Germany); Snipes, J.A. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Stephen, A.V. [Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon (United Kingdom); Treutterer, W. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, EURATOM Association, Garching (Germany); Walker, M.L. [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States); Zabeo, L. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon-sur-Verdon, CS 90 046, 13067 St Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France)

    2015-10-15

    This paper gives an overview of the scope and context of the CODAC high-level real-time applications (Supervision and Plasma Control) and presents the strategy and current state of design of the tools to support the implementation. A real-time framework, which is currently under development with strong support of the worldwide fusion community will not only support the implementation of plasma control strategies with the extensive exception handling and forecasting functionality foreseen for ITER, but also integrated commissioning, orchestration and supervision as well as the real-time needs of ITER plant system developers. A second cornerstone in the implementation strategy is the development of a powerful simulation environment (Plasma Control System Simulation Platform – PCSSP) to design and verify control strategies, event handling and orchestration and automation. The development of PCSSP is currently under contract and this paper will also give an overview of its current state of development.

  13. Anti-tobacco control industry strategies in Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keklik, Seda; Gultekin-Karakas, Derya

    2018-02-26

    Transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) penetrated the Turkish cigarette market due to trade and investment liberalization in the post-1980 period and eventually secured full control. Despite tobacco control policies put in place in reaction to accelerating consumption, TTCs reinforced their market power through a variety of strategies. This paper explores industry strategies that counteract tobacco control policies in Turkey. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative analyses to explore industry strategies in Turkey. Besides the content analyses of industry and market reports, descriptive analyses were conducted for the sub-periods of 1999-2015. The analyses focus on the market strategies of product innovation, advertisement-promotion, cost management and pricing. Rising sales of low tar, ultra-low tar, slim, super-slim and flavoured cigarettes indicate that product innovation served to sustain consumption. Besides, the tobacco industry, using its strong distribution channels, the Internet, and CSR projects, were found to have promoted smoking indirectly. The industry also rationalized manufacturing facilities and reduced the cost of tobacco, making Turkey a cigarette-manufacturing base. Tobacco manufacturers, moreover, offered cigarettes in different price segments and adjusted net prices both up and down according to price categories and market conditions. In response to the successful effect of shifts in price margins, the market share of mid-priced cigarettes expanded while those within the economy category maintained the highest market share. As a result of pricing strategies, net sales revenues increased. Aside from official cigarette sales, the upward trends in the registered and unregistered sales of cigarette substitutes indicate that the demand-side tobacco control efforts remain inadequate. The Turkish case reveals that the resilience of the tobacco industry vis-à-vis mainstream tobacco control efforts necessitates a new policy perspective

  14. Defining a strategy to evaluate cervical cancer prevention and early detection in the era of HPV vaccination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howlett, Roberta I; Miller, Anthony B; Pasut, George; Mai, Verna

    2009-05-01

    The purpose of this paper is to outline the short-, medium- and long-term requirements of a strategy to evaluate the impact of HPV immunization and to define a framework to facilitate planning and evaluation. This strategy was developed in Ontario from January to August 2008. Literature review was completed to assess existing material relevant to vaccine evaluation, and HPV vaccine specifically. Scientists and epidemiologists within our organization attended meetings to brainstorm and identify key requirements for vaccine evaluation. Other selected internal and external experts were consulted to review preliminary lists of potential indicators and questions for inclusion in an evaluation strategy. Results are reported in three sections--literature review, proposed evaluation framework and data requirements. The first vaccine evaluation strategy that integrates primary and secondary prevention of cervical cancer is presented. Among women who are neither screened nor immunized, customized interventions will be required to ensure that they are aware of potential risks and benefits. This evaluation strategy may serve as a useful outline for jurisdictions in Canada and elsewhere. This new paradigm of combined primary and secondary intervention will encourage cooperation for effective evaluation of an integrated approach for control of cervical cancer and other HPV-related disease.

  15. Stress Prevention@Work: a study protocol for the evaluation of a multifaceted integral stress prevention strategy to prevent employee stress in a healthcare organization: a cluster controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoek, Rianne J A; Havermans, Bo M; Houtman, Irene L D; Brouwers, Evelien P M; Heerkens, Yvonne F; Zijlstra-Vlasveld, Moniek C; Anema, Johannes R; van der Beek, Allard J; Boot, Cécile R L

    2017-07-17

    Adequate implementation of work-related stress management interventions can reduce or prevent work-related stress and sick leave in organizations. We developed a multifaceted integral stress-prevention strategy for organizations from several sectors that includes a digital platform and collaborative learning network. The digital platform contains a stepwise protocol to implement work-related stress-management interventions. It includes stress screeners, interventions and intervention providers to facilitate access to and the selection of matching work-related stress-management interventions. The collaborative learning network, including stakeholders from various organizations, plans meetings focussing on an exchange of experiences and good practices among organizations for the implementation of stress prevention measures. This paper describes the design of an integral stress-prevention strategy, Stress Prevention@Work, and the protocol for the evaluation of: 1) the effects of the strategy on perceived stress and work-related outcomes, and 2) the barriers and facilitators for implementation of the strategy. The effectiveness of Stress Prevention@Work will be evaluated in a cluster controlled trial, in a large healthcare organization in the Netherlands, at six and 12 months. An independent researcher will match teams on working conditions and size and allocate the teams to the intervention or control group. Teams in the intervention group will be offered Stress Prevention@Work. For each intervention team, one employee is responsible for applying the strategy within his/her team using the digital platform and visiting the collaborative learning network. Using a waiting list design, the control group will be given access to the strategy after 12 months. The primary outcome is the employees' perceived stress measured by the stress subscale of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Secondary outcome measures are job demands, job resources and the number

  16. 40 CFR 52.65 - Control Strategy: Nitrogen oxides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control Strategy: Nitrogen oxides. 52.65 Section 52.65 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Alabama § 52.65 Control Strategy: Nitrogen...

  17. Evaluation of the environmental impact of apple pest control strategies using pesticide risk indicators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ioriatti, Claudio; Agnello, Arthur M; Martini, Fabrizio; Kovach, Joseph

    2011-10-01

    Various pesticide risk indicators have been developed for estimating pesticide impact on human health and the environment. The present work applied a pesticide risk indicator to estimate change in pesticide risk in apple production between 2001 and 2009. The "Environmental Impact Quotient" was used, which evaluates potential impacts of pesticide active ingredients on farm workers, consumers, and nontarget organisms. A modified Environmental Impact Quotient was also tested, which accounts for all ingredients in the formulation presenting a health or environmental hazard, as identified in the Security Data Sheet. Irrespective of the rating system applied, an overall average improvement in environmental impact of apple protection strategies was indicated ranging from 23 to 24%. Hazard reduction was more significant when estimated per treatment, and was higher for acaricides and insecticides than for fungicides. Improvement appeared to be a consequence of using more selective and more effective active ingredients, applying alternative pest control techniques, compulsory periodic sprayer calibration, and wider use of dwarfing orchards. The modified Environmental Impact Quotient does not overcome all limitations regarding accuracy of pesticide risk indicators, but its ease of use in relying on official, easily accessible data, and the consistency of its results, makes it a good candidate for monitoring the success of reduced risk policies. Copyright © 2011 SETAC.

  18. Damage control strategy for the treatment of perforated diverticulitis with generalized peritonitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sohn, M; Agha, A; Heitland, W; Gundling, F; Steiner, P; Iesalnieks, I

    2016-08-01

    The best surgical strategy for the management of perforated diverticulitis with generalized peritonitis of the sigmoid colon is not clearly defined. The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the value of a damage control strategy. All patients who underwent emergency laparotomy for perforated diverticular disease of the sigmoid colon with generalized peritonitis between 2010 and 2015 were included. The damage control strategy (study group), included a two- stage procedure: limited resection of the diseased colonic segment, closure of proximal colon and distal stump, and application of an abdominal vacuum at the initial surgery followed by second-look laparotomy 24-48 h later At this point a choice was made between anastomosis and Hartmann's procedure. The control group consisted of patients receiving definitive reconstruction (anastomosis or Hartmann's procedure) at the initial operation. Thirty-seven patients were included in the study. Damage control strategy was applied in 19 patients and the control group consisted of 18 patients. Both groups were comparable in terms of demographics, severity of peritonitis, and comorbidities. The overall postoperative mortality was 11 % (n = 4). There were no statistically significant differences between both groups regarding postoperative morbidity and mortality; however, a significantly higher proportion of patients in the control group had a stoma after the initial hospital stay (83 vs. 47 %, p = 0.038). This difference was still significant after adjustment for sex, age, Mannheim Peritonitis Index, American Society of Anesthesiologists class and presence of septic shock at presentation. At the end of the follow-up period, 15 of 17 survivors in the study group and 13 of 16 survivors in the control group had their intestinal continuity restored (p = 0.66). Damage control strategy in patients with generalized peritonitis due to perforated diverticulitis leads to a significantly reduced stoma rate

  19. Discrete Current Control Strategy of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Dong

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A control strategy of permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs, which is different from the traditional vector control (VC and direct torque control (DTC, is proposed. Firstly, the circular rotating magnetic field is analyzed on the simplified model and discredited into stepping magnetic field. The stepping magnetomotive force will drive the rotor to run as the stepping motor. Secondly, the stator current orientation is used to build the control model instead of rotor flux orientation. Then, the discrete current control strategy is set and adopted in positioning control. Three methods of the strategy are simulated in computer and tested on the experiment platform of PMSM. The control precision is also verified through the experiment.

  20. 40 CFR 52.724 - Control strategy: Sulfur dioxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Sulfur dioxide. 52... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Illinois> § 52.724 Control strategy: Sulfur... Energy Incorporated. This disapproval does not in and of itself result in the growth restrictions of...

  1. 40 CFR 52.378 - Control strategy: PM10

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: PM10 52.378 Section 52.378 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Connecticut § 52.378 Control strategy: PM10 (a) Approval...

  2. Interim Control Strategy for the Test Area North/Technical Support Facility Sewage Treatment Facility Disposal Pond - Two-year Update

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    L. V. Street

    2007-01-01

    The Idaho Cleanup Project has prepared this interim control strategy for the U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office pursuant to DOE Order 5400.5, Chapter 11.3e (1) to support continued discharges to the Test Area North/Technical Support Facility Sewage Treatment Facility Disposal Pond. In compliance with DOE Order 5400.5, a 2-year review of the Interim Control Strategy document has been completed. This submittal documents the required review of the April 2005 Interim Control Strategy. The Idaho Cleanup Project's recommendation is unchanged from the original recommendation. The Interim Control Strategy evaluates three alternatives: (1) re-route the discharge outlet to an uncontaminated area of the TSF-07; (2) construct a new discharge pond; or (3) no action based on justification for continued use. Evaluation of Alternatives 1 and 2 are based on the estimated cost and implementation timeframe weighed against either alternative's minimal increase in protection of workers, the public, and the environment. Evaluation of Alternative 3, continued use of the TSF-07 Disposal Pond under current effluent controls, is based on an analysis of four points: - Record of Decision controls will protect workers and the public - Risk of increased contamination is low - Discharge water will be eliminated in the foreseeable future - Risk of contamination spread is acceptable. The Idaho Cleanup Project recommends Alternative 3, no action other than continued implementation of existing controls and continued deactivation, decontamination, and dismantlement efforts at the Test Area North/Technical Support Facility

  3. Control Strategies for Arrays of Wave Energy Devices

    OpenAIRE

    Westphalen, J; Bacelli, G; Balitsky, P; Ringwood, John

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the differences between two control strategies for a two-device linear array of wave energy converters (WEC) for device spacings of 4 to 80 times the device diameter. The WECs operate in heave only and are controlled in real time. The control strategies, called the independent device and global array control, estimate the excitation forces and calculate the optimum vertical velocity trajectory and reactive power take off force to achieve the ...

  4. Managing Air Quality - Control Strategies to Achieve Air Pollution Reduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Considerations in designing an effective control strategy related to air quality, controlling pollution sources, need for regional or national controls, steps to developing a control strategy, and additional EPA resources.

  5. Hierarchical Control Strategy for the Cooperative Braking System of Electric Vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Jiankun; He, Hongwen; Guo, Hongqiang

    2015-01-01

    This paper provides a hierarchical control strategy for cooperative braking system of an electric vehicle with separated driven axles. Two layers are defined: the top layer is used to optimize the braking stability based on two sliding mode control strategies, namely, the interaxle control mode and signal-axle control strategies; the interaxle control strategy generates the ideal braking force distribution in general braking condition, and the single-axle control strategy can ensure braking safety in emergency braking condition; the bottom layer is used to maximize the regenerative braking energy recovery efficiency with a reallocated braking torque strategy; the reallocated braking torque strategy can recovery braking energy as much as possible in the premise of meeting battery charging power. The simulation results show that the proposed hierarchical control strategy is reasonable and can adapt to different typical road surfaces and load cases; the vehicle braking stability and safety can be guaranteed; furthermore, the regenerative braking energy recovery efficiency can be improved. PMID:26236772

  6. Hierarchical Control Strategy for the Cooperative Braking System of Electric Vehicle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Jiankun; He, Hongwen; Liu, Wei; Guo, Hongqiang

    2015-01-01

    This paper provides a hierarchical control strategy for cooperative braking system of an electric vehicle with separated driven axles. Two layers are defined: the top layer is used to optimize the braking stability based on two sliding mode control strategies, namely, the interaxle control mode and signal-axle control strategies; the interaxle control strategy generates the ideal braking force distribution in general braking condition, and the single-axle control strategy can ensure braking safety in emergency braking condition; the bottom layer is used to maximize the regenerative braking energy recovery efficiency with a reallocated braking torque strategy; the reallocated braking torque strategy can recovery braking energy as much as possible in the premise of meeting battery charging power. The simulation results show that the proposed hierarchical control strategy is reasonable and can adapt to different typical road surfaces and load cases; the vehicle braking stability and safety can be guaranteed; furthermore, the regenerative braking energy recovery efficiency can be improved.

  7. Hierarchical Control Strategy for the Cooperative Braking System of Electric Vehicle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiankun Peng

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides a hierarchical control strategy for cooperative braking system of an electric vehicle with separated driven axles. Two layers are defined: the top layer is used to optimize the braking stability based on two sliding mode control strategies, namely, the interaxle control mode and signal-axle control strategies; the interaxle control strategy generates the ideal braking force distribution in general braking condition, and the single-axle control strategy can ensure braking safety in emergency braking condition; the bottom layer is used to maximize the regenerative braking energy recovery efficiency with a reallocated braking torque strategy; the reallocated braking torque strategy can recovery braking energy as much as possible in the premise of meeting battery charging power. The simulation results show that the proposed hierarchical control strategy is reasonable and can adapt to different typical road surfaces and load cases; the vehicle braking stability and safety can be guaranteed; furthermore, the regenerative braking energy recovery efficiency can be improved.

  8. The effects of rhythm control strategies versus rate control strategies for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sethi, Naqash J; Feinberg, Joshua; Nielsen, Emil E

    2017-01-01

    -effect meta-analysis and chose the most conservative result as our primary result. We used Trial Sequential Analysis (TSA) to control for random errors. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed by visual inspection of forest plots and by calculating inconsistency (I2) for traditional meta-analyses and diversity...... (D2) for TSA. Sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses were conducted to explore the reasons for substantial statistical heterogeneity. We assessed the risk of publication bias in meta-analyses consisting of 10 trials or more with tests for funnel plot asymmetry. We used GRADE to assess the quality...... of the body of evidence. RESULTS: 25 randomized clinical trials (n = 9354 participants) were included, all of which were at high risk of bias. Meta-analysis showed that rhythm control strategies versus rate control strategies significantly increased the risk of a serious adverse event (risk ratio (RR), 1...

  9. Ozone modeling for compliance planning: A synopsis of ''The Use of Photochemical Air Quality Models for Evaluating Emission Control Strategies: A Synthesis Report''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blanchard, C.L.

    1992-12-01

    The 1990 federal Clean Air Act Amendments require that many nonattainment areas use gridded, photochemical air quality models to develop compliance plans for meeting the ambient ozone standard. Both industry and regulatory agencies will need to consider explicitly the strengths and limitations of the models. Photochemical air quality models constitute the principal tool available for evaluating the relative effectiveness of alternative emission control strategies. Limitations in the utility of modeling results stem from the uncertainty and bias of predictions for modeled episodes, possible compensating errors, limitations in the number of modeled episodes, and incompatibility between deterministic model predictions and the statistical form of the air quality standard for ozone. If emissions estimates (including naturally produced ''biogenic'' emissions) are accurate, intensive aerometric data are available, and an evaluation of performance (including diagnostic evaluations) is successfully completed, gridded photochemical airquality models can determine (1) the types of emission controls - VOC, NO x , or both - that would be most effective for reducing ozone concentrations, and (2) the approximate magnitudes - to within about 20--40% - of the estimated ozone reductions

  10. School-based strategies for oral health education of adolescents- a cluster randomized controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haleem Abdul

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Oral health education (OHE in schools has largely been imparted by dental professionals. Considering the substantial cost of this expert-led approach, the strategies relying on teachers, peer-leaders and learners themselves have also been utilized. However the evidence for comparative effectiveness of these strategies is lacking in the dental literature. The present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of dentist-led, teacher-led, peer-led and self-learning strategies of oral health education. Methods A two-year cluster randomized controlled trial following a parallel design was conducted. It involved five groups of adolescents aged 10-11 years at the start of the study. The trial involved process as well as four outcome evaluations. The present paper discusses the findings of the study pertaining to the baseline and final outcome evaluation, both comprising of a self-administered questionnaire, a structured interview and clinical oral examination. The data were analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations. Results All the three educator-led strategies of OHE had statistically higher mean oral health knowledge (OHK, oral health behavior (OHB, oral hygiene status (OHS and combined knowledge, behavior and oral hygiene status (KBS scores than the self-learning and control groups (p Conclusions The dentist-led, teacher-led and peer-led strategies of oral health education are equally effective in improving the oral health knowledge and oral hygiene status of adolescents. The peer-led strategy, however, is almost as effective as the dentist-led strategy and comparatively more effective than the teacher-led and self-learning strategies in improving their oral health behavior. Trail registration SRCTN39391017

  11. Evaluation of strategies for severe accident prevention and mitigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tokarz, R.

    1989-01-01

    The NRC is planning to establish regulatory oversight on severe accident management capability in the US nuclear reactor industry. Accident management includes certain preparatory and recovery measures that can be taken by the plant operating and technical personnel to prevent or mitigate the consequences of a severe accident. Following an initiating event, accident management strategies include measures to (1) prevent core damage, (2) arrest the core damage if it begins and retain the core inside the vessel, (3) maintain containment integrity if the vessel is breached, and (4) minimize offsite releases. Objectives of the NRC Severe Accident Management Program are to assure that technically sound strategies are identified and guidance to implement these strategies is provided to utilities. This paper will describe work performed to date by Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) and Battelle Memorial Institute (BMI) relative to severe accident strategy evaluation, as well as work to be performed and expected results. Working with Brookhaven National Laboratory, PNL evaluated a series of NRC suggested accident management strategies. The evaluation of these strategies was divided between PNL and Brookhaven National Laboratory and a similar paper will be presented by Brookhaven regarding their strategy evaluation. This paper will stress the overall safety issues related to the research and emphasize the strategies that are applicable to major safety issues. The relationship of these research activities to other projects is discussed, as well as planning for future changes in the direction of work to be undertaken

  12. Emotional Status, Perceived Control of Pain, and Pain Coping Strategies in Episodic and Chronic Cluster Headache

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dominique Valade

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Cluster headache (CH is a chronic syndrome characterized by excruciatingly painful attacks occurring with circadian and circannual periodicity. The objectives of the present study were, in CH patients, to determine by principal component analysis the factor structure of two instruments commonly used in clinics to evaluate pain locus of control (Cancer Locus of Control Scale–CLCS and coping strategies (Coping Strategies Questionnaire–CSQ, to examine the relationship between internal pain controllability and emotional distress, and to compare psychosocial distress and coping strategies between two subsets of patients with episodic or chronic CH. Results indicate, for CLCS, a 3-factor structure (internal controllability, medical controllability, religious controllability noticeably different in CH patients from the structure reported in patients with other painful pathologies and, for CSQ, a 5-factor structure of CSQ which did not markedly diverge from the classical structure. Perceived internal controllability of pain was strongly correlated with study measures of depression (HAD depression/anhedonia subscale, Beck Depression Inventory. Comparison between subsets of patients with episodic or chronic CH of emotional status, pain locus of control, perceived social support and coping strategies did not reveal significant differences apart for the Reinterpreting pain sensations strategy which was more often used by episodic CH patients. Observed tendencies for increased anxiety and perceived social support in patients with episodic CH, and for increased depression and more frequent use of the Ignoring pain sensations strategy in patients with chronic CH, warrant confirmation in larger groups of patients.

  13. Economic implications of three strategies for the control of taeniasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, Anu; John, K R; Jayaraman, T; Oommen, Anna; Venkata Raghava, M; Dorny, Pierre; Rajshekhar, Vedantam

    2011-11-01

    To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three strategies for the control of taeniasis in a community, in terms of cost per case treated. A study was conducted in South India to determine the prevalence of taeniasis by screening stool samples from 653 randomly chosen subjects, for coproantigens. The costs incurred in the project were used to estimate the cost per case screened and treated. A one-way sensitivity analysis was carried out for varying rates of taeniasis, different screening strategies and mass therapy. Further sensitivity analysis was carried out with different manpower and test costs. The rate of taeniasis as detected by ELISA for coproantigen was 3 per 1000 (2 of 653 samples). Our study showed that mass therapy without screening for taeniasis would be the most economical strategy in terms of cost per case treated if field workers are employed exclusively for either mass therapy or screening. For each strategy, costs per case treated are higher at low prevalence of taeniasis, with a sharp rise below 15%. In places that are endemic for taeniasis and neurocysticercosis, mass therapy or screening for taeniasis should be considered. Screening by stool microscopy is not cost-effective in terms of cost per case of taeniasis treated owing to its low sensitivity. Although the cost per case of taeniasis treated is high at low prevalence of taeniasis for all options, incorporating mass therapy into existing mass drug distribution programmes might prove to be the most cost-effective control strategy. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  14. Evaluation strategies for monadic computations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomas Petricek

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Monads have become a powerful tool for structuring effectful computations in functional programming, because they make the order of effects explicit. When translating pure code to a monadic version, we need to specify evaluation order explicitly. Two standard translations give call-by-value and call-by-name semantics. The resulting programs have different structure and types, which makes revisiting the choice difficult. In this paper, we translate pure code to monadic using an additional operation malias that abstracts out the evaluation strategy. The malias operation is based on computational comonads; we use a categorical framework to specify the laws that are required to hold about the operation. For any monad, we show implementations of malias that give call-by-value and call-by-name semantics. Although we do not give call-by-need semantics for all monads, we show how to turn certain monads into an extended monad with call-by-need semantics, which partly answers an open question. Moreover, using our unified translation, it is possible to change the evaluation strategy of functional code translated to the monadic form without changing its structure or types.

  15. Energy Savings and Economics of Advanced Control Strategies for Packaged Air-Conditioning Units with Gas Heat

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Weimin; Katipamula, Srinivas; Huang, Yunzhi; Brambley, Michael R.

    2011-12-31

    Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Program (BTP) evaluated a number of control strategies that can be implemented in a controller, to improve the operational efficiency of the packaged air conditioning units. The two primary objectives of this research project are: (1) determine the magnitude of energy savings achievable by retrofitting existing packaged air conditioning units with advanced control strategies not ordinarily used for packaged units and (2) estimating what the installed cost of a replacement control with the desired features should be in various regions of the U.S. This document reports results of the study.

  16. Regenerative Braking Control Strategy of Electric-Hydraulic Hybrid (EHH Vehicle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Yang

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available A novel electric-hydraulic hybrid drivetrain incorporating a set of hydraulic systems is proposed for application in a pure electric vehicle. Models of the electric and hydraulic components are constructed. Two control strategies, which are based on two separate rules, are developed; the maximum energy recovery rate strategy adheres to the rule of the maximization of the braking energy recovery rate, while the minimum current impact strategy adheres to the rule of the minimization of the charge current to the battery. The simulation models were established to verify the effects of these two control strategies. An ABS (Anti-lock Braking System fuzzy control strategy is also developed and simulated. The simulation results demonstrate that the developed control strategy can effectively absorb the braking energy, suppress the current impact, and assure braking safety.

  17. An evaluation of the effect of an educational intervention for Australian social workers on competence in delivering brief cognitive behavioural strategies: a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armstrong, G; Blashki, G; Joubert, L; Bland, R; Moulding, R; Gunn, J; Naccarella, L

    2010-11-05

    Broad community access to high quality evidence-based primary mental health care is an ongoing challenge around the world. In Australia one approach has been to broaden access to care by funding psychologists and other allied health care professionals to deliver brief psychological treatments to general practitioners' patients. To date, there has been a scarcity of studies assessing the efficacy of social worker delivered psychological strategies. This study aims to build the evidence base by evaluating the impact of a brief educational intervention on social workers' competence in delivering cognitive behavioural strategies (strategies derived from cognitive behavioural therapy). A randomised controlled trial design was undertaken with baseline and one-week follow-up measurement of both objective and self-perceived competence. Simulated consultations with standardised depressed patients were recorded on videotape and objective competence was assessed by blinded reviewers using the Cognitive Therapy Scale. Questionnaires completed by participants were used to measure self-perceived competence. The training intervention was a 15 hour face-to-face course involving presentations, video example consultations, written materials and rehearsal of skills in pairs. 40 Melbourne-based (Australia) social workers enrolled and were randomised and 9 of these withdrew from the study before the pre training simulated consultation. 30 of the remaining 31 social workers (97%) completed all phases of the intervention and evaluation protocol (16 from intervention and 14 from control group). The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group in objective competence (mean improvement of 14.2 (7.38-21.02) on the 66 point Cognitive Therapy Scale) and in subjective confidence (mean improvement of 1.28 (0.84-1.72) on a 5 point Likert scale). On average, the intervention group improved from below to above the base competency threshold on the Cognitive

  18. An evaluation of the effect of an educational intervention for Australian social workers on competence in delivering brief cognitive behavioural strategies: A randomised controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moulding R

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Broad community access to high quality evidence-based primary mental health care is an ongoing challenge around the world. In Australia one approach has been to broaden access to care by funding psychologists and other allied health care professionals to deliver brief psychological treatments to general practitioners' patients. To date, there has been a scarcity of studies assessing the efficacy of social worker delivered psychological strategies. This study aims to build the evidence base by evaluating the impact of a brief educational intervention on social workers' competence in delivering cognitive behavioural strategies (strategies derived from cognitive behavioural therapy. Methods A randomised controlled trial design was undertaken with baseline and one-week follow-up measurement of both objective and self-perceived competence. Simulated consultations with standardised depressed patients were recorded on videotape and objective competence was assessed by blinded reviewers using the Cognitive Therapy Scale. Questionnaires completed by participants were used to measure self-perceived competence. The training intervention was a 15 hour face-to-face course involving presentations, video example consultations, written materials and rehearsal of skills in pairs. Results 40 Melbourne-based (Australia social workers enrolled and were randomised and 9 of these withdrew from the study before the pre training simulated consultation. 30 of the remaining 31 social workers (97% completed all phases of the intervention and evaluation protocol (16 from intervention and 14 from control group. The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group in objective competence (mean improvement of 14.2 (7.38-21.02 on the 66 point Cognitive Therapy Scale and in subjective confidence (mean improvement of 1.28 (0.84-1.72 on a 5 point Likert scale. On average, the intervention group improved from below to above

  19. An evaluation of the effect of an educational intervention for Australian social workers on competence in delivering brief cognitive behavioural strategies: A randomised controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background Broad community access to high quality evidence-based primary mental health care is an ongoing challenge around the world. In Australia one approach has been to broaden access to care by funding psychologists and other allied health care professionals to deliver brief psychological treatments to general practitioners' patients. To date, there has been a scarcity of studies assessing the efficacy of social worker delivered psychological strategies. This study aims to build the evidence base by evaluating the impact of a brief educational intervention on social workers' competence in delivering cognitive behavioural strategies (strategies derived from cognitive behavioural therapy). Methods A randomised controlled trial design was undertaken with baseline and one-week follow-up measurement of both objective and self-perceived competence. Simulated consultations with standardised depressed patients were recorded on videotape and objective competence was assessed by blinded reviewers using the Cognitive Therapy Scale. Questionnaires completed by participants were used to measure self-perceived competence. The training intervention was a 15 hour face-to-face course involving presentations, video example consultations, written materials and rehearsal of skills in pairs. Results 40 Melbourne-based (Australia) social workers enrolled and were randomised and 9 of these withdrew from the study before the pre training simulated consultation. 30 of the remaining 31 social workers (97%) completed all phases of the intervention and evaluation protocol (16 from intervention and 14 from control group). The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements than the control group in objective competence (mean improvement of 14.2 (7.38-21.02) on the 66 point Cognitive Therapy Scale) and in subjective confidence (mean improvement of 1.28 (0.84-1.72) on a 5 point Likert scale). On average, the intervention group improved from below to above the base competency

  20. Evaluation of a peridomestic mosquito trap for integration into an Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) push-pull control strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salazar, Ferdinand V; Achee, Nicole L; Grieco, John P; Prabaripai, Atchariya; Eisen, Lars; Shah, Pankhil; Chareonviriyaphap, Theeraphap

    2012-06-01

    We determined the feasibility of using the BG-Sentinel™ mosquito trap (BGS) as the pull component in a push-pull strategy to reduce indoor biting by Aedes aegypti. This included evaluating varying numbers of traps (1-4) and mosquito release numbers (10, 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250) on recapture rates under screen house conditions. Based on these variations in trap and mosquito numbers, release intervals were rotated through a completely randomized design with environmental factors (temperature, relative humidity, and light intensity) and monitored throughout each experiment. Data from four sampling time points (05:30, 09:30, 13:30, and 17:30) indicate a recapture range among treatments of 66-98%. Furthermore, 2-3 traps were as effective in recapturing mosquitoes as 4 traps for all mosquito release numbers. Time trends indicate Day 1 (the day the mosquitoes were released) as the "impact period" for recapture with peak numbers of marked mosquitoes collected at 09:30 or 4 h post-release. Information from this study will be used to guide the configuration of the BGS trap component of a push-pull vector control strategy currently in the proof-of-concept stage of development in Thailand and Peru. © 2012 The Society for Vector Ecology.

  1. Evaluation of task shifting in community-based DOTS program as an effective control strategy for tuberculosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabriel, André P; Mercado, Charles P

    2011-01-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) remains to be the most prevalent and debilitating pulmonary (PTB) infection in the world today, affecting about one-third of the world's population. TB is an endemic disease in many developing countries, and efforts at eliminating the disease remain futile. While the course of the disease is indolent with years of latency, the reactivation of the disease can pose serious pulmonary and systemic infections that compromise multiple organ functions which lead to respiratory failure or end-organ damage. Despite attempts to control and eradicate the mycobacterium, the prevalence of the disease remains high due to increasing population rate, persistence of poverty and poor health care, treatment failure, increasing multidrug resistance as a consequence of treatment failure and poor compliance, and existence of comorbid conditions that compromise immune response. Limited government resources to screen and monitor disease progression of TB in third world countries hamper the eradication of the disease. In response, we have evaluated the efficiency and effectivity of a Community-Based Directly Observed Treatment, Short-Course (CB-DOTS), which is an equally effective alternative strategy to health center DOTS.

  2. Aerodynamic load control strategy of wind turbine in microgrid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiangming; Liu, Heshun; Chen, Yanfei

    2017-12-01

    A control strategy is proposed in the paper to optimize the aerodynamic load of the wind turbine in micro-grid. In grid-connection mode, the wind turbine adopts a new individual variable pitch control strategy. The pitch angle of the blade is rapidly given by the controller, and the pitch angle of each blade is fine tuned by the weight coefficient distributor. In islanding mode, according to the requirements of energy storage system, a given power tracking control method based on fuzzy PID control is proposed. Simulation result shows that this control strategy can effectively improve the axial aerodynamic load of the blade under rated wind speed in grid-connection mode, and ensure the smooth operation of the micro-grid in islanding mode.

  3. 40 CFR 52.1129 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.1129 Section 52.1129 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... strategy: Ozone. (a) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the Massachusetts Department...

  4. Low-income, minority fathers' control strategies and their children's regulatory skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malin, Jenessa L; Cabrera, Natasha J; Karberg, Elizabeth; Aldoney, Daniela; Rowe, Meredith L

    2014-01-01

    The current study explored the bidirectional association of children's individual characteristics, fathers' control strategies at 24 months, and children's regulatory skills at prekindergarten (pre-K). Using a sample of low-income, minority families with 2-year-olds from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (n = 71), we assessed the association between child gender and vocabulary skills, fathers' control strategies at 24 months (e.g., regulatory behavior and regulatory language), and children's sustained attention and emotion regulation at prekindergarten. There were three main findings. First, fathers overwhelmingly used commands (e.g., "Do that.") to promote compliance in their 24-month-old children. Second, children's vocabulary skills predicted fathers' regulatory behaviors during a father-child interaction whereas children's gender predicted fathers' regulatory language during an interaction. Third, controlling for maternal supportiveness, fathers' regulatory behaviors at 24 months predicted children's sustained attention at pre-K whereas fathers' regulatory language at 24 months predicted children's emotion regulation at pre-K. Our findings highlight the importance of examining paternal contributions to children's regulatory skills. © 2014 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

  5. THE CONTROL AND EVALUATION OF PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felicia Sabou

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper focused on importance and benefits of control and evaluation of marketing activities. The control of efficiency review the assessment of the resources for marketing activity, checking also the efficiency of the human resources, advertising, promotion activities and distribution activities. In the analyse of human resources the most important ratio are: the average of costumers visits on a day, the number of custom order received from 100 visits, the number of new customers from a period, the number of lost customers from a period, the marketing human expenditures from all the sales.The strategic control is made to check if the objectives and the company strategy are adapted to the marketing environment.

  6. Interim Control Strategy for the Test Area North/Technical Support Facility Sewage Treatment Facility Disposal Pond - Two-year Update

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    L. V. Street

    2007-04-01

    The Idaho Cleanup Project has prepared this interim control strategy for the U.S. Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office pursuant to DOE Order 5400.5, Chapter 11.3e (1) to support continued discharges to the Test Area North/Technical Support Facility Sewage Treatment Facility Disposal Pond. In compliance with DOE Order 5400.5, a 2-year review of the Interim Control Strategy document has been completed. This submittal documents the required review of the April 2005 Interim Control Strategy. The Idaho Cleanup Project's recommendation is unchanged from the original recommendation. The Interim Control Strategy evaluates three alternatives: (1) re-route the discharge outlet to an uncontaminated area of the TSF-07; (2) construct a new discharge pond; or (3) no action based on justification for continued use. Evaluation of Alternatives 1 and 2 are based on the estimated cost and implementation timeframe weighed against either alternative's minimal increase in protection of workers, the public, and the environment. Evaluation of Alternative 3, continued use of the TSF-07 Disposal Pond under current effluent controls, is based on an analysis of four points: - Record of Decision controls will protect workers and the public - Risk of increased contamination is low - Discharge water will be eliminated in the foreseeable future - Risk of contamination spread is acceptable. The Idaho Cleanup Project recommends Alternative 3, no action other than continued implementation of existing controls and continued deactivation, decontamination, and dismantlement efforts at the Test Area North/Technical Support Facility.

  7. Control strategies for VSC-based HVDC transmission system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stan, Ana-Irina; Stroe, Daniel Ioan; Silva, Rodrigo Da

    2011-01-01

    Throughout this paper the modeling and control of the VSC-based HVDC systems are investigated and described. Two different control methods capable of controlling such systems are proposed. Both developed control strategies are implemented in the dq synchronous reference frame. In order to analyze...... the behavior of the developed VSC-based HVDC transmission system two study cases are carried out using MATLAB/Simulink. The results obtained from simulations show acceptable performances, of the proposed strategies, when changes in the reference parameters are considered. The active power flow between...

  8. Internet-based support for self-management strategies for people with COPD-protocol for a controlled pragmatic pilot trial of effectiveness and a process evaluation in primary healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyberg, André; Wadell, Karin; Lindgren, Helena; Tistad, Malin

    2017-08-01

    The use of adequate self-management strategies for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) reduces healthcare use, improves health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and recovery after acute exacerbations. However, not many people with COPD receive support that promotes the use of such strategies and therefore new methods to facilitate and promote the use of self-management strategies are highly warranted. This pilot trial aims to evaluate the feasibility of the study design and study procedures considering effectiveness of the novel intervention, the COPD-web. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The overall design is a pragmatic controlled pilot trial with preassessments and postassessments and a parallel process evaluation. Patients with the diagnosis of COPD will be eligible for the study. The intervention group will be recruited when visiting one of the six participating primary care units in Sweden. The control group will be identified from the unit's computerised registers. The intervention, the COPD-web, is an interactive web page with two sections; one directed at people with COPD and one at healthcare professionals. The sections aim to support patients' self-management skills-and to facilitate the provision of support for self-management strategies, respectively. Effectiveness with regard to patients' symptoms, HRQoL, knowledge of and readiness for COPD-related self-management, health literacy, self-efficacy for physical activity and time spent in physical activity and time being sedentary, and further, healthcare professionals' knowledge of and readiness to support COPD-related self-management strategies will be assessed using questionnaires at 3 and 12 months. The process evaluation will include observations and interviews. Ethical approval has been obtained. Findings will be presented at conferences, submitted for publication in peer-reviewed publications and presented to the involved healthcare professionals, patients and to patient organisations

  9. Emerging trends in vibration control of wind turbines: a focus on a dual control strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Staino, Andrea; Basu, Biswajit

    2015-02-28

    The paper discusses some of the recent developments in vibration control strategies for wind turbines, and in this context proposes a new dual control strategy based on the combination and modification of two recently proposed control schemes. Emerging trends in the vibration control of both onshore and offshore wind turbines are presented. Passive, active and semi-active structural vibration control algorithms have been reviewed. Of the existing controllers, two control schemes, active pitch control and active tendon control, have been discussed in detail. The proposed new control scheme is a merger of active tendon control with passive pitch control, and is designed using a Pareto-optimal problem formulation. This combination of controllers is the cornerstone of a dual strategy with the feature of decoupling vibration control from optimal power control as one of its main advantages, in addition to reducing the burden on the pitch demand. This dual control strategy will bring in major benefits to the design of modern wind turbines and is expected to play a significant role in the advancement of offshore wind turbine technologies. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  10. 40 CFR 52.1534 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.1534 Section 52.1534 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... strategy: Ozone. (a) Revisions to the State Implementation Plan submitted by the New Hampshire Department...

  11. 40 CFR 52.2235 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.2235 Section 52.2235 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... strategy: Ozone. (a) Determination—EPA is determining that, as of August 8, 1995, the Nashville ozone...

  12. Control and Protection Cooperation Strategy for Voltage Instability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Zhou; Chen, Zhe; Sun, Haishun

    2012-01-01

    Most cascaded blackouts are caused by unexpected backup relay operations due to low voltage or overload state caused by post fault load restoration dynamics. If such state can be sensed and adjusted appropriately prior to those relay actions, system stability might be sustained. This paper proposed...... a control and protection cooperation strategy to prevent post fault voltage instability. The multi-agent technology is applied for the strategy implementation; the criteria based on wide area measured apparent impedances are defined to choose the control strategy, such as tap changer adjusting or load...

  13. A reduced energy supply strategy in active vibration control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichchou, M. N.; Loukil, T.; Bareille, O.; Chamberland, G.; Qiu, J.

    2011-12-01

    In this paper, a control strategy is presented and numerically tested. This strategy aims to achieve the potential performance of fully active systems with a reduced energy supply. These energy needs are expected to be comparable to the power demands of semi-active systems, while system performance is intended to be comparable to that of a fully active configuration. The underlying strategy is called 'global semi-active control'. This control approach results from an energy investigation based on management of the optimal control process. Energy management encompasses storage and convenient restitution. The proposed strategy monitors a given active law without any external energy supply by considering purely dissipative and energy-demanding phases. Such a control law is offered here along with an analysis of its properties. A suboptimal form, well adapted for practical implementation steps, is also given. Moreover, a number of numerical experiments are proposed in order to validate test findings.

  14. A reduced energy supply strategy in active vibration control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ichchou, M N; Loukil, T; Bareille, O; Chamberland, G; Qiu, J

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, a control strategy is presented and numerically tested. This strategy aims to achieve the potential performance of fully active systems with a reduced energy supply. These energy needs are expected to be comparable to the power demands of semi-active systems, while system performance is intended to be comparable to that of a fully active configuration. The underlying strategy is called 'global semi-active control'. This control approach results from an energy investigation based on management of the optimal control process. Energy management encompasses storage and convenient restitution. The proposed strategy monitors a given active law without any external energy supply by considering purely dissipative and energy-demanding phases. Such a control law is offered here along with an analysis of its properties. A suboptimal form, well adapted for practical implementation steps, is also given. Moreover, a number of numerical experiments are proposed in order to validate test findings

  15. Control strategies for friction dampers: numerical assessment and experimental investigations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Coelho H.T.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The use of friction dampers has been proposed in a wide variety of mechanical systems for which it is not possible to apply viscoelastic materials, fluid based dampers or others viscous dampers. An important example is the application of friction dampers in aircraft engines to reduce the blades vibration amplitudes. In most cases, friction dampers have been studied in a passive way, however, a significant improvement can be achieved by controlling the normal force in the dampers. The aim of this paper is to study three control strategies for friction dampers based on the hysteresis cycle. The first control strategy maximizes the energy removal in each harmonic oscillation cycle, by calculating the optimum normal force based on the last displacement peak. The second control strategy combines the first one with the maximum energy removal strategy used in the smart spring devices. Finally, is presented the strategy which homogenously modulates the friction force. Numerical studies were performed with these three strategies defining the performance metrics. The best control strategy was applied experimentally. The experimental test rig was fully identified and its parameters were used for the numerical simulations. The obtained results show the good performance for the friction damper and the selected strategy.

  16. Economic implications of three strategies for the control of taeniasis

    OpenAIRE

    Alexander, A.; John, K. R.; Jayaraman, T.; Oommen, A.; Venkata Raghava, M.; Dorny, P.; Rajshekhar, V.

    2011-01-01

    Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three strategies for the control of taeniasis in a community, in terms of cost per case treated. Methods A study was conducted in South India to determine the prevalence of taeniasis by screening stool samples from 653 randomly chosen subjects, for coproantigens. The costs incurred in the project were used to estimate the cost per case screened and treated. A one-way sensitivity analysis was carried out for varying rates of taeniasis, different ...

  17. Integration of the Uncertainties of Anion and TOC Measurements into the Flammability Control Strategy for Sludge Batch 8 at the DWPF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Edwards, T. B.

    2013-01-01

    The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has been working with the Savannah River Remediation (SRR) Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) in the development and implementation of a flammability control strategy for DWPF's melter operation during the processing of Sludge Batch 8 (SB8). SRNL's support has been in response to technical task requests that have been made by SRR's Waste Solidification Engineering (WSE) organization. The flammability control strategy relies on measurements that are performed on Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) samples by the DWPF Laboratory. Measurements of nitrate, oxalate, formate, and total organic carbon (TOC) standards generated by the DWPF Laboratory are presented in this report, and an evaluation of the uncertainties of these measurements is provided. The impact of the uncertainties of these measurements on DWPF's strategy for controlling melter flammability also is evaluated. The strategy includes monitoring each SME batch for its nitrate content and its TOC content relative to the nitrate content and relative to the antifoam additions made during the preparation of the SME batch. A linearized approach for monitoring the relationship between TOC and nitrate is developed, equations are provided that integrate the measurement uncertainties into the flammability control strategy, and sample calculations for these equations are shown to illustrate the impact of the uncertainties on the flammability control strategy

  18. Approved Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 gave FDA the authority to require a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) from manufacturers to...

  19. Stress Prevention@Work: a study protocol for the evaluation of a multifaceted integral stress prevention strategy to prevent employee stress in a healthcare organization: a cluster controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rianne J. A. Hoek

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Adequate implementation of work-related stress management interventions can reduce or prevent work-related stress and sick leave in organizations. We developed a multifaceted integral stress-prevention strategy for organizations from several sectors that includes a digital platform and collaborative learning network. The digital platform contains a stepwise protocol to implement work-related stress-management interventions. It includes stress screeners, interventions and intervention providers to facilitate access to and the selection of matching work-related stress-management interventions. The collaborative learning network, including stakeholders from various organizations, plans meetings focussing on an exchange of experiences and good practices among organizations for the implementation of stress prevention measures. This paper describes the design of an integral stress-prevention strategy, Stress Prevention@Work, and the protocol for the evaluation of: 1 the effects of the strategy on perceived stress and work-related outcomes, and 2 the barriers and facilitators for implementation of the strategy. Methods The effectiveness of Stress Prevention@Work will be evaluated in a cluster controlled trial, in a large healthcare organization in the Netherlands, at six and 12 months. An independent researcher will match teams on working conditions and size and allocate the teams to the intervention or control group. Teams in the intervention group will be offered Stress Prevention@Work. For each intervention team, one employee is responsible for applying the strategy within his/her team using the digital platform and visiting the collaborative learning network. Using a waiting list design, the control group will be given access to the strategy after 12 months. The primary outcome is the employees’ perceived stress measured by the stress subscale of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21. Secondary outcome measures

  20. 40 CFR 93.120 - Consequences of control strategy implementation plan failures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Consequences of control strategy implementation plan failures. (a) Disapprovals. (1) If EPA disapproves any submitted control strategy implementation plan revision (with or without a protective finding), the... is determined. (2) If EPA disapproves a submitted control strategy implementation plan revision...

  1. A Control Strategy with Tactile Perception Feedback for EMG Prosthetic Hand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Changcheng Wu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available To improve the control effectiveness and make the prosthetic hand not only controllable but also perceivable, an EMG prosthetic hand control strategy was proposed in this paper. The control strategy consists of EMG self-learning motion recognition, backstepping controller with stiffness fuzzy observation, and force tactile representation. EMG self-learning motion recognition is used to reduce the influence on EMG signals caused by the uncertainty of the contacting position of the EMG sensors. Backstepping controller with stiffness fuzzy observation is used to realize the position control and grasp force control. Velocity proportional control in free space and grasp force tracking control in restricted space can be realized by the same controller. The force tactile representation helps the user perceive the states of the prosthetic hand. Several experiments were implemented to verify the effect of the proposed control strategy. The results indicate that the proposed strategy has effectiveness. During the experiments, the comments of the participants show that the proposed strategy is a better choice for amputees because of the improved controllability and perceptibility.

  2. A comparison of HK-CONWIP and BK-CONWIP control strategies in a multi-product manufacturing system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chukwunonyelum Emmanuel Onyeocha

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper evaluates the performance of the Hybrid Kanban Constant Work-In-Process control strategy and Basestock Kanban Constant Work-In-Process control strategy operating Shared Kanban Allocation Policy (S-KAP and Dedicated Kanban Allocation Policy (D-KAP in a multi-product serial flow line. We explored the effect of an increase of product types on the WIP inventory in the system. A simulation-based optimisation technique was used in determining the optimal settings for the strategies. The strategies were compared via pairwise comparison technique and Nelson’s ranking and selection procedure. S-KAP responds quicker to demand than D-KAP. BK-CONWIP outperforms HK-CONWIP in a serial manufacturing system. It was shown that an increase in the number of product-type increases the number of PAC and WIP inventory.

  3. Control strategies used in the control software for the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Wen-Xiong [College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Postdoctoral Station, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Wang, Yan-Yu [Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Pan, Liang-Ming [College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044 (China); Tu, Sheng-Pan [State Grid Chongqing Maintenance Company, Chongqing 400044 (China)

    2016-07-01

    Automation control systems are important for the operation of an accelerator. To ensure the reliable, stable and flexible operation of the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL), several control systems are developed. The developed control systems are the SECRAL control system, the LECR3 control system, the LAPECR1 control system and the Electro-Static septum control system. The corresponding control software systems are developed using Visual C++. To ensure the accuracy, stability and flexibility of the control systems, some special control strategies are developed in the control software systems. This paper provides a detailed description of the main control strategies used in the control software systems. The main control strategies are composed of a reliable communication mechanism, a correct data/command transmission mechanism, an efficient data storage mechanism and an interlock protection mechanism. To guarantee a reliable communication between the devices for the commercially purchased devices and the built in-house ones, a modified heartbeat method is developed. To provide flexible reconstitution function for the control systems, the command queue and the state machine are combined. The message mechanism and the multiple windows mechanism are also used for the module mechanism. The relevant control systems are introduced as examples of these control strategies. These systems have been running stably for several years.

  4. Control strategies used in the control software for the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Wen-Xiong; Wang, Yan-Yu; Pan, Liang-Ming; Tu, Sheng-Pan

    2016-01-01

    Automation control systems are important for the operation of an accelerator. To ensure the reliable, stable and flexible operation of the Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou (HIRFL), several control systems are developed. The developed control systems are the SECRAL control system, the LECR3 control system, the LAPECR1 control system and the Electro-Static septum control system. The corresponding control software systems are developed using Visual C++. To ensure the accuracy, stability and flexibility of the control systems, some special control strategies are developed in the control software systems. This paper provides a detailed description of the main control strategies used in the control software systems. The main control strategies are composed of a reliable communication mechanism, a correct data/command transmission mechanism, an efficient data storage mechanism and an interlock protection mechanism. To guarantee a reliable communication between the devices for the commercially purchased devices and the built in-house ones, a modified heartbeat method is developed. To provide flexible reconstitution function for the control systems, the command queue and the state machine are combined. The message mechanism and the multiple windows mechanism are also used for the module mechanism. The relevant control systems are introduced as examples of these control strategies. These systems have been running stably for several years.

  5. Control Strategy of Active Power Filter Based on Modular Multilevel Converter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Xifeng

    2018-03-01

    To improve the capacity, pressure resistance and the equivalent switching frequency of active power filter (APF), a control strategy of APF based on Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) is presented. In this Control Strategy, the indirect current control method is used to achieve active current and reactive current decoupling control; Voltage Balance Control Strategy is to stabilize sub-module capacitor voltage, the predictive current control method is used to Track and control of harmonic currents. As a result, the harmonic current is restrained, and power quality is improved. Finally, the simulation model of active power filter controller based on MMC is established in Matlab/Simulink, the simulation proves that the proposed strategy is feasible and correct.

  6. 40 CFR 52.2585 - Control strategy: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Ozone. 52.2585... strategy: Ozone. (a) Disapproval—On November 6, 1986, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources... would not be necessary to offset growth in emissions. (h) Approval—On November 15, 1993, the Wisconsin...

  7. Novel deadbeat power control strategy for grid connected systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yousry Atia

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces a novel approach for power control of three phase voltage source inverter (VSI in grid connected distribution generation system. In this approach, the control of active and reactive power is based on deadbeat control strategy. First, the difference between the reference and actual currents are introduced in different approach. Then current to power substitutions are carried out to obtain direct relationship between the required inverter voltage and instantaneous power errors. There is no need for coordinate transformation or PLL, where the required inverter voltage vector calculations carried out in α–β stationary reference frame. The proposed technique introduces two cross coupling components in the control function. Including these two components, the controller can achieve nearly zero steady-state tracking error of the controlled variables. To obtain fixed switching frequency operations, space vector modulation (SVM is used to synthesize the required inverter voltage vector and to generate the switching pulses for the VSI. The proposed strategy has the simplicity of the direct power control (DPC technique and doesn’t require any current control loops. The proposed strategy is experimentally implemented using fixed-point microcontroller. Simulation and experimental results are presented to confirm the superiority of the proposed strategy.

  8. Strategies for the plasma position and shape control in IGNITOR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villone, F.; Albanese, R.; Ambrosino, G.; Pironti, A.; Rubinacci, G.; Ramogida, G.; Alladio, F.; Bombarda, F.; Coletti, A.; Cucchiaro, A.; Maddaluno, G.; Pizzicaroli, G.; Pizzuto, A.; Roccella, M.; Santinelli, M.; Coppi, B.

    2007-01-01

    The capability of the poloidal field coil system, as presently designed, to provide an effective vertical stabilization of the plasma in the IGNITOR machine has been investigated using the CREATE L response model. An optimization of the vertical position control strategy has been carried out and the most effective coil combination has been selected to stabilize the plasma while fulfilling engineering constraints on the coils and minimizing the required power and voltage. The growth rate of the vertical instability and the power required by the active stabilization system has been estimated with this model. The possible failure of the relevant electromagnetic diagnostics has been taken into account, evaluating the robustness of the plasma position reconstruction strategy. A realistic description of the power supply system has permitted to carry out the optimization of the proportional-integrative-derivative (PID) controller, both with a voltage and a current loop control scheme. An assessment of the requirements for the plasma cross section shape control has been carried out considering perturbations of the plasma global parameters independent of each other and showing that the undesired shape modification rejection is possible with the present PFC and power supply system. The PF coils have been rated relative to their capability to restore shape modifications due to different plasma disturbances. The most effective coil combination, that minimizes recovery time and voltage required, has been identified

  9. Market behavior and performance of different strategy evaluation schemes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baek, Yongjoo; Lee, Sang Hoon; Jeong, Hawoong

    2010-08-01

    Strategy evaluation schemes are a crucial factor in any agent-based market model, as they determine the agents' strategy preferences and consequently their behavioral pattern. This study investigates how the strategy evaluation schemes adopted by agents affect their performance in conjunction with the market circumstances. We observe the performance of three strategy evaluation schemes, the history-dependent wealth game, the trend-opposing minority game, and the trend-following majority game, in a stock market where the price is exogenously determined. The price is either directly adopted from the real stock market indices or generated with a Markov chain of order ≤2 . Each scheme's success is quantified by average wealth accumulated by the traders equipped with the scheme. The wealth game, as it learns from the history, shows relatively good performance unless the market is highly unpredictable. The majority game is successful in a trendy market dominated by long periods of sustained price increase or decrease. On the other hand, the minority game is suitable for a market with persistent zigzag price patterns. We also discuss the consequence of implementing finite memory in the scoring processes of strategies. Our findings suggest under which market circumstances each evaluation scheme is appropriate for modeling the behavior of real market traders.

  10. Evaluating Executive Strategies (Management Strategies and Teaching-Learning Strategies) of Graduate Curriculum: Case Study in Isfahan University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmanpour, Muhammad; Ahmadi, Mojtaba; Hatami, Mostafa; Mirzaee, Hamzeh

    2017-01-01

    The present study seeks to evaluate executive strategies in graduate Curriculum of Isfahan University from the point of view of management and teaching-learning strategies. This study is an applied survey. The population comprised BA students and faculty members of the University of Isfahan. In order to do so, 141 professors and 278 students were…

  11. Control strategies for bovine dermatophilosis with particular ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The various control strategies for Dermatophilosis are discussed in this paper. Recommendations for control of Dermatophilosis in Nigeria on short term include ecto-parasite control by regular use of insecticide/acaricide in dips with added 0.03% copper sulphate or 1% solution of alum (potassium aluminium sulphate) ...

  12. Influence of different disease control pesticide strategies on multiple pesticide residue levels in apple

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Mette Erecius; Naef, A.; Gasser, S.

    2009-01-01

    Seven pesticide application strategies were investigated to control apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) and powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha) and, at the same time.. fulfil the new quality standards implemented by some German retailers. These demand that pesticide residues should be below 80....... The trials were conducted at two sites in Switzerland, in 2007, and all strategies and applications were in accordance with actual practice. Four replicates of apple samples from each strategy were then analysed for pesticide residues. The incidence of infection with apple scab and powdery mildew were...... monitored during the season in order to evaluate the efficacy of the different strategies. The efficacies of the different strategies against apple scab and powdery mildew were between 84% and 100% successful. In general, the level of pesticide residues found correlated with application rate and time...

  13. Educational and evaluation strategies in the training of physician specialists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaona-Flores, Verónica Alejandra; Campos-Navarro, Luz Arcelia; Arenas-Osuna, Jesús; Alcalá-Martínez, Enrique

    2017-01-01

    Teaching strategies have been defined as procedures, means or resources that teachers used to promote meaningful learning. Identify teaching strategies and evaluation used by the professor with residents in tertiary hospitals health care. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with full, associate and assistant professors of various medical specialties. A questionnaire was applied to evaluate the strategies used by professors to teach and evaluate students. We included a sample of 90 professors in 35 medical specialties. The most frequent teaching activities were: organizing students to develop presentations on specific subjects, followed by asking questions on previously reviewed subjects, In terms of the strategies employed, the most frequent "always" option was applied to case analyses. The most frequent methods used for the evaluation of theoretical knowledge were: participation in class, topic presentation and exams. Teaching activities were primarily based on the presentation of specific topics by the residents. The most commonly used educational strategies were clinical case analyses followed by problem-based learning and the use of illustrations. Evaluation of the residents' performance in theory knowledge, hinged on class participation, presentation of assigned topics and exams. Copyright: © 2017 SecretarÍa de Salud

  14. Novel Strategies Using Total Gastrodin and Gastrodigenin, or Total Gastrodigenin for Quality Control of Gastrodia elata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Chunlan; Wu, Bingchu; Wu, Jinyi; Zhang, Zheng; Yu, Bocheng

    2018-01-29

    Gastrodia elata Blume ( G. elata ), a traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used for treatment of various neuro dysfunctions. However, its quality control is still limited to the determination of gastrodin. In the present study, two novel strategies based on quantitative evaluation of total gastrodin and gastrodigenin with base hydrolysis and total gastrodigenin with base-enzymatic hydrolysis followed by HPLC-FLD were put forward and successfully applied to evaluate the quality of 47 batches of G. elata from eight localities. Meanwhile, a systematic comparison of the novel strategy with the multiple markers and the Pharmacopeia method was performed. The results showed that the parishins category could be completely hydrolyzed to gastrodin by sodium hydroxide solution, and gastrodin could further utterly hydrolyze to gastrodigenin with β-d-glucosidase buffer solution. The contents of total gastrodin and gastrodigenin ranged from 1.311% to 2.034%, and total gastrodigenin from 0.748% to 1.120% at the eight localities. From the comparison, we can conclude that the two novel strategies can comprehensively reveal the characteristics of overall active ingredients in G. elata for quality control. The present study provides a feasible and credible strategy for the quality control of G. elata , suggesting a revision of the latest Chinese Pharmacopoeia or European Pharmacopoeia methods for the modernization of G. elata use.

  15. Internal quality control: planning and implementation strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westgard, James O

    2003-11-01

    The first essential in setting up internal quality control (IQC) of a test procedure in the clinical laboratory is to select the proper IQC procedure to implement, i.e. choosing the statistical criteria or control rules, and the number of control measurements, according to the quality required for the test and the observed performance of the method. Then the right IQC procedure must be properly implemented. This review focuses on strategies for planning and implementing IQC procedures in order to improve the quality of the IQC. A quantitative planning process is described that can be implemented with graphical tools such as power function or critical-error graphs and charts of operating specifications. Finally, a total QC strategy is formulated to minimize cost and maximize quality. A general strategy for IQC implementation is recommended that employs a three-stage design in which the first stage provides high error detection, the second stage low false rejection and the third stage prescribes the length of the analytical run, making use of an algorithm involving the average of normal patients' data.

  16. A compound control strategy combining velocity compensation with ADRC of electro-hydraulic position servo control system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Bingwei; Shao, Junpeng; Yang, Xiaodong

    2014-11-01

    In order to enhance the anti-jamming ability of electro-hydraulic position servo control system at the same time improve the control precision of the system, a compound control strategy that combines velocity compensation with Active Disturbance Rejection Controller (ADRC) is proposed, and the working principle of the compound control strategy is given. ADRC controller is designed, and the extended state observer is used for observing internal parameters uncertainties and external disturbances, so that the disturbances of the system are suppressed effectively. Velocity compensation controller is designed and the compensation model is derived to further improve the positioning accuracy of the system and to achieve the velocity compensation without disturbance. The compound control strategy is verified by the simulation and experiment respectively, and the simulation and experimental results show that the electro-hydraulic position servo control system with ADRC controller can effectively inhibit the external disturbances, the precise positioning control is realized after introducing the velocity compensation controller, and verify that the compound control strategy is effective. Copyright © 2014 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. 40 CFR 52.1582 - Control strategy and regulations: Ozone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy and regulations: Ozone... Control strategy and regulations: Ozone. (a) Subchapter 16 of the New Jersey Administrative Code, entitled... demonstration that emissions from growth in vehicle miles traveled will not increase motor vehicle emissions and...

  18. 40 CFR 52.379 - Control strategy: PM2.5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: PM2.5. 52.379 Section 52.379 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Connecticut § 52.379 Control strategy: PM2.5. Approval...

  19. Evaluation Strategies for EWP Programs: A Marketing Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turkewych, Christine

    1986-01-01

    Describes how evaluation strategies can be implemented to increase the effectiveness of English in the Work Place programs. Discusses the design and implementation of the strategy, how to analyze its results and produce a final report, and ways to get the results used. (SED)

  20. Management strategy evaluation of pheromone-baited trapping techniques to improve management of invasive sea lamprey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Heather; Jones, Michael L.; Irwin, Brian J.; Johnson, Nicholas; Wagner, Michael C.; Szymanski, Melissa

    2016-01-01

    We applied a management strategy evaluation (MSE) model to examine the potential cost-effectiveness of using pheromone-baited trapping along with conventional lampricide treatment to manage invasive sea lamprey. Four pheromone-baited trapping strategies were modeled: (1) stream activation wherein pheromone was applied to existing traps to achieve 10−12 mol/L in-stream concentration, (2) stream activation plus two additional traps downstream with pheromone applied at 2.5 mg/hr (reverse-intercept approach), (3) trap activation wherein pheromone was applied at 10 mg/hr to existing traps, and (4) trap activation and reverse-intercept approach. Each new strategy was applied, with remaining funds applied to conventional lampricide control. Simulating deployment of these hybrid strategies on fourteen Lake Michigan streams resulted in increases of 17 and 11% (strategies 1 and 2) and decreases of 4 and 7% (strategies 3 and 4) of the lakewide mean abundance of adult sea lamprey relative to status quo. MSE revealed performance targets for trap efficacy to guide additional research because results indicate that combining lampricides and high efficacy trapping technologies can reduce sea lamprey abundance on average without increasing control costs.

  1. Evaluation of Task Shifting in Community-Based DOTS Program as an Effective Control Strategy for Tuberculosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André P. Gabriel

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Tuberculosis (TB remains to be the most prevalent and debilitating pulmonary (PTB infection in the world today, affecting about one-third of the world's population. TB is an endemic disease in many developing countries, and efforts at eliminating the disease remain futile. While the course of the disease is indolent with years of latency, the reactivation of the disease can pose serious pulmonary and systemic infections that compromise multiple organ functions which lead to respiratory failure or end-organ damage. Despite attempts to control and eradicate the mycobacterium, the prevalence of the disease remains high due to increasing population rate, persistence of poverty and poor health care, treatment failure, increasing multidrug resistance as a consequence of treatment failure and poor compliance, and existence of comorbid conditions that compromise immune response. Limited government resources to screen and monitor disease progression of TB in third world countries hamper the eradication of the disease. In response, we have evaluated the efficiency and effectivity of a Community-Based Directly Observed Treatment, Short-Course (CB-DOTS, which is an equally effective alternative strategy to health center DOTS.

  2. Functioning strategy study on control systems of large physical installations used with a digital computer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bel'man, L.B.; Lavrikov, S.A.; Lenskij, O.D.

    1975-01-01

    A criterion to evaluate the efficiency of a control system functioning of large physical installations by means of a control computer. The criteria are the object utilization factor and computer load factor. Different strategies of control system functioning are described, and their comparative analysis is made. A choice of such important parameters as sampling time and parameter correction time is made. A single factor to evaluate the system functioning efficiency is introduced and its dependence on the sampling interval value is given. Using diagrams attached, it is easy to find the optimum value of the sampling interval and the corresponding maximum value of the single efficiency factor proposed

  3. Switched Control Strategies of Aggregated Commercial HVAC Systems for Demand Response in Smart Grids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Ma

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available This work proposes three switched control strategies for aggregated heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC systems in commercial buildings to track the automatic generation control (AGC signal in smart grid. The existing control strategies include the direct load control strategy and the setpoint regulation strategy. The direct load control strategy cannot track the AGC signal when the state of charge (SOC of the aggregated thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs exceeds their regulation capacity, while the setpoint regulation strategy provides flexible regulation capacity, but causes larger tracking errors. To improve the tracking performance, we took the advantages of the two control modes and developed three switched control strategies. The control strategies switch between the direct load control mode and the setpoint regulation mode according to different switching indices. Specifically, we design a discrete-time controller and optimize the controller parameter for the setpoint regulation strategy using the Fibonacci optimization algorithm, enabling us to propose two switched control strategies across multiple time steps. Furthermore, we extend the switched control strategies by introducing a two-stage regulation in a single time step. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed switched control strategies can reduce the tracking errors for frequency regulation.

  4. An Integrated Control Strategy Takes Clonorchis sinensis Under Control in an Endemic Area in South China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yalan; Huang, Dana; Geng, Yijie; Fang, Shisong; Yang, Fan; Wu, Chunli; Zhang, Hailong; Wang, Miao; Zhang, Ran; Wang, Xin; Wu, Shuang; Cao, Jianping; Zhang, Renli

    2017-12-01

    Clonorchis sinensis is an important foodborne zoonosis worldwide and prevalent in China for more than 2000 years. According to the experience of controlling Schistosoma japonica, China started to establish the integrated control strategy for C. sinensis in endemic areas. Lou village, the largest village in Shenzhen city in South China was taken as a pilot site. This longitudinal study assessed the infection status of C. sinensis among people and intermediate hosts from 2006 to 2014 in Lou village. After a continuous intervention with the integrated control strategy, the prevalence of C. sinensis decreased significantly to 2.01% in 2014. The infection intensity also reduced significantly with eggs per gram varying from 45.6 ± 3.4 in 2010 to 21.7 ± 1.6 in 2012. There is also a statistically significant decrease of the prevalence of C. sinensis metacercariae in fish hosts from 16.51% in 2008 before the intervention to 5.33% in 2014. All the old-styled toilets were replaced by sanitary ones with a harmless processing design in 2014. No viable parasite eggs were detected in stool samples from the reconstructed toilets. Health education played an important role in changing the eating habits among the local residents, with a significant decrease in the prevalence of eating raw fish from 91.99% in 2008 to 59.87% in 2014. The evaluation suggested that the integrated strategy we have performed in Lou village is effective in controlling the C. sinensis infection and maintaining the infection rate at a lower level, which can be promoted in other endemic areas.

  5. Study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate a referral strategy for axial spondyloarthritis in young primary care patients with chronic low back pain; an impact study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hoeven, Lonneke; Vergouwe, Yvonne; Koes, Bart W; Hazes, Johanna M W; Weel, Angelique E A M

    2016-07-12

    Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a disabling inflammatory joint disease with chronic low back pain (CLBP) as leading symptom. Recognizing axSpA in the large amount of CLBP patients is difficult for general practioners (GP). This evaluation aims to assess the effect of a referral strategy for axSpA in young primary care patients with CLBP by comparing the use of the strategy with usual care. The effect is measured at three different levels; by patient reported outcomes (the clinical effect), process and costs evaluation. This study design is a cluster randomized controlled trial with GP as clusters. GPs throughout the Netherlands are invited to participate and randomized to either the intervention or the control group. Patients from participating GPs are invited to participate if they have ever been registered with low back pain, without radiation (ICPC L03) and aged 18-45 years. To be included in the study, patients need to have current low back pain and chronic low back pain (>12 weeks). In the intervention arm a referral strategy for axSpA will be applied in CLBP patients, in the control arm care as usual will be provided for CLBP patients. The referral strategy consists of four easy to use variables. All are questions about the back pain complaints of the patients. Data is prospectively collected in an online database at baseline (T0), 4 months (T1), 12 months (T2) and 24 months (T3). After time point T1 (4 months) patients from the control group will also receive the intervention i.e. the application of a referral strategy for axSpA. The effect of the referral strategy is measured at three different levels, by patient outcomes (e.g. pain scores, quality of life), process measures (e.g. number of axSpA diagnoses by rheumatologists) and by costs (work productivity and health care resources use). Our primary outcome is the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire after 4 months, secondary outcomes are pain and quality of life. Costs will be assessed before

  6. Strategies for reactive power control in wind farms with STATCOM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diaz Gonzalez, Francisco [Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Barcelona (Spain); Martinez-Rojas, Marcela [Centre d' Innovacio Tecnologica en Convertidors Estatics i Accionaments (CITCEA-UPC), Barcelona (Spain). Dept. d' Enginyeria Electrica; Sumper, Andreas; Gomis-Bellmunt, Oriol [Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), Barcelona (Spain); Centre d' Innovacio Tecnologica en Convertidors Estatics i Accionaments (CITCEA-UPC), Barcelona (Spain). Dept. d' Enginyeria Electrica

    2010-07-01

    This paper presents two strategies for reactive current control in wind farms with STATCOM under fault ride-through (FRT) situations. First, the technical requirements of the Spanish and German grid codes related to the reactive current under FRT situations are presented. Second, STATCOM and its control system are introduced. Third, the modeling done of the wind farm, the STATCOM, and the network are presented. Finally, control strategies for reactive current delivered by the park to the network under FRT situations are shown. The result of the implementation of each control strategy is shown by simulation. (orig.)

  7. Developmental theory-driven evaluation: Strategies for course ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article focuses on the longitudinal evaluative strategies used in the development of a new teaching approach for a university course with high failure rates. The subject is compulsory for all first year engineering students at our university. The evaluation has been conducted as part of a process of developmental action ...

  8. Evaluation of Deep Discount Fare Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    1995-08-01

    This report evaluates the success of a fare pricing strategy known as deep discounting, that entails the bulk sale of transit tickets or tokens to customers at a significant discount compared to the full fare single ticket price. This market-driven s...

  9. Experimental evaluation of optimal Vehicle Dynamic Control based on the State Dependent Riccati Equation technique

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alirezaei, M.; Kanarachos, S.A.; Scheepers, B.T.M.; Maurice, J.P.

    2013-01-01

    Development and experimentally evaluation of an optimal Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) strategy based on the State Dependent Riccati Equation (SDRE) control technique is presented. The proposed nonlinear controller is based on a nonlinear vehicle model with nonlinear tire characteristics. A novel

  10. Inventory control strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Primrose, D.

    1998-01-01

    Finning International Inc. is in the business of selling, financing and servicing Caterpillar and complementary equipment. Its main markets are in western Canada, Britain and Chile. This paper discusses the parts inventory strategies system for Finning (Canada). The company's territory covers British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. Finning's parts inventory consists of 80,000 component units valued at more than $150 M. Distribution centres are located in Langley, British Columbia and Edmonton, Alberta. To make inventory and orders easier to control, Finning has designed a computer-based system, with software written exclusively for Caterpillar dealers. The system makes use of a real time electronic interface with all Finning locations, plus all Caterpillar facilities and other dealers in North America. Details of the system are discussed, including territorial stocking procedures, addition to stock, exhaustion of stock, automatic/suggest order controls, surplus inventory management, and procedures for jointly managed inventory. 3 tabs., 1 fig

  11. A DC Microgrid Coordinated Control Strategy Based on Integrator Current-Sharing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gao, Liyuan; Liu, Yao; Ren, Huisong

    2017-01-01

    The DC microgrid has become a new trend for microgrid study with the advantages of high reliability, simple control and low losses. With regard to the drawbacks of the traditional droop control strategies, an improved DC droop control strategy based on integrator current-sharing is introduced....... In the strategy, the principle of eliminating deviation through an integrator is used, constructing the current-sharing term in order to make the power-sharing between different distributed generation (DG) units uniform and reasonable, which can reduce the circulating current between DG units. Furthermore......, at the system coordinated control level, a hierarchical/droop control strategy based on the DC bus voltage is proposed. In the strategy, the operation modes of the AC main network and micro-sources are determined through detecting the DC voltage variation, which can ensure the power balance of the DC microgrid...

  12. Structural and process factors affecting the implementation of antimicrobial resistance prevention and control strategies in U.S. hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, Ann F; Yano, Elizabeth M; McCoy, Kimberly D; Willis, Deanna R; Doebbeling, Bradley N

    2008-01-01

    To address increases in the incidence of infection with antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposed two sets of strategies to (a) optimize antibiotic use and (b) prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance and control transmission. However, little is known about the implementation of these strategies. Our objective is to explore organizational structural and process factors that facilitate the implementation of National Foundation for Infectious Diseases/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strategies in U.S. hospitals. We surveyed 448 infection control professionals from a national sample of hospitals. Clinically anchored in the Donabedian model that defines quality in terms of structural and process factors, with the structural domain further informed by a contingency approach, we modeled the degree to which National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strategies were implemented as a function of formalization and standardization of protocols, centralization of decision-making hierarchy, information technology capabilities, culture, communication mechanisms, and interdepartmental coordination, controlling for hospital characteristics. Formalization, standardization, centralization, institutional culture, provider-management communication, and information technology use were associated with optimal antibiotic use and enhanced implementation of strategies that prevent and control antimicrobial resistance spread (all p prevention and control (p support these organizational processes. These findings suggest concrete strategies for evaluating current capabilities to implement effective practices and foster and sustain a culture of patient safety.

  13. Neural PID Control Strategy for Networked Process Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianhua Zhang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A new method with a two-layer hierarchy is presented based on a neural proportional-integral-derivative (PID iterative learning method over the communication network for the closed-loop automatic tuning of a PID controller. It can enhance the performance of the well-known simple PID feedback control loop in the local field when real networked process control applied to systems with uncertain factors, such as external disturbance or randomly delayed measurements. The proposed PID iterative learning method is implemented by backpropagation neural networks whose weights are updated via minimizing tracking error entropy of closed-loop systems. The convergence in the mean square sense is analysed for closed-loop networked control systems. To demonstrate the potential applications of the proposed strategies, a pressure-tank experiment is provided to show the usefulness and effectiveness of the proposed design method in network process control systems.

  14. Improved Droop Control Strategy for Grid-Connected Inverters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Abusara, Mohammad; Sharkh, Suleiman; Guerrero, Josep M.

    2015-01-01

    An improved control strategy for grid-connected inverters within microgrids is presented in this paper. The strategy is based on the classical P-ω and Q-V droop method. The improvement in the proposed control strategy is twofold: Firstly, the transient response of the droop controller is improved...... by replacing the traditional method of measuring average power, which is based on using a first order low pass filter, by a real time integration filter. This is shown to reduce the imported transient energy when connecting to the grid. Secondly, the steady state output current quality is improved by utilising...... a virtual inductance, which is shown to reject grid voltage harmonics disturbance and thus improve the output current THD. A small signal model of the inverter based on the transfer function approach is developed to analyse is stability and determine droop gains. Simulation and experimental results...

  15. A Compatible Control Algorithm for Greenhouse Environment Control Based on MOCC Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bingkun Zhu

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Conventional methods used for solving greenhouse environment multi-objective conflict control problems lay excessive emphasis on control performance and have inadequate consideration for both energy consumption and special requirements for plant growth. The resulting solution will cause higher energy cost. However, during the long period of work and practice, we find that it may be more reasonable to adopt interval or region control objectives instead of point control objectives. In this paper, we propose a modified compatible control algorithm, and employ Multi-Objective Compatible Control (MOCC strategy and an extant greenhouse model to achieve greenhouse climate control based on feedback control architecture. A series of simulation experiments through various comparative studies are presented to validate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm. The results are encouraging and suggest the energy-saving application to real-world engineering problems in greenhouse production. It may be valuable and helpful to formulate environmental control strategies, and to achieve high control precision and low energy cost for real-world engineering application in greenhouse production. Moreover, the proposed approach has also potential to be useful for other practical control optimization problems with the features like the greenhouse environment control system.

  16. A compatible control algorithm for greenhouse environment control based on MOCC strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Haigen; Xu, Lihong; Zhu, Bingkun; Wei, Ruihua

    2011-01-01

    Conventional methods used for solving greenhouse environment multi-objective conflict control problems lay excessive emphasis on control performance and have inadequate consideration for both energy consumption and special requirements for plant growth. The resulting solution will cause higher energy cost. However, during the long period of work and practice, we find that it may be more reasonable to adopt interval or region control objectives instead of point control objectives. In this paper, we propose a modified compatible control algorithm, and employ Multi-Objective Compatible Control (MOCC) strategy and an extant greenhouse model to achieve greenhouse climate control based on feedback control architecture. A series of simulation experiments through various comparative studies are presented to validate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm. The results are encouraging and suggest the energy-saving application to real-world engineering problems in greenhouse production. It may be valuable and helpful to formulate environmental control strategies, and to achieve high control precision and low energy cost for real-world engineering application in greenhouse production. Moreover, the proposed approach has also potential to be useful for other practical control optimization problems with the features like the greenhouse environment control system.

  17. Can rewiring strategy control the epidemic spreading?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Chao; Yin, Qiuju; Liu, Wenyang; Yan, Zhijun; Shi, Tianyu

    2015-11-01

    Relation existed in the social contact network can affect individuals' behaviors greatly. Considering the diversity of relation intimacy among network nodes, an epidemic propagation model is proposed by incorporating the link-breaking threshold, which is normally neglected in the rewiring strategy. The impact of rewiring strategy on the epidemic spreading in the weighted adaptive network is explored. The results show that the rewiring strategy cannot always control the epidemic prevalence, especially when the link-breaking threshold is low. Meanwhile, as well as strong links, weak links also play a significant role on epidemic spreading.

  18. Privacy-preserving smart meter control strategy including energy storage losses

    OpenAIRE

    Avula, Chinni Venkata Ramana R.; Oechtering, Tobias J.; Månsson, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    Privacy-preserving smart meter control strategies proposed in the literature so far make some ideal assumptions such as instantaneous control without delay, lossless energy storage systems etc. In this paper, we present a one-step-ahead predictive control strategy using Bayesian risk to measure and control privacy leakage with an energy storage system. The controller estimates energy state using a three-circuit energy storage model to account for steady-state energy losses. With numerical exp...

  19. Selecting a Control Strategy for Plug and Process Loads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lobato, C.; Sheppy, M.; Brackney, L.; Pless, S.; Torcellini, P.

    2012-09-01

    Plug and Process Loads (PPLs) are building loads that are not related to general lighting, heating, ventilation, cooling, and water heating, and typically do not provide comfort to the building occupants. PPLs in commercial buildings account for almost 5% of U.S. primary energy consumption. On an individual building level, they account for approximately 25% of the total electrical load in a minimally code-compliant commercial building, and can exceed 50% in an ultra-high efficiency building such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Research Support Facility (RSF) (Lobato et al. 2010). Minimizing these loads is a primary challenge in the design and operation of an energy-efficient building. A complex array of technologies that measure and manage PPLs has emerged in the marketplace. Some fall short of manufacturer performance claims, however. NREL has been actively engaged in developing an evaluation and selection process for PPLs control, and is using this process to evaluate a range of technologies for active PPLs management that will cap RSF plug loads. Using a control strategy to match plug load use to users' required job functions is a huge untapped potential for energy savings.

  20. Some thoughts on separation control strategies

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Flow separation generally leads to increased energy losses, instability and so ... Separation control strategy often refers to a clever (or intelligent) fluid ... bubble will have a certain influence, directly or indirectly, on the development of the shear.

  1. Control of trachoma in Australia: a model based evaluation of current interventions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew J Shattock

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Australia is the only high-income country in which endemic trachoma persists. In response, the Australian Government has recently invested heavily towards the nationwide control of the disease.A novel simulation model was developed to reflect the trachoma epidemic in Australian Aboriginal communities. The model, which incorporates demographic, migration, mixing, and biological heterogeneities, was used to evaluate recent intervention measures against counterfactual past scenarios, and also to assess the potential impact of a series of hypothesized future intervention measures relative to the current national strategy and intensity. The model simulations indicate that, under the current intervention strategy and intensity, the likelihood of controlling trachoma to less than 5% prevalence among 5-9 year-old children in hyperendemic communities by 2020 is 31% (19%-43%. By shifting intervention priorities such that large increases in the facial cleanliness of children are observed, this likelihood of controlling trachoma in hyperendemic communities is increased to 64% (53%-76%. The most effective intervention strategy incorporated large-scale antibiotic distribution programs whilst attaining ambitious yet feasible screening, treatment, facial cleanliness and housing construction targets. Accordingly, the estimated likelihood of controlling trachoma in these communities is increased to 86% (76%-95%.Maintaining the current intervention strategy and intensity is unlikely to be sufficient to control trachoma across Australia by 2020. However, by shifting the intervention strategy and increasing intensity, the likelihood of controlling trachoma nationwide can be significantly increased.

  2. Control of trachoma in Australia: a model based evaluation of current interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shattock, Andrew J; Gambhir, Manoj; Taylor, Hugh R; Cowling, Carleigh S; Kaldor, John M; Wilson, David P

    2015-04-01

    Australia is the only high-income country in which endemic trachoma persists. In response, the Australian Government has recently invested heavily towards the nationwide control of the disease. A novel simulation model was developed to reflect the trachoma epidemic in Australian Aboriginal communities. The model, which incorporates demographic, migration, mixing, and biological heterogeneities, was used to evaluate recent intervention measures against counterfactual past scenarios, and also to assess the potential impact of a series of hypothesized future intervention measures relative to the current national strategy and intensity. The model simulations indicate that, under the current intervention strategy and intensity, the likelihood of controlling trachoma to less than 5% prevalence among 5-9 year-old children in hyperendemic communities by 2020 is 31% (19%-43%). By shifting intervention priorities such that large increases in the facial cleanliness of children are observed, this likelihood of controlling trachoma in hyperendemic communities is increased to 64% (53%-76%). The most effective intervention strategy incorporated large-scale antibiotic distribution programs whilst attaining ambitious yet feasible screening, treatment, facial cleanliness and housing construction targets. Accordingly, the estimated likelihood of controlling trachoma in these communities is increased to 86% (76%-95%). Maintaining the current intervention strategy and intensity is unlikely to be sufficient to control trachoma across Australia by 2020. However, by shifting the intervention strategy and increasing intensity, the likelihood of controlling trachoma nationwide can be significantly increased.

  3. Subjective well-being in times of social change: congruence of control strategies and perceived control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grümer, Sebastian; Silbereisen, Rainer K; Heckhausen, Jutta

    2013-01-01

    This paper investigates the association between perceptions of broader changes in the social-ecological context and individuals' subjective well-being (SWB). Macro-level societal changes such as globalization or demographic change give rise to new demands for individual functioning at work and/or in the family. Such new demands associated with social change are stressful and likely to be related to lower levels of SWB. Being active agents, individuals attempt to deal with social change and its increasing demands to protect their SWB. The present study investigates which kinds of control strategies are most effective in protecting one's SWB. Specifically, we predicted that control strategies of goal engagement will be most effective under conditions of perceived high control, and control strategies of goal disengagement will be most effective under conditions of perceived low control. In a large sample of 2537 German adults, work- and family-related demands associated with social change were found to be negatively linked to SWB. Moreover and in line with the motivational theory of lifespan development, control strategies of goal engagement and disengagement were beneficial for SWB to the extent that they matched the perceived control of the demands associated with social change.

  4. Design of intelligent comfort control system with human learning and minimum power control strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang, J.; Du, R.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents the design of an intelligent comfort control system by combining the human learning and minimum power control strategies for the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system. In the system, the predicted mean vote (PMV) is adopted as the control objective to improve indoor comfort level by considering six comfort related variables, whilst a direct neural network controller is designed to overcome the nonlinear feature of the PMV calculation for better performance. To achieve the highest comfort level for the specific user, a human learning strategy is designed to tune the user's comfort zone, and then, a VAV and minimum power control strategy is proposed to minimize the energy consumption further. In order to validate the system design, a series of computer simulations are performed based on a derived HVAC and thermal space model. The simulation results confirm the design of the intelligent comfort control system. In comparison to the conventional temperature controller, this system can provide a higher comfort level and better system performance, so it has great potential for HVAC applications in the future

  5. A novel control strategy to improve the performances of heated wire humidifiers in artificial neonatal ventilation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schena, E; Saccomandi, P; Ramandi, C; Silvestri, S

    2012-01-01

    Controlling thermo-hygrometric conditions of gas delivered in neonatal mechanical ventilation shows some unresolved issues due to the design and control strategies implemented in heated wire humidifiers. We perform an in vitro evaluation of humidifier performances, which use a control strategy based on a single-point temperature as feedback, and propose a novel design of the control which consists in pre-warming the gas upwards in the humidification chamber. The ad hoc developed control approach based on a theoretical model is implemented in vitro with and without pre-warming for comparative purposes. Without pre-warming, gas at the chamber outlet needs further post-warming and, depending on the flow rate, the vapour content condensates along the breathing circuit. Whereas, with pre-warming, the proposed control strategy allows us to considerably improve steady-state thermo-hygrometric conditions (T = 37 ± 1 °C, RH = 96% ± 4%) of gas, reaching the Y-piece near to ideal ones in the whole flow rate range, even though a high inlet chamber temperature is required at low flow rate values. The proposed solution, as theoretically predicted, also allows us to limit the vapour condensation along the circuit. (paper)

  6. NURE data collection and evaluation strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horton, R.C.

    1977-01-01

    Collection and evaluation strategies used in the National Uranium Resource Evaluation program are described. Hydrogeochemical, airborne radiometric and magnetic, and field geology data are collected in every quadrangle. Topical studies, modeling, and classification and recognition criteria are required for assessment--the final estimate of tons of uranium. The evaluation of quadrangles has been divided into three phases: Phase I, prefield work; Phase II, field work; Phase III, report and map preparation. All evaluators--the U.S. Geological Survey, state surveys, private subcontractors and Bendix--will follow identical procedures. This is not to say that all quadrangles are identical, or that identical techniques will be applied to, or identical data recovered from, each quadrangle

  7. International pollution control: Cooperative versus noncooperative strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dockner, E.J.; Van Long, N.

    1993-01-01

    International pollution control involving two neighboring countries is modeled as a simple two-player dynamic game. Each country produces a good that is consumed by domestic households. Production of each consumption good results in emissions of pollutants. Households in each country derive utility from the consumption of the domestically produced good but incur costs through the total stock of pollution (stock externality). In this setting we characterize cooperative as well as noncooperative pollution control strategies of the governments of the two countries that maximize the discounted stream of net benefits of a representative consumer. It turns out that when the governments are restricted to use linear strategies noncooperative behavior results in overall losses for both countries. If, on the contrary, governments use nonlinear Markov-perfect strategies and the discount rate is small enough a Pareto-efficient steady-state pollution stock can be supported as a differentiable subgame-perfect equilibrium. Thus, the emergence of first-best solutions (cooperative outcomes) does not require any institutional arrangements (threats, retaliation, etc.) but can be brought about through the use of nonlinear Markov-perfect equilibrium strategies. 20 refs., 1 tab

  8. Effectiveness of control strategies against Botrytis cinerea in vineyard and evaluation of the residual fungicide concentrations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabriolotto, Chiara; Monchiero, Matteo; Negre, Michele; Spadaro, Davide; Gullino, Maria Lodovica

    2009-05-01

    This investigation was undertaken to test different control strategies against Botrytis cinerea vineyards. Two commercial vineyards, "Barbera" and "Moscato," located in Piedmont (Northern Italy) were divided into seven plots and treated with different combinations of fungicides including fenhexamid, pyrimethanil, fludioxonil + cyprodinil, iprodione, and boscalid, a new carboxamide compound. An integrated strategy including a chemical (pyrimethanil) and a biocontrol agent (Trichoderma spp. t2/4ph1) was also included. At harvest, the percentage of bunches and berries attacked by B. cinerea and the concentration of the chemical fungicides were determined. All the pesticide residues at harvest were below the maximum residue level (MRL), except when two applications of pyrimethanil per season were applied. Boscalid was the most effective active ingredient against B. cinerea among the tested chemicals. When boscalid application was followed by a treatment with pyrimethanil, its efficacy was similar to that shown by two treatments of pyrimethanil. However, this second strategy was not feasible due to the risks of resistance development in the pathogen and to the residue accumulation as indicated by the analysis.

  9. [Integrated prevention and control strategy for dengue in Mesoamerica].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Dantés, Héctor; San Martín, José Luis; Danis-Lozano, Rogelio; Manrique-Saide, Pablo

    2011-01-01

    Dengue in the Americas is a public health problem in ascent. The control strategies have not been effective when sustained in the intensive use of insecticides and poor community participation. The Mesoamerican Initiative for the Prevention and the Integrated Control of Dengue synthesizes the works generated by the Integrated Strategy of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the risks stratification strategy designed by the countries of the Mesoamerican region. The objective is to progressively reduce the incidence of dengue cases until a 50% reduction is reached over a five years period. This document describes the elements for the risk stratification, the activities for prevention and control organized by levels of intensity and frequency and the indicators used to pursuit the objectives. To face the dispersion of the problem a concentration of efforts for control in the areas of greater risk is presented; the opportunity in the detection of cases is highlighted to tackle the fast dissemination of the infection; focus on the most productive breeding sites is proposed to battle against the vast dissemination of the breeding sites; and the severity of the infection must be addressed by capable clinical human resources. This strategy was designed along with the national representatives of the control programs to create master plans that provided the basis for the integrated prevention and control of dengue in the Mesoamerican region.

  10. Catchment & sewer network simulation model to benchmark control strategies within urban wastewater systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Saagi, Ramesh; Flores Alsina, Xavier; Fu, Guangtao

    2016-01-01

    This paper aims at developing a benchmark simulation model to evaluate control strategies for the urban catchment and sewer network. Various modules describing wastewater generation in the catchment, its subsequent transport and storage in the sewer system are presented. Global/local overflow based...... evaluation criteria describing the cumulative and acute effects are presented. Simulation results show that the proposed set of models is capable of generating daily, weekly and seasonal variations as well as describing the effect of rain events on wastewater characteristics. Two sets of case studies...

  11. Pinning Control Strategy of Multicommunity Structure Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao Ding

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to investigate the effects of community structure on synchronization, a pinning control strategy is researched in a class of complex networks with community structure in this paper. A feedback control law is designed based on the network community structure information. The stability condition is given and proved by using Lyapunov stability theory. Our research shows that as to community structure networks, there being a threshold hT≈5, when coupling strength bellows this threshold, the stronger coupling strength corresponds to higher synchronizability; vice versa, the stronger coupling strength brings lower synchronizability. In addition the synchronizability of overlapping and nonoverlapping community structure networks was simulated and analyzed; while the nodes were controlled randomly and intensively, the results show that intensive control strategy is better than the random one. The network will reach synchronization easily when the node with largest betweenness was controlled. Furthermore, four difference networks’ synchronizability, such as Barabási-Albert network, Watts-Strogatz network, Erdös-Rényi network, and community structure network, are simulated; the research shows that the community structure network is more easily synchronized under the same control strength.

  12. Prevention and Control Strategies to Counter Dengue Virus Infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irfan A. Rather

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Dengue is currently the highest and rapidly spreading vector-borne viral disease, which can lead to mortality in its severe form. The globally endemic dengue poses as a public health and economic challenge that has been attempted to suppress though application of various prevention and control techniques. Therefore, broad spectrum techniques, that are efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable, are proposed and practiced in dengue-endemic regions. The development of vaccines and immunotherapies have introduced a new dimension for effective dengue control and prevention. Thus, the present study focuses on the preventive and control strategies that are currently employed to counter dengue. While traditional control strategies bring temporary sustainability alone, implementation of novel biotechnological interventions, such as sterile insect technique, paratransgenesis, and production of genetically modified vectors, has improved the efficacy of the traditional strategies. Although a large-scale vector control strategy can be limited, innovative vaccine candidates have provided evidence for promising dengue prevention measures. The use of tetravalent dengue vaccine (CYD-TDV has been the most effective so far in treating dengue infections. Nonetheless, challenges and limitation hinder the progress of developing integrated intervention methods and vaccines; while the improvement in the latest techniques and vaccine formulation continues, one can hope for a future without the threat of dengue virus.

  13. Prevention and Control Strategies to Counter Dengue Virus Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rather, Irfan A; Parray, Hilal A; Lone, Jameel B; Paek, Woon K; Lim, Jeongheui; Bajpai, Vivek K; Park, Yong-Ha

    2017-01-01

    Dengue is currently the highest and rapidly spreading vector-borne viral disease, which can lead to mortality in its severe form. The globally endemic dengue poses as a public health and economic challenge that has been attempted to suppress though application of various prevention and control techniques. Therefore, broad spectrum techniques, that are efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable, are proposed and practiced in dengue-endemic regions. The development of vaccines and immunotherapies have introduced a new dimension for effective dengue control and prevention. Thus, the present study focuses on the preventive and control strategies that are currently employed to counter dengue. While traditional control strategies bring temporary sustainability alone, implementation of novel biotechnological interventions, such as sterile insect technique, paratransgenesis, and production of genetically modified vectors, has improved the efficacy of the traditional strategies. Although a large-scale vector control strategy can be limited, innovative vaccine candidates have provided evidence for promising dengue prevention measures. The use of tetravalent dengue vaccine (CYD-TDV) has been the most effective so far in treating dengue infections. Nonetheless, challenges and limitation hinder the progress of developing integrated intervention methods and vaccines; while the improvement in the latest techniques and vaccine formulation continues, one can hope for a future without the threat of dengue virus.

  14. A framework for evaluating hydrogen control and management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Seung Dong; Suh, Kune Yul; Jae, Moosung

    2003-01-01

    The present paper presents a new framework for assessing accident management strategies using decision trees. The containment event tree (CET) model considers characteristics associated with the implementation of each strategy. It is constructed and quantified using data obtained from NUREG-1150, other probabilistic risk assessments, and the MAAP4 calculations. The proposed framework for evaluating hydrogen control strategies is based on the concept of a measure using a risk triplet. Ulchin units of nuclear power plants 3 and 4 are used as the reference plant. On the basis of best-estimate assessment, it is shown that it is beneficial to execute hydrogen igniters rather than to do nothing with respect to expected value of hydrogen concentration in the containment during an accident. The proposed approach is shown to be flexible in that it can be applied to various accident management strategies based on the timing of mitigation. The advantage of using the CET for assessing an accident management strategy lies with its capability for modeling both the positive and negative aspects associated with progression of the accident, which may in turn affect the containment failure mode

  15. Evaluation of alternative MGDS development strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberds, W.; Miller, I.; Caldwell, D.

    1991-01-01

    A methodology has been developed to explicitly and quantitatively evaluate acceptable alternative repository development strategies, in terms of the degree to which they are likely to satisfy a specified set of system objectives (e.g., minimizing overall costs through closure, time to initial waste receipt and long-term health effects). An open-quotes acceptableclose quotes strategy is one which has a high likelihood of satisfying specified system functions and requirements. Simple but comprehensive system models have been developed to estimate the relevant consequences of any strategy, explicitly considering system uncertainties and contingencies, including the possibility of finding the site to be unsuitable and having to develop a repository elsewhere. Such open-quotes technical assessments,close quotes which are appropriately developed by technical experts, can then be combined with separate open-quotes value judgementsclose quotes regarding preferences and tradeoffs among the consequences, which are appropriately determined by the decision makers/stake holders (rather than by the technical experts) in order to explicitly determine preferences among the acceptable strategies. Implementation of the methodology has been demonstrated by example

  16. Best strategies to implement clinical pathways in an emergency department setting: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jabbour, Mona; Curran, Janet; Scott, Shannon D; Guttman, Astrid; Rotter, Thomas; Ducharme, Francine M; Lougheed, M Diane; McNaughton-Filion, M Louise; Newton, Amanda; Shafir, Mark; Paprica, Alison; Klassen, Terry; Taljaard, Monica; Grimshaw, Jeremy; Johnson, David W

    2013-05-22

    The clinical pathway is a tool that operationalizes best evidence recommendations and clinical practice guidelines in an accessible format for 'point of care' management by multidisciplinary health teams in hospital settings. While high-quality, expert-developed clinical pathways have many potential benefits, their impact has been limited by variable implementation strategies and suboptimal research designs. Best strategies for implementing pathways into hospital settings remain unknown. This study will seek to develop and comprehensively evaluate best strategies for effective local implementation of externally developed expert clinical pathways. We will develop a theory-based and knowledge user-informed intervention strategy to implement two pediatric clinical pathways: asthma and gastroenteritis. Using a balanced incomplete block design, we will randomize 16 community emergency departments to receive the intervention for one clinical pathway and serve as control for the alternate clinical pathway, thus conducting two cluster randomized controlled trials to evaluate this implementation intervention. A minimization procedure will be used to randomize sites. Intervention sites will receive a tailored strategy to support full clinical pathway implementation. We will evaluate implementation strategy effectiveness through measurement of relevant process and clinical outcomes. The primary process outcome will be the presence of an appropriately completed clinical pathway on the chart for relevant patients. Primary clinical outcomes for each clinical pathway include the following: Asthma--the proportion of asthmatic patients treated appropriately with corticosteroids in the emergency department and at discharge; and Gastroenteritis--the proportion of relevant patients appropriately treated with oral rehydration therapy. Data sources include chart audits, administrative databases, environmental scans, and qualitative interviews. We will also conduct an overall process

  17. Application of CMAC Neural Network Coupled with Active Disturbance Rejection Control Strategy on Three-motor Synchronization Control System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui Li

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Three-motor synchronous coordination system is a MI-MO nonlinear and complex control system. And it often works in poor working condition. Advanced control strategies are required to improve the control performance of the system and to achieve the decoupling between main motor speed and tension. Cerebellar Model Articulation Controller coupled with Active Disturbance Rejection Control (CMAC-ADRC control strategy is proposed. The speed of the main motor and tensions between two motors is decoupled by extended state observer (ESO in ADRC. ESO in ADRC is used to compensate internal and external disturbances of the system online. And the anti interference of the system is improved by ESO. And the same time the control model is optimized. Feedforward control is implemented by the adoption of CMAC neural network controller. And control precision of the system is improved in reason of CMAC. The overshoot of the system can be reduced without affecting the dynamic response of the system by the use of CMAC-ADRC. The simulation results show that: the CMAC- ADRC control strategy is better than the traditional PID control strategy. And CMAC-ADRC control strategy can achieve the decoupling between speed and tension. The control system using CMAC-ADRC have strong anti-interference ability and small regulate time and small overshoot. The magnitude of the system response incited by the interference using CMAC-ADRC is smaller than the system using conventional PID control 6.43 %. And the recovery time of the system with CMAC-ADRC is shorter than the system with traditional PID control 0.18 seconds. And the triangular wave tracking error of the system with CMAC-ADRC is smaller than the system with conventional PID control 0.24 rad/min. Thus the CMAC-ADRC control strategy is a good control strategy and is able to fit three-motor synchronous coordinated control.

  18. A Free-Piston Linear Generator Control Strategy for Improving Output Power

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chi Zhang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a control strategy to improve the output power for a single-cylinder two-stroke free-piston linear generator (FPLG. The comprehensive simulation model of this FPLG is established and the operation principle is introduced. The factors that affect the output power are analyzed theoretically. The characteristics of the piston motion are studied. Considering the different features of the piston motion respectively in acceleration and deceleration phases, a ladder-like electromagnetic force control strategy is proposed. According to the status of the linear electric machine, the reference profile of the electromagnetic force is divided into four ladder-like stages during one motion cycle. The piston motions, especially the dead center errors, are controlled by regulating the profile of the electromagnetic force. The feasibility and advantage of the proposed control strategy are verified through comparison analyses with two conventional control strategies via MatLab/Simulink. The results state that the proposed control strategy can improve the output power by around 7–10% with the same fuel cycle mass.

  19. Model predictive control-based efficient energy recovery control strategy for regenerative braking system of hybrid electric bus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Liang; Zhang, Yuanbo; Yang, Chao; Yan, Bingjie; Marina Martinez, C.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A 7-degree-of-freedom model of hybrid electric vehicle with regenerative braking system is built. • A modified nonlinear model predictive control strategy is developed. • The particle swarm optimization algorithm is employed to solve the optimization problem. • The proposed control strategy is verified by simulation and hardware-in-loop tests. • Test results verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. - Abstract: As one of the main working modes, the energy recovered with regenerative braking system provides an effective approach so as to greatly improve fuel economy of hybrid electric bus. However, it is still a challenging issue to ensure braking stability while maximizing braking energy recovery. To solve this problem, an efficient energy recovery control strategy is proposed based on the modified nonlinear model predictive control method. Firstly, combined with the characteristics of the compound braking process of single-shaft parallel hybrid electric bus, a 7 degrees of freedom model of the vehicle longitudinal dynamics is built. Secondly, considering nonlinear characteristic of the vehicle model and the efficiency of regenerative braking system, the particle swarm optimization algorithm within the modified nonlinear model predictive control is adopted to optimize the torque distribution between regenerative braking system and pneumatic braking system at the wheels. So as to reduce the computational time of modified nonlinear model predictive control, a nearest point method is employed during the braking process. Finally, the simulation and hardware-in-loop test are carried out on road conditions with different tire–road adhesion coefficients, and the proposed control strategy is verified by comparing it with the conventional control method employed in the baseline vehicle controller. The simulation and hardware-in-loop test results show that the proposed strategy can ensure vehicle safety during emergency braking

  20. Speed control of switched reluctance motor using sliding mode control strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    John, G. [Kenetech Windpower, Livermore, CA (United States); Eastham, A.R. [Queen`s Univ., Kingston, Ontario (Canada). Dept. of Electrical Engineering

    1995-12-31

    A robust speed drive system for a switched reluctance motor (SRM) using sliding mode control strategy (SLMC) is presented. After reviewing the operation of an SRM drive, a SLMC based scheme is formulated to control the drive speed. The scheme is implemented using a micro-controller and a high resolution position sensor. The parameter insensitive characteristics are demonstrated through computer simulations and experimental verification.

  1. A task-based usage strategy for control centre wall displays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davey, E.

    2005-01-01

    This paper summarizes the findings from an exploratory definition of a usage strategy for multiple control centre wall displays in CANDU nuclear power plants. Wall displays are defined as large sized, vertically oriented display surfaces that may be positioned in various locations about a control room to support user information needs. The paper begins by discussing the need for a usage strategy for all control room information resources, and then reviews the history in wall display implementation and usage in nuclear power plant control rooms. The balance of the paper discusses the approach used in characterization and review of control room task information needs and definition of a wall display usage strategy. The paper concludes by outlining some of the possible impacts on future control room design and operations that the introduction of wall displays may imply. (author)

  2. Strategies for the photo-control of endogenous protein activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brechun, Katherine E; Arndt, Katja M; Woolley, G Andrew

    2017-08-01

    Photo-controlled or 'optogenetic' effectors interfacing with endogenous protein machinery allow the roles of endogenous proteins to be probed. There are two main approaches being used to develop optogenetic effectors: (i) caging strategies using photo-controlled conformational changes, and (ii) protein relocalization strategies using photo-controlled protein-protein interactions. Numerous specific examples of these approaches have been reported and efforts to develop general methods for photo-control of endogenous proteins are a current focus. The development of improved screening and selection methods for photo-switchable proteins would advance the field. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Methods of Evaluating Performances for Marketing Strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Ioan Cucu

    2005-01-01

    There are specific methods for assessing and improving the effectiveness of a marketing strategy. A marketer should state in the marketing plan what a marketing strategy is supposed to accomplish. These statements should set forth performance standards, which usually are stated in terms of profits, sales, or costs. Actual performance must be measured in similar terms so that comparisons are possible. This paper describes sales analysis and cost analysis, two general ways of evaluating the act...

  4. An Implementation Strategy to Improve the Guideline Adherence of Insurance Physicians: A Process Evaluation Alongside an Experiment in a Controlled Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zwerver, Feico; Bonefaas-Groenewoud, Karin; Schellart, Antonius J. M.; Anema, Johannes R.; van der Beek, Allard J.

    2013-01-01

    Background: We developed an implementation strategy for the insurance medicine guidelines for depression, which we implemented via a post-graduate course for insurance physicians (IPs). In this study we evaluate the physicians' experiences of the implementation strategy by measuring the following aspects: recruitment and reach, dose delivered and…

  5. AN EVALUATION OF RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR DAIRY FARMS

    OpenAIRE

    Bosch, Darrell J.; Johnson, Christian J.

    1992-01-01

    Variability in feed prices and crop yields are important sources of risk to dairy farmers. A simulation model of a representative dairy farm was used to evaluate crop insurance and hedging as risk management strategies. These strategies lowered expected net returns but also reduced risk. The preferred set of strategies at lower levels of risk aversion included hedging and crop insurance, although a base scenario in which no risk management strategies were employed was also efficient. The pref...

  6. Strategies to reduce safety violations for working from heights in construction companies: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Molen, Henk F; Frings-Dresen, Monique H W

    2014-05-31

    Safety measures should be applied to reduce work-related fatal and non-fatal fall injuries. However, according to the labor inspectorate, more than 80% of Dutch construction sites violate safety regulations for working from heights. To increase compliance with safety regulations, employers and workers have to select, implement and monitor safety measures. To facilitate this behavioral change, stimulating knowledge awareness and personalized feedback are frequently advocated behavior change techniques. For this study, two behavior change strategies have been developed in addition to the announcement of safety inspections by the labor inspectorate. These strategies consist of 1) face-to-face contacts with safety consultants and 2) direct mail with access to internet facilities. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of these two strategies on the safety violations for working from heights, the process and the cost measures. This study is a block randomized intervention trial in 27 cities to establish the effects of the face-to-face guidance strategy (N = 9), a direct mailing strategy (N = 9) and a control condition of no guidance (N = 9) on safety violations to record by labor inspectors after three months. A process evaluation for both strategies will be performed to determine program implementation (reach, dose delivered and dose received), satisfaction, knowledge and perceived safety behavior. A cost analysis will be performed to establish the financial costs for both strategies. The present study is in accordance with the CONSORT statement. This study increases insight into performing practice-based randomized controlled trials. The outcome will help to evaluate the effect of two guidance strategies on safety violations. If these strategies are effective, implementation of these strategies through the national institute of safety and health or labor inspectorate can take place to guide construction companies in complying with

  7. A DC Microgrid Coordinated Control Strategy Based on Integrator Current-Sharing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liyuan Gao

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The DC microgrid has become a new trend for microgrid study with the advantages of high reliability, simple control and low losses. With regard to the drawbacks of the traditional droop control strategies, an improved DC droop control strategy based on integrator current-sharing is introduced. In the strategy, the principle of eliminating deviation through an integrator is used, constructing the current-sharing term in order to make the power-sharing between different distributed generation (DG units uniform and reasonable, which can reduce the circulating current between DG units. Furthermore, at the system coordinated control level, a hierarchical/droop control strategy based on the DC bus voltage is proposed. In the strategy, the operation modes of the AC main network and micro-sources are determined through detecting the DC voltage variation, which can ensure the power balance of the DC microgrid under different operating conditions. Meanwhile, communication is not needed between different DG units, while each DG unit needs to sample the DC bus voltage, which retains the plug-and-play feature of the DC microgrid. The proposed control strategy is validated by simulation on a DC microgrid with permanent magnet synchronous generator-based wind turbines, solar arrays and energy storage batteries, which can be applied to small commercial or residential buildings.

  8. Low Activity Waste Feed Process Control Strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    STAEHR, T.W.

    2000-01-01

    The primary purpose of this document is to describe the overall process control strategy for monitoring and controlling the functions associated with the Phase 1B high-level waste feed delivery. This document provides the basis for process monitoring and control functions and requirements needed throughput the double-shell tank system during Phase 1 high-level waste feed delivery. This document is intended to be used by (1) the developers of the future Process Control Plan and (2) the developers of the monitoring and control system

  9. Control strategies and sensitivity analysis of anthroponotic visceral leishmaniasis model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamir, Muhammad; Zaman, Gul; Alshomrani, Ali Saleh

    2017-12-01

    This study proposes a mathematical model of Anthroponotic visceral leishmaniasis epidemic with saturated infection rate and recommends different control strategies to manage the spread of this disease in the community. To do this, first, a model formulation is presented to support these strategies, with quantifications of transmission and intervention parameters. To understand the nature of the initial transmission of the disease, the reproduction number [Formula: see text] is obtained by using the next-generation method. On the basis of sensitivity analysis of the reproduction number [Formula: see text], four different control strategies are proposed for managing disease transmission. For quantification of the prevalence period of the disease, a numerical simulation for each strategy is performed and a detailed summary is presented. Disease-free state is obtained with the help of control strategies. The threshold condition for globally asymptotic stability of the disease-free state is found, and it is ascertained that the state is globally stable. On the basis of sensitivity analysis of the reproduction number, it is shown that the disease can be eradicated by using the proposed strategies.

  10. Control Strategy for Small Molecule Impurities in Antibody-Drug Conjugates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Hai H; Ihle, Nathan; Jones, Michael T; Kelly, Kathleen; Kott, Laila; Raglione, Thomas; Whitlock, Scott; Zhang, Qunying; Zheng, Jie

    2018-04-01

    Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are an emerging class of biopharmaceuticals. As such, there are no specific guidelines addressing impurity limits and qualification requirements. The current ICH guidelines on impurities, Q3A (Impurities in New Drug Substances), Q3B (Impurities in New Drug Products), and Q6B (Specifications: Test Procedures and Acceptance Criteria for Biotechnological/Biological Products) do not adequately address how to assess small molecule impurities in ADCs. The International Consortium for Innovation and Quality in Pharmaceutical Development (IQ) formed an impurities working group (IWG) to discuss this issue. This white paper presents a strategy for evaluating the impact of small molecule impurities in ADCs. This strategy suggests a science-based approach that can be applied to the design of control systems for ADC therapeutics. The key principles that form the basis for this strategy include the significant difference in molecular weights between small molecule impurities and the ADC, the conjugation potential of the small molecule impurities, and the typical dosing concentrations and dosing schedule. The result is that exposure to small impurities in ADCs is so low as to often pose little or no significant safety risk.

  11. 40 CFR 52.230 - Control strategy and regulations: Nitrogen dioxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy and regulations: Nitrogen dioxide. 52.230 Section 52.230 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY... Control strategy and regulations: Nitrogen dioxide. (a) The requirements of § 52.14(c)(3) of this chapter...

  12. A wolf pack hunting strategy based virtual tribes control for automatic generation control of smart grid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xi, Lei; Yu, Tao; Yang, Bo; Zhang, Xiaoshun; Qiu, Xuanyu

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel distributed autonomous virtual tribes control system is proposed. • WPH-VTC strategy is designed to solve the distributed virtual tribes control. • Stochastic consensus game on mixed homogeneous and heterogeneous multi-agent are resolved. • The optimal total power reference and its dispatch are resolved simultaneously in a dynamic way. • The utilization rate of renewable energy is increased with a reduced carbon emissions. - Abstract: This paper proposes a novel electric power autonomy to satisfy the requirement of power generation optimization of smart grid and decentralized energy management system. A decentralized virtual tribes control (VTC) is developed which can effectively coordinate the regional dispatch centre and the distributed energy. Then a wolf pack hunting (WPH) strategy based VTC (WPH-VTC) is designed through combining the multi-agent system stochastic game and multi-agent system collaborative consensus, which is called the multi-agent system stochastic consensus game, to achieve the coordination and optimization of the decentralized VTC, such that different types of renewable energy can be effectively integrated into the electric power autonomy. The proposed scheme is implemented on a flexible and dynamic multi-agent stochastic game-based VTC simulation platform, which control performance is evaluated on a typical two-area load–frequency control power system and a practical Guangdong power grid model in southern China. Simulation results verify that it can improve the closed-loop system performances, increase the utilization rate of the renewable energy, reduce the carbon emissions, and achieve a fast convergence rate with significant robustness compared with those of existing schemes.

  13. DSC: software tool for simulation-based design of control strategies applied to wastewater treatment plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruano, M V; Ribes, J; Seco, A; Ferrer, J

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a computer tool called DSC (Simulation based Controllers Design) that enables an easy design of control systems and strategies applied to wastewater treatment plants. Although the control systems are developed and evaluated by simulation, this tool aims to facilitate the direct implementation of the designed control system to the PC of the full-scale WWTP (wastewater treatment plants). The designed control system can be programmed in a dedicated control application and can be connected to either the simulation software or the SCADA of the plant. To this end, the developed DSC incorporates an OPC server (OLE for process control) which facilitates an open-standard communication protocol for different industrial process applications. The potential capabilities of the DSC tool are illustrated through the example of a full-scale application. An aeration control system applied to a nutrient removing WWTP was designed, tuned and evaluated with the DSC tool before its implementation in the full scale plant. The control parameters obtained by simulation were suitable for the full scale plant with only few modifications to improve the control performance. With the DSC tool, the control systems performance can be easily evaluated by simulation. Once developed and tuned by simulation, the control systems can be directly applied to the full-scale WWTP.

  14. Secondary Restoration Control of Islanded Microgrids With Decentralized Event-triggered Strategy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guerrero, Josep M.; Chen, Meng; Xiao, Xiangning

    2018-01-01

    in the feedback control laws, the proposed control strategies just require the communication between distributed secondary controllers at some particular instants while having frequency and voltage restoration function and accurate active power sharing. The stability and inter-event interval are also analyzed......Distributed cooperative control methods attract more and more attention in microgrid secondary control because they are more reliable and flexible. However, the traditional methods rely on the periodic communication, which is neither economic nor efficient due to its large communication burden...... in this paper. An islanded microgrid test system is built in PSCAD/EMTDC to validate the proposed control strategies. It shows that the proposed secondary control strategies based on event-triggered approach can highly reduce the inter-agent communication....

  15. Control Strategies for the DAB Based PV Interface System.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hadi M El-Helw

    Full Text Available This paper presents an interface system based on the Dual Active Bridge (DAB converter for Photovoltaic (PV arrays. Two control strategies are proposed for the DAB converter to harvest the maximum power from the PV array. The first strategy is based on a simple PI controller to regulate the terminal PV voltage through the phase shift angle of the DAB converter. The Perturb and Observe (P&O Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT technique is utilized to set the reference of the PV terminal voltage. The second strategy presented in this paper employs the Artificial Neural Network (ANN to directly set the phase shift angle of the DAB converter that results in harvesting maximum power. This feed-forward strategy overcomes the stability issues of the feedback strategy. The proposed PV interface systems are modeled and simulated using MATLAB/SIMULINK and the EMTDC/PSCAD software packages. The simulation results reveal accurate and fast response of the proposed systems. The dynamic performance of the proposed feed-forward strategy outdoes that of the feedback strategy in terms of accuracy and response time. Moreover, an experimental prototype is built to test and validate the proposed PV interface system.

  16. 40 CFR 52.1576 - Control strategy: Nitrogen dioxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Nitrogen dioxide. 52.1576 Section 52.1576 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... strategy: Nitrogen dioxide. (a) The requirements of § 52.14(c)(3) of this chapter as of May 8, 1974 (39 FR...

  17. Assistive-as-needed strategy for upper-limb robotic systems: A preliminary evaluation of the impedance control architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khairuddin, I. M.; Sidek, S. N.; Yusof, H. Md; Majeed, A. P. P. Abdul; Puzi, A. Ahmad; Mat Rosly, H.

    2018-04-01

    Rehabilitation is a necessary restoration process of recovering impaired joint motion and muscle strength. Recent trends of rehabilitation have also moved towards providing more participation of the patient in therapy rather than simple passive treatments as it has been demonstrated to be non-trivial in promoting neural plasticity meant to promote motor recovery process. This paper presents an assistive control strategy based on impedance control technique. Dynamic modelling of upper arm is obtained by utilising the Euler-Lagrange formulation. The proportional-derivative (PD), computed torque control (CTC) impedance based framework is applied to examine its effectiveness in performing joint-space control with objectives specified in rehabilitating the elbow joint along the sagittal plane. A feasibility study through simulation was carried out to investigate the efficacy of the proposed controller on acceleration-based impedance model. The results show that impedance controller is more suitable as it allows the cooperative effort of the patient.

  18. The Dynamic Evaluation of Enterprise's Strategy Based on Rough Set Theory

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    刘恒江; 陈继祥

    2003-01-01

    This paper presents dynamic evaluation of enterprise's strategy which is suitable for dealing with the complex and dynamic problems of strategic evaluation. Rough Set Theory is a powerful mathematical tool to handle vagueness and uncertainty of dynamic evaluation. By the application of Rough Set Theory, this paper computes the significance and weights of each evaluation criterion and helps to lay evaluation emphasis on the main and effective criteria. From the reduced decision table,evaluators can get decision rules Which direct them to give judgment or suggestion of strategy. The whole evaluation process is decided by data, so the results are certain and reasonable.

  19. Control Systems Cyber Security:Defense in Depth Strategies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David Kuipers; Mark Fabro

    2006-05-01

    Information infrastructures across many public and private domains share several common attributes regarding IT deployments and data communications. This is particularly true in the control systems domain. A majority of the systems use robust architectures to enhance business and reduce costs by increasing the integration of external, business, and control system networks. However, multi-network integration strategies often lead to vulnerabilities that greatly reduce the security of an organization, and can expose mission-critical control systems to cyber threats. This document provides guidance and direction for developing ‘defense-in-depth’ strategies for organizations that use control system networks while maintaining a multi-tier information architecture that requires: Maintenance of various field devices, telemetry collection, and/or industrial-level process systems Access to facilities via remote data link or modem Public facing services for customer or corporate operations A robust business environment that requires connections among the control system domain, the external Internet, and other peer organizations.

  20. Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of control strategies using the benchmark simulation model No1 (BSM1)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flores-Alsina, Xavier; Rodriguez-Roda, Ignasi; Sin, Gürkan

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to perform an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of the predictions of the Benchmark Simulation Model (BSM) No. 1, when comparing four activated sludge control strategies. The Monte Carlo simulation technique is used to evaluate the uncertainty in the BSM1 predict...

  1. Identification and evaluation of PWR in-vessel severe accident management strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dukelow, J.S.; Harrison, D.G.; Morgenstern, M.

    1992-03-01

    This reports documents work performed the NRC/RES Accident Management Guidance Program to evaluate possible strategies for mitigating the consequences of PWR severe accidents. The selection and evaluation of strategies was limited to the in-vessel phase of the severe accident, i.e., after the initiation of core degradation and prior to RPV failure. A parallel project at BNL has been considering strategies applicable to the ex-vessel phase of PWR severe accidents

  2. The Risk-Stratified Osteoporosis Strategy Evaluation study (ROSE)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rubin, Katrine Hass; Holmberg, Teresa; Rothmann, Mette Juel

    2015-01-01

    The risk-stratified osteoporosis strategy evaluation study (ROSE) is a randomized prospective population-based study investigating the effectiveness of a two-step screening program for osteoporosis in women. This paper reports the study design and baseline characteristics of the study population....... 35,000 women aged 65-80 years were selected at random from the population in the Region of Southern Denmark and-before inclusion-randomized to either a screening group or a control group. As first step, a self-administered questionnaire regarding risk factors for osteoporosis based on FRAX......(®) was issued to both groups. As second step, subjects in the screening group with a 10-year probability of major osteoporotic fractures ≥15 % were offered a DXA scan. Patients diagnosed with osteoporosis from the DXA scan were advised to see their GP and discuss pharmaceutical treatment according to Danish...

  3. Elevator Control Strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Ceder, Frederick; Nordin, Alexandra

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this essay is to investigate if it is eective to switch strategies for elevators during one day in an oce building. This essay describes some of the strategies in use today, followed by a comparison and analysis of two of the strategies described. We have also implemented optimizations to one of these strategies. From our test results we can conclude that our optimized strategy worked and produced better results on average waiting time and total traveling time than the two stra...

  4. A new strategy of axial power distribution control based on three axial offsets concept

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimazu, Yoichiro

    2009-01-01

    results are presented to show the effectiveness of this control strategy. And further discussions are given for items to be evaluated in the future to apply it in the actual reactor control. (author)

  5. Adaptive Landing Gear: Optimum Control Strategy and Potential for Improvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grzegorz Mikułowski

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available An adaptive landing gear is a landing gear (LG capable of active adaptation to particular landing conditions by means of controlled hydraulic force. The objective of the adaptive control is to mitigate the peak force transferred to the aircraft structure during touch-down, and thus to limit the structural fatigue factor. This paper investigates the ultimate limits for improvement due to various strategies of active control. Five strategies are proposed and investigated numerically using a~validated model of a real, passive landing gear as a reference. Potential for improvement is estimated statistically in terms of the mean and median (significant peak strut forces as well as in terms of the extended safe sinking velocity range. Three control strategies are verified experimentally using a laboratory test stand.

  6. Chattering-free fuzzy sliding-mode control strategy for uncertain chaotic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yau, H.-T.; Chen, C.-L.

    2006-01-01

    This paper proposes a chattering-free fuzzy sliding-mode control (FSMC) strategy for uncertain chaotic systems. A fuzzy logic control is used to replace the discontinuous sign function of the reaching law in traditional sliding-mode control (SMC), and hence a control input without chattering is obtained in the chaotic systems with uncertainties. Base on the Lyapunov stability theory, we address the design schemes of integration fuzzy sliding-mode control, where the reaching law is proposed by a set of linguistic rules and the control input is chattering free. The Genesio chaotic system is used to test the proposed control strategy and the simulation results show the FSMC not only can control the uncertain chaotic behaviors to a desired state without oscillator very fast, but also the switching function is smooth without chattering. This result implies that this strategy is feasible and effective for chaos control

  7. Comparison among nonlinear excitation control strategies used for damping power system oscillations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leon, A.E.; Solsona, J.A.; Valla, M.I.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► A description and comparison of nonlinear control strategies for synchronous generators are presented. ► Advantages of using nonlinear controllers are emphasized against the use of classical PSSs. ► We find that a particular selection of IDA gains achieve the same performance that FL controllers. - Abstract: This work is focused on the problem of power system stability. A thorough description of nonlinear control strategies for synchronous generator excitation, which are designed for damping oscillations and improving transient stability on power systems, is presented along with a detailed comparison among these modern strategies and current solutions based on power system stabilizers. The performance related to damping injection in each controller, critical time enhancement, robustness against parametric uncertainties, and control signal energy consumption is analyzed. Several tests are presented to validate discussions on various advantages and disadvantages of each control strategy.

  8. Adaptive Control Based Harvesting Strategy for a Predator-Prey Dynamical System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sen, Moitri; Simha, Ashutosh; Raha, Soumyendu

    2018-04-23

    This paper deals with designing a harvesting control strategy for a predator-prey dynamical system, with parametric uncertainties and exogenous disturbances. A feedback control law for the harvesting rate of the predator is formulated such that the population dynamics is asymptotically stabilized at a positive operating point, while maintaining a positive, steady state harvesting rate. The hierarchical block strict feedback structure of the dynamics is exploited in designing a backstepping control law, based on Lyapunov theory. In order to account for unknown parameters, an adaptive control strategy has been proposed in which the control law depends on an adaptive variable which tracks the unknown parameter. Further, a switching component has been incorporated to robustify the control performance against bounded disturbances. Proofs have been provided to show that the proposed adaptive control strategy ensures asymptotic stability of the dynamics at a desired operating point, as well as exact parameter learning in the disturbance-free case and learning with bounded error in the disturbance prone case. The dynamics, with uncertainty in the death rate of the predator, subjected to a bounded disturbance has been simulated with the proposed control strategy.

  9. Air Traffic Controllers' Control Strategies in the Terminal Area Under Off-Nominal Conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Lynne; Mercer, Joey; Callantine, Todd; Kupfer, Michael; Cabrall, Christopher

    2012-01-01

    A human-in-the-loop simulation investigated the robustness of a schedule-based terminal-area air traffic management concept, and its supporting controller tools, to off-nominal events - events that led to situations in which runway arrival schedules required adjustments and controllers could no longer use speed control alone to impose the necessary delays. The main research question was exploratory: to assess whether controllers could safely resolve and control the traffic during off-nominal events. A focus was the role of the supervisor - how he managed the schedules, how he assisted the controllers, what strategies he used, and which combinations of tools he used. Observations and questionnaire responses revealed supervisor strategies for resolving events followed a similar pattern: a standard approach specific to each type of event often resolved to a smooth conclusion. However, due to the range of factors influencing the event (e.g., environmental conditions, aircraft density on the schedule, etc.), sometimes the plan required revision and actions had a wide-ranging effect.

  10. Practical strategies for nursing education program evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewallen, Lynne Porter

    2015-01-01

    Self-evaluation is required for institutions of higher learning and the nursing programs within them. The literature provides information on evaluation models and instruments, and descriptions of how specific nursing education programs are evaluated. However, there are few discussions in the nursing education literature of the practical aspects of nursing education program evaluation: how to get started, how to keep track of data, who to involve in data collection, and how to manage challenging criteria. This article discusses the importance of program evaluation in the academic setting and provides information on practical ways to organize the evaluation process and aggregate data, and strategies for gathering data from students, graduates, alumni, and employers of graduates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Evaluating the Legitimacy of Contemporary Legal Strategies for Obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morain, Stephanie

    2015-12-01

    Contemporary legal strategies for obesity raise troubling questions regarding individual liberty and the legitimate scope of public health authority. This article argues that the predominant approach to assessing public health legitimacy--John Stuart Mill's "harm principle"--may be unsuitable for evaluating the legitimacy of legal strategies for obesity. The article proposes an alternative test for assessing the legitimate scope of public health authority: John Rawls's liberal principle of legitimacy. It outlines how Rawls's principle would evaluate obesity policies, and contrasts this evaluation to that of Mill. The alternative test avoids some of the limitations of the Millian approach, and may offer an improved mechanism for assessing the liberty effects of policies for obesity and other public health activities.

  12. 40 CFR 52.1126 - Control strategy: Sulfur oxides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Department of Environmental Quality Engineering.). Gardner State Hospital, Gardner. Grafton State Hospital... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Sulfur oxides. 52... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Massachusetts § 52.1126 Control...

  13. Development of alternative sulfur dioxide control strategies for a metropolitan area and its environs, utilizing a modified climatological dispersion model

    Science.gov (United States)

    K. J. Skipka; D. B. Smith

    1977-01-01

    Alternative control strategies were developed for achieving compliance with ambient air quality standards in Portland, Maine, and its environs, using a modified climatological dispersion model (CDM) and manipulating the sulfur content of the fuel oil consumed in four concentric zones. Strategies were evaluated for their impact on ambient air quality, economics, and...

  14. Evaluation of an effective multifaceted implementation strategy for elective single-embryo transfer after in vitro fertilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreuwel, I A M; van Peperstraten, A M; Hulscher, M E J L; Kremer, J A M; Grol, R P T M; Nelen, W L D M; Hermens, R P M G

    2013-02-01

    What is the relationship between the rate of elective single-embryo transfer (eSET) and couples' exposure to different elements of a multifaceted implementation strategy? Additional elements in a multifaceted implementation strategy do not result in an increased eSET rate. A multifaceted eSET implementation strategy with four different elements is effective in increasing the eSET rate by 11%. It is unclear whether every strategy element contributes equally to the strategy's effectiveness. An observational study was performed among 222 subfertile couples included in a previously performed randomized controlled trial. Of the 222 subfertile couples included, 109 couples received the implementation strategy and 113 couples received standard IVF care. A multivariate regression analysis assessed the effectiveness of four different strategy elements on the decision about the number embryos to be transferred. Questionnaires evaluated the experiences of couples with the different elements. Of the couples who received the implementation strategy, almost 50% (52/109) were exposed to all the four elements of the strategy. The remaining 57 couples who received two or three elements of the strategy could be divided into two further classes of exposure. Our analysis demonstrated that additional elements do not result in an increased eSET rate. In addition to the physician's advice, couples rated a decision aid and a counselling session as more important for their decision to transfer one or two embryos, compared with a phone call and a reimbursement offer (P implementation strategy does not always result in an increased effectiveness, which is in concordance with recent literature. This in-depth evaluation of a multifaceted intervention strategy could therefore help to modify strategies, by making them more effective and less expensive.

  15. Economic Evaluations of Strategies to Prevent Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ocampo, Wrechelle; Cheung, Amanda; Baylis, Barry; Clayden, Nancy; Conly, John M; Ghali, William A; Ho, Chester H; Kaufman, Jaime; Stelfox, Henry T; Hogan, David B

    2017-07-01

    To provide information from a review of literature about economic evaluations of preventive strategies for pressure injuries (PIs). This continuing education activity is intended for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses with an interest in skin and wound care. After participating in this educational activity, the participant should be better able to:1. Identify the purpose and methods used for this study.2. Compare costs and effectiveness related to preventative strategies for PIs. BACKGROUND: Pressure injuries (PIs) are a common and resource-intensive challenge for acute care hospitals worldwide. While a number of preventive strategies have the potential to reduce the cost of hospital-acquired PIs, it is unclear what approach is the most effective. The authors performed a narrative review of the literature on economic evaluations of preventive strategies to survey current findings and identify important factors in economic assessments. Ovid, MEDLINE, NHS Economic Evaluation Databases, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic ReviewsSELECTION CRITERIA: Potentially relevant original research articles and systematic reviews were considered. Selection criteria included articles that were written in English, provided data on cost or economic evaluations of preventive strategies of PIs in acute care, and published between January 2004 and September 2015. Data were abstracted from the articles using a standardized approach to evaluate how the items on the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards checklist were addressed. The searches identified 192 references. Thirty-three original articles were chosen for full-text reviews. Nineteen of these articles provided clear descriptions of interventions, study methods, and outcomes considered. Limitations in the available literature prevent firm conclusions from being reached about the relative economic merits of the various approaches to the prevention of PIs. The authors' review

  16. Evaluation of an Extremum Seeking Control Based Optimization and Sequencing Strategy for a Chilled-water Plant

    OpenAIRE

    Zhao, Zhongfan; Li, Yaoyu; Mu, Baojie; Salsbury, Timothy I.; House, John M.

    2016-01-01

    Chilled-water plants with multiple chillers account for a significant fraction of energy use in large commercial buildings. Real-time optimization and sequencing of such plants is thus critical for building energy efficiency. Due to the cost and complexity associated with calibrating a chiller plant model to field operation, model-free control has become an attractive solution. Recently, Mu et al. (2015) proposed a model-free real-time optimization and sequencing strategy based on extremum se...

  17. Review and Evaluation of Reservoir Management Strategies for Harmful Algal Blooms

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-07-28

    Abstract The purpose of this report is to review and evaluate available infor- mation regarding reservoir operation strategies for management of...12 3 Operations Management Examples ............................................................................ 16...report is to review and evaluate available information regarding reservoir operation strategies for management of harmful algal ERDC/EL TR-17-11 2

  18. Feedback power control strategies in wireless sensor networks with joint channel decoding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abrardo, Andrea; Ferrari, Gianluigi; Martalò, Marco; Perna, Fabio

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, we derive feedback power control strategies for block-faded multiple access schemes with correlated sources and joint channel decoding (JCD). In particular, upon the derivation of the feasible signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) region for the considered multiple access schemes, i.e., the multidimensional SNR region where error-free communications are, in principle, possible, two feedback power control strategies are proposed: (i) a classical feedback power control strategy, which aims at equalizing all link SNRs at the access point (AP), and (ii) an innovative optimized feedback power control strategy, which tries to make the network operational point fall in the feasible SNR region at the lowest overall transmit energy consumption. These strategies will be referred to as "balanced SNR" and "unbalanced SNR," respectively. While they require, in principle, an unlimited power control range at the sources, we also propose practical versions with a limited power control range. We preliminary consider a scenario with orthogonal links and ideal feedback. Then, we analyze the robustness of the proposed power control strategies to possible non-idealities, in terms of residual multiple access interference and noisy feedback channels. Finally, we successfully apply the proposed feedback power control strategies to a limiting case of the class of considered multiple access schemes, namely a central estimating officer (CEO) scenario, where the sensors observe noisy versions of a common binary information sequence and the AP's goal is to estimate this sequence by properly fusing the soft-output information output by the JCD algorithm.

  19. Feedback Power Control Strategies inWireless Sensor Networks with Joint Channel Decoding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabio Perna

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we derive feedback power control strategies for block-faded multiple access schemes with correlated sources and joint channel decoding (JCD. In particular, upon the derivation of the feasible signal-to-noise ratio (SNR region for the considered multiple access schemes, i.e., the multidimensional SNR region where error-free communications are, in principle, possible, two feedback power control strategies are proposed: (i a classical feedback power control strategy, which aims at equalizing all link SNRs at the access point (AP, and (ii an innovative optimized feedback power control strategy, which tries to make the network operational point fall in the feasible SNR region at the lowest overall transmit energy consumption. These strategies will be referred to as “balanced SNR” and “unbalanced SNR,” respectively. While they require, in principle, an unlimited power control range at the sources, we also propose practical versions with a limited power control range. We preliminary consider a scenario with orthogonal links and ideal feedback. Then, we analyze the robustness of the proposed power control strategies to possible non-idealities, in terms of residual multiple access interference and noisy feedback channels. Finally, we successfully apply the proposed feedback power control strategies to a limiting case of the class of considered multiple access schemes, namely a central estimating officer (CEO scenario, where the sensors observe noisy versions of a common binary information sequence and the AP’s goal is to estimate this sequence by properly fusing the soft-output information output by the JCD algorithm.

  20. Strategies to diagnose and control microbial souring in natural gas storage reservoirs and produced water systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morris, E.A.; Derr, R.M.; Pope, D.H.

    1995-12-31

    Hydrogen sulfide production (souring) in natural gas storage reservoirs and produced water systems is a safety and environmental problem that can lead to operational shutdown when local hydrogen sulfide standards are exceeded. Systems affected by microbial souring have historically been treated using biocides that target the general microbial community. However, requirements for more environmentally friendly solutions have led to treatment strategies in which sulfide production can be controlled with minimal impact to the system and environment. Some of these strategies are based on microbial and/or nutritional augmentation of the sour environment. Through research sponsored by the Gas Research Institute (GRI) in Chicago, Illinois, methods have been developed for early detection of microbial souring in natural gas storage reservoirs, and a variety of mitigation strategies have been evaluated. The effectiveness of traditional biocide treatment in gas storage reservoirs was shown to depend heavily on the methods by which the chemical is applied. An innovative strategy using nitrate was tested and proved ideal for produced water and wastewater systems. Another strategy using elemental iodine was effective for sulfide control in evaporation ponds and is currently being tested in microbially sour natural gas storage wells.

  1. 40 CFR 51.302 - Implementation control strategies for reasonably attributable visibility impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Implementation control strategies for... IMPLEMENTATION PLANS Protection of Visibility § 51.302 Implementation control strategies for reasonably... implementation of the elements of the long-term strategy as may be necessary to make reasonable progress toward...

  2. Economics of eradicating Foot-and-Mouth disease epidemics with alternative control strategies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergevoet, R.H.M.; Asseldonk, van M.A.P.M.

    2014-01-01

    The paper presents an economic analysis of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) control strategies for livestock herds. Alternative vaccination-to-live control strategies were compared to the strategy that involves culling of all susceptible animals in an area of 1 km around infected herds in addition to

  3. How Life Experience Shapes Cognitive Control Strategies: The Case of Air Traffic Control Training.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Arbula

    Full Text Available Although human flexible behavior relies on cognitive control, it would be implausible to assume that there is only one, general mode of cognitive control strategy adopted by all individuals. For instance, different reliance on proactive versus reactive control strategies could explain inter-individual variability. In particular, specific life experiences, like a highly demanding training for future Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs, could modulate cognitive control functions. A group of ATC trainees and a matched group of university students were tested longitudinally on task-switching and Stroop paradigms that allowed us to measure indices of cognitive control. The results showed that the ATCs, with respect to the control group, had substantially smaller mixing costs during long cue-target intervals (CTI and a reduced Stroop interference effect. However, this advantage was present also prior to the training phase. Being more capable in managing multiple task sets and less distracted by interfering events suggests a more efficient selection and maintenance of task relevant information as an inherent characteristic of the ATC group, associated with proactive control. Critically, the training that the ATCs underwent improved their accuracy in general and reduced response time switching costs during short CTIs only. These results indicate a training-induced change in reactive control, which is described as a transient process in charge of stimulus-driven task detection and resolution. This experience-based enhancement of reactive control strategy denotes how cognitive control and executive functions in general can be shaped by real-life training and underlines the importance of experience in explaining inter-individual variability in cognitive functioning.

  4. How Life Experience Shapes Cognitive Control Strategies: The Case of Air Traffic Control Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arbula, Sandra; Capizzi, Mariagrazia; Lombardo, Nicoletta; Vallesi, Antonino

    2016-01-01

    Although human flexible behavior relies on cognitive control, it would be implausible to assume that there is only one, general mode of cognitive control strategy adopted by all individuals. For instance, different reliance on proactive versus reactive control strategies could explain inter-individual variability. In particular, specific life experiences, like a highly demanding training for future Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs), could modulate cognitive control functions. A group of ATC trainees and a matched group of university students were tested longitudinally on task-switching and Stroop paradigms that allowed us to measure indices of cognitive control. The results showed that the ATCs, with respect to the control group, had substantially smaller mixing costs during long cue-target intervals (CTI) and a reduced Stroop interference effect. However, this advantage was present also prior to the training phase. Being more capable in managing multiple task sets and less distracted by interfering events suggests a more efficient selection and maintenance of task relevant information as an inherent characteristic of the ATC group, associated with proactive control. Critically, the training that the ATCs underwent improved their accuracy in general and reduced response time switching costs during short CTIs only. These results indicate a training-induced change in reactive control, which is described as a transient process in charge of stimulus-driven task detection and resolution. This experience-based enhancement of reactive control strategy denotes how cognitive control and executive functions in general can be shaped by real-life training and underlines the importance of experience in explaining inter-individual variability in cognitive functioning.

  5. Photochemical production of ozone and control strategy for Southern Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiu, Chein-Jung; Liu, Shaw Chen; Chang, Chih-Chung; Chen, Jen-Ping; Chou, Charles C. K.; Lin, Chuan-Yao; Young, Chea-Yuan

    An observation-based method (OBM) is developed to evaluate the ozone (O 3) production efficiency (O 3 molecules produced per NO x molecule consumed) and O 3 production rate ( P(O 3)) during a field campaign in southern Taiwan. The method can also provide an estimate of the concentration of OH. A key step in the method is to use observed concentrations of two aromatic hydrocarbons, namely ethylbenzene and m, p-xylene, to estimate the degree of photochemical processing and amounts of photochemically consumed NO x and NMHCs by OH. In addition, total oxidant (O 3+NO 2) instead of O 3 itself turns out to be very useful for representing ozone production in the OBM approach. The average O 3 production efficiency during the field campaign in Fall (2003) is found to be about 10.2±3.9. The relationship of P(O 3) with NO x is examined and compared with a one-dimensional (1D) photochemical model. Values of P(O 3) derived from the OBM are slightly lower than those calculated in the 1D model. However, OH concentrations estimated by the OBM are about a factor of 2 lower than the 1D model. Fresh emissions, which affect the degree of photochemical processing appear to be a major cause of the underestimate. We have developed a three-dimensional (3D) OBM O 3 production diagram that resembles the EKMA ozone isopleth diagram to study the relationship of the total oxidant versus O 3 precursors. The 3D OBM O 3 production diagram suggests that reducing emissions of NMHCs are more effective in controlling O 3 than reducing NO x. However, significant uncertainties remain in the OBM, and considerable more work is required to minimize these uncertainties before a definitive control strategy can be reached. The observation-based approach provides a good alternative to measuring peroxy radicals for evaluating the production of O 3 and formulating O 3 control strategy in urban and suburban environments.

  6. Electric Water Heater Modeling and Control Strategies for Demand Response

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diao, Ruisheng; Lu, Shuai; Elizondo, Marcelo A.; Mayhorn, Ebony T.; Zhang, Yu; Samaan, Nader A.

    2012-07-22

    Abstract— Demand response (DR) has a great potential to provide balancing services at normal operating conditions and emergency support when a power system is subject to disturbances. Effective control strategies can significantly relieve the balancing burden of conventional generators and reduce investment on generation and transmission expansion. This paper is aimed at modeling electric water heaters (EWH) in households and tests their response to control strategies to implement DR. The open-loop response of EWH to a centralized signal is studied by adjusting temperature settings to provide regulation services; and two types of decentralized controllers are tested to provide frequency support following generator trips. EWH models are included in a simulation platform in DIgSILENT to perform electromechanical simulation, which contains 147 households in a distribution feeder. Simulation results show the dependence of EWH response on water heater usage . These results provide insight suggestions on the need of control strategies to achieve better performance for demand response implementation. Index Terms— Centralized control, decentralized control, demand response, electrical water heater, smart grid

  7. Understanding influences on teachers' uptake and use of behaviour management strategies within the STARS trial: process evaluation protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansford, Lorraine; Sharkey, Siobhan; Edwards, Vanessa; Ukoumunne, Obioha; Byford, Sarah; Norwich, Brahm; Logan, Stuart; Ford, Tamsin

    2015-02-10

    The 'Supporting Teachers And childRen in Schools' (STARS) study is a cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) programme as a public health intervention. TCM is a 6 day training course delivered to groups of 8-12 teachers. The STARS trial will investigate whether TCM can improve children's behaviour, attainment and wellbeing, reduce teachers' stress and improve their self-efficacy. This protocol describes the methodology of the process evaluation embedded within the main trial, which aims to examine the uptake and implementation of TCM strategies within the classroom plus the wider school environment and improve the understanding of outcomes. The STARS trial will work with eighty teachers of children aged 4-9 years from eighty schools. Teachers will be randomised to attend the TCM course (intervention arm) or to "teach as normal" (control arm) and attend the course a year later. The process evaluation will use quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess fidelity to model, as well as explore headteachers' and teachers' experiences of TCM and investigate school factors that influence the translation of skills learnt to practice. Four of the eight groups of teachers (n = 40) will be invited to participate in focus groups within one month of completing the TCM course, and again a year later, while 45 of the 80 headteachers will be invited to take part in telephone interviews. Standardised checklists will be completed by group leaders and each training session will be videotaped to assess fidelity to model. Teachers will also complete standardised session evaluations. This study will provide important information about whether the Teacher Classroom Management course influences child and teacher mental health and well-being in both the short and long term. The process evaluation will provide valuable insights into factors that may facilitate or impede any impact. The trial has been registered with ISCTRN

  8. A national evaluation of community-based mental health strategies in Finland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vähäniemi, Anu; Warwick-Smith, Katja; Hätönen, Heli; Välimäki, Maritta

    2018-02-01

    High-quality mental health care requires written strategies to set a vision for the future, yet, there is limited systematic information available on the monitoring and evaluation of such strategies. The aim of this nationwide study is to evaluate local mental health strategies in community-based mental health services provided by municipalities. Mental health strategy documents were gathered through an online search and an e-mail survey of the local authorities of all Finnish mainland municipalities (n = 320). Out of 320 municipalities, documents for 129 municipalities (63 documents) were included in the study. The documents obtained (n = 63) were evaluated against the World Health Organization checklist for mental health strategies and policies. Evaluation of the process, operations and content of the documents, against 31 indicators in the checklist. Out of 320 Finnish municipalities, 40% (n = 129) had a mental health strategy document available and 33% (n = 104) had a document that was either in preparation or being updated. In these documents, priorities, targets and activities were clearly described. Nearly all (99%) of the documents suggested a commitment to preventative work, and 89% mentioned a dedication to developing community-based care. The key shortfalls identified were the lack of consideration of human rights (0%), the limited consideration of research (5%) and the lack of financial planning (28%) to successfully execute the plans. Of the documents obtained, 60% covered both mental health and substance abuse issues. This study contributes to the limited evidence base on health care strategy evaluations. Further research is needed to understand the potential impact of policy analysis. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  9. Dynamic Strategies for Yaw and Induction Control of Wind Farms Based on Large-Eddy Simulation and Optimization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wim Munters

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In wind farms, wakes originating from upstream turbines cause reduced energy extraction and increased loading variability in downstream rows. The prospect of mitigating these detrimental effects through coordinated controllers at the wind-farm level has fueled a multitude of research efforts in wind-farm control. The main strategies in wind-farm control are to influence the velocity deficits in the wake by deviating from locally optimal axial induction setpoints on the one hand, and steering wakes away from downstream rows through yaw misalignment on the other hand. The current work investigates dynamic induction and yaw control of individual turbines for wind-farm power maximization in large-eddy simulations. To this end, receding-horizon optimal control techniques combined with continuous adjoint gradient evaluations are used. We study a 4 × 4 aligned wind farm, and find that for this farm layout yaw control is more effective than induction control, both for uniform and turbulent inflow conditions. Analysis of optimal yaw controls leads to the definition of two simplified yaw control strategies, in which wake meandering and wake redirection are exploited respectively. Furthermore it is found that dynamic yawing provides significant benefits over static yaw control in turbulent flow environments, whereas this is not the case for uniform inflow. Finally, the potential of combining overinductive axial induction control with yaw control is shown, with power gains that approximate the sum of those achieved by each control strategy separately.

  10. Strategies for time of culling in control of paratuberculosis in dairy herds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kudahl, A B; Nielsen, S S; Ostergaard, S

    2011-08-01

    Effect of time for culling cows infected with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis on prevalence and profitability was identified through simulations. Seven test-and-cull strategies with different culling criteria and no attempts to close infection routes were compared with strategies with (1) no control and (2) closure of infection routes and no culling. The effects on true prevalence and gross margin were evaluated in a herd with typical reproduction management (heat detection rate of 38%). This was repeated in a herd with poor reproduction management (heat detection rate of 28%), because poor reproduction leads to lack of replacement animals, which was hypothesized to affect the economic effects of culling. Effects of varying prices of milk, replacement heifers, and hourly wages were also evaluated. The simulated results predicted that immediate culling after the first positive antibody ELISA test would be the most effective culling strategy to reduce prevalence. However, closing transmission routes was even more effective in reducing the prevalence. In the first 3 to 6 yr, all test-and-cull strategies reduced gross margin by US$5 to 55/stall per year. These losses were fully compensated by increased gross margin in yr 6 to 19. In the short run (7 yr with typical reproduction and 10 yr with poor reproduction), it was most profitable to cull test-positive cows when their milk yield decreased below 85% of that expected according to their parity and lactation stage, especially in herds with poor reproduction management. However, this strategy only stabilized the prevalence and did not reduce it. In the long term (>7 yr from implementation of a strategy), it was most profitable to cull cows immediately or as soon as possible after testing positive the first time. Varying milk prices did not affect the ranking between the different culling strategies. Increased market price (20%) of replacement heifers made all culling strategies less profitable and made culling

  11. Control strategies for crane systems: A comprehensive review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramli, Liyana; Mohamed, Z.; Abdullahi, Auwalu M.; Jaafar, H. I.; Lazim, Izzuddin M.

    2017-10-01

    Crane systems are tremendously utilised in numerous heavy load transportation industries, and therefore, the control of crane systems is a well-established research field. As the last review paper was published more than a decade ago, there is a lack of collected and organised information regarding the latest and the newest updates on control strategies for crane control systems. Hence, this paper presents a comprehensive review of crane control strategies discussing the latest research works during the years from 2000 to 2016. Various crane types and control issues are highlighted, followed by the main focus of this paper, an extensive review of the control schemes for diverse types of crane systems that have been carried out in the 21st century. A brief review on modelling of single-pendulum and double-pendulum crane systems is also given. In addition, anti-sway control systems for industrial cranes that are available on the market is described. This paper summarises most of the related work and also pays a special focus on research trends regarding the control of crane systems that have been previously published in the literature. It is envisaged that this review paper will be helpful to new researchers when identifying research directions for this particular area of interest.

  12. Evaluation of Management Control Systems in Higher Education Institution with the Performance Management and Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ilse Maria Beuren

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to investigate the structure and operation of management control systems for performance evaluation in a private higher education institution (HEI. To capture the structure and operation of Management Control Systems (MCS of the HEI, the survey instrument proposed by Ferreira and Otley was used (2006, called Performance Management and Control (PMC. Thus, an adapted PMC structure questionnaire was sent to 55 managers responsible for strategic actions and plans established in the business of the HEI, having 48 answered questionnaires. Also, four out of the five directors of the business school of the HEI were interviewed, besides the documentary research, for the triangulation of data and to validate the results. In data analysis, the techniques of descriptive statistics and information entropy were used. The results show that the overall level of performance evaluation for MCS reached a mean of 3.62 on the scale, less than partial agreement on the items presented. Some weaknesses were pointed out in the system used, and it was also denoted the need for better alignment among strategy, performance and control. It is concluded that the adapted PMC structure questionnaire managed to capture the structure and operation of MCS for performance evaluation in the HEI.

  13. Economic Benefits of Advanced Control Strategies in Biological Nutrient Removal Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carstensen, J.; Nielsen, M.K.; Harremoës, Poul

    1994-01-01

    little regards to the variations in load and biomass activity. However, these dynamics can be evaluated on-line using grey box models to describe the most important features of the hydraulic and biological processes. Simulation studies of plants with an alternating process have shown that control...... strategies incorporating information from the grey box models are capable of reducing the total nitrogen discharge as well as energy costs. These results have a major impact on both existing and future plants. In fact, it is expected that future plants can be reduced with 10-20 per cent in size...

  14. Nitrate control strategies in an activated sludge wastewater treatment process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shen, Wenhao; Tao, Erpan; Chen, Xiaoquan; Liu, Dawei [South China University of Technology, Guangzhou (China); Liu, Hongbin [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-03-15

    We studied nitrate control strategies in an activated sludge wastewater treatment process (WWTP) based on the activated sludge model. Two control strategies, back propagation for proportional-integral-derivative (BP-PID) and adaptive-network based fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS), are applied in the WWTP. The simulation results show that the simple local constant setpoint control has poor control effects on the nitrate concentration control. However, the ANFIS (4*1) controller, which considers not only the local constant setpoint control of the nitrate concentration, but also three important indices in the effluent--ammonia concentration, total suspended sludge concentration and total nitrogen concentration--demonstrates good control performance. The results also prove that ANFIS (4*1) controller has better control performance than that of the controllers PI, BP-PID and ANFIS (2*1), and that the ANFIS (4*1) controller is effective in improving the effluent quality and maintaining the stability of the effluent quality.

  15. Delta Power Control Strategy for Multistring Grid-Connected PV Inverters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sangwongwanich, Ariya; Yang, Yongheng; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2017-01-01

    , is required for grid support (e.g., during frequency deviation). In this paper, a cost-effective solution to realize delta power control (DPC) for grid-connected PV systems is presented, where the multistring PV inverter configuration is adopted. This control strategy is a combination of maximum power point...... tracking (MPPT) and constant power generation (CPG) modes. In this control scheme, one PV string operating in the MPPT mode estimates the available power, whereas the other PV strings regulate the total PV power by the CPG control strategy in such a way that the delta power constraint for the entire PV...... system is achieved. Simulations and experiments have been performed on a 3-kW single-phase grid-connected PV system. The results have confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed DPC strategy, where the power reserve according to the delta power constraint is achieved under several operating conditions....

  16. Mathematical Modeling of a Transient Vibration Control Strategy Using a Switchable Mass Stiffness Compound System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Francisco Ledezma-Ramirez

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A theoretical control strategy for residual vibration control resulting from a shock pulse is studied. The semiactive control strategy is applied in a piecewise linear compound model and involves an on-off logic to connect and disconnect a secondary mass stiffness system from the primary isolation device, with the aim of providing high energy dissipation for lightly damped systems. The compound model is characterized by an energy dissipation mechanism due to the inelastic collision between the two masses and then viscous damping is introduced and its effects are analyzed. The objective of the simulations is to evaluate the transient vibration response in comparison to the results for a passive viscously damped single degree-of-freedom system considered as the benchmark or reference case. Similarly the decay in the compound system is associated with an equivalent decay rate or logarithmic decrement for direct comparison. It is found how the compound system provides improved isolation compared to the passive system, and the damping mechanisms are explained.

  17. Evaluating the MESSAGE Communication Strategies in Dementia training for use with community-based aged care staff working with people with dementia: a controlled pretest-post-test study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conway, Erin R; Chenery, Helen J

    2016-04-01

    The study aims to evaluate the effects of a communication skills training programme on community aged care staff's knowledge of communication support in dementia and on staff's care experience. Dementia can lead to impairments in communication. Therefore, quality community-based dementia care requires that staff be skilled communicators, equipped to facilitate interactions with people with dementia. The current investigation evaluated the effectiveness of the MESSAGE Communication Strategies in Dementia for Care Staff training programme with respect to knowledge of communication support and the staff/caregiver experience. A multi-centre controlled pretest/post-test design with randomised cohort allocation was used. Outcome measures were completed at baseline, immediately after training (training group only), and at three-month follow-up. Thirty-eight care staff working in community aged care participated and completed all outcome measures (training = 22; control = 16).Training and control groups completed the following outcome measures: knowledge of communication support strategies, self-efficacy, preparedness to provide care, strain in nursing care and attitude to dementia care. Staff in the training group provided written feedback on the training. A significant improvement in knowledge scores from baseline was found for the training group both immediately after training and at three-month follow-up. There was also a significant training effect for self-efficacy and preparedness to provide care. No significant difference was found for the control group for any measure. No significant training effects were found for measures of strain or attitudes to dementia care. Feedback from staff suggests that the training was well received. The MESSAGE training was positively received by staff and had a significant effect on care staff knowledge, and confidence to provide care for people with dementia. The easily accessible multimedia training programme is well received by

  18. A critical evaluation of the strategy project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howard, B.J.; Liland, A.

    2003-01-01

    Full text: Experience after the Chernobyl accident has shown that remediation strategies need to consider a wide range of different issues to ensure the long-term sustainability of radioactively contaminated areas. The STRATEGY project (Sustainable Restoration And Long-Term Management Of Contaminated Rural, Urban And Industrial Ecosystems (www.strategy-ec.org.uk) had the overall objective of establishing a holistic decision framework for the selection of optimal remediation strategies for long-term sustainable management of contaminated areas in Western Europe. The project carried out a critical evaluation of a series of countermeasures and waste disposal options including a consideration of their technical feasibility and practicality and whether they (i) incur considerable direct or side-effect costs; (ii) have significant environmental side effects; and (iii) are acceptable to society. A main output was a comprehensive, documented evaluation of more than 100 countermeasures (in the form of standardized templates) that would be relevant for off-site nuclear emergency management in the mid to long term. Stakeholder participation is an important mechanism to explore these additional benefits or disadvantages to the use of countermeasures, and is an essential step in developing a decision framework which avoids problems previously experienced in emergency management. Close liaison with the FARMING stakeholder network facilitated evaluation of countermeasure templates for rural ecosystems. Stakeholder opinion suggested that some countermeasures were as likely to be rejected an socio-ethical grounds as technical and economic grounds. Rejection of specific countermeasures would be expected to show site, context and national differences. Suitable approaches for successfully communicating with a wide range of stakeholders were explored. The way in which countermeasure evaluation and selection is carried out is particularly relevant for ethical evaluation of remediation

  19. Managing work and family: Do control strategies help?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Versey, H Shellae

    2015-11-01

    How can we effectively manage competing obligations from work and family without becoming overwhelmed? This question inspires the current study by examining control strategies that may facilitate better work-life balance, with a specific focus on the role of lowered aspirations and positive reappraisals, attitudes that underlie adaptive coping behaviors. Data from the Midlife in the United States Survey (MIDUS II) were used to explore the relationship between negative spillover, control strategies, and well-being among full-time working men and women (N = 2,091). In this nationally representative sample, findings indicate that while positive reappraisals function as a protective buffer, lowering aspirations exacerbate the relationship between work-family spillover and well-being, with moderating effects stronger among women. This study extends prior research tying work-life conflict to health and mental health, and suggests further investigation is needed to consider types of resources that may be effective coping strategies in balancing work and family. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. An estimator-based distributed voltage-predictive control strategy for ac islanded microgrids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Yanbo; Chen, Zhe; Wang, Xiongfei

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents an estimator-based voltage predictive control strategy for AC islanded microgrids, which is able to perform voltage control without any communication facilities. The proposed control strategy is composed of a network voltage estimator and a voltage predictive controller for each...... and has a good capability to reject uncertain perturbations of islanded microgrids....

  1. A unified double-loop multi-scale control strategy for NMP integrating-unstable systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seer, Qiu Han; Nandong, Jobrun

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a new control strategy which unifies the direct and indirect multi-scale control schemes via a double-loop control structure. This unified control strategy is proposed for controlling a class of highly nonminimum-phase processes having both integrating and unstable modes. This type of systems is often encountered in fed-batch fermentation processes which are very difficult to stabilize via most of the existing well-established control strategies. A systematic design procedure is provided where its applicability is demonstrated via a numerical example. (paper)

  2. Robust Control Mixer Method for Reconfigurable Control Design Using Model Matching Strategy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Zhenyu; Blanke, Mogens; Verhagen, Michel

    2007-01-01

    A novel control mixer method for recon¯gurable control designs is developed. The proposed method extends the matrix-form of the conventional control mixer concept into a LTI dynamic system-form. The H_inf control technique is employed for these dynamic module designs after an augmented control...... system is constructed through a model-matching strategy. The stability, performance and robustness of the reconfigured system can be guaranteed when some conditions are satisfied. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, a robot system subjected to failures is used to demonstrate...

  3. A framework provided an outline toward the proper evaluation of potential screening strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adriaensen, Wim J; Matheï, Cathy; Buntinx, Frank J; Arbyn, Marc

    2013-06-01

    Screening tests are often introduced into clinical practice without proper evaluation, despite the increasing awareness that screening is a double-edged sword that can lead to either net benefits or harms. Our objective was to develop a comprehensive framework for the evaluation of new screening strategies. Elaborating on the existing concepts proposed by experts, a stepwise framework is proposed to evaluate whether a potential screening test can be introduced as a screening strategy into clinical practice. The principle of screening strategy evaluation is illustrated for cervical cancer, which is a template for screening because of the existence of an easily detectable and treatable precursor lesion. The evaluation procedure consists of six consecutive steps. In steps 1-4, the technical accuracy, place of the test in the screening pathway, diagnostic accuracy, and longitudinal sensitivity and specificity of the screening test are assessed. In steps 5 and 6, the impact of the screening strategy on the patient and population levels, respectively, is evaluated. The framework incorporates a harm and benefit trade-off and cost-effectiveness analysis. Our framework provides an outline toward the proper evaluation of potential screening strategies before considering implementation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Cost Effectiveness Analysis of Optimal Malaria Control Strategies in Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriel Otieno

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Malaria remains a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among the children under five and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, but it is preventable and controllable provided current recommended interventions are properly implemented. Better utilization of malaria intervention strategies will ensure the gain for the value for money and producing health improvements in the most cost effective way. The purpose of the value for money drive is to develop a better understanding (and better articulation of costs and results so that more informed, evidence-based choices could be made. Cost effectiveness analysis is carried out to inform decision makers on how to determine where to allocate resources for malaria interventions. This study carries out cost effective analysis of one or all possible combinations of the optimal malaria control strategies (Insecticide Treated Bednets—ITNs, Treatment, Indoor Residual Spray—IRS and Intermittent Preventive Treatment for Pregnant Women—IPTp for the four different transmission settings in order to assess the extent to which the intervention strategies are beneficial and cost effective. For the four different transmission settings in Kenya the optimal solution for the 15 strategies and their associated effectiveness are computed. Cost-effective analysis using Incremental Cost Effectiveness Ratio (ICER was done after ranking the strategies in order of the increasing effectiveness (total infections averted. The findings shows that for the endemic regions the combination of ITNs, IRS, and IPTp was the most cost-effective of all the combined strategies developed in this study for malaria disease control and prevention; for the epidemic prone areas is the combination of the treatment and IRS; for seasonal areas is the use of ITNs plus treatment; and for the low risk areas is the use of treatment only. Malaria transmission in Kenya can be minimized through tailor-made intervention strategies for malaria control

  5. Evaluation of Cost Leadership Strategy in Shipping Enterprises with Simulation Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferfeli, Maria V.; Vaxevanou, Anthi Z.; Damianos, Sakas P.

    2009-08-01

    The present study will attempt the evaluation of cost leadership strategy that prevails in certain shipping enterprises and the creation of simulation models based on strategic model STAIR. The above model is an alternative method of strategic applications evaluation. This is held in order to be realised if the strategy of cost leadership creates competitive advantage [1] and this will be achieved via the technical simulation which appreciates the interactions between the operations of an enterprise and the decision-making strategy in conditions of uncertainty with reduction of undertaken risk.

  6. A new control strategy of SMES for mitigating subsynchronous oscillations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Farahani, Mohsen, E-mail: m.farahani@basu.ac.ir [Bu-Ali Sina University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Hamedan-Iran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2012-12-14

    This paper proposes a new strategy to mitigate the subsynchronous oscillations in power systems compensated by series capacitors via control of active power of superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) unit. The strategy is based on the generator acceleration signal. So, the SMES absorbs or generates the energy imbalance caused by different disturbances in the power system and suppresses the subsynchronous oscillations. The chaotic optimization algorithm (COA) is used to achieve the optimal parameter of the proposed controller. To validate the capability of the SMES in damping oscillations, some simulations with different disturbances are performed on the first model of IEEE second benchmark model. All the simulation results show that the subsynchronous resonance as well as low frequency oscillation (LFO) is satisfactorily mitigated by the SMES controlled by the proposed strategy.

  7. A new control strategy of SMES for mitigating subsynchronous oscillations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farahani, Mohsen

    2012-01-01

    This paper proposes a new strategy to mitigate the subsynchronous oscillations in power systems compensated by series capacitors via control of active power of superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) unit. The strategy is based on the generator acceleration signal. So, the SMES absorbs or generates the energy imbalance caused by different disturbances in the power system and suppresses the subsynchronous oscillations. The chaotic optimization algorithm (COA) is used to achieve the optimal parameter of the proposed controller. To validate the capability of the SMES in damping oscillations, some simulations with different disturbances are performed on the first model of IEEE second benchmark model. All the simulation results show that the subsynchronous resonance as well as low frequency oscillation (LFO) is satisfactorily mitigated by the SMES controlled by the proposed strategy.

  8. Optimal Energy Control Strategy Design for a Hybrid Electric Vehicle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Zou

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A heavy-duty parallel hybrid electric truck is modeled, and its optimal energy control is studied in this paper. The fundamental architecture of the parallel hybrid electric truck is modeled feed-forwardly, together with necessary dynamic features of subsystem or components. Dynamic programming (DP technique is adopted to find the optimal control strategy including the gear-shifting sequence and the power split between the engine and the motor subject to a battery SOC-sustaining constraint. Improved control rules are extracted from the DP-based control solution, forming near-optimal control strategies. Simulation results demonstrate that a significant improvement on the fuel economy can be achieved in the heavy-duty vehicle cycle from the natural driving statistics.

  9. Building evaluation capacity in Ontario's public health units: promising practices and strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bourgeois, I; Simmons, L; Buetti, D

    2018-03-26

    This article presents the findings of a project focusing on building evaluation capacity in 10 Ontario public health units. The study sought to identify effective strategies that lead to increased evaluation capacity in the participating organizations. This study used a qualitative, multiple case research design. An action research methodology was used to design customized evaluation capacity building (ECB) strategies for each participating organization, based on its specific context and needs. This methodological approach also enabled monitoring and assessment of each strategy, based on a common set of reporting templates. A multiple case study was used to analyze the findings from the 10 participating organizations and derive higher level findings. The main findings of the study show that most of the strategies used to increase evaluation capacity in public health units are promising, especially those focusing on developing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of health unit staff and managers. Facilitators to ECB strategies were the engagement of all staff members, the support of leadership, and the existence of organizational tools and infrastructure to support evaluation. It is also essential to recognize that ECB takes time and resources to be successful. The design and implementation of ECB strategies should be based on organizational needs. These can be assessed using a standardized instrument, as well as interviews and staff surveys. The implementation of a multicomponent approach (i.e. several strategies implemented simultaneously) is also linked to better ECB outcomes in organizations. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Energy savings and economics of advanced control strategies for packaged air conditioners with gas heat

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Weimin; Katipamula, Srinivas; Huang, Yunzhi; Brambley, Michael R.

    2013-10-01

    This paper presents an evaluation of the potential energy savings from adding advanced control to existing packaged air conditioners. Advanced control options include air-side economizer, multi-speed fan control, demand control ventilation and staged cooling. The energy and cost savings from the different control strategies individually and in combination are estimated using the EnergyPlus detailed energy simulation program for four building types, namely, a small office building, a stand-alone retail building, a strip mall building and a supermarket building. For each of the four building types, the simulation was run for 16 locations covering all 15 climate zones in the U.S. The maximum installed cost of a replacement controller that provides acceptable payback periods to owners is estimated.

  11. High-Level Waste (HLW) Feed Process Control Strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    STAEHR, T.W.

    2000-01-01

    The primary purpose of this document is to describe the overall process control strategy for monitoring and controlling the functions associated with the Phase 1B high-level waste feed delivery. This document provides the basis for process monitoring and control functions and requirements needed throughput the double-shell tank system during Phase 1 high-level waste feed delivery. This document is intended to be used by (1) the developers of the future Process Control Plan and (2) the developers of the monitoring and control system

  12. A Pragmatic Approach to Guide Implementation Evaluation Research: Strategy Mapping for Complex Interventions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexis K. Huynh

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available IntroductionGreater specification of implementation strategies is a challenge for implementation science, but there is little guidance for delineating the use of multiple strategies involved in complex interventions. The Cardiovascular (CV Toolkit project entails implementation of a toolkit designed to reduce CV risk by increasing women’s engagement in appropriate services. The CV Toolkit project follows an enhanced version of Replicating Effective Programs (REP, an evidence-based implementation strategy, to implement the CV Toolkit across four phases: pre-conditions, pre-implementation, implementation, and maintenance and evolution. Our current objective is to describe a method for mapping implementation strategies used in real time as part of the CV Toolkit project. This method supports description of the timing and content of bundled strategies and provides a structured process for developing a plan for implementation evaluation.MethodsWe conducted a process of strategy mapping to apply Proctor and colleagues’ rubric for specification of implementation strategies, constructing a matrix in which we identified each implementation strategy, its conceptual group, and the corresponding REP phase(s in which it occurs. For each strategy, we also specified the actors involved, actions undertaken, action targets, dose of the implementation strategy, and anticipated outcome addressed. We iteratively refined the matrix with the implementation team, including use of simulation to provide initial validation.ResultsMapping revealed patterns in the timing of implementation strategies within REP phases. Most implementation strategies involving the development of stakeholder interrelationships and training and educating stakeholders were introduced during the pre-conditions or pre-implementation phases. Strategies introduced in the maintenance and evolution phase emphasized communication, re-examination, and audit and feedback. In addition to its value

  13. Quasi-Experiment Study on Effectiveness Evaluation of Health Communication Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    This experimental study examined differences in doctor-patient relationships according to the health communication strategies during cases of medical malpractices occurred at primary medical institution. A total of 116 subjects aged in their 20s-50s was sampled. The first medical malpractice scenario chosen was the medical malpractice case most frequently registered at the Korean Medical Association Mutual Aid and the second scenario was associated with materials and devices as the cause of malpractice. Four types of crisis communication strategy messages were utilized, consisting of denial, denial + ingratiation, apology, and apology + ingratiation. Subjects were classified into four research groups by crisis communication strategy to measure levels of trust, control mutuality, commitment, and satisfaction, before and after the occurrence of medical malpractice and application of communication strategies. The findings of this study revealed that the apology strategy, compared with the denial strategy, showed a smaller difference before and after the application of communication strategies in all variables of trust (F = 8.080, F = 5.768), control mutuality (F = 8.824, F = 9.081), commitment (F = 9.815, F = 8.301), and satisfaction (F = 8.723, F = 5.638). Further, a significant interaction effect was shown between variables. The apology strategy, compared with the denial strategy, was effective in the improvement of doctor-patient relationships in both Scenarios I and II. For Scenario I, the apology strategy without ingratiation boosted commitment and satisfaction, but for Scenario II, utilizing the apology strategy with ingratiation boosted the effectiveness of trust and commitment. PMID:27365998

  14. Quasi-Experiment Study on Effectiveness Evaluation of Health Communication Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Dae Jong; Choi, Jae Wook; Kim, Kyunghee; Kim, Min Soo; Moon, Jiwon Monica

    2016-07-01

    This experimental study examined differences in doctor-patient relationships according to the health communication strategies during cases of medical malpractices occurred at primary medical institution. A total of 116 subjects aged in their 20s-50s was sampled. The first medical malpractice scenario chosen was the medical malpractice case most frequently registered at the Korean Medical Association Mutual Aid and the second scenario was associated with materials and devices as the cause of malpractice. Four types of crisis communication strategy messages were utilized, consisting of denial, denial + ingratiation, apology, and apology + ingratiation. Subjects were classified into four research groups by crisis communication strategy to measure levels of trust, control mutuality, commitment, and satisfaction, before and after the occurrence of medical malpractice and application of communication strategies. The findings of this study revealed that the apology strategy, compared with the denial strategy, showed a smaller difference before and after the application of communication strategies in all variables of trust (F = 8.080, F = 5.768), control mutuality (F = 8.824, F = 9.081), commitment (F = 9.815, F = 8.301), and satisfaction (F = 8.723, F = 5.638). Further, a significant interaction effect was shown between variables. The apology strategy, compared with the denial strategy, was effective in the improvement of doctor-patient relationships in both Scenarios I and II. For Scenario I, the apology strategy without ingratiation boosted commitment and satisfaction, but for Scenario II, utilizing the apology strategy with ingratiation boosted the effectiveness of trust and commitment.

  15. Generalized Synchronization of Nonlinear Chaotic Systems through Natural Bioinspired Controlling Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shih-Yu Li

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A novel bioinspired control strategy design is proposed for generalized synchronization of nonlinear chaotic systems, combining the bioinspired stability theory, fuzzy modeling, and a novel, simple-form Lyapunov control function design of derived high efficient, heuristic and bioinspired controllers. Three main contributions are concluded: (1 apply the bioinspired stability theory to further analyze the stability of fuzzy error systems; the high performance of controllers has been shown in previous study by Li and Ge 2009, (2 a new Lyapunov control function based on bioinspired stability theory is designed to achieve synchronization without using traditional LMI method, which is a simple linear homogeneous function of states and the process of designing controller to synchronize two fuzzy chaotic systems becomes much simpler, and (3 three different situations of synchronization are proposed; classical master and slave Lorenz systems, slave Chen’s system, and Rossler’s system as functional system are illustrated to further show the effectiveness and feasibility of our novel strategy. The simulation results show that our novel control strategy can be applied to different and complicated control situations with high effectiveness.

  16. Command and Control Rapid Prototyping Continuum (C2RPC): The Framework for Achieving a New C2 Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-01

    Sync Matrix Assessing J/ADOCS (Fires) TBMCS (ATO) Executing Monitoring (SA) C2 Strategy Objectives • Provide Expanded Mission Management...Computers, and Intelligence T&E Test and Evaluation PMW150 Program Warfare Office Command and Control TBMCS Theater Battle Management Core System POR

  17. Rabies Control and Treatment: From Prophylaxis to Strategies with Curative Potential

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Shimao; Guo, Caiping

    2016-01-01

    Rabies is an acute, fatal, neurological disease that affects almost all kinds of mammals. Vaccination (using an inactivated rabies vaccine), combined with administration of rabies immune globulin, is the only approved, effective method for post-exposure prophylaxis against rabies in humans. In the search for novel rabies control and treatment strategies, live-attenuated viruses have recently emerged as a practical and promising approach for immunizing and controlling rabies. Unlike the conventional, inactivated rabies vaccine, live-attenuated viruses are genetically modified viruses that are able to replicate in an inoculated recipient without causing adverse effects, while still eliciting robust and effective immune responses against rabies virus infection. A number of viruses with an intrinsic capacity that could be used as putative candidates for live-attenuated rabies vaccine have been intensively evaluated for therapeutic purposes. Additional novel strategies, such as a monoclonal antibody-based approach, nucleic acid-based vaccines, or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) interfering with virus replication, could further add to the arena of strategies to combat rabies. In this review, we highlight current advances in rabies therapy and discuss the role that they might have in the future of rabies treatment. Given the pronounced and complex impact of rabies on a patient, a combination of these novel modalities has the potential to achieve maximal anti-rabies efficacy, or may even have promising curative effects in the future. However, several hurdles regarding clinical safety considerations and public awareness should be overcome before these approaches can ultimately become clinically relevant therapies. PMID:27801824

  18. Engine-start Control Strategy of P2 Parallel Hybrid Electric Vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiangyang, Xu; Siqi, Zhao; Peng, Dong

    2017-12-01

    A smooth and fast engine-start process is important to parallel hybrid electric vehicles with an electric motor mounted in front of the transmission. However, there are some challenges during the engine-start control. Firstly, the electric motor must simultaneously provide a stable driving torque to ensure the drivability and a compensative torque to drag the engine before ignition. Secondly, engine-start time is a trade-off control objective because both fast start and smooth start have to be considered. To solve these problems, this paper first analyzed the resistance of the engine start process, and established a physic model in MATLAB/Simulink. Then a model-based coordinated control strategy among engine, motor and clutch was developed. Two basic control strategy during fast start and smooth start process were studied. Simulation results showed that the control objectives were realized by applying given control strategies, which can meet different requirement from the driver.

  19. Effects of Flood Control Strategies on Flood Resilience Under Sociohydrological Disturbances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sung, Kyungmin; Jeong, Hanseok; Sangwan, Nikhil; Yu, David J.

    2018-04-01

    A community capacity to cope with flood hazards, or community flood resilience, emerges from the interplay of hydrological and social processes. This interplay can be significantly influenced by the flood control strategy adopted by a society, i.e., how a society sets its desired flood protection level and strives to achieve this goal. And this interplay can be further complicated by rising land-sea level differences, seasonal water level fluctuations, and economic change. But not much research has been done on how various forms of flood control strategies affect human-flood interactions under these disturbances and therefore flood resilience in the long run. The current study is an effort to address these issues by developing a conceptual model of human-flood interaction mediated by flood control strategies. Our model extends the existing model of Yu et al. (2017), who investigated the flood resilience of a community-based flood protection system in coastal Bangladesh. The major extensions made in this study are inclusions of various forms of flood control strategies (both adaptive and nonadaptive ones), the challenge of rising land-sea level differences, and various high tide level scenarios generated from modifying the statistical variances and averages. Our results show that adaptive forms of flood control strategies tend to outperform nonadaptive ones for maintaining the model community's flood protection system. Adaptive strategies that dynamically adjust target flood protection levels through close monitoring of flood damages and social memories of flood risk can help the model community deal with various disturbances.

  20. Initial Assessment of the Acceptability of a Push-Pull Aedes aegypti Control Strategy in Iquitos, Peru and Kanchanaburi, Thailand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paz-Soldan, Valerie A.; Plasai, Valaikanya; Morrison, Amy C.; Rios-Lopez, Esther J.; Guedez-Gonzales, Shirly; Grieco, John P.; Mundal, Kirk; Chareonviriyaphap, Theeraphap; Achee, Nicole L.

    2011-01-01

    As part of a larger research program evaluating chemical threshold levels for a Push-Pull intervention to reduce man-vector (Aedes aegypti) contact, this qualitative study explored local perceptions and strategies associated with mosquito control within dengue-endemic communities in Peru and Thailand. Focus groups were used to provide preliminary information that would identify possible public acceptance issues to the Push-Pull strategy in each site. Nine focus group discussions (total of 102 individuals) conducted between September 2008 and March 2009 examined several themes: 1) current mosquito control practices; 2) perceptions of spatial repellency and contact irritancy versus killing mosquitoes; and 3) initial perceptions toward mosquito host-seeking traps. Results indicate participants use household-level strategies for insect control that reveal familiarity with the concept of spatial repellent and contact irritant actions of chemicals and that placing traps in the peridomestic environment to remove repelled mosquitoes was acceptable. Preliminary evidence suggests a Push-Pull strategy should be well accepted in these locations. These results will be beneficial for developing future large scale push-pull interventions and are currently being used to guide insecticide application strategies in (entomological) proof-of-concept studies using experimental huts. PMID:21292886

  1. A Mixed Logical Dynamical-Model Predictive Control (MLD-MPC Energy Management Control Strategy for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Lian

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs can be considered as a hybrid system (HS which includes the continuous state variable, discrete event, and operation constraint. Thus, a model predictive control (MPC strategy for PHEVs based on the mixed logical dynamical (MLD model and short-term vehicle speed prediction is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the mathematical model of the controlled PHEV is set-up to evaluate the energy consumption using the linearized models of core power components. Then, based on the recognition of driving intention and the past vehicle speed data, a nonlinear auto-regressive (NAR neural network structure is designed to predict the vehicle speed for known driving profiles of city buses and the predicted vehicle speed is used to calculate the total required torque. Next, a MLD model is established with appropriate constraints for six possible driving modes. By solving the objective function with the Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP algorithm, the optimal motor torque and the corresponding driving mode sequence within the speed prediction horizon can be obtained. Finally, the proposed energy control strategy shows substantial improvement in fuel economy in the simulation results.

  2. Distributed reconfigurable control strategies for switching topology networked multi-agent systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallehdari, Z; Meskin, N; Khorasani, K

    2017-11-01

    In this paper, distributed control reconfiguration strategies for directed switching topology networked multi-agent systems are developed and investigated. The proposed control strategies are invoked when the agents are subject to actuator faults and while the available fault detection and isolation (FDI) modules provide inaccurate and unreliable information on the estimation of faults severities. Our proposed strategies will ensure that the agents reach a consensus while an upper bound on the team performance index is ensured and satisfied. Three types of actuator faults are considered, namely: the loss of effectiveness fault, the outage fault, and the stuck fault. By utilizing quadratic and convex hull (composite) Lyapunov functions, two cooperative and distributed recovery strategies are designed and provided to select the gains of the proposed control laws such that the team objectives are guaranteed. Our proposed reconfigurable control laws are applied to a team of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) under directed switching topologies and subject to simultaneous actuator faults. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed distributed reconfiguration control laws in compensating for the effects of sudden actuator faults and subject to fault diagnosis module uncertainties and unreliabilities. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Comparison of different control strategies on FMD in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boklund, Anette; Hisham Beshara Halasa, Tariq; Christiansen, Lasse Engbo

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to compare different control strategies that could be used in Denmark during an outbreak of FMD, based on epidemiological, ethical and economic parameters. Nearly a hundred different control strategies and more than 30 sensitivity analyses were run, changing between...... to extract the essence of the results. All results will be presented in the final project report, which will be available on request to the authors. Comparing epidemiological outputs showed that extra control measures will always reduce the average duration and size of an epidemic. However, the variations...... in duration and size of epidemics are large, and if epidemics are small, extra control measures may not always be necessary. Comparing depopulation to suppressive and protective vaccination shows that from an epidemiologic point of view, vaccination will be beneficial. However, comparing the economy...

  4. Malaria vector control: current and future strategies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Takken, W.; Knols, B.G.J.

    2009-01-01

    The recently announced call for malaria eradication represents a new page in the history of this disease. This has been triggered by remarkable reductions in malaria resulting from combined application of effective drugs and vector control. However, this strategy is threatened by development of

  5. A platform for development and evaluation of real - time wind energy conversion strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toccaceli, G; Cendoya, M; Battaiotto, P

    2005-01-01

    Wind energy is one of the most promising power generation alternatives, and one of the most dynamic scenarios for novel control strategies. The particular characteristics of each geographical zone, and the inherent randomness of the wind impose important constrains for the evaluation of a wind energy conversion system (WECS). This is particularly true for wind turbines and their associated instrumentation. A wind turbine emulator (WTE) can be used to help in the evaluation of hardware-software alternatives, avoiding difficult field tests by recreating real environments on a controlled testbed. It consists of an electrical machine driven by a solid-state converter. WTEs are controlled to provide a desired dynamic Torque-Speed characteristic, equivalent to a real wind turbine under prescribed external conditions. The control system provides a desired torque value as a function of wind and turbine shaft speeds. This work presents the hardware / software development of a WECS emulator to be used in analysis and design of Real-Time control strategies for different types of electric generators. The proposed system is composed by a wind turbine emulator connected to an AC generator. The Wind Turbine Emulator consists of a direct current (DC) motor that is driven by a four-quadrant DC/DC converter or chopper. It is made of a MOSFET H-Bridge, with a current control loop. The generator block consists of an asynchronous AC machine, driven by static converters tailored to particular applications (autonomous or grid-connected WECS).With the objective to have a versatile system, the control of WTE and WECS generator is carried out by a Pentium PC equipped with an I/O multifunction acquisition board. It generates reference values for the current control loop driving the chopper and measures the shaft rotation speed using an incremental optical encoder. Software for the PC is developed in MatLab/Simulink, using Real Time WorkShop (RTW) and Real Time Windows Target (RTWT). This

  6. DC Microgrids–Part I: A Review of Control Strategies and Stabilization Techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dragicevic, Tomislav; Lu, Xiaonan; Vasquez, Juan; Guerrero, Josep

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a review of control strategies, stability analysis, and stabilization techniques for dc microgrids (MGs). Overall control is systematically classified into local and coordinated control levels according to respective functionalities in each level. As opposed to local control, which relies only on local measurements, some line of communication between units needs to be made available in order to achieve the coordinated control. Depending on the communication method, three basic coordinated control strategies can be distinguished, i.e., decentralized, centralized, and distributed control. Decentralized control can be regarded as an extension of the local control since it is also based exclusively on local measurements. In contrast, centralized and distributed control strategies rely on digital communication technologies. A number of approaches using these three coordinated control strategies to achieve various control objectives are reviewed in this paper. Moreover, properties of dc MG dynamics and stability are discussed. This paper illustrates that tightly regulated point-of-load converters tend to reduce the stability margins of the system since they introduce negative impedances, which can potentially oscillate with lightly damped power supply input filters. It is also demonstrated that how the stability of the whole system is defined by the relationship of the source and load impedances, referred to as the minor loop gain. Several prominent specifications for the minor loop gain are reviewed. Finally, a number of active stabilization techniques are presented.

  7. MSM actuators: design rules and control strategies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holz, Benedikt; Janocha, Hartmut [Laboratory of Process Automation (LPA), Saarland University, Saarbruecken (Germany); Riccardi, Leonardo; Naso, David [Department of Electronics and Electrical Science (DEE), Politecnico di Bari (Italy)

    2012-08-15

    Magnetic shape memory (MSM) alloys are comparatively new active materials which can be used for several industrial applications, ranging from precise positioning systems to advanced robotics. Beyond the material research, which deals with the basic thermo-magneto-mechanical properties of the crystals, the design as well as the control of the actuators displacement is an essential challenge. This paper addresses those two topics, trying to give to the reader a useful overview of existing results, but also presents new ideas. First, it introduces and discusses in details some possible designs, with a special emphasis on innovative actuator design concepts which are able to exploit the particular potentialities of MSM elements. The second focus of the paper is on the problem of designing a controller, i.e., an algorithm that allows to obtain a required performance from the actuator. The proposed control strategies try to take into account two main characteristics of MSM elements: the hysteresis and the temperature dependence. The effectiveness of the strategies is emphasized by experimental results performed on a commercially available MSM actuator demonstrator. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  8. Feedforward control strategy for the state-decoupling Stand-alone UPS with LC output filter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lu, Jinghang; Savaghebi, Mehdi; Guerrero, Josep M.

    2017-01-01

    . In order to further increase the load current disturbance rejection capability of the state-decoupling in UPS system, a feedforward control strategy is proposed. In addition, the design principle for the current and voltage regulators are discussed. Simulation and experimental results are provided......In this paper, the disturbance rejection performance of the cascaded control strategy for UPS system is investigated. The comparison of closed loop system performance between conventional cascaded control (CCC) strategy and state-decoupling cascaded control (SDCC) strategy are further explored...

  9. Mine-hoist active fault tolerant control system and strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Z.; Wang, Y.; Meng, J.; Zhao, P.; Chang, Y. [China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou (China)] wzjsdstu@163.com

    2005-06-01

    Based on fault diagnosis and fault tolerant technologies, the mine-hoist active fault-tolerant control system (MAFCS) is presented with corresponding strategies, which includes the fault diagnosis module (FDM), the dynamic library (DL) and the fault-tolerant control model (FCM). When a fault is judged from some sensor by the FDM, FCM reconfigures the state of the MAFCS by calling the parameters from all sub libraries in DL, in order to ensure the reliability and safety of the mine hoist. The simulating result shows that MAFCS is of certain intelligence, which can adopt the corresponding control strategies according to different fault modes, even when there is quite a difference between the real data and the prior fault modes. 7 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

  10. Development of predictive control strategies for building climate control

    OpenAIRE

    NAGPAL, HIMANSHU

    2018-01-01

    APPROVED The rapid growth in energy usage and CO2 emissions has become a critical issue for the whole world. It is noteworthy that buildings are a major contributor to global primary energy consumption. Among building services, use of energy in heating-ventilation-air-conditioning (HVAC) system is particularly significant (about 50\\% of the total building energy consumption). Therefore, the development and implementation of effective control strategies to optimize the operation of HVAC sys...

  11. GPS Tracking of Free-Ranging Pigs to Evaluate Ring Strategies for the Control of Cysticercosis/Taeniasis in Peru.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian W Pray

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Taenia solium, a parasitic cestode that affects humans and pigs, is the leading cause of preventable epilepsy in the developing world. T. solium eggs are released into the environment through the stool of humans infected with an adult intestinal tapeworm (a condition called taeniasis, and cause cysticercosis when ingested by pigs or other humans. A control strategy to intervene within high-risk foci in endemic communities has been proposed as an alternative to mass antihelminthic treatment. In this ring strategy, antihelminthic treatment is targeted to humans and pigs residing within a 100 meter radius of a pig heavily-infected with cysticercosis. Our aim was to describe the roaming ranges of pigs in this region, and to evaluate whether the 100 meter radius rings encompass areas where risk factors for T. solium transmission, such as open human defecation and dense pig activity, are concentrated.In this study, we used Global Positioning System (GPS devices to track pig roaming ranges in two rural villages of northern Peru. We selected 41 pigs from two villages to participate in a 48-hour tracking period. Additionally, we surveyed all households to record the locations of open human defecation areas. We found that pigs spent a median of 82.8% (IQR: 73.5, 94.4 of their time roaming within 100 meters of their homes. The size of home ranges varied significantly by pig age, and 93% of the total time spent interacting with open human defecation areas occurred within 100 meters of pig residences.These results indicate that 100 meter radius rings around heavily-infected pigs adequately capture the average pig's roaming area (i.e., home range and represent an area where the great majority of exposure to human feces occurs.

  12. GPS Tracking of Free-Ranging Pigs to Evaluate Ring Strategies for the Control of Cysticercosis/Taeniasis in Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pray, Ian W; Swanson, Dallas J; Ayvar, Viterbo; Muro, Claudio; Moyano, Luz M; Gonzalez, Armando E; Garcia, Hector H; O'Neal, Seth E

    2016-04-01

    Taenia solium, a parasitic cestode that affects humans and pigs, is the leading cause of preventable epilepsy in the developing world. T. solium eggs are released into the environment through the stool of humans infected with an adult intestinal tapeworm (a condition called taeniasis), and cause cysticercosis when ingested by pigs or other humans. A control strategy to intervene within high-risk foci in endemic communities has been proposed as an alternative to mass antihelminthic treatment. In this ring strategy, antihelminthic treatment is targeted to humans and pigs residing within a 100 meter radius of a pig heavily-infected with cysticercosis. Our aim was to describe the roaming ranges of pigs in this region, and to evaluate whether the 100 meter radius rings encompass areas where risk factors for T. solium transmission, such as open human defecation and dense pig activity, are concentrated. In this study, we used Global Positioning System (GPS) devices to track pig roaming ranges in two rural villages of northern Peru. We selected 41 pigs from two villages to participate in a 48-hour tracking period. Additionally, we surveyed all households to record the locations of open human defecation areas. We found that pigs spent a median of 82.8% (IQR: 73.5, 94.4) of their time roaming within 100 meters of their homes. The size of home ranges varied significantly by pig age, and 93% of the total time spent interacting with open human defecation areas occurred within 100 meters of pig residences. These results indicate that 100 meter radius rings around heavily-infected pigs adequately capture the average pig's roaming area (i.e., home range) and represent an area where the great majority of exposure to human feces occurs.

  13. Reading comprehension metacognitive strategies as a means for controlling behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dinorah Aladina Caballero López

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Textual comprehension implies the use of various metacognitive strategies by the students when they have to face a text to be competent readers. That is why the objective of this article is to illustrate the application of metacognitive strategies in order to achieve an efficient textual comprehension, taking into account the self – regulation the student exerts over his own learning process. It is applied as the main method historical-logical studies based on a professional-researching systematic practice; at the same time observation is largely used. The main result is the introduction of metacognitive strategies in reading comprehension, which subsequently favor the self-control of personal behavior. The article is the result of a research project sponsored by the department of Special Education. Key words: reading comprehension, metacognitive strategies, behavior self-control.

  14. Hierarchical MAS based control strategy for microgrid

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xiao, Z.; Li, T.; Huang, M.; Shi, J.; Yang, J.; Yu, J. [School of Information Science and Engineering, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091 (China); Xiao, Z. [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Western Catchment Area, 639798 (Singapore); Wu, W. [Communication Branch of Yunnan Power Grid Corporation, Kunming, Yunnan 650217 (China)

    2010-09-15

    Microgrids have become a hot topic driven by the dual pressures of environmental protection concerns and the energy crisis. In this paper, a challenge for the distributed control of a modern electric grid incorporating clusters of residential microgrids is elaborated and a hierarchical multi-agent system (MAS) is proposed as a solution. The issues of how to realize the hierarchical MAS and how to improve coordination and control strategies are discussed. Based on MATLAB and ZEUS platforms, bilateral switching between grid-connected mode and island mode is performed under control of the proposed MAS to enhance and support its effectiveness. (authors)

  15. Locus of control and coping strategies in older persons with and without depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjørkløf, Guro Hanevold; Engedal, Knut; Selbæk, Geir; Maia, Deborah Bezerra; Coutinho, Evandro Silvia Freire; Helvik, Anne-Sofie

    2016-08-01

    To compare locus of control and coping strategies in older persons with and without depression. This cross-sectional study included 144 depressed in-patients from seven psychogeriatric hospital units, and 106 community-dwelling older persons without depression. All participants were 60 years and older. Locus of control was assessed by a 17-items self-report questionnaire with six response categories. Coping strategies were assessed by a 26-items self-report questionnaire with five response categories. For analytical purposes, age (controlling for demographics, health, and social variables, the depressed in-patients showed a higher external locus of control orientation and a less frequent use of problem-focused coping strategies compared with the non-depressed group. No differences in use of emotion-focused strategies were found between the two groups. Compared with the non-depressed old persons, the depressed hospitalized older persons were characterized by perceptions of less personal control, and less use of problem-focused strategies, what also might have brought positive alterations into their situation.

  16. Stability Analysis and Optimal Control Strategy for Prevention of Pine Wilt Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwang Sung Lee

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose a mathematical model of pine wilt disease (PWD which is caused by pine sawyer beetles carrying the pinewood nematode (PWN. We calculate the basic reproduction number R0 and investigate the stability of a disease-free and endemic equilibrium in a given mathematical model. We show that the stability of the equilibrium in the proposed model can be controlled through the basic reproduction number R0. We then discuss effective optimal control strategies for the proposed PWD mathematical model. We demonstrate the existence of a control problem, and then we apply both analytical and numerical techniques to demonstrate effective control methods to prevent the transmission of the PWD. In order to do this, we apply two control strategies: tree-injection of nematicide and the eradication of adult beetles through aerial pesticide spraying. Optimal prevention strategies can be determined by solving the corresponding optimality system. Numerical simulations of the optimal control problem using a set of reasonable parameter values suggest that reducing the number of pine sawyer beetles is more effective than the tree-injection strategy for controlling the spread of PWD.

  17. A microgrid cluster structure and its autonomous coordination control strategy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Xiaoping; Zhou, Leming; Chen, Yandong

    2018-01-01

    This paper proposes a microgrid cluster structure and its autonomous coordination control strategy. Unlike existing microgrids that are purely AC or DC, the microgrid cluster studied here is an interconnected system with multiple AC and DC microgrids, which enables mutual power support among...... control method combining the normalized droop-based control and adaptive control is proposed for PEU, which can effectively realize mutual power support among microgrids and reduce the bus voltage or frequency deviation in microgrids. In addition, the adaptive control strategy of PEU can ensure...... that the bigger the normalized index of microgrid is, the larger the active power exchange coefficient is, which can make all of microgrids operate around the rated state as much as possible. Besides, EP is mainly used to balance the system power, and the hierarchical coordinated control method of EP is proposed...

  18. MARKETING STRATEGY OF THE UNIVERSITY: FORMATION AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION REALIZATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia К. Shemetova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The study is aimed at developing an algorithm of formation of university’s marketing strategy and the development of evaluating methods of its effectiveness realization. Despite the competitive expansion of the educational services market and the transition to a system of university self-financing, researchers have not paid due attention to the process of developing the marketing strategy of the university and the evaluation of its effectiveness yet. Methods. The applied methods include the method of general systems theory, and the complex of specialized marketing tools (PEST-, SNWand SWOT-analysis. Results. The algorithm of university’s marketing strategy formation and methodology for its effectiveness assessing is given in five fields: economic, informational, social, integration, and demand stage. The set of criteria is worked out for every field listed above. The author has developed a formula for determining the total indicator or general index of the effectiveness of university’s marketing strategy. Scientific novelty. The prospects of using the algorithm of formation of university’s marketing strategy and the system of monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of marketing in higher vocational education was proved and evaluated by the author in the Ural Institute of Management of RANEPA. Practical significance. The research results can be used by the experts in the field of management of the higher educational institutions, and also as teaching materials while preparing the experts in marketing. 

  19. Modelling and Optimal Control of Typhoid Fever Disease with Cost-Effective Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilahun, Getachew Teshome; Makinde, Oluwole Daniel; Malonza, David

    2017-01-01

    We propose and analyze a compartmental nonlinear deterministic mathematical model for the typhoid fever outbreak and optimal control strategies in a community with varying population. The model is studied qualitatively using stability theory of differential equations and the basic reproductive number that represents the epidemic indicator is obtained from the largest eigenvalue of the next-generation matrix. Both local and global asymptotic stability conditions for disease-free and endemic equilibria are determined. The model exhibits a forward transcritical bifurcation and the sensitivity analysis is performed. The optimal control problem is designed by applying Pontryagin maximum principle with three control strategies, namely, the prevention strategy through sanitation, proper hygiene, and vaccination; the treatment strategy through application of appropriate medicine; and the screening of the carriers. The cost functional accounts for the cost involved in prevention, screening, and treatment together with the total number of the infected persons averted. Numerical results for the typhoid outbreak dynamics and its optimal control revealed that a combination of prevention and treatment is the best cost-effective strategy to eradicate the disease.

  20. Forensic Evaluation of Deaf Individuals: Challenges and Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollard, Robert Q; Berlinski, Brian T

    2017-01-01

    Forensic evaluation of deaf individuals presents unique challenges due to many examinees' fund of information deficits, potential for language deprivation, and examiners' frequent lack of creativity regarding communication methods. This article describes challenges most frequently encountered in competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility evaluations and offers strategies for overcoming them. The value of employing multiple communication methods, especially the use of illustrations, is emphasized. Suggestions also are offered regarding preparing evaluation reports and effectively communicating "key deaf fundamentals" to legal personnel. Encouragement is offered for qualified, sign-fluent professionals to engage in forensic work.

  1. The role of meteorological conditions and pollution control strategies in reducing air pollution in Beijing during APEC 2014 and Victory Parade 2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Pengfei; Zhu, Tong; Fang, Yanhua; Li, Yingruo; Han, Yiqun; Wu, Yusheng; Hu, Min; Wang, Junxia

    2017-11-01

    To control severe air pollution in China, comprehensive pollution control strategies have been implemented throughout the country in recent years. To evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies, the influence of meteorological conditions on levels of air pollution needs to be determined. Using the intensive air pollution control strategies implemented during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in 2014 (APEC 2014) and the 2015 China Victory Day Parade (Victory Parade 2015) as examples, we estimated the role of meteorological conditions and pollution control strategies in reducing air pollution levels in Beijing. Atmospheric particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5) samples were collected and gaseous pollutants (SO2, NO, NOx, and O3) were measured online at a site in Peking University (PKU). To determine the influence of meteorological conditions on the levels of air pollution, we first compared the air pollutant concentrations during days with stable meteorological conditions. However, there were few days with stable meteorological conditions during the Victory Parade. As such, we were unable to estimate the level of emission reduction efforts during this period. Finally, a generalized linear regression model (GLM) based only on meteorological parameters was built to predict air pollutant concentrations, which could explain more than 70 % of the variation in air pollutant concentration levels, after incorporating the nonlinear relationships between certain meteorological parameters and the concentrations of air pollutants. Evaluation of the GLM performance revealed that the GLM, even based only on meteorological parameters, could be satisfactory to estimate the contribution of meteorological conditions in reducing air pollution and, hence, the contribution of control strategies in reducing air pollution. Using the GLM, we found that the meteorological conditions and pollution control strategies contributed 30 and 28 % to the reduction

  2. SP-100 initial startup and restart control strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Halfen, F.J.; Wong, K.K.; Switick, D.M.; Shukla, J.N.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that recent Generic Flight System (GFS) updates have necessitated revisions in the initial startup and restart control strategies. The design changes that have had the most impact on the control strategies are the addition of the Auxiliary Cooling and Thaw (ACT) system for preheating the lithium filled components, changes in the reactivity worths of the reflectors and safety-rods such that initial cold criticality is achieved with only a small amount of reflector movement following the withdrawal of the safety-rods, and the removal of the scram function from the reflectors. Revised control and operating strategies have been developed and tested using the SP-100 dynamic simulation model, ARIES-GFS. The change in the total reactivity worths of the reflectors and safety-rods has eliminated the need for the use of fast and slow reflector drive speeds during the initial on-orbit approach to criticality. The relatively fast removal of the safety-rods results in a near-critical condition so that the use of slow moving (single speed) reflector drives does not add significant time to achieve full power for the initial startup. The use of the ACT system (with its NaK trace-lines for preheating and auxiliary cooling) affects the main Thermoelectric Electro-Magnetic (TEM) pump startup and the time after a shutdown before freezing occurs in the main heat transfer systems

  3. A multi-mode operation control strategy for flexible microgrid based on sliding-mode direct voltage and hierarchical controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qinjin; Liu, Yancheng; Zhao, Youtao; Wang, Ning

    2016-03-01

    Multi-mode operation and transient stability are two problems that significantly affect flexible microgrid (MG). This paper proposes a multi-mode operation control strategy for flexible MG based on a three-layer hierarchical structure. The proposed structure is composed of autonomous, cooperative, and scheduling controllers. Autonomous controller is utilized to control the performance of the single micro-source inverter. An adaptive sliding-mode direct voltage loop and an improved droop power loop based on virtual negative impedance are presented respectively to enhance the system disturbance-rejection performance and the power sharing accuracy. Cooperative controller, which is composed of secondary voltage/frequency control and phase synchronization control, is designed to eliminate the voltage/frequency deviations produced by the autonomous controller and prepare for grid connection. Scheduling controller manages the power flow between the MG and the grid. The MG with the improved hierarchical control scheme can achieve seamless transitions from islanded to grid-connected mode and have a good transient performance. In addition the presented work can also optimize the power quality issues and improve the load power sharing accuracy between parallel VSIs. Finally, the transient performance and effectiveness of the proposed control scheme are evaluated by theoretical analysis and simulation results. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Emission control strategies for short-chain chloroparaffins in two semi-hypothetical case cities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Eriksson, Eva; Revitt, M.; Lützhøft, Hans-Christian Holten

    2012-01-01

    The short-chain chloroparaffins (SCCP), (C10-13 chloroalkanes) are identified in the European Water Framework Directive, as priority hazardous substances. Within the ScorePP project, the aim is to develop emission control strategies that can be employed to reduce emissions from urban areas...... into receiving waters. Six different scenarios for mitigating SCCP emissions in two different semi-hypothetical case cities representing eastern inland and northern coastal conditions have been evaluated. The analysis, associated with scenario uncertainty, indicates that the EU legislation, Best Available...

  5. An economic evaluation of vector control in the age of a dengue vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzpatrick, Christopher; Haines, Alexander; Bangert, Mathieu; Farlow, Andrew; Hemingway, Janet; Velayudhan, Raman

    2017-08-01

    Dengue is a rapidly emerging vector-borne Neglected Tropical Disease, with a 30-fold increase in the number of cases reported since 1960. The economic cost of the illness is measured in the billions of dollars annually. Environmental change and unplanned urbanization are conspiring to raise the health and economic cost even further beyond the reach of health systems and households. The health-sector response has depended in large part on control of the Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus (mosquito) vectors. The cost-effectiveness of the first-ever dengue vaccine remains to be evaluated in the field. In this paper, we examine how it might affect the cost-effectiveness of sustained vector control. We employ a dynamic Markov model of the effects of vector control on dengue in both vectors and humans over a 15-year period, in six countries: Brazil, Columbia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, and Thailand. We evaluate the cost (direct medical costs and control programme costs) and cost-effectiveness of sustained vector control, outbreak response and/or medical case management, in the presence of a (hypothetical) highly targeted and low cost immunization strategy using a (non-hypothetical) medium-efficacy vaccine. Sustained vector control using existing technologies would cost little more than outbreak response, given the associated costs of medical case management. If sustained use of existing or upcoming technologies (of similar price) reduce vector populations by 70-90%, the cost per disability-adjusted life year averted is 2013 US$ 679-1331 (best estimates) relative to no intervention. Sustained vector control could be highly cost-effective even with less effective technologies (50-70% reduction in vector populations) and in the presence of a highly targeted and low cost immunization strategy using a medium-efficacy vaccine. Economic evaluation of the first-ever dengue vaccine is ongoing. However, even under very optimistic assumptions about a highly targeted and low

  6. An economic evaluation of vector control in the age of a dengue vaccine.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher Fitzpatrick

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Dengue is a rapidly emerging vector-borne Neglected Tropical Disease, with a 30-fold increase in the number of cases reported since 1960. The economic cost of the illness is measured in the billions of dollars annually. Environmental change and unplanned urbanization are conspiring to raise the health and economic cost even further beyond the reach of health systems and households. The health-sector response has depended in large part on control of the Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus (mosquito vectors. The cost-effectiveness of the first-ever dengue vaccine remains to be evaluated in the field. In this paper, we examine how it might affect the cost-effectiveness of sustained vector control.We employ a dynamic Markov model of the effects of vector control on dengue in both vectors and humans over a 15-year period, in six countries: Brazil, Columbia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, and Thailand. We evaluate the cost (direct medical costs and control programme costs and cost-effectiveness of sustained vector control, outbreak response and/or medical case management, in the presence of a (hypothetical highly targeted and low cost immunization strategy using a (non-hypothetical medium-efficacy vaccine.Sustained vector control using existing technologies would cost little more than outbreak response, given the associated costs of medical case management. If sustained use of existing or upcoming technologies (of similar price reduce vector populations by 70-90%, the cost per disability-adjusted life year averted is 2013 US$ 679-1331 (best estimates relative to no intervention. Sustained vector control could be highly cost-effective even with less effective technologies (50-70% reduction in vector populations and in the presence of a highly targeted and low cost immunization strategy using a medium-efficacy vaccine.Economic evaluation of the first-ever dengue vaccine is ongoing. However, even under very optimistic assumptions about a highly targeted

  7. A comparison of Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) and Gasoline Compression Ignition (GCI) strategies at high load, low speed conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kavuri, Chaitanya; Paz, Jordan; Kokjohn, Sage L.

    2016-01-01

    strategy, the longer ignition delay of the gasoline fuel allowed for more air entrainment, causing lower soot emissions while giving reasonable control over combustion. Cyclic variability can be problematic at the load extremes; accordingly, the sensitivity to fluctuations in operating conditions was evaluated. Both strategies were found to be most sensitive to fluctuations in exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rate. The GCI strategy was more sensitive to small changes in the charge conditions than the RCCI strategy, indicating that cyclic variability may be more problematic for GCI operation.

  8. Social Welfare Control in Mobile Crowdsensing Using Zero-Determinant Strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Qin; Wang, Shengling; Bie, Rongfang; Cheng, Xiuzhen

    2017-05-03

    As a promising paradigm, mobile crowdsensing exerts the potential of widespread sensors embedded in mobile devices. The greedy nature of workers brings the problem of low-quality sensing data, which poses threats to the overall performance of a crowdsensing system. Existing works often tackle this problem with additional function components. In this paper, we systematically formulate the problem into a crowdsensing interaction process between a requestor and a worker, which can be modeled by two types of iterated games with different strategy spaces. Considering that the low-quality data submitted by the workers can reduce the requestor's payoff and further decrease the global income, we turn to controlling the social welfare in the games. To that aim, we take advantage of zero-determinant strategy, based on which we propose two social welfare control mechanisms under both game models. Specifically, we consider the requestor as the controller of the games and, with proper parameter settings for the to-be-adopted zero-determinant strategy, social welfare can be optimized to the desired level no matter what strategy the worker adopts. Simulation results demonstrate that the requestor can achieve the maximized social welfare and keep it stable by using our proposed mechanisms.

  9. A new control strategy for nuclear power reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wakabayashi, H.; Sasaki, K.; Takegaki, M.

    1990-01-01

    A new automatic direct digital control strategy for nuclear power reactors is presented. It is based on a simple control logic of comparison between the available time (the time for the error signal to disappear) and the required time (the time for the time derivative to match that of the target trend). The method aims to control the system to an acceptable state within a minimum time under a number of restraints. The control capability of the method is shown for two typical transients. This method is generally applicable to process control in which time-optimal control based on the maximum principle is sought

  10. Evaluation of Commercial Agrochemicals as New Tools for Malaria Vector Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoppé, Mark; Hueter, Ottmar F; Bywater, Andy; Wege, Philip; Maienfisch, Peter

    2016-10-01

    Malaria is a vector-borne and life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. The vector control insecticide market represents a small fraction of the crop protection market and is estimated to be valued at up to $500 million at the active ingredient level. Insecticide resistance towards the current WHOPES-approved products urgently requires the development of new tools to protect communities against the transmission of malaria. The evaluation of commercial products for malaria vector control is a viable and cost effective strategy to identify new malaria vector control products. Several examples of such spin-offs from crop protection insecticides are already evidencing the success of this strategy, namely pirimiphos-methyl for indoor residual sprays and spinosad, diflubenzuron, novaluron, and pyriproxifen for mosquito larvae control, a supplementary technology for control of malaria vectors. In our study the adulticidal activities of 81 insecticides representing 23 insecticidal modes of action classes, 34 fungicides from 6 fungicidal mode of action classes and 15 herbicides from 2 herbicidal modes of action classes were tested in a newly developed screening system. WHOPES approved insecticides for malaria vector control consistently caused 80-100% mortality of adult Anopheles stephensi at application rates between 0.2 and 20 mg active ingradient (AI) litre -1 . Chlorfenapyr, fipronil, carbosulfan and endosulfan showed the expected good activity. Four new insecticides and three fungicides with promising activity against adult mosquitoes were identified, namely the insecticides acetamiprid, thiamethoxam, thiocyclam and metaflumizone and the fungicides diflumetorin, picoxystrobin, and fluazinam. Some of these compounds certainly deserve to be further evaluated for malaria vector control. This is the first report describing good activity of commercial fungicides against malaria

  11. Apple orchard pest control strategies affect bird communities in southeastern France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouvier, Jean-Charles; Ricci, Benoît; Agerberg, Julia; Lavigne, Claire

    2011-01-01

    Birds are regarded as appropriate biological indicators of how changes in agricultural practices affect the environment. They are also involved in the biocontrol of pests. In the present study, we provide an assessment of the impact of pest control strategies on bird communities in apple orchards in southeastern France. We compared the structure (abundance, species richness, and diversity) of breeding bird communities in 15 orchards under conventional or organic pest control over a three-year period (2003-2005). Pest control strategies and their evolution over time were characterized by analyzing farmers' treatment schedules. The landscape surrounding the orchards was characterized using a Geographic Information System. We observed 30 bird species overall. Bird abundance, species richness, and diversity were all affected by pest control strategies, and were highest in organic orchards and lowest in conventional orchards during the three study years. The pest control strategy affected insectivores more than granivores. We further observed a tendency for bird communities in integrated pest management orchards to change over time and become increasingly different from communities in organic orchards, which also corresponded to changes in treatment schedules. These findings indicate that within-orchard bird communities may respond quickly to changes in pesticide use and may, in turn, influence biocontrol of pests by birds. © 2010 SETAC.

  12. Controller Strategies for Automation Tool Use under Varying Levels of Trajectory Prediction Uncertainty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morey, Susan; Prevot, Thomas; Mercer, Joey; Martin, Lynne; Bienert, Nancy; Cabrall, Christopher; Hunt, Sarah; Homola, Jeffrey; Kraut, Joshua

    2013-01-01

    A human-in-the-loop simulation was conducted to examine the effects of varying levels of trajectory prediction uncertainty on air traffic controller workload and performance, as well as how strategies and the use of decision support tools change in response. This paper focuses on the strategies employed by two controllers from separate teams who worked in parallel but independently under identical conditions (airspace, arrival traffic, tools) with the goal of ensuring schedule conformance and safe separation for a dense arrival flow in en route airspace. Despite differences in strategy and methods, both controllers achieved high levels of schedule conformance and safe separation. Overall, results show that trajectory uncertainties introduced by wind and aircraft performance prediction errors do not affect the controllers' ability to manage traffic. Controller strategies were fairly robust to changes in error, though strategies were affected by the amount of delay to absorb (scheduled time of arrival minus estimated time of arrival). Using the results and observations, this paper proposes an ability to dynamically customize the display of information including delay time based on observed error to better accommodate different strategies and objectives.

  13. Plant-wide Control Strategy for Improving Produced Water Treatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Zhenyu; Pedersen, Simon; Løhndorf, Petar Durdevic

    2016-01-01

    This work focuses on investigation and development of an innovative Produced Water Treatment (PWT) technology for offshore oil & gas production by employing the model-based plant-wide control strategy. The key contributions lie in two folds: (i) the advanced anti-slug analysis and control...

  14. Best control strategy for unified power quality conditioner (UPQC) based on simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shayanfar, H.A. [Iran Univ. of Science and Technology, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Tabatabaei, N.M. [Azarbaijan Univ. of Tarbiat Moallem, Tabriz (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Mokhtarpour, A. [Islamic Azad Univ., Tabriz (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Dept. of Electrical Engineering

    2007-07-01

    Electronic devices used in both industry and residences need high-quality energy to work properly. Unified Power Quality Conditioners (UPQC) solve any power quality problems faced by these devices. Three new control strategies for UPQCs were presented and their operation was investigated and compared using the MATLAB Simulink simulation software package. A UPQC consists of a Shunt-Active Filter and a Series Active Filter with a common direct current link to compensate for any source currents and delivered voltage to the load. As such, it isolates the utility from current quality problems associated with load. It also isolates the load from the voltage quality problems of the utility. In the first control strategy, the Parallel Active Filter (PAF) and Series Active Filter (SAF) are based on the Fourier transform theory. In the second control strategy, the Parallel Active Filter is based on the power quality theory and the Series Active Filter is based on the Fourier transform theory. In the third control strategy, the Parallel Active Filter is based on Fourier transform theory and the Series Active Filter is based on positive sequence detection. Operating the PAF using these methods compensates for reactive power and current harmonics, while operating the SAF compensates for imbalances, voltage harmonics and positive and zero sequences of utility voltages. MATLAB simulation software was used to explain the compensation resolution and speed of the 3 new control strategies. According to simulation test results, it was concluded that the best compensation speed and resolution can be obtained using the third control strategy. 7 refs., 2 tabs., 24 figs.

  15. Decentralized event-triggered consensus control strategy for leader-follower networked systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shouxu; Xie, Duosi; Yan, Weisheng

    2017-08-01

    In this paper, the consensus problem of leader-follower networked systems is addressed. At first, a centralized and a decentralized event-triggered control strategy are proposed, which make the control actuators of followers update at aperiodic invent interval. In particular, the latter one makes each follower requires the local information only. After that, an improved triggering function that only uses the follower's own information and the neighbors' states at their latest event instants is developed to relax the requirement of the continuous state of the neighbors. In addition, the strategy does not require the information of the topology, nor the eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix. And if the follower does not have direct connection to the leader, the leader's information is not required either. It is analytically shown that by using the proposed strategy the leader-follower networked system is able to reach consensus without continuous communication among followers. Simulation examples are given to show effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

  16. Comparison of control strategies for Doubly fed induction generator under recurring grid faults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Wenjie; Blaabjerg, Frede; Zhu, Nan

    2014-01-01

    The new grid codes demand the wind turbine systems to ride through recurring grid faults. Many control strategies have been proposed for the Doubly Fed Induction Generator under single grid fault, but their performance under recurring grid faults have not been studied yet. In this paper, five...... different control strategies for DFIG to ride through single grid faults are presented, and their performance under recurring grid faults are analyzed. The controllable range, stator time constant and torque fluctuations of the DFIG with different control strategies are compared. The results are verified...

  17. Improving Walkability Through Control Strategies at Signalized Intersections

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    As cities and communities nationwide seek to develop Complete Streets that foster livability and accommodate all modes, signal timing control strategies that include pedestrians in the operational decision process are gaining importance. This researc...

  18. Research on Control Strategy of Free-Piston Stirling Power Generating System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jigui Zheng

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available As a clean and fuel adaptive alternative power plant, the Stirling power generating system has drawn attention of experts and scholars in the energy field. In practical application, the instability of free-piston Stirling power generating system caused by abrupt load change is an inevitable problem. Thus, methods to improve the output frequency response and stability of the free-piston Stirling power generating system are necessary. The model of free-piston Stirling power generating system is built by isothermal analysis firstly, and the initial control strategy based on given voltage system is put forward. To further improve the performance of power system, a current feedback decoupling control strategy is proposed, and the mathematical model is established. The influence of full decoupled quadrature-direct (d-q axis currents is analyzed with respect to the output voltage adjusting time and fluctuation amplitude under the variations of piston displacement and output load. The simulation results show that the system performance is significantly improved, but the dynamic regulation lags caused by the decoupled current control still exist. To solve this problem and improve the performance of decoupled-state feedback current control that relies on parameter accuracy, internal model control based on sliding mode (IMC-SM current decoupling control strategy is proposed, the system model is established, and then the performance of voltage ripple in generating mode is improved. Finally, the test bench is built, and the steady state and transient voltage control performances are tested. The feasibility and priority of the control strategy is verified by experiment and simulation results.

  19. Optimal Sizing and Control Strategy Design for Heavy Hybrid Electric Truck

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Zou

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the complexity of the hybrid powertrain, the control is highly involved to improve the collaborations of the different components. For the specific powertrain, the components' sizing just gives the possibility to propel the vehicle and the control will realize the function of the propulsion. Definitely the components' sizing also gives the constraints to the control design, which cause a close coupling between the sizing and control strategy design. This paper presents a parametric study focused on sizing of the powertrain components and optimization of the power split between the engine and electric motor for minimizing the fuel consumption. A framework is put forward to accomplish the optimal sizing and control design for a heavy parallel pre-AMT hybrid truck under the natural driving schedule. The iterative plant-controller combined optimization methodology is adopted to optimize the key parameters of the plant and control strategy simultaneously. A scalable powertrain model based on a bilevel optimization framework is built. Dynamic programming is applied to find the optimal control in the inner loop with a prescribed cycle. The parameters are optimized in the outer loop. The results are analysed and the optimal sizing and control strategy are achieved simultaneously.

  20. Evaluation of continuing education of family health strategy teams for the early identification of suspected cases of cancer in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Ana Maria Aranha Magalhaes; Magluta, Cynthia; Gomes Junior, Saint Clair

    2017-09-07

    This study evaluated the influence of continuing education of family health strategy teams by the Ronald McDonald Institute program on the early diagnosis of cancer in children and adolescents. The study applied Habicht's model to evaluate the adequacy and plausibility of continuing education by using as outcome the number of children with suspected cancer who were referred to the hospital of references in the 1 year before and 1 year after intervention and the number of patients referred by intervention group and control group family health strategy teams. Medical records from each hospital of reference were used to collect information of suspect cases of cancer. Descriptive analyses were performed using frequencies and mean values. Chi-square tests were used to assess statistically significant differences between the groups and periods by using p-values family health strategy teams that underwent the intervention referred 3.6 times more number of children to hospital of references than did the control group. Only the intervention group showed an increase in the number of confirmed cases. This evaluation of a continuing education program for early identification of pediatric cancer showed that the program was adequate in achieving the established goals and that the results could be attributed to the program.

  1. Organizational models as configurations of structure, culture, leadership, control, and change strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janićijević Nebojša

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Starting from the axioms of consistency, stability, contingency, and configuration, research on organizational structure, culture, control, leadership, and change management strategy has shown that their typical configurations, or models, can be differentiated according to the same two criteria: distribution of power and dominant organizational dimension. On the one hand there are models of structure, culture, control, leadership, and change management strategy that are based on an unequal, or authoritarian, distribution of power within organizations, while on the other hand there are models that are based on democratic, or equal, distribution of power. Also, on the one hand there are models of structure, culture, control, leadership, and change strategy that are based on work structure and tasks, while on the other hand there are models of these organizational components that are based on social structure, people, and their relationships. Harmonization of typical configurations of organizational structure, culture, control, leadership, and change strategy occurs due to the harmonization of the differentiation criteria. Based on this harmonization, four organizational models have been identified as typical configurations of structure, culture, control, leadership, and change strategy: the autocratic, bureaucratic, innovative, and task models. Each of these models is effective in a different environmental contingency.

  2. Model-based control strategies for systems with constraints of the program type

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarzębowska, Elżbieta

    2006-08-01

    The paper presents a model-based tracking control strategy for constrained mechanical systems. Constraints we consider can be material and non-material ones referred to as program constraints. The program constraint equations represent tasks put upon system motions and they can be differential equations of orders higher than one or two, and be non-integrable. The tracking control strategy relies upon two dynamic models: a reference model, which is a dynamic model of a system with arbitrary order differential constraints and a dynamic control model. The reference model serves as a motion planner, which generates inputs to the dynamic control model. It is based upon a generalized program motion equations (GPME) method. The method enables to combine material and program constraints and merge them both into the motion equations. Lagrange's equations with multipliers are the peculiar case of the GPME, since they can be applied to systems with constraints of first orders. Our tracking strategy referred to as a model reference program motion tracking control strategy enables tracking of any program motion predefined by the program constraints. It extends the "trajectory tracking" to the "program motion tracking". We also demonstrate that our tracking strategy can be extended to a hybrid program motion/force tracking.

  3. Control of group of mobile autonomous agents via local strategies

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Lixin GAO; Daizhan CHENG; Yiguang HONG

    2008-01-01

    This paper considers the formation control problem of multi-agent systems in a distributed fashion.Two cases of the information propagating topologies among multiple agents,characterized by graphics model,are considered.One is fixed topology.The other is switching topology which represents the limited and less reliable information exchange.The local formation control strategies established in this paper are based on a simple modification of the existing consensus control strategies.Moreover,some existing convergence conditions ale shown to be a special case of our model even in the continuous-time consensus case.Therefore.the results of this paper extend the existing results about the consensus problem.

  4. Virtual reality applied in the ergonomic evaluation of nuclear power plant control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gatto, Leandro Barbosa da Silveira

    2012-01-01

    A nuclear power plant control room is a complex system that controls a nuclear and thermodynamic process used to produce electrical energy. The operators interact with the control room through interfaces that have significant implications to nuclear power plant safety and influence the operator activity. The operator activity presents complexity features and shows a series of mechanisms absents from the human factors guidelines, important to the evaluation and update of control rooms. The ergonomics approach considers the operation strategies, the interaction between the operators, the operator-system interaction, and interaction between operators and support groups. The main objective of this paper is propose the modeling of a nuclear control room, with the support of a game engine core. This tool will be used in the ergonomic evaluation of nuclear control room, generating information and data that will make possible the adequacy of control rooms features to the legal requirements of the regulating agency, assisting the nuclear licensing. (author)

  5. Research of Ant Colony Optimized Adaptive Control Strategy for Hybrid Electric Vehicle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linhui Li

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Energy management control strategy of hybrid electric vehicle has a great influence on the vehicle fuel consumption with electric motors adding to the traditional vehicle power system. As vehicle real driving cycles seem to be uncertain, the dynamic driving cycles will have an impact on control strategy’s energy-saving effect. In order to better adapt the dynamic driving cycles, control strategy should have the ability to recognize the real-time driving cycle and adaptively adjust to the corresponding off-line optimal control parameters. In this paper, four types of representative driving cycles are constructed based on the actual vehicle operating data, and a fuzzy driving cycle recognition algorithm is proposed for online recognizing the type of actual driving cycle. Then, based on the equivalent fuel consumption minimization strategy, an ant colony optimization algorithm is utilized to search the optimal control parameters “charge and discharge equivalent factors” for each type of representative driving cycle. At last, the simulation experiments are conducted to verify the accuracy of the proposed fuzzy recognition algorithm and the validity of the designed control strategy optimization method.

  6. Prediction of performance and evaluation of flexible pavement rehabilitation strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kang-Won Wayne Lee

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Five test sections with different additives and strategies were established to rehabilitate a State-maintained highway more effectively in Rhode Island (RI: control, calcium chloride, asphalt emulsion, Portland cement and geogrid. Resilient moduli of subgrade soils and subbase materials before and after full depth rehabilitation were employed as input parameters to predict the performance of pavement structures using AASHTOWare Pavement ME Design (Pavement ME software in terms of rutting, cracking and roughness. It was attempted to use Level 1 input (which includes traffic full spectrum data, climate data and structural layer properties for Pavement ME. Traffic data was obtained from a Weigh-in-Motion (WIM instrument and Providence station was used for collecting climatic data. Volumetric properties, dynamic modulus and creep compliance were used as input parameters for 19 mm (0.75 in. warm mix asphalt (WMA base and 12.5 mm (0.5 in. WMA surface layer. The results indicated that all test sections observed AC top-down (longitudinal cracking except Portland cement section which passed for all criteria. The order in terms of performance (best to worst for all test sections by Pavement ME was Portland cement, calcium chloride, control, geogrid, and asphalt emulsion. It was also observed that all test sections passed for both bottom up and top down fatigue cracking by increasing thickness of either of the two top asphalt layers. Test sections with five different base/subbase materials were evaluated in last two years through visual condition survey and measurements of deflection and roughness to confirm the prediction, but there was no serious distress and roughness. Thus these experiments allowed selecting the best rehabilitation/reconstruction techniques for the particular and/or similar highway, and a framework was formulated to select an optimal technique and/or strategy for future rehabilitation/reconstruction projects. Finally, guidelines for

  7. Structuring energy supply and demand networks in a general equilibrium model to simulate global warming control strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamilton, S.; Veselka, T.D.; Cirillo, R.R.

    1991-01-01

    Global warming control strategies which mandate stringent caps on emissions of greenhouse forcing gases can substantially alter a country's demand, production, and imports of energy products. Although there is a large degree of uncertainty when attempting to estimate the potential impact of these strategies, insights into the problem can be acquired through computer model simulations. This paper presents one method of structuring a general equilibrium model, the ENergy and Power Evaluation Program/Global Climate Change (ENPEP/GCC), to simulate changes in a country's energy supply and demand balance in response to global warming control strategies. The equilibrium model presented in this study is based on the principle of decomposition, whereby a large complex problem is divided into a number of smaller submodules. Submodules simulate energy activities and conversion processes such as electricity production. These submodules are linked together to form an energy supply and demand network. Linkages identify energy and fuel flows among various activities. Since global warming control strategies can have wide reaching effects, a complex network was constructed. The network represents all energy production, conversion, transportation, distribution, and utilization activities. The structure of the network depicts interdependencies within and across economic sectors and was constructed such that energy prices and demand responses can be simulated. Global warming control alternatives represented in the network include: (1) conservation measures through increased efficiency; and (2) substitution of fuels that have high greenhouse gas emission rates with fuels that have lower emission rates. 6 refs., 4 figs., 4 tabs

  8. Modeling and simulation of permanent magnet synchronous motor based on neural network control strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Bingyang; Chi, Shangjie; Fang, Man; Li, Mengchao

    2017-03-01

    Permanent magnet synchronous motor is used widely in industry, the performance requirements wouldn't be met by adopting traditional PID control in some of the occasions with high requirements. In this paper, a hybrid control strategy - nonlinear neural network PID and traditional PID parallel control are adopted. The high stability and reliability of traditional PID was combined with the strong adaptive ability and robustness of neural network. The permanent magnet synchronous motor will get better control performance when switch different working modes according to different controlled object conditions. As the results showed, the speed response adopting the composite control strategy in this paper was faster than the single control strategy. And in the case of sudden disturbance, the recovery time adopting the composite control strategy designed in this paper was shorter, the recovery ability and the robustness were stronger.

  9. Strategies of Production Control as Tools of Efficient Management of Production Enterprises

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budynek, Mateusz; Celińska, Elżbieta; Dybikowska, Adrianna; Kozak, Monika; Ratajczak, Joanna; Urban, Jagoda; Materne, Karolina

    2016-03-01

    The paper discusses the problem of principle methods of production control as a strategy supporting the production system and stimulating efficient solutions in respect management in production enterprises. The article describes MRP, ERP, JIT, KANBAN and TOC methods and focuses on their main goals, principles of functioning as well as benefits resulting from their application. The methods represent two diverse strategies of production control, i.e. pull and push strategies. Push strategies are used when the plans apply to the first and principle part of production and are based on the demand forecasts. Pull strategies are used when all planning decisions apply to the final stage and depend on the actual demand or orders from customers.

  10. Virtual environment to evaluate multimodal feedback strategies for augmented navigation of the visually impaired.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hara, Masayuki; Shokur, Solaiman; Yamamoto, Akio; Higuchi, Toshiro; Gassert, Roger; Bleuler, Hannes

    2010-01-01

    This paper proposes a novel experimental environment to evaluate multimodal feedback strategies for augmented navigation of the visually impaired. The environment consists of virtual obstacles and walls, an optical tracking system and a simple device with audio and vibrotactile feedback that interacts with the virtual environment, and presents many advantages in terms of safety, flexibility, control over experimental parameters and cost. The subject can freely move in an empty room, while the position of head and arm are tracked in real time. A virtual environment (walls, obstacles) is randomly generated, and audio and vibrotactile feedback are given according to the distance from the subjects arm to the virtual walls/objects. We investigate the applicability of our environment using a simple, commercially available feedback device. Experiments with unimpaired subjects show that it is possible to use the setup to "blindly" navigate in an unpredictable virtual environment. This validates the environment as a test platform to investigate navigation and exploration strategies of the visually impaired, and to evaluate novel technologies for augmented navigation.

  11. A control strategy for multi-functional converter to improve grid power quality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Fei; Wang, Xiongfei; Chen, Zhe

    2011-01-01

    The extensive use of converter-interfacing distributed energy resources (DER), combined with a large amount of nonlinear and unbalanced loads connected to the distribution power system, has led to power quality problem. This paper proposes a control strategy for a three-phase four-leg multi-funct......) for multi-functional converter is described. Simulation and hardware in the loop real time test results carried on a three-phase four-wire distributed generation system illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.......The extensive use of converter-interfacing distributed energy resources (DER), combined with a large amount of nonlinear and unbalanced loads connected to the distribution power system, has led to power quality problem. This paper proposes a control strategy for a three-phase four-leg multi......-functional converter which can compensate reactive power, harmonic currents, unbalance, and neutral current simultaneously under distorted voltage conditions, besides the active power exchange. The capacity of the converter is taken into account. The proposed control strategy based on synchronous reference frame (SRF...

  12. MARKETING STRATEGY OF THE UNIVERSITY: FORMATION AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS EVALUATION REALIZATION

    OpenAIRE

    Natalia К. Shemetova

    2015-01-01

    The study is aimed at developing an algorithm of formation of university’s marketing strategy and the development of evaluating methods of its effectiveness realization. Despite the competitive expansion of the educational services market and the transition to a system of university self-financing, researchers have not paid due attention to the process of developing the marketing strategy of the university and the evaluation of its effectiveness yet. Methods. The applied methods include the m...

  13. AC Transmission Emulation Control Strategies for the BTB VSC HVDC System in the Metropolitan Area of Seoul

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sungyoon Song

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In the Korean power system, growing power loads have recently created the problems of voltage instability and fault current in the Seoul Capital Area (SCA. Accordingly, the back-to-back (BTB voltage source converter (VSC high-voltage direct-current (HVDC system is emerging to resolve such problems with grid segmentation. However, non-convergence problems occur in this metropolitan area, due to the large change of power flow in some contingencies. Therefore, this paper proposes two kinds of AC transmission emulation control (ATEC strategies to improve the metropolitan transient stability, and to resolve the non-convergence problem. The proposed ATEC strategies are able to mitigate possible overloading of adjacent AC transmission, and maintain power balance between metropolitan regions. The first ATEC strategy uses a monitoring system that permits the reverse power flow of AC transmission, and thus effectively improves the grid stability based on the power transfer equation. The second ATEC strategy emulates AC transmission with DC link capacitors in a permissible DC-link voltage range according to angle difference, and securely improves the gird stability, without requiring grid operator schedule decisions. This paper compares two kinds of ATEC schemes: it demonstrates the first ATEC strategy with specific fault scenario with PSS/E (Power Transmission System Planning Software, and evaluates the second ATEC strategy with internal controller performance with PSCAD/EMTDC (Power System Electromagnetic Transients Simulation Software.

  14. Priority Control Strategy of VSC-MTDC System for Integrating Wind Power

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen-ning Yan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available For the obvious advantages in integrating wind power, multiterminal HVDC transmission system (VSC-MTDC is widely used. The priority control strategy is proposed in this paper considering the penetration rate of wind power for the AC grid. The strategy aims to solve the problems of power allocation and DC voltage control of the DC system. The main advantage of this strategy is that the demands for wind power of different areas can be satisfied and a power reference for the wind power trade can also be provided when wind farms transmit active power to several AC grids through the DC network. The objective is that power is well distributed according to the output power of wind farm with the demand of AC system and satisfactory control performance of DC voltage is obtained.

  15. A statistical learning strategy for closed-loop control of fluid flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guéniat, Florimond; Mathelin, Lionel; Hussaini, M. Yousuff

    2016-12-01

    This work discusses a closed-loop control strategy for complex systems utilizing scarce and streaming data. A discrete embedding space is first built using hash functions applied to the sensor measurements from which a Markov process model is derived, approximating the complex system's dynamics. A control strategy is then learned using reinforcement learning once rewards relevant with respect to the control objective are identified. This method is designed for experimental configurations, requiring no computations nor prior knowledge of the system, and enjoys intrinsic robustness. It is illustrated on two systems: the control of the transitions of a Lorenz'63 dynamical system, and the control of the drag of a cylinder flow. The method is shown to perform well.

  16. A Harmonic Current Suppression Control Strategy for Droop-Controlled Inverter Connected to the Distorted Grid

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wei, Feng; Sun, Kai; Guan, Yajuan

    2015-01-01

    currents. Therefore, the reason of generation of distorted grid-feeding current of GF-VCI under the distorted grid voltage is investigated firstly in this paper. Then, a harmonic grid-feeding current suppression control strategy for GF-VCI is proposed. Two different filters are compared and analysed before...... voltage component at the point of common coupling. As a result, the difference of harmonic voltage between PCC and GF-VCI is reduced and the THDi of grid feeding-currents is decreased. Finally, the proposed control strategy is verified through simulations and experimental results....

  17. Forward Link Power Control Strategy and its Optimum Issue in CDMA Cellular Networks

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2000-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a theoretical method in order to estimate the forward link outage probability and user capacity of a cellular system which are based on IS-95 CDMA standard, especialy impact of power control strategy and voice activity monitoring in the system under long-term fading effects, in which the light and heavy fadings are considered. According to the numerical results obtained in this paper, the power control strategy leads to approximately the threefold user capacity in contrast to the situation without power control strategy. The reults are compared with Interference-to-Signal Ratio (ISR) driven power control scheme[6][9] which can be used only for simulation of the system. The power control strategy not only improves the desired signal to the interference ratio in the reference user's receiver, but also offers uniform service to the user wherever it is located in the cell.

  18. Effectiveness of a multifaceted implementation strategy on physicians' referral behavior to an evidence-based psychosocial intervention in dementia: a cluster randomized controlled trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dopp, C.M.E.; Graff, M.J.L.; Teerenstra, S.; Nijhuis-Van der Sanden, M.W.; Olde Rikkert, M.G.M.; Vernooij-Dassen, M.J.F.J.

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effectiveness of a multifaceted implementation strategy on physicians' referral rate to and knowledge on the community occupational therapy in dementia program (COTiD program). METHODS: A cluster randomized controlled trial with 28 experimental and 17 control clusters was

  19. Web malware spread modelling and optimal control strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wanping; Zhong, Shouming

    2017-02-01

    The popularity of the Web improves the growth of web threats. Formulating mathematical models for accurate prediction of malicious propagation over networks is of great importance. The aim of this paper is to understand the propagation mechanisms of web malware and the impact of human intervention on the spread of malicious hyperlinks. Considering the characteristics of web malware, a new differential epidemic model which extends the traditional SIR model by adding another delitescent compartment is proposed to address the spreading behavior of malicious links over networks. The spreading threshold of the model system is calculated, and the dynamics of the model is theoretically analyzed. Moreover, the optimal control theory is employed to study malware immunization strategies, aiming to keep the total economic loss of security investment and infection loss as low as possible. The existence and uniqueness of the results concerning the optimality system are confirmed. Finally, numerical simulations show that the spread of malware links can be controlled effectively with proper control strategy of specific parameter choice.

  20. Effect on the process of care of an active strategy to implement clinical guidelines on physiotherapy for low back pain: a cluster randomised controlled trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bekkering, G.E.; Hendriks, H.J.M.; Tulder, van M.; Knol, D.L.; Hoeijenbos, M.; Oostendorp, R.A.B.; Bouter, L.M.

    2005-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect on the process of care of an active strategy to implement clinical guidelines on physiotherapy for low back pain. DESIGN: A cluster randomised controlled trial comparing an active strategy with standard dissemination. SETTING: Primary care physiotherapy practices.

  1. Accelerating knowledge to action: the pan-Canadian cancer control strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fairclough, L; Hill, J; Bryant, H; Kitchen-Clarke, L

    2012-04-01

    In 2006, the federal government committed funding of $250 million over 5 years for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer Corporation to begin implementation of the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control (CSCC). The Partnership was established as a not-for-profit corporation designed to work actively with a broad range of stakeholders and organizations that had been engaged in the development of the CSCC and with the public more broadly. A policy experiment unto itself, the Partnership was the first disease-based organization funded at the federal level outside of government. It was charged with a mandate to enable transfer of knowledge and to catalyze coordinated and accelerated action across the country to reduce the burden of cancer. Implementation has involved establishing shared goals, objectives, and plans with participating partners. Knowledge management-incorporating pan-Canadian approaches to the identification of content, processes, technology, and culture change-was used to enable that work across the federated health care delivery system. Evaluation of the organization through independent review, the ability to achieve initiative-level targets by 2012, and progress measured using indicators of system performance was used to examine the effectiveness of the strategy and approach overall. Evaluation findings support the conclusions that Canada has made progress in achieving immediate outcomes (achievable in 25 years) impact on cancer. The mechanism of funding the Partnership to develop collaboration among stakeholders in cancer control to achieve coordinated action has been possible and has been enabled through the Partnership's knowledge-to-action mandate. Opportunities are available to further engage and clarify the roles of stakeholders in action, to clearly define outcomes, and to further quantify the economic benefits that have resulted from a coordinated approach. With the ongoing funding commitment to support coordinated action within a federated

  2. STRATEGIES OF PRODUCTION CONTROL AS TOOLS OF EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF PRODUCTION ENTERPRISES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mateusz BUDYNEK

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses the problem of principle methods of production control as a strategy supporting the production system and stimulating efficient solutions in respect management in production enterprises. The article describes MRP, ERP, JIT, KANBAN and TOC methods and focuses on their main goals, principles of functioning as well as benefits re-sulting from their application. The methods represent two diverse strategies of production control, i.e. pull and push strategies. Push strategies are used when the plans apply to the first and principle part of production and are based on the demand forecasts. Pull strategies are used when all planning decisions apply to the final stage and depend on the actual demand or orders from customers.

  3. INDUSTRIAL EVALUATION OF RE-DRY STRATEGY FOR SOFTWOOD LUMBER

    OpenAIRE

    Elustondo, Diego; Avramidis, Stavros

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents an experimental evaluation of the first commercial scale dry-sort-redry (DSRD) strategy for drying of 2x4 Pacific coast hemlock (PCH) lumber. The DSRD strategy is a methodology designed to reduce final moisture content variability in kiln dried lumber by complementing conventional drying with radio frequency vacuum (RFV) drying technology. The strategy′s objective is to avoid producing over-dried lumber in conventional drying by setting the target moisture content to...

  4. Direct harmonic voltage control strategy for shunt active power filter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Munir, Hafiz Mudassir; Zou, JianXiao; Xie, Chuan

    2017-01-01

    generation system (DPGS) where the nonlinear loads are highly dispersed. Local harmonic voltage detection based Resistive-APF (R-APF) seems more suitable to be applied in the DPGS, however, R-APF suffers from poor compensation performance and difficulty of parameter tuning. In this paper, a direct harmonic...... voltage control strategy for the S-APF is proposed with local point of common coupling (PCC) voltage detection only. The control strategy design procedure is given in detail. Simulation is conducted in Matlab/Simulink to compare the performance between the R-APF and the proposed method. The results...

  5. A review of control strategies in closed-loop neuroprosthetic systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Wright

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available It has been widely recognized that closed-loop neuroprosthetic systems achieve more favorable outcomes for users then equivalent open-loop devices. Improved performance of tasks, better usability and greater embodiment have all been reported in systems utilizing some form of feedback. However the interdisciplinary work on neuroprosthetic systems can lead to miscommunication due to similarities in well established nomenclature in different fields. Here we present a review of control strategies in existing experimental, investigational and clinical neuroprosthetic systems in order to establish a baseline and promote a common understanding of different feedback modes and closed-loop controllers. The first section provides a brief discussion of feedback control and control theory. The second section reviews the control strategies of recent Brain Machine Interfaces, neuromodulatory implants, neuroprosthetic systems and assistive neurorobotic devices. The final section examines the different approaches to feedback in current neuroprosthetic and neurorobotic systems.

  6. A Control Strategy for Flywheel Energy Storage System for Frequency Stability Improvement in Islanded Microgrid

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Khodadoost Arani

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The Micro-Grid (MG stability is a significant issue that must be maintained in all operational modes. Usually, two control strategies can be applied to MG; V/f control and PQ control strategies. MGs with V/f control strategy should have some Distributed Generators (DGs which have fast responses versus load changes. The Flywheel Energy Storage System (FESS has this characteristic. The FESS, which converts the mechanical energy to electrical form, can generate electrical power or absorb the additional power in power systems or MGs. In this paper, the FESS structure modeled in detail and two control strategies (V/f and PQ control are applied for this application. In addition, in order to improve the MG frequency and voltage stability, two complementary controllers are proposed for the V/f control strategy; conventional PI and Fuzzy Controllers. A typical low voltage network, including FESS is simulated for four distinct scenarios in the MATLAB/ Simulink environment. It is shown that fuzzy controller has better performance than conventional PI controller in islanded microgrid.

  7. Strategies for Automated Control of the Bioproduction of Mcl-PHA Biopolymers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Hrnčiřík

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHAs are polyesters synthesized by numerous bacteria as storage material. Despite being promising candidates for biodegradable materials of industrial interest and environmental value, their usage is still rather limited because of high production costs. One of the areas with considerable potential for further improvements is control of the production process. This paper deals with the experimental work related to the design of control strategies for mcl-PHA biopolymer production process (Pseudomonas putida KT2442 fed-batch cultivations. For this bioprocess, a set of five control strategies (two main and three auxiliary strategies have been proposed, together with the proper sequence of their switching during the fed-batch part of the production process. The application of these strategies with octanoic acid as a sole carbon source resulted in intracellular PHA content (max. mass fraction 65 % of mcl-PHA in cell dry mass (g g–1 and PHA productivity (max. 0.89 g L–1 h–1 comparable to the best results reported in the literature for this type of strain and carbon substrate.

  8. Locus of control and learning strategies as predictors of academic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of the research was to determine the relationships which exist between academic success, learning strategies and locus of control. In order to achieve this aim a small-scale quantitative study, utilising two inventories, was done. The first measuring instrument is the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, which is ...

  9. Innovation in Active Vibration Control Strategy of Intelligent Structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Moutsopoulou

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Large amplitudes and attenuating vibration periods result in fatigue, instability, and poor structural performance. In light of past approaches in this field, this paper intends to discuss some innovative approaches in vibration control of intelligent structures, particularly in the case of structures with embedded piezoelectric materials. Control strategies are presented, such as the linear quadratic control theory, as well as more advanced theories, such as robust control theory. The paper presents sufficiently a recognizable advance in knowledge of active vibration control in intelligent structures.

  10. Event-Based Control Strategy for Mobile Robots in Wireless Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Socas, Rafael; Dormido, Sebastián; Dormido, Raquel; Fabregas, Ernesto

    2015-12-02

    In this paper, a new event-based control strategy for mobile robots is presented. It has been designed to work in wireless environments where a centralized controller has to interchange information with the robots over an RF (radio frequency) interface. The event-based architectures have been developed for differential wheeled robots, although they can be applied to other kinds of robots in a simple way. The solution has been checked over classical navigation algorithms, like wall following and obstacle avoidance, using scenarios with a unique or multiple robots. A comparison between the proposed architectures and the classical discrete-time strategy is also carried out. The experimental results shows that the proposed solution has a higher efficiency in communication resource usage than the classical discrete-time strategy with the same accuracy.

  11. Economic evaluation of an implementation strategy for the management of low back pain in general practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jensen, Cathrine Elgaard; Riis, Allan; Petersen, Karin Dam; Jensen, Martin Bach; Pedersen, Kjeld Møller

    2017-05-01

    In connection with the publication of a clinical practice guideline on the management of low back pain (LBP) in general practice in Denmark, a cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted. In this trial, a multifaceted guideline implementation strategy to improve general practitioners' treatment of patients with LBP was compared with a usual implementation strategy. The aim was to determine whether the multifaceted strategy was cost effective, as compared with the usual implementation strategy. The economic evaluation was conducted as a cost-utility analysis where cost collected from a societal perspective and quality-adjusted life years were used as outcome measures. The analysis was conducted as a within-trial analysis with a 12-month time horizon consistent with the follow-up period of the clinical trial. To adjust for a priori selected covariates, generalised linear models with a gamma family were used to estimate incremental costs and quality-adjusted life years. Furthermore, both deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. Results showed that costs associated with primary health care were higher, whereas secondary health care costs were lower for the intervention group when compared with the control group. When adjusting for covariates, the intervention was less costly, and there was no significant difference in effect between the 2 groups. Sensitivity analyses showed that results were sensitive to uncertainty. In conclusion, the multifaceted implementation strategy was cost saving when compared with the usual strategy for implementing LBP clinical practice guidelines in general practice. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in effect, and the estimate was sensitive to uncertainty.

  12. Evaluation of teaching and learning strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SK Lechner

    2001-08-01

    Full Text Available With the growing awareness of the importance of teaching and learning in universities and the need to move towards evidence-based teaching, it behooves the professions to re-examine their educational research methodology. While the what, how and why of student learning have become more explicit, the professions still struggle to find valid methods of evaluating the explosion of new innovation in teaching/learning strategies. This paper discusses the problems inherent in applying traditional experimental design techniques to advances in educational practice.

  13. Control of micronutrient deficiencies in India: obstacles and strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vijayaraghavan, K

    2002-05-01

    Micronutrient deficiencies of vitamin A, iron, and iodine continue to be of public health significance in India. The government of India initiated national programs to prevent, control and combat these deficiencies and their serious consequences. The interventions involved (1) distribution of iodized salt in the endemic areas, (2) administration of semiannual massive dose of vitamin A to young children, and (3) distribution of iron-folic acid tablets to the vulnerable groups. Evaluations revealed that the biologic impact of these interventions was unsatisfactory. Inadequate allocation of funds (10% of the actual needs) necessary to cover the enormous number of beneficiaries was one of the important obstacles. Consequently, the allocation of supplies to different provinces was far short of the requirements (10-30%). As a result of poor orientation, the functionaries were not adhering to the guidelines, leading to woefully inadequate (1-20%) and irregular coverage. There was no proper monitoring or supervision to make midcourse corrections to improve the functioning. The community was not informed of the purpose and details of each intervention. Hence, it did not utilize the resources completely and remained passive recipients. The community was not aware of the dietary approaches to prevent micronutrient disorders owing to absence of nutrition education. With the adoption of National Nutrition Policy by the government of India, a concerted and focused approach should be adopted. The future strategies should include a mix of short-term supplementation and food-based strategy encompassing food fortification and home gardening. Innovative approaches in information, education, and communication (such as social marketing strategy) for making the interventions sustainable should be adopted.

  14. Steam generator degradation: Current mitigation strategies for controlling corrosion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Millett, P.

    1997-01-01

    Steam Generator degradation has caused substantial losses of power generation, resulted in large repair and maintenance costs, and contributed to significant personnel radiation exposures in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) operating throughout the world. EPRI has just published the revised Steam Generator Reference Book, which reviews all of the major forms of SG degradation. This paper discusses the types of SG degradation that have been experienced with emphasis on the mitigation strategies that have been developed and implemented in the field. SG degradation is presented from a world wide perspective as all countries operating PWRs have been effected to one degree or another. The paper is written from a US. perspective where the utility industry is currently undergoing tremendous change as a result of deregulation of the electricity marketplace. Competitive pressures are causing utilities to strive to reduce Operations and Maintenance (O ampersand M) and capital costs. SG corrosion is a major contributor to the O ampersand M costs of PWR plants, and therefore US utilities are evaluating and implementing the most cost effective solutions to their corrosion problems. Mitigation strategies developed over the past few years reflect a trend towards plant specific solutions to SG corrosion problems. Since SG degradation is in most cases an economic problem and not a safety problem, utilities can focus their mitigation strategies on their unique financial situation. Accordingly, the focus of R ampersand D has shifted from the development of more expensive, prescriptive solutions (e.g. reduced impurity limits) to corrosion problems to providing the utilities with a number of cost effective mitigation options (e.g. molar ratio control, boric acid treatment)

  15. Benchmarking of Control Strategies for Wastewater Treatment Plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wastewater treatment plants are large non-linear systems subject to large perturbations in wastewater flow rate, load and composition. Nevertheless these plants have to be operated continuously, meeting stricter and stricter regulations. Many control strategies have been proposed in the literature...

  16. Control strategies for laser separation of carbon isotopes

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    Control strategies for laser separation of carbon isotopes. V PARTHASARATHY*, A K ... The emerging market for medical applications of C-13 is projected to be in the range of hundreds of ..... thermal effects during irradiation. In the absence of ...

  17. Combining control input with flight path data to evaluate pilot performance in transport aircraft.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebbatson, Matt; Harris, Don; Huddlestone, John; Sears, Rodney

    2008-11-01

    When deriving an objective assessment of piloting performance from flight data records, it is common to employ metrics which purely evaluate errors in flight path parameters. The adequacy of pilot performance is evaluated from the flight path of the aircraft. However, in large jet transport aircraft these measures may be insensitive and require supplementing with frequency-based measures of control input parameters. Flight path and control input data were collected from pilots undertaking a jet transport aircraft conversion course during a series of symmetric and asymmetric approaches in a flight simulator. The flight path data were analyzed for deviations around the optimum flight path while flying an instrument landing approach. Manipulation of the flight controls was subject to analysis using a series of power spectral density measures. The flight path metrics showed no significant differences in performance between the symmetric and asymmetric approaches. However, control input frequency domain measures revealed that the pilots employed highly different control strategies in the pitch and yaw axes. The results demonstrate that to evaluate pilot performance fully in large aircraft, it is necessary to employ performance metrics targeted at both the outer control loop (flight path) and the inner control loop (flight control) parameters in parallel, evaluating both the product and process of a pilot's performance.

  18. Evaluation of Surface Modification as a Lunar Dust Mitigation Strategy for Thermal Control Surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaier, James R.; Waters, Deborah L.; Misconin, Robert M.; Banks, Bruce A.; Crowder, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Three surface treatments were evaluated for their ability to lower the adhesion between lunar simulant dust and AZ93, AlFEP, and AgFEP thermal control surfaces under simulated lunar conditions. Samples were dusted in situ and exposed to a standardized puff of nitrogen gas. Thermal performance before dusting, after dusting, and after part of the dust was removed by the puff of gas, were compared to perform the assessment. None of the surface treatments was found to significantly affect the adhesion of lunar simulants to AZ93 thermal control paint. Oxygen ion beam texturing also did not lower the adhesion of lunar simulant dust to AlFEP or AgFEP. But a workfunction matching coating and a proprietary Ball Aerospace surface treatment were both found to significantly lower the adhesion of lunar simulants to AlFEP and AgFEP. Based on these results, it is recommended that all these two techniques be further explored as dust mitigation coatings for AlFEP and AgFEP thermal control surfaces.

  19. Study on the Control Strategy of Shifting Time Involving Multigroup Clutches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhen Zhu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the control strategy of shifting time involving multigroup clutches for a hydromechanical continuously variable transmission (HMCVT. The dynamic analyses of mathematical models are presented in this paper, and the simulation models are used to study the control strategy of HMCVT. Simulations are performed in Simulation X platform to investigate the shifting time of clutches under different operating conditions. On this basis, simulation analysis and test verification of two typical conditions, which play the decisive roles for the shifting quality, are carried out. The results show that there are differences in the shifting time of the two typical conditions. In the shifting process from the negative transmission of hydromechanical ranges to the positive transmission of hydromechanical ranges, the control strategy based on the shifting time is switching the clutches of shifting mechanism firstly and then disengaging a group of clutches of planetary gear mechanism and engaging another group of the clutches of planetary gear mechanism lastly. In the shifting process from the hydraulic range to the hydromechanical range, the control strategy based on the shifting time is switching the clutches of hydraulic shifting mechanism and planetary gear mechanism at first and then engaging the clutch of shifting mechanism.

  20. Improved rate control for electron-beam evaporation and evaluation of optical performance improvements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gevelber, Michael; Xu, Bing; Smith, Douglas

    2006-03-01

    A new deposition-rate-control and electron-beam-gun (e-gun) strategy was developed that significantly reduces the growth-rate variations for e-beam-deposited SiO2 coatings. The resulting improvements in optical performance are evaluated for multilayer bandpass filters. The adverse effect of uneven silica-source depletion on coating spectral performances during long deposition runs is discussed.

  1. Control Law Design for Twin Rotor MIMO System with Nonlinear Control Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Ilyas

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Modeling of complex air vehicles is a challenging task due to high nonlinear behavior and significant coupling effect between rotors. Twin rotor multi-input multioutput system (TRMS is a laboratory setup designed for control experiments, which resembles a helicopter with unstable, nonlinear, and coupled dynamics. This paper focuses on the design and analysis of sliding mode control (SMC and backstepping controller for pitch and yaw angle control of main and tail rotor of the TRMS under parametric uncertainty. The proposed control strategy with SMC and backstepping achieves all mentioned limitations of TRMS. Result analysis of SMC and backstepping control schemes elucidates that backstepping provides efficient behavior with the parametric uncertainty for twin rotor system. Chattering and oscillating behaviors of SMC are removed with the backstepping control scheme considering the pitch and yaw angle for TRMS.

  2. Between architecture and model: Strategies for cognitive control

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taatgen, Niels

    One major limitation of current cognitive architectures is that models are typically constructed in an “empty” architecture, and that the knowledge specifications (typically production rules) are specific to the particular task. This means that general cognitive control strategies have to be

  3. Optimized Control Strategy For Over Loaded Offshore Wind Turbines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odgaard, Peter Fogh; Knudsen, Torben; Wisniewski, Rafal

    2015-01-01

    controller tuning for a given wind turbine. It also enables a very safe and robust comparison between a new control strategy and the present one. Main body of abstract Is it true that power de-rating indeed the best way to reduce loads? The power de-rating approach has the drawback of only indirectly...

  4. Operation and control strategies in pre-series testing of cold circulating pumps for ITER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhattacharya, R.; Vaghela, H.; Sarkar, B.; Srinivas, M.; Choukekar, K.

    2013-01-01

    Cryo-distribution system of ITER is responsible for the distribution and control of forced-flow supercritical helium for cooling of the superconducting magnets and the cryo-pumps. The requirements of cold circulating pumps (CCP) for mass flow rates and performance are much higher than presently existing and commercially available one used at 4.0 K helium. Design up-scaling with pre-series test of CCP has been proposed including test infrastructure. Operation and control strategies for the test distribution box (TDB) of test infrastructure have been developed and analyzed using steady state and dynamic process simulation to cope with the functional requirements of CCPs. Off-normal scenario with CCP inlet pressure variation is an important concern, dynamic process responses during such scenario have been evaluated to verify the operability of CCP. The paper describes process simulation to cope with the functional requirements of CCPs along with evaluation of off-normal scenario to verify the operability of CCP. (author)

  5. An optimization strategy for the control of small capacity heat pump integrated air-conditioning system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Jiajia; Huang, Gongsheng; Xu, Xinhua

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • An optimization strategy for a small-scale air-conditioning system is developed. • The optimization strategy aims at optimizing the overall system energy consumption. • The strategy may guarantee the robust control of the space air temperature. • The performance of the optimization strategy was tested on a simulation platform. - Abstract: This paper studies the optimization of a small-scale central air-conditioning system, in which the cooling is provided by a ground source heat pump (GSHP) equipped with an on/off capacity control. The optimization strategy aims to optimize the overall system energy consumption and simultaneously guarantee the robustness of the space air temperature control without violating the allowed GSHP maximum start-ups number per hour specified by customers. The set-point of the chilled water return temperature and the width of the water temperature control band are used as the decision variables for the optimization. The performance of the proposed strategy was tested on a simulation platform. Results show that the optimization strategy can save the energy consumption by 9.59% in a typical spring day and 2.97% in a typical summer day. Meanwhile it is able to enhance the space air temperature control robustness when compared with a basic control strategy without optimization.

  6. Strategies and criteria for risk-based configuration control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samanta, P.K.; Kim, I.S.; Vesely, W.E.

    1991-01-01

    A configuration, as used here, is a set of component operability or statuses that define the state of a nuclear power plant. Risk-based configuration control is the management of component configurations using a risk perspective to control risk and assure safety. If the component configurations that have high risk implications do not occur then the risk from the operation of nuclear power plants would be minimal. The control of component configurations, i.e., the management of component statuses, so that the risk from components being unavailable is minimized, becomes difficult because the status of a standby safety system component is often not apparent unless it is tested. In this paper, we discuss the strategies and criteria for risk-based configuration control in nuclear power plants. In developing these strategies and criteria, the primary objective is to obtain more direct risk control but the added benefit is the effective use of plant resources. Implementation of such approaches can result in replacement/modification of parts of Technical Specifications. Specifically, the risk impact or safety impact of a configuration depends upon four factors: (1) The configuration components which are simultaneously down (i.e., inoperable); (2) the backup components which are known to be up (i.e., operable); (3) the duration of time the configuration exists (the outage time); and (4) the frequency at which the configuration occurs. Risk-based configuration control involves managing these factors using risk analyses and risk insights. In this paper, we discuss each of the factors and illustrate how they can be controlled. The information and the tools needed in implementing configuration control are also discussed. The risk-based calculation requirements in achieving the control are also delineated. 4 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

  7. A new inertia weight control strategy for particle swarm optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xianming; Wang, Hongbo

    2018-04-01

    Particle Swarm Optimization is a member of swarm intelligence algorithms, which is inspired by the behavior of bird flocks. The inertia weight, one of the most important parameters of PSO, is crucial for PSO, for it balances the performance of exploration and exploitation of the algorithm. This paper proposes a new inertia weight control strategy and PSO with this new strategy is tested by four benchmark functions. The results shows that the new strategy provides the PSO with better performance.

  8. Assessment of five control strategies of an adjustable glazing at three different climate zones

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volker Ritter

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The energy demand for operating modern office spaces is often driven by either the annual heating demand, cooling demand or the demand for electrical lighting. The irradiation of the sun directly and indirectly affects the demand of all three. Consequently, the glazing of higher office buildings is often treated with coating that allows a fixed transmittance. Due to changing exterior conditions and interior needs, a fix-transmittance value is a compromise and most often doesn’t provide optimal thermal and visual conditions. The team in the research project named Fluidglass develops a new glazing in which the transmittance of the glazing can be adjusted. This is possible by colouring a fluid, which is circulated in chambers of the glazing. The concentration of the colorant can be infinitely adjusted. In addition, this window allows collecting heat in the exterior fluid and allows the interior fluid chamber to operate as heating panel. This paper presents a first assessment of different control strategies for adjusting the colorant concentration with a simplified model. The assessed control strategies result in considerably different overall energy demands. Certain control strategies have high potential for reducing the energy demand for heating and cooling depending on the locations (Munich 20–30% , Madrid 50–70% , Dubai 50–60%. However, certain control strategies increase the electricity demand for lighting, which needs to be considered in the further development. In general, control strategies that only consider the solar irradiation are less promising strategies in temperate climate than strategies that also take the interior temperature into account. The results of controls that also respect the thermal comfort based on a Predicted Mean Vote (PMV index can achieve low energy demand, presuming that a deviation from the highest level of comfort is acceptable. At this stage of research, none of the studied control strategies shows to be

  9. Efficiency Evaluation of Strategies for Dynamic Management of Wireless Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Verônica González

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents and evaluates dynamic management strategies to improve efficiency in event-triggered wireless sensor networks. We are considering mobility, where nodes move themselves to maximize the coverage, and load balancing state-of-the-art techniques, by which the number of nodes sensing the same area is reduced. To explore mobility, we present a simple method by which nodes can dynamically reorganize themselves based on the force fields approach of mobile robotics. Firstly, the strategies are evaluated separately through experiments with different network configurations and, afterwards, a joint evaluation has been conducted to observe the impact of mobility on the efficiency of load balancing techniques. We show that mobile nodes significantly contribute to keeping the coverage as nodes die in mesh and powerfully improving it in random deployments. Load balancing techniques achieve important results, increasing lifetime and the number of sensed events. However, in random deployments, these techniques lose efficiency and become unsuitable strategies. Combining these strategies with mobility, we observe that PS-based technique keeps its contribution in mesh and random deployments, as well as improving its performance for not so dense networks. Ant-based technique when combined with mobile nodes loses performance significantly in mesh and keeps its good performance in random deployed and less dense networks.

  10. Evaluability Assessment of an immunization improvement strategy in rural Burkina Faso: intervention theory versus reality, information need and evaluations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanou, Aboubakary; Kouyaté, Bocar; Bibeau, Gilles; Nguyen, Vinh-Kim

    2011-08-01

    An innovative immunization improvement strategy was proposed by the CRSN (Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna) to improve the low coverage rate for children aged 0-11 months in the health district of Nouna in Burkina Faso. This article reports on the Evaluability Assessment (EA) study that aimed to orient decisions for its evaluation in close relationship with the information needs of the stakeholders. Various methods were used, including document reviews, individual interviews, focus group discussions, meetings, literature reviews and site visits. A description of the intervention theory and philosophy is provided with its logic models and its reality documented. Lessons on the procedure include the importance of the position of the evaluability assessor, the value of replicating some steps of the assessment and the relationships between EA and process evaluation. The evaluability study concludes that the intervention had some evaluable components. To satisfy the stakeholders' needs, the initially planned community randomized controlled trial can be maintained and complemented with a process evaluation. There is a need to provide sufficient information on the cost of the intervention. This will inform decision makers on the possibility of replicating the intervention in other contexts. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The economics of controlling stock pollutants: An efficient strategy for greenhouse gases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Falk, I.; Mendelsohn, R.

    1993-01-01

    Optimal control theory is applied to develop an efficient strategy to control stock pollutants such as greenhouse gases and hazardous waste. The optimal strategy suggests that, at any time, the marginal costs of abatement should be equated with the present value of the marginal damage of timely unabated emission. The optimal strategy calls for increasingly tight abatement over time as the pollutant stock accumulates. The optimal policy applied to greenhouse gases suggest moderate abatement efforts, at present, with the potential for much greater future efforts. 15 refs., 2 tabs

  12. Application of optimal control strategies to HIV-malaria co-infection dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatmawati; Windarto; Hanif, Lathifah

    2018-03-01

    This paper presents a mathematical model of HIV and malaria co-infection transmission dynamics. Optimal control strategies such as malaria preventive, anti-malaria and antiretroviral (ARV) treatments are considered into the model to reduce the co-infection. First, we studied the existence and stability of equilibria of the presented model without control variables. The model has four equilibria, namely the disease-free equilibrium, the HIV endemic equilibrium, the malaria endemic equilibrium, and the co-infection equilibrium. We also obtain two basic reproduction ratios corresponding to the diseases. It was found that the disease-free equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable whenever their respective basic reproduction numbers are less than one. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis to determine the dominant factor controlling the transmission. sic reproduction numbers are less than one. We also conducted a sensitivity analysis to determine the dominant factor controlling the transmission. Then, the optimal control theory for the model was derived analytically by using Pontryagin Maximum Principle. Numerical simulations of the optimal control strategies are also performed to illustrate the results. From the numerical results, we conclude that the best strategy is to combine the malaria prevention and ARV treatments in order to reduce malaria and HIV co-infection populations.

  13. Strategies for controlling pollution from vehicular emissions in Beijing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Qidong; He, Kebin; Li, Tiejun; Fu, Lixin

    2002-01-01

    The paper describes the severe situation of vehicular emission in Beijing and discusses the following mitigation strategies: Improving fuel quality, controlling the exhaust from new vehicles, controlling the emissions from vehicles in use through e.g. Inspection Maintenance (I/M), renovating in-use vehicles and scrapping of old vehicles and road infrastructure and traffic policies. (Author)

  14. Strategies for controlling pollution from vehicular emissions in Beijing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Qidong; He, Kebin; Li, Tiejun; Fu, Lixin

    2002-07-01

    The paper describes the severe situation of vehicular emission in Beijing and discusses the following mitigation strategies: Improving fuel quality, controlling the exhaust from new vehicles, controlling the emissions from vehicles in use through e.g. Inspection Maintenance (I/M), renovating in-use vehicles and scrapping of old vehicles and road infrastructure and traffic policies. (Author)

  15. Infection control strategies for preventing the transmission of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in nursing homes for older people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Carmel; Tunney, Michael; Bradley, Marie C

    2013-11-19

    Nursing homes for older people provide an environment likely to promote the acquisition and spread of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), putting residents at increased risk of colonisation and infection. It is recognised that infection prevention and control strategies are important in preventing and controlling MRSA transmission. To determine the effects of infection prevention and control strategies for preventing the transmission of MRSA in nursing homes for older people. In August 2013, for this third update, we searched the Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE, The Cochrane Library), Ovid MEDLINE, OVID MEDLINE (In-process and Other Non-Indexed Citations), Ovid EMBASE, EBSCO CINAHL, Web of Science and the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) website. Research in progress was sought through Current Clinical Trials, Gateway to Reseach, and HSRProj (Health Services Research Projects in Progress). All randomised and controlled clinical trials, controlled before and after studies and interrupted time series studies of infection prevention and control interventions in nursing homes for older people were eligible for inclusion. Two review authors independently reviewed the results of the searches. Another review author appraised identified papers and undertook data extraction which was checked by a second review author. For this third update only one study was identified, therefore it was not possible to undertake a meta-analysis. A cluster randomised controlled trial in 32 nursing homes evaluated the effect of an infection control education and training programme on MRSA prevalence. The primary outcome was MRSA prevalence in residents and staff, and a change in infection control audit scores which measured adherence to infection control standards. At the end of the 12 month study, there was no change in MRSA

  16. A pilot study to evaluate an efficient testing strategy for surveillance ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Introduction: Control strategies for schistosomiasis depend on the understanding of the population specific magnitude of the infection. We present pilot results of a testing strategy suggested by theoretical statistical investigation that lowers cost yet retains similar accuracy profile as the standard Kato-Katz technique.

  17. Control strategy of hydraulic/electric synergy system in heavy hybrid vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun Hui; Yang Lifu; Junqing Jing; Yanling Luo [Jiangsu Xuzhou Construction Machinery Research Institute, Jiangsu (China)

    2011-01-15

    Energy consumption and exhaust emissions of hybrid vehicles strongly depend on the energy storage source and the applied control strategy. Heavy vehicles have the characteristics of frequent starts/stops and significant amounts of braking energy, which needs to find a more efficient way to store and use the high power flow. A novel parallel hybrid vehicles configuration consisting of hydraulic/electric synergy system is proposed to overcome the existing drawbacks of single energy storage source in heavy hybrid vehicles. A control strategy combining a logic threshold approach and key parameters optimization algorithm is developed to achieve acceptable vehicle performance while simultaneously maximizing engine fuel economy and maintaining the battery state of charge in its rational operation range at all times. The experimental and simulation results illustrate the potential of the proposed control strategy in terms of fuel economy and in keeping the deviations of SOC at high efficiency range. (author)

  18. Control strategy of hydraulic/electric synergy system in heavy hybrid vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Hui; Yang Lifu; Jing Junqing; Luo Yanling

    2011-01-01

    Energy consumption and exhaust emissions of hybrid vehicles strongly depend on the energy storage source and the applied control strategy. Heavy vehicles have the characteristics of frequent starts/stops and significant amounts of braking energy, which needs to find a more efficient way to store and use the high power flow. A novel parallel hybrid vehicles configuration consisting of hydraulic/electric synergy system is proposed to overcome the existing drawbacks of single energy storage source in heavy hybrid vehicles. A control strategy combining a logic threshold approach and key parameters optimization algorithm is developed to achieve acceptable vehicle performance while simultaneously maximizing engine fuel economy and maintaining the battery state of charge in its rational operation range at all times. The experimental and simulation results illustrate the potential of the proposed control strategy in terms of fuel economy and in keeping the deviations of SOC at high efficiency range.

  19. Evaluation of sampling strategies to estimate crown biomass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishna P Poudel; Hailemariam Temesgen; Andrew N Gray

    2015-01-01

    Depending on tree and site characteristics crown biomass accounts for a significant portion of the total aboveground biomass in the tree. Crown biomass estimation is useful for different purposes including evaluating the economic feasibility of crown utilization for energy production or forest products, fuel load assessments and fire management strategies, and wildfire...

  20. An Optimal Control Strategy for DC Bus Voltage Regulation in Photovoltaic System with Battery Energy Storage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhamad Zalani Daud

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an evaluation of an optimal DC bus voltage regulation strategy for grid-connected photovoltaic (PV system with battery energy storage (BES. The BES is connected to the PV system DC bus using a DC/DC buck-boost converter. The converter facilitates the BES power charge/discharge to compensate for the DC bus voltage deviation during severe disturbance conditions. In this way, the regulation of DC bus voltage of the PV/BES system can be enhanced as compared to the conventional regulation that is solely based on the voltage-sourced converter (VSC. For the grid side VSC (G-VSC, two control methods, namely, the voltage-mode and current-mode controls, are applied. For control parameter optimization, the simplex optimization technique is applied for the G-VSC voltage- and current-mode controls, including the BES DC/DC buck-boost converter controllers. A new set of optimized parameters are obtained for each of the power converters for comparison purposes. The PSCAD/EMTDC-based simulation case studies are presented to evaluate the performance of the proposed optimized control scheme in comparison to the conventional methods.

  1. An optimal control strategy for DC bus voltage regulation in photovoltaic system with battery energy storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daud, Muhamad Zalani; Mohamed, Azah; Hannan, M A

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents an evaluation of an optimal DC bus voltage regulation strategy for grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system with battery energy storage (BES). The BES is connected to the PV system DC bus using a DC/DC buck-boost converter. The converter facilitates the BES power charge/discharge to compensate for the DC bus voltage deviation during severe disturbance conditions. In this way, the regulation of DC bus voltage of the PV/BES system can be enhanced as compared to the conventional regulation that is solely based on the voltage-sourced converter (VSC). For the grid side VSC (G-VSC), two control methods, namely, the voltage-mode and current-mode controls, are applied. For control parameter optimization, the simplex optimization technique is applied for the G-VSC voltage- and current-mode controls, including the BES DC/DC buck-boost converter controllers. A new set of optimized parameters are obtained for each of the power converters for comparison purposes. The PSCAD/EMTDC-based simulation case studies are presented to evaluate the performance of the proposed optimized control scheme in comparison to the conventional methods.

  2. Coping strategies and locus of control in childhood leukemia: a multi-center research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Concetta Polizzi

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL is a very distressing experience for children and requires a special effort of adjustment. Therefore, it seems to be crucial to explore coping resources for the experienced risk condition. In this sense, the study focuses on coping strategies and locus of control in children with ALL during the treatment phase, and on their possible relation. The correlation between children and maternal coping strategies is also investigated. The participants involved were an experimental group of 40 children with ALL and their mothers, and 30 healthy children as the control group. The tools used were: the Child Behavioral Style Scale and the Monitor-Blunter Style Scale to assess the coping strategies of children and mothers; the locus of Control Scale for Children to analyze the children’s perception of controlling the events. Both children with ALL and their mothers resorted to monitoring coping strategies with a statistically significant rate of occurrence (children: M=17.8, SD=3.8; mothers: M=10.48, SD=3.4. The data concerning the locus of control show this tendency towards internal causes (M=53.1, SD=4.7. There were statistically significant correlations between monitoring coping strategies and external locus of control (r=0.400, P<0.05. The results gained from the control group are almost equivalent. The outcomes show several interesting resources of the psychological functioning of children as well as of their mothers.

  3. Hybrid Force and Position Control Strategy of Robonaut Performing Object Transfer Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Gang

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a coordinated hybrid force/position control strategy of robonaut performing object transfer operation. Firstly, the constraint relationships between robonaut and object are presented. Base on them, the unified dynamic model of the robonaut and object is established to design the hybrid force/position control method. The movement, the internal force and the external constraint force of the object are considered as the control targets of the control system. Finally, a MATLAB simulation of the robonaut performing object transfer task verifies the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that all the targets can be control accurately by using the method proposed in this paper. The presented control method can control both internal and external forces while maintaining control accuracy, which is a common control strategy.

  4. Short Horizon Control Strategies for an Alternating Activated Sludge Process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Isaacs, Steven Howard

    1996-01-01

    Three control strategies allowing improved operational flexibility of an alternating type activated sludge process are presented in a unified model based framework. The control handles employed are the addition rate of an external carbon source to denitrification, the cycle length, and the dissol...

  5. Evaluating alternative gait strategies using evolutionary robotics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sellers, William I; Dennis, Louise A; W -J, Wang; Crompton, Robin H

    2004-05-01

    Evolutionary robotics is a branch of artificial intelligence concerned with the automatic generation of autonomous robots. Usually the form of the robot is predefined and various computational techniques are used to control the machine's behaviour. One aspect is the spontaneous generation of walking in legged robots and this can be used to investigate the mechanical requirements for efficient walking in bipeds. This paper demonstrates a bipedal simulator that spontaneously generates walking and running gaits. The model can be customized to represent a range of hominoid morphologies and used to predict performance parameters such as preferred speed and metabolic energy cost. Because it does not require any motion capture data it is particularly suitable for investigating locomotion in fossil animals. The predictions for modern humans are highly accurate in terms of energy cost for a given speed and thus the values predicted for other bipeds are likely to be good estimates. To illustrate this the cost of transport is calculated for Australopithecus afarensis. The model allows the degree of maximum extension at the knee to be varied causing the model to adopt walking gaits varying from chimpanzee-like to human-like. The energy costs associated with these gait choices can thus be calculated and this information used to evaluate possible locomotor strategies in early hominids.

  6. A Review of Control Strategy of the Large-scale of Electric Vehicles Charging and Discharging Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Lingyu; Han, Jiming; Xiong, Wenting; Wang, Hao; Shen, Yaqi; Li, Ying

    2017-05-01

    Large scale access of electric vehicles will bring huge challenges to the safe operation of the power grid, and it’s important to control the charging and discharging of the electric vehicle. First of all, from the electric quality and network loss, this paper points out the influence on the grid caused by electric vehicle charging behaviour. Besides, control strategy of electric vehicle charging and discharging has carried on the induction and the summary from the direct and indirect control. Direct control strategy means control the electric charging behaviour by controlling its electric vehicle charging and discharging power while the indirect control strategy by means of controlling the price of charging and discharging. Finally, for the convenience of the reader, this paper also proposed a complete idea of the research methods about how to study the control strategy, taking the adaptability and possibility of failure of electric vehicle control strategy into consideration. Finally, suggestions on the key areas for future research are put up.

  7. 40 CFR 52.1876 - Control strategy: Nitrogen dioxide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Nitrogen dioxide. 52.1876 Section 52.1876 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS...: Nitrogen dioxide. (a) The condition to EPA's approval of the oxides of nitrogen State Implementation Plan...

  8. Risk evaluation and mitigation strategies: a focus on belatacept.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sam, Teena; Gabardi, Steven; Tichy, Eric M

    2013-03-01

    To review the elements and components of the risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) for the costimulation blocker belatacept and associated implications for health care providers working with transplant recipients. The MEDLINE and EMBASE databases (January 1990 to March 2012) were searched by using risk evaluation and mitigation strategies, REMS, belatacept, and organ transplant as search terms (individual organs were also searched). Retrieved articles were supplemented with analysis of information obtained from the Federal Register, the Food and Drug Administration, and the manufacturer of belatacept. REMS are risk-management strategies implemented to ensure that a product's benefits outweigh its known safety risks. Although belatacept offers a novel strategy in maintenance immunosuppression and was associated with superior renal function compared with cyclosporine in phase 2 and 3 trials, belatacept is also associated with increased risk of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder and central nervous system infections. The Food and Drug Administration required development of a REMS program as part of belatacept's approval process to ensure safe and appropriate use of the medication and optimization of its risk-benefit profile. Elements of the belatacept REMS include a medication guide that must be dispensed with each infusion and a communication plan. In the management of a complex population of patients, it is essential that those who care for transplant recipients, and patients, recognize the implications of potential and known risks of belatacept. The REMS program aims to facilitate careful selection and education of patients and vigilant monitoring.

  9. A Review of Microgrid Architectures and Control Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jadav, Krishnarajsinh A.; Karkar, Hitesh M.; Trivedi, I. N.

    2017-12-01

    In this paper microgrid architecture and various converters control strategies are reviewed. Microgrid is defined as interconnected network of distributed energy resources, loads and energy storage systems. This emerging concept realizes the potential of distributed generators. AC microgrid interconnects various AC distributed generators like wind turbine and DC distributed generators like PV, fuel cell using inverter. While in DC microgrid output of an AC distributed generator must be converted to DC using rectifiers and DC distributed generator can be directly interconnected. Hybrid microgrid is the solution to avoid this multiple reverse conversions AC-DC-AC and DC-AC-DC that occur in the individual AC-DC microgrid. In hybrid microgrid all AC distributed generators will be connected in AC microgrid and DC distributed generators will be connected in DC microgrid. Interlinking converter is used for power balance in both microgrids, which transfer power from one microgrid to other if any microgrid is overloaded. At the end, review of interlinking converter control strategies is presented.

  10. Evaluation of different hedging strategies for commodity price risks of industrial cogeneration plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palzer, Andreas; Westner, Günther; Madlener, Reinhard

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we design and evaluate eight different strategies for hedging commodity price risks of industrial cogeneration plants. Price developments are parameterized based on EEX data from 2008 to 2011. The probability distributions derived are used to determine the value-at-risk (VaR) of the individual strategies, which are in a final step combined in a mean-variance portfolio analysis for determining the most efficient hedging strategy. We find that the strategy adopted can have a marked influence on the remaining price risk. Quarter futures are found to be particularly well suited for reducing market price risk. In contrast, spot trading of CO 2 certificates is found to be preferable compared to forward market trading. Finally, portfolio optimization shows that a mix of various hedging strategies can further improve the profitability of a heat-based cogeneration plant. - Highlights: • Evaluation of commodity price risk hedging strategies for industrial cogeneration. • Value-at-risk analysis of eight different hedging strategies. • Mean-variance portfolio analysis for determining the optimal hedging strategy mix. • A mix of hedging strategies further improves profitability of heat-based CHP

  11. [Cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis on the integrated schistosomiasis control strategies with emphasis on infection source in Poyang Lake region].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Dan-Dan; Zeng, Xiao-Jun; Chen, Hong-Gen; Hong, Xian-Lin; Tao, Bo; Li, Yi-Feng; Xiong, Ji-Jie; Zhou, Xiao-Nong

    2009-08-01

    To evaluate the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit on the integrated schistosomiasis control strategies with emphasis on infection source, and provide scientific basis for the improvement of schistosomiasis control strategy. Aiguo and Xinhe villages in Jinxian County were selected as intervention group where the new comprehensive strategy was implemented, while Ximiao and Zuxi villages in Xinzi County served as control where routine control program was implemented. New strategy of interventions included removing cattle from snail-infested grasslands and providing farmers with farm machinery, improving sanitation by supplying tap water and building lavatories and methane gas tanks, and implementing an intensive health education program. Routine interventions were carried out in the control villages including diagnosis and treatment for human and cattle, health education, and focal mollusciciding. Data were collected from retrospective investigation and field survey for the analysis and comparison of cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit between intervention and control groups. The control effect of the intervention group was better than that of the control. The cost for 1% decrease of infection rate per 100 people, 100 cattle, and 100 snails in intervention group was 480.01, 6 851.24, and 683.63 Yuan, respectively, which were about 2.70, 4.37 and 20.25 times as those in the control respectively. The total cost/benefit ratio (BCR) was lower than 1 (0.94 in intervention group and 0.08 in the control). But the total benefit of intervention group was higher than that of the control from 2005 to 2008. The forecasting analysis indicated that the total BCR in intervention group would be 1.13 at the 4th year and all cost could be recalled. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the BCR in intervention group changed in the range around 1.0 and that of the control ranged blow 0.5. The cost-benefit of intervention group was evidently higher than that of the control. The integrated

  12. Evaluating economic costs and benefits of climate resilient livelihood strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Liu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available A major challenge for international development is to assist the poorest regions to achieve development targets while taking climate change into account. Such ‘climate resilient development’ (CRD must identify and implement adaptation strategies for improving livelihoods while also being cost-effective. While the idea that climate resilience and development goals should be compatible is often discussed, empirical evaluations of the economic impacts of actual CRD investments are practically non-existent. This paper outlines a framework to evaluate economic returns to CRD and applies it in two adaptation strategies trialed in Nusa Tenggara Barat Province, eastern Indonesia. The evaluation framework is composed of three models: a household benefit cost model, a diffusion model, and a regional benefit cost model. The models draw upon the impact evaluation, technology diffusion, and risk assessment literatures, respectively. The analyzes are based on expert opinion and locally-derived information, and hence can be applied in data-poor situations typical of developing countries. Our results explore economic costs and benefits at the household and regional scale, and we identify key input variables that greatly influence the economic returns of the strategies. These variables should therefore be a focus of ongoing investment. We also discuss how the framework is more generally applicable, its limitations including challenges in accounting for less tangible social and ecosystem service benefits, potentially leading to the underestimation of impacts, and how the approach should be complemented by qualitative methods.

  13. 40 CFR 52.728 - Control strategy: Nitrogen dioxide. [Reserved

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Control strategy: Nitrogen dioxide. [Reserved] 52.728 Section 52.728 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR...: Nitrogen dioxide. [Reserved] ...

  14. Impact of the duct static pressure reset control strategy on the energy consumption by the HVAC system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Walaszczyk Juliusz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This article addresses different duct static pressure control strategies which could be implemented in variable air volume air-conditioning systems (VAV. Two pressure reset control strategies are compared to the commonly used control solution based on the “Constant static pressure” method. First pressure reset control strategy, known as PID Control, uses signals from VAV boxes controllers to reset duct static pressure in a way that one of the VAV dampers is maintained almost entirely open. Second strategy decreases static pressure setpoint until an adjustable number of pressure requests occur. As a response to the certain amount of requests, static pressure setpoint is increased. This strategy is called Trim & Respond. Both static pressure reset control strategies described in this paper are considered to have more significant potential for energy savings than the “Constant static pressure” method. In order to validate this potential, several simulations for different control strategies were carried out and the obtained results are compared and analysed. The theoretical limit of the energy savings - set of the optimal control actions, was estimated with Nelder-Mead algorithm and also presented in this article. General description of the static pressure control strategies "Constant static pressure", PID Control and Trim & Respond is given.

  15. Control strategy for energy-efficient bipedal walking with variable leg stiffness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, L.C.; Stramigioli, Stefano; Carloni, Raffaella

    In this work, we propose a hybrid model for a bipedal walker with controlled variable leg stiffness, and a control strategy for stable gait control. The control reference is a passive gait of the limit-case bipedal spring-loaded inverted pendulum model with massless feet, ensuring that the gait is

  16. Evaluating Persuasion Strategies and Deep Reinforcement Learning methods for Negotiation Dialogue agents

    OpenAIRE

    Keizer, Simon; Guhe, Markus; Cuayáhuitl, Heriberto; Efstathiou, Ioannis; Engelbrecht, Klaus-Peter; Dobre, Mihai; Lascarides, Alexandra; Lemon, Oliver

    2017-01-01

    In this paper we present a comparative evaluation of various negotiation strategies within an online version of the game “Settlers of Catan”. The comparison is based on human subjects playing games against artificial game-playing agents (‘bots’) which implement different negotiation dialogue strategies, using a chat dialogue interface to negotiate trades. Our results suggest that a negotiation strategy that uses persuasion, as well as a strategy that is trained from data using Deep Reinforcem...

  17. VOC from Vehicular Evaporation Emissions: Status and Control Strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Huan; Man, Hanyang; Tschantz, Michael; Wu, Ye; He, Kebin; Hao, Jiming

    2015-12-15

    Vehicular evaporative emissions is an important source of volatile organic carbon (VOC), however, accurate estimation of emission amounts and scientific evaluation of control strategy for these emissions have been neglected outside of the United States. This study provides four kinds of basic emission factors: diurnal, hot soak, permeation, and refueling. Evaporative emissions from the Euro 4 vehicles (1.6 kg/year/car) are about four times those of U.S. vehicles (0.4 kg/year/car). Closing this emissions gap would have a larger impact than the progression from Euro 3 to Euro 6 tailpipe HC emission controls. Even in the first 24 h of parking, China's current reliance upon the European 24 h diurnal standard results in 508 g/vehicle/year emissions, higher than 32 g/vehicle/year from Tier 2 vehicles. The U.S. driving cycle matches Beijing real-world conditions much better on both typical trip length and average speed than current European driving cycles. At least two requirements should be added to the Chinese emissions standards: an onboard refueling vapor recovery to force the canister to be sized sufficiently large, and a 48-h evaporation test requirement to ensure that adequate purging occurs over a shorter drive sequence.

  18. Deterring Cybertrespass and Securing Cyberspace: Lessons from United States Border Control Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-12-01

    have begun discussing strategies for securing entities in cyberspace—includ- ing the files and software belonging to corporations , government...through the best strategies for deterring cyber-incursions. The immigration analogy is particularly useful for exploring how would-be intruders learn...analysis, evaluation, and refinement of professional expertise in war, strategy , operations, national security, resource management, and responsible

  19. Layered Multi-mode Optimal Control Strategy for Multi-MW Wind Turbine

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    KONG Yi-gang; WANG Zhi-xin

    2008-01-01

    The control strategy is one of the most important renewable technology, and an increasing number of multi-MW wind turbines are being developed with a variable speed-variable pitch (VS-VP) technology. The main objective of adopting a VS-VP technology is to improve the fast response speed and capture maximum energy. But the power generated by wind turbine changes rapidly because of the centinuous fluctuation of wind speed and direction. At the same time, wind energy conversion systems are of high order, time delays and strong nonlinear characteristics because of many uncertain factors. Based on analyzing the all dynamic processes of wind turbine, a kind of layered multi-mode optimal control strategy is presented which is that three control strategies: bang-bang, fuzzy and adaptive proportienai integral derivative (PID) are adopted according to different stages and expected performance of wind turbine to capture optimum wind power, compensate the nonlinearity and improve the wind turbine performance at low, rated and high wind speed.

  20. An Optimal PR Control Strategy with Load Current Observer for a Three-Phase Voltage Source Inverter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaobo Dou

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Inverter voltage control is an important task in the operation of a DC/AC microgrid system. To improve the inverter voltage control dynamics, traditional approaches attempt to measure and feedforward the load current, which, however, needs remote measurement with communications in a microgrid system with distributed loads. In this paper, a load current observer (LCO based control strategy, which does not need remote measurement, is proposed for sinusoidal signals tracking control of a three-phase inverter of the microgrid. With LCO, the load current is estimated precisely, acting as the feedforward of the dual-loop control, which can effectively enlarge the stability margin of the control system and improve the dynamic response to load disturbance. Furthermore, multiple PR regulators are applied in this strategy conducted in a stationary  frame to suppress the transient fluctuations and the total harmonic distortion (THD of the output voltage and achieve faster transient performance compared with traditional dual-loop control in a rotating dq0 frame under instantaneous change of various types of load (i.e., balanced load, unbalanced load, and nonlinear load. The parameters of multiple PR regulators are analyzed and selected through the root locus method and the stability of the whole control system is evaluated and analyzed. Finally, the validity of the proposed approach is verified through simulations and a three-phase prototype test system with a TMS320F28335 DSP.

  1. Hierarchical Control Strategy for Active Hydropneumatic Suspension Vehicles Based on Genetic Algorithms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinzhi Feng

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available A new hierarchical control strategy for active hydropneumatic suspension systems is proposed. This strategy considers the dynamic characteristics of the actuator. The top hierarchy controller uses a combined control scheme: a genetic algorithm- (GA- based self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative controller and a fuzzy logic controller. For practical implementations of the proposed control scheme, a GA-based self-learning process is initiated only when the defined performance index of vehicle dynamics exceeds a certain debounce time threshold. The designed control algorithm is implemented on a virtual prototype and cosimulations are performed with different road disturbance inputs. Cosimulation results show that the active hydropneumatic suspension system designed in this study significantly improves riding comfort characteristics of vehicles. The robustness and adaptability of the proposed controller are also examined when the control system is subjected to extremely rough road conditions.

  2. Managing Work and Family: Do Control Strategies Help?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Versey, H. Shellae

    2015-01-01

    How can we effectively manage competing obligations from work and family without becoming overwhelmed? This question inspires the current study by examining control strategies that may facilitate better work-life balance, with a specific focus on the role of lowered aspirations and positive reappraisals, attitudes that underlie adaptive coping…

  3. Cell lineage branching as a strategy for proliferative control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzi, Gentian; Lander, Arthur D; Khammash, Mustafa

    2015-02-19

    How tissue and organ sizes are specified is one of the great unsolved mysteries in biology. Experiments and mathematical modeling implicate feedback control of cell lineage progression, but a broad understanding of what lineage feedback accomplishes is lacking. By exploring the possible effects of various biologically relevant disturbances on the dynamic and steady state behaviors of stem cell lineages, we find that the simplest and most frequently studied form of lineage feedback - which we term renewal control - suffers from several serious drawbacks. These reflect fundamental performance limits dictated by universal conservation-type laws, and are independent of parameter choice. Here we show that introducing lineage branches can circumvent all such limitations, permitting effective attenuation of a wide range of perturbations. The type of feedback that achieves such performance - which we term fate control - involves promotion of lineage branching at the expense of both renewal and (primary) differentiation. We discuss the evidence that feedback of just this type occurs in vivo, and plays a role in tissue growth control. Regulated lineage branching is an effective strategy for dealing with disturbances in stem cell systems. The existence of this strategy provides a dynamics-based justification for feedback control of cell fate in vivo.

  4. HPV.edu study protocol: a cluster randomised controlled evaluation of education, decisional support and logistical strategies in school-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skinner, S Rachel; Davies, Cristyn; Cooper, Spring; Stoney, Tanya; Marshall, Helen; Jones, Jane; Collins, Joanne; Hutton, Heidi; Parrella, Adriana; Zimet, Gregory; Regan, David G; Whyte, Patti; Brotherton, Julia M L; Richmond, Peter; McCaffrey, Kirsten; Garland, Suzanne M; Leask, Julie; Kang, Melissa; Braunack-Mayer, Annette; Kaldor, John; McGeechan, Kevin

    2015-09-15

    The National Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program in Australia commenced in 2007 for females and in 2013 for males, using the quadrivalent HPV vaccine (HPV 6,11,16,18). Thus far, we have demonstrated very substantial reductions in genital warts and in the prevalence of HPV among young Australian women, providing early evidence for the success of this public health initiative. Australia has a long history of school-based vaccination programs for adolescents, with comparatively high coverage. However, it is not clear what factors promote success in a school vaccination program. The HPV.edu study aims to examine: 1) student knowledge about HPV vaccination; 2) psycho-social outcomes and 3) vaccination uptake. HPV.edu is a cluster randomised trial of a complex intervention in schools aiming to recruit 40 schools with year-8 enrolments above 100 students (approximately 4400 students). The schools will be stratified by Government, Catholic, and Independent sectors and geographical location, with up to 20 schools recruited in each of two states, Western Australia (WA) and South Australia (SA), and randomly allocated to intervention or control (usual practice). Intervention schools will receive the complex intervention which includes an adolescent intervention (education and distraction); a decisional support tool for parents and adolescents and logistical strategies (consent form returns strategies, in-school mop-up vaccination and vaccination-day guidelines). Careful process evaluation including an embedded qualitative evaluation will be undertaken to explore in depth possible mechanisms for any observed effect of the intervention on primary and secondary outcomes. This study is the first to evaluate the relative effectiveness of various strategies to promote best practice in school-based vaccination against HPV. The study aims to improve vaccination-related psychosocial outcomes, including adolescent knowledge and attitudes, decision-making involvement, self

  5. Axial power deviation control strategy and computer simulation for Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liao Yehong; Zhou Xiaoling, Xiao Min

    2004-01-01

    Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station has very tight operation diagram especially at its right side. Therefore the successful control of axial power deviation for PWR is crucial to nuclear safety. After analyzing various core characters' effect on axial power distribution, several axial power deviation control strategies has been proposed to comply with different power varying operation scenario. Application and computer simulation of the strategies has shown that our prediction of axial power deviation evolution are comparable to the measurement values, and that our control strategies are effective. Engineering experience shows that the application of our methodology can predict accurately the transient of axial power deviation, and therefore has become a useful tool for reactor operation and safety control. This paper presents the axial power control characteristics, reactor operation strategy research, computer simulation, and comparison to measurement results in Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station. (author)

  6. Development of behaviour change communication strategy for a vaccination-linked malaria control tool in southern Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mshinda Hassan

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infants (IPTi using sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine and linked to the expanded programme on immunization (EPI is a promising strategy for malaria control in young children. As evidence grows on the efficacy of IPTi as public health strategy, information is needed so that this novel control tool can be put into practice promptly, once a policy recommendation is made to implement it. This paper describes the development of a behaviour change communication strategy to support implementation of IPTi by the routine health services in southern Tanzania, in the context of a five-year research programme evaluating the community effectiveness of IPTi. Methods Mixed methods including a rapid qualitative assessment and quantitative health facility survey were used to investigate communities' and providers' knowledge and practices relating to malaria, EPI, sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine and existing health posters. Results were applied to develop an appropriate behaviour change communication strategy for IPTi involving personal communication between mothers and health staff, supported by a brand name and two posters. Results Malaria in young children was considered to be a nuisance because it causes sleepless nights. Vaccination services were well accepted and their use was considered the mother's responsibility. Babies were generally taken for vaccination despite complaints about fevers and swellings after the injections. Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine was widely used for malaria treatment and intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy, despite widespread rumours of adverse reactions based on hearsay and newspaper reports. Almost all health providers said that they or their spouse were ready to take SP in pregnancy (96%, 223/242. A brand name, key messages and images were developed and pre-tested as behaviour change communication materials. The posters contained public health messages

  7. Age and excuses for forgetting: self-handicapping versus damage-control strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erber, J T; Prager, I G

    2000-01-01

    Either before or after being interviewed for a volunteer position, a young or old protagonist (i.e., target) gave an excuse for forgetting. Study participants (i.e., perceivers) had a higher opinion of the target's memory, were more confident in the target's capability of performing memory-related tasks, and attributed the target's memory failures more to bad luck when the excuse was given after (damage-control strategy) rather than before (self-handicapping strategy) the interview. Moreover, the excuse given before the interview had no significant effect on perceivers' judgments when compared with data from an earlier study in which the target gave no excuse for forgetting. The present findings suggest that a damage-control strategy can ameliorate negative capability impressions.

  8. Economic Analysis of HPAI Control in the Netherlands II: Comparison of Control Strategies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Longworth, N.J.; Mourits, Monique C.M.; Saatkamp, H.W.

    2014-01-01

    A combined epidemiological-economic modelling approach was used to analyse strategies for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) control for the Netherlands. The modelling framework used was InterSpread Plus (ISP), a spatially based, stochastic and dynamic simulation model. A total of eight

  9. Automatic control of the NMB level in general anaesthesia with a switching total system mass control strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teixeira, Miguel; Mendonça, Teresa; Rocha, Paula; Rabiço, Rui

    2014-12-01

    This paper presents a model based switching control strategy to drive the neuromuscular blockade (NMB) level of patients undergoing general anesthesia to a predefined reference. A single-input single-output Wiener system with only two parameters is used to model the effect of two different muscle relaxants, atracurium and rocuronium, and a switching controller is designed based on a bank of total system mass control laws. Each of such laws is tuned for an individual model from a bank chosen to represent the behavior of the whole population. The control law to be applied at each instant corresponds to the model whose NMB response is closer to the patient's response. Moreover a scheme to improve the reference tracking quality based on the analysis of the patient's response, as well as, a comparison between the switching strategy and the Extended Kalman Kilter (EKF) technique are presented. The results are illustrated by means of several simulations, where switching shows to provide good results, both in theory and in practice, with a desirable reference tracking. The reference tracking improvement technique is able to produce a better reference tracking. Also, this technique showed a better performance than the (EKF). Based on these results, the switching control strategy with a bank of total system mass control laws proved to be robust enough to be used as an automatic control system for the NMB level.

  10. The effects of rhythm control strategies versus rate control strategies for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter: a protocol for a systematic review with meta-analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sethi, Naqash J; Safi, Sanam; Nielsen, Emil E; Feinberg, Joshua; Gluud, Christian; Jakobsen, Janus C

    2017-03-06

    Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia of the heart with a prevalence of approximately 2% in the western world. Atrial flutter, another arrhythmia, occurs less often with an incidence of approximately 200,000 new patients per year in the USA. Patients with atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter have an increased risk of death and morbidities. The management of atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter is often based on interventions aiming at either a rhythm control strategy or a rate control strategy. The evidence on the comparable effects of these strategies is unclear. This protocol for a systematic review aims at identifying the best overall treatment strategy for atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter. This protocol for a systematic review was performed following the recommendations of the Cochrane Collaboration and the eight-step assessment procedure suggested by Jakobsen and colleagues. We plan to include all relevant randomised clinical trials assessing the effects of any rhythm control strategy versus any rate control strategy. We plan to search the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, Science Citation Index Expanded on Web of Science, and BIOSIS to identify relevant trials. Any eligible trial will be assessed and classified as either high risk of bias or low risk of bias, and our conclusions will be based on trials with low risk of bias. The analyses of the extracted data will be performed using Review Manager 5 and Trial Sequential Analysis. For both our primary and secondary outcomes, we will create a 'Summary of Findings' table and use GRADE assessment to assess the quality of the evidence. The results of this systematic review have the potential to benefit thousands of patients worldwide as well as healthcare systems and healthcare economy. PROSPERO CRD42016051433.

  11. Reactive power and voltage control strategy based on dynamic and adaptive segment for DG inverter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhai, Jianwei; Lin, Xiaoming; Zhang, Yongjun

    2018-03-01

    The inverter of distributed generation (DG) can support reactive power to help solve the problem of out-of-limit voltage in active distribution network (ADN). Therefore, a reactive voltage control strategy based on dynamic and adaptive segment for DG inverter is put forward to actively control voltage in this paper. The proposed strategy adjusts the segmented voltage threshold of Q(U) droop curve dynamically and adaptively according to the voltage of grid-connected point and the power direction of adjacent downstream line. And then the reactive power reference of DG inverter can be got through modified Q(U) control strategy. The reactive power of inverter is controlled to trace the reference value. The proposed control strategy can not only control the local voltage of grid-connected point but also help to maintain voltage within qualified range considering the terminal voltage of distribution feeder and the reactive support for adjacent downstream DG. The scheme using the proposed strategy is compared with the scheme without the reactive support of DG inverter and the scheme using the Q(U) control strategy with constant segmented voltage threshold. The simulation results suggest that the proposed method has a significant improvement on solving the problem of out-of-limit voltage, restraining voltage variation and improving voltage quality.

  12. A novel fuzzy-logic control strategy minimizing N2O emissions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boiocchi, Riccardo; Gernaey, Krist V; Sin, Gürkan

    2017-10-15

    A novel control strategy for achieving low N 2 O emissions and low effluent NH 4 + concentration is here proposed. The control strategy uses the measurements of ammonium and nitrate concentrations in inlet and outlet of the aerobic zone of a wastewater treatment plant to calculate a ratio indicating the balance among the microbial groups. More specifically, the ratio will indicate if there is a complete nitrification. In case nitrification is not complete, the controller will adjust the aeration level of the plant in order to inhibit the production of N 2 O from AOB and HB denitrification. The controller was implemented using the fuzzy logic approach. It was comprehensively tested for different model structures and different sets of model parameters with regards to its ability of mitigating N 2 O emissions for future applications in real wastewater treatment plants. It is concluded that the control strategy is useful for those plants having AOB denitrification as the main N 2 O producing process. However, in treatment plants having incomplete NH 2 OH oxidation as the main N 2 O producing pathway, a cascade controller configuration adapting the oxygen supply to respect only the effluent ammonium concentration limits was found to be more effective to ensure low N 2 O emissions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. RNA interference: a new strategy in the evolutionary arms race between human control strategies and insect pests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Machado, Vilmar; Rodríguez-García, María Juliana; Sánchez-García, Francisco Javier; Galan, Jose

    2014-01-01

    The relationship between humans and the insect pests of cultivated plants may be considered to be an indirect coevolutionary process, i.e., an arms race. Over time, humans have developed several strategies to minimize the negative impacts of insects on agricultural production. However, insects have made adaptive responses via the evolution of resistance to insecticides, and more recently against Bacillus thuriengiensis. Thus, we need to continuously invest resources in the development of new strategies for crop protection. Recent advances in genomics have demonstrated the possibility of a new weapon or strategy in this war, i.e., gene silencing, which involves blocking the expression of specific genes via mRNA inactivation. In the last decade, several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this strategy in the control of different species of insects. However, several technical difficulties need to be overcome to transform this potential into reality, such as the selection of target genes, the concentration of dsRNA, the nucleotide sequence of the dsRNA, the length of dsRNA, persistence in the insect body, and the life stage of the target species where gene silencing is most efficient. This study analyzes several aspects related to the use of gene silencing in pest control and it includes an overview of the inactivation process, as well as the problems that need to be resolved to transform gene silencing into an effective pest control method.

  14. A Strategy for Detection of Inconsistency in Evaluation of Essay Type Answers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shukla, Archana; Chaudhary, Banshi D.

    2014-01-01

    The quality of evaluation of essay type answer books involving multiple evaluators for courses with large number of enrollments is likely to be affected due to heterogeneity in experience, expertise and maturity of evaluators. In this paper, we present a strategy to detect anomalies in evaluation of essay type answers by multiple evaluators based…

  15. Frequency Control Strategy for Black Starts via PMSG-Based Wind Power Generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Tang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The use of wind power generation (WPG as a source for black starts will significantly enhance the resiliency of power systems and shorten their recovery time from blackouts. Given that frequency stability is the most serious issue during the initial recovery period, virtual inertia control can enable wind turbines to provide frequency support to an external system. In this study, a general procedure of WPG participating in black starts is presented, and the key issues are discussed. The adaptability of existing virtual inertia control strategies is analyzed, and improvement work is performed. A new coordinated frequency control strategy is proposed based on the presented improvement work. A local power network with a permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG-based wind farm is modeled and used to verify the effectiveness of the strategy.

  16. A driver-adaptive stability control strategy for sport utility vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Shenjin; He, Yuping

    2017-08-01

    Conventional vehicle stability control (VSC) systems are designed for average drivers. For a driver with a good driving skill, the VSC systems may be redundant; for a driver with a poor driving skill, the VSC intervention may be inadequate. To increase safety of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), this paper proposes a novel driver-adaptive VSC (DAVSC) strategy based on scaling the target yaw rate commanded by the driver. The DAVSC system is adaptive to drivers' driving skills. More control effort would be exerted for drivers with poor driving skills, and vice versa. A sliding mode control (SMC)-based differential braking (DB) controller is designed using a three degrees of freedom (DOF) yaw-plane model. An eight DOF nonlinear yaw-roll model is used to simulate the SUV dynamics. Two driver models, namely longitudinal and lateral, are used to 'drive' the virtual SUV. By integrating the virtual SUV, the DB controller, and the driver models, the performance of the DAVSC system is investigated. The simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the DAVSC strategy.

  17. Emergency strategy optimization for the environmental control system in manned spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Guoxiang; Pang, Liping; Liu, Meng; Fang, Yufeng; Zhang, Helin

    2018-02-01

    It is very important for a manned environmental control system (ECS) to be able to reconfigure its operation strategy in emergency conditions. In this article, a multi-objective optimization is established to design the optimal emergency strategy for an ECS in an insufficient power supply condition. The maximum ECS lifetime and the minimum power consumption are chosen as the optimization objectives. Some adjustable key variables are chosen as the optimization variables, which finally represent the reconfigured emergency strategy. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II is adopted to solve this multi-objective optimization problem. Optimization processes are conducted at four different carbon dioxide partial pressure control levels. The study results show that the Pareto-optimal frontiers obtained from this multi-objective optimization can represent the relationship between the lifetime and the power consumption of the ECS. Hence, the preferred emergency operation strategy can be recommended for situations when there is suddenly insufficient power.

  18. Application of new control strategy for sun tracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubio, F.R.; Ortega, M.G.; Gordillo, F.; Lopez-Martinez, M.

    2007-01-01

    The application of high concentration solar cells technology allows a significant increase in the amount of energy collected by solar arrays per unit area. However, to make it possible, more severe specifications on the sun pointing error are required. In fact, the performance of solar cells with concentrators decreases drastically if this error is greater than a small value. These specifications are not fulfilled by simple tracking systems due to different sources of errors (e.g., small misalignments of the structure with respect to geographical north) that appear in practice in low cost, domestic applications. This paper presents a control application of a sun tracker that is able to follow the sun with high accuracy without the necessity of either a precise procedure of installation or recalibration. A hybrid tracking system that consists of a combination of open loop tracking strategies based on solar movement models and closed loop strategies using a dynamic feedback controller is presented. Energy saving factors are taken into account, which implies that, among other factors, the sun is not constantly tracked with the same accuracy, to prevent energy overconsumption by the motors. Simulation and experimental results with a low cost two axes solar tracker are exposed, including a comparison between a classical open loop tracking strategy and the proposed hybrid one

  19. Assessment of the postural control strategies used to play two Wii Fit™ videogames.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalski, A; Glazebrook, C M; Martin, A J; Wong, W W N; Kim, A J W; Moody, K D; Salbach, N M; Steinnagel, B; Andrysek, J; Torres-Moreno, R; Zabjek, K F

    2012-07-01

    The Nintendo Wii Fit™ may provide an affordable alternative to traditional biofeedback or virtual reality systems for retraining or improving motor function in populations with impaired balance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate postural control strategies healthy individuals use to play Wii Fit™ videogames. Sixteen young adults played 10 trials of Ski Slalom and Soccer Heading respectively. Centre of pressure (COP) excursion and three-dimensional movement data were acquired to determine variability in medial-lateral COP sway and shoulder-pelvic movement. While there was no difference in medial-lateral COP variability between games during trial 1, there was a significant difference after 10 trials. COP sway increased (59-75 mm) for Soccer Heading while it decreased (67-33 mm) for Ski Slalom from trial 1 to trial 10. During Ski Slalom participants demonstrated decreased shoulder and pelvic movement combined with increased pelvic-shoulder coupling. Conversely, participants demonstrated greater initial shoulder tilt when playing Soccer Heading, with no reduction in pelvic rotation and tilt. Participants decreased pelvic and trunk movements when skiing, suggesting a greater contribution of lower extremity control while they primarily used a trunk strategy to play Soccer Heading. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Modeling an impact control strategy using HyPA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cuijpers, P.J.L.; Reniers, M.A.; Cassandras, C.G.; Giua, A.; Seatzu, C.; Zaytoon, J.

    2006-01-01

    We analyze a control strategy for the pick-and-place module of a component mounting device.We use a combination of techniques from bondgraph-theory, systems theory, process algebra and differential algebra to achieve this, and we show how the hybrid process algebra HyPA aides us in combining these