Decentralized Quasi-Newton Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Eisen, Mark; Mokhtari, Aryan; Ribeiro, Alejandro

2017-05-01

We introduce the decentralized Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (D-BFGS) method as a variation of the BFGS quasi-Newton method for solving decentralized optimization problems. The D-BFGS method is of interest in problems that are not well conditioned, making first order decentralized methods ineffective, and in which second order information is not readily available, making second order decentralized methods impossible. D-BFGS is a fully distributed algorithm in which nodes approximate curvature information of themselves and their neighbors through the satisfaction of a secant condition. We additionally provide a formulation of the algorithm in asynchronous settings. Convergence of D-BFGS is established formally in both the synchronous and asynchronous settings and strong performance advantages relative to first order methods are shown numerically.

Federalism and Decentralization of Education in Argentina. Unintended Consequences of Decentralization of Expenditures in a Federal Country.

Science.gov (United States)

Falleti, Tulia G.

By analyzing the process of decentralization of education in Argentina, this paper complements the existing literature on decentralization and federalism in two ways: (1) it studies the impact of federal institutions on the origins and evolution of decentralization; and (2) it analyzes a case of decentralization of education that, in a way not…

The Two Edge Knife of Decentralization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Khoirul Umam

2011-07-01

Full Text Available A centralistic government model has become a trend in a number of developing countries, in which the ideosycretic aspect becomes pivotal key in the policy making. The situation constitutes authoritarianism, cronyism, and corruption. To break the impasse, the decentralized system is proposed to make people closer to the public policy making. Decentralization is also convinced to be the solution to create a good governance. But a number of facts in the developing countries demonstrates that decentralization indeed has ignite emerges backfires such as decentralized corruption, parochialism, horizontal conflict, local political instability and others. This article elaborates the theoretical framework on decentralization's ouput as the a double-edge knife. In a simple words, the concept of decentralization does not have a permanent relationship with the creation of good governance and development. Without substantive democracy, decentralization is indeed potential to be a destructive political instrument threating the state's future.

Decentralized neural control application to robotics

CERN Document Server

Garcia-Hernandez, Ramon; Sanchez, Edgar N; Alanis, Alma y; Ruz-Hernandez, Jose A

2017-01-01

This book provides a decentralized approach for the identification and control of robotics systems. It also presents recent research in decentralized neural control and includes applications to robotics. Decentralized control is free from difficulties due to complexity in design, debugging, data gathering and storage requirements, making it preferable for interconnected systems. Furthermore, as opposed to the centralized approach, it can be implemented with parallel processors. This approach deals with four decentralized control schemes, which are able to identify the robot dynamics. The training of each neural network is performed on-line using an extended Kalman filter (EKF). The first indirect decentralized control scheme applies the discrete-time block control approach, to formulate a nonlinear sliding manifold. The second direct decentralized neural control scheme is based on the backstepping technique, approximated by a high order neural network. The third control scheme applies a decentralized neural i...

Bitcoin as a decentralized currency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dinić Vladimir

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Bitcoin is the first decentralized peer-to-peer crypto-currency founded in 2009. Its main specificity is the fact that there is no issuer of this currency. On the other hand, the supply of this currency is software-programmed and limited. Among other things, its main features are relatively secure payments, low transaction costs, anonymity, inability of counterfeiting, irreversibility of transactions, but also extremely unstable exchange rate. Despite many advantages, the use of this currency is subject of numerous discussions, as this currency offers the possibility of performing various abuses and criminal activities. The future of this and other currencies in this regard depends on both security and privacy of these currencies, and legal regulation of such payments.

Investigating the interactions of decentralized and centralized wastewater heat recovery systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Sitzenfrei, Robert; Hillebrand, Sebastian; Rauch, Wolfgang

2017-03-01

In the urban water cycle there are different sources for extracting energy. In addition to potential and chemical energy in the wastewater, thermal energy can also be recovered. Heat can be recovered from the wastewater with heat exchangers that are located decentralized and/or centralized at several locations throughout the system. It can be recovered directly at the source (e.g. in the showers and bathrooms), at building block level (e.g. warm water tanks collecting all grey water), in sewers or at the wastewater treatment plant. However, an uncoordinated installation of systems on such different levels can lead to competing technologies. To investigate these interactions, a modelling environment is set up, tested and calibrated based on continuous sewer temperature and flow measurements. With that approach different heat recovery scenarios on a household level (decentralized) and of in-sewer heat recovery (centralized) are investigated. A maximum performance drop of 40% for a centralized energy recovery system was estimated when all bathrooms are equipped with decentralized recovery systems. Therefore, the proposed modelling approach is suitable for testing different future conditions and to identify robust strategies for heat recovery systems from wastewater.

Organizational decentralization in radiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Aas, I H Monrad

2006-01-01

At present, most hospitals have a department of radiology where images are captured and interpreted. Decentralization is the opposite of centralization and means 'away from the centre'. With a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and broadband communications, transmitting radiology images between sites will be far easier than before. Qualitative interviews of 26 resource persons were performed in Norway. There was a response rate of 90%. Decentralization of radiology interpretations seems less relevant than centralization, but several forms of decentralization have a role to play. The respondents mentioned several advantages, including exploitation of capacity and competence. They also mentioned several disadvantages, including splitting professional communities and reduced contact between radiologists and clinicians. With the new technology decentralization and centralization of image interpretation are important possibilities in organizational change. This will be important for the future of teleradiology.

(DeCentralization of the Global Informational Ecosystem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johanna Möller

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Centralization and decentralization are key concepts in debates that focus on the (antidemocratic character of digital societies. Centralization is understood as the control over communication and data flows, and decentralization as giving it (back to users. Communication and media research focuses on centralization put forward by dominant digital media platforms, such as Facebook and Google, and governments. Decentralization is investigated regarding its potential in civil society, i.e., hacktivism, (encryption technologies, and grass-root technology movements. As content-based media companies increasingly engage with technology, they move into the focus of critical media studies. Moreover, as formerly nationally oriented companies now compete with global media platforms, they share several interests with civil society decentralization agents. Based on 26 qualitative interviews with leading media managers, we investigate (decentralization strategies applied by content-oriented media companies. Theoretically, this perspective on media companies as agents of (decentralization expands (decentralization research beyond traditional democratic stakeholders by considering economic actors within the “global informational ecosystem” (Birkinbine, Gómez, & Wasko, 2017. We provide a three-dimensional framework to empirically investigate (decentralization. From critical media studies, we borrow the (decentralization of data and infrastructures, from media business research, the (decentralization of content distribution.

Decentralization in Air Transportation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Udluft, H.

2017-01-01

In this work,we demonstrate that decentralized control can result in stable, efficient, and robust operations in the Air Transportation System. We implement decentralized control for aircraft taxiing operations and use Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation to analyze the resulting system behavior

Towards a personalized Internet: a case for a full decentralization.

Science.gov (United States)

Kermarrec, Anne-Marie

2013-03-28

The Web has become a user-centric platform where users post, share, annotate, comment and forward content be it text, videos, pictures, URLs, etc. This social dimension creates tremendous new opportunities for information exchange over the Internet, as exemplified by the surprising and exponential growth of social networks and collaborative platforms. Yet, niche content is sometimes difficult to retrieve using traditional search engines because they target the mass rather than the individual. Likewise, relieving users from useless notification is tricky in a world where there is so much information and so little of interest for each and every one of us. We argue that ultra-specific content could be retrieved and disseminated should search and notification be personalized to fit this new setting. We also argue that users' interests should be implicitly captured by the system rather than relying on explicit classifications simply because the world is by nature unstructured, dynamic and users do not want to be hampered in their actions by a tight and static framework. In this paper, we review some existing personalization approaches, most of which are centralized. We then advocate the need for fully decentralized systems because personalization raises two main issues. Firstly, personalization requires information to be stored and maintained at a user granularity which can significantly hurt the scalability of a centralized solution. Secondly, at a time when the 'big brother is watching you' attitude is prominent, users may be more and more reluctant to give away their personal data to the few large companies that can afford such personalization. We start by showing how to achieve personalization in decentralized systems and conclude with the research agenda ahead.

SAIDE: A Semi-Automated Interface for Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Villar, Maria T; Miller, Danny E; Fenton, Aron W; Artigues, Antonio

2010-01-01

Deuterium/hydrogen exchange in combination with mass spectrometry (DH MS) is a sensitive technique for detection of changes in protein conformation and dynamics. Since temperature, pH and timing control are the key elements for reliable and efficient measurement of hydrogen/deuterium content in proteins and peptides, we have developed a small, semiautomatic interface for deuterium exchange that interfaces the HPLC pumps with a mass spectrometer. This interface is relatively inexpensive to build, and provides efficient temperature and timing control in all stages of enzyme digestion, HPLC separation and mass analysis of the resulting peptides. We have tested this system with a series of standard tryptic peptides reconstituted in a solvent containing increasing concentration of deuterium. Our results demonstrate the use of this interface results in minimal loss of deuterium due to back exchange during HPLC desalting and separation. For peptides reconstituted in a buffer containing 100% deuterium, and assuming that all amide linkages have exchanged hydrogen with deuterium, the maximum loss of deuterium content is only 17% of the label, indicating the loss of only one deuterium molecule per peptide.

Mass transfer in liquid phase catalytic exchange column of trickle bed type

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamanishi, Toshihiko; Iwai, Yasunori; Okuno, Kenji

1995-09-01

The mechanism of mass transfer in a liquid phase catalytic exchange column was discussed for a trickle bed type. A new model has been proposed on the basis of this mass transfer mechanism; and several problems for the previous reported models were pointed out in the derivation of the model. An overall rate equation was first derived from the vapor-hydrogen exchange in the model. The mass transfer for the vapor-hydrogen exchange was decomposed to the following three steps: the mass transfer in a gas boundary layer on a catalyst particle; the mass transfer within the pores in the catalyst; and the chemical reaction on the surface of the catalyst. The water-vapor scrubbing process was considered as a series of the mass transfers in gas and liquid boundary layers on the wetted surfaces of the catalyst and packings or wall of the column. Significant subjects to be studied were proposed from the viewpoint of the validity of the model and the optimization of the column. (author)

Time evolution of the mass exchange in grazing heavy-ion collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bastrukov, S.I.; Deak, F.; Kiss, A.; Seres, Z.

1989-10-01

On the basis of a macroscopical approach to the description of two interpenetrating quantum objects, the equations of two-fluid hydrodynamics for the cohesion stage of deeply inelastic heavy-ion collisions are formulated. The elasticity of the ions is analyzed in peripheral mass exchange reactions at intermediate energies. The system of closed equations of Newtonian mechanics, which simultaneously describes the motion of the ions along classical trajectories as well as the mass time evolution during the interaction period are derived and solved. The role of mass exchange in the friction force is discussed. (author) 22 refs.; 2 figs

Decentralized control of complex systems

CERN Document Server

Siljak, Dragoslav D

2011-01-01

Complex systems require fast control action in response to local input, and perturbations dictate the use of decentralized information and control structures. This much-cited reference book explores the approaches to synthesizing control laws under decentralized information structure constraints.Starting with a graph-theoretic framework for structural modeling of complex systems, the text presents results related to robust stabilization via decentralized state feedback. Subsequent chapters explore optimization, output feedback, the manipulative power of graphs, overlapping decompositions and t

What supervisors want to know about decentralization.

Science.gov (United States)

Boissoneau, R; Belton, P

1991-06-01

Many organizations in various industries have tended to move away from strict centralization, yet some centralization is still vital to top management. With 19 of the 22 executives interviewed favoring or implementing some form of decentralization, it is probable that traditionally centralized organizations will follow the trend and begin to decentralize their organizational structures. The incentives and advantages of decentralization are too attractive to ignore. Decentralization provides responsibility, clear objectives, accountability for results, and more efficient and effective decision making. However, one must remember that decentralization can be overextended and that centralization is still viable in certain functions. Finding the correct balance between control and autonomy is a key to decentralization. Too much control and too much autonomy are the primary reasons for decentralization failures. In today's changing, competitive environment, structures must be continuously redefined, with the goal of finding an optimal balance between centralization and decentralization. Organizations are cautioned not to seek out and install a single philosopher-king to impose unified direction, but to unify leadership goals, participation, style, and control to develop improved methods of making all responsible leaders of one mind about the organization's needs and goals.

Transport and mass exchange processes in sand and gravel aquifers (v.1)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moltyaner, G.

1990-01-01

The objectives of this conference were to exchange information on promising field measurement techniques used for the characterization of spatial variability of geologic formations and on new methods used for quantifying the effect of spatial variability on groundwater flow and transport of materials; to discuss novel developments in the theory of transport processes and simulation methods; and to present views and opinions on future initiatives and directions in the design of large-scale field tracer experiments and the development of conceptual and mathematical models of transport and mass exchange processes. The 46 papers presented in these proceedings are divided into six sections: field studies of transport processes; groundwater tracers and novel field measurement techniques; promising methods and field measurement techniques for quantifying the effect of geological heterogeneities on groundwater flow and transport; novel developments in the theory of transport processes; numerical modelling of transport and mass exchange processes; and field and modelling studies of mass exchange processes. (L.L.)

Decentralized portfolio management

OpenAIRE

Coutinho, Paulo; Tabak, Benjamin Miranda

2003-01-01

We use a mean-variance model to analyze the problem of decentralized portfolio management. We find the solution for the optimal portfolio allocation for a head trader operating in n different markets, which is called the optimal centralized portfolio. However, as there are many traders specialized in different markets, the solution to the problem of optimal decentralized allocation should be different from the centralized case. In this paper we derive conditions for the solutions to be equiva...

Wage Dispersion and Decentralization of Wage Bargaining

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahl, Christian Møller; le Maire, Christian Daniel; Munch, Jakob R.

2013-01-01

This article studies how decentralization of wage bargaining from sector to firm level influences wage levels and wage dispersion. We use detailed panel data covering a period of decentralization in the Danish labor market. The decentralization process provides variation in the individual worker......'s wage-setting system that facilitates identification of the effects of decentralization. We find a wage premium associated with firm-level bargaining relative to sector-level bargaining and that the return to skills is higher under the more decentralized wage-setting systems. Using quantile regression......, we also find that wages are more dispersed under firm-level bargaining compared to more centralized wage-setting systems....

Decentralization and Governance in Indonesia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holzhacker, Ronald; Wittek, Rafael; Woltjer, Johan

2016-01-01

I. Theoretical Reflections on Decentralization and Governance for Sustainable Society 1. Decentralization and Governance for Sustainable Society in Indonesia Ronald Holzhacker, Rafael Wittek and Johan Woltjer 2. Good Governance Contested: Exploring Human Rights and Sustainability as Normative Goals

A contingency approach to decentralization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fleurke, F.; Hulst, J.R.

2006-01-01

After decades of centralization, in 1980 the central government of the Netherlands embarked upon an ambitious project to decentralize the administrative system. It proclaimed a series of general decentralization measures that aimed to improve the performance of the administrative system and to boost

On Decentralization and Life Satisfaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørnskov, Christian; Dreher, Axel; Fischer, Justina A.V.

2008-01-01

We empirically analyze the impact of fiscal and political decentralization on subjective well-being in a cross-section of 60,000 individuals from 66 countries. More spending or revenue decentralization raises well-being while greater local autonomy is beneficial only via government consumption sp...

Wage Dispersion and Decentralization of Wage Bargaining

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahl, Christian M.; Le Maire, Christian Daniel; Munch, Jakob Roland

in the individual worker's wage-setting system that facilitates identification of the effects of decentralization. Consistent with predictions we find that wages are more dispersed under firm-level bargaining compared to more centralized wage-setting systems. However, the differences across wage-setting systems......This paper studies how decentralization of wage bargaining from sector to firm level influences wage levels and wage dispersion. We use a detailed panel data set covering a period of decentralization in the Danish labor market. The decentralization process provides exogenous variation...

Decentralized Procurement in Light of Strategic Inventories

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frimor, Hans; Arya, Anil; Mittendorf, Brian

2015-01-01

The centralization versus decentralization choice is perhaps the quintessential organizational structure decision. In the operations realm, this choice is particularly critical when it comes to the procurement function. Why firms may opt to decentralize procurement has been often studied and conf......The centralization versus decentralization choice is perhaps the quintessential organizational structure decision. In the operations realm, this choice is particularly critical when it comes to the procurement function. Why firms may opt to decentralize procurement has been often studied...... and confirmed to be a multifaceted choice. This paper complements existing studies by detailing the trade-offs in the centralization versus decentralization decision in light of firm's decision to cede procurement choices to its individual devisions can help moderate inventory levels and provide a natural salve...

Optimal Sequential Resource Sharing and Exchange in Multi-Agent Systems

OpenAIRE

Xiao, Yuanzhang

2014-01-01

Central to the design of many engineering systems and social networks is to solve the underlying resource sharing and exchange problems, in which multiple decentralized agents make sequential decisions over time to optimize some long-term performance metrics. It is challenging for the decentralized agents to make optimal sequential decisions because of the complicated coupling among the agents and across time. In this dissertation, we mainly focus on three important classes of multi-agent seq...

Fusion-supported decentralized nuclear energy system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jassby, D.L.

1979-04-01

A decentralized nuclear energy system is proposed comprising mass-produced pressurized water reactors in the size range 10 to 300 MW (thermal), to be used for the production of process heat, space heat, and electricity in applications where petroleum and natural gas are presently used. Special attention is given to maximizing the refueling interval with no interim batch shuffling in order to minimize fuel transport, reactor downtime, and opportunity for fissile diversion. These objectives demand a substantial fissile enrichment (7 to 15%). The preferred fissile fuel is U-233, which offers an order of magnitude savings in ore requirements (compared with U-235 fuel), and whose higher conversion ratio in thermal reactors serves to extend the period of useful reactivity and relieve demand on the fissile breeding plants (compared with Pu-239 fuel). Application of the neutral-beam-driven tokamak fusion-neutron source to a U-233 breeding pilot plant is examined. This scheme can be extended in part to a decentralized fusion energy system, wherein remotely located large fusion reactors supply excess tritium to a distributed system of relatively small nonbreeding D-T reactors

The thermodynamics of heat- and mass exchange in chemical engineering. Vol. 1. 2. rev. ed.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matz, G.

1979-01-01

The second and completely revised edition of the approved textbook 'The thermodynamics of heat- and mass exchange in chemical engineering' is devoted to students of technical and natural science disciplines as well as to practicians and scientists, which are confronted with thermodynamical problems of chemical engineering. Starting from the different phases and properties of matter, the first and the second law of thermodynamics are discussed together with many applications. After an introduction of the equilibrium state, the general principle of similarity for heat- and mass exchange is discussed, considering in particular the heat- and mass exchange in the counter flow between two phases. In a final chapter, the heat- and mass exchange between the vapor- and liquid phase is discussed, with special emphasis on problems as evaporation and drying. (orig./HK) [de

Empirical Correction for Differences in Chemical Exchange Rates in Hydrogen Exchange-Mass Spectrometry Measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Toth, Ronald T; Mills, Brittney J; Joshi, Sangeeta B; Esfandiary, Reza; Bishop, Steven M; Middaugh, C Russell; Volkin, David B; Weis, David D

2017-09-05

A barrier to the use of hydrogen exchange-mass spectrometry (HX-MS) in many contexts, especially analytical characterization of various protein therapeutic candidates, is that differences in temperature, pH, ionic strength, buffering agent, or other additives can alter chemical exchange rates, making HX data gathered under differing solution conditions difficult to compare. Here, we present data demonstrating that HX chemical exchange rates can be substantially altered not only by the well-established variables of temperature and pH but also by additives including arginine, guanidine, methionine, and thiocyanate. To compensate for these additive effects, we have developed an empirical method to correct the hydrogen-exchange data for these differences. First, differences in chemical exchange rates are measured by use of an unstructured reporter peptide, YPI. An empirical chemical exchange correction factor, determined by use of the HX data from the reporter peptide, is then applied to the HX measurements obtained from a protein of interest under different solution conditions. We demonstrate that the correction is experimentally sound through simulation and in a proof-of-concept experiment using unstructured peptides under slow-exchange conditions (pD 4.5 at ambient temperature). To illustrate its utility, we applied the correction to HX-MS excipient screening data collected for a pharmaceutically relevant IgG4 mAb being characterized to determine the effects of different formulations on backbone dynamics.

Wind Farm Decentralized Dynamic Modeling With Parameters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Soltani, Mohsen; Shakeri, Sayyed Mojtaba; Grunnet, Jacob Deleuran

2010-01-01

Development of dynamic wind flow models for wind farms is part of the research in European research FP7 project AEOLUS. The objective of this report is to provide decentralized dynamic wind flow models with parameters. The report presents a structure for decentralized flow models with inputs from...... local models. The results of this report are especially useful, but not limited, to design a decentralized wind farm controller, since in centralized controller design one can also use the model and update it in a central computing node.......Development of dynamic wind flow models for wind farms is part of the research in European research FP7 project AEOLUS. The objective of this report is to provide decentralized dynamic wind flow models with parameters. The report presents a structure for decentralized flow models with inputs from...

Double Taxation, Tax Credits and the Information Exchange Puzzle

OpenAIRE

Wolfgang Eggert

2003-01-01

This paper analyzes the choice of taxes and international information exchange by governments in a capital tax competition model. We explain situations where countries can choose tax rates on tax savings income and exchange information about the domestic savings of foreigners, implying that the decentralized equilibrium is efficient. However, we also identify situations with adverse welfare properties in which information exchange is compatible with zero taxes on capital income. The model hel...

Ubiquitous consultation tool for decentral knowledge workers

OpenAIRE

Nazari Shirehjini, A.A.; Rühl, C.; Noll, S.

2003-01-01

The special issue of this initial study is to examine the current work situation of consulting companies, and to elaborate a concept for supporting decentralized working consultants. The concept addresses significant challenges of decentralized work processes by deploying the Peer-to-Peer methodology to decentralized expert and Knowledge Management, cooperation, and enterprise resource planning.

Query Optimizations over Decentralized RDF Graphs

KAUST Repository

Abdelaziz, Ibrahim; Mansour, Essam; Ouzzani, Mourad; Aboulnaga, Ashraf; Kalnis, Panos

2017-01-01

Applications in life sciences, decentralized social networks, Internet of Things, and statistical linked dataspaces integrate data from multiple decentralized RDF graphs via SPARQL queries. Several approaches have been proposed to optimize query

Decentralization and the local development state

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Emmenegger, Rony Hugo

2016-01-01

This article explores the politics of decentralization and state-peasant encounters in rural Oromiya, Ethiopia. Breaking with a centralized past, the incumbent government of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) committed itself to a decentralization policy in the early 1990......s and has since then created a number of new sites for state-citizen interactions. In the context of electoral authoritarianism, however, decentralization has been interpreted as a means for the expansion of the party-state at the grass-roots level. Against this backdrop, this article attempts...... between the 2005 and 2010 elections. Based on ethnographic field research, the empirical case presented discloses that decentralization and state-led development serve the expansion of state power into rural areas, but that state authority is simultaneously constituted and undermined in the course...

Decentralized or Centralized Systems for Colleges and Universities?

Science.gov (United States)

Heydinger, Richard B.; Norris, Donald M.

1979-01-01

Arguments for and against decentralization of data management, analysis, and planning systems are presented. It is suggested that technological advances have encouraged decentralization. Caution in this direction is urged and the development of an articulated decentralization program is proposed. (SF)

Decentralization and Economic Growth per capita in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Crucq, Pieter; Hemminga, Hendrik-Jan

2007-01-01

In this paper the relationship between decentralization and economic growth is investigated. The focus is on decentralization from the national government to the highest substate level in a country, which we define as regional decentralization. Section 2 discusses the different dimensions of

MACROECONOMIC IMPACT OF DECENTRALIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilia Cornelia STOICA

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The concept of decentralization has a variety of expressions, but the meaning generally accepted refers to the transfer of authority and responsibility of the public functions from central government to sub-national public entities or even to the private sector. Decentralization process is complex, affecting many aspects of social and economic life and public management, and its design and implementation cover several stages, depending on the cyclical and structural developments of the country. From an economic perspective, decentralization is seen as a means of primary importance in terms of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of public services and macroeconomic stability due to the redistribution of public finances while in a much closer logic of the government policy objectives. But the decentralization process behaves as well some risks, because it involves the implementation of appropriate mechanisms for the establishment of income and expenditure programming at the subnational level, which, if is not correlated with macroeconomic policy imperatives can lead to major imbalances, both financially as in termes of economic and social life. Equally, ensuring the balance of the budget at the local level is imperative to fulfill, this goal imposing a legal framework and specific procedures to size transfers of public funds, targeted or untargeted. Also, public and local authorities have to adopt appropriate laws and regulations such that sub-national public entities can access loans - such as bank loans or debentures from domestic or external market - in terms of a strict monitoring national financial stability. In all aspects of decentralization - political, administrative, financial -, public authorities should develop and implement the most effective mechanisms to coordinate macroeconomic objectives and both sectoral and local interests and establish clear responsibilities - exclusive or shared - for all parties involved in the

Performance Analysis of the Decentralized Eigendecomposition and ESPRIT Algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Suleiman, Wassim; Pesavento, Marius; Zoubir, Abdelhak M.

2016-05-01

In this paper, we consider performance analysis of the decentralized power method for the eigendecomposition of the sample covariance matrix based on the averaging consensus protocol. An analytical expression of the second order statistics of the eigenvectors obtained from the decentralized power method which is required for computing the mean square error (MSE) of subspace-based estimators is presented. We show that the decentralized power method is not an asymptotically consistent estimator of the eigenvectors of the true measurement covariance matrix unless the averaging consensus protocol is carried out over an infinitely large number of iterations. Moreover, we introduce the decentralized ESPRIT algorithm which yields fully decentralized direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimates. Based on the performance analysis of the decentralized power method, we derive an analytical expression of the MSE of DOA estimators using the decentralized ESPRIT algorithm. The validity of our asymptotic results is demonstrated by simulations.

Hydraulic Validation of the LHC Cold Mass Heat Exchanger Tube

CERN Document Server

Provenaz, P

1998-01-01

The knowledge of the helium mass flow vs. the fraction of the tube wetted by the liquid helium II in the heat exchanger is a crucial input parameter for the heat exchange since the heat flux is direct ly proportional to the wetted surface. In the range of liquid and gas velocities inside the heat exchanger, the liquid flow behaves like in an open channel. Looking at the flow equations for such a s ituation, the velocity depends on the fluid properties only by the friction factor which is a function of the Reynolds number. Thus it was decided to build an experiment with water in order to check t he open channel equations in the heat exchanger geometry. This paper shows the results for water and gives the extrapolation for helium.

Mixture theory for a thermoelasto-plastic porous solid considering fluid flow and internal mass exchange

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ristinmaa, M.; Ottosen, N.S.; Johannesson, Björn

2011-01-01

A thermoelastic-plastic body consisting of two phases, a solid and a fluid, each comprising two constituents is considered where one constituent in one phase is allowed to exchange mass with another constituent (of the same substance) in the other phase. A large strain setting is adopted and the ......A thermoelastic-plastic body consisting of two phases, a solid and a fluid, each comprising two constituents is considered where one constituent in one phase is allowed to exchange mass with another constituent (of the same substance) in the other phase. A large strain setting is adopted......, and in particular, a general evolution law for the rate of deformation tensor related to mass exchange is proposed and this leads to general absorption and desorption evolution laws for mass exchange between two constituents (of the same substance), one belonging to the solid phase and the other to the fluid phase....... Equilibrium curves for absorption and desorption also emerge from the theory....

(De)centralization of the global informational ecosystem

OpenAIRE

Möller, Johanna; Rimscha, M. Bjørn von

2017-01-01

Centralization and decentralization are key concepts in debates that focus on the (anti)democratic character of digital societies. Centralization is understood as the control over communication and data flows, and decentralization as giving it (back) to users. Communication and media research focuses on centralization put forward by dominant digital media platforms, such as Facebook and Google, and governments. Decentralization is investigated regarding its potential in civil society, i.e., h...

Decentralized control using compositional analysis techniques

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kerber, F.; van der Schaft, A. J.

2011-01-01

Decentralized control strategies aim at achieving a global control target by means of distributed local controllers acting on individual subsystems of the overall plant. In this sense, decentralized control is a dual problem to compositional analysis where a global verification task is decomposed

Decentralization of Health System in Islamic Republic of Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MJ Kabir

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Decentralization is the process of dispersing decision-making closer to the point of peripheral area, service or action. Basically decentralized governance, if properly planned and implemented, offers important opportunities for enhanced human development. The studies about this issue in different countries show that most of the decentralizations have been implemented in European countries and in comparison, the Middle East countries have been utilized lower degrees of the decentralization process. In fact, decentralization in the health system is a policy pursued for a variety of purposes including; increase in service delivery effectiveness and equity, improving efficiency and quality, fairness of financial contribution and planning for choosing the most appropriate interventions for the health priorities in peripheral regions. To implement decentralized governance, there is a spectrum of different choices that the government should regulate their degrees. Providing an appropriate atmosphere for decentralization is essential, otherwise lack of planning and achievement can result in complications for the system.

Partially Decentralized Control Architectures for Satellite Formations

Science.gov (United States)

Carpenter, J. Russell; Bauer, Frank H.

2002-01-01

In a partially decentralized control architecture, more than one but less than all nodes have supervisory capability. This paper describes an approach to choosing the number of supervisors in such au architecture, based on a reliability vs. cost trade. It also considers the implications of these results for the design of navigation systems for satellite formations that could be controlled with a partially decentralized architecture. Using an assumed cost model, analytic and simulation-based results indicate that it may be cheaper to achieve a given overall system reliability with a partially decentralized architecture containing only a few supervisors, than with either fully decentralized or purely centralized architectures. Nominally, the subset of supervisors may act as centralized estimation and control nodes for corresponding subsets of the remaining subordinate nodes, and act as decentralized estimation and control peers with respect to each other. However, in the context of partially decentralized satellite formation control, the absolute positions and velocities of each spacecraft are unique, so that correlations which make estimates using only local information suboptimal only occur through common biases and process noise. Covariance and monte-carlo analysis of a simplified system show that this lack of correlation may allow simplification of the local estimators while preserving the global optimality of the maneuvers commanded by the supervisors.

DECENTRALIZATION IN THE SYSTEM OF NATIONAL ECONOMY MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stepaniuk Nataliia

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Article deals with the investigation of the theoretical approaches to the notion of decentralization in the system of management of the national economy. Purpose. It has been found that for the effective functioning of the state it is necessary to achieve a rational relationship between centralization and decentralization, change the role, responsibility and powers for local self-government and executive authority. Results. t is substantiated that most of the scientific works are devoted to the study of the issue of decentralization of power, the implementation of reform of public finances, the transfer of power to the place as a guarantee of the development of the national economy. It is emphasized that the main idea of decentralization is to transfer competence to local government to address local needs issues. Consequently, decentralization is closely linked to the organization of public administration, promotes the building of effective relations between state authorities and local government. The main advantages of decentralization are: simplified management on the local area, establishing closer connection with civil society, increasing transparency of managerial decisions and raising the level of responsibility to the territorial community. Considered organizational and legal aspects of introduction of decentralization in Ukraine. It is noted that the course on decentralization outlines both prospects and implementation problems. Among the main risks of decentralization are the inconsistencies of the development of separate territorial units and strategic goals, the loss of state mobility, reduction of workplaces of the state apparatus, risks of complication of coordination between levels of management. Conclusions. It has been determined that for efficiency and effectiveness of the reform decentralization principles are necessary for wide introduction in the administrative, political, budgetary, financial and social spheres

Centralized vs. de-centralized multinationals and taxes

OpenAIRE

Nielsen, Søren Bo; Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis; Schjelderup, Guttorm

2005-01-01

The paper examines how country tax differences affect a multinational enterprise's choice to centralize or de-centralize its decision structure. Within a simple model that emphasizes the multiple conflicting roles of transfer prices in MNEs – here, as a strategic pre-commitment device and a tax manipulation instrument –, we show that (de-)centralized decisions are more profitable when tax differentials are (small) large. Keywords: Centralized vs. de-centralized decisions, taxes, MNEs. ...

Compositional data supports decentralized model of production and circulation of artifacts in the pre-Columbian south-central Andes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lazzari, Marisa; Pereyra Domingorena, Lucas; Stoner, Wesley D; Scattolin, María Cristina; Korstanje, María Alejandra; Glascock, Michael D

2017-05-16

The circulation and exchange of goods and resources at various scales have long been considered central to the understanding of complex societies, and the Andes have provided a fertile ground for investigating this process. However, long-standing archaeological emphasis on typological analysis, although helpful to hypothesize the direction of contacts, has left important aspects of ancient exchange open to speculation. To improve understanding of ancient exchange practices and their potential role in structuring alliances, we examine material exchanges in northwest Argentina (part of the south-central Andes) during 400 BC to AD 1000 (part of the regional Formative Period), with a multianalytical approach (petrography, instrumental neutron activation analysis, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) to artifacts previously studied separately. We assess the standard centralized model of interaction vs. a decentralized model through the largest provenance database available to date in the region. The results show: ( i ) intervalley heterogeneity of clays and fabrics for ordinary wares; ( ii ) intervalley homogeneity of clays and fabrics for a wide range of decorated wares (e.g., painted Ciénaga); ( iii ) selective circulation of two distinct polychrome wares (Vaquerías and Condorhuasi); ( iv ) generalized access to obsidian from one major source and various minor sources; and ( v ) selective circulation of volcanic rock tools from a single source. These trends reflect the multiple and conflicting demands experienced by people in small-scale societies, which may be difficult to capitalize by aspiring elites. The study undermines centralized narratives of exchange for this period, offering a new platform for understanding ancient exchange based on actual material transfers, both in the Andes and beyond.

Sustainability evaluation of decentralized electricity generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karger, Cornelia R.; Hennings, Wilfried

2009-01-01

Decentralized power generation is gaining significance in liberalized electricity markets. An increasing decentralization of power supply is expected to make a particular contribution to climate protection. This article investigates the advantages and disadvantages of decentralized electricity generation according to the overall concept of sustainable development. On the basis of a hierarchically structured set of sustainability criteria, four future scenarios for Germany are assessed, all of which describe different concepts of electricity supply in the context of the corresponding social and economic developments. The scenarios are developed in an explorative way according to the scenario method and the sustainability criteria are established by a discursive method with societal actors. The evaluation is carried out by scientific experts. By applying an expanded analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multicriteria evaluation is conducted that identifies dissent among the experts. The results demonstrate that decentralized electricity generation can contribute to climate protection. The extent to which it simultaneously guarantees security of supply is still a matter of controversy. However, experts agree that technical and economic boundary conditions are of major importance in this field. In the final section, the article discusses the method employed here as well as implications for future decentralized energy supply. (author)

Decentralized Decision Making Toward Educational Goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Monahan, William W.; Johnson, Homer M.

This monograph provides guidelines to help those school districts considering a more decentralized form of management. The authors discuss the levels at which different types of decisions should be made, describe the changing nature of the educational environment, identify different centralization-decentralization models, and suggest a flexible…

Decentralized Software Architecture

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Khare, Rohit

2002-01-01

.... While the term "decentralization" is familiar from political and economic contexts, it has been applied extensively, if indiscriminately, to describe recent trends in software architecture towards...

Computing for Decentralized Systems (lecture 1)

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2018-01-01

With the rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies it is becoming apparent the paradigm shift towards decentralized computing. Computer engineers will need to understand this shift when developing systems in the coming years. Transferring value over the Internet is just one of the first working use cases of decentralized systems, but it is expected they will be used for a number of different services such as general purpose computing, data storage, or even new forms of governance. Decentralized systems, however, pose a series of challenges that cannot be addressed with traditional approaches in computing. Not having a central authority implies truth must be agreed upon rather than simply trusted and, so, consensus protocols, cryptographic data structures like the blockchain, and incentive models like mining rewards become critical for the correct behavior of decentralized system. This series of lectures will be a fast track to introduce these fundamental concepts through working examples and pra...

Computing for Decentralized Systems (lecture 2)

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2018-01-01

With the rise of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies it is becoming apparent the paradigm shift towards decentralized computing. Computer engineers will need to understand this shift when developing systems in the coming years. Transferring value over the Internet is just one of the first working use cases of decentralized systems, but it is expected they will be used for a number of different services such as general purpose computing, data storage, or even new forms of governance. Decentralized systems, however, pose a series of challenges that cannot be addressed with traditional approaches in computing. Not having a central authority implies truth must be agreed upon rather than simply trusted and, so, consensus protocols, cryptographic data structures like the blockchain, and incentive models like mining rewards become critical for the correct behavior of decentralized system. This series of lectures will be a fast track to introduce these fundamental concepts through working examples and pra...

Decentralization or centralization: striking a balance.

Science.gov (United States)

Dirschel, K M

1994-09-01

An Executive Vice President for Nursing can provide the necessary link to meet diverse clinical demands when encountering centralization--decentralization decisions. Centralized communication links hospital departments giving nurses a unified voice. Decentralization acknowledges the need for diversity and achieves the right balance of uniformity through a responsive communications network.

Decentralized Bribery and Market Participation

OpenAIRE

Popov, Sergey V.

2012-01-01

I propose a bribery model that examines decentralized bureaucratic decision-making. There are multiple stable equilibria. High levels of bribery reduce an economy's productivity because corruption suppresses small business, and reduces the total graft, even though the size of an individual bribe might increase. Decentralization prevents movement towards a Pareto-dominant equilibrium. Anticorruption efforts, even temporary ones, might be useful to improve participation, if they lower the bribe...

Decentralized Consistency Checking in Cross-organizational Workflows

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wombacher, Andreas

Service Oriented Architectures facilitate loosely coupled composed services, which are established in a decentralized way. One challenge for such composed services is to guarantee consistency, i.e., deadlock-freeness. This paper presents a decentralized approach to consistency checking, which

Decentralization and Participatory Rural Development: A Literature Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Shakil Ahmad

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Most of the developing nations are still struggling for efficient use of their resources. In order to overcome physical and administrative constraints of the development, it is necessary to transfer the power from the central government to local authorities. Distribution of power from improves the management of resources and community participation which is considered key to sustainable development. Advocates of decentralization argue that decentralized government is source to improve community participation in rural development. Decentralized government is considered more responsive towards local needs and development of poor peoples. There are many obstacles to expand the citizen participation in rural areas. There are many approaches for participatory development but all have to face the same challenges. Current paper highlights the literature about Decentralization and participatory rural development. Concept and modalities of Decentralization, dimensions of participation, types of rural participation and obstacles to participation are also the part of this paper.

Trends in research on forestry decentralization policies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Jens Friis; Rutt, Rebecca Leigh; Ribot, Jesse

2018-01-01

institutions; studies focusing on power and the role of elites in forestry decentralization, and; studies that historicize and contextualize forestry decentralization as reflective of broader societal phenomena. We argue that these strands reflect disciplinary differences in values, epistemologies, and methods...

Comparison of centralized and decentralized energy supply systems

OpenAIRE

Pfeifer, Thomas; Fahl, Ulrich; Voß, Alfred

1991-01-01

Communal energy programs are often embedded in a conception of a decentralized energy supply system where electricity is produced by a number of smaller power plants. For a comprehensive survey the question arises whether these decentralized systems are more advantageous than centralized systems with regard to the criterions energy consumption, safety of supply, environmental compatibility and economy. In the following, after a definition of the term "decentralized", the present structure of ...

Decentralized Control of Autonomous Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

2003-01-01

Autonomous Vehicles by John S. Baras, Xiaobo Tan, Pedram Hovareshti CSHCN TR 2003-8 (ISR TR 2003-14) Report Documentation Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704...AND SUBTITLE Decentralized Control of Autonomous Vehicles 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT...Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 Decentralized Control of Autonomous Vehicles ∗ John S. Baras, Xiaobo Tan, and Pedram

Robust Decentralized Formation Flight Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Weihua

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Motivated by the idea of multiplexed model predictive control (MMPC, this paper introduces a new framework for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs formation flight and coordination. Formulated using MMPC approach, the whole centralized formation flight system is considered as a linear periodic system with control inputs of each UAV subsystem as its periodic inputs. Divided into decentralized subsystems, the whole formation flight system is guaranteed stable if proper terminal cost and terminal constraints are added to each decentralized MPC formulation of the UAV subsystem. The decentralized robust MPC formulation for each UAV subsystem with bounded input disturbances and model uncertainties is also presented. Furthermore, an obstacle avoidance control scheme for any shape and size of obstacles, including the nonapriorily known ones, is integrated under the unified MPC framework. The results from simulations demonstrate that the proposed framework can successfully achieve robust collision-free formation flights.

Energy saving technologies of the decentralized ventilation of buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Mansurov, R. Sh; Rafalskaya, T. A.

2017-11-01

The growing aspiration to energy saving and efficiency of energy leads to necessity to build tight enough buildings. As a result of this the quantity of infiltration air appears insufficient for realization of necessary air exchange in. One of decisions of the given problem is development and application for ventilation of premises of the decentralized forced-air and exhaust systems (DFAES) with recuperative or regenerative heat-exchangers. For an estimation of efficiency of DFAES following basic parameters have been certain: factor of energy saving; factor of efficiency of energy; factor of a heat transfer; factor of an effective utilization of a surface of heat exchange. Were estimated temperature of forced air; actual speed of an air jet on an entrance in a served zone; actual noise level; the charge of external air. Tests of DFAES were spent in natural conditions at which DFAES influenced all set of factors both an external climate, and an internal microclimate of a premise, and also the arrangement on a wind side or behind wind side of a building, influence of surrounding building, fluctuation of temperature of external air is considered. Proceeding from results and the analysis of the lead researches recommendations have been developed for development and manufacture of new sample of DFAES.

Decentralization: Another Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Chapman, Robin

1973-01-01

This paper attempts to pursue the centralization-decentralization dilemma. A setting for this discussion is provided by noting some of the uses of terminology, followed by a consideration of inherent difficulties in conceptualizing. (Author)

Intracellular water exchange for measuring the dry mass, water mass and changes in chemical composition of living cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Feijó Delgado

Full Text Available We present a method for direct non-optical quantification of dry mass, dry density and water mass of single living cells in suspension. Dry mass and dry density are obtained simultaneously by measuring a cell's buoyant mass sequentially in an H2O-based fluid and a D2O-based fluid. Rapid exchange of intracellular H2O for D2O renders the cell's water content neutrally buoyant in both measurements, and thus the paired measurements yield the mass and density of the cell's dry material alone. Utilizing this same property of rapid water exchange, we also demonstrate the quantification of intracellular water mass. In a population of E. coli, we paired these measurements to estimate the percent dry weight by mass and volume. We then focused on cellular dry density - the average density of all cellular biomolecules, weighted by their relative abundances. Given that densities vary across biomolecule types (RNA, DNA, protein, we investigated whether we could detect changes in biomolecular composition in bacteria, fungi, and mammalian cells. In E. coli, and S. cerevisiae, dry density increases from stationary to exponential phase, consistent with previously known increases in the RNA/protein ratio from up-regulated ribosome production. For mammalian cells, changes in growth conditions cause substantial shifts in dry density, suggesting concurrent changes in the protein, nucleic acid and lipid content of the cell.

Mass-independent isotope effects in chemical exchange reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishizawa, Kazushige

2000-01-01

Isotope effects of some elements in chemical exchange reaction were investigated by use of liquid-liquid extraction, liquid membrane or chromatographic separation. Cyclic polyether was used for every method. All polyethers used in a series of the studies were made clear that they distinguished the isotopes not only by their nuclear masses but also by their nuclear sizes and shapes. Chromium isotopes, for example, were recognized to have enrichment factors being proportional to δ 2 > which is a parameter to show field shift or the nuclear size and shape of the isotope. It follows that the chromium isotopes are separated not by their masses but by their field shift effects. Nuclear spin also played a great role to separate odd mass number isotopes from even mass number isotopes in even atomic number elements. Contribution of the nuclear spin (I=3/2) of 53 Cr to total enrichment factor, ε 53/52 = -0.00028, for 53 Cr to 52 Cr was observed to be, ε spin = -0.0025. (author)

Distribution of decentralized renewable energy resources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bal, J.L.; Benque, J.P.

1996-01-01

The existence of a great number of inhabitants without electricity, living in areas of low population density, with modest energy requirements and low income provides a major potential market for decentralized renewable energy sources. Ademe and EDF in 1993 made two agreements concerning the development of Renewable Energy Sources. The first aims at promoting their decentralized use in France in pertinent cases. The second agreement concerns other countries and has two ambitions: facilitate short-term developments and produce in the longer term a standardised proposal for decentralized energy production using Renewable Energy Sources to a considerable extent. These ideas are explained, and the principles behind the implementation of both Ademe-EDF agreements as well as their future prospects are described. (R.P.)

Towards Automatic Decentralized Control Structure Selection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

for decentralized control is determined automatically, and the resulting decentralized control structure is automatically tuned using standard techniques. Dynamic simulation of the resulting process system gives immediate feedback to the process design engineer regarding practical operability of the process......A subtask in integration of design and control of chemical processes is the selection of a control structure. Automating the selection of the control structure enables sequential integration of process and controld esign. As soon as the process is specified or computed, a structure....... The control structure selection problem is formulated as a special MILP employing cost coefficients which are computed using Parseval's theorem combined with RGA and IMC concepts. This approach enables selection and tuning of large-scale plant-wide decentralized controllers through efficient combination...

Towards Automatic Decentralized Control Structure Selection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, John Bagterp; Jørgensen, Sten Bay

2000-01-01

for decentralized control is determined automatically, and the resulting decentralized control structure is automatically tuned using standard techniques. Dynamic simulation of the resulting process system gives immediate feedback to the process design engineer regarding practical operability of the process......A subtask in integration of design and control of chemical processes is the selection of a control structure. Automating the selection of the control structure enables sequential integration of process and control design. As soon as the process is specified or computed, a structure....... The control structure selection problem is formulated as a special MILP employing cost coefficients which are computed using Parseval's theorem combined with RGA and IMC concepts. This approach enables selection and tuning of large-scale plant-wide decentralized controllers through efficient combination...

Decentral Smart Grid Control

Science.gov (United States)

Schäfer, Benjamin; Matthiae, Moritz; Timme, Marc; Witthaut, Dirk

2015-01-01

Stable operation of complex flow and transportation networks requires balanced supply and demand. For the operation of electric power grids—due to their increasing fraction of renewable energy sources—a pressing challenge is to fit the fluctuations in decentralized supply to the distributed and temporally varying demands. To achieve this goal, common smart grid concepts suggest to collect consumer demand data, centrally evaluate them given current supply and send price information back to customers for them to decide about usage. Besides restrictions regarding cyber security, privacy protection and large required investments, it remains unclear how such central smart grid options guarantee overall stability. Here we propose a Decentral Smart Grid Control, where the price is directly linked to the local grid frequency at each customer. The grid frequency provides all necessary information about the current power balance such that it is sufficient to match supply and demand without the need for a centralized IT infrastructure. We analyze the performance and the dynamical stability of the power grid with such a control system. Our results suggest that the proposed Decentral Smart Grid Control is feasible independent of effective measurement delays, if frequencies are averaged over sufficiently large time intervals.

Decentral Smart Grid Control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schäfer, Benjamin; Matthiae, Moritz; Timme, Marc; Witthaut, Dirk

2015-01-01

Stable operation of complex flow and transportation networks requires balanced supply and demand. For the operation of electric power grids—due to their increasing fraction of renewable energy sources—a pressing challenge is to fit the fluctuations in decentralized supply to the distributed and temporally varying demands. To achieve this goal, common smart grid concepts suggest to collect consumer demand data, centrally evaluate them given current supply and send price information back to customers for them to decide about usage. Besides restrictions regarding cyber security, privacy protection and large required investments, it remains unclear how such central smart grid options guarantee overall stability. Here we propose a Decentral Smart Grid Control, where the price is directly linked to the local grid frequency at each customer. The grid frequency provides all necessary information about the current power balance such that it is sufficient to match supply and demand without the need for a centralized IT infrastructure. We analyze the performance and the dynamical stability of the power grid with such a control system. Our results suggest that the proposed Decentral Smart Grid Control is feasible independent of effective measurement delays, if frequencies are averaged over sufficiently large time intervals. (paper)

Policy Recommendations on Decentralization, Local Power and ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2010-12-22

Policy Recommendations on Decentralization, Local Power and Women's Rights. December 22, 2010. Image. The present document comprises a set of policy recommendations that define a global agenda on gender and decentralization. It emerged from the analysis and experiences shared during the Conference and the ...

Rethinking Decentralization in Education in terms of Administrative Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasiliki Papadopoulou

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The general purpose of this study is to thoroughly examine decentralization in education according to the literature and previous research, and to discuss the applicability of educational decentralization practices in Turkey. The literature was reviewed for the study and findings reported. It has been observed that decentralization in education practices were realized in many countries after the 1980’s. It is obvious that the educational system in Turkey has difficulty in meeting the needs, and encounters many problems due to its present centralist state. Educational decentralization can provide effective solutions for stakeholder engagement, educational financing and for problems in decision making and operation within the education system. However, the present state of local governments, the legal framework, geographical, cultural and social features indicate that Turkey’s conditions are not ready for decentralization in education. A decentralization model realized in the long run according to Turkey’s conditions, and as a result of a social consensus, can help resolve the problems of the Turkish education system.

Energy and air emission implications of a decentralized wastewater system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shehabi, Arman; Stokes, Jennifer R; Horvath, Arpad

2012-01-01

Both centralized and decentralized wastewater systems have distinct engineering, financial and societal benefits. This paper presents a framework for analyzing the environmental effects of decentralized wastewater systems and an evaluation of the environmental impacts associated with two currently operating systems in California, one centralized and one decentralized. A comparison of energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and criteria air pollutants from the systems shows that the scale economies of the centralized plant help lower the environmental burden to less than a fifth of that of the decentralized utility for the same volume treated. The energy and emission burdens of the decentralized plant are reduced when accounting for high-yield wastewater reuse if it supplants an energy-intensive water supply like a desalination one. The centralized facility also reduces greenhouse gases by flaring methane generated during the treatment process, while methane is directly emitted from the decentralized system. The results are compelling enough to indicate that the life-cycle environmental impacts of decentralized designs should be carefully evaluated as part of the design process. (letter)

Decentralization in Botswana: the reluctant process | Dipholo ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Botswana\\'s decentralization process has always been justified in terms of democracy and development. Consequently, the government has always argued that it is fully committed to decentralization in order to promote popular participation as well as facilitating sustainable rural development. Yet the government does not ...

Decentralized indirect methods for learning automata games.

Science.gov (United States)

Tilak, Omkar; Martin, Ryan; Mukhopadhyay, Snehasis

2011-10-01

We discuss the application of indirect learning methods in zero-sum and identical payoff learning automata games. We propose a novel decentralized version of the well-known pursuit learning algorithm. Such a decentralized algorithm has significant computational advantages over its centralized counterpart. The theoretical study of such a decentralized algorithm requires the analysis to be carried out in a nonstationary environment. We use a novel bootstrapping argument to prove the convergence of the algorithm. To our knowledge, this is the first time that such analysis has been carried out for zero-sum and identical payoff games. Extensive simulation studies are reported, which demonstrate the proposed algorithm's fast and accurate convergence in a variety of game scenarios. We also introduce the framework of partial communication in the context of identical payoff games of learning automata. In such games, the automata may not communicate with each other or may communicate selectively. This comprehensive framework has the capability to model both centralized and decentralized games discussed in this paper.

The effects of fiscal decentralization in Albania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr.Sc. Blerta Dragusha

2012-06-01

Full Text Available “Basically decentralization is a democratic reform which seeks to transfer the political, administrative, financial and planning authority from central to local government. It seeks to develop civic participation, empowerment of local people in decision making process and to promote accountability and reliability: To achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the collection and management of resources and service delivery”1 The interest and curiosity of knowing how our country is doing in this process, still unfinished, served as a motivation forme to treat this topic: fiscal decentralization as a process of giving 'power' to local governments, not only in terms of rights deriving from this process but also on the responsibilities that come with it. Which are the stages before and after decentralization, and how has it affected the process in several key indicators? Is decentralization a good process only, or can any of its effects be seen as an disadvantage?

Non-conservative mass exchange and origin of X-ray close binaries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimoto, D.; Miyaji, S.

1980-01-01

There are two distinct types of XCBS. The Type I XCBS consists of an X-ray star and an early type star more massive than about 12 solar masses. On the contrary, the Type II XCBS consists of an X-ray star and a star less massive than about 2 solar masses. The aim of the present paper lies in interpreting the origin of these types of XCBS on the bases of the conditions for the formation of a neutron star and of mass exchange in close binary systems. (Auth.)

The mass balance of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miloud, S.; Kamaruzzaman Sopian; Wan Ramli Wan Daud

2006-01-01

A Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), operating at low temperature uses a simple chemical process to combine hydrogen and oxygen into water, producing electric current and heat during the electrochemical reaction. This work concern on the theoretical consideration of the mass balance has been evaluated to predict the mass flow rate of the both gases (hydrogen/oxygen), the water mass balance, and the heat transfer in order to design a single cell PEMFC stack with a better flow field distributor on the performance of Polymer Electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Subsidiarity in Principle: Decentralization of Water Resources Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryan Stoa

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The subsidiarity principle of water resources management suggests that water management and service delivery should take place at the lowest appropriate governance level. The principle is attractive for several reasons, primarily because: 1 the governance level can be reduced to reflect environmental characteristics, such as the hydrological borders of a watershed that would otherwise cross administrative boundaries; 2 decentralization promotes community and stakeholder engagement when decision-making is localized; 3 inefficiencies are reduced by eliminating reliance on central government bureaucracies and budgetary constraints; and 4 laws and institutions can be adapted to reflect localized conditions at a scale where integrated natural resources management and climate change adaptation is more focused. Accordingly, the principle of subsidiarity has been welcomed by many states committed to decentralized governance, integrated water resources management, and/or civic participation. However, applications of decentralization have not been uniform, and in some cases have produced frustrating outcomes for states and water resources. Successful decentralization strategies are heavily dependent on dedicated financial resources and human resource capacity. This article explores the nexus between the principle of subsidiarity and the enabling environment, in the hope of articulating factors likely to contribute to, or detract from, the success of decentralized water resources management. Case studies from Haiti, Rwanda, and the United States’ Florida Water Management Districts provide examples of the varied stages of decentralization.

FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION IN THE DRC: EVIDENCE OFREVENUE ASSIGNMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelita Kithatu-Kiwekete

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The rationalefor central government to devolve resources for service provisionhas been debated in decentralization literature. Decentralization enhancesdemocracy,encouragesparticipation in local development initiativesandpromotes local political accountability.This discourse has been complemented bythe implementation of fiscal decentralization to increase the ability of sub-nationalgovernment in financing municipal service delivery. Fiscal decentralization hasoften been adopted by African statessince the onset ofthe New PublicManagement erain an effortto improvethe standard ofgovernance. The concernis that African states have taken minimal steps to adopt fiscal devolution thatpromotes revenue assignment which in turn limits sub-nationalgovernments’ability to generate own source revenues.This article examines the revenue assignment function of fiscal decentralization inthe Democratic Republic of Congo(DRCinthelight of decentralizationconcerns that have been raised by civil society, as the country charts its course todemocracy. The article is a desktop study that will consider documents andpoliciesin theDRCon thenational, provincialand locallevel as far asstaterevenue sourcesare concerned. Revenue assignment should enable DRC’sprovinces and local authoritiestogeneratesignificantrevenueindependently.However, post-conflict reconstruction and development efforts in the Great Lakesregion and in the DRC have largely isolated decentralization which wouldotherwise entrench local fiscalautonomy infinancing for local services anddevelopment. The article concludes that revenue generation for local authoritiesandtheprovinces in the DRC is still very centralised by the national government.Thearticleproposes policy recommendations that will be useful for the country toensurethatdecentralization effortsinclude fiscal devolution toenhance thefinancing for local development initiatives.

Evidence of mass exchange between inside and outside of sonoluminescing bubble in aqueous solution of terbium chloride

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liang, Jinfu, E-mail: liang.shi2007@163.com [School of Physics and Electronic Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang 550001 (China); Chen, Weizhong, E-mail: wzchen@nju.edu.cn [The Key Laboratory of Modern Acoustics, Ministry of Education, Institution of Acoustics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China); Wang, Xun; Yang, Jing; Chen, Zhan [The Key Laboratory of Modern Acoustics, Ministry of Education, Institution of Acoustics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093 (China)

2016-12-16

Highlights: • Time-resolved spectra of SBSL were obtained for Tb{sup 3+} ions emission lines. • Mass exchange between inside and outside of SL bubble was probed via Tb{sup 3+} ions lines. • The argon rectification hypothesis was tested by time-resolved spectra of SBSL. • The rate of mass exchange inside an SBSL bubble increases with increasing sound pressure. - Abstract: Spectra of single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) were obtained for Tb{sup 3+} ions emission lines from bubbles in an aqueous solution of terbium chloride (TbCl{sub 3}). The spectra provide experimental evidence to prove that an air bubble driven by strong ultrasound will not eventually become a rectified pure argon bubble, which is not as predicted by the argon rectification hypothesis. The time-resolved spectra of SBSL show a mass exchange of material such as Tb{sup 3+} ions between the inside and outside of the bubble. With increasing sound pressure, the rate of mass exchange and the SBSL intensity increases.

Intracellular Water Exchange for Measuring the Dry Mass, Water Mass and Changes in Chemical Composition of Living Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Hecht, Vivian C.; Son, Sungmin; Li, Yingzhong; Knudsen, Scott M.; Olcum, Selim; Higgins, John M.; Chen, Jianzhu; Grover, William H.; Manalis, Scott R.

2013-01-01

We present a method for direct non-optical quantification of dry mass, dry density and water mass of single living cells in suspension. Dry mass and dry density are obtained simultaneously by measuring a cell’s buoyant mass sequentially in an H2O-based fluid and a D2O-based fluid. Rapid exchange of intracellular H2O for D2O renders the cell’s water content neutrally buoyant in both measurements, and thus the paired measurements yield the mass and density of the cell’s dry material alone. Utilizing this same property of rapid water exchange, we also demonstrate the quantification of intracellular water mass. In a population of E. coli, we paired these measurements to estimate the percent dry weight by mass and volume. We then focused on cellular dry density – the average density of all cellular biomolecules, weighted by their relative abundances. Given that densities vary across biomolecule types (RNA, DNA, protein), we investigated whether we could detect changes in biomolecular composition in bacteria, fungi, and mammalian cells. In E. coli, and S. cerevisiae, dry density increases from stationary to exponential phase, consistent with previously known increases in the RNA/protein ratio from up-regulated ribosome production. For mammalian cells, changes in growth conditions cause substantial shifts in dry density, suggesting concurrent changes in the protein, nucleic acid and lipid content of the cell. PMID:23844039

On line determination of deuterium in hydrogen water exchange reaction by mass spectrometry. IRP-10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, J.D.; Alphonse, K.P.; Mishra, Sushama; Prabhu, S.A.; Mohan, Sadhana; Tangri, V.K.

2007-01-01

The Deuterium (D)/Hydrogen (H) analysis at low Concentration is generally carried out by Mass Spectrometry. Mass Spectrometer is specially designed for the measurement of Mass 2 and 3 ratio. The Deuterium analysis of water and hydrogen in concentration range of a few ppm to about 1% plays an important role in the Heavy Water Production Plants. For the enrichment of the Deuterium concentration in H 2 O by H 2 - H 2 O exchange a catalyst is essential as reaction is relatively slow. Heavy Water Division has developed in house Platinum based catalyst for the isotopic exchange of Hydrogen and Water

Least-cost network evaluation of centralized and decentralized contributions to global electrification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, Todd; Thomas, Valerie M.

2012-01-01

The choice between centralized and decentralized electricity generation is examined for 150 countries as a function of population distribution, electricity consumption, transmission cost, and the cost difference between decentralized and centralized electricity generation. A network algorithm is developed to find the shortest centralized transmission network that spans a given fraction of the population in a country. The least-cost combination of centralized and decentralized electricity that serves the country is determined. Case studies of Botswana, Uganda, and Bangladesh illustrate situations that are more and less suited for decentralized electrification. Specific maps for centralized and decentralized generation are presented to show how the least-cost option varies with the relative costs of centralized and decentralized generation and transmission cost. Centralized and decentralized fractions are calculated for 150 countries. For most of the world's population, centralized electricity is the least-cost option. For a number of countries, particularly in Africa, substantial populations and regions may be most cost-effectively served by decentralized electricity. - Highlights: ► Centralized and decentralized electrification are compared for 150 countries. ► A cost-optimized network algorithm finds the least-cost electrification system. ► Least-cost infrastructures combine centralized and decentralized portions. ► For most people, centralized electricity is cheapest option. ► In much of Africa, decentralized electricity may be cheaper than centralized.

Responsiveness and flexibility in a Decentralized Supply Chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Kristian Rasmus; Bilberg, Arne; Hadar, Ronen

Today’s supply chains are not capable of managing the instabilities that is the case in the market. Instead, there is a need to develop supply chains that are capable of adapting to changes. Through a case study of LEGO, the authors suggest a possible solution: a decentralized supply chain serving...... independent and self-sufficient local factories. The decentralized supply chain is provided with materials, parts and pre-assembled elements from local suppliers and supplies the local market in return. Keywords: Decentralize, Responsiveness, Flexibility...

Decentralized Portfolio Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin Miranda Tabak

2003-12-01

Full Text Available We use a mean-variance model to analyze the problem of decentralized portfolio management. We find the solution for the optimal portfolio allocation for a head trader operating in n different markets, which is called the optimal centralized portfolio. However, as there are many traders specialized in different markets, the solution to the problem of optimal decentralized allocation should be different from the centralized case. In this paper we derive conditions for the solutions to be equivalent. We use multivariate normal returns and a negative exponential function to solve the problem analytically. We generate the equivalence of solutions by assuming that different traders face different interest rates for borrowing and lending. This interest rate is dependent on the ratio of the degrees of risk aversion of the trader and the head trader, on the excess return, and on the correlation between asset returns.

Probing protein interactions with hydrogen/deuterium exchange and mass spectrometry—A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Percy, Andrew J.; Rey, Martial; Burns, Kyle M.; Schriemer, David C.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Protein chemistry generates mass shifts useful for structure–function studies. ► H/DX supports a powerful mass shift method for protein interaction analysis. ► H/DX mass shifts are useful for determining binding data (K d , off-rates). ► Improved H/DX–MS workflows can accommodate complex protein systems. - Abstract: Assessing the functional outcome of protein interactions in structural terms is a goal of structural biology, however most techniques have a limited capacity for making structure–function determinations with both high resolution and high throughput. Mass spectrometry can be applied as a reader of protein chemistries in order to fill this void, and enable methodologies whereby protein structure–function determinations may be made on a proteome-wide level. Protein hydrogen/deuterium exchange (H/DX) offers a chemical labeling strategy suitable for tracking changes in “dynamic topography” and thus represents a powerful means of monitoring protein structure–function relationships. This review presents the exchange method in the context of interaction analysis. Applications involving interface detection, quantitation of binding, and conformational responses to ligation are discussed, and commentary on recent analytical developments is provided.

Decentralization, Local Rights and the Construction of Women's ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Decentralization, Local Rights and the Construction of Women's Citizenship : a Comparative Study in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda - Phase II. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have adopted new land laws, policies and institutional arrangements to accommodate decentralization of land administration and management.

Spatially resolved protein hydrogen exchange measured by subzero-cooled chip-based nanoelectrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Amon, Sabine; Trelle, Morten B; Jensen, Ole N

2012-01-01

. After a given period of deuteration, the exchange reaction is quenched by acidification (pH 2.5) and cooling (0 °C) and the deuterated protein (or a digest thereof) is analyzed by mass spectrometry. The unavoidable loss of deuterium (back-exchange) that occurs under quench conditions is undesired...... as it leads to loss of information. Here we describe the successful application of a chip-based nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry top-down fragmentation approach based on cooling to subzero temperature (-15 °C) which reduces the back-exchange at quench conditions to very low levels. For example...

Decentralized Blended Acquisition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkhout, A.J.

2013-01-01

The concept of blending and deblending is reviewed, making use of traditional and dispersed source arrays. The network concept of distributed blended acquisition is introduced. A million-trace robot system is proposed, illustrating that decentralization may bring about a revolution in the way we

The Two Edge Knife of Decentralization

OpenAIRE

Umam, Ahmad Khoirul

2011-01-01

A centralistic government model has become a trend in a number of developing countries, in which the ideosycretic aspect becomes pivotal key in the policy making. The situation constitutes authoritarianism, cronyism, and corruption. To break the impasse, the decentralized system is proposed to make people closer to the public policy making. Decentralization is also convinced to be the solution to create a good governance. But a number of facts in the developing countries demonstrates that dec...

Further explorations of Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov mass formulas. VIII. Role of Coulomb exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goriely, S.; Pearson, J. M.

2008-01-01

Following suggestions that the energy associated with Coulomb correlations and a possible charge-symmetry breaking of nuclear forces might largely cancel the Coulomb-exchange term, we refit the HFB-14 mass model without the Coulomb-exchange term to essentially all the mass data. The resulting mass model, HFB-15, gives a better fit to the 2149 mass data, σ rms falling from 0.729 to 0.678 MeV. The improvement in the energy differences between mirror nuclei is particularly striking: the Nolen-Schiffer anomaly, which is strong for HFB-14, is essentially eliminated. As for the extrapolation to highly neutron-rich nuclei, the HFB-15 model differs significantly from HFB-14, with up to 15 MeV less binding being predicted. However, the differences in the predicted values of differential quantities such as the neutron-separation energies, β-decay energies and fission barriers are very much smaller

Decentralization : Local Partnerships for Health Services in the ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Cameroon, like most other sub-Saharan African countries, has adopted laws devolving various responsibilities to local administrations. In the local political discourse, decentralization is seen as bringing essential services closer to the users, especially those in greatest need. However, the national decentralization program ...

Decentralization and financial autonomy: a challenge for local public authorities in the Republic of Moldova

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana MANOLE

2017-09-01

Full Text Available This article reflects the decentralization process currently taking place in the Republic of Moldova. The purpose of the research is to acquaint readers with the fundamental concept of decentralization, with the areas of administrative decentralization, with the forms of manifestation of financial decentralization: fiscal decentralization and budget decentralization. The priorities of the decentralization process are identified.

Centralized, Decentralized, and Hybrid Purchasing Organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bals, Lydia; Turkulainen, Virpi

This paper addresses one of the focal issues in purchasing and supply management – global sourcing – from an organizational design perspective. In particular, we elaborate the traditional classification of global sourcing organization designs into centralized, decentralized, and hybrid models. We...... organization we can identify organization designs beyond the classical centralization-decentralization continuum. We also provide explanations for the observed organization design at GCC. The study contributes to research on purchasing and supply management as well as research on organization design....

DECENTRALIZATION OF MUNICIPAL SERVICES – LEARNING BY DOING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristina Elena NICOLESCU

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Public services decentralization is a major concern for policy makers when it comes to identifying the optimum model for reorganizing these services, in light of the 3Es of the organizational performance. The field experiences show that this process is different both from one state to another, and depending on the targeted activity sector, out of which the local transport service is distinguished as an ‘institutional orphan’. Taking into account one of the smart-cities’ recognition criteria, the urban mobility, the paper aims at substantiating that, despite the specific incrementalism of the public services decentralization, having a negative impact upon the services’ efficiency, in the case of local transport service, recognizing the right to mobility and the need to ensuring the environment for exercising this right, impels the ‘bureaucratic apparatus’ to accelerate and consolidate the decentralization of this service. Therefore, the paper puts forward a case study on the impact of decentralization upon the local public transport service of Bucharest municipality.

Towards a Decentralized Magnetic Indoor Positioning System

Science.gov (United States)

Kasmi, Zakaria; Norrdine, Abdelmoumen; Blankenbach, Jörg

2015-01-01

Decentralized magnetic indoor localization is a sophisticated method for processing sampled magnetic data directly on a mobile station (MS), thereby decreasing or even avoiding the need for communication with the base station. In contrast to central-oriented positioning systems, which transmit raw data to a base station, decentralized indoor localization pushes application-level knowledge into the MS. A decentralized position solution has thus a strong feasibility to increase energy efficiency and to prolong the lifetime of the MS. In this article, we present a complete architecture and an implementation for a decentralized positioning system. Furthermore, we introduce a technique for the synchronization of the observed magnetic field on the MS with the artificially-generated magnetic field from the coils. Based on real-time clocks (RTCs) and a preemptive operating system, this method allows a stand-alone control of the coils and a proper assignment of the measured magnetic fields on the MS. A stand-alone control and synchronization of the coils and the MS have an exceptional potential to implement a positioning system without the need for wired or wireless communication and enable a deployment of applications for rescue scenarios, like localization of miners or firefighters. PMID:26690145

Towards a Decentralized Magnetic Indoor Positioning System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zakaria Kasmi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Decentralized magnetic indoor localization is a sophisticated method for processing sampled magnetic data directly on a mobile station (MS, thereby decreasing or even avoiding the need for communication with the base station. In contrast to central-oriented positioning systems, which transmit raw data to a base station, decentralized indoor localization pushes application-level knowledge into the MS. A decentralized position solution has thus a strong feasibility to increase energy efficiency and to prolong the lifetime of the MS. In this article, we present a complete architecture and an implementation for a decentralized positioning system. Furthermore, we introduce a technique for the synchronization of the observed magnetic field on the MS with the artificially-generated magnetic field from the coils. Based on real-time clocks (RTCs and a preemptive operating system, this method allows a stand-alone control of the coils and a proper assignment of the measured magnetic fields on the MS. A stand-alone control and synchronization of the coils and the MS have an exceptional potential to implement a positioning system without the need for wired or wireless communication and enable a deployment of applications for rescue scenarios, like localization of miners or firefighters.

Decentralization: A panacea for functional education and national ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Decentralization of power from the federal government to state and local governments is the way to go, especially in the management of our education system. Education can be best delivered at the state and local government levels. Decentralization of educational management in Nigeria will encourage creativity and ...

Decentralized flight trajectory planning of multiple aircraft

OpenAIRE

Yokoyama, Nobuhiro; 横山　信宏

2008-01-01

Conventional decentralized algorithms for optimal trajectory planning tend to require prohibitive computational time as the number of aircraft increases. To overcome this drawback, this paper proposes a novel decentralized trajectory planning algorithm adopting a constraints decoupling approach for parallel optimization. The constraints decoupling approach is formulated as the path constraints of the real-time trajectory optimization problem based on nonlinear programming. Due to the parallel...

Dynamic mass exchange in doubly degenerate binaries. I - 0.9 and 1.2 solar mass stars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benz, W.; Cameron, A.G.W.; Press, W.H.; Bowers, R.L.

1990-01-01

The dynamic mass exchange process in doubly degenerate binaries was investigated using a three-dimensional numerical simulation of the evolution of a doubly degenerate binary system in which the primary is a 1.2-solar-mass white dwarf and the Roche lobe filling secondary is a 0.9-solar-mass dwarf. The results show that, in a little more than two orbital periods, the secondary is completely destroyed and transformed into a thick disk orbiting about the primary. Since only a very small fraction of the mass (0.0063 solar mass) escapes the system, the evolution of the binary results in the formation of a massive object. This object is composed of three parts, the initial white dwarf primary, a very hot pressure-supported spherical envelope, and a rotationally supported outer disk. The evolution of the system can be understood in terms of a simple analytical model where it is shown that the angular momentum carried by the mass during the transfer and stored in the disk determines the evolution of the system. 34 refs

Time-resolved pulsed hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry probes gaseous proteins structural kinetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajabi, Khadijeh

2015-01-01

A pulsed hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) method has been developed for rapid monitoring of the exchange kinetics of protein ions with D2O a few milliseconds after electrospray ionization (ESI). The stepwise gradual evolution of HDX of multiply charged protein ions was monitored using the pulsed HDX mass spectrometry technique. Upon introducing a very short pulse of D2O (in the μs to ms time scale) into the linear ion trap (LIT) of a time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer, bimodal distributions were detected for the ions of cytochrome c and ubiquitin. Mechanistic details of HDX reactions for ubiquitin and cytochrome c in the gas phase were uncovered and the structural transitions were followed by analyzing the kinetics of HDX.

U-Form vs. M-Form: How to Understand Decision Autonomy Under Healthcare Decentralization?

Science.gov (United States)

Bustamante, Arturo Vargas

2016-01-01

For more than three decades healthcare decentralization has been promoted in developing countries as a way of improving the financing and delivery of public healthcare. Decision autonomy under healthcare decentralization would determine the role and scope of responsibility of local authorities. Jalal Mohammed, Nicola North, and Toni Ashton analyze decision autonomy within decentralized services in Fiji. They conclude that the narrow decision space allowed to local entities might have limited the benefits of decentralization on users and providers. To discuss the costs and benefits of healthcare decentralization this paper uses the U-form and M-form typology to further illustrate the role of decision autonomy under healthcare decentralization. This paper argues that when evaluating healthcare decentralization, it is important to determine whether the benefits from decentralization are greater than its costs. The U-form and M-form framework is proposed as a useful typology to evaluate different types of institutional arrangements under healthcare decentralization. Under this model, the more decentralized organizational form (M-form) is superior if the benefits from flexibility exceed the costs of duplication and the more centralized organizational form (U-form) is superior if the savings from economies of scale outweigh the costly decision-making process from the center to the regions. Budgetary and financial autonomy and effective mechanisms to maintain local governments accountable for their spending behavior are key decision autonomy variables that could sway the cost-benefit analysis of healthcare decentralization. PMID:27694684

Introducing local property tax for fiscal decentralization and local authority autonomy

Science.gov (United States)

Dimopoulos, Thomas; Labropoulos, Tassos; Hadjimitsis, Diafantos G.

2015-06-01

Charles Tiebout (1956), in his work "A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures", provides a vision of the workings of the local public sector, acknowledging many similarities to the features of a competitive market, however omitting any references to local taxation. Contrary to other researchers' claim that the Tiebout model and the theory of fiscal decentralization are by no means synonymous, this paper aims to expand Tiebout's theory, by adding the local property tax in the context, introducing a fair, ad valorem property taxation system based on the automated assessment of the value of real estate properties within the boundaries of local authorities. Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal methodology integrated with Remote Sensing technology and GIS analysis is applied to local authorities' property registries and cadastral data, building a spatial relational database and providing data to be statistically processed through Multiple Regression Analysis modeling. The proposed scheme accomplishes economy of scale using CAMA procedures on one hand, but also succeeds in making local authorities self-sufficient through a decentralized, fair, locally calibrated property taxation model, providing rational income administration.

A comparison of decentralized, distributed, and centralized vibro-acoustic control.

Science.gov (United States)

Frampton, Kenneth D; Baumann, Oliver N; Gardonio, Paolo

2010-11-01

Direct velocity feedback control of structures is well known to increase structural damping and thus reduce vibration. In multi-channel systems the way in which the velocity signals are used to inform the actuators ranges from decentralized control, through distributed or clustered control to fully centralized control. The objective of distributed controllers is to exploit the anticipated performance advantage of the centralized control while maintaining the scalability, ease of implementation, and robustness of decentralized control. However, and in seeming contradiction, some investigations have concluded that decentralized control performs as well as distributed and centralized control, while other results have indicated that distributed control has significant performance advantages over decentralized control. The purpose of this work is to explain this seeming contradiction in results, to explore the effectiveness of decentralized, distributed, and centralized vibro-acoustic control, and to expand the concept of distributed control to include the distribution of the optimization process and the cost function employed.

Decentralization : Local Partnerships for Health Services in the ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

However, the national decentralization program is having a hard time getting on track. In the face of day-to-day difficulties Zenü Network, a nongovernmental organization, would like to make a contribution to this social project. The Network would like to demonstrate that civil society can work with decentralized government ...

Application of Transfer Matrix Approach to Modeling and Decentralized Control of Lattice-Based Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Cramer, Nick; Swei, Sean Shan-Min; Cheung, Kenny; Teodorescu, Mircea

2015-01-01

This paper presents a modeling and control of aerostructure developed by lattice-based cellular materials/components. The proposed aerostructure concept leverages a building block strategy for lattice-based components which provide great adaptability to varying ight scenarios, the needs of which are essential for in- ight wing shaping control. A decentralized structural control design is proposed that utilizes discrete-time lumped mass transfer matrix method (DT-LM-TMM). The objective is to develop an e ective reduced order model through DT-LM-TMM that can be used to design a decentralized controller for the structural control of a wing. The proposed approach developed in this paper shows that, as far as the performance of overall structural system is concerned, the reduced order model can be as e ective as the full order model in designing an optimal stabilizing controller.

Driving up Standards: Civil Service Management and Decentralization: Case Study of Uganda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lazarus Nabaho

2012-12-01

Full Text Available There is a consensus that decentralization by devolution leads to improved service delivery, but debate on the appropriate type of personnel arrangements for delivering decentralized services is far from over. Put differently, the discourse on whether civil service management should be decentralized or devolved still rages on. Little wonder that countries which started off with decentralized civil service management models in the 1990s are currently centralizing some aspects of personnel management while others are having centralized and decentralized personnel arrangements operating side by side in sub-national governments. The paper argues that civil service management should be decentralized whenever a country chooses the path of decentralization by devolution. Using Uganda’s example, the paper highlights two major challenges of managing the civil service under separate personnel arrangements: civil service appointments devoid of merit, and the perennial failure to attract and retain qualified human resource. The paper presents proposals on how to ensure meritocracy in appointments and how to bolster attraction and retention of human capital in local governments.

EFFECT OF FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION ON CAPITAL EXPENDITURE, GROWTH, AND WELFARE

OpenAIRE

Badrudin, Rudy

2013-01-01

This research analyzes the influence of fiscal decentralization on capital expenditure, economic growth, and social welfare of 29 regencies and 6 cities in Central Java Province based on the data of year 2004 to 2008. The method used to analyze the hypotheses is the Partial Least Square. The results showes that fiscal decentralization has no significant effect on capital expenditure; fiscal decentralization has significant effect on economic growth and social welfare; capital expenditure has ...

Making decentralization work for women in Uganda

OpenAIRE

Lakwo, A.

2009-01-01

This book is about engendering local governance. It explores the euphoria with which Uganda's decentralization policy took centre stage as a sufficient driver to engender local development responsiveness and accountability. Using a case study of AFARD in Nebbi district, it shows first that decentralized governance is gendered and technocratic as grassroots women's effective participation is lacking. Second, it shows that the insertion of women in local governance is merely a symbolic politica...

Centralization vs. Decentralization: A Location Analysis Approach for Librarians

Science.gov (United States)

Raffel, Jeffrey; Shishko, Robert

1972-01-01

An application of location theory to the question of centralized versus decentralized library facilities for a university, with relevance for special libraries is presented. The analysis provides models for a single library, for two or more libraries, or for decentralized facilities. (6 references) (Author/NH)

The Rhetoric of Decentralization

Science.gov (United States)

Ravitch, Diane

1974-01-01

Questions the rationale for and possible consequences of political decentralization of New York City. Suggests that the disadvantages--reduced level of professionalism, increased expense in multiple government operation, "stabilization" of residential segregation, necessity for budget negotiations because of public disclosure of tax…

Decentralized energy supply and electricity market structures

OpenAIRE

Weber, Christoph; Vogel, Philip

2005-01-01

Small decentralized power generation units (DG) are politically promoted because of their potential to reduce GHG-emissions and the existing dependency on fossil fuels. A long term goal of this promotion should be the creation of a level playing field for DG and conventional power generation. Due to the impact of DG on the electricity grid infrastructure, future regulation should consider the costs and benefits of the integration of decentralized energy generation units. Without an adequate c...

Decentralized electricity production. v. 1 and 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The first part of the symposium is concerned with market analysis, case studies and prospectives for the decentralized production of electricity in France: cogeneration, heat networks, municipal waste incineration, etc. Financing systems and microeconomical analysis are presented. The second part is devoted to macroeconomical outlooks (France and Europe mainly) on decentralized electricity production (cogeneration, small-scale hydroelectric power plants), to other countries experience (PV systems connected to the grid, cogeneration, etc.) and to price contracts and regulations

FINANCIAL CONSOLIDATION OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL ENTITY IN THE LIGHT OF DECENTRALIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana MANOLE

2017-02-01

Full Text Available „Should we head towards ‘self-government’ required by many of the participants, would that be a selfgovernmentof the citizens or the elect representatives? Whatever would happen, decentralization is, ina way, the book of our society, a book in which we find its aspirations, discrepancies and questions…It is well led from above, but it is well administered from the bottom.”(Xavier Frège, Paris, 1986 This article presents the results of study regarding the decentralization process, which is currentlyunderway in the Republic of Moldova. The purpose of the study is to highlight the fundamental concept ofdecentralization, the areas of administrative decentralization, the forms of manifestation of financialdecentralization (fiscal decentralization and budget decentralization, to identify the priorities of thedecentralization process, and to establish the indicators for measuring the degree of decentralization. Inbase of the statistical analysis and synthesis method, it was determined the current state of the art in theadministrative-territorial entities in the course of the decentralization process in relation to the publicfinance management reform. It were formulate proposals to accelerate the process of financialdecentralization and self-government.

Centralized vs decentralized lunar power system study

Science.gov (United States)

Metcalf, Kenneth; Harty, Richard B.; Perronne, Gerald E.

1991-09-01

Three power-system options are considered with respect to utilization on a lunar base: the fully centralized option, the fully decentralized option, and a hybrid comprising features of the first two options. Power source, power conditioning, and power transmission are considered separately, and each architecture option is examined with ac and dc distribution, high and low voltage transmission, and buried and suspended cables. Assessments are made on the basis of mass, technological complexity, cost, reliability, and installation complexity, however, a preferred power-system architecture is not proposed. Preferred options include transmission based on ac, transmission voltages of 2000-7000 V with buried high-voltage lines and suspended low-voltage lines. Assessments of the total cost associated with the installations are required to determine the most suitable power system.

FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION IN ALBANIA: EFFECTS OF TERRITORIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariola KAPIDANI

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The principle of decentralization is a fundamental principle for the establishment and operation of local government. It refers to the process of redistributing the authority and responsibility for certain functions from central government to local government units. In many countries, particularly in developing countries, fiscal decentralization and local governance issues are addressed as highly important to the economic development. According to Stigler (1957, fiscal decentralization brings government closer to the people and a representative government works best when it is closer to the people. Albania is still undergoing the process of decentralization in all aspects: political, economic, fiscal and administrative. Decentralization process is essential to sustainable economic growth and efficient allocation of resources to meet the needs of citizens. Albania has a fragmented system of local government with a very large number of local government units that have neither sufficient fiscal or human capacity to provide public services at a reasonable level (World Bank. However, recent administrative and territorial reform is expected to have a significant impact in many issues related to local autonomy and revenue management. This paper is focused on the progress of fiscal decentralization process in Albania, stating key issues and ongoing challenges for an improved system. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of recent territorial reform, identifying problems and opportunities to be addressed in the future.

Decentralizing decision making in modularization strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Israelsen, Poul; Jørgensen, Brian

2011-01-01

which distorts the economic effects of modularization at the level of the individual product. This has the implication that decisions on modularization can only be made by top management if decision authority and relevant information are to be aligned. To overcome this problem, we suggest a solution...... that aligns the descriptions of the economic consequences of modularization at the project and portfolio level which makes it possible to decentralize decision making while making sure that local goals are congruent with the global ones in order to avoid suboptimal behaviour. Keywords: Modularization......; Accounting; Cost allocation; Decision rule; Decentralization...

Near optimal decentralized H_inf control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stoustrup, J.; Niemann, Hans Henrik

It is shown that foir a class of decentralized control problems there does not exist a sequence of controllers of bounded order which obtains near optimal control. Neither does there exist an infinity dimentional optimal controller. Using the insight of the line of proof of these results, a heuri......It is shown that foir a class of decentralized control problems there does not exist a sequence of controllers of bounded order which obtains near optimal control. Neither does there exist an infinity dimentional optimal controller. Using the insight of the line of proof of these results...

The Bases of Federalism and Decentralization in Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Ornelas

2003-05-01

Full Text Available This essay uses the Weberian-type ideal to define the conceptual bases of federalism and the decentralization of education. Classic federalism, ficticious federalism (corporativism, the origins and the indigenous version of the new federalism are discussed. We conclude that Mexican constitutional federalism is baroque and ambiguous. Based on theory and the experiences of various countries, bureaucratic centralism and its main characteristics are defined. As a contrast, a typology of educational decentralization is developed. Taken into account are its political, judicial and administrative definitions; a distinction is made between delegation and decentralization. It is argued that with the signing of the Agreement for the Modernization of Basic Education, the Mexican government sought to increase its legitimacy without losing control of education.

The political economy of decentralization of health and social services in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsalikis, G

1989-01-01

A trend to decentralization in Canada's 'welfare state' has received support from the Left and from the Right. Some social critics of the Left expect decentralization to result in holistic services adjusted to local needs. Others, moreover, feel we are in the dawn of a new epoch in which major economic transformations are to bring about, through new class alliances and conflict, decentralization of power and a better quality of life in communities. These assumptions and their theoretical pitfalls are discussed here following an historical overview of the centralization/decentralization issue in Canadian social policy. It is argued that recent proposals of decentralization are a continuation of reactionary tendencies to constrain social expenditures, but not a path to better quality of life.

The interplay between decentralization and privacy: the case of blockchain technologies

OpenAIRE

De Filippi , Primavera

2016-01-01

International audience; Decentralized architectures are gaining popularity as a way to protect one's privacy against the ubiquitous surveillance of states and corporations. Yet, in spite of the obvious benefits they provide when it comes to data sovereignty, decentralized architectures also present certain characteristics that—if not properly accounted for—might ultimately impinge upon users' privacy. While they are capable of preserving the confidentiality of data, decentralized architecture...

Hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry in biopharmaceutical discovery and development – A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng, Bin; Lento, Cristina; Wilson, Derek J.

2016-01-01

Protein therapeutics have emerged as a major class of biopharmaceuticals over the past several decades, a trend that has motivated the advancement of bioanalytical technologies for protein therapeutic characterization. Hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) is a powerful and sensitive technique that can probe the higher order structure of proteins and has been used in the assessment and development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and biosimilar antibodies. It has also been used to quantify protein-ligand, protein-receptor and other protein-protein interactions involved in signaling pathways. In manufacturing and development, HDX-MS can validate storage formulations and manufacturing processes for various biotherapeutics. Currently, HDX-MS is being refined to provide additional coverage, sensitivity and structural specificity and implemented on the millisecond timescale to reveal residual structure and dynamics in disordered domains and intrinsically disordered proteins. - Highlights: • The pharmaceuticals industry is increasingly shifting to protein therapeutics. • Hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry is uniquely well suited to support biopharmaceutical development. • Applications for hydrogen deuterium exchange span drug discovery, development and manufacturing. • Future developments will allow improved sensitivity, structural resolution and a broader range of dynamics to be monitored.

Hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry in biopharmaceutical discovery and development – A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deng, Bin, E-mail: dengbin@yorku.ca [Chemistry Department, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3 (Canada); The Centre for Research in Mass Spectrometry, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J1P3 (Canada); Lento, Cristina, E-mail: clento@yorku.ca [Chemistry Department, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3 (Canada); The Centre for Research in Mass Spectrometry, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J1P3 (Canada); Wilson, Derek J., E-mail: dkwilson@yorku.ca [Chemistry Department, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3 (Canada); The Centre for Research in Mass Spectrometry, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J1P3 (Canada)

2016-10-12

Protein therapeutics have emerged as a major class of biopharmaceuticals over the past several decades, a trend that has motivated the advancement of bioanalytical technologies for protein therapeutic characterization. Hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) is a powerful and sensitive technique that can probe the higher order structure of proteins and has been used in the assessment and development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and biosimilar antibodies. It has also been used to quantify protein-ligand, protein-receptor and other protein-protein interactions involved in signaling pathways. In manufacturing and development, HDX-MS can validate storage formulations and manufacturing processes for various biotherapeutics. Currently, HDX-MS is being refined to provide additional coverage, sensitivity and structural specificity and implemented on the millisecond timescale to reveal residual structure and dynamics in disordered domains and intrinsically disordered proteins. - Highlights: • The pharmaceuticals industry is increasingly shifting to protein therapeutics. • Hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry is uniquely well suited to support biopharmaceutical development. • Applications for hydrogen deuterium exchange span drug discovery, development and manufacturing. • Future developments will allow improved sensitivity, structural resolution and a broader range of dynamics to be monitored.

Centralization Versus Decentralization: A Location Analysis Approach for Librarians.

Science.gov (United States)

Shishko, Robert; Raffel, Jeffrey

One of the questions that seems to perplex many university and special librarians is whether to move in the direction of centralizing or decentralizing the library's collections and facilities. Presented is a theoretical approach, employing location theory, to the library centralization-decentralization question. Location theory allows the analyst…

Numerical analysis of the heat and mass transfer processes in selected M-Cycle heat exchangers for the dew point evaporative cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pandelidis, Demis; Anisimov, Sergey

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The comparative numerical study of the eight M-Cycle heat exchangers was presented. • The mathematical model is compared against the experimental data. • The results show, that the original M-Cycle heat and mass exchanger can be improved. • The effectiveness of the heat and mass exchangers depends strongly on the inlet air parameters. - Abstract: This paper investigates a mathematical simulation of heat and mass transfer in eight different types of the Maisotsenko Cycle (M-Cycle) heat and mass exchangers (HMXs) used for indirect evaporative air cooling. A two-dimensional heat and mass transfer model is developed to perform the thermal calculations of the indirect evaporative cooling process and quantifying the overall performance. The mathematical model was validated against experimental data. A numerical simulation reveals many unique features of the considered HMXs, enabling an accurate prediction of their performance. Results of the model allow for comparison of the analyzed devices in order to improve the performance of the original HMX

Corruption and government spending : The role of decentralization

OpenAIRE

Korneliussen, Kristine

2009-01-01

This thesis points to a possible weakness of the empirical literature on corruption and government spending. That corruption affects the composition of government spending, and in particular that it affects education and health spending adversely, seems to be empirically well established. However, there exist additional literature closely related to corruption and government spending, treating(i) a relationship between corruption and decentralization, and (ii) a relationship between decentral...

On Deciding How to Decide: To Centralize or Decentralize.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaffee, Ellen Earle

Issues concerning whether to centralize or decentralize decision-making are addressed, with applications for colleges. Centralization/decentralization (C/D) must be analyzed with reference to a particular decision. Three components of C/D are locus of authority, breadth of participation, and relative contribution by the decision-maker's staff. C/D…

Research on calculation of the IOL tilt and decentration based on surface fitting.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lin; Wang, Ke; Yan, Yan; Song, Xudong; Liu, Zhicheng

2013-01-01

The tilt and decentration of intraocular lens (IOL) result in defocussing, astigmatism, and wavefront aberration after operation. The objective is to give a method to estimate the tilt and decentration of IOL more accurately. Based on AS-OCT images of twelve eyes from eight cases with subluxation lens after operation, we fitted spherical equation to the data obtained from the images of the anterior and posterior surfaces of the IOL. By the established relationship between IOL tilt (decentration) and the scanned angle, at which a piece of AS-OCT image was taken by the instrument, the IOL tilt and decentration were calculated. IOL tilt angle and decentration of each subject were given. Moreover, the horizontal and vertical tilt was also obtained. Accordingly, the possible errors of IOL tilt and decentration existed in the method employed by AS-OCT instrument. Based on 6-12 pieces of AS-OCT images at different directions, the tilt angle and decentration values were shown, respectively. The method of the surface fitting to the IOL surface can accurately analyze the IOL's location, and six pieces of AS-OCT images at three pairs symmetrical directions are enough to get tilt angle and decentration value of IOL more precisely.

Research on Calculation of the IOL Tilt and Decentration Based on Surface Fitting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The tilt and decentration of intraocular lens (IOL result in defocussing, astigmatism, and wavefront aberration after operation. The objective is to give a method to estimate the tilt and decentration of IOL more accurately. Based on AS-OCT images of twelve eyes from eight cases with subluxation lens after operation, we fitted spherical equation to the data obtained from the images of the anterior and posterior surfaces of the IOL. By the established relationship between IOL tilt (decentration and the scanned angle, at which a piece of AS-OCT image was taken by the instrument, the IOL tilt and decentration were calculated. IOL tilt angle and decentration of each subject were given. Moreover, the horizontal and vertical tilt was also obtained. Accordingly, the possible errors of IOL tilt and decentration existed in the method employed by AS-OCT instrument. Based on 6–12 pieces of AS-OCT images at different directions, the tilt angle and decentration values were shown, respectively. The method of the surface fitting to the IOL surface can accurately analyze the IOL’s location, and six pieces of AS-OCT images at three pairs symmetrical directions are enough to get tilt angle and decentration value of IOL more precisely.

Decentralized Ground Staff Scheduling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, M. D.; Clausen, Jens

2002-01-01

scheduling is investigated. The airport terminal is divided into zones, where each zone consists of a set of stands geographically next to each other. Staff is assigned to work in only one zone and the staff scheduling is planned decentralized for each zone. The advantage of this approach is that the staff...... work in a smaller area of the terminal and thus spends less time walking between stands. When planning decentralized the allocation of stands to flights influences the staff scheduling since the workload in a zone depends on which flights are allocated to stands in the zone. Hence solving the problem...... depends on the actual stand allocation but also on the number of zones and the layout of these. A mathematical model of the problem is proposed, which integrates the stand allocation and the staff scheduling. A heuristic solution method is developed and applied on a real case from British Airways, London...

Regenerator heat exchanger – calculation of heat recovery efficiency and pressure loss

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pomianowski, Michal Zbigniew; Heiselberg, Per Kvols

Performance of heat exchangers is determined based on two main parameters: efficiency to exchange / recover heat and pressure loss due to friction between fluid and exchanger surfaces. These two parameters are contradicting each other which mean that the higher is efficiency the higher becomes...... pressure loss. The aim of the optimized design of heat exchanger is to reach the highest or the required heat efficiency and at the same time to keep pressure losses as low as possible keeping total exchanger size within acceptable size. In this report is presented analytical calculation method...... to calculate efficiency and pressure loss in the regenerator heat exchanger with a fixed matrix that will be used in the decentralized ventilation unit combined in the roof window. Moreover, this study presents sensitivity study of regenerator heat exchanger performance, taking into account, such parameters as...

The Wolf and the Caribou: Coexistence of Decentralized Economies and Competitive Markets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Freund

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Starting with BitTorrent and then Bitcoin, decentralized technologies have been on the rise over the last 15+ years, gaining significant momentum in the last 2+ years with the advent of platform ecosystems such as the Blockchain platform Ethereum. New projects have evolved from decentralized games to marketplaces to open funding models to decentralized autonomous organizations. The hype around cryptocurrency and the valuation of innovative projects drove the market cap of cryptocurrencies to over a trillion dollars at one point in 2017. These high valued technologies are now enabling something new: globally scaled and decentralized business models. Despite their valuation and the hype, these new business ecosystems are frail. This is not only because the underlying technology is rapidly evolving, but also because competitive markets see a profit opportunity in exponential cryptocurrency returns. This extracts value from these ecosystems, which could lead to their collapse, if unchecked. In this paper, we explore novel ways for decentralized economies to protect themselves from, and coexist with, competitive markets at a global scale utilizing decentralized technologies such as Blockchain.

Analysis and design of robust decentralized controllers for nonlinear systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schoenwald, D.A.

1993-07-01

Decentralized control strategies for nonlinear systems are achieved via feedback linearization techniques. New results on optimization and parameter robustness of non-linear systems are also developed. In addition, parametric uncertainty in large-scale systems is handled by sensitivity analysis and optimal control methods in a completely decentralized framework. This idea is applied to alleviate uncertainty in friction parameters for the gimbal joints on Space Station Freedom. As an example of decentralized nonlinear control, singular perturbation methods and distributed vibration damping are merged into a control strategy for a two-link flexible manipulator.

Decentralization in Ethiopia

OpenAIRE

Gemechu, Mulugeta Debebbe

2012-01-01

Ethiopia officially launched the District Level Decentralization Program (DLDP) by the year 2002. The program flagged core objectives such as institutionalizing viable development centers at local levels, deepening devolution of power, enhancing the democratization process through broad-based participatory strategy, promoting good governance and improving service delivery. Since the inception of this program two strategic planning terms (one strategic term is five years) have already elapsed ...

Decentralized control and communication

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bakule, Lubomír; Papík, Martin

2012-01-01

Roč. 36, č. 1 (2012), s. 1-10 ISSN 1367-5788 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LG12014 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : decentralization * communication * large-scale complex systems Subject RIV: BC - Control Systems Theory Impact factor: 1.289, year: 2012

A Mixed Method Research for Finding a Model of Administrative Decentralization

OpenAIRE

Tahereh Feizy; Alireza Moghali; Masuod Geramipoor; Reza Zare

2015-01-01

One of the critical issues of administrative decentralization in translating theory into practice is understanding its meaning. An important method to identify administrative decentralization is to address how it can be planned and implemented, and what are its implications, and how it would overcome challenges. The purpose of this study is finding a model for analyzing and evaluating administrative decentralization, so a mixed method research was used to explore and confirm the model of Admi...

Decentralized Interleaving of Paralleled Dc-Dc Buck Converters: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Johnson, Brian B [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Rodriguez, Miguel [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sinha, Mohit [University of Minnesota; Dhople, Sairaj [University of Minnesota; Poon, Jason [University of California at Berkeley

2017-09-01

We present a decentralized control strategy that yields switch interleaving among parallel connected dc-dc buck converters without communication. The proposed method is based on the digital implementation of the dynamics of a nonlinear oscillator circuit as the controller. Each controller is fully decentralized, i.e., it only requires the locally measured output current to synthesize the pulse width modulation (PWM) carrier waveform. By virtue of the intrinsic electrical coupling between converters, the nonlinear oscillator-based controllers converge to an interleaved state with uniform phase-spacing across PWM carriers. To the knowledge of the authors, this work represents the first fully decentralized strategy for switch interleaving of paralleled dc-dc buck converters.

Decentralization can help reduce deforestation when user groups engage with local government

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Glenn D.; Gibson, Clark C.; Evans, Tom P.

2016-01-01

Policy makers around the world tout decentralization as an effective tool in the governance of natural resources. Despite the popularity of these reforms, there is limited scientific evidence on the environmental effects of decentralization, especially in tropical biomes. This study presents evidence on the institutional conditions under which decentralization is likely to be successful in sustaining forests. We draw on common-pool resource theory to argue that the environmental impact of decentralization hinges on the ability of reforms to engage local forest users in the governance of forests. Using matching techniques, we analyze longitudinal field observations on both social and biophysical characteristics in a large number of local government territories in Bolivia (a country with a decentralized forestry policy) and Peru (a country with a much more centralized forestry policy). We find that territories with a decentralized forest governance structure have more stable forest cover, but only when local forest user groups actively engage with the local government officials. We provide evidence in support of a possible causal process behind these results: When user groups engage with the decentralized units, it creates a more enabling environment for effective local governance of forests, including more local government-led forest governance activities, fora for the resolution of forest-related conflicts, intermunicipal cooperation in the forestry sector, and stronger technical capabilities of the local government staff. PMID:27956644

Decentralization can help reduce deforestation when user groups engage with local government.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, Glenn D; Andersson, Krister P; Gibson, Clark C; Evans, Tom P

2016-12-27

Policy makers around the world tout decentralization as an effective tool in the governance of natural resources. Despite the popularity of these reforms, there is limited scientific evidence on the environmental effects of decentralization, especially in tropical biomes. This study presents evidence on the institutional conditions under which decentralization is likely to be successful in sustaining forests. We draw on common-pool resource theory to argue that the environmental impact of decentralization hinges on the ability of reforms to engage local forest users in the governance of forests. Using matching techniques, we analyze longitudinal field observations on both social and biophysical characteristics in a large number of local government territories in Bolivia (a country with a decentralized forestry policy) and Peru (a country with a much more centralized forestry policy). We find that territories with a decentralized forest governance structure have more stable forest cover, but only when local forest user groups actively engage with the local government officials. We provide evidence in support of a possible causal process behind these results: When user groups engage with the decentralized units, it creates a more enabling environment for effective local governance of forests, including more local government-led forest governance activities, fora for the resolution of forest-related conflicts, intermunicipal cooperation in the forestry sector, and stronger technical capabilities of the local government staff.

Decentralization of health care systems and health outcomes: Evidence from a natural experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez-Rubio, Dolores; García-Gómez, Pilar

2017-09-01

While many countries worldwide are shifting responsibilities for their health systems to local levels of government, there is to date insufficient evidence about the potential impact of these policy reforms. We estimate the impact of decentralization of the health services on infant and neonatal mortality using a natural experiment: the devolution of health care decision making powers to Spanish regions. The devolution was implemented gradually and asymmetrically over a twenty-year period (1981-2002). The order in which the regions were decentralized was driven by political factors and hence can be considered exogenous to health outcomes. In addition, we exploit the dynamic effect of decentralization of health services and allow for heterogeneous effects by the two main types of decentralization implemented across regions: full decentralization (political and fiscal powers) versus political decentralization only. Our difference in differences results based on a panel dataset for the 50 Spanish provinces over the period 1980 to 2010 show that the lasting benefit of decentralization accrues only to regions which enjoy almost full fiscal and political powers and which are also among the richest regions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decentralized Budgeting: Getting the Most Out of Disbursements of Funds.

Science.gov (United States)

Jefferson, Anne L.

1995-01-01

Decentralizing educational budgets allows the disbursement of funds aimed at maximizing student development. Three strategies for decentralizing budgets are program budgeting, which eliminates line-item budgeting and allows administrators to address questions regarding the relative value of educational programs; zero-based budgeting, which allows…

On the vertical exchange of heat, mass and momentum over complex, mountainous terrain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mathias Walter Rotach

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The role of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL in the atmosphere-climate system is the exchange of heat, mass and momentum between ‘the earth’s surface’ and the atmosphere. Traditionally, it is understood that turbulent transport is responsible for this exchange and hence the understanding and physical description of the turbulence structure of the boundary layer is key to assess the effectiveness of earth-atmosphere exchange. This understanding is rooted in the (implicit assumption of a scale separation or spectral gap between turbulence and mean atmospheric motions, which in turn leads to the assumption of a horizontally homogeneous and flat (HHF surface as a reference, for which both physical understanding and model parameterizations have successfully been developed over the years. Over mountainous terrain, however, the ABL is generically inhomogeneous due to both thermal (radiative and dynamic forcing. This inhomogeneity leads to meso-scale and even sub-meso-scale flows such as slope and valley winds or wake effects. It is argued here that these (submeso-scale motions can significantly contribute to the vertical structure of the boundary layer and hence vertical exchange of heat and mass between the surface and the atmosphere. If model grid resolution is not high enough the latter will have to be parameterized (in a similar fashion as gravity wave drag parameterizations take into account the momentum transport due to gravity waves in large-scale models. In this contribution we summarize the available evidence of the contribution of (submeso-scale motions to vertical exchange in mountainous terrain from observational and numerical modeling studies. In particular, a number of recent simulation studies using idealized topography will be summarized and put into perspective – so as to identify possible limitations and areas of necessary future research.

Centralization or decentralization of facial structures in Korean young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Ja-Young; Kim, Jeong-Nam; Shin, Kang-Jae; Kim, Soon-Heum; Choi, Hyun-Gon; Jeon, Hyun-Soo; Koh, Ki-Seok; Song, Wu-Chul

2013-05-01

It is well known that facial beauty is dictated by facial type, and harmony between the eyes, nose, and mouth. Furthermore, facial impression is judged according to the overall facial contour and the relationship between the facial structures. The aims of the present study were to determine the optimal criteria for the assessment of gathering or separation of the facial structures and to define standardized ratios for centralization or decentralization of the facial structures.Four different lengths were measured, and 2 indexes were calculated from standardized photographs of 551 volunteers. Centralization and decentralization were assessed using the width index (interpupillary distance / facial width) and height index (eyes-mouth distance / facial height). The mean ranges of the width index and height index were 42.0 to 45.0 and 36.0 to 39.0, respectively. The width index did not differ with sex, but males had more decentralized faces, and females had more centralized faces, vertically. The incidence rate of decentralized faces among the men was 30.3%, and that of centralized faces among the women was 25.2%.The mean ranges in width and height indexes have been determined in a Korean population. Faces with width and height index scores under and over the median ranges are determined to be "centralized" and "decentralized," respectively.

Economic Inequalities and the Level of Decentralization in European Countries: Cluster Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laboutková Šárka

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This submitted article identifies relations between the degree of decentralization and economic imbalances on the basis of a cluster (exploratory analysis. Two indicators have been chosen for measuring economic inequalities: an indicator of dispersion of regional GDP per capita as representative of the performance imbalances within countries (it measures the economic development gap among regions in European countries; and a multidimensional inequality-adjusted human development index as representative of inequalities in the distribution of wealth in the countries. Decentralization is measured by means of a decentralization index, which contains both quantitative and qualitative components. Although groups of countries characterised by a high degree of decentralization do not necessarily show the lowest degrees of economic imbalances, it is however possible to conclude that the countries in groups with a higher degree of decentralization are among those countries with more favourable values of the economic imbalances indicators monitored. As a part of the research, two clusters of countries were identified which are identical in their degree of decentralization, but differ in the results connected with economic imbalances. The differences are caused by different institutional qualities in the two groups.

Decentralized guaranteed cost static output feedback vibration control for piezoelectric smart structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Jian-ping; Li, Dong-xu

2010-01-01

This paper is devoted to the study of the decentralized guaranteed cost static output feedback vibration control for piezoelectric smart structures. A smart panel with collocated piezoelectric actuators and velocity sensors is modeled using a finite element method, and then the size of the model is reduced in the state space using the modal Hankel singular value. The necessary and sufficient conditions of decentralized guaranteed cost static output feedback control for the reduced system have been presented. The decentralized and centralized static output feedback matrices can be obtained from solving two linear matrix inequalities. A comparison between centralized control and decentralized control is performed in order to investigate their effectiveness in suppressing vibration of a smart panel. Numerical results show that when the system is subjected to initial displacement or white noise disturbance, the decentralized and centralized controls are both very effective and the control results are very close

[Analysis of the healthcare service decentralization process in Côte d'Ivoire].

Science.gov (United States)

Soura, B D; Coulibaly, S S

2014-01-01

The decentralization of healthcare services is becoming increasingly important in strategies of public sector management. This concept is analyzed from various points of view, including legal, economic, political, and sociological. Several typologies have been proposed in the literature to analyze this decentralization process, which can take different forms ranging from simple deconcentration to more elaborate devolution. In some instances, decentralization can be analyzed by the degree of autonomy given to local authorities. This article applies these typologies to analyze the healthcare system decentralization process in Cote d'Ivoire. Special attention is paid to the new forms of community healthcare organizations. These decentralized structures enjoy a kind of autonomy, with characteristics closer to those of devolution. The model might serve as an example for population involvement in defining and managing healthcare problems in Cote d'Ivoire. We end with proposals for the improvement of the process.

Decentralized Gauss-Newton method for nonlinear least squares on wide area network

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lanchao; Ling, Qing; Han, Zhu

2014-10-01

This paper presents a decentralized approach of Gauss-Newton (GN) method for nonlinear least squares (NLLS) on wide area network (WAN). In a multi-agent system, a centralized GN for NLLS requires the global GN Hessian matrix available at a central computing unit, which may incur large communication overhead. In the proposed decentralized alternative, each agent only needs local GN Hessian matrix to update iterates with the cooperation of neighbors. The detail formulation of decentralized NLLS on WAN is given, and the iteration at each agent is defined. The convergence property of the decentralized approach is analyzed, and numerical results validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

A Review of Characteristics and Experiences of Decentralization of Education

Science.gov (United States)

Mwinjuma, Juma Saidi; Kadir, Suhaida bte Abd.; Hamzah, Azimi; Basri, Ramli

2015-01-01

This paper scrutinizes decentralization of education with reference to some countries around the world. We consider discussion on decentralization to be complex, critical and broad question in the contemporary education planning, administration and politics of education reforms. Even though the debate on and implementation of decentralization…

Decentralized energy studies: compendium of international studies and research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wallace, C.

1980-03-01

The purpose of the compendium is to provide information about research activities in decentralized energy systems to researchers, government officials, and interested citizens. The compendium lists and briefly describes a number of studies in other industrialized nations that involve decentralized energy systems. A contact person is given for each of the activities listed so that interested readers can obtain more information.

The Politics of Fiscal Decentralization Revisited: a Typology and Comparative Evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge P. Gordin

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Although the practice of fiscal decentralization is worldwide and its implementation and effects vary from country to country, its political significance has been often neglected, or worse, treated as implicit to decentralization. This study considers the sources of politicization of fiscal decentralization, focusing on the determination and manipulation of intergovernmental transfers. It develops a new index of fiscal politicization and proposes an explanatory typology that takes into account subnational transfer dependency and the extent to which transfers are politically determined. This analysis renders a conceptual tool that captures nuanced facts about the intergovernmental level of conflict to a larger extent than conventional measures of fiscal decentralization do. We found that the effects of fiscal dependency are intertwined with political asymmetries derived from legislative overrepresentation of territorial units and intergovernmental bargaining strategies.

Regional Development and Decentralization – two Options to Overcome Lack of Funding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dubravka JURLINA ALIBEGOVIC

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Decentralization can be generally described as a process in which selected functions are assigned to sub-national units. The literature identifies a number of positive consequences of decentralization which all lead to a better satisfaction of citizens’ needs for public services. Although the decentralization process in Croatia started more than ten years ago, it has not yet been completed. While leading to a new allocation of authorities and responsibilities to local government units, the level of fiscal decentralization remained lower than in the EU countries.In this paper we analyze the fiscal capacity of local government units to provide an insight into the main problems of decentralization in Croatia. We show that most local government units have very low fiscal capacity, which is insufficient for financing basic public functions with their own resources. The paper presents the results of a survey relating to the decentralization process conducted among local councilors at the regional level in Croatia. We explore how local councilors at the regional level evaluate different goals of decentralization. With the lack of fiscal capacity in mind, we identify two possible solutions for an optimal provision of public functions. The first one is the level of political will for a joint provision of public functions by different local units, and the second one is a change in the territorial organization of the country. We measure the difference in the attitudes toward these questions across counties.

Decentralization in Zambia: resource allocation and district performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Bossert, Thomas; Chitah, Mukosha Bona; Bowser, Diana

2003-12-01

Zambia implemented an ambitious process of health sector decentralization in the mid 1990s. This article presents an assessment of the degree of decentralization, called 'decision space', that was allowed to districts in Zambia, and an analysis of data on districts available at the national level to assess allocation choices made by local authorities and some indicators of the performance of the health systems under decentralization. The Zambian officials in health districts had a moderate range of choice over expenditures, user fees, contracting, targeting and governance. Their choices were quite limited over salaries and allowances and they did not have control over additional major sources of revenue, like local taxes. The study found that the formula for allocation of government funding which was based on population size and hospital beds resulted in relatively equal per capita expenditures among districts. Decentralization allowed the districts to make decisions on internal allocation of resources and on user fee levels and expenditures. General guidelines for the allocation of resources established a maximum and minimum percentage to be allocated to district offices, hospitals, health centres and communities. Districts tended to exceed the maximum for district offices, but the large urban districts and those without public district hospitals were not even reaching the minimum for hospital allocations. Wealthier and urban districts were more successful in raising revenue through user fees, although the proportion of total expenditures that came from user fees was low. An analysis of available indicators of performance, such as the utilization of health services, immunization coverage and family planning activities, found little variation during the period 1995-98 except for a decline in immunization coverage, which may have also been affected by changes in donor funding. These findings suggest that decentralization may not have had either a positive or

Decentralized control: An overview

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bakule, Lubomír

2008-01-01

Roč. 32, č. 1 (2008), s. 87-98 ISSN 1367-5788 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA200750802; GA MŠk(CZ) LA 282 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : decentralized control * large-scale systems * decomposition Subject RIV: BC - Control Systems Theory Impact factor: 1.109, year: 2008

Influence of concentration and hydrodynamic factors in sorption of iodine by anion-exchangers of the mass-transfer rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokolov, V.V.; Smirnov, N.N.

1982-01-01

An investigation of the joint influence of hydrodynamic and concentration factors in sorption of iodine by AV-17-8 and anion exchange resins on the mass-transfer coefficient is the subject of this report. The method of central composite rotatable experimental design was used for quantitative assessment and derivation of the appropriate equations. The investigation yielded the necessary regression equations satisfactorily describing the influence of all the factors in the mass-transfer coefficient. the optimal mass-transfer conditions were determined. On the basis of the values obtained, recommendations are made on the optimal hydrodynamic conditions of operation of equipment with pneumatic circulation of the ion-exchanger

Economic analysis of centralized vs. decentralized electronic data capture in multi-center clinical studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Walden, Anita; Nahm, Meredith; Barnett, M Edwina; Conde, Jose G; Dent, Andrew; Fadiel, Ahmed; Perry, Theresa; Tolk, Chris; Tcheng, James E; Eisenstein, Eric L

2011-01-01

New data management models are emerging in multi-center clinical studies. We evaluated the incremental costs associated with decentralized vs. centralized models. We developed clinical research network economic models to evaluate three data management models: centralized, decentralized with local software, and decentralized with shared database. Descriptive information from three clinical research studies served as inputs for these models. The primary outcome was total data management costs. Secondary outcomes included: data management costs for sites, local data centers, and central coordinating centers. Both decentralized models were more costly than the centralized model for each clinical research study: the decentralized with local software model was the most expensive. Decreasing the number of local data centers and case book pages reduced cost differentials between models. Decentralized vs. centralized data management in multi-center clinical research studies is associated with increases in data management costs.

Reliable Decentralized Control of Fuzzy Discrete-Event Systems and a Test Algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fuchun; Dziong, Zbigniew

2013-02-01

A framework for decentralized control of fuzzy discrete-event systems (FDESs) has been recently presented to guarantee the achievement of a given specification under the joint control of all local fuzzy supervisors. As a continuation, this paper addresses the reliable decentralized control of FDESs in face of possible failures of some local fuzzy supervisors. Roughly speaking, for an FDES equipped with n local fuzzy supervisors, a decentralized supervisor is called k-reliable (1 ≤ k ≤ n) provided that the control performance will not be degraded even when n - k local fuzzy supervisors fail. A necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of k-reliable decentralized supervisors of FDESs is proposed by introducing the notions of M̃uc-controllability and k-reliable coobservability of fuzzy language. In particular, a polynomial-time algorithm to test the k-reliable coobservability is developed by a constructive methodology, which indicates that the existence of k-reliable decentralized supervisors of FDESs can be checked with a polynomial complexity.

Mass transfer model liquid phase catalytic exchange column simulation applicable to any column composition profile

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Busigin, A. [NITEK USA Inc., Ocala, FL (United States)

2015-03-15

Liquid Phase Catalytic Exchange (LPCE) is a key technology used in water detritiation systems. Rigorous simulation of LPCE is complicated when a column may have both hydrogen and deuterium present in significant concentrations in different sections of the column. This paper presents a general mass transfer model for a homogenous packed bed LPCE column as a set of differential equations describing composition change, and equilibrium equations to define the mass transfer driving force within the column. The model is used to show the effect of deuterium buildup in the bottom of an LPCE column from non-negligible D atom fraction in the bottom feed gas to the column. These types of calculations are important in the design of CECE (Combined Electrolysis and Catalytic Exchange) water detritiation systems.

Community Development in the context of the power decentralization in Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. P. Berezinskiy

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to define opportunities of development of the community in the implementation of the power decentralization reform in Ukraine. It has been shown that the principle of decentralization provides for territorial and political unity of the state by a legal delimitation of powers between central government agencies and regional public authorities (or local authorities. It makes it clear that the issue of power decentralization in Ukraine has a constitutional and legal framework, as the Main Law states that the power system is based on a combination of centralization and decentralization. The requirement of power decentralization has been constitutionally justified. It has been revealed that according to the State Regional Development Strategy, the following priorities of the state regional policy are: increase of the competitiveness of regions; territorial socio-economic integration and spatial development; effective governance in regional development. It has been disclosed that in Ukraine the deepening of the decentralization is aimed at the strengthening of the role of local self-government, empowerment of the representative authorities of local communities to get more authority for managing local affairs, deprivation of local power authorities for the preparation and fulfilment of budgets in regions, the transfer of significant powers and financial resources from government to local self-governmental authorities. It has been proved that decentralization contributes to the democratization of the local government and the development of local community as the ultimate goals of the reform of the power decentralization are the creation and maintenance of good living environment for citizens. This reform should correspond to interests of citizens in all spheres of life, and it must support on the relevant territory. In this regard, series of legislative acts were adopted («On a voluntary association of local communities», �

Decentralization and Distribution Primary Education Access in Indonesia 2014

OpenAIRE

Benita, Novinaz

2016-01-01

This paper examines decentralisation and distribution of access to primary school in Indonesia. Data come from Indonesia National Socio Economic Survey 2014, and statistic reports from Ministry of education, Ministry Of Finance, and General Election Commision. Descriptive statistic is used to describe spatial distribution of decentralization in primary education system and distribution of primary education access. The results show there are districts disparities in decentralization of primary...

Emergent Semantics Interoperability in Large-Scale Decentralized Information Systems

CERN Document Server

Cudré-Mauroux, Philippe

2008-01-01

Peer-to-peer systems are evolving with new information-system architectures, leading to the idea that the principles of decentralization and self-organization will offer new approaches in informatics, especially for systems that scale with the number of users or for which central authorities do not prevail. This book describes a new way of building global agreements (semantic interoperability) based only on decentralized, self-organizing interactions.

Numerical investigation of the energy performance of a guideless irregular heat and mass exchanger with corrugated heat transfer surface for dew point cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Peng; Ma, Xiaoli; Diallo, Thierno M.O.; Zhao, Xudong; Fancey, Kevin; Li, Deying; Chen, Hongbing

2016-01-01

The paper presents an investigation into the energy performance of a novel irregular heat and mass exchanger for dew point cooling which, compared to the existing flat-plate heat exchangers, removed the use of the channel supporting guides and implemented the corrugated heat transfer surface, thus expecting to achieve the reduced air flow resistance, increased heat transfer area, and improved energy efficiency (i.e. Coefficient of Performance (COP)) of the air cooling process. CFD simulation was carried out to determine the flow resistance (K) factors of various elements within the dry and wet channels of the exchanger, while the ‘finite-element’ based ‘Newton-iteration’ numerical simulation was undertaken to investigate its cooling capacity, cooling effectiveness and COP at various geometrical and operational conditions. Compared to the existing flat-plate heat and mass exchangers with the same geometrical dimensions and operational conditions, the new irregular exchanger could achieve 32.9%–37% higher cooling capacity, dew-point and wet-bulb effectiveness, 29.7%–33.3% higher COP, and 55.8%–56.2% lower pressure drop. While undertaking dew point air cooling, the irregular heat and mass exchanger had the optimum air velocity of 1 m/s within the flow channels and working-to-intake air ratio of 0.3, which allowed the highest cooling capacity and COP to be achieved. In terms of the exchanger dimensions, the optimum height of the channel was 5 mm while its length was in the range 1–2 m. Overall, the proposed irregular heat and mass exchanger could lead to significant enhanced energy performance compared to the existing flat-plate dew point cooling heat exchanger of the same geometrical dimensions. To achieve the same amount cooling output, the irregular heat and mass exchanger had the reduced size and cost against the flat-plate ones. - Highlights: • Numerical investigation of an irregular heat and mass exchanger was undertaken. • A �

On decentralized adaptive full-order sliding mode control of multiple UAVs.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Xianbo; Liu, Chao; Su, Housheng; Zhang, Qin

2017-11-01

In this study, a novel decentralized adaptive full-order sliding mode control framework is proposed for the robust synchronized formation motion of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) subject to system uncertainty. First, a full-order sliding mode surface in a decentralized manner is designed to incorporate both the individual position tracking error and the synchronized formation error while the UAV group is engaged in building a certain desired geometric pattern in three dimensional space. Second, a decentralized virtual plant controller is constructed which allows the embedded low-pass filter to attain the chattering free property of the sliding mode controller. In addition, robust adaptive technique is integrated in the decentralized chattering free sliding control design in order to handle unknown bounded uncertainties, without requirements for assuming a priori knowledge of bounds on the system uncertainties as stated in conventional chattering free control methods. Subsequently, system robustness as well as stability of the decentralized full-order sliding mode control of multiple UAVs is synthesized. Numerical simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control framework to achieve robust 3D formation flight of the multi-UAV system. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen Exchange Mass Spectrometry of Functional Membrane-bound Chemotaxis Receptor Complexes

Science.gov (United States)

Koshy, Seena S.; Eyles, Stephen J.; Weis, Robert M.; Thompson, Lynmarie K.

2014-01-01

The transmembrane signaling mechanism of bacterial chemotaxis receptors is thought to involve changes in receptor conformation and dynamics. The receptors function in ternary complexes with two other proteins, CheA and CheW, that form extended membrane-bound arrays. Previous studies have shown that attractant binding induces a small (~2 Å) piston displacement of one helix of the periplasmic and transmembrane domains towards the cytoplasm, but it is not clear how this signal propagates through the cytoplasmic domain to control the kinase activity of the CheA bound at the membrane-distal tip, nearly 200 Å away. The cytoplasmic domain has been shown to be highly dynamic, which raises the question of how a small piston motion could propagate through a dynamic domain to control CheA kinase activity. To address this, we have developed a method for measuring dynamics of the receptor cytoplasmic fragment (CF) in functional complexes with CheA and CheW. Hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) measurements of global exchange of CF demonstrate that CF exhibits significantly slower exchange in functional complexes than in solution. Since the exchange rates in functional complexes are comparable to that of other proteins of similar structure, the CF appears to be a well-structured protein within these complexes, which is compatible with its role in propagating a signal that appears to be a tiny conformational change in the periplasmic and transmembrane domains of the receptor. We also demonstrate the feasibility of this protocol for local exchange measurements, by incorporating a pepsin digest step to produce peptides with 87% sequence coverage and only 20% back exchange. This method extends HDX-MS to membrane-bound functional complexes without detergents that may perturb the stability or structure of the system. PMID:24274333

(De)Centralization of Public Procurement at the Local Level in the EU

OpenAIRE

Boštjan BREZOVNIK; Žan Jan OPLOTNIK; Borut VOJINOVIĆ

2015-01-01

The so-called decentralization of public procurement in EU Member States is accepted as the most suitable design of the public procurement system, often justifi ed by greater economic effi ciency and by the possibility of boosting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, which act on the public procurement market as providers of goods, services and works. Despite the existence of highly decentralized public procurement systems which refl ect the decentralization of administrativ...

Mathematical Modeling of Non-Fickian Diffusional Mass Exchange of Radioactive Contaminants in Geological Disposal Formations

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Anna Suzuki

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Deep geological repositories for nuclear wastes consist of both engineered and natural geologic barriers to isolate the radioactive material from the human environment. Inappropriate repositories of nuclear waste would cause severe contamination to nearby aquifers. In this complex environment, mass transport of radioactive contaminants displays anomalous behaviors and often produces power-law tails in breakthrough curves due to spatial heterogeneities in fractured rocks, velocity dispersion, adsorption, and decay of contaminants, which requires more sophisticated models beyond the typical advection-dispersion equation. In this paper, accounting for the mass exchange between a fracture and a porous matrix of complex geometry, the universal equation of mass transport within a fracture is derived. This equation represents the generalization of the previously used models and accounts for anomalous mass exchange between a fracture and porous blocks through the introduction of the integral term of convolution type and fractional derivatives. This equation can be applied for the variety of processes taking place in the complex fractured porous medium, including the transport of radioactive elements. The Laplace transform method was used to obtain the solution of the fractional diffusion equation with a time-dependent source of radioactive contaminant.

DECENTRALIZATION OF PUBLIC AND LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN UKRAINE

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Lyudmila Pron’ko

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of research is to examine the purpose of a modern system of local government in Ukraine, scientific analysis of the feasibility and benefits of implemented reforms for decentralization and subsidiary of local authorities, decentralization of public power and public control, and the need to strengthen the political status of local governments. Methodology. The methodological base for research on decentralization and local government reforms to strengthen the political status of local government and decentralization of public power is the Constitution of Ukraine, Laws of Ukraine, Decrees of the President of Ukraine, as well as publications on these issues of domestic and foreign authors. As a result (Results study determined that according to Article 5 of the Law of Ukraine “On local government in Ukraine” The elements of local government are: local community; Village, town, city council; Village, town, city mayor; executive bodies of village, town and city councils; district (in the city Council, created in cities with district division by the decision of the territorial community, or city council; district and regional councils, which represent common interests of territorial communities of villages, towns and cities; BSP; system of government in Ukraine is not fulfilling the role assigned to it, because there is twofold subordination and uncertainty powers of representative and executive bodies. Today there is a three-level administrative division: basic level (village, town or city, district level and level area. There is a local government council and executive body (all the decisions and programs approved by the Regional Council performed by RSA, those public authorities. Thus there is a need for continued reform of local government on the principles of decentralization and subsidiary principle because they are building the foundation of the state; One of the hallmarks of a modern democratic society has become political

Jealousy Graphs: Structure and Complexity of Decentralized Stable Matching

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

REPORT Jealousy Graphs: Structure and Complexity of Decentralized Stable Matching 14. ABSTRACT 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: The stable matching...Franceschetti 858-822-2284 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) Standard Form 298 (Rev 8/98) Prescribed by ANSI Std. Z39.18 - Jealousy Graphs: Structure and...market. Using this structure, we are able to provide a ner analysis of the complexity of a subclass of decentralized matching markets. Jealousy

Computational State Transfer: An Architectural Style for Decentralized Systems

OpenAIRE

Gorlick, Michael Martin

2016-01-01

A decentralized system is a distributed system that operates under multiple, distinct spheres of authority in which collaboration among the principals is characterized by mutual distrust. Now commonplace, decentralized systems appear in a number of disparate domains: commerce, logistics, medicine, software development, manufacturing, and financial trading to name but a few. These systems of systems face two overlapping demands: security and safety to protect against errors, omissions and thre...

Decentralized investment management: evidence from the pension fund industry

OpenAIRE

Blake, David; Timmermann, Allan; Tonks, Ian; Wermers, Russ

2010-01-01

The past few decades have seen amajor shift from centralized to decentralized investment management by pension fund sponsors, despite the increased coordination problems that this brings. Using a unique, proprietary dataset of pension sponsors and managers, we identify two secular decentralization trends: sponsors switched (i) from generalist (balanced) to specialist managers across asset classes and (ii) from single to multiple competing managers within each asset class. We study the effe...

Query Optimizations over Decentralized RDF Graphs

KAUST Repository

Abdelaziz, Ibrahim

2017-05-18

Applications in life sciences, decentralized social networks, Internet of Things, and statistical linked dataspaces integrate data from multiple decentralized RDF graphs via SPARQL queries. Several approaches have been proposed to optimize query processing over a small number of heterogeneous data sources by utilizing schema information. In the case of schema similarity and interlinks among sources, these approaches cause unnecessary data retrieval and communication, leading to poor scalability and response time. This paper addresses these limitations and presents Lusail, a system for scalable and efficient SPARQL query processing over decentralized graphs. Lusail achieves scalability and low query response time through various optimizations at compile and run times. At compile time, we use a novel locality-aware query decomposition technique that maximizes the number of query triple patterns sent together to a source based on the actual location of the instances satisfying these triple patterns. At run time, we use selectivity-awareness and parallel query execution to reduce network latency and to increase parallelism by delaying the execution of subqueries expected to return large results. We evaluate Lusail using real and synthetic benchmarks, with data sizes up to billions of triples on an in-house cluster and a public cloud. We show that Lusail outperforms state-of-the-art systems by orders of magnitude in terms of scalability and response time.

Decentralized energy policy turnaround. Opportunities and challenges; Dezentrale Energiewende. Chancen und Herausforderungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eiselt, Juergen

2012-07-01

This book supplies a comprehensive inventory of an already beginning decentralized energy policy turnaround. The potentials of an effective energy policy turnaround are described by means of present structures, technologies and scientifically proven results. The book presents new technologies and effective concepts in order to replace the centralised energy supply by decentralized structures. The reduction of expenses and energy-autonomous systems up to the zero-tariff heating are the main impulses for the utilization of decentralized forms of energy.

Decentralized H∞ Control of Interconnected Systems with Time-varying Delays

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Amal Zouhri

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the problem of delay dependent stability/stabilization of interconnected systems with time-varying delays. The approach is based on a new Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional. A decentralized delay-dependent stability analysis is performed to characterize linear matrix inequalities (LMIs based on the conditions under which every local subsystem of the linear interconnected delay system is asymptotically stable. Then we design a decentralized state-feedback stabilization scheme such that the family of closedloop feedback subsystems enjoys the delay-dependent asymptotic stability for each subsystem. The decentralized feedback gains are determined by convex optimization over LMIs. All the developed results are tested on a representative example and compared with some recent previous ones.

Mathematical model development of heat and mass exchange processes in the outdoor swimming pool

OpenAIRE

M. V. Shaptala; D. E. Shaptala

2014-01-01

Purpose. Currently exploitation of outdoor swimming pools is often not cost-effective and, despite of their relevance, such pools are closed in large quantities. At this time there is no the whole mathematical model which would allow assessing qualitatively the effect of energy-saving measures. The aim of this work is to develop a mathematical model of heat and mass exchange processes for calculating basic heat and mass losses that occur during its exploitation. Methodology. The m...

Decentralized control: Status and outlook

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bakule, Lubomír

2014-01-01

Roč. 38, č. 1 (2014), s. 71-80 ISSN 1367-5788 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-02149S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : decentralized control * networked control systems * event-triggered approach Subject RIV: BC - Control Systems Theory Impact factor: 2.518, year: 2014

Decentralization – the way of democratization and modernization of the Republic of Moldova

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iurie ŢAP

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Decentralization as a way of organizing a state represents the path to its democratization and effectiveness. Furthermore, territorial decentralization establishes the relations between state and local communities, and in order to be efficient some fundamental theoretic conditions should be respected, guidelines followed and two great balances achieved. Generally, an appropriate decentralization can be a catalyst for development and a remedy to overcome internal crises.

Corruption, accountability, and decentralization: theory and evidence from Mexico

OpenAIRE

Goodspeed, Timothy J.

2011-01-01

One of the fundamental tenets of fiscal federalism is that, absent various sorts of externalities, decentralized governments that rely on own-source revenues should be more fiscally efficient than decentralized governments that rely on grant financing. The argument relies in part on the idea that sub-national governments, being closer to the people, are more accountable to its citizens. Accountability to citizens is also important in understanding the presence of corruption in government. Thi...

Peer Matcher : Decentralized Partnership Formation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bozdog, Nicolae Vladimir; Voulgaris, Spyros; Bal, Henri; van Halteren, Aart

2015-01-01

This paper presents Peer Matcher, a fully decentralized algorithm solving the k-clique matching problem. The aim of k-clique matching is to cluster a set of nodes having pair wise weights into k-size groups of maximal total weight. Since solving the problem requires exponential time, Peer Matcher

Music Libraries: Centralization versus Decentralization.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuyper-Rushing, Lois

2002-01-01

Considers the decision that branch libraries, music libraries in particular, have struggled with concerning a centralized location in the main library versus a decentralized collection. Reports on a study of the Association of Research Libraries that investigated the location of music libraries, motivation for the location, degrees offered,…

PeerMatcher: Decentralized Partnership Formation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bozdog, N.V.; Voulgaris, S.; Bal, H.E.; van Halteren, A.

2015-01-01

This paper presents PeerMatcher, a fully decentralized algorithm solving the k-clique matching problem. The aim of k-clique matching is to cluster a set of nodes having pairwise weights into k-size groups of maximal total weight. Since solving the problem requires exponential time, PeerMatcher

Mathematical model development of heat and mass exchange processes in the outdoor swimming pool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. V. Shaptala

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Currently exploitation of outdoor swimming pools is often not cost-effective and, despite of their relevance, such pools are closed in large quantities. At this time there is no the whole mathematical model which would allow assessing qualitatively the effect of energy-saving measures. The aim of this work is to develop a mathematical model of heat and mass exchange processes for calculating basic heat and mass losses that occur during its exploitation. Methodology. The method for determination of heat and mass loses based on the theory of similarity criteria equations is used. Findings. The main types of heat and mass losses of outdoor pool were analyzed. The most significant types were allocated and mathematically described. Namely: by evaporation of water from the surface of the pool, by natural and forced convection, by radiation to the environment, heat consumption for water heating. Originality. The mathematical model of heat and mass exchange process of the outdoor swimming pool was developed, which allows calculating the basic heat and mass loses that occur during its exploitation. Practical value. The method of determining heat and mass loses of outdoor swimming pool as a software system was developed and implemented. It is based on the mathematical model proposed by the authors. This method can be used for the conceptual design of energy-efficient structures of outdoor pools, to assess their use of energy-intensive and selecting the optimum energy-saving measures. A further step in research in this area is the experimental validation of the method of calculation of heat losses in outdoor swimming pools with its use as an example the pool of Dnipropetrovsk National University of Railway Transport named after Academician V. Lazaryan. The outdoor pool, with water heating- up from the boiler room of the university, is operated year-round.

Decentralized Electric Vehicle Charging Strategies for Reduced Load Variation and Guaranteed Charge Completion in Regional Distribution Grids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weige Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A novel, fully decentralized strategy to coordinate charge operation of electric vehicles is proposed in this paper. Based on stochastic switching control of on-board chargers, this strategy ensures high-efficiency charging, reduces load variations to the grid during charging periods, achieves charge completion with high probability, and accomplishes approximate “valley-filling”. Further improvements on the core strategy, including individualized power management, adaptive strategies, and battery support systems, are introduced to further reduce power fluctuation variances and to guarantee charge completion. Stochastic analysis is performed to establish the main properties of the strategies and to quantitatively show the performance improvements. Compared with the existing decentralized charging strategies, the strategies proposed in this paper can be implemented without any information exchange between grid operators and electric vehicles (EVs, resulting in a communications cost reduction. Additionally, it is shown that by using stochastic charging rules, a grid-supporting battery system with a very small energy capacity can achieve substantial reduction of EV load fluctuations with high confidence. An extensive set of simulations and case studies with real-world data are used to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed strategies.

Decentralization's impact on the health workforce: Perspectives of managers, workers and national leaders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kolehmainen-Aitken Riitta-Liisa

2004-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Designers and implementers of decentralization and other reform measures have focused much attention on financial and structural reform measures, but ignored their human resource implications. Concern is mounting about the impact that the reallocation of roles and responsibilities has had on the health workforce and its management, but the experiences and lessons of different countries have not been widely shared. This paper examines evidence from published literature on decentralization's impact on the demand side of the human resource equation, as well as the factors that have contributed to the impact. The elements that make such an impact analysis exceptionally complex are identified. They include the mode of decentralization that a country is implementing, the level of responsibility for the salary budget and pay determination, and the civil service status of transferred health workers. The main body of the paper is devoted to examining decentralization's impact on human resource issues from three different perspectives: that of local health managers, health workers themselves, and national health leaders. These three groups have different concerns in the human resource realm, and consequently, have been differently affected by decentralization processes. The paper concludes with recommendations regarding three key concerns that national authorities and international agencies should give prompt attention to. They are (1 defining the essential human resource policy, planning and management skills for national human resource managers who work in decentralized countries, and developing training programs to equip them with such skills; (2 supporting research that focuses on improving the knowledge base of how different modes of decentralization impact on staffing equity; and (3 identifying factors that most critically influence health worker motivation and performance under decentralization, and documenting the most cost-effective best

Decentralization's impact on the health workforce: Perspectives of managers, workers and national leaders.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolehmainen-Aitken, Riitta-Liisa

2004-05-14

Designers and implementers of decentralization and other reform measures have focused much attention on financial and structural reform measures, but ignored their human resource implications. Concern is mounting about the impact that the reallocation of roles and responsibilities has had on the health workforce and its management, but the experiences and lessons of different countries have not been widely shared. This paper examines evidence from published literature on decentralization's impact on the demand side of the human resource equation, as well as the factors that have contributed to the impact. The elements that make such an impact analysis exceptionally complex are identified. They include the mode of decentralization that a country is implementing, the level of responsibility for the salary budget and pay determination, and the civil service status of transferred health workers.The main body of the paper is devoted to examining decentralization's impact on human resource issues from three different perspectives: that of local health managers, health workers themselves, and national health leaders. These three groups have different concerns in the human resource realm, and consequently, have been differently affected by decentralization processes. The paper concludes with recommendations regarding three key concerns that national authorities and international agencies should give prompt attention to. They are (1) defining the essential human resource policy, planning and management skills for national human resource managers who work in decentralized countries, and developing training programs to equip them with such skills; (2) supporting research that focuses on improving the knowledge base of how different modes of decentralization impact on staffing equity; and (3) identifying factors that most critically influence health worker motivation and performance under decentralization, and documenting the most cost-effective best practices to improve them

Effect of Seasonal Temperature on the Performance and on the Microbial Community of a Novel AWFR for Decentralized Domestic Wastewater Pretreatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juanhong Li

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Due to environmental burden and human health risks in developing countries, the treatment of decentralized domestic wastewater has been a matter of great concern in recent years. A novel pilot-scale three-stage anaerobic wool-felt filter reactor (AWFR was designed to treat real decentralized domestic wastewater at seasonal temperature variations of 8 to 35 °C for 364 days. The results showed that the average chemical oxygen demand (COD removal efficiencies of AWFR in summer and winter were 76 ± 7.2% and 52 ± 5.9% at one day and three days Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT, respectively. COD mass balance analysis demonstrated that even though COD removal was lower in winter, approximately 43.5% of influent COD was still converted to methane. High-throughput MiSeq sequencing analyses indicated that Methanosaeta, Methanobacterium, and Methanolinea were the predominant methanogens, whereas the genus Bacillus probably played important roles in fermentation processes throughout the whole operation period. The performance and microbial community composition study suggested the application potential of the AWFR system for the pretreatment of decentralized domestic wastewater.

Decentralized Economic Dispatch Scheme With Online Power Reserve for Microgrids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nutkani, I. U.; Loh, Poh Chiang; Wang, P.

2017-01-01

Decentralized economic operation schemes have several advantages when compared with the traditional centralized management system for microgrids. Specifically, decentralized schemes are more flexible, less computationally intensive, and easier to implement without relying on communication...... costs, their power ratings, and other necessary constraints, before deciding the DG dispatch priorities and droop characteristics. The proposed scheme also allows online power reserve to be set and regulated within the microgrid. This, together with the generation cost saved, has been verified...... infrastructure. Economic operation of existing decentralized schemes is also usually achieved by either tuning the droop characteristics of distributed generators (DGs) or prioritizing their dispatch order. For the latter, an earlier scheme has tried to prioritize the DG dispatch based on their no...

Shorter Decentralized Attribute-Based Encryption via Extended Dual System Groups

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Jie Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Decentralized attribute-based encryption (ABE is a special form of multiauthority ABE systems, in which no central authority and global coordination are required other than creating the common reference parameters. In this paper, we propose a new decentralized ABE in prime-order groups by using extended dual system groups. We formulate some assumptions used to prove the security of our scheme. Our proposed scheme is fully secure under the standard k-Lin assumption in random oracle model and can support any monotone access structures. Compared with existing fully secure decentralized ABE systems, our construction has shorter ciphertexts and secret keys. Moreover, fast decryption is achieved in our system, in which ciphertexts can be decrypted with a constant number of pairings.

Decentralized Optimization for a Novel Control Structure of HVAC System

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Shiqiang Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A decentralized control structure is introduced into the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC system to solve the high maintenance and labor cost problem in actual engineering. Based on this new control system, a decentralized optimization method is presented for sensor fault repair and optimal group control of HVAC equipment. Convergence property of the novel method is theoretically analyzed considering both convex and nonconvex systems with constraints. In this decentralized control system, traditional device is fitted with a control chip such that it becomes a smart device. The smart device can communicate and operate collaboratively with the other devices to accomplish some designated tasks. The effectiveness of the presented method is verified by simulations and hardware tests.

Probing the Binding Interfaces of Protein Complexes Using Gas-Phase H/D Exchange Mass Spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mistarz, Ulrik H; Brown, Jeffery M; Haselmann, Kim F

2016-01-01

Fast gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange mediated by ND3 gas and measured by mass spectrometry (gas-phase HDX-MS) is a largely unharnessed, fast, and sensitive method for probing primary- and higher-order polypeptide structure. Labeling of heteroatom-bound non-amide hydrogens in a sub-milliseco......Fast gas-phase hydrogen/deuterium exchange mediated by ND3 gas and measured by mass spectrometry (gas-phase HDX-MS) is a largely unharnessed, fast, and sensitive method for probing primary- and higher-order polypeptide structure. Labeling of heteroatom-bound non-amide hydrogens in a sub......-millisecond time span after electrospray ionization by ND3 gas can provide structural insights into protein conformers present in solution. Here, we have explored the use of gas-phase HDX-MS for probing the higher-order structure and binding interfaces of protein complexes originating from native solution...

Improved protein hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry platform with fully automated data processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhongqi; Zhang, Aming; Xiao, Gang

2012-06-05

Protein hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) followed by protease digestion and mass spectrometric (MS) analysis is accepted as a standard method for studying protein conformation and conformational dynamics. In this article, an improved HDX MS platform with fully automated data processing is described. The platform significantly reduces systematic and random errors in the measurement by introducing two types of corrections in HDX data analysis. First, a mixture of short peptides with fast HDX rates is introduced as internal standards to adjust the variations in the extent of back exchange from run to run. Second, a designed unique peptide (PPPI) with slow intrinsic HDX rate is employed as another internal standard to reflect the possible differences in protein intrinsic HDX rates when protein conformations at different solution conditions are compared. HDX data processing is achieved with a comprehensive HDX model to simulate the deuterium labeling and back exchange process. The HDX model is implemented into the in-house developed software MassAnalyzer and enables fully unattended analysis of the entire protein HDX MS data set starting from ion detection and peptide identification to final processed HDX output, typically within 1 day. The final output of the automated data processing is a set (or the average) of the most possible protection factors for each backbone amide hydrogen. The utility of the HDX MS platform is demonstrated by exploring the conformational transition of a monoclonal antibody by increasing concentrations of guanidine.

The Dynamics of Decentralization Arrangements in Indonesia Constitutional System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haposan Siallagan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Local autonomy has long been implemented in Indonesia and has been experiencing a number of phases within governmental system. This writing is intended to fathom the dynamics of decentralization arrangement indeed. The discussion it-self shows that according to the substances in a number of decentralization policy which had/has been issued, the dynamics of local autonomy arrangements (as regulated in many decentralization policies are inclining to be captured in a broad meaning, which is frequently known as a broadest local autonomy. Through local autonomy mechanism, local governments are given a flexibility in order to manage and administer their own domestic household. In order to maximize the implementation of widest local autonomy, local government has to be pushed to be well prepared in handling many local governmental tasks. Such preparations are related to human resources capacity, the competences in running the tasks, and financial management capacity.

Decentralized substations for low-temperature district heating with no Legionella risk, and low return temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Xiaochen; Li, Hongwei; Svendsen, Svend

2016-01-01

To improve energy efficiency and give more access to renewable energy sources, low-temperature district heating (LTDH) is a promising concept to be realized in the future. However, concern about Legionella proliferation restricts applying low-temperature district heating in conventional systems with domestic hot water (DHW) circulation. In this study, a system with decentralized substations was analysed as a solution to this problem. Furthermore, a modification for the decentralized substation system were proposed in order to reduce the average return temperature. Models of conventional system with medium-temperature district heating, decentralized substation system with LTDH, and innovative decentralized substation system with LTDH were built based on the information of a case building. The annual distribution heat loss and the operating costs of the three scenarios were calculated and compared. From the results, realizing LTDH by the decentralized substation unit, 30% of the annual distribution heat loss inside the building can be saved compared to a conventional system with medium-temperature district heating. Replacing the bypass pipe with an in-line supply pipe and a heat pump, the innovative decentralized substation system can reduce distribution heat loss by 39% compared to the conventional system and by 12% compared to the normal decentralized substation system with bypass. - Highlights: • The system of decentralized substations can realize low-temperature district heating without running the risk of Legionella. • Decentralized substations help reduce the distribution heat loss inside the building compared to conventional system. • A new concept that can reduce the return temperature for district heating is proposed and analysed.

Centralized vs. decentralized child mental health services.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, M S

1977-09-01

One of the basic tenets of the Community Mental Health Center movement is that services should be provided in the consumers' community. Various centers across the country have attempted to do this in either a centralized or decentralized fashion. Historically, most health services have been provided centrally, a good example being the traditional general hospital with its centralized medical services. Over the years, some of these services have become decentralized to take the form of local health centers, health maintenance organizations, community clinics, etc, and now various large mental health centers are also being broken down into smaller community units. An example of each type of mental health facility is delineated here.

Decentralized control of discrete-time linear time invariant systems with input saturation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deliu, C.; Deliu, Ciprian; Malek, Babak; Roy, Sandip; Saberi, Ali; Stoorvogel, Antonie Arij

We study decentralized stabilization of discrete-time linear time invariant (LTI) systems subject to actuator saturation, using LTI controllers. The requirement of stabilization under both saturation constraints and decentralization impose obvious necessary conditions on the open-loop plant, namely

Decentralized control of discrete-time linear time invariant systems with input saturation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deliu, Ciprian; Deliu, C.; Malek, Babak; Roy, Sandip; Saberi, Ali; Stoorvogel, Antonie Arij

2009-01-01

We study decentralized stabilization of discrete time linear time invariant (LTI) systems subject to actuator saturation, using LTI controllers. The requirement of stabilization under both saturation constraints and decentralization impose obvious necessary conditions on the open-loop plant, namely

Decentralizing conservation and diversifying livelihoods within Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Parker, Pete; Thapa, Brijesh; Jacob, Aerin

2015-12-01

To alleviate poverty and enhance conservation in resource dependent communities, managers must identify existing livelihood strategies and the associated factors that impede household access to livelihood assets. Researchers increasingly advocate reallocating management power from exclusionary central institutions to a decentralized system of management based on local and inclusive participation. However, it is yet to be shown if decentralizing conservation leads to diversified livelihoods within a protected area. The purpose of this study was to identify and assess factors affecting household livelihood diversification within Nepal's Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project, the first protected area in Asia to decentralize conservation. We randomly surveyed 25% of Kanchenjunga households to assess household socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and access to livelihood assets. We used a cluster analysis with the ten most common income generating activities (both on- and off-farm) to group the strategies households use to diversify livelihoods, and a multinomial logistic regression to identify predictors of livelihood diversification. We found four distinct groups of household livelihood strategies with a range of diversification that directly corresponded to household income. The predictors of livelihood diversification were more related to pre-existing socioeconomic and demographic factors (e.g., more landholdings and livestock, fewer dependents, receiving remittances) than activities sponsored by decentralizing conservation (e.g., microcredit, training, education, interaction with project staff). Taken together, our findings indicate that without direct policies to target marginalized groups, decentralized conservation in Kanchenjunga will continue to exclude marginalized groups, limiting a household's ability to diversify their livelihood and perpetuating their dependence on natural resources. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE DECENTRALIZATION PROCESS IN ROMANIA HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY THE FINANCIAL CRISIS OR NOT; ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OR AGAINST DECENTRALIZATION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

OLIVIA MANOLE

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Typically, the decentralization process is extremely complicated and involves many challenges, if we were to take into account local conflicts, the interests of the central government and the complexity of simultaneous decentralization in administrative, political and economic plan. The financial crisis has added another dimension to the complexity of this phenomenon, misbalancing the economy and creating a fiscal pressure both at central and local level. In this context it rises the problem whether the management of the financial crisis can be better realised within a decentralized system or whether it may lay pressure on the return to the centralized government form.

Decentralized Utilitarian Mechanisms for Scheduling Games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cole, R.; Correa, J.; Gkatzelis, V.; Mirrokni, V.; Olver, N.K.

2015-01-01

Game Theory and Mechanism Design are by now standard tools for studying and designing massive decentralized systems. Unfortunately, designing mechanisms that induce socially efficient outcomes often requires full information and prohibitively large computational resources. In this work we study

Agent-based Decentralization of Applications in Distributed Smart Grid Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kienesberger, Georg; Xypolytou, Evangelia; Marchgraber, Jurgen

2015-01-01

systems (DMACS) and aims to give an overview on the different requirements and challenges on the way from current centralized control systems to DMACS. Therefore, different ICT scenarios and MAS topologies are employed to discuss the decentralization of three exemplary smart grid applications: voltage......Smart grid technology promises to prepare today’s power systems for the challenges of the future by extensive integration of information and communication technology (ICT). One key aspect is the control paradigm which will have to be shifted from completely centralized control systems to more...... dezentralized concepts in order to adapt to the distributed nature of smart grids. Multi-agent systems (MAS) are a very promising approach for designing distributed, decentralized systems, naturally also in the field of smart grids. This work introduces the notion of decentralized multi-agent-based control...

Decentralized forest governance in central Vietnam

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tran Nam, T.; Burgers, P.P.M.

2012-01-01

A major challenge in decentralized forest governance in Vietnam is developing a mechanism that would support both reforestation and poverty reduction among people in rural communities. To help address this challenge, Forest Land Allocation (FLA) policies recognize local communities and individuals

A Retrospective Analysis of the Development of Fiscal Decentralization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rekova Nataliia Yu.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The study forms the theoretical basis for the implementation of fiscal decentralization in Ukraine on the basis of determining the correspondence between the evolution of scientific approaches to the formation of an effective model of public administration and the degree of power centralization at a particular stage of the development of society. The views of thinkers of the ancient states of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China, Rome, Greece are generalized, and the priority of centralized public administration without segregation of centralization forms is determined. The degree of centralization in the period of development of feudal states is characterized. The scientific views of representatives of the neoinstitutional direction of economic thought are analyzed in detail, and the stages of the formation of decentralization, in particular fiscal, as a separate theory, are defined. The stages of and the corresponding organizational and legislative documents for the implementation of decentralization in Ukraine are outlined, and its results are characterized.

Decentralization Challenges for Management of Cultural Patrimony in Ecuador

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr.C. Carlos Leonel Escudero-Sánchez

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In Latin America  the new  decentralization policies in  the forms of government  challenging  institutional  processes  and management  practices.  In the context of  Ecuador  responds to  a constitutional  mandate expressed in  the reformulation of  the powers of the  municipal  autonomous governments. Consequently, the main  purpose of the article  is to present  the main  principles  expressed  in the  protection, evaluation and dissemination of cultural heritage.  Therefore  the  exercise of autonomy  and decentralization  is governed  by the principles  of solidarity, subsidiarity,  territorial equity, integration and participation.  Hence,  the main results  are  part of  the systematization of  such  socio-economic, institutional, governance  and participation, legal and financial  management of cultural heritage contexts.Keywords: decentralization, cultural heritage, cultural management, citizen participation.

Simultaneous determination of 13 carbohydrates using high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection and mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Dan; Feng, Feng; Yuan, Fei; Su, Jin; Cheng, Yan; Wu, Hanqiu; Song, Kun; Nie, Bo; Yu, Lian; Zhang, Feng

2017-04-01

A simple, accurate, and highly sensitive method was developed for the determination of 13 carbohydrates in polysaccharide of Spirulina platensis based on high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection and mass spectrometry. Samples were extracted with deionized water using ultrasonic-assisted extraction, and the ultrasound-assisted extraction conditions were optimized by Box-Behnken design. Then the extracted polysaccharide was hydrolyzed by adding 1 mol/L trifluoroacetic acid before determination by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection and confirmed by high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection method was performed on a CarboPac PA20 column by gradient elution using deionized water, 0.1 mol/L sodium hydroxide solution, and 0.4 mol/L sodium acetate solution. Excellent linearity was observed in the range of 0.05-10 mg/L. The average recoveries ranged from 80.7 to 121.7%. The limits of detection and limits of quantification for 13 carbohydrates were 0.02-0.10 and 0.2-1.2  μg/kg, respectively. The developed method has been successfully applied to ambient samples, and the results indicated that high-performance anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection and mass spectrometry could provide a rapid and accurate method for the simultaneous determination of carbohydrates. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Patient Experiences of Decentralized HIV Treatment and Care in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria: A Qualitative Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grace O. Kolawole

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Decentralization of care and treatment for HIV infection in Africa makes services available in local health facilities. Decentralization has been associated with improved retention and comparable or superior treatment outcomes, but patient experiences are not well understood. Methods. We conducted a qualitative study of patient experiences in decentralized HIV care in Plateau State, north central Nigeria. Five decentralized care sites in the Plateau State Decentralization Initiative were purposefully selected. Ninety-three patients and 16 providers at these sites participated in individual interviews and focus groups. Data collection activities were audio-recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were inductively content analyzed to derive descriptive categories representing patient experiences of decentralized care. Results. Patient participants in this study experienced the transition to decentralized care as a series of “trade-offs.” Advantages cited included saving time and money on travel to clinic visits, avoiding dangers on the road, and the “family-like atmosphere” found in some decentralized clinics. Disadvantages were loss of access to ancillary services, reduced opportunities for interaction with providers, and increased risk of disclosure. Participants preferred decentralized services overall. Conclusion. Difficulty and cost of travel remain a fundamental barrier to accessing HIV care outside urban centers, suggesting increased availability of community-based services will be enthusiastically received.

Non-equilibrium mass transfer absorption model for the design of boron isotopes chemical exchange column

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bai, Peng; Fan, Kaigong; Guo, Xianghai; Zhang, Haocui

2016-01-01

Highlights: • We propose a non-equilibrium mass transfer absorption model instead of a distillation equilibrium model to calculate boron isotopes separation. • We apply the model to calculate the needed column height to meet prescribed separation requirements. - Abstract: To interpret the phenomenon of chemical exchange in boron isotopes separation accurately, the process is specified as an absorption–reaction–desorption hybrid process instead of a distillation equilibrium model, the non-equilibrium mass transfer absorption model is put forward and a mass transfer enhancement factor E is introduced to find the packing height needed to meet the specified separation requirements with MATLAB.

Platform dependencies in bottom-up hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, Kyle M; Rey, Martial; Baker, Charles A H; Schriemer, David C

2013-02-01

Hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry is an important method for protein structure-function analysis. The bottom-up approach uses protein digestion to localize deuteration to higher resolution, and the essential measurement involves centroid mass determinations on a very large set of peptides. In the course of evaluating systems for various projects, we established two (HDX-MS) platforms that consisted of a FT-MS and a high-resolution QTOF mass spectrometer, each with matched front-end fluidic systems. Digests of proteins spanning a 20-110 kDa range were deuterated to equilibrium, and figures-of-merit for a typical bottom-up (HDX-MS) experiment were compared for each platform. The Orbitrap Velos identified 64% more peptides than the 5600 QTOF, with a 42% overlap between the two systems, independent of protein size. Precision in deuterium measurements using the Orbitrap marginally exceeded that of the QTOF, depending on the Orbitrap resolution setting. However, the unique nature of FT-MS data generates situations where deuteration measurements can be inaccurate, because of destructive interference arising from mismatches in elemental mass defects. This is shown through the analysis of the peptides common to both platforms, where deuteration values can be as low as 35% of the expected values, depending on FT-MS resolution, peptide length and charge state. These findings are supported by simulations of Orbitrap transients, and highlight that caution should be exercised in deriving centroid mass values from FT transients that do not support baseline separation of the full isotopic composition.

Decentralized Energy from Waste Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Blanca Antizar-Ladislao

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In the last five years or so, biofuels have been given notable consideration worldwide as an alternative to fossil fuels, due to their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by partial replacement of oil as a transport fuel. The production of biofuels using a sustainable approach, should consider local production of biofuels, obtained from local feedstocks and adapted to the socio-economical and environmental characteristics of the particular region where they are developed. Thus, decentralized energy from waste systems will exploit local biomass to optimize their production and consumption. Waste streams such as agricultural and wood residues, municipal solid waste, vegetable oils, and algae residues can all be integrated in energy from waste systems. An integral optimization of decentralized energy from waste systems should not be based on the optimization of each single process, but the overall optimization of the whole process. This is by obtaining optimal energy and environmental benefits, as well as collateral beneficial co-products such as soil fertilizers which will result in a higher food crop production and carbon dioxide fixation which will abate climate change.

Decentralized energy from waste systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antizar-Ladislao, B.; Turrion-Gomez, J. L.

2010-01-01

In the last five years or so, biofuels have been given notable consideration worldwide as an alternative to fossil fuels, due to their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by partial replacement of oil as a transport fuel. The production of biofuels using a sustainable approach, should consider local production of biofuels, obtained from local feedstocks and adapted to the socio-economical and environmental characteristics of the particular region where they are developed. Thus, decentralized energy from waste systems will exploit local biomass to optimize their production and consumption. Waste streams such as agricultural and wood residues, municipal solid waste, vegetable oils, and algae residues can all be integrated in energy from waste systems. An integral optimization of decentralized energy from waste systems should not be based on the optimization of each single process, but the overall optimization of the whole process. This is by obtaining optimal energy and environmental benefits, as well as collateral beneficial co-products such as soil fertilizers which will result in a higher food crop production and carbon dioxide fixation which will abate climate change. (author)

Site-Specific Hydrogen Isotope Composition of Propane: Mass spectrometric methods, equilibrium temperature dependence, and kinetics of exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, H.; Ponton, C.; Kitchen, N.; Lloyd, M. K.; Lawson, M.; Formolo, M. J.; Eiler, J. M.

2016-12-01

Intramolecular isotope ordering can constrain temperatures of synthesis, mechanisms of formation, and/or source substrates of organic compounds. Here we explore site-specific hydrogen isotope variations of propane. Statistical thermodynamic models predict that at equilibrium methylene hydrogen (-CH2-) in propane will be 10's of per mil higher in D/H ratio than methyl hydrogen (-CH3) at geologically relevant temperatures, and that this difference is highly temperature dependent ( 0.5-1 ‰/°C). Chemical-kinetic controls on site-specific D/H in propane could constrain the mechanisms, conditions and extents of propane synthesis or destruction. We have developed a method for measuring the difference in D/H ratio between methylene and methyl hydrogen in propane by gas source mass spectrometry. The data were measured using the Thermo Fisher Double Focusing Sector high resolution mass spectrometer (DFS), and involve comparison of the D/H ratios of molecular ion (C3H8+) and the ethyl fragmental ion (C2H5+). We demonstrate the accuracy and precision of this method through analysis of D-labeled and independently analyzed propanes. In the exchange experiments, propane was heated (100-200 oC) either alone or in the presence of D-enriched water (δD=1,1419 ‰ SMOW), with or without one of several potentially catalytic substrates for hours to weeks. Propane was found to exchange hydrogen with water vigorously at 200 °C in the presence of metal catalysts. In the presence of Ni catalyst, methylene hydrogen exchanges 2.5 times faster than methyl hydrogen. Hydrogen exchange in the presence of Pd catalyst is more effective and can equilibrate hydrogen isotope distribution on propane on the order of 7 days. Isotopic exchange in the presence of natural materials have also been tested, but is only measurable in the methylene group at 200 °C. High catalytic activity of Pd permits attainment of a bracketed, time-invariant equilibrium state that we use to calibrate the site

Staffing, qualification and organization for centralized and decentralized training

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holyoak, R.H.

1985-01-01

This paper covers an extensive area. First a brief history of the training at Commonwealth Edison is presented so that the reader can get some idea of why some of the problems mentioned exist. Next is a discussion of the centralized and decentralized Commonwealth Edison production training organization. A brief review of the development of the Instructor Qualification Program and the training of instructors follows. Finally, a review of the problems and some solutions related to managing a centralized/decentralized training system is included

A set of decentralized PID controllers for an n–link robot manipulator

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

A class of stabilizing decentralized proportional integral derivative (PID) controllers for an -link robot manipulator system is proposed. The range of decentralized PID controller parameters for an -link robot manipulator is obtained using Kharitonov theorem and stability boundary equations. Basically, the proposed design ...

Decentralized Reinforcement Learning of robot behaviors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leottau, David L.; Ruiz-del-Solar, Javier; Babuska, R.

2018-01-01

A multi-agent methodology is proposed for Decentralized Reinforcement Learning (DRL) of individual behaviors in problems where multi-dimensional action spaces are involved. When using this methodology, sub-tasks are learned in parallel by individual agents working toward a common goal. In

Satellite Power System (SPS) centralization/decentralization

Science.gov (United States)

Naisbitt, J.

1978-01-01

The decentralization of government in the United States of America is described and its effect on the solution of energy problems is given. The human response to the introduction of new technologies is considered as well as the behavioral aspects of multiple options.

Decentralized substations for low-temperature district heating with no Legionella risk, and low return temperatures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Xiaochen; Li, Hongwei; Svendsen, Svend

2016-01-01

. From the results, realizing LTDH by the decentralized substation unit, 30% of the annual distribution heat loss inside the building can be saved compared to a conventional system with medium-temperature district heating. Replacing the bypass pipe with an in-line supply pipe and a heat pump...... with domestic hot water (DHW) circulation. In this study, a system with decentralized substations was analysed as a solution to this problem. Furthermore, a modification for the decentralized substation system were proposed in order to reduce the average return temperature. Models of conventional system...... with medium-temperature district heating, decentralized substation system with LTDH, and innovative decentralized substation system with LTDH were built based on the information of a case building. The annual distribution heat loss and the operating costs of the three scenarios were calculated and compared...

Fiscal Decentralization and Delivery of Public Services: Evidence from Education Sector in Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rauf Abdur

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Fiscal Decentralization is the devolution of fiscal assignments to lower governments for high growth and better delivery of public services. The current study covering the period from 1972 to 2009 is an attempt to find out the impacts of fiscal decentralization on public services deliveries in Pakistan. Public services are proxy by Gross enrollment at primary school level while fiscal decentralization by fiscal transfer and expenditure sides of devolution. Using time series data, it is found that the individual impacts of fiscal transfer are although insignificant but still support the theoretical proposition regarding fiscal decentralization and public services relationship while delegation of expenditure responsibilities helps in improving the gross enrollment at primary school level. Furthermore the study evident that complete delegation of fiscal responsibilities to lower governments enhance enrollment ratio in Pakistan.

Spectrum Allocation for Decentralized Transmission Strategies: Properties of Nash Equilibria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter von Wrycza

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The interaction of two transmit-receive pairs coexisting in the same area and communicating using the same portion of the spectrum is analyzed from a game theoretic perspective. Each pair utilizes a decentralized iterative water-filling scheme to greedily maximize the individual rate. We study the dynamics of such a game and find properties of the resulting Nash equilibria. The region of achievable operating points is characterized for both low- and high-interference systems, and the dependence on the various system parameters is explicitly shown. We derive the region of possible signal space partitioning for the iterative water-filling scheme and show how the individual utility functions can be modified to alter its range. Utilizing global system knowledge, we design a modified game encouraging better operating points in terms of sum rate compared to those obtained using the iterative water-filling algorithm and show how such a game can be imitated in a decentralized noncooperative setting. Although we restrict the analysis to a two player game, analogous concepts can be used to design decentralized algorithms for scenarios with more players. The performance of the modified decentralized game is evaluated and compared to the iterative water-filling algorithm by numerical simulations.

The recent process of decentralization and democratic management of education in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Santos Filho, José Camilo Dos

1993-09-01

Brazilian society is beginning a new historical period in which the principle of decentralization is beginning to predominate over centralization, which held sway during the last 25 years. In contrast to recent Brazilian history, there is now a search for political, democratic and participatory decentralization more consonant with grass-roots aspirations. The first section of this article presents a brief analysis of some decentralization policies implemented by the military regime of 1964, and discusses relevant facts related to the resistance of civil society to state authoritarianism, and to the struggle for the democratization and organization of civil society up to the end of the 1970s. The second section analyzes some new experiences of democratic public school administration initiated in the 1970s and 1980s. The final section discusses the move toward decentralization and democratization of public school administration in the new Federal and State Constitutions, and in the draft of the new Law of National Education.

Decentralized Networked Control of Building Structures

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bakule, Lubomír; Rehák, Branislav; Papík, Martin

2016-01-01

Roč. 31, č. 11 (2016), s. 871-886 ISSN 1093-9687 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-02149S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : decentralized control * networked control * building structures Subject RIV: BC - Control Systems Theory Impact factor: 5.786, year: 2016

Decentralized Development Planning and Fragmentation of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Using the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) as a case study, this paper argues that the proliferation of autonomous local government areas within the context of urban sprawl and other challenges have inhibited metropolitan-wide development planning. Keywords: Decentralization; local government; urban growth; ...

Two-step ion-exchange chromatographic purification combined with reversed-phase chromatography to isolate C-peptide for mass spectrometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kabytaev, Kuanysh; Durairaj, Anita; Shin, Dmitriy; Rohlfing, Curt L; Connolly, Shawn; Little, Randie R; Stoyanov, Alexander V

2016-02-01

A liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry on-line platform that includes the orthogonal techniques of ion exchange and reversed phase chromatography is applied for C-peptide analysis. Additional improvement is achieved by the subsequent application of cation- and anion-exchange purification steps that allow for isolating components that have their isoelectric points in a narrow pH range before final reversed-phase mass spectrometry analysis. The utility of this approach for isolating fractions in the desired "pI window" for profiling complex mixtures is discussed. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A set of decentralized PID controllers for an n – link robot manipulator

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The solution of decentralized tracking control problem for robot manipulator is slightly comp- lex since we .... Figure 1 shows decentralized control scheme for the ith joint of system (10). ...... Automatic Control 49(11): 2081–2084. Gahinet P ...

Optimal placement and decentralized robust vibration control for spacecraft smart solar panel structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Jian-ping; Li, Dong-xu

2010-01-01

The decentralized robust vibration control with collocated piezoelectric actuator and strain sensor pairs is considered in this paper for spacecraft solar panel structures. Each actuator is driven individually by the output of the corresponding sensor so that only local feedback control is implemented, with each actuator, sensor and controller operating independently. Firstly, an optimal placement method for the location of the collocated piezoelectric actuator and strain gauge sensor pairs is developed based on the degree of observability and controllability indices for solar panel structures. Secondly, a decentralized robust H ∞ controller is designed to suppress the vibration induced by external disturbance. Finally, a numerical comparison between centralized and decentralized control systems is performed in order to investigate their effectiveness to suppress vibration of the smart solar panel. The simulation results show that the vibration can be significantly suppressed with permitted actuator voltages by the controllers. The decentralized control system almost has the same disturbance attenuation level as the centralized control system with a bit higher control voltages. More importantly, the decentralized controller composed of four three-order systems is a better practical implementation than a high-order centralized controller is

COOPERATION AND TRUST IN THE CONTEXT OF DECENTRALIZATION REFORMS IN RURAL TANZANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zacharia S. Masanyiwa

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the impact of decentralization reforms on cooperation andtrust at the village level in Tanzania, using a gender perspective. The paper drawson survey and qualitative data from ten villages intwo rural districts. The findingsshow that the reforms have revitalized 'formal’ cooperative efforts and socialnetworks and groups aimed at improving public services and poverty reduction.Citizen’s participation in decision-making processes and users’ satisfaction withpublic services are significantly related to socialand political trust, in whichgender plays a role as well. There is a two-way interface between trust and decent-ralization reforms. ‘Good’ decentralization outcomes generate trust while ‘bad’outcomes decrease trust.

Centralized vs decentralized contests

OpenAIRE

Beviá, Carmen; Corchón, Luis C.

2015-01-01

We compare two contests, decentralized in which there are several independent contests with non overlapping contestants and centralized in which all contestants fight for a unique prize which is the sum of all prizes in the small contests. We study the relationship between payoffs and efforts between these two contests. The first author acknowledges financial support from ECO2008-04756 (Grupo Consolidado-C), SGR2014-515 and PROMETEO/2013/037. The second author acknowledges financial suppor...

Decentralization, healthcare access, and inequality in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Winchester, Margaret S; King, Brian

2018-04-27

Healthcare access and utilization remain key challenges in the Global South. South Africa represents this given that more than twenty years after the advent of democratic elections, the national government continues to confront historical systems of spatial manipulation that generated inequities in healthcare access. While the country has made significant advancements, governmental agencies have mirrored international strategies of healthcare decentralization and focused on local provision of primary care to increase healthcare access. In this paper, we show the significance of place in shaping access and health experiences for rural populations. Using data from a structured household survey, focus group discussions, qualitative interviews, and clinic data conducted in northeast South Africa from 2013 to 2016, we argue that decentralization fails to resolve the uneven landscapes of healthcare in the contemporary period. This is evidenced by the continued variability across the study area in terms of government-sponsored healthcare, and constraints in the clinics in terms of staffing, privacy, and patient loads, all of which challenge the access-related assumptions of healthcare decentralization. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design of a decentralized detection of interacting LTI systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shankar Shamanth

2002-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the problem of designing a decentralized detection filter for a large homogeneous collection of LTI systems is considered. The collection of systems considered here draws inspiration from platoons of vehicles, and the considered interactions amongst systems in the collection are banded and lower triangular, mimicking the typical “look-ahead” nature of interactions in a platoon of vehicles. A fault in a system propagates to other systems in the collection via such interactions. The decentralized detection filter for the collection is composed of interacting detection filters, one for each system. The feasibility of communicating the state estimates to other systems in the collection is assumed here. An important concern is the propagation of state estimation errors. In order that the state estimation errors not amplify as they propagate, a ℋ ∞ constraint on the state estimation error propagation dynamics is imposed. A sufficient condition for constructing a decentralized detection filter for the collection is presented. An example is provided to illustrate the design procedure.

Subsecond Tsunamis and Delays in Decentralized Electronic Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro D. Manrique

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Driven by technological advances and economic gain, society’s electronic systems are becoming larger, faster, more decentralized and autonomous, and yet with increasing global reach. A prime example are the networks of financial markets which—in contrast to popular perception—are largely all-electronic and decentralized with no top-down real-time controller. This prototypical system generates complex subsecond dynamics that emerge from a decentralized network comprising heterogeneous hardware and software components, communications links, and a diverse ecology of trading algorithms that operate and compete within this all-electronics environment. Indeed, these same technological and economic drivers are likely to generate a similarly competitive all-electronic ecology in a variety of future cyberphysical domains such as e-commerce, defense and the transportation system, including the likely appearance of large numbers of autonomous vehicles on the streets of many cities. Hence there is an urgent need to deepen our understanding of stability, safety and security across a wide range of ultrafast, large, decentralized all-electronic systems—in short, society will eventually need to understand what extreme behaviors can occur, why, and what might be the impact of both intentional and unintentional system perturbations. Here we set out a framework for addressing this issue, using a generic model of heterogeneous, adaptive, autonomous components where each has a realistic limit on the amount of information and processing power available to it. We focus on the specific impact of delayed information, possibly through an accidental shift in the latency of information transmission, or an intentional attack from the outside. While much remains to be done in terms of developing formal mathematical results for this system, our preliminary results indicate the type of impact that can occur and the structure of a mathematical theory which may

Heat exchanger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drury, C.R.

1988-01-01

A heat exchanger having primary and secondary conduits in heat-exchanging relationship is described comprising: at least one serpentine tube having parallel sections connected by reverse bends, the serpentine tube constituting one of the conduits; a group of open-ended tubes disposed adjacent to the parallel sections, the open-ended tubes constituting the other of the conduits, and forming a continuous mass of contacting tubes extending between and surrounding the serpentine tube sections; and means securing the mass of tubes together to form a predetermined cross-section of the entirety of the mass of open-ended tubes and tube sections

Slow Histidine H/D Exchange Protocol for Thermodynamic Analysis of Protein Folding and Stability using Mass Spectrometry

OpenAIRE

Tran, Duc T.; Banerjee, Sambuddha; Alayash, Abdu I.; Crumbliss, Alvin L.; Fitzgerald, Michael C.

2012-01-01

Described here is a mass spectrometry based protocol to study the thermodynamic stability of proteins and protein-ligand complexes using the slow H/D exchange reaction of the imidazole C2 proton in histidine side chains. The protocol, which involves evaluating the denaturant dependence of this slow H/D exchange reaction in proteins, allows the global and/or subglobal unfolding/refolding properties of proteins and protein-ligand complexes to be probed. The protocol is developed using several m...

COINSTAC: Decentralizing the future of brain imaging analysis [version 1; referees: 2 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Ming

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In the era of Big Data, sharing neuroimaging data across multiple sites has become increasingly important. However, researchers who want to engage in centralized, large-scale data sharing and analysis must often contend with problems such as high database cost, long data transfer time, extensive manual effort, and privacy issues for sensitive data. To remove these barriers to enable easier data sharing and analysis, we introduced a new, decentralized, privacy-enabled infrastructure model for brain imaging data called COINSTAC in 2016. We have continued development of COINSTAC since this model was first introduced. One of the challenges with such a model is adapting the required algorithms to function within a decentralized framework. In this paper, we report on how we are solving this problem, along with our progress on several fronts, including additional decentralized algorithms implementation, user interface enhancement, decentralized regression statistic calculation, and complete pipeline specifications.

Factors influencing flap and INTACS decentration after femtosecond laser application in normal and keratoconic eyes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ertan, Aylin; Karacal, Humeyra

2008-10-01

To compare accuracy of LASIK flap and INTACS centration following femtosecond laser application in normal and keratoconic eyes. This is a retrospective case series comprising 133 eyes of 128 patients referred for refractive surgery. All eyes were divided into two groups according to preoperative diagnosis: group 1 (LASIK group) comprised 74 normal eyes of 72 patients undergoing LASIK with a femtosecond laser (IntraLase), and group 2 (INTACS group) consisted of 59 eyes of 39 patients with keratoconus for whom INTACS were implanted using a femtosecond laser (IntraLase). Decentration of the LASIK flap and INTACS was analyzed using Pentacam. Temporal decentration was 612.56 +/- 384.24 microm (range: 30 to 2120 microm) in the LASIK group and 788.33 +/- 500.34 microm (range: 30 to 2450 microm) in the INTACS group. A statistically significant difference was noted between the groups in terms of decentration (P decentration of the LASIK flap and INTACS correlated with the central corneal thickness in the LASIK group and preoperative sphere and cylinder in the INTACS group, respectively. Decentration with the IntraLase occurred in most cases, especially in keratoconic eyes. The applanation performed for centralization during IntraLase application may flatten and shift the pupil center, and thus cause decentralization of the LASIK flap and INTACS. Central corneal thickness in the LASIK group and preoperative sphere and cylinder in the INTACS group proved to be statistically significant parameters associated with decentration.

Governing decentralization in health care under tough budget constraint: what can we learn from the Italian experience?

Science.gov (United States)

Tediosi, Fabrizio; Gabriele, Stefania; Longo, Francesco

2009-05-01

In many European countries, since the World War II, there has been a trend towards decentralization of health policy to lower levels of governments, while more recently there have been re-centralization processes. Whether re-centralization will be the new paradigm of European health policy or not is difficult to say. In the Italian National Health Service (SSN) decentralization raised two related questions that might be interesting for the international debate on decentralization in health care: (a) what sort of regulatory framework and institutional balances are required to govern decentralization in health care in a heterogeneous country under tough budget constraints? (b) how can it be ensured that the most advanced parts of the country remain committed to solidarity, supporting the weakest ones? To address these questions this article describes the recent trends in SSN funding and expenditure, it reviews the strategy adopted by the Italian government for governing the decentralization process and discusses the findings to draw policy conclusions. The main lessons emerging from this experience are that: (1) when the differences in administrative and policy skills, in socio-economic standards and social capital are wide, decentralization may lead to undesirable divergent evolution paths; (2) even in decentralized systems, the role of the Central government can be very important to contain health expenditure; (3) a strong governance of the Central government may help and not hinder the enforcement of decentralization; and (4) supporting the weakest Regions and maintaining inter-regional solidarity is hard but possible. In Italy, despite an increasing role of the Central government in steering the SSN, the pattern of regional decentralization of health sector decision making does not seem at risk. Nevertheless, the Italian case confirms the complexity of decentralization and re-centralization processes that sometimes can be paradoxically reinforcing each other.

Decentralization and centralization in a federal system: the case of democratic Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Hermínia Tavares de Almeida

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the contradictory impulses towards decentralization and centralization in Brazil during the 1990s and early 2000s. After discussing the analytical issues related to the specific nature of decentralization in federal systems, the paper examines two sets of policy issues: those regulating the fiscal relations between national and sub-national governments and those redefining responsibilities for social services provision (basic education, health care, social assistance. Against conventional academic wisdom, it sustains that although there has been some re-centralization of fiscal decisions and of targeted income transfer programs, a clear re-centralization tendency cannot be siad to exist. Decentralization and centralization trends coexist propelled by different forces, with different motives and different outcomes.

Decentralized Development Planning and Fragmentation of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Using the GAMA as a case study, this paper examines the proliferation of .... These spatial definitions give territorial meaning to decentralization as dis- ... Formulated and implemented under a military regime, the Provisional ..... increased to four in 2004 following the creation of new districts in the country, and as part of.

A three-level atomicity model for decentralized workflow management systems

Science.gov (United States)

Ben-Shaul, Israel Z.; Heineman, George T.

1996-12-01

A workflow management system (WFMS) employs a workflow manager (WM) to execute and automate the various activities within a workflow. To protect the consistency of data, the WM encapsulates each activity with a transaction; a transaction manager (TM) then guarantees the atomicity of activities. Since workflows often group several activities together, the TM is responsible for guaranteeing the atomicity of these units. There are scalability issues, however, with centralized WFMSs. Decentralized WFMSs provide an architecture for multiple autonomous WFMSs to interoperate, thus accommodating multiple workflows and geographically-dispersed teams. When atomic units are composed of activities spread across multiple WFMSs, however, there is a conflict between global atomicity and local autonomy of each WFMS. This paper describes a decentralized atomicity model that enables workflow administrators to specify the scope of multi-site atomicity based upon the desired semantics of multi-site tasks in the decentralized WFMS. We describe an architecture that realizes our model and execution paradigm.

FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION DETERMINANTS AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN EU COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anca Florentina GAVRILUŢĂ (VATAMANU

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This work aims to assess the impact of fiscal decentralization on local (regional development in the EU Member States while controlling for macroeconomic and local autonomy specific factors. Using a panel data approach with dynamic effects, we examined the implications of fiscal decentralization on local development across European Union countries over the 1990-2004 period. The novelty of the study is emphasized by including in the analysis a variable which tests local fiscal discipline, more exactly, Fiscal Rule Strength Index for local level of government. Our findings suggest that prosperity of regions, measured in GDP growth depends on variables such as characteristics of decentralization undertaken by each country or local fiscal discipline, confirming our primary hypothesis. This supports the view that recently implemented reforms aiming to enforce fiscal discipline following-up the Fiscal Compact strengthened the local budgetary framework and restrained, therefore, the local discretionary power to act towards development.

Decentralized DC Microgrid Monitoring and Optimization via Primary Control Perturbations

Science.gov (United States)

Angjelichinoski, Marko; Scaglione, Anna; Popovski, Petar; Stefanovic, Cedomir

2018-06-01

We treat the emerging power systems with direct current (DC) MicroGrids, characterized with high penetration of power electronic converters. We rely on the power electronics to propose a decentralized solution for autonomous learning of and adaptation to the operating conditions of the DC Mirogrids; the goal is to eliminate the need to rely on an external communication system for such purpose. The solution works within the primary droop control loops and uses only local bus voltage measurements. Each controller is able to estimate (i) the generation capacities of power sources, (ii) the load demands, and (iii) the conductances of the distribution lines. To define a well-conditioned estimation problem, we employ decentralized strategy where the primary droop controllers temporarily switch between operating points in a coordinated manner, following amplitude-modulated training sequences. We study the use of the estimator in a decentralized solution of the Optimal Economic Dispatch problem. The evaluations confirm the usefulness of the proposed solution for autonomous MicroGrid operation.

Development of a completely decentralized control system for modular continuous conveyors

OpenAIRE

Mayer, Stephan H.

2009-01-01

To increase the flexibility of application of continuous conveyor systems, a completely decentralized control system for a modular conveyor system is introduced in the paper. This system is able to carry conveyor units without any centralized infrastructure. Based on existing methods of decentralized data transfer in IT networks, single modules operate autonomously and, after being positioned into the required topology, independently connect together to become a functioning conveyor system.

Integrating centralized and decentralized organization structures: an education and development model.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheriff, R; Banks, A

2001-01-01

Organization change efforts have led to critically examining the structure of education and development departments within hospitals. This qualitative study evaluated an education and development model in an academic health sciences center. The model combines centralization and decentralization. The study results can be used by staff development educators and administrators when organization structure is questioned. This particular model maximizes the benefits and minimizes the limitations of centralized and decentralized structures.

Financial management systems under decentralization and their effect on malaria control in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Kivumbi, George W; Nangendo, Florence; Ndyabahika, Boniface Rutagira

2004-01-01

A descriptive case study with multiple sites and a single level of analysis was carried out in four purposefully selected administrative districts of Uganda to investigate the effect of financial management systems under decentralization on malaria control. Data were primarily collected from 36 interviews with district managers, staff at health units and local leaders. A review of records and documents related to decentralization at the central and district level was also used to generate data for the study. We found that a long, tedious, and bureaucratic process combined with lack of knowledge in working with new financial systems by several actors characterized financial flow under decentralization. This affected the timely use of financial resources for malaria control in that there were funds in the system that could not be accessed for use. We were also told that sometimes these funds were returned to the central government because of non-use due to difficulties in accessing them and/or stringent conditions not to divert them to other uses. Our data showed that a cocktail of bureaucratic control systems, corruption and incompetence make the financial management system under decentralization counter-productive for malaria control. The main conclusion is that good governance through appropriate and efficient financial management systems is very important for effective malaria control under decentralization.

Influence of inlet velocity of air and solid particle feed rate on holdup mass and heat transfer characteristics in cyclone heat exchanger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mothilal, T.; Pitchandi, K.

2015-01-01

Present work elaborates the effect of inlet velocity of air and solid particle feed rate on holdup mass and heat transfer characteristics in a cyclone heat exchanger. The RNG k-ε turbulence model was adopted for modeling high turbulence flow and Discrete phase model (DPM) to track solid particles in a cyclone heat exchanger by ANSYS FLUENT software. The effect of inlet air velocity (5 to 25 m/s) and inlet solid particle feed rate of (0.2 to 2.5 g/s) at different particle diameter (300 to 500 μm) on holdup mass and heat transfer rate in cyclone heat exchanger was studied at air inlet temperature of 473 K. Results show that holdup mass and heat transfer rate increase with increase in inlet air velocity and inlet solid particle feed rate. Influence of solid particle feed rate on holdup mass has more significance. Experimental setup was built for high efficiency cyclone. Good agreement was found between experimental and simulation pressure drop. Empirical correlation was derived for dimensionless holdup mass and Nusselt number based on CFD data by regression technique. Correlation predicts dimensional holdup mass with +5% to -8% errors of experimental data and Nusselt number with +9% to -3%

Influence of inlet velocity of air and solid particle feed rate on holdup mass and heat transfer characteristics in cyclone heat exchanger

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mothilal, T. [T. J. S. Engineering College, Gummidipoond (India); Pitchandi, K. [Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur (India)

2015-10-15

Present work elaborates the effect of inlet velocity of air and solid particle feed rate on holdup mass and heat transfer characteristics in a cyclone heat exchanger. The RNG k-ε turbulence model was adopted for modeling high turbulence flow and Discrete phase model (DPM) to track solid particles in a cyclone heat exchanger by ANSYS FLUENT software. The effect of inlet air velocity (5 to 25 m/s) and inlet solid particle feed rate of (0.2 to 2.5 g/s) at different particle diameter (300 to 500 μm) on holdup mass and heat transfer rate in cyclone heat exchanger was studied at air inlet temperature of 473 K. Results show that holdup mass and heat transfer rate increase with increase in inlet air velocity and inlet solid particle feed rate. Influence of solid particle feed rate on holdup mass has more significance. Experimental setup was built for high efficiency cyclone. Good agreement was found between experimental and simulation pressure drop. Empirical correlation was derived for dimensionless holdup mass and Nusselt number based on CFD data by regression technique. Correlation predicts dimensional holdup mass with +5% to -8% errors of experimental data and Nusselt number with +9% to -3%.

The Paradox of Decentralizing Schools: Lessons from Business, Government, and the Catholic Church.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Jerome T.

1989-01-01

By the year 2000, school decentralization could become another unfortunate, ineffectual pendulum swing. According to this article, a dynamic, ever-changing system of decentralization and centralization balances the benefits of local administrative autonomy with the pursuit of unified goals and helps each leadership level understand its…

Decentralized central heating

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Savic, S.; Hudjera, A.

1994-08-04

The decentralized central heating is essentially based on new technical solutions for an independent heating unit, which allows up to 20% collectible energy savings and up to 15% savings in built-in-material. These savings are already made possible by the fact that the elements described under point A are thus eliminated from the classical heating. The thus superfluous made elements are replaced by new technical solutions described under point B - technical problem - and point E - patent claim. The technical solutions described in detail under point B and point E form together a technical unit and are essential parts of the invention protected by the patent. (author)

Organizational precedents for ownership and management of decentralized renewable-energy systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meunier, R.; Silversmith, J.A.

1981-03-01

Three existing organizational types that meet the decentralization criteria of local consumer ownership and control - cooperatives, Rural Electric Cooperatives, and municipal utilities - are examined. These three organizational precedents are analyzed in terms of their histories, structures, legal powers, sources of capital, and social and political aspects. Examples of related experiments with renewable energy technologies are given, and inferences are drawn regarding the organizations' suitability as vehicles for future implementation of decentralized renewable energy systems.

Decentralized vs. centralized scheduling in wireless sensor networks for data fusion

OpenAIRE

Mitici, M.A.; Goseling, Jasper; de Graaf, Maurits; Boucherie, Richardus J.

2014-01-01

We consider the problem of data estimation in a sensor wireless network where sensors transmit their observations according to decentralized and centralized transmission schedules. A data collector is interested in achieving a data estimation using several sensor observations such that the variance of the estimation is below a targeted threshold. We analyze the waiting time for a collector to receive sufficient sensor observations. We show that, for sufficiently large sensor sets, the decentr...

To decentralize or to continue on the centralization track: The cases of authoritarian regimes in Russia and Kazakhstan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Busygina

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Decisions on decentralization versus centralization come as a result of strategic choices made by politicians after weighing their costs and benefits. In authoritarian regimes, the highest-priority political task is that of restraining political competition and securing power in the hands of the incumbent. This task incentivizes politicians to restrict political decentralization (or at least block reforms promoting such decentralization. At the same time, external economic pressures (e.g. globalization place the task of national competitiveness in the global markets on the agenda, and increase incentives for fiscal and administrative decentralization. Thus, political and economic pressures create contradicting incentives, and in weighing costs and benefits, politicians in different authoritarian regimes make different choices that lead to variation in the form, degree and success of decentralization/centralization policies. In this article we compare authoritarian decentralization in Russia and Kazakhstan.

Decentralization and public expenditure: Does special local autonomy affect regional economic growth?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martapina Anggai

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This study examines the relationship between public expenditure within regional autonomy policy and economic growth in West Papua and Papua provinces. We distinguish two kinds of expenditure’s decentralization – operational and capital – and also private expenditures. We use an unbalanced panel data over the period of 2007-2010 to investigate those expenditures, whether they enhance regional economic growth or not. We find that the government’s operating and private expenditures have a positive effect on local economic growth, but there is no relationship between capital expenditure’s decentralization on economic growth. The findings did not conform to a-priori efficiency expectations, which suggest needing to reform regional autonomy and fiscal decentralization policy in both provinces.

Centralized or decentralized electricity production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boer, H.A. de.

1975-01-01

Because of low overall efficiency in electric power generation, it is argued that energy provision based on gas, combined with locally decentralized electricity production, saves for the Netherlands slightly more fossile fuel than nuclear technologies and makes the country independent of uranium resources. The reason the Netherlands persues this approach is that a big part of the energy is finally used for heating in the normal or moderate temperatures

Making decentralization work for women in Uganda

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lakwo, A.

2009-01-01

This book is about engendering local governance. It explores the euphoria with which Uganda's decentralization policy took centre stage as a sufficient driver to engender local development responsiveness and accountability. Using a case study of AFARD in Nebbi district, it shows first that

Decentralized data fusion with inverse covariance intersection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Noack, B.; Sijs, J.; Reinhardt, M.; Hanebeck, U.D.

2017-01-01

In distributed and decentralized state estimation systems, fusion methods are employed to systematically combine multiple estimates of the state into a single, more accurate estimate. An often encountered problem in the fusion process relates to unknown common information that is shared by the

Comment on ‘Energy and air emission implications of a decentralized wastewater system’

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vedachalam, Sridhar; Riha, Susan J

2013-01-01

In the article ‘Energy and air emission implications of a decentralized wastewater system’ published in Environmental Research Letters (2012 Environ. Res. Lett. 7 024007), Shehabi et al compared a decentralized and a centralized system on the basis of energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants, and claimed that economies of scale lower the environmental impacts from a centralized system on a per-volume basis. In this comment, we present literature and data from New York State, USA to argue that the authors’ comparison between a small decentralized system (0.015 MGD) and a large centralized system (66.5 MGD) is unconventional and inappropriate. (comment)

Centralization vs. Decentralization in Medical School Libraries

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Helen

1966-01-01

Does the medical school library in the United States operate more commonly under the university library or the medical school administration? University-connected medical school libraries were asked to indicate (a) the source of their budgets, whether from the central library or the medical school, and (b) the responsibility for their acquisitions and cataloging. Returns received from sixtyeight of the seventy eligible institutions showed decentralization to be much the most common: 71 percent of the libraries are funded by their medical schools; 79 percent are responsible for their own acquisitions and processing. The factor most often associated with centralization of both budget and operation is public ownership. Decentralization is associated with service to one or two rather than three or more professional schools. Location of the medical school in a different city from the university is highly favorable to autonomy. Other factors associated with these trends are discussed. PMID:5945568

Centralization vs. decentralization in medical school libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, H

1966-07-01

Does the medical school library in the United States operate more commonly under the university library or the medical school administration? University-connected medical school libraries were asked to indicate (a) the source of their budgets, whether from the central library or the medical school, and (b) the responsibility for their acquisitions and cataloging. Returns received from sixtyeight of the seventy eligible institutions showed decentralization to be much the most common: 71 percent of the libraries are funded by their medical schools; 79 percent are responsible for their own acquisitions and processing. The factor most often associated with centralization of both budget and operation is public ownership. Decentralization is associated with service to one or two rather than three or more professional schools. Location of the medical school in a different city from the university is highly favorable to autonomy. Other factors associated with these trends are discussed.

Papers by the Decentralized Wastewater Management MOU Partnership

Science.gov (United States)

Four position papers for state, local, and tribal government officials and interested stakeholders. These papers include information on the uses and benefits of decentralized wastewater treatment and examples of its effective use.

Calcium isotope effects in ion exchange electromigration and calcium isotope analysis by thermo-ionization mass spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujii, Y.; Hoshi, J.; Iwamoto, H.; Okamoto, M.; Kakihana, H.

1985-01-01

Calcium ions were made to electromigrate along a cation exchange membrane. The abundance ratios of the calcium isotopes (Ca-40, 42, 43, 44, 48) in the migrated bands were measured by thermo-ionization mass spectrometry. The lighter isotopes were enriched in the front part of the migrated band. The increments in the isotope abundance ratios were found to be proportional to the mass difference of the isotopes. The observed epsilon-values per unit mass difference (epsilon/ΔM) were 1.26 x 10 -4 (at 20 0 C), 1.85 x 10 -4 (at 25 0 C) and 2.4 x 10 -4 (at 40 0 C). The mass spectrometry was improved by using a low temperature for the evaporation of CaI 2 . (orig.)

Algorithms for Lightweight Key Exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Rafael; Caballero-Gil, Cándido; Santonja, Juan; Zamora, Antonio

2017-06-27

Public-key cryptography is too slow for general purpose encryption, with most applications limiting its use as much as possible. Some secure protocols, especially those that enable forward secrecy, make a much heavier use of public-key cryptography, increasing the demand for lightweight cryptosystems that can be implemented in low powered or mobile devices. This performance requirements are even more significant in critical infrastructure and emergency scenarios where peer-to-peer networks are deployed for increased availability and resiliency. We benchmark several public-key key-exchange algorithms, determining those that are better for the requirements of critical infrastructure and emergency applications and propose a security framework based on these algorithms and study its application to decentralized node or sensor networks.

Decentralized Planning for Pre-Conflict and Post-Conflict ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Decentralized Planning for Pre-Conflict and Post-Conflict Management in the Bawku Municipal ... institutional arrangements for conflict monitoring and evaluation. Such processes are 'sine qua non' to pre-conflict and post-conflict prevention.

Decentralized Control of Unmanned Aerial Robots for Wireless Airborne Communication Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deok-Jin Lee

2010-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a cooperative control strategy for a team of aerial robotic vehicles to establish wireless airborne communication networks between distributed heterogeneous vehicles. Each aerial robot serves as a flying mobile sensor performing a reconfigurable communication relay node which enabls communication networks with static or slow-moving nodes on gorund or ocean. For distributed optimal deployment of the aerial vehicles for communication networks, an adaptive hill-climbing type decentralized control algorithm is developed to seek out local extremum for optimal localization of the vehicles. The sensor networks estabilished by the decentralized cooperative control approach can adopt its configuraiton in response to signal strength as the function of the relative distance between the autonomous aerial robots and distributed sensor nodes in the sensed environment. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed decentralized cooperative control technique for robust communication networks.

Decentring the Creative Self

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glaveanu, Vlad Petre; Lubart, Todd

2014-01-01

to themes depicting the interaction between these different others and the creator. Findings reveal both similarities and differences across the five domains in terms of the specific contribution of others to the creative process. Social interactions play a key formative, regulatory, motivational...... and informational role in relation to creative work. From ‘internalized’ to ‘distant’, other people are an integral part of the equation of creativity calling for a de-centring of the creative self and its re-centring in a social space of actions and interactions....

Decentralization and Living Conditions in the EU

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vries, M.S. de; Goymen, K.; Sazak, O.

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the effects of decentralization on living conditions in core cities in the European Union. It uses data from the Urban Audit to investigate whether the level of local expenditures relative to central government expenditures has an impact on the subjective appreciation of

Decentralization Fails Women in Sudan | IDRC - International ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2010-11-05

Nov 5, 2010 ... In Sudan, decentralization is a process that has occurred over time and is ... In northern Sudan, some women travel three days to reach the nearest hospital. ... Accord stipulate that basic education is free, “in real life, it is not.”.

Centralized vs. De-centralized Multinationals and Taxes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Søren Bo; Raimondos-Møller, Pascalis; Schjelderup, Guttorm

2005-01-01

The paper examines how country tax differences affect a multinational enterprise's choice to centralize or de-centralize its decision structure. Within a simple model that emphasizes the multiple conflicting roles of transfer prices in MNEs - here, as a strategic pre-commitment device and a tax...

Remembering the Future of Centralized Control-Decentralized Execution

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sheets, Patrick

2003-01-01

... concepts which should drive system development. To realize the significance of the USAF C2 tenet of "centralized control-decentralized execution," one must understand how C2 is executed, in contingency theaters of operation...

Electrochemical reduction of disulfide-containing proteins for hydrogen/deuterium exchange monitored by mass spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mysling, Simon; Salbo, Rune; Ploug, Michael

2014-01-01

Characterization of disulfide bond-containing proteins by hydrogen/deuterium exchange monitored by mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) requires reduction of the disulfide bonds under acidic and cold conditions, where the amide hydrogen exchange reaction is quenched (pH 2.5, 0 °C). The reduction typically...... of TCEP. In the present study, we explore the feasibility of using electrochemical reduction as a substitute for TCEP in HDX-MS analyses. Our results demonstrate that efficient disulfide bond reduction is readily achieved by implementing an electrochemical cell into the HDX-MS workflow. We also identify...... some challenges in using electrochemical reduction in HDX-MS analyses and provide possible conditions to attenuate these limitations. For example, high salt concentrations hamper disulfide bond reduction, necessitating additional dilution of the sample with aqueous acidic solution at quench conditions....

Dynamical Orders of Decentralized H-infinity Controllers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stoustrup, Jakob; Niemann, Hans Henrik

1996-01-01

The problem of decentralized control is addressed, i.e. theproblem of designing a controller where each control input is allowedto use only some of the measurements. It is shown that such problemsthere does not always exist a sequence of controllers of bounded orderwhich obtains near optimal cont...

Women's Political Representation and Participation in Decentralized ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Huairou Commission User

facilitate people's participation in national development through ensuring sound local level politics. • RC evolved into local councils which then led to the implementation of decentralization through the local government act (1997). • This policy has provided opportunities for women to participate in local leadership from.

The flushing and exchange of the South China Sea derived from salt and mass conservation

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yang; Bye, John A. T.; You, Yuzhu; Bao, Xianwen; Wu, Dexing

2010-07-01

In this paper, we use two kinds of hydrographic data, historical cruise data, Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography (Argo) float data, and atmospheric data to study the water exchange between the South China Sea (SCS) and the Pacific Ocean through the Luzon Strait. The annual mean distributions of temperature and salinity at five different levels in the SCS and the adjacent Pacific Ocean are presented, which indicate the occurrence of active water exchange through the Luzon Strait. The flushing and exchange of the SCS are then determined by the application of salt and mass conservation in a multi-layered thermohaline system, using an estimate of the net rainfall obtained from reanalysis data. The results show that the annual mean flushing time is 44±8 months with an inflow rate of 11±2 Sv (1 Sv=10 6 m 3 s -1), part of which recirculates at a deeper level through the Luzon Strait, the remainder (6±2 Sv) forming the SCS throughflow. The diffusive influx of salt is also estimated and accounts for about 10% of the total influx, and hence advection dominates over diffusion in the water exchange through the Luzon Strait. The seasonal cycle of exchange shows a maximum in autumn and winter of about twice the annual mean rate.

Of decentralization of public power Ukrainian land that belonged to Lithuanian (XIII – the early XVII century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. V. Manuilova

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A comprehensive crisis in Ukraine and continued military confrontation in the Donbass demonstrated the urgent need to establish effective governance, which would imply decentralization of public power. Note that in implementing the decentralization of power in Ukraine insists the International Monetary Fund; United Nations Development Program; the transfer of authority to the field and decentralization of power in Ukraine is one of the points of the Minsk agreements and obligations of Ukraine to the EU. The article deals with the Ukrainian lands topical issue features the decentralization of public power in the XIII - the beginning of XVII century. The importance of the topic due to the need to study the historical experience of the implementation of decentralization. It was, emphasized that the success of the reforms depends largely because of the historical experience and features of the decentralization of public power in the past. Characterized by the development of local government in the Ukrainian lands was part of the Lithuanian state. The purpose of the article is to clarify the characteristics of decentralization of public authority on Ukrainian lands were part of the Lithuanian state during the XVII century XIII. To address this goal, outline decentralization of public power in the state; analyze, competence of local government in the Ukrainian lands that belonged to the Lith uanian State; determine how close to the power of the people. The level of decentralization of public power in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the XIII - the beginning of XVII century was high. It was, found that Lithuania had not established a centralized state. It is, noted that the Board of the nobility limited the princely power. The effect of delegated deputies from different parts of the Lithuanian statehood solutions nobility Council.Clarified the facts that confirm the existence of decentralization of public power in Lithuania: the functioning of local

Remote handling of decentralized power generation plants; Fernwirken von dezentralen Energieerzeugungsanlagen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conrad, Michael [IDS GmbH, Ettlingen (Germany). Geschaeftsbereich Entwicklung-Prozessautomatisierung; Thomas, Ralf [IDS GmbH, Ettlingen (Germany). Bereich Business Development und Marketing

2011-05-15

The incresing number of decentral power generation systems requires new grid solutions, i.e. the so-called smart grids. One important function is the monitoring and control, e.g. of decentral PV, wind power and cogeneration systems. The data interfaces used are highly diverse and as a rule are taken from measuring and automation technology, i.e. they must be adapted to the data models and transmission procedures of remote control and guidance systems. A compact protocol gateway enables standardized control and diagnosis.

Engaging Social Capital for Decentralized Urban Stormwater Management

Science.gov (United States)

Decentralized approaches to urban stormwater management, whereby installations of green infrastructure (e.g., rain gardens, bioswales, and constructed wetlands) are dispersed throughout a management area, are cost-effective solutions with co-benefits beyond water abatement. Inste...

Centralization and Decentralization: An International Viewpoint on an American Dilemma. A Special CASEA Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Walker, William G.

This report outlines the history of the centralization-decentralization dilemma in the goverance of organizations, discusses two types of centralization-decentralization continua, and suggests further research. The first type of continuum discussed -- the traditional American -- refers to decisionmaking in the areas of public debate and partisan…

Enforcement and Environmental Quality in a Decentralized Emission Trading System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D' Amato, Alessio (Univ. of Rome, ' Tor Vergata' , Rome (Italy)); Valentini, Edilio (Univ. G. D' Annunzio di Chieti-Pescara, DEST, Fac. di Economia, Pescara (Italy))

2008-07-01

This paper addresses the issue of whether the powers of monitoring compliance and allocating allowances under emissions trading within an economic union should be centralized or delegated to single states. To this end, we develop a two stage game played by two governments choosing allowances and monitoring effort to achieve full compliance, and their respective polluting industries. We show that cost advantage in favor of national states is not sufficient to justify decentralization. Nevertheless, cost differential in monitoring violations can imply lower emissions and greater welfare under a decentralized institutional setting than under a centralized one

Blockchain for Smart Grid Resilience: Exchanging Distributed Energy at Speed, Scale and Security

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mylrea, Michael E.; Gourisetti, Sri Nikhil Gup

2017-09-18

Blockchain may help solve several complex problems related to integrity and trustworthiness of rapid, distributed, complex energy transactions and data exchanges. In a move towards resilience, blockchain commoditizes trust and enables automated smart contracts to support auditable multiparty transactions based on predefined rules between distributed energy providers and customers. Blockchain based smart contracts also help remove the need to interact with third-parties, facilitating the adoption and monetization of distributed energy transactions and exchanges, both energy flows as well as financial transactions. This may help reduce transactive energy costs and increase the security and sustainability of distributed energy resource (DER) integration, helping to remove barriers to a more decentralized and resilient power grid.

Fiscal Decentralization and Disparity of Access to Primary Education in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shinta Doriza

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In education, one crusial issue of development is the disparity of primary education access. Using 440 regions database from 2005-2009, this study is aim to analize the impact of fiscal decentralization in reducing the enrolement of primary education in Indonesia. Three factors were included, i.e fiscal decentralization, socioeconomic factors and regional characteristics. The result of panel data estimation using fixed-effect approach on this study is that DAK for Education, DAK Non Education, and PAD have significant impact in reducing education acess disparity along with poverty and regional characteristic such as Java-non Java regions. For education level, another variable was also found significant including education of the society and regional characteristic such as proliferated-non proliferated regions. In general there is a facts and proves that fiscal decentralization improve education access equality, but several effort need to done to optimalize the equalization of primary education access in Indonesia.

[Health care reform, decentralization, prevention and control of vector-borne diseases].

Science.gov (United States)

Schmunis, G A; Dias, J C

2000-01-01

Economic policies are changing Latin American health programs, particularly promoting decentralization. Numerous difficulties thus arise for the control of endemic diseases, since such activities traditionally depend on vertical, and centralized structures. Theoretical arguments in favor of decentralization notwithstanding, no such tradition exists at the county level. The lack of program expertise at peripheral levels, intensive staff turnover, and even corruption are additional difficulties. Hence, the simple bureaucratic transfer of activities from the Federal to county level is often irresponsible. The loss of priority for control of endemic diseases in Latin America may mean the inexorable extinction of traditional control services. Malaria, dengue fever, and Chagas disease programs are examples of the loss of expertise and effectiveness in Latin America. A better strategy for responsible decentralization is required. In particular, a shared transition involving all governmental levels is desirable to effectively modernize programs. Maintenance of regional reference centers to ensure supervision, surveillance, and training is suggested.

Decentralized Feedback Controllers for Exponential Stabilization of Hybrid Periodic Orbits: Application to Robotic Walking*

Science.gov (United States)

Hamed, Kaveh Akbari; Gregg, Robert D.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a systematic algorithm to design time-invariant decentralized feedback controllers to exponentially stabilize periodic orbits for a class of hybrid dynamical systems arising from bipedal walking. The algorithm assumes a class of parameterized and nonlinear decentralized feedback controllers which coordinate lower-dimensional hybrid subsystems based on a common phasing variable. The exponential stabilization problem is translated into an iterative sequence of optimization problems involving bilinear and linear matrix inequalities, which can be easily solved with available software packages. A set of sufficient conditions for the convergence of the iterative algorithm to a stabilizing decentralized feedback control solution is presented. The power of the algorithm is demonstrated by designing a set of local nonlinear controllers that cooperatively produce stable walking for a 3D autonomous biped with 9 degrees of freedom, 3 degrees of underactuation, and a decentralization scheme motivated by amputee locomotion with a transpelvic prosthetic leg. PMID:27990059

Real-time hydrogen/deuterium exchange kinetics via supercharged electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Sterling, Harry J; Williams, Evan R

2010-11-01

Amide hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) rate constants of bovine ubiquitin in an ammonium acetate solution containing 1% of the electrospray ionization (ESI) "supercharging" reagent m-nitrobenzyl alcohol (m-NBA) were obtained using top-down, electron transfer dissociation (ETD) tandem mass spectrometry (MS). The supercharging reagent replaces the acid and temperature "quench" step in the conventional MS approach to HDX experiments by causing rapid protein denaturation to occur in the ESI droplet. The higher charge state ions that are produced with m-NBA are more unfolded, as measured by ion mobility, and result in higher fragmentation efficiency and higher sequence coverage with ETD. Single amino acid resolution was obtained for 44 of 72 exchangeable amide sites, and summed kinetic data were obtained for regions of the protein where adjacent fragment ions were not observed, resulting in an overall spatial resolution of 1.3 residues. Comparison of these results with previous values from NMR indicates that the supercharging reagent does not cause significant structural changes to the protein in the initial ESI solution and that scrambling or back-exchange is minimal. This new method for top-down HDX-MS enables real-time kinetic data measurements under physiological conditions, similar to those obtained using NMR, with comparable spatial resolution and significantly better sensitivity.

Decentralized control of multi-agent aerial transportation system

KAUST Repository

Toumi, Noureddine

2017-01-01

and Landing aircraft (VTOL) transportation system. We develop a decentralized method. The advantage of such a solution is that it can provide better maneuverability and lifting capabilities compared to existing systems. First, we consider a cooperative group

Quotas and Decentralization (Indonesia) | CRDI - Centre de ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Over the past decade, the Government of Indonesia has taken steps to enhance the participation of women in public office. One element of the strategy is decentralization, promoted under the slogan, "local autonomy for people empowerment and welfare." Support for gender mainstreaming was proclaimed and in 2003 an ...

Promoting Research for Policymaking under Decentralization in ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Major reforms in governance carried out in Peru during the early 2000s saw the decentralization of functions and resources from the central government in Lima to elected regional governments. Today, regional governments account for the majority of public investment, but show limited capacity to cope with the ...

Critical Systems Thinking on Decentralization: the Corporate ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This article calls for the devolution of power by large organizations to their subsidiaries or subordinate units – mainly Strategic Business Units (SBUs). It proposes more decentralized models of management and outlines a new theory taking a critical systems thinking approach. Corporations are advised to attack and ...

Ion mobility spectrometry-hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry of anions: part 1. Peptides to proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Donohoe, Gregory C; Khakinejad, Mahdiar; Valentine, Stephen J

2015-04-01

Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) coupled with hydrogen deuterium exchange (HDX)-mass spectrometry (MS) has been used to study the conformations of negatively-charged peptide and protein ions. Results are presented for ion conformers of angiotensin 1, a synthetic peptide (SP), bovine insulin, ubiquitin, and equine cytochrome c. In general, the SP ion conformers demonstrate a greater level of HDX efficiency as a greater proportion of the sites undergo HDX. Additionally, these ions exhibit the fastest rates of exchange. Comparatively, the angiotensin 1 ions exhibit a lower rate of exchange and HDX level presumably because of decreased accessibility of exchange sites by charge sites. The latter are likely confined to the peptide termini. Insulin ions show dramatically reduced HDX levels and exchange rates, which can be attributed to decreased conformational flexibility resulting from the disulfide bonds. For the larger ubiquitin and protein ions, increased HDX is observed for larger ions of higher charge state. For ubiquitin, a conformational transition from compact to more elongated species (from lower to higher charge states) is reflected by an increase in HDX levels. These results can be explained by a combination of interior site protection by compact conformers as well as decreased access by charge sites. The elongated cytochrome c ions provide the largest HDX levels where higher values correlate with charge state. These results are consistent with increased exchange site accessibility by additional charge sites. The data from these enhanced IMS-HDX experiments are described in terms of charge site location, conformer rigidity, and interior site protection.

RE-ENGINEERING GOVERNANCE; E-GOVERNMENT AS A TOOL FOR DECENTRALIZATION; GHANA AS A CASE STUDY

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gyaase, Patrick Ohemeng Kwadwo

This research was undertaken to study the diffusion of E-government as a tool for decentralization, using Ghana as a case study. E-governance has been credited with the potency of facilitating good governance in countries with appreciable level of E-government maturity. Much attention is being...... espoused by E-government. This research therefore assesses the diffusion of E-government as a tool for decentralization in Ghana. The research was carried out using mixed-methods and was approached from four theoretical perspectives namely Innovation Diffusion theory the TOE framework for technological....... Qualitative data was used to assess the factors affecting the diffusion of e-government as a tool for decentralization and the results pointed to vendor and donor led diffusion as affecting E-government implementation. There is also the absence of convergence between the E-government, the decentralization...

Centralized Control/Decentralized Execution: A Valid Tenet of Airpower

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Santicola, Henry J

2005-01-01

...) and Effects-Based Operations (EBO). This paper examines the history of the concept of centralized control/decentralized execution from the advent of modern warfare through Operation Enduring Freedom...

Decentralized control of the COFS-I Mast using linear dc motors

Science.gov (United States)

Lindner, Douglas K.; Celano, Tom; Ide, Eric

1989-01-01

Consideration is given to a decentralized control design for vibration suppression in the COFS-I Mast using linear dc motors for actuators. The decentralized control design is based results from power systems using root locus techniques that are not well known. The approach is effective because the loop gain is low due to low actuator authority. The frequency-dependent nonlinearities of the actuator are taken into account. Because of the tendency of the transients to saturate the the stroke length of the actuator, its effectiveness is limited.

Decentralized Urban Solid Waste Management in Indonesia | CRDI ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Urban areas of Indonesia generate about 55 000 tonnes of solid waste per day, ... four models of decentralized solid waste management in low-income urban ... En partenariat avec l'Organization for Women in Science for the Developing ...

Study on autonomous decentralized-cooperative function monitoring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuoka, Takeshi; Numano, Masayoshi; Someya, Minoru; Fukuto, Junji; Mitomo, Nobuo; Miyazaki, Keiko; Matsukura, Hiroshi; Tanba, Yasuyuki

1999-01-01

In this study, a study further advanced on a base of results of study on artificial intelligence for nuclear power', one of nuclear basis crossover studies, conducted at five years planning from 1989 fiscal year was executed. Here was conducted on study on a system technology for supplying cooperation, judgement process, judgement results, and so forth between decentralized artificial intelligent elements (agents) to operation managers (supervisors) by focussing a system for monitoring if autonomous decentralized system containing plant operation and robot group action functioned appropriately. In 1997 fiscal year, by mainly conducting development for displaying working state of robot group, some investigations on integrated management of each function already development and maintained were executed. Furthermore, some periodical meetings on realization of its integration with operation control system and maintenance system with other research institutes were conducted. (G.K.)

Application of Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization H/D-exchange Mass Spectrometry for Speciation of Sulfur-containing Compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Acter, Thamina; Kim, Donghwi; Ahmed, Arif; Ha, Ji-Hyoung; Kim, Sunghwan

2017-08-01

Herein we report the observation of atmospheric pressure in-source hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX) of thiol group for the first time. The HDX for thiol group was optimized for positive atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) mass spectrometry (MS). The optimized HDX-MS was applied for 31 model compounds (thiols, thiophenes, and sulfides) to demonstrate that exchanged peaks were observed only for thiols. The optimized method has been successfully applied to the isolated fractions of sulfur-rich oil samples. The exchange of one and two thiol hydrogens with deuterium was observed in the thiol fraction; no HDX was observed in the other fractions. Thus, the results presented in this study demonstrate that the HDX-MS method using APPI ionization source can be effective for speciation of sulfur compounds. This method has the potential to be used to access corrosion problems caused by thiol-containing compounds. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Dynamical orders of decentralized H-infinity controllers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stoustrup, Jakob; Niemann, H.H.

1999-01-01

The problem of decentralized control is addressed, i.e. the problem of designing a controller where each control input is allowed to use only some of the measurements. It is shown that, for such problems, there does not always exist a sequence of controllers of bounded order which obtains near-op...

Local Government Systems and Decentralization: Evidence from Pakistan’s Devolution Plan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Shakil Ahmad

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The discourse of governance and development practitioners continues to embrace community participation and community empowerment as an elementary means of building local capacity for poverty reduction, development and change at the local level. This article is a review of the decentralization initiatives of local government systems after the announcement of the devolution plan in Pakistan. It evaluates the initiatives’ participatory methods to ascertain the extent to which they have improved the process of community development at the local level. This article also measures the impact of community empowerment on the sustainability of community-driven projects implemented under the decentralization initiative through community-based organizations known as Citizen Community Boards (CCBs. Document analysis and literature review methodologies were employed to gain further insight into the decentralization phenomenon in Pakistan. The results describe human development, improvements in community empowerment and the sustainability of local projects; however, the sense of community has yet to be translated into shared benefits for rural communities. The fundamental goal of decentralization seems to be elusive because only power was transferred to the local level, whereas there is little support for community capacity building and community access to resources and the elites still control the electoral process. It is argued that community development initiatives in Pakistan require continuous support from local governments to boost local rural economies. Likewise, community-local government participatory development strategies can lead to strong local ownership and empowerment in rural communities.

8-8-08 International Conference on Decentralization, local power ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

hallas

2008-08-08

Aug 8, 2008 ... The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in collaboration ... To set an agenda on decentralization/ local governance that ... researchers, representatives of multilateral and bilateral agencies, media and others.

Decentralized robust control design using LMI

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dušan Krokavec

2008-03-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with application of decentralized controllers for large-scale systems with subsystems interaction and system matrices uncertainties. The desired stability of the whole system is guaranteed while at the same time the tolerable bounds in the uncertainties due to structural changes are maximized. The design approach is based on the linear matrix inequalities (LMI techniques adaptation for stabilizing controller design.

Decentralized Heat Supply – Alternative to Centralized One

OpenAIRE

V. I. Nazarov; L. A. Tarasevich; А. L. Burov

2012-01-01

The paper presents a concrete example that shows comparative characteristics of decentralized and centralized heat supply. It has been shown in the paper that selection of this or that variant of heat supply significantly depends on losses in heat supply networks.

Land use and environmental impacts of decentralized solar energy use

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Twiss, R.H.; Smith, P.L.; Gatzke, A.E.; McCreary, S.T.

1980-01-01

The physical, spatial and land-use impacts of decentralized solar technologies applied at the community level by the year 2000 are examined. The results of the study are intended to provide a basis for evaluating the way in which a shift toward reliance on decentralized energy technologies may eventually alter community form. Six land-use types representative of those found in most US cities are analyzed according to solar penetration levels identified in the maximum solar scenario for the year 2000. The scenario is translated into shares of end use demand in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. These proportions become the scenario goals to be met by the use of decentralized solar energy systems. The percentage of total energy demand is assumed to be 36.5 percent, 18.8 percent and 22.6 percent in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors respectively. The community level scenario stipulated that a certain percentage of the total demand be met by on-site solar collection, i.e. photovoltaic and thermal collectors, and by passive design. This on-site solar goal is 31.9 percent (residential), 16.8 percent (commercial) and 13.1 percent (industrial).

Institutional arrangements for decentralized water and health services delivery in rural Tanzania: differences and constraints

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masanyiwa, Z.S.; Niehof, A.; Termeer, C.J.A.M.

2013-01-01

In recent years, decentralization has been upheld by governments, donors and policy makers in many developing countries as a means of improving public services although opinion is divided on the link between decentralization and service delivery. This article reviews recent literature and research

Supplier’s Joint Investments in Cost Reduction and Quality Improvement in a Decentralized Supply Chain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hengyun Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We consider a decentralized supply chain with a downstream manufacturer and an upstream supplier. The upstream supplier sells a product to the manufacturer, who faces a quality and price sensitive demand. The supplier has a chance to invest in both cost reduction and quality improvement of its product. We derive the optimal investment and pricing decisions for the supply chain members. We do so in both the centralized and the decentralized supply chains. We show that the optimal investment and pricing decisions in the decentralized supply chain may deviate from that in the centralized supply chain. We develop a mechanism to coordinate the decentralized supply chain. The developed mechanism contains four policies: wholesale price, sharing of revenue, sharing of cost reduction investment cost, and sharing of quality improvement investment cost. We also show that the developed coordination mechanism can lead to Pareto improvement.

Problems in decentralized data acquisition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eder, R.

1985-04-01

This paper describes INIS (International Nuclear Information System) which is operated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in collaboration with 73 Member States and 14 international organizations. INIS is a computerized system for collecting, processing and disseminating nuclear information. The collection and scanning of literature, input preparation and the dissemination of output are completely decentralized, the checking and merging of the information data are centralized. This paper shows the structure, management, processing and problem areas of this system. (Author)

Leadership and the Decentralized Control of Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Matthew P.

2013-01-01

This review examines the literature related to leadership and the decentralized control of schools. It first considers the distinctive goals of public and private agencies, the specific constraints that shape the autonomy of leaders in different sectors, and the ways in which new models of public management are infusing public agencies with…

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF LOCAL HYDRODYNAMICS AND MASS EXCHANGE PROCESSES OF COOLANT IN FUEL ASSEMBLIES OF PRESSURIZED WATER REACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. M. Dmitriev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The results of experimental studies of local hydrodynamics and mass exchange of coolant flow behind spacer and mixing grids of different structural versions that were developed for fuel assemblies of domestic and foreign nuclear reactors are presented in the article. In order to carry out the study the models of the following fuel assemblies have been fabricated: FA for VVER and VBER, FA-KVADRAT for PWR-reactor and FA for KLT-40C reactor. All the models have been fabricated with a full geometrical similarity with full-scale fuel assemblies. The study was carried out by simulating the flow of coolant in a core by air on an aerodynamic test rig. In order to measure local hydrodynamic characteristics of coolant flow five-channel Pitot probes were used that enable to measure the velocity vector in a point by its three components. The tracerpropane method was used for studying mass transfer processes. Flow hydrodynamics was studied by measuring cross-section velocities of coolant flow and coolant rates according to the model cells. The investigation of mass exchange processes consisted of a study of concentration distribution for tracer in experimental model, in determination of attenuation lengths of mass transfer processes behind mixing grids, in calculating of inter-cellar mass exchange coefficient. The database on coolant flow in fuel assemblies for different types of reactors had been accumulated that formed the basis of the engineering substantiation of reactor cores designs. The recommendations on choice of optimal versions of mixing grids have been taken into consideration by implementers of the JSC “OKBM Afrikantov” when creating commissioned fuel assemblies. The results of the study are used for verification of CFD-codes and CFD programs of detailed cell-by-cell calculation of reactor cores in order to decrease conservatism for substantiation of thermal-mechanical reliability.

Development of a pharmacy resident rotation to expand decentralized clinical pharmacy services.

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, John D; Williams, Jonathan P; Barnes, Julie F; Greenlee, Katie M; Cardiology, Bcps-Aq; Leonard, Mandy C

2017-07-15

The development of a pharmacy resident rotation to expand decentralized clinical pharmacy services is described. In an effort to align with the initiatives proposed within the ASHP Practice Advancement Initiative, the department of pharmacy at Cleveland Clinic, a 1,400-bed academic, tertiary acute care medical center in Cleveland, Ohio, established a goal to provide decentralized clinical pharmacy services for 100% of patient care units within the hospital. Patient care units that previously had no decentralized pharmacy services were evaluated to identify opportunities for expansion. Metrics analyzed included number of medication orders verified per hour, number of pharmacy dosing consultations, and number of patient discharge counseling sessions. A pilot study was conducted to assess the feasibility of this service and potential resident learning opportunities. A learning experience description was drafted, and feedback was solicited regarding the development of educational components utilized throughout the rotation. Pharmacists who were providing services to similar patient populations were identified to serve as preceptors. Staff pharmacists were deployed to previously uncovered patient care units, with pharmacy residents providing decentralized services on previously covered areas. A rotating preceptor schedule was developed based on geographic proximity and clinical expertise. An initial postimplementation assessment of this resident-driven service revealed that pharmacy residents provided a comparable level of pharmacy services to that of staff pharmacists. Feedback collected from nurses, physicians, and pharmacy staff also supported residents' ability to operate sufficiently in this role to optimize patient care. A learning experience developed for pharmacy residents in a large medical center enabled the expansion of decentralized clinical services without requiring additional pharmacist full-time equivalents. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society of

Decentralization for National development in Nigeria from a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

National development of a multicultural setting requires a decentralized appropriation of diverse contributions of various constituent subsets. Improvement of multicultural settings calls for social negotiation and economic merger, and compression of individual resources of the various units to enhance egalitarian level of ...

Game-Based Virtual Worlds as Decentralized Virtual Activity Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Scacchi, Walt

There is widespread interest in the development and use of decentralized systems and virtual world environments as possible new places for engaging in collaborative work activities. Similarly, there is widespread interest in stimulating new technological innovations that enable people to come together through social networking, file/media sharing, and networked multi-player computer game play. A decentralized virtual activity system (DVAS) is a networked computer supported work/play system whose elements and social activities can be both virtual and decentralized (Scacchi et al. 2008b). Massively multi-player online games (MMOGs) such as World of Warcraft and online virtual worlds such as Second Life are each popular examples of a DVAS. Furthermore, these systems are beginning to be used for research, deve-lopment, and education activities in different science, technology, and engineering domains (Bainbridge 2007, Bohannon et al. 2009; Rieber 2005; Scacchi and Adams 2007; Shaffer 2006), which are also of interest here. This chapter explores two case studies of DVASs developed at the University of California at Irvine that employ game-based virtual worlds to support collaborative work/play activities in different settings. The settings include those that model and simulate practical or imaginative physical worlds in different domains of science, technology, or engineering through alternative virtual worlds where players/workers engage in different kinds of quests or quest-like workflows (Jakobsson 2006).

Incentivizing Decentralized Sanitation: The Role of Discount Rates.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Alison; Blackhurst, Michael; Garland, Jay L; Lawler, Desmond F

2016-06-21

In adoption decisions for decentralized sanitation technologies, two decision makers are involved: the public utility and the individual homeowner. Standard life cycle cost is calculated from the perspective of the utility, which uses a market-based discount rate in these calculations. However, both decision-makers must be considered, including their differing perceptions of the time trade-offs inherent in a stream of costs and benefits. This study uses the discount rate as a proxy for these perceptions and decision-maker preferences. The results in two case studies emphasize the dependence on location of such analyses. Falmouth, Massachusetts, appears to be a good candidate for incentivizing decentralized sanitation while the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority service area in Pennsylvania appears to have no need for similar incentives. This method can be applied to any two-party decision in which the parties are expected to have different discount rates.

Decentralized energy planning and consensus in energy policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilbanks, T. J.

1980-05-02

This paper explores the following three propositions and their relationships: (1) that, in our pluralistic policymaking environment, we cannot solve our nation's energy problems unless we can reach agreement among a diverse group of interested parties about specific actions; (2) that, short of a manifest emergency, such a consensus is difficult to reach unless the scale of the decision-making unit is relatively small; and therefore (3) that one of the keys to an effective energy policy in the United states is to rely heavily on local and regional energy planning and decision-making. First, the paper reviews our problem of irresolution and its roots, and it summaries the policy options for resolving it. Then it explores one of those options, decentralized planning, in a little more detail. Finally, it offers some speculations about the viability of a decentralized approach to energy planninng.

CONDITION OF DECENTRALIZATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEGAL FORMS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONS OF UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF THE GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadiia Kulchytska

2016-06-01

Full Text Available In the article the modern condition of decentralization and organizational legal forms of sustainable development of regions of Ukraine in the context of the global experience are analyzed, possible ways to overcome regional disparities are proved. A special place in scientific research article takes a significant number of modern researchers analyzed the theoretical and methodological foundations of a system of financial support of local authorities in the transition to decentralization of public administration. In this regard, particular relevance is the problem of defining the role of decentralization principles in forming the financial support of local government. The importance of decentralization in the process of local government reform is proved. The ways implementing decentralization in modern Ukraine are shown. The scientific approaches to determining the meaning and role of decentralization in a market economy are analyzed and summarized. Key words: decentralization, deconcentration of power, the territorial organization of government, local communities, dotatsiynist, sustainable development. JEL: H 70, R 58

A decentralized receptance-based damage detection strategy for wireless smart sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Shinae; Spencer Jr, Billie F; Sim, Sung-Han

2012-01-01

Various structural health monitoring strategies have been proposed recently that can be implemented in the decentralized computing environment intrinsic to wireless smart sensor networks (WSSN). Many are based on changes in the experimentally determined flexibility matrix for the structure under consideration. However, the flexibility matrix contains only static information; much richer information is available by considering the dynamic flexibility, or receptance, of the structure. Recently, the stochastic dynamic damage locating vector (SDDLV) method was proposed based on changes of dynamic flexibility matrices employing centrally collected output-only measurements. This paper investigates the potential of the SDDLV method for implementation on a network of wireless smart sensors, where a decentralized, hierarchical, in-network processing approach is used to address issues of scalability of the SDDLV algorithm. Two approaches to aggregate results are proposed that provide robust estimates of damage locations. The efficacy of the developed strategy is first verified using wired sensors emulating a wireless sensor network. Subsequently, the decentralized damage detection strategy is implemented on MEMSIC’s Imote2 smart sensor platform and validated experimentally on a laboratory scale truss bridge. (paper)

Metropolitan Schools: Administrative Decentralization vs. Community Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Ornstein, Allan C.

This book is divided into four chapters. The first examines the concepts and issues related to understanding social systems and how the schools can be viewed as a social system. The differences between centralization and decentralization, as well as systems-analysis and management-control approaches are also explored. In the next chapter, we are…

Strategies for organizing training: centralized or decentralized

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanous, L.E.

1979-01-01

STudies were conducted in the Detroit Edison Company for the purpose of determining effectiveness of training. A systems approach from the corporate perspective was found to be needed and worthwhile. At the conclusion of these studies a decision was made to move in the direction of a centralized vs decentralized organizational strategy for training

Mathematical modeling of water mass balance for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan Ramli Wan Daud; Kamaruzzaman Sopian; Jaafar Sahari; Nik Suhaimi Mat Hassan

2006-01-01

Gas and water management are key to achieving good performance from a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack. Water plays a critical role in PEMFC. The proton conductivity is increase with the water content. In order to achieve enough hydration, water is normally introduced into the cell externally by a variety of methods such as liquid injection, steam introduction, and humidification of reactants by passing them through humidifiers before entering the cell. In this paper, mathematical modeling of water mass balance for PEMFC at anode and cathode side are proposed by using external humidification and assume that steady state, constant pressure, constant temperature and gases distribution are uniform

The origins of enhanced activity in factor VIIa analogs and the interplay between key allosteric sites revealed by hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rand, Kasper D; Andersen, Mette D; Olsen, Ole H

2008-01-01

Factor VIIa (FVIIa) circulates in the blood in a zymogen-like state. Only upon association with membrane-bound tissue factor (TF) at the site of vascular injury does FVIIa become active and able to initiate blood coagulation. Here we used hydrogen exchange monitored by mass spectrometry to invest......Factor VIIa (FVIIa) circulates in the blood in a zymogen-like state. Only upon association with membrane-bound tissue factor (TF) at the site of vascular injury does FVIIa become active and able to initiate blood coagulation. Here we used hydrogen exchange monitored by mass spectrometry...... to investigate the conformational effects of site-directed mutagenesis at key positions in FVIIa and the origins of enhanced intrinsic activity of FVIIa analogs. The differences in hydrogen exchange of two highly active variants, FVIIa(DVQ) and FVIIa(VEAY), imply that enhanced catalytic efficiency was attained...

Decentralized approaches to wastewater treatment and management: applicability in developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Massoud, May A; Tarhini, Akram; Nasr, Joumana A

2009-01-01

Providing reliable and affordable wastewater treatment in rural areas is a challenge in many parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. The problems and limitations of the centralized approaches for wastewater treatment are progressively surfacing. Centralized wastewater collection and treatment systems are costly to build and operate, especially in areas with low population densities and dispersed households. Developing countries lack both the funding to construct centralized facilities and the technical expertise to manage and operate them. Alternatively, the decentralized approach for wastewater treatment which employs a combination of onsite and/or cluster systems is gaining more attention. Such an approach allows for flexibility in management, and simple as well as complex technologies are available. The decentralized system is not only a long-term solution for small communities but is more reliable and cost effective. This paper presents a review of the various decentralized approaches to wastewater treatment and management. A discussion as to their applicability in developing countries, primarily in rural areas, and challenges faced is emphasized all through the paper. While there are many impediments and challenges towards wastewater management in developing countries, these can be overcome by suitable planning and policy implementation. Understanding the receiving environment is crucial for technology selection and should be accomplished by conducting a comprehensive site evaluation process. Centralized management of the decentralized wastewater treatment systems is essential to ensure they are inspected and maintained regularly. Management strategies should be site specific accounting for social, cultural, environmental and economic conditions in the target area.

Distributed and decentralized state estimation in gas networks as distributed parameter systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadian Behrooz, Hesam; Boozarjomehry, R Bozorgmehry

2015-09-01

In this paper, a framework for distributed and decentralized state estimation in high-pressure and long-distance gas transmission networks (GTNs) is proposed. The non-isothermal model of the plant including mass, momentum and energy balance equations are used to simulate the dynamic behavior. Due to several disadvantages of implementing a centralized Kalman filter for large-scale systems, the continuous/discrete form of extended Kalman filter for distributed and decentralized estimation (DDE) has been extended for these systems. Accordingly, the global model is decomposed into several subsystems, called local models. Some heuristic rules are suggested for system decomposition in gas pipeline networks. In the construction of local models, due to the existence of common states and interconnections among the subsystems, the assimilation and prediction steps of the Kalman filter are modified to take the overlapping and external states into account. However, dynamic Riccati equation for each subsystem is constructed based on the local model, which introduces a maximum error of 5% in the estimated standard deviation of the states in the benchmarks studied in this paper. The performance of the proposed methodology has been shown based on the comparison of its accuracy and computational demands against their counterparts in centralized Kalman filter for two viable benchmarks. In a real life network, it is shown that while the accuracy is not significantly decreased, the real-time factor of the state estimation is increased by a factor of 10. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heat exchanger design for hot air ericsson-brayton piston engine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ďurčanský P.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available One of the solutions without negative consequences for the increasing energy consumption in the world may be use of alternative energy sources in micro-cogeneration. Currently it is looking for different solutions and there are many possible ways. Cogeneration is known for long time and is widely used. But the installations are often large and the installed output is more suitable for cities or industry companies. When we will speak about decentralization, the small machines have to be used. The article deals with the principle of hot-air engines, their use in combined heat and electricity production from biomass and with heat exchangers as primary energy transforming element. In the article is hot air engine presented as a heat engine that allows the conversion of heat into mechanical energy while heat supply can be external. In the contribution are compared cycles of hot-air engine. Then are compared suitable heat exchangers for use with hot air Ericsson-Brayton engine. In the final part is proposal of heat exchanger for use in closed Ericsson-Brayton cycle.

Heat exchanger design for hot air ericsson-brayton piston engine

Science.gov (United States)

Ďurčanský, P.; Lenhard, R.; Jandačka, J.

2014-03-01

One of the solutions without negative consequences for the increasing energy consumption in the world may be use of alternative energy sources in micro-cogeneration. Currently it is looking for different solutions and there are many possible ways. Cogeneration is known for long time and is widely used. But the installations are often large and the installed output is more suitable for cities or industry companies. When we will speak about decentralization, the small machines have to be used. The article deals with the principle of hot-air engines, their use in combined heat and electricity production from biomass and with heat exchangers as primary energy transforming element. In the article is hot air engine presented as a heat engine that allows the conversion of heat into mechanical energy while heat supply can be external. In the contribution are compared cycles of hot-air engine. Then are compared suitable heat exchangers for use with hot air Ericsson-Brayton engine. In the final part is proposal of heat exchanger for use in closed Ericsson-Brayton cycle.

Contesting sharia : state law, decentralization and Minangkabau custom

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Huda, Yasrul

2013-01-01

This book explains how Sharia, commonly called Perda Sharia (Sharia by-law) in Indonesia, was legislated on the provincial, regional and municipal level in West Sumatra. This process began after the government started a decentralization policy in 2000. Although the law of local autonomy prescribes

The influence of decentralization on effectiveness of extension ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Against the background of frequent organisational changes and restructuring, often based on impulsive decisions rather than structured feasibility studies or evaluations, this article examines the influence of decentralization on the performance of an extension organization. Based on a survey of 353 respondents from ...

Decentralized Heat Supply – Alternative to Centralized One

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. I. Nazarov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a concrete example that shows comparative characteristics of decentralized and centralized heat supply. It has been shown in the paper that selection of this or that variant of heat supply significantly depends on losses in heat supply networks.

Online Simultaneous Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange of Multitarget Gas-Phase Molecules by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Coupled with Gas Chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Eun Sook; Cha, Eunju; Cha, Sangwon; Kim, Sunghwan; Oh, Han Bin; Kwon, Oh-Seung; Lee, Jaeick

2017-11-21

In this study, a hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange method using gas chromatography-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (GC-ESI/MS) was first investigated as a novel tool for online H/D exchange of multitarget analytes. The GC and ESI source were combined with a homemade heated column transfer line. GC-ESI/MS-based H/D exchange occurs in an atmospheric pressure ion source as a result of reacting the gas-phase analyte eluted from GC with charged droplets of deuterium oxide infused as the ESI spray solvent. The consumption of the deuterated solvent at a flow rate of 2 μL min -1 was more economical than that in online H/D exchange methods reported to date. In-ESI-source H/D exchange by GC-ESI/MS was applied to 11 stimulants with secondary amino or hydroxyl groups. After H/D exchange, the spectra of the stimulants showed unexchanged, partially exchanged, and fully exchanged ions showing various degrees of exchange. The relative abundances corrected for naturally occurring isotopes of the fully exchanged ions of stimulants, except for etamivan, were in the range 24.3-85.5%. Methylephedrine and cyclazodone showed low H/D exchange efficiency under acidic, neutral, and basic spray solvent conditions and nonexchange for etamivan with an acidic phenolic OH group. The in-ESI-source H/D exchange efficiency by GC-ESI/MS was sufficient to determine the number of hydrogen by elucidation of fragmentation from the spectrum. Therefore, this online H/D exchange technique using GC-ESI/MS has potential as an alternative method for simultaneous H/D exchange of multitarget analytes.

Multi-layer membrane model for mass transport in a direct ethanol fuel cell using an alkaline anion exchange membrane

Science.gov (United States)

Bahrami, Hafez; Faghri, Amir

2012-11-01

A one-dimensional, isothermal, single-phase model is presented to investigate the mass transport in a direct ethanol fuel cell incorporating an alkaline anion exchange membrane. The electrochemistry is analytically solved and the closed-form solution is provided for two limiting cases assuming Tafel expressions for both oxygen reduction and ethanol oxidation. A multi-layer membrane model is proposed to properly account for the diffusive and electroosmotic transport of ethanol through the membrane. The fundamental differences in fuel crossover for positive and negative electroosmotic drag coefficients are discussed. It is found that ethanol crossover is significantly reduced upon using an alkaline anion exchange membrane instead of a proton exchange membrane, especially at current densities higher than 500 A m

Distributed and decentralized control architectures for converter-interfaced microgrids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dragicevic, Tomislav; Wu, Dan; Shafiee, Qobad

2017-01-01

This paper gives a summary on recently available technologies for decentralized and distributed control of microgrids. They can be classified into two general categories: 1) power line communication based architectures and 2) multi-agent based architectures. The essential control methods and info......This paper gives a summary on recently available technologies for decentralized and distributed control of microgrids. They can be classified into two general categories: 1) power line communication based architectures and 2) multi-agent based architectures. The essential control methods...... and information sharing algorithms applied in these architectures are reviewed and examined in a hierarchical manner, in order to point out benefits they will bring to future microgrid applications. The paper is concluded with a summary on existing methods and a discussion on future development trends....

Analysis of Decentralized Control for Absorption Cycle Heat Pumps

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinther, Kasper; Just Nielsen, Rene; Nielsen, Kirsten Mølgaard

2015-01-01

Email Print Request Permissions This paper investigates decentralized control structures for absorption cycle heat pumps and a dynamic nonlinear model of a single-effect LiBr-water absorption system is used as case study. The model has four controllable inputs, which can be used to stabilize...... the operation of the heat pump under different load conditions. Different feasible input-output pairings are analyzed by computation of relative gain array matrices and scaled condition numbers, which indicate the best pairing choice and the potential of each input-output set. Further, it is possible...... to minimize the effect of cross couplings and improve stability with the right pairing of input and output. Simulation of selected candidate input-output pairings demonstrate that decentralized control can provide stable operation of the heat pump....

Decentralized safety concept for closed-loop controlled intensive care.

Science.gov (United States)

Kühn, Jan; Brendle, Christian; Stollenwerk, André; Schweigler, Martin; Kowalewski, Stefan; Janisch, Thorsten; Rossaint, Rolf; Leonhardt, Steffen; Walter, Marian; Kopp, Rüdger

2017-04-01

This paper presents a decentralized safety concept for networked intensive care setups, for which a decentralized network of sensors and actuators is realized by embedded microcontroller nodes. It is evaluated for up to eleven medical devices in a setup for automated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) therapy. In this contribution we highlight a blood pump supervision as exemplary safety measure, which allows a reliable bubble detection in an extracorporeal blood circulation. The approach is validated with data of animal experiments including 35 bubbles with a size between 0.05 and 0.3 ml. All 18 bubbles with a size down to 0.15 ml are successfully detected. By using hidden Markov models (HMMs) as statistical method the number of necessary sensors can be reduced by two pressure sensors.

Impact of Fiscal Decentralization on Motor Vehicle Taxation in the Slovak Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konečný Vladimír

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The article deals with the motor vehicle tax in relation with fiscal decentralization, particularly from 2005 with competence delegated to the self-governing regions in the area of motor vehicle tax. The result of this provision in the field of fiscal decentralization is increasing of differences in the motor vehicle tax burden in self-governing regions of Slovakia. The paper is the result of solving a series of impact studies solved by the authors in this field. Gradually over time from the transfer of competences in setting tax rates on motor vehicles to self-governing regions and usage of the incomes of this tax can realistically assess the development and impact of this element of fiscal decentralization in the Slovak Republic as well as propose a solution of resulting situation. The aim is to eliminate differences in motor vehicle tax burden at regional and interstate level while maintaining the current level of tax revenues of self-governing regions.

Decentralized cooperative spectrum sensing for ad-hoc disaster relief network clusters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pratas, Nuno; Marchetti, Nicola; Prasad, Neeli R.

2010-01-01

cooperative schemes becomes essential. A cluster based decentralized orchestration cooperative sensing scheme is proposed, where each node in the cluster decides which spectrum it should monitor, according to the past sensing decisions of all the cluster nodes. The proposed scheme performance is evaluated...... through a framework, which allows gauging the accuracy of multi narrow-band spectrum sensing cooperative schemes as well as to gauge the error in the estimation of each of the channels un-occupancy. Through that evaluation it is shown that the proposed decentralized scheme performance reaches...... the performance of the correspondent centralized scheme while outperforming the Round Robin scheme....

Near Optimal Decentralized H-infinity Control: Bounded vs. Unbounded Controller Order

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stoustrup, Jakob; Niemann, H.H.

1997-01-01

It is shown that for a class of decentralized control problems there does not exist a sequence of controllers of bounded order which obtains near optimal control. Neither does there exist an infinite dimensional optimal controller. Using the insight of the line of proof of these results, a heuris......It is shown that for a class of decentralized control problems there does not exist a sequence of controllers of bounded order which obtains near optimal control. Neither does there exist an infinite dimensional optimal controller. Using the insight of the line of proof of these results...

Implementation of the Decentralization Reform in Ukraine: Current Issues of Public Administration Modernization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yaroshenko Igor V.

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The need of all parts of the modern Ukrainian society for structural transformations determines the direction of development of the country and its territories. One of such priority vectors is the decentralization reform, efficiency of which is inextricably linked with the changes that occur in all vital for the development of society and every individual public areas: public administration, judicial system, law enforcement bodies, deregulation and development of business, banking and financial sectors, innovation and trade policies, education, medicine and other sectors of the economy and social sphere. The initiated in Ukraine transformations, including the decentralization of public power, require further legislative changes and desire of all public institutions to ensure their effective implementation through public initiative and public support. Monitoring the course of the decentralization reform in Ukraine has demonstrated little actual results of its implementation. Today an adequate legislation framework concerning the powers, resources and responsibilities has not been established yet. It is advisable to carry out a profound theoretical and practical study of the world and Ukrainian experience, develop and introduce an own science-based system of power decentralization with consideration for historical, ideological, cultural, social, economic, geographical and other features of the country, while taking into account the best practices, which can be effectively used.

Decentralized energy: technology assessment and systems description. [Potential for implementation for years 2000 and 2025

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reckard, M K

1979-06-01

Decentralized energy systems and their characteristic features are examined in the report. These systems have been divided into six groups for the purpose of analysis: solar, wind, hydro, biomass, geothermal, and coproduction (total energy). The technical and economic potential for the implementation of these systems is discussed for the years 2000 and 2025. The results of a comparison of base-case and decentralized scenarios for the year 2000, using a computer systems model, are presented. Social and institutional factors are also addressed, both as motivations for and results of energy system decentralization. Appendices are included with more detailed technical information on each of the systems groups.

Electrical Load Survey and Forecast for a Decentralized Hybrid ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Electrical Load Survey and Forecast for a Decentralized Hybrid Power System at Elebu, Kwara State, Nigeria. ... Nigerian Journal of Technology ... The paper reports the results of electrical load demand and forecast for Elebu rural community ...

Blockchain technology and decentralized governance: Is the state still necessary?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcella Atzori

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The core technology of Bitcoin, the blockchain, has recently emerged as a disruptive innovation with a wide range of applications, potentially able to redesign our interactions in business, politics and society at large. Although scholarly interest in this subject is growing, a comprehensive analysis of blockchain applications from a political perspective is severely lacking to date. This paper aims to fill this gap and it discusses the key points of blockchain-based decentralized governance, which challenges to varying degrees the traditional mechanisms of State authority, citizenship and democracy. In particular, the paper verifies to which extent blockchain and decentralized platforms can be considered as hyper-political tools, capable to manage social interactions on large scale and dismiss traditional central authorities. The analysis highlights risks related to a dominant position of private powers in distributed ecosystems, which may lead to a general disempowerment of citizens and to the emergence of a stateless global society. While technological utopians urge the demise of any centralized institution, this paper advocates the role of the State as a necessary central point of coordination in society, showing that decentralization through algorithm-based consensus is an organizational theory, not a stand-alone political theory.

Decentralized energy conversion of biomass from Amstelland. The feasibility of decentralized use of energy from green wastes in the municipality Amstelveen and its environs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brouwer, H.D.

1997-10-01

The aim of the study on the title subject is to determine the enviro-technical and economical feasibility of decentralized biomass conversion as part of the green area and energy infrastructure of the region Amstelland, Netherlands. The parts of the study concern a regional inventory of green wastes in Amstelland, an energy demand analysis of conversion sites in the region, a logistic analysis, an evaluation of technical options (cogeneration, combustion, gasification), business economical analysis of the investments, determining the support and willingness to contribute and cooperate, and drafting a final report. Based on the results of the report decisions can be made whether or not the design and installation of a decentralized biomass conversion system should be elaborated in detail. 16 refs

Towards a (Decentralization-Based Typology of Peer Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melanie Dulong de Rosnay

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Online peer-production platforms facilitate the coordination of creative work and services. Generally considered as empowering participatory tools and a source of common good, they can also be, however, alienating instruments of digital labour. This paper proposes a typology of peer-production platforms, based on the centralization/decentralization levels of several of their design features. Between commons-based peer-production and crowdsourced, user-generated content “enclosed” by corporations, a wide range of models combine different social, political, technical and economic arrangements. This combined analysis of the level of (decentralization of platform features provides information on emancipation capabilities in a more granular way than a market-based qualification of platforms, based on the nature of ownership or business models only. The five selected features of the proposed typology are: ownership of means of production, technical architecture/design, social organization/governance of work patterns, ownership of the peer-produced resource, and value of the output.

Centralized vs. Decentralized Nursing Stations: An Evaluation of the Implications of Communication Technologies in Healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayramzadeh, Sara; Alkazemi, Mariam F

2014-01-01

This study aims to explore the relationship between the nursing station design and use of communication technologies by comparing centralized and decentralized nursing stations. The rapid changes in communication technologies in healthcare are inevitable. Communication methods can change the way occupants use a space. In the meantime, decentralized nursing stations are emerging as a replacement for the traditional centralized nursing stations; however, not much research has been done on how the design of nursing stations can impact the use of communication technologies. A cross sectional study was conducted using an Internet-based survey among registered nurses in a Southeastern hospital in the United States. Two units with centralized nursing stations and two units with decentralized nursing stations were compared in terms of the application of communication technologies. A total of 70 registered nurses completed the survey in a 2-week period. The results revealed no significant differences between centralized and decentralized nursing stations in terms of frequency of communication technologies used. However, a difference was found between perception of nurses toward communication technologies and perceptions of the use of communication technologies in decentralized nursing stations. Although the study was limited to one hospital, the results indicate that nurses hold positive attitudes toward communication technologies. The results also reveal the strengths and weaknesses of each nursing station design with regard to communication technologies. Hospital, interdisciplinary, nursing, technology, work environment.

An empirical analysis of the green paradox in China: From the perspective of fiscal decentralization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Kun; Zhang, Zong-Yong; Liang, Qiao-Mei

2017-01-01

While it is generally recognized that the introduction of environmental policy can effectively control carbon emissions, the green paradox hypothesis puts forth a new warning about the validity of this policy's implementation. This study uses panel data on 29 Chinese provinces from 1995 to 2012 to investigate the impact of fiscal decentralization on the functional mechanisms of environmental policy while controlling for the spatial correlations of carbon emission. The empirical results indicate that environmental policy alone can achieve the objective of reducing carbon emissions. However, the Chinese style fiscal decentralization makes the environmental policy significantly promote carbon emissions, leading to a green paradox. Moreover, we find that the impact of fiscal decentralization on environmental policy varies greatly among different geographical regions and the direct-controlled municipalities. In addition, our study confirms the spatial correlations in China's carbon emissions by using a spatial integration term. Finally, we recommend that emission reduction efforts should be incorporated into the local government's performance evaluation system to improve the institutional environment. Further, differentiated environmental policies and measures should be considered for different provinces to maximize the emission reduction potential. - Highlights: • We consider the spatial correlations of carbon emissions in neighboring provinces. • The impacts of environmental regulation on carbon emissions are examined. • Fiscal decentralization is not beneficial to environmental policy implementation. • The effects of fiscal decentralization vary greatly among different regions.

Next Generation Microchannel Heat Exchangers

CERN Document Server

Ohadi, Michael; Dessiatoun, Serguei; Cetegen, Edvin

2013-01-01

In Next Generation Microchannel Heat Exchangers, the authors’ focus on the new generation highly efficient heat exchangers and presentation of novel data and technical expertise not available in the open literature.  Next generation micro channels offer record high heat transfer coefficients with pressure drops much less than conventional micro channel heat exchangers. These inherent features promise fast penetration into many mew markets, including high heat flux cooling of electronics, waste heat recovery and energy efficiency enhancement applications, alternative energy systems, as well as applications in mass exchangers and chemical reactor systems. The combination of up to the minute research findings and technical know-how make this book very timely as the search for high performance heat and mass exchangers that can cut costs in materials consumption intensifies.

Decentralized Consistent Network Updates in SDN with ez-Segway

KAUST Repository

Nguyen, Thanh Dang; Chiesa, Marco; Canini, Marco

2017-01-01

We present ez-Segway, a decentralized mechanism to consistently and quickly update the network state while preventing forwarding anomalies (loops and black-holes) and avoiding link congestion. In our design, the centralized SDN controller only pre-computes

[Mechanisms for allocating financial resources after decentralization in the state of Jalisco].

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Núñez, Ricardo; Arredondo-López, Armando; Pelcastre, Blanca

2006-01-01

To analyze, from the decision maker's perspective, the financial resource allocation process of the health services of the state of Jalisco (SSJ, per its abbreviation in spanish), within the context of decentralization. Through a qualitative approximation using semi-structured individual interviews of key personnel in managerial positions as the method for compiling information, the experience of the SSJ in financial resource allocation was documented. From September to November 2003, the perception of managers and administrators regarding their level of autonomy in decision-making was explored as well as the process they follow for the allocation of financial resources, in order to identify the criteria they use and their justifications. From the point of view of decision-makers, autonomy of the SSJ has increased considerably since decentralization was implemented, although the degree of decision-making freedom remains limited due mainly to high adminstrative costs associated with salaries. In this sense, the implications attributable to labor situations that are still centralized are evident. Some innovative systems for financial resource allocation have been established in the SSJ for the sanitary regions and hospitals based upon administrative-managerial and productivity incentives. Adjustments were also made for degree of marginalization and population lag, under the equity criterion. General work conditions and decision-making autonomy of the sanitary regions constitute outstanding aspects pending decentralization. Although decentralization has granted more autonomy to the SSJ, the level of decision-making freedom for allocating financial resources has been held within the highest hierarchical levels.

Energy performance of an innovative liquid desiccant dehumidification system with a counter-flow heat and mass exchanger using potassium formate

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jradi, Muhyiddine; Riffat, Saffa

2014-01-01

An innovative micro-scale liquid desiccant dehumidification system is numerically investigated. The liquid desiccant dehumidification unit employs a counter-flow low-cost and efficient heat and mass exchange core, improving the thermal performance and eliminating desiccant carryover...... that the dehumidifier effectiveness is directly proportional to the intake air temperature, intake air relative humidity and liquid desiccant flow rate where the effectiveness is inversely proportional to the intake air velocity and the heat exchanger air channel height....

Administrative Decentralization in School Systems and Its Effect on the Organization of Media Services. Atlanta Public Schools: A Case Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, R. David

This study reviews the literature on public school administration and on decentralization to establish the groundwork for an analysis of the administration of a decentralized school system and its media services, discusses some of the confusion in the centralization vs. decentralization debate, and presents a heuristic study of the administration…

A Logic for Auditing Accountability in Decentralized Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Corin, R.J.; Etalle, Sandro; den Hartog, Jeremy; Lenzini, Gabriele; Staicu, I.

We propose a language that allows agents to distribute data with usage policies in a decentralized architecture. In our framework, the compliance with usage policies is not enforced. However, agents may be audited by an authority at an arbitrary moment in time. We design a logic that allows audited

Decentralized School vs. Centralized School. Investigation No. 3.

Science.gov (United States)

Paseur, C. Herbert

A report is presented of a comparative investigation of a decentralized and a centralized school facility. Comparative data are provided regarding costs of the facilities, amount of educational area provided by the facilities, and types of educational areas provided. Evaluative comments are included regarding cost savings versus educational…

Development and application of out-of-focus imaging in order to characterize heat and mass exchanges in two-phase flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemaitre, P.; Porcheron, E.; Marchand, D.; Nuboer, A.; Bouilloux, L.; Vendel, J.

2007-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present the capacity of the out-of-focus imaging in order to measure droplets size in presence of heat and mass exchanges. It is supported with optical simulations first based on geometrical optics, and then with the Lorenz-Mie theory. Finally, this technique is applied in presence of heat and mass transfers in the TOSQAN experiment. (authors)

Coordinating decentralized optimization of truck and shovel mining operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cheng, R.; Fraser Forbes, J. [Alberta Univ., Edmonton, AB (Canada). Dept. of Chemical and Materials Engineering; San Yip, W. [Suncor Energy, Fort McMurray, AB (Canada)

2006-07-01

Canada's oil sands contain the largest known reserve of oil in the world. Oil sands mining uses 3 functional processes, ore hauling, overburden removal and mechanical maintenance. The industry relies mainly on truck-and-shovel technology in its open-pit mining operations which contributes greatly to the overall mining operation cost. Coordination between operating units is crucial for achieving an enterprise-wide optimal operation level. Some of the challenges facing the industry include multiple or conflicting objectives such as minimizing the use of raw materials and energy while maximizing production. The large sets of constraints that define the feasible domain pose as challenge, as does the uncertainty in system parameters. One solution lies in assigning truck resources to various activities. This fully decentralized approach would treat the optimization of ore production, waste removal and equipment maintenance independently. It was emphasized that mine-wide optimal operation can only be achieved by coordinating ore hauling and overburden removal processes. For that reason, this presentation proposed a coordination approach for a decentralized optimization system. The approach is based on the Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition and auction-based methods that have been previously used to decompose large-scale optimization problems. The treatment of discrete variables and coordinator design was described and the method was illustrated with a simple truck and shovel mining simulation study. The approach can be applied to a wide range of applications such as coordinating decentralized optimal control systems and scheduling. 16 refs., 3 tabs., 2 figs.

Conformational analysis of g protein-coupled receptor signaling by hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Sheng; Lee, Su Youn; Chung, Ka Young

2015-01-01

Conformational change and protein-protein interactions are two major mechanisms of membrane protein signal transduction, including G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Upon agonist binding, GPCRs change conformation, resulting in interaction with downstream signaling molecules such as G proteins. To understand the precise signaling mechanism, studies have investigated the structural mechanism of GPCR signaling using X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), or electron paramagnetic resonance. In addition to these techniques, hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) has recently been used in GPCR studies. HDX-MS measures the rate at which peptide amide hydrogens exchange with deuterium in the solvent. Exposed or flexible regions have higher exchange rates and excluded or ordered regions have lower exchange rates. Therefore, HDX-MS is a useful tool for studying protein-protein interfaces and conformational changes after protein activation or protein-protein interactions. Although HDX-MS does not give high-resolution structures, it analyzes protein conformations that are difficult to study with X-ray crystallography or NMR. Furthermore, conformational information from HDX-MS can help in the crystallization of X-ray crystallography by suggesting highly flexible regions. Interactions between GPCRs and downstream signaling molecules are not easily analyzed by X-ray crystallography or NMR because of the large size of the GPCR-signaling molecule complexes, hydrophobicity, and flexibility of GPCRs. HDX-MS could be useful for analyzing the conformational mechanism of GPCR signaling. In this chapter, we discuss details of HDX-MS for analyzing GPCRs using the β2AR-G protein complex as a model system. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Performance of centralized versus decentralized tuberculosis treatment services in Southern Brazil, 2006-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheffer, Mara Cristina; Prim, Rodrigo Ivan; Wildner, Leticia Muraro; Medeiros, Taiane Freitas; Maurici, Rosemeri; Kupek, Emil; Bazzo, Maria Luiza

2018-04-25

Tuberculosis (TB) control programs face the challenges of decreasing incidence, mortality rates, and drug resistance while increasing treatment adherence. The Brazilian TB control program recommended the decentralization of patient care as a strategy for combating the disease. This study evaluated the performance of this policy in an area with high default rates, comparing epidemiological and operational indicators between two similar municipalities. This study analyzed epidemiological and operational indicators on new cases of pulmonary tuberculosis reported in the Brazilian Notifiable Diseases Information System between 2006 and 2015. In addition, to characterize differences between the populations of the two studied municipalities, a prospective cohort study was conducted between 2014 and 2015, in which patients with new cases of culture-confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis were interviewed and monitored until the disease outcome. A descriptive analysis, the chi-square test, and a Poisson regression model were employed to compare TB treatment outcomes and health care indicators between the municipalities. Two thousand three hundred nine cases were evaluated, of which 207 patients were interviewed. Over the 2006-2015 period, TB incidence per 100,000 population in the municipality with decentralized care was significantly higher (39%, 95% CI 27-49%) in comparison to that of the municipality with centralized care. TB treatment default rate (45%, 95% CI 12-90%) was also higher in the municipality with decentralized care. During the two-year follow-up, significant differences were found between patients in centralized care and those in decentralized care regarding treatment success (84.5 vs. 66.1%), treatment default (10.7 vs. 25.8%), illicit drug use (27.7 vs. 45.9%), and homelessness (3.6 vs. 12.9%). The operational indicators revealed that the proportion of control smear tests, medical imaging, and HIV tests were all significantly higher in the centralized care

Decentralized Wastewater Management Solutions for Improved Public Health Protection and Reclamation: Optimization and Application

OpenAIRE

Naik, Kartiki Shirish

2014-01-01

Centralized wastewater treatment, widely practiced in developed areas, involves transporting wastewater from large urban or industrial areas to a large capacity plant using a single network of sewers. Alternatively, the concept of wastewater collection, treatment and reuse at or near its point of generation is called decentralized wastewater treatment. Smaller decentralized plants with energy-efficient reclaimed water pumping, modularization of expansion and minimum capital investment can mee...

Fears of Redistribution, Decentralization and Secession: Evidence from Bolivia’s Referendum for Departmental Autonomy

OpenAIRE

Werner L. Hernani-Limarino

2006-01-01

Recent years have witnessed strong movements toward decentralization and secession. The former Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovaquia and Serbia and Montenegro have disintegrated. Movements for regional autonomy and even independence have gained larger support in Bolivia, Canada, Spain, France and Italy. What is the importance of redistributive politics in explaining decentralization and secession outcomes in a democratic polity? This paper attempts to answer this question building a simpl...

Research on Calculation of the IOL Tilt and Decentration Based on Surface Fitting

OpenAIRE

Li, Lin; Wang, Ke; Yan, Yan; Song, Xudong; Liu, Zhicheng

2013-01-01

The tilt and decentration of intraocular lens (IOL) result in defocussing, astigmatism, and wavefront aberration after operation. The objective is to give a method to estimate the tilt and decentration of IOL more accurately. Based on AS-OCT images of twelve eyes from eight cases with subluxation lens after operation, we fitted spherical equation to the data obtained from the images of the anterior and posterior surfaces of the IOL. By the established relationship between IOL tilt (decentrati...

Feedback-linearization and feedback-feedforward decentralized control for multimachine power system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Tuglie, Enrico [Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell' Ambiente, e per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile - DIASS, Politecnico di Bari, Viale del Turismo 8, 74100 Taranto (Italy); Iannone, Silvio Marcello; Torelli, Francesco [Dipartimento di Elettrotecnica, ed Elettronica - DEE, Politecnico di Bari, Via Re David 200, 70125 Bari (Italy)

2008-03-15

In this paper a decentralized nonlinear controller for large-scale power systems is investigated. The proposed controller design is based on the input-output feedback linearization methodology. In order to overcome computational difficulties in adopting such methodology, the overall interconnected nonlinear system, given as n-order, is analyzed as a cascade connection of an n{sub 1}-order nonlinear subsystem and an n{sub 2}-order linear subsystem. The controller design is obtained by applying input-output feedback linearization to the nonlinear subsystem and adopting a tracking control scheme, based on feedback-feedforward technique, for the linear subsystem. In the assumed system model, which is characterised by an interconnected structure between generating units, a decentralised adaptive controller is implemented by decentralizing these constraints. The use of a totally decentralised controller implies a system performance decay with respect to performance when the system is equipped with a centralised controller. Fortunately, the robustness of the proposed controller, based on input-output feedback procedure, guarantees good performance in terms of disturbance even when disturbances are caused by decentralization of interconnection constraints. Test results, provided on the IEEE 30 bus test system, demonstrate the effectiveness and practical applicability of proposed methodology. (author)

Financial decentralization and its impact on local finance system of Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. V. Mizina

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The article researches the influence of the process of financial decentralization system on local finance system in Ukraine. Author determined the basic transformations of local finances system as a result of reform measures and ways to adapt to new conditions. The basic characteristics of the changing role of public authorities and local governments, their relationships and relationships in the system, strengthening public participation in decision­making of local importance are revealed. The main requirements of local finances taking into account the impact of fiscal decentralization processes are formulated. They include the formation of an effective and sustainable framework for the mobilization of financial resources within each territorial community; providing sufficient resources for sustainable and dynamic development at the local level; improve management of local finances with the application process and project approaches. An action plan to change the system of local finance Ukraine in the context of fiscal decentralization on a 5­year period is proposed. The action plan envisages normalization of regulatory provisions in the area of local finance, training local government officials, development resources, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the current system of local finance.

RIGHT TO ACCESS INFORMATION IN DECENTRALIZED INDONESIA: A SOCIO-LEGAL INQUIRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herlambang Perdana Wiratraman

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Indonesia is no longer an authoritarian country, and no longer centralized government. Decentralization processes since 1999 has changed local democratization in a wider participation. Nevertheless, the culture of openness and incorrupt have been far from the more ideal situation. Bribery, corruption and unresponsive public services have been continuously and more systematic taking place. In that context, the Government of Indonesia enacted Law No. 14 of 2008 concerning Public Information Openness (Keterbukaan Informasi Publik or called PIO Law, which is implemented since 30 April 2010. The PIO law is believed to contribute to the better decentralization processes and economic-political democratization at local level. Nevertheless, although right to access information was guaranteed by law, but it has been applied in limited process. Such situation actually gives clear evidence that decentralized Indonesia should be questioned, especially in terms of how the right to access information has been applied in a meaningful way after the enactment PIO Law in 2008 and, what the dominant problems in implementing right to access information are. This article will elaborate the norms and practices of PIO Law by using the rule of law point of view.

Numerical study of a novel counter-flow heat and mass exchanger for dew point evaporative cooling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, X.; Riffat, S.B. [School of the Built Environment, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom); Li, J.M. [Department of Thermal Engineering, Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

2008-10-15

The paper presents numerical investigation of a novel counter-flow heat and mass exchanger used in the indirect evaporative dew point cooling systems, a potential alternative to the conventional mechanical compression air conditioning systems. Numeric simulation was carried out to optimise the geometrical sizes and operating conditions of the exchanger in order to enhance the cooling (dew point and wet bulb) effectiveness of the exchanger and maximise the energy efficiency of the dew point cooling system. The results of the simulations indicated that cooling (dew point and wet bulb) effectiveness and energy efficiency are largely dependent on the dimensions of the airflow passages, air velocity and working-to-intake-air ratio, and less dependent on the temperature of the feed water. It is recommended that exchanger intake air velocity should be controlled to a value below 0.3-0.5 m/s; height of air passage (channel) should be set to 6 mm or below and the length of the passage should be 200 time the height; the working-to-intake-air ratio should be around 0.4. Under the UK summer design condition, i.e., 28{sup o}C of dry bulb temperature, 20{sup o}C of wet bulb temperature and 16{sup o}C of dew point temperature, the exchanger can achieve wet-bulb effectiveness of up to 1.3 and dew-point effectiveness of up to 0.9. (author)

Temperature- and body mass-related variation in cyclic gas exchange characteristics and metabolic rate of seven weevil species: Broader implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Klok, C J; Chown, S L

2005-07-01

The influence of temperature on metabolic rate and characteristics of the gas exchange patterns of flightless, sub-Antarctic Ectemnorhinus-group species from Heard and Marion islands was investigated. All of the species showed cyclic gas exchange with no Flutter period, indicating that these species are not characterized by discontinuous gas exchange cycles. Metabolic rate estimates were substantially lower in this study than in a previous one of a subset of the species, demonstrating that open-system respirometry methods provide more representative estimates of standard metabolic rate than do many closed-system methods. We recommend that the latter, and especially constant-pressure methods, either be abandoned for estimates of standard metabolic rate in insects, or have their outputs subject to careful scrutiny, given the wide availability of the former. V(.)CO(2) increase with an increase in temperature (range: 0-15 degrees C) was modulated by an increase in cycle frequency, but typically not by an increase in burst volume. Previous investigations of temperature-related changes in cyclic gas exchange (both cyclic and discontinuous) in several other insect species were therefore substantiated. Interspecific mass-scaling of metabolic rate (ca. 0.466-0.573, excluding and including phylogenetic non-independence, respectively) produced an exponent lower than 0.75 (but not distinguishable from it or from 0.67). The increase of metabolic rate with mass was modulated by an increase in burst volume and not by a change in cycle frequency, in keeping with investigations of species showing discontinuous gas exchange. These findings are discussed in the context of the emerging macrophysiological metabolic theory of ecology.

The Role of Delay and Connectivity in Throughput Reduction of Cooperative Decentralized Wireless Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Alkhayyat

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We proposed a multiple relay selection protocol for decentralized wireless networks. The proposed relays selection protocol aims to address three issues: (1 selecting relays within the coverage area of the source and destination to ensure that the relays are positioned one hop away from the destination, (2 ensuring that the best node (best relays with less distance and attenuation from the destination access the channel first, and (3 ensuring that the proposed relays selection is collision-free. Our analysis also considers three important characteristics of decentralized wireless networks that are directly affected by cooperation: delay, connectivity, and throughput. The main goal of this paper is to demonstrate that improving connectivity and increasing number of relays reduce the throughput of cooperative decentralized wireless networks; consequently, a trade-off equation has been derived.

Coalition or decentralization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mahdiraji, Hannan Amoozad; Govindan, Kannan; Zavadskas, Edmundas Kazimieras

2014-01-01

retailers. The Nash equilibrium and definition are used bearing in mind inventory and pricing and marketing cost as decision variables for this matter. This paper studies a three-echelon supply chain network and focuses on the value of integrating a pair of partners in the chain. In the decentralized case......, the supplier sets its own price, the manufacturer points out order quantity, wholesale price and backorder quantity, and the retailer charges the final retail price of the product and marketing product. Though there are multiple players at a single echelon level, each manufacturer supplies only a specific...... to enforce marketing effort any more. Supplier-manufacturer integration brings similar benefits. Under each scenario, all parties involved simultaneously set their strategies. Through a numerical experiment, 17 design cases (through designing experiments) have been developed and the total profit...

Centralized vs. decentralized nursing stations: effects on nurses' functional use of space and work environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Zborowsky, Terri; Bunker-Hellmich, Lou; Morelli, Agneta; O'Neill, Mike

2010-01-01

Evidence-based findings of the effects of nursing station design on nurses' work environment and work behavior are essential to improve conditions and increase retention among these fundamental members of the healthcare delivery team. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate how nursing station design (i.e., centralized and decentralized nursing station layouts) affected nurses' use of space, patient visibility, noise levels, and perceptions of the work environment. Advances in information technology have enabled nurses to move away from traditional centralized paper-charting stations to smaller decentralized work stations and charting substations located closer to, or inside of, patient rooms. Improved understanding of the trade-offs presented by centralized and decentralized nursing station design has the potential to provide useful information for future nursing station layouts. This information will be critical for understanding the nurse environment "fit." The study used an exploratory design with both qualitative and quantitative methods. Qualitative data regarding the effects of nursing station design on nurses' health and work environment were gathered by means of focus group interviews. Quantitative data-gathering techniques included place- and person-centered space use observations, patient visibility assessments, sound level measurements, and an online questionnaire regarding perceptions of the work environment. Nurses on all units were observed most frequently performing telephone, computer, and administrative duties. Time spent using telephones, computers, and performing other administrative duties was significantly higher in the centralized nursing stations. Consultations with medical staff and social interactions were significantly less frequent in decentralized nursing stations. There were no indications that either centralized or decentralized nursing station designs resulted in superior visibility. Sound levels measured in all

A multi-agent decentralized energy management system based on distributed intelligence for the design and control of autonomous polygeneration microgrids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karavas, Christos-Spyridon; Kyriakarakos, George; Arvanitis, Konstantinos G.; Papadakis, George

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A decentralized energy management system based on multi agent systems theory. • A decentralized energy management system is technically feasible. • A decentralized approach utilizes the devices better than a centralized one. • A decentralized energy management system is economically competitive. - Abstract: The autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology has been developed in order to cover holistically needs in a remote area such as electrical energy, space heating and cooling, potable water through desalination and hydrogen as fuel for transportation. The existence of an advanced energy management system is essential for the operation of an autonomous polygeneration microgrid. So far, energy management systems based on a centralized management and control have been developed for the autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology based on computational intelligence approaches. A decentralized management and control energy management system can have important benefits, when taking into consideration the autonomous character of these microgrids. This paper presents the design and investigation of a decentralized energy management system for the autonomous polygeneration microgrid topology. The decentralized energy management system gives the possibility to control each unit of the microgrid independently. The most important advantage of using a decentralized architecture is that the managed microgrid has much higher chances of partial operation in cases when malfunctions occur at different parts of it, instead of a complete system breakdown. The designed system was based on a multi-agent system and employed Fuzzy Cognitive Maps for its implementation. It was then compared through a case study with an existing centralized energy management system. The technical performance of the decentralized solution performance is on par with the existing centralized one, presenting improvements in financial and operational terms for the implementation and

Borehole heat exchangers: Longterm operational characteristics of a decentral geothermal heating system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rybach, L.; Eugster, W.J.; Hopkirk, R.J.; Kaelin, B.

1992-01-01

The heat pump-coupled borehole heat exchanger (BHE) is an efficient and small geothermal energy system for supplying heat typically to a single dwelling house. The long-term performance characteristics have been investigated by computer simulations. The numerical models were validated by measurements at instrumented BHE facilities. The results show the development of a new thermal equilibrium state after the first few years of BHE operation. The thermal influence is limited to the first few meters of the ground surrounding the BHE. The BHE could be scaled up in order to be installed in deep 'failed' holes (e.g. dry geothermal or hydrocarbon exploration holes)

Environmental aspects of decentralized electricity production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry, J.P.

1991-01-01

Renewable energy sources are the focus of considerable interest because they do not place future generations at risk; the development of cogeneration has been favorably received on the whole because it uses energy that would otherwise be lost. Difficulties are sometimes encountered in the development of small-scale hydroelectric facilities (older facilities negative aspects, over production impression in France, etc.). Environmental protection regulations do not distinguish between centralized and decentralized electricity production, but between large and small production facilities

Witnet: A Decentralized Oracle Network Protocol

OpenAIRE

de Pedro, Adán Sánchez; Levi, Daniele; Cuende, Luis Iván

2017-01-01

Witnet is a decentralized oracle network (DON) that connects smart contracts to the outer world. Generally speaking, it allows any piece of software to retrieve the contents published at any web address at a certain point in time, with complete and verifiable proof of its integrity and without blindly trusting any third party. Witnet runs on a blockchain with a native protocol token (called Wit), which miners-called witnesses-earn by retrieving, attesting and delivering web contents for clien...

Protein hydrogen exchange measured at single-residue resolution by electron transfer dissociation mass spectrometry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rand, Kasper D; Zehl, Martin; Jensen, Ole Nørregaard

2009-01-01

Because of unparalleled sensitivity and tolerance to protein size, mass spectrometry (MS) has become a popular method for measuring the solution hydrogen (1H/2H) exchange (HX) of biologically relevant protein states. While incorporated deuterium can be localized to different regions by pepsin....... The deuterium labeling pattern of beta2-microglobulin is retained in the gaseous fragment ions by employing mild declustering conditions for electrospray ionization. A recently developed model peptide is used to arrive at such ion source declustering conditions that prevent the occurrence of intramolecular gas...

Influence of the Budgetary Decentralization on the Economic Growth of Regions of Ukraine: Statistical Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Voznyak Halyna V.

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to define, determine and analyze the interrelationships between the budgetary decentralization and the economic growth of regions of Ukraine under conditions of reforming the power and financial resources. A statistical estimation of the influence of the budgetary decentralization on the economic growth of regions of Ukraine for 2015-2016 is carried out. The application of the panel data modeling allowed to build econometric models that made it possible to determine the ambiguous nature of the budgetary decentralization and identify key factors of its influence. It is shown that in terms of the income and expenditures the budgetary decentralization is positively associated with the economic growth of regions of Ukraine during the chosen time range of the study. The dynamic growth of the own revenues of local budgets is not a catalyst for the economic development of the regions. A strong negative effect of transfers on the dependent variable is confirmed. Among the variables included in the model and additionally characterizing the budgetary decentralization, the single tax and subsidies for the socio-economic development of individual territories attract attention. As a result of the study, the author justifies the need to minimize the transfer dependence of the regions at a simultaneous increasing of their own revenue base with local taxes and fees serving as a reliable basis for a long-term planning and development.

Quantifying risk for decentralized offensive cyber operations

OpenAIRE

Klipstein, Michael S.

2017-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited Includes supplementary material. Reissued 7 Sep 2017 with corrections to committee titles. Computer networks and the amount of information stored within government computer networks have become ubiquitous. With the possible decentralization of authorities to conduct offensive cyber operations, leaders and their respective staffs of organizations below the national level cannot adequately assess risks and consequences of these ope...

Decentralized Local Services for Improvement of Quality of Life in the Republic of Macedonia, Case Study Tetovo Municipality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Memet Memeti

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The process of decentralization in Macedonia began in July 2005, after the adaption of theconstitutional amendments made which triggered the process of the decentralization in the Republic ofMacedonia. Having in mind that the decentralization implied structural changes in the Macedonian politicalsystem and in relations between the central and the local government, the implementation of the process ofthe decentralization was designed with a phased approach in order to accommodate the local governmentinstitutions with the new competencies. Among others the process of decentralization had an objective tobring the local authorities closer to the citizens through provision of quality local services. In addition it aimsto provide an opportunity for broader participation and representation of the citizens in their communities.This paper attempts to answer three main questions related to quality public services: - The process ofdecentralization has helped to improve the quality of public services? - What areas of public services undermunicipal jurisdiction are satisfied with it? - How much would you like to be informed about communityactivities? In this paper we are going to analyze the findings from the field research about the quality ofpublic service that provide the municipality of Tetovo of R. Macedonia. The paper focuses on the satisfactionon the public services and provides recommendations for future improvement of the decentralized publicservices in the Republic of Macedonia.

Simultaneous heat and mass transfer to air from a compact heat exchanger with water spray precooling and surface deluge cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Feini; Bock, Jessica; Jacobi, Anthony M.; Wu, Hailing

2014-01-01

Various methods are available to enhance heat exchanger performance with evaporative cooling. In this study, evaporative mist precooling, deluge cooling, and combined cooling schemes are examined experimentally and compared to model predictions. A flexible model of a compact, finned-tube heat exchanger with a wetted surface is developed by applying the governing conservation and rate equations and invoking the heat and mass transfer analogy. The model is applicable for dry, partially wet, or fully wet surface conditions and capable of predicting local heat/mass transfer, wetness condition, and pressure drop of the heat exchanger. Experimental data are obtained from wind tunnel experiments using a louver-fin flat-tube heat exchanger with single-phase tube-side flow. Total capacity, pressure drop, and water drainage behavior under various water usage rates and air face velocities are analyzed and compared to data for dry-surface conditions. A heat exchanger partitioning method for evaporative cooling is introduced to study partially wet surface conditions, as part of a consistent and general method for interpreting wet-surface performance data. The heat exchanger is partitioned into dry and wet portions by introducing a wet surface factor. For the wet part, the enthalpy potential method is used to determine the air-side sensible heat transfer coefficient. Thermal and hydraulic performance is compared to empirical correlations. Total capacity predictions from the model agree with the experimental results with an average deviation of 12.6%. The model is also exercised for four water augmentation schemes; results support operating under a combined mist precooling and deluge cooling scheme. -- Highlights: • A new spray-cooled heat exchanger model is presented and is validated with data. • Heat duty is shown to be asymptotic with spray flow rate. • Meaningful heat transfer coefficients for partially wet conditions are obtained. • Colburn j wet is lower than j dry

Centralization versus decentralization as a risk-return trade-off

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arcuri, A.; Dari-Mattiacci, G.

2010-01-01

This paper characterizes the choice between centralization and decentralization as a risk‐return trade‐off and examines it in a model that integrates ideas from committee decision‐making and portfolio theories. Centralization, by pooling expertise, rarely yields erroneous decisions; however, when it

The study on water ingress mass in the steam generator heat-exchange tube rupture accident of modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yan; Shi Lei; Li Fu; Zheng Yanhua

2012-01-01

The steam generator heat-exchange tube rupture (SGTR) accident is an important and particular accident which will result in water ingress to the primary loop of reactor. Water ingress will result in chemical reaction of graphite fuel and structure with water, which may cause overpressure due to generation of explosive gaseous in large quantity. The study on the water ingress accident is significant for the verification of the inherent characteristics of high temperature gas-cooled reactor. The previous research shows that the amount of water ingress mass is the dominant key factor on the severity of the accident consequence. The 200 MWe high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR-PM), which is the first modular pebble-bed high temperature gas-cooled reactor in China designed by the Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University, is selected to be analyzed in this paper. The different DBA accident scenarios of double-ended break of single heat-exchange tube are simulated respectively by the thermal-hydraulic analysis code RETRAN-02. The results show the water ingress mass through the broken heat-exchange tube is related to the break location. The amount of water ingress mass is affected obviously by the capacity of the emptier system. With the balance of safety and economical efficiency, the amount of water ingress mass from the secondary side of steam generator into the primary coolant loop will be reduced by increasing properly the diameter of the draining lines. (authors)

Model-Based Design of Tree WSNs for Decentralized Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashraf Tantawy

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The classical decentralized detection problem of finding the optimal decision rules at the sensor and fusion center, as well as variants that introduce physical channel impairments have been studied extensively in the literature. The deployment of WSNs in decentralized detection applications brings new challenges to the field. Protocols for different communication layers have to be co-designed to optimize the detection performance. In this paper, we consider the communication network design problem for a tree WSN. We pursue a system-level approach where a complete model for the system is developed that captures the interactions between different layers, as well as different sensor quality measures. For network optimization, we propose a hierarchical optimization algorithm that lends itself to the tree structure, requiring only local network information. The proposed design approach shows superior performance over several contentionless and contention-based network design approaches.

Iterative learning-based decentralized adaptive tracker for large-scale systems: a digital redesign approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Jason Sheng-Hong; Du, Yan-Yi; Huang, Pei-Hsiang; Guo, Shu-Mei; Shieh, Leang-San; Chen, Yuhua

2011-07-01

In this paper, a digital redesign methodology of the iterative learning-based decentralized adaptive tracker is proposed to improve the dynamic performance of sampled-data linear large-scale control systems consisting of N interconnected multi-input multi-output subsystems, so that the system output will follow any trajectory which may not be presented by the analytic reference model initially. To overcome the interference of each sub-system and simplify the controller design, the proposed model reference decentralized adaptive control scheme constructs a decoupled well-designed reference model first. Then, according to the well-designed model, this paper develops a digital decentralized adaptive tracker based on the optimal analog control and prediction-based digital redesign technique for the sampled-data large-scale coupling system. In order to enhance the tracking performance of the digital tracker at specified sampling instants, we apply the iterative learning control (ILC) to train the control input via continual learning. As a result, the proposed iterative learning-based decentralized adaptive tracker not only has robust closed-loop decoupled property but also possesses good tracking performance at both transient and steady state. Besides, evolutionary programming is applied to search for a good learning gain to speed up the learning process of ILC. Copyright © 2011 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The contribution of fiscal/financial decentralization to the debt expansion of the local financing platform

Science.gov (United States)

Huayang, Yin; Di, Zhou; Bing, Cui

2018-02-01

Using soft budget theory to explore the formation mechanism and the deep institutional incentive of the local financing platform debt expansion from the perspective of fiscal / financial decentralization, construct theoretical framework which explain the expansion of local debt financing platform and conduct an empirical test, the results showed that the higher the degree of fiscal decentralization, fiscal autonomy as a soft constraint body of local government the stronger, local financing platform debt scale is greater; the higher the degree of financial decentralization, local government and financial institutions have the higher autonomy with respect to the central, local financing platform debt scale is bigger; financial synergy degree is stronger, local government financial mutual supervision prompted the local government debt more transparency, local debt financing platform size is smaller.

[Territory and decentralization in the agenda for productive transformation with equity].

Science.gov (United States)

Sojo, A

1991-08-01

The regional perspective and the decentralization in Latin American and Caribbean countries was examined in light of technological changes and transformation of economic production to boost productivity. National population policies were not the major cause of redistribution of the population, rather such transformation significantly changed the comparative regional and urban advantages in the use of territory affecting the spatial distribution of the population. Hypotheses were advanced using the transformation of production, regional development, and decentralization on the retention, attraction, and migration of population in different areas with varying economic conditions. Spurious competitiveness means global strategies of enterprises that establish foreign operations by means of factor sourcing. Flexible specialization is a company strategy of permanent innovation based on flexible equipment and a qualified work force. The increasing transnationalization of capital is the source of skills and technology that sustain competitive advantages. Decentralization can resolve local demand, facilitate access to information, mobilize resources, and exercise control over local operations. In Japan, Germany, and Italy vs. the US and France there is a social contract among companies, trade unions, universities, and regional administrations in the interest of capital and the work force. There is no direct relationship between technology and region, the industrial cluster exhibits systemic competitiveness in developed countries (the Emilian model in Italy affirms the ability of small enterprises to develop new products), the regional impact is diverse relative to new technologies (some deprived rural economic areas have potential as in central and northern Italy), and population and region are linked (regional and rural-urban differences in the growth of population and migratory flows account for spatial distribution of the population). Decentralization and systemic

From centralization to decentralization in Chinese higher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaohong Qian

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Since the late 1970’s, the Chinese government has been gradually changing its traditional policy for providing higher education and has begun to emphasize the comprehensiveness of the universities. Interdisciplinary cooperation and the synergization of resources are being promoted, and institutional autonomy is gradually increasing. Schools and faculties have been restored in universities, and new research institutions, research schools, research centers and the like have been established. From a unitary three-level model— university/department/ teaching and research group—before the reform, the organizational structures of the universities have developed a new organizational structure that is more flexible and more open. This more adaptable structure is intended to meet the developmental demands of modern universities with close links being created between their work and regional economic and social development. China has moved from a very centralized educational system in which the main decisions were taken by the central government to a decentralized educational system. This reform is also taking place within the institutions of higher education, and their internal organizational structure has also become more decentralized.

Thermal performance analysis of heat exchanger for closed wet cooling tower using heat and mass transfer analogy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Seong Yeon; Han, Kyu Hyun; Kim, Jin Hyuck

2010-01-01

In closed wet cooling towers, the heat transfer between the air and external tube surfaces can be composed of the sensible heat transfer and the latent heat transfer. The heat transfer coefficient can be obtained from the equation for external heat transfer of tube banks. According to experimental data, the mass transfer coefficient was affected by the air velocity and spray water flow rate. This study provides the correlation equation for mass transfer coefficient based on the analogy of the heat and mass transfer and the experimental data. The results from this correlation equation showed fairly good agreement with experimental data. The cooling capacity and thermal efficiency of the closed wet cooling tower were calculated from the correlation equation to analyze the performance of heat exchanger for the tower

Development to term of sheep embryos reconstructed after inner cell mass/trophoblast exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Loi, Pasqualino; Galli, Cesare; Lazzari, Giovanna; Matsukawa, Kazutsugu; Fulka, Josef; Goeritz, Frank; Hildebrandt, Thomas B

2018-04-13

Here we report in vitro and term development of sheep embryos after the inner cell mass (ICM) from one set of sheep blastocysts were injected into the trophoblast vesicles of another set. We also observed successful in vitro development of chimeric blastocysts made from sheep trophoblast vesicles injected with bovine ICM. First, we dissected ICMs from 35 sheep blastocysts using a stainless steel microblade and injected them into 29 re-expanded sheep trophoblastic vesicles. Of the 25 successfully micromanipulated trophoblastic vesicles, 15 (51.7%) re-expanded normally and showed proper ICM integration. The seven most well reconstructed embryos were transferred for development to term. Three ewes receiving manipulated blastocysts were pregnant at day 45 (42.8%), and all delivered normal offspring (singletons, two females and one male, average weight: 3.54 ± 0.358 kg). Next, we monitored in vitro development of sheep trophoblasts injected with bovine ICMs. Of 17 injected trophoblastic vesicles, 10 (58.8%) re-expanded after 4 h in culture, and four (40%) exhibited integrated bovine ICM. Our results indicate that ICM/trophoblast exchange is feasible, allowing full term development with satisfactory lambing rate. Therefore, ICM exchange is a promising approach for endangered species conservation.

U-Form vs. M-Form: How to Understand Decision Autonomy Under Healthcare Decentralization? Comment on "Decentralisation of Health Services in Fiji: A Decision Space Analysis".

Science.gov (United States)

Bustamante, Arturo Vargas

2016-06-07

For more than three decades healthcare decentralization has been promoted in developing countries as a way of improving the financing and delivery of public healthcare. Decision autonomy under healthcare decentralization would determine the role and scope of responsibility of local authorities. Jalal Mohammed, Nicola North, and Toni Ashton analyze decision autonomy within decentralized services in Fiji. They conclude that the narrow decision space allowed to local entities might have limited the benefits of decentralization on users and providers. To discuss the costs and benefits of healthcare decentralization this paper uses the U-form and M-form typology to further illustrate the role of decision autonomy under healthcare decentralization. This paper argues that when evaluating healthcare decentralization, it is important to determine whether the benefits from decentralization are greater than its costs. The U-form and M-form framework is proposed as a useful typology to evaluate different types of institutional arrangements under healthcare decentralization. Under this model, the more decentralized organizational form (M-form) is superior if the benefits from flexibility exceed the costs of duplication and the more centralized organizational form (U-form) is superior if the savings from economies of scale outweigh the costly decision-making process from the center to the regions. Budgetary and financial autonomy and effective mechanisms to maintain local governments accountable for their spending behavior are key decision autonomy variables that could sway the cost-benefit analysis of healthcare decentralization. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Strategic Alignment: Recruiting Students in a Highly Decentralized Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, Richard

2016-01-01

All enrollment managers face some level of challenge related to decentralized decision making and operations. Policies and practices can vary considerably by academic area, creating administrative complexity, restricting the scope and speed of institutional initiatives, and limiting potential efficiencies. Central attempts to standardize or…

Analysis of transient and hysteresis behavior of cross-flow heat exchangers under variable fluid mass flow rate for data center cooling applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Tianyi; Murray, Bruce; Sammakia, Bahgat

2015-01-01

Effective thermal management of data centers is an important aspect of reducing the energy required for the reliable operation of data processing and communications equipment. Liquid and hybrid (air/liquid) cooling approaches are becoming more widely used in today's large and complex data center facilities. Examples of these approaches include rear door heat exchangers, in-row and overhead coolers and direct liquid cooled servers. Heat exchangers are primary components of liquid and hybrid cooling systems, and the effectiveness of a heat exchanger strongly influences the thermal performance of a cooling system. Characterizing and modeling the dynamic behavior of heat exchangers is important for the design of cooling systems, especially for control strategies to improve energy efficiency. In this study, a dynamic thermal model is solved numerically in order to predict the transient response of an unmixed–unmixed crossflow heat exchanger, of the type that is widely used in data center cooling equipment. The transient response to step and ramp changes in the mass flow rate of both the hot and cold fluid is investigated. Five model parameters are varied over specific ranges to characterize the transient performance. The parameter range investigated is based on available heat exchanger data. The thermal response to the magnitude, time period and initial and final conditions of the transient input functions is studied in detail. Also, the hysteresis associated with the fluid mass flow rate variation is investigated. The modeling results and performance data are used to analyze specific dynamic performance of heat exchangers used in practical data center cooling applications. - Highlights: • The transient performance of a crossflow heat exchanger was modeled and studied. • This study provides design information for data center thermal management. • The time constant metric was used to study the impacts of many variable inputs. • The hysteresis behavior

The role of various actors in achieving the administrative decentralization process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiana CASTRAŞAN

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Under the current conditions, when all attention is paid to primary tasks of rule of law, cultural and economic development, strengthening of rule of law in society, role of public administration prevail as the main task of the state. The public administrations system it is inseparably linked to the implementation of state policy through the activities they perform. In particular, it emphasizes the role of local authorities as a basic factor of the localities development and achieving a set of objectives, which implies a special responsibility submitted to elected officials and civil servants. As an activity, local administration have the aim to obtain some certain political values expressed by law. And the most important is to satisfy the general interest of a local community. Thereby, the phenomenon of administrative decentralization reaches the maximum attention , because the essence of a local government is that it is closer to the citizen and it serves him. The need of local authorities appear when exist a local community with common interests. That’s why, it is an analyze why this problem of decentralization it is permanently a current topic. Local autonomy and decentralization are the corner stones of organization and functioning of local public administration authorities.

Integrating Collaborative and Decentralized Models to Support Ubiquitous Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Barbosa, Jorge Luis Victória; Barbosa, Débora Nice Ferrari; Rigo, Sandro José; de Oliveira, Jezer Machado; Rabello, Solon Andrade, Jr.

2014-01-01

The application of ubiquitous technologies in the improvement of education strategies is called Ubiquitous Learning. This article proposes the integration between two models dedicated to support ubiquitous learning environments, called Global and CoolEdu. CoolEdu is a generic collaboration model for decentralized environments. Global is an…

Users' perspectives on decentralized rural water services in Tanzania

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Masanyiwa, Z.S.; Niehof, A.; Termeer, C.J.A.M.

2015-01-01

This article examines the impact of decentralization reforms on improving access to domestic water supply in the rural districts of Kondoa and Kongwa, Tanzania, using a users' and a gender perspective. The article addresses the question whether and to what extent the delivery of gender-sensitive

The stimulative effect of an unconditional block grant on the decentralized provision of care

OpenAIRE

Mark Kattenberg; Wouter Vermeulen

2015-01-01

Understanding the impact of central government grants on decentralized health care provision is of crucial importance for the design of grant systems, yet empirical evidence on the prevalence of flypaper effects in this domain is rare. We study the decentralization of home care in the Netherlands and exploit the gradual introduction of formula-based equalization to identify the effect of exogenous changes in an unconditional block grant on local expenditure and utilization. A one euro increas...

Macroeconomic aspects of decentralized electricity production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Percebois, J.

1991-01-01

The development of decentralized electricity production should be viewed first and foremost as a means of adapting production resources to meet the needs of the users between 1995 and 1997. Consumer production and cogeneration are not, however, simply stopgap solutions operating on the fringe of electricity production. These methods serve to highlight a problem that has already been raised in the past: the real advantages and disadvantages of centralized systems managed by companies that exercise a virtual monopoly in either the public or private sector

Decentralized supply of electricity is a favorable development. Analysis of system options and effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faber, A.; Ros, J.; De Boer-Meulman, P.; In 't Groen, B.

2010-01-01

Decentralised electricity systems can provide a significant contribution to the development of environment-friendly techniques such as solar power and electric vehicles. However, there are also some obstacles and uncertainties. Not only does the balancing of supply and demand constitute an important challenge; the development of smart grids is also crucial to the improvement of reliability and system efficiency of the decentralized grids. Especially the distribution of investment costs is a decisive factor for the success rate of decentralized electricity systems. What is more, it is still uncertain whether an extensive decentralized system would have a higher score in cleanliness, affordability and reliability than a future central system. The system variants can be distinguished based on the deployment of six possible energy technologies for the future: PV (solar power), micro-CHP, small-scale wind energy in the built environment (urban wind), heat pumps, electric vehicles and air-conditioning. [nl

Constitutional framework of the process of decentralization and public administration reform in Serbia and Croatia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Čiplić Svetozar M.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The work is devoted to the comparative analyze of the processes of the decentralization reorganization and reform of the public administration at the level of the horizontal governance organization in Serbia and Croatia. At the first part of the work the authors analyze the decentralization and devolution as well as their demarcation in the sense of their related but not similar meanings. The second part is devoted to the historical experiences and genesis foundations of the common state where Serbia and Croatia were joined. The particular historical developments of Serbia and Croatia influenced the present attitude of their political elites toward decentralization. The third, final part/conclusion, is dedicated to a comparative analyses of the constitutional solutions in Serbia and Croatia which are related to the vertical organization. .

Rapid Conformational Analysis of Protein Drugs in Formulation by Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry (HDX-MS)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Esmail Nazari, Zeinab; van de Weert, Marco; Bou-Assaf, George

2016-01-01

Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange coupled to Mass Spectrometry (HDX-MS) has become an established method for analysis of protein higher-order structure. Here, we use HDX-MS methodology based on manual Solid-Phase Extraction (SPE) to allow fast and simplified conformational analysis of proteins under...... pharmaceutically relevant formulation conditions. Of significant practical utility, the methodology allows global HDX-MS analyses to be performed without refrigeration or external cooling of the setup. In Mode 1, we used DMSO-containing solvents for SPE, allowing the HDX-MS analysis to be performed at acceptable...... in formulation, using an internal HDX reference peptide (P7I) to control for any sample-to-sample variations in back exchange. Advantages of the methodology include low sample use, optimized excipient removal using multiple solvents, and fast data acquisition. Our results indicate that the SPE-HDX-MS system can...

Human resources for health and decentralization policy in the Brazilian health system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierantoni Celia

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Brazilian health reform process, following the establishment of the Unified Health System (SUS, has had a strong emphasis on decentralization, with a special focus on financing, management and inter-managerial agreements. Brazil is a federal country and the Ministry of Health (MoH, through the Secretary of Labour Management and Health Education, is responsible for establishing national policy guidelines for health labour management, and also for implementing strategies for the decentralization of management of labour and education in the federal states. This paper assesses whether the process of decentralizing human resources for health (HRH management and organization to the level of the state and municipal health departments has involved investments in technical, political and financial resources at the national level. Methods The research methods used comprise a survey of HRH managers of states and major municipalities (including capitals and focus groups with these HRH managers - all by geographic region. The results were obtained by combining survey and focus group data, and also through triangulation with the results of previous research. Results The results of this evaluation showed the evolution policy, previously restricted to the field of 'personnel administration', now expanded to a conceptual model for health labour management and education-- identifying progress, setbacks, critical issues and challenges for the consolidation of the decentralized model for HRH management. The results showed that 76.3% of the health departments have an HRH unit. It was observed that 63.2% have an HRH information system. However, in most health departments, the HRH unit uses only the payroll and administrative records as data sources. Concerning education in health, 67.6% of the HRH managers mentioned existing cooperation with educational and teaching institutions for training and/or specialization of health workers. Among them

Human resources for health and decentralization policy in the Brazilian health system.

Science.gov (United States)

Pierantoni, Celia Regina; Garcia, Ana Claudia P

2011-05-17

The Brazilian health reform process, following the establishment of the Unified Health System (SUS), has had a strong emphasis on decentralization, with a special focus on financing, management and inter-managerial agreements. Brazil is a federal country and the Ministry of Health (MoH), through the Secretary of Labour Management and Health Education, is responsible for establishing national policy guidelines for health labour management, and also for implementing strategies for the decentralization of management of labour and education in the federal states. This paper assesses whether the process of decentralizing human resources for health (HRH) management and organization to the level of the state and municipal health departments has involved investments in technical, political and financial resources at the national level. The research methods used comprise a survey of HRH managers of states and major municipalities (including capitals) and focus groups with these HRH managers - all by geographic region. The results were obtained by combining survey and focus group data, and also through triangulation with the results of previous research. The results of this evaluation showed the evolution policy, previously restricted to the field of 'personnel administration', now expanded to a conceptual model for health labour management and education-- identifying progress, setbacks, critical issues and challenges for the consolidation of the decentralized model for HRH management. The results showed that 76.3% of the health departments have an HRH unit. It was observed that 63.2% have an HRH information system. However, in most health departments, the HRH unit uses only the payroll and administrative records as data sources. Concerning education in health, 67.6% of the HRH managers mentioned existing cooperation with educational and teaching institutions for training and/or specialization of health workers. Among them, specialization courses account for 61.4% and short

Decentralized manufacturing of cell and gene therapies: Overcoming challenges and identifying opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Richard P; Ruck, Steven; Medcalf, Nicholas; Rafiq, Qasim A

2017-10-01

Decentralized or "redistributed" manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing approach for cell and gene therapies (CGTs), moving away from the "Fordist" paradigm, delivering health care locally, customized to the end user and, by its very nature, overcoming many of the challenges associated with manufacturing and distribution of high volume goods. In departing from the traditional centralized model of manufacturing, decentralized manufacturing divides production across sites or geographic regions. This paradigm shift imposes significant structural and organisational changes on a business presenting both hidden challenges that must be addressed and opportunities to be embraced. By profoundly adapting business practices, significant advantages can be realized through a democratized value chain, creation of professional-level jobs without geographic restriction to the central hub and a flexibility in response to external pressures and demands. To realize these potential opportunities, however, advances in manufacturing technology and support systems are required, as well as significant changes in the way CGTs are regulated to facilitate multi-site manufacturing. Decentralized manufacturing is likely to be the manufacturing platform of choice for advanced health care therapies-in particular, those with a high degree of personalization. The future success of these promising products will be enhanced by adopting sound business strategies early in development. To realize the benefits that decentralized manufacturing of CGTs has to offer, it is important to examine both the risks and the substantial opportunities present. In this research, we examine both the challenges and the opportunities this shift in business strategy represents in an effort to maximize the success of adoption. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of an automated system for the decentral fractioning of municipal wastes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heiko Vesper

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Background: There is a growing problem of the increasing amount of unsorted municipal wastes with the resulting consequences for the environment. The aim of this study was to present a new solutions of the system for the decentral fractioning of municipal wastes, which enable simplification and improvement of the process together with the reduction of total costs. Methods: The description of  the problem of the increasing amount of unsorted municipal wastes with the resulting consequences for the environment as well as an alternative solution for the decentral fractioning of such wastes was presented. The influence onto the environment as well as the efficiency of the costly mechanical sorting of wastes was queried. The nowadays used principles of sorted and unsorted waste disposal were elucidated and their advantages and disadvantages evaluated. Results and conclusions: Based on this evaluation an innovative and future oriented development of an automated system for the decentral fractioning of municipal wastes was presented. The new developed systems aim at the achievement of an easier, less costly and environment-friendlier process for the disposal of municipal wastes from apartment buildings.

Charge symmetry breaking via Δ I = 1 group theory or by the u-d quark mass difference and direct photon exchange

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coon, S.A.; Scadron, M.D.

2000-01-01

Charge symmetry breaking (CSB) in the strong N N interaction is believed to have its origins at the quark level. However, the meson-exchange potentials which successfully describe the empirical CSB utilize instead values of the Δ I = 1 π η and ρ ω mixing obtained with the aid of group theory from a hadronic tadpole Hamiltonian introduced by Coleman and Glashow to describe electromagnetic mass splitting in hadronic isospin multiplets. We review i) the CSB N N potentials so constructed and their nuclear charge asymmetry effects, i i) the universal scale of the Coleman-Glashow tadpole, and i i i) the quark loop evaluation of both meson mass differences and meson mixing. The latter quark loop calculations, which use chiral symmetry to evaluate the integrals, demonstrate clearly that the u-d constituent quark mass difference, long suspected as the origin of CSB, does quantitatively yield the universal Coleman-Glashow tadpole scale which underlies the successful meson-exchange description of CSB in nuclear physics. (Author) 38 refs., 3 figs

Decentralizing the Team Station: Simulation before Reality as a Best-Practice Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Charko, Jackie; Geertsen, Alice; O'Brien, Patrick; Rouse, Wendy; Shahid, Ammarah; Hardenne, Denise

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article is to share the logistical planning requirements and simulation experience of one Canadian hospital as it prepared its staff for the change from a centralized inpatient unit model to the decentralized design planned for its new community hospital. With the commitment and support of senior leadership, project management resources and clinical leads worked collaboratively to design a decentralized prototype in the form of a pod-style environment in the hospital's current setting. Critical success factors included engaging the right stakeholders, providing an opportunity to test new workflows and technology, creating a strong communication plan and building on lessons learned as subsequent pod prototypes are launched.

U/Th dating by SHRIMP RG ion-microprobe mass spectrometry using single ion-exchange beads

Science.gov (United States)

Bischoff, J.L.; Wooden, J.; Murphy, F.; Williams, Ross W.

2005-01-01

We present a new analytical method for U-series isotopes using the SHRIMP RG (Sensitive High mass Resolution Ion MicroProbe) mass spectrometer that utilizes the preconcentration of the U-series isotopes from a sample onto a single ion-exchange bead. Ion-microprobe mass spectrometry is capable of producing Th ionization efficiencies in excess of 2%. Analytical precision is typically better than alpha spectroscopy, but not as good as thermal ionization mass spectroscopy (TIMS) and inductively coupled plasma multicollector mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Like TIMS and ICP-MS the method allows analysis of small samples sizes, but also adds the advantage of rapidity of analysis. A major advantage of ion-microprobe analysis is that U and Th isotopes are analyzed in the same bead, simplifying the process of chemical separation. Analytical time on the instrument is ???60 min per sample, and a single instrument-loading can accommodate 15-20 samples to be analyzed in a 24-h day. An additional advantage is that the method allows multiple reanalyses of the same bead and that samples can be archived for reanalysis at a later time. Because the ion beam excavates a pit only a few ??m deep, the mount can later be repolished and reanalyzed numerous times. The method described of preconcentrating a low concentration sample onto a small conductive substrate to allow ion-microprobe mass spectrometry is potentially applicable to many other systems. Copyright ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd.

Coordination in the Decentralized Assembly System with Dual Supply Modes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xu Guan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates a decentralized assembly system that consists of one assembler and two independent suppliers; wherein one supplier is perfectly reliable for the production, while the other generates yield uncertainty. Facing the random market demand, the assembler has to order the components from one supplier in advance and meanwhile requires the other supplier to deliver the components under VMI mode. We construct a Nash game between the supplier and the assembler so as to derive their equilibrium procurement/production strategies. The results show that the channel’s performance is highly undermined by the decentralization between players and also the combination of two supply modes. Compared to the centralized system, we propose an advance payment contract to perfectly coordinate the supply chain performance. The numerical examples indicate some management implications on the supply mode comparison and sensitivity analysis.

Decentralized control of transmission rates in energy-critical wireless networks

KAUST Repository

Xia, Li

2013-06-01

In this paper, we discuss the decentralized optimization of delay and energy consumption in a multi-hop wireless network. The goal is to minimize the energy consumption of energy-critical nodes and the overall packet transmission delay of the network. The transmission rates of energy-critical nodes are adjustable according to the local information of nodes, i.e., the length of packets queued. The multi-hop network is modeled as a queueing network.We prove that the system performance is monotone w.r.t. (with respect to) the transmission rate, thus the “bang-bang” control is an optimal control. We also prove that there exists a threshold type control policy which is optimal. We propose a decentralized algorithm to control transmission rates of these energy-critical nodes. Some simulation experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Decentralized control of transmission rates in energy-critical wireless networks

KAUST Repository

Xia, Li; Shihada, Basem

2013-01-01

In this paper, we discuss the decentralized optimization of delay and energy consumption in a multi-hop wireless network. The goal is to minimize the energy consumption of energy-critical nodes and the overall packet transmission delay of the network. The transmission rates of energy-critical nodes are adjustable according to the local information of nodes, i.e., the length of packets queued. The multi-hop network is modeled as a queueing network.We prove that the system performance is monotone w.r.t. (with respect to) the transmission rate, thus the “bang-bang” control is an optimal control. We also prove that there exists a threshold type control policy which is optimal. We propose a decentralized algorithm to control transmission rates of these energy-critical nodes. Some simulation experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Influence of cardiac decentralization on cardioprotection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John G Kingma

Full Text Available The role of cardiac nerves on development of myocardial tissue injury after acute coronary occlusion remains controversial. We investigated whether acute cardiac decentralization (surgical modulates coronary flow reserve and myocardial protection in preconditioned dogs subject to ischemia-reperfusion. Experiments were conducted on four groups of anesthetised, open-chest dogs (n = 32: 1- controls (CTR, intact cardiac nerves, 2- ischemic preconditioning (PC; 4 cycles of 5-min IR, 3- cardiac decentralization (CD and 4- CD+PC; all dogs underwent 60-min coronary occlusion and 180-min reperfusion. Coronary blood flow and reactive hyperemic responses were assessed using a blood volume flow probe. Infarct size (tetrazolium staining was related to anatomic area at risk and coronary collateral blood flow (microspheres in the anatomic area at risk. Post-ischemic reactive hyperemia and repayment-to-debt ratio responses were significantly reduced for all experimental groups; however, arterial perfusion pressure was not affected. Infarct size was reduced in CD dogs (18.6 ± 4.3; p = 0.001, data are mean ± 1 SD compared to 25.2 ± 5.5% in CTR dogs and was less in PC dogs as expected (13.5 ± 3.2 vs. 25.2 ± 5.5%; p = 0.001; after acute CD, PC protection was conserved (11.6 ± 3.4 vs. 18.6 ± 4.3%; p = 0.02. In conclusion, our findings provide strong evidence that myocardial protection against ischemic injury can be preserved independent of extrinsic cardiac nerve inputs.

U-Form vs. M-Form: How to Understand Decision Autonomy Under Healthcare Decentralization?; Comment on “Decentralisation of Health Services in Fiji: A Decision Space Analysis”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arturo Vargas Bustamante

2016-09-01

Full Text Available For more than three decades healthcare decentralization has been promoted in developing countries as a way of improving the financing and delivery of public healthcare. Decision autonomy under healthcare decentralization would determine the role and scope of responsibility of local authorities. Jalal Mohammed, Nicola North, and Toni Ashton analyze decision autonomy within decentralized services in Fiji. They conclude that the narrow decision space allowed to local entities might have limited the benefits of decentralization on users and providers. To discuss the costs and benefits of healthcare decentralization this paper uses the U-form and M-form typology to further illustrate the role of decision autonomy under healthcare decentralization. This paper argues that when evaluating healthcare decentralization, it is important to determine whether the benefits from decentralization are greater than its costs. The U-form and M-form framework is proposed as a useful typology to evaluate different types of institutional arrangements under healthcare decentralization. Under this model, the more decentralized organizational form (M-form is superior if the benefits from flexibility exceed the costs of duplication and the more centralized organizational form (U-form is superior if the savings from economies of scale outweigh the costly decision-making process from the center to the regions. Budgetary and financial autonomy and effective mechanisms to maintain local governments accountable for their spending behavior are key decision autonomy variables that could sway the cost-benefit analysis of healthcare decentralization.

Grey water reclamation by decentralized MBR prototype

OpenAIRE

Santasmasas Rubiralta, Carme; Rovira Boixaderas, Miquel; Clarens Blanco, Frederic; Valderrama Angel, César Alberto

2013-01-01

Grey water treatment and reuse for non-drinking water requirements has become of great interest in arid and semi-arid zones where water resources are becoming both quantitatively and qualitatively scarce. In this study a decentralized and automatic MBR prototype has been designed and installed in the REMOSA facilities for treatment of low-load grey water to be recycled in flushing-toilet application. The recycling treatment of grey water comprises four stages: screening, biological oxidation,...

Analyzing Von Neumann machines using decentralized symmetries

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Jie

2013-10-01

The artificial intelligence method to e-business is defined not only by the study of fiber-optic cables, but also by the unproven need for vacuum tubes. Given the current status of virtual archetypes, theorists clearly desire the exploration of semaphores, which embodies the compelling principles of cryptoanalysis. We present an algorithm for probabilistic theory (Buck), which we use to disprove that write-back caches can be made decentralized, lossless, and reliable.

The effects of fiscal decentralization in Albania

OpenAIRE

Dr.Sc. Blerta Dragusha; Dr.Sc. Elez Osmani

2012-01-01

“Basically decentralization is a democratic reform which seeks to transfer the political, administrative, financial and planning authority from central to local government. It seeks to develop civic participation, empowerment of local people in decision making process and to promote accountability and reliability: To achieve efficiency and effectiveness in the collection and management of resources and service delivery”1 The interest and curiosity of knowing how our country is doing in th...

Decentralizing provision of mental health care in Sri Lanka.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernando, Neil; Suveendran, Thirupathy; de Silva, Chithramalee

2017-04-01

In the past, mental health services in Sri Lanka were limited to tertiary-care institutions, resulting in a large treatment gap. Starting in 2000, significant efforts have been made to reconfigure service provision and to integrate mental health services with primary health care. This approach was supported by significant political commitment to establishing island-wide decentralized mental health care in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. Various initiatives were consolidated in The mental health policy of Sri Lanka 2005-2015, which called for implementation of a comprehensive community-based, decentralized service structure. The main objectives of the policy were to provide mental health services of good quality at primary, secondary and tertiary levels; to ensure the active involvement of communities, families and service users; to make mental health services culturally appropriate and evidence based; and to protect the human rights and dignity of all people with mental health disorders. Significant improvements have been made and new cadres of mental health workers have been introduced. Trained medical officers (mental health) now provide outpatient care, domiciliary care, mental health promotion in schools, and community mental health education. Community psychiatric nurses have also been trained and deployed to supervise treatment adherence in the home and provide mental health education to patients, their family members and the wider community. A total of 4367 mental health volunteers are supporting care and raising mental health literacy in the community. Despite these important achievements, more improvements are needed to provide more timely intervention, combat myths and stigma, and further decentralize care provision. These, and other challenges, will be targeted in the new mental health policy for 2017-2026.

Decentralization, Interdependence and Performance Measurement System Design : Sequences and Priorities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abernethy, M.; Bouwens, J.F.M.G.; van Lent, L.A.G.M.

2001-01-01

We investigate the determinants of decentralization and performance measurement choices in multidivisional firms.We extend the research on the economics of organizational design choices by examining the impact of two important determinants of those choices, namely, subunit interdependencies and

Probing the Conformational and Functional Consequences of Disulfide Bond Engineering in Growth Hormone by Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry Coupled to Electron Transfer Dissociation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Seger, Signe T; Breinholt, Jens; Faber, Johan H

2015-01-01

Human growth hormone (hGH), and its receptor interaction, is essential for cell growth. To stabilize a flexible loop between helices 3 and 4, while retaining affinity for the hGH receptor, we have engineered a new hGH variant (Q84C/Y143C). Here, we employ hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrom......Human growth hormone (hGH), and its receptor interaction, is essential for cell growth. To stabilize a flexible loop between helices 3 and 4, while retaining affinity for the hGH receptor, we have engineered a new hGH variant (Q84C/Y143C). Here, we employ hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass...

Decision Making Configurations: An Alternative to the Centralization/Decentralization Conceptualization.

Science.gov (United States)

Cullen, John B.; Perrewe, Pamela L.

1981-01-01

Used factors identified in the literature as predictors of centralization/decentralization as potential discriminating variables among several decision making configurations in university affiliated professional schools. The model developed from multiple discriminant analysis had reasonable success in classifying correctly only the decentralized…

Reply to Comment on ‘Energy and air emission implications of a decentralized wastewater system’

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shehabi, Arman; Stokes, Jennifer R; Horvath, Arpad

2013-01-01

Complementing centralized water-related infrastructure with decentralized facilities is being considered in some communities and a life-cycle perspective is needed for informed decision making. Our 2012 study presents a framework for analyzing the environmental effects of decentralized wastewater systems. While the analysis framework could be applied to cases with a variety of sizes, we evaluated two currently operating systems in California, one decentralized and one centralized plant with a much larger capacity. The disparate scales of the two plants represent an ‘off-the-grid’ suburban neighborhood-scale system compared with a similarly sized neighborhood connecting to an adjacent large centralized plant. Deciding whether or not to connect expanding developments to nearby centralized plants is a realistic scenario for future growth, making the treatment plants evaluated in our study a realistic choice for comparison. (reply)

Independence and Collaboration; Why We Should Decentralize Writing Centers.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Louise Z.

1986-01-01

Notes the inevitable tensions that arise between centripetal writing centers and centrifugal writing across the curriculum programs. Examines the tutoring program at an eastern university as an example of a decentralized writing center that resists pressures to assume a uniform composition pedagogy and coordinates its work with many parts of the…

Production of rapeseed oil fuel in decentralized oil extraction plants. Handbook. 2. new rev. and enl. ed.; Herstellung von Rapsoelkraftstoff in dezentralen Oelgewinnungsanlagen. Handbuch

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Remmele, Edgar [Technologie- und Foerderzentrum (TFZ) im Kompetenzzentrum fuer Nachwachsende Rohstoffe, Straubing (Germany)

2009-11-15

Increasing oil prices, the dependence on petroleum imports and the desire to reduce the CO{sub 2} emissions, are arguments to accelerate the production and utilization of biofuels. In 2007, 3.3 million tons of biodiesel and 772,000 tons of vegetable oil were used as fuel. The technically and economically successful production of rapeseed oil fuel in decentralized oil mills requires a quality assurance. Specifically, the brochure under consideration reports on the following: (1) Oilseed processing; (2) Centralized oil production in Germany; (3) Design of a decentralized oil mill; (4) Production of rapeseed oil fuel in decentralized systems; (5) Quality assurance for rapeseed oil fuel in decentralized oil mills; (6) Properties of rapeseed oil fuel; (7) Quality of rapeseed oil fuel from decentralized oil mills; (8) Economic aspects of decentralized oil extraction; (9) Legal framework conditions.

Decentralized production management: telecommunication and coordination schemes validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caire, R.; Retiere, N.; Hadjsaid, N.

2005-01-01

Decentralized production development is a reality in the majority of the power networks all over the world. The deregulation of the market of energy, ecological constraints as well as the technological developments of small power production encourage this development. Distribution networks represent the portion of the power system where the development of this production is the most awaited. Some studies carried out on the interconnection of decentralized production on a large scale ratio have shown significant effects and impacts on operation of the entire electric system. Indeed, the entire distribution network is going to be deeply modified by the introduction of new functions of remote control, of specific architectures, of intelligent protection systems and of telecommunication and information technologies. With these new paradigms the ability of testing and simulating the Distribution Management Systems is more and more necessary. Also, this is a crucial requirement for new communication means in order to better define the new management strategies of the production units within the distribution networks. The aim of this paper is to present a new real time experimental bench able to validate control strategies and communication devices included in Distribution Management Systems (DMS). (authors)

Decentralized Receding Horizon Control and Coordination of Autonomous Vehicle Formations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keviczky, T.; Borelli, F.; Fregene, K.; Godbole, D.; Bals, G.J.

2008-01-01

This paper describes the application of a novel methodology for high-level control and coordination of autonomous vehicle teams and its demonstration on high-fidelity models of the organic air vehicle developed at Honeywell Laboratories. The scheme employs decentralized receding horizon controllers

A decentralized control scheme for an effective coordination of phasic and tonic control in a snake-like robot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Takahide; Kano, Takeshi; Ishiguro, Akio

2012-01-01

Autonomous decentralized control has attracted considerable attention because it enables us to understand the adaptive and versatile locomotion of animals and facilitates the construction of truly intelligent artificial agents. Thus far, we have developed a snake-like robot (HAUBOT I) that is driven by a decentralized control scheme based on a discrepancy function, which incorporates phasic control. In this paper, we investigate a decentralized control scheme in which phasic and tonic control are well coordinated, as an extension of our previous study. To verify the validity of the proposed control scheme, we apply it to a snake-like robot (HAUBOT II) that can adjust both the phase relationship between its body segments and the stiffness at each joint. The results indicate that the proposed control scheme enables the robot to exhibit remarkable real-time adaptability over various frictional and inclined terrains. These findings can potentially enable us to gain a deeper insight into the autonomous decentralized control mechanism underlying the adaptive and resilient locomotion of animals.

The rise of governmentality in the Italian National Health System: physiology or pathology of a decentralized and (ongoing) federalist system?

Science.gov (United States)

Lega, Federico; Sargiacomo, Massimo; Ianni, Luca

2010-11-01

In this paper, we aim to discuss the implications and lessons that can be learnt from the ongoing process of federalism affecting the Italian National Health System (INHS). Many countries are currently taking decisions concerning the decentralization or re-centralization of their health-care systems, with several key issues that are illustrated in the recent history of the INHS. The decentralization process of INHS has produced mixed results, as some regions took advantage of it to strengthen their systems, whereas others were not capable of developing an effective steering role. We argue that the mutual reinforcement of the decentralization and recentralization processes is not paradoxical, but is actually an effective way for the State to maintain control over the equity and efficiency of its health-care system while decentralizing at a regional level. In this perspective, we provide evidence backing up some of the assumptions made in previous works as well as new food-for thought - specifically on how governmentality and federalism should meet - to reshape the debate on decentralization in health care.

Data Reduction with Quantization Constraints for Decentralized Estimation in Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Weng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The unknown vector estimation problem with bandwidth constrained wireless sensor network is considered. In such networks, sensor nodes make distributed observations on the unknown vector and collaborate with a fusion center to generate a final estimate. Due to power and communication bandwidth limitations, each sensor node must compress its data and transmit to the fusion center. In this paper, both centralized and decentralized estimation frameworks are developed. The closed-form solution for the centralized estimation framework is proposed. The computational complexity of decentralized estimation problem is proven to be NP-hard and a Gauss-Seidel algorithm to search for an optimal solution is also proposed. Simulation results show the good performance of the proposed algorithms.

A Decentralized Multi-Agent-Based Approach for Low Voltage Microgrid Restoration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ebrahim Rokrok

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Although a well-organized power system is less subject to blackouts, the existence of a proper restoration plan is nevertheless still essential. The goal of a restoration plan is to bring the power system back to its normal operating conditions in the shortest time after a blackout occurs and to minimize the impact of the blackout on society. This paper presents a decentralized multi-agent system (MAS-based restoration method for a low voltage (LV microgrid (MG. In the proposed method, the MG local controllers are assigned to the specific agents who interact with each other to achieve a common decision in the restoration procedure. The evaluation of the proposed decentralized technique using a benchmark low-voltage MG network demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed restoration plan.

Decentralizing Maternity Services to Increase Skilled Attendance at Birth and Antenatal Care Utilization in Rural Rwanda: A Prospective Cohort Study

Science.gov (United States)

Nathan, Lisa M.; Shi, Quihu; Plewniak, Kari; Zhang, Charles; Nsabimana, Damien; Sklar, Marc; Mutimura, Eugene; Merkatz, Irwin R.; Einstein, Mark H.; Anastos, Kathryn

2015-01-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of decentralizing ambulatory reproductive and intrapartum services to increase rates of antenatal care (ANC) utilization and skilled attendance at birth (SAB) in Rwanda. A prospective cohort study was implemented with one control and two intervention sites: decentralized ambulatory reproductive healthcare and decentralized intrapartum care. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed with primary outcome of lack of SAB and secondary outcome of ≥3 ANC visits. 536 women were entered in the study. Distance lived from delivery site significantly predicted SAB (p = 0.007), however distance lived to ANC site did not predict ≥3 ANC visits (p = 0.81). Neither decentralization of ambulatory reproductive healthcare (p = 0.10) nor intrapartum care (p = 0.40) was significantly associated with SAB. The control site had the greatest percentage of women receive ≥3 ANC visits (p < 0.001). Receiving <3 ANC visits was associated with a 3.98 times greater odds of not having SAB (p = 0.001). No increase in adverse outcomes was found with decentralization of ambulatory reproductive health care or intrapartum care. The factors that predict utilization of physically accessible services in rural Africa are complex. Decentralization of services may be one strategy to increase rates of SAB and ANC utilization, but selection biases may have precluded accurate analysis. Efforts to increase ANC utilization may be a worthwhile investment to increase SAB. PMID:25652061

Bidirectional decentralized energy management in the low voltage grid based on centralized and decentralized informations; Bidirektionales dezentrales Energiemanagement im Niederspannungsnetz auf Basis zentraler und dezentraler Informationen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bendel, C.; Nestle, D.; Ringelstein, J. [Inst. fuer Solare Energieversorgungstechnik e.V., Verein an der Univ. Kassel (Germany)

2006-07-01

Decentralized electrical generation units (DG units) are connected to the network in Europe with an increasing number and generation capacity. This includes renewable energy sources with fluctuating generation characteristics as well as more controllable generation from biomass and co-generation. Severe problems with grid operation are expected among experts when the share of DG without controllability exceeds approx. 20 to 25% of the total generation within the power system, so a new strategy for the integration of DG into grid operation will be required. This strategy will include energy management with controllable generators as well as controllable loads. Today, however, this potential in most cases cannot be activated due to lack of standards and missing economical incentives. In the concept presented in this work the grid connection point is extended by intelligent components to a Bidirectional Energy Management Interface (BEMI). This allows a technically efficienct design of an energy management system and avoids fundamental organizational changes to the current grid regime. The concept of decentralized decision based on information from a central control station covers the requirements of the system operators as well as the local customer. Using the same concept the management of a pool of devices, containing BEMI-equipped households as well as other decentralized resources is possible. This is expected to bring additional benefits for both system operators and local customers. Therefore an approach for upscaling the existing BEMI technology is outlined as an outlook. (orig.)

(DeCentralization of Public Procurement at the Local Level in the EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boštjan BREZOVNIK

2015-10-01

Full Text Available The so-called decentralization of public procurement in EU Member States is accepted as the most suitable design of the public procurement system, often justifi ed by greater economic effi ciency and by the possibility of boosting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, which act on the public procurement market as providers of goods, services and works. Despite the existence of highly decentralized public procurement systems which refl ect the decentralization of administrative systems, especially after the recession, there is a stronger tendency for centralization of public procurement in the EU. The so-called aggregation of demand by contracting authorities can be done in order to achieve economies of scale, including lower prices and transaction costs as well as to improve and professionalize the management of procurement procedures (as highlighted in the Directive 2014/24/EU by the European Parliament and the EU Council. However, even in the context of public procurement centralization, local contracting authorities (i.e., public administration authorities and organizations in Member States should be provided with a suffi ciently wide range of possible (centralized organizational structures and contractual (vertical and horizontal public-public partnerships which will allow them to select the most suitable and most economically effective organizational structure for the execution of public procurement.

Decentralized Formation Flying Control in a Multiple-Team Hierarchy

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Joseph .; Thomas, Stephanie J.

2005-01-01

This paper presents the prototype of a system that addresses these objectives-a decentralized guidance and control system that is distributed across spacecraft using a multiple-team framework. The objective is to divide large clusters into teams of manageable size, so that the communication and computational demands driven by N decentralized units are related to the number of satellites in a team rather than the entire cluster. The system is designed to provide a high-level of autonomy, to support clusters with large numbers of satellites, to enable the number of spacecraft in the cluster to change post-launch, and to provide for on-orbit software modification. The distributed guidance and control system will be implemented in an object-oriented style using MANTA (Messaging Architecture for Networking and Threaded Applications). In this architecture, tasks may be remotely added, removed or replaced post-launch to increase mission flexibility and robustness. This built-in adaptability will allow software modifications to be made on-orbit in a robust manner. The prototype system, which is implemented in MATLAB, emulates the object-oriented and message-passing features of the MANTA software. In this paper, the multiple-team organization of the cluster is described, and the modular software architecture is presented. The relative dynamics in eccentric reference orbits is reviewed, and families of periodic, relative trajectories are identified, expressed as sets of static geometric parameters. The guidance law design is presented, and an example reconfiguration scenario is used to illustrate the distributed process of assigning geometric goals to the cluster. Next, a decentralized maneuver planning approach is presented that utilizes linear-programming methods to enact reconfiguration and coarse formation keeping maneuvers. Finally, a method for performing online collision avoidance is discussed, and an example is provided to gauge its performance.

Centralization and decentralization in energy systems and associated risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehm, W.; Schinner, F.; Kromp, W.

1998-01-01

Full text of publication follows: the concept of centralization/decentralization is - considering its widespread use - surprisingly ill-defined. Within the SERF-program (Socio Economic Research on Fusion) an attempt is made to clarify the complex issue of centralization/decentralization and to analyze its expected interaction with electricity production system in the case of nuclear fusion. Fusion research at the time is a multinational, highly centralized undertaking. As a result of this, and due to the expected large energy production units, it is generally expected that fusion will be embedded in a highly centralized, international energy supply system. The degree of centralization of an energy supply system, however, is believed to have for reaching consequences on the stability of the system, and beyond that, on decision making processes in energy policy, as well as democratic structures on the national or even international level. Internationalization might require control instruments that do not exist so far. Amongst other reservations, it is the possibly unwanted consequences of such a highly centralized, international energy supply system that limit acceptance of the fusion technology in the public. Therefore, centralization and decentralization trends of energy supply systems over the years are being looked at, to study their influence on the political and social systems (and vice-versa). In a first step, an attempt is made to classify centralization. Careful analyses and evaluation of available literature revealed a broad spectrum of different forms and degrees of centralization. Various parameters describing energy production and distribution are used. A differentiation of centralization on a technical and on an organizational level seems necessary, although they are not fully independent of each other. Beyond this, the choice of parameters must depend on the questions to be addressed. A new approach defining different levels and degrees of

Centralization and decentralization in energy systems and associated risks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rehm, W.; Schinner, F.; Kromp, W. [Vienna Univ., Institute of Risk Research, IRR (Austria)

1998-07-01

Full text of publication follows: the concept of centralization/decentralization is - considering its widespread use - surprisingly ill-defined. Within the SERF-program (Socio Economic Research on Fusion) an attempt is made to clarify the complex issue of centralization/decentralization and to analyze its expected interaction with electricity production system in the case of nuclear fusion. Fusion research at the time is a multinational, highly centralized undertaking. As a result of this, and due to the expected large energy production units, it is generally expected that fusion will be embedded in a highly centralized, international energy supply system. The degree of centralization of an energy supply system, however, is believed to have for reaching consequences on the stability of the system, and beyond that, on decision making processes in energy policy, as well as democratic structures on the national or even international level. Internationalization might require control instruments that do not exist so far. Amongst other reservations, it is the possibly unwanted consequences of such a highly centralized, international energy supply system that limit acceptance of the fusion technology in the public. Therefore, centralization and decentralization trends of energy supply systems over the years are being looked at, to study their influence on the political and social systems (and vice-versa). In a first step, an attempt is made to classify centralization. Careful analyses and evaluation of available literature revealed a broad spectrum of different forms and degrees of centralization. Various parameters describing energy production and distribution are used. A differentiation of centralization on a technical and on an organizational level seems necessary, although they are not fully independent of each other. Beyond this, the choice of parameters must depend on the questions to be addressed. A new approach defining different levels and degrees of

Requirements for Secure Logging of Decentralized Cross-Organizational Workflow Executions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wombacher, Andreas; Wieringa, Roelf J.; Jonker, Willem; Knezevic, P.; Pokraev, S.; meersman, R; Tari, Z; herrero, p; Méndez, G.; Cavedon, L.; Martin, D.; Hinze, A.; Buchanan, G.

2005-01-01

The control of actions performed by parties involved in a decentralized cross-organizational workflow is done by several independent workflow engines. Due to the lack of a centralized coordination control, an auditing is required which supports a reliable and secure detection of malicious actions

A simulation model of a coordinated decentralized linear supply chain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ashayeri, Jalal; Cannella, S.; Lopez Campos, M.; Miranda, P.A.

2015-01-01

This paper presents a simulation-based study of a coordinated, decentralized linear supply chain (SC) system. In the proposed model, any supply tier considers its successors as part of its inventory system and generates replenishment orders on the basis of its partners’ operational information. We

Progress and challenges in utilization of palm oil biomass as fuel for decentralized electricity generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bazmi, Aqeel Ahmed [Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT), Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering, University Technology Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Johor Bahru, JB (Malaysia); Biomass Conversion Research Center (BCRC), Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore (Pakistan); Zahedi, Gholamreza; Hashim, Haslenda [Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT), Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Natural Resources Engineering, University Technology Malaysia, Skudai 81310, Johor Bahru, JB (Malaysia)

2011-01-15

It has been broadly accepted worldwide that global warming, indeed, is the greatest threat of the time to the environment. Renewable energy (RE) is expected as a perfect solution to reduce global warming and to endorse sustainable development. Progressive release of greenhouse gases (GHG) from increasing energy-intensive industries has eventually caused human civilization to suffer. Realizing the exigency of reducing emissions and simultaneously catering to needs of industries, researchers foresee the RE as the perfect entrant to overcome these challenges. RE provides an effective option for the provision of energy services from the technical point of view while biomass, a major source of energy in the world until before industrialization when fossil fuels become dominant, appears an important renewable source of energy and researches have proven from time to time its viability for large-scale production. Being a widely spread source, biomass offers the execution of decentralized electricity generation gaining importance in liberalized electricity markets. The decentralized power is characterized by generation of electricity nearer to the demand centers, meeting the local energy needs. Researchers envisaged an increasing decentralization of power supply, expected to make a particular contribution to climate protection. This article investigates the progress and challenges for decentralized electricity generation by palm oil biomass according to the overall concept of sustainable development. (author)

Challenges to the implementation of health sector decentralization in Tanzania: experiences from Kongwa district council

Science.gov (United States)

Frumence, Gasto; Nyamhanga, Tumaini; Mwangu, Mughwira; Hurtig, Anna-Karin

2013-01-01

Background During the 1990s, the government of Tanzania introduced the decentralization by devolution (D by D) approach involving the transfer of functions, power and authority from the centre to the local government authorities (LGAs) to improve the delivery of public goods and services, including health services. Objective This article examines and documents the experiences facing the implementation of decentralization of health services from the perspective of national and district officials. Design The study adopted a qualitative approach, and data were collected using semi-structured interviews and were analysed for themes and patterns. Results The results showed several benefits of decentralization, including increased autonomy in local resource mobilization and utilization, an enhanced bottom-up planning approach, increased health workers’ accountability and reduction of bureaucratic procedures in decision making. The findings also revealed several challenges which hinder the effective functioning of decentralization. These include inadequate funding, untimely disbursement of funds from the central government, insufficient and unqualified personnel, lack of community participation in planning and political interference. Conclusion The article concludes that the central government needs to adhere to the principles that established the local authorities and grant more autonomy to them, offer special incentives to staff working in the rural areas and create the capacity for local key actors to participate effectively in the planning process. PMID:23993021

Progress and challenges in utilization of palm oil biomass as fuel for decentralized electricity generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazmi, Aqeel Ahmed; Zahedi, Gholamreza; Hashim, Haslenda

2011-01-01

It has been broadly accepted worldwide that global warming, indeed, is the greatest threat of the time to the environment. Renewable energy (RE) is expected as a perfect solution to reduce global warming and to endorse sustainable development. Progressive release of greenhouse gases (GHG) from increasing energy-intensive industries has eventually caused human civilization to suffer. Realizing the exigency of reducing emissions and simultaneously catering to needs of industries, researchers foresee the RE as the perfect entrant to overcome these challenges. RE provides an effective option for the provision of energy services from the technical point of view while biomass, a major source of energy in the world until before industrialization when fossil fuels become dominant, appears an important renewable source of energy and researches have proven from time to time its viability for large-scale production. Being a widely spread source, biomass offers the execution of decentralized electricity generation gaining importance in liberalized electricity markets. The decentralized power is characterized by generation of electricity nearer to the demand centers, meeting the local energy needs. Researchers envisaged an increasing decentralization of power supply, expected to make a particular contribution to climate protection. This article investigates the progress and challenges for decentralized electricity generation by palm oil biomass according to the overall concept of sustainable development. (author)

Using the decentralized and liberalized electricity market microworld (LEMM) as an educational tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasaoglu, Guezay

2011-01-01

Decentralized and liberalized electricity market involves a great deal of interdisciplinary concepts, including economic, commercial, environmental and technological issues. Consequently, the system is complicated. Accordingly, nowadays introductory courses focusing on the electricity market dynamics have been added to the curriculum at many universities. However, as the electricity market dynamics are complicated, it is not straightforward for students to understand. A teaching tool to assist students to better understand strategic behaviors in the market is thus in high demand. Due to these reasons, Liberalized Electricity Market Microworld (LEMM), incorporating a system dynamics based simulation model, is developed. The LEMM's contribution to the students learning and understanding of the decentralized and liberalized electricity market dynamics have been explored by organizing game sessions with the LEMM for totally 49 students who participated in 'Energy Policy and Planning' course in Bogazici University. The findings obtained from the exploratory study reveal that the students improved their understanding of the liberalized and decentralized electricity market through the game session with the LEMM. In this paper, the general characteristics of the LEMM and the underlying model are presented, the microworlds', particularly the LEMM's potential contribution to learning and teaching is discussed. - Research highlights: → LEMM describes realistically the dynamics of liberalized and decentralized electricity markets. → LEMM is a system dynamics based microworld used as a teaching tool in universities. → The study reveals that student's learning and understanding improves significantly using LEMM. → Future target groups of the LEMM are energy policy makers and decision makers. → To improve the performance of the training, microworld based game sessions should be used.

On the Feasibility of Decentralized Derivatives Markets

OpenAIRE

Eskandari, Shayan; Clark, Jeremy; Sundaresan, Vignesh; Adham, Moe

2018-01-01

In this paper, we present Velocity, a decentralized market deployed on Ethereum for trading a custom type of derivative option. To enable the smart contract to work, we also implement a price fetching tool called PriceGeth. We present this as a case study, noting challenges in development of the system that might be of independent interest to whose working on smart contract implementations. We also apply recent academic results on the security of the Solidity smart contract language in valida...

Reaction Diffusion and Chemotaxis for Decentralized Gathering on FPGAs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernard Girau

2009-01-01

and rapid simulations of the complex dynamics of this reaction-diffusion model. Then we describe the FPGA implementation of the environment together with the agents, to study the major challenges that must be solved when designing a fast embedded implementation of the decentralized gathering model. We analyze the results according to the different goals of these hardware implementations.

The Relationship Between Traffic Stability and Capacity for Decentralized Airspace

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sunil, E.; Maas, J.B.; Ellerbroek, J.; Hoekstra, J.M.; Tra, M.A.P.

2016-01-01

The work that is presented in this paper is part of an ongoing study on the relationship between structure and capacity of decentralized airspace concepts. In this paper, the effect of traffic stability, which considers the occurrence of conflict chain reactions as a result of conflict resolution

Centralization and Decentralization of Schools' Physical Facilities Management in Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Ikoya, Peter O.

2008-01-01

Purpose: This research aims to examine the difference in the availability, adequacy and functionality of physical facilities in centralized and decentralized schools districts, with a view to making appropriate recommendations to stakeholders on the reform programmes in the Nigerian education sector. Design/methodology/approach: Principals,…

Principles, Economic and Institutional Prerequisites for Fiscal Decentralization under Conditions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vishnevsky Valentine P.

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of the article is to study principles, economic and institutional prerequisites for fiscal decentralization on post-conflict territories. It is determined that fiscal decentralization is one of the main ways to solve problems of post-conflict areas. There justified principles, economic and institutional prerequisites of fiscal decentralization on post-conflict territories with regard to the specificity of individual spheres of fiscal relations. Moreover, different spheres of fiscal relations require different approaches: the sphere of public revenues — providing economic efficiency with the formation of the tax structure contributing to the expansion of the tax base; the sphere of public spending — ensuring social justice and transparency in allocation of social cost at the local level; the sphere of subsidies — narrowing the scope of application of intergovernmental transfers with organizing the redistribution of financial resources under the principle of «center - post-conflict regions - post-conflict recipients»; the sphere of external assistance — ensuring proper coordination for cultivation of new co-operative institutions.

Gas-phase fragmentation of peptides to increase the spatial resolution of the Hydrogen Exchange Mass Spectrometry experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Pernille Foged; Rand, Kasper Dyrberg

2016-01-01

are produced after precursor ion selection and thus do not add complexity to the LC-MS analysis. The key to obtaining optimal spatial resolution in a hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry (HX-MS) experiment is the fragmentation efficiency. This chapter discusses common fragmentation techniques like collision....../D scrambling, thus making them suitable for HX applications. By combining the classic bottom-up HX-MS workflow with gas-phase fragmentation by ETD, detailed information on protein HX can be obtained....

FBC utilization prospects in decentralized cogeneration units in Caucasus region countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Skodras George

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Great differences are encountered among Caucasus region countries with respect to energy resources reserves and economic conditions. Thermal power plants consist of obsolete and inefficient units, while the Soviet-type large heating systems in the area collapsed after 1992 and their reconstruction is considered uneconomic. Renovation needs of the power and heat sector, and the potential of Fluidised Bed Combustion implementations in decentralized cogeneration units were investigated, since operating oil and gas power plants exhibit high fuel consumption, low efficiency and poor environmental performance. Results showed significant prospects of Fluidised Bed Combustion utilization in decentralized cogeneration units in the Caucausus region heat and power sector. Their introduction constitutes an economically attractive way to cover power and heat demands and promotes utilization of domestic energy resources in all of three countries, provided that financial difficulties could be confronted.

DECENTRALIZED ORCHESTRATION OF COMPOSITE OGC WEB PROCESSING SERVICES IN THE CLOUD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Xiao

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Current web-based GIS or RS applications generally rely on centralized structure, which has inherent drawbacks such as single points of failure, network congestion, and data inconsistency, etc. The inherent disadvantages of traditional GISs need to be solved for new applications on Internet or Web. Decentralized orchestration offers performance improvements in terms of increased throughput and scalability and lower response time. This paper investigates build time and runtime issues related to decentralized orchestration of composite geospatial processing services based on OGC WPS standard specification. A case study of dust storm detection was demonstrated to evaluate the proposed method and the experimental results indicate that the method proposed in this study is effective for its ability to produce the high quality solution at a low cost of communications for geospatial processing service composition problem.

Adaptive and Decentralized Operator Placement for In-Network Query Processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bonfils, B; Bonnet, Philippe

2003-01-01

. In this paper, we show that this problem is a variant of the task assignment problem for which polynomial algorithms have been developed. These algorithms are however centralized and cannot be used in a sensor network. We describe an adaptive and decentralized algorithm that progressively refines the placement...

Circulation Clusters--An Empirical Approach to Decentralization of Academic Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

McGrath, William E.

1986-01-01

Discusses the issue of centralization or decentralization of academic library collections, and describes a statistical analysis of book circulation at the University of Southwestern Louisiana that yielded subject area clusters as a compromise solution to the problem. Applications of the cluster model for all types of library catalogs are…

Closure of mass exchange under use of a vegetable conveyer cultivated on a neutral and soil-like substrates as applied to BLSS

Science.gov (United States)

Velitchko, Vladimir; Tikhomirov, Alexander; Ushakova, Sofya

To increase a closure level of mass exchange processes in bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) including a human a technology of plants cultivation on a soil-like substrate (SLS) consisting in a gradual decomposition of inedible plants biomass under its addition in the SLS was developed at the Institute of Biophysics SB RAS (Russia). In the given work the effect of periodical introduction of inedible plant biomass in the SLS on plants photosynthetic productivity and on the closure of mass exchange has been analyzed. Thereupon CO2 gas exchange and the certain vegetables' productivity under their cultivation in a conveyor regime on the SLS and on a neutral substrate with reference to the closure of mass exchange processes in BLSS have been studied in this work. The vegetables Raphanus sativus L., Brassica caulorapa L. Daucus carota L. and Beta vulgaris L. being prospective plantsrepresentatives of the BLSS phototrophic unit were taken as the research objects. The SLS was taken as an experiment substrate and an expanded clay aggregate as the control. The changeable Knop solution was used for the control, and an irrigation solution with the SLS extract was used for the experiment. Rapidity dynamics of CO2 consumption showed sharp distinctions of the ‘plants-SLS' system from the ‘plantsexpanded clay aggregate' system connected with the oxidation processes coursing in the SLS. The intensity of CO2 evolution from the SLS on average was 70% of the total plants conveyor's respiration. Thus a balance between the system's respiration and photosynthesis was often determined by the processes coursing in the SLS. Here the sharp CO2 evolution was recorded after introduction of the plants inedible biomass in the SLS. That peak was gradually coming down during 10-14 days after the beginning of every cycle of plants cultivation that was connected with intensification of plants photosynthesis and drop of decomposition intensity of the biomass introduced. Comparative

Using Systems Theory to Examine Patient and Nurse Structures, Processes, and Outcomes in Centralized and Decentralized Units.

Science.gov (United States)

Real, Kevin; Fay, Lindsey; Isaacs, Kathy; Carll-White, Allison; Schadler, Aric

2018-01-01

This study utilizes systems theory to understand how changes to physical design structures impact communication processes and patient and staff design-related outcomes. Many scholars and researchers have noted the importance of communication and teamwork for patient care quality. Few studies have examined changes to nursing station design within a systems theory framework. This study employed a multimethod, before-and-after, quasi-experimental research design. Nurses completed surveys in centralized units and later in decentralized units ( N = 26 pre , N = 51 post ). Patients completed surveys ( N = 62 pre ) in centralized units and later in decentralized units ( N = 49 post ). Surveys included quantitative measures and qualitative open-ended responses. Patients preferred the decentralized units because of larger single-occupancy rooms, greater privacy/confidentiality, and overall satisfaction with design. Nurses had a more complex response. Nurses approved the patient rooms, unit environment, and noise levels in decentralized units. However, they reported reduced access to support spaces, lower levels of team/mentoring communication, and less satisfaction with design than in centralized units. Qualitative findings supported these results. Nurses were more positive about centralized units and patients were more positive toward decentralized units. The results of this study suggest a need to understand how system components operate in concert. A major contribution of this study is the inclusion of patient satisfaction with design, an important yet overlooked fact in patient satisfaction. Healthcare design researchers and practitioners may consider how changing system interdependencies can lead to unexpected changes to communication processes and system outcomes in complex systems.

Spatial optimization for decentralized non-potable water reuse

Science.gov (United States)

Kavvada, Olga; Nelson, Kara L.; Horvath, Arpad

2018-06-01

Decentralization has the potential to reduce the scale of the piped distribution network needed to enable non-potable water reuse (NPR) in urban areas by producing recycled water closer to its point of use. However, tradeoffs exist between the economies of scale of treatment facilities and the size of the conveyance infrastructure, including energy for upgradient distribution of recycled water. To adequately capture the impacts from distribution pipes and pumping requirements, site-specific conditions must be accounted for. In this study, a generalized framework (a heuristic modeling approach using geospatial algorithms) is developed that estimates the financial cost, the energy use, and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with NPR (for toilet flushing) as a function of scale of treatment and conveyance networks with the goal of determining the optimal degree of decentralization. A decision-support platform is developed to assess and visualize NPR system designs considering topography, economies of scale, and building size. The platform can be used for scenario development to explore the optimal system size based on the layout of current or new buildings. The model also promotes technology innovation by facilitating the systems-level comparison of options to lower costs, improve energy efficiency, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Decentralization and Change in Teaching Style in Sweden: The Emergence and Expansion of the "Working Team" (arbetslag) from 1960 to 1980

OpenAIRE

林, 寛平

2014-01-01

This paper discusses the change in teaching style in Sweden from 1960 to 1980 stemming from the decentralization reform in education. This discussion is important in two ways: to focus on the Swedish case as a suggestive model for Japan and to link decentralization as an administration reform with what happened in the classrooms.Decentralization is one of the key agendas in education reform in many countries, with Sweden having received much attention as a pioneer in the field. It is importan...

Inclusion of human mineralized exometabolites and fish wastes as a source of higher plant mineral nutrition in BTLSS mass exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Tikhomirova, Natalia; Tikhomirov, Alexander A.; Ushakova, Sofya; Anischenko, Olesya; Trifonov, Sergey V.

Human exometabolites inclusion into an intrasystem mass exchange will allow increasing of a closure level of a biological-technical life support system (BTLSS). Previously at the IBP SB RAS it was shown that human mineralized exometabolites could be incorporated in the BTLSS mass exchange as a mineral nutrition source for higher plants. However, it is not known how that combined use of human mineralized exometabolites and fish wastes in the capacity of nutrient medium, being a part of the BTLSS consumer wastes, will affect the plant productivity. Several wheat vegetations were grown in an uneven-aged conveyor on a neutral substrate. A mixture of human mineralized exometabolites and fish wastes was used as a nutrient solution in the experiment treatment and human mineralized exometabolites were used in the control. Consequently, a high wheat yield in the experiment treatment practically equal to the control yield was obtained. Thus, mineralized fish wastes can be an additional source of macro-and micronutrients for plants, and use of such wastes for the plant mineral nutrition allows increasing of BTLSS closure level.

Contesting sharia: state law, decentralization and Minangkabau custom

OpenAIRE

Huda, Yasrul

2013-01-01

This book explains how Sharia, commonly called Perda Sharia (Sharia by-law) in Indonesia, was legislated on the provincial, regional and municipal level in West Sumatra. This process began after the government started a decentralization policy in 2000. Although the law of local autonomy prescribes that religious matters are excluded from the authority of local government, the legislation of Sharia by local authorities is justified by the argument that Sharia, in addition to Minangkabau custom...

Presidentialism, Decentralization, and Distributive Politics in Latin America

OpenAIRE

Santos, Felipe Nunes dos

2015-01-01

My dissertation focuses on how presidents allocate discretionary funds to localities. I study national leaders who often face a dilemma about how to allocate limited distributional resources to their greatest political advantage. I argue that the president's resource allocation strategy depends on the level of decentralization in a country. Presidents wish to allocate resources to their supporters in the electorate, and in centralized countries, they can do so directly, without any interferen...

Beyond the Diversity Crisis Model: Decentralized Diversity Planning and Implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Damon A.

2008-01-01

This article critiques the diversity crises model of diversity planning in higher education and presents a decentralized diversity planning model. The model is based on interviews with the nation's leading diversity officers, a review of the literature and the authors own experiences leading diversity change initiatives in higher education. The…

Political Innovation and Institution-Building: The Experience of Decentralization Experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Yates, Douglas

The purpose of this paper is to resolve what determines the success or failure of innovations in participatory government; and, more precisely what are the dynamics of institution-building by which the ideas of participation and decentralization are implemented and enduring neighborhood institutions are established. To answer these questions, a…

Decentralized H-infinity control of complex systems with delayed feedback

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bakule, Lubomír; Rehák, Branislav; Papík, Martin

2016-01-01

Roč. 67, č. 1 (2016), s. 127-131 ISSN 0005-1098 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-02149S Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : decentralized control * H-infinity control * large-scale systems * Fault-tolerant systems Subject RIV: BC - Control Systems Theory Impact factor: 5.451, year: 2016

Historical and Cultural Perspectives on Centralization/Decentralization in Continuing Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Edelson, Paul J.

1995-01-01

Views centralization/decentralization from four perspectives: historical, as an outgrowth of professionalism, in the culture of higher education, and management theory. Suggests that some form of centralized control will always be necessary if continuing education is to function in a larger organization, but smaller units may be the wave of the…

Decentralized Biogas Technology of Anaerobic Digestion and Farm Ecosystem: Opportunities and Challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Junye, E-mail: junyew@athabascau.ca [Faculty of Science and Technology, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB (Canada)

2014-03-26

Long-term economic and environmental concerns have resulted in a great amount of research on renewable sources of biomass and bioenergy to replace fossil fuels in the past decades. Decentralized biogas technology is one of the most potential technologies of biomass and bioenergy by using agricultural waste materials (e.g., animal manure, crop straw, and by-products from food industries) as feedstocks. By-products from biogas production, called digestate, are nutrient rich, which could potentially be reused as green fertilizers in agriculture, thereby providing a sustainable substitute for synthetic fertilizers for farm ecosystem. Thus, the biogas production of anaerobic digestion is win–win option for livestock and crop producers to address issues of waste management and energy supply, and to avoid contamination of surface and ground waters and emissions of odors and greenhouse gases. In this paper, we review biogas production technology and then evaluate environmental effects of digestate used as fertilizer. Finally, we discuss issues of deployment of decentralized biogas technology for farm ecosystem. Economic and technological barriers still exist for large scale deployment of biogas technology in rural region. Two national scale deployments in China and Nepal showed that the operational status of biogas digesters is not optimal and up to 50% of plants are non-functional after a short operation period regardless of the social and economic factors. Main barriers are a wide variation of feedstocks and environmental conditions (e.g., temperature) over space and time. It becomes clear that the experimental conditions of the pilot plants need to be adjusted and calibrated to the local feedstocks and climate. Also, more research needs to be done in cold fermentation technology. Thus, collaboration of all relevant designers, farmers, stakeholders, and regulators is proposed as the way forward, particularly as their complexity has been identified as the major hurdle

Decentralized Biogas Technology of Anaerobic Digestion and Farm Ecosystem: Opportunities and Challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Junye

2014-01-01

Long-term economic and environmental concerns have resulted in a great amount of research on renewable sources of biomass and bioenergy to replace fossil fuels in the past decades. Decentralized biogas technology is one of the most potential technologies of biomass and bioenergy by using agricultural waste materials (e.g., animal manure, crop straw, and by-products from food industries) as feedstocks. By-products from biogas production, called digestate, are nutrient rich, which could potentially be reused as green fertilizers in agriculture, thereby providing a sustainable substitute for synthetic fertilizers for farm ecosystem. Thus, the biogas production of anaerobic digestion is win–win option for livestock and crop producers to address issues of waste management and energy supply, and to avoid contamination of surface and ground waters and emissions of odors and greenhouse gases. In this paper, we review biogas production technology and then evaluate environmental effects of digestate used as fertilizer. Finally, we discuss issues of deployment of decentralized biogas technology for farm ecosystem. Economic and technological barriers still exist for large scale deployment of biogas technology in rural region. Two national scale deployments in China and Nepal showed that the operational status of biogas digesters is not optimal and up to 50% of plants are non-functional after a short operation period regardless of the social and economic factors. Main barriers are a wide variation of feedstocks and environmental conditions (e.g., temperature) over space and time. It becomes clear that the experimental conditions of the pilot plants need to be adjusted and calibrated to the local feedstocks and climate. Also, more research needs to be done in cold fermentation technology. Thus, collaboration of all relevant designers, farmers, stakeholders, and regulators is proposed as the way forward, particularly as their complexity has been identified as the major hurdle

Design of an autonomous decentralized MAC protocol for wireless sensor networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Hoesel, L.F.W.; Dal Pont, L.; Havinga, Paul J.M.

In this document the design of a MAC protocol for wireless sensor networks is discussed. The autonomous decentralized TDMA based MAC protocol minimizes power consumtion by efficiency implementing unicast/omnicast, scheduled rendezvous times and wakeup calls. The MAC protocol is an ongoing research

A Formally Verified Decentralized Key Management Architecture for Wireless Sensor Networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Law, Y.W.; Corin, R.J.; Etalle, Sandro; Hartel, Pieter H.

We present a decentralized key management architecture for wireless sensor networks, covering the aspects of key deployment, key refreshment and key establishment. Our architecture is based on a clear set of assumptions and guidelines. Balance between security and energy consumption is achieved by

Fair decentralized data-rate congestion control for V2V communications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Belagal Math, C.; Li, H.; Heemstra De Groot, S.M.; Niemegeers, I.G.M.M.

2017-01-01

Channel congestion is one of the most critical issues in IEEE 802.11p-based vehicular ad hoc networks because congestion may lead to unreliability of applications. As a counter measure, the European Telecommunications Standard Institute (ETSI), proposes a mandatory Decentralized Congestion Control

Decentralized vs. centralized scheduling in wireless sensor networks for data fusion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mitici, M.A.; Goseling, Jasper; de Graaf, Maurits; Boucherie, Richardus J.

2014-01-01

We consider the problem of data estimation in a sensor wireless network where sensors transmit their observations according to decentralized and centralized transmission schedules. A data collector is interested in achieving a data estimation using several sensor observations such that the variance

Decentralized vs. centralized scheduling in wireless sensor networks for data fusion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mitici, Mihaela; Goseling, Jasper; de Graaf, Maurits; Boucherie, Richardus J.

2013-01-01

We consider the problem of data estimation in a sensor wireless network where sensors transmit their observations according to decentralized and centralized transmission schedules. A data collector is interested in achieving a data estimation using several sensor observations such that the variance

The entropy problem of the decentralized solar and nuclear heat generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seifritz, W.

1984-01-01

Parallel to the energy fluxes the entropy fluxes of decentralized hot-water systems based on solar collectors coupled with an electrical auxiliary heating installation are also deduced. As an important result the fact emerges that this kind of solar energy has to remain very restricted, not only for quantitative-energetic reasons, but also for entropy ones, and that a solar hot-water system will always have to rely on an energy system of low entropy. In contrast to this, the provision of heat for space heating sector with the help of the 'nuclear short-distance concept', which practically does not need any external energy, is not subject to these restrictions. This concept is introduced briefly, as well as the heat prices which presumably can be achieved by it. Concluding comments summarize the reasons once again that speak against the installation of a decentralized solar heat supply system. (orig.) [de

Decentralized Pricing in Minimum Cost Spanning Trees

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hougaard, Jens Leth; Moulin, Hervé; Østerdal, Lars Peter

In the minimum cost spanning tree model we consider decentralized pricing rules, i.e. rules that cover at least the ecient cost while the price charged to each user only depends upon his own connection costs. We de ne a canonical pricing rule and provide two axiomatic characterizations. First......, the canonical pricing rule is the smallest among those that improve upon the Stand Alone bound, and are either superadditive or piece-wise linear in connection costs. Our second, direct characterization relies on two simple properties highlighting the special role of the source cost....

Semi-decentralized Strategies in Structural Vibration Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Palacios-Quiñonero

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In this work, the main ideas involved in the design of overlapping and multi-overlapping controllers via the Inclusion Principle are discussed and illustrated in the context of the Structural Vibration Control of tall buildings under seismic excitation. A detailed theoretical background on the Inclusion Principle and the design of overlapping controllers is provided. Overlapping and multi-overlapping LQR controllers are designed for a simplified five-story building model. Numerical simulations are conducted to asses the performance of the proposed semi-decentralized controllers with positive results.

An Integrated Decentralized Energy Planning Model considering Demand-Side Management and Environmental Measures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Mahmood Kazemi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Decentralized energy planning (DEP is looked upon as an indisputable opportunity for energy planning of villages, isolated islands, and far spots. Nonetheless, at this decentralized planning level, the value of demand-side resources is not fairly examined, despite enjoying great advantages. Therefore, the core task of this study is to integrate demand-side resources, as a competing solution against supply-side alternatives, with decentralized energy planning decisions and demonstrate the rewarding role it plays. Moreover, sustainability indicators (SIs are incorporated into DEP attempts in order to attain sustainable development. It is emphasized that unless these indicators are considered at lower energy planning levels, they will be ignored at higher planning levels as well. Hence, to the best knowledge of the authors, this study for the first time takes into account greenhouse gas (GHG emissions produced by utilization of renewable energies in DEP optimization models. To address the issues mentioned previously, multiobjective linear programming model along with a min-max goal programming approach is employed. Finally, using data taken from the literature, the model is solved, and the obtained results are discussed. The results show that DSM policies have remarkably contributed to significant improvements especially in terms of environmental indicators.

Mapping the potential for decentralized energy generation based on RES in Western Balkans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schneider Daniel R.

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Although the countries of the Western Balkans are mostly electrified, there are still regions which do not have access to the electricity network or where the network capacity is insufficient. For the most part such areas are under special care of the state (i. e. underdeveloped, devastated by war, depopulated, on islands or in mountainous regions. Since the decentralized energy generation covers a broad range of technologies, including many renewable energy technologies that provide small-scale power at sites close to the users, such concept could be of interest for these locations. This paper identifies the areas in Western Balkans where such systems could be applied. Consideration is given to geographical locations as well as possible applications. Wind, hydro, solar photovoltaic, and biomass conversion systems were taken into consideration. Since the renewable energy sources data for Western Balkans region are rather scarce, the intention was to give a survey of the present situation and an estimate of future potential for decentralized energy generation based on renewable energy sources. The decentralized energy generation based on renewable energy sources in Western Balkans will find its niche easier for the users that will produce electricity for their own needs and for the users located in remote rural areas (off-grid applications.

Hydrogen exchange

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Pernille Foged; Rand, Kasper Dyrberg

2016-01-01

Hydrogen exchange (HX) monitored by mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful analytical method for investigation of protein conformation and dynamics. HX-MS monitors isotopic exchange of hydrogen in protein backbone amides and thus serves as a sensitive method for probing protein conformation...... and dynamics along the entire protein backbone. This chapter describes the exchange of backbone amide hydrogen which is highly quenchable as it is strongly dependent on the pH and temperature. The HX rates of backbone amide hydrogen are sensitive and very useful probes of protein conformation......, as they are distributed along the polypeptide backbone and form the fundamental hydrogen-bonding networks of basic secondary structure. The effect of pressure on HX in unstructured polypeptides (poly-dl-lysine and oxidatively unfolded ribonuclease A) and native folded proteins (lysozyme and ribonuclease A) was evaluated...

Decentralized Hypothesis Testing in Energy Harvesting Wireless Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Tarighati, Alla; Gross, James; Jalden, Joakim

2017-09-01

We consider the problem of decentralized hypothesis testing in a network of energy harvesting sensors, where sensors make noisy observations of a phenomenon and send quantized information about the phenomenon towards a fusion center. The fusion center makes a decision about the present hypothesis using the aggregate received data during a time interval. We explicitly consider a scenario under which the messages are sent through parallel access channels towards the fusion center. To avoid limited lifetime issues, we assume each sensor is capable of harvesting all the energy it needs for the communication from the environment. Each sensor has an energy buffer (battery) to save its harvested energy for use in other time intervals. Our key contribution is to formulate the problem of decentralized detection in a sensor network with energy harvesting devices. Our analysis is based on a queuing-theoretic model for the battery and we propose a sensor decision design method by considering long term energy management at the sensors. We show how the performance of the system changes for different battery capacities. We then numerically show how our findings can be used in the design of sensor networks with energy harvesting sensors.

Decentral power stores. Key components of future power supply concepts; Dezentrale Energiespeicher. Schluesselkomponenten fuer die Stromversorgung der Zukunft

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huschke, Reinhard

2011-07-01

The book presents the most relevant power storage technologies, i.e. their advantages, shortcomings and possible applications. The focus is on decentral power stores that can be used wherever electric power must be stored, independent of local conditions. Although this concept does not play much of a role today, it will become more relevant in the context of increasingly decentral power supply. For 2020, a minimum share of 30 percent renewable energy in German power supply is required by law, while other scenarios assume an even bigger share. The present storage reserve capacity will not be sufficient for this. The book also goes into the applications of power storage systems in the fields of electromobility and in future, more decentral power grids. (orig.)

Sourcing and pricing strategies for two retailers in a decentralized supply chain system under supply disruption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.A. Azarmehr

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the decentralized supply chain with two suppliers and two competing retailers. It also investigates the sourcing and pricing strategies of two retailers in a decentralized supply chain system under a supply disruption environment. These retailers face their individual stochastic demand markets; however, they compete with each other through a two-stage price and service operation. The interactive dynamics among retailers is characterized, including the existence and uniqueness of the Nash Equilibrium in service and price games demonstrated.

Decentralized Hierarchical Controller Design for Selective Damping of Inter Area Oscillations Using PMU Signals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashfaque Ahmed Hashmani

2011-07-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the decentralized hierarchical PSS (Power System Stabilizer controller design to achieve a better damping of specific inter-area oscillations. The two-level decentralized hierarchical structure consists of two PSS controllers. The first level controller is a local PSS controller for each generator to damp local mode in the area where controller is located. This controller uses only local signals as input signals. The local signal comes from the generator at which the controller is located. The secondary level controller is a multivariable decentralized global PSS controller to damp inter-area modes. This controller uses selected suitable wide area PMU (Phasor Measurement Units signals as inputs. The PMU or global signals are taken from network locations where the oscillations are well observable. The global controller uses only those global input signals in which the assigned single inter-area mode is most observable and is located at a generator that is most effective in controlling the assigned mode. The global controller works mainly in a frequency band given by the natural frequency of the assigned mode. The effectiveness of the resulting hierarchical controller is demonstrated through simulation studies conducted on a test power system.

Financial and economic feasibility of decentralized wastewater reuse systems in Beijing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

X. Liang (Xiao); M.P. van Dijk (Meine Pieter)

2010-01-01

textabstractMany decentralized wastewater reuse systems have been constructed in Beijing. However their performance is not as good as expected. The total amount of reclaimed water used in Beijing is much less than the designed capacity. In order to understand the reasons causing such

The mass transfer dynamics of gaseous methyl-iodide adsorption by silver-exchanged sodium mordenite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jubin, R.T.

1994-12-01

The adsorption of methyl iodide onto hydrogen-reduced silver-exchange mordenite was studied. The removal of organic iodides from off-gas streams is an important step in controlling the release of radioactive iodine to the environment during the treatment of radioactive wastes or the processing of some irradiated materials. Nine well accepted mass transfer models were evaluated for their ability to adequately explain the observed CH 3 I uptake behavior onto the Ag-Z. Linear and multidimensional regression techniques were utilized in the estimation of the diffusion constants and other model parameters which then permitted the selection of an appropriate mass transfer model. To date, only bulk loading data exist for the adsorption of CH 3 I onto Ag-Z. Hence this is believed to be the first study to quantify the controlling mass transfer mechanisms of this process. It can be concluded from the analysis of the experimental data obtained by the single-pellet type experiments and for the process conditions used in this study that the overall mass transfer rate associated with the adsorption of CH 3 I onto Ag-Z is affected by both micropore and macropore diffusion. The macropore diffusion rate was significantly faster than the micropore diffusion, resulting in a two-step adsorption behavior which was adequately modeled by a bimodal pore distribution model. The micropore diffusivity was determined to be on the order of 2 x 10 -14 cm 2 /s. The system was also shown to be isothermal under all conditions of this study. Two other conclusions were also obtained. First, the gas film resistance to mass transfer for the 1/16 and 1/8-in.-diam Ag-Z pellets can be ignored under the conditions used in this study. Finally, it was shown that by decreasing the water vapor content of the feed gas, the chemical reaction rate appeared to become the initial rate-limiting factor for the mass transfer. 75 refs

A peer-to-peer platform for decentralized logistics

OpenAIRE

Gallay, Olivier; Korpela, Kari; Tapio, Niemi; Nurminen, Jukka K.; Kersten, Wolfgang; Blecker, Thorsten; Ringle, Christian M.

2017-01-01

We introduce a novel platform for decentralized logistics, the aim of which is to magnify and accelerate the impact offered by the integration of the most recent advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to multi-modal freight operations. The essence of our peer-to-peer (P2P) framework distributes the management of the logistics operations to the multiple actors according to their available computational resources. As a result, this new approach prevents the dominant playe...

Decentralization of operating reactor licensing reviews: NRR Pilot Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hannon, J.N.

1984-07-01

This report, which has incorporated comments received from the Commission and ACRS, describes the program for decentralization of selected operating reactor licensing technical review activities. The 2-year pilot program will be reviewed to verify that safety is enhanced as anticipated by the incorporation of prescribed management techniques and application of resources. If the program fails to operate as designed, it will be terminated

Decentralized energy aware co-optimization of mobility and communication in multiagent systems

KAUST Repository

Jaleel, Hassan; Shamma, Jeff S.

2017-01-01

Our goal is to design decentralized coordination strategies that enable agents to achieve global performance guarantees while minimizing the energy cost of their actions with an emphasis on feasibility for real-time implementation. As a motivating

Retention in Differentiated Care: Multiple Measures Analysis for a Decentralized HIV Care and Treatment Program in North Central Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Agaba, Patricia A; Genberg, Becky L; Sagay, Atiene S; Agbaji, Oche O; Meloni, Seema T; Dadem, Nancin Y; Kolawole, Grace O; Okonkwo, Prosper; Kanki, Phyllis J; Ware, Norma C

2018-01-01

Objective Differentiated care refers collectively to flexible service models designed to meet the differing needs of HIV-infected persons in resource-scarce settings. Decentralization is one such service model. Retention is a key indicator for monitoring the success of HIV treatment and care programs. We used multiple measures to compare retention in a cohort of patients receiving HIV care at “hub” (central) and “spoke” (decentralized) sites in a large public HIV treatment program in north central Nigeria. Methods This retrospective cohort study utilized longitudinal program data representing central and decentralized levels of care in the Plateau State Decentralization Initiative, north central Nigeria. We examined retention with patient- level (retention at fixed times, loss-to-follow-up [LTFU]) and visit-level (gaps-in-care, visit constancy) measures. Regression models with generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to estimate the effect of decentralization on visit-level measures. Patient-level measures were examined using survival methods with Cox regression models, controlling for baseline variables. Results Of 15,650 patients, 43% were enrolled at the hub. Median time in care was 3.1 years. Hub patients were less likely to be LTFU (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR)=0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.97), compared to spoke patients. Visit constancy was lower at the hub (−4.5%, 95% CI: −3.5, −5.5), where gaps in care were also more likely to occur (adjusted odds ratio=1.95, 95% CI: 1.83-2.08). Conclusion Decentralized sites demonstrated better retention outcomes using visit-level measures, while the hub achieved better retention outcomes using patient-level measures. Retention estimates produced by incorporating multiple measures showed substantial variation, confirming the influence of measurement strategies on the results of retention research. Future studies of retention in HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa will be well-served by including multiple measures

The Problems of Theoretical Interpretation of Centralism/Decentralism in Federalism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Сергей Олегович Алехнович

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the analysis of displacement of a vector of theoretical and empirical judgment of new tendencies in federalism functioning. Authors consider possible ways of development of its potential, initiate new approaches to its reflection and the analysis through a prism of centralism and decentralism in federal relations.

Conformational Assessment of Adnectin and Adnectin-Drug Conjugate by Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Richard Y.-C.; O'Neil, Steven R.; Lipovšek, Daša; Chen, Guodong

2018-05-01

Higher-order structure (HOS) characterization of therapeutic protein-drug conjugates for comprehensive assessment of conjugation-induced protein conformational changes is an important consideration in the biopharmaceutical industry to ensure proper behavior of protein therapeutics. In this study, conformational dynamics of a small therapeutic protein, adnectin 1, together with its drug conjugate were characterized by hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) with different spatial resolutions. Top-down HDX allows detailed assessment of the residue-level deuterium content in the payload conjugation region. HDX-MS dataset revealed the ability of peptide-based payload/linker to retain deuterium in HDX experiments. Combined results from intact, top-down, and bottom-up HDX indicated no significant conformational changes of adnectin 1 upon payload conjugation. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Convergent Double Auction Mechanism for a Prosumers’ Decentralized Smart Grid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadahiro Taniguchi

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a novel automated double auction mechanism called convergent linear function submission-based double-auction (CLFS-DA for a prosumers’ decentralized smart grid. The target decentralized smart grid is a regional electricity network that consists of many prosumers that have a battery and a renewable energy-based generator, such as photovoltaic cells. In the proposed double-auction mechanism, each intelligent software agent representing each prosumer submits linear demand and supply functions to an automated regional electricity market where they are registered. It is proven that the CLFS-DA mechanism is guaranteed to obtain one of the global optimal price profiles in addition to it achieving an exact balance between demand and supply, even through the learning period. The proof of convergence is provided on the basis of the theory of LFS-DA, which gives a clear bridge between a function submission-based double auction and a dual decomposition (DD-based real-time pricing procedure. The performance of the proposed mechanism is demonstrated numerically through a simulation experiment.

Federalism and decentralization: impact on international and Brazilian health policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Leite, Valéria Rodrigues; de Vasconcelos, Cipriano Maia; Lima, Kenio Costa

2011-01-01

This article discusses the implications of decentralization in the light of international and Brazilian federalism, and its effects on public health policy. In a comparative analysis among countries, the authors find there is no single model; rather, each country has a unique structure of institutions and norms that have important implications for the operation of its health system. Brazil shares some similarities with other countries that have adopted a decentralized system and is assuming features ever closer to U.S. federalism, with a complex web of relationships. The degree of inequality among Brazilian municipalities and states, along with the budgetary imbalances caused by the minimal levels of resource utilization, undermines Brazil's constitutional principles and, consequently, its federalism. To ensure the constitutional mandate in Brazil, it is essential, as in other countries, to create a stable source of funds and increase the volume and efficiency of spending. Also important are investing in the training of managers, improving information systems, strengthening the principles of autonomy and interdependence, and defining patterns of cooperation within the federation.

Outdoor flocking of quadcopter drones with decentralized model predictive control.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Quan; Zhan, Jingyuan; Li, Xiang

2017-11-01

In this paper, we present a multi-drone system featured with a decentralized model predictive control (DMPC) flocking algorithm. The drones gather localized information from neighbors and update their velocities using the DMPC flocking algorithm. In the multi-drone system, data packages are transmitted through XBee ® wireless modules in broadcast mode, yielding such an anonymous and decentralized system where all the calculations and controls are completed on an onboard minicomputer of each drone. Each drone is a double-layered agent system with the coordination layer running multi-drone flocking algorithms and the flight control layer navigating the drone, and the final formation of the flock relies on both the communication range and the desired inter-drone distance. We give both numerical simulations and field tests with a flock of five drones, showing that the DMPC flocking algorithm performs well on the presented multi-drone system in both the convergence rate and the ability of tracking a desired path. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamical Mass Generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendel Horwitz, Roberto Ruben

1982-03-01

In the framework of the Glashow-Weinberg-Salem model without elementary scalar particles, we show that masses for fermions and intermediate vector bosons can be generated dynamically. The mechanism is the formation of fermion-antifermion pseudoscalar bound states of zero total four momentum, which form a condensate in the physical vacuum. The force responsible for the binding is the short distance part of the net Coulomb force due to photon and Z exchange. Fermions and bosons acquire masses through their interaction with this condensate. The neutrinos remain massless because their righthanded components have no interactions. Also the charge -1/3 quarks remain massless because the repulsive force from the Z exchange dominates over the Coulomb force. To correct this, we propose two possible modifications to the theory. One is to cut off the Z exchange at very small distances, so that all fermions except the neutrinos acquire masses, which are then, purely electromagnetic in origin. The other is to introduce an additional gauge boson that couples to all quarks with a pure vector coupling. To make this vector boson unobservable at usual energies, at least two new fermions must couple to it. The vector boson squared masses receive additive contributions from all the fermion squared masses. The photon remains massless and the masses of the Z and W('(+OR -)) bosons are shown to be related through the Weinberg angle in the conventional way. Assuming only three families of fermions, we obtain estimates for the top quark mass.

Mild decentration measured by a Scheimpflug camera and its impact on visual quality following SMILE in the early learning curve.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Meiyan; Zhao, Jing; Miao, Huamao; Shen, Yang; Sun, Ling; Tian, Mi; Wadium, Elizabeth; Zhou, Xingtao

2014-05-20

To measure decentration following femtosecond laser small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) for the correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism in the early learning curve, and to investigate its impact on visual quality. A total of 55 consecutive patients (100 eyes) who underwent the SMILE procedure were included. Decentration was measured using a Scheimpflug camera 6 months after surgery. Uncorrected and corrected distance visual acuity (UDVA, CDVA), manifest refraction, and wavefront errors were also measured. Associations between decentration and the preoperative spherical equivalent were analyzed, as well as the associations between decentration and wavefront aberrations. Regarding efficacy and safety, 40 eyes (40%) had an unchanged CDVA; 32 eyes (32%) gained one line; and 11 eyes (11%) gained two lines. Fifteen eyes (15%) lost one line of CDVA, and two eyes (2%) lost two lines. Ninety-nine of the treated eyes (99%) had a postoperative UDVA better than 1.0, and 100 eyes (100%) had a UDVA better than 0.8. The mean decentered displacement was 0.17 ± 0.09 mm. The decentered displacement of all treated eyes (100%) was within 0.50 mm; 70 eyes (70%) were within 0.20 mm; and 90 eyes (90%) were within 0.30 mm. The vertical coma showed the greatest increase in magnitude. The magnitude of horizontal decentration was found to be associated with an induced horizontal coma. This study suggests that, although mild decentration occurred in the early learning curve, good visual outcomes were achieved after the SMILE surgery. Special efforts to minimize induced vertical coma are necessary. Copyright 2014 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.

A decentralized scalable approach to voltage control of DC islanded microgrids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tucci, Michele; Riverso, Stefano; Quintero, Juan Carlos Vasquez

2016-01-01

We propose a new decentralized control scheme for DC Islanded microGrids (ImGs) composed by several Distributed Generation Units (DGUs) with a general interconnection topology. Each local controller regulates to a reference value the voltage of the point of common coupling of the corresponding DGU...

The indicators of energy security of decentralized heating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Vitalyevna Bykova

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In the paper, the new additional indicators of energy security with the purpose to include decentralized heating sector is developed in the work. The structure of the housing stock of the country is analyzed, which includes different types of central heating boilers and CHP, individual gas or electric heating and stove heating.The analysis of the existing thermal supply (per unit area and per capita living for each sector is carried out. It is found that heat consumed in the residential sector with central heating from CHP and boilers is significantly higher of heat consumed in other sectors. The missing amount of heat energy, which can be produced in two ways, is calculated. Part of the deficit heat can be produced at existing sources that are not loaded enough to the nominal parameters at the moment. The second part can be obtained from small new sources (for inhabited localities that do not have a centralized heat supply infrastructure. New indicators complement the system of indicators to be used to analyze and monitoring the level of Moldova's energy security. They allowed including decentralized heat supply sector, which is not reflected in the official statistics. At the same, the calculation methodology has been improved and the overall integral indicator of the energy security level, which was even more crisis than previously thought.

Decentralized Channel Decisions of Green Supply Chain in a Fuzzy Decision Making Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shengju Sang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the greening policies in a decentralized channel between one manufacturer and one retailer in a fuzzy decision making environment. We consider the manufacturing cost and the parameters of demand function as the fuzzy variables. Based on the different market structures, we develop three different fuzzy decentralized decision models. For each case, the expected value, optimistic value and pessimistic value models are formulated, and their optimal solutions are also derived through the fuzzy set theory. Finally, three numerical examples are solved to examine the effectiveness of fuzzy models. The effects of the confidence level of the supply chain memberrs profits and the fuzziness of parameters on optimal prices, level of green innovation, and fuzzy expected profits of actors are also analyzed.

Evaluation of the first outcomes of decentralization reform with “kallikratis plan” in greece: The case of Ilida’s municipality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleni Sofianou

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Many countries, not only in the European Union but also throughout the world, are adopting decentralization reforms in order to empower local communities. Decentralization is the process of transferring authority, responsibility and accountability from central to local governments. To accomplish this, Greek government applied the Law 3852/10 «Kallikratis plan», reforming the local self administration and its duties. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the conceptual framework analysis of the relation between decentralization and democratic local governance in Greece, to explore opportunities and propose ways to establish or further strengthen democracy at the local level.

Isotope anomalies in oxygen isotope exchange equilibrium systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotaka, M.

1997-01-01

The purpose of the present work is to elucidate the isotope anomalies in oxygen isotope exchange equilibrium systems, according to the calculations of the equilibrium constants for oxygen isotopic exchange reactions, and the calculations of the oxygen isotope separation factors between two phases. The equilibrium constants (K65, K67, K68 and K69) of 16 O- 15 O, 16 O 17 O, 16 O- 18 O, and 16 O- 19 O exchange reactions between diatomic oxides were calculated in a wide temperature range on the basis of quantum statistical mechanics. Many equilibrium constants showed the anomalous mass effects, and then had the crossover temperatures and the mass independent fractionation (MIF) temperatures which held K67 = K65, K67 = K68, or K67 = K69, etc. For example, the equilibrium constants for the reactions between OH and the other diatomic oxides (MO) showed the anomalous mass effects, when M was Li, Na, Mg, K, Fe, Al, Ge, Zr, Pt, etc. The 16 O 15 O, 16 O 17 O, 16 O- 18 O, and 16 O- 19 O oxygen isotope separation factors (S65, S67, S68 and S69) between two phases were calculated, when OH and CO were in the first phase, and SiO was in the second phase. Although the oxygen isotopic exchange equilibria in the two phases had no MIF and crossover temperatures, the separation factors showed the anomalous mass effects and had the temperatures. According to what is called the normal mass effects for the equilibrium constant of isotopic exchange reaction, the value of InK68/InK67 is 1.885. Therefore, the value of InS68/InS67 should be 1.885 too. The value calculated, however, widely changed. It can be concluded from the results obtained in the present work that some oxygen isotopic exchange equilibria cause the anomalous mass effects, the anomalous oxygen isotope separation factors, and then isotope anomalies

Thermodynamic optimization of heat exchanger tanks by exergy ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper introduces heat exchanger tanks, detailing their dominant thermodynamic relations to obtain the exergy analysis relations of heat exchanger tanks. Heat exchanger tank is examined under various laboratory conditions, including the power of heat element inside the tank, mass flow rate of cooling water of tank ...

Characterization of oligosaccharides with capillary high performance anion exchange chromatography hyphenated to pulsed amperometric detection and ion trap mass spectrometry : application to the analysis of human lysosomal disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bruggink, Cornelis

The development of a capillary ion chromatograph is described together with a matching desalter. This desalter made it possible to use on-line a mass spectrometer. The mass spectrometer enables partly to characterize carbohydrates eluting from the anion exchange column. This separation technology is